What God Did Not Say Part 2
Scripture: Luke 1:5-37; Hebrews 11:15-16; Galatians 6:9
Introduction:
Two weeks ago I preached part one of this series I’ve titled “What God Did Not Say”. I talked about how we sometime have questions and/or doubts about something we believe God has told us to do because we run into problems when we start doing it. Because of the severity of the trials we go through in order to do what God has called us to do we question if we truly heard God correctly. I shared with you that as Christians we have come to believe that if God has told us to do something that it will flow perfectly and those helping us will be in total agreement with it and life would be good. However, this is not the case. What happens most often is that there are problems when we get started and those working with us get tired and turn back – yet we must continue on in what we believe God has told us to do. As we walk with God in accomplishing what He has called us to do, we cannot allow doubt to enter in because of the difficulty we face in completing the task. Our ability to believe in what God has told us to do cannot be defined by the hardships we face when doing it as it is not the hardships that God measures or looks upon, it is the results.
In part one we looked at Abraham, Moses and Samuel from the Old Testament. This morning we will examine from the New Testament Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, and Mary, the mother of Jesus. Their situations were quite different in some respect when compared to our Old Testament examples, but they held one thing in common, they too were not told everything that they would encounter in order to do what God had called them to do. Turn with me to Luke 1:5-20.
I. Zacharias
“In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous in the sight of God walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years. Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.” (Vss. 5-11)
Zacharias was one of the priests and his wife was named Elizabeth. They were advanced in age and they did not have a child and had been praying for a child for years. On this particular day, Zacharias was chosen to keep the incense burning on the altar in front of the most holy place, one of the priest’s responsibilities. As Zacharias was carrying out his responsibilities, the angel Gabriel appeared to him. Let’s examine what the angel told Zacharias.
“But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Vss. 13-17)
The angel Gabriel told Zacharias a lot about what John would do and every last bit of what he said was absolutely true. Now this is a side note but I will come back to my main point. When Gabriel told Zacharias what was going to happen, Zacharias asked him how he would know for certain that they would have a child since both he and Elizabeth were old. He did not receive the answer he was searching for. Gabriel told him that he stands in the presence of God and was sent to tell him the good news. But because Zacharias did not immediately believe him, he told Zacharias that he would not be able to speak until John was born. Now here is the point I want to make as a side note, we pray and pray for God to do something and when He is ready, we question Him about it really happening. We pray and pray for something and when God starts to move, we start to doubt that it could really be happening. In the case of Zacharias, maybe God closed up his mouth so that Zacharias could not speak doubt into the situation as we so often do – allowing our tongues to get us in so much trouble. Because he lost his ability to speak, Zacharias could not speak against what God was doing. So Zacharias lost his ability to speak until John was born. So let me get back on track now – that was just an FYI for each of you who are currently seeking God for something right now do not doubt when God begins to move on your request.
Gabriel told Zacharias a lot of things and I am sure Zacharias found a way to relay some of this information to his wife Elizabeth. He told Zacharias that John would be great in the eyes of God; that he would not drink wine or liquor; he would be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in the womb; he would turn many back to God; and most important, he would be a forerunner, one who prepared the way, for Christ. All of these things Gabriel told him but let’s examine what he was not told.
o Zacharias was not told that his son would live like a wild man; dressing in rough clothes and eating things found in the wild.
o He was not told that his son would start his ministry at around the age of 30 and preach for almost three years.
o He was not told that his son would lack what some would call “tack” or “finesse” when he dealt with people. He called it as he saw it because he knew what was at stake.
o He was not told that his son would tell Herod he was wrong for marrying his brother’s wife.
o He was not told that his son would die by being beheaded at the request of Herod’s wife’s daughter.
These things were not told to Zacharias. It is believed that Zacharias and Elizabeth had already died by the time John began his ministry so they did not get to see the fulfillment of the prophecy that Zacharias was given by the angel Gabriel. But here is what I want you to focus on – Zacharias and Elizabeth fulfilled what God had told them to do. He did not give them the ministry that He had for John; their role was mostly completed when John was born and named (besides them being the parents that God wanted them to be to John). They could have stressed like we do and worry about how our children will turn out. We worry about their choices; their faith; if they will walk with God; etc. Zacharias and Elizabeth did not have to worry about this because John was anointed while he was still in the womb; but nevertheless they were still parents and for them to witness what their son would eventually go through would have been extremely difficult. God told Zacharias what his son would do but Zacharias and Elizabeth did not play a major role in their son’s ministry – their work was completed early in John’s life. Now let’s examine what Mary was and was not told.
II. Mary
We have all read and/or heard the story of Jesus’ birth. We know how the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and foretold of Jesus birth. As a reminder before we examine what Mary was not told, I want to read to you what she was told. Look down at verses 30-37 of Luke chapter one. It reads: “The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered and said to her, the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
As you read through the list of things that Mary was told, what is missing? What are missing are any references as to how it would impact her. Many times when we are called upon to do something in the natural we always want to know what is in it for us or what will be the impact to us if we did certain things. We also bring this mentality into our relationship with God. Sometimes we do not hear His voice because we cannot determine what is in it for us if we say that we have heard his voice and know that there is something we need to do. When Mary received the word from Gabriel, she accepted it immediately. Mary’s response was different from that of Zacharias and yet he was a priest. She did not doubt; she accepted what was told to her. Zacharias needed confirmation because he and Elizabeth were old; Mary did not need confirmation even though she was a virgin. So let’s examine what Mary was not told.
o Mary was not told that she would be known as an adulteress and that her fiancée would plan to divorce her once he found out.
o Mary was not told that people would stare at her in public and whisper behind her back that she was pregnant out of wedlock.
o Mary was not told what she would experience in raising the child; like Him being in the temple with the scholars when he should have been with her on his way back home.
o Mary was not told that her Son would know who His Father was and would always have a focus and attentiveness on serving His Father.
o Mary was not told that she would witness the miracles that her Son would perform that would lead to Him being targeted for death.
o Mary was not told that she would see her Son bruised and bleeding being nailed to a cross.
o Mary was not told that she would witness the death of her Son.
All of these things were not told to Mary and yet each one had an impact on her life. With each situation that she faced, Mary never strayed from what she knew she was supposed to do in giving birth to Jesus and doing her best to raise Him as a mother would any child. Mary noted the differences that she saw with her Son, but she did not fully understand the importance of them. The key things that we note here is that Mary’s role was completed when she gave birth to Jesus other than being a mother to Him. This is what God had anointed her to do, to be a vessel for which His Son could enter into the world. Everything she did for Jesus after His birth was based on what a good mother would do for her child with the additional knowledge that her Son was truly the Son of God. She knew this, but the manifestation of what this meant did not fully come to realization until Jesus started His ministry. The last thing I want to mention briefly is that Mary was not told that she would see her Son after He rose from the dead. This was the final life changing experience that she had with her Son while she was on earth. Everything else she did following His resurrection probably did not compare to what she experienced when she saw her dead Son alive again after three days.
Something To Think About
The Bible is filled with examples of people who heard the voice of God and answered even though they were not told much about how completing the task God gave them would impact their lives. I could stay on this topic for a year and not fully cover all of the examples. What I wanted to accomplish in these two messages was to give you something to think about as you prepare to enter into a new year. If we do not start focusing on what God has told us to do and separate ourselves from the overall impact of that “something” on our individual lives, we will not get to the point of doing what God has called us to do as a Church or as individuals and that failure will impact the lives of people we have yet to meet.
We have all witnessed Christians who serve God out of convenience. I will come to Church when it is convenient. I will serve on a committee when it is convenient. Yes God has told me to do something but right now it is not a good time for me. Yes I know the call God has on my life to serve, but I need just a little more time to determine if I can really do it. I am so busy with work and the family that I cannot take on any additional responsibilities. And what hurts the most is when we sign on to do something and then realize it is going to require more than we thought or are willing to give and then we stop.
In part one of this message I shared with you from Hebrews the eleventh chapter what was recorded about those who walked with God without fully receiving the promise. This is what was recorded about them as recorded in Hebrews 11:15-16: “And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”
If they had been thinking about what they gave up when they answered the call of God, they could have stopped their walk and returned to where they came from. For us today this equates to our needing to know everything about what God is calling us to do: the commitment; time requirements; length of time; people we will interact with; etc before we can sign on. I want to know how my decision to walk with God will impact my life and change how I live today. I want to know that if He is calling me to do something that it is going to be easy to do and I can do it quickly and get back to living like I want. I do not want a long-term assignment. I do not want a long-term commitment. I want to get it done as quickly as I can so I can check the box that it was done. Sadly this is not how God operates.
When we sign on with God, He tells us what we need to know when we need to know it. Some things He may not reveal at all and we must walk with Him by faith knowing that if He has called us to do something then everything that we face as we work towards that conclusion has been taken care of. God has a plan and He will reveal it to us in stages as we just commit to walking with Him. When the problems arise, keep walking and stay focused. When others turn their backs on you because you’re following God, keep walking and do not lose your focus. When it seems like you’re getting down to your very last dollar, keep walking and do not lose focus. When it sometimes get harder and harder to see any results, keep walking and do not lose focus. What God has started, He will finish if we do not lose hope. I will leave you with these words from Paul as recorded in Galatians 6:9: “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”
I am excited about 2011! May God bless and keep you is my prayer!
