Pastor
Mike Barnett ~
Luke 1:5-25 says:
5In the time of Herod king of
Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division
of Abijah; his wife
8Once when Zechariah's
division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9he
was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the
temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And when the time
for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying
outside.
11Then an angel of the
Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with
fear. 13But the angel said to him: "Do not be
afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear
you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14He
will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never
to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy
Spirit even from birth.[a] 16Many
of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power
of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient
to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the
Lord."
18Zechariah asked the
angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well
along in years."
19The angel answered,
"I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to
speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20And now
you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because
you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."
21Meanwhile, the people
were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized
he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but
remained unable to speak.
23When his time of
service was completed, he returned home. 24After this
his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25"The Lord has done this for me," she said.
"In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the
people."
·
Zechariah was
a priest who was married to Elizabeth (the sister of Mary).
·
When the
angel came to tell Zechariah that God has heard his prayer for a son and it is
going to happen – he was afraid.
·
The angel
came to tell Zechariah that he and his wife Elizabeth were going to have a son
– John the Baptist.
·
The angel
gave Zechariah the name of the child: “John”.
·
Elizabeth
(the mother of John) and Mary (the mother of Jesus) were sisters.
·
The angel
tells Zechariah that John will be a joy and a delight and many will rejoice
because of his birth.
·
The angel
tells Zechariah that John will bring many Israelites back to the Lord in the
spirit and power of Elijah.
·
God will use
him to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to
the wisdom of the righteous and to prepare the Israelites for the ministry of
Jesus.
·
Zechariah
asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this?”
·
Essentially,
he asked God for a sign.
·
But no sign
was to be given.
·
After Gabriel
told Zechariah this good news, he made Zechariah silent so he could not speak.
·
Gabriel
closed Zechariah’s mouth because he did not believe the Lord’s prophesy.
·
Zechariah
will not be allowed to speak until the child is born.
·
WHY DID GOD CLOSE ZECHARIAH’S MOUTH AND KEEP HIM FROM SPEAKING?
·
PERHAPS GOD
DID NOT WANT ZECHARIAH TO SPREAD HIS DOUBT TO HIS WIFE AND TO OTHERS.
·
GOD SILENCED
ZECHARIAH SO HE WOULD NOT SPREAD HIS DOUBT AND UNBELIEF TO OTHERS.
·
AFTERALL GOD
USES THE FAITH OF HIS PEOPLE TO PERFORM MIRACLES.
·
WHEREAS FAITH
ALLOWS MIRACLES TO HAPPEN, UNBELIEF HINDERS THEM.
·
JESUS TOLD
THOSE SEEKING HIM FOR A MIRACLE: “LET IT BE DONE ACCORDING TO YOUR FAITH”
·
EVEN JESUS
HIMSELF COULD NOT PERFORM MANY MIRACLES IN HIS
·
GOD DOES NOT
ANSWER PRAYER OR PERFORM MIRACLES APART FROM THE FAITH OF HIS CHILDREN.
·
IT APPEARS
THAT THE ANGEL SHUT ZECHARIAH’S MOUTH SO THAT HE COULD NOT SPREAD HIS DOUBT TO
OTHERS.
·
QUESTION:
WHAT IF GOD CLOSED YOUR MOUTH EVERY TIME YOU DOUBTED HIM?
·
SOME OF US
MAY NEVER SPEAK.
·
Gabriel also
went to Mary and told her that she was going to give birth to Jesus – the Messiah.
·
Mary asked a
very similar question that Zechariah asked.
·
After Gabriel
shared all the marvelous things her son Jesus was going to do…
·
She asked
Gabriel “How will this be since I am a virgin”?
·
Obviously
Mary’s question was a logistical one and not a fearful one because Gabriel did
not close her mouth like he did to Zechariah.
·
Gabriel must
have known that Mary would believe with some explanation where Zechariah would
not.
·
After the
angel’s explanation, Mary said to Gabriel, “May it be done to me as you have
said”….echoing a later truth her son would later say: “Let it be done according
to your faith”.
·
Mary had
faith that it would happen just like the angel (God) said it would.
Luke
26In the sixth month, God sent
the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a
virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The
virgin's name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and
said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29Mary was greatly
troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you
have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and
give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He
will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will
give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will
reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34"How will this
be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35The angel answered,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will
overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her
old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God."
38"I am the Lord's
servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
·
Sometime
later it was time for
57When it was time for
Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58Her
neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they
shared her joy.
59On the eighth day they
came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father
Zechariah, 60but his mother spoke up and said, "No!
He is to be called John."
61They said to her,
"There is no one among your relatives who has that name."
62Then they made signs
to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's
astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." 64Immediately
his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising
God. 65The neighbors were all filled with awe, and
throughout the hill country of
·
When the
child was born the relatives were planning to name the baby Zechariah after the
Father.
·
·
The relatives
made signs to Zechariah to find out what name he would like to give the child.
·
Zechariah
motioned for a writing tablet and wrote the name “John” just like the angel
said months before.
·
All the
relatives were astonished – they thought for sure that Zechariah wanted a
Zechariah Jr.
·
But Zechariah
after being silenced by the Lord all these months during the pregnancy had
learned his lesson.
·
He was ready
to obey the Lord.
·
He eagerly
wrote down the name, “John” on the tablet.
·
John was the
name that the Lord picked out for the child and Zechariah was eager to do God’s
will.
·
Immediately
his mouth was opened and he was able to speak again.
·
All the relatives
were amazed and said, “God’s hand is with this child.
·
The first
words Zechariah said were praises to God!
67His father Zechariah
was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68"Praise be to the Lord, the God of
because he has come and has redeemed his
people.
69He has raised up a horn[b] of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70(as he said through his holy prophets of long
ago),
71salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75in holiness and righteousness before him all our
days.
76And 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,
77to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us
from heaven
79to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace."
80And the child grew and
became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly
to
Now let’s look at the example of Joseph
Matthew
1:18-2:23 says:
18This is how the birth of Jesus
Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but
before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy
Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man
and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce
her quietly.
20But after he had
considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,
because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She
will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[a] because he will save his
people from their sins."
22All this took place to
fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The
virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him
Immanuel"[b]—which means, "God with
us."
24When Joseph woke up,
he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his
wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave
birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Matthew 2:13-15 says:
13When they had gone, an
angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said,
"take the child and his mother and escape to
·
Joseph was
engaged to be Mary.
·
The angel of
the Lord came to Joseph and told him of the great things that were going to
take place.
·
We know from
Matthew’s Gospel that Joseph was concerned about Mary’s reputation.
·
In that culture
if a woman was pregnant before marriage, that woman would live a life of
disgrace if she was not stoned to death first.
·
Joseph being
a godly man did not want to get in God’s way and discredit Mary’s reputation or
that of Jesus the Messiah.
·
In the book
of Matthew, the angel affirms that all these things are of the Holy Spirit.
·
The angel
told Joseph to not be afraid to take Mary home as his wife.
·
Obviously the
Angel was addressing Joseph’s fears like, “What are the people going to think?”
·
Perhaps
thoughts were running through his head like “They may have me stoned to death
for sleeping with Mary, but I did not sleep with her”.
·
When Joseph
woke up, he did what the angel said and took Mary home to be his wife even
though he probably did not understand everything.
·
Sometimes we
get in God’s way by over thinking the situation.
·
Joseph chose
to shut off his mind with all it’s random thoughts –
He chose to listen to God and not his anxiety.
·
Joseph chose
to obey God and take Mary home as his wife.
·
Later after
Jesus was born, the angel came to Joseph once again and told Joseph to take
Mary and Jesus to
·
Once again,
Joseph obeyed the Lord with no questions asked.
·
Because
Joseph obeyed God’s voice – He kept His family safe from harm.
·
God is still
speaking to his children today.
·
Some listen
and obey.
·
Others doubt
in unbelief.
·
Apparently
God is not closing the mouths of his children that doubt today or many
professing Christians would not be able to speak.
·
But perhaps God
is not fully blessing his children who doubt either.
·
After all
Jesus said, “Let it be done according to your faith”
APPLICABLE
LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE EXAMPLES OF ZECHARIAH AND JOSEPH:
1)
GOD ALWAYS HAS AND ALWAYS WILL SPEAK PROMISES TO HIS CHILDREN.
2)
LIKE JOSEPH AND ZECHARIAH, CHRISTIANS TODAY HAVE A CHOICE TO BELIEVE GOD BY
FAITH OR TO DOUBT HIS PROMISES.
3)
THE STORY OF ZECHARIAH TEACHES US THAT SOMETIMES IT IS BEST TO KEEP OUR HEARTS OPEN TO GOD AND OUR
MOUTHS CLOSED TO OTHERS.
4)
THE STORY OF JOSEPH TEACHES US TO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE LOGISTICS AND DETAILS WE
DO NOT UNDERSTAND, BUT INSTEAD TO TRUST GOD WHO IS ALL-KNOWING AND HAS OUR BEST
INTERESTS IN MIND.
Matthew
6:25-34 says:
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your
life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is
not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or
store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much
more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can
add a single hour to his life[a]?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies
of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I
tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was
dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes
the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the
fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So
do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What
shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these
things and your heavenly Father knows that you need
them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness
and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore
do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own.
·
UNLIKE JOSEPH
AND ZECHARIAH, CHRISTIANS HAVE GOD’S PROMISES WRITTEN DOWN ON PAPER TO STUDY,
MEMORIZE AND BUILD THEIR FAITH!
Romans
17Consequently,
faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is
heard through the word of Christ.
5)
EVERY BLESSING FROM GOD IS GIVEN /DONE TO US ACCORDING TO OUR FAITH IN GOD.
NOTE:
Your blessing from God will always be in proportion to your faith in Him!
6)
ZECHARIAH TEACHES US THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING - IT IS THE FIRST THING HE DID WHEN HE
WAS ABLE TO SPEAK AGAIN!
7)
BOTH JOSEPH AND ZECHARIAH MODEL A DESIRE TO OBEY GOD AND TO DO WHAT HE SAYS
REGARDLESS OF WHAT ONE THINKS OR FEELS ABOUT GOD’S WILL.
JOSEPH
DID THIS ON THE FRONT END AND ZECHARIAH DID THIS ON THE BACK END. WE WILL
LIKEWISE HAVE SUCH OPPORTUNITIES.
QUESTION:
CAN GOD TRUST ME WITH HIS PROMISES?
NOTE:
THE