This morning we have a miraculous
story, a wonderful story before us. There was a man named Zacharias,
and he had a wife whose name was named Elizabeth. And in verse
6 it says, and they were both righteous before God. walking
in all the commandments and ordinances and of the Lord blameless. Then
in verse 7 it tells us that they had no children, no child, because
Elizabeth was barren. And they were both now well stricken
in years. And one day Zacharias was burning
incense in the holy temple the holy place within the temple.
And suddenly, according to verse 11, there appeared to him the
angel Gabriel. And he was standing at the right
side of the altar of incense. And Zacharias became troubled
and full of fear. But the angel Gabriel comforted
him and told him that his prayer of many, many years had been
answered. You see, his wife was barren.
They were old in age. And he had undoubtedly asked
many, many times over the years that he might have a son. And
the angel says to him in verse 13 that his prayer had been heard
and that his wife, Elizabeth, who was once barren would now
bear him a son and that he should call his son's name John. I might just comment at this
point, very often we pray and we want an immediate answer. We want, as Brother Maurice used
to say, we want microwave prayer. We want to just stick it in a
minute or two and have what we ask for. But many, many times,
dear friends, God holds our desire, the thing that we ask for, and
in doing so, He teaches us patience. He teaches us something about
long-suffering, which we discussed in Sunday school as being patient
for patience. That's what long-suffering is.
And the final result is He causes us to trust in Him, lean on Him. I'm convinced that often if the
Lord gave us our prayers immediately that we would go on our way and
never even be thankful. But when He causes us day by
day by day to cry out more. You remember the Apostle Paul
had a thorn in the flesh and he said he cried out unto the
Lord three times, Lord, deliver me from this thing. Lord, deliver
me from this thing. Lord, deliver me from this thing."
Three different times. I don't know if they were all
in the same day or over a period of time, but when God gave him
his answer, it was the right answer. He said, My grace is
sufficient for thee. My grace. When this happens, most times
the Lord not only answers our prayers, But He does exceedingly
and abundantly above what we ask. Why anything this side of
hell is grace and mercy, is it not? Now unto Him, Paul wrote
in Ephesians 3, that is able, never forget that word, God is
able. Is able to do exceedingly and
abundantly above all that we could think or even ask. God's
able to do abundantly and above according to the power that worketh
in us. You see, not only did God give
Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth a son, But He gave them a Son
who would give them joy and gladness. And verse 14 says that there
would be many who would rejoice at His birth. Now you know who
this Son was. It was John the Baptist. And
in verse 15, it's Gabriel told him that he'd have a son, but
exceedingly above that his son which God graciously gave would,
look at it, be great in the sight of the Lord. And he would be
filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb. and that
he would go forth before Christ, who it speaks of here, in the
spirit and the power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers
to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, and
to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. His son John would
prepare the way of the Lord. Matter of fact, that was the
theme of his message, was it not? He was a voice, one crying
out of the wilderness saying, prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make your path straight. But
Zacharias, who by the way, dear friends, was just a man. We must
never forget that the men spoken of in Scripture, other than Christ
Himself, were just mere men. No different than you and I.
And it's just the mercy and grace of God that He reveals their
faults to us in the Scriptures. You can go down the line from
the greatest prophets and men used of God, David, Noah, Lot,
all of them, and God shows us something of their sinfulness,
their nature. It's no different with Zacharias.
He was just a man. He was like every other natural
born sinner. He doubted what the angel told
him this day. Oh, we are truly ones of little
faith, aren't we? Oh, ye of little faith. Zacharias is an example here
of every one of us. And I dare to say that even today,
If an angel appeared to me and told me of some miraculous thing
that he was going to do in my life, I would yet doubt. And that's exactly what Zacharias
did. Look at verse 18. And Zacharias
said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife
is well stricken in years." Oh, can we see ourselves here? Can
we see ourselves here? Here stands before you the great
angel Gabriel, who is a messenger directly from the throne of God.
He brings the message directly from God to Zacharias. Telling
him that he's to have a son. And that his son would be great. Telling you that God has heard
your prayer. Telling Zacharias and even us
today, God has heard your prayer. And He tells him exactly what
God was going to do for him in tender mercy. And what do unbelieving
sinners do? Even believing sinners. We say,
how can that be? How can that be? You know why?
We look again to ourselves, don't we? That's what he did. He said,
I'm old. My wife's old. And by the way,
Gabriel, if you didn't know, she's barren. She can't have
children. Don't you suppose that Zacharias
knew from the Scriptures that there was once a woman named
Sarah who was barren, and that her and her husband Abraham were
well stricken in years? I believe he was 100, she was
90-something. But God had promised them a son,
and promised through this son would be the seed of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Don't you think that Zacharias
had read that and knew something about that? Don't you think that
he had heard that story of Isaac and Rebekah? In Genesis 25-21,
let me read it to you. And Isaac entreated the Lord
for his wife because she was barren. And the Lord was entreated
of him, and Rebekah, his wife, conceived. She that was once
barren was made fruitful. And it was her husband's entreating
of the Lord that made it so. God is able. He's able to do exceedingly and
abundantly above all we can think or ask. Do you suppose that Zechariah
knew something about Jacob's wife, Leah? In Genesis 29 it
says, and when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened up
her womb. Who did? God did. God opened
up her womb. I suppose Zacharias, he was a
priest, I'm sure a studied man who had read that old covenant
story that spoke of Zorah and Manoah. the mother and father
of Samson. And then judges were told there
was a certain man of Zorah of the family of the Danites, whose
name was Manoah, and his wife was barren and bare not. And
the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman and said unto
her, Behold now, thou art barren and barest not, but thou shalt
conceive and bear a son. And that was Samson. We all know
the story of Samson. The truth of the matter was that
Zacharias didn't believe the angel. He didn't believe God. And he showed so in his words.
What he says here basically is, how's that going to happen? I
don't believe you. I'm old. She's old. There's just
no way. But friends, there is always
a way with our great God. That's why we call Him a sovereign
God. Our God's in the heavens. He's
done whatsoever He's pleased. We can't think high enough. We
can't believe enough to know that with men this is impossible. But with God, what? All things. All things are possible. Not
just some things, not just a few things. All things are possible
with Him. We should always believe God. And in verse 19, and the angel
answering said unto him, I'm Gabriel. I stand in the presence
of God. And I'm sent. God sent me here
to tell you, to speak unto thee, and to show you these glad tidings."
He said, I just left the throne of God. I stand before the throne
of God and I'm His messenger. And God sent me here to tell
you these things and to show you these things." And verse
20, "...and behold, thou shalt be dumb and not able to speak
until the day that these things shall be performed, because..."
Why? "...thou believest not My words."
which shall be fulfilled in their season." Do you believe the Word
of God? Do you? All things that our great
God says shall, shall be fulfilled at His appointed time, or as
Gabriel says here, fulfilled in their season. Verse 21, and the people waited. All the people and the people
outside 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 friends, everything that
the angel Gabriel told him came to pass. Everything. Though Elizabeth
was barren, she conceived a son. And they called his name John.
And until he was born, Zacharias could not speak. For nine months,
he couldn't speak a word. Well, we pick the story back
up in verse 57. Now Elizabeth's full time came. The appointed time. God has appointed
time, doesn't He? That she should be delivered
and she brought forth a son. And her neighbors and her 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
and said, Not so, but he shall be called John." And they said
unto her, Well, there's none of thy kindred that is called
by this name. And they made signs to his father. He still wasn't able to speak.
How would he have him called? Now, I'm telling you that my
oldest son, even though his name is Matthew, his name is David
Matthew. And it was my pleasure to give
him that name. That's just us naturally. We like to have a namesake, don't
we? but not Zacharias. No. The Lord had shut his mouth
and taught him to believe the Word of God, what God said directly
from the stone. They asked him in a writing,
and his mouth was opened immediately, verse 64, and his tongue loosed. And he spake, and he praised
God. And fear came on all that dwelt around about them. And
all these sayings were noised abroad throughout the hill country
of Judea. And all they that heard them
laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child
shall this be? And the hand of the Lord was
with him. Zacharias said, his name's John.
His name's John. And then in verse 67, and his
father, Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Ghost and prophesied
saying, and as I read these words this week and studying and preparing,
I'm amazed. And I don't know why I am, because
this book is full of The Gospel. That's every page. Somehow, if
God gives us eyes to see, proclaims the mercy and the grace of God
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And I think sometimes, I think
to myself, well, I don't know what I'm going to preach on next.
Open God's Word and ask God to give you a message. This book
is full of the Gospel. That's what it is. It's about
Him. The Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Notice his first
words in verse 68, "...Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for
He hath visited and redeemed His people." Is that not the
gospel? Is that not the good news to
sinners? God has visited us and He's redeemed us. He's called
us by name. And like Lazarus, he says, come
forth. Come forth. He that was dead
in the tomb, four days he was there. His sister said, he stinketh
by now, Lord. And the Lord Jesus Christ said,
Lazarus, come forth. And you know what? He came forth.
Oh, who can resist his will? Who can resist God's will? Oh,
that great wonder that God Himself was made to be flesh and dwell
among us. But friends, He didn't stop there.
No, He was made to be sin for us. He visited His people. Is that not what Zechariah says
in verse 68? For He had visited and redeemed
who? His people. His people. Not the world, not everybody
in the world, but specific chosen people whom He calls My people. They're My people. In verse 69,
"...and hath raised up a horn of salvation..." Notice those
next two little words. "...for us." It doesn't say for
the whole world, does it? Everybody in the world? For us. His people. His people in the
house of His servant David. How precious are those two little
words for us? Those two little words, His people.
Aren't they precious? They're precious to you if you
love Him, if you bow to Him, if you trust Christ. They're
precious to you. Knowing that God would be just
if He sent us all to hell. He'd be just. But He's had mercy
on His people. And for us, He's given His Son
to die in our place. God provided His perfect Son
for us. For us. And Christ is that horn
of salvation. And God has raised Him up for
us, His people. And verse 70, And He spake by
the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world
began. Now we say many, many times here
from the pulpit that the Holy Scriptures is a book about Christ. It's a book about Him. It's a
hymn book. H-I-M. And it's about Christ
from beginning to end. It is. If God gives us eyes to
see it. And that's what Christ Himself
said that day on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection.
He ran up on those two fellows and He starts asking them questions
and they say, haven't you heard about what's going on here? How
that they've taken Jesus of Nazareth and crucified Him? And here,
the one that stands before them is He. In the 24th chapter of
Luke, he tells them that all things must be fulfilled which
were written in the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses, the front of
your Bible. And in all the prophets, all
the major and minor prophets. And in the Psalms. Oh, aren't
the Psalms not filled with Christ? Speaks of Him. Prophesies of
Him. His wonderful grace and mercy
to undeserving sinners. And He said, in all Moses, the
Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, concerning Me. Friends, this
morning, the message from God to you is what do you think of
Christ? They're concerning Him. They're
concerning Him. And this shows God's sovereign
power and His faithfulness in doing all that He had promised. Ever since the first hint of
Christ as the seed of the woman that should bruise the serpent's
head back in Genesis, the Scriptures have foretold the coming of God's
redemption. And that redemption is in a person. the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Concerning me, He said. They're
concerning me. Verse 71, that we should be saved
from our enemies and from the hand of all that hate us. Oh
friends, in Christ we're saved by Him from our enemies. Who
are our enemies? Well, who shall Christ save us
from? Sin. Sin's a great enemy. It's wars against the soul and
it threatens the destruction of it. But He's done away with
our sin. He not only forgave our sin,
but He put it away. As far as the east is from the
west, our sin is gone, never to meet again. Satan, who's the enemy and adversary
of mankind. God has delivered us from the
power of the prince of darkness. Now, I think some people underestimate
Satan, and some give him much more credit than he deserves.
He's a dog on God's chains, what he is. And God lets that chain
out and He pulls that chain back. But we've been delivered from
His power and His influence. And what about the world and
the lust of the things that the world brings? I hear people say all the time,
money is the root of all evil. No, it's not. It's the love of
money. It's the love of money. This
world causes us to lust after many things and the Lord Jesus
delivers us from the things of the world. The things of this
world grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
That's what the songwriter wrote. Grow strangely dim. The law, another one of our enemies. The killing letter. which condemns
men and shows that all men are undeserving of God's salvation. A letter which we cannot obey. We cannot keep. And the Scriptures
say that if we offended in one little point, that we're guilty
of the whole thing. Who then has hope? It's not in
the letter of the law. It's a killing letter. It's a
letter of condemnation. But friends, it was given to
show us that we couldn't do it, and it was given to bring us
to Christ as a schoolmaster, to bring us to Him. But the law
was done away with. It's been fulfilled. The law
of God has been glorified by Christ Himself. He kept the law
perfectly. Not just to have something to
do. Do we really think that? No. He fulfilled God's law perfectly
for us, His people. And last, from death. Oh, that
last enemy which is destroyed. by the life, the death, and the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, our perfect substitute. Oh, death, where is thy sting? Oh, grave, where is your victory? Christ said, I have the keys.
I've got the keys. Oh, I'm telling you, friends,
He's done away with our enemies. He's truly delivered us from
the hand of all that hate us. Do we deserve it? No. That's
what makes it grace. That's what makes it mercy. It's
unmerited. It's undeserved. In verse 72,
Zacharias continues, he says, to perform the mercy promised
to our fathers. That's why Christ came. And to
remember His holy covenant. Now isn't that word perform encouraging? God is able to perform. We can't
do anything. We can't do a thing to save ourselves. But our Lord can. And He has
for His people. He performs the mercy that He
promised. He sees that it's given and He
sees that it's received. And He sees that it's fulfilled. Oh, He performs salvation to
and for unworthy sinners in the holy covenant that He promised.
And that's not all. That holy covenant, dear believers,
which was made between Him and His Son from all eternity, is
made between two holy persons. Two that cannot fail. Two that
cannot lie. Two that are bound by their word
as God the Father and God the Son. He's not a man that he should
lie or a son of man that he should repent or change his mind. He's
God! He's God. And we better bow to
Him. We better acknowledge Him for
who He is. This is an oath. An oath made
in heaven from God to God. Did you hear that? An oath made
from God to God. Isn't that amazing? Verse 73, the oath which He sware
to our father Abraham that He would grant unto us. There it
is again, unto us. That we being delivered out of
the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear. There's
no fear now unto those that are the chosen of God. No fear. No fear. He swore, He pledged,
He promised. He made an oath to our father
Abraham and to all Abraham's seed. And that oath is that He
would grant unto us deliverance. Oh, deliverance from sin, deliverance
from self, deliverance from Satan, the law, the world, and death.
And here's some good news. Oh, don't look over that good
news. It's for you. For you. God's no longer angry with us.
He's angry with the wicked every day, but He's no longer angry
with us. Do you know why? We're made the
righteousness of God in Him. In the eyes of God, we're no
longer wicked. We're no longer sinful in His
eyes. Now when He looks upon you, dear
child of God, He sees the blood of His precious Son, and you're
covered. Though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be white as wool." That's what He promises, isn't
it? Now does God do what He promises? I bet if we asked old Zacharias,
he'd say He does. Now when He looks upon one of
His dear elect, He sees His precious Son. And how does He see us?
Zechariah tells us right here in verse 75. He sees us in holiness
and He sees us in righteousness before Him all the days of our
life. Bill, if He ever loved you, He
loves you still. All that He's promised you in
Christ, He is willing and able to do. And He will. He will. Oh. It's one thing to appear
righteous and holy on the outside, and the Pharisees were good at
that. Oh, they dressed themselves up in all their fancy garb, and
they stuffed the big prayers into their sleeves, and they'd
walk through the marketplaces, and people would say, oh, look
how holy, look how righteous, look how used of God these men
are. And Christ said Himself, He said,
oh, you're like a sepulcher, a grave. You're beautiful on
the outside, but on the inside, you're full of dirt. Death. Dead
men's bones. Just like a beautiful tomb that
has the gold and all the trimmings of beauty. On the inside lies
death. Dead men's bones. And that's
what the Pharisees were. And that's what any man is who
goes about to be righteous and holy on the outside, trying to
put on a show of righteousness and holiness. It's one thing
to appear that way, but it's another thing altogether to be
righteous before God. And there's only one way to be
that way. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the only
way. It can't be done to man. It takes
the Son of God who was the perfect sacrifice to make sinners truly
righteous and holy before God. And you know what? Only God can
reveal that to you. It can only be taught to you
by God. Have you seen that salvation? If you have, flesh and blood didn't reveal
it to you. But my Father which is in heaven, Christ said, He's
shown it to you. He's made it effectual to your
heart. He's caused you to believe it. He's caused you to bow to
it. He's called you to trust Him and Him alone. And He gets
all the glory and honor. God's wonderful redemption is
from God and God alone and in Christ and Him alone. The Scriptures
say the natural man receiveth not the things of God. He can't
receive them. Why? They're foolishness unto
him. Neither can he know them. They're
spiritually discerned. God takes what I once considered
foolish and He makes it absolutely the most wonderful thing that
ever happened to me. The biggest treasure that I own
is the treasure that now resides in my heart, knowing that Christ
died for me. I wouldn't trade all the riches
in the world for it. What will a man give for his
soul? Oh, I'm telling you. Go and sell all you have and
buy that pearl of great price. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 76, and I'll hurry. And thou, child, speaking here
of John his son, shall be called the prophet of the highest, for
thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
to give knowledge of salvation, there again, there it is, unto
His people by the remission of their sins. John 1.6 says that
there was a man sent from God whose name was John. And the
same came for a witness, to bear witness of the light that all
men through Him might believe. He was not that light, but He
was sent to bear witness of that light. Now listen, God uses men,
just men. Never forget the men that preach
to you. They're just men. He uses men, preachers. They're
called and taught of God. To bear witness of what? The
light. That's what John was. He was
a preacher. He came to bear witness of the
light and the knowledge of salvation unto God's people. But he wasn't
the light. God's preachers aren't the light.
Christ is the light. We cannot reveal it. We proclaim
it. We urge and encourage and beg
men to believe it for the saving of their souls. But God has to
reveal it. And notice again, verse 77 says,
to give, to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by
the remission. It can't be bought, it can't
be earned, it can't be merited. To give the knowledge of salvation
is God's doing. God's doing. Redemption is particular. I had someone ask me not long
ago, do you believe in particular redemption? I said, I didn't
know there was any other kind. Is there any other kind, friends?
Sinners are elected, chosen, called. But not all people. Only, God
says, my people. For us. Who are the epistles
written to? God's not willing that any should
perish and that all should come to repentance. Who's He talking
to? His people. He's not willing
that any of His people should perish. They're all going to
come to the knowledge of salvation by the remission of sins. Every
one of them. Christ said, I ain't going to
lose a one. Not a one. He came to give. Why don't people see that? To
give. It's common to hear men say this
day, this time that Christ died for the world and everyone in
it. Well, we're all chosen of God,
brother. We just have to accept Him for it to become effectual. Let me tell you, that teaching
has sent many into hell. Many to hell. But that's not
what the Bible teaches. That's not what the Holy Spirit
makes known in your heart. No, sir. Christ, our Lord, says,
Ye have not chosen Me. Can that be any plainer? You
have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. Could it be any plainer? Could
it be any simpler? Could it be laid out? Any more
direct than that? Oh, I haven't chosen God, no
sir. He chose me. Christ said in John
17, one of my favorite passages, I prayed for them. I pray not
for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me, for they
are Thine." Can there be any more plain and direct than that? Acts 13.48, And as many as were
ordained to eternal life believed. Does it say all were ordained
to eternal life and believed? That's not what it says, is it?
as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. For 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.
Moreover, whom He did predestinate, predestined, destined before the world began. He also called, and whom He called,
Him He also justified. and whom He justified, them He
also glorified." One day we're going to be glorified just like
Him, conformed to His image. We're bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation. Can it be any plainer
than that? And He gives the knowledge of
salvation by the remission of our sins. What a marvelous reality
that is. I don't think I've still got
hold of it like I want to, like I should. I have no sin. Can you say that to yourself?
I have no sin. Sin has never been what I've
done. It's been what I am. And I'm
no longer a sinner. Oh yeah, I still sin, but in
God's eyes, I'm no longer a sinner. Because Christ died for my sin. He didn't even know sin. Much
more commit sin, yet He was made to be sin. My sin was put on
Him. My sin was punished in Him. And
He died the horrible death of the cross that I should have
died. Do you see yourself hanging on
that cross? That's where you should have
been. Better yet, have you seen Him hanging there? That's your
salvation. That's your hope. That He died
for you. Verse 78, and I'll wrap this
up. All of this, all that Zacharias
has said in these verses, he concludes it with this. He says,
it's all through. You see that? The tender mercy
of our God. Whereby the dayspring from on
high hath visited us. Oh, observe and rejoice, dear
child of God, in the tender mercy God gives in His sovereign design
to visit us. David said, visit me with thy
salvation. Oh, he didn't pity us from a
distance. You remember that song that was out a few years ago?
Some of you will. God is watching us from a distance.
I hated that song. No, no, no, no, no, sir, not
from a distance. He's visited us from on high. So close was His visit to us
that He took on our nature. He became a man that He might
redeem man. He was a man, a real man, but
not a sinful man. For there's one God and one mediator
between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. What but tender
mercy, hearty mercy, intense mercy could bring the great God
from His throne on heaven above down so closely that He actually
assumed and became what we were? Flesh and blood. Had to, to be
just and be the justifier. Oh, kings may visit their subjects,
but they don't think about taking upon themselves their poverty
and sickness and sorrow of their subjects. But that's exactly
what our divine Lord did. When He came down, He came into
our flesh. He veiled His being God with
a robe of inferior clay. Oh, believer, the Lord visited
you and became a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and then
a child. And He dwelt with His parents
and He was subject to them and He grew in stature. He obeyed
His parents. as we should. And you men that
work for a living, did He not become a carpenter in a carpenter
shop to know something about your labor and something about
your weariness in doing so? And even to the point of recognizing
us and being tempted in all points like we are to even faint from
hunger and thirst. tempted in all points like you.
He really assumed our nature. And He paid us a very close visit. That's my point. He's not watching
us from a distance. No, He became what we were that
we might become what He is, the perfect righteousness of God
in Him. He was made a curse for us. For
it's written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. He took
our debts upon Himself that He might pay what we couldn't pay.
I would call that tender mercy, wouldn't you? I'd call that tender
mercy. Verse 78, through the tender
mercy of our God, whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited
us, and look at 79, to give light to them that sit in darkness.
My picture ought to be right there. That described me before
Christ came. To give light to a man who sit
in darkness. And in the shadow of death, wages
of sin's death, to guide our feet unto the way
of peace. Do you have peace this morning?
If you have Christ, you do. If you have Him, you do. Oh,
may God show us more and more of Him.