I've Got to Tell Someone!

Luke 1:39-45

Have you ever had an experience where something incredible happened to you, but you couldn’t share it with anyone because you knew nobody would ever believe it?  Not in the “he’s always crying wolf” scenario, where maybe you’ve got a reputation for always telling outlandish stories, but in the “this could never happen to anyone” category.  And you’ve just got to tell someone, but you know that nobody would believe it. 

Last week we took a look at Mary, who had an amazing encounter with an angel, who told her that God was going to fulfill his promises to the patriarch Jacob… through her.  That she was going to be the mother of the Son of God.

Really, who would believe that story?  From a nobody from Nazareth… and an unmarried young woman at that.  But Mary knew someone who would believe her, so she hurried to the home of her relative, Elizabeth.  And before she can utter a word, Elizabeth knows. 

There is a reason why Elizabeth knows.  The same angel had visited her husband Zechariah in the temple, and now Elizabeth, who was old and barren, was pregnant.  But there’s more than just “we’re going through something similar” going on here.  Because as soon as Mary showed up, Elizabeth’s baby leaps in her womb, and she is filled with the Holy Spirit.

If you’re a novice Bible reader, I want to give you a hint about something.  When someone is said to be filled with the Holy Spirit and then speaks, you need to pay attention to what that person says.  It’s going to be important.  It’s just like when you read the prophets and see the words: “The word of the Lord came to ________ (the prophet)” – so this isn’t going to just be the uttering of an excited relative. It’s the word of God.

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Now, I’ll admit that when I was younger, I was critical of our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters for their attention to Mary.  But the reality is that they give her the same kind of attention that Elizabeth did, and she did so through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit!  Blessed is she among women!  Last week we looked at what Mary went through as Gabriel gave her the mission; her obedience meant letting go of everything else.  She gave up everything to be obedient to God.  So immediately after we read this, we read that God pronounces her blessed her among women.  God is affirming Mary for her faithful obedience. 

As Elizabeth says, “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her.” (Luke 1:45)

I have to break in here and ask this: do you believe that God will fulfill his promises to you?  Do you really believe it?  Because if you do, your life is going to show it.  Everything about you will look different from the world.  If you really believe that God will fulfill his promises to you, you’re going to take some risks for His glory.  You’re not going to worry about all the little things, because you know that He is in control.   As Jesus said, “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) That’s a promise.  But often we get to the promise without the obedience.  If we don’t seek Him first, we can’t expect to receive “all these things.”

But, as Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, recognized, “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her.” (Luke 1:45)

One thing that I love about this blessing is that it isn’t limited to Mary.  It’s open to the rest of us as well.  Later in Luke’s Gospel, we see Jesus driving out a demon and then teaching about His Kingdom.  Let’s pick it up in Luke 11:27-28: As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

Blessing comes to Mary, not by her status as the mother of Jesus, but by her willingness to hear the word of God and obey it.  And that goes the same for the rest of us as well.  The fact that Jesus said this has great ramifications for all of us.  It means that obedience is paramount and nobody gets a free pass.  Not even Mary, the mother of Jesus. 

Let’s look at what Jesus says is required: first, to hear the word of God.  I know a lot of people who desire to hear the word of God.  We want to know God’s will for our lives, and it can be frustrating to not hear his voice.  Especially since most of us don’t ever hear him speak in an audible voice.  But what is frustrating is when someone says they want to hear God’s voice, yet they refuse to read His Word.  Here in the USA have Bibles galore.  Most of us have multiple Bibles – different translations, paraphrases, Bible story books, the Bible on CD, Bible apps for our smart phones, but many of us don’t actually read the Word.  Meanwhile our brothers and sisters in countries closed to Christianity would do anything for a Bible, and when they get one (or pieces of one) they treasure it and memorize it.  Yes, there are people who memorize scripture.  That is an awesome habit to get into.  If you say you can’t memorize scripture, yet you can give me every Ohio State sports statistic or movie quote, you’re just showing what’s really important to you.

Some people say, “I don’t like to read.” Then get an audio version.  Because that’s not the real issue.  The real issue is disobedience.  God gave us His Word, and He expects us to read it and to share it with others.  The problem is we want to dictate to God how we want him to communicate to us.  Think about it.  We think that somehow we have the standing to order God around.  How about this: God gave us His Word, and if we don’t read it and study it and learn it and memorize it and meditate on it, then we’re being disobedient and, in essence, we’re plugging our ears and making nonsense sounds.  At God. 

We can hear God’s Word in many ways, but I need to make this clear; we need to always check with the Bible to see if a Word comes from God.  You see, God will not contradict Himself.  So our job, as those seeking to hear God’s word, is to check out every Word with the Bible.  The Apostle Paul tells the believers in Thessalonica to Test everything. Hold on to the good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21). In other words, don’t just believe it because someone famous said it.  For that matter, don’t take my word for it – make sure my words line up with God’s!  In fact, the Bible calls out the Thessalonian church for this.  Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11).  In other words, if you examine the Scriptures and see if what I’m telling you is true, the Bible says you have noble character.

Additionally, as Christians, we have direct access to God – through the Holy Spirit, who lives within us.  But you have to learn to listen.  Listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit means quieting everything else.  This doesn’t happen by multi-tasking or keeping busy or allowing the noise around you to consume you. Turn off the TV, the computer, the radio.  Get comfortable with silence. Pray and ask God to speak to you through His Holy Spirit.  Then listen and wait.  Don’t rush.  God isn’t in a hurry, and that is true when He speaks as well.

Remember that hearing God’s Word is only half of what Jesus requires.  We’re to hear the word of God and obey it.  Have you ever had someone ask you for advice and then not follow your advice?  Last year I was talking to a seasoned pastor, one who I really respect, and he told me that he rarely does any counseling.  He told me that nobody follows his advice, so why should he waste his time giving it?  It might sound cynical, but it’s pretty true. And it’s amazing to think that we who have so much access to the Word of God can be so lax in obeying it. 

This is why Mary was blessed among women, precisely because she heard the word of God and obeyed it.  She lived out her belief, and when God said he would do something, Mary believed and put herself into a position of unquestioning obedience.

As we near Christmas, I wonder what it is that God is telling us: as individuals as well as community. Would you spend this Advent, instead of being overloaded with activity and overwhelmed with the secular aspects of Christmas, to commit to hearing God speak – which He continually does through His Word and through the Holy Spirit. What would it look like if we spent our time focused on what He has to say to us… and obeying every bit of it.