Luke 1:26-38 “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 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. 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. For nothing will be impossible with God.” 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.
This last Sunday, Pastor Kyle preached an Advent sermon on being blessed. We often associate being blessed with financial prosperity, marital bliss, and things in general going well in life. But, there is much more to being blessed then just that.
Pastor Kyle gave us four fresh insights about what it means to be blessed. (1) Blessed does not equal easy. The virgin Mary becoming pregnant via the Holy Spirit while [betrothed] engaged was a tremendous biblical and social issue, as sexual sin always is for God and His people (Mark 7:21, Ephesians 5:3, 1 Corinthians 6:18, Galatians 5:18). Obedient Christian living leads to blessings, but we tend to forget how hard the road to God’s blessings really is that we must walk. Children are a blessing from God but raising children is no “cake walk” on easy street; it is hard work to do it right with many amazing moments along the way.
(2) Blessed means obedience when no one is looking. Obedience comes down to faith. The power of God’s blessing kicks in when we are the same in private that we are in public. God looks beyond the external and our character is a key factor that God will use to appoint us for the most important tasks in our life history. (3) Blessed equals a life of surrender; not just a moment of surrender, but a life of surrender. Our life journey with Christ starts with surrendering our will to God’s will. Let go of your lordship over your life, allow the Lord God to reign and rule forever more in kingdom living. Most people believe in God, but do not want His authority over them or want to do what the Lord says, so they refuse to surrender and reject His Plan of Salvation. Though this is the eternal decision between Hell and Heaven for every person, for those who repent nd accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, it is only the first step of what defines a Christian disciple’s life. It is a life of surrender that God can fully bless.
2 Corinthians 4:7-11 “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”
Let's continue PAstor Kyle's message on being blessed in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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