ZECHARIAH S SONG OF HOPE Luke 1:68-79

Transcription

1 Luke 1:68-79

2 The theme for the first week of advent is Hope The candle is sometimes called the prophecy candle The birth of Jesus was prophesied hundreds of years before it happened!

3 Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

4 The theme for the first week of advent is Hope God always brings hope in the midst of darkness and hopelessness The hope that God brings is always the right kind of hope and at the right time Just ask Zechariah Luke 1

5 Luke 1:67-79 "67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of

6 Luke 1:67-79 his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the

7 Luke 1:67-79 hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the

8 Luke 1:67-79 forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

9 Introduction Zechariah was a priest about 50 years old He and Elizabeth were good people Problem: No child and Elizabeth was barren and both advanced in years (Luke 1.7) Ancient Jews believed if no children, cursed by God--grounds for divorce

10 Introduction Zechariah was one priest out of 20,000 priests in the Holy Land Except for special holy days, these priests served one week twice a year Zechariah selected to enter the temple and burn incense special privilege Prayed for those things closest to his heart Elizabeth and grief of barrenness

11 Introduction An angel of the Lord appeared and promised a son (John the Baptist) Zechariah found the promise hard to believe they were too old Zechariah s was made mute till the birth When John was born, people gathered to hear his name (usually after dad)

12 Introduction Zechariah announced his name by writing it on a tablet His name is John not will be ; recognized God s work and promise Immediately his voice returned and he began to sing He had so much to sing about and his song widely referred to The Blessing

13 Hope comes from God keeping His promises Elizabeth means the oath of God or promises of God John s birth showed that God does keep His promises God has done as He said he would through His holy prophets of long ago. He has remembered His holy covenant that He swore to our father Abraham.

14 Hope comes from God keeping His promises We need to learn from Zechariah that God is always faithful We need to bear witness to His faithfulness Think about it how has God been faithful in your life? Has it put a new song in your heart?

15 Hope comes from God remembering His own Zechariah s name - God remembers Zechariah s song literally explodes with the joyful realization that GOD does remember God HAS raised up a horn of salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us to rescue us to enable us to serve Him without fear.

16 Hope comes from God remembering His own Zechariah must have been discouraged He was a priest of a nation that had turned its back on God He and Elisabeth had been faithful to God all their lives they had lived like they believed the meanings of their names But still no child

17 Hope comes from God remembering His own God has not spoken for over 400 years God sends an angel with a fresh word from God It is a word to encourage Zechariah and Elizabeth It is a word of fulfillment of a promise made hundreds of years before

18 Hope does not always come in the way we expect They never expected a child John would prepare the way for the Lord John would be killed for doing it Life doesn't always end like a Hallmark movie

19 Hope does not always come in the way we expect Sometimes hope is missed because of our own selfishness and unbridled expectations When God s blessings come packaged in ways we don t expect, we often respond with indignation John would be killed for doing it Life doesn't always end like a Hallmark movie

20 Hope does not always come in the way we expect Sometimes hope is missed because of our own selfishness and unbridled expectations When God s blessings come packaged in ways we don t expect, we often respond with indignation God, where are you? Why?

21 Hope does not always come in the way we expect Story of young man graduating from college from a family of means He wanted and expected a new car Dad gave him a bible He was furious and threw the bible down and left

22 Hope does not always come in the way we expect Years passed and he was successful and came to realize he needed to go see his father Before he could, his dad died After funeral, he found the bible on his dad s desk With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages

23 Hope does not always come in the way we expect His father had carefully underlined a verse, Matthew 7.11,"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him! Suddenly a key fell out from between the pages -tag of dealer marked paid in full

24 For us We also live in a world where there are countless thousands of people who have no hope Yet Zechariah s song reminds us that there is always hope God is always faithful to his promises God remembers His own you and me

25 For us We must remember God fulfills His promises in ways we may not expect We might miss His fulfillment many have yet to recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah Many have missed out on the greatest promise for all mankind

26 For us We must share this hope of Christmas and advent Jesus is coming again

27 A child would be born that would bring hope into the hearts and lives of the hopeless The child was the Light of the World His name is Jesus! Jesus still brings hope today