Luke 1 God s voice. Sermon by Pastor Vidar at SIC, 20 th January 2013 Reading from: Luke 1:5-20 (NIV) 5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. 8 Once when Zechariah s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But 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 call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for 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 before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 18 Zechariah asked the angel, How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years. 19 The angel said to him, 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. 20 And 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 appointed time. 21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When 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. 23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After 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. --- Do you have space for God s voice in your life? Do you obey when he actually speaks to you? Are you able to discern his voice from all the others? Big questions I know. I would like us to keep these questions in mind as we dig into this exciting story about old Zechariah. He is the first character to appear in the Gospel of Luke. And he quickly disappears Like so many of God s faithful servants, he passed from the scene once his part was done. But what he did was important. And his life serves as
an example to us. Remember, there is a uniqueness to all the events in the gospel, and at the same time, they are timeless stories. We say: Tell it again, Luke! And we pray: Do it again, Lord, through us! Let s take a look at Zechariah. He was a Jewish priest. Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth are known for their personal holiness. Unlike the religious leaders Jesus later called hypocrites, Zechariah and Elizabeth did not live only outwardly religious lives, following the letter of the law. They are called righteous in God s eyes, verse 6. Their obedience was from the heart. Before anyone else Zechariah is told that God now is about to visit the Earth. It happens when he is on duty in the temple in Jerusalem. As a priest he was chosen to go in there and burn incense in the sanctuary. Can you see Zechariah there in the temple, in the place where the Jews believed God to be present in a very special way? While Zechariah is burning incense, he prays for his people. That was the duty of the priests. For deliverance and salvation. Probably he prays for the coming of the Messiah. Maybe he prays for his own family as well. Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth shared a great pain in their lives: The pain of not having children. In the Jewish culture this was considered not having God s blessing. Now they were old, and probably they had stopped even asking for children. Zechariah is in the presence of the Lord, praying. Rationally he must have known and believed that God was actually there with him. After all, he is a priest, and he is considered a righteous and holy man. But still he gets very surprised and even afraid when an angel shows up and actually speaks to him. We talk to God in prayer. But do we expect him to actually talk to us? (I believe he still does.. in different ways Let s get back to that later ) Face to face with an angel, Zechariah hears this remarkable message. God s big salvation history is about to cross his own family s history. His wife, Elizabeth will have a child and that child will become a prophet, named John, who will prepare the way for the coming of Jesus Christ. Much to Zechariahs surprise, God actually responds his prayer for his people. The Messiah is about to come. But at the same time, God also responds to that old prayer of Elizabeth and Zechariah that they probably had stopped praying: To have a child. And what is his response? You know, I love that response, because it makes Zechariah a bit more down-to-earth and human to me. I can identify with him How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years. God, this is just not possible! The natural thing for most of us to look at things from a natural point of view, not a supernatural I love the fact that God uses a man
like Zechariah. Yes, he is a holy and righteous man, but he is also a human being with the typical skepticism, even when actually an angel appears to him! It s not that God loves his skepticism. In this case, it is understood as a lack of trust in God, and God reacts to that: In that very moment, Zechariah loses his voice, he can not speak until the day when his son is born. I wonder if this is a punishment, or maybe another blessing. At least it could also be seen as a sign, not only to Zechariah and his wife, but to the people outside: Now, it s a season for God to speak and act, and we shall be silent Enough words Give space for God to speak and act! During the next months Zechariah was put aside. Out of service. He couldn t speak. I recognize that in my own life Story from the time I was put aside last year. Sometimes a physical limitation is the best way for God to mold us and prepare us. When our normal abilities are put out of function, we leave room for trust and confidence, and God s process in our lives. One of the messages I received: Trust in God, Vidar It was during the time when Pastor Joeli was put aside last May, due to a problem with his toe, that God spoke to him very clearly about planting a new church in Sandnes Sometimes there is very much grace in those physical limitations that God allows for us It is part of the process of listening But for people like Zechariah who had become so used to not hearing from God and not have a response to his deepest prayer He might have started to talk much more than he listened Now God demonstrates that something needs to change It is a sign not only to Zechariah, but maybe to his whole profession of priests. It s time to be silent before God It s time to listen, and only listen! Messengers from God angels like Gabriel. This is a unique story. But can we still read it as relevant for us today? Maybe not the same way But can God speak to us today? - Whispering. Ponderings - Through messengers in the shape of an angel or people or circumstances? - Can we still be part of God s plan? Then it is so vital that we make ourselves available for his leading.. and messages. Even though Zechariah didn t believe at once, he and his wife were prepared for this through an obedient life. God doesn t have an easy task getting through to us in our time. To get through the cacophony of cell phones, email and instant messaging But if there is one thing that should distinguish God s people from others, it should be the hearing and heeding whispers from above. Let us tune ourselves to the only frequency that truly can satisfy our souls. And begin to respond to the gentle whispers of God.
I can imagine different reactions among you to the whole idea of this theme: Hearing from God, or listen to God s voice. Some of you find this to be the most natural thing in the world. It may not happen every day, but you have had many experiences of hearing messages from God that gave you concrete guidance in specific situations. Maybe you have been part of a healthy spiritual environment, where you were trained and tested in this area as an integral part of the church life. But it wouldn t surprise me at all if many of you look at this theme from a distance, you may have certain skepticism. 1) It could be based on your understanding of faith or doctrine. I myself come from a theological tradition where there hasn t been much room for this kind of preaching: It goes more or less like this: We can not compare ourselves to the people in the Bible who received messages from God. The revelation of God is given to us solely in the Scriptures, the Bible. Sola Scriptura We shall not add anything to that. We shall also read the words in the Bible in light of the gospel of Jesus, his cross and resurrection. Not make too much room for speculations and lose interpretations when we read other parts of the Bible This is solid teaching And important to maintain And still, I am convinced that we may have narrowed God s possibilities of speaking to us still today 2) Your skepticism may be based on your personality. Ok. Zechariah was sceptical. Just make sure you don t mix up a healthy skepticism with a lack of trust in God s possibilities. 3) Maybe you have been deeply hurt in the past by people who insisted on having heard from God about your life, and you experienced it as an invasion in your privacy, or you were disappointed when it turned out to be a false message (It happened to me once when I was a student, and it took me years to open myself once again to this kind of teaching). If you are in any of these groups: Know that you are not excluded from this conversation! As I said last week: This whole semester we want to investigate and ponder on God s word, and more specifically the story of Jesus, as it was passed on to us through the Gospel of Luke. Investigate the Word, ponder on it and feel free to ask questions, especially in the groups or in the family and you may also come with your questions and thoughts to me! But we will not only investigate, we also want to practice the Word together. We don t only want to tell stories, we also want to write history Or better: Allow God to write new history through our lives.. Make ourselves available for that starts with listening to his voice. Be open for his promptings Divine Promptings or Holy Promptings are expressions often used for those impulses that we believe come from God. They may come as a direct reminding in your mind or heart to do something, make a decision, approach
someone, or it may come through someone else, being God s messenger. We will get back to that word in two weeks. My question now is: Are we desperate to hear from God? Do we come into his presence with that expectancy God, I want to know your plans for me today I want to be aware of the good works that you have prepared in advance for me to do today. Are we desperate enough, or have it all become a routine Let us encourage and spur one another to hear afresh from God and practice it within a safe environment A little bit about my own journey: I went back and looked at the last time I preached this theme to you (in August 2011 when we talked about spiritual practices) I said that I had never heard an audible voice from God, and always tended to be suspicious of people who speak easily of such things. I also said that God normally have spoken to me through stories, texts and passages of the Bible that come alive in new and concrete ways when I am in need of guidance and answers. This is still the way I primarily receive direction from God. I could give many examples of this. But I must also say that since that sermon, God has given me more experiences of messages through what we may call whispering and promptings. And I think it is because I have made myself more available for him Important words in my head that spurred me to action, that I have come to believe was God speaking words in my mind, not only myself. I have also learned to value more and more the imagination God has given us. An old and wise spiritual adviser said to me: What would the Spirit work through if it wouldn t be our God-created imagination? When you go to the Bible and meditate on his Word, your imagination is the tool God uses When Andrew played the guitar today. Was it the guitar playing or was it Him? The answer is of course Yes to both. We should ask the Spirit to play on all that we are, through the people he created us to be Pastor Bill Hybels says, and I agree with him: I ve come to believe that hearing the quiet whisper of the transcendent God is one of the most extraordinary privileges in all of life and potentially the most transforming dynamic in the Christian faith. When people hear from heaven, they are rarely the same again. When the sovereign God chooses to communicate with someone whether eight, eighteen or eighty years old that person s world is rocked. His book The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God, having the guts to respond is worth reading. I will share with you Bill Hybel s 5 checkpoints about hearing from God: Hearing God s voice - 5 checkpoints: Checkpoint 1: Is the Prompting Truly from God?
Whenever you receive a prompting whether from God directly or through the lips of another take whatever time is necessary to ask, God, is this message from you? Does this square with who I know you to be? Is it consistent with your character? Or are there other voices coming into my head here? Checkpoint 2: Is it Scriptural? Could I imagine Jesus doing whatever action the prompting is suggesting I do? And check every prompting against the thematic teachings of Scripture. Messages that contradict Scripture are not from God. Checkpoint 3: Is it Wise? God s whispers rarely go against wisdom and common sense. Book of Proverbs. We are often exhorted in the Bible to be wise in all our dealings. Be sure you re not sidestepping what is wise in favor of acting quickly on whispers. Be patient. Checkpoint 4: Is it in Tune with Your Own Character? We caution people against running headlong into a field that is totally foreign to their patterns, their education, their expertise and experience in life thus far. Of course God can support a dramatic 180-degree turn. But typically, when he does, it gets affirmed by several sources in a variety of different ways. So again, be patient. Listen more. Checkpoint 5: What do the people you most trust think about it? Whenever you sense that God is speaking to you, find two or three veteran Christfollowers people you trust and you know you well and take some time to describe the situation to them in detail. Listen openly to the answers you receive. I believe these five checkpoints to especially important when you are to make major steps in faith or take action that involve many other people But don t let these five checkpoints discourage you from being active listeners who expect God to speak to our fellowship. We desperately need to hear from God!! Pray that God not only speaks to you about personal matters, but that your personal story with God could become part of his salvation plan for people, like it did for Zechariah. Maybe you actually heard from God today, but you weren t aware of it Prayerful review of the day might be a good tool. (See booklet, page 56). Let s practice it!! Prayer: Oh, give me Samuel s ear An open ear, o Lord Alive and quick to hear Each whisper of Your Word Like him to answer to Your call To obey You first of all