We can depend on God, but Can He depend on us
The Scripture
Luke 1:1-38
The Sermon
Reading these two stories there is a slogan about a candy bar that comes to mind. Mounds and Almond Joy, years ago pumped into the minds of candy eaters that sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you don’t. These four people in these two stories have one thing in common…they love God. All are people who are doing the will of God. They profess from every mountain how much they love God. It is the main reason why God knew that the task he had for them to do was doable. Because He knew their hearts. He knew what they would be capable of achieving, overcoming and enduring. But sometimes they felt like a nut and sometimes they didn’t. But in the Christian walk, we got to be nutty for God at all times. In fact, the word of God says
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Pet 2:9).
We are peculiar because we trust God enough to allow him to trust us! We are just crazy enough to believe that if God says it can be done, well it is a done deal. But Zecharias had some issues. We got some issues. Zecharias could not believe that God was about to bless him. More so, he could not believe that this thing could happen because of what he could or could not do. So many times, we get it twisted about what we are supposed to do for God. We base it on what are human meagerness can accomplish. We have safeguards just in case our meagerness can’t complete the task. We stress and struggle over stuff that is not our battle that is not our fight. Our Zecharias mindset causes many struggles and strife in our individual lives. We strive to accomplish what we want, but if what God wants seems to big…even though we serve a great big God, we put him in a box and tell him this is bigger than us. And the truth is …it is bigger than us… because it came from him.
There is a penalty for not trusting God enough… in this story we find that Zecharias is shut up until after the baby comes. Well God just shut up his way of getting blessed! For the words tells us when the praises go up the blessings come down. Now Zecharias is unable to praise God…and his blessings are shut out. God shuts us up and shuts us out also. Have you ever experienced a time when it seemed as if you could not hear from God, and He could not hear your prayers? Have you ever wondered why a particular issue you had prayed for just does not seem to get answered… you know how we pray over finances, how we pray over our mates, how we pray over our weight, our health, our country, And the more we pray the more we notice that nothing is getting through. Instead of getting better, it may even be getting worse. When you walk weight just jumps on you. When you look at your bank account, it is so red it looks like a fire sale announcement. When you look at your children, you wonder whom they belong too. When you look at your household all you see is chaos and confusion. When you look at your health, you find no real healing just getting by… But God wants to open up the kingdom of heaven and pour you out a blessing…but he has to be able to trust you!
Oh, he can trust us with the things we are comfortable doing. We are comfortable coming to church when we feel like it. We are comfortable giving a portion of what he has given us when it is not close to a birthday, holiday, or bill day. We are comfortable reading the word every now than and again. We are comfortable teaching bible study and Sunday school with information we read a few minutes prior to Bible class… we are comfortable doing church how we want to do church. But Zecharias’ spirits I say get out of here and let there be a holy ghost movement in this place.
We sing “I’m gonna trust in the Lord, I’m gonna trust in the Lord. I’m gonna trust in the Lord…till I die…. But can God trust us!
Can He trust us enough so that when He says feed my sheep, we can do it outside the holiday season as well as during? Can He trust us enough to be bold enough to actually go into the world preaching, teaching, and baptizing, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Can He depend on us to allow the word to live in us because we have actually taken time out of our schedule – set it aside just for Him everyday. Can He depend on us to praise Him when we feel like it and praise Him when we don’t? Can He depend on us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Can He depend on us to allow Him to be the one that fights our battles? Can He depend on us not to embarrass the kingdom of God? Can He depend on us to Walk by faith and not by sight? Can He depend on us to teach the Gospel of Jesus and not of Oparah? Can He depend on us!
Mary was dependable – teenage girl taking on the responsibility to become pregnant by God – even though she was engaged to Joseph. Small town with people with small town mentality. Women stoned for less than being pregnant and not married…putting her life on the line for God. Knowing that she was giving birth to a baby that would be chased down, persecuted, convicted, crucified, and would die for the world. Knowing that she would only be a vessel - that Jesus would be about His Father’s business. Having an idea that He would die and she would experience the agony of losing her child.
Elizabeth was dependable – old woman – willing to face ridicule and rejection to bring into this world a prophet… one who would prepare the people to receive a redeemer. Willing to face the gossip of those who initially would not believe that she was pregnant and afterwards would probably accuse her of being unfaithful to her spouse due to his age. Willing to be the butt of jokes for becoming impregnated at such a late state of life. Willing to put her body through the many phases of pregnancy that many a young woman can barely tolerate. Willing to believe God could do this wonderful thing even though by man’s standards it would be conceived as undoable.
Joseph was dependable…. He could have bowed to peer pressure. He could have done the run of the mill thing. He could have left Mary, caused her embarrassment, and saved his on reputation. Joseph could have simply told Mary “talk to the hand”, even after God sent the angel to give him a heads up. He could have decided that this was more than he could bear.
But God was able to count on them.
Can He count on us when things are good or bad or are we fair weather Christians? Can He depend on us when we are feeling up or down or is our participation based on our dilemma of the day?
Can He count on us when things are good or bad or are we fair weather Christians? Can He depend on us when we are feeling up or down or is our participation based on our dilemma of the day?
I am so glad I serve a God who is not as faithless as we are. In fact, Jeremiah says, Great is thy faithfulness…Morning by Morning new mercies we see…everything we need ….God will provide…. So when the thing he asks or the trial he is using to make us stronger seems to hard remember…God’s faithfulness is undying, tried, and proven…and he will provide for every task he has given.
He proved His faithfulness, He proved His dependability when He provided us with Jesus. We know we can depend on Him, because He sent His only begotten Son to be the redeeming source for the world. We know we can depend on God, because He watched His Son endure the humiliation of a fixed trial, the agony of the crucifixion, the anguish of death, all so that we could rejoice in His resurrection. A God who is faithful, deserves our faithfulness, can God Depend on You?
