Do you believe the word of God?

Luke 1:18-20, 34-38

The book of Luke was written by Luke, the beloved Physician (Col 4:14) to Theophilus just as the book of Acts. Luke open’s the book by making clear that the purpose was to give an accurate historical account of the teachings and events in the life of Jesus. This is to affirm the very foundation upon which Christianity is based. That foundation is that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, the Son of God. Theophilus was probably a government official as the term “excellent” was often used for that in the Roman society to show respect.

                Zechariah was a priest of the priestly division of Abijah. He and his wife Elizabeth were descendants of Aaron; hence Levites. Both of them were blameless and obedient to the commandments of God, but without sin (Ro 3:9,10,23). Elizabeth suffered all kinds of embarrassments a Jewish woman could have if she could not have children. Normally they were praying for the blessings of the womb.

                The day came when it was Zechariah’s time to burn incense in the temple; and the angel of the Lord appeared to him while the worshippers were praying outside.

   1)      When God’s message comes to a righteous man he trembles

Zechariah realized he was in the presence of a heavenly being. So his response was fear because Gabriel was God’s representative (Lk 2:9). “ Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife will bear you a son whom you’ll call John…”

                The message was heavy and a message of Joy. The son will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.

                I now see why Jesus our Lord said amongst all the prophets John the Baptist is the greatest (Mtt 11:11). But John did not work any miraculous wonders, but he had a miraculous relationship with God from the time of conception. Some of us think that great prophets or great men of God are those with great miracles. No, they are those with miraculous relationships with God. John’s work was to prepare the way for the messiah. His message was God’s word that was meant to change the hearts of parents into those of the children that they may believe the light that was coming to the world.

   2)      Even though you tremble at God’s word, do you believe?

When Satan hears the name of Jesus he trembles but he does not believe. It does not suffice to fear but to believe the word of God. Verse 18 of our text makes us know that Zechariah still needed proof eventhough he was in the presence of Gabriel. He did not believe the word of God so he asked “How can I be sure of this?” As  a result, the sign the angel gave was punishment for Zechariah because of his doubt in what Gabriel said. Mtt 21:22 says if we ask and believe we will receive; but many of us today live in doubt like Zechariah.

                Zechariah’s prayer was heard and God gave him a word, but he still wanted a proof. We pray and ask God, and when God answers we still doubt. Many Christians do that today; they kneel down and cry to the Lord but when they get up their intellectual exercise overcomes their faith and they start wondering if and how God will answer them. The how is not our own; how it will happen belongs to God; we just need to believe and trust Him. Zechariah was punished for disbelief.

   3)      The right response after trembling at God’s word.

Gabriel again was sent in the sixth month to the virgin Mary and her immediate response was fear (Lk 1:30). The angel gave her the message, message of Joy and favour. But this time after trembling her reaction was different. “How will this be since I do not know a man?”

                She did not ask how sure she could be since it is impossible to have a child without relationship with a man. But she asked how it will be.

                Firstly she reaffirms her virginity. Therefore the conception of Jesus was a miraculous work of God. Jesus would be the “only begotten” son of God (John 1:14-16). If you accept Jesus, you must accept this fact of His conception and birth. This is the reason why Jesus is the Son of God. Any normal form of birth will do if Jesus was to be another good teacher of Palestine. But that was not the case, so Jesus is the son of God with this miraculous conception.

                The angel explained how it will happen. If today a lady came with pregnancy and told us she has never known a man, it will be terrible. Questions will kill her. Or if a girl who has never known a man was told that will happen to her; she will not believe so the angel said “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Verse 37)

                The omnipotent God in reference to impotent man is here manifested (Jer 32:17). What man cannot do, God can do.

                So what Mary was going to experience was outside the control and power of man. It was God’s working to bring into the world the savior of mankind. Contrary to Zechariah Mary exercised great faith in accepting the words of the angel as truth.

“Behold the bondservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word” (Verse 38b)

Do you believe in the Lord Jesus? That He is the Son of God? That He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit? That He came to save us from our Sin? This is the time to reconsider your ways and focus on Christ Jesus who is the light of the world. He is God incarnated in human flesh to save us. He is reigning at the right hand of God the father in heaven. He will come again to judge the world. What will He say about you?

Total obedience to God's call (Luke 5:1-11; Deut 28:15,30-32)

For the last few weeks of this year, the Pastor has taken time to bring us to the understanding of what total obedience to Christ means. He went on to expose some issues which we neglect whereas they are forms of disobedience. We heard about alcohol and the illustration he gave. Last week I was sharing with my children about lies telling and how deadly it is to a child of God just as cancer is to the body. One of my children also prepared his own lesson on the power of the tongue and how people have also murdered by what they speak. All these have been in a bit to make known the importance of total obedience to a Christian life.

                I remember when I planted Mt Zion Baptist church Boko in Douala and it started showing growth, the leaders of the church came in one meeting and proposed to put me on a salary. My words to them was that “I’m doing this out of obedience and God has buttered my bread. So I do not need a salary to obey”. It was a long debate but finally we agreed and they decided to give me telephone credit for calls. I accepted it for their blessings.

                Our theme for this year is total obedience to Christ Jesus. We saw in Deut 28:1-3 that if we obey, we will be blessed. From Deut 28:15-32 we also see how we can be cursed if we do not obey. Is total obedience optional for Christians? I don’t think so. If you say you are a Christian, then you must obey Christ and if you do not obey Christ, then you do not love him and you are not his follower. So disobedient church goers are not Christians.

   1.       Those who disobey the Lord are cursed Deut 28:15-32

It says you are cursed in your going out and cursed in your coming in. The fruit of your body; your offspring will be cursed; the ground will be cursed. It says your heaven will be like bronze and your earth like iron. So your sky will be dusty, no rains to bless you, the ground will produce nothing for you. You will lay your hands on things and they will not prosper. Verse 30 says you shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. You shall get a fiancé and another girl shall take him away.

                You may be going through some struggles because of disobedience. Is there anything in your life you must let go? Drunkenness, lies telling, control of your tongue? I am just listing these ones because many people think these ones are small sins. There is no small sin before God. You have disobeyed if you indulge in these.

                How then are you going to respond to Christ Jesus in obedience so that you can receive the blessings that come with obedience?

   2.       Obey the commands of Jesus Christ without questioning Lk 5:1-3

Jesus was teaching the people at the lake of Gennesareth and the crowd was too much. They were pressing on him and he needed space to talk to them better. They were hungry for the word of God to the point that the master had no space. He looked into the lake and saw two boats. The fishermen were not in the boats because they were washing their nets. They were not listening to the teacher. They were not concerned about the words of the teacher, but their nets because they went throughout the night and caught nothing.

                What is that problem in you that is distracting you from looking unto Jesus? Simon Peter was one of the fisher men washing their nets. Sometimes we are so troubled with our problems that we lose focus on the problem solver. Simon did not know the one who will solve the problem of their job, their business of catching fish was around. They were busy bodied, thinking of what to do next and forgetting about God. Doing it their own way!

                Many of us today are like that. There is a program in church and you have a job to do. You’ll just say let me work money. I need the money to feed my children; things have not been good these days, let me “huzzle” for my family; afterall God knows I am doing it for my family. You abandon God for money and now money has become your master not Jesus Christ. You want to serve money first before you serve God. Money is distracting you from obedience to God.

                But when Jesus asked Simon to let him into his boat and go into the lake, Simon immediately obeyed even though he was distracted. Are you ready to obey the call of Jesus today? Simon did. He did not tell him I’m busy, I need to wash my nets so that I can go fishing in the evening. So Jesus taught the people while on the boat of Simon. I’m sure even though he allowed Jesus in his boat he was still worried about his net and his fishing.

   3.       When you obey God’s call, be intentional Lk 5:4-5

Jesus asked Peter again to go further into the lake and throw his net for a catch. Simon said, Master, we toiled all night and caught nothing, not even one fish but because you have commanded, I will do so. Simon was a professional fisherman, and expert fisherman. That was his field, and he knew that good fishing is in the dark when fishes come closer to the surface. He wanted the master to know that even in the last night when they would have caught more fish, they did not catch anything. How can they catch during the day?

                If it were you, what will you tell the master? Will you present to him your intellectual know how? Will you tell him how you know your job? And tell him, wait master we cannot catch anything during the day, we will try but in the night? Will you postpone God’s call?

                Simon obeyed because it was the master’s command. Will you listen to the master? My obedience today prepares me for my obedience tomorrow, and tomorrow’s obedience prepares me for the next day and for the year to come.

   4.       When you totally obey, your blessings will overtake you Lk5:6

Simon obeyed and the net was filled with fish in an odd hour of the day. The net was breaking because of overloaded blessings. You will be blessed in your going out and in your coming in if you totally obey. Your offspring will be blessed and the earth will be blessed. Where you put your hand God will prosper it. Simon’s expertise was challenged. His professional knowhow was challenged as he obeyed Jesus Christ.

   5.       When you totally obey, people around you will be blessed Lk 5:7

James and John were in the other boat. So Simon called them to came and help him in the blessings. They also filled their own boat and the two began to sink. The blessings were too much to Simon and the people around him. That is the consequence of obedience. People around you will be blessed, your children will be blessed, your household will be blessed, your friends will be blessed just because of your obedience. You will see why Potiphar’s house was blessed when Joseph was around. What is your response to Jesus Christ today?

   6.       Simon recognized who he was when he encountered Jesus Christ Lk 8

Some of us are carried away by what God does in our lives that we forget who we are before God. Simon’s response was submission. He fell on his knees and said “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man”. True conversion comes with recognition that we are sinners. You can now understand why Simon Peter became so influential in kingdom business. He confessed that he was a sinner before Christ. That helped him to take off.

   7.       When you recognize your sinful nature and repent then seek to obey God’s commands Lk 5:10-11

Jesus told Simon not to be afraid. I don’t think Simon was afraid of Jesus, but he was afraid of his sins. He knew he was nothing before the master, something to be thrown into fire. Jesus said “Do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching men”.  When they brought their boats to the land, they left everything and followed Jesus. What is that thing that you are still holding unto?

                You tell us that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and savior. But you are still doing those things you use to do. You have not abandon your old life, but Simon, James and John did it out of total obedience. Their profession or business was not a hindrance for obedience.

                Have you been catching men? If you go to heaven today will God say there are souls attached to you? That there are people who have been saved because you brought them to Christ? Matthew 28:18-20 tells the great command Jesus gave to those who are his followers. “… Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations…” He is not saying that you may go or If you like go. It is a command and the mission Christ has given us. All who say they are Christians. Have you been making disciples for Jesus? If you have not been carrying the gospel to the lost souls, then you are disobedient. It is high time you repent from your disobedience and seek to totally obey God from now on.

                Pray and ask God to forgive you from your disobedience.