Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction to Series:
Introduction to today’s message:
What can we learn about Zechariah’s encounter with God’s Angel that can help us live confidently as a believer in Christ?
Living right does not mean life is easy.
Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth “were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord” (Luke 1:6).
Faithfulness.
They had no children (problem/need).
People believed that God would bless faithful servants by giving them children.
Leon Morris, Luke: An Introduction and Commentary, vol.
3, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 85.
Due to their age, it was impossible for them to have children.
You can be faithful to God—but that does not mean you will not face impossibilities.
What did Zechariah do: he prayed.
This leads us to a second lesson:
Praying for something does not mean that you are ready to receive.
Zechariah offered incense and prayer in the Temple (possibly praying for the redemption of Israel).
An angel of the Lord appeared before Zechariah in the Temple.
Zechariah was terrified at the sight.
The angel declared: “Do not be afraid…for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son” (Luke 1:13).
His prayer would be answered—and...
His wife would give birth to a son (who’s name will be John (God is gracious).
Zechariah’s response: He told the Angel why this could not be!
God’s plans are more important than your plans.
Since Zechariah and his wife were faithful to God, I am convinced that he fulfilled his responsibilities in the Temple honorably.
But the story emphasizes the fact that this couple had no children.by
In that day and age, children were a sign of God’s favor and blessing.
For God, however, his plan centered on the salvation of people.
The purpose for the promise of a son, was to serve as a forerunner, an announcer to the coming of the Messiah.
Yes, Zechariah and Elizabeth would be blessed (miraculously so), but the emphasis is a blessing to the whole world.
Our prayer life needs to mature, with a focus on God’s redemptive Will, more than our comfort and happiness.
That is the kind of prayer we can know without a doubt is God’s will.
Final lesson:
Grace and rebuke work together to strengthen a believer’s faith.
Zechariah struggled to believe in the words given by the Angel of the Lord.
In the Angel’s response, he both issued a rebuke of Zechariah’s unbelief, but also demonstrated God’s grace that he would be able to seek again (when the prayer would be answered).
There are consequences to faithlessness.
But there is God’s amazing grace that gives hope.
The prayer is answered!
Conclusion
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