The Time... The Right Time!
Notes
Transcript
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
This is a phrase used greatly around this time of year. Being a geek about words and their meanings I was slightly surprised this week when I realized I had not taken time to look into the root meanings of this simple yet powerful phrase so many state.
Christ - mas:
CHRIST: comes from the Greek word Christos which was translated from the Hebrew word: mashiyach, meaning “the anointed” gradually became a title for the Promised Savior-King Messiah
MAS: has Latin roots referring to the last part of a service meaning (BEING SENT or HAS BEEN SENT)
MERRY: simply means giving pleasure or declaration of pleasure or joy
To give definition to MERRY CHRISTMAS would then be: It is a pleasure to declare the Messiah has been sent!
With that I want to invite you to celebrate Merry Christmas and consider the invitation we have been given in God’s Word…
The Invitation
The Invitation
In order to condense this invitation down for you we will look at three parts
The Time
The Place
The Event
Understand that the invitation is for you… John 3:16 says that “God loved the world”, 2 Peter 3:9 declares that “God desires that none should perish but that all come to repentance”.
By the way… the invitation is not to a surprise celebration. God knew when and what He was going to do… and so did a lot of others. The sad fact is that many chose to disregard the invitation to join the celebration, the gift given, … THEY MISSED IT!
I pray today as we look at (THE TIME… THE RIGHT TIME!) that we will not miss what God is inviting you and I to share in, to be a part of. I pray we that this season of joy we can truly declare MERRY CHRISTMAS! Now… let’s look at THE TIME
The Time… The Right Time
The Time… The Right Time
In Romans 5:6 we see He came at the “RIGHT TIME” and He came for you and me…
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
In Galatians 4:4-5 that there was a plan made, and His time would allow for our redemption!
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
God stepped into our messy world and we did not deserve it!!!… while we were helpless so He came to HELP!
It was in those days that we read in Luke 1:5-12 this narrative...
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and 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 appointed order of his division, according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer 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. Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.
We are going to be looking at the events of this man by the name of Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth:
He is a priest
This couple is considered righteous in the sight of God
I am so glad God is watching!
God will work a miracle
In the end this priest will prophesy and praise God…
BUT FIRST! Let’s rewind and go back 400 years… back to THE PROPHETS!
The Prophets
The Prophets
The prophet Malachi would be the last to delare the word of the Lord … Holman- “Malchi rebuked God’s people for specific violations of the covenant, such as laws concerning sacrifices, divorce, and tithes, but he also prophesied the coming of the Messenger who will set things right.”
At first glance it would appeared God had been silent or forgotten for 400 years after sending Malachi to the people and declaring His promise...
Feelings of forgotten as a nation
Zacharias forgotten as a priest (will God speak again?)
Elizabeth forgotten as she is barren no children
When in reality, God had not forgotten, but was DOING what he promised!
Malachi 3:1 declare what God will do in the coming future...
“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.
The world stage had to be set… made ready for His Messenger who would come:
Daniel had prophesied the things that would occur before the Messiah would come
Alexander the Great would come in… create one language Greek
Eventually Rome would take over the world… roads being developed for transportation!
God had not forgotten… On the contrary, He was remembering His promise, fulfilling His Word! In fact His promises… THE PROMISE goes all the way back to the beginning!
God’s Promise
God’s Promise
Go Back to creation and we read Genesis 1:1 “in the beginning God...”
HE HAD A PLAN,
HE KNEW THE TIME
… and HE TOLD US
Verses 3-5 God creates time! (Day 1) Knowing one day He would step into the restrictions of time
Verses 14-19 He creates the sun moon and stars…
God is a God of order… when He breathed out the stars and set orbits He made sure there would be a star to declare to gentile wisemen the Son of God has come!
He knew the moment He would breath His last on the cross as an eclipse darkened the earth.
Verses 9-13 recount the third day when God brought about vegetation and trees… knowing one day the exact tree that He caused to grow knowing He would hang on it after it was cut down and fashioned into a cross.
Genesis 3:15 The Seed of the woman would deliver a death blow to Satan
Genesis 12:3 Through Abraham’s seed all men would be blessed
God’s blessing of promise is passed from Jacob to his son Judah in Genesis 49:10 Indicating the One to come would be royal, a ruler King.
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
From the line of Judah comes a man who was anointed king by the name of David… in 2 Samuel 7:16 and God Promises this...
“Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”
As we have been seeing in the PROPHETS...
Moses, Isaiah, Daniel, Malachi, Micah, Zechariah, Psalmist, Jeremiah, Hosea, and as we will see His forerunner… the last of the prophets (JOHN THE BAPTIZER)
God did NOT forget… He had been working all along in even the smallest of details! NOW… back to Luke…
Take God at His Word!
Take God at His Word!
Zacharia a priest would know what the prophets had stated but that was soooo long ago.
Selected to go in and offer incense (prayers) to God… Usually on behalf of the people of Israel
Now fear grips him as an angel stands before him...Luke 1:13-17
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. “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 drink no wine or liquor, 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. “It is he who will go as a forerunner 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, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
I don’t think this man was praying for a son… too old.
Praying for the people, feeling forgotten, feeling the oppressions of the Romans, whatever it was GOD HEARD!
Wow! the angel states the Zacharias’ son will fulfill the prophecy of Malachi
Your son will prepare for the Promised Messiah
It Is Time! The Messiah is coming!!!
What God says WILL HAPPEN!
I appreciate what Moody says about this passage...” Zacharias ought to have been focusing on the divine “promise” of the message, not the human “problems” of the message.”
Do you doubt God due to human limitations?
The Promise of the scriptures was being fulfilled and this is Zacharias’ response… Luke 1:18-20
Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.” The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been 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.”
Several lessons here:
Be careful when you ask God to prove it or for a sign!
This was good news, not intended to create a problem but to solve “man’s problem”
God has a time table and a plan, He is NEVER late and always stays true to His Word
God’s Deserves Praise
God’s Deserves Praise
“ His Name is John”
These are the words Zacharias would write on a board for the questioning crowd…
Wait a minute… Zacharias, he’s not going to carry your name?
NO this baby boy would carry something much greater… the message that the Messiah has come repent!
Look at the people’s response to all they heard and had seen… Luke 1:65-66
Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.
His Faith to obey and listen loosed his tongue… Zacharias answers their questions begins to prophesy for all there to hear and share! Luke 1:67-79
And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant— As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old— Salvation from our enemies, And from the hand of all who hate us; To show mercy toward our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Who Knew!?
Who Knew!?
Prophecy of the OT
Zacharias’ words declared at the birth of his son John
His son John would declare and prepare all his life
Imagine the priest that heard Zacharias share of what the angel had told him
People in Nazareth as Mary and Joseph share the baby is born of the Holy Spirit!
The people in Bethlehem as the shepherds shared with them all about Jesus and the angels
Now in Jerusalem, in the temple… Simeon and Anna told he would not die before seeing the Christ (Messiah)
Anna speaking of Jesus to ALL who were looking to the redemption!
Soon… even Herod will know and his courtroom along with the scribes!
And now you know the time of His coming…
How will you respond? Luke is setting the stage here for his readers… soon he will jump 30 years ahead.
Israel was made aware, but life goes on
Give me something fresh, amazing, the baby born in a manger is old news…
Well through that baby,Jesus the Christ, would come salvation…and the invitation is for ALL
God prepared this for All peoples (not hidden!)
It is a pleasure to declare the Messiah has been sent!