Favor That Interrupts - Trusting God When Plans Change

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from Victory. Discover how we can grow in deeper trust

than God. In week two of our Christmas series heart So,

Let's look at the Store.

In Look chapter one, beginning in verse twenty six to

thirty eight, it says, in the sixth month, the angel

Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee

named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose

name was Joseph of the House of David. And the

virgin's name was Mary. And it came to her and said, greetings,

O favored one, the Lord is with you.

But she was greatly troubled.

At the saying, and tried to discern what sort of

greeting this might be. And the angel said to her,

do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor

with God. Everyone say favor, and behold, you will conceive

in your womb and bear a son, and you shall

call his name Jesus. He will be great and will

be called the Son of the Most High. And the

Lord God will give to him the throne of his

father David. And he will reign over the house of

Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

And Mary said to the Angel, how will this be

since I am a virgin? And the Angel answered her,

the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power

of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child

to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God.

And behold your relative Elizabeth in her old age. Her

cousin has also conceived a son. And this is the

sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing

will be impossible with God. I mean, have your encourage

with that word. Nothing is impossible with God. And Mary said, behold,

I am the servant of the Lord.

Let it be to me according to your word.

And the Angel departed from her. Can you bow your

heads with me and close your eyes? Lord, We thank

you for your word today. And I pray Lord for

some of us here who've been in church for quite

some time. Lord, maybe if we've heard this story before,

but I pray Lord that your word will come to

us in a fresh way.

I pray that you will show us.

Something in your word that will speak into our situation today.

I pray, like Mary, Lord, whatever interruption, whatever is it

that you're doing in our life, I pray we will

be able to recognize it, and I pray we will

be able to embrace it. Lord Lord, I pray this

will not only prepare us for Christmas, but will prepare

us for the rest of our lives.

And Jesus name me pray amen.

Okay, just to show hands, how many planners do we

have in this room today? Ry?

You like to plan controlling? I made your OC How

many have you here?

You're more of the spontaneous type of person.

You just let it flow.

You just you know, in a film every day papass

today or not only go bar today? Or not spontaneous?

You don't like to plan. I think I mentioned it before,

but I'm the kind of person who likes to plan.

I like planning my week before it actually happens. Normally,

I would sit down on a Sunday try to really

have a preview of what's going to happen in the

next seven days and try to plan what will happen

in the morning, lunch and dinner and evening and all

of that.

I like to plan, but I'm not really a good planner.

I just like to plan. Now. God is a planner, but.

Can appear very spontaneous. At the same time, he likes

surprises and likes to change our plans from time to time.

He's a planner, but at the same time, he appears

to be very spontaneous, full of surprises. You know, my

wife likes surprises in a surprise Qusha, as long as

I consult her before I do it, because okay, Bahaman

and tas. So if I will surprise her with flowers

or gifts or a place, it's a surprise.

Get the next week roses or kids because.

I tried surprising her before the Indian Agustohan society and

your effort no king awe pataloi. So you know, would

it be nice if okay, sometimes God will surprise us,

But wouldn't it be nice if God will consult us

before he will surprise us so we can prepare. I

hope that's the case, but that's not what normally happens.

So we're going to look at the story of Mary

and see what God's message is for us as we

prepare for Christmas. Because although there's no angel that will

appear in your house and tell you that you'll be

pregnant with God's son, you know, if you're a teenager

or a single person, don't try it at home.

Although there won't.

Be an angel appearing to you this Christmas and telling

you that there may be surprises that God or life

might bring into your life. Your idea of a perfect

Christmas may not happen the way you planned it to be,

or life or next year or three five years from now.

So I believe the message that the angel gave to

Mary is a message for us today as well. And

there are three things I want to highlight from the

story of Mary.

First one I want to highlight is God's favor, God's favor.

In verse twenty eight, it's as greetings, O favored one.

The Lord is with you.

And then the angel repeated that in verse thirty he

is said, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have

found favor.

Twice the word favor showed up.

How many of you heard you want God's favor over

your life.

You want the favor of God. Now why Mary? And

who is Mary anyway.

First of all, the Bible may to us that she's

from Nazareth. Now, when I saw that, I was reminded

of John chapter one, verse forty six. This is when

Philip was trying to invite Nathaniel to Jesus so that

he can introduce them together.

And here's what he said.

Nathaniel said to him, can anything good come out of Nazareth?

And Philip said to him, come and see.

So there's this assumption, and there's this reputation that if

you're from Nazareth, you're not. There's nothing special about you.

That's not a tourist destination. There's nothing special about Nazareth.

It's not famous, it's not rich. It does a bad reputation.

Nobody is really excited to be there. And maybe that's

describing your Maybe that that's describing your family, at least

in your vantage point. Maybe that's describing your province or

your school, or your past. There's nothing good that you

can see in your situation. Now, not only that she

was a virgin, she's young. Some theologians are saying she's

between fourteen to sixteen years old. And again, during their time,

their maturity.

Starts very early.

Men will be employed in the military by the age

of twelve and above, so it's common in their culture.

So she's a virgins, is young and about to get married.

And I'm sure I think that she's not the only virgin,

and she's not the only one planning a wedding at

the time. So there's really nothing special about her situation.

And there's only one explaining why she was chosen and

what made her the prime candidate for God's favor. And

here's one word explanation why she was chosen, and that

is the word favor.

Everyone say favor. Well, not a favor, favor, favor.

She don't deserve it, she's not qualified. She simply found favor.

And I think that's an important distinction to make, especially

in a nation like ours, that Mary is not the

source of favor. She's a recipient of God's favor. So

we don't go to Mary and say, Mary, bless me

and give me favor.

No, she's not the source of favor. God is the

source of favor.

She's only a recipient of God's She's not qualified, she's

not deserved of it. There's only one explanation why of

all the young people during the time why all.

Of the virgin at that time? Why her? And that's

because of the favor of God. And you know why.

What's the only explanation why you and I are here today?

There's only one explanation why God saved you and me,

and that is the favor of God. There's only one

reason why you're here today. There's only one explanation why

you're enjoying all the blessings you're enjoying today, why you

have what you have today, and why you're able to

do what you're able to do today, and that is

the favor of God. If you are enjoying the ridiculous

blessing of God today because of the favor of God,

give him a shout.

Of praise today. If you are enjoying the favor.

Of God today, the only explanation for your calling, the

only explanation for why your plans are succeeding, the only

reason why, the only explanation is the favor of God.

Can you please tell to the person say that next,

you tell that person, I have the favor of God.

The other word for favor is the word grace, and

we all know that grace is the unmerited favor of God.

You have it not because you deserve it. You have

it not because you're good. You have it because God

is good and God is gracious. But here's one important

thing we need to understand about the.

Favor of God.

God's favor is not just about the blessings and the

positive moments that we have. It's not just about the healing,

the financial breakthroughs, the promotion, the reconciliation in the family.

Sometimes when we talk about God's favor, we equate it with.

The answered prayers and that's it.

But God's favor is not just about the blessings and

the positive moments in our lives. Because when the Angel

told Mary that she found favor with God, her life

did not become easier or more comfortable. In fact, when

Mary received God's favor, it made her life complicated. Sien

finally meron aroun spatial someone liba. Now God interrupted her life,

made her life complicated. Can you imagine have mean and Mary,

you found favor with God? Oh telega favor that was

no in announcing you favor. Huh, Just imagining what's going

on in the mind of Mary at that time.

How will I explain this to Joseph.

Joseph, good news. I'm pregnant and you're not the father.

How will you explain?

God? It's hard?

What will happen to her dream wedding? Maybe this is

something that she prayed for, something that she believed for.

How will she parents the son of God? I'm giging

mom and Jesus, but Jesus male bag and comuna. I

repent of all my sins. Lord, But it's that what

will the community, the people around them, the relatives. She

can be put to death because during their time, if

you're guilty of murder, you can be murder adultery, you

can be stone to death. So God's is not really

about what happens to us. It's about God being with

us and God giving us what we need to accomplish

His good, pleasing and perfect will for our lives.

That's why when the angel showed up, he said, you

are favored. The Lord is with you.

So the favor of God is more than just what

happens to us. When you say your favored, you receive

favor from God. It means the Lord is with you

and you have everything you need in this season of

your life to honor God and accomplish his purpose for

your life. God's favor is not really primarily for our convenience.

It's for His glory and for his purpose. So that's

the favor of God. That's why you may not have

the money you need yet to pay all your bills.

The doctor's report may not be favorable. There may be

a situation at home, in your marriage or with your children.

Your love life may may be like Cole, it's still zero.

But if you have the favor of God, you can celebrate,

You can rejoice, and you can be enthusiastic about the

future because you know.

God is with you and you have what you need for.

The season of your life, so you can honor God

and accomplish his purpose.

How many of you are grateful for the favor of God.

I mean we can rejoice not only when we have

the answer to our prayers, but even if you don't

yet have the answer to your prayers, you can celebrate today.

How many of you know you can celebrate this Christmas?

How many of you know you can worship God this Christmas?

How many of you know you can look forward to

the future with faith and expectation because the Lord is

with you.

You have the.

Favor of God. I like Psalm verse thirty, verse five

four is anger is but for a moment, and this

favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night,

but joy comes with the morning. There's joy in the

presence of God, not only in good times, but during

bad times. There is joy in the presence of God.

There is peace in the presence of God. There is

fulfillment in the presence of God. How many of you

know God is speaking to you this today, and that's

a message for you. Second thing that I'd like to

highlight is God's plan Again, sometimes things won't happen.

The way you planned it to be.

You know, some people are frustrated because their Christmas is

not their idea of a perfect Christmas.

Idea of perfect Christmas.

I have this phone, I have this vacation, I have

this bonus, I have this chatter. And when that don't happen,

then our Christmas is ruined. But sometimes things won't happen

the way we plan.

It to be.

Our idea of perfect Christmas will remain just an idea.

Means and I expectations reality. You're familiar with that. Right

one time, I think it was twenty thirteen, My wife

saw this picture of a family with Christmas lights around them,

and before what we used to do is that we

would produce Christmas card, print that and give that to

our friends. That's our Christmas gift budgeted. So no, wife

all cut simply land very easy.

That was okay. So we tried more than one hour.

We're sweating, we're irritated, and we're still not able to

get the same shot that.

Christmas line thirty minutes man, you're lighting was one.

Are not frustrations, we're not able to catch and sometimes

we have this we imagine something, but it's different in

real life and the code that.

We showed earlier.

Don't let your plans make you miss God's purpose. You

know the thing about Mary, I mean imagine it's frustrating

when you try to capture the right moment picture. But

can you imagine with the situation of Mary, it's not

just a Pinterest picture. You're talking about her wedding, You're

talking about her future. Imagine how frustrating that was. No,

can we're preparing for the wedding, I mean months before

my wife was already busy preparing for everything, booking the cater,

the video, all of that she's busy negotiating.

I'm just busy computing Mcano and the important in land.

So I'm just imagining.

I mean Marzuzumba negligiate, I mean send down and send

him invitations and now interrupted. Can you imagine the frustration

you told everyone your plan. Now it's not going to happen.

But the good thing about her is that she embraced

God's purpose for her life. Don't let your plans make

you miss God's purpose. Sometimes sobrang dedicated, dial devoted, dyesa plan,

and Atena Pusy, God intervened, No, We're not willing to

let go of our plan, Lord, and in the process

we miss God's per You know, when we look at

Mary's life, we see God's sovereignty and omniscience. You know,

he knows everything and he has the right to make

decisions because he is aware of what was about to

happen that we are totally ignorant about. How many of

you believe God is all knowing And sometimes there are

things we don't see. There are things that we complained

about before, but now looking back years after, we look

back and we praise God for it. It wasn't my

plan to go to you Belt. I was in Losenna,

serving as a youth pastor for five years when God

changed the plan and I was asked to go to Manila.

I've never been to Manila. First time to live here

and stay here. I was twenty four years old, so

everything was new to me, and of all the places

when I was asked, would you be willing to go

to Manila, transfer there and work with us there? First

option because because can I go to Victory Q because

I know some many pastors there.

We already have relationship.

And I think it will be best for me. But

they said no, we're thinking actually of bringing you to Recto.

It's from the province young reputation.

Baha the rally uh.

Snatcher, So pugno man put them on you bill. But

you know they transferred me there. I stayed there for

ten years, and looking back, I'm so grateful to God.

It was not my plan, but some of the best

years of my life. It happened in New Bell. Looking back, Lord,

boutin Alan you interrupted my life. Booting Alan, you changed

my plan because my plan was just to go to

the other town thirty minutes from the Enna planted church

there and live a simple life, grow all there, plant

a church.

Kasan dan langyan.

I will serve God faithfully bahamable effect have been learning Dumu.

So God took me out of that small town, brought

me a new belt. And because of that, I mean,

God opened you so many doors. That's the reason why

I was invited in Japan. I was invited in Dubai

not because really because of me, but simply because I'm

the youth pastor of the biggest campus ministry we have in.

The Philippines, Victory Philippines.

So Ahlandela expert Alagaho, can we invite you to speak

to our church story. When I traveled to these places

sadik gabundu make Japan Pala speak mangapubin shandula Uae never

realized that. But it all happened when God changed the plan.

And I praise God because these are things I never

seen before. These are things that I've never planned. I

complained about it before first year in you.

It was hard.

Because I don't know how to remute. I always write

a taxi. First time, to cook my own food, wash

my own clothes, paying my.

Bills, all of these things.

First year I experienced to go for fasting for three

days because I ran out of money a spiritual and the.

Fasting I brew in and budget. It was hard.

At first I complained, Lord complained, anodito. But now again,

looking back, Lord, thank you you brought me a new belt.

How many of you know? God is wise? God is wise, I.

Say fifty five, verse nine for us. The heavens are

higher than the earth. So are my ways higher than

your ways.

And my thoughts than your thoughts.

Again, your story is part of a bigger story. God

is not just thinking about the wedding. God wants to

use Mary to be part of God, God's plan of

salvation for all of humanity. And I want you to

know that Christmas is also a reminder for us that

your life is part of God's plan of salvation. God

wants your family to be saved. God wants the people

in your workplace and your campus and your community to

be saved.

And guess whom God will use. Tell the person sait

it next to you. You You're part of a bigger story.

I want to end with this last one and the

word God's promise, God's promise. I like Mary's response and

verse thirty eight, and Mary said behold, I am the

servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according

to your word. Mary said, yes, mis crupnil is Cruplanglord,

if this is your will, I'm trusting that you know

better than me. And if this is your promise, I'm

willing to embrace it. Mary said yes, because she knew

God can be trusted.

God is not only good in.

Giving promises, He's equally good and fulfilling them. Be it

onto me according to your word. If this is your plan,

if this is your promise, I know.

You can pull it off. Unlike us, sometimes we give promises.

How many of you have broken some of your promises?

My promise, God, if I experienced that from time to

time with my kids, I will make a promise.

Swimming time tomorrow, taps tomorrow, mull you know, swiming and swiming.

Tell you so.

My intention is good, but I have limitations. I have

good intention, but I have limitations. So even though I

want to fulfill the promise, sometimes I can't.

But how many of you are great? For God is

not like us. When God makes a promise, he is

able to do it because God is not only willing.

God is able. Amen, I mean have you believe God

is able to give you what he has promised.

God is not only full of good intention. God is

able to fulfill his promise. He's a promise keeping. God

is not only a promise giver, He's also a promise keeper.

And when God says it, he will do it. The

plan may change, but the promise will never change. So

a promise more, I will have a I will have a.

Partner in life. My word the Old Lord Genesis too.

It is not good for a man to be alone.

Then I got engaged, and then we got disengaged. For

to Mama natalup. You know sometimes that can happen. But

don't confuse God's plan with God's because the plan may change,

but the promise will stay the same. God is a

promise keeping God. I don't know how God has interrupted

your life, but I know he has. I don't know

what the next interruption is or when it will be,

but I'm sure it's going to come. But when God

interrupts your life, when God changed the plan, I want

you to remember these three things first, that it will

be troubling, it might be scary, but it will be

better for you, and in the long run, it will

be better for everybody, because your story is part of

a bigger story.

It's not just about you.

It's all about God and his purposes, and it will

be a blessing and will benefit many people, not just you.

Amen. Can we just pray right now?

The Bible says, be still, and you will know He

is God. Lord, I thank you for assuring us. Thank

you for assuring us that you're a promise keeping God.

Thank you for comforting us. Lord that life may not

happen the way we plan it to be, but we

thank you, Lord God, that you always have something better

in store for us. Lord, I pray, like Mary, if

there's anything in our life that is off limits that

we're not allowing you to change, We're not allowing your interruption.

I pray today our hearts will be softened before you,

and I pray, like Mary, we will open our life

and will allow you to interrupt our plans in our lives. Lord,

we pray today, Lord, we pray have your way in

Jesus Na. If there's anything you want to change, Lord,

we pray.

That you will do your will and you will do

your ways. Lord, I pray we will have.

The faith like Mary, help us, Lord, God, help us

to have the faith to trust you that your intention

is good, that you know what's best for us, that

we don't have to be afraid that you are always

accomplishing something good in our lives. Lord, Thank you God

for assuring us that regardless of where we are right now,

whatever is going on with our life, we can worship you.

We can celebrate, we can rejoice, we can look forward

to the future with enthusiasm and faith because you are

with us and we have everything we need in this

season of our lives to honor you and to accomplish

your purpose.

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