1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,600 Take your Bibles turn to the Gospel of Luke chapter 1. 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:06,200 Luke chapter 1. It's page 908. 3 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:10,000 If you're using one of the Bibles in the seat around you as 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,960 you're opening up to Luke 1, I have the privilege of welcoming 5 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:14,920 another new member to our church family. 6 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:18,240 So would you join me in welcoming Elsa Dublik in the 7 00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:25,440 membership here at Forward? And if you call forward your 8 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:28,480 church home, but you're not yet a member, I want to encourage 9 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:32,200 you to take that step, joining us in in this covenant that we 10 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,400 have together to love each other and to live on this mission that 11 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:37,640 God's called us to together. You can just text the word 12 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:41,280 member to our text line and that'll get the process started 13 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:44,280 for you. Many of you have grown up in 14 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,520 church your whole life or since you were a young child. 15 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:52,880 And so, you know some songs that you learned as a kid in church. 16 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:54,560 And so you're going to have to help me. 17 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:56,600 Otherwise we're singing a solo right now. 18 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:00,000 So we're going to sing a song. I'm going to start it. 19 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:01,840 I want to make sure. I want to see if you remember 20 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:05,120 this song for those of you who didn't grow up in church. 21 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:06,840 Just bear with the rest of us for a second. 22 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:07,880 OK? All right. 23 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:22,240 So I've got the where where. Where? 24 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,840 Wow, very good. All right. 25 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,640 Then there was another one that was, I'm not going to sing it, 26 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:37,520 but there was like, I've got peace like a river, love like an 27 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:43,800 ocean, joy like a fountain in my soul, in my soul. 28 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:47,200 Forgot about that part, right. For those of you who are new to 29 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:49,680 church, I'm sorry we're not normally this weird. 30 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:58,440 I know that thinking about those songs brings all kinds of things 31 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:01,120 to our minds. There's literally hundreds of 32 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:04,360 things that can bring you joy in life, things that make you 33 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:08,199 happy. But I also know that for a lot 34 00:02:08,199 --> 00:02:12,120 of us, as we go through life, life has a way of sucking the 35 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:17,080 joy out of us. If you're like most Canadians, 36 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,760 you're actually losing your sense of happiness. 10 years 37 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:24,920 ago, Canada was considered the 5th happiest country in the 38 00:02:24,920 --> 00:02:29,240 world. Today we are ranked as the 18th 39 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:34,840 happiest country in the world. If you want to be happy, move to 40 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,720 Norway. That is the apparently the 41 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:39,920 happiest place in the world is Norway. 42 00:02:39,920 --> 00:02:42,240 I don't know why, but that's the way it is. 43 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:47,240 I deep down inside every single human being, I, I know we all 44 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:49,560 just want to be happy. We want joy. 45 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:52,280 Every day. We're making decisions with our 46 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,960 lives that is based on the idea of how can I find happiness? 47 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:57,760 What's going to make me happy today? 48 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:00,960 What's going to bring that joy into my life? 49 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:06,320 It's something we long for in life, and that's what Advent is 50 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,520 all about. Advent is about this sense of 51 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,760 longing for something. So this week as we continue 52 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:17,760 through our Advent series, we're going to look at the longing for 53 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:21,760 joy that we all have as humans by exploring the story of a 54 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:26,440 young woman who had just had her entire world turned upside down, 55 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:32,000 and yet somehow she is incredibly happy and filled with 56 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,960 joy. So look at verse 46 of Luke 57 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:42,800 chapter 1. And Mary said, my soul magnifies 58 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:48,480 the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. 59 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:52,760 I want you to put yourself in Mary's shoes just for the next 60 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:55,960 couple of minutes. You're a young teenage girl. 61 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:59,640 You're betrothed to be married to a guy by the name of Joseph. 62 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,800 And betrothal is like engagement, but more serious 63 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:04,760 than engagement. It actually comes with some 64 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:09,640 legal binding agreement that you make to get married to this man. 65 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:13,720 And then one day out of nowhere, an Angel shows up and says to 66 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:18,760 you, fear not, which immediately would make you what? 67 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,200 Be afraid because an Angel just showed up and said, don't be 68 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:27,360 afraid. And then the Angel says that not 69 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:32,040 only should you not be afraid, but you're going to have a baby. 70 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:37,320 And you're thinking to yourself, but I haven't been intimate with 71 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:40,440 anyone yet. How am I going to have a baby? 72 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:43,440 And the Angel says it's going to be the Holy Spirit's baby. 73 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,880 And on top of all that, not only are you going to carry a baby, 74 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:51,960 but the the baby is going to be the Messiah that everybody's 75 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:56,800 been waiting for. Now, if you have ever been a 76 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:00,360 mom, a first time mom, you remember all the pressures that 77 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:04,240 you felt bringing a child into the world and raising a child. 78 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:09,480 Those pressures don't compare at all to being told, hey, you're 79 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:11,680 going to be a first time mom who's also raising the son of 80 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:18,000 God. Life just got really complicated 81 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:22,680 for Mary. She's, she's dealing with a 82 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:25,880 pregnancy outside of marriage, which is going to carry this 83 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:29,120 incredible social risk. She could be rejected by 84 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:31,920 everyone. How in the world is she going to 85 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:34,240 explain this to her family? How is she going to explain this 86 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:38,360 to Joseph of all people? She could have faced public 87 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:42,640 punishment because she was having a child outside of 88 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:46,240 marriage. Her present and her future are 89 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:51,920 incredibly uncertain. And here she comes in verse 46 90 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,440 and 47, these verses we just read, and she comes across as 91 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:57,120 the happiest person that you've ever met. 92 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:01,400 She's rejoicing. She says her heart is 93 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:04,600 overflowing with joy in this moment. 94 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:09,360 Now, all of us have met those people that we think you are 95 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:14,280 annoyingly happy. And sometimes it seems like no 96 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:16,520 matter what's going on in their life, they're just happy all the 97 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,080 time. And I think that some of us 98 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:20,960 would have felt this way about Mary. 99 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:24,680 She she would have come across as being a little bit annoyingly 100 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:27,960 happy. That's how overflowingly happy 101 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:31,640 she is. But if we're honest, there's 102 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,000 also a part of us that's a little envious of people who are 103 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:38,800 happy all the time because deep down side, all of us want that 104 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:41,960 same kind of joy. Every single person I've ever 105 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:47,320 known wants to be happy. And the question we all ask and 106 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:49,680 wrestle with day in and day out, whether we're thinking about it 107 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:53,200 consciously or subconsciously, is where do I find that kind of 108 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,880 joy? Where do I find that kind of 109 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:59,560 happiness? The story of Mary teaches us 110 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:04,960 that joy is the fruit of what you trust to bring you life. 111 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:11,760 I think about the things that make you happy besides the Blue 112 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:13,960 Jays. For me, one of the things that 113 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:17,040 makes me so happy is experiencing little kids running 114 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:19,160 around our house again. One and two year old kids. 115 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:22,360 There's just something about sitting on the floor watching a 116 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:26,200 toddler come running at me to give me a big hug and kind of 117 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,040 tackle me to the ground. It's the most amazing thing. 118 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:31,240 And listen to them giggle as they do it. 119 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:34,200 Now I might throw my back out sometimes and not be able to get 120 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:37,600 back up, but it's amazingly fun when they do that. 121 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:39,800 What are the things that make you happy? 122 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:46,320 The truth is, the strength of your joy will be directly 123 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:49,320 connected to the strength of what you're placing your trust 124 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:53,160 in. We've all experienced this. 125 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:57,000 When people rely on things that are temporary to make them 126 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,120 happy, their joy's like a roller coaster. 127 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:01,840 You're only as happy as life is good. 128 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:05,960 When life gets rough, we lose our joy. 129 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:09,560 Like if you're a sports fan, when are you the happiest? 130 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:13,040 When your team's doing well. Your joy disappears. 131 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:15,240 When your team can't score any more runs in the bottom of the 132 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:16,720 ninth inning. This game seven of the World 133 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:18,960 Series, I'm not bitter. I'm just getting it out. 134 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:26,680 When you are at work or you are at home, we're all the happiest. 135 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:30,160 When things are going well, when your relationships with family 136 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:31,920 are in a good spot, you're happy. 137 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:35,679 When you've had a good productive day at work and 138 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:38,360 things are going well at work, you're happy about it. 139 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:43,840 But as soon as someone starts to let us down, as soon as somebody 140 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,240 does something that makes life more difficult other at work or 141 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,080 otherwise, you're going, man, my joy is just gone. 142 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:55,160 I'm I'm not happy anymore. And so we pursue more money, 143 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:58,160 thinking money can make us happy and money can buy you some 144 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,080 things that you'll feel happy in a moment, but it's only going to 145 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,880 take you so far. If you go back to verse 44 and 146 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:09,160 45, in Luke 1, Mary's visiting her cousin Elizabeth. 147 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:15,000 Elizabeth is also pregnant, and she hears Mary greeting her off 148 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:18,000 of the distance. And as Elizabeth hears Mary 149 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:22,520 greeting her in the distance, her own baby leaps for joy 150 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:25,680 inside of her, which is just amazing when you think about it. 151 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:29,480 In a world that wants to say a baby isn't a baby until they're 152 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,080 born. I got to tell you something. 153 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:35,520 A baby leaping for joy inside their mother's womb, that's a 154 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:41,800 human life right there. It's amazing that joy can start 155 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:46,880 even in the womb for a baby. And Elizabeth says, Mary, you're 156 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:51,000 blessed. Happy is the one who's believed 157 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:54,160 the Lord. And Mary's response is, I 158 00:09:54,160 --> 00:10:00,040 rejoice in God my Savior. Her joy is not manufactured. 159 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:03,760 She's not the greeter at your local store who's just putting 160 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:05,480 on a happy face because she has to. 161 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:10,000 She's genuinely filled with joy. Why? 162 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:16,320 Because she's put her hope in God and she's at complete peace 163 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:21,560 that God's in control. If you're struggling today to 164 00:10:21,560 --> 00:10:24,800 find joy in your life, I want you to think about something, 165 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:29,600 whatever it is that you wish would happen so that you could 166 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:33,920 be happier. That is simply an indicator of 167 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:39,920 what you are placing your hope in to bring you joy. 168 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:47,080 But Mary's response teaches us that joy grows best when God is 169 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:51,920 magnified the most. See, every single one of us 170 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:56,440 magnifies someone or something all the time. 171 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:01,680 What what you talk about and what you think about and what 172 00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:04,760 you trust in, that's what you are magnifying. 173 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:09,640 You're, you're lifting up something in your mind and in 174 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:11,600 your words and your conversations. 175 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:14,400 You're magnifying that person or that thing. 176 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:19,080 And when you're feeling good about life, what are the things 177 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:22,760 that you think and talk about? That's what you're magnifying in 178 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:25,440 your life. And when you're not feeling good 179 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:28,720 about life, what are the things that you're focused on that 180 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:32,120 you're lifting up and magnifying and talking about? 181 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:34,480 Like when life is not going good? 182 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:37,520 If if you're like me, you're saying things like, well, if I 183 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:41,480 just had and you just fill in the blank, I'd be happy. 184 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:48,160 Or if that other person would just do this, I'd be happy. 185 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:53,520 And when all else fails, I'll just work harder to try to 186 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:55,320 figure out how to make myself happy. 187 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:59,080 And so you focus all of your attention, your energy on 188 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:02,560 strategizing and planning on how you're going to make yourself 189 00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:06,240 happy. And I'm not saying that you 190 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,880 shouldn't talk about your desires or the good or the hard 191 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:14,000 things in life. But what I am saying is that 192 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:18,760 what you magnify the most, what you talk about and focus on the 193 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:22,560 most, what you trust in the most, that's going to influence 194 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:25,360 and shape your level of happiness and joy. 195 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:31,640 In all the chaos that Mary's experiencing here and all the 196 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:37,080 uncertainties for her own life, she makes a choice to magnify 197 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,680 God. She she doesn't focus on 198 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:43,520 anything temporary that could have made her life a little bit 199 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,240 easier. She magnifies the eternal God 200 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:52,000 that she believes is in control of all things and has her good 201 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:56,520 at heart. Now I know you hear somebody say 202 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:59,520 things like magnify God. We sing songs about magnifying 203 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:03,640 God, but we don't even know what that practically looks like in 204 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:07,360 our lives. You can grow up in church your 205 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:10,600 entire life and have heard the phrase go and magnify God. 206 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:14,040 What does that really mean and look like day-to-day? 207 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:17,400 And so for the rest of this message, I want to unpack how 208 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:22,080 Mary magnify God over her circumstances and see how that 209 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:24,880 can help strengthen joy in our own lives. 210 00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:28,680 The first thing that I want you to see is that God is magnified 211 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:32,880 when you celebrate his favor in your life. 212 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:41,360 Look at verse 48 and 49. Because He has looked with favor 213 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:43,160 on the humble condition of His servants. 214 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:46,280 Surely from now on all generations will call me 215 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:50,120 blessed, because the mighty One has done great things for me, 216 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:57,400 and His name is holy. Mary enters into what is often 217 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:01,720 called the Magnificat here. The Magnificat is a beautiful 218 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:07,080 and powerful song or poem that she is singing and declaring 219 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:10,600 that's coming from her heart to magnify God. 220 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:15,160 You know, when we think about our own lives as humans and we 221 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:17,120 ask ourselves what is it that makes us happy? 222 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:22,280 If you are like most people, the thing that makes you happiest 223 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:23,920 are the relationships in your life. 224 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:28,920 Harvard did a study recently and said that it's not money, it's 225 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:32,640 not knowledge, it's not living out your dreams, it's not your 226 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:36,320 social status or your health or your sex life that makes people 227 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:38,920 the happiest. It's when our relationships are 228 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:42,440 in a good spot. Relationships at home, with our 229 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:44,360 friends, with the people we work with. 230 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,480 When those relationships are in a good place, we just feel 231 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:53,560 satisfied and filled with joy. I want you to think about 232 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:57,080 something. We love and we find joy in 233 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:00,560 relationships. And the reason why we find joy 234 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:04,360 in relationships is because you and I have been created by a God 235 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:08,440 who made us for a relationship. And the joy that you find in 236 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:14,800 relationship with other people is meant to be a taste to give 237 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:17,800 you a sense that there is actually a greater relationship 238 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:21,680 that you get to have. It's meant to give you a little 239 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:26,520 taste that you get to have a relationship with God Himself. 240 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:32,680 When you are adopted by God to be His child, you get to be in a 241 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:34,600 relationship with the Almighty God. 242 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:38,120 There is no greater relationship you can possibly have. 243 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:42,840 That's the favor of God on your life. 244 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:46,520 If you're here today and you don't know what I'm talking 245 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:51,040 about, I want to invite you to consider knowing the same Savior 246 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:55,160 that Mary knew. God knows your search for 247 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:59,560 happiness, but He also knows that there's only one place you 248 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:07,320 can go to have that search, that longing for joy, satisfied He. 249 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:12,960 He wants you to know His favor and His grace in your life, that 250 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:16,920 there is nothing you can ever do to make God love you more. 251 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:21,240 There's nothing you can do to earn favor with Him because He's 252 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:25,080 done it all. He wants you to receive His gift 253 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:29,120 of salvation from the sin of your life and all that this 254 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:33,280 world has to offer, and trying to satisfy that desire for joy, 255 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,200 He wants you to know Him so that you can know the only joy that 256 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:40,480 lasts. The Bible says that Mary 257 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:47,000 believed what the Lord had spoken to her and salvation is 258 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:51,960 available for you by believing God with all of your heart and 259 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:54,160 receiving the salvation that He came to give you. 260 00:16:55,680 --> 00:17:00,040 I think one of the reasons why we sometimes struggle to find 261 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,200 joy even for those of us who are Christians is because we have 262 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:09,599 too low a view of God. Mary starts off this song by 263 00:17:09,599 --> 00:17:14,319 declaring like you are the Almighty God. 264 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:17,160 There is. You are holy. 265 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:22,920 There is nobody like you. You are unique. 266 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:28,400 Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts. 267 00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:32,480 And who am I as Mary? I'm I'm a nobody. 268 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:36,280 I'm a young girl living in a village in the middle of 269 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:40,680 nowhere. And for some reason you have 270 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:45,800 chosen me for this moment. You've shown your favor to me. 271 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:50,640 You've chosen me to be part of unfolding your story in this 272 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:54,160 world. Sure, Mary's life was 273 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:59,040 complicated, but she says for all of human history, people are 274 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:04,600 going to call me blessed. I can't get over how kind God 275 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:08,960 has been to me. I want you to know this. 276 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:14,520 God shows His favor to save people, but when He saves you, 277 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:18,040 He also shows His favor by making you part of the story 278 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:21,600 that He is unfolding in human history, just like He did for 279 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:24,400 Mary. See, it's not only Mary who gets 280 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:28,720 to be part of the big story, you and I, we get to be part of it 281 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:31,760 as well. Ephesians chapter 2 says that we 282 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:37,880 are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that 283 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:43,400 you are saved by God and he brings you into this grand story 284 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:47,360 that he is writing for all of human history to accomplish his 285 00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:49,600 redemptive purposes in this world. 286 00:18:52,040 --> 00:19:01,440 You little you sitting here in Cambridge, ON, of all the 287 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:04,760 billions of people who've ever walked the face of the earth, 288 00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:15,480 God chose you and you and you and you and you. 289 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:22,480 He chose you to save you and to make you part of his redemptive 290 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:25,160 purposes, to show his favor to you. 291 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,320 Like for some of us, the story of God's grace has become so 292 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:36,000 normalized that we just like it bypasses our thinking all 293 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:40,520 together. For somehow, somehow we act like 294 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:42,960 we deserve God's grace in our life. 295 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:49,280 But when you see God properly for who He is and who you are, 296 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:53,120 you can't help but be filled with joy, because the Sovereign 297 00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:56,880 Almighty God has shown His favor to you. 298 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:03,800 Mary's response to this reality that she's experiencing, she 299 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:07,240 says her spirit rejoices in God, her Savior. 300 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:11,400 It's a tangible thing. It's overflowing out of her. 301 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:18,560 Now, I get that part of us wants to be in awe of the majesty of 302 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:22,240 God and be reflective in our worship around that. 303 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:27,960 But Mary teaches us that God's grace and favor in our life was 304 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:30,680 never meant to be something that leads Christians to become more 305 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:35,520 somber. Church should never feel like a 306 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:41,040 funeral service. It leads Mary to rejoice because 307 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:43,000 she's experienced this grace of God. 308 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:47,160 It's deep down inside and overflowing out of her. 309 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:51,280 It's good for people who've experienced the favor of God to 310 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:54,560 celebrate and get excited that they've experienced the grace in 311 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:58,880 favor of God. Some of you need to try truly 312 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,560 celebrating God's gift of grace in your life. 313 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:04,040 It might make you a happier person. 314 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,760 The second thing Mary teaches us is that God is magnified when 315 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:12,160 you reflect on the mercies that He's shown for generations. 316 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:16,840 Look at verse 50. She says His mercy is from 317 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:21,320 generation to generation on those who fear Him. 318 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:26,840 Mary would have known the Old Testament stories and prophecies 319 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:29,280 of what would need to happen for the Messiah to be born. 320 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:34,920 Somehow, for dozens of generations, over two dozen 321 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:40,160 generations, God orchestrates a whole series of events to bring 322 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:44,680 things to the point where would be Mary, who would carry the Son 323 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:49,960 of God into the world. That is remarkable mercy. 324 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,600 Think about all the ways that God would have had to show up in 325 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:57,840 generation after generation after generation, and little 326 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:02,080 ways and big ways to have it all culminate in this moment where 327 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:04,560 Mary is now going to have this child. 328 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,160 All the prophecies that had to be fulfilled to come to this 329 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:14,840 moment in time. When life gets hard, the natural 330 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:19,080 response that most of us have is to focus on the moment of today. 331 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:23,320 How am I going to fix this? Is this ever going to change and 332 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:27,080 get any better? But what we lose sight of is how 333 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:32,080 God has constantly shown His mercies through generation after 334 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:34,440 generation after generation in the past. 335 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:39,040 And if God has shown His mercies from generation after generation 336 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,120 after generation, why is he suddenly going to stop now? 337 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:46,360 He's not. He's the same God yesterday, 338 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:53,000 today, and forever, like you here in this room today. 339 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,200 For some of you, if you just think back to the story of your 340 00:22:56,200 --> 00:23:01,360 own family or your own life, for some of you, it's crazy to even 341 00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:03,040 imagine that you'd be sitting here today. 342 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:08,920 You've got stories of brokenness in your family. 343 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,040 You've got stories in your own life of brokenness. 344 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:17,920 Maybe at one point in your life you were just mad at God and 345 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,680 wanted nothing to do with them. And yet here you are. 346 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:24,400 It's the mercy of God in your life. 347 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:30,720 Some of you've gone through terrible things through 348 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:33,240 generations of your family, and you're still standing. 349 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:35,840 It's the mercy of God in your life. 350 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:41,280 For some of you, you can look back at generations of your own 351 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:45,760 family and you just see faithful Christians over the course of 352 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:49,840 your history as a family. You see people who've just built 353 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:54,200 beautiful families. But I want you to know that's 354 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:59,160 the mercy of God as well, that one generation after another 355 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:01,760 generation after another generation, God has shown his 356 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:04,600 mercy. God is constantly showing his 357 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:06,680 mercy from one generation to the next. 358 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:09,640 He sees the brokenness of our lives. 359 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:12,760 He sees the pain, the things that we're longing for, and he 360 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:17,040 acts with a desire to bring relief to our lives. 361 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:22,880 And when we remember the mercies of God from one generation to 362 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:29,760 the next, suddenly the things that feels so powerful, that 363 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:32,440 feel like life is never going to get better, the things that 364 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:36,720 don't make us happy, they lose their power because we're 365 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:40,480 reminded that there is a God who is clearly greater than all the 366 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:45,600 challenges of life. But it's not just the past where 367 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:50,520 God has shown his mercies today. Today there are new mercies for 368 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:52,560 you. Lamentations chapter 3 tells us 369 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:56,160 that every day His mercies are new every morning. 370 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:01,120 And if you're struggling today to find where are God's mercies, 371 00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:04,560 where are they showing up? I challenge you. 372 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:08,280 I encourage you today, pray and say, God, help me to see your 373 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:13,720 mercies that are new today. You guys, I, I promise you, part 374 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:16,960 of the problem is God's. It's not that God's not showing 375 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:19,240 His mercies, it's just that we're miss seeing them. 376 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:25,400 We we need to have our eyes open to pay attention to the mercies 377 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:28,720 that are showing up every day. God is alive and active every 378 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:31,600 single day showing His mercies to you. 379 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:35,960 When life is sucking the joy out of you, ask God to help you see 380 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:40,720 His mercies today. You'd be amazed how many times 381 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:46,040 they're there now. I know that reflecting on God's 382 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:49,720 mercies don't always change the present circumstances of life, 383 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:55,840 which is why Mary's song also reminds us that God is magnified 384 00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:59,040 when you speak about His faithfulness to keep His 385 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:04,440 promises. Look at verse 51, Mary 386 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:09,360 continues, and she says He's done a mighty deed with his arm. 387 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:13,200 He scattered the proud because of the thoughts of their hearts. 388 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:16,560 He's toppled the mighty from their Thrones and exalted the 389 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,440 lowly. He has satisfied the hungry with 390 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:22,800 good things and sent the rich away, rich away, empty. 391 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:27,040 He's helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy to Abraham 392 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:31,360 and his descendants forever, just as he spoke to our 393 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:36,720 ancestors. Mary looks both at God's 394 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:41,960 promises in the past and God's promises going into the future. 395 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:46,240 She points back at a promise that God made to Abraham, a 396 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:50,680 promise to bless all people through his descendants. 397 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:56,320 And now, as she's carrying this baby, she knows this promise is 398 00:26:56,320 --> 00:27:00,520 about to be fulfilled, that this baby was going to be the king of 399 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:02,360 a Kingdom that was never going to end. 400 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,720 He would breakthrough into a world where people were living 401 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:10,880 for themselves and people were oppressing other people, and he 402 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:15,520 would be the one who would come to bless all people. 403 00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:20,800 Not just Jewish people, but all people that no matter what 404 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:24,440 culture you come from or what country you call home, no matter 405 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:27,480 what language you speak or how much money you have or don't 406 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:32,920 have, He would be the one who is coming to bless all people. 407 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:37,640 The baby that Mary is going to deliver is the evidence that God 408 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:42,960 always keeps his promises. It's not just looking back at 409 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:45,520 the promises of God. She's also looking to the 410 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:47,960 promises of God in the future as well. 411 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:53,240 See, she knows that this baby hasn't actually accomplished all 412 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:55,360 the things that was yet to accomplish. 413 00:27:56,040 --> 00:28:00,320 So she's looking to the future and reminding herself that God 414 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:03,880 is a God of justice for people who have suffered at the hands 415 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:06,440 of other people. And this baby was going to 416 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:10,200 initiate bringing that justice into the future. 417 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:14,040 She says, like here, here's what God's going to do. 418 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:16,040 Here's the promises that God's going to do. 419 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,960 There are proud people in the world who think they can act 420 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:25,880 like God, who think that they are all powerful. 421 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:33,000 God picks up the proud, picks them up like a bunch of sand 422 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:39,000 from a sandbox and just goes and they just float into the wind. 423 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:42,560 That's what God's going to do. That's a promise. 424 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:49,600 There's the mighty who think they're all powerful and God's 425 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:52,440 just going to come one day and he's just going to kind of flick 426 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:57,360 them like they're a little mosquito on your arm, knock them 427 00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:05,120 down like a set of dominoes. There's the rich who live to 428 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:07,360 make more for their for themselves, no matter what it 429 00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:13,280 costs other people. And God just goes delete to the 430 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:21,000 bank account. What Mary is saying here in her 431 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:25,560 prayer, in this, in this song that she is singing, is that not 432 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:28,400 only is there a God who is keeping his promises from the 433 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:32,120 past, but there is a God who has promises he's still going to 434 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,840 fulfill in the future. And the promise of justice is 435 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:38,600 part of that promise that He's going to fulfill, that there is 436 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:42,000 no contest between God and those who have committed any 437 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:46,320 injustice. I want you to know, whatever it 438 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:51,640 is that is happening in your life today, it does not get the 439 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:54,760 final word. God does. 440 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,280 When you look at the world and you read the news and you look 441 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:03,080 at things that are happening, whether it's wars or famines or 442 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:07,080 political leaders who are doing things want you to know there is 443 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:10,560 not one politician or multi billionaire in the world who 444 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:13,320 gets the final say. God gets the final say. 445 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:20,240 Don't ever get caught up in the fear of all that's going on 446 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:24,080 around us because God is not done yet. 447 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:27,280 He has kept his promises in the past. 448 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:31,320 Jesus is the is the reminder to us that God has kept his 449 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:35,120 promises, but he's also still got promises yet to fulfill and 450 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:37,040 complete and he's going to do it. 451 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:43,240 Mary hasn't experienced the fullness of this justice yet 452 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:46,600 that she's singing about, but she knows it's coming, which is 453 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:48,880 why she's singing about it from the bottom of her heart. 454 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:55,400 Want you to think about how often do you really talk about 455 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:59,400 God's promises? Like be honest. 456 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:01,680 How often do you really talk about God's promises? 457 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:06,320 How often do you talk about how God has kept his promises in the 458 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:11,920 past or how he's keeping his promises today? 459 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:15,600 What what about the promises that are still to come in the 460 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:20,360 future? One of the greatest gifts that 461 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:25,320 you can ever receive or pass along is to tell stories of God 462 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:30,480 keeping His promises. I would love, I would love for 463 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:32,440 Forward to be a storytelling church. 464 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:38,240 I'm so grateful for Amanda sharing that story today of just 465 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:41,400 how God met her in answer to a prayer. 466 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:47,720 It's a reminder to us that you can cast all your cares on God 467 00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:49,600 because He cares for you. That's a promise. 468 00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:52,080 Guess what? God kept His promise. 469 00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:59,000 When you talk positively about anything science says, you 470 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:01,880 activate mood lifting chemicals in your brain. 471 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:05,360 But when you talk positively about a God who keeps His 472 00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:09,520 promises yesterday, today, and forever, you are rewiring your 473 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:13,720 brain and your soul to see the entire world through a different 474 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:17,600 lens. But it's not just you that 475 00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:20,320 you're helping. When you tell stories of God's 476 00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:23,840 faithfulness, you're helping to encourage other people as well. 477 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:30,560 See, it's, it's a domino effect. Elizabeth finds joy because her 478 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:39,240 baby found joy in Jesus. So tell stories to your family, 479 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:43,480 tell stories to your friends, Tell stories of God's 480 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:46,920 faithfulness when you meet with your discipleship group because 481 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:50,480 you might be the instrument that God's going to use to bring joy 482 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:56,040 to another person. Now, I know for some of you, it 483 00:32:56,040 --> 00:33:00,840 might feel like a big stretch to magnify God because life just 484 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:06,440 sucks right now. You know why Mary's able to 485 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:10,600 magnify God in this way? It's because she's bringing two 486 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:16,920 things together in her life. She she knows God's Word, and 487 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:19,840 she's looking at her life through the lens of what she 488 00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:21,800 knows to be true from God's Word. 489 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:27,000 Almost everything that Mary sings about in this song are 490 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:28,720 quotes from other parts of Scripture. 491 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:34,240 She knew God's Word, and now she's singing it out loud 492 00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:40,440 because she knows it's true. So God is magnified when you 493 00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:44,320 filter the good and the heart of life through His Word. 494 00:33:46,480 --> 00:33:49,240 One of the reasons why we encourage you to read your Bible 495 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:53,560 on a regular basis is because it's so critical that you are 496 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:59,280 grounded in who God is, how God operates, what God has promised 497 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:03,280 to do. If you don't read your Bible 498 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:06,680 regularly, I want to challenge you to sign up for our Bible 499 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:08,280 reading plan that comes out every day. 500 00:34:08,280 --> 00:34:10,440 You just text the word Bible to the text line. 501 00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:13,320 Hundreds of people in our church are already reading this and 502 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:16,199 accessing this every day. Want to encourage you to do 503 00:34:16,199 --> 00:34:18,639 that? Read your Bible. 504 00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:22,320 Get into places where you can study your Bible, get into a 505 00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:25,040 discipleship group or be part of an equipped class. 506 00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:28,639 Meditate on the Bible. Let God's Word soak into your 507 00:34:28,639 --> 00:34:33,400 heart and your mind, because when you know God's Word, it 508 00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:37,960 gives you a filter to process everything else in life through. 509 00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:42,400 Now you're looking at everything through God's perspective, and 510 00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:45,840 I'll tell you, all of life looks very different when you look at 511 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:53,360 it through God's eyes. Now let's be honest, there are 512 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:59,360 some of us who know our Bible. We've read it for years, but we 513 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:04,440 have no joy. Why? 514 00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:09,880 Why are Christians sometimes some of the crankiest people on 515 00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:14,400 the planet? Here's why. 516 00:35:14,720 --> 00:35:18,280 You can know your Bible, but unless you use your Bible to 517 00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:22,000 teach, to remind yourself who God is, it won't matter. 518 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:28,640 You have to know your Bible and then filter, use your Bible to 519 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:31,800 filter everything else in life through the truth of what God 520 00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:36,520 says in His Word. When we take the good and the 521 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:39,480 bad of life and we filter it through the lens of Scripture, 522 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:44,800 things will change. I'll be honest with you, I find 523 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,760 one of the weird things about preaching is whatever you're 524 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:51,680 preaching on, you seem to struggle with it through the 525 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:53,960 week. So if you were to ask my wife, 526 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:58,240 hey, how was Kirk's joy this week, she would have a very 527 00:35:58,240 --> 00:36:01,120 different story to tell you than the one that I'm preaching to 528 00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:05,840 you right now. I struggled with joy throughout 529 00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:07,920 this week. I'm I'm, I'm preparing this 530 00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:11,880 message and I'm like, man, I am cranky as anything while I'm 531 00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:14,120 getting ready to teach people about joy. 532 00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:21,160 But I will tell you, there is just something about being able 533 00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:28,520 to open up the scriptures, read a great Advent devotional that 534 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:31,960 shifted my thinking and shifted my heart. 535 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:37,440 There's something about putting on some worship music that sings 536 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:40,600 songs about the truth of who God is that just goes, yeah, you 537 00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:43,160 know what? That's where the real joy is. 538 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:50,360 When you know God's Word and you filter it through what you know 539 00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:52,920 to be true, it's always going to bring you to one place. 540 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:54,640 It's going to bring you to Jesus. 541 00:36:55,920 --> 00:37:00,440 We can have joy because Jesus is the reminder that God has not 542 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:04,160 forgotten us in the waiting and in the darkness of life. 543 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:09,040 That Jesus is the reality that God is with us in every moment 544 00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:13,120 of life. We can have joy because Jesus is 545 00:37:13,120 --> 00:37:17,960 the gift that God gives so we can know His grace and favor in 546 00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:22,800 our lives and we can have an eternal relationship with the 547 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:27,080 God of the universe. We can have joy because Jesus is 548 00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:29,360 the promise that all things will be made right. 549 00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:36,200 The desire you have for joy is real because God placed it 550 00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:38,840 there. God wants you to have joy. 551 00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:42,600 He wants you to be happy, Charles Spurgeon once said. 552 00:37:42,720 --> 00:37:46,160 Humans are in their right element when they're happy. 553 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:52,800 It's just that God knows the limitations and even the harm of 554 00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:55,840 everything that we think is going to make us happy. 555 00:37:57,560 --> 00:38:03,400 So he gives us Jesus so that we can put our attention somewhere 556 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:08,560 else and magnify Jesus over all the other things that we try to 557 00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:13,280 magnify. Try it this Christmas season. 558 00:38:13,280 --> 00:38:17,480 Try it. Try every day when you find 559 00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:21,200 yourself focusing on whatever it is that's sucking the joy out of 560 00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:24,880 you. Try every day to change your 561 00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:26,920 focus and say, I'm going to magnify. 562 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:31,560 I'm going to put my attention, I'm going to talk about God and 563 00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:34,080 watch what God does. Joy isn't something you 564 00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:36,760 manufacture. It's the fruit of what you're 565 00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:42,000 putting your hope in. Focus on Jesus, magnify him. 566 00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:43,720 Watch what God does in your life. 567 00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:50,360 Father, thank you for your word. Thank you that you've made us 568 00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:55,280 with a desire to be happy. What a wonderful, beautiful 569 00:38:55,280 --> 00:39:02,760 gift. God, I pray that as we enter 570 00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:08,560 into this Christmas season, I pray for every person in this 571 00:39:08,560 --> 00:39:10,760 room who's struggling with joy right now. 572 00:39:12,160 --> 00:39:15,520 Just life feels hard and the weight of it is strong. 573 00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:21,600 Can I pray for the help of your Spirit to lift our eyes off of 574 00:39:21,600 --> 00:39:27,360 magnifying what is taking us down and help us to fix our eyes 575 00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:31,160 on the One who came to bring us life. 576 00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:37,080 God, I pray that as we do that you would be the one who 577 00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:41,600 produces joy in us, that we would experience the joy that 578 00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:46,120 you came to give us. And I asked this in the mighty 579 00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:53,400 powerful name of the King who was born as a baby, King Jesus. 580 00:39:54,600 --> 00:39:56,120 Amen. Amen. 581 00:39:56,560 --> 00:39:58,920 Stand together and magnify our Lord.