Waiting on One Day

Lk1.5-13

Luke 1:5–13 CEB

During the rule of King Herod of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah. His wife Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron. They were both righteous before God, blameless in their observance of all the Lord’s commandments and regulations. They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to become pregnant and they both were very old. One day Zechariah was serving as a priest before God because his priestly division was on duty. Following the customs of priestly service, he was chosen by lottery to go into the Lord’s sanctuary and burn incense. All the people who gathered to worship were praying outside during this hour of incense offering. An angel from the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw the angel, he was startled and overcome with fear. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayers have been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to your son and you must name him John.

Series on Prayer @ TGC:

*I so much appreciate Pastor David Briggs last week…Positioned for Purpose....fits with what God has been speaking to TGC....we find our purpose through prayer!!

I wonder how many of you have started to pray DANGEROUS prayers?? …have you felt an invitation to believe again for something that seemed impossible?? You were created for something MORE than the limitations of your faults and failures!!

“God, here I am send me.”

“Lord, I don’t know how you can turn this situation around…but I believe your word!”

“Lord, break the power of addiction off my life!”

“Lord, I reject the narrative of failure off my life, and I choose to believe YOUR WORD over me!”

Principle:

While you are praying, Jesus is interceding!

*At the “hour of incense” the priest would burn incense that became a fragrance in the temple that he had to walk through to get to the mercy seat…so, we come to God in prayer through the presence of Jesus who is making constant intercession for us!

Rom 8:34 “Who is going to convict them? It is Christ Jesus who died, even more, who was raised, and who also is at God’s right side. It is Christ Jesus who also pleads our case for us.”

1Jn 2:1-3 “My little children, I’m writing these things to you so that you don’t sin. But if you do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is God’s way of dealing with our sins, not only ours but the sins of the whole world. This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments.”

There’s something about the presence of Jesus that activates our FAITH…

When you’re in the presence of Jesus your spirit becomes impregnating with SEEDS of PROMISE!

When God creates a miracle, he covers that place with his Spirit...

Genesis 1:2 “ The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Luke 1:35 (Angel to Mary...) And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Praise and Presence create the cloud of INCENSE that open the door to miracles....

It’s our way of praying “thy kingdom come, thy will be done in my life like it is in heaven!

Some of you, your faith has started to come alive in worship again…the Spirit is hovering over your life and the SEED of PROMISE is coming alive inside!!

Radical Prayers are an invitation for FORMATION....Zechariah & Elizabeth found out that you can actually be obedient to God and still be facing hardship and trial....

One of the temptations of consumer Christianity is that it tends to avoid circumstances that cause us to suffer!

Luke 1:6–7 “They were both righteous before God, blameless in their observance of all the Lord’s commandments and regulations. They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to become pregnant and they both were very old.”

There are some appointments God has set for you now that you are avoiding because you can’t see how they are connected to your promise…But avoiding those appointments (resisting that process) will only DELAY your promise!

Your season of preparation can feel like barrenness (empty, isolated, lonely, cut off).

Principle: How many of you realize, your greatest season of REJECTION can turn out to be the launch pad for God’s promotion!

Illustration:

A little bird was flying during a cold snow storm. It was so cold that the bird couldn’t fly anymore and fell down and landed near some barn. While lying down helpless on the ground, a cow came by and dropped a big poop on him. The poop was so warm that the little freezing bird started warming up and feeling better. The bird was so happy to feel warm that he started to sing. A cat heard the bird singing, so he followed the voice until he found the bird, so he dug him out of the poop and ate him.

Morals of the story:

Not everybody who poops on you is your enemy.

Not everybody who digs you out of the poop is your friend.

When you’re in deep poop, keep quiet.

One of the greatest hinderances to your faith is NOT what attacks are coming at you... It’s the turmoil that’s going on in you AND what’s coming out of our mouth [words].

Your words are either leading you towards God’s provision or away from God’s provision.

You don’t need a devil against you when you have the devils words already coming out of your mouth…your confession matters!

So God had to shut Zechariah’s mouth while he was going through his season of preparation....

Principle: God will often put you in a hidden place to keep you from getting in the way of what he is doing.

But sometimes, we are too busy cursing what God has allowed so that we can be ready for the SEED of PROMISE!!

If Satan can’t get your words, he will steal your focus (DISTRACTION)

The enemy will always try to Steal your Focus while you wait.

Illustration: Jen is able to think of all the steps in a plan. She is on step 8 and my brain is still on solving step#3!

When you lose your focus, you lose the language of FAITH.

What to do while you Wait...

Don’t Rush the season of Gestation.

You can pray all you want, but that’s not going to change the 40 weeks needed to bring a baby to the place its ready for birth.

Our prayers are not tools to make God move faster…they are invitations for us to be formed and ready to receive the promise!

It’s uncomfortable, inconvenient, and it will test your character (“lead us not into temptation” = getting God’s promise my way).

I’ve found that the process of waiting uncovers my ulterior motives and agendas I’ve been disguising with religion.

Guard your Company

Lk1.10 “All the people who gathered to worship were praying outside during this hour of incense offering.”

One of the biggest factors in your season of process are the voices who have your ears.

Surround yourself with voices that help you grow on the inside (making room for the promise).

Your Words become the gardener to your seedbed of Promise.

God had to shut the mouth of Zechariah to protect the seed.

Illustration: My grandfather was a farmer…when I was a teem my grandpa would come over int he summer and wake me up early and say “your daddy said I could come get you to help me run the tractor in the field”.... When I would drive the tractor he would yell at me “to the left…no back to the right…get off my peas!!”

He was guarding his garden against the distractions of a teenage boy!

Your words serve as the caretaker to the seeds God has planted in your life…(Say) GUARD the SEEDS!

When you don’t know what to do…Stand and Pray.

Eph6.13 “.... after you have done everything possible...stand.”

Zechariah was simply ON DUTY when God showed up…there was nothing spectacular about that day…it was just his ONE DAY!!

ARE YOU ON DUTY?

This could be your ONE DAY!