11/27/22- Pastor Harlow: Zechariah & Elizabeth- Luke 1:5-20

Kind of saw you go I did that like okay so you two link up okay if you could okay so that there there we go that's why we do that those type of things we also we have on December 10th our deacons they're putting together the food boxes and we're gonna be Distributing those to people that are in need in our community for Christmas and so it's got like a it's got the ham and all the Fixins and everything that someone would need to have a really great Christmas supper if you know someone that is in need of food maybe a neighbor some family members or just someone that maybe you've been trying to build a bridge with over the last couple of months I know Jim did a fantastic job preaching about the opening of The Doors right last week he talked about that praying for open doors if you know someone that this could be a tool or a resource for you to have an open door to share the truth of the Gospel just sign them up and kind of claim them and say hey I want to I want to be able to do that we would love to minister to them in that way you leave their name their their address their phone number in the church office and also your name if you would like to have that tool or resource we got the joy group Christmas party that's coming up Miss Pat where are you at oh there you are is it too late to sign up for that tomorrow tomorrow is the last day so if you are wanting to be a part of that be sure to sign up it's 15 bucks a person that'll pay for your dinner there's going to be Josh and Christy they're going to be sharing and it's going to be a great time also our in gathering for the international Mission board is on December 18th our Church's goal is twelve thousand dollars and on that day we're gonna have Stephen and Jen Hagan that'll be here there's some

Of our missionaries that we've sent he's going to be preaching that day and share them with you just what they've they've been doing down in the Philippines so be here on December 18th and also during that Sunday morning part I guess the community group time we're gonna have our kids that are going to be presenting their Christmas program as well and so a lot of fun and exciting things that are happening it's just it's a good season for our church and I'm very thankful for that before we go too much further into our service we're going to be spending some time preparing our hearts for worship I also want to remind you that today is the last Sunday of the month and we take communion at the end of our service and so during the worships time as we respond to the Lord through song please make your way forward to receive the elements for communion and take one of those make sure that they have little Breads in there and have a seat during our worship time so yeah so let's let's just take a moment as we begin our service Bauer heads close our eyes and prepare our hearts for worship today perhaps you're here and Thanksgiving can be a hard season would you just take some time and share that with the Lord maybe it's been hard traveling and you're quite frankly exhausted and you're here because you know you ought to be here would you take some time and ask the Lord say Lord strengthen me speak to me this morning and God we do give you this time we thank you for your kindness and your mercy and your love we pray that you just speak to us as we begin the Advent series and I pray Lord that you would help us as we are looking forward to

Your return God to learn what we can from the past so that others might so that we might really just glean from your word what you would have us to receive today our minds are receptive to what you have to say our hearts are ready to receive your word and so Lord now as we our mind turns to the Baptist faith and message and what we believe as a church God I pray that you would just speak to us Lord this is our confession Lord you died for this church you died for the capital c church that meets today throughout the world God this is this is your facility not mine not any members here this is your church God so Lord just do your work today in our midst in Jesus name amen good morning Pastor Cody we are glad that you're back but don't fear if you have to leave again we had two wonderful messages over the past two Sundays so if you need to go on vacation again don't fear just get those they did they did a great job so we're thankful for that okay so this morning's is for the Baptist faith in the message is the church part two and it's very short but then the next is a Scripture passage which is one of my favorite passages from First Corinthians chapter 12 verses 12 through 20. But the Baptist faith and Mission Church part two says the New Testament speaks also of the church as the body of Christ which includes all of us excuse me all of the redeemed for all the ages Believers from every tribe and tongue and people and nation and in First Corinthians chapter 12 verses 12-20 says for just as the

Body is one and has many members in all the members of the body though many are one body so it is with Christ for in one Spirit we are all baptized into one body Jews or Greeks slaves are free and all were made to drink of one spirit for the body does not consist of one member but of many if the foot should say because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body that would not make it any less a part of the body and if the ear should say because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body that would not make it any less a part of the body if the whole body were an eye where would the sense of hearing and if the whole body were an where would be the sense of smell but as it is God arranged the members in the body each one of them as he chose if all were a single member where would the body be as it is there are many parts yet one body so each of us who are Believers in Jesus Christ who have trusted Christ as our Savior we are a part of the body of Christ each one of us no matter what part of the body we are we are important for the body to function let's pray Lord thank you for your word thank you for the opportunity that we have to just really think about the church being your body and that each one of us because of you are a part of that body each one of us is important because you've placed us where you want us to be Lord help us to function as you want us to function in Jesus name amen Well church we have we've already been engaged in worship this morning do you realize that we have fellowshipped with one another we have confessed what we believe about our God together and now the time has come for us to sing together so I'd invite you to please stand with me as we sing believe it or not it's already Christmas season so we're gonna sing O Come All Ye Faithful joyful and

Triumphant foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] all ye bright hosts of Heaven glory to God all glory in the highest oh come let us adore him oh come let us adore him oh come let us adore him cry the Lord yea Lord we greet me born this happy morning Jesus to thee be O Lord foreign [Applause] [Music] you can be seated as we prepare to light the first candle of the Advent season foreign good morning and let me be the first one to say Merry Christmas okay today is the hope the prophecy candle Isaiah 9 2 9 verses 2 through 7. Today as we begin this season of Advent the celebration of the time leading up to the Christmas Day Advent means the arrival the coming and throughout the season we will celebrate the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus born of the Virgin Mary in a lowly manger so many years ago in the city of David We Begin this journey through Advent by lighting the candle the light of these candles reminds us of the power of light over darkness that the Dark World we can find Rest In The Light of Christ this first candle is a symbol of hope we have in Jesus it is called the prophecy candle and it reminds us of those who have spoke of the promise of the Christ child throughout the ages of History it is a reminder of Hope of our spiritual ancestors had in the God of Abraham and of Noah Abraham Isaac and Jacob it is a reminder of the hope of the king Who Would One Day end Israel's oppression and Reign Over them in

Righteousness and peace it is a reminder of the hope of the prophets who foretold the place and the manner of the birth of Christ and how he would fulfill the reconciliation of Israel it is a remainder of hope that Believers have today of the life marked by peace and righteousness and the hope that we all have and the return of that same King to rule over the Earth and reconcile us to God once and for all we have we read a prophecy of Hope of the Christ in Isaiah chapter 9. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light those who dwell in the land of deep Darkness on them the light has shown for to us a child is born to us a son is given and the government shall be on his shoulder and his name Shall be Called wonderful counselor Mighty God Everlasting father and the prince of peace of the increase of his government and of the peace there will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with Justice and with the righteousness from this time forth and forevermore the Zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this is our prayer dear God on this first Sunday in Advent we begin a spiritual pilgrimage as we Proclaim joyously anticipate Christmas Day a reminder of the birth of our Savior as we come to this place to worship you with one another we know that we are in your presence let us place our hope and trust in you and give your peace that through us all may be able to place their hope in Christ it is in his name we pray amen foreign [Music] God's salvation now unfurled hope for every nation not with fanfares from above not with

Scenes of Glory [Music] lift of love Jesus born of Mary foreign s of Wonder fill the sky with the songs of angels I as the mighty Prince of Life shelters in a stable hands that set each star in place shaved the Earth in darkness [Music] foreign [Music] Gifts of men from distant lands prophesy the story go the king is born today incense God is with us [Music] son of Adam Son Of Heaven given as a rest yling God and man Christ Our Mighty champion [Music] What A Savior what a friend what a glorious mystery once a baby now the Lord of his history [Music] That Song speaks of the overarching story see it doesn't end with the birth the birth of Christ is so magnificent because of what he did in his life and his death and his resurrection amen it's also magnificent that the God of the universe would condescend to our level take on flesh to become like us so that he could experience all of The Temptations that we experience so that he could feel the bite of death and so that he could be raised again to New Life as a foreshadowing of what he promises to all who believe that's another good place to say Amen I mean that's pretty cool right this next song we're gonna sing is O come O come Emmanuel it can be a little confusing because

We're talking about the captive Israel over and over in this song we're talking about the Israel that lies in oppression waiting for the Savior but do you realize that's where we are now those of us who believe we are grafted in to Israel we are the Fulfillment Christ is the Fulfillment in US foreign we await the day that he comes to reconcile us to him once and for all so you see Advent is not just a season where we remember the past it's a season where we look forward to the future when Christ will come again and Reign forever [Music] foreign [Music] God of fear rejoice [Music] here our Spirits by thine Adventure disperse the gloomy clouds of night and death Dark Shadows [Music] Rejoice amen shall come to thee always well Oh Come Thou wisdom from on high and order all things [Music] and cause Us in her ways to go rejoice Rejoice amen well shall come to [Music] truth Oh Come desire of Nations [Music] fill the whole world with Heaven's please rejoice [Music] Rejoice be man you will shall come to thee [Music] and rejoice rejoice [Music] foreign

[Music] Kings and Nations tremble at his voice [Music] Seated on his throne come let us adore him Behold thy King nothing can compare there come let us adore him [Applause] [Music] who has given counsel to the Lord who can question any of his words who can teach the one who knows all things who can fathom all his wondrous deep behold Behold our God Seated on his throne come let us adore him Behold our King nothing can compare come let us adore him [Applause] foreign [Music] Jesus Savior is and now to Reign behold Our God Seated on his throne come let us adore him [Music] Behold our King nothing can compare come let us adore him you will reign you will reign forever [Music] you will Reign forever welcome will rain forever foreign you will reign forever [Music] Behold our God Seated on his throne

Come let us adore him Behold our King nothing can compare come let us adore for him sing it again church just our voices Behold our God Seated on his throne come let us adore for him Behold thy King nothing can compare come let us adore him [Music] oh come let us adore him O come let us adore him O come let us adore him cry Christ the Lord we have gathered here to praise your name together and publicly and loudly Lord help us to continue to worship you as we hear from your word Lord help us to seek after how we might glorify you in what we say and do it's in Jesus name we pray amen well good morning church it is good to hear a congregation singing amen all right now I'm never I haven't used this yet but it's on so just do it let's let's let me just check here real quick okay well y'all are just gonna have to follow along happy Advent and we are starting our Advent series looking for the Savior and that's what we are doing that's why we light these candles these candles are symbols reminders of what it is that God is doing in his first Advent the anticipation the preparation the hope the peace the love the joy all of those things that we talk about at Christmas these are symbols and reminders of the truth that Christ has come and he will come again amen and I see some of my Linguistics friends it's good seeing you all back it's wonderful to have our ethnos 360

Students and we miss y'all when y'all go home for Christmas but we will be right here in January when y'all return now we're talking about looking for the Savior and that's what it says on your on your on the screen and in your bulletin and what we're doing is we are going to be looking at different people that we're looking forward to the coming of Christ so today we are going to be looking at a senior adult couple Zachariah and Elizabeth and what God was doing in their lives as they were looking forward to the coming Messiah now Messiah is the word that in the Hebrew for the anointed one we would call it Christ so when you think of Jesus Christ it means the anointed one the promised one the Messiah who was promised all the way back in Genesis chapter 3 verse 16. And so he is the one that would crush the Serpent's head and so we're going to be looking at different characters in The Book of Luke primarily we will go over to Matthew a little bit as well but we are today looking at Zachariah and Elizabeth and we're going to see what we should be like as we eagerly anticipate the return of Jesus Christ before we do that though I do want to give a very heartfelt thank you to Austin and Jim you guys blessed my heart as I got to just kind of sit from a distance on YouTube and watch and listen to you guys it's good to have men that are able to preach God's word amen and it's what I do is not something that's just like this oh you know only he can do it Ministry is for every single believer amen you don't have to have a REV before your name you don't have to have an M A or a doctorate or anything like that Ministry is for the common person it's for you every member is called to

Be a minister every member is called to be a missionary and so that's part of what we do and so if you have your Bible and I hope that you do turn with me to Luke chapter one Luke chapter one we are going to be looking at verses 5 through 25 today and we're going to look at what God did in the life of Zechariah and Elizabeth if you would stand with me in honor of God's word as we read Luke chapter 1 verses 5 through 25. God's word says this in the days of Herod King of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah of the division of abijah and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth they were both righteous before God walking blamelessly in all the Commandments and statues of statutes of the Lord but they had no child because Elizabeth was Barren and both were advanced in years now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty according to the custom of the priesthood he was chosen by lot to enter the Temple of the Lord and burn incense and the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense and Zechariah was troubled when he saw him and fear fell upon him but the angel said to him do not be afraid Zechariah for your prayer has been heard and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you shall call his name John and you will have joy and gladness and many Will Rejoice at his birth for he will be great before the Lord and he must not drink wine or strong drink and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers

To the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready for the Lord a people prepared and Zechariah said to the angel how shall I know this for I am an old man and my wife has advanced in years and the angel answered him I am Gabriel I stand in the presence of God and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news and behold you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their time and the people were waiting for Zechariah and they were wondering at his delay in the temple when he came out he was unable to speak to them and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple and he kept making signs to them and remained mute and when his time of service had ended he went on to his home after these days his wife Elizabeth conceived and for five months she kept herself hidden saying thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me to take away my reproach among the people let's pray and so God we do thank you for your kindness and your mercy we thank you for this word and I pray specifically that those of us who fit into age demographics maybe where we don't feel very useful whether we're very young or whether we're very old Lord that you would just help us to take our excuses and put an end to them but to look to you the God who qualifies and who calls Lord you are you are our King and so when you say JUMP we say how high you are The Sovereign you are the most Mighty and the most majestic you are the God who calls down to the deepest grave and you raise up those of us who have who follow you and who love you thank you for that celebration of baptism that we got to observe today

Thank you for that calling of communion that you invite us to and today as we look at your word we pray that you would just open our minds and our hearts to be receptive to rightly apply it to our lives we love you Lord and we thank you for all that you've done and all that you're going to do in Jesus name amen well back in the days of Herod now if y'all don't know who Herod is Herod is a bad dude he's a bad guy in the Bible actually here's a picture of him sitting down with the Three Wise Guys you got that picture back there thank you yeah can't can't get the work for me so there's three wise men we know that these wise men were from the East they were following the star all that kind of stuff we'll get to that when we get to the wise men but Herod was a bad guy he was he was so rotten so evil he was paranoid he was a tyrant who he was renowned for his ability to build he built fortresses citadels he built caesarea Philippi which was a Roman Port the Romans loved him they thought that he was one of the best rulers of a small Kingdom and so they actually set him up because he could keep the peace among the Jews who would try to revolt against the Roman rule cool I he like I said he wasn't a good man he had 10 wives 10 wives and he had numerous sons and he actually killed several of his own Sons he got to be suspicious of them he started thinking well they're they're after my Throne even so much that his oldest son who is the one who should be next in line when his father was very old you know and he was kind of making some preparations okay if we're going to transition this let's go ahead and start doing it my grandfather or my father's getting sick his dad was just like well you're not the king yet off with your head

He was a tyrant he was a bad guy when he found out that the king of the Jews had been born in the city of Bethlehem he immediately sought to find Jesus to put him to death and I'll tell you that part of Christmas sorry kids but this was a dark time for the people of Israel and yet the Lord he had a faithful remnant of people who were there praying and interceding and serving at the Temple and so if you're taking notes I want you to write this down the people of God now when we look at the people of God namely we were talking about Zechariah and Elizabeth Zechariah he's a priest that means that he is from the tribe of Levi he's a levite he is from the division of abijah and his wife is also a daughter of Aaron which means that she comes from that same tribe of Levi that means that both of these are direct descendants from the first Priests of Israel Aaron these people they're they're they're real characters when we think of characters if you're taking notes you can write that in when we think of characters oftentimes we think of like maybe it's Christmas so we'll go with Charles Dickens we think of characters in the novel or characters in a movie or characters in the TV show but these are real actual historical people who really experience these things and had testimonies and encounters with a true and a living God these are not fairy tales these aren't things that just help us feel good these are real testimonies from real people and these people Zechariah and Elizabeth they were right described as righteous before God and these aren't this isn't man's judgment about their character this is God's judgment about this faithful senior adult couple they were Godly they were loving wonderful

People we could say that they were righteous we could even say that they were clean if you're taking notes you can write that down and don't skip this because some of gods have say most of God's most amazing works are performed through people that are righteous people that follow the Lord Jesus Christ if you're walking in sin God is not going to bless your endeavors if you are walking in Rebellion God is not going to be able to work powerfully until you get that sin right whether it's an addiction or just a bitterness that you hold on to when we talk about righteous we talk about being pure and just before the Lord the Scripture says that they were walking blamelessly in all the commands and statutes of the Lord and in Psalm chapter 119 verse 1 it says blessed are those whose way is blameless who walk in the law of the Lord this does not mean that we are perfect amen yeah if we're perfect it like those of us who are perfect you know like there's none of us here you know what I'm saying like I wish that I could just get like a moment of perfection but I know my nature I know my own heart I know that it's the Lord's righteousness that I have it's not my own so even the good things that I have and the good things that I do the faithfulness that you know we see in our lives it's not because of anything in inherent in us it's because what Christ is doing in US amen so as we walk and we grow in obedience to God it's ultimately because God is doing that work to Will and to work for his good pleasure in the summer of 1908 1909 there was a guy by the name of Ernest Shackleton you guys ever heard of Ernest Shackleton okay famous explorer this is a picture of him and you know it's interesting he writes down

In his journal this journey that he was on they went to go to the South Pole and they set off on their ponies they loaded them down a couple of weeks later as they're trying to get across the South Pole their their Ponies are dead their supplies are running low the rations are all but exhausted their goal is not yet accomplished and they trekked across the South Pole for 127 days that's a long time anyone ever watched that show alone alone on like Netflix I love that show if you want like just a cool show that's just about survival and Bushcraft I love bushcrafting I love reading about it love experimenting with it all that kind of stuff it's fun it's masculine you know but you know those those people they go up to the Arctic and they're well prepared and everything and they last 60 70 sometimes 100 days you know these guys they were out there in the early 1900s 127 days and what's interesting is that in his book The Heart of the Antarctic it says that the time was spent talking about food as they were walking and their rations were gone they were talking about elaborate feasts Gourmet Delight Sumptuous menus all these different things and as they were staggering along they were suffering from dysentery they didn't know whether they would survive every waking moment was with the thought of eating that's all that they could think about and some of you skip breakfast and that's all that you can think about right now listen to me just stay with me okay Jesus he also knew those ravages of food deprivation he fasted in the desert for 40 days and what did he say he said blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness blessed are you when you are obsessed not with food

But with righteousness when you hunger for it when you thirst for it when nothing else will satisfy but that blessed are you and hunger is a strong motivator these folks they were also childless if you're taking notes write that down childless these people they didn't have a baby to love on in that culture people they believe that childlessness was a sign of Shame a sign of judgment from God we look in the Old Testament we see a lot of righteous women were struck with barrenness Rebecca in the Old Testament she was Barren but the Lord gave her children after prayer in this time under the leadership of King Herod and the Pharisees there was actually a custom of divorce which was not Biblical at all this custom that they had they believed that if a wife could not bear children they encouraged the man to divorce her because obviously she had done something wrong obviously she was unrighteous obviously she was living in sin that's why God wasn't blessing her with children so men were actually encouraged to divorce their wives but Zachariah he's a Godly Man Zechariah he is devoted to his wife regardless of her ability to Bear children in that season of their lives it came and it went without a newborn cry and they got old they got advanced in years but age has never been an excuse for God it's never been a reason why God said ah you're too old ah you're too young I can't use you that's never been something that God has ever said in the history of ever when I look at the Bible he calls Samuel who was a just a small boy when God called him Samuel Samuel yes Lord what is it this is your servant or Moses Moses he was 80 years old at

The burning bush God it's way too late for me to walk all the way back to Egypt and be a leader for the next 40 years Sarah our shoe is way past the ability to Bear children but With God all things are possible Zechariah and Elizabeth there great examples to you and I on how we are to honor God honor his law and be faithful to the Lord the second point I want you to write down is the purity of the people of God the purity of the now Purity it's the absence of contamination I remember one time I was playing in my backyard and we had this massive oak tree and I grew up in Virginia and they have these huge oak trees I mean the base of the trunk was at least this big around and it had this huge limb going across and it was this great swing I would swing on it all the time and I was out there and I was swinging just having fun it was a beautiful day my dad comes down to the backyard he says Cody you want to go to town with me I said yeah Dad I'll go I hop off not more than 10 steps all of a sudden there's this huge just snap of a limb and where I was swinging just this huge Limb and everything just came down right there and I just kind of freeze my dad freezes we knew that something really cool had happened that you know I didn't die and what happened was we cut down the tree and as we were getting down into the meat of the tree the whole heart had been eaten out by a huge carpenter ants I mean those things were that big I mean they were huge it crawled all over this guy it was terrifying to watch but the tree looked fine on the outside it looked healthy but its heart was eaten away because it was contaminated with pests you see a person without purity is a lot like that tree where everything might look good you might come to church

Look great might look put together you know you might might seem to have it you might be able to quote the Bible verses you might be able to sing the songs or know the songs you might be able to you know say is blessed sermon Pastor praise the Lord you know and all that kind of stuff but at home maybe you've got habits you've got sins get these things that you just like to go to those those secret dark corners of your life that you think no one knows about but let me tell you something brother sister God knows about those things I don't need to know about those things but the Lord does deal with those he loves you he's beckoning you to follow him to draw close to him he tells us that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness you don't have to make yourself good you know what we do is we come to God and he makes us good he's the one that cleans us up he's the one that patches us up he's the one who loves us and so we come to him but notice also what these these people are doing they are also they're also working okay they were working they're they're staying busy right Zachariah his job was to serve as a priest before the Lord I don't mean that you're working for your salvation don't make that connection at all it's only by grace that you're saved through faith okay but these people they had a job they were doing something with their lives and we're just sitting there like bumps on a log Zechariah his job it was the way they had it work was that there were 24 I guess divisions of priests and he is of that division of abijah and so twice a year he would travel to Jerusalem to perform his Priestly duties

And also during all the high holy weeks he would be there and the other parts of the time he would served as a as a farmer and that's just what they would do there were 18 000 priests in his division at that time that's just what the commentators estimate and so he probably never had the opportunity to offer incense before the Lord it's very rare honor and so they did they determined who would perform these tasks by casting lots now casting lots was not the practice of rolling dice okay what it was it was either drawing straws or it was having a pouch or a basket and putting a whole bunch of white stones in there with a one black one and everyone will reach in and that was that was cast in Watts drawing Watts and so Zachariah he is chosen by lot to enter the temple that does this mean that Christians should flip a coin for decisions or maybe we should start casting lots and things like that no we now have the Holy Spirit okay and so now he's the one that guides us and that's what we do as we make decisions in our lives now he is going to go in and he's going to burn incense and offer prayers this would happen in the morning or at 3 P.M we don't know which time that was but they are out there they are in that Temple and there are many people outside that Temple and what are they doing they are worshiping you have this work and you have this worship that's taking place here now I want to show you some stained glass images of this cathedral in Burgess this is in France these are these are stained glass from the 13th century he just think back how far back that goes and that is Zachariah with Gabriel and their conversation that's taking place there is a another one that I

Want to show you here this is Zechariah and Elizabeth and these are these are just part of a huge collection of stained glass there inversions now there are over let me get my numbers right here 183 stained glass stained glass windows 183 with over 2 450 people from the Bible and in all of those stained glass images but what happens is that Zechariah he goes in and he offers prayers to Lord that's part of what he's he's supposed to do he's supposed to toss his incense on the altar let it burn offer a prayer walk out shouldn't take more than a minute or two that's his job that's what his function is but something happens that he doesn't expect and that's kind of how God works right it doesn't take long and so Zechariah he goes in does this and he sees Gabriel now we're familiar with Gabriel we've gone through the Book of Daniel we've seen Gabriel as a messenger from God that's what he does that's that's Gabriel's whole job is that he goes and he delivers messages to the Saints at really really really important times and here is a really really really important time and his message is don't be afraid don't be afraid because God is going to do something even though this man is righteous even though this man is blameless he still fear feels fear he still feels trepidation do not be afraid Zechariah for your prayers have been heard the third point if you're taking notes is the promise of God the promise of God has heard the prayer that Zechariah has lifted up a lot of commentators they've said well this is obviously a prayer for a child and I'm not quite sure if it was then the reason for this is because of the reasons that Zechariah gives

Zechariah is already looking for reasons why it can't be she was his wife was Barren and advanced in years so it's not realistic and secondly Zechariah didn't believe the angel I believe that Zechariah was praying for the Messiah to come I believe he was going God this is a really bad time we've got bad leaders we've got it's just it's an awful time for our people there's persecution there's taxation it's it's just really hard God can you please send the Messiah can you please send that promised one to deliver your people God we've been waiting and remember that was a 400 year gap between Malachi and like and where we're at right now in Luke 400 years of no new word from the Lord and so as a time of just bitter silence where the people they are still at the temple they are still remaining faithful they had learned their lesson from the Exile and from the vast history of Israel and their God we're doing our best here can you please please please send that deliverer and God says yes he says yes and I want you to notice that he does it in the way that maybe Zechariah wasn't expecting he promises he gives a prophecy he says there's going to be rejoicing that means that there's joy that means that there is gladness there that as a result of this child there will be rejoicing babies they are a blessing and so they should be raised up in the Lord I mean did you notice how like full the sanctuary was when all those kids from Kids Quest were in here how noisy and loud it was that is a blessing amen and now there's a little little less room and that's okay praise the Lord we're we're going to

Make disciples one way we're going to make them another that's what we say we will keep on doing that but once you notice that John is going to be great this is the promised one we could say that John he was righteous he was filled with the spirit of God not from birth but within the womb before he was he was even able to make an appearance before the world the Lord had chosen him for this specific service and this is about as pro-life as you can get John he leapt in the womb and when Mary and Elizabeth met up later in Luke we also know that this prophecy states that he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God this means that his message is going to be one of repentance and twice in here there's mentioned a turning a turning of the hearts to the fathers all right the hearts of the fathers to the children where fathers all of a sudden are taking on the role of the nurturer and saying here this is what you should do in knowing the Lord I cannot overstate this and I know that I do this often but men you are called to be the spiritual leaders of your family so do it well you are called to read God's word with them read God's word over them take time to pray with them and for them don't be ashamed to sing hymns with your kids lead or lead in failure that's the choices that you have and so I encourage you to do it well and imagine that you are told that this child that you are going to raise is going to be the Forerunner of the Messiah imagine the sheer weight and the magnitude and the responsibility well I can't mess this up I look at my kids I'm like how on Earth are they not messed up all the mistakes and I try my best I do

I really do try my best but even I make mistakes right Lily she's like yeah you do you make a lot of them dad but he's it says here that John is going to be given like that Spirit of Elijah now Elijah was one of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament this doesn't mean that John the Baptist is some sort of Reincarnation of the life of Elijah the Bible doesn't teach that reincarnation is not a Christian belief but that his ministry would be powerful and effective like Elijah's Elijah performed Miracles 14 miracles to be exact fire from heaven being fed with food from Ravens causing the rain to cease for three and a half years John's Ministry is not like that John's Ministry has no recorded miracles okay nothing like that his ministry is about turning the hearts of men to God and that is one of the most difficult aspects of ministry if you are at all contemplating going into Ministry young man young woman if you're feeling called to Ministry that is the most difficult part of ministry is working with the hearts of men and asking for the Lord to work in the hearts of men his ministry is all about that but John's Ministry it wasn't just to prepare the way of the Lord although that's true John's Ministry was to prepare a people for the Lord as well the fact that John the Baptist is the messenger who would come to prepare the way for Christ so if his son is if Zechariah and Elizabeth's son is to be born and to be the prophet who prepares the way for God to make ready for the Lord of people prepared then that must mean one thing that God is getting ready to send the Messiah the promised one the one who is

The central character from Genesis all the way through he is the central character throughout the entire Narrative of Scripture and this boy that's going to be born is to get people ready for the Lord now when we talk about getting ready one of my favorite things to do of all time okay seriously it's my favorite thing to do is to go on dates with my wife that is hands down my favorite thing to do all right and when we get ready to go on a date okay I don't just slap on t-shirt and say let's go babe right no I need I need to do some stuff to my face you're like yes Cody you do you know but I like to take some time and shave or trim my beard you know you know pluck some hairs and shower that's always a good idea right I want to make myself ready because I want to be presentable to my wife I love doing that it's one of my favorite things to be able to spend that time with my wife but John's Ministry was to get people ready for the good news of the kingdom of God and he wasn't preparing the exterior like I do right that's that's what the Pharisees do right his message was about the heart to repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand the Kingdom of Heaven is nigh it's it's it's coming and Jesus he came in to Usher that Kingdom and this is good news that Gabriel even calls it the Gospel the good news look at verse 19. That's way that's exactly what he says I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news but Zechariah doesn't believe it because he really doesn't understand Point number four the power of God Zachariah all he sees are the problems that is the only thing that he sees how

Can I believe this message I'm an old man my wife she's old but don't tell her I said that what God has called these people what God has called these people to he will equip them with and the same is true for you see we can come up we were talking about this in my community group today that even though we might feel called to do something it's very easy for us to come up with every excuse Under the Sun not to do it I'm too busy I'm too old I'm too tired I don't have that skill Moses did the same thing didn't he I'm not very important I've already barked up that tree I can't speak very well how will people believe me send someone else Gideon did the same thing Paul had to be struck blind before he would follow the Lord and then we see Isaiah here am I send me which would you rather be but listen to what Gabriel says I am Gabriel I stand in the presence of God and I was sent to speak to you to bring you this good news this is a Gospel message not that John was going to be born but that the Lord was coming to rescue the people of God that's what the Christmas season is all about it's about the good news of Christ's coming and never forget that and this is good news that caused John the Baptist to LEAP in the womb because it's good news it is this good news that John the Baptist preached for to turn men's Hearts to the Lord the good news is repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and it's not at hand anymore it's not imminent anymore it's here because we have received the kingdom in

Our hearts through the proclamation of the Gospel now we are citizens of the Kingdom we are ambassadors of the kingdom and now we go as Citizens and ambassadors of the Kingdom preaching and declaring the good news that Christ has indeed been born he lived a perfect sinless life and he went to the Cross to die for the sins of men and not only that but he rose again in a glorious way and defeated sin and death and hell and now we get to be ambassadors of that message and now we get to proclaim the message and the good news of the kingdom of God beckoning people to get off of that broad Highway that leads to destruction and get on this Narrow Path because it's better I promise you Jesus is better than anything that those this entire world can offer he's better Zechariah didn't believe and as a result I want you to notice this punishment that's given and behold you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their time you see because there was no belief Zechariah he couldn't speak he I think King James says he was made dumb that's what it means you're not able to speak because there's there's always consequences for not taking God's word at face value there's always consequences when God's word speaks plainly about something it is incumbent upon Christians and Believers to just take it at face value by faith and if we don't if we don't take God's word at face value it will lead to our spiritual dumbness it will rob you and I of our Priestly privileges it punishes us until we see God's word fulfilled and when we start to see the error of our ways and we repent see after after the incense is was

Offered back in that time it was customary for the priest to come out and pronounce a blessing over the people of God and so the people are out there and they're praying and they're excited to see old Zechariah who had never gone in to offer this incense finally he gets his turn and he comes out and he just can't speak and he's making motions to them and he can't do anything and the people are well that's rude he didn't pronounce the blessing but he couldn't look at verse 21 the people they were waiting for Zechariah and they were wondering at his delay in the temple and when he came out he was unable to speak to them and they realized well he had seen a vision in the temple and he kept making signs to them and remained mute and when his time of service had ended he went to his home that's a tough lesson isn't it but God's word is fulfilled after these days his wife Elizabeth conceived what a miracle that is that in spite of all of Zechariah's naysaying that could never happen God still worked he took and worked through even Zechariah's faithful at faithlessness and brought about the Forerunner of Christ and we can't can't call zachariah's Faith we can't call him faithless for very long though so I think at that moment when his speech was taken away he probably knew this is God's plan God knows what he's doing and his plan is always good I was talking to with a family member at Thanksgiving about religion and politics because that's a smart idea and we actually had a really great Thanksgiving conversation about how

God is working in their life and like they're reading through the Bible for the first time in their 60s and they're they're seeing God's truth revealed in such powerful ways that they had never experienced all because they're they're just taking God's word at face value and they're just walking in obedience and we can be stubborn can't we can be hard-hearted even mature Believers can be stubborn and stiff-necked but God has a way of sending trials and hardships and maybe even judgments to cause us and motivate us to faithfulness before him see Elizabeth she was a Godly woman and she was she conceived her reproach was taken away that sign of judgment was gone Porter Zachariah he may not have been able to explain everything right away to his beloved but God he is faithful that's one of the biggest truths that we can take away from this passage especially during this Advent season is the faithfulness of God you see God from the garden did not consign Humanity to Eternal condemnation separated from him see even in the garden he provided away for Adam and Eve to know that there was a coming Messiah an anointed one who would crush the Serpent's head and so by faith in the future work of the Messiah and by faith in obedience in his law they were Justified and in the same way we are justified by looking back at the cross and we look back at what the Messiah did for us because we're justified by faith alone as well and God he loves you he loves you he sent his son to redeem you

From sin from judgment from Death From Hell he sent his son to reconcile you to himself because God he did not want to abandon him to that eternity and nothing can thwart his plan believe her this truth of God's faithfulness is a balm for your soul that in spite of all the things that life can throw at us God still has a plan and he is still faithful and he is still good and he is still in control and he still loves you it is a balm for your soul now every church is a little different in how they do communion and for us one of the things that we do is we allow for any person that knows the Lord Jesus who trusts in him who knows that if they were to die that they would spend eternity with him we allow for you to take partaking communion with us if you haven't had a chance to receive the elements this would be a good time for you to go to one of the entrances and receive those things if you don't know if you're saved then don't get up don't get the elements or anything like that watch observe okay because these are these are symbols of what Christ has done for us actually the Scripture tells us this in First Corinthians chapter 11 to not partake in the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner it says this whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup for anyone who eats and drinks without Discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself and this is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died perhaps if you're a Believer and you are just walking in Rebellion maybe there's a relationship that you're in

That you shouldn't be in maybe there's a particular sin that you just you love more than the Lord and you haven't dealt with that don't partake in communion just leave the elements where they're at we'll get them later but spend some time praying and asking the Lord God deal with me work in my heart and allow me to take communion next month when we take it on Christmas Day but right now we're going to move into that time of communion if you would bow your heads close your eyes and consider for a moment Christ's sacrifice for you foreign Lord we are so thankful that you have called us out of Darkness into your Marvelous Light we are so thankful that you have saved us redeemed us purchased us God it's it's by your body that was bruised and crushed it was by your blood that was poured out freely for the remission of sins God we're thankful Lord our hearts are just thankful minds are thankful Lord it's nothing that we've done it's what you've done so we thank you thank you for your blood thank you for your body thank you for loving us so much that you chose to die on that cross so many times we can be disbelieving or not understanding or chasing our own Tails down here Lord but you still love us so we thank you Lord help us help us Lord to love you the way that you desire to be loved the way that you tell us how to love you the way that you deserve to be loved God with our whole hearts and Minds help us to experience the joy of communion with you even now

And as we prepare to go as ambassadors to a world that needs to See the Light of Christ in US help us in Jesus name amen Scripture says this in First Corinthians 11 verse 23 it says for I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread when he had given thanks he broke it said this is my body which is for you do this in remembrance of me take the bread knee thank you for your body Lord from conception Lord your body was perfect you knew no sin even though you were tempted God never lied never stole never disobeyed not even for a moment God thank you for fulfilling all the law and the prophets for our sake that we would be able to be reconciled to the father thank you Lord our minds and our thoughts now turn to your blood your blood that was poured out so freely thank you for this symbol as a reminder Lord of what you did for us on the cross so many years ago that it's still powerful and it's still effective even today in Jesus name amen Scripture says this verse 25 in the same way also he took the cup after supper saying this cup is the New Covenant in my blood do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me take the cup and drink for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes let's all stand together and let's

Respond in worship Behold our God [Music] who has held the oceans in his hands numbered every grain of sand Kings and Nations tremble at his voice [Music] creation Rises to Rejoice [Music] Behold our God Seated on his throne come let us adore him Behold thy King nothing can compare come let us adore who has given counsel to the Lord who can question any of his words who can teach the one who knows all things who can fathom all his wondrous deep hold our God Seated on his throne come let us adore him behold thou our King nothing can compare come let us adore him [Music] who has felt the nails upon his hands bearing all the guilt of sinful men God Eternal humble to the Grave Jesus Savior risen now to reign Behold our God Seated on this Throne come let us adore him Behold our King nothing can compare come let us adore him sing it again Church Behold our God our God Seated on his throne come let us adore him Behold our King nothing can compare come let us adore him

Praise the Lord amen I want to introduce you guys to a couple of families here this is I want you guys to have a seat that way some of you all can in the back can see this is Tim and Sarah badalato and they've been through our new membership class and they said you know this is where we really feel like the Lord's leading us and so we thank the Lord for that they have testimonies of Faith so that would be Tim and Sarah and Liam and Levi they'll be joining and we're praying for Miss Sophie as she's made a profession of Faith right but it has not followed through with Believers baptism and so if y'all would receive them into our fellowship would you say amen thank the Lord for you guys this is the Morrison family and Y'all Gonna help have to help me with the kids a little bit here okay because I got five of my own that I can't keep straight now this is Rex and Christine Morrison and their daughter Abby Madison Hunter and James and no Hunter and James because my sons play with you guys quite a bit so but they've also made professions YouTube and Madison have made professions of faith and so they said you know this is where we want our family to come and be a part of and both of these families will transfer letters from a sister church and so if y'all would receive them into our fellowship would you say Amen all right praise the Lord and be sure to come up introduce yourselves they love lunch okay so grab a family take them to lunch y'all don't have plans right okay all right well we don't want to say anything but we're very thankful for that Craig's going to come up and he's going to dismiss us in prayer if y'all would stand with me as we join together

In prayer let's pray together Father in Heaven thank you again just for the opportunity that we have as a body of Believers in this local area to come together to meet to pray to sing to worship you father through word and Song and all that we've been able to do today and father for families joining our membership here and being a part of this local body father thank you Lord that we are the people of God if we've trusted Jesus Christ of our Savior and we pray father that we would be people of God full of Purity looking to the promise that you've given us and Lord of Emmanuel who we know is calm and is coming again and we look forward to that time and father help us to be looking towards you in your power not denying it father but believing it and trusting in it and Lord as we go forward this week I just pray that you've helped us to remember your word and the things that you have for us help us to be those ambassadors and we father we lift this to you in Jesus name amen have a great week appreciate it