The Gift of the Virgin Mary  				Batesville  				Open --132  				RR --  835  			       Close -- 196  			       Pastor DeWitt  	Today I want to speak with you about the blessed virgin Mary.  As a preface I must say that sometimes we avoid a truth just because some of that truth has been misapplied.  I believe that this has happened in our view of Mary.  When I stand before you and speak of the blessed virgin Mary, some might instantaneously feel I was teaching heresy.  Yet those are exactly the words that the Bible uses to describe this most favored women.  What the Bible nowhere says is that Mary was holy.    	
Now that we have that settled, I want to look at why Mary was called blessed.   I believe that we will find that there were two reasons that Mary was called blessed.  The first reason was that she was called or chosen.  The second reason was that she responded to that call, and never wavered from it throughout her life.  	
I want to look at several snapshots of in her life as a way of demonstrating why she was called blessed.  	I want you to imagine with me a girl of no more than 15 years old, perhaps as young as 12.  This girl had been raised by Godly parents.  She knew the word of God.  She knew the prophecies, and was truly looking foreword to the coming of Messiah.  In the evenings as the family gathered on the flat mud roof of their humble house, her father and mother would talk of the hope of the Messiah, the hope of salvation for their people, the hope of a better world.    	As Mary would be intently listening to her parents talk, from time to time they would say to Mary and her sister, "You could be blessed to be the mother of the Messiah."    	
Each Friday evening when Shabboth was coming and the Sabbath candle was lit, as they gathered around to eat their humble meal, her father and then her mother would say a blessing over each of the children.  Perhaps Gen. 49:25  "By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb."  	
Or perhaps the blessing of Abraham:  Gen. 12:3  "I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.""  	Deu 28:4  ""Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks."  Deu 28:5  ""Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl."  Deu 28:6  ""Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out."  	
One day Mary is doing something very ordinary, we are not told what, and all of a sudden, an angel appears to her and fulfills those blessings that have been pronounced by her parents so often Luke 1:28  .... the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women! .....for you have found favor with God!  	What a happening!  Have you ever contemplated the magnitude of being specially favored by God?    	Then the angel proceeds to tell her that she will be the human mother of Messiah.  Mary was asked to give her body to the use of Jehovah. Can you imagine that?  Every time that the baby moved,  she knew that it was the Messiah within her.  As she watched herself grow, she was aware that this baby within her was a miraculous gift from God for the salvation of the world!    	Let me assure you right now, any woman who was not pure would have been inclined to go around bragging that she was chosen by God.  We have no such indications with Mary.  Luke 1:38  "Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her."    	Later when Mary went to see Elizabeth, she blessed Mary.  Mary's response was,  Luke 1:46  ....... "My soul magnifies the Lord,"  
Luke 1:47  "And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior."  
Luke 1:48  "For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed."  
Luke 1:49  "For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name."  
Luke 1:50  "And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation."  
Luke 1:51  "He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts."  
Luke 1:52  "He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly."  
Luke 1:53  "He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty."  
Luke 1:54  "He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,"  
Luke 1:55  "As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.""  	
I believe that here we see the reason that Mary was the one chosen to bear Jesus.  She was willing to give her body, and her life to rearing the Messiah, giving God the praise.  	
The next scene I want to show to you is a picture of the woman's court in the temple.  Mary is coming there for her ritual purification and she and Joseph are bringing Jesus with them .  	Luke 2:27  "So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,"   
Luke 2:27  "So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,"  
Luke 2:28  "he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:"  Luke 2:29  ""Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word;"  
Luke 2:30  "For my eyes have seen Your salvation"  
Luke 2:31  "Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,"  
Luke 2:32  "A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.""  
Luke 2:33  "And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him."  
Luke 2:34  "Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against"  Luke 2:35  ""(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.""  
Luke 2:36  "Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;"  
Luke 2:37  "and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day."  
Luke 2:38  "And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem."  	
I want to skip down through the years to the time of Jesus' ministry 
Mat 12:46  "While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him."  
Mat 12:47  "Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.""  
Mat 12:48  "But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?""  
Mat 12:49  "And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!"  	
My first reaction to this passage was, "How could Jesus be so hard?"  But then the realization came to me that Mary might have been Jesus' mother and teacher, but He was her savior.  If Mary had not accepted Jesus as savior, she could not have been saved.   	That is something that would be very hard for many mothers.  But Mary's faith in the Word of the Angel of God was so sure that she made her son her savior.  	 
The next picture I want you to see is that of three lonely crosses floating above a sea of angry faces.  On one of these crosses is Jesus, the Son of God.  In the distance you can probably see a small knot of people who quietly sob and wipe tears from their eyes.  The crowd gathered to watch this Roman show shivers as the sun is swallowed by an angry dark cloud.  	As you take in the scene you see four people huddle up against  the foot of one of the crosses as if to bring it alive with the warmth of their bodies.  There we see John, the disciple who Jesus loved,  Mary who we  know as Mary of Magdela, Mary, Jesus' mother, and Mary, Jesus' aunt, His mother's sister.  	John 19:25  "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene."  	
Have you ever seen that figure there before?  I have seen Mary Magdeline.  I have seen John.  I have seen Jesus' mother.  But I just recently saw Jesus aunt, the sister of Mary in that picture.  How did she get there?    	
I like to think that as the extent of Jesus' mission became clearer, that Mary brought her sister to an understanding that she needed Jesus as a savior.  
If that is the case, then Mary's willingness to follow God led her to want to tell others the good news.  That is reinforced by one last picture.  	
I want you to envision a room. The air is heavy with the presence of many people, and there is the din of quiet conversations and prayer. In this room are the disciples, Mary, the mother of Jesus, her other sons, Jesus brothers, and over 100 others.  There is no arguing, no bickering, or shoving as had been seen in the past.  The feeling of unity is thicker than the stale air in the nearly windowless room.  	
Peter stands up to preach. As we watch, we hear a roaring of wind and see tongues of fire come down and rest on each of the people there.  
Acts 1:14  "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers."  	This picture brings two questions to mind. What must Mary have thought of this indication that her son was indeed God?  Second, what influence did Mary have in bringing her other sons to Jesus?    	
Let's summarize several things about Mary.  	
--Mary looked foreword to coming of Messiah  	
--She dedicated her body to the Lord  	
--She dedicated her life to raising Him  	
--She had to accept him as savior even if she was his mother 
--swallow pride.  	
--She followed Him  	
--She believed even though she didn't always understand  	
--She brought people to an acceptance of salvation through 
--She stayed with Him through the worst that could happen  	
--She was among the disciples who remained faithful after the resurrection  	
Rom 16:6  "Greet Mary, who labored much for us."  	
What does this have to say to us today?   	
Parents, are you raising your child to be like Mary or like Madonna?  Think about it.
Let me ask you, young ladies.  If God were looking for someone to be the mother of the Messiah now, would he be able to consider you because of your love for him and your purity?  	
And young men, If God were to ask you to be the earthly father to His son, would you be qualified?  	
As Christians we should emulate Mary (not worship her).  Do you have any problem with that?  We know that the things written in the Bible were given to us for our betterment.  	
If you will permit me, I would like to allegorize for just a moment.    	
God's desire for each of us is that the Spirit of God will implant His word within us.  That word is to grow and bear fruit, making a new creation which is truly divine and truly human.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit we are to nourish, and teach, and guide that new creation by what we feed it and how we exercise it.  It is that new creature, Christ in us, which is the only hope for Heaven.    	
When we find that hope, we are compelled to share it with others.  We will search near and far to find the people who are looking for that Hope also.  And when it appears that all is hopeless, we will be found bringing our gifts to the foot of the cross, where the darkest moment is in reality an assurance of victory.  	
As we face a new year, we need to reconsider our goals in life as individuals.  As a church, we need to look a little higher than we have been accustomed to looking.  We need to quit looking for the minimum, and begin to strive for the maximum.  And I believe that Mary was a model for these things.  	
--Do we really look foreword to the Lord's return?  	
--have we dedicated our bodies to the Lord  	
--have we dedicated our lives to being build up in the spirit?  --Have we accepted Him as savior?  				 	
--Have we followed Him and supported His work?	  	
--Do we accept by faith what we cannot understand?  	
--Do we bring people to an acceptance of salvation through Jesus  --Have we  remained faithful when things didn't look so good?	  	Again I remind you of Rom 16:6  "Greet Mary, who labored much for us."  	
Rev 7:13  Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?"  14  And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  
15  "Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.  
16  "They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;  
17  "for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."  	
Can you see Mary in that picture?  
Can you see yourself in that picture? I hope you can.  And by the grace of God you can be there.