Blessing The Faithful God (part 2) - [Luke 1:57-66]

Well last Memorial Day, last Monday, Kim and I with Bill Glenn and Ben Roberts and his children went to York Beach and we were hanging out at the beach and then we walked into town and on the way back we went to a little church and the church had its doors open on Monday and I said let's just go in and take a look.

I said when you hear preachers you should say to yourself what does he say and and what doesn't he say and when you walk into a church building you should ask yourself the question. What do I see and What don't I see?

Let's see if we can have a little theology class in an open church building. So I asked what do we see and maybe there's certain few chairs and certain statues and other things. I Said what don't you see and the answer was we don't see a pulpit.

That's in the center of the church. I. And so in this particular church, the most important thing is the altar for the re-sacrifice of Jesus. It's what they would believe and so why does our church have a pulpit in the center of the church?

And that's because we realize the exalted position not of the preacher but of preaching God's Word and of course the world hates preaching. Don't you preach to me? Don't get so preachy on me and when you do begin to preach they think it's old-fashioned.

I think of words like dinosaurs and obscurantists shelters sheltered cave dwellers troglodytes. What's needed now is fancy drama and slideshows and PowerPoints not just someone up there preaching. Except as you know dear congregation because I know you love preaching.

One of the reasons we preach is Jesus was a preacher. We love preaching because Jesus was a preacher. Luke 4 he said to them I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to other towns as well for I was sent for this purpose.

When Jesus preached people were amazed at his preaching people were wondering how these wonderful words were falling from his mouth. And of course if you think of titles for Jesus, there are many Savior Lord Messiah King Judge Son of God Son of Man Alpha Omega the Holy One Lamb Advocate Author Finisher Captain Lion Mediator Prophet Priest King Shepherd Redeemer Emmanuel the angel of the Lord the Word the first the last and many more.

What a Savior, but he's also known as a preacher the preacher the Prince of preachers and Not only does the Bible teach that Jesus was a great preacher God had only one son, and he made him a preacher.

But also generally the Bible speaks much of preaching that elevates preaching. Paul said to Timothy I Charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing in His kingdom preach the word be ready in season and out of season.

Reprove rebuke exhort with great patience and doctrine or teaching. Paul writes to the Church of Corinth for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. For since in words wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom it Pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

Paul said to the church at Rome How will they call on him in whom they have not believed and how are they to believe in him of whom they have never? Heard and how are they to hear without someone? Preaching.

We with Paul in Romans 1 are eager to preach the gospel. Even our theme verse you want to know the mission of Bethlehem Bible Church. It's on the front page of the bulletin Colossians 128 him we proclaim.

And I know dear church you believe that preaching is important. I commend you and I want to encourage you to keep believing that once you get a taste of Bible teaching and Bible preaching. It's hard to go back to the watered-down gruel of the world's preaching.

And so before we get into the passage today in Luke chapter 1 I want to kind of go behind the scenes of preaching to take you behind the veil and help you think about what preaching really is. Now in basketball in many sports What you don't want to do is telegraph a pass because it's going to be stolen.

So if I look at Vincent and then try to pass it to him someone will see me look at Vincent. I'm telegraphing the pass and they can easily see my intentions and it would alert the opponent to steal the ball.

In Martial arts and in combat sports and in boxing There's certain ways you use your shoulders and other things before you're gonna throw a punch you would telegraph that Punch and you don't want to do that.

In ice hockey when people are gonna do a slap shot or a body check. There's certain things that they do with their body and the opponents if they're careful can see that and they know what's coming. When baseball pitchers pitch certain ways he might telegraph is his pitch and they call that tipping the pitch.

I Heard in cricket they tip they telegraph things, but I don't know anything about cricket. So I'm not going to use that illustration. I went to India and I bought a ticket a cricket bat one time and I Never used it.

I never hit one cricket ball. I just thought Maybe I'll keep it by the door for self-defense. I don't know. In football if a quarterback looks to the receiver and doesn't look someplace else. He he's he's telegraphing.

It's not a good thing. And in poker, of course people betray their attentions with blinking and sweating and and and they do something called the tell. By the way, the tell is short for telegraph and all these it's bad to do to try to say, you know what?

I'm gonna throw the ball at you here. It's going to come but in preaching I want you to know when I preach I want you to catch things and I want you to be taught things. Preaching is something to be taught.

I'm teaching and I want you to catch something so taught and caught. What do I want you behind the scenes to think besides I'd like to learn more about Jesus from this passage. What's the author trying to let me learn about this passage?

One of the things that I want you to catch that I'm trying to telegraph to you is that Verse by verse Bible teaching is good. It's important so I want you to catch this when you teach Sunday school when you teach your Home at home with your your Bible study and your worship time and other things.

It's good to go verse by verse sequentially so you can see the context. I want you to catch yes. In fact that pastor Mike he's showing us the context and when I'm reading my Bible at home. I should do the same thing.

Pastor Mike doesn't seem to be very concerned about going fast through books of the Bible and so therefore I'd rather go slow. When I personally study or when I teach because it's good to understand what we're teaching.

Why rush. I Want you to catch. I'm trying to telegraph to you things like is this passage law? Something that God tells us to do. Is it an imperative? Is it a command? Is it a demand? Or is it gospel?

Is it something that God in Christ has done? Is it a declaration? Is it provision of God something he's done? Is it law or gospel when I talk about that here? I'm wanting you to to catch the pass. I'm trying to telegraph to you.

Yes do that exact same thing at home. I Regularly try to tell you that when we receive laws from God the key to the law of God is Who's giving the law and what relationship you have to the lawgiver? And is it God the judge giving the law to an unbeliever do this and live or is it God?

Giving a son or a daughter a command as a father would give to a command to guide that person. I'm wanting you to catch that so that when you are at home, and you're teaching your children the law of God.

You remember you're reminding them that it's coming from you the father or the mother because you care for them. And you love them and you want them to honor you and do what's best for them. Every week I hope you realize that I'm going to talk about the Lord Jesus in my sermon.

Even if he might not be in the text he's in the sermon because we want to proclaim Christ. I'm wanting you to catch many of you do of course I wanted you to catch the idea that when I'm sitting down talking to my sons talking to my daughters.

Teaching Bible classes doing Bible studies that I'm to realize you know what Jesus is the key. He's the theme and while we teach the passage and we want to be faithful to the passage I'm going to talk about Jesus every single Sunday, and when you teach the Bible you should do the same thing.

I'm wanting you to catch that. I want you to catch that. It's important to ask is this a poem. Is this a narrative. Is this a story. Is this end times literature. Pastors always making sure that we understand the genre so I want you to catch that.

So when you go home You do the same thing and the list could go on and on and on. What does the pastor teach us about God and sin and the Savior you do the same thing. What what's the tenor and tone of the pastor.

Is it scolding. Is it getting after people all the time how can you call yourself a Christian or Should it be and is it regularly the tenor and tone of the Lord Jesus when he said Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I'm gentle and lowly in heart. And you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. And you learn oh the pastor realizes that Jesus when he talks to Unrighteous people that are self-righteous He blisters them, but when he talks to people who are unrighteous that know they have no righteousness.

He's kind to them. So what I'm doing. Here's my point as I'm preaching as Weak and as sinful as I may be I am trying to model for you. Not just what biblical preaching should be from the pulpit on the Lord's Day Sunday morning but also in many ways how you should study the Bible yourself and.

So that's why when I would teach the Bible at home to my children I didn't have all week to do a new message for my children. I just would say hmm verse by verse messages are good. Christ-centered messages are good.

Talking about sin and the Savior is good, so I'd say to the children grab your Bibles. Let's look at Exodus chapter 1. I'd read through Exodus 1. What did we learn about God sin I need for a Savior and then the next night since verse by verse?

Teaching is good from the pulpit the next night. It would be what's the review for Exodus 1. We ever have reviews and sermons. Yes, and then what does Exodus 2 teach us about God sin and the Savior? And so what you do is you you catch what's going on the pulpit because I'm trying to telegraph to you.

This is a good way to do it. Not that you have to spend 30 hours a week to put together a message. But just generally is this law is this encouraging is this a gospel? What is going on and so? Preaching.

I'm not trying to just teach you. I want you to catch the ball because I'm looking straight at you, and I'm saying it's coming toward you does that make sense. So that's just a little bit of behind the scenes of preaching so now you know my strategies.

Let's turn our Bibles to Luke chapter 1 if you're new with us here today welcome to Bethlehem Bible Church. We're going through books of the Bible verse by verse chapter by chapter the gospel of Jesus good news about Jesus.

According to Luke the physician very technical writer. He is a physician and he was a physician. And this is a book that gives us certainty and hope that this Jesus is the real Jesus. That's Luke chapter 1 verse 4.

He's writing in such a way that you're going to have confidence every prophecy is fulfilled. Jesus is in fact Lord of all and he wants us to understand that this is driving to certain point and that point is we learned last week Luke 19 10 that Jesus is a Savior to come and seek and save the lost.

And so that's our hope for all of you. Is it if you are a Christian that you keep believing in the Lord and Savior Jesus in spite of trials? And if you're not a Christian that you recognize one day you'll die and stand before God for you.

And you'll have to pay for your sins, but there's an other there's another option a gracious option a Thankful option that Jesus comes to die for sinners like you and you need to trust in him the risen Savior and believe and so we've come to Luke chapter 1 verses 57 through 66 and I call this passage a remarkable unmarked passage a Remarkable unmarked passage because most of us have not marked it in our Bibles and by the way last week remember I got after you if you use yellow marker in your Bibles or your books or anything like That and I showed you what I had and then someone said, but you have yellow on your iPad.

So let me make myself clear. I Have the exceptions. No, what I meant was if it's real paper if it's tangible if it's like this I don't write in anything except pencil. But if it's an iPad you can use as my father would say sky blue pink if you want it's fine by me.

If you weren't here last week. That's all right. So we had some questions about this remarkable unmarked passage to try to get you to understand it better. There were eight questions and let's go over a few in review.

Eight questions designed to get you to think biblically and theologically about this remarkable unmarked Passage that gives us certainty Luke 1 for about the Savior to come and seek and save us. Luke 1910.

Question 1 remember is God faithful. It's God faithful. It's a good question. The world's full of unfaithfulness. When we look with our eyes. Maybe it doesn't seem like God is very faithful as God's faithful and we see that right here verse 57 of Luke 1 now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth she bore a son and Everybody reading Luke should say faithful.

God is faithful. Luke 113. Zachariah was told by the angel your wife Elizabeth. Remember that old lady past childbearing you're old as well. The son is going to be born and now the son is born and when I read the Bible I read the Bible this way thinking God is faithful.

God is immutable and this immutable God is faithful to me as well. Thank you God for being faithful. I see it in the pages of Scripture. I don't really see it in my life sometimes. But I know you are and I'll trust Scripture over my own personal eyes.

Did you know not one word has failed of all his good promise not one for its first Kings chapter 8 verse 56 and as Calvin would say God is always like himself and if he's always like himself, he's always faithful.

God's not a man that he would lie. He's faithful. He's faithful in giving us temporal blessings. Therefore Spurgeon would say Oh Christian you doubt is whether God will fulfill his promise. Shall the storehouses of heaven fail?

Do you think that your heavenly father though? He knows that you need food will forget you. When a sparrow falls to the ground without your father's notice and the very heads of your hair are all numbered.

Will you mistrust and doubt him? If God's faithful we can trust him. First Corinthians 1. God is Faithful. How about first Corinthians 10? No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is Faithful and whether it's temporal blessings spiritual blessings suffering persecution temptation are getting us to glory.

God is faithful. Second question we ask is what's the response to God's faithfulness if God is faithful. What does revelation of God's faithfulness? Require a response. Joy and her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her and they rejoiced with her.

Revelation demands a response. Chapter 1 verse 14 many will rejoice at his birth. Psalm 126 the Lord has done great things for them and it's this great response to the faithfulness of God. Kim's not home today.

And so I got up and getting ready making coffee. To go get my cholesterol check soon. So I'm trying to make up for all my eggs in the morning. So I had my oatmeal with all this kind of set up and like why am I eating mush for breakfast?

But I did and then I turned all the speakers. We have speakers in the kitchen and They're loud and I turned them up. Loudly to CC wine ins song called the goodness of God. Do you know it the goodness of God?

Cranking and I thought if my neighbors see me kind of dancing around the kitchen with my oatmeal singing. For your mercy never fails me. All my days I've been held in your hands from the moment that I wake up until I lay my head.

I will sing of the goodness of God. Because all my life you've been faithful all my life. You've been so so good. With every breath that I'm able I will sing of the goodness of God. And you see God's faithfulness right here to someone else.

It might not be a promise in Romans 8 for you. They're there for you by the way, too. But right here in the narrative the faithfulness of God and everybody says I will rejoice. That's our response. That's your response.

If God's faithfulness question three is obedience important. Question three in this remarkable unmarked passage is obedience important. There's obedience everywhere you see and everywhere you look in this passage verse 59 and on the 8th day they came to circumcise the child.

There's obedience obeying Old Testament circumcision, and they would have called him Zechariah after his father. But his mother answered no he'll should be caught. She should be called John more obedience now by Elizabeth.

They said to her none of your relatives are called by this name. And they made signs to his father inquiring what he wanted him to be called. Elizabeth was obedient and now so too is Zechariah. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote his name is John and they all wondered.

And we talked last week quite a bit about the obedience of the Christian not to get into heaven. We can't be obedient enough not to stay into heaven. We don't stay in heaven. We don't stay rather secure of our salvation by obedience.

But we do good works because we want to show our gratitude our thankfulness to serve other Christians to strengthen our assurance. Jesus said if you love me you will what? Keep my commandments. Obedience is important.

We know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments for this is the love of God that We keep his Commandments and so it let it ever be told from this pulpit. Obedience is important not out of slavish fear not to keep our salvation but out of gratitude and out of a desire to serve other people.

I Appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice. It's important to obey and we see that in this passage. Number four what's the Christians main motivation for obedience?

What's the forgotten motivation for obedience. Not in our passage, but the answer is Gratitude because the lawgiver now is your father. Packer said that if he had to summarize the New Testament in three words he would choose adoption through propitiation.

Adopted through propitiation that is we're adopted in the family of God through Jesus bearing the wrath we deserved that's propitiation and. And lastly we looked At number five the fifth question in this remarkable unmarked passage does God discipline disobedience?

Answer. Yes, remember Zechariah did not believe God through the message Gabriel and he made him what mute God disciplines disobedience. We're not talking about punishment. We're not talking about condemnation.

We look at Hebrews chapter 12. Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord nor be weary when reproved by him for the Lord disciplines the one he loves. Question six. Does God bless obedience. Question six in this remarkable unmarked passage does God bless obedience?

What would you say? You'd say sometimes you give me trick questions, so I don't want to say out loud. That's what you would say. Does God bless obedience. Answer let's find out verse 64 and Immediately his Zechariah's mouth was open and his tongue loosed and he spoke blessing God.

The judgment is gone. He obeys the judgment is gone. He now believes that God fulfills his promise. And you know sometimes reformed theologians back in the Reformation you kind of think they're kind of yeah biblical but they're a little stuffy and Kind of stayed and not too devotional by the way read Calvin on prayer and that will take away that notion.

But there's a reformed theologian. His name was William Hendrickson and many of you have his commentary, and I thought it was insightful what this Warm reformed theologian said about obedience and once his mouth was open his tongue loosed.

It seems William Hendrickson said as if God could hardly wait to remove Punishment and to reward obedience. I Only questioned the punishment part. We'll just call it chastisement. It seems as if God could hardly wait to remove chastisement and to reward obedience.

It's like he's just waiting not some kind of ogre. God waiting to crush and to kill Zechariah for nine months hasn't been able to say anything. And now what does he say? What's the first thing? He's going to say?

I don't know when the baby's born. What do you say? It's a boy. It's a girl. As I've said before ain't evolution grand. I mean, I say a lot of things. He could say to his wife a good job believing. I didn't he could say I repent.

What does he do. He begins praising God over and over and over the first words out of his mouth is essentially I praise the Lord. There's a little side note here. The suffering and the chastisement of the Lord has helped his maturation.

It's helped his obedience. Discipline helps the rod of correction helps. And he was helped and before he did anything else he begins to praise God this this eruption this volcanic eruption of Praising God when I was younger my mother and would take me to school in the car.

We didn't live that far away and on the way. We would usually listen to Jimmy Swaggart and a bunch of praise the Lord stuff on the way home. I didn't have any idea what we listened to because Batman was on at 330, and I had to get home for Batman.

That was the main thing so what she listened to in the radio. I could care less. Well, it was Chuck Swindoll on the way home, but I tried to block out my ears. Praise the Lord. I mean this is kind of for some I don't know holy rollers or some kind of club or hands up or something, but this is this is what he's doing.

And. And he believes and God rewards obedience and his response to that revelation response. He's he's praising again, and by the way for the Greek students. He began to speak in praise. It's imperfect tense.

It means he kept going and going and going. I'll show you how far he went. Go to chapter 1 verse 67 Verses 68 69 70 all the way down through 79. He just keeps praising and praising and praising God. What God has done for salvation.

It's a good model for us. We respond with great praise. Does God bless obedience? Listen to Jesus in Luke 11, but Jesus said blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God. And what? Keep it or obey.

We're not doing this to keep our standing. But we're doing it because we're saved. Heidelberg Catechism 63. Do our good works merit nothing even though it is God's will to reward them in this life and that which is to come.

Not just eternal rewards, but on earth. Answer the reward comes not of merit, but of grace. So yes God does reward obedience out of grace. Because we recognize what Jesus also said in Luke 17. So you also when you have done all that you were commanded say we are unworthy servants.

We have only done. What was our Duty. And since we are in Christ God accepts our little obedience our sin-tainted obedience because he accepts us a remarkable unmarked passage question 7. What is the response to the supernatural work of God?

What is the response to the supernatural work of God. Is God faithful? What's the response to God's faithful. Is obedience important? What's the motivation for obedience. Does God discipline disobedience.

And God does he bless obedience. And now seven? What's the response to the supernatural work of God. Versus 65 and 66. And Fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea.

And all who heard them laid them up in their hearts saying What then will this child be? For the hand of the Lord was upon him. What's the response to the supernatural work of God. And the answer is? Fear.

The answer is fear. God is here divine power has been shown. Supernatural things have happened. It's an emotional thing as well. Something strange something unusual unusual something not of this world something not of this nature something not Natural, but supernatural has happened.

Acts 2 43 everyone kept feeling a sense of awe and many wonders and signs were taking place through the Apostles. Acts chapter 2 I mean when a baby is born. It's enough to just say that is Unbelievable.

This is incredible. I can't believe people just think somehow that just Evolution which isn't a thing caused all this. This is God's work. I Won't call it a miracle because there's something this is it's natural, but it's as if it's a miracle.

I wanted to be a miracle that baby was born. There's an eternal soul and that child but this is above and beyond that and The birth of Jesus to a virgin is going to be above and beyond that but you see the parallels.

John the Baptist Jesus. Supernatural supernatural. The response to God's work. It's fear now. We've said many times from this pulpit that there's different kinds of fear. It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God if you're here, and you're an unbeliever.

You should be very very afraid. But God doesn't change in his greatness, but we too like with the lawgiver. We have a different relationship to God and instead of this cringing fear the servile fear this fear that if I don't Perfectly obey the God who made me I'm going to hell which that's a good fear to have by the way.

It's true. But for the Christian, it's not that kind of fear. We don't have to fear judgment anymore. There's no condemnation because perfect love cast out Fear how can both be true? You must fear the Lord and love casts out fear because my relationship to God is different and my relationship now is son or daughter.

But what happens in Scripture you can tell Supernatural things happen. People are afraid they're in awe. They can't believe what's going on. God is here. God is close. God is just not far away. You'll see fear because it just destroys the whole nation of a notion of God's just you know a deus God he winds things up.

He lets it go. He watches the whole thing. No. He's involved. We know he's involved because of incarnation, but God shows up other times and people respond with fear. You can't even meet an angel without dropping down on your face.

And maybe the best way I can show this is in the book just before Luke. Let me just take you through Mark quickly with six examples of the response to the supernatural and that is fear. Turn back to chapter 4 of Mark.

I Could show you in Luke. But we're going to save those for the future. If you've been reading through the books of the Bible and you read Mark then Luke's Coming up and so this will just be kind of a nice little Segway.

The response the repeated response to the fear of God is to the supernatural work of God is fear. Afraid. This is not normal. This is not natural. This is supernatural. God is here. God is working and by the way.

That's what Luke wants you to know. God is in fact working and the Messiah is going to come. Let me just show you some examples quickly in Mark the gospel of Jesus according to Mark chapter 4 verse 41 example 1.

The seas calmed and now what's their response? And they became very much afraid and said to him who then is this that even the wind and sea? Obey him. What do you do if you're in the boat and the waves and the wind cease and it's calm.

It's like placid. What do you say? That's a nice parlor trick or do you say God is in my boat and if God's in my boat? I used to be afraid of the waves and the wind and the sea and now I have a reverential fear and I'm afraid God's in my boat.

Chapter 5. Remember Jesus cast out the demons. I mean there were a lot of demons in this guy. I don't know what one demon could do. But how about many many many and Mark 5 15 and they came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed.

Sitting down not running around crazy clothes not naked and in his right mind not weird. In his mind the very man who had the Legion and they became what? Happy they became calm they became peaceful. I mean that would probably be a good response.

Here's a guy running around he's got a bunch of demons in him and he's doing weird things and nobody can bind him and he's naked and he's running and You're like, huh? I told you the story one time when I was in North Hollywood.

Lived on carpenter and I would borrow my neighbor's motor a mower because I didn't have one. I said if you let me borrow your mower your 80 I'll mow your your lawn and my lawn and I'm mowing back and forth and mowing back and forth the guy runs out in middle of Street and I'm like, well, that's normal, California.

So no big deal. He stays in the middle of the street and I can only see him not this direction of the mowing but this direction. Now his shirts off now. His pants are off now. His shoes are off and I'm like, what is this guy doing now?

Now he's completely naked in in the in the middle of the street freaking out and I thought to myself I might not have a gun but I have a mower. I'm safe. I'm like, what do I do? So I go in I say to Kim call the police but don't look outside.

It's like don't touch wet paint, I mean come on. I said there's a naked guy running around the neighborhood now. Finally when the police came and got the person. By the way, he picked up a hose at a neighbor's house and turned it on.

Laid down like he was a marine or some sniper trying to shoot the police with water. They caught him. I mean my response to that was peaceful calm. Back to normal when God does something to a demon infested man the response is That's God.

That's God just did something right here the God of the universe. Yeah. I read about him in the Old Testament and I know he showed up and Isaiah 6 and Genesis 3 and walking in the garden and all that but now God shows up and when God shows up He's not just some mental construct.

He's not a crutch to get us through life and we say well. Everybody needs a crutch and you know. That's what they do and and my crutches alcohol and your crutches somebody called Jesus and you can't really see him.

God shows up. There's fear. Chapter 5 goes on number 3 supernatural over disease remember that lady she said in verse 28, even if I touch his garments, I'll be made well and immediately the flow of blood dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease and Jesus perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him immediately turned about in the crowd and said Who touched my garments.

And his disciples said to him you see the crowd pressing around you and yet you say who touched me? I mean then look at all these people everybody's touching you. And he wanted her to say something so he looked around to see who had done it.

But the woman knowing what had happened to her came in what? Fear and Trembling fell down before him and told him the whole truth. I mean, what would it take for you? To just get down on your face in front of a man and say I praise you as God.

Chapter 6 same thing happens. What's my point? My point is when God does something he shows up. The response is fear. Supernatural things happen. The repeated response in Scripture is fear. Jesus walks on water.

What happens verse 49 of Mark 6, but when they saw him walking on the sea. They thought it was a ghost and cried out for they all saw him or terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said take heart it is I do not be afraid.