‘INITIATING The TURN’-V—Luke 1:13a(:5-25)
Attention:
Our youngest son, has always been sport’s minded. In high school he played football, threw shot-put, dabbled in wrestling, & played rugby in college.
‘Game day’ is very different for ‘throwing shot-put’ than it is for ‘football.’ In shot-put, there IS an ‘overall’ team effort. However, there is no team involvement other than encouragement. The effort is centered on the ability of the individual thrower. He literally gets ‘one shot’ to get it right, & beat the other individual’s throw.
His participation for the team is expected. He is expected to honor the school team when it is ‘his turn.’
He trains constantly. He anticipates his opportunity.
He has only 60-seconds to throw one shot.
And he has only three overall rotations, to put his absolute best ‘on-the-line’ with one throw in each rotation.
No one else can throw for him. No teammate can ‘take up the slack.’ The stress is intense & palpable. Because if he fails, it is solely upon him as an individual. If he has a ‘bad day’, it’s on him alone. If he has a great day, he gets the recognition by others!
He must not only be prepared, BUT he must also ‘put’ the ‘shot’ at the appropriate time & in the appropriate manner.
*Preparation is useless without ‘INITIATING’ the necessary process!
Likewise, God accomplished the promised ‘turning of people’ to Himself, by INITIATING the actions that were necessary to bring about mankind’s eventual salvation & glorification in Christ Jesus(Eph. 1:6-8, 13-14; Rom. 8:17-21, 30; Heb. 2:9).
*The title of this sermon ‘turns’ on Lk. 1:16-17. ‘INITIATING The TURN’-V—Luke 1:13a-??(:5-25)
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?
12 principles God used to begin turning people toward Himself.
So far in Luke’s Gospel, we have 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)
4. HEALTHY FEAR(:11-12)
Today we’ll find that:
5—In Initiating the Turn to Himself, God also uses...
DIVINE COMFORT(:13a)
Explanation:(:13a)
:13a—“But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard;...”
“But the angel” counteracted “Zacharias’” “fear” by verbally assuring him that he had “no” need to “be afraid.”
The direct command from God to “Fear not” OR “Do not be afraid” appears over 100 times in Scripture!
In fact “Zacharias’” “fear” was ‘technically’ inappropriate, given that the angel’s appearance had come about in answer to “Zacharias’” own desire, that he had expressed thru “prayer.”
•It’s easy for us with 20/20 hindsight to criticize “Zacharias.”
“Zacharias’” “prayer”, ‘MAY’ HAVE BEEN very personal. That is, “Zacharias” ‘MAY’ have petitioned YHWH so that he & Elizabeth would have at least one child/son together, seeing as she was barren(:7).
•However, such a prayer request would have been odd, given that “Zacharias” considered himself to be “old” & his wife to be “well advanced in years”(:18), HOWEVER.....
However, it is MORE LIKELY, in light of “Zacharias’” current priestly duty of burning the incense in the temple(:9), that “Zacharias” was praying for God to bring about the fulfillment of His promise to Israel. IF that is the case, THEN “Zacharias’” “prayer”, was for God to bring about Israel’s salvation & restoration within the confines of the perfections of God’s righteousness & holiness(Jer. 23:5-6).
•An example of ‘praying for Israel’ is in Lk. 2:25, at Jesus’ being officiallly ‘presented to the Lord’, some 41 days after His birth(Lev. 12:2-4):
•Lk. 2:25—“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, & this man was just & devout, waiting for the Consolation[paraklhsiv] of Israel, & the Holy Spirit was upon him.”...
•Incidentally, “The Holy Spirit” is also known as the paraklhtov—the Counselor, or Consoler, or Comforter, or One who lovingly comes alongside another.
*God had INDEED ‘INITIATED’ “the consolation of Israel.” Israel’s salvation & restoration would come in righteousness & holiness. And it would be realized or arrive in it’s fullness, thru the ministry of John the Baptist, as his ministry would play directly into the ministry of Jesus the Son of God.
*Regardless of the exact nature of “Zacharias’” prayer, the angel comforted/‘consoled’ “Zacharias” by telling him “your prayer is heard.”
Knowing that your “prayer is heard” by God, is enough to strengthen your faith. It secures for the one that is praying, the expectation that God’s involvement brings His power ‘to’, ‘in’, & ‘over’ our circumstance.
And knowing that your “prayer is heard” by God, strengthens your personal faith, despite the exact manner in which you may have envisioned it happening, or the manner in which you ‘expected’ it to occur!
*1Jn. 5:14-15—“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
When is the last time that you were certain that your prayer would be answered by God?
Consider this:
Imagine your ‘right hand’ gets caught in a machine at work, so that you no longer have that hand. You pray, ‘Lord, please restore my hand to me.’ The technology is available for you to have a prosthesis, or maybe a mechanical hand, or even a donor hand. The ‘decision’ as to how you are to approach your loss, may be answered in different ways for different people.
•Do you fall prey to the medical & engineering community’s technical abilities? OR have you instead trusted God’s wisdom & abilities to overcome what you ‘SUPPOSE’ are new obstacles? Perhaps God will use your ‘handless-ness’ to reach a particular person or group of persons with the Gospel!
Argumentation:
Josh. 1:1-9—“After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you & all this people, to the land which I am giving to them--the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness & this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, & to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong & of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong & very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day & night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, & then you will have good success. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong & of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.””
Lk. 24:36-37—“Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, & said to them, “Peace to you.” But they were terrified & frightened, & supposed they had seen a spirit.”
Judges 6:22-23—“...So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face.” Then the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.”
•w/ only 300 men, Gideon, defeated the Midianites.
Heb. 4:15-16—“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy & find grace to help in time of need.”
2Cor. 1:3-7—“Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies & God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation & salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation & salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.”
Isa. 59:1-2—“Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”
Mat. 28:1-6—“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. But the angel answered & said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.””
Illustration:
*A young woman who is blessed to be a ‘stay-at-home-Mom.’ She is charged with, & expected to trust her husband to ‘bring-home-the-bacon’ as it were, while she manages the entire household in his daily absence! That’s a potentially frightening responsibility, particularly in our American society today, because we’ve gone off the rails, as far as honoring God’s word goes! She knows that she is an integral part of God’s intended plan for her family. Such a wife, mother, & homemaker draws strength & COMFORT from God & His Word, rather than from societal norms.
•A person shooting a gun for the first time. Charged with the operation of a potentially dangerous instrument. Dad &/or Mom offer the COMFORT of their wise direction. God is your heavenly Father
•A son or daughter charged with mowing the yard for the first time. Charged with the operation of a potentially dangerous vehicle. Dad &/or Mom offer the COMFORT of their wise direction.
Application:
?Can God depend on YOUR DIVINE COMFORT to Turn people to Himself?
?Will YOU serve God in ‘initiating the turn?’
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Our son’s ‘shot-put’ days...
*Preparation is useless without ‘INITIATING’ the process!
For God to accomplish the process of ‘turning of people’ to Himself, He had to INITIATE the actions that would fulfill the promise.
Action:
In Initiating the Turning of people to Himself, God uses...
5. DIVINE COMFORT(:13a)
1. RIGHTEOUS FAITHFULNESS(:5-7)
2. PRIVILEGED DUTY(:8-9)
3. CONCERTED & DUTIFUL PRAYER(:10)
4. HEALTHY FEAR(:11-12)
Pt#s 5 only! presented 10/22/2023am to:
Salem Baptist Church
1618 Salem Rd.
Bennettsville, SC 29512
