Transformation Through Advent: Elizabeth

God can and will transform circumstances and individuals to bring glory to His name.

If you read the beginning of the book of Luke, you are exposed to many significant details regarding the birth of Christ. This year, in the three weeks leading up to Christmas, we are going to highlight three stories: Elizabeth (The mother of John), Mary (the mother of Jesus) and The Shepherds.

With each of these stories, we are specifically looking at the work of God.

Now, regardless of how familiar you are with this story, today’s message should have filled you in with some key details:

Luke 1:7 ESV

But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

Elizabeth and Zechariah were an older couple who were unable to have children.

Luke 1:13 ESV

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 shall call his name John.

They were told through angelic visitation that they would have a child

English Standard Version Chapter 1

he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared

Finally, the child would carry the great purpose of “preparing the way for the coming Lord”.

This is one of two very significant birth narratives that Luke begins his gospel with. Elizabeth is an amazing example of what God is bringing forth through the birth of Christ.

Why was important for Luke to include this story into the overall narrative of Christ?

When we look at the history of the nation of Israel, there are some significant parallels to be drawn. Think about it- A couple who is “advanced in years” and had never been able to have a child who, out of the blue, receive a promise from God that they will have a child.

This is almost verbatim the story of Abram and Sarai.

If you go back to Genesis and read the origin of the nation of Israel (starting in v.12), you will quickly see that God was establishing a nation that would be set apart to not only be blessed, but to serve as a blessing by helping people see and experience God.

A key moment in the God’s redemption plan for humanity.

So in this moment, we can guess that Luke is trying to tell us something. Pay attention to the parallels because they are not just coincidence. Just as God miraculously worked through one couple’s ianbility to have children to establish a way for people to be reuinited with God, so He was doing again.

Although the outcome isn’t the exact same, we need to take Luke’s hint that something significant is coming. This time, rather than establishing a nation, God Himself would be coming to earth to ultimately conquer death and remove the barriers that stand between human and God.

So here you have a significant transition into a new era of salvation history by a means that would be eerily familiar to what had been seen before.

Let’s talk about Elizabeth.

Her and her husband were normal people. They were living a faithful life, and everything that they knew was completely turned upside down. And the best part of all of this is that God was re-shaping someone’s reality so that He could further His will.

Although we won’t see this exact thing happen, but what you can be sure of is that you will be used to further God’s Kingdom on Earth by accomplishing His Will.

So what are some lessons that we can take from Elizabeth’s transformation journey?

Elizabeth aimed to please God in all areas of life

Luke 1:6 ESV

And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

Before we get into the details of the angelic visit that announced the birth of John the Baptist, we learn an important detail about his parents. Luke provides us with quite the first impression- They are:

-Righteous before God

-Blameless

-Follow the statues and commandments of the Lord

When you read this, the wording here is so important, because one of the things that Luke hilights in His gospel is genuine righteousness vs. Superficial.

In Luke 18, we are told of a Pharisee (one who seeks to appear righteous) and a tax collector (One who is anything but). The Pharisee, in a very public prayer does the equivalent of grandstanding before God, thanking Him that he is better than those around him. The tax collector, on the other hand, approaches God with a contrite heart essential saying “I am a sinner in need of mercy.” It is here that we get the ever-important Kingdom vaLue:

Luke 18:14 (ESV)

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

So if one was to be righteous before God- then they would have to align with the tax collector, right? We know through constant repetition in the word that there is such importance in humility. We need to see our need for mercy and to cry out to God as he gives freely.

And this is the profile of Elizabeth and Zechariah. Why is that important?

They were not described as perfect, but they were seen as blameless before God, which is a fundamental need for transformation. This small, yet descriptive line reveals to us what God is looking for.

There is a line, although given as a rebuke, in 2 Chronicles 16:9

2 Chronicles 16:9 (ESV)

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.

God is always watching out for men and women to further His Kingdom. The perfect starting point if you want to be used by God is to open yourself up to mercy and follow through with obedience. To aim for righteousness and blamelessness.

So- from that, we come to see that the stage was set- but the next portion of the text tells us that there was a massive obstacle.

Elizabeth’s greatest challenge became the primary vehicle of blessing.

Luke 1:7 ESV

But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

Like I’ve already commented on, this is a familiar predicament in scripture. Something interesting about this text is that barrenness was often viewed as a curwe. Many believed that if a woman was barren, then God was angry with them and inflicting some form of punishment on them.

This is why it is so important to understand who Elizabeth and Zechariah were.

A couple who were called out as righteous were found out to be suffering. Their inability to bear children could easily have been mis-perceived as an indictment on their character and brought shame upon them… but that isn’t the case here.

There are two things at play here- first and foremost- God can most definitely use our greatest obstacles and challenges in life as vehicles for blessing.

Jesus gives a helpful explanation to moments like this when he heals a blind man. Upon meeting him, his disciples ask “who sinned to cause this man to suffer?” Jesus’ reply:

John 9:3 ESV

Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

Sometimes, we just want to settle for the quickest answer, don’t we? But Jesus helps us realize that we can’t be too quick to associate suffering with His wrath. There are many reasons that we don’t understand about God, but we have to accept that anything- even our greatest challenges in life can be used to further reveal His glory to the world.

The other interesting reality at play here is that the source of blessing would actually be saving the world from the greatest curse that they were under- that is the curse of sin. This leads us to our final realization

Elizabeth’s blessing was beyond personal.

Rarely do we understand the scope of our experiences. When it comes to Elizabeth’s story, we would sorely undersell it if we said that in the end, she gets the baby that she had always longed for and lived happily ever after in her single family detached home.

Her son, John was going to be a man of great purpose.

Luke 1:15–17 ESV

for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel 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 to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

You see, this son carried a purpose that went Far beyond making a couple of people happy. It wasn’t about their private dreams coming true. That’s not to say that they didn’t come true, but when we enter into the story of transformation, we have to realize that God’s picture is much larger in scope than our own.

When you look at the story of John the Baptist, he fulfilled exactly what was prophesied about Him.

Luke 1:76 ESV

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

This really brings us full circle to Abram and Sarai and their original promise from God. Yes God promised to bless them, but there was always this accompanying responsibility that they would become a blessing.

And that is an essential truth of being transformed by God

You no longer exist for you

Instead, you are brought in to this greater story where you hold more significance than you ever had, but the requirement is that you look and act beyond yourself.

The Christian journey forces us to see that God is looking out for creation at large. That includes you- but is not exclusive to you.

Don’t be surprised that when you begin to look beyond yourself, that God brings you satisfaction in ways that you could have never comprehended before.

Elizabeth: From Barrenness to Blessing

So with Elizabeth, we see the transformation from being barren and “advanced in years” to being the Miraculous mother of the one responsible for preparing the way for Jesus.

I find that when I read these stories, I think “what do I need to do to get to this point?

Two things are clear When i ask that: 1. There will not be another John the baptist. 2. I will never experience the miracle of bearing a child.

However, that doesn’t discount the fact that there isn’t work to be done for the Kingdom of God. We may not share in the exact same experience, but through Elizabeth’s journey of transformation we see that:

We can prepare ourselves to be used by God by prioritizing righteousness in our lives.

We can understand that God uses all things for His glory, and rather than feeling defeat in our challenges, we say “use this for your glory, Lord”

We shift our priorities from ‘what’s in it for me” to “how can I be a blessing to others”

It;s no secret that God uses the most unlikely candidates to accomplish His will. So why do we doubt that He wants to work through us. I look at this room and I see stories upon stories that aren’t finished yet, and I can’t help but think… what does God want to do through us?

What I know is that although we can’t control how he works, we sure can make ourselves available to Him.

As we conclude this morning, I’d like You to re-ignite your imagination. Regardless of what it is, use me Lord.