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Luke 1:12-25, "A Season of Silence" · Clifford Baptist

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Welcome to the Oct. 26 sermon from Clifford Baptist Church, 6:35 Fletcher's Level Road in Amherst. Today's scripture is Luke, chapter one, verses 12 through 25. And the sermon is entitled A Season of Silence, delivered today by Pastor Jeffrey Campbell. Go to the Gospel of Luke as you open up your Bibles. Luke, chapter number one. Last week we began working through this scripture together.
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And we understand as Dr. Luke pens these words, he does it showing us who the son of God is, that Jesus is the Son of God. But before we get there, I want to remind you of the words from Ecclesiastes, chapter number three, verse number seven, in that the wisest man writes these words. There's a time to keep silence, and there's a time to speak. There's a time to keep silence and a time to speak.
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And we understand a lot of our lives are. Are filled with times that somebody is always talking, whether it's our children, and we watch our children grow up. And then we understand that there's always someone speaking.
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But we. Maybe I'll use myself as an example. We don't always like the silent seasons, the times where we're called to be quiet, to listen, to pray, to trust in the Lord, because nothing seems to be happening. Well, we encountered that last week in the lives of Zacharias and Elizabeth as we open the book of Luke. In their season, they are faithfully serving the Lord. And by their own admission, they are up in age now, and God has yet to bless them with children.
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And yet we seen last week that Zacharias just continues on serving, doing what the Lord would have him to do. And the Lord has him in the temple serving in this particular time. And last week we left off with an angel meeting him at the altar of incense as he went in to light the incense to symbolize the prayers of all the people. That's where the angel of the Lord met him. And remember, the mindset last week that we left on is there's a man whose prayer has yet to be answered, and he is representing a nation of people who are offering prayers to a holy God.
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And so on our end of things, we understand that the silent seasons can be deeply moving and used by the hand of the Lord. Look at Luke, chapter number one. Starting with verse number 12, here's what God's word says. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled and. And fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard. And thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son. And Thou shalt call his name John, and thou shalt have joy and gladness. And many shall rejoice at his birth in the silent seasons. Point number one today that I want to give you is this, that we need to understand the hearing of. Of prayer. The hearing of prayer.
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As we are reminded. Zacharias is an old man. He's faithfully following the Lord. And we see as this angel shows up, verse number 12 says, this fear fell on him. Fear fell on him. Luke is careful to write that in the pages to let us know that here is a godly man. Here is an older man that's probably seen a lot, but now he is a fearful man. He is afraid in a sense, of what is going on and what God is going to do. But in Scripture, especially in the Old Testament, we can be reminded through the books of Isaiah and Deuteronomy and Joshua and the Psalms that the Lord will not forsake you. And so today, if you are a child of God in this place, worshiping today, here's what you need to understand. The Lord is not going to forget about you and he has not left you. You are not alone. Even though there may be some silent seasons there, you have not been forgotten by an almighty God. God's word speaks to that over and over and over. But here, when we understand that Zacharias is now filled with fear, I will be careful to say there are times when we as Christians see more fear fearful than faithful. And here's what Luke is writing. The angel sees fear. But the angel has a message that fear doesn't need to be present. He acknowledges that fear is present. But here's the words of the angel. You don't need to fear because you have the Lord. And so today, when we understand about praying and silent seasons, there may be some of you that are fearful here. I've heard from parents that are fearful because right now their children have gone wayward. They're far away from the Lord. And that brings fear to a parent's heart. There's some of you fearful because you're seeking and you're waiting on answers. You're waiting on God to move. And it seems like, hey, God, you're not listening. But what we need to be reminded is this, that not only is God working, not only is fear a very real emotion that we need to deal with, but here's the culmination of it all. As the angel tells Zacharias, fear not.
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Why doesn't he need to fear? Look at verse number 13. Fear not for thy prayer. Is heard. And thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name. John. Listen here, Zacharias. You don't need to be afraid because God has heard your prayer. As we think about those silent seasons, maybe there are times in your life that you feel like your prayer is not even reaching to heaven. There are times that I felt like my sermons have not made it out of this room. My prayers have not made it out of this room. We're all guilty of feeling those human emotions. But there's something greater than a human emotion, and that is a reminder that God is faithful and God does hear his people. So when we think of a silent season for two older people in life that seems hopeless and helpless and. Baroness. Something's about to change. Look at verse number. Look at verse number 14. Thou shall have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. Something's getting ready to change in the lives of these two older people. They not only are they gonna be parents, but their lives are gonna now be filled with joy and gladness. I don't know who I'm talking to in the room, but there are times where it seems like fear and hopelessness rule and reign the day. But for the child of God, knowing that God hears your prayer, that you have no need to be fearful, here's what we need to be reminded of, and that is this, that God hears us. And God expects us to. To live in accordance to his will, continuing to be obedient to him no matter what. We understand that God's thoughts are higher than our own. God's ways are not our ways. And for two older people that have prayed and carry brokenness and been judged by society for their barrenness, faced ridicule because they have not a child.
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Here's the promise from the angel to Zacharias. God has heard you. He's not forgotten about you. Seasons of silence. You may be in one today. Child of God, you need to hear this. Keep on praying. Keep on petitioning God. God hears your prayer. It's not always answered according to your timetable. It may be. Wait. It may be not yet. It may even be. No. But God hears your prayer. Look at verses 15 through 20. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias and turn the hearts of the fathers to to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And Zechariah said unto the angel, whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God. And I am sent to speak unto thee and to show thee these glad tidings. And and behold, thou shalt be dumb and not able to speak until the day these things shall be performed because thou believest not my words which shall be fulfilled in their season. The second point in our message, the season of silence is this the halting of speech. The halting of speech in this moment of shock and fear as the angel continues to tell Zacharias oh of the blessing that his son will be. John will be a blessing to the Lord and be used by God, but he will be a blessing to all those that he comes in contact with. He will bring joy and many will rejoice at his birth. That's what God's word says.
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That doesn't mean that the delivery room is going to be full. That's not what that means. But here's what it means. That because of his birth that God is going to do a work through him to cause many to rejoice throughout his life. The last words of Malachi are used by Dr. Luke and I need to make sure to point that out to you as you read these verses in verse 16 and 17.
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Those are the last words of the Old Testament that we read. And what Dr. Luke is showing is this. God is picking up where he left off. God is still working and he picks up scripture right where he left off. And here's the reminder. John is going to be that type of Elijah, that type of man that is going to turn people's heart back to the Lord and prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. And when we think of silence, we cannot imagine 400 years of God not saying a word. That's generations, friends, that's generation after generation that God has not said a word. And when we understand that kind of season, here's what we also need to understand. It's not forever and he picks up right where he leaves off through this angel. Part of the promise to Israel is this that people will turn to God. People will be ready for the Lord to come. This spirit powered God led man would change who hard hearted men and bring compassion to children and to the disobedient. They would turn to the wisdom of the righteous. This man is not going to do that all in his own power. Here's what we must understand. God will use this son in a mighty way. And God is doing the work through him. You sit here today and maybe your season right now is God, how can you use me? And you've gotten the answer from, maybe you haven't got me. Maybe that season's hard for other reasons. God, how can you use me out of this mess? And here's what I want you to understand as we read this scripture. God wants to use every single one of you. It may not be in the same capacity or the same way that we're reading about that he will use John, but he wants to work through you to impact others with the gospel message. When we understand that, it's amazing what God can do. These parents are told, God is going to use your son as he gives you a son. He's going to gift that son to you to raise and to pour into. But here's what you need to understand.
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God will use your son. Look at verse number 18. Zechariah said unto the angel, whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife will well stricken in years when we try to reason with God. Right?
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God, this doesn't make sense. I'm an old man. My wife's well stricken in years. We're old. How are we going to have a child at this age? How is that going to happen? And here's what. Here's what they're asking. They're asking for God to give them a sign. God, give me a sign of how you're going to do this in our old age. How will you do it? How many of us are guilty of asking God, how are you going to do something not trusting fully with what he wants to do? As we see this question from Zacharias as he poses to the angel, he has the reason to say, I'm old. And how is this going to happen? But look at verse 19 and 20. The angel answers and says to him, I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God. And I'm sent to speak unto thee and to show thee these glad tidings. And behold, thou shall be dumb and not able to speak until the day these things shall be performed because thou believest not my words which shall be fulfilled in their season. I love it. The angel even identifies himself as Gabriel. I'm Gabriel. I'm a spokesperson of God. But I've stood in the presence of God Almighty and Now I stand in your presence. I come to you with a message.
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And that message is that God is going to use your son and. And that you are going to get a sign.
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You know what Zechariah's sign was? You know what a sign Was?
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Read verse 20. Here's a sign. You're not going to be able to talk until I do this. Until God works in this way, you will not say a word.
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You ask for a sign. I'm going to give it to you. Because you did not trust God to work. When we think about this shutting of a mouth because he did not believe what the angel had said.
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Gabriel promises that these things will be fulfilled in their season. Excuse me. Silence is not necessarily a bad thing. And here's where I want to steer our hearts and mind this morning.
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Maybe, just maybe, Christians can benefit from more silence. Maybe you and I, for just the time, a portion of our day, if we spend it with God in His word, in prayer before him, seeking his will, not saying a word, not saying, God, I need God, I want God I would like. But just being in his presence and saying, God, have your way.
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God can use seasons of silence in our own lives, that he will get the glory from what he is going to do through us.
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There are some times, I believe, that we are so busy we miss God at work.
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We miss what God wants to do because we're distracted by all of these things.
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And now for a season, guess what?
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Zacharias will not say a word.
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He will not be able to communicate.
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He will not even be able to finish out his priestly duties, as we're going to see in just a minute.
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You will be silent.
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I want to charge you today.
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If you are in one of those seasons, lean into God more than you have ever done in your life, and God will hear you.
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Look at the closing of this, of our reading today, starting with verse number 21.
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And the people waited for Zacharias and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them. And they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. For he beckoned unto them and remained speechless. And it came to pass that as soon as the days of his menstruation were accomplished and he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived and hid herself five months, saying, thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me to take away my reproach among men. The third thing that I want you to see is the hiding of the miracle. The hiding of the miracle. Zacharias has encountered a messenger of God. And. And as this conversation plays out, guess what? He still had a job to do. I don't know how many of you have tried to preach or been a preacher before, but try to be a preacher without being able to talk. There goes my job. I believe. Right as we see this play out, the people outside are waiting, praying for Zacharias to come out of that temple and pronounce a blessing over them that they can continue on with their day. And they would sing to God's grace, God's hymns together, and they would carry on. But what's taking this preacher so long? Any of y' all ever thought that either? What's taking this preacher so long? I promise I'm tying a bow on it right now. They're waiting. He should have been out by now.
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Something's going on. Something's happened. Something's wrong with this preacher. And as they sit there waiting, waiting for the response of the raising of the hand and the blessing of the people, and as Zacharias comes out, he comes out and doesn't say a word. He continues on to do what he's supposed to do, but he can't talk. And the Bible says here in verse number 22, that they thought that he'd seen a vision. He beckoned them. Here's what that means. He tried to communicate. He tried, but nothing's coming out. The miracle had happened. He's seen an angel of the Lord. And this Lord said that I've heard your prayer.
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Your wife is going to have a baby and you're going to have a son. If that was you or me, we received that news. We're telling everybody, I've encountered God. We're going to be parents. Here's what God's going to do. And the greatest news of his life so far. The greatest responsibility he has as a priest. He can't tell a soul. He can't say a word. The Bible says that he finishes out his responsibilities and the priest, and he as a priest, and he goes on to his. His house. I don't know what that conversation is like at home. We're going to see later on in the story that Zacharias does write things down to communicate. But we see at the end of our reading today, Elizabeth conceives as an older woman the answer to her life. Desire to have a child. She conceives. And what does she do with that news? The Bible says in verse number 24 that she hides herself. For five months, God has worked through silence of 400 years. God has spoken to a man of God.
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God has silenced his tongue, has performed a miracle. And now what does she do? She runs and hides herself in her home. And why does she do that? Look at verse number 25. She says, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men as they get back home. Here's what I don't want you to miss. God is working. They're pregnant. They're going to have a family. Their child is going to do something miraculous for God. But right now, Zacharias cannot say anything. And Elizabeth is hiding the work of God because of everything people have said to her and about her in the community. We. We understand that that reproach, that guilt, that shame that she carried for so many years, God has taken that away from her. And now she must process what that looks like going forward. In humility. She is processing the work of God. And Zacharias is doing the same. But he can't do it. I mean, he has to do it without saying a word. So. So we end this sermon today in a season of silence, not knowing how long it's going to last, not knowing what's going to happen, but knowing this. Here is what Elizabeth has said. The Lord has done this for me. The Lord has done this for me. He's taken away that reproach for so long under shame and guilt and accusation. She is now under the lean and glory of. Of the Lord because He has answered. God is working. A couple things as we close. Number one, God works in silent season. I wrote these words. Silence is his classroom to teach us to be faithful and dependent on him. Maybe you're sitting here today and you said, I hadn't been to school for a long time. Sometimes God takes us to school. And in those seasons of silence, he's just trying to teach you something. To continue to trust him. No matter what is going on, no matter what you feel, no matter what you desire, no matter what you want, God. God still wants to teach you something. So silent seasons are room for growth for you and me as we are dependent upon the Lord. The second thing I want you to understand as we close this sermon is this. God answers during silent season. And it may not feel like it, but in his timing and his way, the truth that we need to take away from Scripture today is this. God hears your prayer. God is working in your life and in your situation. The third thing we must Take away is this never give up or never doubt God. The one thing we can see from Zacharias and Elizabeth is this. They continued to be faithful to the Lord throughout their lives, no matter what. And here's what we're called to do, Christians, we're called to continue to be faithful to the Lord no matter what's going on in our families around us, within our church family, continue to be faithful to the Lord no matter what. The silent season of 400 years. Israel did not hear from God that was real. A lifetime of two people, a man and a woman, who were so devoted to the Lord in service and in prayer for so long they hadn't heard a word. And for a season, for a season that is unknown. Zacharias, as we close scripture, doesn't know how long he won't be able to say a word. What will he do? Well, stay with me over the next couple of weeks and we're going to find out. Maybe today you're in a silent season and here's what God wants you to know. Continue to be faithful. Continue to trust him. Continue to pray. Continue to depend on the Lord, not on your own doing. Maybe you're here today and you have never, ever trusted Jesus Christ as Savior. I can't close the service without saying this.
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Here's what describes your relationship with God as an unbeliever. Silent, silent. If you're not following the Lord, if you're not trusting the Lord, that's the definition of your relationship with an almighty God right now, is silence. But here's what God wants to do through the gift of his son, Jesus, who went to a cross to pay your sin debt, to take your place on that cross, to allow us to be forgiven and to live for Jesus for the rest of your life through that man. That's the open door of a relationship with the holy God. There is but one way, and his name is Jesus. And to come to a holy God with your desires, you must enter the door. And Jesus says this, I am the door you must go through the shed blood of Jesus for relationship with God Almighty today.
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Whatever your need, here's what I can boldly proclaim from the word of God.
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God will hear you unbeliever today. If you fall before him, ask him for forgiveness.
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Turn and follow him. He will hear. In honor of that prayer, let's go before the Lord. Father, thank you for a wonderful day in your house.
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Thank you for a day that we could celebrate your work in the lives of your people, your continued work in the life of the church.
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God, as we come to this moment of invitation.
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This is just a time between an individual and God.
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And so Lord, we give you the invitation to come and your Holy Spirit will work.
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Speak to Hearts Challenge Christians.
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Lord, I pray for that unbeliever that needs you, that needs relationship and conversation, that needs a life changing dose of the blood of Jesus, God, that you will work today in that life.
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God, we give you this moment and pray as we come before you that you hear our prayer. It's in Jesus name we pray.
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Amen. Clifford Baptist Church invites you to join us for worship every Sunday morning at 11am for more information about our church, please call our church office at 434-946-705 55.