So Luke chapter 1, Luke chapter
1 verse 5. Last week we examined Luke's
introduction and now we are blessed to come to those events which
led to the coming of our Savior. All of history has led to this
event. When the Christ, the promised
seed of God, would come in the flesh to redeem His people, to
bless His people, to show them the grace and the power of our
God and Savior. And so this coming of Christ,
this coming of Christ, it's a fulfillment of the word that was spoken by
Jacob back in Genesis, back in Genesis 49. 49 verse 10, he said,
the scepter, that is the rule, like a king rules with an iron
scepter, that scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver
from between his feet. Because Judah was the tribe from
whom the kings of Israel would come. David was of Judah. And so he said that the scepter
shall not depart from Judah nor lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come. until Shiloh come." That's our
Savior, that's our Lord, He's our peace. And unto Him shall
the gathering of the people be. And so what does Luke tell us
here in verse 5? It begins, there was in the days
of Herod the king of Judea. Herod? Who's Herod? Herod is
a king appointed by the Roman government. He's not a Jew. He's
not even of the tribe of Judah, let alone a Jew. And so it's
time now. Things have come together in
accordance with the prophecies of the Lord. And surely the people
are watching, right? They're watching and seeing this,
right? No, they're not. They're not.
In fact, we'll see at another time they were actually troubled.
Troubled by this news. Troubled by these things that
the Lord was bringing to pass. But now is the time. And they didn't see it, they
weren't looking, but the Lord has purposed to give his people
a more telling fulfillment. He was going to bring to pass
another prophecy. concerning the birth of another
man, a forerunner to Christ, a harbinger to Christ, meaning
that that spells that what's to follow is near. And so John
the Baptist is who I'm speaking of. John the Baptist is a harbinger
of Christ. And it began here with the birth
of the first son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, a couple, a couple
of people of God. And so the Lord brings this to
pass by giving Zacharias and Elizabeth a child. But the angel
told them that when John was born there was going to be great
joy. There was going to be great joy and gladness. It says in
verse 14, the angel said, Thou shalt have joy and gladness and
many shall rejoice at his birth. But it wasn't always great joy
and rejoicing and gladness for Zacharias and Elizabeth. You see, before the conception
of their child, they had a trial. They had a trial. And that trial
was as an harbinger to the coming of this great joy and gladness
that they would receive at the conception and the birth of their
son, John. And so what we see in scripture,
let me just say this, what we see in scripture is that our
God has a purpose for his people. He has a purpose to be gracious. He's going to fulfill his will
for his people and in his people. He's going to do this in and
for them. And it's a purpose of grace. And it's a purpose to bless his
people in Christ. And that's very hard for us to
see in the midst of trials, in the midst of this life, in the
midst of the things that we go through and experience, it can
be very hard to see what our God's gracious will and purpose
is toward us. But he does have a gracious will
and purpose. And his purpose is, as the hymn
writer says, ripened fast. He brings them to pass. He moves
in mysterious ways, but his ways bring gladness and joy to break
upon the heads of his people. Now it says, let's read all of
verse 5, there was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea,
a certain priest named Zacharias, of the chorus of Abiah, and his
wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. So our Lord is telling us here
how that he chooses his people. And that's a great comfort to
the children of God as they are experiencing trials, as we do
have sorrows. That's a great joy to know your
God has chosen you. He's chosen his people. And so
the Lord tells us this here in that verse. Where does he say
that? Where does he speak about election in this verse? Well,
he tells us that there's a certain priest named Zacharias. a certain priest. God chose this
man out. By sovereign election, he passed
by all the other priests, he passed by all the other people,
he passed by kings, he passed by the high priests and all these
others, and he came to Zacharias. He chose this man and this man's
wife to bring forth the harbinger of Christ, the forerunner of
Christ. The angel told Zacharias in verse
17 of this man, of this John, he shall go before him, before
the Christ of God, 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 a people prepared
for the Lord. And so God chose this man, passing
by all others, and he chose them to be the parents of this John
the Baptist. This John the Baptist. But there's
a forerunner to the joy of the birth of John the Baptist. There
was a trial. There was a trial. A trial of
great sorrow. A trial of difficulty for this
couple. God chooses people with seemingly
insignificant lives, things going on, nothing that great or that
important, and they experience trials and difficulties. They have weaknesses. They have
blind spots. They have sorrows. They have
failings. They struggle. They struggle.
But God has a purpose. He's not left them. He's not
done them wrong. He does good always for His people,
and He uses them. He makes them fruitful in His
kingdom. He bears the fruits of faith
in them. He bears the fruit of hope in
them. He bears the fruit of love that they have for their God
and for their brethren. And He teaches them, and He instructs
His children. in under his gospel, in his assemblies. He brings them there and there
he teaches them and instructs them to make them useful in his
kingdom. We don't always see it. We don't
see what's around the corner, but we know that God is sovereign.
We know that God is good. We know that he's almighty and
does all things well. And he's working all things together
for your good. Brethren, it's for your good.
And we'll see that here with Zacharias and Elizabeth a little
later. But about this election, we're
taught election in the scriptures, aren't we? We're taught election.
God has a people. He chooses whom he will. It says in 1 Thessalonians 1,
verse 4 and 5, Paul said, knowing, brethren, beloved, your election
of God. God has elected a people to whom
he will be gracious. How do you know that, Paul, that
they are beloved and the elect of God? How can you say that?
Well, God bears fruit in his people. He bears fruit in his
children. He said in verse 5, for our gospel
came not unto you in word only, but also in power. also in power. It's made effectual
in the hearts of his people. Just like with Zacharias, God
came to Zacharias in power. He saw an angel, and he was troubled
by that angel, and that angel declared to him the good news,
and he heard it. He was made to hear it. We'll
see that he doubted, he didn't believe, and yet God made it
effectual to his heart. It came with power so that his
mouth was closed. He was dumb, he couldn't speak
until these things came to pass. And it's a type, it's a picture
of what the Lord does to every one of us. If God the Father
doesn't draw us, we're not coming to Christ. But if God the Father
draws us, we do come. We do come to Christ and we believe.
And we follow Him. We follow Him. And according
to His grace and mercy and truth, we lay down our lives, we pick
up our cross, and we follow our Lord. He works that in His people. And so Paul said that word came
to you in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance as
you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. And so God has an elect people
and his word comes to his people. He brings his word to his people
and he bears fruit. in his people. That's how we
know the Lord's people. He bears fruit in them. He doesn't
leave them in darkness. He bears fruit, fruits of righteousness
in them. And so whom the Lord chooses
to be gracious to, there's many blessings that attend him. There's
many blessings of grace that has worked in their heart. Look
back in Luke 1 verse 6. Here we're told, they, speaking
of Zacharias and his wife, they were both righteous before God. walking in all the commandments
and ordinances of the Lord blameless." Blameless. They're righteous.
How are these people righteous? Well, I tell you, they're righteous
because Christ, their surety, is righteous. He's their righteousness. He fulfilled all righteousness
for his people under the law, which we cannot do. He is our
righteousness, and his righteousness is imputed to us, and he gives
us his spirit. And He calls us to Himself. He
draws us to Himself. And so He is our righteousness.
And I can say this, that Christ is our righteousness and not
our works. That's what I'm getting at. They're not righteous because
of their works under the law. the righteousness of Christ.
And I can say this. I know this because Paul tells
us in quoting the scriptures from the Psalms when he says
that there is none righteous, no, not one. There's none that
understandeth. There's none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the
way. They are all together become
unprofitable. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. That's speaking of me, and that's
speaking of you, every one of you. That's the testimony of
scriptures. The scripture hath concluded
all under sin, that we might know, that we might be brought
to the faith of Christ, that we might come to God in the faith
of Christ. And so we see this here, that
none are righteous, and yet the Lord tells us they're blameless.
They're blameless. What does that mean? Well, it
means that their aim was to walk rightly and uprightly before
men. They didn't want to bring a reproach against the name of
God. We don't want to bring a reproach
or give a reason to men to reproach the name of our God. They endeavored
to adorn the name of God. So before men, as men see it,
they were blameless. They were blameless. But it's
not there. It's their righteousness, but
it comes by Christ. Christ gave them this heart.
Christ drew them to himself. Christ gave them his spirit. This is of the work of the Lord. The Lord shows us that our righteousness
is Christ. It's not because we are without
sin in our members. In fact, in this very passage,
it shows us that this man still had sin present. This righteous
man, this blameless man, still had sin present in his members. Look at verse 20. The angel said,
Behold, thou shalt be dumb and not able to speak until the day
that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not. You
don't believe. You don't believe my words which
shall be fulfilled in their season. And so we see that sin is yet
present in his members and yet he's a righteous man because
Christ is the righteousness of his people. This man Zacharias
and Elizabeth, they looked to the coming of Christ just as
you look back and believe that Christ came and has redeemed
his people. And he's the righteousness of
his people. He's our righteousness. And so
our Lord is the one who has made us righteous because not only
did he fulfill all the righteousness of the law for his people, but
as the Lamb of God, he laid down his life, bearing their sins.
and has made us righteous by the grace of God in Him, because
He put away our sins, He paid the price for our sins, and He
rose again for our justification. God hath made Him to be sin for
us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5, 21. And so brethren,
your righteousness is Jesus Christ and your Lord is faithful to
teach you this truth. He shows you this because every
one of us needs Christ. We're not going to come to God
by our works under the law. We come to God by the righteousness
of Jesus Christ. That's how we come. That's how
we're accepted and received of God. based on the blood and righteousness
of Christ. In Christ alone, if Christ be
in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life
because of righteousness. And Paul said to the Philippians,
he said, I want to be found in him, not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. And so the
works of God for His people are according as He chose us in His
Son. And so God has a people that
He chose in His Son. Next. All whom God chose, He
has a purpose for them. He has a purpose for everyone.
It says in Romans 8 29, that whom He did foreknow, He also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that
He might be the firstborn among many brethren. So we're talking
about election, and now we're talking about predestination.
Election and predestination. So election is of persons. God elects a people. God elects
persons that he will be gracious to. And predestination, predestination
is about our works, about our steps. God elects a people and
he predestinates their steps. That's what the Lord has shown
us. He elects a people, he predestinates our steps. And so therefore we
see in Zacharias and Elizabeth, we see the character of saints.
We see them walking in the family of God, among with the family
of God. We see them walking in the things which God has ordained
for their peace and their comfort. It says in Luke 1 verse 8 and
9, it came to pass that while he executed the priest's office,
this is Zacharias, While he's doing the work of the priest's
office before God in the order of his course, according to the
custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when
he went into the temple of the Lord. God called this man to
serve in the temple, and his service was that his lot, what
came to him at this time when he was serving the Lord, was
to burn incense in the temple. And you think about that. When
we think about fruitfulness, we think about mighty deeds,
as men call them, mighty deeds. And we think about what we do.
And this man was serving the Lord faithfully in the simplicity,
or what seems simple, of burning incense in the temple. He was
serving the Lord, burning incense in the temple. And when he went
to the temple, it meant that he was gone. He was gone from
the home. He was gone from the home for a long time doing that
service. And Elizabeth was home. And she
was keeping the house. She was keeping things in order.
And the Lord blessed them. He made them of like mind. So
that her husband went off and she didn't complain and didn't
try to get him to stop doing this thing. She understood that
we're serving the Lord. We're serving the Lord in this.
This is good. And they were of one mind. And though it seems small in
the things that you brethren do and that you're called to
do. It's used of the Lord. It bears fruit in the kingdom.
It's things that are needful. Even watching the children, or
singing the hymns, or setting up the chairs, or breaking it
down, they seem small and insignificant in the eyes of man. And yet every
one of those things is a service unto the Lord. And the Lord does
that. He works that in the hearts of His people who delight to
do those things in service to the Lord that others may hear
and that others may come and be blessed just to sit and listen
and hear the gospel and be fed by our Lord in this gospel. And so here's Zechariah and Elizabeth
and they're faithful. They're a faithful family in
Israel. They're not like the dead letter
professors of the Pharisees. They were interested in what
they were doing. And they weren't indifferent like many in Israel
in that day. They served the Lord blamelessly. They cared that what they did
they knew was a reflection and they cared about that. They didn't
want to bring a reproach on the name of the Lord. The Apostle
John tells us, he that doeth righteousness is righteous even
as he, our God, is righteous. How so? Because God has made
them so. He's made us righteous. And he
instructs us and teaches us and does these things for our good. He gives his children his spirit
in accordance according to the grace He's given us in Christ. And by His Spirit, we walk faithfully,
being born again as new creatures. And we walk before the Lord,
seeking to do His will faithfully, looking to Him for grace, looking
to Him for help. And He lays prayers and burdens
on our hearts so that we're looking for the Lord. We're looking to
see, Lord, what are you doing here? What are you doing? What
work are you doing here? Lord, bless your people, keep
your people, visit your people. And then they prayed. We see
that they prayed. We'll see that more probably
another time. But they prayed and sought the Lord. But we see
here what a blessing of this couple who faithfully serves
God in the ordinances appointed by God for their joy, for their
peace. for their comfort, for their
understanding and growth and being settled in the truth of
God. And our God still does that.
He still blesses his people. He has his local assemblies.
He still declares his word. His gospel is not gone. Whatever
way you perceive the world, his gospel is not gone. He's not
removed that. He's still feeding his sheep.
His people still assemble. He gathers them, and they assemble,
and they come because they want to be fed, because God has given
that to them. And there's times when we come
because we know it's right to come. Sometimes we don't want
to come, and yet we're made thankful that we have come because the
Lord blesses it. He overrides that foolish spirit,
or however we come, if we come in a wrong spirit, He overrides
that and blesses the word to the hearts of His people so that
they know, I'm glad I did come. glad I did. I've been I've been
in business and I've been in busy busy days and thought how
am I gonna focus or hear the word, but the Lord blessed it.
He made it effectual to the heart. He locks his people in, but he
calls his people to hear that word. And that's a blessing.
I received a phone call from a friend that I've known for
some time back up in Springfield. And I've invited him to come
to hear the word a lot, a lot. And one day he came. But it was the day that we were
having the baptism at the Moore's house. And I just was thinking,
and I had announced it many, many times. It was in the bulletin. I sent an email out. I announced
it multiple times that this is where we'll be. But he never
showed up all those times. And so the one time he showed
up, there was no services here. And it just sends a message to
me that gather. When the word's being preached,
gather together. Come together and worship the Lord, because
you never know when it's not going to be there. And I feel
bad. And I invited him again. I said,
well, come. I invited him Sunday. We drove right past him. I waved
him on. I said, come on. I'll see you. And he didn't come.
So the Lord knows. The Lord knows. Believers, new
believers are still being baptized and we still remember the Lord,
the Redeemer, our Redeemer at His table. So the Lord's given
us these things. Attend upon these things. It's
for your good. It's for your comfort. It's for
your instruction and mine. And so we see something else
here with this couple. We see that they prayed. They
prayed to their God. They had a burden. They had a
care. Something that was laid heavy
upon their heart. And I don't doubt it was on their
heart for a very, very long time. We're told in verse 7 that they
had no child. had no child because that Elizabeth
was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. They probably had been married
for a long time, probably since they were young. And young couples
expect that they're going to get pregnant. And it won't be
long before we get pregnant, and then another month went by,
and another month went by, and they went to baby showers of
their neighbors, and still no child. Still no child. And they were now old. They were
now old. And I'm sure that this sat on
their mind heavily. Heavily. In fact, I know it was
there because when the angel told them of this son who would
be great in the sight of the Lord, it said in verse 18, Zechariah
said unto the angel, whereby shall I know this? I am an old
man and my wife well stricken in years. He knew it. These words
fell right out of his mouth because it was very present on his heart
and mind. Now he's away, and another year's
gone by, and there's no child. And it made them to know their
weakness. It made them to know their inability,
and their powerlessness, their helplessness to do anything about
it. In fact, I'm sure it was used
of the Lord mightily in how they served the Lord. They probably
were thinking, maybe I'm doing something wrong here. Maybe it's
me. And the Lord's withholding this
blessing. for me. And so they probably got more
strict and more careful and more right in what they did and they
were very careful and very mindful to do what was right. I have
no doubt they loved the Lord, they were the Lord's people,
but they probably were really examining their own hearts and
examining their own thoughts and examining what they did or
didn't do very carefully because they never received this child. But they were praying about it.
They were praying about it. The angel said in verse 13, fear
not, Zechariah, for thy prayer is heard. And thy wife, Elizabeth,
shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. God had ordained this. God had
predestinated their steps. He chose this couple. He prepared
them, and he withheld that child from them for this very day. They didn't know it. They didn't
understand the trial. They didn't know why things were
the way they were for them, but God chose them, and God prepared
them, and God did this for them because He had a purpose of grace
for them, and a purpose of grace for His people, the church, a
purpose to bring forth this man who would be the forerunner to
Christ. They were going to bear fruit. And that's really what
I want us to see primarily from this message tonight. God gave
Zacharias and Elizabeth this trial of barrenness. And he used
this trial just as he uses trials with us to prove them. to reveal them, to teach them,
to exercise their faith. Not because he doesn't see, not
because he doesn't know whether or not they're his children.
It's to reveal Christ in us. It's to bring us to know God,
who the true and living God is. To know that he's our God and
I'm his child and he's the one that's made me so. He puts me
through these trials. And what else do trials do? They
purge the dross. They purge the flesh. They purge
out that flesh that we bring to everything that we do. He teaches us, and He strips
away things of the flesh, and He strips away things that are
foolishness, and foolish behaviors, and foolish thoughts. He takes
those things from us through various trials, because what
do they do? They show me, they remind me,
they show us our weakness, they show us our folly, they show
us where I would be, but the Lord has other plans and another
purpose for me. And that's what he does for his
people with trials, and he stops us. We would be doing one thing
in our minds, but the Lord brings us to walk in the paths of righteousness. He takes us off that broad way
and puts us on the narrow road that leads to life. He delivers
us from death. and gives us life. He takes us
out of darkness, and he gives us light in the Lord Jesus Christ. And trials, they strip us of
vain fleshly confidences. And you look at that trial of
barrenness. You know, there's some trials
that our brains get going. And let's say it's like a financial
thing. And you begin to think, well,
I could sell this asset. and i could get the money and
get myself out of that or i can get an extra job or extra hours
at my job or i could do this or that and work myself out of
this this trial but there's other trials that we can't do anything
being barren and not able to to have a child you can wring
your hands and you can do lots of things and you just can't
make yourself get pregnant and there's trials that the lord
gives to his people that It's just so. Right? If a disease
comes upon you, and some diseases you just can't be rid of, and
it's just what it is now. And there's other trials that
just hit you, and there's just nothing you could do. And you
pray, and you ask the Lord to deliver you, and to help you,
but He doesn't take it. But it's for a purpose. It's
for a purpose. Just as we see here with Zacharias,
and Elizabeth. And so I was thinking about this
and it strikes me how often the Lord uses barrenness in as a
trial, as a help for his people in the scriptures. We've seen
now Sarah. Sarah wasn't able to bear. She
said, the Lord hath restrained me. And it put her and Abraham,
who were very faithful, a very faithful couple, and Sarah did
the unthinkable. She said, well, why don't you
take my handmaid, and you can marry her as your second wife,
and we'll have the promise of the child of God's promised that
way. And that seems crazy to us, to
do such a thing. And what did it do? It didn't
work the works of God, it brought forth the child of the flesh
that was a persecutor of the people of God later on. And we
see it with Rebecca. Rebecca couldn't have a child
for a time, and the scriptures tell us that her husband, Isaac,
entreated the Lord for her. And then the Lord, she conceived,
and what did she conceive? She conceived twins. And they
strove and warred within her. And she cried out, it drove her
to cry out, if I'm blessed with the Lord, why is it so? Why is
this going on within me? Right? Which is a picture of
believers. That new nature and the old nature
within us. If I'm a child of God, why is
this war going on in my flesh? Why am I so burdened? We see
it even with Ruth. And Ruth is a little bit different
case because it wasn't that she was barren, but the Lord struck
and slew her husband before they had any children. And so she
could have no children that way. And then there's Hannah we saw
recently, and she couldn't have children. She was persecuted
by Penina, who could have children. And could you imagine poor Hannah
each and every time? There's Penina having another
child and another one and giving those looks to Hannah and persecuting
her. And it probably did really make,
it says it, that she was fretful. She was fearful. She was worried. Maybe she was worried that she
was either cursed of God or that her husband, I could hear Penina
saying, you know, he's going to leave you. He's going to send
you away because you're fruitless. You're barren. You're unprofitable
to him. You're not doing anything to
him. And then there's Elizabeth and
Zechariah who prayed for many years. They tried and wanted
a child. And you can imagine, every time
there was a child in the village, she probably made a blanket or
a little outfit or brought a meal. And then she'd probably go home
at night and just cry with her husband, weeping again. that
they had no child. They were fruitless, fruitless.
And it is sad. It definitely saddens me to think,
because there are couples that would love to have a child. And
then there's people that complain that they have children, and
they get upset about them. But there's people that have
no children. But it translates. This all translates to us, because
it's about bearing fruit. Even in us, brethren, it's about
bearing fruit because we see our weaknesses. These trials
strip us and bring us low in ourselves and we're humbled and
we're brought down and we're made to know our weakness and
our mortality and we just want to bear fruit. We want to see
the Lord's word go forth and we want to see the church filled
with his people to hear this gospel word and to be fed and
blessed just like we are. and we pray about it and seek
the Lord for a long time, but we have to wait upon him. We
have to wait upon him and he does it. And so these things
teach believers about fruitfulness. Paul, when I was going through
this, the scripture that hit me was when Paul was going through
Acts and he said to the churches there, he said, we must, through
much tribulation, enter the kingdom of God. through much tribulation. And that word means affliction,
it means trouble, it means anguish, it means to be pressed and to
be pressured, to go under that pressure and to be put through
that because through that tribulation where the Lord strips away the
flesh and He brings us low in ourselves, it works good for
us. Those trials, what I'm getting
to is trials are a harbinger because they signify that your
God has a purpose and Christ is near. Christ is near. He doesn't
give trials for no reason. He gives trials for the good
of his people. because he purposes to bear fruit
in his people. He's burdened their hearts with
the prayer. He's laid it on our hearts, and he's purposed to
do them good, and the trials are good for us. What did Jeremiah
say in Lamentation? He said it's good for a man to
bear the yoke when he's young. It's good. It's good because
it strips us, and trials are, The things that bring us to our
knees and we fall on our face before our God because we are
so forgetful of them. We can be so indifferent but
it's those trials that keep reminding us, you need the Lord. You need
the Lord. Turn to the Lord. Remember the
Lord. Look to the Lord. Seek the Lord. Cry out to the
Lord. And trials do that because, especially those ones that we
can't do anything about. Those ones that really burden
us and weigh us down. And the good news is, in the
scriptures, every one of those women conceived and brought forth.
And that's what the Lord does in you, his child. He does bring
forth fruit. Some of the things you're doing
seem insignificant or maybe not fruitful at all or very abundant
or apparent to other people, but the Lord knows that Zacharias
was just responsible for lighting the incense. And there's some
of you that pray. pray for your brethren and pray
for one another and pray for the church and and do little
things that go unnoticed and unseen by by many but the Lord
has a purpose and he's given that to you and and you have
trials that attend and and difficulties and hardships but those things
are good because they strip you of what we would be in the flesh
ignorantly and they make us to seek our God and He gives us
His Spirit and makes us faithful and keeps us faithful in among
His people. Ephesians 2.10 says, we are His
workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God
hath before ordained that we should walk in them. And so these
things are good. They signal that Christ is near. that Christ is near. It's like
a harbinger that signals Christ is near. Even Christ himself,
the Son of God, who came in the flesh, learned obedience through
suffering. Through suffering. And so our
suffering is not a punishment. It's not because you're doing
something wrong. It's because you're God's child,
and He chose you for it, and He predestinated the things that
you're walking through right now, and He's with you, and He's
not forgotten you. He means it for your good. He sanctifies these trials and
afflictions to us to bring us to seek our God. To seek our
God. These brethren, Zacharias and
Elizabeth, were made faithful in attending upon those means
of grace that God gave them. And they served and they ministered
in them and were of one mind. And they did what they believed
was right to do, but they were burdened and put through hardships
in the trial, and God brought forth the fruit. He brought forth
the fruit, and He does that for His people. Romans 7, 4 and 5
says, Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the
law by the body of Christ, that ye should be married to another,
even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring
forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh,
the motions of sins which were by the law did work in our members
to bring forth fruit unto death." And so he's delivered us from
that. It's for our good to bring forth fruit unto God. We're his
workmanship. Now in closing, Luke 1 24 and
25 says, After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and
hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with
me in the days wherein he looked on me. Take to take away my reproach
among men and so after 400 years of silence That's when Malachi
gave that prophecy concerning John the Baptist after 400 years
of silence God spoke God sent a messenger an angel a Harbinger
to declare that Christ is near and so when the trials come and
the afflictions come They're a harbinger look to the Lord
cry out to him seek him for mercy and grace. You know that that
Syrophoenician mother whose daughter had a devil she I mean that must
have been horrible horrible horrible trial but it brought her to Christ.
It caused her to cry out help me Help me, Lord. And that's
what the trial does. Help me, Lord. It causes you
to cry out. Help me. Save me. Have mercy
on me. Don't send me away empty, Lord.
And so it's for our good, brethren. I pray the Lord bless that word
to your hearts and help you going through trials. Christ is near.
Look to Him. Attend upon the means of His
grace. And wait upon Him. And trust
Him. And He'll bring forth the fruit, the fruit of Christ in
you. Amen.