Part 2 From Speachless To Praise

One commentator, plumber, he said that here we have the last prophecy of the old dispensation and the first and the new. Remember Zacharias in his unbelief, the angel Gabriel came to him and he was made to be speechless. maybe even not even able to hear either. Do you wonder what it would have been like for nine months? You who speak and you who hear, can you imagine nine months?

But think of this, this believer Zacharias, and he hears the angel Gabriel of a testimony to come in the Messiah. My brother here is making, Emotions to me, my young man, I like that. I think maybe he's watching me do things, my two-year-old friend there. Sorry, I got distracted. But Zacharias here has just heard from the angel Gabriel of the Messiah to come and the forerunner to come through him in this news. So can't you imagine for nine weeks, what would you do? I mean, there's no TVs, you're not going to the play. What are you doing? I imagine he's opening the scrolls. Do you think he would go to Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and the Psalms and Malachi and Micah to put all this together? And could this be from my own family? And then on that glorious day when he said his name is John and his mouth His tongue was loosed, and this is where we are today, and I'm going to read, and you're hearing the whole word here of Zacharias, and then we will concentrate on the latter half today.

Hear the word of the Lord. We will start in verse 67. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. for he has visited us and accomplished redemption for his people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David his servant, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old. Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to show mercy towards our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to Abraham, our father, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.

In verse 76, and you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace. And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit. And he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

This is God's word. Please receive it as such. Let us pray. Father, what a glorious testimony of one of your Old Testament and New Testament saints. Lord, as your people, we desire to hear from you. Help us, I pray. Give us hearts to receive, ears to hear, eyes to see. Lord, may your spirit do a work in each and every one of us. Lord, fill us, I pray, with your spirit. Teach us your ways. In Christ's name we pray, amen. We saw from last week how the title of our message, From Speechless to Praise, this man for nine months is silenced and now he's just bursting forth in praise to God. And we looked at last week, there was two sections of his of his benedictus or his hymn of praise, the first being to God. And by all means, he should be first to God. And then he draws his attention next to God's servant or God's chosen minister. And that's where we are this week.

When we come to verse 76, we see that there is a transition in the passage. And here Zacharias has turned his attention to the son who was just born. the son who was just born three months prior to the anointed one to be born. So this would be the son who we know as Zacharias' son to be that of John. John, the Reformed Baptist John, this John. And he says, and you child, he comes to you child. This is where he transitions.

And where I want us to go today is I want to see God's chosen minister. Secondly, I want us to see God's motivation in salvation. And thirdly, God's preparation of his chosen minister. And so we come first to God's chosen minister. He says, and you, child, We know this to be John. This is who he's referring to. Remember what John's name means. Do we remember? Johanan. It means Yahweh is gracious. This is what John's name means. Remember what Zacharias' name means. Yahweh remembers. These are no accidents. God has no accidents. He is sovereignly working over all things.