Let It Be- Mother's Day

Welcome and happy Mother's Day to all the moms in the room.

This Sunday is a special Sunday. It's Mother's Day and as our tradition here,

our custom here on Mother's Day,

we always have, well, the last few years, we've had my wife speak on Mother's Day.

And so she's been prepping. Man, let me tell you something. She's been sending

me slideshows and video. She's video.

I told her, I said, it's more work to get you ready to speak than it is for me to get ready.

So she was getting all that ready. And then 9 o'clock was awesome.

I come up here, and I see that look in her eye, and I said, you need to go puke

or anything before we do this? I saw that nervous.

So, I mean, you guys can, I mean, you're good looking, but you can be in an

intimidating crowd sometimes, all right? I mean, this is a lot of people looking at you.

But I know she's got a word, and it's my honor to bring my wife to the stage.

I don't know what to call her because church mother, she says sounds too old

and first lady, we say first lady, but she's like that's too formal and so,

alright, this is my wife, alright, Sister Ashley, so give it up for my wife this morning.

I would never say you're intimidating, that was him, that was just him.

Thank you all this morning for being here. It's so good to celebrate this day

of women and all that women do for each one of us.

So I want to thank you all for being here. And I appreciate this opportunity

to speak from the Word of God.

Thank you to the church leadership and all that you do.

We wouldn't be here without you guys. So thank you for every person here for everything that you do.

I'm going to read this morning from Luke 1. That sounds very Christmassy,

but you'll see where we're going,

Luke 1 26 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 he came to her and said greetings.

Oh 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 And the angel said

to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

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 has also conceived a son,

and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

For nothing will be impossible with god and mary said behold i am the servant

of the lord let it be unto me according to your word today i want to speak to you on the title,

let it be let us pray lord we thank you for the gift of mothers mother figures

those who carry life in the womb and those who nurture life through love speak

to us today through your word that we might be inspired by the courage of Mary,

the mother of Jesus, and learn what it means to say,

let it be to your will in our lives.

Amen. Amen.

I'm going to speak about several things today, but I'm just going to start out

by saying that motherhood has been, in some ways, like what I expected,

and in other ways, different than what I expected. Can any of the moms say amen to that?

Yeah, it's their challenges and things that you encounter that you didn't anticipate.

And I'll say about Carter, it's good. Don't worry.

I didn't know God was going to bless me with a chef of a son and that his fiance

would share those cooking abilities and they're going to make dinner for us today.

And Carter's going to clean it up. And I can't wait for that part.

So also, I'm missing my son Lucas today. Say he is on a trip with the college

group at his college. He's gone to the beach.

Without his mother on Mother's Day. But I still love him and I miss him.

And so I will move on from that so that I don't get jealousy in my heart.

So today I'll speak about several things, but one thing that I hope you'll remember is this.

Surrender is not weakness. It's the birthplace of the impossible.

Today on this beautiful Mother's Day, I want to speak not just to the moms,

but to every person here who's been asked by God to do something that might

be hard, to say yes to something that may be difficult.

So we're going to the story of Mary, a teenage girl, who was visited by an angel

with a divine assignment to carry the Son of God.

But this story isn't just about pregnancy or motherhood.

It's about faith, surrender, and the power of saying yes to God,

even when we don't understand.

So there are several things that I did in my life that some would think was a little bit early.

For example, I got married and became a youth pastor's wife at the age of 19.

I started teaching in a Christian school at 20, public school at 21, and I became a mom at 22.

So with each one of those things and many, many, many things since,

I worried that I lacked the wisdom that I needed to successfully do those.

So ever since I was a teenager, I prayed for wisdom God,

please give me wisdom like Daniel Because I wanted to do those things well But

I didn't really feel qualified And that's certainly something that I felt when

I got pregnant I wanted to be a good mom But there's so much that comes with

it So many things that are new and you don't know how to do And you question all of your choices.

So I can only imagine how Mary felt I think my sons are pretty fantastic realistic.

But she was carrying and was going to raise the Son of God. So that is a big challenge.

I imagine there had to be joy, fear, uncertainty, all the emotions.

But in those moments, I've learned that God is present even when we feel unprepared.

So let's get a little historical context. In first century Israel,

around 4 to 6 BC, they were under Roman occupation.

It was a time of deep social, political, and spiritual unrest.

Mary was from Nazareth. That was this little tiny town. Y'all think Wise County's

little. Nazareth had us beat. There was like two to four hundred people.

It was insignificant. They were poor. And they were considered morally questionable

by some due to the Gentile influence that was nearby.

Mary was probably just about 14 to 16 years old, just a baby herself,

because that was the typical age for betrothal in Jewish culture.

So like we've heard in a lot of Scott's messages lately, or some of them,

a couple of them, women had no political or legal power at that time.

They couldn't testify in court. They couldn't own property independently.

So according to that, going by that, I'm going to say it's pretty amazing that

God chose a teenage girl to do something that would impact the rest of history,

that would impact the world.

A woman who became pregnant out of wedlock at that time could be publicly shamed or even put to death.

So let's also consider the religious climate.

The Jewish people were longing for the Messiah, but they expected some kind.

Of great political or some military king, not a little baby,

who was born from this poor girl out of Nazareth.

Prophecies like Isaiah 7, 14 had said, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son.

Those were well known, but they were not yet fulfilled.

So here's Mary, this poor, young, powerless girl in the world's eyes.

Yet God chose her to carry the hope of the world. And that's what he does.

First Corinthians 1.27 says that God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.

So let's look at one key piece of doctrine here today, and that is the power

of surrender to God's word.

At the heart of Mary's story is one breathtaking, history-shifting phrase.

She said, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be unto me according to your word.

So that statement is a lot more than just a line from a nativity scene.

It's the language of radical obedience, total trust, and spiritual alignment

with heaven's agenda. In this Spirit-filled church, we don't just believe in hearing God's voice.

We believe in responding to it. We believe in the power of the Rhema Word,

the living, breathed-out Word of God that penetrates the heart and stirs us into action.

And we believe that when the Holy Ghost speaks, even if we don't have all the

answers, surrender unlocks the supernatural.

Surrender unlocks the supernatural.

We have to remember that surrender isn't passive. It's powerful.

Surrender is not giving up. It's handing over. It's not I quit.

It's God you lead. Mary's surrender was not weak-willed submission.

It was spirit-empowered agreement.

She aligned herself with the will of God, even when it cost her everything.

Her reputation her plans her

comfort if anyone has ever been pregnant

in here you know that it costs you some comfort the body does things that you

didn't know it would do and and that was something that she was willing to submit

to God and that's why her words were so powerful they reflect not just agreement

but participation in God's plan.

I'm going to attempt to say this Greek word. The Greek word for surrender is

paradidomi, which means to yield up, to hand over, to entrust.

And that's what Mary did. She handed herself over to the will and word of God completely.

Growing up in this spirit-filled church, one of the hallmarks of our faith,

of our theology, is the yielded life. A life that doesn't just believe in the

Holy Spirit, but walks in step with Him.

Mary's example is an early shadow of what we, as Spirit-filled believers,

are called to live every day, yielded to the Word, filled with the Spirit,

and positioned for purpose.

Mary said, how can this be? It's a very valid question.

And the angel's response was, the Holy Spirit will come upon you,

and the power of the Most high will overshadow you.

And that is spirit-filled living in seed form.

God empowers the surrendered.

Surrender brings power, not passivity. I can sometimes be a passive person.

If you know me, you know that I can be.

But don't mistake surrender for passivity.

Mary's surrender birthed Jesus Christ, the Son of God, into the world.

Your surrender might not bring a child, But it will birth something divine in

your life, in your home, in your community Healing, maybe restoration,

some kind of ministry, a breakthrough You never know what God is wanting to

do through you Surrender does not stop God's move though That's where it starts.

A.W. Tozer once said, the reason why many are still troubled,

still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven't

yet come to the end of themselves.

We're still trying to give orders and interfering with God's work within us.

But Mary didn't interfere.

She aligned, she yielded, and she said, let it be.

So let's ask ourselves a few questions.

What if? What would happen if we lived this way?

What if we said yes before we had all the facts? What if we trusted God's plan

more than our own preferences?

You may not know the whole picture today, but like Mary, you can say,

I'm the servant of the Lord.

Let it be unto me according to your word. And when we do that,

God does what only he can do.

He brings life out of nothing. He brings hope out of fear, and He brings power out of surrender.

So today I want to give you three keys to let it be.

The first one is, the Lord is with you, and that is assurance from God.

The angel told Mary, the Lord is with you. That phrase appears over 100 times in Scripture.

From Moses to Gideon to Paul, God's assurance has always been, God is with you.

I am with you. The angel continues, do not be afraid.

Why? Because she had found favor with God. And that's a key message to all the

mothers, all the men and women, every person here today.

You may feel overwhelmed, unsure, maybe even unqualified.

But the favor of God is not about how perfect you are.

It's about how present that God is with you. A 2023 Barna study showed that

73% of Christian mothers report feeling overwhelmed and inadequate.

And I can raise my hand and say, I'm in that 73%. And that's okay.

But the same study showed that those who spend regular time in prayer and scripture

report 30% higher emotional stability.

Stability, and I will raise my hand again and say, thank you,

God, for that emotional stability that I only find in you and your word and relationship with you.

Mother Teresa, she did so much selfless work in Calcutta, once said,

I know God won't give me anything I can't handle.

I just wish he didn't trust me so much.

So even the great Mother Teresa had moments of doubt and uncertainty.

And in those times of spiritual dryness, she still believed,

she still knew that God was with her.

So everyone here today, when you feel overwhelmed, hear the angel's words again. The Lord is with you.

The second key that I want to look at is favor and fear. They often come together.

Mary was told that she had found favor with God and immediately after,

she was told something that would terrify anyone.

God's favor does not mean an easy path. It means God's purpose is on your life, even when it's hard.

I remember when I found out I was pregnant, the first time it was early one

morning before works, Scott was in one room. I was in another.

I didn't tell him I was taking the test. I just wanted to see.

It's a very false thing to do. We're just private like that.

And so I took the test, and it was positive. And so, you know,

I'm super excited. I run in there and tell him. We're excited together.

And we started telling people about it, probably not long after knowing us,

because we were not patient people.

And we got some mixed emotions, mixed reactions.

I remember one person saying oh I

wish you had waited longer and you know

so enter the doubts and fears like if

you're already questioning am I able

to do this am I going to be enough then here come the doubts oh no maybe I messed

up maybe I'm maybe I'm too young for this and when I found out that I was pregnant

with Lucas Carter was still baby I have a photo that's for my brother's graduation

that's Carter sitting on Lucas.

It was a it was a Saturday morning and we were remodeling a

house thanks to mom and dad we were living with them because

we bought a house and it was not ready for us to live

in just yet and I woke up at my parents house that

morning and I felt pregnant I mean I had

just done it so I knew that feeling again so

I loaded up Carter and I went to Walmart bought a test and

then I went back to our house where scott and my

papa and my uncle andy were working to take that

test so i'm going through this maze of boxes in the bathroom because it was

a mess in there with everything that we were doing and that test showed positive

and so i ran down those steps and i'm yelling and scott's face and my papa's

face and andy's face are just they're just priceless and i was so excited,

But I was also a little bit scared.

So that time when we started telling people, we got a lot of,

did you mean to do that? Did you mean to do that?

Oh, a newborn and a one-year-old. Wow, I hope you have help.

You know, that kind of thing. So it was all these feelings of vulnerability

and strength that came with that.

It was an incredible honor. But there were also fears and concerns that came

along with it. and even doubt that I wouldn't do things well.

As pregnancy progresses, often there will be celebrations with friends and family.

But Mary did not have a baby shower. Her pregnancy was concealed.

She had a divine calling and a whole lot of unknowns.

And yet, in the face of all that, she said, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord.

Let it be unto me according to your word. In the Bible, we see lots of examples of this.

Esther was favored, but she had to risk her life before the king.

Daniel was favored, and he got thrown in a lion's den.

Paul was chosen, but he was also shipwrecked, beaten, and imprisoned.

According to Pew Research, over 50% of mothers in America are working full-time

jobs and managing household responsibilities.

So it's no wonder that 40% report burnout symptoms.

I don't know if you've heard of Bethany Hamilton before. She was a pro surfer

who lost her arm in a shark attack at the young age of 13.

And she was asked, how could she stay so strong in her faith?

And she replied, God gave me this passion and he didn't take it away with my arm. I still trust him.

Mary's favor didn't look like easy living.

It looked like obedience. It looked like faith in the face of fear.

And the third and final key is let it be the power of surrender.

Mary's response is amazing. She said, let it be unto me according to your word.

So that's more than resignation.

It is active devotion. It's not whatever happens, happens.

It's whatever you say, Lord, I trust you.

Psalm 37 gives us a five-step surrender model.

Number one, trust in the Lord. Number two, delight in the Lord.

Number three, commit your way to Him.

Number four, be still before Him.

And number five, it's very difficult, but it is wait patiently.

And that's exactly what Mary did. She gave God her yes, even when her future

was uncertain and her reputation was at stake.

Mary's let it be changed the whole world. I'm going to ask you that you will

stand with me this morning as we close.

And I'm going to ask you the question, what could your yes unlock?

What are you carrying? You may not be carrying a baby, but you may be carrying

a dream that seems delayed, a ministry that no one else sees,

a burden that no one understands,

or a promise that you are still waiting on.

I ask you today, will you trust him?

Will you let go of fear and embrace favor even when it's hard?

Will you say, like Mary, let it be unto me according to your word? Please bow your heads.

When I ask, is there anyone here today who needs to say yes to God?

Have you been holding on, afraid to surrender? Do you feel unqualified?

Will you raise your hand as a sign to say yes to God? Say yes to His will.

Remember that surrender is not weakness. It's the birthplace of the impossible.

The Lord is with you.

I thank you for those hands. And if anyone wants to come to the altar this morning

as a sign of surrender, we invite you here.

This altar is open as a place to say yes to you, God.

Yes to you. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for Mary's courage.

Give us that same courage to trust you when we don't understand.

Strengthen every mother, every

woman, every person, every heart that's believing you for the impossible.

May we all echo Mary's words, not just with our lips, but with our lives.

God, let it be. God, we're bringing our lives to you, our families,

knowing that you are with us and you hold our future.

We surrender our lives to you we say yes to you and we pray God let it be unto

us according to your word as they sing this morning wherever you are I just

ask that you pray and you say yes to him.

Music.

Sing that chorus one more time because i really feel like there's people

in here you don't have to come you can if you want to but i

was thinking about me you know there's things that god calls

all of us to do and listen as your pastor i'm not exempt there's times i get

up here and god gives me something to say and i thank god i'm not even qualified

to say that but who he calls he qualifies who he put when he puts it on your

heart he's not he's not looking for the uh well how is He's not looking for the qualified to call.

He's not looking.

Thank you, Tony. Come here and say that because God doesn't call the qualified,

but he qualifies the call. There we go. There we go.

So you know what that is? That is encouragement that whatever God is calling

you to do right now, he believes that that seed of faith, he believes that what

he has placed in your life, He believes that every struggle that you've ever been through,

every trial you've ever walked through, every sermon you've ever heard has already

equipped you to do the work that he has called you to do.

And so as they sing that one more time, can we just lift our hands to heaven

and say, God, let it be to me.

God, this is the yes that I've given you. God, let it be to me.

Come on, sing that, Alyssa.

Thank you, Holy Spirit. I'm available, Jesus.

Music.

Thank you, Holy Spirit. Come on, tell him right now. Father,

right now. I surrender it. I surrender it to you in the name of Jesus.

Yes, Jesus, my storage is empty. My storage is empty.

And I am available. to you. Amen.

We're available. You know, I had them sing, we had them sing that song at my

ordination and that's really kind of been the cry of our, of our,

of our lives together, our marriage, our ministry is God.

I don't know. I don't know what's coming our way, but I'm empty. I'm available.

And, uh, I thank God that he can take availability and do more than ability could do. Amen.

He's looking for that's why i meant to say a minute ago he's

not looking for ability he's looking for availability yeah it's

much better than what you said tony all right amen i

believe that today listen you can be seated in the house of god abe's going

to come at this time we're going to recognize some special moms today and uh

let's see so anna's got the tickets if you if you are 18 years female 18 and

older and you did not get a ticket raise your hand we're going to give you ticket

a little red ticket 18 and older we got some beautiful flowers to give away,

all right see if any hands here all right abe take it away bro.