From Barrenness to Breakthrough

Introduction

Today’s message is titled "From Barrenness to Breakthrough!”

This is our third sermon in a ten-part series titled “The Coming of Jesus, the Son of Man.” As we continue to work our way through the Book of Luke, we are focusing on the life of Christ, his miracles, the gospel of the Cross, and that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ.

I want to remind this church that the book of Luke was written by a gentile to the gentiles. We know that Luke was a physician, we know that Luke was a disciple of Paul. He wrote both the books titled Luke and Acts. He was methodical in his investigation into the gospel accounts of Matthew and Mark. The purpose of this book was that the Gentiles who were instructed, addressed early in the book is namely the beloved Theophilus, knew with certainty that the things in which they had been instructed were true. This gospel is an invitation to the Gentiles to see the heart of God revealed through his Son, Jesus Christ.

We are continuing this morning in the book of Luke, chapter One, verses 35-45. Read (Luke 1:35 “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” ) and pray!

Bridge

Church, there are moments in our lives, when Heaven crashes into Earth. When the celestial crashes into the terrestrial. When the supernatural meets the natural. We often read Luke 1 as simply a Christmas story, but I am here to tell you this morning that this passage is more than just a Christmas story, but also a story of spiritual conception.

What is impossible in the natural is possible in the supernatural. Let me say that again: what is impossible in the natural is possible in the supernatural.

PP: God is not looking for your ability; He is looking for your availability! Some of us may be “staring” at an impossible situation in our lives. Maybe we are “staring” at a barren situation in our lives. It could be a barren marriage....a barren relationship....it could be a barren bank account....it could be a barren ministry...it could be a barren landscape of hope. But what we see as “barren,” God can use to bring a breaththrough.

What may be a source of stress in your life, God can replace it with a source of hope. Luke 3:5–6 “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

What you thought was barren, was simply a birthing place for a miracle in your life. God uses barren places, empty places, dried up places, unused places for spiritual conception and miracles.

Maybe there is an obstacle in your life, my bible says, God can remove it. Maybe there is a stronghold in your life, my bible says, God can remove it. Maybe there is a barren place in your life. My bible says God can bring restoration to the barren place.

God can turn a mess into a message and a barren situation into a breakthrough. A barren bank account into a life of trust. A barren marriage into a source of joy and peace. A barren ministry into seeds of grace. I am here to tell you that when the Word of God intersects with the Spirit of God, “barren” is no longer in your vocabulary. I am talking about a breakthrough, Church!?! I am talking about a life walking with the shadow of the almighty over you!

Point 1: The Power that Overshadows (Purpose)

Scripture: Luke 1:35 “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

That beautiful ‘overshadow’ in GK means ep-ee-skee-ad-zo, which means to cast a shade over, like a tree casting a shadow on a hot day. Overshadow means to envelop in a haze of brilliance. We see the same concept found in the Old Testament talking about the cloud of glory, the Shekinah cloud, overshadowing the tabernacle in the wilderness. Oooh, when the shadow of the almighty covers you, there is a change in the natural. Moses could not enter the tabernacle in the wilderness when the cloud of Shekinah glory surrounded it; my bible says the cloud was too thick for Moses to enter.

That is a promise from God, the natural will not be the same when the supernatural is present in our lives. When the Holy Ghost is present, God is present! When the Holy Ghost is present, there is an anointing present. When the Holy Ghost is present, the devil has to run, demons have to flee, and yokes are bondage are destroyed, Glory be to God!

Luke 1:35 “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

The angel spoke to Mary and said God is going a work in thee, in you. In other words, God is doing a holy act, a holy work, a holy thing in your life. Some of forget that God is strying to do a holy thing in our lives whether the miracle is healing, or deliverance, or words of encouragement. God has not forsaken us or forgotten us.

Luke 1:35 “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God! We know John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” My bible tells me that the Son of God is the same holy thing, that was made flesh. We know this birth of the coming Savior was prophesied throughout the Old Testament and in Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

See, this was not simply a biological act: but an act by the Holy Ghost and the angel is saying somthing supernatural was about to change, and she was about to carry something precious, she was about be given a holy miraculous thing. My bible says the Holy Ghost was about to come upon her! Oooh, amen, glory be to god!

Let me tell you something, the world operates on cause and effect but the Kingdom of God operates on Word and Spirit. Zechariah 4:6 “This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, Saith the Lord of hosts.”

Now watch the connection: Luke 1:36 “And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.”

Church listen to the phrase, “who was called barren.” I want you think about that word barren, I want you to see the label that was over Elisabeth. She was barren...empty...she was dried up....she was finished....it was too late for her....She was called barren!?!

I came to preach to someone this morning, who has been living under a label: Maybe you have been called bankrupt, or terminal with cancer, or having a debilitating disease, divorced, broken, worthless, a failure.....

But when the power of the Highest overshadows you. God changes the tense of your label. Notice the angel did not say She is barren, but that she was called barren. I believe God is about to make a problem past tense....Oooh, what you thought was a graveyard, God is about to make into a nursery. What you thought was dead, God about to make alive. What you thought was dried up, God is about to turn into a harvest. Does somebody harvest in their life?

Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” There is nothing to hard, to difficult, to mighty for God to bring victory. Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world. If God is for me, who can be against me! There is nothing too impossible for our Jehovah Jireh, the God of provision, Jehovah Rapha, our God of Healing, El- Shaddai, El El Yon, the God of Most High. When the shadow of the Highest is over you, what seems barren is about to be a breakthrough! Can I get an amen?

Luke 1:38 “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.”

I am here to tell someone to stop trying to figure it out by themselves, but give it to God! I am here to tell someone that you are tired because you are attempting to produce a supernatural event in the natural. Like Mary, you need to live a life according to thy Word. The word, word in greek here is not Logos, but Rhema (Ray-Mah). Ray-mah means something like a spiritual sword or dagger. I think of Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

The word Ray-mah from the Lord is a specific word that requires a specific response in faith! You need to walk by faith and not by sight. You know, sometimes I think of how when the power of the Highest overshadows us, sometimes we think we are covered in darkness, that is why walking by faith is so important, and not by sight. I have found that in that shadow that is covering us, God may be using this time plant something in our lives. Like a seed and that shadow is his covering us, feeding us, giving us spiritual nutrients, like a seed planted in the ground and drawing out nutrients. In just a short season, God is going to allow that seed to grow and break the ground and there will sunlight. For some of us, that short season feels like a long season, Amen! And we just want to give up, but God when overshadows us, he bypasses our limitations, our education, and our history. Our previous failure do not matter. Our hearts matter. Not our ability, but our availabilty matters to Jesus. He does not care what you bring to the table, he only cares about you sitting down with him.

Luke 1:39–40 “And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.”

We see Mary departing quickly, and with haste going to the house of Zacharias and Elisabeth.

Luke 1:41 “And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:”

Now catch this, the Holy Ghost serves as an activator. Here is a profound truth, the gifts and callings of God are without repentance, and they respond to Holy Ghost activation. The babe leaped in her womb, and Elisabeth was filled with teh Holy Ghost.

Luke 1:42 “And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” In GK, that word, loud also means execeedingly great, a booming voice. In other words there was authority when spoke, notice after being baptized in teh Holy Ghost.

Read 43-45!

Preaching Riff: You cannot be filled with the Holy Ghost and remain neutral when God is showing up in your life. The babe leaped in the womb.

Luke 1:45 “And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.” That word performance in GK, means completion, means perfection, means full execution. You know what that tells me, God does not leave loose ends in our lives. Can I get an Amen? What God has promised you, it shall be fulfilled.

Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: It shall not return unto me void, But it shall accomplish that which I please, And it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

That tells me that the promsei of God contains the power to fulfill it, but faith is the womb that births it. Let me say that again, The promise of God contains the power to fulfil it, but faith is the womb that births it. I am talking about a spiritual conception in our lives.

Preaching Riff:

Someone here might feel low today, someone might feel barrenness in their life, a lack of peace, a lack of hope, some of us may feel forgotten, maybe there is a label on you in you life. “She was called barren!” What you think is barren, God is going to bring a breakthrough. If you need the power of the Highest to overshadow you, maybe you need a Ray-mah in your life. Maybe you need to give an area of your life to God. Come to the altar and let us pray for you!

BENEDICTION:

Numbers 6:24–26 “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” Amen.