Unexpected - Week 1

Introduction

Opening Story/Illustration: My sister used to work for a DVD rental store. Like a hometown version of blockbuster. One summer during college, I went home and a friend came with me. It’s a small town and there’s not a lot to do. So we would rent movies using my sister’s discount. We got really into a show called 24. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen it, but it’s a crazy show. There are 24 episodes in each season and each is an hour long. It’s supposed to show a real 24hr day in the life of a man named Jack Baur. He works for the governments counter terrorism unit. The show is really good at 2 things - Cliffhangers that will stress you out (Does the nuclear bomb go off? Find out next time!) and unexpected twists. I as so glad that we had the DVD’s and we didn’t have to wait until the next week to see what would happen. I would have been extremely stressed out waiting!

Series Set-Up: This morning, I want to start a new series. I want to set this series up by looking at a cliffhanger moment in the life of the nation of Israel and I want to talk about something that was unexpected. Over the next few weeks we want to say this, that God is an unexpected God. He is often different than we expect, better than we expect, and is working in ways that we do not expect.

Transition to the Text: The Christmas story is full of “unexpected” moments and the Christmas story is the resolution of a 400 year cliffhanger. The cliffhanger comes as the prophet Malachi pens what are the last words of the Old Testament.

Malachi writes to the jewish exiles who have returned to Israel and they have rebuilt the temple. It should be a glorious and grand story of redemption and God’s Faithfulness, but instead, there is a problem. The people have slidden into half-hearted worship. The priesthood, the people who are supposed to stand between the people and God, have become corrupted. The book of Malachi is a message to a backslidden people and a priesthood that has become corrupt and he ends his prophetic announcement of possible doom and a prediction that God is going to send someone, another prophet.

Malachi 4:5–6 ESV

5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

Malachi makes this prophetic announcement and then everything fades to black. 400 years without an official word from the Lord. To be sure, God was still speaking and working, but the golden age of Israel’s prophets was over and for 400 years we get no official “thus saith the Lord” type prophecy. So what will happen? Who is this man God is going to send? When will he arrive?

Text:

Luke 1:5–25 NLT

5 When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old. 8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. 10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying. 11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.” 18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” 19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20 But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” 21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. 22 When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary. 23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”

Transition to Points: I want to look at this story tonight and dive into just a few points.

Points

An Unexpected Couple

We are introduced to a married couple

They are good, righteous people.

They are old

They have no Children - Because she is barren and they are both old.

This couple is faithful to God

He is a priest

An Unexpected Promise

God has been silent for 400 years. No prophetic word has been given.

The Last Word God Spoke was a promise -

Notice who Malachi is talking about here? JOHN THE BAPISTS

God has been silent for 400 years. No prophetic word has been given.

God makes this prophetic statement and then waits 400yrs to fulfill it!

Imagine how the Jewish people felt - Perhaps the felt forgotten. Perhaps they felt abandoned. It had been 400 years!

The Last Word God Spoke was a promise -

An angel shows up to this man Zechariah.

Notice who Malachi is talking about here? JOHN THE BAPISTS

Malachi 4 ESV

1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. 4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. 5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

He is a righteous man

God makes this prophetic statement and then waits 400yrs to fulfill it!

An Unexpected Couple

The angel shows up while he’s faithfully serving.

Imagine how the Jewish people felt - Perhaps the felt forgotten. Perhaps they felt abandoned. It had been 400 years!

An angel shows up to this man Zechariah.

He is a righteous man

The angel shows up while he’s faithfully serving.

He gives him a promise - He’s going to have a son.

Waiting on God to come through can be a very difficult thing.

It’s so easy to get discouraged

An Unexpected Couple

He gives him a promise - He’s going to have a son.

Waiting on God to come through can be a very difficult thing.

It’s so easy to get discouraged

An Unexpected Mission

God gives unexpected promises to unexpected people so they might fulfill an unexpected mission.

Conclusion

Restate the Main Idea: God often shows up to unexpected people, in unexpected places, in unexpected ways.

So What?

Where has God been silent and you don’t feel like he’s actually working?

Where might you bee missing what God is doing because you didn’t expect it?

May I encourage you to read the Christmas story this week - spend time looking for the unexpected in it. Read it fresh - Like you haven’t heard it a million times. Put yourself in the shoes of the characters and feel what they felt and see what they saw.

Now What?

Let’s take some time to discuss this tonight.