Must Have Toys
What sits at the center of your focus, devotion, and attention?
As we continue the countdown to Christmas, I was thinking about how there used to be a time when there would be that one item that everyone wanted, that one coveted toy, that one thing that parents would go nuts over, because whatever it was, their kids really wanted it and, whatever it was, there was only a limited supply!
Parents would line up before the store opened to get it. Or stay up late to be first in line at midnight on Black Friday to try and snag one.
One of the first toys that sent parents into a frenzy was the year Mr. Potato Head came out! In 1952, this amazing new toy that allowed kids to attach Mr. Potato Head’s arms and legs and other appendages in different ways was advertised on TV and sent parents into a craze trying to find one.
Then came Barbie in 1959! They immediately sold out nationwide.
Fast forward to 1964, and GI Joe hit the shelves. I’m pretty sure I still have some GI Joe action figures in my parents’ attic! To be clear, those are action figures, not dolls!
One of the most famous toys to go viral was Tickle Me Elmo in 1996.
About the same time, new gaming systems like Nintendo and PlayStation were hard to find because they were flying off the shelves so fast!
It wasn’t uncommon for parents to camp out, wait in long lines, and pay exorbitant prices to get that highly sought-after gift that their kids really wanted for Christmas.
In recent years, the game has changed with online shopping. Now, instead of waiting in an actual line, parents are online, scouring the internet trying to find it, or find someone who already found it but is selling it at a significant markup!
Turning the World Upside Down
We do all this because we want our kids to experience the magic of Christmas.
We do all this because there’s nothing like seeing that smile on their face on Christmas morning. We do this because our hearts chase after the things that make us happy, or that we think will make us happy!
We will literally turn the world upside down in order to find that thing, get that thing, that we think will make the people we love and care about happy.
But the truth is, real joy, real happiness, isn’t found in the things of this world. In fact, if we want to find true joy, true happiness, it’s only found when we turn all of that upside down!
The Christmas story, the story of when Jesus, the Son of God, stepped down from Heaven to Earth, is God’s story of turning the world upside down for the people He loves.
God turned her world upside down when he sent the angel Gabriel to Mary to tell her that she would be the mother of the Son of God.
He turned the world upside down again when an angel appeared to Joseph and told Him essentially the same thing. As the story continues to unfold, we see how everything is changing, everything is turning upside down, because of this Good News.
Blessed
At this point in the story, Mary is already pregnant. Nobody knows she’s pregnant except maybe Joseph. Mary hurries to the hill country because she needs to tell someone what has just happened. She has a relative who lives there named Elizabeth.
The angel told her that, even though Elizabeth was older, she too was pregnant and was going to have a child. Hearing this directly from the angel puts Elizabeth on the short list of people who might believe her when she tells her what has happened!
Listen to what Luke writes in Luke 1.39…
Luke 1:
39 A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town 40 where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. 43 Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? 44 When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. 45 You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”
As soon as Mary walks in the door, the child in Elizabeth’s womb senses her presence, and no doubt the presence of the child she carried, and Elizabeth feels her baby jump!
Her child would become known as John the Baptizer, the one who would prepare the way for Jesus. But even in this moment, before either child is born, John is preparing the way and announcing Jesus has come near, Jesus is here!
When that happened, Luke says that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Mary knew that Elizabeth was pregnant. But Elizabeth didn’t know Mary was pregnant, or how she was pregnant, or Who she was pregnant with! But, filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth speaks these prophetic words…
“God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. 43 Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me?”
Elizabeth knew something she could only know because of the Holy Spirit: Mary was carrying the Son of the Living God!
And then she said something else she could only know through the power of the Holy Spirit. She said to Mary: “You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”
You are blessed because you believe!
Those are powerful words, but those had to also be encouraging words for Mary to hear. I can only imagine how lonely she might have felt. Who would have believed what happened to her?
I can only imagine how her world had been turned upside down. This wasn’t how she thought her life would go. I can only imagine how confused she felt. Is this really happening, or is it all a dream? Then she puts one foot inside Elizabeth’s home and all of her doubts and fears, worries and concerns, are put to rest by Elizabeth’s reassuring words and reminder…
God has blessed you!
Your child is blessed!
You are the mother of my Lord!
You are blessed because you believe!
And when Mary heard those words, her heart turned to worship. She raised her voice in praise.
(By the way, your encouragement, your welcome, your hospitality, your love have the ability to turn someone’s world upside down in the best possible way! Don’t ever forget the power you have to encourage someone.)
Mary’s Song
Listen to the song Mary sang after being welcomed, loved, and encouraged by Elizabeth.
This song is sometimes called “The Magnificat.” It’s Mary’s Song of Praise.
46 Mary responded,
“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
49 For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
50 He shows mercy from generation to generation
to all who fear him.
51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
52 He has brought down princes from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
54 He has helped his servant Israel
and remembered to be merciful.
55 For he made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
There’s a lot we could talk about in Mary’s song; it’s a wonderful song of worship for so many reasons, but here’s what I want you to notice today. Did you notice how in Mary’s song of worship, everything is turned upside down?
Upside Down Praise
She sings in verse 48:
48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
This is Mary’s self-description. She calls herself a “lowly servant girl.”
Her self-description: “Lowly servant girl.” That’s who God chose to be the mother of His Messiah.
She sings in verse 50:
50 He shows mercy from generation to generation
to all who fear him.
You might think that God would show favor to the rich and famous, to kings and queens, and to the influencers. But God turns everything upside down.
Anyone who fears Him, who approaches Him with reverence and awe, who worships Him as God alone, is the recipient of his mercy. Their stature, power, or position in the world doesn’t matter. Even if it did, it wouldn’t register compared to God’s power, glory, and might. He shows mercy to all who fear Him.
In fact, Mary sings that…
51b He [God] has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
52 He has brought down princes from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
Those who are rich and powerful, who celebrate celebrity, the people that the world exalts, those are the ones God scatters. God humbles the exalted, and He exalts those who humble themselves before Him. Those who are hungry are fed. And those who are full are sent away hungry.
This is what God does. He turns everything upside down.
And this is what Mary does with her worship: she turns everything upside-down.
In a lot of ways, this is upside-down praise. Mary sings a song that turns the ways of this world upside down, and in doing so shows how God sets everything right side up.
Our Songs
This is what we do when we worship, too. Our songs of worship turn everything upside down so we can remember how God is setting everything right side up!
When we sing, O Holy Night, we sing the lyrics:
Truly, He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall he break for the salve is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
In a world full of division and contempt, nothing turns the world upside down faster than choosing to love your neighbor.
In a world full of conflict and fighting, nothing turns the world upside down faster than choosing the way of peace.
In a world full of chains, whether those be the chains of addiction, oppression, or something else, Christ Himself said he came to set the captives free (Luke 4) and nothing turns the world upside down faster than choosing to see each other as our brother, our sister, acknowledging that every person is a person of immeasurable worth created in the image of God for the glory of God.
Our songs of worship turn everything upside down so we can remember how God is setting everything right side up!
When we sing, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, we sing the lyrics:
Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!”
In a world full of celebrities, power players, positions, and titles, nothing turns the world upside down faster than choosing to say Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
In a world full of sin-sick souls, people who are separated from God and from one another, nothing turns the world upside down faster than sharing the Good News of the great love of God revealed in Jesus! The Good News that because of Jesus, we are reconciled, made right, with God!
When You Worship…
This is what happens when you worship.
When you worship, you turn everything in this world upside down.
When you worship, you see the world right side up!
When you give God your worship, you make Him the center of your attention, your affection, and your adoration.
When you worship, you proclaim that He is God and you are not.
When you worship, you declare that you’re waiting on Him to make all things right and all things new.
You worship the One who exalts the lowly, feeds the hungry, and takes the hand of His people so He can walk with them.
Your worship signals the great reversal that is the Good News. That in the most wonderful of ways, in the most unexpected of ways, God has done the unimaginable. He came from Heaven to Earth. He was born of the Virgin Mary. And we join our song with her song and sing:
“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!”
Like Mary… Let your worship of God turn your world upside down.
How do you do that?
Mary’s song reminds us what to do.
Choose HUMILITY.
Choose MERCY.
Choose to be LOWLY.
Choose to SERVE those around you in LOVE.
Can I share a secret with you? When you do these things, you worship. I know, you’re not singing a song. But when you live this way, you live a life of worship. You live a life that makes much of Jesus.
Blessed Because You Believe
Mary was blessed because she believed.
That’s what Elizabeth, full of the Holy Spirit, said. And today, I believe that’s true of us as well.
When we believe, when we believe this story is true, when we believe that Jesus really did come from Heaven to Earth to turn everything upside down so He could set everything right side up, we, too, are blessed.
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