And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

-Philippians 4:19

  

When we arrive at Luke 1, It’s been 2000 years since God promised Abraham:

a. Your name will be great!

b. God will make you a great nation!

c. God will bless many nations because of you!

d. Through your seed will come one whose kingdom will never end.

And how will this be?

  

For to us a child will be born, to us a son will be given.... And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.

-Isaiah 9:6-7

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.

-Luke 1:5

Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.

-Luke 1:6

  

Zechariah and Elizabeth’s faithfulness to God was based on a promise given to Abraham 2000 years earlier.

How was such commitment working out for them?

  

But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

-Luke 1:7

Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

-Luke 1:8-9

And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: 'Do not be afraid, Zechariah.'

-Luke 1:10-13

'...your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth.... He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.'

-Luke 1: 13b-14, 16

'And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.'

-Luke 1:17

Zechariah asked the angel, 'How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.'

-Luke 1:18

The angel said to him, 'I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.'

-Luke 1:19-20

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 'The Lord has done this for me,' she said. 'In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.'

-Luke 1:21-25

  

This is our story!

  

In this world you will have trouble. Take heart. I have overcome the world.

-John 16:33

Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.

-John 15:20

Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

-Philippians 3:19-21

There's always a promise associated with the warning.

  

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

-Matthew 7:11

I waited patiently for the Lord, He turned to me and heard my cry!

-Psalm 40:1

Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

-Psalm 27:14

  

1 - He likes the way you pray when you feel lost.

  

Pain is God’s megaphone!

-C.S. Lewis

Waiting is God’s megaphone! As well!

  

  

2 - He is not finished preparing you for His provision.

  

  

3 - He is waiting until your commitment to Him becomes less contingent.

  

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

-1 Peter 5:6-7

Jesus cried out, 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?' This final utterance was in all its implications itself a disproof of the exaggerated claims made for Jesus after His death by His disciples. No real Messiah could suffer such a death. It is an impossible article of belief that detracts from God’s sovereignty and absolute otherness.

-The Jewish Encyclopedia

The Cross—a symbol of death, turned on its head, and instead, turned:

Defeat into Victory. Sorrow into Joy. Fear into Courage!

Defeat = Triumph.

Death = Victory.

Loss = Gain!

  

  

What is that wonder?

  

The greatest stories are written not in summer but in winter!

  

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

-Galatians 4:4

A story that revealed: Creation, The Fall, and Redemption.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

-Romans 5:6

In the cross we see that pain is redemptive!

  

We want a temporal healing.

God is providing an eternal resurrection!

  

You can trust the promises of the Father.

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

-Isaiah 40:31

   

   

   

   

  

What are your main take-aways from this message?

Make a Decision