Last week we began looking at the life of Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus Christ. Mary had an angelic visitation from the Archangel, Gabriel. Gabriel declared to Mary that she was a Woman of Grace and highly favored of the Lord.
Although Mary was considered to be just an average Jewish girl, the Holy Spirit had a “divine influence on her heart”.
Mary needed this blessing (from God) because Mary’s life was dramatically and suddenly changed.
Mary was given a tremendous responsibility of mothering, caring for and nurturing the very Son of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Mary made the decision to do what the Lord had commanded her to do. As a young teenager Mary knew:
· She would have to make a stand for her faith completely on her own.
· She would be able to fulfill the plan of God because she (literally) had the life of Jesus Christ living within her.
As well for us the Bible has given you and I this same assurance,
“Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world!”
So we know Mary was blessed, and she was a Woman of Grace, but today I want us to see Mary as a Woman of Power.
Text: Luke 1:34 thru 37
Prayer:
The birth of Jesus was, and still is, a great mystery to mankind. In spite of the advances in the field of modern medicine and science, mankind is baffled with the intricacies of creation.
There may never be a simple explanation of how the Lord creates human life. With a high-powered microscope, a scientist may be able to explain and understand the biological process that is involved, but man has no concept of the origin of human life.
These things are mysterious to all of us. But even more amazing is how God could take a human body and supernaturally forge Himself from His Spirit being to that of a human being.
Last night many of the youth and I traveled to Lafayette to see the performance of a play entitled “The Birth of the King”.
I was again awestruck with the Christmas story and how it was that our God, Jehovah, purposely birthed Himself into the form of a small boy. God made Himself vulnerable to the frailty of life, and yet was the King of the Universe. Truly amazing.
This is (part of) what Mary wanted to know when she spoke with Gabriel in Luke chapter 1. Mary asked the same question I have asked myself, “How can this be?”
Gabriel told her that the Holy Spirit would “come upon” her.
Mary needed the Holy Spirit to “come upon” her before she would ever be qualified to do anything for God.
Before Mary could take on the most important task of all mankind, God’s Holy Spirit would “come upon” her.
We need the Holy Spirit to “come upon” us this morning.
Many people have told me they do not enjoy the holidays because it is too commercialized. Many people:
· Say the holidays are hectic.
· Have to work longer hours.
· Rush to the malls and shopping centers.
· Have Christmas parties with their extended families.
· Have even more parties to go to at work or at school.
Many people get down and depressed during the holidays due to old memories. The loss of loved ones.
Sometimes it is the regrets of past relationships.
We cannot allow ourselves to miss the joy found in Christmas.
But it is not just during the holidays that we have to deal with exhaustion and depression.
For some, this is something they deal with all year long.
Questions:
· Do you become weary/tired in trying to do what is right?
· What is it than can cause you to grow tired and weary?
· What can any of us do to gain our strength back?
Let me try and answer these questions for us. We can get our strength in the natural or we can get it in the supernatural.
In the Natural
There are a lot of things we could do differently in the natural. Perhaps we could start eating right, exercising, and get plenty of rest. And naturally, these are things we should be doing.
· Maybe we should go see a therapist for help.
· Maybe they could tell us what would be best for us.
· Maybe we should go purchase a Beauty Rest Mattress.
(You know, one of those with a soft pillow top cushion to make us sleep better, so we will feel better.)
We have health clubs we can go to nowadays. Perhaps we could go to an expensive Health Spa at a Luxury Hotel somewhere down in the Caribbean.
My point is, the world believes we can better ourselves by spending our money and buying a fix to our problems.
My friend God has a better plan for you.
He doesn’t want you to rely on the riches of this world.
Rather God wants you to rely upon His riches in Glory!
He wants you and I to live in His Supernatural.
In the Supernatural
We have the Power of the Holy Spirit to give us what we need. If you need rest for your weary soul, the Holy Spirit is in control!
I realize most of us are very busy all year long, and especially during the Holiday season.
More importantly, I know the Lord has a lot for you to do also.
You may not want to hear this, but God actually has more for you to do than the world is insisting you to do.
It is true. You and I are a lot like Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Lord has more for you to do than you can possibly do.
But it will happen in the supernatural. God desires to demonstrate and prove to you His awesome power and might.
I am sure Mary was a nice young lady, but the fact of the matter is she was just a human. Just flesh and blood, like you and I.
My God delights in using humanity to perform His miracles.
Every man God has ever created, was created for the purpose of being used by God. God is looking to us just He looked to Mary. He has a purpose and a plan for you today.
God may only have a whim for you, or He may have an earth shattering revolution He is wants you to command for Him.
I don’t know what He has for you.
But the fact of the matter is He will simply call us by name and expect us to respond to immediately respond to His voice.
At that point and time, God’s Holy Spirit would then come upon your soul and empower you to be a vessel of His service.
We cannot expect any strength capable of doing anything for God without the power of His Holy Spirit.
Likewise, God knew Mary could not answer the call on her life without having the power of the Holy Spirit. This simple young girl would now become Mary – The Woman of Power!
You sir, you mam’ are nothing without the sovereign and anointing Power of the Holy Spirit.
God has spoken to each of us at one time or another in our life. Some of us have heard His voice, while others have not.
Regardless, God does speak to all of us.
He has a destiny for our lives that can be overwhelming, just as it must have been overwhelming for Mary.
The Good News is the Power of God’s Holy Spirit will prevail!
Well what was the answer for this young teenage girl named Mary? What would make the difference for her.
Gabriel promised Mary the Holy Spirit would “overshadow” her. This word means that Mary was put into an envelope of haze and brilliancy.
You see Mary was unique when compared to other young girls her age. This realm of the Holy Spirit would never leave Mary. The Holy Spirit would always be with her.
For us today, we have that same promise. The Holy Spirit will “come upon you and overshadow” you. Enabling you, empowering you, protecting you, guiding you.
With the Holy Spirit, you will be able to accomplish all of the things you need to accomplish.
· You will not be weary.
· You will not be depressed.
· Rather, you will be determined to do all you need to do.
Eph 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
Mary was a Woman of Power.
You are to be a man of Power, or a Woman of Power.
In closing we should note that God certainly has the
Omnipotent Power of His Holy Spirit.
But if you are not sure if this power will be enough for you to handle all of the situations you are faced with, you should know there is still more He has for you.
Look closely at verse 38. Mary said something very profound.
“Let it be to me according to Your Word.”
I must tell you there was something very special about this Woman of Power – Mary. We can easily see that Mary’s life was prepared for this empowerment that Gabriel brought her.
While Mary was enjoying the power that came with this envelope of haze and brilliancy of the Holy Spirit, she recognized something else that was important to her.
Mary was a woman that knew how to trust the Word of God.
Over the years, I have met many people who carried the anointing of the Holy Spirit on their lives.
In the realm of the supernatural, one could easily see an envelope of power on their lives. These people had tremendous qualities and capabilities in their lives.
Listen carefully. The ones whom I know who continue to walk under this anointing are the ones who first acknowledge the truth and promise of God’s Holy Word.
We have much to learn about serving and loving the Lord.
We must proclaim to ourselves and to the Lord:
“Let it be to me according to Your Word.”
