Good morning, today, I am going to do something a little different. I have to preach at a Prayer Breakfast this morning, so instead of giving you a normal Today’s Word. I will give you my notes for this morning’s message. I pray this blesses you.
Introduction:
- Luke 1 contains the story of two women getting pregnant supernaturally.
- We can learn a great deal from these two pregnancies.
- We will see how this applies to us today.
1. OPEN YOUR HEART TO THE UNEXPECTED: Be Ready For Whatever God Says To You About This Season.
Luke Chapter 1 (ERV)
6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were both good people who pleased God. They did everything the Lord commanded, always following his instructions completely.
7 But they had no children. Elizabeth could not have a baby, and both of them were very old.
8 Zechariah was serving as a priest before God for his group. It was his group’s time to serve.
9 The priests always chose one priest to offer the incense, and Zechariah was the one chosen this time. So he went into the Temple of the Lord to offer the incense.
10 There was a large crowd outside praying at the time the incense was offered.
11 …an angel of the Lord came and stood before Zechariah.
12 When he saw the angel, Zechariah was upset and very afraid.
13 But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid. Your prayer has been heard by God. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to a baby boy, and you will name him John.
16 “John will help many people of Israel return to the Lord their God.
17 John himself will go ahead of the Lord and make people ready for his coming…
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that what you say is true? I am an old man, and my wife is also old.”
19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, the one who always stands ready before God. He sent me to talk to you and to tell you this good news.
20 Now, listen! You will not be able to talk until the day when these things happen. You will lose your speech because you did not believe what I told you. But everything I said will really happen.”
26-27 During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to a virgin girl who lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee…
28 The angel came to her and said, “Greetings! The Lord is with you; you are very special to him.”
29 But Mary was very confused about what the angel said. She wondered, “What does this mean?”
30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, because God is very pleased with you.
31 Listen! You will become pregnant and have a baby boy. You will name him Jesus.
32 He will be great. People will call him the Son of the Most High God, and the Lord God will make him king like his ancestor David.
33 He will rule over the people of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen? I am still a virgin.”
35 The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come to you, and the power of the Most High God will cover you. The baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God.
36 And here’s something else: Your relative Elizabeth is pregnant. She is very old, but she is going to have a son. Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant now for six months.
37 God can do anything!”
38 Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let this thing you have said happen to me!” Then the angel went away.
The same angel (Gabriel) brought a message to Zechariah and Mary: Gabriel broke 400 years of silence with this announcement.
Zechariah’s Response:
- Zechariah did not believe, even though it was something he had prayed for for years.
- Faith believes what God reveals (and does not doubt it).
Mary’s Response:
- Mary was OPEN to it.
- She just asked for understanding.
- Keep your heart OPEN to what God wants to do in this season.
- If you don’t understand what God is doing, ask Him to provide you with understanding.
Lessons For You Today:
- Embracing unexpected opportunities with faith can lead to unforeseen success.
- Like Mary, you should remain OPEN to possibilities that defy conventional expectations.
- Anything is possible with God!
2. Expanding Your Capacity to Believe.
- You are only limited by your capacity to believe God!
- All things possible for him who believes (Mark 9:23).
- To help Mary believe, the angel gave her a point of reference.
- Once Mary found out that her cousin was pregnant, she believed she could get pregnant too.
- When she said, “Be it unto me, according to Your Word!”
- In that moment, she got pregnant.
Lessons For You Today:
- Faith believes what God reveals (and does not doubt it).
- Get excited about this year, and do not doubt what God is saying to you about it!
3. The Power of Having Faith in Two Places (Your Mouth and Your Heart).
- Romans 10:9,10 deals with confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart.
- If you have faith in these two places, you can be saved from hell.
- You can also be saved from all sorts of evil.
- The angel closed Zechariah’s mouth because he would not speak in faith.
- Mary spoke words of faith from a believing heart.
- When she said, “Be it unto me, according to Your Word!” she got pregnant because she exhibited faith in two places.
Lessons For You Today:
- When you speak words (of either faith or fear), you will have whatsoever you say!
- Out of the abundance of your heart, your mouth speaks.
- Your tongue is exposing to everyone around you what you believe in your heart.
- If you speak words of faith, from a believing heart, you will have whatsoever you say!
- Declare God’s best over your life daily!
- Practice affirmations of faith!
- In the Kingdom, nothing happens until you announce!
- Announce what you believe will happen in 2024 and do so with Faith in two places!
4. Surround Yourself with People of Like Precious Faith!
Luke Chapter 1 (ERV)
39 Mary got up and went quickly to a town in the hill country of Judea.
40 She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the unborn baby inside her jumped, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 In a loud voice she said to Mary, “God has blessed you more than any other woman. And God has blessed the baby you will have.”
43 You are the mother of my Lord, and you have come to me! Why has something so good happened to me?
44 When I heard your voice, the baby inside me jumped with joy.
45 Great blessings are yours because you believed what the Lord said to you! You believed this would happen.”
- Mary and Elizabeth provided mutual encouragement.
- When Mary arrived at Elizabeth’s home, she heard things only God could reveal.
- Elizabeth then felt her baby leap in her belly.
Lessons For You Today:
- When you are around the right people, you will hear the right things.
- You are pregnant with God’s promise, and when you are around the right people, their faith will make your baby leap.
- Surround yourself with people who will build you up and not tear you down!
- Surround yourself with dream makers and not dream killers!
Closing:
I will close with a CALL TO ACTION!
- OPEN YOUR HEART!
- CHECK YOUR WORDS!
- CHECK YOUR FRIENDS!
- That’s how 2024 will be the BEST YEAR of your life!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it, and prosper.
