Sermon for 8/8/2010
Mute
HoHum:
Last weekend Crystal and I went to my family’s reunion in Indiana. I saw relatives there I haven’t seen for years, cousins, aunts and uncles. Lee, my brother, and I played horseshoes. Lee scored all of our points and we got beat soundly. We got there on Saturday and I had a little sniffle in my throat. By Sunday it was a full fledged cold. By Sunday evening I had no voice left. One young lady asked, “Have you ever lost your voice before?” In a whisper all I could say was, “Close.” From that time on my voice was gone until Tuesday or Wednesday of last week. I couldn’t even whisper.
What if I did lose my voice? How would this change my job and ministry? What would this do to my self esteem? How would this affect my family and marriage?
WBTU:
A. I didn’t know if my voice would hold up today so why not talk about this?
B. The Bible talks about mute people. A mute person is one who cannot speak. Jesus healed several who were mute. The King James calls them “dumb”. A mute person is not necessarily deaf. There are deaf people who can talk.
C. Several reasons why a person might be mute: deformities involving the voice box (larynx), the brain is not able to take sounds and convert them into audible language.
D. Talk about 3 people:
1. Johnny, a wonderful person, who loved Sunshine Camp, a camp for the handicapped in Virginia. His body had difficulties so he could not speak. However, through modern technology, he had a keypad where he could type onto a computer, and the computer would talk for him.
2. Francis Simpson was a delightful woman at a past ministry. She took care of the meals on Wednesday nights. She had a muscular disorder that lead to her death. She was a talkative person. At first she could write but even that left her. Toward the end of her life on this earth, all she could do was grunt. Close to the end she couldn’t even do that. Come into her room and look into her eyes. Can see that she wants to say something but she is not able. Bobby, her husband, had a difficult time. Like the mute button was on and the stereo would not play.
3. Larry Easter was a man who knew that he had a short time to live. He also had a debilitating muscular disorder. His brother Ronnie shared Christ with him and Ronnie and I baptized him before he had to go to the nursing home. He was so happy to be able to go to the same nursing home as his wife. Like Francis, as his voice left him, he was able to write. After this left him, he sank into his own little world. He knew that he could not communicate. He understood people and enjoyed watching them but communication was so difficult.
E. Oh what these people would have done just to be able to open their mouths and talk.
F. Read Luke 1:5-25 and Luke 1:57-65.
Thesis: From Zechariah’s story, I have three things: 1) Ministry is a privilege and honor 2) We mute our voice through unbelief 3) We need to praise God while we can.
For instances:
1. Ministry is a privilege.
A. For Zechariah this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Vs. 9
B. A priest could offer the incense at the daily sacrifice only once in his lifetime since there were so many priests. What a privilege.
C. We have before us an opportunity, make mention of ministry teams. Last day posters will be in the back, after this taken down and start meeting together.
D. (Rev 1:5 NIV) To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
(Rev 1:6 NIV) and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father--to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
E. All of us are to be involved. It is a great honor and responsibility to come week after week and bring God’s Word. However, everyone has at least one good sermon in them.
F. Everyone has something to bring. (1 Cor 14:26 NIV) What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.
G. Don't think we are all that much. That is good because that is when God can use us. (1 Cor 1:26 NIV) Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.(1 Cor 1:27 NIV) But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.(1 Cor 1:28 NIV) He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are,(1 Cor 1:29 NIV) so that no one may boast before him.
H. We are not much according to the world’s standards, but we can be used of God to make a dramatic difference where we are.
2. We mute our voice through unbelief.
A. I remember when it was known that we were going to have our 2nd set of twins. I didn’t speak for a week. Zechariah’s voice was muted because of his unbelief. Vs. 20
B. Many times our witness is muted because of our unbelief. There are times when I am skeptical about the promises of God.
C. The Bible says, (Mat 6:33 NIV) But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. However, many times I doubt and voice my unbelief about God doing this especially when the bills come in.
D. Crystal and I have dreams and goals and desires for the future of the church and about our ministry. Many times I doubt and voice my unbelief about these things and I question whether these dreams, goals and desires really came from the Lord. Good to see if they are from God but if they are from God, He will see them to completion. (Eph 3:20 NIV) Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, (Eph 3:21 NIV) to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
E. (1 John 5:14 NIV) This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.(1 John 5:15 NIV) And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him.
F. We mute our voice through unbelief. (Heb 3:19 NIV) So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
G. Zechariah's unbelief was changed when he lost his voice. Maybe it would be good for the Lord to strike more of us mute so that in the end we really believe. We have some people who talk about the promises of God but don't really believe them.
G. Mark Twain was one of our best-known American authors and humorists. His real name was Samuel Clemens. He is best known for his novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain married Oliva Langdon. She was a simple and devout Christian, but he was not a believer. For a while after they were married, they had prayer at meals and read the Bible each day. But this was soon given up. According to a conversation she had with her sister, Oliva said she had given up some of her beliefs. Her faith was shaken by people, places, and philosophies to which she was exposed as she traveled the world with her husband.
Oliva’s pet name for her husband was, "Youth." Their only son, Langdon, died in infancy and two of their three daughters - Susy and Jean - died as young women. During one of those sad times in their lives -it could have been after the death of one of their children - Twain said to Olivia, "If it comforts you to lean on the Christian faith, do so."
"But I can’t, Youth; I haven’t any," she sadly replied.
Twain felt responsible for causing Livy to lose her faith and the thought came back to haunt him many times after her death in 1904. Mark Twain loved Livy devotedly, but apparently his unbelieving attitude had an effect on her that even he didn’t want.
3. We need to praise God while we can.
A. (Psa 150:6 NIV) Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.
B. When Zechariah got his voice back, we see Vs. 64
C. (Psa 30:9 NIV) “What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
D. We will be praising God around the throne in heaven. However, it is much better to praise God here. We never know what our words about the Lord will do here. One thing we cannot do in heaven that we can do here: that is share the gospel of Jesus Christ with some who does not know. Everyone in heaven will know something about Jesus Christ.
D. Rick Warren about his dad- My father was a minister for over 50 years, serving in small churches. His favorite activity was taking teams of volunteers overseas to build church buildings for small congregations. In his lifetime, Dad built over 150 churches around the world. In 1999, my father died of cancer. In the final week of his life the disease kept him awake in a semi conscious state nearly 24 hours a day. As he dreamed, he’d talk out loud about what he was dreaming. Mostly, he relived one church building project after another. One night near the end, we were by his side, Dad suddenly became very active and tried to get out of bed. My wife insisted he lay back down. But he continued to persist so my wife finally asked, “Jimmy, what are you trying to do?” He replied, “Got to save one more for Jesus! Got to save one more for Jesus!” During the next hour, he said that phrase probably a hundred times. “Got to save one more for Jesus!” As I sat by his bed with tears flowing down my cheeks, I bowed my head to thank God for my dad’s faith. At that moment Dad reached out and placed his frail hand on my head and said, “Save one more for Jesus! Save one more for Jesus!”
