The Realization Of God’s Guidance-6

The REALIZATION Of GOD’s GUIDANCE-VI—

Luke 1:67b-79[Part-3--:71-74](:57-80)

Attention:

On any given morning, Hershey(our dog) usually follows me into the bedroom, curls up on the bed, & watches me get dressed & fill my pockets.

If I put on my ‘suit’ or ‘preaching outfit’, he doesn’t pay much attention to me, & will just lay there on the bed or floor with his eyes darting around to see what will happen next. He knows that on ‘suit-days’ his job is to stay home & catch the bad-guys.

But on those days that are not ‘suit-days’, he watches intently as I don my non-Sunday clothes! When I take the belt out of the closet & unfurl it, he starts to get excited. When the belt comes out, Hershey has learned that there is a distinct possibility of our going outside together to scout the property.

And even better than that , he has learned that there might even be a car ‘ride’, in store for him. If I do NOT directly tell him—‘Hershey has to stay’— then when I put certain things in my pockets—my keyring, key fob, wallet, a comb, a pocketknife, & my iPhone, he excitedly jumps off the bed, & begins to sit up at attention, with his ears propped forward, with his eyes full of excitement, & with his tail wagging. He can hardly contain himself, & will begin to snort & moan in anticipation.

If I or my wife say to Hershey, “You wanna go for a riiiiide?”, he will immediately jump off the bed & jump up in the air a few times, knowing he’s going for ‘a ride in the caaaaaar’!

Life may seem ‘same-ol-same ol’ much of the time. But sometimes, ‘special stuff’ happens, that we’ve been waiting for all along.

In Zacharias & Elizabeth’s day, God’s people had been waiting many centuries, for the arrival of the promised Messiah, Who would perfectly ‘GUIDE’ them into the way of peace(:79)....

And the ‘touchstone’ or ‘litmus test’ for the arrival of God’s promised GUIDANCE, was the birth of John-the-Baptist.

•With John’s birth, God’s long-awaited promise began to be a reality! The REALIZATION Of GOD’s GUIDANCE-VI—

Luke 1:67b-79[Part-3--:71-74a](:57-80)

1:76-79—““And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; To give light to those who sit in darkness & the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.””(cf.-Isa. 9:6-7; Isa. 40:3-5)

God’s ‘GUIDANCE’ can come to any person/individual, thru their willful & conscious, personal trust in Jesus Christ.

And the ‘evidence’ of the Savior’s ‘salvation’ in a person, is seen in that person’s trust in Jesus as ‘the Lord’ of their life, as they allow God to ‘guide’ their life choices.

And by means of a person’s living a life guided by God, that perfect GUIDANCE becomes a priceless gift, that is freely shared with others, so that others might experience it by their own personal faith.

Need:

We choose daily, between the offer of God’s guidance versus our own fleshly choices. And that describes the dilemma mankind constantly answers thru one particular characteristic shared with all people.

God made us all—with Freewill!

So all people stand in need of God’s ‘Guidance’ & direction!

Willfully AVOIDING God’s ‘Guidance’, leaves your life devoid of real answers to living life as God intends.

On the other hand, willfully RECEIVING God’s ‘Guidance’, gives a beautiful & peaceful, clarity & purpose to your life!

Luke records prophetic events surrounding the birth of John-the-Baptist.

God’s ‘guidance’(in the way of peace) has been historically realized.

But:

?How is God’s guidance realized for you & me today?

We are attempting to answer that question by examining...

...6 Realizations that bring God’s Guidance to us.

The REALIZATION Of GOD’s GUIDANCE-VI—

Luke 1:67b-79[Part-3--:71-74a](:57-80)

So far we’ve found that ‘God’s ‘Guidance’ is realized thru a’:

1. Prophetic BIRTH(:57-58)

2. Prophetic RITUAL/CUSTOM(:59)

3. Prophetic ENCOUNTER(:60-64)

4. Prophetic GRASP(:65-67)

& a:

5-a-b. Prophetic REVEALING(:67-79)[parts-1 & 2--:67-70]

TODAY we’ll ‘continue’ to look at a prophecy that Zacharias’ proclaimed.

•By the Holy Spirit, Zacharias proclaimed these truths while in the midst of the ceremonies of circumcision & naming for he & Elizabeth’s infant son.

•Their child would, in adulthood, become known as John-the-Baptist.

•The prophecy-proper is recorded in verses :68-79.

So far, in examining that prophecy, we’ve looked into verses :67b-70 & the fact that....

5c—God’s ‘guidance’ is realized thru a Prophetic...

REVEALING(:67b-79)

We’ll continue in that vein with verse :71....

:71—“That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us,”

God’s “salvation” will engulf, encompass, & subsume any & all who “hate”, despise, or oppose God’s people, Israel, because to do so is to “hate” God Himself.