(Luke 1:5-25)
Introduction:
The most maligned person, from the Devil’s standpoint, is the man-husband-father. This Trinity represents to the devil, God’s authority in the home and society. Therefore, every man walks around with a target on his back.
There are more single-family homes in America today than traditional homes. This is not an accident. This is a clever ploy of the enemy to undermine and destroy God’s will in the world.
The Christian man-husband-father is under more scrutiny and attack than anybody else. I am sad to say, the enemy has been quite successful in destroying the Christian man-husband-father.
The most important aspect of every family is a godly father. The father is the priest in the home and exercises spiritual authority. The family without a father or a godly father is a family doomed for spiritual confusion. This is the importance God sets upon the husband and father in the home.
God’s modus operandi is always to work through a man.
Theme…
When God wants to do a work of significance, He calls a man, uniquely prepares that man for His work and anoints that man with power for the work at hand.
In looking at the men God has chosen, we discover that when he chooses a person for a job he spares nothing in the preparation. God does not always show His hand because He is looking for trust and obedience in the man.
You cannot obey anybody you cannot trust.
Zachariah is a rather unique man in the New Testament. Only Luke tells us about him. All we know about him is what is found here in the gospel of Luke. It would be interesting to have a full-blown biography of this man because of his importance in the road that led to the coming of the Son of Man.
Both Zechariah and Elizabeth “were advanced in years.” The burden they bore was the fact that Elisabeth was barren. In those days, not having children was looked down upon. The first son was very important in the family because that represented security for the parents in old age. They had come to that point of old age and had no children.
All of that is about to change.
It is interesting to me that so often God chooses people that, on the surface, have no potential for what God wants to do.
“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:28).
God’s work is never done through man’s strength. Something that is hard for us to get a hold of. God wants us to be a channel through which He can touch the world around us.
In looking at this man Zachariah there are several important aspects with regard to God’s call upon a man.
The great calling upon Zachariah’s life was to be the foundation for the forerunner, John the Baptist. There probably is no greater man, at least in the New Testament, apart from Jesus Christ, then John the Baptist. Even Jesus gave testimony to this.
“Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).
No greater recommendation could be had from anywhere.
Zachariah’s job was to prepare the Preparer.
I. God’s call upon a man’s life always demands
separation from the world. (1:6)
“And they were both righteous before God, walking blameless in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.”
This is the first requisite for being called of God. It is the hardest thing for any of us to do; separate ourselves completely the world. We have become so entangled with the world that we do not understand the difference between the world and the church.
If you want to have your heart broken, read Ezra 10 on your knees. This generation of Christians has so married into the world and is so full of idolatry and paganism that we are quite comfortable in the world. Like a hand in a glove.
God’s call upon my life means that I turn my back completely upon the world. You have to work out the details of that, which is between you and God. We cannot face hell and expect to end in heaven.
Christians once were known as people who were separated from the world. Now we no longer are known as that. There is a rather pagan reality show that boasts that the star is a “born again Christian virgin” in the purpose of the show is to select his wife. That man is no more born again than the devil himself. How can we be so blind to the ways of the world?
We accept separation in every area of life except when it comes to Christianity.
We want our medical surgeons to be separated from everything that would hinder his skills as a surgeon, especially when operating on us. (Watching a football game during the surgery.)
We want our airplane pilots to be separated from everything that would hinder his skills as a pilot. (Alcohol).
We want our barber to separate himself from everything that would hinder his cutting our hair properly. (Watching a boxing match while trying to cut my hair.)
Why would we think God would demand less from us?
This matter of separation is a daily discipline and must be rooted in the word of God. I dare not separate myself from something because somebody told me that I needed to separate myself from such a thing. This is Pharisaism and legalism at its worst. I must separate myself from everything that God says for me to separate from. That means I must give myself daily to significant exposure to the Word of God. To meditate upon the Word. To take the Word of God and apply to my life today.
If I am going to heed God’s call upon my life it will demand that I separate myself from everything that would hinder that call.
II. The impact of that call of God upon my
life rests upon obedience. (1:22-23)
“And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the Temple. And he kept making signs to them and remain mute. When his time of service was ended, he went to his home.”
The very key to God’s call in my life is simple obedience. This is not as simple as we might think. Even Zachariah had a hard time believing God’s call upon his life. After all, what God was saying to him was beyond the scope of human possibility. Isn’t that like God?
When it comes to obedience, God is very tolerant toward us. God gave Zachariah what he needed to believe this call upon his life. He did not understand it at first. It did not seem possible from his perspective. But, Zachariah’s obedience to God rested upon his relationship with God.
Obedience is not a one time and then it is over. Obedience is a day-by-day discipline that flows out of my personal relationship with God.
The impact of God’s call upon Zachariah’s life was widespread even down to us today. I am sure Zechariah had no idea the significance that this baby would have in the kingdom of God. His obedience was not resting upon what he understood but rather upon the fact that God said it.
It is interesting to me to note that Zachariah’s obedience to the Lord flowed out of his regular work for the Lord. Zechariah was not sitting in some corner waiting for something to happen. He was about God’s business.
Someone once said that God never calls a lazy man.
If you want something done, ask a busy man.
If you are not busy about the Lord’s business now, the call of God will not come upon your life. What are you doing right now for the Lord?
Obedience is always active never passive.
III. The fruit of God’s call upon a man’s life is the fulfillment of God’s work in a generation. (1:16-17)
“And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
How much of this Zechariah understood, we probably will never know. I think he understood enough of it to realize that he had on his hands a mighty work of God that he could not do in his own strength. In the future, we will look at Zechariah’s prophecy found in verses 67 through 80.
God’s call upon my life and upon your life has a broad perspective. We will never know the total impact of what God is calling us to do at this moment but one day when we see Him face to face we will understand.
Fruit is the result of obedience.
“By their fruit ye shall know them.”
Somebody may say they are Christian but if you look around and find no fruit, you have cause to doubt them. Without fruit, there is no evidence of obedience. Without obedience, there is no evidence of a relationship to God.
Conclusion…
Zechariah was a man God could count on to do a work that the whole world could count on. None of us will have that kind of an opportunity as Zechariah. All of us have an opportunity to be used of God far beyond our capacity and talent.
If you insist on living by your talents, God will let you, but what a life of poverty you will experience.
If you could assess all of your talents and abilities, then bring them all before God as a sacrifice to Him you put yourself in a position to be used by God.
God is not looking for successful people. God is looking for faithfulness and faithfulness is one of the fruits of obedience. Can God really count on you?
For the Christian…
John the Baptist was as effective as he was in God’s work because of his father’s faithfulness and obedience. As a Christian, I need to evaluate my obedience to the Lord.
What did I do this week in obedience to the Word of God?
Remember, that obedience to the Word of God will lead you in the best way of separating ourselves from the world.
What did you do this week to separate yourself from the world?
For the non-Christian…
Here is an opportunity for you to do business with God. Here is an opportunity for you to make sure of your personal relationship to God through Jesus Christ.
Can you honestly say that Jesus Christ is your Lord?
This would be an absolutely wonderful time for you to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life and leads you in the past of obedience to him.
God will never accept second place in your life. Either he is Lord of all, or he is not Lord at all.
