Sanctuary 9/31

Sanctuary September 31st

Speaker: Eric "BZ" Botelho

 

We wrapped up our women's series on the woman who gave birth to our Savior... Mother Mary.

"When God is going to do something wonderful, He or She always starts with a hardship; when God is going to do something amazing; He or She starts with an impossibility." Anne Lamott, Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith

Isn't that terrible news. The hardship you are facing in your life may be how God is calling you to Himself. The thing that is absoultly impossible to do on your own is when He gets the chance to really show up in your life. Time and time again the Lord is showing himself through walking me through painful things, fears, and challenges... not by answering my prayers with an easy way out.

Sometimes we just have to do what we don't want to do. As those of us in AA know, opposite action is what saves us. We do something different to get different results in life.

At Sanctuary we spent a night looking at Mother Mary. Imagine being Mary. 15 years old, a woman (also known as property in those days) and an angel comes to you and says you are going to give birth to the Son of God. Her response was one of trust and love, "May this be True"  see Luke 1:38 She was a virgin, and in those days if you were pregnant out of wedlock they would stone you to death (not the good kind).

I love the way our Lord works. In the people the world would expect the least. Mary is young and literally has no rights, but this is the woman God used to bring us Jesus. When she said yes to God, things got worse. She had to leave everything and flee to Egypt. God doesn't call us to this perfectly secure Christian life, that is an idea from the culture of how things should be. The path God takes us down often times is filled with trials and challenges. These are the things that TRANSFORM us and help us TRANSFORM the world.

 

She choose God's will over what would be the easy way. She had a choice.
When Mary said yes she risked everything. The best things in life will always involve risk and sacrifice. Anything that matters requires you taking a risk.

 

We could learn alot from this humble girl. God speaks in unlikely ways. 

 

 

She said yes- Why do we say no? What is holding you back from saying yes to God and the adventure he wants to take you onFear, Selfishness, other people's opinions of you... What is it? Ask yourself. When God takes your life it will never be the same. 

 

When we open up our lives to got he never just pours blessings on us so we are happy. He makes us a blessing to others. In this sick and twisted world we get to become apart of bringing God's kingdom to earth. 

 

 

Rich Mullins said it perfectly when he said, "I don’t believe that God chose you, and blessed you so that you could heap those blessings up upon yourself. I believe God chose you, and you, and you, and every one of you others because He wants to make a difference in this world. And you know what? what I think is scary about God is He didn’t come up with any ‘Plan B.’ That He left the Church here, and the Church is the only group of people, and the Church is the only institution in the world that can bring about a change. This government cannot do it, so stop depending on the government. Educational systems cannot do it, so stop trusting educational systems. The Church was chosen by God to make a difference."

 

 

So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too.1 Peter 4:1

There is a cost. BUT it costs you way more to not listen to the voice that calls you beloved. He is our father who is actually trustworthy (a far cry from what most of us know). We are going to suffer on this Earth, but the suffering we face from following Jesus always produces something beautiful within us and for those around us.

 

We have endless distractions... It is so easy to ignore the call. God can do a lot through your life. I constantly get close to giving up. It is not easy, but each time I do the thing that scares me I find God a little more. God is bigger than our fears and challenges.



As Bz said, the crazy thing about God is that he would have loved Mary just the same if she said no. His love NEVER depends on what we do. But, she would never have got to experience the life God planed for her. That plan He has for us is better than anything we try to plan for ourselves. Mary teaches us trust above all else. She shows us how to walk with God when it doesn't make sense. The effect of her life ripples on today.

Lord, make us a community of people who say yes to you even when things are dark. Help us overcome our fears that hold us back. Jesus I pray that you can make us a new community who seeks you out above all else and finds the healing and freedom that only You offer. I pray for these things in your name, amen.