Redemption At Hand-1 Series

REDEMPTION At HAND-I—Luke 1:67-80

or 'Touching Redemption'

Attention:

Christmas is a season of giving Presents-Gifts to others besides ourselves.

Thru our example, our children are taught about sacrificial giving.

We give because we love those to whom we give.

Our gifts are usually wrapped &/or hidden in some way in preparation for a certain day & time.

We give Christmas gifts in the same manner, because God’s gift to us came on the particular day & at the particular time God Himself set.

How many of you shake or handle your presents before you are allowed to open them?

Have you ever had the surprise spoiled because you cheated & looked?

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.

God’s redemption was realized 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.

1—Redemption is at hand when God initiates/gives...

INSIGHT(:67)

Explanation:(:67)Speaks

:67—“Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, & prophesied, saying:...”

At this time Zacharias became filled with the Holy Spirit as had been Elizabeth(:41). When the Spirit of God fills people they are able to prophesy.

When the human spirit alone fills one, they are able to forge ahead without God, never rising above the limitations of the flesh.

What follows here is a prophecy of praise, foretelling & forthtelling centered in God’s desire.

Zacharias’ “prophesying’ is ‘special revelation’ versus ‘general revelation’ because he is declaring that God’s promised salvation in Christ has been initiated with his son, John.

“Filled”—plhyw—1) To fill; 2) To be fulfilled, to be filled. Strong—a prolonged form of a primary plew(which appears only as an alternate in certain tenses & in the reduplicated form pimplhmi); To "fill"(literally or figuratively--[Imbue, influence, supply]); specifically--To fulfill(time).

“Spirit”—pneuma—1) The third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father & the Son—1a) Sometimes referred to in a way which emphasizes his personality & character (the Holy Spirit), 1b) Sometimes referred to in a way which emphasizes his work & power(the Spirit of Truth), 1c) Never referred to as a depersonalized force.

“Prophesied”—profhteuw—V.—1) To prophesy, to be a prophet, speak forth by divine inspirations, to predict—1a) To prophesy, 1b) With the idea of foretelling future events pertaining esp. to the kingdom of God, 1c) To utter forth, declare, a thing which can only be known by divine revelation, 1d) To break forth under sudden impulse in lofty discourse or praise of the divine counsels—1d1) under like prompting, To teach, refute, reprove, admonish, comfort others, 1e) To act as a prophet, discharge the prophetic office.

Argumentation:

2Pet. 1:13-21—“Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease. For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power & coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor & glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns & the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”

Illustration:

My golf-cart is acting up—it won’t pull hills like it used to/I take it to the mechanic/You have checked out their reputation & found them to be reputable/They are an experts. they do repairs for a living/They offer an educated guess as to what the problem really is with the golf-cart/Their expertise relieves-solves your current problem/INSIGHT

The church every day—others have heard who is ‘reputable’ & they need solutions. When we ‘offer’ them Christ Jesus, their problems stand to be solved should they accept Him & His designs.

There are certain ‘sects/brands’ which cling to the edge of Christianity/These openly & intentionally rank & compare their so-called ‘visions’ to Scripture/These in effect deny & subordinate & make subservient the Canon of Scripture, to their so-called ‘new revelation’/However everything must be interpreted thru the existing revelation from God—Scripture/INSIGHT