Gavin explores Luke 1:46 to argue that believers should praise God immediately when given a promise, not wait for it to happen. He refutes the idea of a "jinx" by showing that joy rooted in God's promise cannot be disrupted by external circumstances. Mary's declaration reflects internal worship that transcends hardship.
Chapters
There is an exegetic invitation I want to extend to you.
I pray that you accept.
You've been invited to fellowship with me this morning in the Gospel of Saint Luke. Saint Luke's Gospel. Chapter number 1. My right side is finding the scripture faster than my left side, so I'm gonna spend most of my time preaching over this way. St. Luke chapter number 1. I really need y'all's prayers. Make an amen if you have. St. Luke chapter 1. I want to springboard from verse number 46, where the guy reads, and Mary said, my soul magnifies the Lord.
You may take this.
Mary says, my soul magnifies the Lord. For just a few moments, since I don't have my clock going this morning, I want to rouse her from the subject. Joy that can't be jinxed. Joy that can't be jinxed. The jinxed porcupine, ancient bird, better known as the wryneck bird. It's known with this strange ability for being able to turn its neck 180 degrees quickly. From this unique ability from the wryneck bird, ancient folk saw that as a metaphor of how quick life They saw the jinx, twaikila, as a symbol that things can be this way right now and quickly go another direction.
From that reality and that human picture of life in sports there came this term jinx.
And with a jinx, it was believed that you never speak too soon about something going well because things can change so fast. And it was believed that if you speak early about success that you are jinxing the outcome.
That's problematic because that means that our success, our blessings, are based solely on us.
And if it's based on us, then I would have the ability to change the outcome quickly. But can I help us this morning? When God has birthed something in us, when God has conceived something in us, no matter what I do, if what God has put in me is to please him, then God is God enough to keep it. And child of God, this sermon is on my heart this morning.
It came quickly because that's where many of us are in life.
We are in this strange tension where we know that God has put something in us We know that God has birthed gifts in us. We know that God is blessing us. However, I'm looking at some of us this morning and you're holding your praise in because you think that there may be a chance that what God has told you may not come to pass. But I came this morning driving down 167 to license you and to liberate you to lift your hands and voice and say, God, I do indeed believe everything that you have said concerning my life.
Therefore, child of God, I don't have to wait on it to be here. I can start thanking God when he says it, because the God who says it is the same God who can keep it, and the same God who can keep it is the same God who can see it through. And I want to triple dog dare somebody this morning to praise God just simply for the fact that God is still speaking in your life. I dare you to praise God for the fact that he put the vision in your mind. Praise God for the fact that he's giving you dreams and he's giving you vision and he's giving you aspiration. And even though it has not come to pass, it won't hurt you any bit to to start praising God in advance. And I know that the situation hasn't changed, but God has showed you the other side of it. And even though you're still in it, God says, I dare you to magnify my name simply because you have joy based on the fact of what I said, despite what you see.
This is a unique passage in which we're in this morning, in Luke chapter 1.
This is a word of what this scripture is called. I love to say it. Here it is. I'm gonna teach you something this morning. This particular passage of scripture, I read the first verse of it, it is called a Magnificat. I love to say it because I sound educated when I say it.. It's called a Magnificat. It's a Latin word which means to magnify, and this is a section of scripture in which Luke the great physician pinned this sacred moment in the text. Mary, who has already heard from the angel and have accepted the call to birth our Lord and Savior Christ, She has now gone to visit her cousin by the name of Elizabeth. Elizabeth is already the recipient of a miracle because we learned that she was barren, but now she's getting ready to give birth. Y'all done heard the story too much so it don't shock you no more, but in this interaction between pregnant Elizabeth. And the just Mary, who had just heard the word of her pregnancy, the baby inside of Elizabeth jumped. And Elizabeth said, favored are you amongst women, for you are able to bear the birth of our Lord.
And after hearing that word of confirmation, and after hearing the vision that God had for her.
Mary stopped in her conception.
She stopped when she was the first becomes pregnant and begins to magnify the Lord. Say it one more time, Gavin, and say it a little bit slower so the people can hear it and get as happy as you. Mary has just heard The word from God saying that you are going to give birth to our Savior Jesus Christ, and it is not going to come as a result of a man. She then goes to see her cousin who is the recipient of a miracle because she was barren and now preparing to give birth. Her cousin speaks a word of confirmation, letting her know that what God said is what I agree with. And while she was just in the onset of her pregnancy, Mary then begins to magnify the Lord. Mary's not showing yet. Mary's not having labor pains yet. Labor hasn't been assigned a doctor yet. Mary has just received the word, and there's a lot of things that can happen between conception and delivery.
But Mary chose to praise God in conception because she knew who it was who conceived the child in her. And if he can do that miracle, he's God enough to get me to deliverance. So in other words, I'm not going to wait until I'm in the delivery room, but I am going to stop right now and begin to give God praise. Now, who in here today— your name is not Mary and you're not dealing with a Jesus in your womb, but you have heard a word from God and you're trying to wait till you get to the delivery room. But God says that's gonna be too late. He wants you to start shouting now. He wants you to say thank you now. He wants you to say hallelujah now. You don't have to wait 9 months. You can just be thankful that God put it in you, because he who has begun a good work in you shall complete it until that day. And I want to know, peoples, is there a believer in the house who knows that I am never too early to give my God praise, because God can keep it, he can perform it, he can do it, he can do it. I've seen it for myself. He's done it time and time again, even when the odds were stacked against me. I know I'm not too early.
Is there anybody who wants to give God an early praise?
Come on, you ain't gonna jinx it. You ain't gonna make it not happen. God says he's looking for some believers who can praise him at the onset of the miracle.
And here's what I came to preach. Y'all interested here?
Knowledge of the origin of the gift that's in you prevents your praise from being presumptive and premature. I'm gonna say it one more time. I wish Tony was here because Tony like to hear me preach. Knowledge of the origin of the gift that's in you, it prevents praise from being presumptive and premature. Can I say it a different way?
When you know who it comes from, it's never too early to give God praise. When you know who the miracle is coming from, you can trust him, so you can trust that it shall come to pass.
I'm on my way down 167, but before I get there There's some Herman Luther highlights that are screaming, preach me this morning.
I'm going to share them with you, and I'm going to get you— get out of your way for the afternoon. Text teaches us this morning that your praise and the joy that's in you must be internally provoked.
It must be internally provoked.
Notice what the text says. Mary says, my soul shall magnify the Lord. Soul, my tsuke, shall magnify, make larger the Lord. Notice what she says. This is unique because she does not say, I will magnify the Lord, but she says, my soul, sukat, shall magnify the Lord. In Greek philosophy that psuche is the inner essence of who we are. So Mary says that despite what goes on outside, my magnification of God is not based upon outside conditions, but this joy that I have It's based on a place that can't be touched. Here's problematic why you can't get this, because we know that Mary is a poor peasant girl. We say that, we think we know, oh, she's a poor peasant girl. But notice what happened when the angel gave the word to Mary, that word didn't change her address. The word alone did not put more money in her pocket. The word that she received did not move her to a different location, but from that word she had to go right back to the ghetto where she lived. Politically was oppressed, oppressed by the Roman government. So in other words, she was blessed but lived in political, economic, and socioeconomic malady. Any blessed people in here who know you got a word but you still got bills? Anybody in here know you got a promise from God but your candidate of choice is not in office? Anybody in here this morning have a word, you blessed and highly favored, but your car still has every light on the dashboard you can imagine? That's why it's important that Mary says that my soul shall magnify the Lord. Because Mary said, if I don't utilize my soul, I will look at this condition in which I'm living in, and I will let the word be squashed by my current situation.
But since I'm utilizing my soul No matter where I go, I believe that there's a God who's inside of me that gives me power, that even though I may be in the same condition, I'm a different person. And I want to know this morning, is there anybody who's still in that same job but you believe that you got a purpose in that same place? You're still in the same tax bracket, but you can still lift up your hands Knowing that God still has a promise, and my credit score hadn't increased yet, my mate hasn't come yet, my new car hasn't come yet, my house hasn't come yet, but there's a God who has given me a promise, and I believe it anyhow. And I don't have to wait on my conditions to change, but I will lift up my hands until my change come.
Is English provoked? Can I bother y'all one more time? My soul, asuke, shall magnify the Lord. Uh, I told you that Mary is from the ghetto. She's from Nazareth. Joseph from Bethlehem.
She's from Nazareth.
Is there anything good that can come from that? Oh, Mary is just a ghetto girl with a word from God, and she gets the word and she's still in the ghetto.
But Mary says my soul shall magnify, make larger, make greater—
not because I can make him greater, but make him greater in my mind—
the Lord.
Here it is.
Mary can see her circumstance, but even though she can see her circumstances, she said, I can make my God larger than what I see. Oh, y'all don't want to have fun with me today.
Here it is. Notice this.
See, you see, this is what shattered me. It made my left lens fog up when I wrote it.
Here it is. My soul shall magnify the Lord.
Mims, she didn't say my soul shall make my situation invisible. The promise and the gift did not make what she existed in invisible, but she just chose to say that the God who gave it to me is big enough to keep me while I'm in it. And child of God, I don't know what you're waiting on to glorify God, because sometimes you are still going to have to see your same circumstances and conditions for a while. And there have been some false prophets who told you that if you pay your tithes today, when you go home, you're gonna have a check for $12 million in the mail.
And you keep telling God that he's a lie.
No, that was a false prophet, and you didn't try that spirit by the spirit. But here is what God is teaching us this morning, that my praise is not based upon what I see. But my praise is based upon who's sitting inside of me.
And if he goes with me, even though I'm in my same condition, the God that's in me is bigger than the world around me. So I don't have to wait on the next election. I don't have to wait on a new tax law to pass. I don't have to wait on a promotion. But since my God is bigger than my supervisor, He's bigger than my job. He's bigger than the politician. He's bigger than the sickness. He's bigger than the pain. I can't help but magnify the Lord because he's so much bigger when I see him instead of that.
And here's my aim. I'm telling you what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to promote you today to stop waiting on joy to come.
Stop waiting on situations to change. God knew the word he gave you, and he knew the situation you were in.
And God said, just go based upon my word. Just listen to my word. Just listen to what I'm saying. I know it looks dark. I know what's on the news, and I know what you're going through, but magnify God anyway because his word is still on.
He's got enough to make sure that what's in you gonna come out. Here it is, here it is.
I worked hard on this, so here's something that y'all better like.
Here it is.
God says this morning He knows that you're going through a lot. But God whispered this to me. He says, he said, Gavin, tell them I know that they're going through a lot, but what they're doing, what they're going through, is not enough to take what I put in them out of them.
Y'all better like it.
I'm gonna give you one more chance to like it.
If not, I may go home right now.
God says that he knows that you're going through a lot, but he also knows that what you're going through is not enough to take what he put in you out of you.
And so God put it in you knowing what you're going through, but God says even though you're still in it, just let what I put in you keep you while you go through. Is there anybody who got grace inside them who know that the promise that God gave you, it survived all the calamity? The devil tried to take everything from you, but God kept that promise in you because it was not enough.
I'm gonna take me a good nap in a few minutes.
I ain't about to rest with y'all all day.
Uh-uh. Every now and then, every now and then, every now and then, every now and then, uh, uh, uh, I know what goes on around here. Every now and then I do. Sometimes y'all just do whatever, it's fine, and I don't know what's going on. I just find out about it later on. But every now and then I know what's going on, and I knew that a few weeks ago that there was a group of our parishioners who had what's called— I might mess this up—
a Yeti cup exchange. It was a Yeti cup exchange, and I know a few of those members who participated in the Yeti cup exchange, and I see people all the time, and then when I work out at the gym, I see people with Yeti Cups.
It's really a commercialized thermos, right? And so I— when I go to the gym when it's hot outside, I notice people come in with a Yeti Cup. When it turned cool the other day, I noticed people come in with the same Yeti cup. And when I would ask people, be nosy, what you drinking?
I'm drinking pre-workout. In a hot, it's the same drink in the same cup. In the cold, it's the same drink in the same cup. That shouts me.
Hey, you want to know why?
Because here's what the Yeti cup does. The Yeti Cup tells us that when something is sealed, that no matter what the conditions are, what goes in it is the same thing that's gonna come out of it. Is there anybody who got a Yeti Cup anointing? That you've been through some hot times, you've been through some cold times, but the anointing that's in you can come out in a hot or cold because you've been sealed by the Holy Spirit.
Spirit. And God has what he put inside you.
He has it sealed.
No matter the conditions, what he put in you gonna come out of you. No matter how hot it gets, no matter how cold it gets, no matter how windy it gets, if he put it in you, that same thing is gonna come out.
It's got to be internally provoked.
Good afternoon.
Sorry if I'm preaching long, it's just that my clock ain't where it's supposed to be. But before I leave you, I gotta tell you that what's in you is intentionally persists. It must intentionally for security. I told you that Mary, in this word I love, magnificat, she gives this magnificat at the onset of conception when she left having church with her cousin Elizabeth.
She had to go right back home.
She had to go home. But here's the thing: don't let life post-praise be an interruption.
Because here it is, this world, this is a sweet spot where I know a lot of us, and I know myself, I've been— I know God has told me certain things he want me to do. I know that God has put some things inside of me, and I know I'm not— I'm not by myself. God speaks to all of us, and God put something inside of us, not for our glory, but for his glorification and for our good. But we have moments like this where you hear the word, I got it, amen, you gonna go home, and everything that you receive can be interrupted. You know the danger about that?
Are y'all listening to me? The danger in that is that when you are interrupted, it makes you think that you heard incorrect.
Gavin, I know you ain't preaching by yourself. Many people that you talking to this morning, son, have heard a word from God, but they have been interrupted by life. And everything that God told them, they allowed the interruption to make them think that they heard incorrectly. But God came and told me to tell you today— I wish I would have had a haircut so you can believe me— that God says you heard it right the first time. I just told you that when you go through life and you face interruptions, that despite the interruptions, God says you heard it right the first time. Say it again, Gavin. God said that when you heard the word the first time, you may go through some interruptions, you may go through some bumps on the road, but don't you let those bumps on the road stop you from your belief. Cause she's shouting that I'll never go through this anatomical— before our mothers in the house, those who've given birth before, you know it gets real sweet when you find out that he coming. But some morning sickness gonna come, some pain gonna come, some swelling gonna come. But thanks be to God, even though they were inconvenient, it did not negate what God was doing.
And God's word for us today, that don't you let the interruptions of life after God has spoken to you, make you believe that God has lied or you heard him wrong.
Because many times those interruptions— preach, Kathy—
are the confirmation that you need that the enemy is scared of what's coming out of your life, because he's trying to do everything to make you throw it all out the window. But God says stand strong today and keep what God has given you and withstand and stand the test of the time.
Can I shout you real quick?
I ain't worried about y'all, I'mma shout myself. I'mma shout myself. Mary having church with the cousin here in this— what's the word I like?
The Magnificat. It's a Latin word.
In the Magnificat, Mary is happy, has joy, magnifying the Lord at the conception.
Mary is shouting at conception.
Conception. It's not the same thing as delivery. We celebrate Christmas because it is the birth of our Lord Jesus the Christ. So in other words, Mary is shouting—
y'all missing me—
at conception because it teaches us that you must celebrate the favor even when the gift ain't finished.
And Mary says today that I can shout because I'm favored, and even though I'm favored, God ain't finished. And is that somebody's testimony this morning, that you know that you favored right now, but that's just at the conception, but you gonna keep on waking up in the morning and God will tell you that I ain't finished yet. Just keep on praising. I'm not finished yet. Just keep on believing. I'm not finished yet. Is there anybody who knows they favored right now and God ain't finished? I know I'm blessed right now, but God ain't finished. I know I'm anointed right now, but God ain't finished. I have some better days ahead. I have more glory in store I have more anointing in store. I'm just gonna keep on living and see what God has in my future.
I'm excited about the future because I know I'm favored, but I also know that God ain't finished.
I know I'm blessed, but God's just getting started in my life. I know he's speaking to me and he's just getting started.
That's about the best I can do. But can I leave you with this?
A few weeks ago, I was watching the news. Stay calm, Gabby, don't get too happy. I was watching the news.
Maybe if you move your arms, you'll calm down. I was watching the news and I, and I saw that it was the University of New Orleans' graduation. I believe it may have been December 12th, if I'm not incorrect. It was December 12th. It was the graduation at the University of New Orleans.
I watched the news.
That same day, at the same campus where there was a graduation, there was a disruption on campus.
Because somebody called in a threat to burn down the building on campus.
It's graduation day. Families have come from all over to watch their child walk across that stage and get their degree. It's graduation. People are there to celebrate, but at that celebratory moment There was a threat on campus when somebody called in and made a threat to burn the building down. Thankfully, they did not have to evacuate the place where graduation was happening. But let me go back two steps.
When I saw it, I was thinking, man, That would be so horrible if their graduation got interrupted. All right.
Wouldn't they feel ashamed if because of a threat, that graduation and celebration got interrupted?
Yeah.
But thankfully, in a few months, I'll be celebrating 15 years of working in higher education.
And so I know how this thing works.
Stay calm.
Then it hit me.
Gavin, it's really nothing to worry about because even if they had to evacuate the graduation ceremony, the degree has already been confirmed.
In other words, it may be a disruption, it may be a tragedy, it may be commotion, but despite the commotion, the degree has already been declared. And all you got to do is survive the disruption and what's already been named it will come to pass. And that's my word for somebody today. Your diploma is already made. Your transcript is already finished. Your degree has already been confirmed. No matter the threat of the enemy, no matter the threat of a man, a woman, God says just survive this moment and you will get everything that God has for you.
I calmed down then.
I said, don't let them evacuate all they want, let them stop the band all they want, they can't take degree conferred off my transcript.
And that's what we have today.
We have access to Jesus the Christ. You have salvation afforded for you.
If you already got that on your transcript, no disruption can remove that from you.
Y'all receive that today?
You can make any threats you want, but you should have did it before they finished my transcript. Devil, you can try anything you want today, but you should have did that before God gave me a promise. Don't you let CNN and Fox News disrupt you too much. Get back recent and realize it is already on your transcript.
Even if they got a—
even if they would have had to come back and give me the diploma, it don't matter. I'm still eligible for a new job. I'm eligible for a promotion. I don't have to take those same classes anymore because it's already It's already done. And we thank God that we have a joy that cannot be jinxed, can't take it away. That's why I can praise right now. I don't have to wait until I get to the delivery room. I can pray while God is developing it. And if he's favored me now, I'm thankful because he's still not finished. We all for Jesus today.
