12.02.2012 The Songs of Christmas 1 - How to Receive HOPE

Help us to be servants of You and servants of the people You place in our lives. May this be a fruitful and joyous season of celebrating Christ, the Messiah, the One who gave His life for us. May our heart be filled with hope – as we look forward to what will happen because of Your great promises.
We will look at Mary’s song first – the Magnificat – a few years ago, we went into greater detail as we looked at a Mary Christmas – you can go back and read that online if you want greater depth into these verses – but today we are going to focus on the aspect of HOPE.
Mary’s song is a song of hope and fulfillment.
Mary’s Song (Magnificat) - Back-story – she went to see her cousin, Elizabeth.
46 And Mary said, “My soul exalts the Lord,
47 and my spirit has begun to rejoice in God my Savior,
48 because he has looked upon the humble state of his servant.
For from now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 because he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name;
50 from generation to generation he is merciful to those who fear him.
51 He has demonstrated power with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy,
55 as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Israel was under the rule of Rome at this point – they were oppressed and poor, living under Caesar and Herod the great and many had lost hope that the long expected Messiah would come. But there are those in this story – like Mary – who remain faithful servants of God when it would be easy not to be.
We know the story – the angel came – “Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you!” – But she was greatly troubled and began to wonder about the meaning of the greeting…
So this is her response – that what had been promised was going to come true – what they had been waiting for for so long was going to come to pass.
1) Genuine hope is connected with significant need. This seems out of whack: That hope would be produced in need and suffering. But we think that hope should be produced when things are going well. We have lottery hope – yeah, there was some big deal about a big lottery last week – and how many – across the country lined up and shelled out money in hope of winning. But that kind of hope always becomes lost, is lost, when things go wrong – it is a false hope. But beyond the lottery, I think we do this in general throughout our lives. It is not genuine hope like is expressed here. We tend to lose hope when things don’t go our way.
In counseling – the number one job is to give the person hope. That is where it begins. If you do not have hope, change cannot take place. There needs to be hope that things can change!
Depressed people are people who have somehow lost hope. For Israel, it took place over a long period of time. For some – it is long-term illness or pain – and many lose hope in that situation. Long-term economic difficulties can cause people to lose hope... Long-term Browns fans have lost hope. Long time relational conflict. Often, that is how marriages end – hope is gone that things can be resolved. Like this moral defeat over a long period of time can cause someone to lose hope that they can get victory. But on the other hand is someone like Mary – in this situation – her circumstances are really bad – but in all of that, she is able to build up hope – to still believe – that God is involved and cares – and that He can change things. I think the message for us – no matter how long something has gone one on, God is able to work on our behalf – no matter how long we have been in a circumstance. Genuine hope springs out of need, out of difficulty. How does that happen? The second thing we see –
2) Hope springs from rejoicing: My soul exalts the Lord and my spirit has begun to rejoice in God my Savior.
When the angel comes to her – she is pregnant – and she has seen this great miracle – but in reality – her life has gotten worse! She is a single mom-to-be – engaged, pregnant – and everyone knows it isn’t Joseph’s child. He is about to let her go – put her away – divorce her. The community is going to forsake her – but Mary’s hope is not based on a material answer to the promise – but the promise itself. In Mary’s life, she will not see, materially, the things proclaimed in this song. She will see the spiritual salvation of her people. The physical occupation will not end – in fact – her nation will be destroyed. Poverty will set in. This child being born will cause more trouble and pain and sorrow for her – and yet, Mary still has hope. Hope is what happens when a desperate situation is met with faith and the promises of God.
Abraham and Sarai were waiting for a child – and Roman says – in hope against hope, they believed. They were in their nineties. And Abraham was able to look at the desperate circumstance – and say, wow, how is this going to happen? But he knew it would happen. His hope grew and sprung and was formed from his hope.
It is kind of like – you are watching a sporting event and they are losing by an unbelievable amount and they come back – yes, it is easier on your heart when your team wins by 100 – but it is more exciting when the hero comes in and saves the day. But that is this story – it relates to our own lives – we are to look at when circumstances aren’t working out – to look at those through the promises of God – and seeing that God will work will bring praise and joy.
3) Hope empowers and lifts us.
Luke 1:49 because he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name;
50 from generation to generation he is merciful to those who fear him.
51 He has demonstrated power with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position;

Mary understood – she realized who she was – she recognized her humble state as a poor servant of God attempting to be faithful – and hope comes out of that recognition of her inability to solve the problem. She had no cards to play. And yet in that situation – she is able to believe and have hope. There is this contrast throughout the Christmas story of the humble and needy and the proud and the powerful. One is lifted up, the other is put down. This is very clear in this song. Look at Mary and Joseph – and Jesus , born in a manger – the shepherds are the lowliest of occupations – and it is to them that the angels appear.
4) Genuine hope satisfies and fulfills.
Luke 1:53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy,
55 as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
There are three areas of desire and satisfaction – first – for justice. I think that is innate. People have done a study on brains – when people are shown videos of injustice – it changes something inside them. When someone is injured by injustice, those things change – but not when there is an accident. We want things to be made right. When someone comes to Christ – the Spirit of God – God is just – and what Mary is crying out for is justice – for God to set things right – there is no other hope but God for making things right. As we look at the world we live in – only God can make things right – there is no other solution – and for our own lives – we have all suffered injustice at some point. It might be in the family, on the job, or even at church. And what Mary is doing – having suffered many injustices – is recognizing that those things will eventually be made right. Not necessarily materially.
Second – equity – fairness – equality – Mary speaks of it in terms of material needs – the poor and hungry being filled with good things – it means people without food – but we tend to spiritualize it – and that is fine – but clearly – this is talking about those without food. I almost felt like no one should win that lottery – because it promotes inequality and injustice. Only God can equalize things. It is not for humans – it is a job of God to accomplish that.
Third – Mercy – He has shown you o man what is good – to do justice, love mercy, to walk humbly with your God. Or Jesus talking to the Pharisees – you do all these things – but you have forgotten what really matters – justice – equality – mercy.
I urge you, during these times – to be a person who gives mercy to others. He has shown mercy to us through Christ – we will see that at the end – but as we enter into advent, God wants us to be people of mercy – using every opportunity that God provides – that we are able.
It is only according to what you are able – according to what a person has – Paul says – what opportunities are available. I do believe that God brings us into opportune circumstances – have you antenna up for compassion.
5) Genuine hope is realized in the future.
Jeremiah – was written as Israel and Judah were being exiled into Babylon – and Jeremiah writes this letter – For I know the plans I have for you – plans to prosper you, not to harm you – to give a future filled with hope. No matter where I am right now – there is a future that God has that is filled with hope. Later, Jeremiah says – there is hope for your future, and your children shall come back to their own land. For most of the adults who went into exile – only a few returned. They died before they came back seventy years later. Sometimes we see hope fulfilled in this life. WOW! I have been hoping for this for years and God brought it to pass. But sometimes it comes to pass in the next life. But that doesn’t mean that there is less faith and hope.
Ultimate hope – therefore, get your minds ready for action by being fully sober, and set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
We know that when He appears we shall be like Him – because we shall see Him as He is and Everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies Himself as He is pure. 1 John 3:2
It is in this knowledge and full assurance – that we can have hope. As we are reminded of the first coming of Christ, we put our hope in the second coming that he will return and make everything right. Let's Pray...