Latest / HBCWestminster / 11.24.19 Luke 1:5-25 Part 2 Pastor Danny Gardner

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11.24.19 Luke 1:5-25 Part 2 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  Well, we're in Luke chapter 1. Our text this morning is the same as last week. We're going to read verses 5 to 25. We pick up right where we left off in Zechariah and Elizabeth. And if you're able to stand in honor of God's Word, I would ask you to do so now. We'll read our text and then pray and begin. Beginning in verse 5. In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the division of Abijah.
• 0:33
  And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and 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.
• 0:58
  And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And 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. 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.
• 1:26
  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 is advanced in years. And the angel answered him,
• 1:55
  I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you'll 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. And 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.
• 2:24
  And when his time of service was ended, he went 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 people. Let's pray. Lord, you say in your word to make a joyful noise. In fact, you command it, God, to serve you with gladness because we're your people.
• 2:55
  God, we are the sheep of your pasture. And so we enter your presence with thanksgiving in our hearts. We enter your courts with praise. Because you are good. And your steadfast love endures forever, God. You have been faithful. You are faithful now. And you will be faithful forever and ever to every generation. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen, church? Amen. Thank you. You can have a seat.
• 3:28
  Well, I've told you many times before about my love of fishing and especially fly fishing. There are times when my sons and I will be out fishing rivers that are absolutely gorgeous. Some of the most beautiful places, I think, in Colorado are in the mountains along riverbanks. I just think they're gorgeous. And there will be times...
• 3:48
  Where we will be reading a river, we think that based on our perception, there should be fish and we should be catching fish. But there are times when we'll be knee deep or hip deep in water and we're just getting nothing. Places where we think there should be fish, there are not. And oftentimes, in that case, what we will do is climb back out of the water, walk along the river bank and begin to kick over rocks. And underneath those rocks, we'll look at the bugs that live underneath.
• 4:18
  And if it's something vastly different than what we're using, we'll switch to whatever matches, right? The fish are obviously eating bugs that look like that. We'll switch our flies to make them look like that as well, and maybe we'll start catching fish. Every now and again, though, when you're walking up one of these absolutely just picturesque, iconic Ansel Adams kinds of views, you kick over rocks, you start lifting boulders and doing whatever, and there's nothing underneath. There's no bugs.
• 4:47
  There's no hatching. There's really no life even in the water. And because there is no food in the water, there is also no fish in the water. We've been fishing for hours, these sections of water that have no fish in them. We kind of console each other on the way home that a bad day of fishing beats a good day at work. We say things like that. But nevertheless, there are some times where a river can look absolutely perfect.
• 5:16
  Everything about it perfect, and yet there is no health or life in that stream. It cannot sustain life. Weeks like these, Thanksgiving week, when the focus of our nation and certainly the focus of our homes will be Thanksgiving, where we will take times in our homes to thank the Lord and really to create a very picturesque
• 5:45
  river of prayer and praise running out of our homes, I wonder if the Lord ever walks along the riverbanks of our prayer and begins to kick over rocks, checking to see if, although it looks very nice, if there's actually any health or life there. I have found that although I am very quick
• 6:11
  To give thanks and praise to God, I have found at times that my thank and praise... Help me out with this. I've been trapped. Cranberries aplenty. I have found that although I work very hard at thanking and praising God consistently, that I think sometimes if you were to kick any rocks over, those thanks and praises might be very shallow.
• 6:42
  Last night before we ate, I asked the boys if any one of them wanted to pray. And my son, Chase, who was nine years old, said that he wanted to pray. And so I said, all right, Chase, before you pray, are you thankful? And he said, yes, I'm thankful. I said, well, what are you thankful for? And he said, well, I'm thankful for my family. And I said, well, me too. That's great. What else? And then he said this. He's nine years old. He said, I'm thankful for my freedom. And I was like, wow. Like a minute man, you know, grab your musket. Here we go. You're like, wow, all right. Freedom to do what?
• 7:14
  Because I thought that's a very profound answer from a nine-year-old. I wonder what he means. You know, freedom from what? I don't know. Like, freedom to do what? And he said this. He's nine, right? He's thinking, freedom to do what? He says, I don't know, freedom to have fun? Freedom to have fun. I'm thankful for my freedom. It sounds very profound on the outside, but when you kick it over, you're like, oh, no, you're just thankful for video games. That's what you mean. I'm thankful for the country in which we live, you know, the men and women of our fighting forces who protect my Xbox.
• 7:46
  And that's sometimes as deep, although we offer thanks. The thanks is genuine. That's as deep as it goes. Maybe my favorite part of the passage this morning comes from 25, verse 25, where Elizabeth says at the end, thus he has done for me. Do you see that wording? Thus he has done for me. And I love not only her thanks, but the specificity that she uses with her thanks.
• 8:18
  See, she doesn't just say, I'm just thankful. I'm just a thankful person. She says, I'm thankful, and here is what I'm thankful for. It is a thinking through, a pondering, and a declaring of the specific things that God had done for her. We pick up immediately where we left off last week. You may recall from last Sunday's message.
• 8:44
  that the entirety of the sermon was from verse 5. Remember I said last Sunday that we could probably preach four sermons on verse 5, but one sermon will suffice. Can I get an amen from the congregation? Okay, so it was this introduction, verse 5, to this man named Zechariah. The man who I said last week represented a waiting generation, a man whose name literally means Yahweh has remembered.
• 9:11
  For a generation that had felt forgotten, Yahweh has remembered his very name. Every time his wife spoke his name, it was a declaration that God never forgets. Zechariah. We said first last week that Zechariah and Elizabeth were both Levites, which means that Zechariah was a priest. They would have lived in one of those Levitical cities kind of scattered all over the place in Israel. His primary job as a Levite was to represent the Lord to the people.
• 9:41
  and to represent the people to the Lord. He would have been an expert in the interpretation and teaching of the law. He would have, since he was from the division of Abijah, gone to the temple two times a year, twice a year for one week, to fulfill his priestly duties there. And that's where we left off. We pick up in verse 6. First, they were Levites. Notice second about Zechariah and Elizabeth. Verse 6 says, they were righteous.
• 10:09
  Look at verse 6. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. You'll notice that it does not say that they were self-righteous in the sight of man. The nation had plenty of those. Do you remember the Pharisee and the tax collector? Jesus tells a parable.
• 10:34
  Two men go to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other tax collector. The Pharisee goes up and with eyes held high, you know, boldly proclaims, thank you, Lord, that I am not like this man. I'm not a sinner. I tithe. I'm doing all the right things. I'm checking all the boxes. And he points to the tax collector. Thank you that I am not like him. And the tax collector.
• 10:57
  It says, won't even raise his eyes to heaven, but says, have mercy on me, oh God, a sinner. And Jesus says, one of those two men walked away justified, but it wasn't the one you may think. The nation was filled with people who were self-righteous, who thought that they didn't need a savior, who thought that their good works maybe could outweigh their bad works. If I'm just good enough and I'm just work hard enough, then I just say no to the right things and yes to the right things, then God will like me. But that's not what this says.
• 11:29
  The text also does not say that they were sinless, but it said that they were righteous in the sight of God, which means that they were justified by their faith. Now, God has only and will only ever justify his people by his grace through their faith. That is how we get saved. That's how everybody who has ever been saved, that's how they got saved, including Old Testament saints.
• 11:56
  which Zechariah and Elizabeth were. I know they're in your New Testaments, right? But they were before Jesus. They were Old Testament saints, and it says that they were even saved by God's grace and through their faith. Romans chapter 4 describes Abraham, who lived thousands of years before Jesus. Abraham, on that day,
• 12:22
  that he went up the hill to sacrifice his son Isaac. On that day, Romans 4 says, if Abraham was justified by his works, certainly if anybody could have done it, it was Abraham. If anybody could have lived a good enough life, it was him. He's the father of the Jewish nation. Certainly if anybody could have done it, it was him. And listen to what Romans 4 says. If Abraham was justified by his works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
• 12:49
  If Abraham was justified by his works, he could go into the presence of God and honestly declare his own goodness. I've been saved by my own merit. Lord, you have to let me in because I've done a good enough job. But then Romans 4 says, not before the Lord. What does the scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. When this says that they were righteous before God, what it means is that they
• 13:20
  And their belief was credited to them as righteousness. They weren't just going through the motions. They weren't just mouthing the words. Their religion didn't have flat tires. And beloved church, don't let your tires go flat. It is very possible to check all the right boxes. It's very possible to be involved in your church.
• 13:47
  giving regularly, praying regularly. It's even possible to be a teacher, a worship leader, even the pastor of the church and have flat tires in your faith. Don't let that happen. You may say, well, how do I reinflate my tires? I'm feeling flat. How do I reinflate my tires? And I would give you the commendation from Philemon in verse six. Philemon verse six, the apostle Paul writing to Philemon says this, I pray.
• 14:16
  that you may be active in sharing your faith so that you will know every good thing we have in Christ Jesus. Man, what a verse that is. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith so that, there's a purpose clause in there, so that you will know every good and perfect thing we have in Christ Jesus. If you want to know how good you've got it in Jesus, then he says, go and share your faith. Rub shoulders with the world. Be reminded of what you've been saved from.
• 14:48
  If your religion has flat tires, if your faith in Christ has flat tires, he says, go out and scrape against hell for a while. You'll come back thankful you're not going there. Their religion did not have flat tires. They believed and it was credited to them as righteousness. So that's second, they were righteous. You say, well, why does that even matter? Of course they were righteous. Look at verse seven. It reveals another little fact about Zechariah and Elizabeth. They were righteous, but verse seven says, what does it say?
• 15:20
  They had no child because they were barren. They had no child. So this says they were righteous and yet barren. Hallie and I have many, many friends, a lot of friends who could never have kids through biological means. We have beloved friends who endured every medical procedure you can imagine, every discomfort.
• 15:52
  every embarrassing doctor's visits, and they are. They've described them to us, yet without success. We have beloved members even of this church who had to rejoice when their friends called and said that they were pregnant. Again, their genuine joy for their friends always tempered, I think, by their own grief and sorrow. We have a lot of friends, many even in this church. You know, and among those many friends, we have yet to meet the couple who did not at some point during that brutal process.
• 16:26
  Question whether their inability to have kids was not tied to something that they had done to offend the Lord. Every one we've talked to, every couple who could not have kids by biological means has at some point that we've talked to expressed some kind of concern. Maybe this is because of my own sin.
• 16:45
  Something we've done has come, right? Because kids are a gift of God. They're a blessing of God. He's withholding that gift. And therefore we must have done something, something in our past, something in our present that is an offense to God that is keeping us from having a child. Do you remember John chapter nine? Jesus encounters the man born blind. Do you remember this? And the Pharisees come to him and they say, teacher, who sinned? Do you remember?
• 17:13
  This man or his parents said he was born this way. I mean, the only logical explanation in their minds, somebody sinned. It was either him or it was his parents, right? My money is on his parents. They did something bad, so their kid was born blind. And Jesus says what? You have no idea what you're talking about. Who sinned? Everybody. Everybody sinned. You're implying that if his parents sinned, he was born blind. Then why isn't everybody born blind? We should all be blind, amen?
• 17:47
  Because we all sin and all of our kids should be. I mean, if that's the case, right? Sin equals this. Well, then none of us should have been blessed with kids. None of us should have. None of us not walking in righteousness. No, we weren't. We can pretend. No, we weren't. He says, nobody did. This isn't as a result of that. This was done so that you could see the miracle working power of God. And he reaches out his hand and he says, now you can see.
• 18:19
  For 38 years or something like that, right? John 9, fact check that before you quote me. I mean, this guy was full grown man. He says, now you can see and he restores his sight and the people marvel, right? He goes around and he's telling everybody and he runs across those same Pharisees, who healed you? And he says, you know, the guy didn't share his name with me, but I know who he is. That's where we get amazing grace from. I once was blind, but now I see. That's what I know. I once was blind, but now I see. It is.
• 18:52
  It's just remarkable to me. It is uncanny to me the way the Lord assembles his family. You can imagine the Lord in those moments when a husband and wife are desperate and pleading with the Lord. All of those requests and the Lord giving an answer. I've got a child for you, but he's in China. He's got a severe cleft palate. Nobody wants him. I'll provide the means. Fly over there and get him.
• 19:25
  Bring him home and raise him in the fear and admonition of God. And I rejoice over your daughters, but now I've got a son for you. He's got special needs. Believe me, I've equipped you. Your church will help you raise him in the fear and admonition of God. I've got a daughter for you, but she's 22 years old. She's going to be moving here from California next month. So make room in your basement because I'm giving you a full-grown daughter.
• 19:59
  You can imagine Zechariah and Elizabeth would have prayed the prayers. I think they would have mourned together. I think they probably experienced miscarriages together. The Bible doesn't say, but man, this certainly implies they tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried all the way through their youth and now into their non-childbearing years. This is when Gabriel shows up. In verse eight, and you guys, it's fantastic.
• 20:28
  while he's serving as priest before God, while he's doing his thing. This is when Gabriel shows up. Look at verse eight. While he's serving as priest, 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 so what the Old Testament required was that incense was being burned all the time inside of the temple, continually being offered. But it was the job of one of the priests on duty.
• 20:55
  to light the incense in the morning and in the evening. It was called the hour of incense to make sure that this smoke is perpetually rising up within the temple. And so Zechariah is chosen by Lot of all of those Levites. You can imagine hundreds of them of all of those Levites who are from the division of Abijah. Whose job is it going to be? And they start drawing lots, right? And it comes to Zechariah. Now listen, this was...
• 21:23
  A very high honor. This would have been maybe the highest honor one of these men could have received because there were so many of these guys that most of them would have gone their entire lives never having gotten to do it. But it might have been one of those high honors that nobody wanted, okay? Because the altar of incense was located right up against the veil separating the people.
• 21:53
  from the presence and wrath of God. That's where the altar of incense was. In fact, there are some commentators who even think it was inside of the veil. I don't think that it was. I think that it was just outside of the veil of, you know, kind of separating the holy of holies. There it is. And you guys, the reverence that these men had was just, it was off the chart. They didn't go anywhere near that thing. What if I'm offensive in any way? What if there's some unconfessed sin? What if as I'm walking up there with my wick and my lighter,
• 22:23
  What if I'm walking, and what if I stumble, and I trip, and what if I botch the whole thing? Right outside of the veil, I'm a foot away. You can imagine him walking up. Historians say that that veil was 50 feet tall. Can you imagine that? This is a 20, 25-foot ceiling. Can you imagine two times, right? You're looking up there. This veil's a foot thick.
• 22:47
  You're walking up to this thing and you've got your little thing, your flint, and you're scratching against this thing. God help me. God help me. I mean, if Elizabeth knew, she'd be freaking out. She doesn't want me anywhere near this thing. I think he would have been terrified. It's like that guy who on a, you know, you ever watch those old like Civil War movies? Best guy in your regiment, right? He's performed brilliantly. And because of that, the honor that we will bestow on you, you get to be the flag bearer.
• 23:18
  You get to carry our troops, our regiment's colors. You get to be the one holding the flag. And so because you're the best soldier in our outfit, we're taking your gun away, hold this stick with a limp piece of cloth on it. And by the way, we're going to put you at the front. You'll be the guy at the front and you're representing everything about us, which means we're basically painting a huge target on you, right? Because everybody on that side is going to want to shoot the guy holding the flag. What an honor. You're like, no, thanks. I'll keep the gun and stand in the back.
• 23:48
  You know, that's an honor that nobody wanted. And so Zechariah, you can imagine approaching this thing with fear and trepidation. But this was a high honor. Verse 10 says why. The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. Why was it such an honor to offer the incense? The answer is because the incense represented the people's prayer. That's what was being represented. The people praying, that's what the incense represented. Prayer, repentance.
• 24:16
  Thanksgiving, praise, confession. They would have been praying for the coming Messiah, for peace for the nation, for their families, praying for freedom from their oppressors. That incense that he was lighting represented the people's dependence on God. And it's during that hour that the angel shows up. Look at verse 11. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. Stop for just a second. Imagine you're Zechariah.
• 24:45
  You're doing this thing. Your hands are shaking. You're trembling. You're trying to get it done so you can get out of the way. And then what shows up? There's an angel. What are you thinking? I think he was thinking he was dead meat. I'm dead. What did I do? Right? And that's apparently what the people thought too. Skip forward to verse 21. The people were waiting for Zechariah. They were wondering at his delay in the temple.
• 25:14
  What's taking so long? I mean, they're nervous. This has not gone well. It never takes that long. It takes less than five minutes. Where is he? Now they're all, you can imagine all the other guys drawing lots. Who's gonna walk up there and drag his limp body out? Not me. Honor I don't want, right? I'm not going anywhere near that thing. Gabriel shows up and look at the wording here. Verse 11, there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
• 25:43
  It doesn't say that he traveled in. It doesn't say that he was dispatched, although later it says that he was dispatched. Never says when. This word just says appeared, as if he just kind of popped the lights on, and there he was. He went from invisible to visible. There is a spiritual realm which our eyes cannot see, which our minds are not privy to, and which nevertheless exists. You guys, I believe there are angels.
• 26:15
  I believe they're everywhere. I think they're all over the place. I think there's a possibility that some of us have even entertained them unaware. It's Hebrews 13.2. And we didn't even know they were angels. I think they're all over the place. A group of our moms here from the church took their daughters on a little mommy-daughter date kind of weekend, whatever. They flew to Southern California. They took their girls to Disneyland.
• 26:44
  I took them to the Pacific Ocean, let them swim and splash around or whatever, just for a few days. Really fun idea, these moms and girls. When they got back, I was talking to one of them, Carla Anderson. Our worship director was one. She took her daughter, Lucy, who I think is 10 years old. Lucy, 10 years old. I'm asking her, how was the trip? It was awesome. You know, she's explaining Disneyland and all of that stuff. I said, hey, I saw pictures. You guys went to the beach. She said, yeah, we went to a place called Newport Beach. And Newport Beach, we went there frequently. Our family went there. We're from there.
• 27:12
  So we went there all the time. It was one of our favorite beaches to go to. I said, oh, that's awesome. Did you go in the ocean? She said, yes. How far did you go? I went up to like my waist. And I said, ah, that's great, Lucy. Good job. Listen, I never liked the beach. I didn't like the sand. And the water is freezing cold. I mean, freezing cold. Whatever this picture you have of, you know, like cabanas and palm trees and whatever and walking out of the water, that ain't Southern California. It is cold water.
• 27:40
  Okay, and so I never liked it. But you guys know I love to fish. And so I thought, you know, my family likes going to the beach. I'll see what I can do to redeem the Pacific Ocean in my life. I'm gonna figure out how to catch fish out of that thing, right? And so I did. I started what's called surf fishing, where you just stand like knee deep in the waves. You're in the waves. You sling this thing out there and you can catch fish out of the waves, you know, and sometimes pretty big fish. And we got better and better at it.
• 28:08
  One time, my son, Zach, who loves to fish with me, said, Dad, I want to catch a shark. All right. Figure out how to catch a shark, right? YouTube videos on a hardware store. How hard could it be? So we did that. I'm like, we're going to figure out how to catch a shark. And pretty soon, we got to where we were pulling sharks out. And you guys, and we were, you know, we're just in the water. I mean, all these little kids. You want to freak out a soccer mom? You drag up a four-foot, five-foot sand shark.
• 28:35
  onto the beach, out of the water that her little sweet thing is splashing around in and having fun in his little swim diaper, you know? You pull that thing up. I mean, you get the attention of all the moms. Like, where did you get? Well, it's right out there, you know? Is that the only one? Yeah, probably. You know, you're shoving back out there. So I tell Lucy this story, you know? And I said, Lucy, listen, if you were waist deep, you were within feet of sharks. You have swum with sharks.
• 29:03
  They are everywhere. They're pervasive in that ocean and shallow water. I mean, one foot, two foot deep. You know, I'm not talking about jaws, you know, but these little sharks, leopard sharks, sand sharks, these goofy looking ones called shovel nose sharks, they are everywhere. You have swum with sharks. She had no idea. Her eyes get all big. Really? Yes, go tell your mom. You know, like, run over there. You guys, listen, they're just everywhere. If you have walked this earth for any length of time,
• 29:32
  You guys, they're everywhere. Angels, they're everywhere. I think that you have been within feet of them. The only difference between Zechariah and us is that Gabriel turned the lights on for a minute. It says Gabriel appears. He's now in the presence of this angel. And notice verse 19 is where Gabriel introduces himself. He says, I am Gabriel. And now notice of all of the things, here is radiant, resplendent, powerful Gabriel.
• 30:00
  But what credentials does he give in verse 19? I stand in the presence of God. If you think I am awesome, I stand in the presence of God. Wait until you see it. I'm just a servant. When you get to see him, you're not going to be in awe of me. I stand in the presence of God and I was sent to speak to you and to bring this good news. The angel appears and notice the angel gives a promise. Continue in verse 12.
• 30:31
  12 to 17, here's this promise. And we'll come back more to this. He's talking about John the Baptist, who John would be. When John the Baptist is born in a couple of months, we'll come back to more of this and fill a lot of this in. It says, Zechariah was troubled when he saw him and fear fell upon him. But the angel said, don't 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.
• 31:02
  He must not drink wine or strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And so he reveals two things about his unborn son. He says he will be great before the Lord, depending on how you define greatness. You guys know the story of John the Baptist? Guy was raised in the desert, probably orphaned. We'll talk about that. Probably orphaned, raised in the desert, extreme poverty. You know what he wore was like a goat hair cloak.
• 31:34
  not exactly in vogue, you know, eating grasshoppers and honey. That's not greatness the way that the world defines it by any means. That was not a great man. And yet here we are 2,000 years later still talking about him. He'll be great. And it says that he'll be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. From his mother's womb. Man, John the Baptist was just a man like us.
• 32:01
  He was not sinless. He was fallen just like us. And yet this says from his mother's womb, from day one, the Holy Spirit would be the greatest influence in his life. He would live his entire life, even from infancy, under the control and influence of the Holy Spirit. And can I just, for the glory of God, reject a notion that has been taught to us by our culture, which we have embraced. And that is...
• 32:28
  That young people cannot serve the Lord from their youth. That young people should be excused because of their youth. This says from day one, the Holy Spirit was in his life. From day one, we have been taught that kids can sin. But to be forgiven of that sin, we should be suspicious. I came to the Lord. I came to know the Lord when I was four years old. But did you really? Right? But really, did you really understand? Listen, if they can really understand rebellion.
• 33:00
  then they can really understand forgiveness. You know what I'm saying? Like, why not? Recipients of God's grace. Why not? John the Baptist from day one. Here's another one that our culture has fed to us and which we've fallen into. Can I, to God's glory, just stomp out this idea that teenagers must rebel against their parents? You turn 13, oh, adolescence. And you're all of a sudden excused to act like a moron for six years. No, you're not. No, you're not.
• 33:30
  You're allowed to serve the Lord through the whole thing. The whole thing. Throw off that wickedness, even idolatry. Throw that off. And say, no, from the beginning, young people, from the beginning, serve the Lord. You will not go wrong if you do. The Lord will not disappoint. He always follows through.
• 33:55
  serve the Lord from a young age, we see that in John the Baptist's life. Verse 16 continues, 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. He's quoting here Malachi chapter 4, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, the disobedient of the wisdom to the just, make ready the Lord for the Lord of people prepared. And now notice there are two responses, and I love this. Zechariah responds with disbelief.
• 34:22
  Zechariah says to the angels, how shall I know this? I'm an old man. My wife is advanced in years. You know what he's saying? That stuff doesn't work anymore. It's a great idea. Very neat. That can't happen. That is impossible. We're old. My wife is old. Long ago are the days where that would have been a possibility. I remember when we found out that we were pregnant with Chase. Hallie and I were 34 years old. We went into the doctor. The doctor said, how old are you?
• 34:54
  Well, 34. Boy, you guys are old. What do you mean we're old? 34, you know, like that's old. Well, in child years, childbearing years, that's very old. You know, they actually put us on like some special pregnancy watch. And I can't remember now what it was called. Yeah, she says it was her. They didn't care how old I was. Actually, he didn't actually ask how old I was. How old are you? You're 34.
• 35:20
  I was really old in terms of childbearing. I was really old. And I'm like, I was offended? For my wife's sake, I'm offended? You know, I'm like, you're not exactly Doogie Howser, dude. You know, like, what are you talking about? We're old. How dare you? We were offended until Chase was born, and then we realized, you might have been right. You might have been right. Oh, man, we're tired. This was a lot easier when we were 24. 34. You know, I don't think when he said he was old, I don't think he was saying 34.
• 35:49
  I don't think he was saying 54. I think he was way beyond that age. I think he was looking at this and saying, it's impossible. We've read verse 19, pick up in verse 20, and behold, you'll be silent. You didn't believe is what he's saying. You'll be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place because you didn't believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time. The people were waiting for Zechariah. They wondered at his delay.
• 36:16
  When he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized he had seen a vision in the temple, and he kept making signs and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. He responds in disbelief, but look what Elizabeth does. He responds by declaring the goodness of God. And after these days, his wife Elizabeth conceived. And for five months, she kept herself hidden, saying, Thus the Lord has done for me. Specific thanks. Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me to take away the reproach of the people.
• 36:47
  Her thanks was specific. And we're going to end with a song called Thank You, Jesus. And it's one that we know. It's one that we've sung before. But can I just encourage us? And we're going to sing this together, but can I just encourage us? And Sam, you can come on down. We are going to this week offer thanks to God. My hope and prayer, honest hope and prayer is that if God were going to go along and just kick over the rocks in our prayer life, that he would find substance, life, and health there.
• 37:16
  That it wouldn't be empty and shallow thanks. We're going to stand and sing together. But I would encourage you this week, find a piece of paper someplace. Put them on your Thanksgiving table. You have everybody over? Put them on your Thanksgiving table. And this year, write the words, thus has the Lord done for me. And take a minute to kick over the rocks and say, it's more than just freedom to play video games. I'm thankful for that too. But I'm really thankful.
• 37:45
  My boys are healthy. My marriage is okay. God has provided work for me and education for my family. God has provided a church that is vibrant and growing and loyal and loving and applauds for the right reasons. God has provided. God has been good to me. And here's how. I think I'm going to pray for us. I'm going to close. We're going to stand and sing. And then I would encourage you to do that this week. Make this the theme of your week. God, thank you.
• 38:15
  Thank you. Not generic and not cheap. Thank you. But for real, God, thank you for what you've done for us. You've provided for us in so many ways, God. We want our prayer to have life and health and value. God, we don't want the thanksgiving of our nation and of our homes to be shallow. So God, may we stop this week and take time to really offer our thanks to you.
• 38:43
  When somebody asks us what we're thankful for on Thursday, may it not be the same two or three pat answers everyone always gives. But God, may we declare your goodness the way that Elizabeth has done. We love you, Lord. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Let's stand and sing together.