No Time to Delay: Immediate Obedience Needed [Matthew 1:18-21]

Written By Adam Dragoon

No Time to Delay:

Immediate Obedience Needed [Matthew 1:18-21]

Matthew 1:18-21

Sermon Summary

In this service, we explored the story of Mary and Joseph, focusing on their obedience to God's will despite their challenges and uncertainties. Their story is a powerful reminder that God's will requires our response and trust. Just as Mary and Joseph had to act promptly and without delay, we are called to respond to God's call in our lives with faith and trust. The will of God is not automatic; it requires our active participation and willingness to step out in faith, even when the path is unclear.

We also discussed the importance of trusting God with our lives, futures, and decisions. Trusting God means acknowledging that His ways are higher than ours and that He can direct our paths when we lean not on our own understanding but on His wisdom. This trust is crucial, especially when God calls us to make life-altering decisions or step into new territories of faith and obedience.

As we approach the new year, we are reminded of the importance of discipleship and the call to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. This involves making conscious decisions to leave behind anything that hinders our walk with Him and to embrace the new life He offers. Our spiritual success is measured not by our achievements but by our obedience to God's call.

Watch/Listen

Message Study Guide

Youtube chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[02:55] - Joy to the World
[04:37] - Angels We Have Heard on High
[06:06] - Gloria in Excelsis Deo
[07:39] - Come to Bethlehem
[09:34] - Peace Has Come
[11:10] - All Creation Glorifies
[14:36] - Announcements
[32:12] - The Gift of Jesus
[33:04] - God's Will and Timing
[37:48] - Trusting God's Plan
[41:03] - No Time for Delay
[47:19] - Responding to God's Call
[52:18] - Trust in the Lord
[01:06:16] - The Call to Discipleship
[01:22:05] - God's Provision and Timing
[01:31:17] - Making Room for God's Plan
[01:36:16] - Closing Prayer

Key Takeaways

  • The Gift of Jesus: Christmas is a celebration of the greatest gift—Jesus Christ, who came to save us from our sins out of God's mercy and love, not because of our righteousness. This gift is a reminder of God's overwhelming generosity and His nature to give the best gifts. [32:12]

  • Obedience to God's Will: The story of Mary and Joseph teaches us the importance of responding promptly to God's call. God's will requires active participation and trust, even when the path is unclear. Delaying our response can hinder the fulfillment of His plans in our lives. [41:03]

  • Trusting God: Trusting God means acknowledging His sovereignty and wisdom. We are called to trust Him with our lives, futures, and decisions, knowing that His ways are higher than ours. This trust is essential for navigating life's uncertainties and stepping into God's will. [52:18]

  • The Call to Discipleship: Following Jesus requires making conscious decisions to leave behind anything that hinders our walk with Him. Discipleship involves embracing the new life He offers and being willing to step into new territories of faith and obedience. [01:06:16]

  • God's Provision and Timing: God's provision is always timely and sufficient for His purposes. Just as He provided for Mary and Joseph, He will provide for us as we step out in faith and obedience. Our spiritual success is measured by our obedience to God's call. [01:22:05]

Bible Reading

  • Matthew 1:18-25 NKJV - 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just [man], and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." 24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.

  • Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV - 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

  • Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV - 1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Observation Questions

  1. What was Joseph's initial reaction to Mary's pregnancy, and how did his response change after the angel's visit? [41:03]

  2. How does the sermon describe the role of trust in God's plan, especially when making life-altering decisions? [50:40]

  3. What examples from the sermon illustrate the importance of timely obedience to God's call? [01:21:20]

  4. How does the story of Mary and Joseph highlight the necessity of responding to God's will, even when the path is unclear? [47:19]

Interpretation Questions

  1. In what ways does Joseph's obedience to the angel's command reflect the broader theme of trust in God's plan? How might this apply to modern believers? [41:03]

  2. How does the sermon suggest that trust in God can impact our decision-making processes, especially in uncertain times? [50:40]

  3. What does the sermon imply about the relationship between God's provision and our willingness to step out in faith? [01:22:05]

  4. How does the sermon connect the concept of discipleship with making conscious decisions to follow Jesus? What might this look like in a believer's life today? [01:06:16]

Application Questions

  1. Reflect on a time when you felt called to make a significant decision. How did you discern whether it was God's will, and what role did trust play in your decision-making process? [50:40]

  2. Consider the story of Mary and Joseph. Are there areas in your life where you feel God is calling you to respond promptly? What steps can you take to ensure you don't delay? [41:03]

  3. The sermon emphasizes the importance of trust in God's provision. Identify a current situation where you need to trust God more. What practical steps can you take to lean on His understanding rather than your own? [52:18]

  4. Discipleship involves leaving behind anything that hinders our walk with Jesus. What is one thing you feel God is asking you to leave behind as you enter the new year? How can you take a step towards this change? [01:06:16]

  5. Reflect on the idea that God's will is not automatic and requires our active participation. How can you be more intentional in seeking and responding to God's will in your daily life? [47:19]

  6. The sermon mentions the importance of making room for God's plan. Is there an area in your life that is too full for God to work? How can you create space for His purposes? [01:31:17]

  7. Think about a decision you are currently facing. How can you apply the principles of trust and obedience from the sermon to this situation? What might be the first step in aligning your decision with God's will? [01:21:20]

  • Adam Dragoon (00:00.214)

    much. Let's open up our Bibles. Once again, we're going to turn our attention to this most important story at this time of year, Matthew chapter 1.

    And as I've been praying for this service today, I've been asking God to help us.

    The last few Sundays, if you've been here, I've been preaching on the topic of God's will. I preached a couple of Sundays ago about the mystery of knowing God's will. Last week, a message about dreams and visions that lead us into God's will. And I kind of want to continue that theme. This was not purposeful or planned, but just studying the Word of God leading me this direction.

    this morning, and I want to continue with the theme of stepping into God's will for our lives from the story of Mary and Joseph. It's a very powerful, powerful story. And to get your mind moving in the direction I believe the Scripture would have us to go this morning, I want to show you a three-minute video. There is a company you probably know called SpaceX who is innovating.

    in a very powerful way, creating rockets and vehicles which are designed to go into orbit and deliver payload. And ultimately, the vision of SpaceX is to make humanity an interplanetary species, in other words, to put people on Mars. And so they've been doing test flights of their launch vehicle, and this was the most recent one. This is just a three-minute

    Adam Dragoon (01:47.63)

    video that is kind of a summary of that recent launch. Go ahead and play that.

    Adam Dragoon (01:58.958)

    All flight crew members, this is the final go-no-go poll for operations. Raptor 1. Raptor 2. Go. Stage 1. Go. Stage 2. Go. Flight directors go for launch.

    Adam Dragoon (02:16.813)

    have the time.

    Adam Dragoon (02:37.079)

    Vehicles watching downrange.

    Adam Dragoon (02:46.221)

    Thank

    Adam Dragoon (02:50.697)

    Start up. Stage separation. Booster, respect,

    Adam Dragoon (03:01.464)

    Confirming 30 seconds to make that decision.

    10 seconds tail-catch decision. Hot stage, separation confirmed. Flight director is go for booster return. Operator go vote is set true. We are go for catch.

    Adam Dragoon (03:21.759)

    In hot for booster touch.

    Adam Dragoon (03:26.829)

    booster FTS is saved

    Adam Dragoon (03:40.556)

    I can't

    Adam Dragoon (04:32.168)

    Vila has caught the booster. Ship avionics power from trade nominal. Starship has entered the atmosphere. Starship is approaching the peak heating phase of entry. Mantic brake start up.

    Adam Dragoon (05:13.548)

    So how amazing is that? You did not see any computer generated images on that screen. That was all real life. That vehicle that landed on the tower is 200 feet tall. That's like a 20 story building. And it's pretty incredible to think about how much technology and how much has to go right in order to make that happen. And

    I was just thinking about that in the context of this scripture because in order to see what we just saw on that screen, there's about 10,000 things that have to go right. Not only do they all have to go right at the same time, but they have to go right in a particular order. For example, you saw that when the rocket reached the pinnacle of its flight, that there was a separation that occurred, right?

    that the flight vehicle or the payload is separated and the booster rocket falls back to Earth. So what I mean to say is that there is a particular moment that it is right for the separation to happen. You don't want that separation to happen while it's launching, right? Or you can't have a successful landing on the chopsticks is what they call them, if that separation has failed for some reason. And what I mean to

    to show you this morning is not only do 10,000 things have to go right, but they have to go right in order. There's a step one, there's a step two, there's a step three, and who knows what is the list of all the things that have to go right, and they have to go right in order to make all of that possible. There is a parallel in our scripture this morning and in the Christmas story. That there is a timing.

    to the will of God that must occur. Not only are Mary and Joseph going to have to respond to the call of God, not only is Joseph going to have to receive these dreams that we talked about last week, but he is going to have to respond to them and act in a particular moment at a particular time, and he cannot delay. And that's what I want to focus in on this morning is

    Adam Dragoon (07:37.767)

    I believe the people of God that if you're here this morning, it means you've got a heart that is sensitive to God's will. I hope that you're here this morning because you are trying to do God's will. But often the mistake of believers is that we want to do God's will, but we want to do it on our own terms. We want to do it in the way we understand. And because of that, I believe many of God's people, including myself from time to time,

    We tend to delay. We tend to put things off. We tend to write things out of the script that God had there from the beginning. And I want to encourage you this morning with a message I've titled, No Time for Delay. And once again, as we turn to this familiar story, Matthew chapter one, verse 18, now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. After his mother Mary was betrothed,

    to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph, being her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife.

    that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." Verse 22, so all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Behold the virgin shall be with child and bear a son they will call his name Immanuel, which is translated God with us.

    Then Joseph, listen, this is the key that I want to focus in on this morning. Joseph being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took to him his wife and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn son. And he called his name Jesus. No time for delay. Let's pray. Father, we come by the blood of Jesus. And once again,

    Adam Dragoon (09:58.078)

    We thank you for your grace and your mercy. We thank you Lord that there is a place in your kingdom for people like us. Lord that you have called us and you have saved us and you have set us apart from this world for your glory and for your purpose. That there is a calling upon every person's life. Individual calling, yes, and indeed a corporate calling together as a body of Christ. I'm praying God that we would realize.

    and we would understand the important part that we have to play as we respond to your Word and your truth. We give you glory this morning in Jesus' mighty name. God's people would say, Amen. I want to look at God's interventions. There are people in this world who would consider themselves deists. What that means is that God, that there must be a God, that there is some kind of supernatural

    prime mover that people who are not atheists, they are convinced by the natural world that this place had to come from somewhere. That there is a designer. And if we look in the world and we see design, then that means there must be a designer. Just like if you look at a painting, it is logical to conclude that there was a painter. Or if you look at a sculpture,

    It is logical to conclude that that came from a sculptor, someone who sculpted that thing. And it is also logical to conclude that if we find design in creation, if we find magnificent purpose in everything that the cosmos contains, that it makes sense to believe in a designer, that there is a God who put this into motion.

    But how many know there's a large gap between believing that there is a God and then believing that God is involved in the affairs of men on a day-to-day basis. It is possible to be a deist and think that God is somewhere off in the clouds, arms folded, not involved. He started things off, but like a cosmic watchmaker, sent the creation off into existence and has not intervened since then.

    Adam Dragoon (12:19.089)

    It takes a lot of faith to believe that, by the way. When you have seen the life changes of people that I have seen as a pastor, it is hard to believe that God is not involved in this world. I believe in a God who is involved. I believe the Bible reveals a God who intervenes in the affairs of this world. I believe that there is a God who can change the course of your life. That there is a God.

    who can supernaturally intervene in the affairs of men you know this this most recent presidential election there is a there is some things that happened that natural man cannot explain one turn of a head determines the outcome of an entire election in the united states incredible to think about that love him or hate him that there is a there is something about that situation god was involved

    It's like an open miracle that everyone could see. And I believe it's not just the affairs of who is rising up in power and who is being voted in to office. I believe that God gets involved in your life personally, in your marriage, in your family, in the affairs of what you are doing. Every person here, you are unique, just like we all have a unique fingerprint that we can identify.

    Biologically, we also have a unique spiritual identity with God that he creates us all with purpose and with importance with a job to do that was true of Joseph and Mary that's also true about you and if God's will is going to come to pass if this world is going to Step forward if this if if the will of God is going to be done

    on earth as it is in heaven like we pray, that means many times that God has to intervene. I want you to think about this. The will of God is not automatic. Right? The will of God doesn't just happen by default. It doesn't just play out without anyone's input that God waits

    Adam Dragoon (14:46.034)

    for a response. know that God is sovereign. We know that he's in control. And whether people respond to him or not, God's got plans for every purpose. But what I want to say to us here this morning is that there will be unique moments in time in your life when God asks you to step out by faith into something that is perhaps dangerous or uncomfortable or out of your ordinary.

    Mary and for Joseph it is true with both of them God intervened in the course of their life. They were not evil people They were not living in sin. They were not Cursing the name of God. No, they were faithful young people that were living in their time doing their part for their society but in the course of their life God intervened and he needed their response

    Look at first of all Mary's amazing response. You know the story in Luke chapter 1. the angel appears to Mary and he says, do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son. You shall call his name Jesus. What a surprise. Mary is betrothed to a husband. She's probably a very young girl.

    probably 14, 15, 16 years old in that age range. And this would be very surprising to her and to everybody else that the Holy Spirit is going to conceive a child in her womb. This has never been done before and it's never been done since. And yet it was the will of God. And what's amazing to me, she asks one question, how is this gonna be? Can you please explain a little more?

    The angel replies, this will be the work of the Holy Spirit. In verse 38, this is how Mary responds. Behold, the maidservant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word, and the angel departed from her. This is what God looks for in your life. I believe that God has some surprises in store for you.

    Adam Dragoon (17:08.114)

    How many you lived through a few of God's surprises in your life? You lived through a few unanticipated decisions that you had to make. That God led you to a place that you never expected and could never dream of on your own. And what God is looking for in those moments, He's not looking to explain everything to you. He's not looking to give you the five-point plan, the MO. He's not looking to give you all the mission details.

    All he's looking for is, let it be according to your word unto me. That's what he's looking for in you, and that's what he's looking for in me. These are some life altering decisions. And I just want to say right here,

    You can trust God.

    Thank you, Ms. Teresa. I got one amen. You can trust God. Why? Because God is trustworthy. If we are going to respond to God in these life-altering decisions, in these miracle interventions, these pivot points of life, these moments where it's...

    It can't happen two weeks before. It can't happen two weeks after. The will of God must happen now. And if we are going to make decisions like that, we have to trust Him. We have to trust that He knows what He's doing. Can I ask you this morning, do you trust God? Do you trust Him with your life? Do you trust Him with your future? Do you trust Him with your money?

    Adam Dragoon (18:52.945)

    Do trust Him with your family? Do you trust Him with your career? Do you trust God? You know, this is the same God who created the universe just by speaking. Like, He's also the same God who keeps the entire universe from spinning out of control into chaos. If God can take care of those things,

    If he can hold the universe in its place, I want you to know you can trust him with the decisions of your life. Proverbs 3 verses 5 and 6, trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and listen, here's where it has to do with our scripture this morning, he shall direct your path.

    When you trust God, He is able to direct you. You ever seen those guys if you've been on the airplane a few times? There's guys out there on the tarmac and they've got those orange cones in their hands. What are they doing? They're waving the cones and they're giving direction to the pilot because the pilot, he's only got a short view. He can only see just to his side and in front. He can't see everything that's behind. And so the pilot is leaning on the understanding

    of those that are

    Adam Dragoon (20:24.535)

    And when he is leaning on the understanding of other people, he's able to line that airplane exactly where it's supposed to go. See, this is what happens with many believers when they are leaning on their own understanding and not trusting in God is we end up in a place you were not supposed to be. We end up on a path that was made by our own understanding instead of on

    His understanding. And it's often because we fail to trust Him. We fail to do what Mary did and say, Lord, let it be to me according to your word. If we don't trust Him, we'll end up on a path that is not God's intentions. First Kings chapter 8 verse 56 says, blessed be the Lord who has given rest to His people.

    according to all that he promised. Listen to this. There has not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised through his servant Moses. Can I tell you? We serve a God who has never failed. He has never failed to lead people in the right direction. You say, well, pastor, you don't know what I'm going through. You don't know what's happened in my life.

    you don't know how jacked up my family is or the situation i came from you don't know my money house of the year my money problems are you know god might work for other people but you don't know what i'm going through

    I to tell you, we serve a God who has never broken a promise. He has never failed His word. The only times that we experience failure and loss is when we don't listen to Him, when we do our thing instead of His thing.

    Adam Dragoon (22:19.482)

    I want to just share a couple of stories with you at this point to remind you of how God has been faithful. You remember last year, you're part of this congregation, you remember Pastor Rocky Colona came into our church and did a powerful revival. During that revival, he raised up an offering for a church van. Before that time, we had been, every time we needed a van, we were either borrowing a van from another church or we were renting a van to the tune of $150 a day, which is very expensive.

    And so we prayed, we asked God, God, would you help us to get a van so that we can use it for your kingdom? Pastor Rocky Colona received an offering for that purpose, and the people of God responded. Some of you gave in that offering. What a powerful thing. We raised about $5,000, maybe $6,000 for a van at that time. But you know $6,000 is not, it's a good amount of money.

    But to buy a 15 passenger van for a church, you know, it's not quite all the way there. And so I'm thinking, at the time, I'm thinking maybe this will be a down payment. The church has to go in debt to get a van. Or I'm thinking, okay, maybe we can find, you know, the junkyard special and get a van that's not working and then maybe put some money into repairing it and getting it in working condition.

    Maybe that's what this $6,000 is for. And to be honest with you, there was an amount of time, maybe a month, maybe six weeks, where I was very troubled about this. I didn't know what to do. The way was not clear. And we were praying. Now, it's easy to look back on this situation having known the outcome and thinking, Pastor, why were you so upset? But I want to be honest with you, I was kind of upset. I was kind of just wondering what was going to happen.

    One day I get a phone call. And that phone call was from a brother, David Pintor, that many of you know, former member of our church. He's now going to a different church. And he says, he says, so I heard you're looking for a van. I yeah, we're looking for a van. What's the deal? He says, well, I know a pastor, a guy that I've known since I was in high school. He's a pastor now at a church. They're looking to get rid of a van.

    Adam Dragoon (24:47.074)

    Hey, praise the Lord, that's what we're looking for. So I called this man and you know, he's got not just one van, he's got two church vans that they're not using. They use them maybe once a month. It's not worth all the upkeep to keep these vehicles. And so I go, I do a test drive on the van. It's in good shape, it's got low miles. Like I said, they've only been using it on Sunday mornings to pick people up and drop people off after the service.

    It's got like 105,000 miles to 2005, and I'm thinking, praise God, we've got money to purchase a van like this. And so we do around the block, I drive it, seems like it's in pretty good shape, and then we get back to the church parking lot, I ask the pastor, so what are you thinking for a price? And the man looked at me.

    And he said, we want to gift it to you.

    Adam Dragoon (25:48.836)

    Can I tell you, right in that moment, God was telling me, you were worried about this for six weeks, and I had this van lined up for you the whole time. You need to trust me, Pastor Adam.

    Adam Dragoon (26:08.42)

    and we received that van as a gift we were able to take that money and put it toward repairs and get it in perfect tip-top working condition still working on a paint job though just so you know

    But that van has become an incredible blessing to this congregation. Most of you have ridden in that van on trips to North Carolina, outreaches, various things that we do. What a blessing. I want to tell you, that's just a small example. What are you worried about today? What are the things that are stressing you out?

    What are the things that you are curious, how is this going to work out? Like Joseph and Mary, like man, I'm going to become pregnant. That comes with a whole lot of problems, right? In those moments, we're to have to learn to trust him, that his ways are higher than our ways, that his thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

    Adam Dragoon (27:08.195)

    Secondly, this morning I want to remind you that in these most important moments that responses are necessary. Focusing in once again on Joseph, verse 19, I want to read you two scriptures back to back which are surprising. It's Matthew 1, verse 19, and verse 24 if you're following along. Here's those two verses back to back. Then Joseph, her husband being a just man,

    and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. So just to explain that a little bit, these two people had been betrothed to one another in the Jewish custom. They probably had, since they were children, had an agreement between the two families that when these children come to age, they're gonna marry each other. They would have known each other. They would have been familiar with one another. They would have...

    been preparing already for a future marriage. And now, because she is pregnant, Joseph is a just man. He says, I can't marry someone who is in that condition. That's against my convictions. And so he would have had the right in that time to publicly accuse her and to bring her before the elders. And if she's found guilty of crime, that she could have stood trial.

    and maybe even executed as a result of being found pregnant serious consequences

    But Joseph's not a guy like that. His mind is, we're going to deal with this quietly, but I'm not going to marry you. We're going to just break this off. Obviously, you're not the right girl for me. That's verse 19. Now read verse 24. Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took to him his wife.

    Adam Dragoon (29:10.093)

    Do you see how that is a 180 degree opposite change? That Joseph was walking this way toward breaking the thing off. He had a dream, he woke up from that dream, he did what the Lord commanded, he had to turn around and say, Mary, I was wrong, we're getting married, here's your ring, let's do this thing.

    He had to change his direction in order for the purpose and the plan of God to go forward. I want to tell you there are going to be lots of moments like that in your life when God is going to help you to course correct. Isn't this exactly how we get saved? Is not this the very definition of repentance? This is how we gain entry into the kingdom of God.

    We were all once a stray, lost sheep, and Jesus came to find us. And in that condition, when we were running away from Jesus, we didn't want to live for Him, but He found us, we turned our lives around by faith, and we said, now, Lord, I want to serve you. Isn't that repentance? Repentance means a change of mind. I'm going one way. I realize this way is destroying me.

    So by the grace of God and by the blood of Jesus, I'm able to turn around and go back the other way. Thank God. That's conversion. That's how you gained injury into this kingdom. This is like Saul on the road to Damascus. Think of the incredible miracle of his conversion. The Bible says he's breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He's going into Damascus to go kill some folks.

    The Lord meets him. He has an encounter with the resurrected Christ. He is knocked off of his horse. And now when he gets up back on his feet, now he's still going to the same city, but his purpose is entirely different. Yes? Now he's going to meet with them. I need prayer from these people. I need them to minister to me. I need someone to help me to learn how to live for this Jesus that appeared to me on the road.

    Adam Dragoon (31:30.452)

    A complete 180 of his life now saw the persecutor becomes Paul the Apostle, church planter and epistle writer. We have two-thirds of the books of our New Testament from that same man who wanted to kill Christians when we first met him in Scripture. What a turnaround.

    We see the example of Jesus when he began to choose his disciples in Matthew chapter 4. Now think about these disciples is that most of them they began as disciples of John, John the Baptist. We know for sure Andrew and Peter they were familiar. They had witnessed the ministry of John the Baptist and were following some of his ways. But then Jesus approaches them in Matthew chapter 4 and he says,

    In verse 19, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. When they approached John about this, they said, John, is it okay for us to go be with Jesus? John said, please, please, he's the one. John was willing for them to turn away from his ministry in order to serve Jesus. Now, John was not doing evil things, but it was God's will for them to make

    transition, right? To step out from under John's ministry and to begin to follow Jesus. That is a decision for discipleship. I want to say, maybe this is little sneak preview, but in our New Year's Eve service, in our celebration on New Year's Eve next week, I'm going to be revealing the theme for our next year. And it's going to be a focus on discipleship.

    I believe God's been dealing with me about focusing in on this decision for discipleship. And I see that reflected in that story. These men were hungry for God. They were following John. But Jesus came and said, follow me. And the Bible says immediately they left their nets and they followed him. They had to make a distinct decision. I can pick one.

    Adam Dragoon (33:49.566)

    or the other. this critical moment, this separation has to take place. The booster has brought them so far, but now it's time to separate off into a new level of ministry following Jesus and learning from him. Can I tell you, every believer here, there's going to be a moment of your life when you realize following Jesus means that you're going to have to cut some things off of your past. Some ways of thinking. Maybe even some people.

    maybe even some lines of work that you're not going to be able to serve God and continue in this. Follow me. And immediately they left their nets. There's nothing wrong with nets. There's nothing sinful about being a fisherman. But in that moment, Jesus is asking them to walk away. That's what discipleship looks like. Discipleship means making conscious decisions to walk away from things that are not God's will.

    will step into a new level of following Jesus. We also see this

    in decisions of destiny, Abraham. We see it at the very first word we hear about Abram in the Bible. It's Genesis 12 verse 1. Now the Lord said to Abram, get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. God says, Abram, time to get up and go. Where we going, Lord? I'll tell you when you get there. And by faith Abram had to gather up his house, his family, his flocks,

    and step out going in a direction without knowing the destination. What a powerful story. No wonder later on, this is many years later now after he's received the promise and God speaks to Abram again, now his name has been changed to Abraham. And in Genesis 22 it says that it came to pass that God tested Abraham and said, he said, here I am.

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    He said, take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on the mountains of which I shall tell you. Now that would be a hard thing to hear from God, wouldn't it? God spoke to Abraham. God didn't speak to Isaac. God didn't speak to Sarah.

    God spoke to Abraham to sacrifice his son on an altar.

    Adam Dragoon (36:26.858)

    God had never asked something like this before. It was a test. We know now it was a test. But to Abraham, it was not a test. It was reality.

    And Abraham had a choice, either to obey or disobey.

    And what I love about this story is that Abraham didn't sit on it. He didn't wait. He didn't consult. He didn't have to pray for six weeks about the will of God. He knew the will of God. It says in the next scripture, verse three, that Abraham rose early. Everybody say the word early.

    he rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his men and Isaac his son, split the wood and arose. He made up his mind. I'm not going to wait. I'm not going to delay. There's a reason God spoke to me about this. I don't know what it is, but I'm going to do it.

    Can I ask you, are you able to do that? Make up your mind to do the will of God even when you don't know how it's going to all play out. Make up your mind to be faithful to prayer. Make up your mind to give a tithe and an offering beside. Make up your mind to cut off some unhealthy habits off of your life. But there's going to be a price to pay. Yes, there will be a price to pay. But it's worth it.

    Adam Dragoon (37:58.143)

    Sometimes in ministry, there's a price to pay. We read in Acts chapter 18 about a man named Apollos. The Bible has lots of good things to say about Apollos. Listen carefully. Acts 18, 24, a certain Jew named Apollos, born in Alexandria, an eloquent man, mighty in the scriptures, came into Ephesus. And this man had been instructed in the way of the Lord. Being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord.

    though he only knew the baptism of John. There's a lot of good compliments in there about Apollos, right? He spoke well, he's mighty in scriptures, he's an instructor, he's fervent in spirit, he's teaching according to the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But then there was a couple of people there, Aquila and Priscilla in the church of Ephesus. And when they heard him, watch this, they took him aside.

    and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

    So, Apollos, who is doing great things for God, but here's this couple from the church in Ephesus that says, hey Apollos, can we take you out to eat for lunch this week after church? Come on, let's go have a good conversation. And they had to explain to Apollos the way of God more accurately. You know what would happen today in our generation if that happened? Pastor Apollos came in and preached a kind of off the wall sermon.

    up past recalls would say who do you think you are trying to correct me

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    Can't you see the results of my ministry? Can't you see my fervent spirit? That I preach with power of the Holy Ghost.

    Many people in ministry are not able to receive that kind of instruction. But thank God that Apollos did. He had to make a course correction according to the Word of God and he humbled himself and put himself under the ministry of the local congregation. That is powerful. Are you able to do that?

    Adam Dragoon (40:17.545)

    There was also, as we close, an occasion from the apostle Paul. We know that his desire was to go into Asia. But in Acts 16 verse 9, a vision appeared to Paul. The man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, come to Macedonia and help us. had to intervene in the plans of Paul. He says, I want to go this way. But in his dream, God says, I want you to go that

    And the Bible says after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to, say immediately. He didn't wait. He didn't delay. His trust was in the will of God for that moment. I think the mistake that the church often makes is waiting. It's not that we're living in sin. It's not that we're doing evil necessarily, but we delay.

    Adam Dragoon (41:17.638)

    My wife and I were younger. I'll tell you the story of how we ended up as missionaries in Bulgaria.

    We were both 24 years old. We had spent time in our mother church training for the ministry. In our churches, we have a program for ministry. We learn on the job how to serve God's people by doing the job. It's called on the job training, right? You've heard of that before. In our fellowship, we don't send people off to seminary classes because we believe in the dignity of the local church that here within the church is the best training grounds

    for future ministry. That's the way the early church did it. That's the way we do it in our fellowship. And so we had spent, I got saved when I was 17 years old. We got married when we were 19 years old. And I spent the years from 19 to 24 under the leadership of my pastor in the Door Church of Chandler, Arizona, learning how to do ministry, learning how to work with people, learning how to preach, learning how to run an outreach, learning how to do these.

    being corrected. And finally the time came for us to go and to pioneer a new church. And the whole year we were discussing with Pastor Campbell where we're going to go. We finally came to a decision. Pastor, you've been preaching about big cities in America. At the time, on Pastor Campbell's heart was the bigger cities of America where many millions of people live and there were not many churches from our fellowship in those places. One of those cities was Chicago.

    During that year we had gone on a mission strip or on a impact team to Chicago and while we were there God led me and spoke to me and said this is a place where we could really do some good ministry for the Lord, Chicago, Illinois. So with the direction of pastor and with his blessing that's the decision we made. We felt God had led us that way. And so we went to a Bible conference. Some of you have been to a Bible conference and on

    Adam Dragoon (43:17.05)

    Friday night we were announced past Adam and Taya Dragoon going into the city of Chicago, Illinois. Everybody shouts, yay! And we nervously walk up to the stage to get prayed for as they're going to send us into that city. That was in August of 2005. And so the next couple of months, you know what we started doing? We started preparing to go to Chicago. We sold our house, we sold our cars, we sold, we got rid of a bunch of stuff.

    getting ready to get a moving van and fast forward a couple of months. Now it's the month of October. We're almost ready to go. We're attending a revival service in another church. Pastor Campbell is there preaching. It's in Phoenix, Arizona. And before the service begins, it's after the prayer meeting, but before the service begins, pastor comes and he says, can I talk with you for a moment? I said, sure. We walk outside of the building and this was like,

    This was like in ghetto town, central Phoenix, Arizona, with all like gang members and scary and dark. And he, we walk around the church building into a little alleyway. Do you remember this? And it was, it was dark. And it was, we were like, pastor, what's going on here? So we walk around the corner and he says these words. He says, there's an opportunity. There's a need. It's in the nation of Bulgaria.

    He said, do you know where Bulgaria is? I said, I don't even know what a Bulgaria is. Had no idea even what continent it was on.

    We were 24, 25 years old, and Pastor Campbell said, if you're willing to go, then I'm willing to send you and support you. We in the Chandler Church. He said, I need to know by Sunday. That was on a Thursday night. Need to know by Sunday. Turns out that there was a church in Rusea, Bulgaria, a church that had been established. People had already started coming. A building had already been acquired. Equipment was already there.

    Adam Dragoon (45:23.408)

    But the pastor had to come back to the states. And so there's a need for somebody to take this church. That need was passed through the Gravevine. Pastor Suspansky tells Pastor Campbell, you got anybody that can fill this need? And the thing was, it was not that we were this great and mighty, you know, ministry couple. All it was, so we were available. In that moment, we had already sold our stuff. We were available. We were flexible.

    And so as we went home, this is days before Google, we opened an encyclopedia, Children Ask Your Parents, what that is, and we found the letter B.

    Where is this place? And we read about Bulgaria, a nation in Eastern Europe, just came out from under communism.

    And we said yes before we fully understood what we were doing. The next morning I went to Pastor Campbell. I went to prayer. And I prayed it through and I asked God, God is this what you want us to do? And when I went in Pastor Campbell's office my only question was, why would you want us for a huge job like this? We're young, we haven't been pastors before. There's other people definitely more qualified.

    And Pastor Campbell, I'll never forget, he looked at me and he said, it's not about your ability, it's about your availability. If you're willing, I'm willing to send you. Can I tell you, that shaped the course of our lives. That was in 2005. We're coming up on 2025. I can guarantee you I would not be standing here unless I responded to that decision back then.

    Adam Dragoon (47:13.606)

    That led to a ministry for four and a half years in Bulgaria. That led to a time coming back to the states. That led to a time when there was an opening similar here in the Virginia Beach Church in 2010. That led to us having to respond. Will you be able to call? Listen, we didn't come back and wait. We moved directly back from Bulgaria to Virginia Beach, Virginia. And now we've been here for close to 15 years. I'm saying all of that to tell you this.

    we had no idea how it was going to work out.

    But we responded in confidence that God knew what He was doing. As we close, verse 21 of our scripture says, she will bring forth a son, you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Can I tell you, obeying the call of God brings Jesus to the world.

    Adam Dragoon (48:11.878)

    That was a good place for an amen. Obeying the will of God brings Jesus to a lost world. Rick Renner, a pastor, his quote is this, our spiritual success isn't measured by what we do, but rather by our obedience to do exactly what God asks us to do. This story was repeated in the life of Joseph.

    as God gave him dreams in exact moments. Now it's time to get up and go to Egypt.

    And Joseph didn't wake up and go, hmm, let me take a couple of weeks to think about that. This might sound like a good idea, but I'm not sure. If he would have delayed, Jesus could have died because the death warrant went out. He had to move immediately. Same thing after Herod's death there in Egypt. He has another dream. Time to go back. There is a time.

    Adam Dragoon (49:17.167)

    God provided for them. We know that God sent some Magi to go visit the young Jesus. And the Bible says that one of their gifts, you remember what they brought as gifts? They brought gold. How do you think they had the money to travel? These were a couple of peasants. The money to travel and to take care of themselves.

    down in Egypt and then travel back. Well, God provided for them. He brought a gift of gold. And they filled up their money bags and they said, thank you, Mr. Magi. Thank you, Lord. You provided so that I could do your will in your time. And as we close, just listen, I'm confident that God has brought you, perhaps, to a moment where He's calling you out.

    into an unknown, into an adventure, into a place where you're not sure the outcome. 2025 could be a new frontier for you spiritually. Will you respond? Will you say, Lord, I'm going to trust you even though I don't know how it's all going to work out? Can we pray the same prayer like Mary? Let it be to me according to your word. Let's bow our heads and close our eyes for just a moment.

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    Thank God for His word and thank God for His grace. Thank God that He has not left us to ourselves. With our heads bowed and our eyes closed for just a moment, we're going to bring this service to an end. We're going to pray together. Before we do that, I want to present the greatest opportunity that you've ever had, and that is for your sins to be forgiven.

    Before we close this service, you're going to have the chance to respond to God's call. God's call is that every man will be saved. That no man will be separated from Him forever. We know the will of God, first of all, is for us to be saved. He is not willing that anyone would perish, but that all would come to the life-saving knowledge of the Savior.

    If you're here today, you recognize your desperate need before God. The Bible says we've all sinned. We've all fallen short. We've all broken commandments. We've all hurt people. We've all hurt ourselves. We've all hurt God through our failures and our evil actions.

    But God's not done with you. He loves you and He sent His son Jesus to die for you. That's the miracle that we celebrate at Christmas, the gift of God to people like us who don't deserve it. And if you're here this morning, you say, Pastor, I want to receive that gift. I want to receive salvation by faith in Jesus. It's not automatic. You can't sit there and wait for the Lord to save you automatically.

    There is a response that is necessary. And that response is called faith. Lord, I trust you. And I'm going to turn from my sins. I'm going to believe your word is true. I don't know how it's all going to work out. But Lord, I'm asking you to save me today. And if that's you, that prayer, that desire is on your heart, I wonder, would you signify that? It takes a little courage. But would you lift up your hand right now and say, Pastor, pray for me?

    Adam Dragoon (52:56.0)

    I need this salvation you're talking about. need. I don't need more religion. I don't need another church service. I need Jesus and I need his grace on my life. If that's you, please let us know. We just want to we want to pray with you without anybody looking around for a moment. You respond, Pastor, pray for me. I'm not right with God, but I want to be. Is that you? Quickly slip up your hand. Maybe you are wandering. Maybe you're one of those prodigals.

    You know the Father's house. You've been there. You've lived there. But you've stepped away from the Lord. You've stepped into a far country. You find yourself confused and lost. Prodigal son, prodigal daughter, the Father's not done with you. He waits for you. And if you would respond tonight, make up your mind, as the prodigal son did in that famous parable, he came to himself and he said, maybe my Father would have mercy on me. And I want to tell you,

    The Father had much more than mercy. He had grace. He had blessing. To the one that would respond, is that you? Quickly lift up your hand. I want to pray with you unsaved or backslidden in your heart. Time to come home. Is that you? Let me see your hand. Somebody here, God's speaking to you. Don't miss this opportunity. The timing is important. The reason God is speaking to you now, not yesterday, and maybe not tomorrow, but today, today is the day of salvation.

    Don't wait till tomorrow if God is speaking to you now. Please don't miss this opportunity. You lift up your hand. Is there someone here quickly? With an uplifted hand I want to pray with you. Thank God. And I want to speak to God's people. We're going to open up this altar for prayer. The altar is a place of surrender. The altar is a place where our selfish plans go to die. Can I tell you the decisions that I've made over the years as a pastor?

    Things have had to die at the altar. My own plans, my own ideas, my own ways, my own thinking have had to die. And those things die at an altar. That's why we have an altar. We don't come here to sacrifice animals. We come here to give up on our own ideas. To ask God to make room for His purpose and His plan in our lives.

    Adam Dragoon (55:17.707)

    As we stand together to our feet, we're going to open up this altar for prayer. God's leading you. Maybe there's a decision that needs to be made in your life. God's been dealing with you, showing you His purpose and plan. It is not time to delay. It is time to respond in faith. As we open up this altar for prayer, would you come and join us? We're going to lift up our lives before the Lord. We're going to pray. We're going to lift up our voices. We're going to lift up our hearts. We're going to believe God to speak to us and lead us.

    Would you come and join us here for a few moments of prayer at this altar as we cry out to the Lord. Amen. I want to pray with you this morning. We want to stand up to our feet as we receive God's instruction and plan for our life. Right where you are, would you stand to your feet? Take your time to pray if you need to at this altar. if you could pray with us this evening, we're going to, or this morning, we want to believe God together. I just want to remind you.

    In this film we're going to watch on Wednesday, it depicts that moment that Mary and Joseph come into Bethlehem and you know that they couldn't find room at an inn.

    Adam Dragoon (56:29.753)

    The Son of God is arriving on earth, but there's no room to receive him.

    And there's a powerful lesson there that the will of God, the purpose of God wants to be born in your life. God wants to birth something new in your life. Is there room? Is there room for the plan of God in your life? Is there room for revelation? Or are you at a place, Lord, I don't need you to speak, I got things worked out. Listen, this inn is full. Sorry, keep moving.

    Adam Dragoon (57:09.048)

    I want to pray because we serve a God who fills empty vessels. Right? The miracle that Elijah did was he said, bring as many water pots as you can and as many as you can find, God will fill them all up. And when the water pot stopped, so did the miracle. The idea here this morning is that many people, God cannot pour His purpose into your life because it's already full.

    You've already got too much going on. You've already got your will. You've already got your dream. You've already got your plan. There's no room at the end. Let's open up some space for God. Can you say amen? He is worthy. His plans are better than our plans. His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts. Let's lift up our hands together as a sign of surrender and say this prayer. Say, God in heaven, I thank you.

    for sending Jesus to be my Savior. I repent of leaning on my own understanding and not trusting in You. Remind me today that You are trustworthy. I can trust You with my life, with my family, with my future. You know what You're doing, Lord.

    And even when I don't understand, even when I can't see how it's going to work out.

    I'm asking you to help me trust you. I believe, but help my unbelief. And this morning, I put my life in your hands. Let it be to me according to your word. Don't let me delay. Let me respond with confidence in you. And I thank you for the blood of Jesus.

    Adam Dragoon (59:17.003)

    that washes me clean. It's in His name we pray. Amen. Come on, let's give the Lord praise that He deserves.

Keep an eye on our Facebook Page for Daily Devotionals based on this message over the next five days.

Written with Love by Pastor Adam Dragoon

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Adam Dragoon
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