Belief In The Promises Of God

Luke 1:30-33, 45-55

Belief In The Promises Of God

     And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; “And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom shall have no end.”

     Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, speaks to Mary, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”. And Mary said, “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold from this time all shall count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and Holy is His name. And His Mercy Is Upon Generation After Generation Toward Those Who Fear Him. He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent away the rich empty handed. He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his offspring forever.” 

     

     The promise of God given.

     The belief in the promise being fulfilled.

    The outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Mary whereupon she magnified God and spoke what was and what was to be.

     An angel appeared to Mary with a word from God promising that she would bear the The King of Kings, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who was going to be given the kingdom of David to rule for ever. She was going to bear The Son of God who would fulfill all of the promises that God had ever made to His people.

     It is an astounding promise that has been made to her, and what I would like to particularly look at today is the fact that she believed what was told to her. For we see that even Zacharias in verse 18, failed to believe the word he also received directly from the same angel. And we can see from reading the verses about him that he was a strong man of God devoted to Serving Him and living righteously. So having an angel deliver the message does not mean that we will believe the word of God.

     Believing is the key to the blessings and the heart of God. Talking to a friend of mine this morning, we were discussing the challenge of serving God and at the same time trying to take care of our daily needs and earthly security. If God has called us to serve Him full time how do we get away from these pressing concerns? The answer? We must believe as Mary did. Believing that God’s promises are true and that if we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness all these things will be taken care of. I’m afraid that if most of us and me included, were to have an angel appear and tell us that God will supply all our needs and concerns and not worry about them anymore but to go out and rescue the lost, we would probably end up in an argument with him instead of believing. Trying to explain to him why we couldn’t possibly stop worry about them. We all have our reasons for why we can’t have a simple trust in our Heavenly Father.

     Believing is a gift from God and comes from having a deep relationship with Him. If we don’t get to know Him personally we will always doubt His goodness towards us. If we don’t spend time with Him it is easy for us to fall for the lies and false rumors that are spread around. We must ignore what is said about Him and meet with Him ourselves. How do we meet with Him you may ask? I’m glad you asked! The first thing is to find somewhere that is quiet so that you can focus your thoughts. Then kneel down and humble yourself before God and tell Him that you desire to truly know Him. It is important to keep in mind the verse in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” For all of us have sinned even if we don’t fully understand what sin is or what sins we are guilty of. For God says that if we confess our sins He will be faithful to forgive us, and it is sin that stands between us and a true relationship with God. Then ask Him to come into your heart for He says in Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I (Jesus) stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him and he with Me.” If we are persistent in our desire to meet with Him we will meet Him. But it is important to know that we have an enemy (The devil) who will do everything to distract us from our goal. He will cause us to lose concentration in prayer. He will keep us occupied with work and entertainment. And He will use our sinful desires to plague us night and day. Our own bodies are against us in this battle to meet with God. But if we truly want the reward of being close to God we will get it if we persist for there is nothing that can keep us back from fully receiving this gift.

     With a close relationship comes the gift of belief. We will know without a doubt that He is aware of our needs and problems and will see us safely through them. So I encourage you to spend your life in pursuit of this relationship for it grows deeper the closer to God you get. Jesus has opened the door to a wonderful relationship with the Father. Let us press on to enjoy the full benefits of this gift.

     May God bless each one of us in our walk with Him. He is the fountain of life and the giver of all good things. Whether we have been with Him for many years or are just meeting Him, in the journey towards eternity, we have only just begun!