Overshadowed

Hark the Herald Angel  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Have you ever considered the faith it must have took for Mary and Joseph to receive this truth about the miraculous birth of the Messiah. The only sign that Mary and Joseph had was the visitation of an angel from God.

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Introduction
Have you ever considered the faith it must have took for Mary and Joseph to receive this truth about the miraculous birth of the Messiah. The only sign that Mary and Joseph had was the visitation of an angel from God.
The Word of the Lord is such an interesting concept. I remember when the word of a man was better than a contract you signed. You word was directly tied to your character. No so much today. People will tell you whatever they want to get you to do whatever they want.
Living by faith is essential for a successful Christian life. “Faith come by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

The Miracle Message of Birth to Mary

Luke 1:26–33 ESV
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from 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. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

The Lord always sees us through his potential and not ours

Luke 1:34–38 ESV
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

God’s work for you will be impossible to you.

God never expects you to do the impossible. He does the impossible through you.

The Miracle Message of Birth to Joseph

Matthew 1:18–25 ESV
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

A faith response requires obedience and faithfulness.

Faithfulness is the key that unlocks God’s potential in your life.

Are you being faithful to the Word of God that has been revealed to you?
This is not a percentage or a rating question. It is a yes or no.

The Miracle Message of Birth to Us

You are highly favored with God.

Mary was chosen and beloved by God

Luke 1:30 ESV
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

We have been chosen and beloved by God

Ephesians 1:3–6 ESV
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

A Miraculous Birth

Jesus was a miracle baby.

Luke 1:34 ESV
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

We are miraculously born again

John 3:3–4 ESV
3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

The Miracle is the work of the Spirit

The Holy Spirit overcame Mary’s weakness in the flesh.

Luke 1:34 ESV
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
Luke 1:35 ESV
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

The Holy Spirit overcomes our weakness in the flesh.

Jesus conquered sin and the flesh through the sacrifice of the cross.

Romans 8:1–4 ESV
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit has made us alive once again.

Ephesians 2:4–5 ESV
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

The power of the Holy Spirit overshadows us.

Through the Spirit Mary produced the Son of God.

Luke 1:35 (ESV)
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Through the Spirit we produce the sons of God.

Romans 8:9–11 ESV
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Acts 1:8 ESV
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
We become witness through the power of the Spirit.
People are saved through the foolishness of our preaching.
1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:21 ESV
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
People are born again when they receive and believe in Christ.
John 1:12–13 ESV
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Today, A messenger has visited you in the power of the Spirit to deliver a message of good tidings and great joy.
Blessed are you among all people and highly favored by God. God has chosen you to receive his Son as your Lord and Savior. When you receive you will be born again in the Spirit and God will dwell in you. He will be your Father and you will be his sons and daughters.

The Message Requires a Response

Luke 1:38
38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
How will you respond to the invitation of the Spirit in your life?
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