Mary’s Gift: Joy in Surrender

turn your Bibles to John chapter 19 John chapter 19 we've been doing a series called The Dirty Dozen and we're talking about the 12 apostles and and how that God could take men that were um had many problems and used them for his glory and for his honor now the problem with this is that doing a series like this is that we come in Christmas season how do you tie in the the apostles with Christmas uh they weren't actually around at the birth of Christ as far as We Know uh they came along about a year and a half into Jesus Ministry they only had about 18 months time with him here on the earth and and so they came in much later they did tell us and Matthew of course and Luke we have the

genealogies of Christ and John tells us about how Christ is the Living Word and and so we do have some connections with them but as I was thinking about it and looking at last week we studied talked about John and John is described by Christ himself as one of the sons of thunder he and his brother James and and and John was one of those kind of guys that was boisterous and and kind of like felt he could tell everybody what to do and and probably a little bit of a bully in some ways as well but yet when Christ got a hold of him he became what the Bible calls the disciple of Love uh the one that Jesus loved and and the God God's love changed into a to a disciple of love and and so as I

thinking about John I was reading through the the story of the crucifixion here John chapter 19 and in verse number 25 it says now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister the Mary the wife of cleophus and Mary Magdalene when Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciples standing by whom he loved he saith unto his motherwoman Behold thy son then sayith the disciple Behold thy mother and from that hour that disciple took care of her unto his own took her onto his own home now you remember all of the discip Les scattered Peter the one that said I'll never betray you Lord he's the first one that took off and the rest of disciples they were not at the crucifixion

they had all gone into hiding they'd all run away except for John and as we talked about last week the the Bible calls John the disciple whom Jesus loved not because he was the teacher's pet not because he was more loved than any other disciples uh God loves us all equally and I'm thankful that we have his love uh not based upon our Merit but upon him his character but um he's described his disciples whom Jesus loved because John was so odd at the idea that God would love him and so there he is at the crucifixion the only disciple that stuck around and Jesus looks down from the cross and and points out John and points out his mother and says John I want you to take care of my mother and and

and so that's a that's an awesome responsibility to take care of the mother of Jesus and yet he's giving that responsibly to John the disciple and I want to talk about Mary just a little bit here and about why she needs somebody to take care of her and how this relates to the story today but the the first question I do have though as we look at the this this uh this story here at the crucifixion is why did John need to take care of Mary Jesus mother where was Joseph Joseph was her husband shouldn't he take care of her in in Luke Chapter 2 put a mark in John 19 we'll come back there but go over to Luke chap 2 and look at verse number 16 Luke chap 2 and verse number 16 it says and they came

with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the Babe lying in a Manger uh we just finished decorating our house or my wife did finish just finished decorating our house I I helped carry a few boxes here and there and all but uh we got one shelf on the end of the living room and all it is is nativity scenes there's a a nice Ramic beautiful in the scene there's a little rubber one the kids can play with and there's about three or four other ones down there and of course all of them have the same centerpiece and that's Mary Joseph and the baby so Joseph was at the birth but why isn't he had the crucifixion in Luke Chapter 2 and look at verse number 43 it says and when they had fulfilled the days

as they returned the child jesus carried behind Jerusalem Joseph's mother knew not of it and then verses 48 8- 50 and when they saw him they were amazed his mother said unto him son why hast thou thus dealt with us Behold thy father and I have sought The Sorrowing and he said unto them how is it that you sought me wish you not that I must be about my father's business now what did happened is as as Jesus had gotten older they took him to the temple for the ritual of bar mitzvah and and uh and and they left after it was all over and they went home but they they forgot Jesus now how many of you let's be honest here how many of you you parents at some point or another have forgotten one of your

children and left them somewhere raise your hand how many have forgotten one of your children and left them somewhere uh I have done that I have done it more than once I think in fact I did it with every one of my children because I didn't want any of them to feel left out in the process and not only did I leave my children but I also left my wife one time uh I was we were traveling and we stopped at a gas station and uh I I uh uh went inside to get something she was going to stay in the car and and when I came out I just got in the car started driving off and didn't even notice she was not in the car until I was about 3 miles down the road and that was before cell phones and so it was a

long three mile drive back to the gas station and then it was even longer drive from then on for the next few hours of Silence in the car uh but you know uh he you forget somebody well here Joseph and Mary they'd gone to the temple they' gone through all the rituals they were supposed to and now they were going back home and all of a sudden they realized where's Jes Jesus now this was a a big family affair and so sometimes kids can get lost in the family and you know you think well Uncle so so taking care of or they're with a cousins so and so playing in the back there and all of a sudden realized that Jesus was missing but here's the thing I want you see here is this is this is the last

time we hear about Joseph after this we have no more no more knowledge of him except for one little thing I'll talk about in just a moment and that is so so we know very little about Joseph we know a lot about Mary but we know very little about Joseph look at Luke chap 1 and look at verse number 27 Luke 1 verse number 27 to a virgin spouse to a man whose name was Joseph of the House of David and the virgin's name was Mary that's about the extent of what we know about him as far as any background or information about him we do know this name means to add or to increase to add or to increase and and that made me think of the Bible verse Matthew 18:20 for where two or three are gathered

together in my name there am I in the midst of them and I wonder when you gather in the name of Jesus Christ when you gather with the church do you add or increase to that church service you see you can add or increase by by U your your participation in the singing and sometimes I see people out there and they just got their mouth shut the whole time and and you're not adding to the worship you can add or increase by your giving uh you can add or increase by working in a nursery or in a children's class or as a greeter but you know what the most important thing you can add or increase in the church service is the Holy Spirit you see the holy spirit is not floating around in this service in

the sky somewhere the Bible says that what know you not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you which you have of God and you're not your own for you're bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit which are his and so if the power of the spirit is going to be in any given church service is a sum of the power of the spirit in each of your individual lives you see I don't bring the power of the Holy Spirit into the church service as the pastor I bring the word of God I I bring the Holy Spirit working in and through me but the power of this church service is not dependent on me as a pastor it's dependent on all of us on how he's working in our

lives and when we're filled with the spirit then we add to that church service and when we're not filled with the spirit we take away from that church service and and so are you somebody who adds to when you come to church so what do we know about Joseph well we know he was a carpenter by trade in Matthew chap 13:55 this they said is not this the carpenter son so that was his business that was his job in fact in Mark chapter 6 in verse number three it says they said is not this the carpenter the son of Mary so at some point in his growing up years until he turned around 30 when we when he started his Earthly Ministry at at some point Jesus worked as a carpenter in his father's shop and and I

think that's important for us to realize Jesus worked with his hands go over to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and vers 9-2 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and vers 9-12 but as touching brotherly love you need not that I write unto you for you yourselves are taught of God to love one another and indeed you do it toward all the Brethren which are in all Macedonia but we beseech you Brethren you increase more and more and that you study be quiet to do your own business to work with your own hands as we commanded you that you may walk honestly towards them that are without and that you may have lack of nothing you see he said listen if you're G to serve the Lord out of love you

ought to be serving others you ought to be doing something to accomplish something Jesus didn't just sit around for all those years he was working hard with his hands and and let me challenge you that that as a Christian you ought to get involved in serving the lord uh I was talking to somebody the other day they were asking about well they're new in the church they're asking well what opportunities are they to serve and I said Can can I serve and I said we love to have people serve because here's the principle I've learned a long time ago you can't fill a cup that's full and if you want God to fill your cup you got to empty it and you can empty it out by giving and service to others and the

more you empty it the more it's filled again and so Jesus uh Joseph was a carpenter and he taught his son how to do carpentry and how to work with his hands which was a good thing and Joseph was also a just man in Matthew 1:19 it says then Joseph her husband being a just man and not willing to make her a public example was minded to put her away privately now remember Jes Joseph this time did not know that that Mary was pregnant by the holy spirit that that was a that was a gift of God and and so he thought well she got pregnant she had sex with somebody else and he was going to put her away privately and and uh and and but he said I I don't want to make a a public show of this I I don't

want to put her on the out in a spotlight and embarrass her in anyway and so he was a just man and you know that's a that's a good thing to be is somebody that's a just man somebody that you know let's as Christians let's be careful not to gossip or talk about people Joseph had every right to be mad this woman he was married to all of a sudden she's pregnant where I didn't have any sex with you how did you get pregnant he didn't know was of the Lord at that time and he ever to be mad and upset and to make a public example of her and to embarrass her but he did not do that and what a good example for you and I we don't have to public embarrass people we do need to take a stand for the Lord

and we need to to help people to see what's right and what's wrong and when they do wrong instead of instead of trying to make an example of them we need to try to love them and help them to get right with the Lord he was also a thoughtful man in Matthew chap 1:20 it says but while he thought on these things behold the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in dreams saying Joseph thou son of David fear not to take un the marry thy for thy wife for that um for that which is conceived in hers of the Holy Ghost you see as he as he saw what was going on I'm sure Mary tried to explain him I've not known any man I I've never had sex outside of marriage uh the holy this this Angel appeared to me and

told me that I was pregnant of that this was of God and it was and I'm still a virgin and you can imagine what's going through Joseph's mind but he thought about it and as he thought about it he listened when the Lord spoke to him so often we as Christians we just react to the situation instead of taking a moment to step back and to think and to pray and to meditate and to seek the Lord and Joseph was a man that thought and and listened to God when he spoke he was also obedient in Matthew 1: 24 and 25 it says then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel the Lord had bidden him and took unto him his wife and knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn son and and he called

his name Jesus he obeyed the angel of the Lord in Matthew Chapter 2 uh the angel came and said flee to Egypt and what did he do immediately he got his family and he took off to Egypt a long hard journey but he didn't question God he was obedient and Joseph also was a very religious man in Luke Chapter 2 and verses 21 and 22 Luke Chapter 2 in verses 21 through 22 Luke 2:21 it says when the eight days were accomplished for the circumcision of the child his name was called Jesus which was um so named of the Angel before he conceived in the womb and when the days of her his her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished they brought her Jerusalem present him to the Lord you

know they followed all the rituals they they did everything that they were supposed to do in James chap 1: 26 and 27 it says if any man among you seem to be religious and bridle not his tongue but deceives his own heart this man's religion is vain pure religion and undefiled before God and the father is this to visit the fatherless and the widows in their Affliction to keep himself on spotted from the world you know we have corrupted what we call Religion Today Religion Today is going through this this set of rituals and and going through this set of uh of traditions that that have been dictated to us but the Bible says true religion is caring about people true religion is letting the love

of God show go through and in your life and that's the kind of man that Joseph was and Joseph also was quiet and on assuming in Luke chapter 4 and verse number 22 Luke chapter 4 and verse number 22 it says and all bear him witness and wondered the gracious Words which proceeded out of his mouth and they said is not this Joseph's son here Jesus was doing some some outstanding teaching he was just uh they were amazed at his knowledge and his ability and his and the way he presented himself and they're like this is Joseph's kid you know it's kind of like when people see how well my son sings and how musical he is and they said that's your son where did he get it from not from you you know and

Joseph was a quiet unassuming kind of guy he he he he wasn't really from the right part of town or anything like that but yet Joseph was a man used of God but by the time Jesus died on the cross there's no sight of him and and we don't know for sure what happened to him but we would conjecture and guess that that possibly then uh maybe he died at some point in jesus' life maybe he died sometime between when Jesus was 12 because that's when he got lost after coming back from the temple until Jesus was 30 we don't know that for sure Mark chapter 6 and verse three again says is this not the carpenter the son of Mary the brother of James and hose hose and of Juda and Si Simeon are not his

sisters here with us now Joseph was around long enough that Jesus had six siblings so he didn't disappear right away he had four brothers and and at least two sisters and so he's got he's got six of six children and and so we we know he's around long enough but at this point he's not there there and and we just don't know why but Mary is there now what do we know about Mary look at Luke 1 and verses 26 and 27 Luke 1: 26 and 27 in the six months the angel Gabriel was sent for from God onto a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin ouse to a man whose name was Joseph of the House of David and the virgin's name was Mary nowy Mar's name means bitterness bitterness now maybe your name doesn't

mean bitterness but maybe you've become bitter and Mary had every reason to be bitter here she was a a young child really she was probably in her teens she was engaged to be married and all of a sudden she turns she's pregnant now she knows it's of the the Lord but nobody else does and and you know how people are and especially back in this day here's a young woman is pregnant out of wedlock she had every reason to be bitter in 2 Timothy 3:12 it says yay and all that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution and and she suffered she paid a price to be the mother of Christ in John 8:41 then said they to him we be not born of fornication we have one father believe in God see

they were calling Mary he says you're you you got pregnant out of wedlock we're we're not the ones that were born out of wedlock we're we're not the ones that are bastards and and this is the kind of thing that Mary lived with her whole life this reputation because not everybody believed oh yeah an angel appeared to you and God said you're going to have a baby without having any kind of sexual relationships and and you're and the baby's going to be born of a virgin and it's going to be the son of God not right that's what she lived with she could have easily become bitter Hebrews 12:15 looking diligently L any man fail of the grace of God L any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and

thereby many be defiled you know I see a lot of Christians who get bitter when they have to suffer for the Lord you see God didn't promise US that we would not suffer said in fact he said all that live God God l in Christ Jesus s suffer persecution God didn't promise US that we wouldn't get cancer God did not promise US that we would lose our job God did not promise US that we wouldn't have children die young he did not promise any that we live in a world of sin and When sin is is there there's going to be problems and I know God is gracious I prayed with a lady the other day who's got cancer and she was asking me can God take the cancer answer away and I I said he can I have no doubt about

that but he doesn't always choose to for whatever reasons Paul prayed three times that God removed the thorn of the Flesh and God said no my grace is sufficient for you and he never had it taken away and sometimes God can heal and sometimes not now in this lady's case what she did get is she says I'm painfree I I have no pain the doctors don't understand why she didn't have pain but the that's the Lord because the Lord's gracious but maybe you've gone through something in your life maybe it's your marriage or or your way your children turned out or maybe it's your your um your job situation or your finances or maybe it's some illness you have or maybe you've lost a loved one and and you

become bitter against God you see Mary had every reason to be bitter because she was looked down upon she was probably spat upon she was probably disowned by friends and family because she was pregnant out of wedlock but you know what her reaction is Mary's reaction is one of Joy look at Luke chapter 1 verse number 45 and blessed is he that believe for they for there shall be performance to those things which were told her from the Lord and Mary said my soul does magn ify the Lord and my spirit hath rejoiced in the god of my salvation by the way can I say something here Mary had to be saved just like you and I she was a sinner and she needed Jesus just as much as you did and I did she

rejoiced in the god of her salvation see we're all Sinners saved by Grace Romans 3 chapter 3 chapter 3: 23 says for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God there's none righteous no not one there's none that doeth good and that includes Mary you know the great great great grandmother of Jesus Christ was a harlot sometimes we think well you got to be perfect in order to go to heaven and and sometimes is taught that g Mary was perfect and she never sinned but the Bible says she needed a savior she was a sinner just just like you and I she needed to believe in verse 45 it says and blessed is he that believed and Mary had to believe in the promise of the Messiah she had to believe in

the promise of the Savior and you and I we need to believe in that same promise we need to believe in the promise of Salvation through Jesus Christ in John chapter 1 and verse number 38 I'm sorry Luke CH 1:38 it says Mary said behold the handmade of the Lord beat on to me according to Thy word and the angel departed from her according to Thy word the Bible tells us in John 5:39 Jesus said search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life and they are they which testify of me there are so many fables and stories about Mary that are not true but what is true is she was a sinner who had a savior Jesus Christ because she believed in the word of God in 1 John 5: 12- 13 it says he

that hath the son hath life he that hath not the Son of God hath not life these things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the son of God that you may know that you have eternal life that you may believe on the name of the son of God if you believe the word of God if you believe in Jesus who was born in the manger so that he could die upon the tree to save you from your sins Mary understood that Jesus was going to have to die she understood that more than anybody else and and she didn't like it but she accepted it because she knew that he was going to be the Savior her Savior and the savior of the world and it's only through him that we can have eternal life in Romans chapter

10: 9- 10 it says that if Thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and Shall Believe in thine heart that God has raised the dead Thou shalt be saved for with the heart man believeth on the righteousness and with a mouth confession is made onto salvation Romans 10:13 for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved Mary rejoiced because she called upon God her Savior and if Mary had to have a savior how much more do you do you and I need to have a savior we need to call upon him but there's also Joy of surrender in verse 38 of Luke chapter 1 it says and Mary said behold thy hand made the Lord beat onto me according to Thy word Lord here's my life I surrender to you

Romans 121:2 I beseech you therefore brother by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a Living Sacrifice holy acceptable unto him which is your reasonable service and be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove was a good and acceptable and perfect will of God Mary said God I am your servant my life is yours to do whatever you will with it and that's the same prayer that you and I need to make this joy that comes when you surrender to God and surrender to him in every area of your life and that's what Mary did Mary had the spirit of God in Luke 147 it says and my spirit has rejoiced in God my savior she rejoiced in God's spirit

in her life Romans 15:13 now the god of Hope fill you with all joy and peace and believing that you may abound in Hope through the power of the Holy Ghost can you rejoice today in your salvation can you rejoice as a Christian in full surrender to him can you rejoice in his spirit in your life we think oh how great it would have been Mary Mary who had to go through the shame of being an unwed mother Mary who had to spend her years watching her child grow up knowing that he was going to have to die Mary who stood at the base of the Cross and watched him go through the crucifixion the cruelest of deaths but she didn't get bitter she rejoiced see Mary got it in in Luke Chapter 2 and verse number

19 says but Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart you ever get a present we got a present in the mail this week from a former family they sent us this present I don't know what it is yet but I've been kind of checking it out you ever do that you ever kind of look at it and say it's in a box and it's got an Amazon tag on it so that says something about it and you know and you're pondering it and the Bible says that Mary kept all these things in her heart and she pondered these things the word Ponder means to put it all together to assemble it in Philippians chapter 2: 12 and 13 it says that the Bible tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling because

it's God that worketh in US you see we need to understand that we don't work for our Salvation Ephesians 28:9 for by grace are you saved through faith then not of yourselves it's a gift of God not of works the same man should boast this Christmas when you hand somebody a present you're not expecting to give you $20 bill you're not expecting to give you money for that present it's a gift a gift is received and that's what salvation it's a gift that's received by faith but yet also we understand that we want to take that salvation and put it all together to work out our Salvation as God works in us you know have you ever gotten a present and the night before you get ready to put it out and

it's on the box it says these words some assembly required that's Chinese knes for you better have an engineering degree and you got to put it all together I'm so glad that the Bible is easy to understand that a lot of instruction manuals that come with the things we buy God has given us the instruction manual to guide us the Bible says she kept all these things the word kept in Luke 219 means to keep in memory Hebrews 2:3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation which the first began to be spoken of by the Lord was confirmed does by them that he heard him in Luke Chapter 2 and verse number 51 it says he went down with them and came to nazus was subject unto them but his mother

kept all these things in her heart the word there kept there is a different word it means to watch carefully to continue You observe it's not a one-time thing Mary's gift to God for Christmas was praise when you go back to Luke ch chapter 1 uh we see what is called her magnifica her praise her prayer of Praise in Psalms 34: number three it says oh magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together Mary after she heard she was pregnant with a Christ child she literally broke out in song like Let It Go or you know she just broke out in this song and she broke out in Praise Hebrews 13:15 by him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually that is the fruit of our

lip lips giving thanks to his name see folks as we come into this Christmas season don't just sing the old familiar songs because they're familiar sing them because they're songs of praise unto a God that loved us so much he sent his son to die for us she marveled at these things the Bible says she marveled that God would become a man and take upon him the form of a servant she marveled like John did that God God so loved me that he gave his only begotten son that God was commended or showed his love towards me while I was yet sinner you ought to Marvel at that you had to Marvel at the fact that God himself would choose to limit himself to the to to a the a body of a baby and a major that

God limited himself to have to be carried by a mother to have to be fed by a mother to have to go through all that process he never stopped being God but he chose to become a man for you and I and Mary marveled at that Mary marveled the fact that God would choose to use her she praised him and she prayed she prayed a prayer to the Lord and in that prayer she quoted scripture I think is 37 times I'm sorry 15 times she quoted scripture over and over again because she knew the word of God you see Mary was an amazing woman and on the cross Jesus said John take care of her and sometimes we need to be reminded that we need to take care of our responsibilities John was a disciple of love John was

at the cross the only disciple that stuck around and John was given a an awesome responsibility to take care of jesus' mother let me ask you a question as Jesus looks down from the cross upon us today what is he asking you to do I think he's asking us listen would you take care of the Gospel would you take it to a world that's lost and invite people to church and tell them about why I was really born in the manger would you tell them about how I died upon the cross would you love people like I loved you and they go into all the world and preach the gospel would you worship me like Mary worshiped me would you let go the bitterness in your life and find the joy of the Lord I think this is what we can learn from Mary