Sermon Notes 4/29/2012

Sermon Title: How Can I Be Sure of This?

Sermon Text: Luke 1:5-25

Scripture Reading: Luke 1:5-25

Review

Last week: The Certainty of Christianity. Every person on the planet lives a faith-based life. The way you choose to live your life is predicated upon facts (real or perceived) you know, what you cannot know, reason, and a decision to trust something. Luke is writing to assure us of what we believe by careful research and the documentation of facts.

Introduction

Luke 1:5-25 is a part of the larger context of Luke 1:5-2:40. Today we will talk about the birth announcement of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ. The theme of Luke 1:5-2:40 is as follows: John paves the way. Jesus is the Way. The announcement of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ’s births are laid side by side for the purpose of contrast. However, after the infancy unit, there is a concluding episode about Jesus in the temple (2:41-52), which announces Jesus’ mission. No such parallel exists for John. The absence of this parallelism reveals the uniqueness of Jesus.³ Zechariah and Elizabeth had a remarkable heritage and were highly commended by the Lord.

Their Heritage (Luke 1:5)

Priests were expected to marry an Israelite woman who was a virgin (Leviticus 21:7, 14; Ezekiel 44:22). Zechariah went beyond that and chose his wife from the daughters of Aaron. She was named Elizabeth, after Aaron’s wife. Since all qualified male descendants of Aaron were priests, most men (depending upon qualifications) on both sides of the family would have been priests.²

Their Walk (Luke 1:6)

The Scripture says they were both “righteous before God.” The use of the Greek “righteous” is different from Paul’s use of the term to refer to those who are judicially righteous before God (Romans 3:21-31).³ The righteousness here fits its pre-Cross setting; it is righteousness from the perspective of God’s law (see Job 9:21). In other words, God looked upon the daily decisions, dependence, and obedience of Zechariah and Elizabeth and highly complimented them for their acceptable walk; they were a spiritually exemplary couple.

The Announcement (Luke 1:8-17)

It is hard for us to imagine the significance and personal impact Gabriel’s announcement meant to a devoted Israelite. The announcement broke 400 years of silence between God and Israel. The announcement predicated the fulfillment of God’s long-awaited promise in Genesis 22:18. It was at the highest moment of Zechariah’s professional career and spiritual walk that Gabriel met him. The chosen priest, at this time being Zechariah, went into the Holy Place, where the altar of incense, the lampstand, and the showbread were found.³

The priest offered the incense with its “sweet savor” on behalf of the people. The incense was a symbol of intercession proceeding up to God (the time of the offering coincided with the time of evening prayer at the temple). As Israel prayed, the incense was offered by the priest. The incense represented the people’s dependence on God (1 Chronicles 29:12).²

In the midst of most intense worship and dedicated devotion, Zechariah still had doubts. It is interesting to note, that as the people were praying God seemed silent (400 years since Malachi) and immobile. Contrary to appearances, as people prayed, God was acting in a place they could not see. For nine more months they prayed for something God was in the process of answering, although concealed from their knowledge. Also, not only was God listening to the prayers of Israel, but the prayers of Zechariah and Elizabeth (vv. 11-14).

Transition to Application

Much like those praying for Peter’s release from prison (Acts 12:12-16), Zechariah refused to believe even when given the answer he had requested.² The Scripture is very clear regarding Zechariah’s awareness of the supernatural being (Gabriel) standing before him. Zechariah was fearful due to the “otherness” of the angel. Upon receiving the announcement, Zechariah asked for a sign. Do you really need a sign? There is an angel standing in front of you in the Holy Place and you need some additional affirmation? Before we crush Zechariah, we must admit we have seen something far superior than Gabriel. We have seen the wisdom of God (Romans 3:26) on full display in the Cross of Christ, yet we still worry, fear, doubt, etc.

Although the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth are dwarfed by the fulfillment of the announcement their son was to make, we must not “zoom out” too far and miss evidence of God’s personal and sovereign involvement in the life of individual believers.

Unbelief: The sin under every sin (Luke 1:18-20)

Zechariah was punished with silence for at least nine months for the soul-ruining sin of unbelief. Unbelief is the sin under every sin. Many people are rightly grieved by their sin. However, their grief is isolated to the surface. The sin under the surface of every sinful behavior and thought is unbelief. The question is often asked, “Do unrepentant homosexuals, drunkards, adulterers, idolaters, the envious, and proud go to hell? Nobody has or ever will go to hell because of any particular behavior. All people who go to hell go there for the same reason: unbelief. On judgment day, God will not say, depart from me because of __________ particular sin of commission or omission.

• You sin and deceive and attempt to cover it up, on the surface because you don’t believe, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:28-29).You don’t pray because you don’t believe, “Without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5b).
• You worry because you don’t believe, “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30).
• You observe other peoples blessings and rather than rejoice you covet because you do not believe, “No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11b).
• You click on that website because you don’t believe, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).
• You are greedy because you don’t believe, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
• You turn in on yourself when you suffer and you sulk because you don’t believe, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
• You just come on Sunday and are not involved in the local Church because you don’t believe, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).

My purpose is not to place an unbearable burden on your back. My goal is to simplify Christianity down to its lowest common denominator. Behind every thought, word, and deed is either belief or unbelief.

“What is sin?
It is the glory of God not honored.
The holiness of God not reverenced.
The greatness of God not admired.
The power of God not praised.
The truth of God not sought.
The wisdom of God not esteemed.
The beauty of God not treasured.
The goodness of God not savored.
The faithfulness of God not trusted.
The commandments of God not obeyed.
The justice of God not respected.
The wrath of God not feared.
The grace of God not cherished.
The presence of God not prized.
The person of God not loved.
That is sin.”

-             - John Piper

How does this work?

Read 1 John 5:1-5. 

• Obedience is the chief expression of our love and trust of God.
• What is the world? Read 1 John 2:15-17

What do I do?

“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). So, you are sitting in front of your computer and you are tempted – the Holy Spirit brings Psalm 84:11 to your memory. You then think, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41); “Since then we have a great high priest who passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16). You then drop to your knees and pray, “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24b).

Your life is made up of trillions of those little moments and you stand or fall not on what you did or didn’t do but if you believed or disbelieved.

Pray for your children at conception

“John’s being set apart by God while still in his mother’s womb is reminiscent of Jeremiah, who wrote concerning his own calling, ‘The Word of the Lord came to me saying, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations’ (Jeremiah 1:4-5). This is also true of Paul, who testified, ‘God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles’ (Galatians 1:15-16). Those verses underscore God’s sovereign choice of His servants to salvation, sanctification, and service (John 15:16).”²

Is God a means to an end or is He the means and the end?

Bitterness, anger, and frustration in the circumstances of life often show our view of God. When we pray, hope, and desire and our circumstances are contrary to our prayers, hopes, and desires; it could be that we view God as a means to giving us our desired end.

God never guarantees that life will come without pain and disappointment. The central issue is how we handle it. Bitterness will yield the fruit of anger and frustration, sapping the joy from life. Trust will cause us to find fulfillment in God in ways we would not even have considered otherwise.⁴ Jesus is the means to God. Is that enough?

Sources

1)     Sproul, R.C. The Reformation Study Bible. Lake Mary, FL: Ligonier Ministries, 2005.

2)     MacArthur, John. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Luke 1-5. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009.

3)     Brock, Darrell. Luke 1:1-9:50. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1994.

4)     Brock, Darrell. The NIV Application Commentary: Luke. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996.

5)   Ryle, J.C. Luke. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1997.