Jer 6:16
16 Thus says the LORD:
"Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. NKJV
On this blog you will find my sermons and some other writings and information.
If you click on profile you will find a second blog page. I'm also working on some writings of Pastor Maynard Force and others that I plan to post on a web page http://www.Haugean.com. This is still under construction. On my second Blog http://www.Haugean2.blogspot.com I will post these writings section by section, then when I have the work completed I will post it on Haugean.com.
I've searched for good Lutheran sources, Lutheran Pastors and laymen that preached and wrote life changing messages for our Lutheran churches and have found pretty much nothing written later than 1955. No wonder our churches are asleep, it's been 50 years since anyone's shook them awake.
Some of my favorite web pages are:
http://www.haugeinnermission/ Web page of the Hauge Lutheran Innermission Federation that I have posted for them. Upcoming conferences, and newsletters for download. Also some MP3 downloads from latest conference.
http://pietist.blogspot.com/ A Lutheran blog
http://users.ez2.net/lwmin/ Ollie Olson, former teacher at California Lutheran Bible School
http://www.livingwaters.com/ Ray Comfort and Kirk Camerons web page on Biblical Evangelism http://www.lutheranrenewal.org/ Paul Anderson, Lutheran Renewal
http://www.aflc.org/ Association of Free Lutheran Congregations web page
http://lutheranblogs.blogspot.com/ A site that lists Lutheran Blogs of all kinds.
Rev 3:2 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.NKJV
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
What the Lutheran Church Needs Today
In his book "A New Sprintime", Robert Lee, president of the AFLC said that there were Six principles that summarize the Spirit of awakening sparked by Hans Nielsen Hauge:
1. The demand for true conversion, with emphasis on the working of God’s law in bringing the sinner to repentance.
2. A living faith, a vital and personal commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, manifested in holy living.
3. An ethical emphasis on sactification.
4. An emphasis on personal Salvation.
5. Vigilance, or the continual need for Christians to watch and pray lest they fall and to examine themselves spiritually on a regular basis.
6.Evangelism, a burning compulsion to spread the Good News by means of simple and direct personal outreach.
We believe that these same principles that brought revival to The Lutheran Church in Norway in the 1800's can do the same for the Lutheran Church today.
Lets take a look at each one of these principles.
1. The demand for true conversion, with emphasis on the working of God's Law in bringing the sinner to repentance. Over the last 150 years the Holy Spirit has slowly been stripped of the only tool at His disposal to bring the knowledge of sin. Paul said in Romans 3:20; "By the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” He says in Romans 3:19; ”Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” And in Romans 5:20 ”Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound.” Jesus said when the Holy Spirit comes He would "convict the world of sin , and of righteousness, and of judgment."(John 16:8) One of the primary works of the Holy Spirit is to convict of sin, and this comes through the Law and Gospel preaching.
I'm out driving around in Des Moines and I get on interstate 235 and pretty soon I'm cruising with the flow of traffic. I look down at my speedometer and I see it’s at 70 MPH. Well the speed limit is 55 MPH, but everyone else is doing it, and it does feel good. Besides, it's only 15 over and everyone would stare at me and think I was strange if I was doing the speed limit when everyone else wasn't.
Then all of a sudden I see a cop car with its lights flashing and its siren blasting entering the freeway. I look at my speedometer and see that it’s at 70 mph and I think, "Oh no, 15 miles over". I know that for every mile per hour over it adds up to more money. It no longer matters that everyone is doing it. I know that if I'm standing in front of a judge, and I give him that excuse he will throw the book at me. So I hit my brakes and slow down to 55 and hope that he's after someone else, instead of me. The Law entered and the offense abounded. I saw my actions for what they were, lawlessness. The law is used to bring the knowledge of sin, which leads to confession and repentance, and that leads to eternal life.
2. Living faith, a vital and personal commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, manifested in holy living. Hans Hauge faced the same dilemma that John Wesley faced in England. With the state church everyone was baptized and everyone's names were written on the churches rolls, so everyone presumed they were also written in the lambs book of life. But John Wesley preached that no one could claim they were a Christian unless they were born of God and had the witness of the spirit with in them.
3. An ethical emphasis on sanctification.
From Nelsons Bible Dictionary we read:
SANCTIFICATION is:
The process of God's grace by which the believer is separated from sin and becomes dedicated to God's righteousness. Accomplished by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, sanctification results in holiness, or purification from the guilt and power of sin.
As Christians we are set aside, we are separated from the world; we are God's own people. Eph 5:7-8 Therefore do not be partakers with them. 8 Walk in Light, For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
4. An emphasis on personal Salvation.
It’s a personal salvation. God doesn’t have any grandchildren. He only has children. And how do you be come a child? You have to be born? How do you become a child of God? You have to be born of God. John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
5. Vigilance, or the continual need for Christians to watch and pray lest they fall and to examine themselves spiritually on a regular basis.
Oh I think this is so important. "Prone to wander Lord to feel it. Prone to leave the God I love." We're like Adam and Eve, like Samson, David, Judas, like Peter, it's easy to loose our first love, it's easy to become lukewarm. In Hebrews 2:1 we read , Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. What have we heard, what have we read? We need to stay in His word; we need to hear the preaching of the word, lest we drift away. We need to: (2 Cor 13: 5) Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you fail the test.
It's easy to be deceived, to think we are saved and to not be. Scripture tells us that this is a big category, Jesus said many will come to Him on that day, and Jesus will tell them, “ Depart from Me, I never knew you”. We often time ask people "Do you know the Lord?" Maybe the correct way to ask is this; "Does the Lord know you?" Paul says examine yourself. This is a pass, fail test as Paul says, If Christ is in you, you pass, if not you fail, your disqualified.
6. Evangelism, a burning compulsion to spread the Good News by means of simple and direct personal outreach. Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which is lost. If we are His, that will be our desire too.
George Whitefield, the famous English Evangelist, said, O Lord give me souls, or take my soul.
Henry Martyn, missionary, kneeling on India's coral strands, cried out, "Here let me burn out for God."
Praying Hyde, a missionary in India said, "Give me these souls, or I die."
Charles Spurgeon said, "If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for."
These are the principles we strive to live up to in Worship and Ministry. If you are searching for a church home I hope you will come and visit us.
If you’ve read this and it has raised some questions in your mind as to the validity of your own Salvation and would like to talk, feel free to call or E-mail me, Wayne Almlie at: almlie@juno.com
or 515-277-5706 (Des Moines)
Or call Duane Larson at 825-3693 (Goldfield)
If you want to know more about being “Born Again” go to
http://www.wayofthemaster.com/
1. The demand for true conversion, with emphasis on the working of God’s law in bringing the sinner to repentance.
2. A living faith, a vital and personal commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, manifested in holy living.
3. An ethical emphasis on sactification.
4. An emphasis on personal Salvation.
5. Vigilance, or the continual need for Christians to watch and pray lest they fall and to examine themselves spiritually on a regular basis.
6.Evangelism, a burning compulsion to spread the Good News by means of simple and direct personal outreach.
We believe that these same principles that brought revival to The Lutheran Church in Norway in the 1800's can do the same for the Lutheran Church today.
Lets take a look at each one of these principles.
1. The demand for true conversion, with emphasis on the working of God's Law in bringing the sinner to repentance. Over the last 150 years the Holy Spirit has slowly been stripped of the only tool at His disposal to bring the knowledge of sin. Paul said in Romans 3:20; "By the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” He says in Romans 3:19; ”Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” And in Romans 5:20 ”Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound.” Jesus said when the Holy Spirit comes He would "convict the world of sin , and of righteousness, and of judgment."(John 16:8) One of the primary works of the Holy Spirit is to convict of sin, and this comes through the Law and Gospel preaching.
I'm out driving around in Des Moines and I get on interstate 235 and pretty soon I'm cruising with the flow of traffic. I look down at my speedometer and I see it’s at 70 MPH. Well the speed limit is 55 MPH, but everyone else is doing it, and it does feel good. Besides, it's only 15 over and everyone would stare at me and think I was strange if I was doing the speed limit when everyone else wasn't.
Then all of a sudden I see a cop car with its lights flashing and its siren blasting entering the freeway. I look at my speedometer and see that it’s at 70 mph and I think, "Oh no, 15 miles over". I know that for every mile per hour over it adds up to more money. It no longer matters that everyone is doing it. I know that if I'm standing in front of a judge, and I give him that excuse he will throw the book at me. So I hit my brakes and slow down to 55 and hope that he's after someone else, instead of me. The Law entered and the offense abounded. I saw my actions for what they were, lawlessness. The law is used to bring the knowledge of sin, which leads to confession and repentance, and that leads to eternal life.
2. Living faith, a vital and personal commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, manifested in holy living. Hans Hauge faced the same dilemma that John Wesley faced in England. With the state church everyone was baptized and everyone's names were written on the churches rolls, so everyone presumed they were also written in the lambs book of life. But John Wesley preached that no one could claim they were a Christian unless they were born of God and had the witness of the spirit with in them.
3. An ethical emphasis on sanctification.
From Nelsons Bible Dictionary we read:
SANCTIFICATION is:
The process of God's grace by which the believer is separated from sin and becomes dedicated to God's righteousness. Accomplished by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, sanctification results in holiness, or purification from the guilt and power of sin.
As Christians we are set aside, we are separated from the world; we are God's own people. Eph 5:7-8 Therefore do not be partakers with them. 8 Walk in Light, For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
4. An emphasis on personal Salvation.
It’s a personal salvation. God doesn’t have any grandchildren. He only has children. And how do you be come a child? You have to be born? How do you become a child of God? You have to be born of God. John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
5. Vigilance, or the continual need for Christians to watch and pray lest they fall and to examine themselves spiritually on a regular basis.
Oh I think this is so important. "Prone to wander Lord to feel it. Prone to leave the God I love." We're like Adam and Eve, like Samson, David, Judas, like Peter, it's easy to loose our first love, it's easy to become lukewarm. In Hebrews 2:1 we read , Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. What have we heard, what have we read? We need to stay in His word; we need to hear the preaching of the word, lest we drift away. We need to: (2 Cor 13: 5) Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you fail the test.
It's easy to be deceived, to think we are saved and to not be. Scripture tells us that this is a big category, Jesus said many will come to Him on that day, and Jesus will tell them, “ Depart from Me, I never knew you”. We often time ask people "Do you know the Lord?" Maybe the correct way to ask is this; "Does the Lord know you?" Paul says examine yourself. This is a pass, fail test as Paul says, If Christ is in you, you pass, if not you fail, your disqualified.
6. Evangelism, a burning compulsion to spread the Good News by means of simple and direct personal outreach. Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which is lost. If we are His, that will be our desire too.
George Whitefield, the famous English Evangelist, said, O Lord give me souls, or take my soul.
Henry Martyn, missionary, kneeling on India's coral strands, cried out, "Here let me burn out for God."
Praying Hyde, a missionary in India said, "Give me these souls, or I die."
Charles Spurgeon said, "If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for."
These are the principles we strive to live up to in Worship and Ministry. If you are searching for a church home I hope you will come and visit us.
If you’ve read this and it has raised some questions in your mind as to the validity of your own Salvation and would like to talk, feel free to call or E-mail me, Wayne Almlie at: almlie@juno.com
or 515-277-5706 (Des Moines)
Or call Duane Larson at 825-3693 (Goldfield)
If you want to know more about being “Born Again” go to
http://www.wayofthemaster.com/
Monday, December 28, 2009
The Way of Salvation
At Hauge Lutheran Church, our goal is to teach people about the gift of salvation. While salvation is actually a simple concept, it can seem so complex. This post intends to explain salvation and show you the power of this gift.
What is salvation?
Salvation is God's plan of saving His people from spending eternity in Hell. Salvation means that, through Jesus Christ, we have been saved from eternal condemnation. Romans 6:23 tells us that "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." This is supported in Romans 8:1 where we discover, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
Is salvation only available through Christ?
Yes, absolutely. In Acts 4:12 we learn that "Salvation is found in no one else, for these is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Why do we need to be saved?
Every person that has ever been born comes into the world a sinner before God. This is confirmed in Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
We are sinners not only because of the sinful nature we have inherited, but because we all have sinned. As Romans 5:12 says, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned." Yes the opportunity to sin entered through Adam, but the reality is that we all have sinned.
The purpose of the Law is to show us our sins. Paul tells us in Romans 3:20 “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin”. Also in Galatians 3:24 he says, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” When we look at the Law, the “Ten Commandments” we see that we are lying, thieving, adulterers at heart and we deserve God’s wrath.
Because of our sin, we have been separated from God and condemned to an eternal punishment in Hell. If we want to escape this punishment, we must be obedient to Jesus who said "Repent and believe the Gospel" We must see our sins for what they are, crimes against an infinitly holy God. We must repent of the sin in our life, which is to gain a new attitude toward sin and turn from all know sin. Then we must believe the Gospel, the good news, that Jesus bore your sins on the cross, taking your punishment upon himself. Then you need to walk in that knowledge.
How can I know I am saved? How can I know I don't have a devil's faith or a dead faith? There are certain characteristics that accompany saving faith. First you will have a hatred for sin, a new attitude towards sin. Not that you will not sin, but when you do sin it will humble you and you will confess and forsake it before God. Second You will have a new attitude towards God's word. You will hunger for it. Third, you will have a new attitude towards Christians, they will be the ones you form your closest freindships with. And when you meet a Christian for the first time, it will be like meeting a long lost brother or sister, because they are. There are other evidences laid out in 1st John. Check out my other blog for Maynard Force's "Assurance".
Have more questions about salvation?
If you are looking for more answers about salvation, please contact us today.
Hauge Lutheran Church
An independent Lutheran Church Affiliated with the “Association of Free Lutheran Congregations”
Wayne Almlie: Almlie@juno.com
515-277-5706 (Des Moines)
Duane Larson at 825-3693 (GoldField)
If you want to know more about being born again go to http://www.wayofthemaster.com
Come worship with us.
Summer worship Schedule
Sunday Worship 10 AM
Wednesday Prayer 7 PM
School Year Worship Schedule
Sunday School 9:30
Worship 10:30
Wednesday Prayer 7 PM
Holiday Worship Schedule
Thanksgiving weekend, Christmas, New Years, Easter, Mothers Day, etc
Worship 10AM
What is salvation?
Salvation is God's plan of saving His people from spending eternity in Hell. Salvation means that, through Jesus Christ, we have been saved from eternal condemnation. Romans 6:23 tells us that "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." This is supported in Romans 8:1 where we discover, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
Is salvation only available through Christ?
Yes, absolutely. In Acts 4:12 we learn that "Salvation is found in no one else, for these is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Why do we need to be saved?
Every person that has ever been born comes into the world a sinner before God. This is confirmed in Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
We are sinners not only because of the sinful nature we have inherited, but because we all have sinned. As Romans 5:12 says, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned." Yes the opportunity to sin entered through Adam, but the reality is that we all have sinned.
The purpose of the Law is to show us our sins. Paul tells us in Romans 3:20 “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin”. Also in Galatians 3:24 he says, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” When we look at the Law, the “Ten Commandments” we see that we are lying, thieving, adulterers at heart and we deserve God’s wrath.
Because of our sin, we have been separated from God and condemned to an eternal punishment in Hell. If we want to escape this punishment, we must be obedient to Jesus who said "Repent and believe the Gospel" We must see our sins for what they are, crimes against an infinitly holy God. We must repent of the sin in our life, which is to gain a new attitude toward sin and turn from all know sin. Then we must believe the Gospel, the good news, that Jesus bore your sins on the cross, taking your punishment upon himself. Then you need to walk in that knowledge.
How can I know I am saved? How can I know I don't have a devil's faith or a dead faith? There are certain characteristics that accompany saving faith. First you will have a hatred for sin, a new attitude towards sin. Not that you will not sin, but when you do sin it will humble you and you will confess and forsake it before God. Second You will have a new attitude towards God's word. You will hunger for it. Third, you will have a new attitude towards Christians, they will be the ones you form your closest freindships with. And when you meet a Christian for the first time, it will be like meeting a long lost brother or sister, because they are. There are other evidences laid out in 1st John. Check out my other blog for Maynard Force's "Assurance".
Have more questions about salvation?
If you are looking for more answers about salvation, please contact us today.
Hauge Lutheran Church
An independent Lutheran Church Affiliated with the “Association of Free Lutheran Congregations”
Wayne Almlie: Almlie@juno.com
515-277-5706 (Des Moines)
Duane Larson at 825-3693 (GoldField)
If you want to know more about being born again go to http://www.wayofthemaster.com
Come worship with us.
Summer worship Schedule
Sunday Worship 10 AM
Wednesday Prayer 7 PM
School Year Worship Schedule
Sunday School 9:30
Worship 10:30
Wednesday Prayer 7 PM
Holiday Worship Schedule
Thanksgiving weekend, Christmas, New Years, Easter, Mothers Day, etc
Worship 10AM
Sunday, December 27, 2009
The Magnificat (Luke 1: 39-56)
The Magnificat
Luke 1:39-56
39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord."
46 And Mary said:
"My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. 50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, 55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever."
56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.
NKJV
I read verse 39 to 45 so that we would have the context for what has become to be known as the Magnificat, Mary’s song. It’s called the Magnificat because of the way Mary starts out her song. She says, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” Let’s think about that phrase a little bit. What does it mean to magnify the Lord and how do we do it?
In the dictionary it says to magnify is: “to cause to be held in greater esteem or respect.” Other things I thought of is, to make great. To declare great. To make large. For Him to increase in our estimation. To make Him larger in the eyes of others. We don’t make Him larger, He is who He is, we don’t make Him anything. God is infinite, and we being finite have a hard time grasping the infinite, as a matter of fact it is impossible for us to grasp the infinite. So our concept of God is small. Even as believers we comprehend a very small percentage of God’s greatness. So then the unbeliever comprehends much less than even we do.
Then one of our aims in life as Christians is to magnify the lord, to increase our knowledge and understanding of his greatness, and to help unbelievers see something of His greatness too, so they might get saved.
We all have too small a view of God; we need to magnify Him, to see Him grow in our estimation. How do we do that?
Neil Anderson, a popular author states, and I quote, “that we should not see ourselves as sinners, not even as sinners saved by grace, but rather as saints who occasionally sin.” (Unquote.) I don’t know, when Isaiah caught a glimpse of the awesomeness of God, how did he see himself? When John saw Jesus in his glory in his vision he fell at his feet as though dead. When Peter caught a glimpse of Jesus’ glory by the sea shore, he fell at His feet and said;
(Luke 5:8) Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" NKJV
John Calvin said this, “It is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinize himself. For we always seem to ourselves righteous and upright and wise and holy—this pride is innate in all of us—unless by clear proofs we stand convinced of our own unrighteousness, foulness, folly, and impurity. Moreover, we are not thus convinced if we look merely to ourselves and not also to the Lord, who is the sole standard by which this judgment must be measured.
The more we see how great God is, the more we will sense our own sinfulness, which will lead us to magnify all the more His abundant mercy toward us in Christ.”
The closer we get to Jesus, the more wretched we feel and the greater Jesus becomes. A jeweler lays out a beautiful diamond on a jet black velvet cloth, and that diamond’s qualities are magnified against that black cloth. You go out at night in Des Moines and in the midst of all those city lights you see only the brightest of stars, but out here in the country, in a moonless clear sky, especially on a cold winter night, the heavens declare the glory of God. You can see the milky way, you can see the Pleiades, a tight grouping of many stars, and I remember on a cold winters night when my eyesight was a lot better than it is now, that I could clearly make out 7 or more stars in that cluster. The stars again just twinkle ever so brightly against the pitch black winter sky.
John the Baptist said “I must decrease and He must increase.” We magnify God by humbling ourselves, by not thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. We magnify God by repenting and putting our faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. When we do that, we become a trophy of His grace, and God will be able to point to you throughout all eternity and say, “See Duane Larson there, he was a wretched sinner who deserved my wrath but I saved him.” And all of creation will look at Duane and marvel at the goodness, longsuffering and mercy of God, that he saved Duane. We are trophies of His grace, we make God look good. Not because we are good, or do good, but that were wretched and God in his Goodness loved and saved us.
Let’s take a quick look at Mary’s song. She starts out “My soul magnifies the Lord.” Then she lists several reasons why her soul magnifies the Lord. The first thing she tells us in the song is what God has done for her.
“My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior” First thing on her list is that she has a savior. Now the Catholic Church teaches that Mary also was born without a sin nature and that she was sinless. The Catholic Church teaches that Mary is a co-redempter. Well if you are sinless you don’t need a savior, only sinners need a savior. Mary is admitting right here that she is a sinner just like all the rest of us, and that she needs and has a savior.
Is that at the top of your list? When you think about your life, and what’s important? Is the fact that you have a savior on the top of your list? It was for Mary, it should be for us too. When I look back on the years of my life, the one defining fact that explains much of what I am and what I’ve done, is the fact that I know I need a savior and Jesus is that savior.
The second reason Mary gives is that God chose her. “For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things to me, And holy is His name.”
God had chosen her; He had done great things to her. In spite of the fact that she was a sinner and needed a savior, and God is just the opposite, God is Holy. In spite of the fact of God’s holiness and her sinfulness God still chose her.
I don’t claim to understand election, it’s a mystery and I’m fine with leaving it as a mystery. The Bible does teach it, if you are saved the Bible says you were chosen from before the foundation of the world. I don’t have to understand it. But this I know, I was lost and headed for hell and somehow God awakened me, and I repented and put my trust in Him. He who is mighty has done great things to me, He has saved me.
The third thing God did for her, for which she magnifies the Lord, is that God showed Himself mighty to her. “For He who is mighty had done great things.” God showed Himself great to her. Gabriel the angel had appeared to her. Few people have angel visitations and know about it. Most of the time we entertain angels unaware, but Gabriel appeared to her in his glory and unlike Zachariah the father of John the Baptist, Mary believed the message of the angel immediately.
God showed Himself mighty on her behalf. One of the reasons Mary was so quick to believe what the angel told her was that she knew the scriptures. In this 10 verse song she sings to glorify and magnify the Lord, she has 15 Old Testament quotes and references. She knew the scriptures, she knew the promises of God, she knew the Messianic promises. And she was so awestruck that God had chosen her a lowly maidservant.
God has shown Himself mighty on behalf of the world, and the world could care less. God has shown Himself mighty on behalf of many in the church and because they spend so little time in the scriptures, and are so spiritually dull they don’t recognize it. God has shown Himself mighty on your behalf, do you see it, do you know it? He has saved you, He has preserved your life, the very fact that you are here this morning is evidence that God has preserved you. I’m sure each one of us can think back in time and remember things that have happened in our lives and we say, I’m lucky to be alive. Well, luck had nothing to do with it. God wanted you here, Dec 27th 2009.
Pastor John Piper said something recently, “If God wants us home no doctor can keep us here and if God wants us here no disease can take us home.” You can only believe that if you believe God acts mightily on your behalf.
Then Mary expands her song and she includes everyone, including us. “And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.”
She includes all God’s people who fear Him from generation to generation.
His mercy is on those who fear Him; from generation to generation He has shown strength with His arm. Those who fear Him are the humble at heart who tremble at His word. If you think you are a good person you won’t fear God. If you think you can save yourself by your good works you won’t fear God. If you don’t recognize the fact that you have a fatal disease, you won’t seek a physician. Likewise, if you don’t see yourself as lost and going to hell, you won’t see the need for a savior. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
He has shown His strength with His arm. This is His almighty omnipotent power. His arm represents His total omnipotence in the world. In the Exodus story, it was the finger of God who brought the plague of lice, all the plagues came by the hand of God, but it was the arm of God that held back the waters of the Red Sea and destroyed the army of Pharaoh. Another commentator put it this way. God’s finger represents His efficacy. God’s hand represents His power and God’s arm represents His omnipotence.
From generation to generation God has shown his omnipotent strength on behalf of those who humble themselves before him and fear Him. God has done that for you, he has saved you, he has preserved you, he has moved heaven and earth so that you could be here, and could be where you are in your walk with the Lord today. Without God’s preserving and sustaining power all of us would have gone astray, but by the Arm of God we are here this morning.
God shows mercy to those who fear Him, to those who have a humble heart and tremble at His word. But God scatters the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He scatters them, they run away; they have an ungodly fear of God and want nothing to do with them. This is what God has to say about the Imagination of man’s hearts. Before the flood it says in Gen 6:5 “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” KJV After the flood God said the same thing. Gen 8:21 “Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.” NKJV
I’m glad God made that promise to mankind, because each generation deserves the same thing Noah’s generation received. Each generation earns the wrath of God, but in mercy he promised to mankind to never destroy all life with a flood again.
The imaginations of the hearts of man take many forms I’m sure. But they all revolve around self. It’s not necessarily evil things; it can be good things that take God’s place. It can be our plans for the future, our retirement, our projects, things that lift us up and elevate us in our own minds. His strong arm saves and preserves his children but the same arm scatters the proud.
The second group of people He has shown mercy to from generation to generation is the lowly, the helpless. He exalts them, but that exaltation does not come from the world system, and will never be recognized by the world system. No, we are exalted in the heavenly kingdom; we are made sons and daughters of God. Our position and status in the heavenly kingdom is greater than anything the world could grant us. The homeless in our country, the undesirable’s in India, the poorest of the poor in Africa if they are believers are exalted above kings, and presidents in God’s eyes.
Contrast the lowly with the mighty. He has put down the mighty from their thrones. Oh how the mighty fall. They always do, if not in this life they will definitely fall in the next life. Look around the world, all the mighty who are sitting on there thrones will be cast off some day, and at the Judgment they will fall to their knees before Jesus and declare that Jesus is Lord.
The third group of people God has poured out His mercy on are the hungry. “He has filled the hungry with good things.” He has filled the hungry with things that satisfy. Whenever the prophets spoke about hunger, they were speaking of something deeper than physical hunger. Jesus continued that in his teachings. In the sermon on the mount Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” He fills the hungry with good things that truly satisfy. The world can’t satisfy.
There is something in us that cries out for the eternal. Some have described it as a God shaped hole in our heart. We try to fill it with the world and it doesn’t work. It’s like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. But rather than humbling themselves before their creator, people chase the world system a system that is passing away. They chase and chase and chase and it never satisfies.
That’s why sin is progressive. It never satisfies fully. You might start out as a kid bumming or stealing some cigarettes. But soon you progress to alcohol, marijuana, then to speed, then to crack the next thing you have a heroin induced heart attack and you’re dead. It may start fairly innocent, but it keeps taking more and more to get the same kick.
Twenty years ago Ted Bundy was interviewed by James Dobson, and he talked about the role that pornography played in the rape and murder of 30 women. It might start with something as seemingly harmless as the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, but end up being a pedophile or worse. As someone has said, sow a thought, reap an action, sow an action, reap a habit, sow a habit, reap your destiny. It all starts with a thought that maybe I can find satisfaction in the world, but the end is hell.
He fills the hungry with good things, and He sends the rich away empty.
This may be the rich materially in this world, but it means so much more. The rich symbolize all who do not see their need for God, the ones who are sufficient in themselves. But in the end they will be empty and they will be sent away. They will be caste out where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The rich young ruler went away sad because he loved his riches more than he loved God.
God has mercy on the humble, the helpless and the hungry. These are the ones God came to save. These are the ones who make up the church, the ones with gratitude in there hearts for what God has done for them through Jesus Christ. Just as God used Mary, he wants to use us today as well, and he will if we make ourselves available. Be obedient to Christ and watch God’s arm at work.
Then Mary speaks of Israel. “He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His Mercy. The word translated “helped” literally means “to catch when stumbling”. God had made a promise to Abraham and to the nation of Israel, that Abraham’s seed would bless Israel. Israel rebelled over and over again. Israel stumbled over and over again and God caught them each time and set them on the right path. But it never lasted long. God cannot lie, He made a promise to Abraham and God kept His word. God remembered His Mercy to Abraham and to his seed forever. And Mary knew that the life within her was that seed, the seed that would be a blessing to Israel.
Notice the word forever. This is a forever promise to Israel. I have a hard time understanding those who think that Israel is done, and has been replaced by the church. Yes the nation Israel has been in a long rebellion. We are grafted in; I don’t believe that they are cut out. God’s promises are true, despite Israel’s failure. It is this faith that caused Saint Paul to write that there is a day coming when Israel as a nation will recognize there Messiah. He says all Israel will be saved. It is a forever promise.
This is a pretty amazing song. Mary was not living her good life now. She was an unmarried pregnant teenager. That’s not an easy circumstance in our culture. It carried much more stigma then. She lived with the mocking and the snickering behind her back. She lived with the fear that Joseph would divorce her, call off the wedding. Then what would she do. But in the midst of this she has tremendous faith in God, and pours out this faith in song.
How about you this morning? Are you fearful? Anxious? Perplexed? Not sure about the future? Are people talking about you behind your back? Do what Mary did, sing, magnify the Lord. Recount His faithfulness to you. Let your spirit rejoice in God your savior. Magnify the Lord in all you do. Get into the scriptures and your soul will soar and you will magnify the Lord.
Amen.
Luke 1:39-56
39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord."
46 And Mary said:
"My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. 50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, 55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever."
56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.
NKJV
I read verse 39 to 45 so that we would have the context for what has become to be known as the Magnificat, Mary’s song. It’s called the Magnificat because of the way Mary starts out her song. She says, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” Let’s think about that phrase a little bit. What does it mean to magnify the Lord and how do we do it?
In the dictionary it says to magnify is: “to cause to be held in greater esteem or respect.” Other things I thought of is, to make great. To declare great. To make large. For Him to increase in our estimation. To make Him larger in the eyes of others. We don’t make Him larger, He is who He is, we don’t make Him anything. God is infinite, and we being finite have a hard time grasping the infinite, as a matter of fact it is impossible for us to grasp the infinite. So our concept of God is small. Even as believers we comprehend a very small percentage of God’s greatness. So then the unbeliever comprehends much less than even we do.
Then one of our aims in life as Christians is to magnify the lord, to increase our knowledge and understanding of his greatness, and to help unbelievers see something of His greatness too, so they might get saved.
We all have too small a view of God; we need to magnify Him, to see Him grow in our estimation. How do we do that?
Neil Anderson, a popular author states, and I quote, “that we should not see ourselves as sinners, not even as sinners saved by grace, but rather as saints who occasionally sin.” (Unquote.) I don’t know, when Isaiah caught a glimpse of the awesomeness of God, how did he see himself? When John saw Jesus in his glory in his vision he fell at his feet as though dead. When Peter caught a glimpse of Jesus’ glory by the sea shore, he fell at His feet and said;
(Luke 5:8) Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" NKJV
John Calvin said this, “It is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinize himself. For we always seem to ourselves righteous and upright and wise and holy—this pride is innate in all of us—unless by clear proofs we stand convinced of our own unrighteousness, foulness, folly, and impurity. Moreover, we are not thus convinced if we look merely to ourselves and not also to the Lord, who is the sole standard by which this judgment must be measured.
The more we see how great God is, the more we will sense our own sinfulness, which will lead us to magnify all the more His abundant mercy toward us in Christ.”
The closer we get to Jesus, the more wretched we feel and the greater Jesus becomes. A jeweler lays out a beautiful diamond on a jet black velvet cloth, and that diamond’s qualities are magnified against that black cloth. You go out at night in Des Moines and in the midst of all those city lights you see only the brightest of stars, but out here in the country, in a moonless clear sky, especially on a cold winter night, the heavens declare the glory of God. You can see the milky way, you can see the Pleiades, a tight grouping of many stars, and I remember on a cold winters night when my eyesight was a lot better than it is now, that I could clearly make out 7 or more stars in that cluster. The stars again just twinkle ever so brightly against the pitch black winter sky.
John the Baptist said “I must decrease and He must increase.” We magnify God by humbling ourselves, by not thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. We magnify God by repenting and putting our faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. When we do that, we become a trophy of His grace, and God will be able to point to you throughout all eternity and say, “See Duane Larson there, he was a wretched sinner who deserved my wrath but I saved him.” And all of creation will look at Duane and marvel at the goodness, longsuffering and mercy of God, that he saved Duane. We are trophies of His grace, we make God look good. Not because we are good, or do good, but that were wretched and God in his Goodness loved and saved us.
Let’s take a quick look at Mary’s song. She starts out “My soul magnifies the Lord.” Then she lists several reasons why her soul magnifies the Lord. The first thing she tells us in the song is what God has done for her.
“My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior” First thing on her list is that she has a savior. Now the Catholic Church teaches that Mary also was born without a sin nature and that she was sinless. The Catholic Church teaches that Mary is a co-redempter. Well if you are sinless you don’t need a savior, only sinners need a savior. Mary is admitting right here that she is a sinner just like all the rest of us, and that she needs and has a savior.
Is that at the top of your list? When you think about your life, and what’s important? Is the fact that you have a savior on the top of your list? It was for Mary, it should be for us too. When I look back on the years of my life, the one defining fact that explains much of what I am and what I’ve done, is the fact that I know I need a savior and Jesus is that savior.
The second reason Mary gives is that God chose her. “For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things to me, And holy is His name.”
God had chosen her; He had done great things to her. In spite of the fact that she was a sinner and needed a savior, and God is just the opposite, God is Holy. In spite of the fact of God’s holiness and her sinfulness God still chose her.
I don’t claim to understand election, it’s a mystery and I’m fine with leaving it as a mystery. The Bible does teach it, if you are saved the Bible says you were chosen from before the foundation of the world. I don’t have to understand it. But this I know, I was lost and headed for hell and somehow God awakened me, and I repented and put my trust in Him. He who is mighty has done great things to me, He has saved me.
The third thing God did for her, for which she magnifies the Lord, is that God showed Himself mighty to her. “For He who is mighty had done great things.” God showed Himself great to her. Gabriel the angel had appeared to her. Few people have angel visitations and know about it. Most of the time we entertain angels unaware, but Gabriel appeared to her in his glory and unlike Zachariah the father of John the Baptist, Mary believed the message of the angel immediately.
God showed Himself mighty on her behalf. One of the reasons Mary was so quick to believe what the angel told her was that she knew the scriptures. In this 10 verse song she sings to glorify and magnify the Lord, she has 15 Old Testament quotes and references. She knew the scriptures, she knew the promises of God, she knew the Messianic promises. And she was so awestruck that God had chosen her a lowly maidservant.
God has shown Himself mighty on behalf of the world, and the world could care less. God has shown Himself mighty on behalf of many in the church and because they spend so little time in the scriptures, and are so spiritually dull they don’t recognize it. God has shown Himself mighty on your behalf, do you see it, do you know it? He has saved you, He has preserved your life, the very fact that you are here this morning is evidence that God has preserved you. I’m sure each one of us can think back in time and remember things that have happened in our lives and we say, I’m lucky to be alive. Well, luck had nothing to do with it. God wanted you here, Dec 27th 2009.
Pastor John Piper said something recently, “If God wants us home no doctor can keep us here and if God wants us here no disease can take us home.” You can only believe that if you believe God acts mightily on your behalf.
Then Mary expands her song and she includes everyone, including us. “And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.”
She includes all God’s people who fear Him from generation to generation.
His mercy is on those who fear Him; from generation to generation He has shown strength with His arm. Those who fear Him are the humble at heart who tremble at His word. If you think you are a good person you won’t fear God. If you think you can save yourself by your good works you won’t fear God. If you don’t recognize the fact that you have a fatal disease, you won’t seek a physician. Likewise, if you don’t see yourself as lost and going to hell, you won’t see the need for a savior. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
He has shown His strength with His arm. This is His almighty omnipotent power. His arm represents His total omnipotence in the world. In the Exodus story, it was the finger of God who brought the plague of lice, all the plagues came by the hand of God, but it was the arm of God that held back the waters of the Red Sea and destroyed the army of Pharaoh. Another commentator put it this way. God’s finger represents His efficacy. God’s hand represents His power and God’s arm represents His omnipotence.
From generation to generation God has shown his omnipotent strength on behalf of those who humble themselves before him and fear Him. God has done that for you, he has saved you, he has preserved you, he has moved heaven and earth so that you could be here, and could be where you are in your walk with the Lord today. Without God’s preserving and sustaining power all of us would have gone astray, but by the Arm of God we are here this morning.
God shows mercy to those who fear Him, to those who have a humble heart and tremble at His word. But God scatters the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He scatters them, they run away; they have an ungodly fear of God and want nothing to do with them. This is what God has to say about the Imagination of man’s hearts. Before the flood it says in Gen 6:5 “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” KJV After the flood God said the same thing. Gen 8:21 “Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.” NKJV
I’m glad God made that promise to mankind, because each generation deserves the same thing Noah’s generation received. Each generation earns the wrath of God, but in mercy he promised to mankind to never destroy all life with a flood again.
The imaginations of the hearts of man take many forms I’m sure. But they all revolve around self. It’s not necessarily evil things; it can be good things that take God’s place. It can be our plans for the future, our retirement, our projects, things that lift us up and elevate us in our own minds. His strong arm saves and preserves his children but the same arm scatters the proud.
The second group of people He has shown mercy to from generation to generation is the lowly, the helpless. He exalts them, but that exaltation does not come from the world system, and will never be recognized by the world system. No, we are exalted in the heavenly kingdom; we are made sons and daughters of God. Our position and status in the heavenly kingdom is greater than anything the world could grant us. The homeless in our country, the undesirable’s in India, the poorest of the poor in Africa if they are believers are exalted above kings, and presidents in God’s eyes.
Contrast the lowly with the mighty. He has put down the mighty from their thrones. Oh how the mighty fall. They always do, if not in this life they will definitely fall in the next life. Look around the world, all the mighty who are sitting on there thrones will be cast off some day, and at the Judgment they will fall to their knees before Jesus and declare that Jesus is Lord.
The third group of people God has poured out His mercy on are the hungry. “He has filled the hungry with good things.” He has filled the hungry with things that satisfy. Whenever the prophets spoke about hunger, they were speaking of something deeper than physical hunger. Jesus continued that in his teachings. In the sermon on the mount Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” He fills the hungry with good things that truly satisfy. The world can’t satisfy.
There is something in us that cries out for the eternal. Some have described it as a God shaped hole in our heart. We try to fill it with the world and it doesn’t work. It’s like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. But rather than humbling themselves before their creator, people chase the world system a system that is passing away. They chase and chase and chase and it never satisfies.
That’s why sin is progressive. It never satisfies fully. You might start out as a kid bumming or stealing some cigarettes. But soon you progress to alcohol, marijuana, then to speed, then to crack the next thing you have a heroin induced heart attack and you’re dead. It may start fairly innocent, but it keeps taking more and more to get the same kick.
Twenty years ago Ted Bundy was interviewed by James Dobson, and he talked about the role that pornography played in the rape and murder of 30 women. It might start with something as seemingly harmless as the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, but end up being a pedophile or worse. As someone has said, sow a thought, reap an action, sow an action, reap a habit, sow a habit, reap your destiny. It all starts with a thought that maybe I can find satisfaction in the world, but the end is hell.
He fills the hungry with good things, and He sends the rich away empty.
This may be the rich materially in this world, but it means so much more. The rich symbolize all who do not see their need for God, the ones who are sufficient in themselves. But in the end they will be empty and they will be sent away. They will be caste out where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The rich young ruler went away sad because he loved his riches more than he loved God.
God has mercy on the humble, the helpless and the hungry. These are the ones God came to save. These are the ones who make up the church, the ones with gratitude in there hearts for what God has done for them through Jesus Christ. Just as God used Mary, he wants to use us today as well, and he will if we make ourselves available. Be obedient to Christ and watch God’s arm at work.
Then Mary speaks of Israel. “He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His Mercy. The word translated “helped” literally means “to catch when stumbling”. God had made a promise to Abraham and to the nation of Israel, that Abraham’s seed would bless Israel. Israel rebelled over and over again. Israel stumbled over and over again and God caught them each time and set them on the right path. But it never lasted long. God cannot lie, He made a promise to Abraham and God kept His word. God remembered His Mercy to Abraham and to his seed forever. And Mary knew that the life within her was that seed, the seed that would be a blessing to Israel.
Notice the word forever. This is a forever promise to Israel. I have a hard time understanding those who think that Israel is done, and has been replaced by the church. Yes the nation Israel has been in a long rebellion. We are grafted in; I don’t believe that they are cut out. God’s promises are true, despite Israel’s failure. It is this faith that caused Saint Paul to write that there is a day coming when Israel as a nation will recognize there Messiah. He says all Israel will be saved. It is a forever promise.
This is a pretty amazing song. Mary was not living her good life now. She was an unmarried pregnant teenager. That’s not an easy circumstance in our culture. It carried much more stigma then. She lived with the mocking and the snickering behind her back. She lived with the fear that Joseph would divorce her, call off the wedding. Then what would she do. But in the midst of this she has tremendous faith in God, and pours out this faith in song.
How about you this morning? Are you fearful? Anxious? Perplexed? Not sure about the future? Are people talking about you behind your back? Do what Mary did, sing, magnify the Lord. Recount His faithfulness to you. Let your spirit rejoice in God your savior. Magnify the Lord in all you do. Get into the scriptures and your soul will soar and you will magnify the Lord.
Amen.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
The Horn of Salvation (Luke 1:67-79)
Luke 1:67-79 The Horn of Salvation
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, 71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: 74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace."
NKJV
Our text today is a prophetic statement from Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. Let me refresh your memory on Zechariah in case it’s been a while since you’ve read this account in Luke. Zachariah was a priest who was married to Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin. They were growing old and they had no children because Elizabeth was barren, which in that day and culture was a tragedy. But as we see in so many situations in the scriptures that God delights to work in these humanly impossible situations to not only bless the parents with a child but to bless the whole world.
It fell upon Zachariah to enter the temple and burn incense one day while the others gathered outside for prayer. While he was in there alone, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told Zachariah that the Lord had heard their prayers and that they would have a son. But Zachariah doubted so Gabriel said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. 20 But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time."
So Zachariah comes out of the temple and he can’t speak, and it’s possible he was deaf also, because in verse 62 it says the people communicated to him in sign language. So he was probably both deaf and mute for nine months waiting for his son to be born.
What do you suppose went through Zachariah’s mind as he waited in silence. I’m sure God had his attention, first of all he saw Gabriel one of God’s mighty Arch – angels, which is frightening enough, but then to be struck deaf and dumb by the angel because of unbelief. At that point God has your undivided attention. What do you do? I think Zachariah probably did a lot of Bible study and prayed a lot. He was forced into silence.
We live in a society today that I think is afraid of silence. They don’t want to be alone with their thoughts because, their thoughts alarm them. They don’t want to think deep thoughts because they are afraid of where those thoughts will lead them. More and more I like silence. I know when I was younger I seemed to be able to read and study with music or a TV on. Now I enjoy silence.
But a lot of people are afraid of silence, they always want something on, music, a radio, a TV, some kind of visual or audio stimulus to occupy and entertain the mind. God says be still and know that I am God.
We can see from Zachariah’s prophecy that he learned a lot in those nine months of waiting. Finally the child is born and reading in verse 59; So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 60 His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John."
61 But they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name." 62 So they made signs to his father — what he would have him called.
63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, "His name is John." So they all marveled. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. NKJV
That brings us to our text today, Zachariah’s Benedictus, as it’s often called. He starts out, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed his people.” It’s interesting that nine months ago, he couldn’t believe an angel who appeared to him and told him he was going to have a child, and now he is believing something that hasn’t happened yet. Prophets often spoke that way. They talked about future events like they had already happened. Zachariah’s faith had grown so much in this experience he had total confidence in what had been revealed to him. Zachariah had learned to take God at His word.
He starts out telling us in the prophetic past tense what God is doing. The first thing Zachariah says is “He has visited”. The coming Messiah was not going to be a military leader as so many were expecting, instead it was going to be a visitation by God Himself. In those months Zachariah had probably read Isaiah, “And they shall call His name Emmanuel”. Which means God with us. Zachariah understood something of the incarnation.
Verse 68 again speaking in the past tense concerning the Messiah that hasn’t been born yet, Zechariah says; “and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David.” This is probably in reference to a prophecy given in Ps 132:17-18
17 There I will make the horn of David grow;
I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed.
18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,
But upon Himself His crown shall flourish."
NKJV
Also this is one of the names of God from the Old Testament that is attributed to Jesus. Just as Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.” Just as Psalm 27 says, the Lord is my light, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.”
In the same way in 2 Sam 22:3 it says, “The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation.” NKJV
Ps 18:2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. NKJV
In both of those texts God is the Horn of Salvation, in Luke 1:69 that descriptive name of God is ascribed to the yet to be born Messiah. So right away in our text we have two affirmations for the divinity of Jesus. Through Jesus, God visits His people, and we have a name twice given to God in the Old Testament now being given to Jesus.
In the horn of Salvation I see two things represented. The first, the horns represent power. The strength of the oxen was represented by his horns and it is a common expression to denote power and strength in the Old Testament. Jesus is mighty to save. Heb 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him. NKJV Also I think we have pictured here the horns on the altar in the temple and especially the cities of refuge, where a criminal could flee to the temple at the city of refuge and enter the temple and grab a hold of the horns on the alter. The City of Refuge is Jesus, and sinners flee for refuge and lay hold of Him the Horn of Salvation.
Going back to verse 68, the second thing Zachariah blesses God for is that “He has redeemed his people.” Now the word redeemed hasn’t taken on the meaning of the blood atonement of Messiah yet, but it was a word that came out of the slave market, where you paid a price for a slave’s freedom. A beautiful picture in itself of what Christ has done for us. We were lost in our trespasses and sins, we were dead to the things of God, we were in bondage to sin and the Devil but Jesus has redeemed us and set us free.
For nine months Zachariah couldn’t do much except read and being a priest he would have access to the writings of the prophets. Verse 70, “As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began.” All of the prophets spoke and wrote about Jesus. The Pharisees always quoted Moses, and Jesus one day told them “If you believe Moses, you should believe me, for Moses wrote about me.” Where? Well the most obvious is:
Gen 3:15
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel."
NKJV
The Jews always attributed Geneses to Moses and Jesus confirms that in the Gospel of John.
In verse 71 it reads, “That we should be saved”, it’s simpler than that, it’s clearer than that, it’s just one word in the Greek. Salvation. What is the message that the prophets spoke concerning Messiah, the message is salvation from our enemies. When you read David in the Psalms, he uses saved and salvation a lot in reference to being delivered from Absalom or from Saul or other’s enemies who were physically after him. That’s not the way it’s used here, the Greek word has much more depth to it, its spiritual salvation that Zachariah is prophesying about, it’s not merely being saved from Rome.
It’s interesting that Zachariah speaks first of our salvation from our enemies, sin death and Satan, Then he speaks of the salvation of the fathers. He speaks of our salvation as already being accomplished and then he turns around and he speaks of the salvation of the fathers as future.
In the King James verse 72 reads, “To perform the mercy promised to our fathers.” The word “promised” is not in the original text and was added probably for clarification. But I think instead of clarification, it confuses the text. Literally it reads, “To perform mercy to our fathers. With the word promise inserted in there it makes us think of the promise to Abraham, that he would have a son and be the father of a great nation. I don’t think that’s what this is about. This is about salvation. We need to keep in mind that Jesus did not come to save only the people of the new covenant. His life death and resurrection also saved those of the Old Covenant who trusted in God and put their faith in the future Messiah.
Yes Jesus was ultimately the fulfillment of that promise, that covenant and the oath, but the emphasis here I think is on the Mercy of God demonstrated by salvation that is through the Messiah and this salvation is what even saves the fathers, the Old Testament saints.
Then Zachariah gets back to us and he lists off five benefits of this salvation that comes to us also by God’s mercy. Verse 74 says, “To grant to us that we being delivered from the hand of the enemy.” First it’s about salvation, deliverance from our enemy, and Satan is the enemy of our soul.
Second is that we might serve Him with out fear. This service is connected to and is part of our worship. The Greek word appears 21 times in the New Testament and Seventeen times it is translated serve, the other four times it is translated worship. So it’s about more than feeding the poor. The way we serve God is to worship Him. If we aren’t worshiping him, then no matter what we do we are not serving him.
This really takes us back to our good works. Our good works are an expression of worship, if they are not then its legalism. We are doing it with impure motives. Why do you come to church? Is it because of what Jesus did for you, or is it because you think you need to do something for Jesus?
Jesus came that we might worship and serve him with out fear. Mormons never know if they have been good enough, Catholics never know if they have done enough good works to go to heaven, Muslims never know if they have done enough good to go to paradise, and that is why so many of them are willing to be martyrs because that is the only way their religion says you can be sure your going to paradise. Only Jesus grants us to come to Him for salvation and then gives us the complete assurance of our salvation so that we don’t have to fear because our salvation is not based on what we do but on what He has done.
Fear does not drive us to serve God. A couple years back some writings of Mother Teresa were published, that seemed to indicate that she was largely driven by fear, fear that even with all her good works she was not accepted by God. If that’s true, how sad a life she had, always working always striving never knowing if what you’re doing is enough. Mother Teresa was right, even she could not do enough good works to atone for her sins.
But yet I think we can fall in to that thinking too. We must constantly crucify the flesh and any thought that we are capable of doing anything of merit as far as God is concerned. All we can do is worship; we can serve as an outflow of what God has done for us in Jesus. Those are the only works that are sanctified by Jesus.
The next thing mentioned is that we serve him in holiness and righteousness. And not a righteousness of our own because we have none, but as we worship and serve as an outcropping of this great salvation we will grow more and more to hate the sin that besets us, and we will grow in sanctification. We will live holy and righteous lives, not because we are Holy or righteous, but as we fall more and more in love with Jesus the things of the world will quite naturally fall off. We may not even recognize it ourselves, it just happens.
Years ago I was in a bible study with some friends, some of whom I had know from High School, and I was feeling pretty frustrated for some reason, with my Christian walk and had openly lamented my lack of growth to the group. One of my high school class-mates spoke up and said, “I knew you before you got saved, believe me there has been a lot of change.” We need to remember, it’s not perfection, but it is direction. Are you growing in holiness and righteousness? If a Christian you hadn’t seen for five years showed up at your house for dinner, would he notice a change? If it is someone you knew fairly well, they should. I’m not saying a lot of change, and it’s not for any one to say, but there should be some direction in our lives in growing in holiness.
The fourth thing mention is “Before Him”. We are in his presence. For many people that is a terrifying thought, to be before Him; to be in His presence. They want nothing to do with God; they spend their whole life trying to hide from God. For a Christian to be before Him is a comforting thing. Jesus said, Lo, I am with you always. That’s a comfort to know that Jesus is here. No fear! We love him and our whole life flows out of worship. We know we are not worthy, that’s why we died to self to begin with that Jesus could make us alive in Him. He grants us His presence.
The fifth thing granted is that these benefits are for all the days of our lives. Literally it’s just “All of our days”. All of our days, that’s eternity. It’s not just talking about this life. It’s all of our days. This is what is promised to us through the Messiah.
Finally in verse 76 Zachariah talks about his son. Everything up to this point has been about the Messiah. Now for verse 76 and 77 he mentions His son and then in verse 78 the focus again is the Messiah.
He says, “and you child will be the prophet of the Most High. For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His way.” In his solitude for those nine months Zachariah had probably spent some time reading the prophet Isaiah and had probably read these words. Isa 40:3
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
"Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God. NKJV
Zachariah says his son will prepare the way for the messiah by giving the knowledge of salvation. Or one could say the science of salvation, and it was by the remission of sins. This is something every Christian should major in. The science of salvation, because the world gets it so messed up. And really the world today is as messed up in their thinking than they ever have been.
I listen to a lot of different stuff during the course of the week, Christian radio shows, preachers, talk shows and the science of salvation through the remission of sins is constantly under attack. Today there are theologians that call the theology of individual salvation the great western heresy. The doctrine of justification is being attacked and redefined by many. The doctrine of hell and the wrath of God are coming more and more under attack and out right denied by more and more theologians and pastors.
We need to major in the science of salvation by the remission of sins. This is why Jesus came, to satisfy justice, to pay our fine, so that God could be both Just and the justifier of those who put their faith in him.
I think there are three things we need to be clear on to under stand the Science of salvation so that we don’t end up in the ditch theologically. We need to understand who God is. He is high and holy, righteous and just. We need to under stand the Law, what sin is, and who we sin against. And we need to understand who we are.
Zachariah tells us who we are in verse 79. The natural condition of mankind is that they sit in darkness. We love the darkness, Jesus said many see the light but refuse to come because they love the darkness. Here they are sitting in darkness. They are content to be in darkness, they are not wandering around groping trying to find their way out. They are sitting, content because they love the darkness. But Jesus comes to give light, to those who aren’t even seeking it, and if he didn’t, no one would ever get saved.
He also says that we sit in the shadow of death. We often think of that as the deathbed. Psalm 23 is a Psalm that is read to someone shortly before their death for comfort. But the shadow of death hangs over all of us. Our life is a vapor; it is so very fragile, each one of us could step out of this life into eternity at any moment.
The last thing he says is that the Messiah will guide our feet into the way of peace. That is not where we dwell by nature. We are by nature at enmity with God, we are enemies and we hate Him. But Jesus comes and guides our feet into the ways of peace with God. He is no longer against us. His wrath no longer over shadows us. That’s what Christmas is all about. It’s about the cross. Without the cross the manger means nothing.
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, 71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: 74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace."
NKJV
Our text today is a prophetic statement from Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. Let me refresh your memory on Zechariah in case it’s been a while since you’ve read this account in Luke. Zachariah was a priest who was married to Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin. They were growing old and they had no children because Elizabeth was barren, which in that day and culture was a tragedy. But as we see in so many situations in the scriptures that God delights to work in these humanly impossible situations to not only bless the parents with a child but to bless the whole world.
It fell upon Zachariah to enter the temple and burn incense one day while the others gathered outside for prayer. While he was in there alone, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told Zachariah that the Lord had heard their prayers and that they would have a son. But Zachariah doubted so Gabriel said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. 20 But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time."
So Zachariah comes out of the temple and he can’t speak, and it’s possible he was deaf also, because in verse 62 it says the people communicated to him in sign language. So he was probably both deaf and mute for nine months waiting for his son to be born.
What do you suppose went through Zachariah’s mind as he waited in silence. I’m sure God had his attention, first of all he saw Gabriel one of God’s mighty Arch – angels, which is frightening enough, but then to be struck deaf and dumb by the angel because of unbelief. At that point God has your undivided attention. What do you do? I think Zachariah probably did a lot of Bible study and prayed a lot. He was forced into silence.
We live in a society today that I think is afraid of silence. They don’t want to be alone with their thoughts because, their thoughts alarm them. They don’t want to think deep thoughts because they are afraid of where those thoughts will lead them. More and more I like silence. I know when I was younger I seemed to be able to read and study with music or a TV on. Now I enjoy silence.
But a lot of people are afraid of silence, they always want something on, music, a radio, a TV, some kind of visual or audio stimulus to occupy and entertain the mind. God says be still and know that I am God.
We can see from Zachariah’s prophecy that he learned a lot in those nine months of waiting. Finally the child is born and reading in verse 59; So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 60 His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John."
61 But they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name." 62 So they made signs to his father — what he would have him called.
63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, "His name is John." So they all marveled. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. NKJV
That brings us to our text today, Zachariah’s Benedictus, as it’s often called. He starts out, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed his people.” It’s interesting that nine months ago, he couldn’t believe an angel who appeared to him and told him he was going to have a child, and now he is believing something that hasn’t happened yet. Prophets often spoke that way. They talked about future events like they had already happened. Zachariah’s faith had grown so much in this experience he had total confidence in what had been revealed to him. Zachariah had learned to take God at His word.
He starts out telling us in the prophetic past tense what God is doing. The first thing Zachariah says is “He has visited”. The coming Messiah was not going to be a military leader as so many were expecting, instead it was going to be a visitation by God Himself. In those months Zachariah had probably read Isaiah, “And they shall call His name Emmanuel”. Which means God with us. Zachariah understood something of the incarnation.
Verse 68 again speaking in the past tense concerning the Messiah that hasn’t been born yet, Zechariah says; “and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David.” This is probably in reference to a prophecy given in Ps 132:17-18
17 There I will make the horn of David grow;
I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed.
18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,
But upon Himself His crown shall flourish."
NKJV
Also this is one of the names of God from the Old Testament that is attributed to Jesus. Just as Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.” Just as Psalm 27 says, the Lord is my light, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.”
In the same way in 2 Sam 22:3 it says, “The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation.” NKJV
Ps 18:2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. NKJV
In both of those texts God is the Horn of Salvation, in Luke 1:69 that descriptive name of God is ascribed to the yet to be born Messiah. So right away in our text we have two affirmations for the divinity of Jesus. Through Jesus, God visits His people, and we have a name twice given to God in the Old Testament now being given to Jesus.
In the horn of Salvation I see two things represented. The first, the horns represent power. The strength of the oxen was represented by his horns and it is a common expression to denote power and strength in the Old Testament. Jesus is mighty to save. Heb 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him. NKJV Also I think we have pictured here the horns on the altar in the temple and especially the cities of refuge, where a criminal could flee to the temple at the city of refuge and enter the temple and grab a hold of the horns on the alter. The City of Refuge is Jesus, and sinners flee for refuge and lay hold of Him the Horn of Salvation.
Going back to verse 68, the second thing Zachariah blesses God for is that “He has redeemed his people.” Now the word redeemed hasn’t taken on the meaning of the blood atonement of Messiah yet, but it was a word that came out of the slave market, where you paid a price for a slave’s freedom. A beautiful picture in itself of what Christ has done for us. We were lost in our trespasses and sins, we were dead to the things of God, we were in bondage to sin and the Devil but Jesus has redeemed us and set us free.
For nine months Zachariah couldn’t do much except read and being a priest he would have access to the writings of the prophets. Verse 70, “As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began.” All of the prophets spoke and wrote about Jesus. The Pharisees always quoted Moses, and Jesus one day told them “If you believe Moses, you should believe me, for Moses wrote about me.” Where? Well the most obvious is:
Gen 3:15
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel."
NKJV
The Jews always attributed Geneses to Moses and Jesus confirms that in the Gospel of John.
In verse 71 it reads, “That we should be saved”, it’s simpler than that, it’s clearer than that, it’s just one word in the Greek. Salvation. What is the message that the prophets spoke concerning Messiah, the message is salvation from our enemies. When you read David in the Psalms, he uses saved and salvation a lot in reference to being delivered from Absalom or from Saul or other’s enemies who were physically after him. That’s not the way it’s used here, the Greek word has much more depth to it, its spiritual salvation that Zachariah is prophesying about, it’s not merely being saved from Rome.
It’s interesting that Zachariah speaks first of our salvation from our enemies, sin death and Satan, Then he speaks of the salvation of the fathers. He speaks of our salvation as already being accomplished and then he turns around and he speaks of the salvation of the fathers as future.
In the King James verse 72 reads, “To perform the mercy promised to our fathers.” The word “promised” is not in the original text and was added probably for clarification. But I think instead of clarification, it confuses the text. Literally it reads, “To perform mercy to our fathers. With the word promise inserted in there it makes us think of the promise to Abraham, that he would have a son and be the father of a great nation. I don’t think that’s what this is about. This is about salvation. We need to keep in mind that Jesus did not come to save only the people of the new covenant. His life death and resurrection also saved those of the Old Covenant who trusted in God and put their faith in the future Messiah.
Yes Jesus was ultimately the fulfillment of that promise, that covenant and the oath, but the emphasis here I think is on the Mercy of God demonstrated by salvation that is through the Messiah and this salvation is what even saves the fathers, the Old Testament saints.
Then Zachariah gets back to us and he lists off five benefits of this salvation that comes to us also by God’s mercy. Verse 74 says, “To grant to us that we being delivered from the hand of the enemy.” First it’s about salvation, deliverance from our enemy, and Satan is the enemy of our soul.
Second is that we might serve Him with out fear. This service is connected to and is part of our worship. The Greek word appears 21 times in the New Testament and Seventeen times it is translated serve, the other four times it is translated worship. So it’s about more than feeding the poor. The way we serve God is to worship Him. If we aren’t worshiping him, then no matter what we do we are not serving him.
This really takes us back to our good works. Our good works are an expression of worship, if they are not then its legalism. We are doing it with impure motives. Why do you come to church? Is it because of what Jesus did for you, or is it because you think you need to do something for Jesus?
Jesus came that we might worship and serve him with out fear. Mormons never know if they have been good enough, Catholics never know if they have done enough good works to go to heaven, Muslims never know if they have done enough good to go to paradise, and that is why so many of them are willing to be martyrs because that is the only way their religion says you can be sure your going to paradise. Only Jesus grants us to come to Him for salvation and then gives us the complete assurance of our salvation so that we don’t have to fear because our salvation is not based on what we do but on what He has done.
Fear does not drive us to serve God. A couple years back some writings of Mother Teresa were published, that seemed to indicate that she was largely driven by fear, fear that even with all her good works she was not accepted by God. If that’s true, how sad a life she had, always working always striving never knowing if what you’re doing is enough. Mother Teresa was right, even she could not do enough good works to atone for her sins.
But yet I think we can fall in to that thinking too. We must constantly crucify the flesh and any thought that we are capable of doing anything of merit as far as God is concerned. All we can do is worship; we can serve as an outflow of what God has done for us in Jesus. Those are the only works that are sanctified by Jesus.
The next thing mentioned is that we serve him in holiness and righteousness. And not a righteousness of our own because we have none, but as we worship and serve as an outcropping of this great salvation we will grow more and more to hate the sin that besets us, and we will grow in sanctification. We will live holy and righteous lives, not because we are Holy or righteous, but as we fall more and more in love with Jesus the things of the world will quite naturally fall off. We may not even recognize it ourselves, it just happens.
Years ago I was in a bible study with some friends, some of whom I had know from High School, and I was feeling pretty frustrated for some reason, with my Christian walk and had openly lamented my lack of growth to the group. One of my high school class-mates spoke up and said, “I knew you before you got saved, believe me there has been a lot of change.” We need to remember, it’s not perfection, but it is direction. Are you growing in holiness and righteousness? If a Christian you hadn’t seen for five years showed up at your house for dinner, would he notice a change? If it is someone you knew fairly well, they should. I’m not saying a lot of change, and it’s not for any one to say, but there should be some direction in our lives in growing in holiness.
The fourth thing mention is “Before Him”. We are in his presence. For many people that is a terrifying thought, to be before Him; to be in His presence. They want nothing to do with God; they spend their whole life trying to hide from God. For a Christian to be before Him is a comforting thing. Jesus said, Lo, I am with you always. That’s a comfort to know that Jesus is here. No fear! We love him and our whole life flows out of worship. We know we are not worthy, that’s why we died to self to begin with that Jesus could make us alive in Him. He grants us His presence.
The fifth thing granted is that these benefits are for all the days of our lives. Literally it’s just “All of our days”. All of our days, that’s eternity. It’s not just talking about this life. It’s all of our days. This is what is promised to us through the Messiah.
Finally in verse 76 Zachariah talks about his son. Everything up to this point has been about the Messiah. Now for verse 76 and 77 he mentions His son and then in verse 78 the focus again is the Messiah.
He says, “and you child will be the prophet of the Most High. For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His way.” In his solitude for those nine months Zachariah had probably spent some time reading the prophet Isaiah and had probably read these words. Isa 40:3
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
"Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God. NKJV
Zachariah says his son will prepare the way for the messiah by giving the knowledge of salvation. Or one could say the science of salvation, and it was by the remission of sins. This is something every Christian should major in. The science of salvation, because the world gets it so messed up. And really the world today is as messed up in their thinking than they ever have been.
I listen to a lot of different stuff during the course of the week, Christian radio shows, preachers, talk shows and the science of salvation through the remission of sins is constantly under attack. Today there are theologians that call the theology of individual salvation the great western heresy. The doctrine of justification is being attacked and redefined by many. The doctrine of hell and the wrath of God are coming more and more under attack and out right denied by more and more theologians and pastors.
We need to major in the science of salvation by the remission of sins. This is why Jesus came, to satisfy justice, to pay our fine, so that God could be both Just and the justifier of those who put their faith in him.
I think there are three things we need to be clear on to under stand the Science of salvation so that we don’t end up in the ditch theologically. We need to understand who God is. He is high and holy, righteous and just. We need to under stand the Law, what sin is, and who we sin against. And we need to understand who we are.
Zachariah tells us who we are in verse 79. The natural condition of mankind is that they sit in darkness. We love the darkness, Jesus said many see the light but refuse to come because they love the darkness. Here they are sitting in darkness. They are content to be in darkness, they are not wandering around groping trying to find their way out. They are sitting, content because they love the darkness. But Jesus comes to give light, to those who aren’t even seeking it, and if he didn’t, no one would ever get saved.
He also says that we sit in the shadow of death. We often think of that as the deathbed. Psalm 23 is a Psalm that is read to someone shortly before their death for comfort. But the shadow of death hangs over all of us. Our life is a vapor; it is so very fragile, each one of us could step out of this life into eternity at any moment.
The last thing he says is that the Messiah will guide our feet into the way of peace. That is not where we dwell by nature. We are by nature at enmity with God, we are enemies and we hate Him. But Jesus comes and guides our feet into the ways of peace with God. He is no longer against us. His wrath no longer over shadows us. That’s what Christmas is all about. It’s about the cross. Without the cross the manger means nothing.
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