FACTS OR FAITH

Luke 1:18-20 (NLT)

Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was He who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

Luke 1:34-35 (NLT)

Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Baby to be born will be holy, and He will be called the Son of God.”

Luke 1:36-38 (NLT)

“What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the Word of God will never fail.”

(NKJV – “For with God nothing will be impossible.”) Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1-3 (NIV)

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

How do we develop faith for the miraculous?

1. Surrender to His Word

Joshua 5:13-14 (NIV)

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”

“You don’t need to know how it’s going to end if God is there in the beginning.” – Craig Groeschel

Luke 1:37 (NKJV)

For with God nothing will be impossible.

Luke 1:45 (NLT)

You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said.

Luke 1:52-53 (NKJV)

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.

Romans 10:8 (NKJV)

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach).

Romans 10:9

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

“Faith is never self-made, it’s not the result of the determination, it’s not the result of striving, it’s not the result of human effort, it’s the result of surrender. God has already created the momentum of faith; surrender is to step into the momentum He has created.” – Bill Johnson

Proverbs 18:21a

Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

How many miracles have we missed out on because we failed to surrender our speech to the soundtrack of heaven?

Matthew 6:10 (NKJV)

Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

2. Hold on and Don’t Let Go 

Luke 2:19 (NLT)

But Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.

What are you holding onto, or “keeping” in your heart?  Are you rehearsing the mighty acts of God?

“The further you get away from the miracle, the more likely you are to forget it. What miracle are you thankful for today that will give you faith for tomorrow?” – Rich Wilkerson Jr.

2 Kings 13:18-19 (NLT)

Then he said, “Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground.” So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times. But the man of God was angry with him. “You should have struck the ground five or six times!” he exclaimed. “Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times.”

“I am amazed how many people need permission to get started, but almost no one needs permission to quit.” – Erwin Mcmanus

“How many of us have confused those moments in our life and we thought that we failed, but actually what we did was quit.” – Erwin Mcmanus

Not unlike Mary:

A. God wants to enter your life

B. To grow inside you

C. To happen through you

D. To change the world around you

Discussion Questions:

1. How do you usually think about faith? Is it something you need to work up or produce? Or something you surrender to?

2. How do you contend out of a place of surrender? (They seem so opposite.)

3. Has there ever been a time, looking back, you think you may have actually given up instead of failed?

4. How can you guard against “quitting” directions from God in the future?

5. What areas of your life do you think God may be wanting to enter in a new way?

6. Where do you think God is wanting to happen through you to bring transformation around you?