‘INITIATING The TURN’-VI—Luke 1:13b-17(:5-25)
Attention:
Ford Motor Company is remembered for implementing innovative approaches to the assembly-line production of automobiles. The company set many historical milestones beginning in 1903.
[The following innovations are borrowed from ‘Forbes’ Magazine]
1)Ford Motor Company was innovative in, ‘Standardization’:—They ‘Standardized’ automobile parts, so they could be used in multiple models.
2)Ford Motor Company was innovative in ‘Vertical Integration’:—They controlled the entire process of producing cars - from mining the raw materials, to the manufacture of parts, to assembling the finished product.
3)Ford Motor Company was innovative in, ‘Continuous Improvement’:— They regularly analyzed their production methods & made changes to increase quality, efficiency, & reduce waste.
4)Ford Motor Company was innovative in, ‘EMPLOYEE BENEFITS’:—They were one of the first companies to offer its employees benefits, such as health care, pensions, & profit-sharing, which helped to create a loyal & motivated workforce & helped to reduce turnover & absenteeism.
*Ford Motor Company began ‘life’ as innovators. The Company is NOT remembered so much because it HAD ‘great ideas’, but the company is remembered, because it IMPLEMENTED those ‘great ideas.’
*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 series ‘turns’ on Lk. 1:16-17.
Need:
Everyone has a soul-centered need to have an unchanging & eternally lasting peace, certainty, & confidence in their lives...which anyone CAN have...IF they are willing to unconditionally TURN to God, by trusting Christ Jesus, His only-begotten Son.
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)
5. DIVINE COMFORT(:13a)
Today we’ll find that:
6—In Initiating the Turn to Himself, God also uses...
DIVINE PARTNERSHIP(:13b-17)
Explanation:(:13b-17)
:13b—“... & your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, & you shall call his name John.”
Thus “the angel” told “Zacharias” that his wife would indeed bear a son(despite her old age). “The angel” also told Zacharias that he was to name his son John(from Hebrew—‘Yohanan’), meaning—“Jehovah has graced”, OR--“YHWH is a gracious giver.”
Zacharias & Elizabeth’s marriage was a Divine Partnership.
Zacharias & Elizabeth made a godly ‘team’ that was produced thru God’s power.
*God ordained marriage, to be a ‘sustained lifetime partnership’ between a man & a woman, who operate together as one unit, so that by & thru them, God is unashamedly declared.
Through their serving God together as partners in marriage, “John”, known as ‘the Baptist’ would be born. “John” would be raised within the context of godly love & godly lifestyle. “John” would be raised within the boundaries/confines defined by Zacharias & Elizabeth’s intent to honor God in the way they would raise “John.”
Surely this speaks to our society! Surely this encourages us to raise our children in a way that shows them the benefits of trusting & following Christ Jesus. Surely this encourages us to raise our children in a way that shows them the drudgery & slavery that comes with trusting & following the crowd of lost humanity!
:14—““And you will have joy & gladness, & many will rejoice at his birth.”
Zacharias was told by the angel(Gabriel, :19) that as a result of his son, John’s birth, he would have both “joy & gladness”, & that “many” would find cause for “rejoicing” “at his birth.”
That is also to say, that SOME would NOT find reason to “rejoice at” John’s “birth.” Such people would NOT experience the settled “joy & gladness” that only the Lord offers. And unless God reveals it to us, none of us, early on, knows if our children will bring us & others “joy & gladness” in the Lord.
•Consider that John would eventually be imprisoned as a result of his preaching(Mat. 14:3-12).
Mat. 14:3-4—“For Herod had laid hold of John & bound him, & put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Because John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
•Yet John’s bold & daring preaching is what would warrant the “joy”, “gladness”, & “rejoicing” of Zacharias, Elizabeth, & “many” at his birth!
:15—““For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, & shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”
The “joy”, “gladness”, & “rejoicing” would be due to the fact that John would be considered “great” before God/in God’s eyes. John would accept God’s direction for his life. John would fulfill God’s desire. As a result, John would unquestionably receive God’s approval as one who “will be great in the sight of the Lord.”
Even before his birth, ‘John The Baptist’ was recognized by God as someone who would be faithful to boldly immerse himself in God’s desire.
•But though John would be(& was) “great in the sight of the Lord” , consider that even John’s greatness’ would be considered inferior to the least taking part in the order under the New Covenant.
Mat. 11:11—Jesus said of ‘John the Baptist’,—““Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
:15b—“& shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.”
John would NOT be recognized as one who drank “wine” or liquor(“strong drink”)(Mat. 11:18-19).
Mat. 11:18-19—In speaking of the hypocritical ‘spiritual talking heads’ Jesus said,—“For John came neither eating nor drinking, & they say, ‘He has a demon.’ “The Son of Man came eating & drinking, & they say, ‘Look, a glutton & a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors & sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”
Both Zacharias & Elizabeth would have modeled a proper respect for any use of “wine.” For them, “strong drink” would have been non-existent.
John’s restriction from “drinking” “wine” calls attention to the Jewish ‘Nazar-ite’ vow(Num. 6:1-12). Whereas a ‘Nazar-ene’ is someone from the town of ‘Nazareth.’
Num. 6:1-12—“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, & say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, ‘he shall separate himself from wine & similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. ‘All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin. ‘All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the LORD, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow ’All the days that he separates himself to the LORD he shall not go near a dead body. ‘He shall not make himself unclean even for his father or his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. ‘All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the LORD. ‘And if anyone dies very suddenly beside him, & he defiles his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it. ‘Then on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting; ‘& the priest shall offer one as a sin offering & the other as a burnt offering, & make atonement for him, because he sinned in regard to the corpse; & he shall sanctify his head that same day. ‘He shall consecrate to the LORD the days of his separation, & bring a male lamb in its first year as a trespass offering; but the former days shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.”
John’s “lifestyle would be one of temperance, moderation, & self-denial”—MNTC
Likewise, God’s people in Christ, are “NOT” to “be drunk with “wine”(Eph. 5:18). That is because ‘drunkenness’ is the result of “wine’s” effectively being given ‘control’ over a person.
•Among God’s people, ‘total control’ of oneself is to be surrendered to “the” Holy “Spirit.” The Christian is to be “filled with” or controlled by The Holy Spirit, rather than “filled with” or controlled by a ‘mind-altering’ substance.
Eph. 5:18—“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,”
:15c—“He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”
A spectacular work of God would be observed in the son promised to Zacharias & Elizabeth. John would be “filled with the Holy Spirit” “even” while in “his mother” Elizabeth’s “womb.”
?How can this be possible given that faith must precede the Spirit’s indwelling for everyone?...
•John’s ministry, as well as Zacharias’ & Elizabeth’s, is a marvelous, specific, & unique work of God. It is an evidence, a confirmation, & a testimony to the unlimited & pervasive power of God thru the Holy Spirit!
*John the Baptist’s pre-birth reality, testifies to us of the precious worth of every child before birth.
•No ‘in-utero’ child should be ‘discarded’ at the mother’s or father’s will. Tragically, our society & our world at large, considers a ‘pre-birth’ child to be a non-person. And sadly, as ‘non-persons’, the inalienable right of a child to experience continuing life, is forfeited & relegated to the parent’s fleshly whims.
:16—““And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.”
Zacharias is told that his son John, will be considered “great in the sight of the Lord”(:15) due to the fact that his being “filled with the Holy Spirit”(:15), will bring about the return of “many”(but not all) “Israelites” to the true “God.”
This is in answer to the prophecy of Mal. 4:3-6....
•Malachi 4:3-6—“You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do this,” Says the LORD of hosts. “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes & judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great & dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come & strike the earth with a curse.”
And that fulfillment is made plain in our next verse in Luke, :17.
:17—““He will also go before Him in the spirit & power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ & the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.””
‘John The Baptist’ will minister/operate in 2 major ways:
1)His ministry will precede & announce that of Jesus. John’s is another testimony to the deity of Christ.
2)John’s ministry will be exercised/employed “in” the same “spirit & power” as was “Elijah.”
The prophet “Elijah” then & now lives in heaven with God(2Kgs. 2:11; Mat. 17:1-3). He was prophesied to herald the coming of the Day of YHWH(“the Lord”). And immediately prior to that Day, it was prophesied that he would “turn the hearts of the fathers to” their “children” & vice versa (Mal. 4:5-6).
2Kgs. 2:11—“Then it happened, as they[Elijah & Elisha] continued on & talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, & separated the two of them; & Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”
Mat. 17:1-3—“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, & John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; & He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, & His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses & Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.”
And so, Mal. 4:5—God’s people are promised—“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great & dreadful day of the LORD.””
John was NOT ‘physically’ actually “Elijah.” That is “Elijah” did not return to earth as ‘John the Baptist’, yet everything ‘John the Baptist’ was & would do, fulfilled the prophecy regarding “Elijah’s” return.
Mat. 17:10-13—“And His[Jesus’] disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus answered & said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first & will restore all things. “But I say to you that Elijah has come already, & they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.”
Mat. 11:7-15—“As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, & more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’[Mal. 3:1] “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, & the violent take it by force. For all the prophets & the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
:17—.....‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ & the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.””
So, John The Baptist, in the manner of “Elijah”—“in the spirit & power of Elijah”—would likewise “turn” those who were “disobedient”(of Israel), away from their “disobedience” as prophesied.
•That is, thru John’s ministry, “fathers” would ‘repent’ of their sins. And ‘sins of “fathers”’ inevitably end up manifested in their “children.” Consider that “the children” are always those who are taught by “the fathers.”
So these fathers would no longer find their heart’s solace in serving their sinful flesh, but rather their solace would be found in God’s intention for them. Thus their former “disobedience” would be replaced by “the wisdom of the just.”
By-the-way, this hints that “the wisdom” proffered by “disobedience” is only limited to ‘worldly’ “wisdom”, & is never Godly “wisdom.”
The whole purpose of the repentance & transformation among the “people”, beginning in their “hearts”, would be to enable them to be “prepared for the Lord”...To be Awakened!
Before a person can ‘do business’ with God, their “heart” must be “prepared.” God does not accept any belief system but His own! No matter how firmly & devoutly you may hold to a belief, if that belief is not born of God, your devotion to it, is useless & incapable of pleasing God!
Evidently, Israel ‘at large’, was not “ready” for God’s presence among them. Therefore God could not do what He needed to do to bring about their salvation & obedience to Him. God must first turn individual “hearts” away from their current “disobedience.” That is, they would ‘repent of’ their sins.
In order for God to work, He must have a ‘fertile field.’(Mat. 13:8, 23)...He must work in people with a sense of GOD’s “just-ness” or justice—choosing & acting upon ‘right’ versus ‘wrong.’ And that in turn, brings a unique & godly “wisdom”, to a person, enabling them to seek access to God’s will & desire. AND THAT is what makes our United States such a blessing to many. As long as God’s true church is elevated among God’s people, God’s “wisdom” will be available.
Mat. 13:8—Of ‘sowing’ God’s Good News—“But others[seed/Gospel] fell on good ground & yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”.....“But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word & understands it, who indeed bears fruit & produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
Argumentation:
You are never alone in anything, when you do it in the power of God!
Rom. 8:31-39—“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, & furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
?Are you in ‘Partnership’ with God?
1Cor. 10:31—“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
1Cor. 6:17—“But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”
Eph. 4:11-13, 16—“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, & some pastors & teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith & of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;”..... “from whom the whole body, joined & knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
Eph. 2:19-22—“Now, therefore, you[plural-y’all] are no longer strangers & foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints & members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles & prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple[singular] in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
Php. 1:27-28—“Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come & see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you[plural] stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, & not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, & that from God.”
Col. 2:18-19—“Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility & worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, & not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished & knit together by joints & ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.”
3Jn. 1:4-8—“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren & for strangers, who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well, because they went forth for His name’s sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth.”
Consider: ?How many other people were NOT ‘John The Baptist’s’ parents?
•Or: ?How many other people were NOT ‘John The Baptist’ himself?
*YET each them, including yourself, has potential to Partner with God!
*Your ‘Divine Partnership’ with God must carry thru in every aspect of your life—from your thought processes to your every action. And that is so that your personal ‘Divine Partnership’ will join with others with whom you associate & to whom you attach yourself.
Illustration:
•Planted pines—A ‘land owner’ agrees to allow the ‘pine tree provider’(a lumber company) to plant pine seedlings on otherwise idle land. The lumber company has the intent of eventually harvesting mature trees for lumber. In return, the land owner receives from the lumber company, a sizable stipend. DIVINE PARTNERSHIP
•Planning a mission trip. It would be intimidating to strike out on your own. Suppose you know that God is calling you to minister in a country whose language you don’t speak, & whose ways you don’t understand. It is vastly more efficient & useful to make yourself available to an existent ‘Mission group’ who can simply ‘plug-you-in.’ Our Pee Dee Baptist Associational partnership accomplishes such ministry. DIVINE PARTNERSHIP
Application:
?Can God depend on YOUR DIVINE PARTNERSHIP with Him & His Church, to Turn people to Himself?
?Will YOU serve God in ‘initiating the turn?’
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Ford Motor Company is remembered for ‘Implementing’ innovative approaches in the production of automobiles.
Action:
In Initiating the Turning of people to Himself, God uses...
6. DIVINE PARTNERSHIP(:13b-17)
1. RIGHTEOUS FAITHFULNESS(:5-7)
2. PRIVILEGED DUTY(:8-9)
3. CONCERTED & DUTIFUL PRAYER(:10)
4. HEALTHY FEAR(:11-12)
5. DIVINE COMFORT(:13a)
Pt# 6 only! presented 10/29/2023am to:
Salem Baptist Church
1618 Salem Rd.
Bennettsville, SC 29512
