The Immutability of Our God
Notes
Transcript
Good morning Church!
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Biblical Reference: Luke 1:57-80
So far, throughout this Gospel Journey, we have seen God finalizing His long-awaited promise unto Abraham. Through the Word of God, Israel has waited generations for the coming “Day of the Lord”! It has been thousands of years in the making, but today we begin to see this promise take life in the text. God is about to make good on His promise. These people were living in a day of prophetic fulfillment.
The A.I.M. of this text is to see that God is faithful. God’s Word, God’s Character, and God’s Heart never changes. They are consistent and reliable. Just as these people are going to witness the promise of God fulfilled, we too have seen the promises of God fulfilled in our day, and we will continue to see the promises of God fulfilled.
Why? God is immutable. Immutable simply means unchanging. God never changes. He is the same God today, as He was during the days of John’s birth.
Let’s see what He looked like then...
57 Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son.
58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.
59 So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias.
60 His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”
61 But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.”
62 So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.
63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled.
64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God.
65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea.
66 And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David,
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Context
Context
The time of Elizabeth’s pregnancy has come full term. John is delivered and as we could imagine, all of their family and neighbors are rejoicing with her. It was a time of celebration. Little did they know just how appropriate their celebration of John’s birth was.
On the eighth day, it was time for John to be circumcised, which was a commandment of God for all of Israel. It seems as if it was also customary to officially name the baby at this time. Seeing that most families would carry on names of their ancestors, the group of people present assumed Zacharias would be a fitting name. Zacharias was indeed the boys father, but he was also a notable priest who was highly respected by the people.
In contrast to this, Elizabeth tells them that boys name will be John instead. They were confused by this, because none of their ancestors carried that name. Just to be sure, they then turned to Zacharias to verify the babies name. Gabriel’s touch had still left Zacharias unable to speak so he asked for a tablet to write on and wrote, “His name is John.” They all marveled, but got the picture nonetheless.
It was at this time that Zacharias’ curse was lifted and his voice returned unto him. Verse 64 says:
64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God.
The verses following said that fear came upon all the people present because of what Zacharias said. I believe the words he spoke are those recorded in verses 68-79. That is the verses we are going to focus on today.
Before we begin to unpack this prophesy of Zacharias, we need to see what verse 67 says.
67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
Zacharias, upon receiving his voice back, was immediately filled with the Holy Spirit, and then began to speak. This means that these words came through Zacharias, but they came from God Himself. God spoke through this man concerning Himself.
What was God telling us about Himself?
Content
Content
His Presence
His Presence
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people,
The Holy Spirit makes it clear that God has visited His people. That’s a big statement. It has been over 400 years since anyone on the face of the planet has heard anything from God.
Verses 68-75 of this prophesy deal directly with the deliverance of God’s people as a whole. Verses 76-79 of this prophesy deal directly with John’s role within that deliverance.
Look with me at verse 78:
78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
The word translated as Dayspring is anatole. It literally means “the rising of light”. This word only appears 10 times in the Bible and 9 of those times, it is translated as “East”. Why East? What happens in the East? The sun rises in the East. The best illustration that can be used to fully capture the meaning of the word, is the rising of the sun. The dawn of the morning. What is the Holy Spirit saying here?
It’s a new dawn....it’s a new day!!
78 By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,
The light of God is among us. That light is about to rise before us and everywhere that light shines will be forever changed.
There has never been a dawning like this one. Many will be confused by it. Many others will be frightened by it. But there will be some who welcome it.
This light is pure and holy and everything it touches will be exposed for what it truly is. This light will penetrate the depths of your soul and bring to the surface those things hidden.
Some will attempt to escape it, but their escape will mean certain death. For in this light is life and only those who embrace it will experience what it means to truly live.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
So many people were being oppressed. They longed for purity and righteousness, but they were beaten down by a corrupted religious system. This system cared more about position, power, and prestige than it did about holiness, righteousness, and faithfulness.
God heard the cries of a broken people and decided to intervene. He did so by coming to earth Himself, in the presence of Jesus Christ the Son, to shine truth into the midst of corruption. He came to make crooked paths straight and to tear down the strongholds of corruption and deceit.
Notice what verse 68 said again:
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people,
Why did He visit His people? He visited them to redeem them!
Why did the dayspring from on high visit us?
79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
He came into a world of chaos and offered peace.
We too live in a day of chaos. We want to trust those who have been appointed over us, but we see corruption in the seats of power. They say they are working for the benefit of the people, but the people are still suffering while they continue to thrive.
Because of this corruption, the people are divided and now against one another. No one knows what to believe anymore. No one knows who to believe anymore.
Let me cast some hope into this dark and dreary situation. God has not changed. The message of the Gospel has not changed.
The light of God still shines into a world of darkness and nothing can suppress it. Worldly systems have attempted to highjack this light and claim it for themselves, but true light, true redemption, true deliverance only comes from the source, and that is God.
If you feel as if you are misunderstood; if you feel as if no one cares about you and you have been somehow lost to the world’s chaos; if you feel as if darkness has overtaken you....there is hope.
The presence of God is real. When you perceive this presence as truth, fully trust and believe in Him for your deliverance, and stop trying to suppress your faults and failures, you can experience a better life. You can be delivered. You can be redeemed.
Hallelujah!!!
Not only do we see God’s presence, we also see His power.
His Power
His Power
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David,
This verse tells us that God has raised up “a horn of salvation for us”. Horns, in the Bible, are used to represent power and kingship.
This Messiah will operate through the power of salvation. What exactly is the power of salvation?
The word salvation literally means “rescue” or “safety”. To be saved means that you have been rescued and brought unto safety.
Rescued from what? From the darkness that we just looked at in vs. 79.
Darkness is not a thing. Darkness is simply a word we use to describe the absence of light. Darkness is the natural state of things in God’s absence.
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Darkness was the natural state of this world until God’s presence moved within it. God then created the sun, the moon, and the stars. Why? To provide light into a dark world.
When you read the OT, you see that Israel prospered when they welcomed the presence of God. Whenever they moved away from God, they fell into sin. Darkness is used to illustrate evil and light is used to illustrate the holiness and righteousness of God.
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn it. Without God, it stands condemned already. He sent Jesus unto us to save us, to redeem us from the darkness that already filled our hearts.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Mankind had gotten so used to living in darkness that embracing the light of God was scary to them. They were afraid of what stepping into the light might mean for them. What changes would it bring? What sin might it expose?
Embracing the light of God meant stepping into the truth of God, and some people simply could not take that chance, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Those who are putting forth every effort to live for God have no shame in stepping into the light. Those who are committing evil deeds are afraid of the repercussions that might come from having their deeds exposed.
But let us remember the verse. It spoke of being rescued. It spoke of being brought to safety. Those who do not embrace the light of God are choosing to embrace the darkness and with that darkness comes the condemnation of God. To be condemned means to be judged.
Why will I be judged if I continue in darkness? Because God has showed you a better way. God has offered a free gift of grace. God has shown His love for you by making the ultimate sacrifice on your behalf. He gave Jesus, the prophesied Messiah, the perfect lamb of God, to be offered up on our behalf that our sin might be forgiven.
Jesus willingly stepped into the darkness that completely envelops your life. Then He willingly placed Himself in between you and the powers of that darkness. He stood toe-to-toe with the king of darkness, Satan himself. He went to war on your behalf, even to the point of death. But even in death they could not defeat Him. Three days later he arose from the dead and claimed victory over sin and the darkness of it.
That is the power of salvation. It is the power of light over darkness. When you turn on the light, darkness has to flee. Darkness and light cannot reign together. Darkness only exists in the absence of light.
That light has come into the world and that light wants to fill your heart. Yes, it will expose sin. Yes, it will bring about some change. Yes, it will cost you some things.
But let me be the first to tell you....It is worth it all. What is the ultimate reality of stepping into the light? Let me show you!!!
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
That is the power of salvation. It allows you to be reborn…as a child of God.
His Prophets
His Prophets
Why did God want us to see His prophets? Because He spoke through them of this exact time that would take place. He wanted the people to know that His plan had never changed. He had not forgotten them. He wanted them to believe in mighty power of His word. He is the God of eternity.
Not only had he spoken through prophets in times past, but he was raising another in their day. His name would be John.
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
John was called to prepare the way of the Lord. He would preach that salvation was coming. He would prepare the hearts for the Messiah.
God chooses certain people in life to bring about certain things according to His will. He has chosen me to preach this word to you this day. He has chosen other people to get you here. You are not here by mistake for God does not make mistakes.
You are here today, because God wants you to hear of His love for you. He wants you to hear that He never changes. He is the same God today as He was for Zacharias and Elizabeth and for John. God never changes. This salvation Zacharias spoke of, who was also prophesying if you remember, is still available today, but that too has not changed.
It only comes with a full surrender unto Jesus as Lord and King.
His Protection
His Protection
71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us,
Jesus paid the ultimate price not just that you might be saved, but that you should be forever secure. The darkness of this world used every weapon in its arsenal against Jesus and failed.
He who saves you, will keep you safe. In the arms of Jesus, you are forever saved. Salvation comes with an assurance. It is an assurance of the keeping power of Jesus.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Once we are rescued through the power of salvation, we are kept by that same power. The same light that drives out the darkness, keeps it at bay. God works through genuine faith, real faith, to keep those who have truly trusted in Him with every fiber of their being.
In this sustaining power of God comes rejoicing.
Peter continues:
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
The end of genuine faith is the salvation of your soul, through the mighty hand of God.
His Promise
His Promise
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
For thousands of years, God had been working on this very moment. Only God could explain how and why such time needed to elapse to unfold this promise, but He fulfills it nonetheless.
God’s word can be trusted for His heart never changes. God stays true to His promises. God accomplishes that which He has spoken.
6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
God presence can be trusted. God’s power can be trusted. God’s prophets can be trusted. God’s protection can be trusted. God’s promises can be trusted.
When we come to realize that God can be trusted with our life and fully embrace the light of God, praise unto His holy name is the result.
Our Praise
Our Praise
74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
Once we embrace the light of God and see Him for who He is, all fear and doubt is driven from our hearts. We are freed from the chains that once held us back. We are embraced with the power of God, through the light of God, to now live a life with meaning and purpose.
Before, we stumbled through life in darkness. When you are walking in darkness, you cannot tell where you are going, where you have been, or even attempt to have some type of direction in your life. When walking in darkness, you walk around aimlessly.
But when you begin to walk in the light, now you can have a plan in place. Now you can have some type of direction. Now you can walk with purpose.
The light of God, and the truth that it brings, adds perspective to our lives that was missing before. It allows us to see life for what it really is. Our existence is given unto us for mere purpose of bringing glory to an Almighty God, nothing more and nothing less.
For those embrace that truth, life becomes the most amazing experience ever. For those who deny that truth, they seek purpose in so many other worldly things…all with the same result. They are left empty, broken, and lost in darkness.
Living our lives in a manner worthy of Almighty God is the best means of bringing Him praise. It is through our life that we truly show Him value and worth.
Commitment
Commitment
Would you bow your heads with me?
I want to start with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Who is struggling right now in your walk with the Lord? Who feels as if you are distant from God and you can’t hear His direction anymore? Who has not been pouring your life into your relationship with Him and therefore you are living out your life for God to the fullest?
Maybe there are some of you who are still walking in darkness. You have heard of this light of God, but you have never fully embraced it. Maybe, as the Scriptures said, you are afraid of doing so because of what it might bring to the surface. Regardless of the reason, if that’s you would you raise your hand?