Following Jesus daily looks like opening up a blank page and asking God, what do you want to say this time? What is the word of the Lord? The question is not whether He is speaking, but rather are we listening? Will we obey? 

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When I think about obedience, I’m drawn to Luke and the story of the angel Gabriel coming to Mary, the mother of Jesus. 

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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, 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. 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.” (Luke 1:26-37)

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We know her as the mother of Jesus now, but Mary was not already pregnant when the angel appeared to her. God did not come to her and say, you are pregnant, He waited for her positive answer. And what is her response? Let everything you have said happen to me. In other words, what Mary is saying is yes and amen.

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Noah, Abraham, David, Esther, Gideon, and now Mary, say yes to the word of the Lord when it is anything but convenient or comfortable. Could we be blessing another woman's name had Mary said no? Could there have been others that were asked before the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary? Only God knows. What about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Could there be another three generations of fathers of our faith that we could be referring back to all of these thousands of years later because they didn't choose to respond to the call with a yes? And amen. We don't know who was unwilling. We only know the names of the broken, imperfect, afraid people who decided to still say to God, let everything you have said happen to me.

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2 Chronicles 16:9 says For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. I love the way the MSG translation says it: God is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are committed to Him.

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Mary says a big yes, but how many little yeses has she already said? Scripture tells us if you're faithful in the little things, you will be faithful in the large ones. In today's culture, we want everything right now. Immediate equity, immediate success, immediate benefits, immediate provision. We serve a God that works one small yes at a time to do big miracles through faithful and surrendered men and women. Why? Because whatever gets your yes, gets your best.

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Our Amen says I trust that what you did is enough. Enough said. All you need is my Amen. Let everything that you have said happen to me. So what am I doing when I say amen? What are you doing when you say amen? You're making an agreement. Mary agrees. She says yes, but it's not just for one season. She's saying yes for the rest of her life. And when you give one yes, when you make a decision, your one yes is actually a million no's. Decision cuts off all other possibilities. Faith walks the narrow road. One yes does not equate one no. My one yes actually equates to a million no's because I'm committing to one. 

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True agreement is obedience. John 15:14 says you are my friends if you do. What I command. Romans 5:19 says for justice through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. God has given you the ability to obey. It's called response-ability. How quick is your response ability? Because your responsibility in the kingdom depends upon your response-ability.

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In Luke 11, Jesus is teaching and he's interrupted. He's teaching, and in verse 27 it says, As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you. He replied, Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it. 

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Jesus is not coming back at her and denying what she said is true. He's just setting her priority straight. Mary is really blessed because she heard the word of the Lord through Gabriel and she said yes! It's not what she did. It's not her effort, or her idea, or what she built, or who she raised, it was her surrender to the plan that was already made for her life. It was her obedience and her trust.

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Often we think it's just doing. God, I want to do something great for you. He doesn't want you to do something great. He wants you to do what He called you to do. To stand before God one day and be accountable, not for what you built, but for if what you built was what He called you to build. For if what you did was what He called you to do. Obedience is what brings the blessing.

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For more content like this, check out the full message “Can I Get An Amen” live from VOUSCon 2024.