Gratitude

John 3:16; Luke 1:26-38; Philippians 2:5-7

Time

CIT: God announces to Mary that she will have a baby

CIS: The miracle did not stop the process

SO: The hearer will understand how vital volunteering their time is.

Follow along at d1.church/notes. 

Intro: Gratitude Series. For the rest of the year, we will be discussing Gratitude.

Gratitude: being thankful and ready to show appreciation for and return kindness.

For God so loved the world that he GAVE his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

“Our God is a generous God, and he made us to be a generous people.”

We have been talking over the last few weeks about how we use our Talent and Treasure to Glorify God in our lives. We have learned that God finds faithful, available working people who work for more responsibility. We also learned what giving monetarily with our Treasure looks like as we deepen our relationship with God. 

Big Give project: $35,000 target

$20,000 completed non-budgeted projects

$6000 HVAC Worship Center

$3500 Carpet Cleaner

$7500 Sign Repair 

$2000 Media

$1000 Tables  

$15,000 new projects

Computer

Foyer furniture

Repairs to Storage (Paint/Window)

Worship center update

Be praying for December 22nd for what your family will take as a faith step.

Today, we will discuss using our time to Honor God…

1. The Call from God (Luke 1:26-31)

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 

EXP: What a Glorious moment. The Call from God on Mary’s life has come. Her faithfulness to God has enabled her to do a big task. She will conceive and give birth to the Saviour of the world. An Angel left heaven and came to her to deliver the news. She may not be ready, but she accepts the Call of God in her life. If we are faithful to God, we all have a Kingdom Calling.

ILL: We can be called to service in several ways. 1. We can be called to ministry (This may look like teaching a class, Cleaning the church, Pastoring, Worship) 2. We can be called to Missions (You may feel the call to go to another place, overseas or in the country) 3. We can be called to the Marketplace (Some of us are called to grow our jobs, provide significantly to the church financially, and be a presence for Jesus in your world)

EXP: The second thing I want you to get out of this passage is that Elizabeth was in her 6th month of Pregnancy, and Mary was told she would conceive and give birth to a son. Just because the word came from an angel did not negate the process. The only way to make a human is to go through a pregnancy. The God of heaven who made Adam out of dust and Eve from his rib knew that your ministry would require a time of gestation.  

ILL: I have a friend who became the church’s lead Pastor this year. He was called to ministry, specifically Pastoral ministry, over 10 years ago. He was attending a church and began to volunteer more. He spoke with leaders there and made himself available. He and his wife eventually became children’s directors (non-paid) at the growing church. He received a promotion at his job that required him to move to Houston from Fort Worth. When he did, he called the leadership and asked where he should attend church. He wound up driving an hour from Houston to attend a senior leadership-led church. While there, he developed and became the youth pastor after a few years of wrestling with God. He decided to go full-time ministry. They offered him a position as an associate pastor, planning to open up his own campus in a few years. Finally, they prayed collectively, and he opened up his New Braunfels, Texas, campus. 

Ten years is a long time; Mary’s 9 months seemed like an eternity. 

APP: When we give our time to God, he can do even more incredible things. Wherever we are called Ministry, Missions, Marketplace, our calling will require time for development and growth.

T.S.: When we serve God with our time, others can see God working

2. Other’s process point to your miracle (Luke 1:32-37)

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth, your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

EXP: God describes the result of Mary’s time. Jesus will be here. Mary is puzzled because she is a virgin, and she isn’t even married to Joseph yet. It is terrible timing. So God gives her a sign. Her cousin Elizabeth is pregnant and is 6 months into justation. God promised her a child, and his words will be without fail for you, too!

ILL: When we give our time to the Kingdom, we often need to be made aware of our impact on the calls of others. Elizabeth has enough on her plate. God has given her a child, and in her old age, she is tired. Her husband cannot speak because he needs reassurance to serve God. John the Baptist was in her wound. If he were anything in the wound, like he was outside of the wound, he would be kicking up a storm. While she was going through it, God used her as an example for Mary to see what it looked like to be called by God. 

EXP: I love that the faithful Mary goes to her cousin's house to verify. We need examples in front of us.

ILL: God called me to follow him early on in life. I could not spare the time. But he kept putting people who served him in my life. I would get a job, and my boss would be a leader in his church. I would join the army, and he would put a man whose family was devout to serve alongside. God knew that along with my call, I needed to see others living the way he called me to. 

ILL: We often talk about giving to the church as financial giving. Your time is more valuable. We may have different talent levels. We may not all have the same disposable income. But all of us have only 24 hours in a day. We sleep ⅓ of it, so we have 16 hours to give. We give some to our livelihood, 8-10 hours, and we have family time and other obligations. So Time is limited for everyone. We are genuinely sacrificing when we give an hour to God in his service.

APP: Be like Mary. Let God give you an example of another who is giving their time to God so that you can be encouraged like Mary was.

3. Fulfilled (Luke 1:38):

 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

EXP: Mary reassigns her allegiance to God. I was your servant before the angel came, and even though my faith is challenged by what you are asking me to do, I am still your servant. You can hear the shakiness in her voice. A teenage girl to whom God has given an enormous task. 

ILL: Giving time to God requires discipline. Similar to budgeting finances, we have to budget time. Is God first in your time? How would you know? How would he know?

1. Sabbath
2. Daily Devotional Time
3. Prayer times
4. Church is a Priority
5. Family bible study
6. Volunteer for Kingdom Work

Finding a way to utilize our time for God is how we act like Jesus on this earth. He must be the Lord of our time to amend our life.

Philippians 2:5-7 In your relationships with one another have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

To be like Jesus, serving with our time has to be a priority.

APP: As we talk about generosity over the next few weeks, do not dismiss it because you are having a hard enough time paying your bills or do not feel God has called you into the talent area. Remember, you have the same time in your day as everyone else. Look around for examples of those serving, and then find a place on your schedule to Give.

TS: If you give your time, The financial issue will get much more manageable. You will find your place in the Kingdom to use your talent; God will Bless you for your time.

I want to pray for three groups today:

1. There are some who god has called, but you are in gestation.
2. I want to pray that God will help you develop and grow in this time
3. Some feel called to serve but haven't gone to see the example yet
4. I want to pray for you that God will open your eyes to the person doing what you are supposed to do
5. Some heard for the first time God has a job for them. 
6. I pray today for salvation.