This morning’s sermon looked at Mary’s response to the angelic announcement in Luke 1:38 TNIV: “May it be to me as you have said.”, “May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38 TNIV), “Be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38 KJV).
Faith and trust involve agreeing with what God says. That means accepting His assessment of situations rather than our own. It means accepting His assessment of people – including ourselves – rather than our own. It means accepting His assessment of the future rather than our own. Agreeing with God as Mary did involves a radical shift away from our own independence and mindsets so that we can surrender and submit to God.
By nature, we do not agree with God. We follow the desires and thoughts of the world (see Eph 2:1-3 TNIV, Rom 8:5-9 TNIV). We have to learn to think new thoughts (Rom 12:1-2 TNIV) and agree with God’s view of life if we are to know true life and peace. God is always right, so it’s pointless to fight Him, but we need to be convinced of who God is if we are to trust Him as Mary did (see Ps 51:4 TNIV). We have to be prepared to let God set the pace and to respond to Him (see Rom 3:27-28, The Message), knowing that He is the initiator in this faith life (John 15:16 TNIV).
God is not limited to natural processes; He created the universe from nothing (Hebrews 11:2 TNIV)and is able to call things that are not as though they were (Rom 4:17 TNIV). He is able to make the impossible happen, for nothing is impossible with God (Matt 19:26 TNIV). When we agree with Him, we get to see the invisble become visible and see the impossible become possible?
In order to agree with God, we have to understand that He will fulfil every promise He has made and speak faith into those situations, even when it doesn’t look like God is working. ‘For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.’ (2 Cor 1:19-20 TNIV)
Every promise God has made is ‘Yes’ in Christ, but we have to speak the ‘Amen’ of agreeing faith to see that happen. As Aaron Shust sings:
‘Oh, and I will trust in only You.
For You will bring the victory.
You will bring the victory.
All Your promises are true;
It doesn’t matter what I see.
It doesn’t matter what I see. ‘ (‘Deliver Me’, Aaron Shust)
‘Deliver Me’, Aaron Shust
This is not mindless fantasy, but spiritual reality based on Scripture: ‘when I am weak, then I am strong’ (2 Cor 12:10 TNIV). As we wait patiently for what we do not yet have (Rom 8:25 TNIV), we speak faith into situations and see those situations change as God works.
Secondly, there is power in unity and in prayer (see Matt 18:18-20 TNIV). God has promised always to be with us (see Matt 18:20 TNIV, Phil 4:5 TNIV, Heb 13:5 TNIV) and there is power in the agreement of two or three people in prayer:‘whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.’ (Mark 11:24 TNIV) The church has been given spiritual authority by Jesus and victories come not because of our strength, wisdom or power, but because of God, whose power is unleashed when His people learn to agree with Him and use the authority He has given them. Remember ‘five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.’ (Lev 26:8 TNIV) and ‘One of you routs a thousand, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as he promised.’ (Joshua 23:10 TNIV)
As we learn to agree with God, accepting His will for our lives as Mary did, we allow His promises to shape our lives, fuel our futures and determine our destinies.