Introduction: How often have your considered the purpose of your life? Why, on earth, does God have you here, in this place, in this time?

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1 1 Sermon Series: The Rescuer Rises Sermon Title: Where s your life pointing? Sermon Text: Luke 1:57-80 Big Idea: Let your life point to the Rescuer Welcome LIVE, Re:new, Chapel and Web Introduction: How often have your considered the purpose of your life? Why, on earth, does God have you here, in this place, in this time? The question of Purpose is an incredibly important question as the popularity of Rick Warren s book, The Purpose Driven Life attests. The book has been on the New York Times Best Seller list for advice books for one of the longest periods in history, while also topping the Wall Street Journal best seller charts as well as Publishers Weekly charts with over 30 million copies sold by It has been translated into over 50 languages and several years ago it was added to the list of Top 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. The Purpose Drive Life is subtitled, What on Earth am I here for? That s a great question and each of us really needs to spend time thinking about this and getting clarity about this for our lives. [Transition] What can we learn about the purpose of each of our lives from the first Christmas story in Luke? Today we come to the conclusion of the birth story of John at the end of Luke Chapter one. Remember, we listened in on the announcement that Zechariah and Elizabeth would have a son in their old age in the open verses of chapter one, now we come to his actual birth. When John is born, as the angel had proclaimed to Zechariah, Zechariah is able to speak again and when he speaks we learn about the purpose of John s life and we learn more about the purpose of the Rescuer s life. And what we re going to discover are some important truths about the purpose of each of our lives as well. Let s pick up the story in Luke 1: The events of John s birth alert people that God is up to something special (57-66). There is a ton of buzz about John s birth. Clearly God is up to something special. Let s think back about all the unique circumstances surrounding John s birth: Gabriel shows up to announce that the birth will happen when Zechariah is engaged in an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to burn incense in the Temple.

2 2 The description of the baby and his purpose is unusual many will rejoice because of him, he ll be great in the sight of the Lord, he s never to drink wine or other fermented drink, he ll be filled with the Holy Spirit from birth, he ll bring back many to the Lord, he ll go before the Lord in the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah to make ready a people for the Rescuer s coming. The pregnancy itself was a miracle on a couple of levels Elizabeth was barren and now she s very old. Because Zechariah questioned Gabriel s message, he was dumbstruck until the birth occurred. Then there s his name. Names were significant and traditionally stayed within the family. Breaking that tradition would have been very shocking. This is why everyone is so confused and shocked when Elizabeth and Zechariah name their baby boy John it was not a family name. So, why did God insist on his name being John? As usualy, God was being very intentional. Names often reflected the character or purpose of the person s life. The name John meant The Lord has been Gracious. All these circumstances are not random. God is alerting us to something very special. Do you hear what message God is trying to send? He doesn t want you to miss it. The message is, I am on the move toward you with mercy and grace. I am doing a special gracious and merciful thing among you. When God is merciful to us it means that he doesn t give us what we actually deserve, which is punishment. Like a judge who shows mercy, even though we have been proven guilty, he does not sentence us according to our guilt. He offers us a much lessor sentence. And that alone is awesome news, yes? Grace, on the other hand, goes further. Grace means God actually gives us what we have not earned, his blessing. So, when God moves toward you in mercy and grace, it means he doesn t stop at withholding punishment, he actually blesses you beyond what you deserve, and gives you a free abundant life. In short; mercy is not getting what you do deserve (punishment). And grace is getting what you don t deserve (Blessing). This whole story as it s unfolding is sopping wet with God s grace and mercy. God is revealing his grace and mercy on a number of different levels.

3 3 On one level he s being gracious and merciful to Zechariah and Elizabeth, answering their prayers for a child. But, it s more than that. On another level he s showing grace and mercy to Mary, but it s more than that. He s blessing the people in this first Christmas, but it s more than that. Elizabeth exclaims, The Lord has done this he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace. (25) Gabriel declared God s favor was being shown to Mary (30). Elizabeth recognizes the favor of God (43). Mary sings of God s mercy and celebrates that it is shown to all who revere God (50). News of God s mercy was making headlines (58). And when Elizabeth gives birth, it s settled: His name will be John, which means the Lord has been gracious. Gracious to Zechariah and Elizabeth but also to so many more. Who? And in what way? [Transition] The events of John s birth alerted the people that first Christmas and it s a grand indicator to us as well that God is doing something special. He s on the move with mercy and grace. Even the fact that God is giving them all this heads up that he s about to do something special is merciful and gracious. But, what is the special thing he s doing? When John is born, Zechariah s tongue is loosened. And this man who has been pondering all this and connecting some dots during the past 9 months is filled with the Holy Spirit and he speaks out and declares God s special plan to them and to us. Look at verses Zechariah declares God s special plan: At last the Rescuer is coming. (67-75). Zechariah declares: At last the long awaited Rescuer, which they need so desperately, is coming. With mercy and grace he s coming! And when he comes, Zechariah tells us what he ll bring with him. The Rescuer will: The Rescuer will be the fulfillment of Prophecy from long ago. The Old Testament contains approximately 365 specific prophecies regarding the Messiah. And the stunning truth is, Jesus, our Rescuer met all of them. And the Prophet Malachi even points out that the Messiah will be preceded by the forerunner, the advance team of John as we see unfolding here. At last.the hopes and dreams of the Rescuer to come is at hand! The Rescuer will bring salvation. Horn represents strength. Horn of Salvation is strong or mighty deliverance, it is rescue from bondage or

4 4 oppression that you cannot escape on your own. It can refer to a physical rescue, or a spiritual rescue. And both are really in view for our Rescuer. Many believed the Messiah would come primarily as a political, warrior King as David was. They believed the Rescuer would be a leader who would liberate them from their oppressors when he came, in this case Rome. When Jesus didn t come to bring rescue from Roman oppression, but instead rescue from the oppression of sin, many refused to believe he was the Messianic rescuer. While there definitely is a physical rescue or deliverance in view, particularly in the end times prophecy of Daniel and Revelation, in the Rescuer s first coming, there is primarily a spiritual rescue in view as the Rescuer brings salvation for our souls. The Rescuer will free people from bondage to sin. He will save them from sin s penalty, eternal death, and instead give them the Spirit of eternal life. He will also strengthen them with power through his Spirit in their inner being so that they can break the chains of habits and hang ups and overcome the wreckage sin causes in our lives. The Rescuer will bring redemption. Redemption is closely associated with Salvation, but it s a bit more specific. It describes the means by which our salvation is achieved, that is a payment of a ransom. We see a fantastic illustration of this in the book of Hosea, when his bride Gomer leaves him for a life of bondage and prostitution but God has Hosea go and purchase her at the auction. In effect, Hosea buys back what was really already his. This is an emotional and powerful picture of redemption. According to OT law, if a man lost his inheritance through debt or sold himself into slavery, he and his property could be redeemed if one near of kin came forward to provide the redemption price (Lev. 25:25-27, 47-54). This is the kinsmen-redeemer clause in the OT Levitical law. This type of redemption is what we see in the romantic story of Ruth and Boaz, which we looked at last year in our Christmas series. This points to the work of the Rescuer giving his life, for our life. Paying our debt for sin on the cross by taking our life sentence required by God s Holy Law. By giving his life, he buys us back out of slavery and bondage to sin and its consequences.

5 5 Through Salvation and Redemption, the Rescuer will free us to serve God. He will show us a better way to live. Through his Spirit he will awaken us to godly desires and teach us to say no to ungodliness. He will transform out lives and free us to live for God and serve God, instead of being trashed and ravaged by sin. [Transition] - Zechariah is declaring that the Rescuer is coming soon and he is a game changer. He is a life changer. He is an eternal life changer. He s coming with the mercy and grace of God. And what s more he s going to give you huge heads-up and help you identify the Rescuer, by sending John to go before him to prepare you to receive him. Look at verses Everything about John s life points to the Rescuer. Zechariah declares that everything about John s life will point to the Rescuer and work to highlight the Rescuer and help people be ready for the Rescuer. John will be God s prophet. He will function just like the Prophets Israel had been given before. He will be the herald of God s divine will and plan. John s prophetic message had a twofold emphasis (1) the imminent appearance of the messianic kingdom, and (2) the urgent need for repentance to prepare for his event (Matt. 3:2). His sole purpose was to prepare the people for the advent of the Messiah so that when he made his appearance, they would recognize and accept him. Because most believed the coming Rescuer would bring physical deliverance, John s preaching prepared them for the spiritual deliverance of the Rescuer. John helped them to see that the Rescuer s kingdom was going to be a spiritual kingdom, inherited only by those who embraced his rule and reign in their hearts by faith. John spoke out about sin and called for repentance of sins. He called people to a life of godliness, not just going through the motions. This raised awareness of how far people had drifted from God and prepared them to more carefully listen to the message of salvation from the Messiah and how to live out real righteousness. John definitely did not have a messiah complex. He never made any claim of being anything special, and certainly never pretended to be the Messiah. He was simply the warning voice of one crying in the wilderness (Mk. 1:3,

6 6 Luke 3:1, John 1:20-23). Everything about his life and ministry was intended to point to Jesus. Every chance he had, he pointed out Jesus as the lamb of God, the Savior of the World, the greater One, the Mightier One, the one who must increase so John in humility decreased. [Transition] The singular purpose of John s life is an appropriate model for your life and my life. Not in the physical sense. God is probably not calling us to live in the dessert, eat locust and honey and dress and Camel hair until we re in our thirties and then come out and preach in the radical, abrasive, confrontational way John did. God equips and calls each of us to different occupations or vocations. I m talking about what s at the back of that, what transcends that. Regardless of what your personality type is, what your education is, your job is God wants everything about our lives to point to the Rescuer, Jesus the Christ. God wants everything about our lives to point to our Rescuer. Have you ever given much thought to what your life points to? Not just in theory, but what your life actually points to? In other words, what or who does your life inspire others toward? When people see your actions, what do they communicate? When they hear your speech, what does it inspire in them? When they sense your attitude, who does it make them think of? How about what you watch on TV, at the Theatre, on the Internet? Does that reflect, magnify or glorify Jesus? Does it move you closer to God or further away? Would it in any way inspire those around you toward Jesus or away from Jesus? What parts of your life point people towards God and godly values? What parts of your life help people in some small way recognize Jesus or motivate them to consider him or pursue him? What aspects of your life do the opposite? Fundamentally, God wants our lives to point to our Rescuer Jesus. Not just on Sunday, not just during worship, not just in church. God wants every part of our lives to point to the Rescuer of the World. So that when they see us, hear us, interact with us, watch how we treat others and watch how we treat money they are inspired toward and pointed toward our Rescuer in some small or even subtle. So, that when they see us, hear us, interact with us in some small way they are seeing, hearing and inspired to interact with Jesus.

7 7 Jesus said, You are the light of the World. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. -Matthew 5:14-16 Romans 12:1 says, Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual (reasonable) act of worship. You see all of life is to point to Jesus. It has been said that the chief end or primary purpose of man is, To glorify God and enjoy him forever (Westminster Shorter Catechism). In the Purpose Driven Life book, Warren reminds us that We bring glory to God, point to God when we worship. We point to God when we love others We point to God when we grow and mature spiritually breaking out of old hurts, habits and hang-ups and become more like Christ. We point to God when we serve others with our God given gifts and we point to God when we tell others about Jesus. (Purpose Driven Life, pp.53-58). Living the rest of your life for the glory of God {or to point to Jesus} will require intentionality on your part. It might involve a change in your priorities from where they are now. It will likely involve a change in your schedule or maybe even a change in some of your relationships. It will require you to think through and evaluate how you are doing everything in your life and asking the question is this pointing to God and glorifying him or something else your self, your goals, your own comforts? This is a great time to settle this issue and make a fresh resolve. Who are you going to live for? What s your life going to point to or glorify? Is your life going to point to Jesus? Don t hesitate on this because you re afraid you won t have the strength to do it. But, remember the Spirit of God will help you. You probably won t do this perfectly but don t let that stop you from pursuing this in your life. A life that points to Jesus and glorifies God begins by committing yourself completely to Jesus Christ. For some of you in the room today, your next

8 8 step is to begin with Jesus. You need to embrace and accept your Rescuer Jesus and all that he brings with him. With him you can be free to experience life as you were created to live it. Without him, you only exist and experience a shadow of life. With him you can be freed to experience victory over negative, destructive hurts, habits and hang-ups. Without him, those things have victory over you and you end up the loser. With him you can know the difference having the hope eternal life can make. Without him, life after death is a mystery and frightening. If you need to begin with Jesus today I want to pray with you right now. Let s bow our heads.pray. Remember those who are beginning and those who are resolving to starting living for him and point to him in all things about their life.