We'll sing hymn number 205. In that first verse in the second line, it says, cursed by the law and bruised by the fall. I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been saying dead by the fall. Said if you eat of that fruit, you shall surely die. It doesn't say you're gonna get smacked on the hand and get bruised. So let's sing that. Cursed by the law and dead by the fall.

Number 205. Free from the law, O happy condition, Jesus hath bled, and there is remission. Cursed by the law, and dead by the fall, Grace hath redeemed us once for all. Once for all, O sinner, receive it. Once for all, O brother, believe it. Cling to the cross, the burden will fall. Christ hath redeemed us once for all.

Now are we free, there's no condemnation. Jesus provides a perfect salvation. Come unto me, O hear His sweet call. Come and He saves us once for all. Once for all, O sinner, receive it. Once for all, O brother, believe it. Cling to the cross, the burden will fall. Christ hath redeemed us once for all.

Children of God, O glorious calling, surely His grace will keep us from falling. Passing from death to life, let His call Blessed salvation once for all. Once for all, O sinner, receive it. Once for all, O brother, believe it. Cling to the cross, the burden will fall. Christ hath redeemed us. once for all.

Be seated. We'll sing hymn number 36. Hymn number 36. A mighty fortress is our God. A bulwark never failing. Our helper he amid the flood. Of mortal ills prevailing For still our ancient foe Doth seek to work us woe His craft and power are great and armed with cruel hate, on earth this knot is equal. Did we in our own strength confide Our striving would be losing Were not the right men on our side ? The man of God's own choosing ? ? Just ask who that may be ? ? Christ Jesus in his feet ? ? Lord, say by all his name ? from age to age the same, and he must win the battle.

And though this world with devils filled, should threaten to undo us. We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness scrim, we tremble not for him. His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure. One little word shall fill him, that word above all earthly powers. No thanks to them. ? Abideth ? ? The Spirit and the gifts are ours ? ? Through Him who with us sideth ? ? Let goods and kindred go ? This mortal life also, the body they make you. God's truth abideth still. His kingdom is forever.

Luke chapter 1, Luke chapter 1. Start reading at verse 5 down to verse 25. 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. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. And they had no child, because that Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well stricken in years.

And it came to pass that while he executed 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. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, shall drink neither wine nor strong drink and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah or Elias to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedience to the wisdom of the just to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

And Zechariah said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God, and am sent forth to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings.

And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not be able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed. because thou believest not my words which shall be fulfilled in their season.

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them. And they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.

And it came to pass, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house, And 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, to take away the reproach from among men.

Our Father, in the blessed, blessed name of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that name that's above every name, that name, O Lord, that's the only name whereby man must be saved in this world. And Lord, we love that name. And we're so thankful in our heart of hearts that you, in your sovereign mercy, sent your Son into this world. to bear our sin, to live a life we could not live, die a death we could not die, bear a judgment we could not bear. Oh, Lord, you blessed us so greatly when you sent your son.

And thank you for bringing the gospel to our hearts. Thank you for opening our understanding to the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ. revealing to us how he came to save sinners and only sinners.

And oh, Lord, God, if there's a sinner in this building this morning, if there's one who knows in their heart that they're a sinner, knows or never known that they were a sinner, and still trust to themselves and still look to themselves and still look to their own ability, look to their own understanding and reasoning, Oh, Lord, cause the gospel to tear down them strongholds. Bring down those imaginations, vain imaginations. Bring them down. Bring them to the obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ and his righteousness.

Lord, forgive us of everything that's unlike you. And Lord, we pray again for those among us who are still have troubles in their home, continue to pray for Debbie, as she deals with Jim and bless Jim to get stronger. Rick and Helen and others among us, oh Lord, whose bodies are weak, who have troubles, who have heartaches, who have weakness of body. Lord, we know our time on this earth is short at the longest time, but we bless you, Lord, and have mercy upon our children, upon our grandchildren, and these little children that is brought into this world. O Lord, protect them, preserve them, and cause them to grow up to be your children, to be your elect, to be in the covenant of grace, if it pleases you. For Christ's holy name we pray, amen.

Let's all stand together and sing the hymn of the day in the bulletin.

Mother of mercies, in thy word what endless glory shines. Forever be thy name adored for thee celestial wise. Here may the wretched sons of want Exhaustless riches find, riches above what earth can grant. and lasting as the mine. Hear the Redeemer's welcome voice, spreads heavenly peace around. In life and everlasting joys, attend the blissful sound. Oh may these heavenly pages be my ever dear delight and still the beauties may I see and still increasing life. Divine instructor, gracious Lord, be Thou forever near. Teach me to love thy sacred word, and view my Savior there.

Be seated.

I've titled my message this morning, A Priest and a Promise. A Priest and a Promise. Luke, you know, he began to set things in order, and this is where he starts. He talks about the birth of John the Baptist. Then he, from there, he goes to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he begins talking about a Jewish priest, and the sudden appearance of an angel to him. And that angel told him that he was going to have a son. And that son would be the forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the one that was to come. The long-promised Christ. And the scriptures foretold of this. And we'll look at them in a minute. But this is also the first time God has spoken. God stays silent for 400 years. When Malachi ended up his prophecy, he never spoke a word for 400 years. And this is the first time in 400 years he spoke to anybody. And he comes to a Jewish priest and talks to a Jewish priest and tells him what he's going to do for him. And that Jewish priest could not believe him, would not believe him.

But let's start here in verse 5 and go through this together. And you know, there was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea. Now Herod, he was not a real king. Rome set him up to be a king. Everybody that was in any control power of position or authority in Israel was set there by the Roman Empire. They belonged to Rome and Rome told them what to do. So he's there that way. And then in the days of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias. And he was, of course, you know, the Jews They had different people in the family that would have different parts to do in the tabernacle. And they all had to be of Aaron, but they all had different things to do. And this time it come to Zacharias that he had to go into the temple. And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, And her name was Elizabeth. And look what it says. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments before and ordinances of the Lord.

I want you to look at the character of this man and his wife. His man and his wife. It says there that they were both righteous before God. Walking all the commandments and ordinances. Now let me tell you this before we go. They were righteous before God. Not righteous before men, righteous before God. And this tells me they were not righteous by any act that they did, by any work that they did. The only way righteousness that God has ever accepted is the righteousness of His own Son. And this also tells me about these people, that like Abraham, they believed God. They were looking for a Savior to come. We look for a Savior who has come. And they were righteous. And you know the only way you can be righteous is for God to give you a new heart and give you a new mind. These people were regenerated. They had to have the new birth before they could even believe God.

Faith is not what causes you to be regenerated or the new birth. The new birth takes place and then you believe God. Faith is the result of the new birth. They believed God because they were already born again. There's no way. Abraham had to be regenerated before he could believe God, as nobody can believe God unless He gives them life. And these people were righteous, blameless, it says, before God. Now how in the world can that be? You think they was doing that because they was good people, fine people, strong people, able people, and they were righteous by their own efforts, by their own abilities? If anybody thinks that, they don't know a thing in the world about grace yet.

But these people were, God gave them a birth. They were, you know, it says here that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb. Oh, and you know, here's another thing. All the Old Testament saints, you go through Hebrews 11, all the Old Testament saints lived by faith. They did not live by works. They did not live by law. They did not believe by, by acts that they did. They lived by faith. Those live by faith, looking for Christ to come. We live by faith because Christ comes. The just as always live by faith.

And oh my, and you know where God regenerates a person, gives them the new birth, they have the Holy Spirit within them. You couldn't understand Christ. You couldn't look for Christ and come to Christ. And then when he's within you, he sanctifies you. That means he sets you apart. Righteousness and sanctification go together always, always. This idea that you can, you know, by your own efforts, sanctify yourself and get better and better and better. No, it don't happen that way. And you know, you can't be sanctified without all those souls being justified. And you can't always be justified and not be sanctified. They go together. If you're, if you're justified or you're righteous before God, you're also sanctified. Do you know they go together?

And oh my, and I'll tell you something else about these people. God gave them grace when grace was a rare, rare thing, and grace is still a rare, rare thing in this world. Oh, they had grace where grace was rare. This is a part of the remnant according to the election of grace. I want you to look over in Isaiah with me. Keep Luke and look in Isaiah chapter 1, verse 9. And this is what Paul was talking about in Romans 11. This is what he said, you know, he said, had not God left us a remnant, we'd been like Sodom and Gomorrah. But this is where it comes from. Isaiah chapter 1 and verse 9, except the Lord of hosts had left us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah." God said, a very small remnant. And you know, Paul says, God had left a remnant according to the election of grace, or we'd been like Sodom and Gomorrah. And I tell you, I'm so grateful that God has a people that he gives grace to it. He gave grace to these two people. Gave grace to them. And that's Simeon. You get on later in this chapter, and you'll find, in chapter two, you'll find Simeon and Anna. They lived in the temple. That's where they lived. They stayed in this temple. They stayed where God was. And they were doing exactly like these people were, waiting for the Messiah, waiting for the Christ to come. They were going to see salvation in the person of God's blessed son. That's what they were waiting to see.

Now, back over in our text again, let me tell you something. Zacharias, do you know what his name means? Remembered by Jehovah. You know, the first word, first time remembers mentioned in the Bible, you know where it's remembered at, where it's mentioned at? God remembered Noah. That's the first time it's ever mentioned. God remembered Noah. Remembered who he was, what he had to do, and gave him grace, and remembered Noah. That's the first time it's ever mentioned. Here it is, God remembered by Jehovah. Oh, remembered by the Lord, remembered by God. And then Elizabeth, you know what Elizabeth means? God of the oath. God of the oath. When God could swear by no greater, he swore by himself. And he, she, her name, Mrs. God of oath. Oh, did God make an oath. And that, oh, and he's these two people. Walked blameless before the Lord. That's what he said. They walked in the light that God gave them. And that's all we can do. Walk in the light that God give us. And if you walk in the light he gives you, he'll give you more light. And you walk in the light He gives you, He'll give you some more light. He'll guide you along.

And then God tried them. Look what it says now in verse 7. God tried them. And they had no child, because that Elizabeth was barren, and now they both were well stricken in years. And to be, not have any children, would be the, it's an awful burden for the Jews to bear. And somebody really wants to be a mother, to not have a child, that would be very, very hard to bear. And for the Jewish people not to have a child, and why they wanted a child was they wanted to have a child and prayed that that child would be the Christ himself. That's why they wanted children, to be related to Christ. And that's why they wanted children so bad. And this was considered an awful, awful affliction.

You remember Hannah? We went through Samuel. Hannah, they went up to Jerusalem and she went before the Lord and prayed. And Eli was sitting there and said, this woman's drunk. And she says, no, I'm not drunk. I'm here. I'm very heavy hearted. I want a child. I'm praying for a child. I'm praying, God, give me a child. And she said, oh God, give me a child. And if you'll give me a child, I'll turn around and give him right back to you. And you know who her child was? Samuel. Samuel. Samuel was her child. And oh my, what a prophet he was. And oh my, they hopefully have a child. It would be the Messiah.

But it says, you know, that they had no child, and they both were well-stricken in years. You know, God's grace does not exempt anybody from troubles. Oh, no, this was troublesome to them. They were well-stricken in years. They were righteous, but yet they had this burden, not having any children. And I'll tell you something about God does not have any children. that does not have trials, that does not have trouble. We sang that song some through the fire, some through the flood, but all through the blood. And I tell you what, these people here, God tried them in a very unusual way for them. And if afflictions and trials causes us to draw near to our Lord Jesus Christ and to pray more intensely, God send us trials. I heard somebody praying the other day for patience. Lord, give me patience. And I said, he don't know what he's praying for, because when you start praying for patience, you know what patience, patience worketh trials, worketh trouble. It'll bring trouble in trial. You know, if you want patience, God will give you patience, but he'll sure bring it in a hard way, hard way.

And the means God used to announce the coming of John the Baptist. And oh, they go on down here, and it came to pass. Let me just go down here and make a few comments about this.

And it came to pass while he executed 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 before the Lord. Now at this particular time, I was reading the other day, at that time there were probably 20,000 priests in Israel. That's why they all had a different course. They all didn't go up there at the same time.

And like when Zacharias went up there, there was four priests that just did nothing but burn incense and trim the lamps on the golden altar of incense. And they'd done it by six hours at a time. That thing had to be kept burning all the time. And so they would go up there and there'd be four of them go up. When their course was done, four more others would go up. And four more others, they all had different things to do in the temple. And it was his time to go up. It was his time to go up to the temple and burn incense.

And that altar of incense was right before the mercy seat. Right before the mercy seat. And that altar of incense, when they would go put They had a certain thing that they had to put in there. They had all kinds of spices and stuff, and it had to be according to what God said. And they'd put that incense on there, and they had candles, lights burning to burn that incense all the time. Had to keep trimming the lamps, keep that fire burning all the time. And that talks about our Lord's intercession for us. Sweet savor smell before God.

So his course is going on, and he's got there, and he's in the temple of the Lord, and he went in there to burn incense. And let me tell you something. These fellas had one bell after, you know, the high priest had all kinds of bells, but these priests, because they went behind the bell to burn that incense, they had one bell. And I could hear that bell going in and going out to know that that priest was in there doing his work, doing what God called him to do.

And so it says, and look down here now in verse 6 to 10, and the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. There's a great lot of people in the temple praying at that time. And now watch what happens here. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

Now let me say something about that. God makes a distinction on being on the right hand and being on the left. You know what happens to people on the left-hand side? On the right, the sheep. On the left, the lost, those that's facing judgment. That's why he appeared on the right side. He ain't gonna appear on the left side. That's where we're all gonna appear, on the right side. Christ sits on the right hand of God, and that angel appeared on the right side.

And oh my, look what he says. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled and fear fell upon him. That's something that always happens when God appears to a man. When God appears to a man, he don't jump up and down, start hollering. He don't throw his hands up and start praising the Lord. You know what he does? He gets scared. He gets afraid. He gets, he trembled. He said, oh, how in the world could God appear to me?

John fell as a dead man when he saw Christ. Isaiah said, woe is me, I'm undone. This idea that you see Jesus and give him a big hand clap is as foreign to the Bible as anything. That's just, that's ridiculous. I mean, you know, everybody that's ever been in the presence of God, when they first start coming into the presence of God, the first thing they can, the only thing they can, they, Bephibosheth said, why look us upon a dead dog such as I am?

I tell you to come into the presence of God. We're not coming into the presence of some weak, need old man that needs our help. Not somebody that ain't got no feet but our feet, no hands but our hands, and he can't do nothing unless we let him. No, no, no. This angel appeared at the right hand side, and it scared him. It troubled him. God hadn't spoke for 400 years.

What if God never spoke to you? Has God ever spoke to you? Are you troubled in the presence of God? Or you feel comfortable in the presence of God? And there's people that they do. Shirley and I was talking about the other day. You know how many people go out into eternity and not afraid to die? And don't know God, don't know Christ. They're not afraid of it. They're not scared of it. Preachers have so lulled people to sleep and told them all so many lies that they're not afraid to go out into eternity without God, without Christ. Because preachers has made them feel so comfortable.

Oh, I don't want... I want you to have assurance. I want you to have comfort. I want you to have assurance and I want you to have comfort of assurance. But I'm telling you, this idea that God is just standing, waiting with His bated breath till we come into His presence is as foreign as anything could possibly be. God's not looking over the banister of heaven, oh, oh, oh, come on, come on, come on, come on. God hadn't spoke for 400 years. When he spoke to me, I was troubled.

Oh my, but oh my, look what he says. He was troubled and the angel said, fear not. You know, what does he say? Because listen, There's someone coming who's going to take away of all your sin. There's somebody going to take care of your sin. And oh my.

And the means God used to announce his coming, the birth of John the Baptist, look what it says there now. And then Zacharias saw him, he said, but the angel said unto him, fear not. Oh, fear not. How many times our Lord say that to us? Fear not. And the angel said, he said, fear not, fear not. You're not. Your sins are going to be gone. You're going to be accepted of God. You are accepted of God.

And the angel appeared. Let me tell you, four times angels of the Lord appeared. And there's two angels, archangels, as mentioned in the Bible. First of all, there's this angel, Gabriel. Gabriel was sent to Mary, and Gabriel was sent to Zacharias. And an angel was sent to Joseph. An angel was sent for the shepherds and said, there's born this day in the city of David. And then there was an angel sitting at the right hand of the grave of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then, you know what? An angel says that they rejoice over a sinner that repents. And that's why he rejoices in heaven, angels do.

And so these angels, and here comes this angel. And look what he says. He said in verse 13, thy prayer is heard. I wonder how long he had prayed. His prayer was heard from the first time he said it. Oh, the first minute he started praying, God heard his prayer. But I wonder how long it was before he answered it. He started praying when he was a young man. I want a baby. I want a child. We want a child. Started praying as a young man. Now he's an old man. And the Lord said, your prayer's been heard. That's what he told to Daniel. Thy prayer's been heard. And oh, my.

And then look what he says. And thy wife, Elizabeth. Oh, my. My wife, Elizabeth, shall bear thee a son. And you gonna name him John. But why did all these angels come? to announce the birth of these people, because it shows us that the Lord Jesus Christ is not an angel. He's the Lord of the angels. He's the God of the angels. And these angels made it clear by their announcements that he who came to be a savior for sinners was not an angel, but he himself was the Son of God, the Son of God.

And, oh, how did Zacharias react? I said he was troubled. He was bothered. And this fear fell upon him. You know, when Moses was at the burning bush, scared him, John fell as a dead man. And, oh, if angels cause this effect, what must the Lord of angels be to see him? They said in Revelations, hide us from the face of the wrath of the Lamb. And thank God there's a mediator between us and God.

Then look what the angel's message was. He says, you're going to have a child, and you're going to name him John. And oh, listen. His prayer was heard, and his wife shall bear a son. Call his name John. And that word John means the Lord is gracious, the Lord is mercy. That's what his name means. And God has a time to hear our prayers and answer our prayers. How long have we prayed for our sons and daughters? How long have we prayed for our children and grandchildren? How long have we prayed for them? Are we going to quit praying for them? Our prayers was heard the first instant they went to glory. First instance, there was a mention. And they may not even be answered till I'm dead and gone. They may not be answered. God may save none of my children, and he may save all of them. And he may save some of my grandkids, and he may not. But I do know this, that the only person that can save them is Christ. The only person who can do anything for them is God. I do know that. And so that's what he, he was praying for a child. Your prayers heard. The angel come to tell him, oh, God has his own time to answer our prayers. He knows the best time for people to be born. And he also knows the time that they're going to be born again. Oh, my.

You know, what's the evidence of having a new birth? What's the evidence of having a new birth? Well, the first evidence is you believe God. You believe what God says. You believe this word is God's word. You believe God. That's the first thing you do. And you believe that Jesus Christ is the only Savior. You believe those two things. And if you believe those two things, it's a good indication that God gives you life, because you can't do it without life. And oh, my. And so he prayed, and we ought to teach us that we ought to continue in prayer. Watch under prayer, prayer always.

And who is this son? It says, you know that in verse 14 said, you barbarous son, call his name John. And look what he says in verse 14. Who is this son? What is this birth for? He says, and thou shall have joy and gladness. Oh my, joy and gladness and have a baby. You all grandparents really have joy and gladness when you have a new baby. You have a new grandbaby, don't you?

But oh my, look what he said. And many shall rejoice at his birth. A lot of people are going to rejoice at his birth. Oh my. And why is he going to be that way? And look what it says here about him in verse 15. He shall be great. And look where he's going to be great at. In the sight of the Lord. When God says you're going to be great, you're going to be great. When God says you're great in my sight, we're better to be in the sight of God other than that.

And you know, God, when God says something, he makes a distinction between what's great and what's not. And he shall be great in the sight of the Lord. Now, man's estimation of greatness and God's estimation of greatness is absolutely two opposite things. Man's idea of greatness is power, authority, money, recognition, celebrity, You know, people look at somebody, you know, who's got lots of money, live in a great big mansion or something, and they go anywhere they want to and do all this. They look at people like Elon Musk and the president, they say, oh my goodness, all these billionaires, oh, how successful, how great they are. That's the wisdom of the world.

God says they're nothing. The wisdom of this world perishes. But our Lord Jesus Christ said, he shall be great. and the sight of the Lord. Oh, my.

And look what it says now. Oh, his character in life. Look what it says in verse 15. This is the way he's going to be when he grows up. And he shall not drink wine, verse 15, neither drink wine nor strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And that's what that is, is a Nazirite. You go back and look at a Nazirite. And what a Nazirite is, is that, and it tells us he'll be filled with the Holy Ghost from his, that's what it says, be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb. And I tell you, a Nazirite is a person who drinks no wine, never drinks any strong wine, never cuts his hair, never cuts his hair. That's what a Nazirite does. He lives a very stoic life. And oh, he's going to be filled with the Holy Ghost. And look what it says. And many of the children of Israel, verse 16, shall be turned from the Lord, their God, and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and to the disobedient, to the wisdom of the just to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Now I want to show you where that's at. Look at Malachi. Keep this and look at Malachi. Malachi chapter 3 in verse 1. Look what it says here. Behold, I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom you delight in, saith the Lord of hosts. Now look in verse 4, look down verse 5 and 6. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the Lord, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth.

And that's what he said. He shall turn many to the Lord their God. He'll turn them from ceremonies to thoughtfulness. He'll turn them from sin to God, from self to Christ. And it says he'll make ready a people prepared. He said in verse 17, He shall 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 people prepared for the Lord. A people that when Christ comes, they'll be ready, ready for Him to come.

You know, I remember years ago a fellow was teaching that Elijah was going to come one of these days before Christ came. Well, our Lord told him in Matthew chapter 12, he said, if you'll hear this, this is Elijah. If you'll hear this, this is Elijah. Talk about John the Baptist. And he said, there's not a greater prophet among women born of women greater than John the Baptist. And he, he, so he was great. And this, he come in the spirit and power of Elijah. And so whatever power Elijah had, he had that power. Whatever authority he had, he had it.

But look what happens to him. I've got, I've got to hurry on here. In Zechariah verse 18, in Zechariah said unto the angel, and everybody, you know, Mary asked this question. said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? How am I going to know this? How am I going to know this? What are you going to teach me? What's going to happen? Make me know that it's going to happen. For I'm an old man. I'm old now. And my wife is well stricken in years. We're past able to have kids.

And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel. That's who I am. And look what he said. I stand in the presence of God. That's where I've come from. I've come right from the very presence of God himself to come down here to talk to you. Oh my, and look what he says. And the angel said unto him, I am able to stand in the presence of God, and am sent, God sent me here to speak unto thee, and listen to what he's going to tell him now, show thee these glad tidings. These are good, I mean this will make you glad, this is glad tidings. I've come to tell you some of the best tidings you've ever heard. You're going to have a child, you're going to have a baby. You and your wife are going to have a child.

How can this be? Now look what he says now. And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed. Because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in thy season." You didn't believe me. So I'm going to shut your mouth, you ain't going to be able to say a word. Because if you did, you'd be running around saying, this can't happen, this can't happen. And what he's saying is, God sent me, just sent me this man. I can't believe him. I just can't believe it. So he struck him dumb. Struck him dumb for his unbelief.

Oh my, if you think, you think I don't believe something, it's not. Because you believe it's not my word. Is anything too hard for the Lord? Huh? And look what it says. I'll hurry on now. Look what it says. And the people waited for Zacharias and marveled They start being astonished that he tarries so long in the temple. He is in there longer than he's supposed to be. He stayed a little longer than he's supposed to be, and they got, what, what in the girls, what's going on with that? And when he came out, he couldn't speak unto them, and they perceived that he had had a vision in the temple. He come out of there, he was dumb, couldn't speak, and he beckoned unto them and responded speechless.

Oh, my. Couldn't talk. He couldn't tell him anything that was going on. And let me tell you something about unbelief. Is unbelief going to keep God from doing what he intends to do? Did his unbelief keep God from Elizabeth having a child because he didn't believe it? Is anything going to keep God from doing his will because somebody don't believe? Shall their unbelief make void the promise of God? No. No, no. If you don't believe, that's not going to change a thing in the world God's going to do. If you don't believe and don't want to believe, that's not going to stop God. And I'm so thankful for that because I've had so much unbelief in my life that if God judged me according to my unbelief, I'd be dumb all the time. I would never be able to speak.

But oh, my. And I'll tell you what. until all shall be fulfilled and performed. That's what he told him. And it came to pass, in verse 23, and it always does, that as soon as the days of his ministry were accomplished, he went to his own house. And after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived and hid herself five months, and this is what she said. Thus hath the Lord dealt with me." Oh, this is how God dealt with me. And I thank God He dealt with me. When He looked on me, He looked on me. He looked on me. And what did He look on me to do? To take away my reproach. And Christ takes away. He was reproached for us and takes away a reproach.

Oh my. Now look what it says over here in verse 57. Now Elizabeth full full time came that she be delivered and she brought forth a son and her neighbors and cousins heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her and they rejoiced with her. And it came to pass that on the eighth day They came to circumcise the child, and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered, said, Not so, but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marveled all. And watch what happens now. And his mouth was opened immediately. And look what happened. His tongue was loosed, and what'd he do? He began to praise the Lord.

Oh, I tell you what, God's gonna do what he gonna do. It doesn't gonna stop him. Oh, a priest and a promise. A priest and a promise. Next, we'll deal with our Lord Jesus Christ coming. I thank the Lord for his gospel. Thank the Lord for the truth. Thank the Lord for his promises. Our Lord Jesus, we bless you and praise you. For your great, great mercies. Great grace mercies. Oh, who's a God like unto you that performs his will in this world? that keeps His promises to His people, that sets His people apart. Send somebody with a message for them, somebody from the very presence of God that you send somebody to speak to us, somebody to tell us about our Savior, somebody to tell us about our redemption. And God bless this gospel today. These words that's been said, use them to your glory and the good of those that's here. edify and establish you people in the faith, save you people.

Oh, God, if there's a soul among us, soul among us that wants to confess you, I pray, Lord Jesus, you'd enable them by your grace to confess you, to own you, to own you and what you've done for them. We ask these things in our Lord Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

There is a name I love to hear. I love to sing his word. It sounds like music in my ear. The sweetest name on earth. Oh, how I love Jesus. How I love Jesus, because He first loved me.