‘INITIATING The TURN’-IV—Luke 1:11-12(:5-25)
Attention:
For me personally as your ‘preacher’, today is ‘game day’, & now is my reckoning hour:
My preaching is expected. It’s ‘my turn’ as it were.
I’ve been anticipating this opportunity.
I must approach it at the proper time.
I must be prepared for the arrival of my time ‘at bat’ or ‘on the line.’
*Preparation is useless without ‘INITIATING’ the necessary process!
Likewise, for God to accomplish the promised ‘turning of people’ to Himself, He had to INITIATE the actions that were necessary to bring about mankind’s eventual salvation & glorification in Christ Jesus(Rom. 8:17-21, 30).
*The title of this sermon ‘turns’ on Lk. 1:16-17.
Need:
Everybody has a need to have an unchanging & eternally lasting peace, certainty, & confidence in their lives...which anyone CAN have...IF...
...IF a person is willing to TURN to God, by unconditionally trusting the Christ of God, Jesus of Nazareth.
Over 2000 years ago, God ‘INITIATED’ that TURN toward Himself, thru a Jewish couple in Israel whose names were Zacharias & Elizabeth.
Luke informed his audience of the initial steps that God took to turn His people toward Himself.
God began the process of turning of His people toward Himself.
And we are answering the question...
...What principles does God use to begin turning people toward Himself?
11 principles God used & uses to begin turning people toward Himself.
The last time we looked in Luke, we found that:
In initiating the Turn to Himself, God uses...
1. RIGHTEOUS FAITHFULNESS(:5-7)
2. PRIVILEGED DUTY(:8-9)
3. CONCERTED & DUTIFUL PRAYER(:10)
Today we’ll find that:
4—In Initiating the Turn to Himself, God also uses...
HEALTHY FEAR(:11-12)
Explanation:(:11-12)
:11—“Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.”
Inside at the altar of incense, “an angel of the Lord”(“Gabriel”—:19) “appeared to” Zacharias. The “angel” stood to the right “of the altar of incense.”
This “altar of incense” was centered in the Holy Place opposite the entrance & against the ornate veil/curtain, that separated ‘the Holy of Holies’ from ‘the Holy Place.’ The Holy Place also contained the Table of Showbread & the Lampstand(menorah).
:12—“And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, & fear fell upon him.”
Zacharias was “troubled”/‘disquieted’/‘stirred inwardly’ at the mere presence of the angel.
•‘Suddenly’ being in the presence of an angel in their ‘native’ form, would be a truly overwhelming experience.
•Such an experience would make a person—mere flesh & blood—realize their innate physical weakness. In the face of such authority/power anyone would immediately recognize their own inabilities. And that recognition would rightly call for our submission.
•As a result, “fear” naturally ‘gripped’ Zacharias. “Fear fell upon him” paints a picture of Zacharias’ being somewhat helpless to avoid “fear” in any way. The “angel of the Lord” appeared to Zacharias UNEXPECTEDLY.
•Ironically, I think that much of the time when we pray, we really don’t expect God to ‘show up.’ When He does, it is similarly shocking but also thrilling.
•The same thing happened at the tomb where Jesus was buried...
Mark 16:1-5—“Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, & Salome bought spices, that they might come & anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away--for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; & they were alarmed[ekyambew].”
‘Though God does NOT make[bring about] these appearances to MAKE us fearful, yet such is the ‘imbecility’ of our natures, that we cannot but be shy at them, & are taken aback by them when they occur.’—Matthew Poole(1700-AD)[my emphasis]
“Troubled/Startled”—tarassw—1Aorist Passive Indicative - 3rd Sing.—1) To agitate, trouble(a thing, by the movement of its parts to & fro)—1a) To cause one inward commotion, take away his calmness of mind, disturb his equanimity, 1b) To disquiet, make restless, 1c) To stir up, 1d) To trouble—1d1) To strike one's spirit with fear & dread, 1e) To render anxious or distressed, 1f) To perplex the mind of one by suggesting scruples or doubts. Strong—of uncertain affinity; To stir or agitate(roll water). Used 17X.
“Fear”—fobov—Noun Nominative Sing. Masc.—1) Fear, dread, terror—1a) That which strikes terror; 2) Reverence for one's husband. Strong—from a primary febomai(to be put in fear); Alarm or fright. English = ‘Phobia’
Argumentation:(Regarding Angels)
Heb. 1:14—Of the angels—“Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”
Ezek. 1:5-14; 10:20—of ‘cherubim’-per Ezek. 10:1-20—“Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. Each one had four faces, & each one had four wings. Their legs were straight, & the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished bronze. The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; & each of the four had faces & wings. Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, & each of the four had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, & two covered their bodies. And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, & they did not turn when they went. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back & forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, & out of the fire went lightning. And the living creatures ran back & forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning.”..... “This is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel by the River Chebar, & I knew they were cherubim. Each one had four faces & each one four wings, & the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. And the likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance & their persons. They each went straight forward.”
Mat. 28:1-4—After Jesus’ resurrection—“Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene & the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, & came & rolled back the stone from the door, & sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, & his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, & became like dead men.”
Rev. 10:1, 3—“I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, & his feet like pillars of fire.”.....“& cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars...”
*Though angels are imposing & powerful creatures, they are all God’s loyal ministers(Heb. 1:6, 7, 14)...
Gal. 1:6-8—“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you & want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”
Some angel facts:
*The outward ‘form’/‘appearance’ of angels seems to be ‘changeable.’... OR it ‘MAY BE’ that their outward ‘appearance’ is limited to the specific ‘kind’ of angel under consideration(cherubim, seraphim, named or otherwise)....OR the outward ‘form’/‘appearance’ of angels ‘MAY BE’ due to both created ‘ability’ as well as ‘kind.’
•Angels are normally ‘invisible’ to human eyes unless their particular assignment may require them to “appear” to men(as with Zacharias).
•Angels appear to be ranked ‘hierarchically’—as there is an ‘archangel’(‘Michael’-Jude :9). There are other “chief princes” who actively battle “princes” of nations(Dan. 10:13, 20—‘Michael’, et al).
•Angels are also recognized by their specific role or function in God’s service (Rev. 16:5).
•Some angels are charged with oversight of individual nations(Dan. 10:20).
•Some angels are announcers of specific works of God(Lk. 1:13, 19, 26; Lk. 2:9-13; Mat. 28:2-7).
•There are seven angels who stand before God(Rev. 8:2).
•Angels will be responsible for ‘actively’ casting people into the furnace/lake of fire, who have been judged wicked. Thus the wicked people will be removed from the presence of righteous people(Mat. 13:41-43).
•Jesus taught that the existence & activities of angels is real.
•Angels will accompany Christ when He returns to earth(Mat. 25:31).
**There are also Evil angels(Mat. 25:41), that wield various ‘authorities’ in the world. These are described as “principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness, & spiritual hosts of wickedness” with whom humanity continually “wrestles”(Eph. 6:12).
The everlasting fire of Hell was prepared specifically for the devil(himself an angel-cf.-Ezek. 28:13-17) & his angels(Mat. 25:41).
Argumentation:('Healthy Fear')
•If you are so arrogant as to NOT be “troubled” &/or “fearful” in the presence of such a display of God’s power, then you have foolishly elevated your human abilities above that of God!
*A ‘Healthy Fear’ of angels CAN & SHOULD equate to a ‘Healthy Fear’ of the Lord!
Prov. 15:33—“The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is humility.”
Prov. 14:27—“The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.”
Ps. 103:13—“As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him.”
Ps. 112:1—“Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who delights greatly in His commandments.”
Having said that, Unfortunately, many people have a “fear of the Lord” based on ignorance! That kind of weakened “fear” is based on false, confused, & subjective assumptions!...
•Their ‘uninformed’ & thus lessened “fear” is enough to cause them to “tremble” in God’s presence(Js. 2:19), only because they recognize that ‘God’ is more powerful than themselves. HOWEVER, that ‘uninformed’ “fear” aroused in ‘ignorance’, is NOT enough to cause such people to TRUST the so-called ‘Lord’ that they subjectively “fear.”
•Js. 2:19—“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--& tremble!”
Illustration:
We teach our children & grandchildren to have a ‘healthy fear’ of lots of things:
•Moving vehicles—A vehicle can take a person wherever they need to go. BUT if approached wrongly, can maim or kill a person!
•Hot Stove—The heat can cook dinner, or burn a person severely!
•Lawn Mower—The blades cut the grass & keep our yards looking neat & tidy. BUT if approached wrongly, can maim or kill a person!
*P.S.—please don’t use a lawnmower as a fun ride for your grandchildren!
And the same goes for Knives, Scissors, etc.
*We absolutely MUST also teach our children & grandchildren to have a ‘healthy fear’ of God in Christ Jesus!
Application:
?Can God depend on YOUR HEALTHY FEAR to Turn people to Himself?
?Will YOU serve God in ‘initiating the turn?’
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
‘Game Day’—*Preparation is useless without ‘INITIATING’ the process!
For God to accomplish the promised ‘turning of people’ to Himself, He had to INITIATE the actions that were necessary for ‘the turning’ to happen.
Action:
In Initiating the Turning of people to Himself, God uses...
4. HEALTHY FEAR(:11-12)
1. RIGHTEOUS FAITHFULNESS(:5-7)
2. PRIVILEGED DUTY(:8-9)
3. CONCERTED & DUTIFUL PRAYER(:10)
Pt# 4 only! presented 10/08/2023am to:
Salem Baptist Church
1618 Salem Rd.
Bennettsville, SC 29512
