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🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. Good morning, and welcome to Meridi Baptist Search. Just find our seats, take our songbooks, and turn to song 429. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! 429 on the first. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! The native and the newborn King! Peace on earth and mercy mild! God and sinners welcome sound! Your heavenly nations rise! For your giant compass lies! The herald angels proclaim! Christ is born in Bethlehem! Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! Glory to the noble King! 429 on the second. Christ by might is half the dawn! Christ the everlasting Lord! Great in time, in earth and ground! God's green light in me is real! God in mercy cometh to me! Great in morning to me and to me! Jesus coming and to me! Jesus coming and he will Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! Glory to the noble King! Hail the Heifer Prince of Peace! Hail the Son of righteousness! Light to all be gracious! Christ be healed in all his grace! All the races pouring wild! All the family one by one! Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! Glory to the new second third! Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! Glory to the noble King! 429 on the last. Come, desire of his church, come! It's in us our humble home! The lives of all his blood we see! Is in us a circus camp! Love is like this now and place! Set my image on its place! Set us from above! We will stand soon alone! Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! Glory to the new world King! And we want to welcome you to this service of the Verity Baptist Church. We're glad you are with us today. We have a wonderful service of course lined up and we'd like to begin the service with a word of prayer. So let's go ahead and bow our heads and pray together. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do thank you for allowing us to gather together today. Lord, we pray that you would bless this service. Lord, we pray that we would prepare our hearts, help us to prepare our hearts to be ready to receive your word. Lord, we pray that you'd minister to us through the singing, the preaching, the fellowship. Lord, we pray that everything that's done today would bring honor and glory to your name. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Turn to song 421. 4, 2, 1 The first Noel 421. Let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. The first Noel 141. Let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. The first Noel 141. Let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. The first Noel 141. Let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. The first Noel 141. Let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. The first Noel 141. The first Noel 141. Let's sing it out on the second. The first Noel 141. Let's sing it out on the second. The first Noel 141. Let's sing it out on the second. The first Noel 141. Let's sing it out on the second. The first Noel 141. Let's sing it out on the second. The first Noel 141. Let's sing it out on the second. The third. Sing it out on the last. Then answer me. Close my eyes and grieve. For there is Thee upon me. And I'll prepare. To His presence. For God and all. And I'll prepare. To His presence. For God and all. And I'll prepare. To His presence. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. For God and all. And I'll prepare. And I'll prepare. Please open up to Luke one. Luke chapter one. If you don't have a Bible, please put your hand up and I'm not sure you can bring your Bible. Luke chapter one. Just keep your hand up and I'll show it come by. Luke one. We will read verses 26 through 45. Luke one verses 26 through 45. Luke chapter one beginning verse number 26. And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail, thou that are highly favored, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God, and behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. 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, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be? Sing I know not a man. 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. And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren, for with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word, and the angel departed from her. And Mary rose in those days, and went to the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come unto me? For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things which are told her from the Lord. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this morning. God, I thank you for your word, and for our church, for everyone that's here. Please give us all a tender heart to have a message today. And I say, be the pastor, to strengthen him, and to fill him with your spirit. We love you. In Jesus' name, pray. Amen. Amen. All right, we're there in the Gospel of Luke, Luke chapter number one. And of course, last Sunday, we began a Christmas series entitled The Nativity, and we are doing a study of the characters in the Christmas story. We began last week, of course, with the character of Joseph, and the character of Joseph, to me, the overwhelming characteristic of Joseph's character in the Christmas story is how overlooked he is in the Christmas story. We talked about that last week, and I preached a sermon entitled Joseph, the most overlooked character of the Christmas story, and we dealt with that. This morning, I'm preaching on the character of Mary, Mary, of course, the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ. And last week, I preached a sermon entitled Joseph, the most overlooked character of the Christmas story. This morning, I'm preaching a sermon entitled Mary, the most overemphasized character of the Christmas story. Because Mary is, without a doubt, the most overemphasized, over-exaggerated character of the Christmas story. And in some places, and in some religions, I would say even more than the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And I want us to get a biblical view regarding Mary, and what the Bible teaches about Mary, and of course, there's some lessons we can learn regarding Mary. Now, you're there in Luke chapter number one, and I'd like to really just kind of give you three thoughts regarding this lady in the Bible, this lady of the Lord, this woman of the Lord, Mary. And if you're taking notes, then maybe you can jot these down without three different headings or three different points. And I'd like to begin, point number one, if you're taking notes, I'd like to begin with the concept of Mary, talking about the concept of Mary. And I use that terminology concept, the concept is a thought or an idea. And there are lots of thoughts and ideas that people have regarding Mary, and there are some wrong ideas that people have regarding Mary. And I'd like you to notice from the Bible, and I do want to be clear about this, that Mary was a very special lady. Mary was a very special woman. I think that as Baptists, we should be careful because other religions like Catholicism may overemphasize Mary, not may, for sure overemphasize Mary to the point of heresy. That we tend to kind of have these knee-jerk reactions and then try to de-emphasize her. And the truth is this, that Mary was a very special woman, she was a very special lady. And this is what the Bible tells us about her. In Luke chapter 1 and verse 26, the Bible says this, and in the sixth month, now of course in verse 26 we're kind of jumping into the middle of the story here in the Gospel of Luke. And I'm not preaching through Luke this morning, so we're not going to cover the verses coming up to it. But the sixth month there is referring to the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. Remember, Elizabeth has been miraculously given a child as well, not as a virgin, but in her old age. And of course we know that she will give birth to John the Baptist. And the Bible says here that in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto the city of Galilee named Nazareth. Notice verse 27, to a virgin espoused. And we talked about that last week, that Joseph and Mary were married. They have not yet come together, they have not finalized their marriage, but they were married. And the Bible says here that the angel Gabriel came to a virgin, a spouse, to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. Verse 28, and the angel came in unto her and said. I want you to notice what Gabriel says to Mary when he meets her, when he greets her. He says, Hail thou that are highly favored. Hail thou that are highly favored. The word favored means to be preferred, means to be recommended. And I would definitely agree with the fact that she was highly favored since she was the chosen vessel. She was the chosen woman to give birth to the Son of God, chosen by God to give birth to the Lord Jesus Christ. So I want to begin there with this understanding that when it comes to human beings, and when it comes to individuals being used by God, Mary was definitely special. The angel Gabriel says to her, Thou art highly favored. And I would say no doubt, without a doubt, Mary must have been a special young lady for God to choose her. She must have been highly favored of God for God to use her in this capacity. And I don't want to take anything away from Mary and the character of Mary in that sense. But along with the concept of Mary, we need to understand that though Mary was special, we also need to understand that Mary was normal. Mary was a normal human being like any other human being. Of course she was mightily used of God, highly used of God. But the truth is this, that God is no respecter of persons and anybody can be used of God. Obviously not everyone and not anyone else ever is going to be used of God like Mary was used. But God wants to use you and God wants to use me just like he wanted to use Mary. And Mary was not special in the sense that she was deity or she was better than anybody else because the Bible tells us that she was special but she was normal. In fact, notice that there in verse 28, notice what Gabriel says. And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail, thou that are highly favored. She was special. The Lord is with thee. And then he says this, Blessed art thou among women. Blessed art thou among women. I want you to notice the word among them. There's actually, and I won't have you go there, but there's another woman in the Bible in the book of Judges, Deborah the prophetess, who a similar thing is said about her, but what is said about her is blessed art thou above women. And when the Bible says of Deborah, Blessed art thou above women, the Bible is telling us that she was better than the average woman living in her day. Here, I believe the angel purposely says blessed art thou among women because God already knew that people were going to begin to worship Mary and to make a bigger deal about Mary than they should. And here, it almost seems like the angel, if there was anyone, and here's all I'm saying is if I'm the Holy Spirit of God and I'm writing the word of God, and aren't you glad that I'm not because if I wrote the Bible, there'd be a lot more probably destruction, but if I'm writing the word of God, you know, Deborah was a great character in the Bible, but unless you're a Bible reading Christian or consistent to church, you probably don't know who Deborah is. You probably don't know who Deborah is in the book of Judges. I mean, when it comes to like well-known famous characters, Deborah's not coming up in the top ten, even if we're talking about female characters because obviously the Bible has a lot more male characters than it does women characters, but even if we talk about female characters and we talk about who are the most famous women characters in the Bible, well, Mary's probably going to be number one. And then you're going to have people like Esther. You're going to have people like Ruth. You're going to have people like Sarah. You're going to have people like Rachel, Rebecca. You're going to have...Deborah's not going to make it on that list probably. Yet the Bible says about Deborah that she was blessed art thou above women, and then the Bible says about Mary who we would think it would say blessed art thou above women, and it says blessed art thou among women, and I think God is trying to make a point and God is trying to remind us that though she was special, she was not above other women. She was among women because she was a human being and she was a woman. So we see that Mary was special, highly favored of the Lord, no doubt about it, but Mary was also normal. She was blessed among women. And the reason that we even have to make this point to begin with when we begin on a sermon on Mary is because of the fact that there's so much false teaching regarding Mary. Now, you're there in the gospel of Luke. I'd like you to keep your place there and go back with me if you would to Matthew chapter number 13. Matthew chapter 13, if you go backwards, you have the book of Mark and then the book of Matthew, Matthew chapter 13, and there's a lot of false teachings about Mary, and I would like to take a little bit of time this morning and just deal with some of these false teachings, and I understand that these are things that you probably already know, and I would imagine that the vast majority of people here already are correct on these things, but we should never assume that everybody just knows everything. And in a church like ours, especially as we continue to grow, there might be some of these things that maybe some of you have never heard, and it's good to be taught biblical principles, and it's good even for those of us who know these things to be reminded, especially right now during the Christmas season, because right now is a time where Mary-ology, the false teaching of Mary, would be emphasized, and we need to be clear on what the Bible teaches about these things. Let me just quickly give you some thoughts regarding false teaching about Mary and what the Bible actually teaches about these things. The first one that I'd like to cover is the fact, the teaching, that Mary was a perpetual virgin, and the reason that the Catholics and those who worship Mary call her the Virgin Mary. Now, the Bible refers to her as Mary who was a virgin who was a spouse to a husband. The Bible definitely refers to her as a virgin. We understand that, but here's what I want you to grasp, is that when we're reading the Christmas story, when we're reading the Christmas narrative, and the story of Christmas is not found in a lot of places in the Bible. In fact, we only find it in the first couple of chapters of Matthew, in the first couple chapters of Luke. Mary is referred to as a virgin. Now, here's what you need to understand. We are reading a narrative. We are reading a story. A story by the Holy Spirit of God is being told to us, and the reason that she's called a virgin is because she was a virgin. She had never been with a man. She had not yet consummated her marriage with Joseph, so she was a virgin. But later on in the life of Christ, when Mary makes appearances throughout the life of Christ, when she shows up in different stories at different times, you'll notice that she's never referred to as a virgin. It's not her title. It's not like her title is the Virgin Mary. Now, in the rest of Scripture, when we see the Lord Jesus Christ as an adult in His ministry, she is simply referred to as Mary. You say, why? Why don't they call her the Virgin Mary? Because at that point, she wasn't a virgin anymore. But today, the Catholic Church and those who worship Mary teach a false doctrine that says that Mary was a perpetual virgin. And they teach that Mary's even a virgin today. Like, up in heaven, she's still a virgin. And that's why they've titled her, you know, the Virgin Mary, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Now, obviously, yes, at the time of Christ's birth, she was a virgin. But it's not like that's her title. Like, I'm Pastor Jimenez, and she's the Virgin Mary. Well, here's the thing. I am a pastor, but she wasn't a virgin her entire life. She was a virgin at the birth of Christ, but she was not a perpetual virgin. And let me just give you a proof text for that. Matthew 13 and verse 54 says this. And there's other places we could go to, but I'll just give you one example. Matthew 13, 54. And maybe you grew up Catholic. My wife grew up Catholic. And I know many of our church people have grown up Catholic or had Catholic influence. And it's good for us to be reminded of these things. And maybe you haven't heard this before. It's good for you to have some proof text and some biblical evidence as to why it is that we believe what we believe. We should always ask the question, what does the Bible say? What does the Bible teach? Matthew 13, 54. The Bible says this. And when he... Now, the he there is referring to Jesus and his context. You can look at that later if you'd like. When he was coming to his own country. So this is Jesus coming back home. He's coming to preach in his own country, the town that he was raised. He taught them in their synagogues inasmuch that they were astonished and said. Now, these are the people that Jesus grew up with and they were astonished at his preaching. He shows up with his ministry and they're amazed. And here's what they said. Whence hath this man this wisdom? The word whence means from where or from what source? They're saying, where did this guy get this wisdom and these mighty works? Now, here's why they're saying whence. Where did he get this from? Verse 55. Because they know whence he's from. They know where he came from. Verse 55. They said, is not this the carpenter's son? They said, we know his father. Now, they didn't know that God was his father. They thought that Joseph was his father. We know that Joseph was his stepfather. But they said, is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called the Virgin Mary? No, she's not called the Virgin Mary. She was called Mary. You say, why don't they call her the Virgin Mary? Why don't they call her the Blessed Virgin Mary? Here's why. Is not his mother called Mary and his brethren? They said, don't we know his brothers? And look, the Bible tells us here that Jesus had some physical brothers. Not just a spiritual brother like, you're my brother in Christ. No, like, born of the same mother brother. They said, is not his mother called Mary and his brethren? And then they list them. James and Joseph and Simon and Judas. So according to Matthew 13 55, Jesus had four physical brothers. Now obviously, Jesus was her firstborn son. She was a virgin when she gave birth to the Lord Jesus Christ. But after that, she had four other sons. So she's not a perpetual virgin. Not only that, but she had some daughters. Look at verse 56. And his sisters. Now they don't tell us how many sisters. They don't give us the names of the sisters like they did for the brothers. But sisters is plural, meaning more than one. They said, and his sisters, are they not all with us? The word all lets us know that he had at least three sisters. And you say, well, how do you know that? Well, if he had two sisters, they would have said, are they not both with us? But they said, are they not all with us? So we know that he has four brothers, at least three sisters. Mary and Joseph had a lot of children after the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. So the Bible clearly teaches and tells us that she was not a perpetual virgin. She is not still the Virgin Mary. She's not still the Blessed Virgin Mary. After the birth of Christ, and once she consummated her marriage with Joseph and had other children, she was just Mary. So we see that the teaching of Mary that she is a perpetual virgin is a false teaching. Now you might think, go to 1 Timothy if you would, 1 Timothy chapter 2. If you can find the T-books, they're all clustered together. 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy and Titus, 1 Timothy chapter 2. You might think, well, that's not that big of a deal. And I would agree with you that maybe it's not a huge deal, but it's not what the Bible says. And as Bible-believing Christians, we want to try to be accurate with the Word of God. You know, we should study to show ourselves a proven to God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed. And you know, I want you to know what the Bible teaches about these things. And the Bible teaches that Jesus had other siblings. The Bible teaches that Mary was not a perpetual virgin. The Bible teaches that he had four other brothers and three other sisters, so she's not any longer the Virgin Mary. She's just Mary. Here's some more serious teachings that are false teachings regarding Mary. The first one was the teaching that Mary was a perpetual virgin. They call her the Blessed Virgin Mary. The second teaching, and I would say that this is a big deal, and this is heretical, and I mean they're both, all of it's heretical, but this is an issue. And it is the teaching that Mary is the Mediatrix, that Mary is the Mediatrix. Now let me just give you a definition for this term Mediatrix. Mediatrix is defined in Catholic Mariology. It is the title, the title Mediatrix refers to the intercessory role of the, according to them, Blessed Virgin Mary as a mediator in the saving redemption by her son Jesus Christ, and that he bestows graces through her. The word means woman who is a mediator. And here's what the Catholic Church literally believes and teaches. That Jesus bestows graces through her, through Mary. And when they say graces, they're talking about salvation. Like, for by grace are you saved through faith? That the grace that saves you is mediated through Mary, and so they have this belief that Mary is the Mediatrix, that she is the mediator between us and the Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason, they pray to Mary. And they pray to Mary, they pray to other saints as well. And here's an example of a very famous prayer to Mary, the Hail Mary prayer. And if you grew up Catholic, you'll probably recognize it. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women. Up to this point, it's kind of just referencing the Bible and quoting the Bible. And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. They say, Holy Mother of God, and then here's what they say. Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. This is a prayer where people are praying to Mary, and they are asking Mary to pray for us sinners. Now, why are they doing that? Because of the fact that they believe that Mary is the Mediatrix, and that Jesus bestows salvation or grace through Mary, and therefore we must go through Mary to get to the Lord Jesus Christ and to get to God the Father. Now, what does the Bible say? 1 Timothy chapter 2, are you there? 1 Timothy 2, look at verse 5. 1 Timothy 2 and verse 5, the Bible says this, For there is one God and one mediator. Mediator is the male version of the term mediatrix. They mean the same thing, mediatrix is referring to a female, mediator is referring to a male. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus. When the Bible says God and men there, it's not talking about males, it's talking about mankind. Humanity. The Bible says that there is one mediator between God and men. Who is that mediator? The man, Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only mediator between us and God. It's the only mediator that we need to bring us to the Father. It's the reason Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by Mary? Is that what he said? No, but by me. So look, you and I do not need anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. Our faith is in Christ. We call upon Him for salvation. He gives us His redemption and His grace and it's through the Lord Jesus Christ. And again, I don't have time to go into all the details, but in the New Testament, under the New Covenant, the Bible says that we are kings and priests unto God and His Father. And so look, you don't need a priest. I don't need a priest to go between me and God. I don't need a saint to go between me and God. Not only do I not need a saint, according to the Bible, I am a saint. And you might think like, I don't know, you're saying you're a saint. But it's because you have the wrong idea of the word saint. The biblical definition of the word saint is simply someone who's saved. So I don't need to light a candle and pray to any saint. I don't need to pray to Mary. I don't need to go to a priest and ask him to forgive me for my sins because I can go directly to God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. By the way, you don't need a pastor either to have access to God. You can get on your knees and bow your head and close your eyes and pray to God yourself. Obviously, God gave you a pastor for other reasons. But as far as our access to God and our access to salvation, Jesus is the mediator. For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. So we see that the teaching that Mary was a perpetual virgin is a false teaching. And the teaching that Mary is the mediatrix, that we should go to her and pray to her and pray for us sinners. And look, you should not pray to anybody but God. No one else. So I pray to Saint Thomas when I lost my keys or whatever. I don't know. I'm not a Catholic. I'm not even sure if that's the right guy. All of that is wrong. You know who I pray to when I lose my keys is God. And my children because they're probably the ones that took it. So teaching that Mary was a perpetual virgin is wrong. Teaching that Mary is a mediatrix is wrong. Go to Hebrews chapter 7 if you would. If you're there in 1 Timothy, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, I'm not praying to my children. If you know the word pray simply means ask. So I ask my children, what did you do with my keys? Hebrews chapter 7, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 7. Here's the third false teaching regarding Mary and it is this. And look, we're starting with like least worst to worst. I think the least dangerous is that she was a perpetual virgin. That's just wrong but whatever. Then she has a mediatrix. That's really bad obviously because that affects salvation. And you might think like, well wouldn't that be the worst? But there's even something worse that they teach about Mary than just that she was the mediatrix between us and Jesus. And it is this, the teaching that Mary is the mother of God. I mean think about that prayer we just read. Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, and here's what they call her, here's what they say of her, mother of God. Now let me explain something to you, that Mary is not the mother of God. You say, well Mary is the mother of Jesus. Yes, absolutely, Mary is the mother of Jesus. And Jesus is God, absolutely. But Jesus existed before Mary. So when we refer to Mary as the mother of Jesus, we're referring to the fact that she was the human vessel that gave birth to the human body, the physical body of the Lord Jesus Christ. She is the mother of Jesus in the sense that she along with the Holy Spirit conceived the physical body of Jesus and gave birth to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ physically as a human being. But Jesus did not come into existence in the womb of Mary. Jesus has always existed. He's the second member of the Godhead. He's eternal. He's co-equal with every other member of the Godhead. Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 1 says this, For this Melchizedek, now I don't have time to go into all the detail, but we're actually going to get to this in our study in Hebrews on Wednesday night. So I encourage you to join us on Wednesday night for Hebrews. Hebrews is a super interesting book. Melchizedek is what we would call a theophany or a Christophany of the Lord Jesus Christ. A theophany or a Christophany, let me just give you a definition, is an Old Testament appearance of God as a man. And whenever we see God appear in the Old Testament as a man, that is referred to as a Christophany or a theophany because it is an appearance of none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. So when we see God appear as a human being in the Old Testament, that is Jesus. So when God shows up, when a man shows up and wrestles Jacob all night long and Jacob says, I have seen the face of God, that is referring to Jesus. He was wrestling Jesus. When a man shows up to Joshua who's praying in the field before going out to battle to Jericho and he asks him, are thou for us or against us? And he says, nay, but as the captain of the host of the Lord am I come. And he says, I'm not for you or against you. I am God. And Joshua has to remove his shoes from off his feet because he's standing on holy ground in the presence of God. That is the Lord Jesus Christ. So how can that be? Because Jesus did not come into existence in the womb of Mary. Jesus always existed. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, and I don't have time to get into detail about Melchizedek, but I do encourage you to join us on Wednesday nights for the Hebrew study. I think you'll find it interesting. Notice what it says, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being by interpretation king of righteousness, and after that also king of Salem, which is king of peace. Notice what the Bible says, verse 3. Because remember, Melchizedek is an Old Testament appearance of Jesus. Notice what it says, Hebrews 7-3, without father, without mother. This is referring to his physical descendancy. Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God. Who does that remind you of? For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, abideth a priest continually. So notice, the Bible tells us about this man Melchizedek, that he's without descent, neither having beginning of days nor end of life. What does that mean? That means he's God. And he's made like unto the Son of God. But then the Bible tells us that he's without father. And again, we're talking about a physical human father. There is no physical human father, and without mother. Why? Because God has always existed. The triune God, the Trinity, has always existed. And Mary did not birth God. Mary birthed the human body of the Lord Jesus Christ. And she was special, and she was wonderful. And we should not minimize her, but she was not the mother of God. She was created by God. So to pray, Holy Mary, Mother of God, is blasphemous. God has no mother. Now Jesus, God in the flesh, God became man. The Word became flesh. Jesus had His mother, Mary, His birth of Mary. But God has no mother. So we see these three heretical teachings regarding Mary. That she was a perpetual virgin. That she is the mediatrix. And that she is the mother of God. All of those are incorrect. Go back to Luke, chapter number one. So we've been talking about the concept of Mary. And I hope this helps you with your thinking regarding Mary. Mary was special. Without a doubt, thou art highly favored. Praise the Lord for that. I look forward one day to being in heaven and talking to Mary and having a conversation with Mary and asking her about the Lord Jesus Christ and how He was growing up and all those things. So she was definitely a special lady, but she was a normal lady. Blessed art thou amongst women. She is not the mediatrix. She is not the mother of God. She was not a perpetual virgin. She's someone that we should admire and respect and we can learn from. But she is not someone that we should worship or pray to or adore. So we saw the concept of Mary. But then I'd like you to notice secondly this morning, not only do we see the concept of Mary, but I'd like for us to talk a few minutes about the conception of Mary. Because this is, of course, why Mary is known. Because of the fact that she conceived of the Holy Ghost. Luke chapter 1, look at verse 29. Luke 1, 29. And when she, because remember the angel appears and he's talking to Mary and he says, Thou art highly favored and Thou art blessed among women. And then the Bible tells us here in verse 29, And when she saw him, so when she saw the angel, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. So she's like, what is this guy talking about? Verse 30, And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. So we see the conception of Mary. And of course when it comes to the conception of Mary, there are some doctrinal issues here. And look, the reason why Christmas is so important, the reason why the Christmas story is so important is not because we like to put lights up and it's not because we want to give gifts and it's not because we like hot cocoa or something. The reason that the Christmas story is so important is really because of the doctrinal reason for the Christmas story. What is the Christmas story? The Christmas story is that Mary, a virgin, conceived of the Holy Ghost and gave birth to the Son of God. That's the Christmas story. But it's not like God just decided to send his son through a virgin because he thought it would make a cool story. Because he thought it would make cool Christmas cards. There's a doctrinal reason behind this. Why did Jesus have to be born of a virgin? I'd like you to notice several things regarding the conception of Mary. The first is this, that the conception of Mary teaches us the deity of Christ. The deity of Christ. What does that mean? It means that Jesus was God in the flesh. Luke 1 32, He shall be great. Isn't that the truth? He shall be great, notice, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. The term, the Son of the Highest, the highest referring to God, the Father. Or the term, Son of God, is only a reference to the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. And look, what the Bible teaches and what we believe as Bible-even Christians is this, that Jesus was more than a man. He was not just a prophet, he was not just a good man. He was the Son of God, which means that he was God in the flesh. You're there in Luke, go to John chapter 5. Luke, I just flip over to John chapter number 5. And sometimes people get this idea like, well, if he's the Son of God, is he really God if he's the Son of God? Well, let me ask you a question. If I'm a human being, and my wife's a human being, and I have a son, I have two sons, three daughters, but I'm a human being, if I have a son, does that mean my son is human? Because people say, well, God, Jesus, because people attacked the deity of Christ today. They'll say, well, he wasn't God, he's the Son of God. Well, wait a minute, I'm a human, and if I have a son, my son is human. The fact that he's my son means that he's my equal in the sense that he is a human being like I am. Because opposed to popular belief today of evolution, we do not give birth to things that are not the same. Okay, dogs give birth to dogs, cats give birth to cats, humans give birth to humans. There's no such thing as evolution. Evolution is a fairy tale, it's a made up story. So when God has a son, that son is God. Now we've looked at that extensively in the book of Hebrews, we even saw in Hebrews how God the Father referred to his son as God. Obviously we understand that there is the Trinity, the three persons of the Godhead. God is made up of three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. John 5 and verse 18 says this, Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, notice, but said also that God was his Father. Now they want to kill him because he said that God was his Father. Well, why did it bother them that he said that God was his Father? Here's why, making himself equal with God. They understood that if he said, God is my Father, that he was making himself equal with God. It was a testimony to his deity, that Jesus is God in the flesh. Go back to 1 Timothy, if you would, 1 Timothy chapter 3. I probably should have asked you to keep your place there, I meant to do that. I apologize if I didn't. But keep your place there, or go back to 1 Timothy if you find the T-books, 1 Timothy chapter 3. And again, look, I realize that you say, I already know this, I understand these things. It's good to be reminded, but you know what I have learned over the last 13 years of ministry, is that oftentimes when heresy begins to creep into a church, or when a big battle on heresy happens, it's usually having to do with just the basic fundamental truths. Because here's what ends up happening. We as pastors think, ah, I don't know, should I really preach about the virgin birth? Should I really preach about the deity of Christ? Should I really preach about the Trinity? I mean, doesn't everybody kind of already know that? But then what happens is, because we never talk about these things, is we feel like they're so basic. I was actually having a conversation with Pastor Anderson about this this week. You know, because we as pastors, we just like live, eat, and breathe the Bible, you know, all day, every day. Our whole life is about the Bible, studying the Bible, writing sermons, or whatever. So then we get this idea that like there's some things that just everybody knows this. And because of the fact that in our type of churches there are people who do know the Bible very well, who do read the Bible a lot, who have studied the Bible a lot, and there's just some very high-level people in our type of churches that know, and those are the people that we usually spend a lot of time with. So we just kind of get this idea that everybody knows these things, but we forget the fact that there are some new Christians, or there are some people, maybe not so new, that have just never been taught these things. And then someone can come along and begin to teach the wrong things, and begin to teach things against these basic things. So look, it's good for us to just preach these things and be reminded of these things. And look, it's good for us to preach it when there's not a battle, when there's not a fight. It's just good to be reminded. Look, here's what we believe. We're Baptists. We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 3.16, are you there? Look at what it says. And without controversy. Without controversy means without dispute, without contention, without debate. There's no debating this. Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. Who's that referring to? That's the Lord Jesus Christ. He was manifest in the flesh. And here's what we believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. And here's what we believe at Verity Baptist Church, and here's what the Bible teaches, that Jesus was 100% God. That he was God in the flesh, that God became man. And he was born, physically born, like a human being of the Virgin Mary. Not only do we believe in the deity of Christ, go back to Luke chapter 1, we also believe in the humanity of Christ. Luke 1 32. Luke 1 32, the Bible says this, He shall be great, and he shall be the son of the highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him, notice this, the throne of his father David. So though God has no descendancy, without father, without mother, when God became flesh, and was born of the Virgin Mary, he inserted himself into the descendancy of human beings. This is why the Bible calls Jesus the son of David. Why? Because he's a descendant, humanly speaking, of David. And here the Bible is telling us that God shall give unto him, Jesus, the throne of his father David. That's a reference to his human descendancy. Verse 33, And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. And look, you say, well I don't understand. So is he over David or is he under David? And these are the paradoxes we find in the Bible that we just accept by faith. Because in the book of Revelation, it tells us that Jesus is the root and the offspring of David. And the analogy that's being used in Revelation is this, that if you consider David a tree, Jesus is the root, meaning the source, that David came from Jesus. But he's also the fruit, meaning that he was produced by David. Say, well how can you be the root and the fruit? How can Jesus be the root and the offspring of David? How does that work? Well it works in the sense that Jesus was 100% God, meaning he's the root of David, he's the creator of the universe, he is the source of life. I am the way, the truth, and the life. But he's also the offspring of David because he was robed in flesh. He dwelt among us. He became a descendant of David. He became the son of David. He's the root and the offspring of David. We believe in the deity of Christ and the humanity of Christ. And please understand this, here's what the Bible teaches. And look again, these things need to be taught us over and over again. The deity of Christ says this, that he was 100% God, and the humanity of Christ teaches us this, that he was 100% man. So well, how can that be? And by the way, let me just say this, there wasn't 200% of him. It's not like there's this 100% side that's God and this 100% side that's man. No, no, no. He's 100% God. And the same 100% that was God was also 100% man. And look, today scientifically, and Pastor Anderson and I were talking about this because we were having a conversation about this this week, but today scientifically, science tells us that in your DNA, in every cell of your body, and in your genes, and in your genetic makeup, there is, in every cell of your body, a component of your father and your mother. You are, what makes you is 50% your dad, 50% your mother, but the way that it's put inside of you is every cell of you has your father and your mother. Which is why they can take a sample of any part of your body and find the genes that come from your father and your mother or whatever. Well, with Jesus, it's the same way. Every cell of his body was human, from Mary, and every cell of his body was deity, from God the Father. So he's 100% God. He's 100% man. The same 100% that was God was also 100% man. It's the only way that salvation could work. Man had to die for our sins, but the only way that man could die for our sins, that man had to be sinless, and the only way for him to be sinless, he had to be God. So what had to happen was that God became flesh. Isn't that just a cool story we tell around the fireplace? It's doctrine. It's salvation, the deity of Christ, the humanity of Christ. The virgin in birth allows for salvation. The conception of Mary allows for salvation. Look at Luke 1.34. We see the virgin in birth. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be? saying, I know not a man. She's a virgin at this point. 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. And behold, like cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her, who shall be called barren. Notice verse 37. Here's the answer to her question. Because she asked the question in verse 34, How shall this be? saying, I know not a man. And the angel gives her all these reasons. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee. 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. But then in verse 37, he says, here's the answer to your question. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And the truth is this, that Jesus had to be born of a virgin because the Bible says, Wherefore as by one man, referring to Adam, sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. The Bible teaches that our sin is passed upon us because we're all descendants of Adam. Wherefore as by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin. But the virgin birth bypasses the race of Adam. The virgin birth bypasses the humanity of Adam and gives us the Lord Jesus Christ. One of my favorite, I shouldn't say one of my favorite. My favorite Christmas song is Hark the Herald Angel Sings. And I love all the Christmas songs. In fact, one of these years, maybe next year, I'm going to do a whole Christmas series where I just preach through the Christmas songs. Because they're so amazing, the wording, they're great songs. But you should consider the songs as we sing them. Even all the songs in our hymnbook, as we sing them, you should consider the words we're singing. And I love these words because they highlight what we're talking about. Christ by highest heaven adorn, Christ the everlasting Lord. Late in time behold Him come, offspring of a virgin's womb, veiled in flesh the Godhead see. Hail incarnate Deity, pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel. Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King. Come desire of nations come, fix in us thy humble home. Rise the woman conquering seed, bruise in us the serpent's head. Adam's likeness now effaced, stamp thine image in its place. Second Adam from above, reinstate us in thy love. Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King. So we see the concept of Mary. And then we see the conception of Mary. But as we finish up this morning, I'd like you to notice, thirdly, the consecration of Mary. Go back to Luke chapter 1. Look at verse number 38. Notice the story. This virgin going about her life, minding her own business, with all sorts of plans and ideas. Consider the time, the season of time in Mary's life. She's a young lady who just got married, has not yet finalized the marriage, she has not yet consummated the marriage. She has all these hopes and dreams. Think about when you got married, for those of you that are married. She's a young lady with her whole life in front of her. I mean, she's dreaming about the house she's going to live in. She's dreaming about the children she's going to have. She's dreaming about all these things. She has her whole life in front of her. She has everything going for her. She was obviously a favorite of God. She was blessed of the Lord. She was a someone. She had Joseph, she had Mary. I mean, things were going well for Mary. Then an angel shows up and says, you're going to be pregnant. And she says, how can that be? I've never been with a man. He says, God has chosen you. God has chosen you for a special task. The Holy Ghost will come upon you. The power of the highest will overshadow you. That thing which was born in you shall be called the son of the highest. I want you to notice that God highly interrupted Mary's life. How does she respond? Does she say, God, I'm just too busy? You don't understand. Things are pretty hectic right now, God. Luke 1 38. Isn't that how we respond? When God says, hey, I need you. I've got something for you to do. I need an area for you to serve in. Oh, no, God, you're going to have to find somebody else. I'm just too busy. Not Mary. Notice how she responds. Luke 1 38. And Mary said, behold, the handmaid of the Lord. That term handmaid is the female version of saying servant. She said, I'm the servant of the Lord. We saw the concept of Mary. We saw the conception of Mary. But I'd like you to notice the consecration of Mary. And this is really the reason why I believe that Mary was chosen. Because Mary had already decided that she was going to serve the Lord. She had already decided that she was the handmaid of the Lord. That whatever the Lord wanted, whatever the Lord needed, whatever interruption that might come her way, that she'd be willing to be interrupted, that she would be willing to be disrupted, that she would be willing to give God her life. This is why she was chosen. Look at verse 28. Luke 1 28. And the angel of the Lord came in unto her and said, Hail. We talked about this. Thou that are highly favored, she was special. Blessed art thou among women, she was normal. You say, how does normal become special in the eyes of God? How does normal become special in the will of God? How can a normal person like Mary, how can a normal person like Joseph, how can a normal person like Paul or Peter or Abraham or Moses, how can a normal person that is amongst other human beings become highly favored in the eyes of God? Notice what it says. Thou are highly favored, but it doesn't say thou are highly favored, dot, dot, dot, blessed art thou among women. It says thou are highly favored, comma, the Lord is with thee. That's why she was favored. Because the Lord was with her. And then Mary makes it clear that not only was the Lord with her, but she was with the Lord. Verse 38, and Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord. What have you been telling God you're too busy for? What have you been telling God you can't be bothered? What is the thing in your life that you say, no, no, that'd be too much of an inconvenience, God, that'd be too much? Because what made Mary different than you and I, it's not that she's the mother of God, she's not the mother of God. It's not that she's the mediatrix, she's not the mediatrix. But she was a special young lady. Joseph was a special young man. I think what made them special was their willingness to say, whatever you want, God, I'll do it. Whatever you need, God, I'll do it. Here am I, Lord, send me. I want you to notice the consecration of Mary. She said, you can disrupt me, you can inconvenience me, you can mess up all my plans. Whatever you want, whatever you need, behold the handmaid of the Lord. We see the consecration of Mary, we see her service, but I'd like you to notice secondly, not only do we see her service, we see her submission. Verse 38 again, and Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord. And then she says this, Be it unto me according to thy word. She said, Be it unto me according to thy word. I often tell people when we read the Bible, especially when we read these narratives, we should put ourselves into the story. Mary was a real human being. I mean, consider the fact. I don't know what Mary was thinking, but I know this. If I were Mary, I would be thinking, no one's going to believe this. People are going to think I'm lying. In fact, God has to send an angel to tell Joseph she's not lying. And look, don't you think that people talked? Don't you think that people gossiped? In John 8 and verse 41, you don't have to turn there, but in John 8 and 41, this is what they said to Jesus. Jesus talking to the Jews said, Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they unto him, this is what they said to Jesus, We be not born of fornication. Now why did the Jews say to Jesus, We be not born of fornication? I believe they're saying that to Jesus because they're trying to take a jab at Jesus. We've heard the rumors, Jesus. We've heard of your supposed virgin mother. Historically, we know that the Jews told all sorts of rumors about Mary and that she was not faithful to Joseph and that Jesus was the son of a Roman soldier and all these things. And here, they're taking a jab saying, hey, we weren't born of fornication like you were. Her submission to God's will meant a reproach, meant she would carry a burden, meant that things would be difficult. Her submission to God's will meant that things would no longer play out the way that she had planned for them to play out. And her response was the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word. Let me just say this. Be it unto me according to thy word is always the right answer. It doesn't matter what the question is. It doesn't matter if the question is, will you go across the ocean to be a missionary? Or if the question is, would you go across the street to be part of a workday? The right answer is always this. Be it unto me according to thy word. The right answer is always this. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Behold the servant of the Lord. See, Mary was normal, but she wasn't average. She was normal, a normal human being, but she wasn't average because the average Christian doesn't make themselves available to God. Like this. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word. And you know the takeaway for us and the application for us today is this. That in our lives we should be willing to say to God, You are my Lord, not my will but thine. You want to disrupt my plans? You'd like to inconvenience me? You'd like to change the things I'm doing? No problem. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Behold the servant of the Lord. That's what made Mary special. And that's what will make you and I special, if we're willing to consecrate ourselves to God. That's why I had to have a little prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for the Bible. Thank you for these stories in the Bible. These amazing characters, amazing people, real people living real lives, they're willing to say, Lord, I'll do what you've asked me to do. I'll go where you want me to go. I'll serve where you want me to serve. I'll sacrifice how you want me to sacrifice. Lord, I pray you'd help us to be like that. Help us to say, behold the servant of the Lord. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. We'll do whatever your will is. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're going to have Brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song. I just want to remind you, of course, I want to encourage you to be back tonight, 6 p.m., for the evening service. We call the Sunday night service the most exciting service of the week. We're going to continue through our number series tonight. We are wandering in the wilderness with the children of Israel through the Book of Numbers. I want to encourage you to be here for that. Of course, I want to encourage you to go by men and look at the clipboards. Specifically, we're looking for any guys that are experienced painters, specifically running an airless prayer, then we would really appreciate you signing up and making yourself available. Any guys that can do drywall mudding, you have drywall mudding skills, mudding texturing or whatever, we would really appreciate your help this week with that. Make sure you go by there and sign up for that. Of course, I want to encourage you to bring somebody with you next week. Invite somebody to church, bring someone with you as we continue to work our way through these characters in the Christmas story. We're going to learn from all of them as we get closer to Christmas day, of course. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. We'll have Matt come up and lead us at this time. Turn to song 431. 431. Silent night, 431 on the first. Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright Land and earth, and mother and child All in heaven, so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace Sleep in heavenly peace Silent night, holy night Shepherds pray, have the sight All is strange, all glad in our prayer Happy mercy, hallelujah Grace her Savior is born Grace her Savior is born Silent night, holy night Son of God, love's pure light Great in heaven, almighty grace In the dawn of redeeming grace Jesus, Lord of thy Lord Jesus, Lord of thy Lord Let's sing it out on the last. Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright With the angels let us sing Hallelujah to our King Grace her Savior is born Grace her Savior is born Amen. Good singing before we leave here. If anybody has questions about salvation, church membership, or baptism, the pastor will be at the door. He'd love to talk to you or direct you to someone who's trained to talk to you about that. I'm going to ask Brother Darrell, would you close a prayer for us? May our question and so we're sorry if it's too late to mess with you. The heart is too deep and the heart is too quiet. Thank you for coming here. God bless you and God bless you. Amen.