Christmas Sunday, Look Who's Really Talking

By the way, while you're doing that, for those that are new to us today, it's always a different experience for first-time people. This is a copy of a booklet that I wrote called, That's Not My Style. And it talks about worshiping in a way that's a little different or expressive than some people are used to. And it tells you why we do these things. It's not just something we saw on TV and decided we liked. Rather, it's something that's biblical, we believe, and in line with God's Word. So pick one of these up if you're new to these kinds of things. It'll really help bring some understanding. All right, Luke, Chapter 1. And let's read the verses that have been called Mary's Song. Most of us know it as the Magnificat. Let's read it together. Luke 1, Verse 46. And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm. He has scattered those who are proud and their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful. To Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers. Have you noticed that when someone is trying to communicate something very important to you, they normally repeat themselves? Call information, ask for a phone number. The wonderful, warm person on the end of the line says, 935-6800. If you wait long enough, she says it again. She repeats the number. You say, thank you. She never says thank you back. You notice that? I remember when Carol got pregnant. She said, honey, I'm pregnant. I said, what? She said, I'm pregnant. She repeated that information because it needed to sink in a bit. The IRS calling, you owe $3,000. How much? $3,000. Information that's important is normally repeated so as to be sure that it gets through. You know, communication is not just speaking. It's also hearing. Well, last week I began by sharing that I believe the Lord had done something quite unusual for us, especially this Christmas season, but that he'd given a specific word for this church. And I kind of almost apologized to our visitors, and I probably didn't need to do that, but I wanted to make it very clear that this was a word from the Lord for this day in our church, for this time in our lives together, and it had to do with the person, the principal character of Mary. Now, a whole lot of you made sure that I understood that we come from very different backgrounds concerning Mary. And that was fine, and I affirmed that last week because Mary is not just an ordinary person. She's a very special person. She's not divine, but very special, and we all need to learn from her. And so you can imagine, as I got with the Lord this week, and I said, well, thanks for that message, Lord. I'm glad I was able to do that one. Now, it's Christmas. Let's have a message that's just kind of general out there. And the Lord impressed my heart in a very clear way and said to me, say it again. Lord, you don't understand. I don't work that way. I don't repeat sermons. The Lord said, who do you work for anyhow, you know? But basically, with your permission, what I believe I'm to do today is to underscore once again the essence of what the Lord has spoken to us as a church and to maybe fill in a bit as to how you might respond in a way that will enable you to see fruit. How many of you don't want to just hear sermons? I don't need another sermon. I don't need to give another sermon. You don't need to hear another sermon. This is the most sermonized culture in the face of the earth. But how many know that a word from God I can hear? I want to hear. I want to know what the Lord is saying to my life. And I pray today that we'll be able to hear that. Now, you're saying we have to listen to another whole message about Mary. By this time, you figure maybe we're going to have a Merry Christmas. We stretched that a bit, didn't we? Well, anyhow, that's what this is about. It's having a Merry Christmas. All right. But I want to talk to you today about this whole matter of the Lord confirming His word among us and how we receive it. And can I be very blunt and tell you that as I prepared the sermon of last week, the one thing that I felt I was lacking was some kind of indication that this message was alive today and that you could know it because in the Bible it says in verse 36 of chapter 1 that when the angel talked to Mary the first time, she didn't really buy it either, so the angel came back again and said it. So I don't feel too bad. But then he said, And Mary, by the way, your relative Elizabeth, she has a child too. And that's a sign for you, Mary. And I want to say very bluntly, I believe that the Lord has given to us as a church a sign that His life is coming forth from us by confirming to us this piece of property when we least expect it. And what that's to mean to you is that just as the Lord is confirming our corporate destiny, He's also going to confirm your personal destiny. It's very important that you see it's not just us out there. You see, we have a bit of a thing about Christmas, folks. It's easy for us to say, Well, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. I believe God has a plan for the world, you say, but God also has a plan for you in the world. Notice with me, if you still have your Bibles open. You know, the angel spoke to Mary and said, Mary, this Son Jesus that you're going to bear, He's going to be great. He's going to be called the Son of the Most High, and He's going to save the world from their sins. But look at verse 49. Mary says, For the Mighty One has done great things for me. Christmas just isn't great because it blesses the world. Christmas is great because it touches me, you, individual ones of us. Very important. Folks, there's a world of difference between Christ coming for the world at Christmas and Christ coming to the world through you at Christmastime. How many people here, don't put your hand up, but you know you're walking into situations after today, going to reunions, going to be with your family, having parties, whatever, where you know that you are the only light that's going into that place. You're the only one there that knows Christ in a personal way. You're the only one that's bearing the life of God. Or one of the only ones. Well, Christmas has to mean that God wants to use you to be part of the answer to the world. He wants to use you to be part of the balm that heals the wounds. Part of the truth that answers to the lie. Part of the light that answers to the darkness. Part of the grace that answers to the legalism and judgment. God wants to use you. And I believe this world needs it like never before. You know, we get more requests for help, more phone calls for counseling, more people knocking on our door and calling us on the phone saying, Can't you help us? We're going under. We're depressed. We get more of those now than any other time of the year. And we've had more this year than any year I know of in the ten, well, nine now that we've been here. God wants to use us all, folks. Not just a few. All of us to carry the life of Christ. Now, if you weren't here last week, let me recap what we said. And if you want to get the tape, they are available. He said five things to us. And I know for a fact that many of you still haven't received this. Because I've had conversations. People don't even believe yet. The first thing the angel said to Mary was, You are highly favored. Do you believe that? I mean, do you believe that when God looks down, He sees you and you and you and says, You're special. The word favored is a word for grace. It means unmerited. Hey, God knows what you were like. And He says, I love you anyhow. Then He said to Mary, The Lord is with you. And we talked about His presence with us is the greatest gift God could give. Even as Scott led us when we began today. His presence with us. Then He said, The Holy Spirit has come upon you. And the angel then went on to say to Mary, And the power of the Most High will come over you and overshadow you so that Number five, Nothing will be impossible with you. Let's all say it. Nothing is impossible. That was the message of Mary. That was the message of the angel to her. And folks, it's a word for your heart to meditate on. You're highly favored. If I have to say it ten times to get it through, I'm going to. The Holy Spirit has come upon you. The power of the Most High is overshadowed. The Lord is with you and nothing is impossible with God. That's the message. But how do we receive it? How do we make it life? How do we make it life? I want to share with you what I think the secret is to taking these messages and letting them become life to us. And it's a word that isn't all that easy to get a hold of. This is a mature message. The word that I see, the quality that God looks for in His choice servants is vulnerability. Vulnerability. What does it mean to be a vulnerable person? You know, in our culture, it's sort of a hip thing if you're part of the psychological movement of the day or relational movement of the day. It's just to say we're vulnerable. We kind of open ourselves up, you know, and share our guts and those kinds of things. But that's not really what the word means. I mean, to be vulnerable in the dictionary definition is a word that means to be relatively exposed, open to attack, subject to risk. Edward Srebrenica was very vulnerable this week, wasn't he? And he opened himself up to misunderstanding. You know what it's like if you have a... you're part of a defensive unit in a military contingent. It can mean life and death if you're vulnerable on a flank and those kinds of things. To be vulnerable means that you're open to risk. You're subject to being hurt easily. Now, for some reason, I don't know why, God seems to choose to use His people who are vulnerable, who are willing to risk a little bit. And I know that this isn't something that gets through to us very easily. We are taught by the culture to be protective. Most of us think that vulnerability is a weakness. God seems to think differently about it. And the best example that I know is His own son. If you were God, let me ask you, would you reveal yourself as a baby? I mean, if you were God and you wanted to show who you were, doesn't it make sense to show yourself? I mean, think of some of the ways that man has purportedly seen God. This summer I read about in southern England, huge grain fields had had these great giant designs cut out of them. Did you see those articles? And no one could figure out how. I mean, hundreds of feet in diameter, huge things. They couldn't duplicate it with tractors or any other kinds of equipment. And the only explanation was that the gods were trying to express themselves. Maybe you read 2001 and there's another theory, that God left His mark on the moon. And once we get there, then we find out there's a whole other realm coming. Or chariots of the gods. You know, if you were God, why don't you create these giant obelisks in every country? 5,000 feet high. Go up into the clouds. You can't even see the top of them. And when you lay your hand on them, they talk to you. Hi, Jim. It's God. I mean, why not make it big? You know, God could just part the clouds tonight and in the stars just put up, Hi, gang. It's me up here. He could move the stars around up there. Really, if you're God, why not make it so clear that you're the biggest thing going? Or at least the most mysterious thing. A few months ago, or maybe it's been as many as six or eight months ago, over here in Ambridge, it was purported that a particular little icon had tears coming down. That the eye had blinked and tears had come down. I guess it was on a crucifix. That's what it was. And, you know, people flocked to this little church. Thousands came, waited outside to get in to see a glimpse of the crucifix with a tear coming down. Right here in America I'm talking about now. Not some weird third world country. No, right here, people looking for some sign. Some either powerful thing or some mysterious thing. Why did God choose the vulnerability of a little baby instead of something powerful and mysterious? I'll tell you why. Because God knows, and knew then and knows now, what man needs is not a display of power and mystery. What man needs to see is that the source of real life is found in humble, vulnerable love. The world has enough power to just about destroy itself. It doesn't have enough love. And so God wrapped infinity in swaddling clothes and the voice of eternity. And the little babies cried. And He said, here's how I'm going to reveal myself. You see, today we still stumble over it, don't we? But that's God. That's the way God is. God chooses, prefers vulnerability to strength. That's why He chose Mary. Folks, Mary was no hot dog, alright? Nobody special. Ever wonder why God chose Mary? Wasn't that she was necessarily the best looking? We already established last week that she was from an ordinary town, the whole bit. God chose Mary because she was willing to be vulnerable. Willing to be exposed to the rejection. And I believe she suffered a lot. It wasn't even convenient for her. You know, Mary was about to get married. We talked about that, didn't we? How many of you would be willing to postpone your marriage plans? Marriages I've been part of, those things are locked in concrete, baby. I could see her saying to the angel, Hey, look, I'm getting married in six months. What's this about? I'm not getting personal now, okay? But you know what I'm saying. I mean, it cost her something to obey God. It cost her something to be vulnerable. Why would God risk His whole plan on a little baby and a vulnerable little virgin girl from Galilee? Well, that's the second point. The first one is the vow. The second one is, it's the victory of vulnerability. It's because God knew that nothing in heaven or on earth could stop His plan from being fulfilled. He knew that no matter how oppressed this little child was, no matter how deprived, no matter how covered all around by little animals and disease-type things, no matter how much ridicule His mother would come under, that the purposes of God would come to pass through that little child. And my dear one, listen to me please. When you hear God's Word to you and you obey it, nothing in heaven or on earth will be able to stop you from fulfilling God's plan in your life. Not even your own frailty or vulnerability. In fact, the Bible teaches us that God will take our weakness and make it strength. And I don't understand that. That God will take the humble and make them great. And He wants to do that with you. You see, the point of this is not just theology. It's you. It's your life. It's that the Word is in you. Remember we said that the Lord is bringing a Word in you. That Christ's life is expanding in you. And as you make yourself vulnerable, as you risk doing what He tells you to do, listen, maybe you're a senior partner in an office somewhere. And you feel vulnerable because you think that the people there really know you and you really couldn't have an impact. Maybe you're a parent and you know you've blown it as a parent and you don't think you can really lead your kids because they don't really respect you. Maybe you're in a blended family where there's already conflict. Maybe you're feeling totally inadequate in a new relationship that you have. Maybe your body is telling you that you're losing a battle. It doesn't matter. The more vulnerable you are, the more God is able to use you as He trusts you. Thursday night I was privileged to go to CTV and share just a bit about Operation Care. And on my way out after the interview, I crossed in the hallway with... And I share this name, not trying to be a name dropper because it's no big deal, but our newly elected congressman, Rick Santorum, was going on for an interview. And so we had a chance to talk for several minutes. And I know that the congressman would want me to share this with you. He told me about some of the things he was anticipating. He said this, Please pray, you and your congregation for me, particularly if we have to face the question of war. He said, because I don't know what to do. And I told him, I said, you know, in exposing yourself and saying, hey, I'm not the know-it-all, new, hot-shot congressman. In saying I need wisdom, I said, God's going to give you wisdom. You're going to know from God what He wants you to know about that important and difficult decision. When lives are at stake, it's a heavy responsibility. The point is, you may not be a congressman. You may not be a big shot of any kind. But where you are, God wants to use you. He has told us clearly, the life of Christ is being released in all of us in a new way. He's saying to us, expect Me. Remember, I'm pregnant with God. I'm expecting God to come forth for me and to be vulnerable enough to risk a little bit. Risk saying the words at your family reunion. Risk extending that little bit. Or to the guy up above you in the office that you think would laugh in your face. Risk what God is telling you to do. And you can trust Him. His purposes in your life will not be thwarted. Think of this. Maybe it will help you. When you fear just a little bit that Satan knows how to make a fool of you, to crush you, to weigh you down. Think of this. Satan inspired Herod, King Herod, who was in rulership at the time. He so feared that he wouldn't be worshipped, that this new Messiah would come and take away his authority, that he had all the children under age two murdered. What a terrible, heinous thing. And you say, well, you see, that's what's going to happen. If I get out there, somehow some evil's going to happen to me or someone's going to destroy me. And I want to remind you of something. God saw what was going to happen. And He sent an angel and told Joseph and Mary to leave one place and go to another and then directed them out to Egypt and then on back to Nazareth and so on. And I want you to know that the sword of Herod never destroyed the Son of God. And I want you to know that the sword of Satan will never destroy the purposes of God in a child of God who is open and vulnerable to listen to God and do what He says. You don't need to fear it. The only thing you need to fear is disobedience. I wonder what would happen in this congregation if all of us just determined that we take a vow of vulnerability. Lord, I'm your servant. Do to me as you've said. We trust in the victory of vulnerability. What a powerful thing would happen. I received a letter this week. This is from a lady who's a nurse in our congregation. And I guess it's fair to say that she has a fair share of problems. But she says this, On my second visit that night, I was amazed and overjoyed as to how the Lord used me to minister to Margaret. She asked me if I thought she was a freak. Earlier in the letter she had described how Margaret had a serious burn all down the side of her body from hot liquid. She further wanted to know if she was a bother to me and could I help get her comfortable. Yeah, I immediately responded. I told her how Jesus loved her no matter how many scars she had. Then I told her about how we are made in His image and likeness. She not only had a two mile smile that began from here to here, but then she took my hand and clutched it tightly. She told me how weak and weary and very sad she's been. I continue to tell her that Jesus knew her heart and that as we were together His healing touch was there. We prayed and after we finished she told me how very kind I was and that she felt that just with these few minutes together she was very much loved. There's a person that doesn't have any credential. Nobody ordained her. She just went out and was vulnerable and risked loving someone with the life of God in her. You see when we do those things people are changed. And we'll do the third thing which is to raise a voice of vulnerability and that's simply the song of praise. A people who receive the word of the Lord and act on it will invariably find their lives full of the voice of praise, the voice of vulnerability. I won't take much time with this. I just want you to look at it though and see that Mary says in no uncertain terms that her soul was magnifying God as she realized that she'd been pleasing to Him. You see, Mary realized that something supernatural was happening in her life. She went on to say that the Mighty One has done great things for me and holy is His name. You see, if I wanted to take time today I could do a whole message on those few verses because Mary declares His worship. Mary declares her wonderment at God's goodness. Mary declares His praise and then she declares in the last verse the promise of God. Mary says, Lord, You're going to fulfill Your promise to me. You're going to make it happen because of Your strength. And I want to end this message by simply saying this. You may be here today and you say, you know, I'm not the best dad in the world. I'm not the most gifted person in my department. I may not be the most beautiful woman in my class. I may not be the best kid in the neighborhood. I may not be the best spouse. But God, I want Your life to come for me so much. I want to change people. Because of Christ flowing through me. I want to bring Christmas to someone else through me. Not just this time of year, but all year long. And so Lord, I'll be vulnerable enough to risk. I'll admit my weakness and tell You, Lord, even though I'm not what I need to be, even though I'm not worthy of it, I trust You in me to see it happen. And it's to that kind of person that God shows Himself to be a great, victorious provider, a great, victorious director, and a God who never, ever fails them. And I want to say today, if you're the kind of person that's looking for that to happen in your life, you're going to have a merry Christmas. And you're going to touch a lot of people. By God's life in you. Let's stand for prayer, shall we? Lord, we bring our inadequacies and our weaknesses. We bring our struggles and our pains and we lay them down before You now. And we welcome Your presence in our lives. In the shadow of Your wings, My voice with gladness sings To You alone, Lord, by my praise In the shadow of Your wings And my lips shall sing Your praise All my hands to You I raise For Your kindness follows me always In the shadow of Your wings Let's all sing it, and my lips. And my lips shall sing Your praise All my hands to You I raise For Your kindness follows me always In the shadow of Your wings Would you bow your head and just keep your hands open in front of you, if you would. There's something very important about this symbolism today. Lord, we've opened our hearts and many of us now even our hands before You. Lord, we assume the posture of vulnerability. Our hearts are open, God, right now. Now, I pray, Jesus, that the miracle of life would happen, that Christ would be birthed anew, that fresh hope, fresh confidence, fresh healing would flow in Christ. Lord, I present myself as a vulnerable servant now, and each of these do as well, to be used by You, to fulfill Your destiny for us, Lord, and Your purpose. Young and old, touch us every day.