He Who Is Mighty

Good morning. As I mentioned earlier, one of the themes we're going to continue to see is God humbling the proud and exalting the humble. There is a way in which God makes great. As we think about greatness and exaltation, I want us to look to a secular poet, Percy Shelley, in Ozymandias. I met a traveler from an antique land who said, two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown and wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command tell that its sculptor, well, those passions read, which yet survive stamped on these lifeless things, the hand that mocked them and the heart that fled. And on the pedestal, these words appear. My name is Othmandias, king of kings. Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair. Nothing beside remains round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level sand stretch far away. It's a very typical boast on earth. Greatness here is always fleeting. Greatness here is always limited. A mere memorial, a fictional king, but it rings so true. A fictional king longing for greatness, declaring his greatness. And time is the great truth teller. It all comes to ruin. This morning we're gonna talk about greatness because it's something humans desire. We desire it because it's actually a good thing. I believe it's a God-given desire, when in its proper place. You see, humans, man, woman, Adam, Eve, were placed in the garden to be great on this earth. God's image bearers, placed in the center of the garden, given specific tasks, a specific role, an amazing position. God made man great on this earth. And then we brought it to a colossal wreck. When we decided we didn't like the greatness God gave us as man, we wanted greatness like God. This leaves us in ruin. The good news this morning is that God restores us. God gives us grace for this prideful rebellion to declare the greatness you've given us isn't enough. No, God restores us. And this is why we're looking at this story. Last week we looked at Elizabeth and how God took her and her humble, barren reproach and brought her rejoicing with a baby. Today we're looking at how Jesus is coming to restore us into image bearers. And greatness has been through our text. Jesus will tell us that John the Baptist was great. The angel Gabriel said John the Baptist would be great before the Lord. Jesus is declared to be great. And then Mary, she's blessed among women. She will be called blessed. true greatness is a gift. And as we look, we're going to look, we're going to see Lord willing that Mary is a model of what it means to receive this kind of greatness. It's by faith. If you're following along in our series, we're only a second sermon in. We walk through books at a time. We just finished pastoral epistles. We're in the second sermon in Luke, we'll be going through Luke for the next few weeks, but especially now we wanted to start in Luke because of the Christmas season. It's a long, rich narrative where it appears Luke giving us an orderly account, he's interviewed Mary. Because the stories we have could only come from Mary. It appears that he's giving us a deeper, first-hand, his second-hand account, but from Mary's own first-hand account of what God said and did. And this is why we look to chapter one, verse four. We're looking so that we might have certainty concerning the things we've been taught. Certainty concerning the good news that brings great joy for all people. Our outline this morning, conception, confirmation, confession. Conception, confirmation, and confession. This is a narrative. Every good narrative has a problem that needs to be resolved. Last week it was an older lady who has a barren, closed womb. A lot of times a problem could be a relationship, a problem could be a military battle, a foe. What's interesting about this story is that God creates his own problem. And this isn't the first time he's done this. But God is creating his own problem by promising something that is actually impossible. For a woman to give birth to a child without knowing a man. He's promised a baby to be born to a woman who does not know a man. That is a problem. And we will learn one of the most important lessons of all, nothing is impossible with God. First, we see conception. Last week, we heard of Gabriel. We're gonna see Gabriel again. Gabriel appeared to Zechariah. He made a promise to Zechariah that his His wife would have a baby he doubted, therefore he could not speak until that baby was born. Elizabeth then conceives, and just to remind ourselves of these important words, her declaration at the end, a rich theology in those few words. Chapter one, verse 25. Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked upon me to take away my reproach among people. Now we transition To another event, verse 26, the promise of Mary's virgin conception. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. This is a clear setting. We have a time. This appears to be six months after Gabriel has appeared to Zechariah. Six months, rather, after Elizabeth has conceived. It appears to be the six months of that conception. Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, that was established last week, he's come down from God, and he's in Nazareth. And what we know from the Gospel of John, this is a nowhere town. He goes to Nazareth, and he's not meeting her in a temple. We don't know what it means that he goes in. Is this in her room? Is this in her presence out in the field? We don't know the exact setting, but Gabriel, an angel who stands in the presence of God, he comes and talks to this young teenage girl whose betrothed engaged, which is legally binding, Remember in Matthew, when Joseph finds that she's pregnant and he knows he's not the father, he wants to divorce her. That's how legally binding an engagement was. We see here she's a virgin betrothed, she's not known a man. His name's Joseph, he's at the house of David, which is important because we're gonna have to trace the line from Abraham to Judah to David. the son of Jesse, the root of Jesse, and Jesus is in that lineage. And we learn that her name is Mary. We've got all our characters, Gabriel, David, Mary, we've got our time, after the angels already said, John the Baptist, the one who's gonna prepare a people in a way, he's already, he's six months older than Jesus, and we're in Nazareth. And then the action begins. Verse 28, he came to her and said, greetings, oh favored one, the Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. Now what's concerning about it? The word trouble there is undone, unsettled, the same response Zechariah had when Gabriel shows up and says what angels are supposed to say. What is it angels are supposed to say? Do not fear, because they're holy ones, they're holy beings that reflect the holy glory of God. Here, this is an unusual greeting, as Mary is feeling. Greetings, oh favored one, the Lord is with you. Favor there is the same word as grace. There's a kindness to you. There's God's look upon you. It's not that she's earned something. And the Lord is with you. That is just the covenant language of God. That's saying you're favored, favored. The Lord is with you. That's a kindness of God. She's troubled because this is a different kind of greeting. She's trying to, she's hearing it and in the back of her mind, what is going on here? This is an unusual greeting, much less seeing an angel. then tells her, do not be afraid. Mary, notice how personal and clear this is. Oh, favored one, the Lord is with you. Mary, you have found favor with God. This is not in any way talking about how good Mary is. She's a sinner like us because she was born into sin and she's lived in sin. There's something of God's kindness to her. There's something of God looking upon her and saying, my face will be set upon her and she will bear my son, God's son. He declares the important news, verse 31, you will conceive. He begins it with, behold, this is incredible news. You will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus. Birth to image bearers. Babies are blessings according to God's word. And oh, the judgment that will be on those who spread that despicable lie. Is there anything less than a human being, person, with dignity and worth. The whole beginning point of this plan of salvation is that the human life in the womb is sanctified, is set apart as good by God, and God himself who made us in his image is going to come to be like us, to save us, to restore us as his image bearers. God has created a pattern, and here, God, to show how powerful a salvation is, to show that we in our own streaks cannot save ourselves, he breaks into his own creation in the most amazing and miraculous way. He does what is impossible. A virgin, a woman who does not know a man, will conceive and give birth to a child. Gabriel? comes to Mary, he declares, greetings, your favor the Lord, he's with you, do not be afraid, this is the news, you will conceive and in your womb you'll bear a son, and then notice the specific declaration, you shall call his name Jesus. That's Yeshua, or Joshua. Common name among these people? It means Yahweh saves, but what's unique about this particular name is who names the child. Just like John the Baptist previously, Zechariah does not name that child, God does. And here, who names the child Yahweh saves, it's Yahweh himself through the mouth of Gabriel. Notice the description in verses 32 to 33. You're gonna conceive and bear a son. His name is Yahweh Saves. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. We see something even more here. It's not just that you're going to have a conception without knowing a man. You're gonna give birth to God. John the Baptist was described great before the Lord. He's just great, and what does it mean to be great? Well, he's the son of the most high. And then we see the next three verses, all parallel together. Here's the theme. Throne, reign, kingdom. The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob. of his kingdom, there will be no end. God here is fulfilling the promise to David, there'll be a son. I will be like to him a father. I actually will be his true heavenly father and I will establish his kingdom forever, just like he did to Jacob. There will be a kingdom forever. If we actually just pull back here a moment and just think about sonship. We just read one of the most important passages, David read it for us. Genesis 12, Genesis 15, Genesis 17, if you wanna just meditate on the Abrahamic covenant, what God is doing in the Abrahamic covenant, promising that his salvation will come through a specific people, key word, blessed, blessed, blessed is Abraham and his people, because there will be a child born of those people. If we go back a little bit, Genesis 3.15, another time God promises a son. That promised son would be born to Eve. He's gonna reverse the curse. He's gonna crush sin. He's gonna destroy death. Now we see from Genesis 3 that that child would be born of Abraham. And then we look ahead. Genesis 49. One of the tribes of Israel, God says in Genesis 49 to Judah, the scepter will not depart from one of your children. And then we fast forward to 2 Samuel 7, where God said to David, one of your children will sit on the throne forever. And then we heard earlier, the children reciting Isaiah 9, 6-7, a child will be born who will sit on the throne of David. What Gabriel is telling Mary is remarkably impossible, but not new. God has been preparing his people with promise and promise and promise that a son will be born and that the Old Testament that is so pregnant with these promises are now all being fulfilled in the womb of the Virgin Mary. It's incredible. Repeat it. He'll be a king, a king forever. This is the Son of God coming to be the Son of Mary. Now verse 34, Mary speaks. Remember, Zechariah, he wants a sign. How will I know? This is very different. She asked the right question. Not how will I know, but how will this be? And the translations there says, since I am a virgin, but it literally says, since I have not known a man. That's a much better way of describing her declaration. How? Will this be? This isn't the way God designed it to work. She's right. And the angel answered this question. The kindness of God to give her an explanation. Verse 35. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. That's pretty remarkable. That is an answer. I really wanted to, I'd love to hear what was Mary's actual immediate response to that. Okay, can you explain that? How will that be? What does that mean? Because you have this teenage girl who just heard that without knowing it, she's going to have a baby. She just heard that the very son of God is gonna be in her womb, and now she's heard that the God that she's always worshiped as the one God, Yahweh is one, is now Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You realize this is the first revelation of all three persons of the Trinity in this kind of clarity, and it's given to a 15-year-old girl. The first public revelation of the Trinity is when John the Baptist, 30 years later, will baptize Jesus, and the Father declares, this is my Son, and the Holy Spirit descends. This is the first known revelation. What she was entrusted with, what she received, without comprehending it, but with faith. The Holy Spirit come upon you, that is common, understood language throughout the Old Testament. Anytime God gives a person a mission, he gives them the Holy Spirit anointing to do it. He's a good God, he doesn't call us to do more than we can do. Whenever he calls someone to a mission, to be a prophet, priest, king, judge, whatever it may be, he gives the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit will come upon somebody. That happened often. But the power, which is the Holy Spirit, of the Most High and Luke is going to record that the Holy Spirit is the power of God from the Most High in Acts as well. Here the Holy Spirit who is the power of the Most High, he will overshadow you. That's pretty unique. This word is used by Luke in a few chapters later with regard to the transfiguration, one of the great revelations of Jesus. He's transfigured into his glory, and with him are Moses and Elijah. And this picture of a cloud overshadowing is used to show that the divine is coming into the creation. The divine is meeting the human. Here, it's pictured, so the Holy Spirit is in the womb, overshadowing the divine, coming in this kind of direct contact with the human, in the most intimate and personal place. The womb. It also goes back into history. The word overshadow isn't used but we picture the cloud that led Israel out. The glory of God leading Israel out of Egypt. I believe it's supposed to remind us of that kind of exodus because this is the son who will deliver God's people. Well, why does the Holy Spirit need to overshadow the womb of Mary? Well, this is how she will conceive. We're not giving any further explanation, but this is how she will conceive. Without knowing a man, the Holy Spirit will cause and create another child, a human being within her womb. And it's so important for our salvation that we profess this and believe this. Because it's the Holy Spirit's overshadowing of the womb that takes Mary's humanity and adds it onto Jesus, the divine Son of God. It's our humanity. Present there with Mary, she is like us. Jesus, therefore, became like us. He takes on our humanity. And the Holy Spirit is the one instrumental in this. pulling her humanity onto us, adding it. The Holy Spirit, I believe, is also doing something else. While adding our humanity to Jesus, the divine Son, he's also sifting out so that whatever is being added is not sin. He becomes like us in every way, yet without sin. The Holy Spirit is pulling the humanity and the Holy Spirit is sifting out sin so that he is the first human born sinless. He's the first human born who will remain sinless. He's the only human born who died for sinners. It's very important that he takes on our human nature, our person, our spirit, our soul, our body. He takes on our entire human nature so that when He dies on the cross, He's the perfect substitute without sin. And what's really amazing is being made in His image predesigned us for this. So Mary, without knowing a man, you'll have a baby. Mary, you're gonna give birth to God. Mary, you're gonna now have to wrap your mind around the truths of the one God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He will be great, he'll be called the Son of the Most High, the Lord will give him the throne, and then we see the end of verse 35, therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And then 36. And behold, news that makes a little more sense. Your relative Elizabeth, in her old age, has also conceived a son, and in the sixth month, her, who was called barren, will have a child. One of the most important lessons we gain from meditating upon this is nothing is impossible with God. Notice that actually qualifies everything that was said from Elizabeth to the Son of God to being a virgin conception. This morning, that is what we need to memorize, meditate upon, rehearse. Because if you feel like you're in an impossible situation, you're losing faith inside of who God is and what he can do. But God gives more grace. The one thing that's true about Christians is we should never be hopeless. We feel like it could be impossible for our own life, for a friend, for a relative in our situation. Nothing is impossible. That is what stands out. That's what we see by faith. This is all clearly incomprehensible, but we look back, Luke tells us that he's writing so that we can have certainty. We can have certainty that God has spoken. We can have certainty that God is fulfilling his promises. We can have certainty that God is doing what is good. He can do what we believe and understand to be impossible. This is necessary for the entire Christian faith. The Apostles' Creed begins. There's one God, maker of heaven and earth. There's one Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, the Son of God. And then it begins the historical mission. Born of the Virgin. Mary, this is the beginning of his mission. He will be born of a virgin. God will break into his creation to save us. He will then die on the cross to save us. He will rise again to assure us that he saved us, and now he sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us right now. And the last step of the mission, he'll come back. Jesus is son of Mary, fully human. Jesus is son of God, fully divine. And now we see Mary's last words in this scene of the narrative. She declares, behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Notice the humility here, that's gonna ring true throughout. Notice the humility, I am the servant of the Lord. If you wanna know what faith is, it's captured in what she says next. Let it be to me according to your word. Let it be to me according to your word. Faith is merely looking at what God has said knowing it must be true because God said it, and saying, let it be to me, because you are God. That's true, humble, courageous faith. Now if we can just pull that back for a second, if you're not a Christian this morning, if you're here and you're wrestling with what does it mean to believe and what is faith, I wanna be very clear, everybody has faith. Everybody says, let it be true according to something. It's usually what we pretend to be our own truth. It's usually whatever we find to be most convenient for ourselves. Faith is somehow declaring something about what you believe the world to be true, God to be true, yourself to be true. Faith here is faith in what God says is true. Faith here is saying what God says is true is what must be according to what I want to live my life according to. I wanna align myself with what God says. God created us good in his image with a special purpose. We rebelled and sinned and therefore we all deserve judgment. That is true. And God made promises and promises and promises. that he would come and save us. And Jesus Christ is the fulfillment, he is the yes and amen of every promise. And he says, if you believe in me, I'll forgive you. But you have to say, let it be to me according to your word. We don't get to create a Jesus that just saves us and then we keep living in sin. We don't get to create a Jesus in our mind according to what we think he should do. If he gives me these things, then I'll come to him and worship him, no. He says, I'm the son of God who came down and I owe myself to the point of a cross. I've risen again. I'm now seated at the right hand of the Father. If you believe in me, I'll be with you. I'll save you. We have to declare, let it be to me according to your word. Today you can put your trust in God's word. It's not a blind leap. That's silly. It's ridiculous. God wouldn't call us to do a blind leap. We can actually believe what's certain. What God's word says is so clear. It gives us certainty. The good news is you can know God today. The good news is you can know forgiveness today. The good news is you can have a life today. But only as we declare. God, let it be to me according to your word. Mary is an incredible model of faith. Our next section, verse 39 to 45. We see here what I believe is a very kind and gracious confirmation. Confirmation. Our second point, confirmation. We've seen the conception. It's believed she's already conceived. She has to have already conceived before most of this scene happens next. We've got a new scene. Mary departs, verse 39. I want you to just hear the quick action. In those days, Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. Just four boom, boom, boom action. She arose, she went, she entered, she greeted. Why would she go to Elizabeth? Well, she's just been included in the story. That's what Gabriel declared to her at the very end. I believe it's a clue that Mary picked up on. I'm going to go speak to my relative, my cousin. And notice verse 41, how quick all this happens. Mary arose, she went with haste, she entered, she greets, and Elizabeth, just hearing the greeting, There was no conversation, just the mere greeting. Hello. Then it happens. The baby in Elizabeth's womb starts doing something crazy. He leaped. Now, we've had three children. I felt each one of them kick, you know, at least they'll say, you know, they're getting active. And you can sometimes even see some movement. It's kind of freaky, actually. My kids are pretty active in the womb. But whatever this is, it stood out as very uniquely active. Something important is happening right here, and immediately, as soon as Mary says hello, the baby starts acting crazy, just moving around and leaping. And then to make sure we understand what really is going on here, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Why would that baby start acting that way? Think about a previous sermon. Remember one of the promises that was really unique for John the Baptist. He would be filled with the Holy Spirit even in the womb. And John the Baptist's purpose is to prepare the way for the Savior. He is to prepare a people for the Savior. He's doing it right now. Mary and Elizabeth are being prepared for the Lord. That baby, filled with the Holy Spirit, leaping as a sign. This one, something's unique. Let's see what it is. And the Holy Spirit fills Elizabeth. Notice how the Holy Spirit is so important through this story, making the action, moving the action. The Holy Spirit causes the baby to leap is what we have to assume. The Holy Spirit then comes upon Elizabeth and she exclaimed with a loud voice. What was the key word for the Abrahamic covenant? Blessed. We're gonna hear it three times. Blessed are you among women. is the fruit of the womb, and blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. Here, Mary is receiving a blessing. Let's begin here with a verse. It's a threefold blessing. Blessed are you among women. I have to believe there's something important here because we look back to Genesis 3 and it was the woman who was the instrument by which sin entered the world. Adam was there, he was present, and we are all in Adam. He is the head of the human race and we are all sinned in Adam. There's a unique role that Adam plays as the head, but it is important and very clear and repeated that it was Eve, the woman, who was the instrument by which sin enters. And here it's a woman whose faith is the instrument by which salvation and God's own Son enters. There's a sweetness there of what God is doing. Blessed are you among women. I am a Protestant. That means I am following alongside my brothers in Christ, Martin Luther and John Calvin, and protesting against the Roman Catholic Church and their indulgences. And we need to hear that Mary is blessed among women. Because the Catholic Church has exalted her to some kind of mediator or extra person in the Trinity, I don't understand. We can't deny this position that she's actually declared here. She's blessed among women. There's a high place for Mary because of her faith, not because she was somehow sinless. Can't be. She's blessed among women. because of her faith, because of what God decided to do through her. And blessed is the fruit of your womb. Then notice the very end, it's blessed is she. She believed that God would fulfill what he spoke. That's faith. Let it be to me according to your word, and Lord, I believe you're actually gonna do what you said you're gonna do. Do we have faith like this? Do we have faith with any kind of expectation that when we come to church and sing with His people that God's going to do something? Do we have any expectation that God is going to fulfill the sanctification He promised? Do we have any faith like this that God is going to fulfill, that Christ is going to come again and we're going to have to be held responsible for what we've done in this world, in this life? This is faith. There's blessing because of it. You see these two personal declarations, 43 and 44. This whole chapter is about Mary. Blessed are you. Blessed is the fruit of your womb. Blessed is you, are you, because you believe. And then she gives this declaration, 43, 44. And why is this granted to me? That the mother of my Lord should come to me. For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, in my womb leap for joy. 43, I believe, is Elizabeth, just recognizing the privilege, the unique privilege she has of meeting the mother of God first. Right here, Mary's already conceived. She's already declared the mother of my Lord. She's going to give birth to God. The early church, the Orthodox, they declared her the Theotokos. Because God had to be born of her, the woman, in order for Jesus to be who he says he is and do what he promised to do. And here she's recognized what a privilege it is to be granted that the mother of her Lord. What a declaration for Jesus' deity. Come to me. What humility to recognize the special blessing this is. And then we see, I believe, what the whole thing is really doing. Behold, Mary. When the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Mary was promised incredible, impossible things. She believed, and God is so kind. gave her this confirmation of her faith. That's how kind God is. I believe that's the whole purpose of this story, to remind us of what is going on, to pull it together as to how Elizabeth and Mary are related, how John the Baptist and Jesus are related. But the focus here at the very beginning is Mary receives this confirmation. The baby in your womb is exactly who Gabriel said he was. Because the baby in my womb who's like the prophet of Elijah, who's come to prepare the way, he's leaped for joy so that we know you will be the mother of the Lord. Our last section, confession. Confession. This is called the Magnificat because of the first word in Latin, magnifies. This is Mary's song. Remember, she's in a poor town. She's probably not educated. They would not have taught her the same way the young men would have been taught. And this is actually the most complicated, highest declaration in the Greek that the New Testament has. This is very high poetry. There's an incredible order and design to the beauty of this poem that Mary declares in response. The first two stanzas are three verses each. And I want you to hear the repetition of how it's about me, according to Mary. My soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For behold, in verse 48, From now on, all generations will call me blessed, for he who is mighty has done great things for me. It begins as a personal praise. Those first two stanzas are three lines each, and it goes from my soul, my spirit magnifies and rejoices, for he has looked upon me. And now all generations will call me blessed. He has done great things for me. Holy is his name. Notice how it's a personal response of praise, and then a declaration of just God's greatness in each stanza. If you're looking for a memorization verse, beyond the nothing's impossible with God, that's your first one. And then, let it be to me according to your word, that's your second one, but this first stanza, my soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. That's a praise. And it's personal. Because of what God has done. Verse 50 begins to look out, and notice how much more universal it is. For his mercy, that's a key word for this. We see it in verse 54 as well. For his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. She is seeing that whatever is happening to her personally is going to be for all people at all time if they have reverence for God. What's happening for her at this moment, in whatever this hill city is of Judah, at this moment, it's for all people at all time, from generation to generation, is mercy. She's going from this personal praise to seeing how it's actually gonna affect everybody, because he's the savior of the world. And then verse 51 to 53, this is a key theme. The problem in the story up to this point has been God's own created problem. He made a promise that seems impossible. But now we see sin mentioned. For God, God has shown strength in his arm. He's done mighty things. He scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate, and he has filled the hunger with good things, and the rich he sent away empty. The sin problem she's actually pointing out here is that there's pride, there's boasting, there's self-sufficiency, and God is against those who do not depend upon him, praise him, love him, have a proper reverence for him. But notice his strength, it exalts those of the humble estate. It fills those with faith, with good things. We see a clear theme that we read in James. God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. This passage is a challenge to us. How are we approaching God? Is there an arrogance that we don't need him, that we don't need to expect anything of him, that we're just gonna be okay with Jesus? We'll give him this much, but he's not really worthy of our whole lives. He gives grace, but he resists the proud. Do we live like Ozymandias? Do we think there's some kind of trust that really is gonna end up as a colossal wreck and ruin because we take things into our own hands? Notice God exalts. God looked upon her humble estate, he exalted. God looked upon Elizabeth and her barrenness and brokenness and her reproach and he blessed her with a baby and now there's rejoicing. One thing we know the God of the Bible, he changes stories. He exalts those who will believe in humility. Verse 54 to 55, she's declared a personal praise, he is holy, he is great, he's looked upon me, he's done great things, universal truth, this is for all people, he will show mercy. Those who are not proud, and now, After looking internally to the way God has helped me, she's looked everywhere for all people at all times. She's now going to look back into history. He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever. She's now declaring this is the fulfillment of everything God's ever said. This is the fulfillment of God remembering that he promised mercy to Abraham. He promised mercy to Jacob. He promised mercy to Judah and to Moses and to David and Isaiah and Jeremiah and Malachi. And now mercy has arrived and living in my womb. It's not new. But God's grace is broken into our creation in a whole new way. Christmas is a time where you hear songs and declarations of peace to all the earth, joy for all people. What we're talking this morning, our theme throughout this Christmas narrative is good news of great joy for all people. But I wanna show you how exclusive that is. There's one God who created us. There's one God who made promises that he would come and solve the problem we created. There's one God who came and dwelt in the womb. There's one God who was born, taking on our likeness. There's one God who died on the cross. to suffer in our place. There's one God who rose again. There's one God who now sits completing his work with all authority, who now sends his one spirit to renew us. There's one God who'll come again. It is good news. You can be saved. It will bring great joy because you will know God and you will know who you really are and you will be renewed. And it is for all people to believe. It's for all people to believe. There is only one salvation in the one Savior, Jesus Christ, and it is only received in one way. It is to say, God, let it be to me according to your word. Do not leave here without talking to somebody next to you about what that means to ask God, let it be to me according to your word. Let it be to me. according to your word that I might know you, your salvation and your love. Will you pray with me?