In The Waiting - Part 2

 

"In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah, and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and righteous requirements of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.

Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering. And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

And Zechariah said to the angel, "How will I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years." And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands before God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."

And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the sanctuary. But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. And he kept making signs to them, and remained mute. And it happened that when the days of his priestly service were fulfilled, he went back home.

After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, "This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked upon me to take away my disgrace among men."

Luke 1:7-17

 

Good Morning my beloved,

We welcome you to worship in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We're glad to have you here with us today. 

 

There are a lot of people today who tend to use the word miracle very loosely, literally everything is a miracle. An accurate definition of a miracle is a rare event, for which has no human explanation, an act that cannot be explained in any other way than God's supernatural divine intervention, incompatible with the normal human process, transcending the laws of nature to demonstrate His divine Authority and infinite power in a way that's overwhelmingly clear. That's the biblical definition, then, there's man's definition. I've heard people say things like, "I went to the mall and it's a miracle that I found a parking place right away!" or "I called the beauty salon and it's a miracle they were able to get me the same day!" God chooses to act however He chooses to act reveal Himself, but that's absolutely ridiculous. 

God choosing to part the Red Sea in Exodus 14, now that's a real historical event with no human explanation that clearly points to God's divine intervention. Even though there have been many critics who've tried to attack it, claiming that a volcanic explosion occurred setting off air masses and waves three hundred and fifty times more powerful than the hydrogen bomb, creating the parting of the Red Sea at precisely the moment when Moses and two million Israelites got there and they were able to cross. That’s even a bigger miracle, considering the entire Egyptian army following behind them drowned at precisely the moment when attempted to pass through. And, let's not forget the miracle of the Lord opening up the mouth of Balaam's ass in Numbers 22, and carrying on a conversation. Of course, some critics say that Balaam was talking to his donkey like many people talk to their dog and Balaam just gave meaning to it's braying. That explanation lacks defense, why are we surprised that God is able to speak through an ass if He so chooses? He's God, He has that right! 

I don't believe the miracle here is what God can do, I believe the miracle is that we're even having to have a conversation questioning what God can do that nobody else can, when all the proof that is needed is found in the Bible, God's revelation. And if anybody does not believe the Bible is true, if he doesn't believe that God is Who He says He is and that He can do astonishing things when He chooses to do them, than he might as well be a Muslim or an Atheist, and stick around and watch what God can do when He brings His final judgement upon the entire world! As you can tell, I can get a bit worked up about this because the Bible is literally loaded with miracle after miracle from beginning to end. But the miracle we're going to talk about today isn't unusual for God, its the miracle that He works in the life of a couple advanced in years, named Zacharias and Elizabeth to bring His redemptive plan of salvation to a sinful world.

First, let's pray

Heavenly Father,

Father, thank You for the profound, supernatural miraculous acts recorded throughout the pages of Scripture to make Yourself known and encourage Your people that every Word You have said is true because You are the One true and living God. Lord, I pray that no one will leave today without being in awe and wonder of Your power that prove who You are and may it drive them closer to You. May Your Word come alive in in this message and may a miracle of regeneration be manifest, even today, for Your glory and Christ's sake. In His name we ask and pray.

Amen

Today's Message: In The Waiting - Part 2

I have blessed to have had a number of occasions in my life where God intervened in such a dramatic way for which there's absolutely no human explanation, acts that were designed to do exactly what God intended them to do, to point people to Him, revealing Himself to them and validating His miraculous supernatural power. In other words, God stepped into the situation, setting aside the laws of nature to do a supernatural act outside of human reasoning, that only He can do. Miracles, then, are not an end to themselves, they are a supernatural sign, pointing to the reality of God, Whom the world has never seen, so there's never any question about its source.

Open your Bibles with me, if you would and turn to the Gospel of Luke. Luke 1:7-17. I invite you to follow along with me as I read these verses again from the beginning to refresh our minds, of this miraculous account of God's divine intervention in human history, then we'll pick back up where we left off last time. I pray that you will listen for the voice of our Lord with open ears and a hearing heart.

"In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah, and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and righteous requirements of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.

Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering. And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

And Zechariah said to the angel, "How will I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years." And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands before God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."

And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the sanctuary. But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. And he kept making signs to them, and remained mute. And it happened that when the days of his priestly service were fulfilled, he went back home.

After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, "This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked upon me to take away my disgrace among men."

Let's look at verse 8, "Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the order of his division." Here we find Zechariah performing his routine priestly responsibility which he would have done twice a year, for one full week at one time. Remember, there were eighteen thousand  priests, consisting of twenty-four divisions and Zechariah was a priest of the division of Abijah. He was just doing his duty, mostly what they did all day was slaughtering animal after animal for those who came to make sacrifices in the morning and in the evening at the temple. At the time of the sacrifice, there was a burnt incense offering given to God. 

Verse 9, "According to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense." Because there were so many priests, eighteen thousand of them, each one was chosen by lot, meaning they drew names because there were so many of them, so it was a tremendous honor to chosen, since not every priest would have the opportunity and it could only happen once in a lifetime. Only one priest in a day could enter the Holy Place of the tabernacle, it was just outside the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies and offer the burnt incense on the golden alter to God and come right back out, the priest doing this didn't stay very long. This was as close to the presence of God as one could get, except for the high priest who went inside the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was which symbolized the presence of God, once a year on the Day of Atonement. Even though the golden incense altar was just outside the Holy of Holies, it was still associated with the Holy of Holies. In other words, this would have been Zacharias' big priestly moment.

Verse 10, "And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering"

As the incense offering was being burned, symbolizing their dependence on God, people would gather outside to pray. So, as the smoke from the incense was going up as a symbol of the prayers of God’s people, they were outside praying and praying, in submission to God, doing what the incense symbolized, incense is often associated with prayer. For example, in Psalm 141:1-2, David prayed, "O Yahweh, I call upon You; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to You! May my prayer be established as incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering." Today, our prayers are pleasing to God not because of incense, but through Christ's sacrifice.

Verse 11, "And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense." Zechariah would have known it had been five hundred years since the angel of the Lord appeared to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the blazing fiery furnace, as recorded in Daniel 3. And now, he actually sees an angel of the Lord standing to the right of the altar of incense, by the golden candelabra. Why is this significant? The angel standing to the right of the altar of incense, because that's the side of favor and blessing. Zechariah must have been overly excited, being the first person to see the angel of the Lord in five hundred years, right? Wrong!

 

Verses 12, "And Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear fell upon him." The verb Luke uses here for troubled is "tarássō," it means terrified. Zechariah was the exact opposite of being excited, he's literally scared out of his wits, gripped with fear, this was traumatic experience for him. In fact, fear is a perfectly common reaction to the presence of God's holy messengers. In Judges 13, when the angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah, the father of Samson, he said to his wife, "We will surely die, for we have seen God." And, in Isaiah 6, Isaiah condemned himself when he saw God saying "Woe is me, for I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of hosts." In Joshua 5, Joshua had the same reaction to the host of Yahweh, and he "fell on his face to the earth and bowed down and said to him, "What has my lord to say to his slave?" In fact, both Ezekiel and Daniel had the same terrifying reaction. Why were they all afraid? Because anytime a perfectly holy, heavenly visitor appears, one's own sinfulness is revealed and the fear of judgment sets in. Zachariah would have known that angels were the instruments of God's divine judgment. I imagine he's probably thinking he'd done something wrong, because this just doesn't happen, it's been five hundred years.

 

Verse 13, "But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John." The angel doesn't indicate that Zechariah had been praying that day, this long-standing heart-felt petition, was a prayer that Zechariah had started praying a long time ago. Remember, both Zechariah and Elizabeth are old now, the time for child bearing had long passed, more than likely they'd finally given up asking God for a child, a son to pass the priesthood on to. When the Lord told Abraham and Sarah, who were both advanced in age, well past the age of childbearing, Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart, "Will a son be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a son?" I imagine Zechariah's fear would have suddenly became shock and disbelief. Nothing much has changed, I believe much could be said of the self-assured, religious leaders of today, who imagine that if something's going to happen, they need to be in control, as if to say "Not Your will, Lord, but mine be done!" Folks, I've learned that it is impossible for anybody to "out do" what God intends to do through you, so let Him do it, in His time. That's why I don't concern myself with building the church, Christ said He would do it, and I believe Him, so I just keep proclaiming the Word and trust Him to do what He said He would do. Quite frankly, I'm not looking to compete with our Lord! It's a losing battle. Then, the angel says to Zachariah, "and you will call his name John," the name John holds great importance, it means "God has been gracious."

 

Verse 14, "And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth." The angel says this son isn't just going to bring you joy, but "agallíasis" exuberant joy, intense joy, ecstatic joy, joy in the highest, not just for you, but there will be many who are going to rejoice at his birth. Why are many going to rejoice at his birth?  

 

Verse 15, "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb." John didn’t need the self-righteous religious leaders from Jerusalem to tell him what to say or how to say it, he was filled with the Holy Spirit, unlike the so-called religious experts in the pulpit today, who have a list of letters behind their name as long as the alphabet itself, who seem to know a lot about everything but God's Word, the one thing they are supposed to know, spiritually starving those they are called feed with their misleading messages devoid of the Bread of Life. They're certainly filling people with something, but its not the Word of God. I’m not going to name names here, but you really need to be discerning, so that you can make those kinds of judgments on your own from the criteria given in the Word of God. If you're going to preach a message about salvation and forgiveness of sin, you're going to have to preach a message of judgement, repentance and turning away from sin, because that's the Gospel.

Verse 16, "And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God." When John grew up, he intimidated the phony religious leaders every way possible, he lived a life they couldn't live, wearing a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. He preached a message with an authority that shut their self-righteousness, perfidious mouths, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." He obtained a popularity they could only aspire to attain, "Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea, and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins." Many of the Pharisees and Sadducees panicked, and when he saw them coming for his baptism, he turned to them and delivered a blistering rebuke, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." John was not a preacher of comforting words to make people feel better about their sin, he was a preacher of repentance leading to salvation.

 

That brings us to verse 17, "And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." John's ministry was going to produce genuine conversion, by confronting their disobedient attitudes, bringing them to the recognition of their sin, and turn toward righteousness, to make ready a people prepared for the Messiah's arrival. That's a powerful ministry! John's contribution to the Kingdom of God was the greatest that any man ever had, preparing people for the coming Messiah, a calling that exceeded the highest level of greatness from human perspective. No wonder Jesus said, "Among those born of women there's no one greater than John."

 

Today, we have the same opportunity to be used by God, discharging the Gospel, calling people to repentance and turning away from, and pointing them to the Lord Jesus Christ. Ministry is not an obligation, it is a tremendous privilege to call people to be reconciled to God, commanding them to live a God-honoring life, preparing them for that glorious day when Christ comes the second time, I believe is the greatest honor any man could have on this side of the cross. 

May it be so..

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name

Amen

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