Dharius Daniels - Talk to Me Nice

All right, well, we’re in a series called «Faith Moves.» I want to read a few verses of Scripture found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1, beginning at verse 34. Here’s what it says: «And Mary said to the angel, 'How will this be, since I’m 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, will also conceive 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 to me according to your word.'» I want to stop the reading of Scripture there. To tag a title to this text, we are talking around the thought in our time together: «Family, talk to me nice!» Clap your hands if you’re ready for a word from God this morning!

Family, the phrase «talk to me nice» is a cultural colloquialism that is actually a request for respect. It’s a statement suggesting that how you talk to me may determine what you get from me. It is a suggestion, watch this, that I will not enable entitlement; therefore, you have no right to expect anything if you come at me with disrespect. It articulates that whatever I give is a gift of grace, so I don’t have an obligation to do what you ask me to do. You need to take that into consideration with how you ask me to do it. Although this phrase «talk to me nice» is generally used and applied to how others talk to us, in our time together today, I want to repurpose the phrase and say it is equally important to implement this when it comes to how we talk to ourselves.

I’m arguing, as a pastor, that internal dialogue affects spiritual development. Did you hear what I just said? I think this is an incredibly important concept to unpack, especially as we step into the second sermon in this series on faith. Because when I say «talk to me nice,» I’m not talking necessarily about nice talk; I’m talking about faith talk. Here is what this text teaches us today: Faith development requires word management. Before faith will move a mountain, faith must move our mouth. Did you hear what I just said? I said, before faith will move a mountain, faith must move our mouth.

All throughout Scripture, we see evidence of this reality, and truth that corroborates this claim. However, a powerful picture of this principle is seen in this passage here in Luke, chapter one, which contains what’s called the Annunciation Narrative. It’s a story that reveals Mary receiving the announcement that she’s supposed to be the mother of the Messiah. But this particular passage, I believe, is a case study on what it means to live with faith talk, which isn’t just positive affirmations; it’s prophetic alignment with God’s word. Faith talk isn’t just seen in what you say proactively; faith talk is seen in what you say reactively when you receive news that is disruptive, unsettling, and unnerving. Faith talk is revealed in how you respond to news that seems to disrupt the continuity of your life.

Where do you see it, Pastor? It’s in the text. The Bible says Mary receives a visit from an angelos, a messenger, an angel, and the angel announces to her, «You are going to give birth to the Messiah.» Mary responds with a question. The question is, «How will this be, since I’m a virgin?» Somebody say, «Question.» You see it? She responds with a question: «How will this be if I’m a virgin?» In other words, she’s saying, «Now, I heard everything you said, but normally, in order for that to happen, there are some things people must do that I haven’t done. So if I haven’t done what others do to get what they got, how will I get it?» Because she’s assuming that the only way she can get what they have is to do it the way they did it. She’s assuming that she can’t have what they have without doing what they’ve done.

But the announcement in and of itself says something to Mary about the sovereignty of God, because God is sovereign; he’s not bound by sequence. I know consummation precedes conception, but because God’s not bound by sequence, he doesn’t have to stick to a natural order of things to bring something to pass. In other words, his announcement was saying to Mary, «I’m going to do it, but I’m going to enable you to skip a step.» There are steps that other people normally have to take to get what I’m going to give you, but I’m going to give it to you without you having to take that step. Come on here! Because I’m sovereign, I can use the sequence, but I don’t need the sequence when I’m God. I’ll do it without going through all the steps you think you have to take.

I want to talk to somebody right here who’s dealing with anxiousness because you feel like you’re in a season of life where you mismanaged some opportunities. You didn’t walk through some doors; you made some bad decisions, and it’s cost you your most valuable asset, and that’s your time. You wish you could go back.