People were waiting

Many people have been waiting since last January for the mystery to be
revealed. The Internet has been abuzz about it. Variously called “Ginger” or just
plain “It,” entrepreneur Dean Kamen, a college dropout, has been claiming that
his invention, the Segway Human Transporter, will transform the world of
transportation. Before its unveiling, Steve Jobs said it could be as significant as
the personal computer. Kamen had earned a reputation as an inventor by
creating the first insulin pump and the first portable kidney dialysis machine.
Before it was unveiled, the rumor was that it was a hovercraft, helicopter
backpack, or a teleportation pod like the Jetson’s used. Some said it would be
hydrogen powered or be driven by the high-tech Stirling engine. So many people
were waiting and wondering what it might be and when it would come. People
have been talking about “It” on the Internet for almost a year, with all kinds of
fantastic rumors being bandied about. The United States Postal Service, the
National Park Service, and Amazon.com have all been using prototypes. But
when it was actually unveiled for the first time on the Today Show, it was
obvious that “It” was little more than a motorized scooter with some gyroscopes.
Its average speed is 8 m.p.h. and can go as high as 12 m.p.h. It will cost around
$3000 and has a range of only 15 miles. The 65 pound transporter cost over $90
million to develop. When Diane Sawyer saw it, she literally said, “That’s ‘It’?” It
failed to live up to all the media hype. Someone called it a pogo stick on wheels.
Others called it a mini-chariot or a skateboard on steroids. It is interesting, but
obviously it will not change the world — not even the transportation industry.

Just before the birth of Jesus there was a similar sense of expectation and hope.
People were waiting and wondering. They felt like something wonderful was
about to happen. The Scriptures had promised the coming of the Messiah, and
rumors were rampant that he was coming at any time. He was going to turn the
world around and deliver Israel from all her enemies. He would usher in the
kingdom of God. But if those same people, who were so high with expectation,
had gone to a backyard stable in the town of Bethlehem one starry night, they
might have said, “That’s it? All that hype for this?” But actually, in this case, the
reality was greater than the expectation. No one could have guessed how this
child would change the world. No one could have imagined the impact he would
have on world history and the change he would make in people’s lives.

Not even Mary fully understood the difference the child she was carrying would
make. She knew he would be something special, for an angel had visited her
and told her what was going to happen. The Bible says, “In the sixth month, God
sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be
married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was
Mary. The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored!
The Lord is with you.’ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what











 kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary,
you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son,
and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the
Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end’”
(Luke 1:26-33). And in spite of her fear, and being overwhelmed by the
presence of this powerful spiritual being, she said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May
it be to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38). She had been thinking about all of
this for quite awhile, and when she went to visit her relative, Elizabeth, her joy
spilled into song.

I want us to look at the song of Mary this morning, for there are important
truths for us to understand there. Gold nuggets for us to mine. Mary made three
key statements: 1. My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my
Savior. 2. He has performed mighty deeds. 3. He has helped his servant Israel.
The first thing that Mary sang was: My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit
rejoices in God my Savior. She begins by praising God for his salvation. The
keyword here is forgiveness. Her first response to the good news of God bringing
forgiveness to the world was to worship. Mary’s song has been called The
Magnificat from the opening word in the Latin translation, and it is full of quotes
from the Old Testament. Mary was probably about thirteen years of age, for
betrothals commonly took place when a girl was thirteen, and the marriage took
place about a year later. She has amazing maturity and spiritual depth for her
age.

This helps us to understand what kind of person Mary was. She truly was a
special person. She loved the Lord for he had done great things for her. She
understood that she did not deserve this special privilege of being the mother of
the Messiah, for she said, “he has been mindful of the humble state of his
servant” (Luke 1:48). She was a special person, and had been faithful in her
obedience and love for God, but still she needed a Savior. The Roman Catholic
church talks about the “immaculate conception,” and by that they are not talking
about the birth of Christ, but rather the birth of Mary. They believe that she was
born without original sin. They also believe that she lived a sinless life. And while
we respect our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters, we believe that Mary
needed a savior like the rest of us. She did not say, “My spirit rejoices in God the
Savior;” she said, “God, my Savior.” Sinless people do not need a savior. And in
spite of the fact she was just like the rest of us, God not only became her savior,
but bestowed on her the unparalleled privilege of being the one who would bring
God’s Son into the world. He would not just be her savior, but the savior of the
world. He would bring forgiveness to the human family.

Shortly before her death in 1988, Marghanita Laski, a well-known writer, was
amazingly candid in a television interview. She was a secular humanist, which












 means that she denied the need for, and the existence of, God. But in this
moving moment of truth before the world she said, “What I envy most about
you Christians is your forgiveness, I have nobody to forgive me.” How wonderful
that we have someone to forgive us — that our hearts can be washed clean. We
have forgiveness because we have a God who came to the world to save us.

I heard someone say this week: “Mary was the first person in the world to carry
the Gospel.” What an enormous privilege was hers. She understood this privilege
and worshiped God because of it. She said, “From now on all generations will call
me blessed” (Luke 1:48). Here is the irony: She who needed a savior gave birth
to the Savior. Mary gave birth to the One who created her. For the Bible says of
Christ: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that
has been made” (John 1:3).

Mark Lowry puts the mystery to music in his song Mary Did You Know? The
words say:
Mary, did you know that your baby boywould one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy
has come to make you new;
and this child that you delivered
will soon deliver you?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

would give sight to the blind man?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
would calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy
has walked where angels trod?
And, when you kissed your little baby
you’ve kissed the face of God?
Oh, Mary, did you know?
Mary, did you know?

The blind will see, the deaf will hear

the dead will live again.
The lame will leap,
the dumb will speak the praises of the Lamb.

Oh, Mary, did you know?

that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
would one day rule the nations?


































































 Did you know that your baby boy
was Heaven’s perfect Lamb?
And, the sleeping child you’re holding is the great I Am?
Oh, Mary, did you know?
So long ago?

This was more than enough reason for her to worship. But the second thing
Mary sang was: He has performed mighty deeds. The keyword here is: victory.
The mighty deeds that God was doing would overcome the world and turn the
world right-side-up. She sang about God scattering the proud. She said that he
brought down rulers from their thrones and lifted up the humble. He filled the
hungry, but sent the rich away with empty stomachs. In other words, God
turned the tables on the world. Those who were proud and arrogant, having
power in this world to oppress others, would be scattered by God. Those who
ruled with injustice would be pulled down from their thrones, and the humble
servants would be put in their place. Those who used their wealth to oppress the
poor would live in spiritual hunger, while those who were the poor of this world
would be filled with all the good things of God. All of this would take place
because of what Jesus would do. During his ministry he said, “Blessed are you
who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh”
(Luke 6:20-21). He would reverse the fortunes of the proud and humble, the
rich and poor, the strong and weak. He was the Savior who would right the
wrongs of the world and would give those who were downtrodden great reason
to rejoice.

What this means is that Jesus came for everyone — regardless of their status in
the world. The humble are valued by God, and even the arrogant can humble
themselves and become right with God. The oppressed find mercy and help. The
oppressors can stop their oppression, and find grace. Those who are weak can
be strong in God. The strong can admit their weakness apart from God, and find
true strength. But we have to come to God on his terms rather than ours. We
humble ourselves. We admit our weakness. We turn from our sin. And we turn to
God for his strength, his wealth, and his wholeness.

Dallas Willard tells about the military fighter pilot who was performing high-
speed maneuvers. The pilot thrust the controls for a steep upward climb, only to
crash into the ground. Somehow the pilot was unaware that the plane had been
flying upside down. It is a parable of the world today — going at breakneck
speed, we don’t even realize that we are living upside down. People are crashing
and can’t seem to figure out why. After all, we are not sure if there is even such
a thing as right-side-up. Don’t all roads lead to the same place? As long as you
believe in God and practice some form of religion, don’t we all get to heaven
eventually? Can’t I love God and still live any way I want? The answer is no. You




















 cannot live outside of God’s will and expect God’s blessing. You will be flying
upside down and eventually crash. Jesus Christ said, “I am the way and the
truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
He will turn you right-side-up and enable you to overcome this world if you are
willing to let him have control of your life. He is victorious over life, for he has
said, “Take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Christ brings forgiveness and victory, but Mary also sang of something else. The
third thing she said in her song was: He has helped his servant Israel. In the
song, she said God had: “helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers” (Luke
1:54-55). What she was referring to was God’s covenant with Israel. And that is
the keyword here: covenant — one of the most important concepts in the
Scriptures. Covenant is important because it means that God keeps his
promises. He does not forget. He does not get sidetracked. And even when it
looks like nothing is happening, God is at work behind the scenes. Those who
were expecting the Messiah, and growing weary in their waiting, were blessed as
they saw the promise of God come true.

Being in covenant with God means that we are a part of something bigger than
ourselves. God has bound himself to us in loving faithfulness. Not only are we
bound to God, but he is bound to us. He has made promises to us and
committed himself to us with cords of love. Jeremiah 31:33 says, “‘This is the
covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,’ declares the LORD.
‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God,
and they will be my people.’” God has committed himself to us with an
immutable bond. He is on our side. He is for us, not against us. Anyone who
threatens us must ultimately deal with him. His love has committed him to us in
ways which we cannot now fully comprehend. The Bible says, “The LORD
confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them” (Psalms
25:14).

Someone recently told me that a college had contest to see who could get the
most food for the poor with a set amount of money. Several went to Aldi’s,
Sam’s club, or an Amish bulk food store. There were green beans and squash
galore; dried food and bulk staples. But one person took the money and bought
Starbuck’s coffee, brownies and other delicacies. They loaded up on good things
that people love to eat. This is how God gives: extravagantly and lavishly. He
fills the hungry with good things.

Because of what God has done, we worship him for his forgiveness, his victory
over the world and his covenant with us. The Bible says, “For no matter how
many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Our
response should be patterned after Mary’s: “Lord, here is my life. I will do
















whatever you want me to do. I will go wherever you want me to go. Make me
your servant.”