Sunday, 13th December 2015
Pastor Bruce McDonald
Today Pastor Bruce shared with us the story of Mary, mother of Jesus. We all know that Jesus was conceived by the Spirit, on the other hand, if people did not believe in Mary, she may be stoned to death! Carrying in the Savior inside her womb seems such a dangerous thing to do, yet Mary chose to trust in God and rejoice over her circumstances. “And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord” (Luke 1:46 KJV).
Pastor Bruce shared that during that time, it is very likely Mary is about 16 years of age! But God chose her and she responded to the calling. When Jesus was still a child, Mary and Joseph took him to Jerusalem to present to the Lord, there they met a prophet called Simeon, who blessed them and prophesied over Jesus by saying, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:35)
It’s not easy for Mary to receive such a prophesy! However Mary continued to obey the Lord and walk in His way. In the Book of John, when Mary realized the wine has ran out at the wedding, she turned to Jesus, but Jesus said, “Woman, why do you involve me… My hour has not yet come.” In the Book of Matthew, when Mary took her other sons to find Jesus in a meeting, Jesus responded, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” (Matthew 12:48) Furthermore, when Jesus was on the cross, Mary was there as recorded in the Bible, “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” (John 19:25)
So may stories talk about Mary being hurt and rejected, but she still magnifies the Lord and put God before anything else. In the Book of Acts, we saw Mary was with the disciples on the Pentecost Day, and the history shows that Mary stayed in Ephesians with Apostle John until she died.
Pastor Bruce encouraged us to learn from Mary. Even though there may be many things happening in our lives, hurting, rejecting, confusing, stirring our souls, but no matter what, we should always magnify the Lord, makes Him bigger and clearer, instead of our problems, and He will bring us to victory!