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Great is our God, huh?

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I might get Jimmy swaggered on you.

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Oh!

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It's like this, and I need a hanky.

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But truly great is our God.

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We're going to be in Luke chapter one,

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and we're going to look at Mary's song.

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And it's just a few verses.

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We won't be long today.

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You know, I don't know.

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Why is it that church services has to be 45 minutes to an hour?

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I mean, one of the greatest sermons Peter ever gave was like five minutes.

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And thousands of people got saved.

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It's just our way of putting God in a box.

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Have you learned?

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It's pretty hard to put God in a box.

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And I don't know about you, but I keep having to get a bigger box.

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And so we're going to look at these few verses, verses 46 through 56 here in the first chapter of the gospel of Luke.

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And I do got to clarify one thing I had mentioned.

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We talked about babies in the womb last week and the whole abortion issue.

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and I'd mention that if you've had that in your past,

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that it is something that's forgivable that God can redeem that and use that for good in your

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life. I've seen him do it over and over again in many women's lives.

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But one gal said, yeah, but you didn't say where to go or who to tell.

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So I got reminded that the nest, part of their ministry is,

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post-abortive care.

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And they have a great ministry there.

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So if that's you and that applies to you, please feel free to contact the nest.

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And the director, Janelle, over there, I know her well.

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She's a dear sister in the Lord.

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So because God wants to heal us up.

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And a lot of times because we're broken and because we've made so many mistakes in our

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life, we stay crippled.

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We stay shackled by those things.

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and the Bible says, you know, Jesus said he came to set the captives free.

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And so you have an opportunity to be set free.

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And they can help in that area.

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Anything else, I mean, the prayer team will be here after service today.

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And you need prayer.

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Just to please feel free to come forward and be prayed for.

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And so we're going to look at Mary's song here.

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And that's what it says in my Bible, my David Jeremiah Bible,

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the little caption of over these verses.

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is Mary's song.

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It's also called the Magnificant.

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And there's four songs in the Gospel of Luke here.

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And they're all kind of about this first advent.

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The first one is Mary's, obviously, Mary's song.

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And then there's Zachariah's song called the Benedictus.

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And we're going to see that later.

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And then there's the angel song in Luke chapter 2.

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the glory and excelsis.

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And then fourthly, Simian song there when the Christ child is brought to the temple

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to be at his dedication and circumcision.

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So some powerful things.

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Songs are powerful, right?

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They're powerful.

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I mean, and they're even more powerful when they're done well.

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thus that's why you may see less of me and more of my my get but but also there is

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songs that aren't so good right I mean I used to be a head banger right right listen to

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ACDC and highway to hell I remember my mom walking in a room one time

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We're all sitting there banging away, you know.

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My mother goes, what in the world are you guys listening to?

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Does it saying highway to hell?

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We said, yeah, she goes, that's not very uplifting.

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Well, mom.

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Okay.

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And you guys have all been there, right?

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You remember this.

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We don't listen to the words, Mom, we just like the beat.

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Baloney.

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right? I was on a highway to hell. No stop signs, no speed limits. No buddy's going to slow me down.

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It was just a highway to hell. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. It was just going 9-0.

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But these songs, and when you read through the Psalms, and I remember back in the Maranatha days, when they began to put music to the old Psalms that,

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David wrote many of them. He was the great songwriter. And they put music to the Psalms and you would sing

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them. And it's a powerful thing to sing scripture. And that's what Mary does here. She's singing

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scripture. And repeating scripture back to yourself, it's really good. It's alive.

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And so we're going to look at this. Mary was moved to her core.

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right? By this truth that was coming her way about the Messiah, about this baby that she was going to bear,

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being a virgin. And so let's go ahead and read. We'll just read the whole passage. It's pretty short.

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And Mary said in verse 6, my soul magnifies the Lord. And my spirit has rejoiced in God, my Savior.

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For he has regarded the lowly state of his maid servant.

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For behold, henceforth, all generations will call me blessed.

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For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

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And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.

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He has shown strength with his arm.

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He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

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He has put down the

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mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things.

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And the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his

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mercy. He has spoke to our fathers to Abraham and to his seed forever. And Mary remained with her,

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that is Elizabeth, about three months and returned to her house. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for

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for this word and for this song, Lord, and all the details of it, Lord, that Mary had truly written

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your word upon her heart that she might not sin against you. And yet, Lord, she realized that she needed

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a savior. Lord, I think there might be people here today that realize they need a savior.

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They need somebody much bigger than themselves to direct their lives and to be at the home.

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And so I pray for those, Lord. I pray that they would surrender.

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render to you and yield their hearts and their souls, their spirits, Lord, to the God of heaven,

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the one who created it and has its best interest at heart. Lord, would you teach us as we look at this

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passage of scripture today? And Lord, just truly, it's filled with words of life. And may we

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experience that life in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. And so Mary, she's filled with words of life.

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And may we experience that life in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. And so Mary,

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starts off with my soul magnifies the Lord. She's, she's overwhelmed at the, the words that the angel had spoken to her,

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where he said, rejoice, highly favored one. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.

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I mean, how would you like to have that message coming right at you, right? About you.

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And yet, I think we're all, that's a possibility. It's, um,

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it's usually up to us.

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Right? And you remember how that last part that we looked at where Mary said,

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may it be unto me according to your word, just totally yielded and surrendered.

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And she was, her spirit was just filled with life.

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Ephesians 5 chapter, Ephesians chapter 5, verses 18 through 20.

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It says, and do not be drunk with wine.

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in which is dissipation, but be filled with the spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and

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spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to

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God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Her heart is welling up. She's, that's why we

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sing. We got something to sing about, folks, right? And I'm sorry, I don't, I'm sorry, I don't

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get people who don't want to sing.

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I got this grandson that is two-year-olds.

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He's two years old.

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He is a singing machine.

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He's singing these little praise songs all the time, and I'm hearing him.

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And then his cousin, who's a year old, he's a singer too.

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I just can't tell what he's singing.

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I don't have the gift of interpretation.

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But all he's a singing.

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And

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because it comes from like down here somewhere, right?

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When you, you understand your God and you, his spirit bears witness with your spirit.

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And like Mary, we say, my soul magnifies the Lord.

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It literally means that word magnify, making God great in your heart.

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making God great in your heart. Have you done that? Is God great in your heart? Or you're kind of, kind of keeping him out here somewhere?

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It's the idea of, it's like vital breath that you have to have this. Pastor Steve was just telling me he's going to teach. He's going to teach.

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And in 1st Corinthians chapter 12 here this next week. And, um, this next week. And, um,

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It talks about the, the uncumly parts in the body.

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But those uncumly parts inside your body are vital, right?

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Some of them, if you don't have them, you don't live.

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And so it's that vitality, that spirit that, that, that connects with the one who has, who has quickened us, who has made us alive spiritually.

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and maybe you're spiritually dead today.

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And you need to be made alive.

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You need to be quickened.

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You'll have an opportunity to do that as we close.

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Or even as we're going through the service,

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you just crying out to the Lord.

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You know that you know that you know.

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Maybe God's already spoke to your heart.

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I remember one time a guy come up to me after a service,

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he says, you know, that first few minutes, the Lord touched my heart.

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and I was just hoping that you would hurry up and shut up so I could talk to you about it.

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Because I don't know what God's doing, right?

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God may not do anything.

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But he might be knocking on the door of your heart even right now.

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And you know that you know that you know that God's calling you to himself.

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Maybe God's calling you to himself for a certain work.

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That maybe he's been whispering in your ear and you've kind of been putting it off.

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I know that's happened to me. I had to get thrown on my head for him to get my attention.

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It was clear. I'll never forget it. It's clear back in 1992. I had my best year rodeo and ever,

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1991. And I thought, I'm going to go do it again. But the Lord's going, no, Scotty, I got something

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different for you. I want you to do a rodeo bob camp. And I had gone to a in 1991, I had gone to a

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rodeo Bible camp in June.

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And I tell people it's the greatest three days of my Christian life.

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Because I went there and I'm going, God, can you use me?

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And I was in a tent with six or seven teenage boys that were just punks and sinners to the bone.

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We went nicking and tippin.

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Does anybody know what?

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If you know what Nican is tipping is, raise your hand.

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only one. Well, no, I think there's two or three. Yeah. You know, we went naked and tipping, right, which I wasn't

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supposed to do because I was supposed to be a leader. Not a very good leader. Bad, bad counselor.

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But the Lord had ministered to my heart and he was telling me, no, you go and you do this.

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And I thought, no, I'm going to go rodeo. So I go, and I always had to practice. I went to the practice pen.

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And I get on this bull.

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I didn't really want to get on him.

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He was kind of a bucker.

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And sure enough, man.

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That dude just flipped me up.

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And there was a one-point landing right on my noggin.

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And fire shot down both arms, thought I broke my neck.

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And the Lord goes, do I got your attention now?

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See, the Lord knows how to get your attention.

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Oh, boy.

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And if he's trying to say something to you,

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I'm telling you, you know, say, here am I, Lord, because he can make it kind of harsh.

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Because he's much more concerned with your soul than your physical well-being.

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Right?

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God is much more concerned with your soul than your physical well-being.

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And so I said, yes, Lord, he got my attention.

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and life's never been the same. And I had, did I have to give something up? Yeah. But I was going to have to give it up anyway.

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You can only do that rodeo thing for so long. I just got through watching the national finals

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rodeo. Those guys get to be 31, 32 years old. They're old. Right? They're ancient.

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In fact, the young kids call them old men when they're 31, 32 years old. I remember I was 29 and they'd call me an old man.

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And so it's, it's fleeting.

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The things in this life are fleeting.

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But God has something much more glorious in store for us.

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And so first she says, my soul magnifies the Lord.

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I've made the Lord great in my heart.

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And then in verse 47, and my spirit has rejoiced in God, my Savior.

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This is a powerful verse.

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doctrinally, right?

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Because Mary is recognizing here.

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Her spirit is rejoicing that she has a savior.

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She's acknowledging, I need a savior.

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Where some people elevate Mary to a place of an canonized saint or a or deity.

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No.

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She was a sinner like you and me.

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She had fallen short of God's glory.

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And she was well aware of that.

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It's amazing how many people.

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I'm not aware of that at all.

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Well, I'm not a sinner.

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What?

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You just sinned by saying that.

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Right?

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Because that's a lie.

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Because we've all sinned and we've fallen short of the glory of God.

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Mary had this incredible, and we're going to see it how many times she references

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the Old Testament through this song.

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She had an incredible understanding of scripture and who she was.

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Right.

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A proper self-view in Christendom is very important.

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How you see yourself.

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I'm a pretty good guy.

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Not.

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And she knew that God was her savior

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because of her understanding of scripture.

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Listen.

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Listen, the most, the more of God's scripture that you have in your heart, the more sane you are.

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I'm convinced.

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I'm convinced of it.

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The more of God's word that you have in your heart, the more sane you are.

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The less of God's word that you have in your heart, the more sane you are.

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The less of God's word that you have

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right? It brings a sanity and a reality to our psyche. In fact, that's the word that's used here

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when she says, my soul. She's saying my psyche. In my mind, I'm magnifying the Lord because of who he is.

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In light of who I am. Because why? Because I need a savior. And so she had read the Old Testament.

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In Isaiah, chapter 45, verse 21, it says this. It says, tell and bring forth your case.

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Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time?

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Who has told it from that time? Have not I the Lord. And there is no other God besides me, a just God, listen, and a savior.

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there is none besides me. This is God. This is 700 years before Jesus is born. Who's our savior? God is.

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Right? And God here in this first Advent season, this Advent season that we celebrate, the coming of the

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the Messiah, the coming of the Holy One.

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is salvation.

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But it's always been with the godhead.

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Always.

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God's always been the Savior.

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People get confused.

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Well, is Jesus our savior or is he God?

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Both. He's both.

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Right?

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God, our savior.

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In fact, I don't know if you've seen it or not.

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They found this mosaic.

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I think it's called the mosaic of Magetto.

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They just found it.

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And it declares that Jesus is God on this mosaic.

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It's 1800 years old.

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You can look at it.

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It's in the American Bible Institute, I believe, here in America right now.

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It's on display.

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And it was found in the valley of Magiddo where it's quite interesting.

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the war of Armageddon is going to be fought there in the valley of Magiddo.

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And it declares that Jesus is God.

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But Mary acknowledges this, right?

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No doubt she read Josea 134.

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Yet I am the Lord your God ever since the land of Egypt and you shall know, no God,

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for there is no savior besides me.

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This is scripture that my friend Michael Dodge went through the book of Isaiah,

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and he brought out all these scriptures that talks about the Savior being God.

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In the Old Testament.

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And he shares them with his LDS friends.

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And that kind of tips them over a little bit.

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Because they have a warped view of who Jesus is.

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right? They say he is a spirit brother to Satan.

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No, actually he created Satan. Satan is a created being.

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Jesus has always been. Right? So there's a huge difference there that needs to be established when we talk to our Mormon friends.

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And Mary had this understanding of what she was and who God was. Think about it. She probably read.

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Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14.

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She knew this in her mind that the virgin shall conceive.

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And then what about nine six?

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For unto us, a child is born.

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Unto us a son is given.

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She probably had these going through her mind and her heart.

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She was ready to receive that message from Gabriel when he came to her.

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And here she sings about it.

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verse 48, it says, for he has regarded the lowly state of his maid servant.

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For behold, henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed.

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She actually prophesies Mary does in her song.

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Right?

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That he's looked, I know what I am.

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Do you know what you are?

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Really?

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Do we know what we are in light of really who the God of heaven?

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evidence. I think to have a good understanding of that is, is, it's really important.

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Because a lot of people think way too highly of themselves. You know, Paul tells us in

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Galatians, for if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. He

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Galatians chapter 6 verse 3. It's a good scripture to put to memory.

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If anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, what's that?

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Right? That's that sin of pride that just, it just consumes us.

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So she was in awe that.

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that God would look upon her, this woman who her and her espoused husband, Joseph, didn't have a pot or a window, as they say.

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Right?

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Some of you're old enough to know what that actually literally means.

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They didn't, right?

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And he regarded her.

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It means he showed her favor.

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So much that every generation will call me blessed.

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For here it is, 2,000 years later.

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And every time you pass by a nativity, who do you see?

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Mary.

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For 2,000 years, God has been,

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bringing her to the forefront at Advent season.

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And the world, everyone, every generation will call her blessed.

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And so it is true.

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And to keep it balanced, right, is just so important.

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She is blessed.

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She is favored.

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Above most women.

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Don't out look forward to this.

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this giving birth to the Messiah.

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But she was also a fallen creature like us.

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And so therefore, you and I can identify with her.

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And God has plans for you, just like he did for her.

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I lean on the scripture in 1st Corinthians chapter 1 quite heavily for my own life.

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Where it says, for you see your calling, brethren,

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That not many wise, according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called.

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Why is it? Because there are none.

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There are those who think they're wise. They think they're noble.

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But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise.

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And God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.

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and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen and the things

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which are not to bring to nothing the things that are. That's how God works. And when we see

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ourself that way, we're closer to the heart of God. God has looked on all of us. He knows.

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our lowly state. He knows your condition. He knows my condition. And some may say, well, hey,

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pastor, just speak for yourself. You know, I've done quite well for myself. You know, I'm providing for my

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family, have a good job. My 401 got a boost when Trump got elected. Right? I have everything I need.

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Really?

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We were talking the other day about wealth and having stuff, you know, rich is having a...

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Think about this.

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What if you had millions and millions of dollars?

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But there was nothing to buy.

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You think about...

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Oh, wow.

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I mean, that's about the weight of monetary things.

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have for us. It's empty. It's just just this empty hole. That God has so much more for us in the depths of our soul.

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And so I think of the rich young fool. And I didn't know if I was going to share this or not.

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But I got to share it. It's found in Luke chapter 12 and starting in verse 16, excuse me.

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And, you know, the dude was just kind of trusting in his stuff.

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You trust in your stuff?

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How many have you just realized, stuff is really a pain in the neck?

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I mean, the more you got, the more headaches you got.

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Stuff is just like, do I have to, you know, it's a pain.

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But Jesus tells this story about a guy who, his stuff kind of happens.

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a hold of him. It says, the ground of a certain rich man healed a plentiful. And he thought within himself,

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saying, what shall I do? Since I have no room to store my crops. So he said, I will do this. I will

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pull down my barns and build greater. And there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will

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say to my soul. So you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease. Eat,

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drink and be married. But God said to him, fool. This night, your soul will be required of you.

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Then who's will those things be, which you have provided? So is he who lays up treasure for

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himself is not and is not rich toward God. You're going to die. And then Solomon says,

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somebody who hasn't worked a day in their life is going to get your stuff.

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Notice.

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What did Mary start this song out with?

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My soul.

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Does what?

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Magnifies my stuff?

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No, it magnifies the Lord in her heart.

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And that's the contrast, right?

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Between the rich young fool,

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I will say to my soul, take your ease.

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God hasn't called us to a life.

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of ease in this life.

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Right?

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He's called us to hard things.

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To get outside of ourselves, to forget about ourselves and do what?

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Like the old song says, to magnify the Lord and worship him.

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So Mary has this incredible insight.

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Right.

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Her song resembles that of Hannah.

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when Hannah was barren and felt as though she was despised by her husband when the other wife was very fertile and having babies and Hannah didn't have any.

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And she asked the Lord.

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And the Lord gave her that baby.

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And she too was grateful.

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She realized that it was a gift from God.

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Verse 49, it says, for he who is mighty has done great things for me.

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and holy is his name.

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He who is mighty.

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She recognizes God's power, right?

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And also that his name, it's holy.

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It's set apart.

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The name of God was set apart in her heart.

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Does the Lord have your heart?

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Think of that.

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Think of that holiness.

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Steve and I were just talked and he reminded me when the Lord Rocked

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's world.

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I don't know how many years ago.

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but he said, Pastor Rick was in Revelation chapter four.

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And he quoted what the hosts there, the living creatures were saying there in Revelation

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chapter four when they said, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, Stephen said, I didn't even know what

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what that meant, but I was overwhelmed.

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I was just a puddle.

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When he said, holy, holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty who was and is to come.

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He's great.

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Do you believe that? Right? You have to remind yourself of that. Why? Because we forget. It's terrible that we forget these things.

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How great and mighty our God is. And yet we get sidetracked and we're running down rabbit trails and chasing after things that we shouldn't be chasing after.

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But Mary realizes that God's doing this.

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Eight times she says he has.

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God has done this.

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Eight times it says that in these 10 verses.

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And so verses 46 through 49, Mary recognizes what God has done for her.

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Verses 50 through 53, what God has done for us.

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So let's just read it there.

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Verses 50 through 53.

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And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.

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He has shown strength with his arm.

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He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

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He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the low.

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He has filled the hungry with good things.

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And the rich he has sent away empty.

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The things that God has done for us, first and foremost, he's shown mercy.

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The mercy of God.

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It's been said that mercy, the definition of mercy is not getting what you deserve.

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Right?

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I get blessed when people tell me.

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I say, how you doing?

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Doing better than I deserve.

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right? Because really, when you have the mind of Christ Jesus, when you're filled with the word of God,

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you realize, wow, this God of ours, he is full of mercy for those who fear him, who fear him.

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Now, I heard a guy, well, I listened to R.C. Sproll. I don't know if you ever heard of R.C.

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He's with the Lord now.

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And a great preacher.

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And he said, when it talks about fear,

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it's not like the fear when you see a lion.

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Oh, no, there's a lion.

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But he said it would be the fear of seeing a lion

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and having a barrier between you and that lion.

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Kind of like when you're at the zoo.

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You see that lion.

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Now you don't scream in fear.

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Unless a lion jumps the fence.

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Right? You're thankful for that bear. You have a healthy respect of what that lion can do to you.

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What can that lion do to you? He can eat you. Right? He can eat you.

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Now, growing up, I had a healthy fear of my dad. A real healthy fear of my dad.

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Right. Now, when my dad walked through the door, oh, there he is.

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I didn't do that, but I'm just thinking, I've seen this man in action.

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I know what he could do to me, right?

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I know what this, this person could tear my head off physically.

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I know he could do that.

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That's what I feared.

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And at a greater level, what about God?

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You know what God could do to you?

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Do you see what God did to people throughout the scripture?

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Whether he sent snakes and bit people?

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Or whether he opened the ground and swallowed them up?

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Or whether they just dropped dead like Anonis and Safira.

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To those who fear him, he shows mercy.

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I don't know about you, but I don't know about you, but I,

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I ask for the mercy of the Lord quite often.

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And it's a really, really good thing.

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No doubt Mary had read through Deuteronomy where it says,

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for the Lord your God is a merciful God.

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He will not fail you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant with your fathers,

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which he swore to them.

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God loves his covenant.

463
00:36:33,260 --> 00:36:37,160
That's why that new covenant in the blood of Christ Jesus is so powerful.

464
00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:38,600
He loves his covenant.

465
00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:42,620
and he wants to show mercy.

466
00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:46,200
We just have to do our part and fear him.

467
00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:50,660
Or in the New Testament, Titus 3, verse 5,

468
00:36:50,980 --> 00:36:55,240
he saved us, not on the basis of deeds,

469
00:36:55,340 --> 00:36:57,160
which we have done in righteousness,

470
00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:01,720
but according to his mercy by the washing of regeneration

471
00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:03,680
and renewing by the Holy Spirit.

472
00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:04,700
Right?

473
00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:09,220
So powerful.

474
00:37:10,460 --> 00:37:13,960
Verse 51, he puts down the proud.

475
00:37:14,580 --> 00:37:15,680
God opposes the proud.

476
00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:18,660
The scripture tells us, but he gives grace to the humble.

477
00:37:20,280 --> 00:37:20,980
Are you humble today?

478
00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:26,720
Folks, that's why it's so important to read.

479
00:37:27,660 --> 00:37:28,420
To read God's word.

480
00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:31,780
I ain't got time.

481
00:37:34,460 --> 00:37:37,120
you don't have time not to, right?

482
00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:44,780
Read it, absorb it, let it, let it temper you, let it grow you.

483
00:37:47,860 --> 00:37:52,440
And he puts down the mighty, but he exalted the lowly.

484
00:37:53,140 --> 00:37:57,900
No doubt Mary had read the stories about Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh and Senechereb,

485
00:37:58,240 --> 00:38:00,420
these worldly kings that God just.

486
00:38:01,100 --> 00:38:05,180
I mean, Nebuchadnezzar, why God did not just kill him?

487
00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:11,080
Because Belshazzar, he didn't get the same treatment as Nebuchadnezzar.

488
00:38:11,820 --> 00:38:16,300
God showed Belshazzar, or excuse me, Nebuchadnezzar mercy.

489
00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:18,980
Belchazer, he's just a dead man.

490
00:38:19,960 --> 00:38:25,440
He was the one that Daniel told, hey, Belchazer, there's something going to happen tonight.

491
00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:30,140
Because the God who holds your breath in his hand, you've offended him.

492
00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:32,200
and you have not humbled yourself.

493
00:38:32,980 --> 00:38:35,100
And God goes, I'll take that breath.

494
00:38:35,240 --> 00:38:35,500
Thank you.

495
00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:37,200
And he's dead.

496
00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:42,620
Nebuchadnezzar, he makes him go crazy and eat grass for seven years just like a cow.

497
00:38:43,020 --> 00:38:43,400
Brer.

498
00:38:47,480 --> 00:38:50,900
But he's put down the mighty.

499
00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:55,940
Those were Nebuchadnezzar was called the King of Kings in those days.

500
00:38:56,800 --> 00:38:58,660
They can't stand against the God of heaven.

501
00:38:59,620 --> 00:39:00,160
Who do they think?

502
00:39:00,180 --> 00:39:00,800
think they are.

503
00:39:03,100 --> 00:39:09,300
But he exalts the lowly, no doubt she had read about Joseph, the slave boy in Potterford's

504
00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:10,880
house that ascended to the throne.

505
00:39:13,620 --> 00:39:22,080
Or Daniel, the teenager, captive, that was very powerful in the Medo-Persian Empire.

506
00:39:24,980 --> 00:39:27,660
or the shepherd boy who became King David.

507
00:39:29,060 --> 00:39:32,900
She knew that God could do anything with her life that he wanted to.

508
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:34,680
And so it is with us.

509
00:39:35,460 --> 00:39:37,980
You realize God can do anything with us that he wants to.

510
00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:47,640
It's just that he has this desire for us to to humble ourselves.

511
00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:52,320
And when we do so, he can draw close to us.

512
00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:58,500
and he can feed us with the bread from heaven.

513
00:40:01,220 --> 00:40:12,080
Like Jesus talked about there when in verse 35 through 40 of John chapter 6,

514
00:40:13,560 --> 00:40:19,620
because it says in verse 53, he filled the hungry with good things.

515
00:40:20,100 --> 00:40:22,300
And Jesus said, I am the bread of life.

516
00:40:22,320 --> 00:40:25,660
He who comes to me shall never hunger.

517
00:40:26,160 --> 00:40:28,680
And he who believes in me shall never thirst.

518
00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:34,320
But I said to you that you have, you have seen me and yet you do not believe.

519
00:40:36,720 --> 00:40:38,780
Some of you have maybe seen the works of God.

520
00:40:39,060 --> 00:40:40,380
Maybe in somebody else's life.

521
00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:41,520
Right?

522
00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:43,180
That's a really hard thing to argue with.

523
00:40:43,740 --> 00:40:44,480
I changed life.

524
00:40:46,240 --> 00:40:46,260
Right?

525
00:40:46,980 --> 00:40:49,120
I've seen a lot of people changed over the years.

526
00:40:50,240 --> 00:40:52,280
And that's a powerful testimony.

527
00:40:52,300 --> 00:40:58,140
And what you and I have been witnessing here just recently with the nation of Israel.

528
00:40:59,100 --> 00:41:03,200
And the stuff going on in Syria, that's just wild.

529
00:41:03,900 --> 00:41:05,080
That's, that's bizarre.

530
00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:10,600
But God's, God's doing stuff.

531
00:41:10,980 --> 00:41:17,660
Our job is to put all that we are, all of our weight upon who he is.

532
00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:21,200
Versus 54 and 55, it says,

533
00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:28,160
he has helped his servant, Israel, and remembrance of his mercy.

534
00:41:30,220 --> 00:41:34,380
He's doing that today. Right? He's doing that today.

535
00:41:36,860 --> 00:41:51,140
When in the Old Testament, when it says, talking about Jerusalem, it says that God sends a fire around, like a ring of fire that can't be penetrated by.

536
00:41:51,240 --> 00:41:57,380
enemies. How is it as you look at that nation on the map? How is it that all the surrounding

537
00:41:57,600 --> 00:42:02,980
nations that are three, four, five, six times bigger and would like to annihilate this little

538
00:42:03,220 --> 00:42:17,100
tiny piece of, they can't do it. They can't do it. That in itself should inspire faith in us. And

539
00:42:18,560 --> 00:42:21,180
Mary points this out here where it's it. He is how. He is.

540
00:42:21,200 --> 00:42:25,560
helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy.

541
00:42:27,160 --> 00:42:30,480
God's been merciful to Israel just like he's been merciful to you and me.

542
00:42:34,720 --> 00:42:39,960
It's the same God. It's the same mercy. He has the same passion for you and I.

543
00:42:43,780 --> 00:42:46,380
Why? I have no idea.

544
00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:52,340
And I think Mary was in that same place,

545
00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:56,160
absolutely overwhelmed with the mercy of God.

546
00:42:57,180 --> 00:43:01,420
But in reality, she was seeing the promises of God being fulfilled.

547
00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:08,840
As it says in verse 55, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his seed forever.

548
00:43:12,299 --> 00:43:16,400
The promise that he gave to Abraham is a promise that he gave to Abraham is a promise that.

549
00:43:16,420 --> 00:43:23,760
that you and I can claim as well. Why? Because it's just faith. Abraham walked by faith.

550
00:43:24,280 --> 00:43:29,080
Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Do you want righteousness in your

551
00:43:29,220 --> 00:43:35,060
life? Then you have to put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You have to walk by faith.

552
00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:39,000
Because without faith, it is impossible to please him.

553
00:43:43,080 --> 00:43:45,980
Deuteronomy.

554
00:43:48,080 --> 00:43:49,000
Chapter 5, verse 10.

555
00:43:51,420 --> 00:43:55,040
But showing mercy to thousands of those who love me.

556
00:43:56,800 --> 00:43:57,840
And keep my commandments.

557
00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:05,640
God kept his promises to Israel through the seed of Abraham as a savior that will come.

558
00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:08,940
He's going to come and he's going to save you.

559
00:44:09,320 --> 00:44:14,600
He's going to save you from your sin, the bondage of sin.

560
00:44:15,060 --> 00:44:19,220
He's going to save you from the penalty of sin that we all deserve.

561
00:44:23,420 --> 00:44:24,900
And he's going to offer you eternal life.

562
00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:34,440
Jesus is a type of Isaac in that he was the promised son.

563
00:44:36,140 --> 00:44:37,180
God kept his promise.

564
00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:44,360
And he's going to keep this word that Mary received in her heart.

565
00:44:46,100 --> 00:44:47,080
Now, we don't know.

566
00:44:47,500 --> 00:44:50,740
We don't know if Mary stayed there until John the Baptist was born.

567
00:44:50,900 --> 00:44:52,220
It doesn't appear so.

568
00:44:53,420 --> 00:44:54,900
She was getting back.

569
00:44:55,580 --> 00:44:56,340
You think about that.

570
00:44:56,740 --> 00:45:01,980
As you read through this, you realize, wow, John the Baptist and Jesus were only six months apart in age.

571
00:45:03,560 --> 00:45:06,120
Both of them left this earth in their 30s.

572
00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:09,340
what you would call the prime of life.

573
00:45:09,800 --> 00:45:11,520
I tell people my prime was 36.

574
00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:12,420
I was a late bloomer.

575
00:45:15,180 --> 00:45:24,380
But, folks, the bottom line is, it's not about this life.

576
00:45:25,460 --> 00:45:26,340
It's about the one to come.

577
00:45:27,760 --> 00:45:30,280
And in this life, it's a preparation process.

578
00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:31,160
Right?

579
00:45:31,940 --> 00:45:33,680
We're walking through this life.

580
00:45:34,200 --> 00:45:36,040
Our pilgrimage, the Bible calls it.

581
00:45:36,120 --> 00:45:40,780
our sojourn. And we're getting ready. We're getting ready for heaven.

582
00:45:44,040 --> 00:45:48,360
And God's going to give us all kinds of opportunities to do things like we see Mary.

583
00:45:48,700 --> 00:45:54,220
She gets to travel and she proclaims to Elizabeth and Zachariah, what God's doing in our life.

584
00:45:56,000 --> 00:46:05,060
That's all we got to do. I think it was St. Augustus that said, love God with all your heart.

585
00:46:05,720 --> 00:46:06,740
and do what you want.

586
00:46:07,960 --> 00:46:08,060
Right?

587
00:46:08,940 --> 00:46:10,800
Because when you love God with all your heart,

588
00:46:11,400 --> 00:46:13,040
I just about said the F word.

589
00:46:16,780 --> 00:46:18,900
When you love God with all your heart, right?

590
00:46:19,280 --> 00:46:20,560
He's going to direct your life.

591
00:46:21,480 --> 00:46:22,780
He's going to show you where to go.

592
00:46:23,280 --> 00:46:29,440
He is going to give you a future and the hope that he has for you.

593
00:46:30,380 --> 00:46:34,060
And that's where your soul is satisfied, not in the abundance of things.

594
00:46:34,360 --> 00:46:35,100
right?

595
00:46:36,900 --> 00:46:39,480
We know that Mary and Joseph were extremely poor,

596
00:46:39,680 --> 00:46:43,740
simply because of the offering that she brings there in Luke chapter 2.

597
00:46:45,120 --> 00:46:45,500
Birds.

598
00:46:46,220 --> 00:46:47,440
That's what she brought us an offering.

599
00:46:48,120 --> 00:46:49,180
Only poor people did that.

600
00:46:51,600 --> 00:46:52,840
But boy, she was rich in faith.

601
00:46:53,460 --> 00:46:53,620
Amen?

602
00:46:54,540 --> 00:46:55,660
May it so be of us.

603
00:46:55,880 --> 00:46:56,200
Let's pray.

604
00:46:56,660 --> 00:46:57,940
Father, thank you.

605
00:46:59,480 --> 00:47:00,520
Thank you for this morning.

606
00:47:04,640 --> 00:47:09,340
for this servant girl who is an incredible witness to us.

607
00:47:10,780 --> 00:47:15,180
Lord, I just pray for anyone here today who has not come to you by faith.

608
00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:21,840
Knowing they don't have all the answers, but they know they need something much bigger than

609
00:47:21,920 --> 00:47:22,320
themselves.

610
00:47:23,620 --> 00:47:25,520
And you tell us it's who it is.

611
00:47:27,720 --> 00:47:30,520
Lord, that you came in the likeness of sinful man.

612
00:47:30,680 --> 00:47:31,640
and yet without sin.

613
00:47:32,840 --> 00:47:38,040
And paid that sacrifice, marred more than any man on Calvich cross for each one of us.

614
00:47:41,180 --> 00:47:43,680
Lord, would you just minister to those hearts, Lord,

615
00:47:43,840 --> 00:47:47,920
and that they would confess with their mouth of Lord Jesus and believe in their heart

616
00:47:48,660 --> 00:47:51,000
that you rose from the dead.

617
00:47:52,160 --> 00:47:58,820
Lord, and that anyone who would put their faith in that incredible act of love,

618
00:47:59,660 --> 00:48:02,400
Lord, would have everlasting life, eternal life.

619
00:48:03,440 --> 00:48:03,820
It's a thing.

620
00:48:04,380 --> 00:48:05,780
All of us are looking for life.

621
00:48:05,960 --> 00:48:08,440
Lord, we just look forward in the wrong places so often.

622
00:48:09,420 --> 00:48:12,280
May we find ourselves this Christmas season looking for life.

623
00:48:13,180 --> 00:48:14,680
And none other than the life giver.

624
00:48:15,360 --> 00:48:17,400
The inventor of life.

625
00:48:18,340 --> 00:48:20,200
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

626
00:48:21,700 --> 00:48:23,420
So, Father, would you go with us this week?

627
00:48:23,620 --> 00:48:28,520
Help us to, Lord, as we focus on this advent of you coming,

628
00:48:29,460 --> 00:48:35,660
and Lord, knowing that it was just the beginning and that you're going to come again.

629
00:48:36,600 --> 00:48:37,640
Lord, may we get excited.

630
00:48:38,740 --> 00:48:42,340
And may we find ourselves walking by faith and not by sight.

631
00:48:43,480 --> 00:48:46,540
Lord, we pray for the peace of Israel and the peace of Jerusalem.

632
00:48:47,360 --> 00:48:50,600
And all this going on over there, Lord, we pray for our loved ones here.

633
00:48:51,580 --> 00:48:55,520
I think of all those who are sick and hurting right now, Lord, that you would just be with them

634
00:48:56,180 --> 00:48:58,600
and draw them close to yourself, Lord, that you would touch.

635
00:48:58,640 --> 00:49:00,520
and heal according to your will.

636
00:49:01,820 --> 00:49:06,540
And Lord, help us to be able to accept results, Lord, even the ones we don't understand.

637
00:49:07,640 --> 00:49:11,740
And so, Father, we just, we're overwhelmed by how great our God is.

638
00:49:11,980 --> 00:49:15,540
And truly our soul magnifies you in Jesus' name.

639
00:49:16,180 --> 00:49:16,360
Amen.