Saying Yes! - Week One : 26 Sep 2018 -RP

==This message was given in 2018, but is listed here for better chronological presentation==

When dreams die they evidence, eventually, the nature of our “Yes” to God. How we handle the barren places of our life, our hopes unfulfilled, our longings not satisfied, help us see whether our “Yes” to God is to Him alone or if it comes with the expectations that our dreams coming true. It is in these painful places of waiting and seeing hope slip away, that the depth of our faith is revealed, shaken and then deepened or forsaken.

Elizabeth waited, for likely over 40yrs, to experience the most profound hope of all women in her day- to become a mother. When we meet her, her dream has died. She is barren and advanced in years. Although her greatest longing had not been satisfied, Elizabeth kept pressing into God, not wavering in her love for or worship of her God, but deepening in it. Amazing!

But what amazes me even more about Elizabeth is how she did not waver when she surprisingly got what she must have always wanted. No. With her dream fulfilled she pressed into God more deeply.

Unfulfilled dreams do impact our faith, but fulfilled dreams do too-maybe more! Once we get what we always wanted our hearts may initially draw near to God in praise, but most of us begin to press into, enjoy the new blessing more than our God—our commitment to the LORD wanes. It is the wonderful places of blessing, when our dreams come true that the depth of our faith is revealed and is either deepened or forsaken.

When we get the career, the title, the husband, the kids, the home, etc, our passion for God, if we are honest cools, until another longing comes our way! If our commitment to our God wanes when we don’t get what we want OR when we do, we are seeing the nature of our “yes” to God.

In Elizabeth we see a real life deeply impacted by a significant dream lost. And then spectacularly and unexpectedly fulfilled! Neither barrenness nor blessing distanced Liz from her God. No both not only evidenced the genuineness of her faith and both deepened it.

Today I want us to look at why, by seeing the real nature of God’s “yes” to Elizabeth. And how we can become more like Elizabeth, by seeing the real nature of her “yes” to God. We’ll see this by first looking at her barrenness and then her blessing.