Mary was the only person present at Christ’s birth who was also present at His crucifixion. Mary was the woman who saw Jesus come into the world as her son and leave the world as her savior. There are one or two billion “Hail, Mary”s said daily. Why do more than ten million people make the trek to Guadeloupe and pay homage to “our mother”? Why is it that more little girls are named after Mary than any other historical figure? Mary is one of the most intriguing and misunderstood personalities in the biblical record. Some people magnify Mary. And many people who magnify her are ignorant regarding what the Bible says about her. The Bible never says that we are to venerate Mary. The Bible never says that we are to worship Mary. The Bible never says that Mary was sinless. Others minimize Mary, I think, in a reaction to those who magnify her. They think of Mary as little more than a figurine in a nativity scene. Or they think of Mary as a long bomb at the end of a football game. Or maybe they sing her name as they are singing some old hits from the Beatles like “Let It Be” or “Lady Madonna”.
The Bible says that Mary was an ordinary woman with extraordinary gifts given to her by God and she presented herself usable to Him. I know we have many people in different stages of a spiritual pilgrimage. Some of you are seeking. You are investigating Christianity. Others of you have been disillusioned by organized religion and you are just checking out church again. Still others have just made a faith decision. Many here have been walking with God for a long, long time. Today I am going to talk about one of the most exciting truths of scripture, being used by God himself. God could use angels. God could drop leaflets from heaven. But for the most part, as you check out His historical record, you see that God uses people like you and like me to further His purposes on the planet.
Fellowship Church Grapevine - Let me give you a hint on scripture study. Look at Daniel 6:4 again. See the name Daniel in there? Substitute your name.
