Introduction:
Have you ever heard the saying that music calms the savage beast? There are times in our lives when live just seems overwhelming, and then we just the right song that we put into our players and begin to listen to and it has the effect of helping us to become recentered with what really matters in life, and those difficulties that we still have are now put into a clearer perspective.
And here today we see Mary just after giving birth to a Babe, the Savior no less, laying him in a feeding trough no less not even being afforded any comfort in a local in, all the while realizing that the price she could pay for being an unwed mother would be death!
And it is here, during this type of situation, that instead of looking at these complications, the realization of the meaning of Christ’s birth –God’s Song for Mary, (and not just Mary but the entire world)- broke upon her life and into her life so that she gained a Heavenly perspective of God’s plans for his people., while rekindling her hope and faith in the One who loved her so much.
And this day, I want to look at a process whereby you and I can, like Mary, hear again His song for us so that the reality of the Christmas joy will not only be a part of our lives every day!
Principle One: His Song is the Right Tune
Funerals are not a time to convince grieving people about the rightness of the Christian faith. Rather it is a time to grieve with them, while letting them share with you their thoughts. My mother’s funeral though beautifully done, was no exception. People that I did not really know my mother, came up to me and pretty much with one accord told me she is in a better place. And I truly hope so. I am learning to wait to see if there is opportunity to ask them ‘how do you know’. Few will give Biblical reasons, but many will cite personal opinions.
And I think to myself: how can mere man, who does not understand how this body operates, not be troubled by seeking comfort in his belief of the after life that is based largely on his own opinion.
What some people, and cult groups, and even other faiths have done is to say with one accord THE MESSAGE OF SALVATION, HIS SONG FOR US, IS NOT THE ONLY ONE, There are other TUNES that people listen to that are also perfectly acceptable.
Illustration
One Christian has neatly summed up the way individuals should assess the Christian faith:
"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."
SOURCE: C.S. Lewis
As we look at God’s holy word, we see the angels singing the message of salvation, we hear the prophets proclaiming the message of salvation, and we read about people, like Mary, like you and me, who have accepted into their lives that His Song is the Right Tune, the Right One.
Do you accept His Song, His message of salvation as being the only way this day
Principle Two: His Song is always at the right rhythm
During this time of the year, there is LOTS of stress. There also is LOTS of sadness. And because of this, some Churches have started Blue Christmas Services to help people cope with the Seasonal Blues.
Recently I read of a Christian who was going through a very difficult time and he was quite candid with how he was handling his situation by telling me that ‘he was trying to hang on, trying to not give up’! And it is during such times, when we don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, that our beliefs of God caring and helping us are put to the test.
As noted earlier, Mary was there. But how often do we gloss over the Christmas story, reading it backwards, per se, knowing that ‘it all worked out’. Looking at that manger scene as something so peace-filled, when in reality it probably did not have the scent of roses? And by such reading backwards, we miss the heartbeat of those bible characters, failing to grasp that they too, like us, could have well felt like my friend in his tough situation, ‘I am doing my best, I am trying to hang on’?
And one reason that we miss out, but Mary didn’t, is because we fail to catch the rhythm of God’s song for us during the difficult situation. Either we find ourselves running ahead of Him, or lagging behind the movement of the Spirit in our lives.
Illustration:
Children give us many wonderful examples of the Christian faith. There was this mother who walked over to see what her preschooler was doing at the table. And without looking up, and with concentration on her face, and her tongue pushed up to the corner of her mouth, she answered her mother: “I am drawing a picture of God” . The mother replied, “but no one has ever scene God”
“They will when I get done”
How true this is today that people don’t see the hand of God in their lives because they have not learned to walk in the rhythm of the Spirit. Yet God’s Holy Word sends out a lifeline, showing us that God truly does manifest himself in all our affairs and we just need to walk in his steps to find His rhythm in our lives.
Principle Three: His Song is at the right volume
Many have seen these cell phone commercials where one caller is practically yelling into his phone, Can you hear me now!
And sometimes we think that because we can’t hear God, that He must not be able to hear us. And so we may pray redundantly, constantly asking God for the same thing, or we may give us praying.
God’s Song for us this day, His message of salvation, is a message that He wants us to hear.
Look at Mary’s first time hearing about this message:
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." 29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
Luke 1
Sometimes when God speaks into our hearts, we hear all right, but because we are troubled, we back off. Like the story of Jonah, when God told him to go to Nineveh, he ran the other way.
But what did Mary do? She heard the Song of God, the message of salvation, and responded,
38"I am the Lord’s servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Luke 1
The way to hear that just right volume of God’s song is through humility, to willingly come to the place where you, like Mary did, humbled yourself to do whatever it takes to not only hear but to be able to respond, to respond to God’s Song for you.
And really that responding is nothing less than what we call prayer:
Illustration
Three preachers sat discussing the best positions for prayer, while a telephone repairman worked nearby. "Kneeling is definitely best," claimed one. "No," another contended. "I get the best results standing with my hands outstretched to Heaven." "You’re both wrong," the third insisted. "The most effective prayer position is lying prostrate, face down on the floor." The repairman could contain himself no longer.
"Hey, fellas," he interrupted, "the best prayin’ I ever did was hangin’ upside down from a telephone pole."
Contributed by: KelseyColeman
Desperate prayers are usually the best kind when you are willing to come to that place to hear His song for you, that song that is always the right tune, and the right rhythm, and the right volume.
