SPEAKER_00 0:00

to start and just apologize to anybody that was offended last week when Antley was speaking. They're laughing. Anybody that was offended when Antley was preaching last week and he misrepresented the prime directive from Star Trek. Um, I know. Trekkies out there, I want you to know. It's okay. He knows his Bible better than he knows Star Trek. How many emails did you get about that? I know you got at least one. You know, just doing my part, just doing my part. Okay. This morning, you know, usually I have a good sense of what the message is going to be, hopefully by Sunday morning. I know what God, you know, what specific things I believe God wants to say. And this morning, the only thing that I know that God has is the Scripture that we're going to look at this morning. And I believe that, as we believe as a church, that Scripture is powerful, that the Word of God transforms lives, and that One person is going to hear it, and it's going to speak into their circumstances. Someone else is going to hear it, and it's going to speak into their circumstances. And I don't know what God has this morning. I don't know what you're going through that God's going to speak into, but I'm confident of this, that this scripture is scripture that God wants to use this morning to be able to speak into our lives. And so let me just pray, and I'll introduce it. Lord, we pray that you would accomplish that. God, that you would speak to us through your scriptures this morning. Lord, that our hearts would be open to hear what it is that you have for us. And we thank you that you have given us your word, that you have chosen to reveal who you are and who we are as much as you can in the Bible, Lord. We thank you for that, and we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. So I'm going to take a look at a scripture that comes from the first chapter of Luke. And this is before Jesus is born. And there's a guy named Zachariah. Zachariah was the father of John the Baptist. And he's one of about 18,000 priests of Israel. And so there's all these different priests out there. And basically, you know, they're serving the community all over Israel. But there's two times a year that they go and they serve in the temple. in Jerusalem for a week each time. But there's so many priests, they have to draw lots to find out who's going to get the privilege of being able to go into the Holy of Holies and to be able to offer prayers on behalf of the people. And so literally, it's like a once-in-a-lifetime thing. If you draw the lot and you have the opportunity to be able to go in there. And that's what happens on this day, Zechariah. He goes in and he actually gets to make... prayers on behalf of his people. He gets to burn incense. And while he's in there, he's visited by the angel Gabriel. And Gabriel tells him that his prayers for a child have been answered. He's been praying for this, but they're old in years. His wife is barren. They're unable to have children, but they've been praying for this. And then the angel tells them, it's going to happen. You're going to have a son. This is going to happen. And not only are you going to have a son, but he's going to be an exceptional son, that he's going to usher in the Lord, that he's going to do something spectacular, that he's going to be filled with the Holy Spirit from his birth. He's going to be this special person. And Zachariah, this priest, this man of God, this person who's been praying, doesn't believe it. Like, no, really? Really? To the angel, he says, I don't know if I, how do I know this is real? How do I know this is really going to happen? And so he doubts. And Gabriel says, I'll tell you what, I'm going to give you time to think about it. And basically, he's mute from then on. He says, you're not going to be able to say a word until all of this comes to completion. So this happens to Zachariah and he comes out and everybody's waiting. Literally, they're all outside of the temple. Only one priest is allowed to go in and do this. So they're all waiting for him. And typically the priest comes out, you know, this incredible experience and they say a blessing and they, you know, speak about, you know, God or something. He comes out, he can't, he can't say anything. Some people say that he was not just mute, but he was also deaf. So when he comes out, he's, you know, a wreck. And they see this, and he's, you know, signing to them and trying to show them that he had this incredible experience and this vision. And they know something has happened. But anyways, so he spends the next nine months or so unable to speak. And just a lot of time thinking about what he could have said differently. Now, Gabriel told him that you're going to name this son John. And that has some special significance because the name of the child should have been a family name. It should have been Zachariah or it should have been his father's name. There was no John. So when it actually comes time to name the child, the family is kind of having a little bit of an argument. The people around them are saying, because the wife knows that he wants to name the son John, and so there's this little argument that's breaking out. And finally, Zachariah gets something and he writes down, the child's name is John. And at that moment, everything is complete. Everything that Gabriel said would happen has happened, and he's set free, and he's now able to speak. And this is what he says. This is what I want to look at this morning. He actually sings this song. He's filled with the Holy Spirit, and he sings this song, which is a prophecy. So I'm going to sing it for you this morning. They're like, no, please. This is Luke 1, starting in verse 67. His father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. So here he is, this priest who doubted. He's filled with the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit moves on him and gets him to speak this incredible prophecy about what Jesus was about to accomplish, about the ministry and the mission of Jesus Christ. It's incredible. There's so much to it. That's why I have no idea what God has for us this morning, but it's awesome. His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, Praise be the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. As he said through his holy prophets of long ago, Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. To show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham. One thing that we can pick out right away that I believe God has for some of us this morning is that God's promises are true. Something that I would imagine Zachariah reflected on a lot. That everything that God says, when he says that he's going to do something, he's going to do it. That his promises are true. For some of us, we doubt. We have such a hard time We doubt that the things that I read about who I am in Christ and what God has done for me and what does that mean for, can God really use me? We doubt that his promises are true. In Zechariah, in this song, not only are God's promises true, but he's so adamant about making sure that he is true to his word, that he's willing to come down himself and make it happen. And the scripture there, it says that he came, that God has come and redeemed his people. So adamant that this scripture, that this truth, that this promise that he made, that it would actually be accomplished, that he himself came and made it happen. Some of us this morning need this reminder that what he has said, what he has said in his word, what he has promised us in his word, what he has promised us in our prayers, in our passions, in our purposes, in the things that God speaks to us in so many different ways, the things that he has told us, we can rest assured that they are true, that God will see them through. I was thinking about for myself... This probably ministers to me a lot right now because on Monday, tomorrow, tomorrow,

UNKNOWN 8:53

my gosh,

SPEAKER_00 8:54

my son is going to kindergarten. Yeah. But it's not funny. You can laugh. For me, I'm freaking out. Like he's going to walk into that school. I'm going to see his little Star Wars backpack.

UNKNOWN 9:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

And it marks the end of a season. It marks the end of a time where, I mean, I'm a stay-at-home dad. Okay, I'm not exactly a stay-at-home dad. I don't do any of the work involved with being a stay-at-home dad. I'm a work-at-home dad. But, you know, I get to walk out of my office and, you know, my kids are there and, you know, and take a break and then I get to go back and do some more work and, You know, that time has ended. Tommy's now going to be looking to school, and the school board's going to tell me when I can take my kid to Disney World. How crazy is that? You know, like, for me, okay? Can I just get it all out there? I need to remember the promises of God. Just like Zachariah is recounting the things that God has done, I need to remember, man, that God is good and that God is going to take care and that God is going to provide. Whew, that's hard. Releasing our children, our high schoolers, going to college. I mean, the same kind of idea of just having to rest in promises, the promises of God. What is it in your life? What promises have you heard? What has God told you? that you're waiting for, that you're waiting to see it come to fruition. The song of Zechariah this morning, I think, encourages us that his promises are true. They may not happen in the time that we think or that we want, but his promises are true. Okay, he goes on to say, He just said the oath he swore to our father Abraham to rescue us from the hand of our enemies and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. Think about that. The mission and the ministry of Jesus, that Jesus is accomplishing this ministry of God to rescue us from the hand of our enemies and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness from him alone. Before him all our days. God has delivered us from our enemies. This prophecy that's being sung by the Holy Spirit through Zachariah reminds us that he's done that. That in Christ, we have been delivered from our enemies. And at the time, it's funny because you go and you look at it and everybody that hears this, Zachariah, everybody that's around him, even when people are following Jesus, they're thinking that the enemies that were being delivered from were the Romans,

UNKNOWN 11:53

right?

SPEAKER_00 11:55

That there were some earthly struggles that were going to be dealt with, but they didn't realize that only we would realize later in the writings of like Paul, where we would see that our struggle is not with flesh and blood, but spiritual

UNKNOWN 12:09

struggle.

SPEAKER_00 12:09

that there are forces at work for our destruction, forces at work, the power of sin in our life. These enemies are going to be dealt with once and for all. In another place in Scripture, it says that Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan, destroy those spiritual forces. Zechariah reminds us that he has rescued us. In Christ, we are rescued from the hand of our enemies. The kingdom of God, the rulership of God has broken through and these things no longer hold power over us. Many of us are familiar with the concept that we've been freed from the eternal consequences of our sin. That we've been free from the eternal effects of what we've done. That we know that God has forgiven us in Christ and that we receive that and all that kind of stuff. But you know what we need to be reminded of? We're not just free from the consequences of sin, we're free from the power of sin. Our enemies no longer have any hold over us. We have been set free from the power of sin and death in Christ. This morning, some of us need that encouragement. Some of us find ourselves in those battles. We find ourselves in those fights. And we need to remember that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ. That he has accomplished the victory. Okay, Zachariah goes on and he says, well, in this, there's so much here. He says, to rescue us from the hand of our enemies and to enable us to serve him without fear. No longer are we going to have to serve God out of fear. No longer should there be a fear of retribution. I need to serve God because otherwise something bad might happen. I need to do this or I need to do that. Otherwise something bad might happen. Our service now comes from a place of freedom, a place of love. We can serve him out of love. I like the way the message says it. It says so we can worship him without a care in the world. God has removed all obstacles from our ability to worship him, to serve him, to know him. This is significant for us this morning because we continue down this path of fear. Maybe we're afraid that God can't use us because of our brokenness. Maybe we're afraid that that God can't use us. Maybe we're afraid of whatever. All these different things that come at us as fear, we have been set free from that. We can serve him without fear in Christ, and we need to be reminded of that. We see that in this. Just like Antley said last week, we've been set free from fear, and we can step out in boldness to become what God has created us to be. I think about that with the small group fair next week. And people, you know, I don't know, can God really use me to lead a small group? I'm afraid. What's going to happen? What's going to happen? Who's going to show up? Is anybody going to show up? Am I going to say anything wrong? All these kind of fears that play into it. We have been set free from that fear. We can rest assured in God, in Christ. Everything that he said is going to happen through us, that God can use us. We can serve him without fear. Okay. In holiness and righteousness before him all our days. This too is incredible. What God is going to accomplish, what God has accomplished in Christ is that we are set free to be able to serve him in holiness and righteousness. Everything that's required for us to be able to serve him has been given to us. We don't have to work for holiness. We don't have to work for righteousness. It's been given to us in Christ. It is a gift. It's something that we receive. It's something that we live out. That's a totally different paradigm than previously. Think about that for a moment. Everything, everything that's been required for right relationship, for right living with God, for right relationship with him, to be able to seek him out. We don't have to wait for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to go into the Holy of Holies and meet with God. The holiness and righteousness required for that has been given to us. Totally outside of our own merit, it's a gift. Grace. Blessed. At one point, Jesus says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. For those of us who are working so hard to get right with God. Those of us who are working so hard to to impress God with us, to get to the point where he can accept us. Jesus says, blessed are you because the ministry of Jesus is that you have been accepted. That righteousness that you so hunger for, that right relationship that you so desperately need has been given to you, not because of your own effort, but because of God's love for you. Because of the work of Jesus, that's what frees us to be able to receive that, that holiness, that righteousness. Paul would later say in his letters to the Corinthians that we're the righteousness of God, that we are the righteousness of God in Christ, that he has become our righteousness, our holiness, our redemption. Maybe some of us this morning, that's what we need to hear, that it would bring rest, rest to our souls that are working so hard. Jesus is our holiness and our righteousness. Okay, and he goes on. starting in verse 76. And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High. So he's talking specifically about John the Baptist at this point. And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him. to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins because of the tender mercy of our God by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the path of peace. The final encouragement from the song of Zachariah is that the gospel, that the good news of the ministry of Jesus, the good news of what he's accomplished for us, that it is light for our feet, and that it will guide us into the path of peace. And the picture, the word picture that's painted for us in that is of a world cloaked in darkness and death, desperate for someone to lead it into light and life. And for Zachariah, this rescue mission is the mission of Messiah, of Christ, of Jesus. Some of us this morning, we don't know where we're going. Some of us, we're in the place of darkness. We're in that place of not really knowing what's God got for me next. Where am I supposed to go? I'm willing to do it. Where? What do I need to do? And this morning, the encouragement, I believe, is that the gospel is the thing that we look to that shines light. It shines light on our path. The key to knowing the path of peace is seeing things under that light, under the light of these truths that we're talking about, that we read about. And the good news, seeing ourselves in light of the gospel. Seeing our struggles, seeing our fears, seeing our successes, our failures. Seeing it all in light of the good news that we just read. And the good news of the ministry and the mission of Jesus exposed in the gospel. This morning, I hope this scripture encourages you. I would really, man, there's so much to this. I would encourage you to read it, to go back and to reflect on the promises and the goodness of God in the gospel. This is one of the most succinct scriptures that describes the purpose of the gospel and what God has accomplished for us. Let me pray for us. God, I pray that you would penetrate us this morning with your good news, Lord, that you would break through in our lives, that you would speak to us. God, right now, that you would speak to us, that you would encourage us, that your promises are true. that you would remind us of things that have been spoken over us, things that we have read in the scriptures, passions that we know that you have given us and purposes that we know you have for us. We thank you for Jesus. We thank you for the ministry that he has accomplished for us. We ask that you would fill us with your Holy Spirit so we can also be a light, that we can also speak these words and be changed and transformed. In Jesus' name, amen.