A Lesson from Mary’s Sacred Motherhood

Introduction

Luke 1:26–38 ESV

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:46–55 ESV

46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

1) Pursue Personal Purity

The way that Mary is addressed by the angel Gabriel shows a personal purity in her life.

This is marked by the fact that she is a virgin who is betrothed.

She is not given to lust, but rather is seeking to remain pure to God.

Her physical purity is a byproduct of her spiritual purity.

There is great blessing in pursuing personal purity in our lives.

The Bible shows us how to have personal purity.

Psalm 119:9–11 ESV

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Living our lives based upon God’s Word rather than our own understanding always produces blessings in our lives.

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

We can either trust God at His Word, or we can forfeit the blessings of personal purity and learn the hard way.

The pursuit of personal purity is also a daily pursuit.

Chances are, like all of us, you’ve had some failures in living a Bible-centered life.

There is no reason to give up! Do not become complacent nor discouraged.

The grace of God is greater than your failures and should draw you to living in Him and pursuing personal purity through the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.

Lamentations 3:21–23 ESV

21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

As we look upon Mary’s example in Scripture, be a person who pursues personal purity in your life!

2) Honestly Hold to Humility

Mary displayed great humility, even though she had the opportunity to boast of greatness.

She resolved herself to servanthood.

Taking on the task of mothering the Messiah was not a short-term commitment nor did it fit in her immediate plans.

Yet at the very core of her nature, her plans were laid aside for God’s plans.

Her dream-life was handed over to God, no strings attached.

As people, we hold very near and dear to our own plans and dreams.

Our culture has honed in on the “follow your dreams” trigger of our own vanity and pride.

So what do you do when God wants to interrupt your world?

What happens when what you think is the good life is called to be laid aside by God for something you don’t fully understand?

Honest humility doesn’t just say the right thing…it goes the distance and says, “I am a servant of the Lord beyond anything else. Let it be to me according to Your word.”

When you and I surrender our lives to Jesus, we don’t just surrender our eternal destination to Him. We place all faith, all trust, all desires, all obedience, all happiness, all joy, all of who we are into His hands to do with as He wishes.

Is He calling you to something you think impossible?

Is He drawing you to dive deeper with Him, but it’s requiring you to sacrifice some good things on your part?

Is He leading you to lay down a dream or a desire for His purposes that you don’t fully understand yet?

Mary got to be a part of something remarkable and beyond anything she should could have ever imagined because she humbly offered her life to God.

As a result, she knew the Savior on this earth better than any other person who has ever turned to Him.

Because of her servants heart and her humility before God, she surrendered to God what was good and was blessed with what is great!

If you want to experience God’s greatness, be a person who honestly humbles themselves before God and places all things into His hands.

3) Earnestly Exalt the Eternal

Mary is so full of God’s Spirit and surrendered to what God is doing that she bursts into song when she is met by her cousin Elizabeth (who is pregnant with John the Baptist!).

Caught up in the moment, she can’t help but to express the outpouring of her heart.

What she says in this moment (known as The Magnificat) is profound!

She praises the Lord and declares Him her Savior.

She recognizes that He is the source of all blessing.

She declares the steadfastness of His mercy to His people.

She highlights the awe of His strength and His righteousness.

She marvels at His eternal faithfulness

When you and I open our eyes to the eternal nature of God, we will experience a blessing that is so filled with wonder, it will overflow out of us!

God is all-consuming and all of who we are should burst to live all of life all for Him!

Exalting the eternal opens our eyes to greater awe and wonder of who God is.

Exalting the eternal with all of who we are opens the flood gates of blessing and favor from our Lord that is equally eternal.

Closing

Just think about the moment your eternity was redirected:

We were once lost and broken people who were destined to spend an eternity apart from God’s goodness in a torturous and tormenting hell.

Out of divine and perfect love, God bridged the gap of our sin through the blood of Jesus so that we may be rescued, redeemed, restored, reclaimed, and repurposed to the glory of God.

Why would we ever want to settle for anything less than…

…pursuing personal purity,

…honestly holding to humility,

…and earnestly exalting the eternal?