WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.839 We're going to read again. We started there reading the story of John's birth as it was 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:14.240 announced to his father Zechariah who is a priest in the temple. We've been doing, if 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:17.280 you're visiting with us today, if you're here for the baptism or if you're just visiting 00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:22.519 with us in the city, we've been looking for the last number of months in our morning service 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:30.320 at the great old stories of the Old Testament, the children's Bible stories and we've been 00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:36.600 preaching on them and we're coming up now to the last of our two sermons and the first 00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:41.560 from the New Testament. We're looking at the birth of John today and then next Sunday morning 00:00:41.560 --> 00:00:47.079 we'll look at the birth of Jesus. That just puts in context where we are and where we've 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:52.879 been reading. So I'd like to read the second section we read from the beginning of Luke 00:00:52.879 --> 00:01:01.759 and now we're going to read from verse 57 of this chapter to the end of the chapter, 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:06.000 the birth of John the Baptist that's entitled. I think that's what's in your bulletin sheet 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:12.239 as well. It's on page 856. Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth and she bore a 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:18.280 son and her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:25.239 and they rejoiced with her and on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child and 00:01:25.239 --> 00:01:30.319 they would have called him Zechariah after his father but his mother answered no, he 00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:34.519 shall be called John and they said to her none of your relatives are called by this 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:40.439 name and they made signs to his father inquiring what he wanted him to be called and he asked 00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:46.840 for a writing tablet and wrote his name is John and they all wondered and immediately 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:52.480 his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed and he spoke blessing God and fear came on 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:57.120 all their neighbors and all these things were talked about through all the hill country 00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:01.799 of Judea and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts saying what then will this 00:02:01.799 --> 00:02:07.920 child be for the hand of the Lord was on and his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:13.120 Spirit and prophesied saying blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited and 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:18.599 redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us the house of his servant 00:02:18.599 --> 00:02:24.800 David. He spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old that we should be saved from our 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:30.680 enemies and from the hand of all who hate us to show them mercy promised to our fathers 00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:35.960 and to remember his holy covenant the oath that he swore to our father Abraham to grant 00:02:35.960 --> 00:02:40.640 us that we being delivered from the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear 00:02:40.640 --> 00:02:46.640 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days and you child will be called the 00:02:46.640 --> 00:02:52.200 prophet of the most high for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways to give knowledge 00:02:52.200 --> 00:02:57.520 of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins because of the tender mercy 00:02:57.520 --> 00:03:03.680 of our God whereby the sun rise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:09.960 sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the ways of peace 00:03:09.960 --> 00:03:16.040 and the child grew and became strong in spirit and he was in the wilderness until the day 00:03:16.040 --> 00:03:24.040 of his public appearance in Israel. Okay so there we have the story which is well known 00:03:24.040 --> 00:03:32.240 I guess to most of us the story of the birth of John the Baptist and I want to put up a 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:39.000 completely different text this morning because I do feel that it strongly links into this 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:46.240 story so from Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 20. Now to him who is able to do far more 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:56.160 abundantly than all we ask or think according to the power at work within us and when Paul 00:03:56.159 --> 00:04:02.479 says that he is speaking about knowing the length and the breadth and the height and 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:08.199 the depth of God's love and that God is able to answer our prayers to know more about his 00:04:08.199 --> 00:04:18.759 love so that we can serve him and recognize him as our rescuer and our redeemer. Our greatest 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:24.800 need this morning therefore as Christians or even if we are not Christians this morning 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:31.680 is to know God's love for us that's the greatest need we have in our lives and to see that 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:38.879 love as something that is above and beyond what we can imagine you know we shrink it 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:45.600 down to very small sizes and we may be appropriate it similarly to the way we appropriate human 00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:52.120 love but it ought to be the focus of our prayers as it was for Paul to the church in Ephesus 00:04:52.120 --> 00:04:57.720 that we would know the love of God fully because he says it's the fullness of God and then 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:03.800 he goes on to say give us this prayer that this prayer is that he can do exceedingly 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:07.360 above and beyond what we can ask or think. Now very briefly I want to see that in the 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:15.120 life of Zechariah and Elizabeth and then look at the birth of John just for a few minutes 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:20.759 before the baptism slightly later. So we've got these two characters we've got Zechariah 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:25.039 and we've got Elizabeth they're both believers they're both Christians if we can call them 00:05:25.039 --> 00:05:29.599 Christians before Jesus they are certainly believers in the Lord God as their redeemer 00:05:29.599 --> 00:05:35.599 and Savior and we're told they're righteous they're blameless above reproach they're consistent 00:05:35.599 --> 00:05:41.240 in their faith and in their life doesn't mean they're perfect far from it but they were 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:47.039 people who lived with a short account before God they went into His presence a lot they 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:52.240 asked for forgiveness they recognized they were sinners needing a Savior and they had 00:05:52.240 --> 00:06:01.160 that relationship with God righteous blameless but they were married together it's hard to 00:06:01.160 --> 00:06:08.439 be married apart they were married together and they did live with heartache they lived 00:06:08.439 --> 00:06:17.040 with a long term heartache because they were childless and in the society in which they 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:24.439 lived that it was a deeply troubling experience for them the perception the wrong perception 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:32.120 was that to be childless was to be under God's judgment to be under His disgrace and that 00:06:32.120 --> 00:06:37.959 they must be harboring some kind of secret sin for God not to bless them in such way 00:06:37.959 --> 00:06:44.120 so they lived with this great conundrum this great paradox this great difficulty in their 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:49.680 lives they were serving and following God but they felt that they weren't under God's 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:57.479 blessing His favor and the oppression of people around them and the kind of judgmental eyes 00:06:57.479 --> 00:07:05.959 and the smarting looks were difficult for them as they lived their lives but Zikarai's 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:11.560 profession was his job was he was a priest so he took very much to do with the religious 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:16.959 life of the Jewish people and of the worship in the sanctuary that was where he spent his 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:23.639 time involving himself in the worship of the sanctuary and that was his workplace his workplace 00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:29.479 was the temple that's where he went to work the place where God's presence was manifested 00:07:29.479 --> 00:07:35.319 to the people and all the symbolism of the temple and all its rituals pointed to God 00:07:35.319 --> 00:07:41.800 the character of God and pointed forward to the sacrifice of Jesus which was to come God's 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:48.439 intentions and one of the things that happened in the temple was the incense was offered up to God 00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:56.680 so incense was taken and it was it was burnt incense was burned on the offering the sacrifice of 00:07:56.680 --> 00:08:06.519 offering and it was offered up to God along with the prayers of the priest and it was this visual 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:14.840 and sensual and I mean by that appeal to the senses a sign of praying in God's presence 00:08:14.840 --> 00:08:20.920 through sacrifice through the altar of sacrifice which spent that it came there needed to be you 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:26.680 know the shedding of blood which pointed forward to the coming of Jesus and it was done continually 00:08:27.240 --> 00:08:33.159 morning and night this need for continual prayer before the living God and the priest represented 00:08:34.519 --> 00:08:40.120 the people before God so that was his workplace that was his job that was his marriage that was his 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:47.800 family and we come to this bit which gives us the career highlight of his life the high point 00:08:47.799 --> 00:08:57.479 of any priest's life in the ancient Near East this time in Judea was to be chosen by lot 00:08:59.719 --> 00:09:09.079 to enter the sack into the holy place and offer the prayer of thanksgiving and petition before God 00:09:09.079 --> 00:09:14.919 and offer up the incense on behalf of the people that would be for the priest his highlight was 00:09:14.919 --> 00:09:20.199 the best day of his life it was the pinnacle of his career but like me being chosen to be moderator 00:09:21.319 --> 00:09:25.879 but a million times better than that it's not really been the pinnacle of my career 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:29.399 playing for 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:36.839 oh I've forgotten the name of the team it was that much of a pinnacle my career 00:09:37.719 --> 00:09:44.360 yeah anyway my mind's gone blank so I'll not say it because it's obviously wrong and ungodly to 00:09:44.360 --> 00:09:54.200 talk about it so anyway this was the pinnacle of his career was to offer the incense and from this 00:09:54.200 --> 00:10:00.759 day on he would be called rich and holy by all the people because he'd been chosen by God as it were 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:08.680 through lot through the offering of lots to have this position so it was a really special day for 00:10:08.679 --> 00:10:17.559 him really important highlight of his life but it was nothing compared to what was to come and in 00:10:17.559 --> 00:10:23.479 a sense he sees the answer to God's love and God doing exceedingly above and beyond what he could 00:10:23.479 --> 00:10:28.839 ask you to even think in the answer to his prayer now it says that he prays in verse 13 it says that 00:10:28.839 --> 00:10:37.479 he prays in the temple we're not told what he did pray and a lot of people presume that it would 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:42.680 have been a personal prayer and that he would pray as he would have done for many many years 00:10:42.680 --> 00:10:48.600 that they would be able to have a child now that is perfectly possible and it's perfectly legitimate 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:53.320 to consider that because the angel goes on to say your prayer has been answered and you shall have 00:10:53.320 --> 00:10:59.960 a child and it may well be that that's what you've prayed but it's also probably much more likely 00:10:59.960 --> 00:11:06.519 that as the representative of the people praying a prayer that he was meant to pray publicly as it 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:11.639 were and in an official role he would be offering a prayer of thanksgiving to God because it was 00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:17.799 the insensitive thanksgiving and also praying for the coming of the Messiah that would have been 00:11:17.799 --> 00:11:24.600 part of his petitionary prayers on behalf of the people as they waited outside and heard his prayers 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:32.279 and for 400 years they'd been doing that it was silence for 400 years it was as if God hadn't 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:37.720 answered any of their prayers and it was silence and yet he thought well it's my turn I better pray 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:42.439 I better pray for the coming of the Messiah it's been 400 years without anything will happen now 00:11:42.439 --> 00:11:51.639 but he prayed that prayer and the answer was immediate and wildly extravagant it's a remarkable 00:11:52.199 --> 00:12:01.879 a quick and powerful answer a prayer here spooky the angel Gabriel is there and tells him not to 00:12:01.879 --> 00:12:08.519 be afraid brings him comfort and tells him that he will have a child in his old age beyond hope 00:12:09.240 --> 00:12:14.919 given up for years maybe maybe they'd even stopped praying that prayer because they were old people 00:12:14.919 --> 00:12:22.759 by now but beyond that he says this son of yours which is to be born will be the forerunner for 00:12:22.759 --> 00:12:30.759 the Messiah so both of his prayers if he offered both of these prayers were remarkably fused together 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:41.879 in God's answer to him the silence of 400 years is over and how in this amazing way so much so that 00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:48.039 like the rest of us probably would be he doubted he did oh come on he had an angel in front of him 00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:53.240 but he's still doubted that can't possibly be the case it's too amazing so he was given nine 00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:59.960 months of silence to work it through and pray through his doubt there's so many things we can't 00:12:59.960 --> 00:13:07.720 really go into this morning we're just going to skim over the surface but it's a really great picture 00:13:07.720 --> 00:13:15.240 of people of faith and the battles of faith and the reality of God intervening in our lives 00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:20.440 and I would want you as a Christian to keep going back to Ephesians chapter three the verse that we 00:13:20.440 --> 00:13:25.320 had at the beginning of the chapter which speaks about a prayer for the people of God for the people 00:13:25.320 --> 00:13:31.240 of God in Ephesus and also for us that we would know more and more of the love of God which because 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:38.120 it's the fullness of God it's it's all we can want and when we make that prayer he is able to show us 00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:44.840 his love in ways that are above and beyond what we can ask or think pray to know that because 00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:51.560 God loves us through our barrenness our brokenness and our need and we have the privilege today of 00:13:51.559 --> 00:13:58.439 knowing what he has done on the cross and knowing that he is already done for us exceedingly above 00:13:58.439 --> 00:14:04.199 and beyond what we can ask or think and what he's already done on the cross of Jesus Christ 00:14:04.199 --> 00:14:12.279 and what lies before us as Christians is beyond our wildest dreams and we need to keep that focus 00:14:12.279 --> 00:14:18.359 and remember that focus as it's expressed in the life of Zechariah and Elizabeth that's the first 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:25.639 thing I want to say is the surprising love of God and we I think we need to be surprised by his love 00:14:25.639 --> 00:14:33.480 I think it's all very plain I can speaking personally it can be like that and I'm not astounded 00:14:33.480 --> 00:14:40.440 I'm not challenged to ask God for more revelation of his love in in my life and we need to do that 00:14:40.440 --> 00:14:46.200 the second thing I want to point out from this story is the supernatural and the historical 00:14:46.200 --> 00:14:53.800 lie side by side in this story in this account so you've got something cosmic and big and also 00:14:53.800 --> 00:15:01.320 something absolutely down to earth and historical now you remember Luke because we've just finished 00:15:01.320 --> 00:15:06.280 in our church we've just finished Luke going through Acts which is his second epistle as it were 00:15:07.560 --> 00:15:13.480 his second book and this is his first book and he's a doctor and he's he's determined to give 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:21.159 an orderly account of the gospel and the the beginnings of the gospel through Jesus Christ 00:15:21.159 --> 00:15:25.879 and therefore it's a matter of fact you know we know that don't we but most doctors pretty 00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:31.800 matter of fact the bedside manner pretty matter of fact sometimes lack a bit of empathy softness 00:15:32.759 --> 00:15:38.120 bear watch what I'm saying congregation is full of doctors you're all very empathetic and loving 00:15:38.120 --> 00:15:44.519 but sometimes the stereotype is that doctors maybe lack that little bit of sensitivity in the 00:15:44.519 --> 00:15:49.080 in the way because they're matter of fact and two things but it's but and Luke is that matter 00:15:49.080 --> 00:15:54.519 of fact and he's not it's not even he's writing to Jewish people generally writing to our Gentile 00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:59.639 audience people who wouldn't necessarily been familiar with the supernatural in the way that 00:15:59.639 --> 00:16:05.960 Jews would have but in this story quite right at the beginning he just in a matter of fact way 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:12.759 speaks about an angel angel Gabriel coming there's prophecy before it happens of the imminent coming 00:16:12.759 --> 00:16:19.000 of the Messiah and of John the Baptist is preparing the way speaking through the prophecies of the 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:27.400 Old Testament about the great plan of God there's there's this great miraculous event going on in 00:16:28.680 --> 00:16:34.519 historical reality in Judea the reign of Herod during the Roman occupation with a real and 00:16:34.519 --> 00:16:41.879 very ordinary families Icariah and Elizabeth who will miraculously have a child in a rolled age 00:16:43.079 --> 00:16:50.919 and that's maybe just a an incidental point to note in this passage but it's the unashamed 00:16:50.919 --> 00:16:56.120 balance of scripture from beginning to end it's the unashamed presentation that we have in the 00:16:56.120 --> 00:17:03.559 Bible all the time of the supernatural and the historical side by side unashamedly 00:17:03.559 --> 00:17:11.240 so that it's just and it can't be any other way and we can't think any other way about the gospel 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:19.559 or about the Bible or about its truth it's it's the reality of God breaking in to our very real 00:17:19.559 --> 00:17:28.359 ordinary historic kill world it's the reality of an unseen spiritual world influencing the physical 00:17:28.359 --> 00:17:33.959 and material world in which we live and we live in days which are hugely 00:17:37.159 --> 00:17:43.479 focused on the material on the physical and what we can see and feel and touch as if there's nothing 00:17:43.479 --> 00:17:52.279 else and yet God makes clear that there is more to life than that simple material reality 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:57.399 that there is spiritual reality and so we can unashamedly and I hope not with with 00:17:57.400 --> 00:18:01.800 by brain we're not brain dumping we're not the other use of brain dumping we're not dumping our 00:18:01.800 --> 00:18:09.160 brain and we're not dumping our knowledge and our intelligence and our scientific mindsets and 00:18:09.160 --> 00:18:14.120 everything else that we believe in and know we can unashamedly say we believe in angels and we 00:18:14.120 --> 00:18:19.400 believe in demons and in the virgin birth and in Christ walking on water and in the stone rolled away 00:18:20.040 --> 00:18:25.960 and in Christ being raised from the dead and Christ returning one day to judge this world 00:18:25.960 --> 00:18:33.960 He comes into history He breaks into the ordinary and touches even today the ordinary life of millions 00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:39.880 and millions of people who come to faith in Him as Lord and God and that's our hope that's our 00:18:39.880 --> 00:18:45.240 longing that's our prayer for today it's our prayer for tonight for the carol service that God will 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:52.680 be with us that He will challenge and arrest and stop and pour out His love on those who don't know 00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:59.640 Him and in us who do so that's the second thing it's a supernatural and historical side by side 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:05.160 and briefly we see the angel speaks I'm not going to say much really about this side of things 00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:13.799 and it is important the angel Gabriel speaks and he says don't be afraid 00:19:13.799 --> 00:19:23.079 this is your child will bring joy and delight to you as your child is going to have a calling 00:19:24.519 --> 00:19:32.039 his calling is to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah and that too is hugely 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:40.519 significant the message that he brings how often to the point of ad nauseam have I said in this 00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:48.680 pulpit that God continually tells us in this message not to be afraid isn't that great again 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:57.720 and again and again why because we are prone to fear and because it is sometimes overwhelming 00:19:58.279 --> 00:20:05.240 in our lives both to Zechariah in a very intense and very real way and also to us we take that same 00:20:05.240 --> 00:20:14.519 message and the principles of that message to ourselves often the gospel the supernatural 00:20:15.160 --> 00:20:24.519 the divine the unknown the whole concept and speaking of death it evokes fear within us 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:33.640 and yet God often will come and he comes through the angel Gabriel then and he comes through His 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:43.720 word today reminding us again and again not to be afraid because he knows the future and as we 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:50.759 entrust our lives to him we are engulfed in his protection and his love and it may be as young 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:58.440 parents today there's fears fears about bringing up children fears about inadequacy as parents fears 00:20:58.440 --> 00:21:06.200 about going cross-eyed with a lack of sleep all kinds of fears and even in these practical things 00:21:06.200 --> 00:21:16.840 God reminds us as we have these precious realities of babies and children around us and of love for 00:21:16.840 --> 00:21:25.720 one another and of family in Christ not to be afraid but to entrust ourselves to the living God 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:36.120 it's a repeated message that he brings to us and I think at a very ordinary human level he 00:21:36.120 --> 00:21:42.120 reminds Zechariah and Elizabeth that the child would bring them much joy and delight and I think 00:21:42.120 --> 00:21:52.120 that is a simple recognition at a very human level that that is what children bring to us 00:21:52.119 --> 00:22:02.039 in our lives as parents they bring joy and delight and heartache and pain and sleepless nights and 00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:10.199 grief and worry but joy and delight and we remember that and we remember them as God's gifts and we 00:22:10.199 --> 00:22:18.439 remember that you as you have grown up and now are old and mature we're also children and that your 00:22:18.440 --> 00:22:26.680 life has been a joy and a delight and that God sees you and sees every person as a joy and a 00:22:26.680 --> 00:22:35.880 delight as a gift from him and it is important to know and recognize and remember the ordinariness 00:22:35.880 --> 00:22:43.160 of who we are the ordinariness of family life and yet within that that it is part of God's purpose 00:22:43.160 --> 00:22:53.480 and plan for us to recognize every single individual as being his gift and every single life has been 00:22:53.480 --> 00:23:04.440 precious at that level and just as John the Baptist's life had a purpose that he was to be the 00:23:04.440 --> 00:23:13.880 forerunner who would bring the message of the coming Messiah to the people so we all have a calling 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:21.880 and a purpose and we believe that for Rhea and we believe that for all the children here and we 00:23:21.880 --> 00:23:27.960 believe it for ourselves that we are calling for who of us have got a purpose like John the Baptist 00:23:27.960 --> 00:23:35.960 who have such a high and noble calling in life that set apart and have an angelic announcements 00:23:35.960 --> 00:23:43.319 of our life's purpose and plan but take a look at Matthew chapter 11 and verse 11 if that can maybe 00:23:43.319 --> 00:23:49.720 go up on the screen Matthew 11 verse 11 where Jesus says about John the Baptist truly I say to you 00:23:49.720 --> 00:23:56.279 among those born of women there is no one greater than John the Baptist yet the one who is least 00:23:56.279 --> 00:24:05.559 in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he and we don't have time to exegete that but we recognize 00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:14.119 and see and know that we have a great calling as believers and a great focus of God's love in our 00:24:14.119 --> 00:24:22.279 lives and a purpose as we pray and commit our lives to him that is going to honor him and glorify 00:24:22.279 --> 00:24:29.960 him and because of who we are and who we have in Christ we have this great calling that is greater 00:24:30.599 --> 00:24:37.399 than even the calling John the Baptist had and then lastly and very briefly we see Zechariah's 00:24:37.399 --> 00:24:46.440 joyful response and we read that in the song that he prophetic song that he penned the prophecy 00:24:46.440 --> 00:24:55.160 and from verse 67 onwards and this chapter is the first time that the phrase good news is used 00:24:55.160 --> 00:25:03.480 and it is indeed great news and the response once they'd overcome fear the response was very positive 00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:09.960 and joyful and celebratory we see it with Elizabeth who sings a song of joy and 00:25:09.960 --> 00:25:19.559 delight in what is happening we see it with Zechariah and then of course we see it with Mary 00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:27.720 who all responded with great joy and praise and worship to God for what he's doing 00:25:29.160 --> 00:25:37.319 and Zechariah in his song he gives thanks you know he would have offered a prayer of thanksgiving 00:25:37.319 --> 00:25:43.960 in the temple on behalf of the people maybe this was very different it's much more kind of personalized 00:25:43.960 --> 00:25:50.359 much more passionate wasn't just ritualistic or formulaic he was thankful to God that the 00:25:50.359 --> 00:25:55.559 God has answered the prayers of the people and he's going to redeem his people as he had done in the 00:25:55.559 --> 00:26:02.200 past but in the coming of the Messiah speaks of the great deliverance that would be wrought by God 00:26:02.200 --> 00:26:11.000 and he speaks prophetically about the place of his son that the son would prepare his ways to 00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:17.960 give knowledge of salvation to his people and then he speaks beautifully and very at the end of his 00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:22.920 praise he speaks beautifully very prophetically about Jesus I'm not going to say much about this 00:26:22.920 --> 00:26:30.519 at all because I'm going to it's going to be my theme for tonight at the short address at the 00:26:30.519 --> 00:26:36.839 Carol service but he speaks about this because of the tender mercy of our God in verse 78 00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:44.119 whereby the sunrise the rising sun shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in 00:26:44.119 --> 00:26:51.879 darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the ways of peace short beautiful 00:26:51.880 --> 00:27:01.480 prophetic message about the kind of Savior Jesus would be and I'm not going to start unpacking that 00:27:01.480 --> 00:27:08.600 because I'll just be repeating what I'm saying tonight but it is it is beautiful and it reminds us 00:27:10.600 --> 00:27:17.880 of the miraculous again of this prophetic message that John was given not just only about his own 00:27:17.880 --> 00:27:25.800 son but also about the Redeemer who would come and bring light into darkness and who would guide 00:27:25.800 --> 00:27:32.280 our feet into the ways of peace so his response to this remarkable outpouring of God's love into 00:27:32.280 --> 00:27:39.800 his heart and into his life through answered prayer and through this great trigger of divine 00:27:39.800 --> 00:27:45.880 activity after years and years centuries of silence with the coming of Jesus the most momentous event 00:27:45.880 --> 00:27:54.200 that the history of this universe has ever known and understood is is joy and his praise is to look 00:27:54.200 --> 00:28:04.040 to God in praise and thanksgiving and I do wonder sometimes particularly as I look at my own life 00:28:04.840 --> 00:28:13.000 at the lack of joy and responsive praise to God and to his goodness we grumble we moan 00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:23.160 we are kind of plowing a hard furrow sometimes we feel the poor me's just overwhelming us 00:28:24.359 --> 00:28:32.759 and there's a need for us I think to go back again and again to the Ephesians prayer that God 00:28:32.759 --> 00:28:38.839 will show us his the width and the height and the depth and the length of his love 00:28:38.839 --> 00:28:47.639 because that is the fullness of God and he goes on to say as we pray that prayer he's able to do 00:28:47.639 --> 00:28:52.679 exceedingly above and beyond what we can ask and even think we need that as people in our lives we 00:28:52.679 --> 00:28:57.959 need it in our marriages we need it with our children we need it in our relationships with our 00:28:57.959 --> 00:29:06.119 colleagues we need to be understanding appreciate his love more and more so that we're able to 00:29:06.119 --> 00:29:12.439 praise him and respond to him as we hear his voice fear is distilled and taken from us and joy and 00:29:12.439 --> 00:29:18.519 delight replace that and we look for that and I think it's good to look for that and it's good to 00:29:18.519 --> 00:29:26.279 seek that more in our lives and recognize him and respond to him and joy it's not a slapstick joy 00:29:26.279 --> 00:29:32.919 and it's not a false joy it's not a kind of putting on a smiley face in the midst of everything 00:29:32.920 --> 00:29:39.560 that's happening it's a deep seated recognition of where we are who identity is where we're going 00:29:39.560 --> 00:29:44.200 how much he loves us and a response can be joy for that I sometimes think when I sing 00:29:46.279 --> 00:29:54.120 that it is I end singing and that praising and hymns and Psalms and I don't even know I've sung 00:29:55.080 --> 00:29:59.000 and sometimes I think in congregations we look around at congregations we think 00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:03.880 well if they look in their faces is it is any reflection of the feeling in their hearts 00:30:04.599 --> 00:30:09.720 and it must be pretty joyless and grim and miserable no I'm not saying we all need to smile 00:30:10.759 --> 00:30:17.400 we don't need to do that but there's that sense of intensity and and response and reality 00:30:18.440 --> 00:30:25.799 and maybe the joy is very very deep but now and again nice to let it show nice just to let it 00:30:25.799 --> 00:30:34.200 blossom nice to sing with enthusiasm and passion as if we're singing to the living God and it's easy 00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:42.599 as it must have been for Zechariah to ritualistically although privileged make his prayer of thanksgiving 00:30:43.159 --> 00:30:46.919 and expect just to come out at the end of that and nothing to have changed 00:30:46.919 --> 00:30:53.079 and isn't that easy for us in our worship is it easy for us in our lives to read the word pray 00:30:53.079 --> 00:31:01.319 pray come to church leave again nothing's different and we we haven't looked for that sense of the 00:31:01.319 --> 00:31:08.679 presence and reality and expectation that comes from the living God we all come with different 00:31:08.679 --> 00:31:13.879 needs different weaknesses different strengths different joys and different sorrows but we 00:31:13.879 --> 00:31:19.879 seek to bring them before the one and pray for a greater understanding in it all as Christians 00:31:19.880 --> 00:31:25.160 of his love the height depth length and breadth of it in order that we can know the fullness of 00:31:25.160 --> 00:31:31.400 God that's our deepest prayer for one another and it will be our deepest prayer for Rhea and 00:31:31.400 --> 00:31:37.480 our deepest prayer for all the children and indeed for all of us in church so let's bow our heads and 00:31:37.480 --> 00:31:44.760 pray before the baptism today Father God we thank you for who you are we thank you for your grace 00:31:44.759 --> 00:31:53.960 we ask for forgiveness when we treat that grace as an ordinary thing as a plain and dull thing 00:31:53.960 --> 00:32:03.559 even or a distant thing and we ask that we would wrestle in our lives before the God who is revealed 00:32:03.559 --> 00:32:14.519 in Paul's prayer as that great God of outstanding love God of provision God of grace and God who 00:32:14.519 --> 00:32:23.480 in Christ reveals himself to be the one who loves us more than any can ever love and is the fullness 00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:32.119 of God as we recognize that so may we come and trust take away our fear bless us we pray and 00:32:32.119 --> 00:32:39.879 bless us together at this happy time as we celebrate and as we participate in the 00:32:39.880 --> 00:32:47.240 sacrament of baptism and we pray and ask that you would remind us of your covenant again and again 00:32:47.240 --> 00:32:52.840 your commitment of your promises and of your goodness and grace to us we ask and pray we would 00:32:52.839 --> 00:33:11.319 know and see that more clearly with each passing day in Jesus name amen