Mary-Maidservant of the Lord (Part B)

The Lord says, This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Genesis. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Christ.

This is Cross-Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. Today, Pastor Rick will continue his message called Mary, Maid-Servant of the Lord, in Luke chapter 1. Listen to what the prophet Nathan said to David. He says, Your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you.

Your throne shall be established forever. This goes beyond David. It goes beyond Solomon.

It goes all the way to the Messiah who is now coming to the world. Mary, wife of Joseph, mother of Jesus, but never mother of God. She could not produce God. The race, the Jewish race could not produce God.

And that's why we have the virgin birth. As I said, she's not the mother of God. And if you were to call her the mother of God, if you were to pray to her, she would call it blasphemy.

And she would have, probably, be part of the process of having used stone to death under this government because that was the penalty. It was a capital crime to blaspheme God. Now they tried to do this to Jesus. They accused him of being blasphemous. The difference is that he proved that he was who he said he was according to the scriptures, according to all that he was doing.

And so when they were just in a hurry to stone people for blasphemy, they would have had to have stopped to think for a minute were they justified. She married a poor but noble prince, the man named Joseph, who's never referred to as the father of Jesus. Now when Jesus came into this world through Mary, it was not birth of the son of God. It was the birth of the son of man. The son of God has no birth. He came into this world from eternity past.

In other words, no matter how far back you go, there he is. He is self-existent, he is eternal, he has always been. But when God came into the form of a man, a separate person from the father, it was Jesus Christ. He came as the son of man and this is the moment, this is when it is happening.

What is relevant to me is, okay, if God worked that way then, what does that have to do with me now? The message, the movement of the Holy Spirit through me into the lives of others. That I could be the manservant of the Lord, that I could say yes Lord and be off and running and doing what he said, but this cost Mary dearly. And not only in the early phases, throughout her life. Now we come to the AD section of Mary's life, after the birth of Christ, during his life.

Once life was placed in her, who would be her advocate? How would she say, what would she say? Joseph, I know we're betrothed, essentially we are married. We just have no physical contact with each other.

We had a year. If they were to be together, they had to be a chaperone. It was a binding arrangement and to violate it, it was a capital crime. Imagine today, someone saying, well you can date for one year, but don't touch each other. And if you do, if you go too far, you'll be in big trouble.

And if you find anybody else during that time, you're going to be in super big trouble. That's the arrangement that she found herself in. And so now she goes to Joseph and she says, I'm praying. What? I said I'm praying. What an awful situation.

I have not been with another man and I am with child. God did it. What?

Could you imagine how horrible that moment was? She's moved from the time with Gabriel to now the time with Joseph. The angel's not gotten, the dream has not come to him yet, which makes you say God. Was it then too much to just like get to Joseph the night before?

No. And it gets worse. Now, you might remember the story of Judah and Tamar. Judah had decided that after his sons had died that he was going to, he promised Tamar, the widow of two of his sons, that she would be able to marry the youngest son and she would wait for him.

And so she put on her widow's garb and for years waited and she realized this wasn't going to happen. So she tricked Judah, played as though she were a prostitute, and she conceived. When Judah hears of this, not knowing it's her, he's ready to have her burn to death. We read about it in Genesis chapter 38 verse 18 when the news gets to him and verse 24, Genesis 38 verse 24. And it came to pass about three months after that Judah was told, saying, Tamar, your daughter-in-law has played the harlot. Furthermore, she is with child by harlotry. Now Judah would have loved to be rid of her.

This was his opportunity as he saw it. So Judah said, bring her out and let her be burned. Now this is before the Mosaic law, but this was how people thought in that part of the world.

Other parts too, but we're talking about this part. As the story goes on she reveals, no, no, Judah, you're the guilty guy and she does not get burned and the story goes on. But Mary knows that this is the environment she lives in. That people are thinking like this around her.

The appearance, the accusations that would come, that would stay with her throughout her life. Some of the people were noble in intent but short-sighted nonetheless. The story would circulate and it would be used against Christ himself by the Jews many years later as he was conducting ministry and the Pharisees did not like his message. And there in Matthew, or John's gospel, the gospel mill had reached many through the years and there we read this in John chapter 6 verse 42. He says, and they said, is not this Jesus the son of Joseph whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he says I have come down from heaven? Now in this group of people who lived in the area, in Nazareth at this time, there were those that fully believed her story and embraced it and told it.

But there were others, as often is the case, that did not. And their story reaches, as I mentioned, John chapter 8 verse 38, Jesus is dealing with the Pharisees again. They've already said, well you can't have come down from heaven, we question this because your family is here. And then in another place he says, I speak what I have seen with my father and you do what you have seen with your father. They answered and said to him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. In other words, he didn't do this to me.

You do the deeds of your father. Then they said, we were not born of fornication, we have one father, God. Why would they bring that up?

What does fornication have to do with this? They were attacking him. So they throw this back up in his face.

They didn't pull it out of the air. It had been out there. And Mary had to live with this all her days. But she overcame.

She did well in spite of her. And so from the start of her conception, there were those that questioned what was going on. But there were also advocates who knew the supernatural was at work.

Let me ask you a question. When God is using you, do you know the supernatural is at work? When God is doing whatever he is doing in your life, whatever he is allowing in your life, whatever you don't like that he has allowed in your life, do you understand that God is at work and therefore it is supernatural?

It might be rather routine. In the natural, the Lord says, I will never leave you nor forsake you. I am with you always. Even to the end of the age, when I come again, I'm going to be with you. There's no escaping you and me together.

We are bound together. That's why the church is the bride of Christ. So do we see that it's the same God who's taking care of Mary even though he's allowing appearances and accusations to run their course within the confines of his power. There had been 400 years of silence from God. There had been no prophet.

There had been no voice from heaven. From the end of the book of Malachi to Luke's Gospel, chapter 1, verse 11, 400 year gap. And then God shows up on the scene suddenly. And here's where the advocates begin to come forward and the story becomes even more exciting. The advocates will be Zacharias, Elizabeth, and Joseph in the early stages. There were other unnamed people for sure. Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias, the priest, you know the story. They were an older couple.

They had no children. They'd been praying for a child. And God decides to grant it way after the fact. Verse 13, Luke chapter 1, begs a question. Here it says, but the angel said to him, now this is the angel. Zacharias is a priest. He's in the temple at the golden altar. He's offering up incense, the prayers of the people.

The people are outside. There Gabriel the angel appears to him, breaking the 400 year silence from God to men. Essentially making Zacharias a real prophet of the Lord. The angel appears to him.

He says, do not be afraid Zacharias, for your prayers, your prayer is heard and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you shall call his name John. But here's the question. Their prayer is heard. How long do you keep praying for something? You would think that they would have said, okay look, we're in our 60s, our 70s, however old they were.

They were past their 50s for sure. Wouldn't they stop praying by now? But they don't. And God answers it. And then when he answers it, Zacharias doesn't believe it.

That's how we are. We pray, God would you just use me? I know I'm not worthy. God uses you and then you say, I can't believe it.

We have doubts. We ask God to provide for us. He provides for us that we have guilt. I feel so bad. I got this nice steak in front of me and I shouldn't have. What have you been praying for? And he gave it to you.

Eat it or give it to me. But that is how we are. We ask God for something.

When he moves in his own way, we're often too slow to see what he's got. If you could just send me to a good church. I could be around people who love you and want your word and God does that. And what happens so often is the person gets in there and begins to mess it up.

Hearing that helps all of us guard against it. I remember the days, Lord you called me to the pastorate. Where is the church? Where? I'm just walking around.

Nobody's following. But I know what you said. Thirteen years at least passed before it even began to happen. And it was like, this is it? A circle of chairs? Where's that pulpit?

It came. And so now when I want to say, maybe I should have been a fisherman. I really don't. I don't let myself go in that direction. But I know many pastors who do.

And when I hear about them doing it, I understand it and I try to say, I don't want to do that. God called me to this. I'm going to work my calling. That's the goal.

That's how we're going to go about this. And so my point is, when you pray to the Lord and he answers the prayer, work it. And that's what Zechariah, kind of like he was called on God, he wasn't ready for this. Elizabeth doesn't seem to be that way. She seems to be very receptive to the Holy Spirit. Now, Elizabeth understood miracles.

I'm going to bounce around here and hope I don't get lost. But look again at verse 39. Zechariah's incident happened about at least seven months ago, because Elizabeth is now three months pregnant. And there had been some time passing since the prophecy and the fulfillment. And then it says, Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

Now let me get this right. She is not married. She is now with child. It is probably at this point that she had her discussion with Joseph and she leaves Nazareth and quickly goes to like maybe Hebron or one of the areas in Judah to where Zechariah and Elizabeth live. But she is in violation of the law to human eyes. She goes right to the house of a priest. That's like robbing a bank and going to the police station, or being accused of robbing the bank and going to the police station. And she goes with haste, which stirs the story.

I mean, what happened? She was just sitting there and just, you know, I'll just go to Elizabeth's house. No, I think that again, to keep the story real and to see it as it comes off the pages quite naturally, Joseph's not very receptive to this. We read about that in Matthew chapter 1. He thinks about this, what am I going to, in fact we should just go there, Matthew chapter 1 verse 19, that Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make a public example. That is a euphemism. Not wanting to have her stoned to death. That's what it was. Was minded to put her away.

And so the whole thing is as though he's chewing on this, what to do. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you, marry a wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. Now, you can imagine the relief Joseph felt because he truly loved her. Not only was he willing to believe the angel, but he was willing to continue with the marriage, even though her firstborn would not be his firstborn. And then it says, then Joseph being aroused, verse 24, from his sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn son. For those who say, well, Mary had no other kids, then why does she have a firstborn son?

Well, there has to be a secondborn son to qualify that. And called his name Jesus. And so it's at that somewhere at this time that the contact between Mary and Joseph was under stress. And so she, with haste, now listen, polysyndeton, it's using the same preposition to emphasize a point. Here it is and, the preposition. Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste to the city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

And it's to, it keeps the emphasis on each event, and emphasizes each event as an individual moment, yet it's all connected. And so she goes to the house of Zacharias and she says that she is with child. But before Zacharias can get to the scene, there's this interaction between Elizabeth and herself. And that's where we pick up in verse 40, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

They probably don't even know she's pregnant at this time, that she's conceived. And it happened when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.

It's prophecy. It's not like she could have picked up the phone and said, hey Elizabeth, guess what? To go from Nazareth to the hill area of Judea is a trek. It took a long time to get there.

There was no bus to take or cab or drive. She either walked or took a donkey. Elizabeth was a mother figure in her life. Mary may have been without a mother. But for some reason, which we know, she wanted to get to the house of Elizabeth and she made haste to get there. Elizabeth receives her in the power of the Holy Spirit because the prophet John is in her belly at this time. She's six months pregnant herself. And so that when Zacharias comes in and says, what's this, you're pregnant but you're not married yet? He is obligated to conduct an investigation because of his position.

He has to. Now, I think the investigation went something like this. I want you to tell me everything. Start at the beginning.

Take your time. And she says, I had this vision of this angel. I don't know his name. He didn't tell me. Maybe he did, but it's not stated. We're told that Gabriel introduced himself to Zacharias as Gabriel, but it's not said that he mentions his name when he speaks to Mary. That is told as part of the narrative. And so when she tells him the story about this angel and describes him, he's one already. So when I hear the story about Zacharias and he doubts a little bit, look at verse 19. It says, the angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God, who is sent to speak to you and to bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their own time.

I've always read that story till today and said, man, that's a little harsh. I mean, Moses doubted, too. But God didn't strike him mute.

It's a little bit of, you know, I don't know. I'm old. And he gets smitten with being mute.

Why? Well, because he wouldn't soon forget that. He remembered that all of his life. So when Mary shows up and she's telling him about Gabriel, he's still smarting from that whole mute thing. He's ready to believe anything. In fact, he can't even talk at this time, I should state that. If he's communicating at all, it is through writing.

He's still mute the time this is going on. And so he's very sensitive to the supernatural activity that's taking a place around all of them. And when she's talking about Gabriel, he's, you got me. I'm a believer.

No problem. I understand this is of the Lord. Now, through this Zacharias protocol, as he conducts this investigation, as he inquires of her, and she begins to state very clearly what's going on, he makes an official statement, you're innocent.

You are not guilty of sexual sin. Why would the people receive his testimony? Because God had already been surrounding that house with miracles. And it's said, as you read the story, it says, many will rejoice. There were many witnesses, there were many people coming to Elizabeth rejoicing with her, seeing all these miracles take place. In other words, Zacharias and Elizabeth had religious cred-ability. Everybody believed what they said because of what God was doing. So when Zacharias comes out and he goes, hmm, hmm, hmm, pass me a writing pad, he writes down, innocent, everybody accepts it. If the Lord told this man that God has made this happen, we're good with this.

Or else I don't know how you can make these things work as wonderfully as they have been working in the lives of these people. At the wedding of Cana when Mary said they had, well, read John chapter 2 verses 1, 3, and 5, and on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. His mother said to the servants, whatever he says to you, do it. Profound words coming from her.

Mary knew that he could do anything. She also knew that while he would not do anything, he would do something. But the critical part of the story is she said then what has been said ever since then, whatever he says, do. This is my beloved son.

Hear him. It's not the whole story, but it is a critical part of the story. And these were not her dying words, but they are undying words.

They're words that never end. They belong to the church and some were rejected. They don't want any part of it because they don't want the scripture. But we go by what the scripture says, that thus saith the Lord. The last time we see her, she's with the followers of Jesus Christ and they are praying with her, not to her.

It's right there in Acts chapter one, verse 14. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. So they are praying with Mary, not to Mary. I'm not going to take time to read to you all of the awful doctrines on Mary that are unbiblical and belong to a law of Rome.

And they are awful. She has become the co-redeemer. That is blasphemy.

And we need to know this. Well, a final word on Mary. It comes from Proverbs 31, verses 29, 31. Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all. Charm is deceitful. Now listen up, sisters, especially you younger ones.

Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing. But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates. The gate again is that part of the city where the leaders of the city would gather and make policy and decision. It is also where they would plan war. Our gate is the throne of God. And when God praises his people from the gate, it is the very thing that the writer is talking about there in Proverbs.

Who himself was the king. You've been listening to Cross Reference Radio, the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Pastor Rick is teaching from God's word each time you tune in.

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