The Word About Women
The Word About Women
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Highly Favored One - The Word About Women

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Getting Started...

The Ministry of Motherhood

  • Feb 25, 2021

The Ministry of Motherhood

Women’s Work

  • Feb 23, 2021

Women’s Work

The Truth About Mary Magdalene

  • Feb 18, 2021

The Truth About Mary Magdalene

The Good News Girls

  • Feb 16, 2021

The Good News Girls

Compassion for Women

  • Feb 11, 2021

Compassion for Women

Distracted with Much Serving

  • Feb 9, 2021

Distracted with Much Serving

No Throwing Stones

  • Feb 4, 2021

No Throwing Stones

She Was a Sinner

  • Feb 2, 2021

She Was a Sinner

The Eternal Thirst Quencher

  • Jan 28, 2021

The Eternal Thirst Quencher

The Laws of Love

  • Jan 26, 2021

The Laws of Love

Follow Him

  • Jan 21, 2021

Follow Him

Daughter, Your Faith Has Healed You

  • Jan 19, 2021

Daughter, Your Faith Has Healed You

In His Service

  • Jan 14, 2021

In His Service

Share in Their Joy

  • Jan 12, 2021

Share in Their Joy

Highly Favored One

  • Jan 7, 2021

Highly Favored One

The Value of a Woman

  • Jan 5, 2021

The Value of a Woman

See You in 2021

  • Nov 20, 2020

See You in 2021

In God’s Hands

  • Nov 19, 2020

In God’s Hands

A Disposable Woman?

  • Nov 17, 2020

A Disposable Woman?

A Bearer of Bad News

  • Nov 12, 2020

A Bearer of Bad News

A Wicked Queen Mother vs A Godly Princess

  • Nov 10, 2020

A Wicked Queen Mother vs A Godly Princess

A Heart for Hospitality

  • Nov 6, 2020

A Heart for Hospitality

The Willing Widow

  • Nov 4, 2020

The Willing Widow

A Wretched Woman

  • Nov 2, 2020

A Wretched Woman

Wicked Women

  • Oct 30, 2020

Wicked Women

Missed Opportunity

  • Oct 28, 2020

Missed Opportunity

How To Spot A Mother

  • Oct 26, 2020

How To Spot A Mother

A Wicked Thing

  • Oct 23, 2020

A Wicked Thing

Grace in the Genealogy

  • Oct 21, 2020

Grace in the Genealogy

Victim or Adulteress?

  • Oct 19, 2020

Victim or Adulteress?

A Relationship Ruined By Resentment

  • Oct 16, 2020

A Relationship Ruined By Resentment

Beauty, Brains, and a Blessing

  • Oct 14, 2020

Beauty, Brains, and a Blessing

Giving Back To God

  • Oct 12, 2020

Giving Back To God

Crimes Against Women

  • Oct 9, 2020

Crimes Against Women

When Women Are His Weakness

  • Oct 7, 2020

When Women Are His Weakness

Raising A Leader

  • Oct 5, 2020

Raising A Leader

A Redeemer

  • Oct 2, 2020

A Redeemer

A Dedicated Daughter-in-Law

  • Sep 30, 2020

A Dedicated Daughter-in-Law

A Woman With a Weapon

  • Sep 28, 2020

A Woman With a Weapon

The Leader of a Nation

  • Sep 25, 2020

The Leader of a Nation

The Faith of an Outsider

  • Sep 23, 2020

The Faith of an Outsider

The Daughters of Zelophehad

  • Sep 21, 2020

The Daughters of Zelophehad

The Prophetess

  • Sep 18, 2020

The Prophetess

A River Rescue

  • Sep 16, 2020

A River Rescue

The Temptress

  • Sep 14, 2020

The Temptress

The Double Standard

  • Sep 11, 2020

The Double Standard

A Daughter Defiled

  • Sep 9, 2020

A Daughter Defiled

Stolen Statues

  • Sep 7, 2020

Stolen Statues

The Unloved Wife

  • Sep 4, 2020

The Unloved Wife

A Meddling Matriarch

  • Sep 2, 2020

A Meddling Matriarch

Beyond Redemption?

  • Aug 31, 2020

Beyond Redemption?

A Salty Warning

  • Aug 28, 2020

A Salty Warning

Oppressed Yet Blessed

  • Aug 26, 2020

Oppressed Yet Blessed

The Mother of a Nation

  • Aug 24, 2020

The Mother of a Nation

The God Who Sees

  • Aug 21, 2020

The God Who Sees

Beautiful but Barren

  • Aug 19, 2020

Beautiful but Barren

Past Messages
BTBAplatform+ShannonLenz
ShannonJan 7, 2021 7:00 am GMT

Highly Favored One

 

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.”

 

Luke 1:46-49

 

For context, read Luke 1:26-56

 

Mary is one of the most important women featured in Scripture. Unfortunately, her importance has often been misunderstood and in some faith communities she has been elevated to a status that places her almost as an equal to God. This is not a correct biblical interpretation. We will see as we study Mary that she is not worthy of our worship but she is worthy of our respect, admiration, and imitation.

 

Mary was a Jewish woman who was pledged to be married to Joseph, a man from the line of King David. Her virginity is emphasized several times in Luke and also in Matthew. Just as prophesied, Jesus was to be born of a virgin. At that time, many Jewish women married young so Mary was probably only 15 or 16 which makes her spiritual maturity even more remarkable.

 

In Luke 1:26, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary and announces that she is “highly favored.” Highly favored? She was a poor Jewish girl engaged to marry an equally poor carpenter. They were just an ordinary Jewish family. And yet, she was chosen to give birth to the Messiah, the One her people had been waiting for! Why did God choose her and not someone else?

 

Only God knows the mind of God and He chose her according to His good will. The term “highly favored one” means “greatly graced” and “grace” means “unmerited favor.” Mary did not do anything that deserved to be honored in this way. And yet, God made a wise choice in choosing the mother of His Son. As we study Mary, we see numerous examples of her deep, personal faith in God and her devotion to her Son and Savior.

 

The first evidence of her faith is in Luke 1:26-38. When the angel Gabriel announces that she is highly favored and will conceive and give birth to God’s son, she is not without fear and questions. Verse 29 says that she was “greatly troubled and wondered what kind of greeting this could be.” In verse 34, she asks the angel how all of this would happen because she was a virgin. But even in Mary’s questions about the process and her initial nervousness about what was going on, Mary was not doubting the validity of the angel’s claims. After the angel calms her fears and answers her questions, Mary fully submits to the Lord’s plans. She declared, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled” (vs. 38).

 

As we study Mary’s life after that pivotal moment, we see her continued submission to God’s will and her obedience to Him being lived out as she parented Jesus. Even though she knew her fiancé may not have understood whose child she was carrying and her future marriage may have been in jeopardy, she said yes to God’s mission for her life. After her visit to see Elizabeth who was also miraculously pregnant, Mary wrote a song of praise that demonstrates her deep understanding of Scripture and her faith in God and His promises.

 

After Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph faithfully adhered to the requirements of Jewish law. They had Jesus circumcised on the 8th day, they named Him Jesus as they were commanded to do, they visited the temple 33 days after He was born for His dedication. They heeded God’s warning about King Herod and fled to Egypt to protect Jesus. They faithfully journeyed to Jerusalem for the Passover every year.

 

She faithfully followed Jesus even if she didn’t fully understand how God was working out His plan. For example, when Jesus was 12, Mary and Joseph thought they lost Jesus in the caravan home from Passover. When they finally found Him in the temple, Jesus said, “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But Mary and Joseph did not fully comprehend what He was saying. Still, Mary, “treasured all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:49-51). She pondered the works of the Lord. Even when she didn’t understand how God was going to use Jesus to save the world, she believed that He would.

 

Mary followed Jesus even to the cross. How painful it must have been for her to watch her Son suffer and die the gruesome death He endured. John 19:25-27 tells how Jesus looked down from the cross, saw his mother there, and entrusted her into the care of His disciple, John. Mary remained faithful even after Jesus’s ascension to heaven. Acts 1:14 places Mary with the disciples “constantly in prayer” waiting for the Holy Spirit and God’s direction.

 

The WORD about women in the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is that Mary was “highly favored” because of her faithful devotion and humble submission to the work of God in her life. It was her God-given mission to raise the Son of God. Scripture testifies that she faithfully completed that mission.

 

Mary was just a woman, just a mom. She is not worthy of our worship. But she is certainly a worthy role model. Sisters, you have not been called to be the mother of our Lord and Savior. But you do have a mission from the Lord. Will you remain His “faithful servant”?

 

Reflect

How does Mary’s story encourage you? How can you follow her example of faithful service and devotion to Jesus in your own life?

 

Pray

Jesus, I want to follow You all of my days. I am Your humble servant. Show me how You want to use me for Your purposes. May Your will be done in my life. Amen.

We look forward to your comments and questions below!

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