Let's turn back now to Luke chapter 1. We're going to look at a wonderful prophecy. There's many prophecies that were given beforehand before the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all of them are wonderful, but this is certainly one, a wonderful prophecy.

Several weeks ago, we looked at the verses in this chapter where the angel came to Zacchaeus and told him that he and his wife would have a son. And you remember Zacchaeus did not believe the word of the angel, and so he was struck dumb. He could not speak for several months, at least nine months.

But his unbelief didn't change God's purpose because we read this morning that the son was born and the son was named John. Zacharias was guilty of unbelief and the first truth that stands out to me in this passage is that God of the Bible is a God of tender mercy. God not only restored his speech, but he filled him with the Holy Spirit, enabling him to prophesy.

God's mercies are new every morning. This is what we read in Lamentations. The book of Lamentations is exactly that. It is the prophet Jeremiah lamenting, weeping, the weeping prophet. over what had taken place, God's destruction, using the Babylonians to destroy the nation, not the nation, but the city of Jerusalem and the temple there. And yet he tells us this wonderful truth that God's mercies are new every morning.

We have begun a new year. This is our first time to meet in this year, 2026. And isn't it wonderful to know that God doesn't change? And he's the same today as he was yesterday. He's the same this year as he was 2,000 years ago. And he'll always be the same. What a comforting truth when we think about his immutability. And he's the same yesterday, today, and forever.

When we read in the gospels, the compassionate savior as he walked on this earth, we should realize he's the same today. He's just as much full of compassion today as he was when he walked on the face of the earth. And he is a compassionate, faithful high priest, merciful high priest.

Elizabeth, his wife, that is the wife of Zacharias, she was filled with the Holy Ghost. The scriptures tell us, we didn't read this, but if you look back in verse 41, it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe, that is John the Baptist, the babe leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.

And now, his father, Zacharias, we say he is filled with the Holy Ghost. You know, some people may have the idea that God, the Holy Spirit, did not come into this world until the day of Pentecost, but that's certainly not true. The Holy Spirit is the third person in the Godhead. We worship the God of the Bible as one God. There's not two gods, there's not three gods, there's one God. And yet He exists in a trinity of persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And you read about the Holy Spirit in the very beginning of the Bible, Genesis chapter 1 and verse 2 tells us the Spirit of the Lord moved upon the face of the waters. And the Holy Spirit is God. He's one with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. All the attributes of God. He's omnipresent. He's everywhere. He's here. He's here. He's everywhere present. He's omniscient. He knows all things. Just as the Father and the Son. And He's omnipotent as well. He has all power.

I think sometimes we, and there's a reason for it, I'm sure, because our Lord said, when he has come, he shall testify of me, that is, God the Holy Spirit. When the Lord poured him out on the day of Pentecost, and yes, he's here, and he's in his church, and his primary mission is, no doubt, to testify of Christ. Where the message is Christ, that's where you will find God the Holy Spirit, because that's his office work. We know that.

Charles Spurgeon, I believe I read one time, said, I don't know the greater wonder of God the Son coming into this world to live as a man among sinners, or God the Holy Spirit come to live in men. in sinful men, but we know that he does. He lives in every believer. No one ever comes to trust in Christ. No one is born again unless they be born of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who quickens and gives life, that principle of life that a man or woman, boy or girl, may believe in Christ. He must do that work first. He must give life. Our Lord said, whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. You see, first there's life. Whosoever liveth and who quickens, who makes a person spiritually alive? God the Holy Spirit. And when he does, then we believe. We believe in Christ. What a miracle of grace is the new birth.

But Zacharias, we see, was filled with the Holy Spirit and he prophesied. And that's what I want us to look at this morning, his prophecy. It has two parts. One part, the main part, the longest part of his prophecy, concerns the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's the way it always must be. He must have the preeminence in all things. But there is part of the prophecy that concerned his son, John the Baptist, as well. So let's look first at his prophecy concerning Jesus Christ, our Lord. It begins in verse 68.

be the Lord God of Israel. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. His prophecy begins with praise. Many times in the Old Testament, especially in the book of Psalms, you see these two connected together. There's praise and there's prophecy. There's praise and there's foretelling of the truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. And this blessing that Zacharias used, blessed be the Lord God of Israel, is soon going to be outdated. It's soon going to be outdated. Its shelf life is coming to an end.

All through the Old Testament, and remember that John the Baptist, he was a prophet, an Old Testament prophet. Yes, you say, well, he's written of in the New Testament. Yes, but he was an Old Testament prophet who spoke of Christ. All the prophets from the very first prophet, they all gave witness to Christ. That's what we read in Acts chapter 10. That's what the apostle Peter tells us. All the prophets spoke of Christ. There's no other message. There's no other message as we begin this new year. I've got no other message, and neither should any other preacher, but have one message. And there's one string on the preacher's guitar, right? And he keeps thumping on that same string, and that is of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That's what Paul said. Writing to the church at Corinth, I determined, and I've told you this before, but it is a determination because there's temptation to go in this direction and that direction and deal with this and deal with that. But Paul said, no, no, I've determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ, His person, and Him crucified, His work. And that's the message, that's the string right on the preacher's guitar that he continues to pluck on.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. Now the blessing's going to change. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's going to be the blessing now that saints will speak. beforehand, before His coming, that was a common blessing. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. But now, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How do you bless God? What does it mean to bless God? Now, people like to go to some man that calls himself a priest and get a blessing. Get a blessing. Well, how do you bless God? Who blesses God? He's the fountain of all blessings, all spiritual blessings are in Him. To bless God is simply to praise God, to acknowledge God for who He is, to glorify God, to worship God, to bow down to God Almighty. That's what it means to bless God, to give thanks unto the Lord.

Now, I want us to notice several things that he mentions. First of all, he, in this prophecy, says he has visited and redeemed his people. Verse 68. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he... Now, who is the antecedent? of that pronoun He. He has visited. Who? Who goes before that? The Lord God. It's just another declaration that our Savior is God. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

He has visited and redeemed His people. He visits. Think of that as the God who created everything. This word visit. He has visited. He's created everything, the world in which we live. He visited this world. He's always been here. He's omnipresent as this eternal Son of God, but He visited this world in the sense that He became a man. He was born of the Virgin Mary. He visited, yes, he visited and redeemed his people.

You know, notice the past tense, both of these verbs, visited, redeemed. Well, you might say, well, preacher, he hasn't died on the cross yet, how is he redeemed? Well, the redemption is going to take place, and it's going to be redemption by blood. There's no question about that, because the Bible doesn't know of any other kind of redemption. It's by blood. Yeah, there was types of redemption that was by silver and money, but my friends, that only pictured the one redemption the Lord Jesus Christ would accomplish on the cross of Calvary.

And notice He has visited and redeemed His people. You see that? His people. He hasn't redeemed every single man, woman, boy, and girl. You say, well, who are His people? Aren't all people His? Yes, in one sense, as Creator. He is the creator of all men, no question about that. But there are people, or there is a people, I better say, that are called His people. Why? Because they were given to Him. God in eternity made a covenant with Him, with the Eternal Son, and gave Him a people.

In his high priestly prayer in John chapter 17, he speaks about those whom the Father had given him. I believe six times, that's in John chapter 17, you read through that prayer, and six times over, the Lord Jesus Christ mentions the fact that he was given his people. And in one of those verses, he said, I pray not for the world, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me.

He has visited and redeemed his people. Look with me. Keep your places here, but turn with me to Ephesians chapter 1, just a minute. Ephesians chapter 1, beginning with verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. There's that blessing, isn't it? This time, not Zacharias, but by the Apostle Paul. Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. Now, in choosing his people, these are the ones that he gave to his son. He gave them unto his son to be his bride, to be his sheep, to be members of his body, his mystical body, his church. Yes, he gave his bride to him. And she, in her head, Adam, she fell. She fell into sin.

I just, in my mind, picture this, you know, a young lady dressed all in white and she's getting married and she's on her way to the church where she's going to exchange vows with her husband and somehow she trips and falls and she's in a mud hole and she gets up and that white dress is all covered with dirt and mud.

Here we were in creation. when we were given, when his people were given to him. We were holy. We were righteous. Because God said that all things that he created were good. But what happened? We fell. We fell in our head. And my, the mud in which I described that bride is falling doesn't even begin to begin to begin to compare to the filth, the filth of sin into which we fell.

Well, did we fall out of his love? No, no, not his bride. She was given to him. There is people. He loved her before she fell, and he certainly loves her now that she has fallen. Loves her so much that he comes to give himself for her, to shed his blood for her.

And now, using that same illustration, now she's Not only pure and white, but unblameable. His bride. And when God the Father sees His people, He sees us in Christ. And therefore, our sins, our iniquities, He remembers no more.

Now that ought to make you happy. It does me. It does me. Oh, just to thank this morning that in the presence of Almighty God, in the sight of that one we sang about, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, that in His sight, His church is just as pure and holy and without fault, without wrinkle, without blame as His eternal Son is. accepted in the beloved.

That's the only way any of us are going to be accepted by God, is to be found in Christ. We were chosen in Him, this is what this verse tells us, that blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him.

In love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved, in whom, that is, in Christ, we have redemption.

And only, now listen, it's very important, Everything I've said has been important. It is. But listen, only those in Christ are redeemed. Isn't that what that verse says? In whom, that is in Christ, we have redemption.

Well, who is in Christ? Those whom the Father chose and chose in Christ. according as he has chosen us in him. Christ is God's first elect, and all of his people are chosen in him. Love first, eternal love first. I have loved thee, the scripture says, with an everlasting love. And out of that love comes eternal election. Yes.

Well, let's go back to our text. That's the first thing we see. I've got to hurry, but the second thing, he has raised up a horn of salvation for us. Notice that in verses 69 and 70. This is still part of Zacharias' prophecy.

And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began.

" In the scriptures, I know you know this, but let me remind us, a horn, he's raised up a horn of salvation. The horn speaks of power. And it is from an animal, an animal that has a horn. And with that horn, the animal destroys its enemies. And the Lord Jesus Christ hath visited and redeemed his people, and he's raised up as a horn of salvation, as that horn pictures an animal destroying its enemies, so he came to destroy The works of Satan. That's what we read in 1 John. He came to destroy the works of the devil. The devil and his works, I believe, is the way it reads.

Well, why then did Zacharias not say he raised up a horn of destruction? Oh, no. He raised up a horn of salvation. Because, you see, he destroyed our enemies In saving us, in saving his people, he had to destroy our enemies. What were our enemies? We're talking about spiritual enemies, right? Well, number one was sin. Sin. We come into this world and the scripture says there's none righteous, no not one. We come into this world, we're born sinners. Only Adam, only the man Adam ever became a sinner by sinning. We all were in him, in his loins and in that covenant of works that God made with him and his posterity. And we fell in Adam.

Yes, that was our enemy sin. It's spoken of in the scriptures as a debt. You see this if you compare the two model prayers of the Lord in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke. Forgive us our transgressions, I believe in one prayer it says, and the other says, forgive us our debts. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Sin is reckoned like a debt. And we owed a debt we couldn't pay. I don't like to be in debt, do you? I don't think anybody likes it. Some people are in debt for various reasons. But my, to have a sin debt and to know that an eternity in hell will not pay for one sin. An eternity of suffering, the wrath of Almighty God, will not satisfy God's justice for one sin. Think about that debt. If you're here today without Christ, without any hope of salvation, you've got a debt. You've got a debt. You owe God. and your debt is a sin debt, and you can't pay it. You say, well, I'm gonna turn over. No, you don't have anything to pay with.

Oh, but there's a man, Christ Jesus, who came into this world to pay the sin debt of those who trust in him. Won't you look to him right now? In your heart, won't you turn your faith, your eye of faith toward Christ even now? God have mercy upon me. Save me for Christ's sake. Won't you do that? Are you able to do that? To look to Him. My, what a blessing when a believer, when a person is made a believer and turns to Christ. A man being Christ, he's a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things become new. Yes.

The third thing, he's come to save us from our enemies. Well, we've already dealt with that some. Verse 71, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all that hate us. You know, Satan hates man. He feigns himself to be a person's friend, but all the time he's plotting their destruction in hell.

Here's a fourth thing. He has come to perform his mercy, verse 72 through 75, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.

Someone has defined mercy as God not giving us what we deserve, and grace as God giving us what Christ deserved. I like that definition. Yes, he has come to perform his mercy, and in this passage we see that his mercy was promised, mercy which he's promised. From the very beginning, when sin first entered into this world, there was a promise of a savior, the seed of the woman. It was pictured in the Old Testament, in the tabernacle. You know, that's the way the gospel was preached in the Old Testament, through that tabernacle. God gave it to Moses. You remember that there was a mercy seat? There was a mercy seat. It was upon the broken covenant. And the Ark of the Covenant was a broken covenant of works. That's what we had broken. There was a mercy seat, but you know. There had to be blood put upon that mercy seat. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.

He promised mercy, pictured it in the tabernacle. It also promised mercy in his oath that he swore to Abraham, and thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. That seed, of course, is Jesus Christ, our Lord, that Son. And also, mercy was promised in that oath that God took. when he not only gave his word, but swore, took an oath, so that you and I, those of us who flee to Christ for refuge, we might have a strong consolation. We've got his word, the word of him who cannot lie. We've got his oath. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Amen.

Well, notice it was promised that we might serve him in verses 74 and 75, that he would grant unto us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. When God saves a person, saves one that he has chosen. He saves that person that that person may serve him, that she may serve him. I was reading William Mason, his devotional, which I like this, that I've got here copied Children of grace, that is to say, children of grace are not called to be idle, speculatist in doctrine, but to a life of activity, to holy walking with Jesus, constant hearing of his love, cheerful obedience to his will, diligent search of the scriptures, steadfast resistance to Satan, striving daily against sin, and praying always with all prayer and supplication.

And the first chapter of 1 Thessalonians, Paul speaks about those that God had saved there in that town. And one thing he says about them is that they turned to God from idols to serve the true and living God. When a person is saved, we're saved to serve. And here, this text, this prophecy tells us in holiness and in righteousness. Notice that in verse 75, in holiness and righteousness before Him. Now, what does that mean? Well, turn with me to Ephesians chapter 4, just a minute. We're to serve Him in holiness and righteousness. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 24. Now Paul here is writing to believers in this church at Ephesus. And he says that, and that you put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Now Zachariah said that We are to serve him in holiness and righteousness. The terms are just reversed, but both are telling us that we are to serve him, that when God saves a person, that person is to serve God in righteousness and holiness.

We're talking about putting on the new man. What is that? When a person is saved, the old man, we've always had him, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. That's what the old man is called, the flesh. Not the physical body, but that principle, that guiding, governing principle inside of all of us as we come into this world. When we're born again, that which is born of the spirit is spirit. That's that new man that's created in righteousness and true holiness. And we know that in every child of God, you've got the old man and the new man.

But one big difference is the old man used to reign. He used to sit upon the throne, but no longer. He still remains, but he doesn't reign any longer. And we are to serve God in righteousness and in holiness. And I believe the apostle, we'll just take a few minutes to read on through to the end of this chapter, mentions some very practical things to believers to put on the new man.

There's some things that are just not consistent. There's conduct that's just not consistent with that of the new man. There's conduct which is consistent with the old man. Let me put it like that. And so Paul mentions some things as we read on here.

Wherefore putting away lying? Now, to lie, who is that consistent with? The old man or the new man? The old man, he loves lies. But all lies are going to have their part in the lake of fire. No, that which is consistent with the new man is to lie no more. Where for putting away lies, speak every man truth with his neighbor. It's just something practical, isn't it? To speak the truth.

Here's another thing, be angry and sin not. Well, to be angry and sin, Who's that consistent with? The old man. The old man. He can get angry and just blow up. And it's sin. But the new man, yes, he can be angry. There's things that we are angry about. But we're not to sin in our anger. You say, well, how do you do that? Well, you maintain that anger. You just keep on with that anger. No.

There's things that we see. I see things on the news, and I see things in so-called religion. Makes me angry. I'll be honest with you. And I believe I should be angry, because I see religion deceiving people and taking people not to God, but away from God. not leading them to heaven, but to eternal damnation. Yeah, there's some things. I see these people that molest children, for instance. I don't have any news for that, do you? I mean, no, I think there's things that believers should get angry about and do get angry about.

Neither give place to the devil. Well, he walks about as a roaring lion, Peter tells us, seeking whom he may divide. Resist the devil, and he will flee from thee. Greater is he that is within you. Who is that? That's God the Holy Spirit, if you're a child of God.

Let him that stole steal no more." What is stealing? That's consistent with the old man or the new man? Well, you know, it's consistent with the old man. But I'm an old man. I think there's just some practical things.

Corrupt communication. You know, there's some people, they can't even talk without using such foul, vulgar language. Is that consistent with a man who loves holiness and righteousness? Of course not. Let no filthy communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is to edification. And all of us should really take this to heart this morning when we meet and speak with one another, see that our conversation, our talking with others tends to edify. not pull down, not destroy, but to build up in the faith.

And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. You know the Holy Spirit here, this is one of those anthropomorphies. God cannot be grieved, but this again is using language that human language. I can be grieved, you can be grieved. God the Holy Spirit is using this language as though he were able to. Don't do those things that would grieve a person. Don't do those things that if he were a person, a man, he is a person, but if he were a man would grieve. Don't grieve the Holy Spirit.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking put away from you and all malice, and here it is, be you kind one to another. God, that ought to be our prayer every day. Lord, help me to be kind today. Some people just seem like they're naturally kind and some of us just seem like we're naturally unkind. Lord, let me be kind. Be kind one to another, forgiving one another.

People hold grudges, you know, people live such a miserable life that hold a grudge and they're never able to overlook something, never able to forget something, to forgive something, just keep that grudge and they make themselves miserable for the rest of the time. Not God's people. That's not the way we're to live. Put on a new man. Be kind, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you.

Well, I've taken all my time, so I'm not going to speak about the prophecy concerning John the Baptist, other than Zacharias believed God. Thou child, He knew, here's this baby about the size of my arm maybe, John the Baptist, about how long, about 18 inches or something like that. You child, he believed God looking at this little babe. Thou child shall be the prophet of the highest. Oh yeah, the highest of the high, the Lord Jesus Christ. Yeah, he believed God.

Well, may the Lord bless His word to us here today. I'm so thankful for God's blessings, and one of the blessings in my life is this church, you folks. I'm so thankful that God has let me be a part of this church. Yeah. Great is our faithfulness.

We want to sing this hymn in closing. Let's come and