NOW LISTEN - CEAI

NOW LISTEN
January 12, 2018

Prayer: May we be watching and waiting for You in our lives and perhaps a miracle today. Thank You.

Scripture: Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”29 But when she saw him,[b] she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible. Luke 1:26-37 NKJV

Just imagine for a second having an angel stand before you and tell you that you have found favor with God. Imagine being told not to be afraid when your heart is racing and your knees are knocking. Imagine that you have been given news that will not only change your world but the whole world. Imagine that you have no idea how this will happen but you do not doubt that it is true. Imagine being assured that nothing is impossible with God. Just imagine… Well, except for the angel’s actual appearance, you do not have to imagine because it is a part of every believer’s life. As verse 31 says, “Now listen:”You have found favor with God, so much so that He sent His one and only Son as a Holy sacrifice for your sins that you might live eternally with Him in heaven.

You have been told not to be afraid – De 31:6 “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” Ps 56:11 “In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

You have been given the good news that has forever changed your life and can change the lives of everyone you share it with for eternity. Acts 8:12 “But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.”

We have been called not to doubt, but to believe God in addition to believing in God. Mark 11:23 “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.”

Most, if not all of us, have a story in our lives where someone wonderful – even miraculous – happened and we have no explanation for it except God. All of us have been challenged with circumstances completely out of our control and all we could do was trust God and His decision for us.

And, just in case you have not been told – NOTHING is impossible with God. What does that mean to you? Is there something in your life that you have held on to because you thought it was impossible to do or solve? A dream? A problem? An addiction that needed breaking? A disease that needed healing? A marriage or child that needed restoring? Finances, relationships, students, desires of your heart? What have you marked off as impossible? If there is something you cannot do – you are standing at the threshold of a miracle.