WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.220 All right, what are you waiting for? 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:17.940 Everyone at any point in their lives, they're waiting for something. 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:26.560 Waiting for a promotion, waiting to hear back from college applications, waiting for retirement, 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:33.679 waiting for a child they hope to have, waiting for a package they're tracking to arrive at their front door, 00:00:35.239 --> 00:00:39.299 waiting for a special person who might be their spouse, waiting to turn 16. 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:44.939 A lot of people aren't exactly sure what they're waiting for, but they know it's not arrived yet. 00:00:47.140 --> 00:00:51.820 It's like that scene in The Incredibles where Mr. Incredible sees the kid on the trike and he says, 00:00:51.820 --> 00:00:55.460 what are you waiting for? The kid says, I don't know, something amazing, I guess. 00:00:56.560 --> 00:00:58.200 And Mr. Incredible says, me too, kid. 00:00:59.800 --> 00:01:02.140 So what are you waiting for right now? 00:01:03.800 --> 00:01:07.460 If you find out what someone is really waiting for, you can learn a lot about who they are. 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:13.700 In Luke chapter 1, we meet a priest named Zechariah who is waiting. 00:01:15.060 --> 00:01:16.840 If you have a Bible, turn to Luke chapter 1. 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:21.480 Zechariah the priest is waiting and he's been waiting for a long time. 00:01:21.480 --> 00:01:25.700 In verses 5 through 7. 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:29.159 It says, 00:01:29.159 --> 00:01:57.199 So on a personal level, Zechariah and his wife have been praying and waiting for a child for their entire adult lives. 00:01:57.200 --> 00:02:05.180 We can assume at least 30 to 40 years of marriage, living righteously, praying for a baby and it never happened. 00:02:06.659 --> 00:02:07.740 And now it's too late. 00:02:08.740 --> 00:02:11.840 Decades of waiting and nothing. 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:23.780 We also need to see that Zechariah is also participating on a societal level with waiting that has been ongoing for generations. 00:02:25.379 --> 00:02:30.140 He's a priest of Israel at this point in history under Roman occupation and that comes with a lot of baggage. 00:02:31.659 --> 00:02:36.080 If you think about this time, Israel looked to most of the world like a totally failed nation. 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:42.620 In its entire history, Israel had had maybe one or two flash-in-the-pan moments of greatness. 00:02:43.980 --> 00:02:44.840 And that was it. 00:02:46.480 --> 00:02:48.520 So let's trace that through a little bit. 00:02:49.060 --> 00:02:51.360 God makes his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 00:02:51.480 --> 00:02:59.220 And when their descendants have multiplied, he brings them out of Egypt with miraculous signs and destruction that puts fear into the heart of everyone who hears about it. 00:02:59.219 --> 00:03:04.699 But they receive God's covenant law and they're off to a great start and en route to the promised land. 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:08.199 They're faithless and they end up wandering for 40 years and they lose a whole generation. 00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:12.079 Finally, they enter the land under the command of Joshua. 00:03:12.259 --> 00:03:18.360 They have significant victories, but they fail to fully conquer the land as they've been promised, as they've been commanded. 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:22.960 And this leads to them becoming just like the brutal people around them. 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:25.400 You remember our time in the book of Judges. 00:03:25.480 --> 00:03:32.580 They're finally in the land and they spend their first few generations in a death spiral of oppression and degradation and violence. 00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:35.500 Eventually, God agrees to give them a king. 00:03:35.580 --> 00:03:38.040 And the first one, Saul, is kind of a false start. 00:03:38.140 --> 00:03:39.280 He ends in sin and tragedy. 00:03:39.600 --> 00:03:41.340 And next up, God anoints David. 00:03:42.600 --> 00:03:45.840 The greatest king Israel has ever known. 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:51.439 And Israel begins its extremely brief moment in the sun as a nation. 00:03:53.980 --> 00:03:56.800 David was the greatest king Israel ever had. 00:03:56.920 --> 00:03:58.800 He established Israel in strength. 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:03.360 And his son Solomon, after him, massively expanded the wealth and prestige of Israel. 00:04:04.980 --> 00:04:07.539 It was the high watermark for Israel as a nation. 00:04:08.740 --> 00:04:09.560 David and Solomon. 00:04:09.560 --> 00:04:19.420 But it ended so quickly because both David and Solomon planted the seeds of national downfall through their own sin. 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:24.180 So short in their whole history. 00:04:24.300 --> 00:04:26.000 One father, one son, and it was over. 00:04:27.019 --> 00:04:33.180 The nation split, followed by generations of civil war and idolatry and the breaking of God's covenant in every way. 00:04:33.180 --> 00:04:36.660 It was all downhill from there. 00:04:36.780 --> 00:04:40.100 Israel was conquered and exiled and occupied. 00:04:40.379 --> 00:04:44.879 And even when God's people were turned to the land, it was under foreign rule. 00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:50.699 And then after that, as far as we can tell, for hundreds of years, God goes silent. 00:04:53.899 --> 00:04:57.699 And that's where Zechariah, the priest of Israel, finds himself in Luke chapter 1. 00:04:58.719 --> 00:05:08.399 A childless old man in a failed nation, serving as a priest to a God who hasn't spoken for hundreds of years. 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:08.879 Waiting. 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:08.959 Waiting. 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:09.399 Waiting. 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:11.000 Waiting. 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:11.079 Waiting. 00:05:11.079 --> 00:05:11.199 Waiting. 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:11.399 Waiting. 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:13.319 Waiting. 00:05:13.319 --> 00:05:15.399 Waiting for God to do something. 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:17.399 Waiting. 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:22.620 Waiting for a day when all of Israel's sin and failure might be overcome by some new gracious act of God. 00:05:22.620 --> 00:05:27.019 Waiting for that son of David that has talked about who would rule forever. 00:05:29.779 --> 00:05:30.259 Waiting. 00:05:32.339 --> 00:05:38.219 And I don't think it's too much of a stretch to imagine that there might have been some days when Zechariah was serving 00:05:38.220 --> 00:05:40.540 as priests that he thought to himself, what's the point? 00:05:43.540 --> 00:05:44.600 What am I doing here? 00:05:44.660 --> 00:05:47.220 There is no end to this waiting. 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:53.920 And then one day, God says, it's time. 00:05:55.280 --> 00:06:00.200 And he sends the angel Gabriel from his very presence to Zechariah. 00:06:00.660 --> 00:06:02.600 Luke 1, verses 11 through 19. 00:06:03.500 --> 00:06:07.080 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:10.719 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 00:06:11.459 --> 00:06:12.240 But the angel said to him, 00:06:12.300 --> 00:06:18.699 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. 00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:25.500 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he'll be great before the Lord. 00:06:25.500 --> 00:06:31.139 And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he'll be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 00:06:31.379 --> 00:06:38.060 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, 00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:43.060 to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:46.620 to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. 00:06:46.620 --> 00:06:48.540 And Zechariah said to the angel, 00:06:48.620 --> 00:06:51.480 How shall I know this, for I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years? 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:52.860 And the angel answered him, 00:06:52.920 --> 00:06:53.579 I am Gabriel. 00:06:54.420 --> 00:06:58.340 I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 00:07:01.060 --> 00:07:06.040 So in this moment, not only does God promise Zechariah a child, 00:07:06.040 --> 00:07:12.520 He says that this child will be the prophet of God who will prepare the way for the Lord himself. 00:07:13.960 --> 00:07:18.100 Zechariah and Elizabeth have been praying for a child for longer than I've been alive. 00:07:18.660 --> 00:07:22.600 And Israel have been waiting for God's salvation for longer than the United States has existed. 00:07:23.879 --> 00:07:30.540 And all of a sudden, Zechariah finds out that God is jumping into action now to end all of their waiting, 00:07:30.540 --> 00:07:33.879 and it's starting with him and his family. 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:42.920 Can you imagine the overwhelming joy and disbelief and giddiness of like, 00:07:43.580 --> 00:07:48.540 It's happening right now with me, with my wife. 00:07:50.460 --> 00:07:54.320 And after Zechariah's son, John the Baptist, is born, 00:07:55.160 --> 00:08:02.879 that broken dam flood of joy is expressed in a Christmas song. 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:10.420 A really awesome Christmas song in Luke chapter 1, verses 67 through 79. 00:08:10.420 --> 00:08:14.219 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 00:08:15.079 --> 00:08:19.600 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, 00:08:20.500 --> 00:08:24.379 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 00:08:24.379 --> 00:08:27.719 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 00:08:28.219 --> 00:08:32.039 that we, being saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, 00:08:32.539 --> 00:08:37.240 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. 00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:42.580 The oath that he swore to our father Abraham to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, 00:08:42.980 --> 00:08:47.299 might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 00:08:47.299 --> 00:08:52.879 And you, child, John the Baptist, will be called the prophet of the Most High, 00:08:52.979 --> 00:08:55.419 for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 00:08:55.919 --> 00:09:01.740 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 00:09:01.740 --> 00:09:08.259 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high, 00:09:08.500 --> 00:09:12.259 to give light to those who sit in darkness in the shadow of death, 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:15.219 to guide our feet into the way of peace. 00:09:17.299 --> 00:09:21.219 That's the joy at the end of the waiting. 00:09:21.339 --> 00:09:25.599 And I don't know if you noticed, but most of that song was not about Zachariah's son. 00:09:26.740 --> 00:09:28.959 Most of that song was about the other son. 00:09:33.779 --> 00:09:35.879 That's the joy at the end of the waiting. 00:09:36.019 --> 00:09:37.799 And so what are you waiting for right now? 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:41.659 Is it worthy of your waiting? 00:09:41.659 --> 00:09:48.159 Christmas is about the end of our waiting being found in Jesus. 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:56.059 And we live on the other side of that timeline-splitting, merciful, light-giving visit from on high. 00:09:57.019 --> 00:09:57.879 Jesus has come. 00:09:59.319 --> 00:10:02.159 He revealed God to us like never before. 00:10:02.379 --> 00:10:05.159 He died to deal with our sin that ruins everything. 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:09.860 He rose again to be a source of new life in the universe. 00:10:11.079 --> 00:10:12.779 He ascended to sit at the right hand of God. 00:10:12.860 --> 00:10:14.699 He sent his Holy Spirit to his people. 00:10:15.439 --> 00:10:18.679 And we get to live in that amazing part of history right now. 00:10:22.100 --> 00:10:23.179 Jesus has come. 00:10:23.179 --> 00:10:28.559 But we Christians are also waiters. 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:34.899 For everyone who believes in Jesus, waiting is part of our identity as well. 00:10:35.019 --> 00:10:42.039 In 1 Thessalonians 1, 9 through 10, Paul is writing to these Christians about how the word of their conversion is spread. 00:10:42.039 --> 00:10:46.539 And he gives this awesome little summary of what it means to be a Christian. 00:10:47.459 --> 00:10:47.740 He says, 00:10:47.819 --> 00:10:51.199 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, 00:10:51.860 --> 00:10:56.980 and how you turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 00:10:57.620 --> 00:11:01.659 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, 00:11:02.199 --> 00:11:04.519 Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. 00:11:06.339 --> 00:11:07.559 What does it mean to be a Christian? 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:11.639 It means we've turned from our old empty ways of life. 00:11:12.179 --> 00:11:14.259 We've believed in the one true God, 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:17.139 and now we wait for his Son from heaven, 00:11:17.419 --> 00:11:19.559 who delivers us from the wrath to come. 00:11:22.079 --> 00:11:23.079 We're waiters. 00:11:24.519 --> 00:11:26.439 And we've been waiting a long time. 00:11:28.379 --> 00:11:29.739 2,000 years. 00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:34.459 But the Son is coming. 00:11:34.460 --> 00:11:38.060 There is an end to our waiting, 00:11:38.160 --> 00:11:40.560 just like there was an end to Zachariah's. 00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:42.160 And at the end of the Bible, 00:11:42.360 --> 00:11:44.100 Jesus, who testifies to these things, 00:11:44.220 --> 00:11:44.480 says, 00:11:44.740 --> 00:11:46.280 Surely I'm coming soon. 00:11:47.560 --> 00:11:48.519 And we say, 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:49.920 Amen. 00:11:50.680 --> 00:11:51.440 Come, Lord Jesus. 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:51.680 Amen.