You know, there are many different views on Mary. A recent article I just read said there are two views on Mary. There's the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Blessed Valorous Mary. One sits in a blue robe with a baby in her hands, has eyes that do not look at you. The other is one who is involved in the program of God and is willing to cry out, my soul magnifies the Lord for my soul rejoices in what he has done. We have to understand that today there's a tremendous movement in evangelical circles to somehow incorporate more and more and more of Mary and somehow see her as an advocate for us, one who is full of grace and able to do things for us, and therefore we should pray to her. I'd like to suggest as we read the scriptures today, we will not find that Mary, but we will find a different Mary. We will find a young girl who is mightily used of God. Again and again, it will talk about her lowly estate, about her humble being, about the city she was born in. Again and again, we'll be reminded, we'll be told how poor she was, how lowly she was, how humble she was, how highly favored she was to be even used of God. Again and again, we'll be told that this Mary, this humble young girl, was used of God. And we stand amazed at that. And so we want to pick that up. And as we read these verses, you pick up at least three aspects or reasons she was used of God, three aspects of her use. Notice in verse 26, down through verse 33, you recognize that she was asked to be used by God. God stepped into history through an angel one day and said to Mary, you're highly favored and I'm going to use you today. Now you understand from verse 26 and 27, there are some human reasons why he would ask her. Obviously, it already said in Genesis that this coming Messiah would be the seed of a woman, so he needed a woman. And in Isaiah chapter 7 and verse 14, it said a virgin shall be with child, so he needed a virgin. And as we studied last week in the account from Matthew, but we also jumped over to Luke chapter three, we recognize this woman who would be a virgin had to be of the right lineage. Somehow I had to be a descendant of David. Somehow I did not be a descendant of Solomon and yet be a descendant of David. And so there was a biological necessity there. And in all of those things happened to come together in this young girl by the name of Mary. And she happened to be one who, humanly speaking, was qualified for the job God could use her because, it says in verse 27, she was a virgin. She was one who had been righteous in her lifestyle, and she was betrothed to a righteous man by the name of Joseph. And if you take the time to study Matthew and Luke, you recognize that she had everything in place to be used of God. And from a human perspective, she was able to be used of God. There are many, I'm sure, who had disqualified themselves somehow to be used in this particular way in the program of God, but she had not. And God looked out and found this young girl who was a virgin and betrothed to a righteous man and waiting in preparation for that wonderful wedding that was to come. And God said, I'm going to choose her. But as you recognize the account here in verse 26, down through verse 33, the emphasis is not upon the fact that she somehow was the right person. that somehow she was a woman, a virgin, right pedigree, and all of those things. The emphasis is not on the human side of why she was asked, although that is there for sure. She was the right person, humanly speaking. But the emphasis of Scripture is that she was asked not just because she was the right person. There might have been hundreds of young girls who would have fit all of those qualifications at that time. But she was the favored person of God. That's what it says in verse 28. And as you jump down through all the way to verse 33, that is the focus of it. She was the right person, but she was the favorite. In fact, verse 28 said, Rejoice highly favored of one. The Lord is with you. Now, you understand that the little phrase highly favored was translated by Jerome into the Latin Vulgate and therefore translated from that into the English by this words, Hail Mary, full of grace. And when you read it that way, it can be taken one of two ways. When you read it that way and read it even here, highly favored, you recognize she could have been, it could be saying she was full of grace. And as some people would take it, that means she is so full of grace that she has within her the capability of handing out grace. She is the one who is the source of favors to mankind. And so even in 1950 and 1997 there were tremendous movements in various religious organizations, Christian organizations in the broad sense, to somehow make Mary the co-redeemer of mankind. to make her the mediator for mankind and more importantly, the advocate for mankind. And one of the things you will pick up in evangelical books today, this may surprise you, is there's an emphasis now that we should start to see Mary as the advocate for us, that when we pray, we go to Mary because she is full of grace. She is the one who can hand out grace. She is the one who is a source of grace. And if you need grace in your life, you run to Mary because she is the one who is that. When you read this text, you recognize that in one sense, those two words full of grace, full of grace at three words in English could maybe mean she is the source of grace. But as it's translated here, as you read through here, you recognize that's not what it's saying. She is not the one who is full of grace and therefore the source of grace in our lives. And we run to her for help. She is the one who is full of grace in a sense that she is the recipient of God's grace. That to be used of God. was a highly favored privilege for her. God had showered his grace upon her. So this young little Jewish girl, from a lowly birth in a humble setting, betrothed to a man who was a simple village carpenter, that it was the extension of God's favor and grace to her that she could be used. And as you read through this account, as we read it just earlier, you sense that exactly that's what's being communicated. In fact, as you read verse 29, it says this, but when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, she has not been told she will give birth to a son yet. She has not been told that it would be a virgin birth yet. She is not troubled because she doesn't understand how this can happen. She's not troubled because there's an angel standing there. Now, I might be troubled if I was sitting one day and an angel shows up in my room and tells me something from God. I think that would trouble me. But that's not what is troubling her. As it says in verse twenty nine, when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying. He had just said the only thing he has said yet is you are hardly favored. God has chosen to be with you in a unique and special way. God has chosen to use you in a unique and special way. God has chosen to bless you in a unique and special way in comparison to all human beings. And she was troubled that that saying she could not understand why God would favor her, why God would choose to be with her. Why God would ultimately want to use her in a unique and special way and that troubled her. And so the angel has to explain it to her. And that's why you have in verse 30 down through verse 33, the explanation. Mary, you don't have to be troubled. You're the right person for this job, but you're the favored person for this job. God chose to use you and it asked you to be used in a mighty part of his program. Here's what it says, verse 30. Don't be afraid. You have been highly favored. Verse 31, you will conceive. Now she is told what's going to be. You will conceive in your womb. You're going to have a son. That would be a shock. And you will call his name Jesus. That would be a shock. All of a sudden, all the scripture she had learned as a little kid. in nursery and Sunday school and all those things that they did in those days. All of those verses she had memorized about a coming Messiah who would be the savior of mankind came crashing through her mind. And suddenly she recognized what she had anticipated. She had anticipated someday this Messiah would come and someday he would be born. And all of a sudden she realized it was her. She was the highly favored one. She was the one God had chosen of all the people. To bring forth this son, whose name would be Jesus, and he would be great. He would be called the son of the highest, and she immediately understood what that meant. As you drop down all the way to verse 35, the son of God, when he said he will be the son of the highest, she realized all these things. Messiah, savior, redeemer of mankind, the one who is the eternal son of the eternal God will be born through me. As it says here in verse 33, and it will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom of his kingdom be no end. The one you are going to be used to bring into this world is the one who is the savior of mankind. He is the one who is going to sit on the throne of David. And in spite of all the thinking of Jewish people at this time, that the Messiah would come and set up a temporary kingdom And rule, he said, the one that you will have will set up an eternal, permanent, never to end kingdom. And when you put all of that together, verse 26 through 33, you realize first and foremost, she was asked to be used of God. Because she was the right person. But more importantly, because she was the favored person. Do you understand what she understood? She was not worthy to be used of God. It is a privilege for God to step into your life and my life and say, I'd like to use you. I'd like to have you do something for me. I need you today. None of us will ever be asked to do what she was asked to do. She was asked to do the spectacular. The magnificent. That which would bring in the eternal son of the eternal God. To be used of God, it's a privilege. She knew it. She humbled herself under that. Couldn't understand why God would use her. He says, this is why I need you to do my work. Now, when God asked you to do something for Mary, at least, and probably for all of us, It's one thing to be asked, it's another thing to be willing. It's another thing to accept it. It's another thing to say, sure, I'll go do it. You can only imagine what was running through her mind. In fact, we don't have to imagine it, do we? Because it's recorded for us. Verse 34 says, and Mary said to the angel, how can this be? I do not know a man. Suddenly she sees the impossibility biologically of all of this happening. She does not accept this role in life because she sees it's something that can easily be done. She knows immediately this is an impossibility. She knows immediately this is something that God has asked her to do that cannot be done. She cannot pull this one off. She has not known a man. And as it reads down in verse 35, the angel has to explain it to her. And the angel says to her these words, the Holy Spirit will come upon you. And the power of the highest will overshadow you. Therefore, also that holy one who is to be born of you will be called the son of God. Mary. This is not because it's easy to grasp, it is not because it's easy to do. This is impossible, but God, through his spirit, is going to overpower and overshadow you and he's going to make the impossible possible and you will give birth to the son of the highest, who is indeed the son of God. Mary, you might not believe this. You might not believe that God's able to pull this one off, but let me just say a few things in the angel says this verse 36. Now indeed, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is now the sixth month for her who is was called Baron. For with God, nothing is impossible. Mary, you think this is impossible? This is true. But let me tell you about your relative Elizabeth. She is barren. You understand what that means in the scriptures all the way through scripture. Every time you bump into a barren woman, she cannot. It is impossible for her to give birth to a child. Says God can do the impossible. We'll just do a little one over here in Elizabeth's life. She is too old. She is barren. Guess what? She's already six months pregnant. By the way, when you read verse 39 through 45, Mary went and checked that out. You're telling me about Elizabeth, my relative, who's six months pregnant. I know she's barren. There's no way she could have pulled that one off. As soon as the angel left, Mary packed her bags and ran over to Elizabeth and said, I'm going to check this one out. Can God do the impossible? And when she got there, she immediately knew that God had already pulled off one impossible thing. He'd given one lady who was old and barren the opportunity to give birth to a son. You recognize that you read verse 34, 35, 36 and 37. Mary does not fulfill this role because it's easy to grasp, because it's easy to understand, because it's easy to do, because anybody could pull this one off, because Mary could pull this one off. She has come to recognize this is absolutely impossible. The only way this could ever be pulled off is if God pulled off the impossible in my life. And do you know what she said? You know what she said. The greatest words from Mary in this whole passage are verse 38. Her first line is, Behold, the maidservant of the Lord. She says, I will take my rightful place. I'm this lowly, humble, wrong city, wrong place, wrong pedigree from the minds of so many people. More importantly, I am the maidservant of the Lord. I will assume my role as your humble maidservant, as your humble slave, as your humble servant. I will take that role. You have asked me to do the impossible. You have asked to use me for you to pull off the impossible, is perhaps the way it should be said. And then she says these words. Let it be to me according to your word. I will completely surrender to what you have asked me to do. I will completely surrender to what you have commanded me to do. I will completely surrender what you have said is impossible for me to do, and I will do that. Mary was asked to be used to the Lord, and she realized that is a privilege. Nobody deserves to be used the Lord. You're highly favored if God taps you on the shoulder and says, would you? She was not only asked to be used to the Lord, she was willing to be used to the Lord. Not because she figured she could pull it off. Not because she could even understand it. But because she totally committed her life as a servant of God to whatever he wanted for her. Later on in verse 45, it will say this, Blessed is she who believed. The reason she was willing to surrender. Is because she was willing to trust. She was willing to believe. By the way, you understand that every time you have surrender or submission taught in the scriptures. It is always taught tied to faith and trust, isn't it? It is really tough to surrender and to submit to somebody you do not trust. By the way, that's important for all parents. It's important for all husbands. It's important for all teachers. It's important for everybody who finds himself in a position where there are people who are to submit to them, who are to obey them and to surrender to them. Their surrender and obedience will be easy when they trust you. It'll be almost impossible when they do not. She believed her God was able to do the impossible, and therefore she surrendered to her God and said, let it be according to your word. You do with me whatever you think you want to do with me, and I will accept it no matter what. She was asked to be used of God, and immediately the text wants us to focus. There was one person in history. Who God asked, she was willing to be used of God because she surrendered and so trusted God that he could do the impossible. By the way, years ago, Rusty Young said to me, challenged me in Virgin, New York. I don't know if he remembers it. His fifth year of my ministry there, probably. He said to me, Richard Van Heukelen, what are you doing? That could only be done. If God pulled it off. What are you attempting to do in this church that could only be done if God did it? See, I protected myself. We were just doing things that I knew we could pull off on our own. It's easy to do things for God that you know you could do anyway. What are you attempting that could only be done if God did it? You see, with God, nothing's impossible. She was asked and she was willing. To be used of God, will you understand that for all of us, God may ask us, we may surrender and say, yes, let it be according to your word. But there's something special about Mary, as you read down through this, she was not only asked, she was not only willing. She was happy to be used of God. Do you remember what she said? Well, you do remember what you said because I just read it for you. Verse forty six and down when Elizabeth meets her and they interact and the baby and Elizabeth's womb leaps for joy and all that goes on. Mary says this, my soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit is rejoicing, God, my savior. The amazing thing about Mary is that she was asked that she was willing, but especially she was she was rejoicing, she was happy to be used of God. What a tremendous privilege, and she knew it. My soul magnifies the Lord. In the inner core of my being, God just keeps getting greater and greater and greater. In the inner core of who I am, I keep seeing that the God that I serve is a magnificent God, is a great God, is an expanding-in-my-mind God. My soul, the inner core of my being, increasingly is amazed at the wonder of my God. And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. I am happy in the inner core of my spirit. I just flow with joy in the inner core of my spirit. I am jubilant today. If you could see me, in fact, the word there that's translated rejoicing, if you know, it's kind of like a guy jumping up in the air, so happy for something and clapping his feet together. She said, if you could see the inner core of my spirit today, I recognize that to be used of God is a wonderful privilege and I'm happy to do it. I'm rejoicing in it. And here's why we have read it. We'll quickly point it out. He has regarded the lowly state of his maidservant. For behold, from henceforth, all generations will call me blessed. She said, think of it today. My God came and tapped on my shoulder and said, I'm going to use you. To think of it today that my God even knows I exist, she said, is a wonder. He regards me, he's mindful of me, he knows I exist. In my lowly condition, The one you would least suspect that he would tap on the shoulder to be used in such a spectacular way. God came one day and he just tapped on my shoulder. He knew I existed. He regarded the lowly state and he turned it all around in my life. The little teenage girl from a little village that didn't amount to anything would somehow be blessed by all nations and all generations. He was mindful of me. Besides that, verse 49, he was mighty, has done great things for me. He was mighty towards me. You can't believe what he did in my life. He is the one, as you read through this magnificent, who was going to use her. In a miraculous virgin birth conception. He could pull that one off. He was the one who was going to use her to bring into the world a savior and bring salvation, not only to her, but to mankind. He was the one who is going to exalt her. And bless her for all generations. He said, I am happy to be used of God because he is mindful of me, he would pick me out of the crowd to do his work and he is mighty for me. He can use me. He can do with me Spectacular things. And then she says this. And his mercy is on those who fear him. She comes back to where she started. How can this be? No, before that, she had said, I am troubled. I am highly favored. And you understand that to be highly favored, which can be translated grace, full of grace, but also full of mercy. And now you pick up the word mercy and she's come right back to where she started. She said he is mindful of me. He is mighty towards me. He's merciful to me. He shows his favor on me. Not just because she gets to be used, but as you read down through it, that's kind of left her mind. His mercy is demonstrated to her in that there's going to be one who is born through her. One whose name is Jesus. One who will be a savior. And one who will deliver her and people from their sins. Oh, when you put this all together and you study the life of Mary, you realize that the intent of the text is to say, you know, you should be surprised that God would favor her. That God would ask her. Why would God ask her? But he did. You should be surprised that she said, let it be according to your word. She was willing to do the impossible because she knew her God was able to do the impossible. Impossible. Didn't understand it. Didn't think she could pull it off. Knew her God could. You should be surprised that she was willing to totally surrender and say, go do it. She also should be impressed, maybe not surprised, But the reality, she was happy to do it. It was a great, great privilege for her to be used of God. Now, you understand there's many things you learn from that. One thing, when you see all these kids in just a few minutes, they're going to all be standing up here and waving at you and we're going to be having fun and taking pictures. God's going to want to use every one of those kids one day. Just like he wants to use you. We want every one of those kids, when God taps them on the shoulder and says, I want you to do the impossible. I want you to do what you can't do, what you're not comfortable with, what you don't understand, to say, let it be according to your word. I'll go do it. Not with regret. Not because they have to. Because they would scream out with Mary, my soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices. My spirit rejoices that he would use me." I trust that if we study that, we are very thankful that there was a young Jewish girl who was used of God. But we're also very thankful, as she was, that the focus was in on that baby who would be born. His name would be called Jesus, the Son of God, the deliverer of mankind. Let's pray. Thank you, Father. Work in each of our hearts as we hear these children in just a few minutes, I pray that we would be amazed that you're going to tap their shoulders one day. I pray that we would have a great burden as a church to fill their minds and hearts with scripture and godliness so that they with Mary would spontaneously be allowed to rejoice spontaneously, quote, Scripture after Scripture, as you will ultimately use them for your good and glory. I pray, Father, we too would be a people who, when asked to do the impossible, would be willing to surrender to the impossible with great joy in our heart. We thank you in Christ's name. Amen.