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MARY IS AN EXAMPLE OF UN-COMMON LIVING IN THE SPIRIT
Remember, the Holy Spirit can make any common life become un-common.
The Holy Spirit can make any ordinary life to be extraordinary.
The Holy Spirit can make any life headed nowhere to a life headed somewhere & like no one else.
Most scholars would agree that The Mary, the mother of Jesus, was probably much like most all other girls of her day. Of all the writers of Scripture, it is Luke who highlights Mary with 12 of the 20 verses that name her are in Luke and one is in Acts.
So 65% of all that we have comes to us through Luke. From the Scripture accounts we can conclude quite safely that:
She was young: probably 14 or 15 when she was betrothed to Joseph.
She was simple: which means she grew up in a sheltered, close, family-oriented atmosphere.
She was plain: there is never any indication that she looked striking in any way.
Letās briefly meet this incredible woman. Starting in Luke 1:26 we can find seven uncommon choices that Mary made that are each tied to Godās Spirit.
1. IT IS UN-COMMON THAT MARY LISTENED TO GOD’S WORD
Luke 1:26-28 (NKJV) Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virginās name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, āRejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!ā In v. 28 we see God sending a message to Mary and Mary listening. Sounds simple enough. Yet it is profound. Every day we all have something in common with Mary, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Job, David, and Paul: we can choose to listen, and hear God speak.
Each of the great cast of Godās servants had one thing in common: they each heard and responded to God.
Some heard God directly hearing His audible voice (like Adam, Enoch, and Moses). Others heard Godās voice relayed through the audible voice of a prophet (like Nathan confronting David); and others just like you and me today: listen to God speak through His Word, the Holy Scriptures called the Bible (like Daniel studying the prophet Jeremiah).
UN-COMMON LIVING IN THE SPIRIT MEANS REALLY LISTENING TO GOD
The common element of every servant of Godās life is that all listened to God speak and then responded in obedience. The real question of Christmas is are you giving God the gift of listening to His voice, and responding to Him? Jesus told us that hearing and doing His will was the clearest way we can show Him our love:
John 14.21 (NKJV) He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.ā
Do we love the Lord enough to give Him the time it takes to listen to Him speak? Do we love the Lord enough this Christmas to stop and listen until we hear what He wants? Do we love the Lord enough this Christmas to stop, listen, hear, and DO what he wants us to do? That is the real challenge of giving our attention to God this Christmas.
REALLY LISTENING TO GOD MEANS LOVING GOD
We all need to examine whether we are giving to God what those who truly love Him give.
Either we hear Godās Word as just the word of men or as it truly is, the Word of God that effectually works in us who receive it by faith.
Mary joined so many others that the Scriptures describe as responding to God: Adam and Eve in the Garden, Noah in the Pre-Flood world, Abram in Ur, Saul on the road to Damascus. Always remember that God is in the people seeking business.
Salvation is of the Lord and it is God who seeks us, He initiates salvation for, Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). Want to live an uncommon life in the Spirit? Listen to the Voice of God in His Word.