Sermon Nuggets Monday Dec 26- The Prophet’s birth
Verses-
Luke 1:57-63 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.
58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John."
61 They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name."
62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.
63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John."
Prophets Birth
This week we come back to the person of Zechariah and particularly the events of John’s birth. We talked a couple of weeks ago of the silence of Zechariah, the priest, for couldn’t speak for 9 months for doubting Gabriel’s good news. Even in old age he and Elizabeth were to have a baby and this baby was the chosen one to prepare the way of the Messiah and he is to call his name John.
When John was born Zechariah as now able to get his voice back but instead of complaint he praised the Lord and that will be the subject of this weeks devotionals. We had talked about Elizabeth’s words of praise a couple of weeks ago and last week focused in on Mary’s song of praise with the Magnificat.
The verses today talk about Mary being with Elizabeth until the time came for the prophet’s birth.
It is always a joyous time to see new life brought into the world, but especially so when you have what we call a miracle baby. Some parents will call each birth a miracle and are filled with wonder at his or her birth. Some will use that term for those who are born out of unusual circumstances, a premie who lives, or someone who had a great difficult and pulled through. Some who couldn’t get pregnant, like Elizabeth and then the unexpected happened.
John is indeed a miracle child but also special because he is a prophet prepared especially by God and even prophesied in Malachi.
At the birth there was a neighborhood party unlike before because with the special events that surrounded the announcement of the angel to Zechariah at the temple they knew even by his silence that God was involve in an unusual way. Now there is a party to celebrate God’s work among them. Friends and neighbors new the mercy of the Lord was demonstrated.
At the time of the circumcision others expected this baby to have the name of his father Zechariah. We have not any instance in Scripture that the child should bear the father's name; but perhaps it was of increasingly the custom at that time with the Jews, and they intended hereby to do honor to the father, who was not likely to have another child.
It was the custom, when they circumcised their children, to name them, because, when Abram was circumcised God gave him a new name, Abraham; and it is not unfit that they should be left nameless till they are by name given up to God. But he gives him a new name than what is expected. This name is given by none other than the angel Gabriel who tells him to name the baby John.
Perhaps the reason others planned to name him was Zechariah couldn’t speak, but when Zechariah took a tablet and wrote His name shall be John that was when his tongue was loosed and he could speak!.
It seems to me the angel had struck Zechariah deaf as well as dumb because in verse 62 it says they communicated to him with signs instead of speech—gradually in the silence of those months, when he could not converse with his wife or friends, Zechariah began to see what was happening. It began to sink into his head and heart that these were stupendous, unrepeatable, incredibly significant days. That got everyone talking.
He shall be called Johanan-Gracious, because he shall introduce the gospel of Christ, wherein God's grace shines more brightly than ever.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Tues Dec 27 New Name
Verses- Luke 1: 63-66 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John."
64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God.
65 The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things.
66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him
A New Name
The people who heard now from both Elizabeth and John were amazed that something new was happening by naming him John. They heard John speak for the first time in 9 months and believed another miracle had occurred. They were willing to listen now to a message from the priest. It began with the name John, gracious. God is going to show grace upon His people.
Now a new name is symbolic of a new covenant, a new arrangement with God that is not by the law but by grace. God’s plan in the beginning was always to create for himself a people with whom he could share his life.
We begin to see this most clearly in God’s relationship with Abraham. God comes to Abraham and does something with him that becomes the norm for God establishing a relationship with someone — he establishes a covenant,
God has often given people different names. Names mean something in the Bible. Simons name was changed to Peter the Rock. Sauls name was changed to Paul. (small humble)
Abram the exalted father to Abraham, the father of many or father of nations.
A covenant is not just a mutual agreement between two people, like a contract. It was a binding agreement that the parties involved committed themselves to under pain of death. It created a binding relationship between them. The covenant was based on the character of the persons involved. God’s part of the promise was that he would fulfill the covenant and redeem his people by bringing his Messiah into the world, and this Messiah would bring God’s people back to him. As he said, “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33).
Sometimes you have heard the gospel song, There is a new name written up in glory and its mine, yes Lord its mine. Isa 62: 2 The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. Rev 2:17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.
One of the interesting things we notice about God’s covenant with Abraham is how one-sided it was. The parties making a covenant with each other would walk the path between the pieces, of animals that were cut in half and in effect say, “If I break the terms of this covenant, so may this be done to me.” The animals were then prepared and eaten as a covenant meal.
But what is interesting in the covenant with Abraham is that only God walked the covenant path between the animals. One reason Abraham did not walk between these parts of the animals was he could not keep the terms of the covenant.
Now the new name reminds us of the new covenant. And our relationship with Christ is based on a covenant. His body was broken and we eat the covenant meal as we partake of communion, and we remember that God has bound himself to us in covenant love. This is our faithful God. It is not based on law but on grace. And that is the name of this baby, grace or gracious. A new name to a new beginning of a new work of God in coming to earth to save.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Weds Dec 28 A New Song
Verses- Luke 1: 67-75 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people.
69 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: 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.
A New Song
Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, now with his speech returned shouted what has come to be known as the Benedictus. , It was a song filled with praise of what was about to happen with the birth of Jesus. Benedictus is in Latin the first word. It is often recited in some churches and at this time of year.
Zechariah recognizes the coming of the Redeemer to keep the covenant promises and yet in new ways.
He started this new Song with praise to the Lord for he is the God of Israel and if there is a song to be heard from Zachariah it is the song of Redemptions
He begins with praise to the Lord, worthy of honor. He is the one who draws near to his people. He is not left the people without His presence. I am sure he knew of the excitement of Mary’s visit and special child in her womb as virgin with child from God.
Now remember the context of his message has been 400 years of silence. God did not speak to them except through the prophets and coming of the Messiah. It has been that long wince they heard.
Nine months earlier Zechariah could not believe his wife would have a child. Now, filled with the Holy Spirit, he is so confident of God's redeeming work in the coming Messiah that he puts it in the past tense. For the mind of faith, a promised act of God is as good as done. Zechariah has learned to take God at his word and so has a remarkable assurance: "God has visited and redeemed!"
I find it interesting that the word about Jesus activities are in the past tense if it had already been done. He was so confident that he moved from a doubter to one who said it is as good as done even though it would be 30 years before Jesus became public. God has come and has redeemed his people because the promise is sure.
He talks about raised up the horn of salvation. Horn symbolizes different things in the OT but Psalm 92:9, 10 gives us a picture of what the horn stood for: “For lo, thy enemies, O Lord, for lo, thy enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be scattered. But thou hast exalted my horn like that of the wild ox.” The horn is a sign of strength and a means of victory. In Micah 4:13 God says to Jerusalem, "Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron and your hoofs bronze; you shall beat in pieces many peoples."
The power and might of salvation of Jesus Christ is from the house of David just as promised. Psalm 132:17, God says concerning Jerusalem, "There I will make a horn to sprout for David. I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame." When a horn sprouts on an ox's head and becomes like iron, then he must be feared by all his enemies.
But in the Old Testament one always finds the conviction that God is the one who fights for Israel. He is the one who is strong and who gets victory over the enemies of his people. Therefore, it is not surprising that the only two instances of the phrase "horn of salvation" in the Old Testament are references to God, not man. Both record the same psalm of David after God saved him from his enemy Saul. He says, "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation."
God is his defense (his shield) and his offense (his deadly and powerful horn).
In hindsight we see how Jesus did so much more than Zechariah could have imagined. He believed now. But Gods mind wasn’t just on the Egyptian and Assyria, or Babylon and the Philistines or Greeks and Romans- it was on Satan and demons and principalities and power that are unseen. These are the world systems and leaders control by evil.
Zechariah, no doubt, is hoping that the Israel of his day will be delivered from her oppressive Roman overlords and that Messiah, the king of David, will reign over a liberated Israel. It has not been revealed to Zechariah that this national-political deliverance will not happen at the first coming of the Messiah, but only at his second coming. Nevertheless, we will see signs in Zechariah's son that the redemption of the Messiah is more than national liberation.
Zechariah has a new song of the coming of the Redeemer- The one who would pay the price for freedom. With redemption comes also salvation to the house of David.
There is also the praise of the pace of the mercy and to remember the covenant. The agreement by oath which God swore to Abraham call him to himself and his descendents.
It is the "consolation of Israel" for which Zechariah hopes. It is the "Lord God of Israel" who is coming to redeem his people. The people in view are the people of Israel. This was the chosen nation to whom the promises had been given. God had the world in view, but he aimed to come to Israel first. So Jesus said in Matthew 15:24, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But just like there is a clue in Zechariah's song that God's redemption is more than national, so there is a clue that the beneficiaries of that redemption are more than Israelites.
God was making a promise that will find its ultimate fulfillment when He sets up His kingdom here on earth. Just as surely as Zacharias could praise God for a past tense redemption that had not taken place yet, he could also praise God for keeping His promises that hadn’t been fulfilled yet.
When I read about the things God has said He will do one day I don’t worry a bit about whether He’ll do them or not. God has been faithful in the past; He is faithful today and I know He’ll still be faithful tomorrow! The God that promised a Savior and made promises for four thousand years about how that Savior would come is the same God that fulfilled those promises with amazing accuracy. That same God has promised that one day Jesus Christ is coming again to rule and reign in peace and righteousness. He came the first time as a meek and gentle Lamb, but He’s coming again as the mighty Lion of the Tribe of Judah! How do I know? Because God keeps His promises!
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Thurs Dec 29 New Hope
Verses- Luke 1: 76 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,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace."
A New Hope
Now Zechariah moves from addressing God in praise to addressing his newborn son in his arms: ” You will be called a prophet of the Most High.”
What an honor to know in advance you will be especially chosen by God to declare truth and revival to the people. You will prepare the way for the Messiah. What a privilege for John and for his parents who probably didn’t live to see that day.
What was his message of hope? It was to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of sin. God is merciful to tell people they can have forgiveness and we see that played out in the person of Jesus Christ who came and lived and died on a cross and was buried and is coming again.
This one will guide them into peace which they longed or and anticipated.
How easy for Elizabeth and Zechariah to think of themselves and their joy of having children in their older age. But the significance of the baby, John was in being the forerunner of the Messiah. And they were celebrating the splendid part his son was to play in the Messianic drama.
Although they were thinking of political salvation from the oppressors, there was a need for moral salvation. Salvation comes by facing sins and repenting of them. John’s role was to prepare people hearts for the coming of Jesus and prepare them to listen to the Lord and follow in obedience and affect the world for God. There was a need for moral change by trusting and obeying God. It has more than national birth. It was to be a spiritual birth.
One commentator said, “Its not what the child is that made him important, but what the child says- a prophet through whom someone else is meant to speak.”
That is the task that God indeed prepares for each of us, for no longer do we live in a spiritual economy where God is hidden from men and is only revealed by the specially chosen prophets. Now we can hear God directly through the written word. God is no longer working through priest and sacrifices for us to come before his holy throne. Now we are all made priests before the Lord and have a right to come before him through Christ. We are prophets telling forth the good news of Jesus Christ that He came to save people from their sins. We are the new priests representing God to men and men to God. We have no longer a veil that separates us.
The Old Testament prophets could say with hope someday He will come God will visit us and we will be redeemed. We will be saved someday. Someday God will keep his promise but now John could say, “Listen people the one we were looking for is here. He is at hand. Hear him and follow him.”
And John was the first prophet, the greatest prophet to witness God presence and grace first hand. He pointed to the Lamb of God away take away the sins of the world He was preparing his prophet even from before his birth. He had a wonderful plan for his life. Yet we can also think back knowing the story as believers many years later.
We hear the Lord has a wonderful plan for your life. But realize that plan is to be used for his glory for our ultimate heavenly blessing. Let us not become so earthly minded that we think only of earthly blessing and comfort of this world that is a lie. The Lord has the same plan that he had for John in that we are not to be prophets in the New Testament sense speaking forth the word of God to our fellows of His grace and love. God has wonder plan for our lives the first and foremost plan is for you to know Jesus and trust him to save you and forgive your sin.
We remember and observe Christmas because of the hope it offers us. Both Christians and non-Christians see in this day the Hope of the World.
Unfortunately, while the hope of Christmas is offered to all men, not all men will accept it. The gift we celebrate came in that first century. It is offered until he comes again. This message is still to be proclaimed, accepted, and lived in hope.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Fri Dec 30 A New Year
Verses Luke 1: 80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.
Luke 3:1-3 1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
A New Year
Vs 80 tells us what happened to John. He became that prophet and began his ministry. There was a new year that dawned in Israel. There was a new chapter God had prepared for his people with the public ministry of John. It was in the fifteenth year of Caesar’s reign.
People from all around would come to hear him and he readily preached repentance to prepare their heart for what God is going. People respond in three ways to messages on sin. First there is repentance when it is exposed resulting in humility, guilt and confession sin. People know they are condemned and want mercy. Secondly there is a self justification. This can result in resistance, denial and bitterness. People want to attack or discredit the prophet by either accusing them of wrong doing. Then there is a group for whom their hearts are so hardened they think it is for another and not them. They see faults and sins in others but not themselves.
John was eventually beheaded for his message as he pointed out the sin of adultery to the King who divorced his wife and married his sister-in-law. He was lonely as he spoke in a wilderness and had to eat locust and wild honey. He was denounced also by the Jews and his task was very unpopular, but he felt it was worth it all to be used by God.
We come to a new year. As we meet on Sunday we share in communion. It is a new year to reflect on the past and ask forgiveness for sin that God might reveal. It is a new year to ignore promptings of truth and we live as we always have lived. Or it is a new year to rejoice in the salvation and freedom provided by God in a closer relationship and vitality in faith. God is praised for providing salvation and forgives. Because he is merciful and shines on those living in darkness there is hope and life after death and guiding feet in the path of peace. God is praised for he provides his presence for his people and he has not only remembered them but also provides for them spiritually.
God provided for his people in way that honors him. He does not forget us either as individuals or as a nation and church. God can to save those who would trust in him and shine on those living in darkness and sin.
Jesus read from Isaiah 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Isa 55:1-3 also pictures this beauty of salvation by saying “Arise, shine for thy light has come the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee for Gentiles shall come to the light when we think of the provision before us.”
What does it mean to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor? It is the time for the message to be revealed how God is dealing with his people by grace to all who will receive him as the gift. If you are fighting the effects of the evil one let me tell you the good news. Jesus has won the battle and desires you be strong and free. You can win over the temptation that plagues you that loneliness that will you not to go on, the light in that darkness. It is Jesus Christ and the power that can provide for your life. Only when we have learned to hate sin and leave it that we are free to walk the paths of righteousness. This faith is the beginning of Spiritual Life This can be a new year of God’s favor upon you.
I was talking with someone on their hopeless of addiction. They believe the lie that they will have this sin all their lives. There are others for whom a new year was proclaimed and by the power of the Holy Spirit and help of others they have remained free from resisting the temptations of Satan. He has come to destroy the devil’s power.
Man didn’t know God until Jesus came to show he is love. Man didn’t know forgiveness until Jesus came to offer a relationship with our creator. We have a new peace.
Men seek peace with all their hearts but few find it. The peace offered here today is not peace like the world offers. They is a phony peace of wealth, power and prestige. But peace among men can only happen when all men have peace in their hearts and that can only come as a gift from God.
I think of the hymns we sing could have been sung by Zechariah. It is the essence of his praise.” I will sing of my Redeemer -I will tell the wondrous story, How my lost estate to save, In His boundless love and mercy, He the ransom freely gave.
I will praise my dear Redeemer, His triumphant power I’ll tell, How the victory He giveth Over sin, and death, and hell.
Sing, oh sing, of my Redeemer, With His blood, He purchased me. On the cross, He sealed my pardon, Paid the debt, and made me free”
It’s a new year. A year of the Lord’s favor.
Pastor Dale
