"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."
Good Morning my beloved,
When I was growing up, a man's word was directly linked to his honor, trustworthiness, character and integrity. Therefore, a man's word was as valuable as money and his handshake was as good as a contract. Today, we're living in a world where contracts aren't worth the paper they are written on, and a man's word is worth even less. I can't think of anything more dishonorable than a man giving his word and breaking his word, because he destroys his credibility, not only with others and even himself. One thing I've learned is a man with integrity will take responsibility, and boys who lack it, will make excuses.
For those of us who belong to God, keeping our word is of the highest importance, in fact, God cuts through all of our justifications, by making the criterion for entering into His Kingdom easily understood. Psalm 15, "O Yahweh, who may sojourn in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy mountain?
He who walks blamelessly, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear Yahweh; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken." If salvation does not lead us to obey the Word of God, control our selfish desires, in other words, change to the direction of our lives, we are guilty of rebellion and our confession of faith is worthless, much like the second son in the Parable of the Two Sons in Matthew 21, who makes a promise that he never fulfills.
He who walks blamelessly, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear Yahweh; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken." If salvation does not lead us to obey the Word of God, control our selfish desires, in other words, change to the direction of our lives, we are guilty of rebellion and our confession of faith is worthless, much like the second son in the Parable of the Two Sons in Matthew 21, who makes a promise that he never fulfills.
Regardless of how unfaithful people may be to keep their word, to both God and men, God will never be unfaithful or fail to keep His countless promises, this includes His divine judgment that He has promised will come upon the world, in which the fullness of His divine wrath will be poured out on those who have rejected His gracious offer of salvation through Christ, on His terms, which God made evident, as well as those who suppress the Truth in unrighteousness and reject His authority, living in immorality to fulfill their desires of self-satisfaction and give their approval of the same to those who practice them. (c.f. Romans 1:18-32.) Not one thing that God has promised has failed to come to pass, because God always keeps His Word, the testimony of Scripture affirms that. Numbers 23:19, says "God is not a man, that He should lie." And, in John 17:17, Jesus said "Your word is truth."
The good news is, today, God is still willing and able to forgive, redeem, and transform all sinners of every kind. In fact, it is His desire that they be saved, cleansed of their sin and be made holy. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul writes to the believers in , "And such were some of you." We cannot afford to compromise the truth about sin, its devastating effects and eternal consequences, we must boldly speak the truth in love telling the lost about the Savior who forgives.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for Your Word, how reassuring it is to know that Your Word can be trusted, to know that You are a God who always keeps Your promises. Thank You for the confidence we have that if we confess Jesus as Lord and believe in our hearts that You've raised Him from the dead that we will be saved and if we believe Your Word and we love You, we will obey and we'll enter into Your eternal kingdom. Lord, we confess that it's often challenging to wait patiently in anticipation of Your return, full of hope for what lies ahead, as we watch the fulfillment of the events prophesied in Your Word literally unfolding right before us without wavering, and no one can alter it. Help us to remain faithful in proclaiming Your Word far and wide, diligently working to evangelize the lost around us, including those within our own families, keeping our eyes fixed on You, without becoming distracted by the struggles of every day life in this present world. O' Lord, how we rejoice that we are part of Your unfolding plan of redemption, not because we’re worthy, but because You are faithful. In Christ's precious name we thank You and praise You.
Amen
Today's Message: The God of Small Beginnings
Open your Bibles with me, if you would and turn to chapter 1 in the Gospel of Luke. Luke 1:18-25. I invite you to follow along with me as I read verses 11 through 17 to refresh our minds, then I will read our text for today, verses 18 through 25. I pray that we will all listen for the voice of our Lord with open ears and a hearing heart.
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."
As I was studying this passage, I was reminded of how fascinating it is, that God chooses to use ordinary people, run of the mill, every day common people, to accomplish His extraordinary divine plans. I’m just an ordinary man, yet God, by His compelling grace, chose me out of all the people in the world He could have chosen from, with all my many failures and weaknesses, far too many to list, to bless with an extraordinary ministry to honor and praise Him. What's even more fascinating, is to realize that this is not rare, uncommon occurrence, but the "norm," I believe that's because that's the only kind of people He has to choose from, ordinary, unimpressive, imperfect people, to mold into His image, and use for His glory. When you begin to understand that's the way it's been since the beginning, from Abraham to the Apostles, even until now, and you really begin to grasp that incredible revelation, you have no choice but to praise and worship our great God.
Can you imagine an angel of the Lord shows up and there hasn't been a visit from an angel in 500 years, not since the fiery furnace and says "I've been sent God," God Who by, Who hasn't spoken in 400 years, to give you good news, your prayer has been heard, God is going to grant you a miracle, your wife Elizabeth is going to have a baby, which is surely a miracle, given the ages of Zechariah and Elizabeth, but this son is going to be filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb, he's going to come in the spirit and the power of Elijah and have a powerful impact on Israel, turning many hearts back to God. He's going to be the forerunner of the long-awaited Messiah, the One the prophets of old talked about but never had the honor and privilege of being the first person to identify Him.
Now, let's look at verse 18, "And Zechariah said to the angel, "How will I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years." Of all the things Zechariah could have possibly said, he says "How will I know this? I am an old man and my wife is past child-bearing age." In other words, he doesn't believe it and wants more evidence, because it's going to take a miracle. This is not just some random visitor that shows up out of nowhere and says "Oh, by the way I've got a message for you from God." This is a holy angel sent from heaven by God to give Zechariah this astonishing announcement, "God heard your prayer and in His great mercy, He's going to grant you and your wife the first miracle in 500 years!" To be fair, Zechariah was not the first to ask for more information when an angel spoke something that was difficult to understand. When an angel told Mary she would conceive in her womb and bear a son, Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"
Verse 19, "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." By saying "I am Gabriel," its as though he's saying "Hey, buddy, I'm not just any angel, I am Gabriel, I'm God's number one messenger and I was specifically sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news, this isn't a message of judgment." Zechariah would have known it was the angel Gabriel who appeared to Daniel and gave him understanding of the visions he'd had been receiving. But Zechariah didn't believe the message Gabriel faithfully executed from God. Sadly, not much has changed in this day and age, they prefer to believe what they "feel" that God has changed His mind about sin, rather than what God has clearly said in His Word. Moreover, those who have strayed from the Truth, those who wrongly interpret the Word of God to validate their sinful lives, demand that we who remain faithful to God's Word accept the same, as if we’re part of the problem, rather than offering the solution, because they refuse to accept the Truth, they will not believe any messenger who brings the Word of God, calling them to repentance. To deny the Truth is to deny the Lord Jesus Christ Himself Who authenticated God's Word. By the way, the term good news is the verb "euaggelízō," from which we get the word Gospel. The ultimate Good News is that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die for your sins, that is greatest news that could ever come to a sinful humanity and the modern church doesn't want to spread this news around because people might be offended. Once a church defects from sound teaching momentum takes over, and it becomes hopelessly lost to a damning theology, celebrating and affirming sin. The true church of Christ is actively fighting against the ideology of men, not conforming to it. The proper response would have been like the father of the demon possessed young boy, "I do believe; help my unbelief." It is Zechariah's unbelief of the good news that turns into his punishing reproof.
Verse 20, "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." If you are so faithless as not to believe a Word coming from the throne of God, then you're going to be worthless in proclaiming it, so God shut him up! Now, not only can't he tell anyone about the good news Gabriel brought to him, he's not even able to praise God for it. And, it's not going to change any time soon, not until the day when these things take place; meaning his Elizabeth had conceived, the child was born and he was circumcised on the eighth day. Here, Zechariah is given the great news he was going to have a son, and he's going to be the forerunner of the Messiah and he can't even tell a single soul. The proud fathers out there know that's a punishment within itself! In fact, he wouldn't be able perform his regular priestly duties, like offering guidance or making intercessory prayer. I love the way Luke ends with "which will be fulfilled in their
proper time." Folks, nothing or no one will interfere with God's plans, you only forfeit the privilege of proclaiming it. That's an important reminder to hear God's Word with great faith and believe Him, even when you don't understand.
Verse 21, "And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the sanctuary." You can imagine what the people outside the sanctuary praying were thinking, the first thought on their minds would have been "Where is Zechariah, he should have been out of there by now! Maybe he did something wrong and he's been judged by God!" According to the Talmud, the priest was to go in, do his work and get out. The longer you were in there, the more you increased your chances of doing something to offend God, which was fatal. Remember Leviticus 10:1-3, "Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans and put fire in them. Then they placed incense on it and offered strange fire before Yahweh, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of Yahweh and consumed them, and they died before Yahweh. Then Moses said to Aaron, "It is what Yahweh spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be glorified.’"
Or what about poor Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6, "Now David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose and went with all the people who were with him to Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the Name, the very name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned above the cherubim. They placed the ark of God on a
new cart that they might bring it from the house of Abinadab which was
on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were leading the
new cart. So they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Ahio was walking ahead of the ark. Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.
But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God."
Can you imagine if God would deal with faithless, disobedient preachers who refuse to proclaim God's Word God's way like that today? I believe
that there would be a lot of pulpits that would suddenly become silent
and there would be no doubt who the false teachers are.
Verse 22, "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." So, he finally comes out and there's nothing but dead silence. He's supposed to give the standard benediction that every priest said when he came out, "The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’" He's unable to speak, so they realized he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. How did they know that he couldn't speak? I believe that he may have had a terrified look on his face, awestruck from seeing Gabriel, or perhaps a look of sheer panic from not being able to speak, or maybe he had a look of utter shame, feeling guilty for his unbelief. We can't be dogmatic, but apparently, he was able to communicate to them that happened in some way because he kept making signs to them.
Verse 23, "And it happened that when the days of his priestly service were fulfilled, he went back home." That's an odd statement, what does that even mean? It means he went about the rest of the week, fulfilling his routine priestly activities, probably mulling over what happened in his mind as he slaughtering animals the rest of the week and when the week was over, he went home. What happened when he got home? We don't know, Scripture doesn't tell us anything about that. But, I'm sure you guys that are married can imagine how the conversation went after you've been gone for a week. "It's about time you finally got home! I've had the worst week of my entire life, this broke and that just stopped working. And, by the way, I ran out of this and that and you were nowhere around to take care of any of it! Did you hear what I said? What's wrong with you, why aren’t you answering me?" Do you know why Scripture doesn't tell us? It doesn't matter.
That brings us to verses 24-25, "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." That's a peculiar ending, right? Not at all, Luke is letting us know that after Zechariah finished his priestly duties, he went home and Elizabeth conceived. Why would she keep herself in seclusion for five months? Why isn't she running all over announcing to everybody she's pregnant right away? Let's be honest, besides the fact she's been barren all these many years, at her age, who would believe her anyway? At five months, she'd be showing and there's no way anyone could deny that she was pregnant!
That is what's important, the miracle of Elizabeth's pregnancy and the birth of John the Baptist, because that's where God's unfolding plan of salvation begins.
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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