WOULD YOU JUST ANSWER ME!
Luke 1:13 (5-17)
S: Prayer
Th: We have reason to rejoice!
Pr: WE REJOICE IN A GOD WHO ANSWERS.
?: Inductive (How?)
KW: Responses
TS: We will find in our study of Zechariah how God responds to our prayers.
The ____ way God responds is…
I. UNEXPECTEDLY
II. PERSONALLY
III. COMPLETELY
Version: ESV
RMBC 01 Dec 02 AM
INTRODUCTION:
You know, it is the time of the year that you have to be prepared.
Are you?
1. Are you prepared for the wait?
Ed Watt was visiting a local department store with his wife, and they had just purchased a piece of luggage and a cooler. As Ed browsed in the shoe depart-ment waiting for his wife to finish the rest of her shopping, a clerk asked if he could be of assistance.
“No, thank you," Ed replied. “I’m just wait-ing for my wife."
At that point, a man behind him said, "I’m waiting for my wife, too, but I never thought to bring lunch and an overnight bag."
For many of us that are not fond of shopping and waiting in lines, this time of the year is a real test.
For it is easy to get impatient.
But in the big picture of things, we must admit that waiting in line is really a small thing.
For…
2. There are times when waiting is much more difficult than others.
If we look back into history to 2,000 years ago, and consider the plight of a little nation called Israel, we might acknowledge that they were having quite a difficult wait.
It was their understanding that God had promised to send them a Messiah that would return Israel to its rightful place.
But they were getting tired of the wait.
They were under the heavy hand of Rome who found them to be a constant nuisance to the “pax Romana” (the peace of Rome).
Such peace, though, would not come with the decisions like the one they made in putting Herod on the throne.
He was an evil man, know for his sadistic cruelty.
He was a man of greed and murder, full of political intrigue.
When Herod was placed on the throne, it was a dark day for Israel.
He was not of the house of David, so in their eyes he was nothing more than a usurper to the throne.
Herod’s possession of the throne must have been very depressing for the typical Israelite.
They had been praying for years that the Messiah would come, but these were prayers that seemed to have gone unheeded or unanswered.
Instead, they got Herod.
How could God allow that?
3. For Israel, praying for the Messiah had to be getting old.
For 400 years, not a word was heard from heaven.
The prophet, Malachi, was the last one to hear a definitive word from the Lord.
It was easy for the Israelite to give up.
It did not seem that God cared too much about them as a people.
Their prayers seemed rather ineffectual.
The oppression continued and it continued to get worse.
When we look at the world today, we might be tempted to feel the same way.
We look at the world around us and tensions are increasing, not easing.
This past week we had bombings in Mombasa, Kenya.
The violence in Nigeria continues.
Places like Bali, Bangladesh, Iraq, and Afghanistan fill the news.
Potential terror has come close to home in Lackawanna.
Since 9/11, the names of Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and Yassir Arafat have added negative meaning.
And we wonder and we pray…
Lord, is this ever going to end?
So, as we return to the nation of Israel 2,000 years ago, perhaps we get a glimpse of the tension that they felt in their setting.
It is the tension we find in Luke 1 as we meet Zechariah and Elizabeth.
And today, as we consider Luke 1…
4. We will find in our study of Zechariah how God responds to our prayers.
[5] In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. [6] And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. [7] But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. [8] Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, [9] according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. [10] And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
Let us note these things about…
5. Zechariah’s background:
5.1 He was righteous.
Zechariah was a good guy.
He took God’s law seriously.
He obeyed it, not because he had to, but because he wanted to.
Along with this…
5.2 He had no children.
Zechariah and Elizabeth carried a silent sorrow.
They had no heir and they counted it a disgrace.
The flame of hope of having children had extinguished through the years.
Now, it was nothing more than an impossibility and a broken dream.
But that was about to change because…
5.3 He was chosen to serve.
As a priest, he was only allowed to offer the incense once his lifetime.
Some never received the opportunity.
So when the lot came to him, it immediately became the greatest day of his whole life as a priest.
It was the apex of personal history.
It was not going to get any better than this.
Now, having noted these things about Zechariah, we see that…
OUR STUDY:
I. The first way God responds is UNEXPECTEDLY.
Zechariah entered into the temple to offer the incense.
Incense was symbolic of prayer, and so, when Zechariah would offer it, he would be urging God to hear the prayers of the people that were waiting for his return on the outside.
As he offered the incense, he would quote a prayer that longed for the Messiah.
It would go something like this (Shemoneh Esreh):
Speedily shoot forth the Branch of David, Your servant, and exalt his horn by Your salvation, for in Your salvation we trust all the day long. Blessed are You, LORD! Who causes to spring forth the Horn of Salvation.
After saying the prayer, Zechariah carefully scattered the incense over the hot coals of the altar.
Immediately, the room was filled with the sweet cloud of odors rising up before the Lord.
And from within the hazy smoke, Gabriel appears.
As the text says:
[11] And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. [12] And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
1. Would you be afraid if you met an angel?
I think it is fair to say that you would be.
For whenever they appear, they are always saying, “Don’t be afraid.”
So, Zechariah is more than startled.
As he has been praying, there is an unexpected appearance of a strong, holy, and brilliant being.
And his very appearance made him tremble.
His appearance left Zechariah troubled, confused, and afraid.
Which goes to show that…
2. We can easily go through “religious duties,” but never envision meeting God.
Zechariah wasn’t expecting to hear a word from the Lord while doing his religious duty.
But Zechariah found out that his words had carried weight.
God was real and active.
Heaven had not been asleep and was listening.
This leads us to…
II. The second way God responds is PERSONALLY.
ILL Notebook: Personal (Silent Cal)
In the Spring of 1924, Jack Sundine was a four-year-old kid, standing in a line with his father inside the White House, waiting to meet President Calvin Coolidge. As they neared him, Jack noticed that he said something to each visitor as they shook hands. Soon, the thrilling moment arrived. Jack put his small hand into the President’s. Then the President said words Jack will always remember: “Move along.”
As we consider the next verse, notice the contrast!
[13] But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.”
This shows us that…
1. God knows and understands our heartbreak.
Here in this very sacred place, Gabriel communicates a response to an old, personal and unanswered prayer.
After all these years, Zechariah will have a son.
Zechariah and Elizabeth would repeat history, just like Abraham and Sarah.
And the name they were to give him would speak volumes to them.
They were to name him John, meaning “The Lord is gracious.”
Which shows us that…
2. God graciously meets us, even when our faith wavers.
God answered a young man’s prayer when he was too old to believe anymore.
God was going to give his wife a son when she was too old to conceive anymore.
God’s grace was at work.
But this is not the whole story.
For this answer to a personal prayer was going to bless the whole world!
Which leads us to…
III. The third way God responds is COMPLETELY.
[14] “And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, [15] for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. [16] And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, [17] and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
Zechariah fulfilled his duty as a priest.
He laid the needs of the people before the Lord.
And God answered these prayers as well.
For…
1. God’s plans are much bigger than our own.
God heard Zechariah’s prayer.
In the temple, he prayed for the redemption of Israel.
He was not praying about having a son.
He was doing his job as a priest, lifting up the prayers of the people.
And he got his answer.
God was active, unfolding the plan of salvation before the eyes of Zechariah.
For…
2. The ministry of Zechariah’s son would reach to the cause of man’s misery.
John would become John the Baptist, the prophesied forerunner of the Messiah.
And as a result, the real cause of man’s troubles, his eternal hunger, would be satisfied.
In answering the personal prayer of Zechariah, God was working something much bigger and better for all people.
APPLICATION:
ILL It’s a Wonderful Life
One of my favorite movies that I enjoy watching this time of the year is “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Early in the movie, we see our hero, George Bailey praying on the bridge, ready to give up thinking that it would have been better to have not lived at all. Feeling a failure, that his whole world is collapsing around him and that all the good he has done has been for naught, he is ready to end it all. It is at this point, a very unintimidating angel (and thus, not a very biblical one) comes and shows him that there has been a whole lot more going on than he thought. George had failed to see the big picture and the positive impact he had made on the whole community.
This is something that we are not to miss.
God always sees the whole picture.
We do not.
But we do have reason to rejoice!
1. WE REJOICE IN A GOD WHO ANSWERS.
I don’t know what problems you walk into this room with this day.
Perhaps your relationship with your spouse is strained and reconciliation seems like a far away dream.
Perhaps you are caught up in the legal system and you feel as if you are being tied up in knots and justice seems far away.
Perhaps you have a child that has wandered from the faith and their repentance seems a far off.
Perhaps you have ailing parents and caring for them is getting harder.
Perhaps you are struggling to pay the bills and you know that Christmas for the kids is going to fall far short of expectations.
Perhaps you are dealing with a difficult workplace and camaraderie is not something you experience.
Perhaps you are dealing with an illness that seems impossible to beat.
Know this…God answers prayer.
Rejoice in that.
And at the same time…
2. Remember: Our impossibilities are the platforms on which God does His best work.
So, when you come to the end of your hope, realize that nothing frustrates God.
Zechariah learned this and would remember it as he bounced a baby boy on his knee.
He would remember his doubt and smile.
And…
3. Remember: God’s delays are not God’s denials.
So never confuse the answer “wait” for a “no.”
We may not get the answer we want.
And we may not get it at the time we want it.
But know this, God proceeds along the road steadily, unwaveringly, and majestically.
In His time and in His way, God answers.
For God is an on-time, in-time, right-time God. (James May)
And…
4. Remember: When God intervenes, it is for His glory and our good.
While Zechariah waited for his hopeless prayer to be answered, God was doing something much bigger.
God was about to send His Son, a Savior who was Christ the Lord!
So realize that God always has your best in mind, and that it is always perfectly coordinated with His glory.
It is the time of the year to rejoice.
So let us rejoice in the God who answers prayer.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are …]
Rejoice in the God who answers prayer…He is the on-time, in-time, right-time God, that works for your good and His glory; rejoice in Him today!
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
