Are You Ready?

When Hope is Restored  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  24:12
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When God Says- Yes

Luke 1:13 ESV
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

Are you ready for your prayers to be answered?

Are you ready for your miracle?

Are you ready for what God is releasing in your life?

Most people are quick to answer yes, yet quickly question what God about it?

Consider Zacharias

He was
++A righteous Man Luke 1:6
++A law abiding citizen
++Married to a barren women Luke 1:7
++Beyond child-barring years

When God shows up

While ministering in the temple
++He had a divine encounter
++He was troubled
++He was fearful
A normal service became something that would change his life forever.
We need these moments
They are good for us
Luke 5:12–13 ESV
12 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him.
The man did not question
++The Power of God
++The Authority of God

Will you do it?

Will you
++Make me clean
++Fix my brokenness
++Make me whole

God hears unspoken prayers

Zacharias had given up

He found no hope
++In his situation
++In his own ability
++It was a prayer he no longer prayed
When we have no hope
++God still hears
++God still knows the deep cry of our heart
Luke 1:13 ESV
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
This should have been
++A day of rejoicing
++A day of celebration
Luke 1:18 ESV
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
God’s answer surprised Zacharias
He was not ready for this answer
What made Zacharias question the answer?
1 Corinthians 15:19 ESV
19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Can you think of a time when God’s answer surprised you? Why?
Romans 15:4 ESV
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:13 ESV
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
1 John 5:14–15 ESV
14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Zacharias wasn’t ready

The realities of life
++Choke out his faith
++Impacted his hope
Luke 1:19–20 ESV
19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
The Angel
++Stood in the presence of God
++Brought good news
Zacharias would leave “Speechless”

We need hope

Hope is
++The basis of faith
++The anchor of our soul
Romans 4:17–18 ESV
17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”

What are the real issues of answered prayers?

God responds to Zacharias’ Prayer
Luke 1:67–68 ESV
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people
Answered prayer test
++The Reality of God
++The Power of God
++The Presence of God
Because God is
++Salvation is available
++Sin can be forgiven
++Situations and change
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