Today is the first Sunday of Advent — the beginning of the Christian calendar. The coming of Jesus 2,000 years ago literally divided time and has impacted the world like nothing else. And for the next four weeks, we’re going to be focusing on the Christmas story. My prayer is that we read the story with new eyes, and that we hear it with new ears — so that the Christmas story will have its greatest impact on our lives yet!

The Christmas Story …
The Christmas story is an incredible story – God coming to earth in the form of one of us. God’s Son left heaven and came to earth to save us from our sins!

Luke 1.46–55

It’s not about me!
Amazingly, Mary never mentions in this prayer/song, that she is going to give birth to the Messiah. And we never have record anywhere in Scripture of Mary asking for anything – except in John 2, but even then, she’s not asking for herself. She’s asking that Jesus help out at a wedding.

Mary knows that it’s not about her! That’s humility. God uses humble people, and that’s what we want to talk about today.

Turtle atop a fence post …
Alex Haley (author of “Roots”) has a picture in his office, showing a turtle sitting atop a fence. The picture is there to remind him of a lesson he learned long ago: “If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he had some help. Any time I start thinking, ‘WOW, isn’t this marvelous what I’ve done! I look at that picture and remember how this turtle—me—got up on that post.’”

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” (Rick Warren)

Humble people are …
People who are consumed with worshiping God
“With all my heart I praise the Lord.”

Worshiping God is priority number one! We worship God by doing everything for God’s glory – as if we’re doing it for God, and with God!

Worship is not a chore, but a privilege (“have to” vs. “get to”)

BIG GOD / small me

“Humility is not trying to be humble, it’s not trying to be little; humility is just seeing God as he is. Pride is seeing ourselves as we’re not.” (Louie Giglio)

Paul’s downward growth …

• I am the least of the apostles. (1 Corinthians 15.9) (AD 59)
• I am the very least of all the saints. (Ephesians 3.8) (AD 63)
• I am the foremost of sinners. (1 Timothy 1.15) (AD 64)

As the years pass he goes lower; he grows downward!

People who discover their joy in God
“I am glad because of God my Savior.”

Where does your joy come from? What brings you joy?

Joy vs. happiness (emotion)

“… the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8.10)

People who know their life is blessed
“He cares for me, his humble servant. From now on, all people will say God has blessed me. God All-Powerful has done great things for me, and his name is holy. He always shows mercy to everyone who worships him.”

• “God has blessed me” is the testimony of all who walk with God!
• “His name is holy” – God can be trusted!

People who understand the danger of pride
“The Lord has used his powerful arm to scatter those who are proud. He drags strong rulers from their thrones and puts humble people in places of power. God gives the hungry good things to eat, and sends the rich away with nothing.”

“Pride is the only disease that makes everyone sick but the one who has it.” (Anonymous)

“It is pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.” (C.S. Lewis)

Proverbs …

• God hates “pride, arrogance, corruption, and perverted speech.” (Proverbs 8.13b)
• Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (Proverbs 11.2)
• Pride leads to arguments. (Proverbs 13.10a)
• The LORD despises pride; be assured that the proud will be punished. (Proverbs 16.5)
• Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. (Proverbs 16.18)
• Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor. (Proverbs 29.23)

“Pride is the dandelion of the soul. Its root goes deep; only a little left behind sprouts again. Its seeds lodge in the tiniest encouraging cracks. And it flourishes in good soil: The danger of pride is that it feeds on goodness.” (David Rhodes)

People who know God is sovereign
He helps his servant Israel and is always merciful to his people. The Lord made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his family forever!

God is in complete control! There will be intense battles long the way, but we know the final result! We know that victory belongs to the people who follow Christ!

People who are willing to go wherever God sends/leads
“I am the Lord’s servant! Let it happen as you have said.” (Luke 1.38)

I think it’s interesting that Mary says, “The Lord made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham …” Abraham was a man who was willing to go wherever God sent him!

It all starts with focusing on God. When we focus on God, instead of our problems, instead of anything in this life/world, when we focus on God, everything else gets smaller; everything else pales in comparison! The key is to focus on God – read Scripture; get to know God, intimately. Worship God – the more you worship God, the smaller everything else gets!

The Magnificat
Luke 1.46-55

Choosing Teams
As kids, to play softball or kickball or whatever team sport, we would choose captains and those captains would then alternate back and forth, taking turns, choosing team members. “Pick me, pick me.” Back and forth, choosing the best, the strongest, the most talented, the fastest, the most popular. No one wanted to be last.

And some of you know what it felt like to be chosen last: you were the smallest, weakest, uncoordinated, you couldn’t hit the ball, or the ball hit you once and you now you didn’t want anything to do with that ball.

The story of the birth of Christ is also includes the story of mother Mary, a young woman maybe 13 years of age, who was engaged to be married, and is chosen to be the mother of the Messiah.

This is the story of God choosing the lowly, the poor, the humble; of God choosing the ordinary and doing the extraordinary. Of God choosing the least suspecting, the least deserving. Of God choosing the person we would choose last, if we were captain and choosing a winning team.

The Apostle Paul describes who we were when God chose us.
1 Corinthians 1.26-29

God takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary.
Root: ordinary
Prefix: extra
God is the extra in this equation. It is his choosing, his power that makes the ordinary extraordinary.

"Humility is not trying to be humble; it’s not trying to be little; humility is just seeing God as he is; pride is seeing ourselves as we are not." -Louie Giglio

As we grow in our understanding of the greatness of God and the vastness of his power, we see ourselves for who we really are.

The Apostle Paul’s downward spiral:
1 Corinthians 15.9 (written in AD 59)
I am the least of the apostles
Ephesians 3.8 (written in AD 63)
I am the very least of all the saints
1 Timothy 1.15 (written in AD 64)
I am the foremost of sinners

Paul was a gifted preacher and missionary, and he was full of energy and determination, but as the years pass, Paul thinks of himself less and less, so his praise and adoration for the God who wonderfully saved him rises.

"Humility is not thinking less of yourself; but thinking of yourself less." -Rick Warren

Worship is thinking about God, concentrating on God, who he is and what he has done.

Matthew 19.16-30 The Rich Young Ruler
After Jesus’ encounter with the rich, young ruler:
27Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?"
30But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

Matthew 20.20-28
The mother of James and John asks Jesus, "Can my sons sit one at your right, one at your left?"
Jesus repsonds to them, “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

According to tradition ten of the twelve disciple died a martyr’s death; and John was persecuted  severely.

1 Samuel 16.1-13
After Saul’s death, the prophet-priest Samuel goes to Jesse’s house to anoint a new king. When Samuel sees Eliab he knows for sure this must be God’s chosen one. He looks like a king!
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

With God, it’s not deserving to be chosen, it’s about being willing to serve; it’s not about getting a reward, it’s about giving. It’s not about what we see with our human eyes; it’s about what God sees,  it’s all about the heart.

Looking at Mary once again,
Earlier in Luke 1 when the angel Gabriel appears and tells her she is going to bear the Christ child, her only response is:
"I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said."

Her response is a humble act of submission.
Whatever you want God, here I am. Do with me as you please. I am at your service.

We too, do not earn the right to be chosen. But God says, "I choose you."
May we, as ordinary people, offer our whole selves, to the God who can do extraordinary things through us.