REDEMPTION At HAND-III—Luke 1:67-80
TOUCHING REDEMPTION
Attention:
A man owned a huge warehouse complex in a large city & had trouble leasing it because it was dilapidated & had been vandalized. He decided to sell it. But before he could properly repair it & get it ready to show, a man called immediately wanting to look over the property. The owner hesitantly agreed.
As they were looking over the property, & at every turn, the owner kept apologizing for the sad shape of the building & promised to have this, that, or the other thing repaired.
Finally the prospective buyer turned to the owner & said, “Please sir, you don’t need to repair anything here. I’ll give you top dollar for the property as is. It’s the perfect site & size for our business. We are going to demolish the building & build something completely new & perfectly useful for our business!”
Self-help is as useless as making repairs to a dilapidated building slated for demolition.
God wants the “site” & permission to build something perfectly useful for His business!
REDEEM—To purchase or exchange in order to make something/someone what it should be...with continuously lasting results from a point in time forward.
God initiated the redemption of His people thru John’s birth.
Redemption is touched/at hand thru God’s visitation.
When is/was God’s redemption realized?
Signs that God’s redemption is at hand.
Previously we had found that Redemption is at hand when God initiates/gives...
1. INSIGHT(:67)
2. BLESSING(:68a)
3. PRESENCE(:68b)
4. STRENGTH(:69)
5—Redemption is at hand when God initiates/gives...
WATCHMEN(:70)
Explanation:(:70)
:70—“As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began,”
or rather... “As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who...since the world began, salvation from...”
The promise had come thru the prophets of the Old Testament. The nature of the salvation would be expressed as salvation from Israel’s enemies. However the enemies which Israel acquires are enemies against God...i.e., when Israel is truly living according to God’s perfect will. Israel’s sin would acquire for them many more enemies opposing Israel’s fleshly pursuits.
There has never been a time when God did not leave Himself a witness....Some special revelation & some general revelation.
Special Revelation:
2Chron. 36:15—“And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early & sending them, because He had compassion on His people & on His dwelling place.”
Jer. 7:25-26—““Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early & sending them. Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.”
General Revelation:
Rom. 1:18-23—“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness & unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power & Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, & their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, & changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--& birds & four-footed animals & creeping things.”
“Holy”—agiov—Adj.—1) Most holy thing, a saint. Agiov has probably as its fundamental meaning separation, i.e., from the world to God's service. If not the original meaning, this at any rate is a meaning early in use. This separation, however, is not chiefly external, it is rather a separation from evil & defilement. The moral signification of the word is therefore the prominent one. This word, rare & of neutral meaning in classical Greek, has been developed in meaning, so that it expresses the full N.T. conception of holiness as no other does. Strong—sacred(physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated).
“Prophets”—profhthv—) in Greek writings, an interpreter of oracles or of other hidden things; 2) One who, moved by the Spirit of God & hence his organ or spokesman, solemnly declares to men what he has received by inspiration, especially concerning future events, & in particular such as relate to the cause & kingdom of God & to human salvation; 3) A poet(because poets were believed to sing under divine inspiration). Strong—A foreteller("prophet"); by analogy--An inspired speaker; by extension--A poet:-- prophet.
From—pro—a primary preposition; “Fore”, i.e. in front of, prior (figuratively--Superior)to—&—fhmi—To show or make known one's thoughts, i.e. Speak or say.
“Since the world began/From of old/In ancient times”—aiwn—1) For ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity; 2) The worlds, universe; 3) Period of time, age. Aiwn is usually better expressed by age, it is the world at a given time, a particular period in the world's history. Kosmov has very frequently an unfavorable meaning, denoting the inhabitants of the world, mankind in general, as opposed to God. A similar meaning is often attached to aiwn, it means the spirit of the age, often in an unfavorable sense. Strong—properly--An age; by extension--Perpetuity (also past); by implication--The world; specially(Jewish)--A Messianic period(present or future).
Argumentation:
**Col. 1:18-23—“And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, & by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated & enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, & blameless, & above reproach in His sight-- if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded & steadfast, & are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
The presence of the Church assumes an ‘evangelical’(good news) church...A Church with the good news of God’s message in Christ.
**2Cor. 5:18-6:1—“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, & has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, & has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.”
If there is no need to spread the Good News, then why is it vital that we know Jesus has come?!...then our behavior only will change & that of the world so that this world will become Christian.
Ezek. 33:1-20—“Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, & say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, & the people of the land take a man from their territory & make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet & warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet & does not take warning, if the sword comes & takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming & does not blow the trumpet, & the people are not warned, & the sword comes & takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’ “So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth & warn them for Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ & you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, & he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions & our sins lie upon us, & we pine away in them, how can we then live?”’ “Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way & live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’ “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’ [:13]“When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness & commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die. [:14]“Again, when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin & does what is lawful & right, [:15]“if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, & walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. [:16]None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful & right; he shall surely live. “Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the LORD is not fair.’ “But it is their way which is not fair! When the righteous turns from his righteousness & commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. But when the wicked turns from his wickedness & does what is lawful & right, he shall live because of it. “Yet you say, ‘The way of the LORD is not fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways.””
**Rom. 10:13-17—“For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So then faith comes by hearing, & hearing by the word of God.”
**1Tim 2:1-4—“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, & giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings & all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet & peaceable life in all godliness & reverence. For this is good & acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved & to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Illustration:
I’ve noticed some guys riding around town in an official Carrabelle city 4-wheeler/They are always looking around for certain things/Every once-in-a-while they’ll stop & get out of the 4-wheeler/They’ll get back in & take off looking for more to do/They cruise the city looking for trash/Trash ‘picker-uppers’/WATCHMEN
Application:
?Is Redemption at-hand thru God’s WATCHMEN in you?
?Your Redemption at-hand in Jesus?
6—Redemption is at hand when God initiates/gives...
FULFILLMENT(:71-74a-b)
Explanation:(:71-74a-b)Removal/Mercy
:71—“That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us.”
God’s salvation will engulf/encompass any & all who despise/oppose God’s people.
Zacharias wanted others to know that the birth of his son John signaled that the Lord had visited His people Israel.
Thru John’s birth & thus the certainty of Jesus’ birth, God had already accomplished redemption for those whom He calls His own.
Not that the redemption had been brought to fruition but that the redemption had been set in motion by John’s birth.
Thru God’s visitation, unalterable things had been set in motion which would, with absolute certainty, accomplish the redemption so much so that it could be spoken of as already haven taken place. John’s birth & physical presence is the sign of the certainty of the Savior’s presence & work.
“Salvation”(See :69)—swthria—Noun Fem.—1) Deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation; 2) Salvation as the present possession of all true Christians; 3) Future salvation, the sum of benefits & blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated & eternal kingdom of God. Strong—feminine of a derivative of swthr[Deliverer] as (properly, abstract)noun; Rescue or safety(physically or morally).
“Enemies”(See :74)—ecyrov—Adj.—1) Hated, odious, hateful; 2) Hostile, hating, & opposing another. Strong—from a primary ecyw(to hate); Hateful (passively--Odious, or actively--Hostile); usually as a noun, An adversary(especially Satan).
“Hate”—misew—Present Active Participle—1) To hate, pursue with hatred, detest; 2) To be hated, detested. Strong—from a primary misov(hatred); To detest(especially to persecute); by extension--To love less.
:72—“To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant,”
The salvation will be an act of mercy on God’s part exacted for the sake of:
1)The spiritual ancestors.
2)God’s own holy covenant.
Jn. 4:22—[Jesus to the Samaritan woman at the well]“You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.”
“Mercy”—eleov—1) Mercy: kindness or good will towards the miserable & the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them. Eleov manifests itself chiefly in acts rather than words. Strong—Compassion(human or divine, especially active).
:73—“The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:”
The holy covenant in question is that which God enacted with Abraham by his oath. Abraham is the ‘father’ of the nation of Israel(God’s people).
Gen. 12:1-3—“Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Gal. 3:8-9, 14, 26-29—“And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.”.....“that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”.....“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, & heirs according to the promise.”
“Oath”—orkov—Noun Masc.—1) That which has been pledged or promised with an oath. Strong—from erkov(a fence; perhaps akin to 3725); A limit, i.e. sacred--Restraint, specifically--An oath. Used 10X.
“Swore”—omnuw—Aorist Active Indicative—1) To swear; 2) To affirm, promise, threaten, with an oath; 3) in swearing--To call a person or thing as witness, to invoke, swear by. Strong—a prolonged form of a primary but obsolete omw, for which another prolonged form(omow) is used in certain tenses; To swear, i.e. Take(or declare on) oath.
:74—“To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,”
The stipulation of the holy covenant was for the “deliverance” of Israel from her “enemies.”[cf. :71]
God is the Grantor of “deliverance” in every instance.
“Grant/Give”—didwmi—Verb—1) To give; 2) To give something to someone—; 3) To give—3a) To cause, profuse, give forth from one's self—; 4) To grant or permit one—4a) To commission. Didwmi denotes “to give” in general, opposite to lambanw “to take”; dwreomai specific, “to bestow, present”; didwmi might be used even of evils, but dwreomai could be used of such things only ironically. Strong—a prolonged form of a primary verb (which is used as an alternative in most of the tenses); To give(used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figuratively; greatly modified by the connection).
“Enemies”(See :71)—ecyrov—Adj.—1) Hated, odious, hateful; 2) Hostile, hating, & opposing another. Strong—from a primary ecyw(to hate); Hateful (passively--Odious, or actively--Hostile); usually as a noun, An adversary(especially Satan).
“Delivered”—ruomai—Aorist Passive Participle—1) To draw to one's self, to rescue, to deliver; 2) The deliverer. Strong—middle voice of an obsolete verb, akin to rew[To flow] (through the idea of a current; compare rusiv[A flux(of blood)]); To rush or draw(for oneself), i.e. Rescue. Used 18X.
Argumentation:
**2Sam. 22:2-8, 14-17—“And he said: “The LORD is my rock & my fortress & my deliverer; The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield & the horn of my salvation, My stronghold & my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. ‘When the waves of death surrounded me, The floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry entered His ears. Then the earth shook & trembled; The foundations of heaven quaked & were shaken, Because He was angry.”.....“The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice. He sent out arrows & scattered them; Lightning bolts, & He vanquished them. Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered, At the rebuke of the LORD, At the blast of the breath of His nostrils. He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters.”
**Mat. 5:33-37—“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ “But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; “nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ & your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”
Js. 5:12—“But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes,” be “Yes,” & your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.”
**Mat. 13:24-30—“Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came & sowed tares among the wheat & went his way. But when the grain had sprouted & produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came & said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go & gather them up?’ “But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, & at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares & bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
**1Tim 2:1-4—“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, & giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings & all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet & peaceable life in all godliness & reverence. For this is good & acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved & to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
**Jn. 17:11-16—“Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, & I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; & none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to You, & these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; & the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”
**Rev. 14:14-20—“Then I looked, & behold, a white cloud, & on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, & in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle & reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, & the earth was reaped. Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, & he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle & gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth & gathered the vine of the earth, & threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, & blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.”
Illustration:
At Christmas a family tradition is to bake Sausage Balls/They consist of: Extra Sharp Cheddar--‘Hot’ Fresh Sausage--Bisquick(or the equivalent)--Cayenne--Crushed Red Pepper/Most of these ingredients are not palatable in-&-of themselves...But IF they are combined with each other, rolled into bite-sized balls & baked at 350ยบ for 20-25 min., THEN they are delicious!/FULFILLMENT
Application:
?Is Redemption at-hand thru God’s FULFILLMENT in you?
?Your Redemption at-hand in Jesus?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Demolishing the dilapidated warehouse in order to build something useful to the new owner.
Action:
Redemption is at hand when God initiates/gives...
5. WATCHMEN(:70)
6. FULFILLMENT(:71-74a-b)
1. INSIGHT(:67)
2. BLESSING(:68a)
3. PRESENCE(:68b)
4. STRENGTH(:69)
Pts. 5-6 presented 01/03/2016pm to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE(SE Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
