The Immaculate Conception

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God, my Savior. And not to make too big a point about this, but what does Mary call the Lord?

Her Savior. Now that doesn't really, of course, he is her Savior. He is our Savior. He is the Savior of the whole world. So I don't want to make too big a thing of this, but there are those who believe and teach.

I think it needs to be said. I've preached two sermons on Mary, so I think it needs to be said. There are some people who view Mary and exalt her to such a level that she's almost like a goddess in the eyes of some people.

She is called by over a billion people on this earth. She is called or referred to as the Queen of Heaven. Mary is prayed to. Cathedrals are built in her honor, where if you look at the artwork, especially in Europe, it often depicts Mary as above Jesus and sometimes even above God himself.

Some go as far as to call her the Redemptrix, that she, along with Jesus, has redeemed the human race. They've made Mary almost like an idol. They have exalted her above measure. The reason why that has happened is because many believe that she is the perpetual virgin.

My purpose in telling you this is to teach you what the Bible says and to teach you who Mary was. Unfortunately, in the day we're living in, you have to teach who she wasn't. How many of you have ever heard of the Immaculate Conception?

Yeah, just about everybody. I think there was a football play that was called the Immaculate Reception, but we're not talking about that. But the Immaculate Conception is, most people think that that's referring to Jesus being born of a virgin.

Yeah, Immaculate Conception, Jesus was born of a virgin. That's actually not what it refers to. The Immaculate Conception is actually a Catholic dogma about Mary's birth. That they say her mother, Saint Anne, gave birth to a child, Mary, who was without sin.

So, they actually say that Mary was born without sin. That's the supposed Immaculate Conception. Well, the Scripture knows nothing of such a teaching. And the Christian Church really needs to take a stand on this.

On Sunday morning, and on Wednesday night, and all year round, every day, we exalt who? We exalt Christ. It is the Christian Church. We exalt Jesus Christ. As great as Mary and the saints were, we can never fall into the trap of exalting them.

You know, that's the way people are. And if there was some holy site, and there are holy sites in Israel, is it the Church of the Nativity? Where people go, and they bow, and it's almost like they're worshiping the plot of ground.

And they don't even really know that Jesus was born there. That's just what tradition says. But that's the way people are. We want to exalt other things. Santa Claus. Let's exalt Santa Claus. Let's exalt, yeah, no, we're not going to.

Let's exalt all the, whatever it is. You know, the traditions that surround the holiday. No, we need to remind ourselves and remind each other that we need to exalt Christ. Back to that point that I was making, Mary was not born sinless.

How do I know that? Because she calls Jesus what? And she calls God her Savior. The fact is, sinless people don't need a Savior. The only people that need a Savior are those who are tainted by sin. And that's all of us, and as wonderful as Mary was, that was Mary too.

So again, with two sermons about Mary, I felt like that needed to be said. Just so you don't think that I'm sliding in some other direction here. What does the Scripture say about her? She was a wonderful woman.

Blessed among women. That's what the Scripture says. All generations shall call her blessed. And we do that. We're saying that today about Mary. She is blessed. But why was Mary blessed? What was the reason?

Because of the fruit of her womb. You know, it's all about Jesus. This season, Christmas, it's all about Jesus. Elizabeth is honored by Mary's visit.

Why?

Because she calls her the mother of my Lord. Not the mother of God, but the mother of the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. So it's important that we keep all of these things in perspective, because the devil always wants to muddy it up.

So instead of Jesus being exalted, let's exalt Mary.

No.

Instead of Jesus being the center, let's have Santa be the center. Instead of a joyful season where we magnify the Lord and we can all fall into this, what do we do? We allow people's expectations of us or our own expectations.

We get all worried and stressed out. And did I send this person a card? And did I do this? And did I prepare for that? And it can ruin the whole experience. Instead of praising God for what we do have, the enemy wants us to wallow in our sorrows about what we don't have or that someone has more than us.

But this is why we need the church. This is why we need each other, to encourage one another, to get the clear teaching of Scripture, to help us reset and to refocus on those things that are truly important.

And while Jesus is the most important, Mary is important. And you're important, too, because Jesus died for you. And that's where we see the first point in Mary's song. Mary is filled with joy because why?

Of what God has done, she says, for me. Look at verse 48. For he has regarded the lowly state of his maidservant. We see another thing, that Mary is humble. And we should be humble as well. She starts out by recognizing her unworthiness.

Remember, I think we talked about this last time, that God's favor really cannot be separated from his grace. Matter of fact, the Greek word translated favor can also be translated as grace. Mary says, for behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

2 ,000 years ago, we're still saying that about her. And not just during the Advent season, but all year round, Mary is blessed. The saints are blessed. You, as a Christian, hopefully you can say about yourself that I am blessed.

Verse 49, Mary, speaking of the Lord, she says, for he who is mighty has done great things for who? For me. Can you say that, that God has done great things for me? Can you tell that to other people? Are you willing to tell that to other people, that God has done great things for me?

It's so easy to just go through the list of things that we don't have, things that are going wrong. And that's what we focus on. No, God is mighty. He has done great things for us.

Amen?

Amen.

And holy is his name. So whatever good thing you have, whatever good thing has happened to you, recognize the source of it. The book of James says that every good and every perfect gift is where? It's from above.

And it comes down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James continues of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

So if you're going through difficulties, if you're going through hardship, if you're suffering, whatever it is, focus on what is truly important. You can thank God. If you can't thank God for anything else, if you are a Christian, you can certainly thank him for your salvation.

For he who is mighty has done great things for me. And holy is his name. Verse 50. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. Now, what is this fear of God? We see that Mary had a fear of God.

Today we're taught that you're not supposed to fear God. That's actually not true. The saints are to have a fear of God. We might say a reverential fear of God. We have respect for the things of God. And you can't help but to have that point of view.

If you understand who God is and who we are. He is the God of all creation. And we are his creatures. Remember when Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel. What was her response? Oh, I knew you would come to me because I'm the greatest woman in Israel.

Of course, I'm going to give birth to the Messiah.

I knew it.

No, that's not what she said. She was afraid. And that's the normal response. When people encounter God, their normal response is fear. And she wondered what greeting this was. So there is, listen, there's a healthy fear.

And then there is an unhealthy fear. If we know who God is, if we are in covenant with him through our savior, Jesus Christ, we can have that healthy fear, knowing that God is our father. He wants what is best for us.

So that is a fear of God we should all have. If somebody does not know Christ as their savior, I try to keep the messages somewhat light around Christmas time. But if you don't know Christ as your savior, you should fear God, probably more in that other way.

But that can all change today. And I pray that it would. But again, Mary is speaking of what God has done for her. And she obviously told others about it. And that's something we can learn as well. What God has done for me, we thank God for what he has done.

And then we tell others what God has done. When Luke wrote his gospel, it's believed that he probably interviewed the people that he's writing about. Luke probably interviewed Mary, so we could look at this almost as a testimony of Mary is telling Luke and others about what God has done for her.

This is Mary's testimony. Here is what the Lord has done for me. And that's something that every Christian can do. Maybe you're not a Bible scholar. Maybe you don't feel like you're equipped to teach or preach, but you certainly can tell people what the Lord has done for you.

Amen.

So that's the first point. What God has done for me. The second point expands to what God is doing in the world. And God is still at work in this world. Look at verse 51. He has shown strength with his arm.

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly. One commentator says this, Mary now sees the messianic catastrophe. Don't get hung up on that word.

But Mary now sees the messianic catastrophe, which God will bring about by the means of her son. And she announces it prophetically as having already happened. For she bears in fact, the accomplisher of it already in her womb.

And thus the work of God, which he is to execute is before her enlightened gaze already as good as completed. And the way that she sees and describes it. You know what that requires? It requires faith.

Because she knows what Jesus is going to do. He's going to do all these things. He hasn't done it yet. He's still in her womb. Even when he died and rose again and ascended into heaven, even at that point, it had not been done.

When Mary died at that point, it had not yet been done.

And you know,.

It hasn't been done yet. We need to have faith. So what is this messianic catastrophe or this crisis that is coming to the world?

You know,.

When God created this earth, he made Adam in his own image. And he told Adam who was called the son of God. He said,.

Adam,.

Have dominion over the earth. And then that's what? Chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, Adam loses dominion. And things quickly changed. As soon as civilization formed, it wasn't the godly, the sons of God who were ruling on the earth.

Who is ruling?

It was the wicked.

Whether it's Lamech in Genesis four or Nimrod in Genesis 11 with the Tower of Babel. The world is ruled. And this isn't any statement of slander. It's been the type of thing that's been going on since the book of Genesis.

The world is run by cruel and wicked men. The world order was not and is not at this moment as God intended. The cruel and the violent and the proud and the corrupt. They are the ones who are mighty in the earth.

That's the messianic catastrophe that God is going to tear all that down. Whether it was Pharaoh in Egypt or Herod on the pages of the New Testament. What God was doing in the world through the promise of the Messiah.

He was bringing in a new order. What was the Lord establishing with Moses and then David? He was establishing a righteous rule. When Jesus came, when John the Baptist came, you remember what they preached?

They preached that the kingdom of God was what? Was at hand. The kingdom is at hand. Jesus taught the day is coming when the first shall be last in the last first. So what is God doing in the world through the Christian church?

He is scattering the proud and putting down the mighty. Now, again, it hasn't actually taken place yet. And those places in the world throughout history where Christianity has flourished, it has happened.

It has happened throughout history, but ultimately it is not yet accomplished. The arc of history. You've heard of the arc of history? Some people talk about the arc of history as though some other system is going to take over and rule the world.

Well, that's the way it's been, but there's a different arc of history. This is the messianic catastrophe. And though things may get worse, in the end they will get better. Jesus Christ is what? He's born as what?

What is he?

The newborn what? The newborn king.

Do you believe that?

Is Jesus your king? And rest assured he will rule this earth as king. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, morriscornickchurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, with the grace of God be with you.