The Story of God's Faithfulness
The Stories of Christmas • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
The stories in the Christmas narrative teach us some valuable life lessons.
1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,
Luke is the only Gospel that begins with the birth of John the Baptizer. (Purpose of his writing is found in )
2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.
Theophilus
His identity is unknown, however it is a proper name and “Most Excellent” suggests a man of some power. Some even suggest that it’s possible that Theophilus could be Luke’s publisher or possibly a follower of Luke’s writings. Though it’s not clear whether Theo was a believer, it’s obvious that he has received some instruction in the faith.
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 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. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 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. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 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.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
It’s important to remember as we dig into the Christmas narrative that it had been 400 years since God has spoken.
Lets put it into perspective … The year 1618
1618
The first colony in Jamestown, Virginia was only 11 years old
The pilgrims, the founders of Plymouth, MA wouldn’t arrive for another 2 years
The Declaration of Independence wouldn’t be signed for another 158 years
Not only did it seem as though God had been silent, but it was a very dark time …
1. God is at work in the darkness
1. God is at work in the darkness
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
Herod the Great
He was not “great” in character. He was cruel and viscious
“It was safer to be Herods pig that it was to be his son”
After hearing about the birth of Jesus and his inability to find and kill him, he ordered all boys under the age of two to be killed
“In the days of Herod” = “In the darkest and most evil days that men could remember”
With the birth of Jesus, God was getting ready to turn on the lights.
It has been over 400 years since the people have heard from God
If this was a Christmas movie, the camera turns from the darkness of Herod to the home of a man named Zechariah = “In the days of Herod … there was a priest named Zechariah” (Elizabeth … daughters of Aaron)
Zechariah & Elizabeth were devoted to the Lord
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.
Zechariah & Elizabeth - righteous & walking blamelessly (Not perfect but righteous)
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
For Jews, the absence of children was seen as a reproach—evidence of God’s judgment on a person’s sin. How hard it must have been for Zechariah, a spiritual leader in Israel, and Elizabeth, to keep on obeying God, keep on remaining consistent in their faith, and still bear the sentence of a life unacceptable.
Submitted to the word and will of God
Lesson: When you are doing all that God has asked you to do, and He still doesn’t respond to your prayers, Keep pressing on!
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Although culturally they lived in dark times & and personally they had no children, there names would be helpful to them …
Zechariah - “The Lord Remembers”
Zechariah - “The Lord Remembers”
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
If time permits read the entire Psalm (not in powerpoint)
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
psalm 121.1-8
Elizabeth - “The Oath of God” “my God is an oath or my God keeps His promises”
Elizabeth - “The Oath of God” “my God is an oath or my God keeps His promises”
When we are going through difficulties and hardships it hard not to say … Where is God? Why is He allowing me to go through this?
The reality is, however, that God often does his best work in the darkness!
He forces us to rely on Him
9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
He Produces Steadfastness in Us
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
He Prepares Us to Comfort Others
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Charles Spurgeon, who was well acquainted with trials, said:
None of us can come to the highest maturity without enduring the summer heat of trials. As the sycamore fig never ripens if it be not bruised, as the corn does not leave the husk without threshing, and as wheat makes no fine flour till it be ground, so are we of little use till we are afflicted. Why should we be so eager to escape such benefits? We shall have to wait with patience, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.” He waited to give grace to us; let us wait to give glory to him.
2. God is at work in unusual ways
2. God is at work in unusual ways
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
“While he was serving … he was chosen by lot”
The historian Josephus estimated that there was around 20,000 priests
The historian Josephus estimated that there was around 20,000 priests
This was a once in a lifetime event!
Zechariah didn’t know it, but God had been planning this day from the very beginning.
Zechariah and his family were going to be a part of God’s plan to offer salvation to the world.
What seemed like unexplainable silence was really God’s work of preparing Zechariah and Elizabeth for this incredible day.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
When God seems silent, Consider this …
(1) Noah worked on the arc for 100 years before it started to rain
(2) Abraham waited 25 years before his promised son Isaac was born
(3) Moses herded sheep in the wilderness for 40 years before God spoke to him in the burning bush
God’s Delay is not His Denial!
“All of God’s saints, if allowed to live long enough, are led into the wilderness.”
“All of God’s saints, if allowed to live long enough, are led into the wilderness.”
God works in unusual ways to man, but to God it is a planned way!
“The Lord works in Mysterious Ways” (Not found in the Bible)
Some ideas where this may have come from …
A hymn written by William Cowper in the 19th century that says, "God moves in a mysterious ways; His wonders to perform; He plans His footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm."
33 Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
God wants to give us understanding …
5 Evildoers do not understand what is right, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.
7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
Zechariah learned that not only does (1) God works in the darkness but (2) God works in unusual ways.
11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
luke 1.
12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
13 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.
It seems unlikely that Zechariah was praying for a son at the Golden Altar of Incense. First it would be a selfish need to be praying at that moment and second he and Elizabeth were both well advanced in years. (They probably had given up on that prayer a long time ago)
“your prayer has been heard” AND “your wife … will bear you a son”
Zechariah’s prayer - perhaps the same prayer as Simeon in chapter two …
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been 400 years since they last heard from God
1618
The first colony in Jamestown, Virginia was only 11 years old
The pilgrims, the founders of Plymouth, MA wouldn’t arrive for another 2 years
The Declaration of Independence wouldn’t be signed for another 158 years
The last words of God to be heard would be fulfilled in John the Baptizer
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.”
mal 4.
Zechariah’s son will fulfill this prophecy!
14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 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. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 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.”
Luke 1.14-
3. God is at work even when His servants doubt
3. God is at work even when His servants doubt
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
luke 1.
“Any chance of a sign?” (Doubting = we can find this encouraging)
19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
Zechariah’s sign …
20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
If we do not believe God’s promises, we shut our own mouths!
Zechariah & Elizabeth = The story of God’s Faithfulness!
(1) God is at work in the Darkness
(2) God Works in Unusual Ways
(3) God Works Even When His Servants Doubt
“God’s silence is how it feels, it’s not how it is.”
“God’s silence is how it feels, it’s not how it is.”
God is still working!
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
the lord
Later when the same angel (Gabriel) appears to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus …
37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”