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New Hope
Hungering to Know and Be Known
November 27, 2022
GFC
Introduction
Have you ever lost hope?
And I don’t mean hope about winning a game or something minor.
Have you waited a long, long time for something and finally given up completely?
You conclude it’s never going to happen.
You had hoped it would, but it seems that it never will.
Do you hunger for hope once again?
E.g.
Chronic sickness, praying for a loved one to come to Christ
Invite Corrina to come up and talk about her stomach pain in the late 90’s.
Today is the first Sunday of Advent.
That time of the year that we begin to focus on the coming of the Saviour.
Historically it is the time when the Christian church has remembered and focused on the period of time when the nation of Israel was waiting for the promised Messiah.
Patiently Waiting
Over a 1000-year time period, beginning with Moses, God had spoken through many different prophets.
The prophets, especially Moses, laid out clearly what it meant to follow God, brought messages from God for specific times, called people back to the worship of God, and warned the people of what would happen if they didn’t.
The people of God heard from God on a fairly regular basis.
However, by the time of the NT period, the last prophet in Israel, Malachi, had spoken 350-400 years before.
This was different.
God had never been that silent for so long.
It seemed as if the time of the prophets had come to an end.
But what was next?
Well, within the scriptures there were clear hints that some day God would send a Messiah, an anointed one, who would finally make everything right.
One of those passages was the very last part of the last prophet in Israel.
Turn to Malachi 4:4, 5. (read) – First – Be faithful and obey my laws.
Then Elijah will come to prepare the way of the Lord.
(Blank)
But 400 hundred years?
That’s a long time to wait.
You begin to wonder; “Will it ever come?”
They must at times have thought; “It’s hopeless by now.”
Now let’s enter into another story of waiting.
Turn to Luke 1:5-7 (read) (Blank)
Waiting.
Waiting for a child.
Waiting for a child that never came.
I imagine that when they were first married, they expected to have a child within the first 5 years of marriage.
5 years came and went, 10 years came and went.
15 years, 20 years, 30 years.
Maybe 40 years.
We don’t know how old they were, but we know that they were both well along in years, a Hebrew way of saying, they’re old.
We might say they were past their prime.
In any case the clock was ticking, and no child came.
They probably felt that God’s answer to their prayer was a loud, and clear NO.
It must have been a bitter pill to swallow.
In the Hebrew and surrounding cultures, to be barren was considered a disgrace.
Even much more than now.
Children were considered a blessing and so, in their minds, God had withheld a blessing.
To be childless was to be cursed by God.
Some of you know what I’m talking about.
You’ve waited for a long time for God’s answer to your prayer.
Nothing seems to happen.
You’ve lost hope.
You’ve waited for an answer and no answer comes.
Nada.
Zip.
Nuscht.
Do you get bitter?
Have you stopped believing God?
Have you given up?
A life of Obedience
And it’s not that Zechariah and Elizabeth have abandoned God.
They are described as upright and blameless.
These are the same words that are used to describe Job in the book of Job.
In spite of God not answering their prayers, they are living exactly like God has told the people of Israel to live the last time he spoke to them through Malachi.
They’ve obeyed God, they’ve followed God all their lives.
Waiting for the messiah to come.
400 years.
Waiting for a child.
30 years.
It’s hopeless.
When is God going to act?
Then comes the most incredible event of a priest’s life.
It was literally a once in a lifetime chance.
(Read v8,9) (Blank)
The Answer
You see, Zechariah hadn’t just been waiting for a child, he had been waiting for the opportunity to burn incense before God.
Think a hockey player waiting for a chance to play for the Stanley Cup, but far more significant.
You see, the odds were stacked against the average priest.
There were close to 20,000 priests in Israel.
There were 24 divisions, over 800 priests in each division.
Each division served in the temple 2 or 3 times a year.
If chosen, you only get to burn incense once in a lifetime.
Many were never able to burn incense.
Their number never came up.
They waited all their lives and never got the call.
But Zechariah’s number did! Finally, after years of waiting, Zechariah was chosen to burn incense.
Not only did his number come up to burn incense.
God finally broke the silence.
(Read 10-17) (Blank)
Wow! Can you imagine how surprised he was?
“He was startled and gripped with fear.”
But what is most amazing isn’t the angel, it’s the message!!
A son!! Their prayer has been heard.
It was not brushed off by God.
He did answer!!
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