Mary's Song

Q: What does the Bible say about Mary?

The Bible acknowledges Mary as the mother of Jesus but emphasizes that she should not be worshiped or prayed to. In the Bible, Mary is recognized as the virgin mother of Jesus, honored for her obedience and faith. However, Scripture clearly teaches that she is not to be worshiped or prayed to, as that would be a form of idolatry. For instance, in Luke 1:46-47, Mary declares, 'My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,' indicating her recognition of God as her Savior. The focus of worship should always be directed to God alone, as illustrated by the angel's admonition in Revelation 19:10 and Peter’s response in Acts 10:26, where he states, 'Stand up; I myself am also a man.' Therefore, while we respect Mary as a believer who was highly favored by God, we must not elevate her to a mediator or deity.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of idolatry is relevant today?

The Bible warns against idolatry, not allowing for any visual aids or mediators between believers and God. The relevance of the doctrine of idolatry today is underscored by numerous biblical passages that caution against the worship of anything other than God Himself. In Exodus 20, God commands His people not to make any graven images or idols. In contemporary worship practices, the use of statues and images can often resemble idolatry, distracting believers from true worship. Hebrews 12:2 encourages us to 'fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith,' emphasizing that our focus should be solely on Him. The encouragement to worship God in spirit and truth, found in John 4:24, reinforces that any form of worship involving idols or visual aids diminishes the glory of God and the grace that He bestows upon us.

Q: Why is the virgin birth of Jesus important for Christians?

The virgin birth of Jesus is essential as it highlights His divine nature and the miraculous work of God. The virgin birth of Jesus is a fundamental truth in Christian theology that signifies not only the miraculous intervention of God but also the profound nature of Christ's incarnation. Luke 1:30-31 reveals that Mary would conceive by the Holy Spirit, and that holy thing born of her would be called the Son of God. This doctrine affirms that Jesus is both fully divine and fully human, which is crucial for our understanding of salvation. As our mediator, He had to be without sin, and the virgin birth ensures that He retained divine holiness while being fully human. Furthermore, the doctrine underscores God's sovereignty in redemptive history, demonstrating that salvation comes from God alone, not from human efforts or merits.

Q: What does it mean to worship God in spirit and truth?

Worshiping God in spirit and truth means engaging with Him authentically and without reliance on physical objects. Worshiping God in spirit and truth, as stated in John 4:24, emphasizes that true worship transcends physical acts and focuses on the heart's posture before God. It involves recognizing God's holiness and engaging with Him authentically, coming not from rituals or visual aids but from a sincere spirit. This type of worship is rooted in understanding God’s character and aligning our lives in response to His truth as revealed in Scripture. Consequently, this spiritual worship is a matter of grace, where believers are empowered by the Holy Spirit to commune with God. It calls for a sincere relationship with the Lord, where we acknowledge Him as our Savior and Lord without the intermediaries of idols or human traditions.

Q: Why is it significant that God regarded Mary's low estate?

God's regard for Mary's low estate highlights His grace and the reversal of human standards. The significance of God regarding Mary's low estate, as noted in Luke 1:48, reflects the consistent biblical theme that God often chooses the humble and lowly for His purposes. Mary's recognition of her status as a 'handmaid' reveals her understanding of humility before God. In selecting Mary, a young woman of low social standing, to bear His Son, God demonstrates that His grace is available to all, irrespective of societal status or human expectations. This act embodies the upside-down nature of God's Kingdom, where the first shall be last, and the last shall be first (Matthew 20:16). For Christians, this assures us that our worth is not found in worldly achievements but in our identity as beloved children of God, chosen according to His sovereign grace.

If you will, turn in your Bibles
to the book of Luke, chapter 1. I'm going to give you just
a moment to find this scripture because I'm going to read several
verses and bring you some points from each verse. Now, we're going
to begin our reading with verse 46, Luke 1, verse 46 and 47. And the title of the message
is Mary's Song. Mary's Song is our song. In Luke
1, verse 46, and Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and
my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. Now, my friends, we
must not, we dare not, worship Mary. We must not worship Mary,
the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. We dare not pray to her. We dare
not make her a mediator. between us and Christ, us and
God. We dare not bow, listen to me,
before her stature, or any other stature of saints, or apostles,
or disciples, or any other idol. This is idolatry, and it's the
height of folly, and it's forbidden in the Word of God. Now, this
is the day of what we call visual aids in worship. This is a day
of idolatry, disguised. We have pictures of the disciples,
we have pictures of Christ, we have pictures of Mary, we have
statues and idols of departed saints and idols of Mary. And
the Word of God plainly says, I would not offend you, I would
be true to your soul. I would be honest with you. The
Word of God says in Exodus 20, thou shalt not make unto thee
any graven image, or any likeness of anything that's in heaven
above, or that is on the earth beneath, that is in the water
under the earth, thou shalt not bow down thyself to them." A
believer, a Christian, a man who's seeking God and following
the Lord has no business on his knees in front of anyone but
God, in front of anything but the living God, not a cross,
Not a statue, not an idol, not a picture. We've got no business
with these things even in our homes. The more you have of God
in your heart, the less you need visual aids and reminders. And
the more visual aids and reminders you have and need, the less grace
you have in your heart. Now, in Revelation chapter 19,
verse 9 and 10, the Apostle John was on the Isle of Patmos, and
he was receiving the revelation. of Jesus Christ the Lord and
the prophecy of things to come. And the angel said to him, right,
this is an angel of God now that appeared to the Apostle John.
This was a messenger of heaven. This was one of the elect angels
who appeared to the Apostle John and said to him, right, for these
are the true sayings of God. And John said, I fell at his
feet to worship him. That seemed like the normal,
natural thing to do if an angel came from the throne of God and
met with you, and appeared to you an angel, and all of his
immaculate holiness and beauty and glory came from the throne
of God to tell you some things from the mouth of God?" Well,
John fell down to worship. And the angel said to him, see
that you do not do that. The angel said, I am your fellow
servant. I am of thy brethren. Worship
God. And that happened twice in the
book of Revelation. Worship God. Don't bow even before an angel. Now, Peter is said to be the
first pope, which is not true. But the apostle Peter went to
the house of Cornelius to preach. And in Acts chapter 10, verse
25, as Peter came in, Cornelius fell down at his feet. Here was
Cornelius, a Gentile. Here was Cornelius, a man who
didn't know God. Here was Cornelius, a man to
whom God had spoken in a vision and told him that he was going
to send him an apostle. This is one of the 12 apostles,
to tell him the gospel, tell him how God saved sinners. And
when Peter, the illustrious, God-honored, Christ-chosen apostle
of the Son of God, walked into this man's humble house, he fell
on his knees. And you know what Peter said?
Peter said to him in Acts 10, 26, stand up. Stand up. Don't you do that. I myself also am a man. Are you getting the message?
Are you, my friend? There are no men or women or
creatures to be bowed before. There are no bickers of Christ
on this earth, substitutes for Christ, to be bowed before. And all who claim that distinction
are impostors. They're denying the Word of God.
They're denying that they themselves are but men, frail, fallible
men. We're to worship God. We're to
bow before the Lord God. Listen to Matthew 23. Our Lord
says, Call no man your Father on this earth, for one is your
Father which is in heaven. The only Holy Father there is
in the universe is the Lord of glory. And any man who assumes
such a title is an imposter. One is your Father which is in
heaven. This is the Scripture. Do we want to hear God's Word
or do we want to bow to our traditions and customs? Do we want to offend
men or offend God? I prefer to offend men. One is
your Father which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters
or doctors or bishops. archbishops, or any other title. One is your master, even Christ.
He that is greatest among you shall be your servants. We don't
seek for recognition and fame. We seek for His glory. And He
said, He that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted. So learn this lesson well. I'll
give it to you as clear as I know how to give it. They that worship
God, the true worshipers, worship God in spirit, not lighting candles
and carrying crosses and bowing before statues and calling people
on this earth bickers and holy fathers and masters and this
sort of thing. They worship God in spirit and
truth. We are brethren. Even the angels
are our fellow servants and our brethren, the apostles. preachers,
ministers, elders, deacons, all who represent God, and the greater
the man, the more humble, and the less assuming, and the less
glory he takes to himself. Let this mind be in you which
was in Christ our Lord, who thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, but made himself of no reputation, and took on himself the form
of a servant, and became obedient unto death, even the shame, the
ignominious sufferings of the cross. Let this mind be in you. Oh, this religious day with all
of its idols and visual aids and all of its bodily exercise
that profiteth nothing, godliness, spirit worship, worshiping God
in spirit, walking with God as Enoch, speaking with God face
to face as Abraham, because we have a Redeemer. because we have
a substitute, because we have a mediator who is Christ the
Lord. He is all in all. He shall have
all the preeminence. He shares it with no man or no
creature. Clean your house out of all of
its idols. Clean your so-called churches
out of all of their idols and figures and statues and pictures
of things in heaven and earth and departed saints. Bow before
the sovereign throne of the living God, the throne of grace. Worship
God from your heart. My friend, I'm telling you the
truth. Am I your enemy for telling you the truth? You'll never communicate
with God through a piece of stone. You'll never communicate with
God through a picture idol. You'll communicate with God through
the living Christ. He's not dead. He lives. But
while we do not worship Mary, or pray to Mary, or exalt Mary,
or give her a place of preeminence which only belongs to Christ,
let's recognize her in the same fashion that the angel recognized
her. What did the angel say when he appeared to Mary? In verse
28 of Luke 1. Look back at verse 28 of Luke
1. He said to Mary, Mary, you're highly favored of God. And she
was. And God's with you. Here is this
virgin, a spouse to Joseph, not married yet, never known a man,
probably 16, 17 years of age. He said, you are highly favored
of God. God's with you and blessed are
you among women. He said, you're going to have
a child. You're going to have a child. And she said, that can't
be. That can't be. I don't know a
man. Oh, yes, you're going to have a son. and the Holy Ghost
is coming upon you, and the power of the high shall overshadow
you, and that holy thing which shall be conceived in your virgin
womb shall be called the Son of God." And my friend, the Lord
Jesus Christ, that Son that was born of Mary, loved her, had
compassion and affection upon her, but He never indicated in
any way, He never called her mother. And he never indicated
in any way that she had any power or any influence over him whatsoever.
Did you know that? Never. Never did he even give
that indication. I don't know where we get that
because Christ never even hinted or gave any indication that she
had any power whatsoever or influence over him. Let me give you an
example. In Matthew chapter 12, verse 46 through 50, our Lord
was preaching to a great throng of people in a building. And
as he preached, a man came to him. Someone came to him. Scripture
says someone. And said to him, your mother
and your brethren are outside and want to speak to you. Now
let me tell you something. This thing of the immaculate conception
of Mary is falsehood. She was born of a human mother
and a human father and she was born with human sin. She said,
my soul rejoices in God my Savior. The only person that needs a
Savior is a sinner. She thanked God for his mercy. And all people
need mercy of sinners. And she had other children. I've
heard people say, Mary never knew Joseph. Yes, she did. After
Christ was born, not before, but after he was born, she had
other children, Judy and Josie, and there was a daughter, I believe.
And Mary and her other children were outside. Even his brethren
did not believe on him. That's the brethren of his household.
And they were outside the house, and someone came to the Lord
and said, and your brothers and sisters out there, they won't
speak to you. Now, if she has any power over
Christ or any influence over Christ, it'll be revealed right
here. He'll stop what he's doing and go see what she wants. And
that's what people expect who pray to Mary, who make her a
mediator. They say, a mother has great
influence over a son, great power over a son. And if we can get
to the mother, we can get to the son. If we can influence
the mother, we can influence the son. That may be so naturally
on this earth. It's not with the Son of God.
Maybe it's just another child, another sinner saved by grace.
Let me show you that. And they said, Your mother and
brothers are out there and want to speak to you. And he said,
Who is my mother? Who are my brethren? And then
he pointed to his disciples. And he said, Behold, my mother,
my brother, and my sisters. My brother and my mother are
those who do the will of God. The last time that Mary is mentioned
in the New Testament is in Acts 1.14. She's never mentioned in
one single epistle. The last time she's mentioned
is in Acts 1.14. And it said the disciples were gathered in
a room for prayer with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with
the other women. And they all continued in prayer.
They weren't praying to her. She was praying with them, and
that's the last she's heard of. Nowhere in the Word of God is
Mary exalted to any position over any believer. After the
angel announced to Mary that she was highly favored among
women, highly favored of God, and God was with her, and she'd
have a son, he also told her that her cousin Elizabeth was
six months pregnant with a child. She's in her sixth month. And
that child was conceived in her old age. She was barren, but
nothing's impossible with God. And that child was John the Baptist,
who was the forerunner of Christ, who came to announce the coming
Redeemer, who came to bring down the high places and raise the
low places, make straight a path for the Lord, and cry, prepare
ye the way of the Lord, the Redeemer's coming, behold the Lamb of God.
A forerunner always preceded the king. When a king came in
glory and majesty, the forerunner always went before him. And that
was John the Baptist. Well, Elizabeth was to bring
forth John the Baptist. And so Mary went down to see
her. And when she walked in, read that in Luke 1, 42 through
46. When she walked in, Elizabeth
said, she rejoiced. She said, you know, when you
came in, the baby in my womb jumped with joy. John the Baptist
jumped with joy when Mary walked in because Mary was with child
of the Holy Ghost. Christ Jesus was being formed
in her womb. And Elizabeth confirmed to Mary
everything that the angel had said to her. You know, we need
confirmation. God speaks to us. God's Word's
written to us. But believers need to exhort
one another and encourage one another and confirm in their
own spirits what God has told us and what God has revealed
to us. That's what preachers are for. Like Elizabeth was Mary's
preacher. God had told her. The angel had
witnessed to her. But she went down to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth said, it's so. I'm with child. I was barren
in my old age, but God performed a miracle. And my son shall be
a special one. And you're with child. You'll
be the mother of our Lord. You'll bear our Lord. And so
Mary then gave this most beautiful song. I call it Mary's Song.
Mary's Song. And my song, too. It's a song
of thanksgiving. It's my song because, watch this,
now what did the angels say to Mary? You're highly favored of
God. Brethren, every believer is highly
favored of God. God had chosen us out of this
world of rebels and sinners. He didn't leave us to ourselves.
Back in eternity past, according to his own will and purpose,
he set his affections upon a people and gave them to Christ and made
Christ our surety. We're highly favored of God.
Blessed is that man whom the Lord chooseth and maketh his
own. And then he said, God's with
you and God's with us. Christ said, I'll never leave
you. I'll never forsake you. I and my Father will come and
take up our bode in you. And he said, you are blessed
among women. I'm blessed among men. You who know Christ are
blessed among... There are people in this world
who've never heard the gospel. We have missionaries. Our church
helps support 10 missionaries all over the world because we
believe people are lost who haven't heard the gospel of Christ. They
need to hear the gospel to be saved. Whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how shall they call
on him in whom they've not believed? And how should they believe in
him of whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how should they preach except they be sinned?
We're blessed among all people on the face of this earth. We've
heard the gospel. And my friend, not only that,
but the Holy Ghost hath come upon us. We're born of God. And therefore, that which is
born in us, that divine life, that life of God, is born of
the Spirit. and of the Word. The new birth
is not a decision you make. It's a work God performed. The
new birth, like the fleshly birth, is from without. You're born
of the flesh because there was a seed planted in your mother's
womb that gave life. And you're born from above because
a seed came from God. The seed is the Word of God,
and the begetter is the Spirit of God. And He made you live. You don't go to the church and
through your own act or will of the flesh or the will of man
or natural generation get born again. God begets his children. We're born of God. It's a supernatural
work that God performs. Faith is something that God gives
us, but it's exercised by us. Repentance is the gift of God,
but we exercise it. Following the Lord is the gift
of God, but we exercise it. But in the new birth, My friend,
I'm sorry, but the new birth's not something you exercise. It's
something God performs and perfects. We're born of God. Mary says,
I don't know a man. How can I have a child? And a
sinner dead in trespasses and sin can say the same thing. How
can I have spiritual life when I'm dead in trespasses and sin?
Well, the Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of God
the highest shall overshadow you, and that which is born within
you shall be the life of God. You say, nobody's saying that.
Not too many folks know that. Because salvation has become
a decision of man rather than a miracle of God. Salvation consists
not in walking an aisle or accepting a doctrine or changing your,
reforming your life. Salvation in the Scriptures was
a birth, a new creation. Salvation in the Scriptures was
a work of God. And that's what needs to be preached.
You say, well, what will sinners do? They'll go to seeking the
Lord. They'll go to crying out for mercy. They'll go saying,
Lord, do something for me. Don't leave me alone. Don't pass
me by. Don't leave me in my rebellion.
But create in me a clean heart. Renew within me a right spirit.
Restore my soul. You see that? So Mary's song,
highly favored of God. God was with her, blessed among
women. And the power of the highest
overshadowed her and life was created in her. Life that no
man had anything to do with. God did it. And that life was
the Son of God. Behold, beloved, now are you
sons of God. That's right, sons of God. And
that God's sons are born of God. They're not born of men. They're
not born of the conniving of men and the plans of men and
the purposes of men and the works of men. They're born of God.
Mary began to sing. Oh, she began to sing. She said
seven verses to this song. Let's see if I can give you all
seven of them in the time we have. She said in verse 46, My
soul doth magnify the Lord. Now, my friend, the word magnify
means to make great. It means to make greater. In
other words, we use a microscope and we look at something on a
slide and we magnify it. That is, we make it greater than
it is. That can't be what we mean here because we can't make
God greater than He is. So as my soul magnifies God,
it doesn't magnify God in the sense that a microscope magnifies
a small insect or a small germ. But my soul magnifies God in
that my soul has greater thoughts of God. My soul magnifies God
in that my soul recognizes the greatness and majesty of my God. I fear the terrible familiarity
with deity. I worry about folks that talk
like this. Me and Jesus got a good thing
going. I'm concerned about this familiarity with God when the
scriptures don't speak that way. Thomas fell down at his feet
and cried, my Lord and my God. Job said, I saw the Lord, and
I repented and sat clothed in ashes. Isaiah said, I saw the
Lord, and I cried, I'm a man of unclean lips. Daniel said,
I saw the Lord, and my crumbliness melted into corruption. And every
description of a believer in the Old Testament is one that
feared the Lord. And the description of the rebels
in Romans 3 is, there's no fear of God before their eyes. God
is greatly to be feared. God is great and greatly to be
feared. The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep
silence. O Lord, my Lord, how excellent
is Thy name! And here Mary, overcome with
joy and overcome with expectation, did not forget to magnify the
Lord. My Lord, how great He is! How great Thou art! When I, in
awesome wonder, consider all the works that Thy hand hath
made, I cry, O Lord my God, how great Thou art. Watch out for
familiarity with God Almighty and Deity. Secondly, in verse
47, Mary said, My spirit rejoices in God my Savior. And my friend,
God is my Creator, God is my King, God is my Sovereign. God
is my Judge, God is my Provider, but that which makes my spirit
rejoice God is my Savior. God came down here in human flesh
to be my Savior. The Son of God became the Son
of Man. The Ancient of Days became an
Infant of Days. The Eternal God took on Himself
human flesh. The Giver of the Law was made
under the Law. One with God became one with
Man. Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save, He
shall save, He shall save. His people from their sin. He
who knew no sin was made sin for us that we might be made
the righteousness of God in Him. The Son of Man came to seek and
to save, God my Savior, my Spirit. Doth rejoice in God my Savior. He loved me and gave Himself
for me. He's my substitute whose blood cleanses me from all sin.
And then in verse 48, Mary said, He hath regarded the low estate
of his handmaid. You know what the word handmaid
means? I tell you, one of the best things you could buy is
a Greek or Hebrew lexicon, a concordance that'll give you the meaning
of the Hebrew and Greek words. The word handmaiden here is,
listen to me, female slave. Mary never called herself the
mother of God. Elizabeth called her the mother
of my Lord, but she didn't. She called herself a female slave. She said, The Lord hath regarded
the low estate. What is our low estate? Well,
we were born in sin. We were shapen in iniquity. We
were fallen sons of Adam. We are guilty of sin by choice
and by practice. And God hath regarded our low
estate. He hath lifted the beggar from the dune hill. That's where
we were. And made him sit among princes and kings. He hath regarded
our low estate. He wasn't. Our Lord Jesus Christ
wasn't ashamed. to call us all brethren. You know, if your brother was
the president of a large company, you'd with pride say, that's
my brother. That there's my brother. But if your brother is a drunk,
an alcoholic, a bum lying in the gutter on Skid Row, and you
and your girlfriend or somebody you're trying to impress walking
down the street, you wouldn't point to that bum and say, that's
my brother. But Christ did. He pointed to
this bone in the gutter of the world's worst sin and said, that's
my brother. I'm not ashamed of my brother. He regarded my lowest state.
And then they said in verse 49, he that is mighty hath done great
things for me. Holy is his name. Now, my friend,
he hath done great things for us. He loved us and redeemed
us. But he did it in a way consistent with his holiness, consistent
with his righteousness. And then Mary said, His mercy
is upon them that fear Him. Verse 50. We don't want justice. We want mercy. And then Mary
said, He has filled the hungry with good things. He provides
for His own. David said, I'm old. I've been
young, but I've never seen the seed of God begging bread. And
then Mary said, He has helped me in remembrance of His mercy
as He spake to Abraham. Our Lord made a covenant with
the seed of Abraham, who's Christ. And that covenant will be fulfilled.
All that the Father giveth me, Christ said, shall come to me.
Where are they? I'm looking for them. I've got
good news for sinners. I've got good news for lost people.
Christ died for sinners. Christ came to save the lost.
Look to Him and sing the song of Mary.

Mary's Song

What does the Bible say about Mary?

How do we know the doctrine of idolatry is relevant today?

Why is the virgin birth of Jesus important for Christians?

What does it mean to worship God in spirit and truth?

Why is it significant that God regarded Mary's low estate?

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Mary's Song

What does the Bible say about Mary?

How do we know the doctrine of idolatry is relevant today?

Why is the virgin birth of Jesus important for Christians?

What does it mean to worship God in spirit and truth?

Why is it significant that God regarded Mary's low estate?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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