“A Life-Changing Vessel of God!”
Luke 1:58-66
Douglas – Gaelic origin . . . from the black stream, ranked 598th in popularity in the US today . . . but was ranked 30th in 1959 when I was born
Deborah – Hebrew origin . . . Bee . . . most famously used in the Bible, the fourth prophet, and, though ranked 753rd in the US in popularity today, it was ranked 9th the year Debbie was born
Stephanie – Greek origin . . . crowned in victory, 205th most popular name in the US, but was the 8th most popular name for girls born in 1989
Colin – also has a Gaelic origin . . . and means young pup . . . but also means victorious people, and 140th among male names in the US, up from 153 in 1984.
Makenzie – Scottish origin . . . with the spelling as it is, it means beautiful, and is currently the 181st most popular name in the US
Anyone who has a computer, the internet, and Google can find this same information . . . I used two primary websites . . . Wikipedia, and “Behind the Name.”
That brings us to our text this morning . . .
Luke 1:57-66
57 Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.
59 And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father. 60 But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they were all astonished. 64 And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. 65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.
BACKGROUND:
In the day of Jesus . . . and John the Baptist, when a boy was born . . .
It was a cause for great celebration
At the time of birth friends and musicians gathered near the house
When it was announced that it was a boy the musicians broke out into song
There was universal congratulations and rejoicing
And, in Elizabeth’s house there was double joy . . . because she gave birth at such an old age
On the 8th day the boy was circumcised and received his name
In Palestine names were very descriptive
Generally carried the significance of the circumstances surrounding the family at the time
o Esau and Jacob . . . Jacob’s name signified a baby boy who had grasped the heel of his brother as Esau was born first . . . and, came to be significant much later when Jacob took Esau’s birth-rite and blessing
Sometimes it described the child himself . . .
o Laban . . . meant blonde or white
It often described the parents joy . . .
o Saul and Samuel both mean “asked for”
Finally, sometimes it was a declaration of the parent’s faith
o Elijah means “Jehovah is my God!”
That might help us understand the confusion that came when Elizabeth, followed by Zacharias, declared that the baby’s name would be JOHN.
Now, it should be noted that John was short from the name Jehohanan, which means Jehovah’s gift, or God is gracious, but that is NOT why he was named John.
He was named John because God instructed them to do so.
You might guess that, when this news got out, it raised the question . . . as seen in our passage . . . “What will this child turn out to be, for the hand of the Lord is with him?”
I spent the week in Phoenix, Arizona, on a bench marking trip for Duke Energy. If you like the afternoon temperature around 110oF and scenery like desert, you would have loved this place. Every day we drove 1 hour and 15 minutes out into the desert to get to the Palo Verde Nuclear Station for our bench mark.
Anyway, one afternoon, a couple of us were sitting next to one of the pools at the place we were staying, and struck up a conversation with a man, who I would say was around 25 years old . . . very well groomed and very well dressed.
Turns out he and his dad were there to play golf, and check out the family business he was born into.
It didn’t take long to realize that this young man . . . as nice and cordial as he was . . . was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Contrast to that . . . after about the first hour on the interstate, to get to the plant you have to get off on this two-lane road, and all along the road are beat up trailers, just sitting in the middle of the desert . . . there are no yards . . . as we know them . . . no grass . . . just the trailer, sand, rock, and that is it.
I can’t imagine what it must be like to be born into that situation, and grow up in a trailer, when the temperature is 118oF, as it was the week before we got there.
What a disparity!
So, does it really come down to the life we are born into that determines our destiny? Must it be so that a child in Brunswick County, born into welfare, is bound to be a slave to welfare? Or, a child born into a Godless home has no chance of finding God?
WATCH THIS VIDEO . . . It speaks for itself . . . (Video of the merchant who pays for medicine of a boy that has just stolen it from a nearby merchant. In addition, he gives him a bag of dried goods to make soup).
This is the message I believe God wants us to hear this morning:
1. He calls us to CHANGE one LIFE at a time.
a. According to 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, the HOLY SPIRIT is the LIFE CHANGER.
b. We are the VESSELS from which God uses to BRING ABOUT CHANGE!
2. To be a LIFE CHANGER, we must:
a. Be CONSISTENT in our WALK
b. Be CONSISTENT in our TALK
c. Not SQUANDER OPPORTUNITIES to be USED
d. Be PREPARED in SEASON and out of SEASON
e. KNOW what it takes for one to be SAVED . . . BORN AGAIN
THE ABC’s OF SALVATION:
ADMIT
Admit you have sinned. Tell God what you have done, be sorry for it and be willing to quit.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
BELIEVE
Believe God loves you and sent His Son, Jesus, to save you from your sins. Accept the forgiveness God offers you.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
CLAIM
Claim Jesus as your Savior. Acknowledge God's forgiveness, respond with love, and follow Jesus.
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13).
And, if you get hung up . . . look on the church’s website . . . under salvation!
“The 1989 Armenian earthquake needed only four minutes to flatten the nation and kill thirty thousand people. Moments after that deadly tremor ceased, a father raced to an elementary school to save his son. When he arrived, he saw that the building had been leveled. Looking at the mass of stones and rubble, he remembered a promise he had made to his child: “No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you.” Driven by his own promise, he found the area closest to his son’s room and began to pull back the rocks. Other parents arrived and began sobbing for their children. “It’s too late,” they told the man. “You know they are dead. You can’t help.” Even a police officer encouraged him to give up.
But the father refused. For eight hours, then sixteen, then thirty-two, thirty-six hours he dug. His hands were raw and his energy gone, but he refused to quit. Finally, after thirty-eight wrenching hours, he pulled back a boulder and heard his son’s voice. He called his boy’s name, “Arman! Arman!” And a voice answered him, “Dad, it’s me!” Then the boy added these priceless words, “I told the other kids not to worry. I told them if you were alive, you’d save me, and when you saved me, they’d be saved, too. Because you promised, ‘No matter what, I’ll always be there for you.’””
It is that kind of resolve we need when it comes to those around us, that we have the God-given chance to be the vessel from which God will change their lives! So determined, that when everyone else has given up, we keep digging . . . we keep teaching . . . we keep walking . . . we keep talking . . . we keep living a life from which ONE . . . IN THIS MOMENT . . . just ONE life will be changed!
An umpire named Babe Pinelli once called Babe Ruth out on strikes. When the crowd booed with sharp disapproval at the call, the legendary Ruth turned to the umpire with disdain and said, "There’s 40,000 people here who know that the last pitch was ball, tomato head."
Suspecting that the umpire would erupt with anger, the coaches and players braced themselves for Ruth’s ejection.
However, the cool headed Pinelli replied, "Maybe so, Babe, but mine is the only opinion that counts."
In the end, when this life is past, we will ALL AFFIRM that God is and was ALWAYS RIGHT! His opinion is the only one that counts . . .
Acts 4:12 (NASB)
12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
OUTLINE:
This is the message I believe God wants us to hear this morning:
1. He calls us to C_________ one L_______ at a time.
a. According to 2 Cor. 3:17-18, the H______ S________ is the L______ C_____________.
b. We are the V__________ from which God uses to B_______ A________ C____________!
2. To be a L________ C_____________, we must:
a. Be C________________ in our W_______
b. Be C_______________ in our T_________
c. Not S______________ O_________________ to be U_________
d. Be P_______________ in S___________ and out of S_____________
e. K__________ what it takes for one to be S____________ . . . B_______ A__________
THE ABC’s OF SALVATION:
A_________
A____________ you have sinned. Tell God what you have done, be sorry for it and be willing to quit.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
B_________.
B______________ God loves you and sent His Son, Jesus, to save you from your sins. Accept the forgiveness God offers you.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
C_________
C______________ Jesus as your Savior. Acknowledge God's forgiveness, respond with love, and follow Jesus.
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13).
