Mary Did You Know?

Text:  Luke 1: 26-35  ²⁶ ‍And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,‍ ²⁷ ‍To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.‍ ²⁸ ‍And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. ‍ ²⁹ ‍And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.‍ ³⁰ ‍And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.‍ ³¹ ‍And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.‍ ³² ‍He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:‍ ³³ ‍And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.‍ ³⁴ ‍Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?‍ ³⁵ ‍And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.‍ ^[1]

There is a song written by Mark Lowry entitled, “Mary Did You Know”  that I have loved since he wrote it in 1991 and it goes like this:

Mary did you know that your baby boy

Would one day walk on water

Mary did you know that your baby boy

Would save our sons and daughters

Did you know that your baby boy

Has come to make you new

This child that you delivered

Will soon deliver you

Mary did you know that your baby boy

Would give sight to a blind man?

Mary did you know that your baby boy

Would calm a storm with His hand

Did you know that your baby boy

Has walked where angels trod

And when you’ve kissed your little baby

You’ve kissed the face of God

Mary did you know the blind will see

The deaf will hear, the dead will live again

The lame will leap, the dumb will speak

The praises of the Lamb

O Mary did you know that your baby boy was Lord of all Creation

Mary did you know that your baby boy

Would one day rule the nation

Did you know that your baby boy

Is Heavens perfect lamb

And this sleeping child you’re holding

Is the Great I AM,…….O Mary

The angel told Mary that she was highly favored, that the Lord was with her, and that she was a blessed woman.   We are going to talk about Mary for a while tonight.

For those who have come from Catholic backgrounds, you know there is a strong emphasis placed on Mary within the Catholic church.  We feel their emphasis on Mary over the centuries has been much too strong and here is why:

1:  The worship of Mary

Mary is somebody who should be respected and appreciated for her place in Biblical history, however, we cannot and must not worship her or pray to her as the Catholic doctrine upholds.

Mary was a human vessel used by God to bring Jesus into this earth by giving Him a physical body.

So Mary was on the physical side of that union.  The Holy Ghost was on the spiritual side.  Mary was chosen by God, and she was very special.

Mary was the mother of Jesus.  Mary raised Jesus to the Bar Mitzvah age of twelve.

When Mary finished as a mother, raising her son to maturity to be on his own, Mary’s appointed task as unique as it was, had an expiration date.  She fulfilled her specific mission when Jesus launched on his own.

When Mary was finished raising Jesus, she was just like all other women who followed Jesus.

Something very important to keep in mind is that followers of Jesus did not worship his mother.  They knew better.  Even Mary herself believed in Him, even though she raised him!

Catholic history contains a controversy in their doctrine in the declaration of Mary as a part of the Godhead.

In recent years, the Pope made an effort to name Mary as a co-redeemer with Christ.

Not all Catholics are bad people, and it is important to understand that there are many catholic people all over the world who are becoming Spirit-filled and they are being delivered from that false religious system.

When we look at the ancient history of man among pagans, we realize that most people worshipped something out of an innate desire to do so.  Many not realizing that God put that desire in all of us for a reason.

The devil’s desire is to draw the attention of worship away from Jesus, so he doesn’t care how he accomplishes it, just as long as the One True God doesn’t get the glory and honor.  If the devil can influence the world to worship Mary instead, he has accomplished his task.  The devil knows that Mary can’t save you and that Mary can’t answer your prayer, so that way the devil can keep people lost in their sins.  I am talking about many well-to-do distinguished Catholics who are very influential in our society, we rub shoulders with them almost on a daily basis, yet they are just as lost as any body else.

An old Sunday School song goes like this:

“The devil is a sly old fox

If I could catch him I’d put him in a box

And lock the door and throw away the key for all the mean tricks he’s played on me.”

Lets take a close look at the real character of Mary

As far as we know, Mary was about 16 years old when she became pregnant.  This was fairly normal in those days for a young lady to get married at 14 or 15 and get pregnant at such a young age.

Mary was probably much more mature than many girls her age today due to her upbringing and the way her parents taught her, as it was common to teach responsibility at a very young age back then.  Life was not easy for these girls.

Mary asks a question that we want to compare with another character, and that is Zacharias.

Zacharias’ response to the angel was What?  How can I know this!?

Zacharias’ question questioned the validity and truth of the angel, who was sent by God with a message.  In essence, Zacharias was questioning God.  So there was unbelief in Zacharias’ question.

Mary’s question was, How can this be since I know not a man?  In Luke 1:34

Mary’s question was merely a practical request to know how this would be carried out.

There was no unbelief in Mary’s question.

Mary asked a practical question and the angel answered her:  “The Holy Spirit will come on you.”

This is a great answer for anything that God would call any of us to do!

³⁵ ‍And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.‍ ³⁶ ‍And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.‍ ³⁷ ‍For with God nothing shall be impossible.‍ ³⁸ ‍And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.‍ ^[2]

What is Mary really saying?  She is saying, “I am overwhelmed!  I have never been visited by an angel before!  I have never been with a man, I don’t know the science of what is going to happen to me, but I just believe this whole thing is from God, so, “Let it be to me according to your word.”

Mary is taking all the pressure of self-performance off of herself.

Mary is simply saying, “God, here I am, a willing vessel.  Do in me what you want to do.”

That, my friends, is the kind of spirit that God is looking for!

Now isn’t that the best that any of us can do?  I can’t do what I am doing by myself, God has to do it through me.  You can’t do what God has called you to do, but you can say, ’Lord, whatever you have in mind for me, do that.  I am open to that!  God is not asking you to do it all by yourself.  At the same time, don’t sit around ignorant and unlearned, never trying to improve your serve.  Don’t think that God is just going to supernaturally do it without a human vessel.  If you are not willing, He will find somebody else!  It is arrogant to think that nobody else can do my or your job.  So obey 2 Tim 2:15, Study to show yourself approved,  ¹⁵ ‍Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.‍^[3]

We must constantly be preparing ourselves for the next level by faith.  But the actual transition is going to be by the Holy Ghost working through us.  So in essence Mary said, “Let it be”

When you say yes to God, you will arise and start moving. Everyone you come in contact with will be effected by your words and actions.

Mary then did what I am sure she wishes all those who worship her would do:  she worshiped the Lord.

This is where Mary’s greatness really shines because she was clothed with humble worship.

⁴⁶ ‍And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,‍ ⁴⁷ ‍And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.‍ ⁴⁸ ‍For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.‍ ⁴⁹ ‍For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.‍ ⁵⁰ ‍And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.‍ ^[4]

This young peasant girl is rejoicing and no doubt dancing before the Lord, with joy and worship.

Perhaps this is the very moment that she conceived by the Holy Ghost because it is right here that she really believes and it sinks way down inside of her, and she carries the word to Elizabeth.  “Elizabeth, I want to tell you who visited me!”

The Holy Ghost did not abusively jump on Mary and take advantage of her, nor will the Lord do that to you or me.

Mary created an environment for spiritual interchange through worship.

One of the most wonderful insights about Mary is that she remained faithful all the way until the end.

Jesus was resurrected from the grave, and fifty days following Passover was Pentecost.

If Jesus died on Passover, and was raised on First fruits, then it stood to reason that He was going to send the outpouring on Pentecost.

Mary was among the group that tarried for about 10 days  in the upper room after the ascension.

You can see her name listed in Acts 1:14 with all the disciples.

Mary who was favored of God in such a way that He chose her to incubate the seed of the Holy Spirit, and give birth to the only begotten Son of God, was part of this group in the book of Acts.

She had the opportunity to feel like she already had it made, but she would not be so foolish to think that she too did not need God’s promise of His Spirit living within.

Since Mary possessed such a pure heart, she felt her own deep need to follow right with the rest of the seekers into the upper room to pray that she be baptized with the Holy Ghost.

Mary was totally free of the damaging and dangerous religious spirit that infects so many churches and Christians who think they have some kind of corner on God because of their family heritage in a particular denomination or church.  Mary knew better than to think that she did not also need to be in the upper room just because she was Jesus mother.  She went, and she was glad!

Here is the mother of Jesus who in essence said, ‘I am going to be there!”

This is a woman who went to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit and was there when it happened.

Closing:

Acts CHAPTER 2:1-3

¹ ‍And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.‍ ² ‍And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.‍ ³ ‍And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.‍ ⁴ ‍And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.‍ ^[5]

So this means that everybody who was listed in chapter 1 was seated in chapter 2.  Mary was there and the Bible says, “And His brothers.”  Why is that important?  Because these guys knew Jesus better than anybody!  These were the guys who played with him as kids.  They grew up with him.  They had already seen sides to him that nobody else had ever seen.  If Jesus Christ would have been a fraud, his own brothers would not have been there seeking the Holy Ghost.  And so they too were baptized with the Holy Spirit, each one of them.

Where are you tonight!  May I tell you that the greatest gift God ever gave to us is the gift of Himself, and it did not stop with Him coming in the flesh through Mary, but the better portion came when He filled us with His own Spirit and nature, and character.

Let us enter into His gates with Thanksgiving, and into His courts with Praise right now!