A predicament, picture, preacher and a promise; Luke 2:21-38

Well, in spite of the fact that today is Easter and some of you may have come expecting a more topical message, we are going to continue in our ongoing verse by verse study of the book of Luke as is our custom.  We practice expositional preaching here, which means that we preach the full gospel of Jesus Christ, the easy parts and the hard parts.  Today we find ourselves at what might be one of the harder parts, but I believe God has a particular message for us today.  Besides, we celebrate the resurrection every Sunday morning.  It is called the Lord’s day because after Christ’s resurrection early on Sunday morning the day of worship was changed from Saturday to Sunday to commemorate Christ’s resurrection.

However, as we celebrate his resurrection today it is important to consider why Jesus Christ came to earth and died on the cross and suffered the way He did.  It’s important to understand why God raised him from the dead.  And going back to the beginning of Jesus’ life helps us to better understand the end of His life.  So as we look at this passage of Scripture today Jesus is just eight days old.  And I believe there are going to be some things that Luke has put in his record that will better enable us to understand the gospel as we go forward.

Today, I want to show you four things in this passage which should help us develop the right perspective.  Number one, we are going to look at the predicament, secondly the picture, thirdly the preacher and fourthly the promise.

First, the predicament.  One of the most incongruous things about the birth of Jesus was that Mary and Joseph are two young Jewish people that were little more than teenagers from a town called Nazareth, about which it was said that nothing good would ever come.  And yet God has selected them out of all the people on the face of the earth to be responsible for the birth and well being  of the Son of God.  That the most precious baby in the universe was entrusted to these teenagers is an amazing thing.

But it must have been quite a confusing and yet exhilarating time for these two young people.  They probably already faced public ridicule from relatives and friends who believed the worst about them.  But they trusted the word of the Lord and so far there had been several confirmations from God concerning his word to them which must have given them hope.  As mentioned earlier in the passage, they had each seen and talked to the angel Gabriel.  There was the confirmation of Elizabeth and John the Baptist and Zacharias.  There had been the confirmation from the shepherds who had seen a heavenly host of angels pronouncing the birth of Jesus.  And yet I’m sure that there must have been a sense of something almost like disbelief that this was happening to them.  So there was the immediate predicament of Mary and Joseph as they tried to live up to the trust that was thrust upon them by God, and at the same time deal with all the difficulties that this birth had caused them socially.

But in addition to their personal dilemma, there was an even greater predicament that they were a part of, and it had to do with the nation of Israel.  The Jews were supposed to be God’s chosen people.  People that God selected out of the entire world’s population to be the receptors of His plan for redemption.   God chose Abraham, a nobody from a place called Haran and told him that from his loins would come a seed which would be a source of blessing to all the families of the world.  Abraham had Isaac in his old age, and Isaac begat Jacob and God changed Jacob’s name to Israel.  Israel had 12 sons which became 12 tribes.  Eventually, God raised up Moses to take this people out of Egypt to the land which he had promised them, and by great miracles He brought them into a wilderness where God began to reveal His will to this people.

 God came down from heaven onto the mountaintop of Mt. Sinai and delivered His law which detailed the standard of righteousness God required.  The original ten commandments were extrapolated to become 613 laws that the Jews were required to observe and keep.  And the real predicament was that Israel had been unable and unwilling to keep those laws.  They had turned to false idols and God was displeased with them and disbursed 10 of the 12 tribes.  They were gone. Then there were only 2 tribes left, and they too had turned away from worshipping God with all their heart,  all their soul and all their might as the law required.  They had a form of religion, but they had made it into an external sort of façade in which outwardly they seemed to worship God, but their hearts were far from it.  In short, the predicament was that the chosen people of God had become apostate.  For the most part, they cared little for God’s will and went through the motions of religious rituals which had lost all  meaning and significance for them.

So much so that God said through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 1:11"What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle; and I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, who requires of you this trampling of My courts?  Bring your worthless offerings no longer, incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.”

So that is the predicament. God’s chosen people are apostate. The rest of the world is in darkness.  They have no idea what the truth is.  God gave his laws to Israel which was supposed to result in them being a light to the world and to whom the world was supposed to come to find the truth, and yet the people that God had entrusted his oracles to had become worthless, self absorbed religious hypocrites whose lives caused the rest of the world to curse them rather than bless them as the promise to Abraham had specified. Furthermore, the Jews were now under Roman rule and so they were looking for a political figure that would deliver them from Roman oppression and recreate the old monarchy of David. Rather than seeing their predicament for what it was, in their self righteousness they thought they were better than anyone else and therefore deserving of a physical and political blessing that would enable them to enjoy their lives.

I cannot help but draw a comparison to the predicament of  1st century Judaism  to 21st century American Christianity.  We have our rituals, our public religious ceremonies that seem to never get past the external, while leaving our hearts completely devoted to our own idols of materialism.  We aren’t looking for a coming Messiah, we are looking for a political and physical fix to our predicaments so that we might enjoy life’s passions unhindered.  We are seeking a better life here and now, a life without anxiety, without fear, without financial hardship, without sickness.  And the television evangelists promise us that this is all that God wants for us, to be happy and successful and prosperous.  And yet the world who is supposed to be drawn to our light, and looking to us for truth, as we have been entrusted with the oracles of God, see nothing more than empty, self serving rituals and hypocritical lifestyles that are in opposition to the very things Christ exemplified.

Secondly, let’s look at the pictures.  In verse 21 Mary and Joseph take the baby Jesus at 8 days old and have Him circumcised.  The Jews believed that circumcision was the means of identifying God’s people.  This was an external mark on the foreskin whereby Abraham, who the rabbis taught was the doorkeeper of Hades,  was able to make sure that none of his children entered into the pit in the afterworld.

But circumcision was intended to be a picture of sacrifice.  And Jesus at just eight days old goes through this procedure to personify that picture.  So circumcision was symbolic rather than a means of salvation.  In contrast to the Jew’s belief that it was a sign of who was accepted by God or not, circumcision was a symbol of the sin nature that was passed on to every generation, from son to son.  When Adam sinned, he became inherently sinful, and he passed on that sin nature to every man on earth through childbirth as it says in Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”  So circumcision was a reminder given through Abraham that for his people to be the children of God, there would need to be a separation from the sinful nature, a supernatural operation, whereby God would cut away the flesh and give new life.  Paul gives the proper application of circumcision in Romans 2:29 “But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”

So Mary and Joseph had Jesus circumcised on the eight day according to the law as a sign of what Christ would one day do for us, circumcising our hearts.  So that those who would be born of the Spirit would be obedient from their new hearts.  And there is another picture of sacrifice that is found in vs. 22-24.  The law stated that a woman was to come to the temple after the time of her purification and present the first born son to the Lord and offer a sacrifice.

And there is so much here that I don’t really have the time to get into today.  But what I would like to impress upon you this morning, especially in these seasonal religious ceremonies we love to act out in our society, is to contrast our bloodless rituals of Easter eggs and Christmas trees and draping purple cloths on crosses with the sacrifices required by the Mosaic law as an offering for sin.  Mary and Joseph have to purchase 2 turtledoves and have them slaughtered as atonement for her purification.  One for a burnt offering and one for a sin offering.  They were too poor to be able to buy a lamb, so the law allowed them to buy two doves instead.

And you find this sort of sacrificing going on all the time in Jewish society.  In some respects, the priests were little more than butchers, slaughtering animal after animal in a never ending supply of offerings to God for atonement for the continual sins of the people.  It was a never ending flow of blood. On the Passover, for instance, which was just celebrated this last week, there was the requirement for a lamb to be slain and his blood spread upon the door post in remembrance of God’s deliverance of Israel from the plague in Egypt.  On the night before Jesus was crucified, there were upwards of a half a million lambs that were slaughtered that night and tradition tells us that the Kidron brook which flowed behind the temple mound was overflowing with blood as Jesus and his disciples walked through towards the Mount Olives.  And the picture must have been becoming clear then to the disciples as they walked through that bloody creek with Jesus.

So all of these bloody sacrifices were a picture of the sacrifice that Jesus would make on our behalf on the cross.  John the Baptist upon seeing Jesus at the start of His ministry would say, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  Every sacrifice was a picture of Jesus offering up his body as our sacrifice to atone for our sins.  And every sacrifice had a cost.  For Mary and Joseph, young, just married and very poor, even the price of two turtledoves was costly. For God, the sacrifice of His only Son was of immeasurable cost.  And every sacrifice for sin required the shedding of blood. Hebrews 9:22 says, “according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

So then these pictures were symbolic of the sacrifice that Jesus would make on behalf of the world, to reconcile a people back to God by the remission of their sins.  And one day Mary would personally know the heartache and the cost of that salvation as she saw her Son offer himself on the cross in our place that we might be made righteous before God.  2 Cor. 5:21 says, “[God] made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

Now let’s look at the preacher and his message.  While Mary and Joseph are in the temple God has providentially brought this old man there at the same time who was looking for the promised Messiah.  Vs. 25 says he was righteous and devout.  That means not only was he saved, he was active in his faith.  He was living out his faith in the temple, looking for the Messiah.  And the amazing thing was that God had revealed to this man that he would not die until he saw the Messiah.  Now Luke doesn’t tell us how Simeon and Mary and Joseph met up, but it does tell us the proclamation that he speaks concerning Jesus.

Note first of all in verse 25 it says Simeon is looking for the consolation of Israel.  That is, he is looking for the Comforter of Israel.  All of Israel was hoping for someone to rescue them from oppression.  But this man knows that it will be the Messiah, and from his message we can see that he understands what the Messiah is going to do.  He isn’t looking for a political savior, he is looking for a spiritual Savior who will fulfill what Malachi prophesied 400 years earlier.  Mal. 4: 2 “But for you that fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in it’s wings.”  It’s obvious from Simeon’s message that he understands that Israel needs spiritual healing.  He says in vs. 30, “I’m ready to go now Lord, because my eyes have seen your salvation.”  And this is so critical because everything that has been presented through the oracles of God up to this have been pointing to salvation.  The blood of bulls and goats was never enough.  Day after day lamb after lamb, animal after animal was slain.  But now Simeon has realized that God has brought salvation to the earth in the form of this little baby,  the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.

So Simeon declares that he has seen the salvation of God.  And he has four points to his message that speak of Jesus Christ as salvation.  The first point is Jesus is the light, vs. 32.  “A light of revelation to the Gentiles.”  And what a fantastic prophecy that this is concerning Jesus.  Here is the realization of the promise given to Abraham that one would come from his seed who would bless all the families of the world, not just the Jews, but the Gentiles as well.  The Jews as a nation had failed to be the light set on a hill to point men to God that God had designed them to be.  But Jesus would be the light to bring revelation about God to everyone in every nation.  Jesus would say in John 8:12 “"I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."  He was the fulfillment of Isaiah 9:2 “The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.”

But the Bible says in John 3:19 that "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.”  And so that which was to be a light of revelation becomes a stone to stumble over.  That’s the second point of his message of who Jesus is; a stone.  He says in vs. 34 "Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel.“  He is talking about the stone that the builders, that is the Jewish leaders, would reject. 1Peter 2:4 “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,”  “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone. " "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.”

And the third characteristic of this salvation would be that it was a sign.  Vs. 32, this child is appointed “for a sign to be opposed.”  In Isaiah 8, Jesus is described as a stumbling stone, a rock of offense, and then in vs. 18 it says, “Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.”  The miracles that Jesus did were not just so He would be known as a miracle worker, but they were a sign from God, attesting to the fact that He was from God and He was God.  Yet the religious leaders said He was a devil, and cast out devils by the power of the devil. They rejected the sign.  They opposed the gospel.

Know this for certain, ladies and gentlemen.  The gospel of salvation is an offensive message for most people.  Most people don’t want to be told that they are sinful, that their good works are worthless in gaining acceptance with God.  Most people are offended to hear that their sins have condemned them to hell.  And so consequently they will not accept a Savior, because they don’t believe that they need to be saved.
But Titus 3:5 says we are saved “not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

And in keeping with the context of being offensive, Simeon presents salvation in Christ as a sword.  Vs. 35, “and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed."  The gospel is offensive because it reveals the thoughts of our hearts.  It goes deeper than external ritualistic religion to pierce our souls.  To understand this verse I think you need to remember the passage from the first chapter of John which described Jesus as the Word.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”  “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father.”  So from the beginning of eternity, Jesus was the Word of God, and this very Word of God became flesh in the form of a man.  This Word became the light to the Gentiles. This Word became the sign which the world opposes.  And the Bible tells us in Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Folks, you cannot separate Jesus from His Word.  Jesus said in John 14:10 "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.”  And again in John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”  The Word of God is that which convicts.  We can celebrate a Jesus who was a humble pacifist, or a good teacher, or a humanitarian who did good works and not have a lot of opposition.  But when we worship the Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, who laid down His life as an atonement for the sins of the world who must believe in Him by faith, then we find that suddenly Jesus is offensive.  When we preach the word of God which says, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” then suddenly the Word is offensive. When the Word says, “No man comes to the Father but through Jesus, then suddenly the Word is offensive.  But we cannot separate Jesus from the Word, they are one and the same, and some are going to stumble over this rock of offense and some will be saved.  Our job is just to preach the Word, and be  the light of revelation to the world about who Jesus is and what He has done for us that we could never do ourselves.

Jesus Christ is revealed through the Word and the Word of God will hold us accountable.  The rock of Jesus Christ either crushes our pride or we will stumble over the stone and be held accountable before God.  But the Word is not something we decide. Jesus is not someone we can define.  He existed before eternity, He is God, and He became our Savior and God’s Word reveals our salvation.  I heard of a man living in France who had an acquaintance visit him.   And so he took his friend one day to visit the Louvre and other important museums and buildings.  That night he took him to attend a world class symphony from a well known composer.  And afterwards he asked his friend what he thought of it all.  And his friend said, “Well, it was ok, but actually I wasn’t all that impressed.” So the man responded, “"If it's any consolation to you, the museum and its art were not on trial and neither was the symphony. You were on trial. History has already judged the greatness of those works of art and the greatness of that music. All that is revealed by your attitude is the smallness of your own appreciation."  Listen, God has already judged Jesus Christ and found Him faithful and true.  And one day, we will all stand before God and  be judged for what we have done in response to that testimony in God’s Word.

There is one last character in this story today.  Starting in vs. 36 we read about Anna, an 85 year old widow who was righteous and faithfully serving God in the temple night and day and God used her to declare the promise of redemption for Jerusalem.  She continued to speak of Him for those who were looking for the redemption of Israel, those that were looking for the fulfillment of the promised Messiah.  And I think this lady is significant for our culture today when we are so youth oriented that we have little patience for the older generations.  But I think that God would tell us here that there is a place in service of the gospel  for the old and the young.  Mary and Joseph were just teenagers and yet God entrusted them to care for the very child of God, the infant of God.  And repeatedly in this chapter we see God using the old.  Zacharias and Elizabeth were too old to have children but were serving God faithfully in the temple and God used them in a mighty way.  Simeon was old and ready to die, waiting to die, and God used him in a mighty way to preach a message that has lasted 2000 years.  And now Anna, an old woman, a widow, faithfully serving God right up to the end, and God uses her to share the promise of redemption to everyone in the temple for the rest of her days.

Folks, I see too many elderly people today retiring from serving the Lord.  Maybe you’re just tired, or maybe you think that you haven’t got anything to offer anymore.  Or maybe you are selfishly wanting to do shuck any responsibilities now that you have stopped work and just play golf for the rest of your life.  I would suggest that is a waste of the resources and experience that God has entrusted to you.  I urge you to use what time you have left to serve the Lord.  God will use you if you make yourself available to Him.  There are more elderly people today than ever before due to the benefits of medicine and healthier living.  And what an army of people that could be serving the Lord.  Let’s not become self absorbed in trying to live out our lives in pleasure.  Let’s get serious about looking for the coming of the Lord as Simeon and Anna were and God will use you as He used them to proclaim his salvation.

Easter is about salvation ladies and gentlemen.  God raised Jesus from the dead to validate that Jesus was righteous, He was sinless, and His atonement was sufficient to pay for the sins of the world.  He died that we might have life.  And He lives so that we might one day live with Him and right now live for Him.  I would be happy to talk to you afterwards and help you understand how that can be a reality for you today.  Let’s pray.

Easter sunrise service

If the weather cooperates we will have our Easter Sunday service on the beach this year, March 30, 2013.   Service will be at the normal time which is 8am.  Please dress warm and bring a chair.  In the event of bad weather, we will be meeting indoors as usual at the Christian Conference Center in Bethany.  Hope to see you on the beach!

born a Savior; Luke 2:1-20

Considering the fact that today is known as Palm Sunday, it may seem strange to be studying the Christmas story at this time of year.  But in reality, it is a story for every day of the year, not just at Christmas time.  In fact, in no place in Scripture is there an injunction that suggests that we set aside one day in particular to celebrate Christmas, or Easter, or Palm Sunday, for that matter. There is nothing wrong with celebrating the birth of Christ or the resurrection of Christ on a particular day, but I’m afraid our traditions have obscured the real understanding of the significance of such days with the addition of a lot of silly customs that have nothing whatsoever to do with the birth of Christ or the resurrection.  However, I believe there is an ordinance in the Bible that we are to observe the Lord’s Supper at least once a year, and we will be doing that at the end of our message today.

If you are visiting with us today, then you should know that it is our practice here at the Beach Fellowship to study the Bible verse by verse, and chapter by chapter.  I had hoped to be in this section of scripture around Christmas time, but it turned out that it took a couple of months longer than anticipated to finish going through the last book we were in, which was the Epistle to the Philippians.  But anyway, we’re here now, and I believe that God has us here today with good reason.  I hope that as we look at this passage of Scripture without being caught up in the trappings of the Christmas season, perhaps we may see some things that we might have missed in the past which will benefit us.

The key verse that I would like to draw your attention to today is found in verse 11 which says, “for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  This verse is really the key to understanding the true meaning of the Christmas story.  For if Christ was born to be the Savior of the world, then He was much, much more than just a poor baby born in a feed trough in a tiny little town in the middle of the night.  He was much, much more than just a prophet, than a good teacher who lived a life of passivism and piety, to whom we should look to as an example.  For this baby born in a manger 2000 years ago to be able to affect the salvation of generations of people all over the world, He could be no less than God himself, the Creator of the Universe, coming in the form of one of His creations, in order to affect the redemption of His people from the condemnation of death.  No mere man could atone for even his own sins, much less the sins of millions of others, no matter how righteous he may have been.  The only way for redemption to happen on that scale was if the One coming was in fact the very God of the universe, the Creator himself, humbling himself to become one of us.

Last week I visited my mother who is 85 years old.  And one morning while I was there she had a couple of ladies ring the doorbell.  They handed my mother a brochure and told her that they wanted to invite her to celebrate the death of someone very important.  Well, of course they were Jehovah Witnesses.  I stepped in front of my mother and handed the brochure back to them and began to do a little witnessing of my own.  The first thing I said to them was to verify that they do not believe that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh.  No, they said, he was “a” god.  In fact, they wanted to say that we were gods and the devil was a god.  According to their religion, Jesus was a son of God and the devil was a son of God.

I quoted them John chapter 1 where it says, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” But of course, they have changed their version of the Bible so that is not what it says.  They add an article so it reads, the Word was a God.  I reminded them of some other scriptures which they have taken the liberty to change as well, and by the end of the conversation I chased them off the front porch with the admonition that if they did not accept Jesus Christ as God then they could not be saved, and they would die in their sins and would one day bow their knee to Christ from the pit of hell.  I never have seen two old ladies makes such a beeline for their car as those two did.

The point though is critical.  If Christ wasn’t God in the flesh, then He could not affect our salvation – He could not be our Savior.  And so if He is not our Savior, then one must just believe that Jesus was an example of how we should live.  The problem with that is that Titus 3:5 tells us that it is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saves us.  Furthermore, Gal. 2:16 says, “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

So though these poor Jehovah Witnesses work so hard and endure so much, trotting from house to house proclaiming their false doctrine, yet the Bible says such works can never save them, and they have said themselves that Jesus cannot save them because he is just an angel/man who was meant only to serve as an example of something that we can never achieve.

Unfortunately, it’s not only Jehovah Witnesses who believe that false doctrine.  Many religions and denominations have espoused a type of Christianity that is either based on Christ being less than God, or man being able to earn or work for his salvation, and both are just as damning.  Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  What that means is that since everyone on earth is a sinner, then everyone on this earth needs a Savior.  And the good news is, just as Luke records the angels’ announcement, the world’s Savior was born on a starry night in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, and He still lives to make intercession for us, because his blood was sufficient as an atonement for our sins.  And that could only be possible if the blood of Jesus was no less than the very blood of God shed for our sins.

It’s interesting that as Luke records the Savior’s birth, he begins by mentioning Caesar Augustus who had decreed that a census be taken of all the people.  And it’s interesting for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that as the Savior of the world is being born in a manger in tiny little Bethlehem practically unnoticed by even the citizens of that village, much less known to the world, yet Caesar Augustus is quite literally known throughout the Roman Empire as the savior of the world.  He was routinely proclaimed the savior of the Roman Empire.  And they weren’t just talking about a physical savior from their enemies either, but he was actually considered a god, and was the object of emperor worship.  In fact, in order to accentuate this deification among his soldiers, Caesar, whose real name was Octavian, added , in 42 BC,  Divi Filius to his name which meant Son of the Divine.

As far as the Romans were concerned, they already had their savior, this political and military genius who had accomplished what became known as the Pax Romana, which meant the Roman peace.  The Roman Empire would enjoy 200 years of relative peace through the political and military conquests of this man who was considered a god in the flesh.  After his death, he would be added to the Pantheon of gods and continued to be worshipped. He achieved great things for the people.  He built a highway system that was unequaled anywhere in the world, enabling soldiers and merchants to travel quickly throughout the Empire.  He had extended Rome’s borders as far away as Egypt, Africa and Germania.  He established the world’s first real police force and fire departments.  He built civic buildings and works that elevated Rome to the pinnacle of civilization.

I cannot help but wonder at the contrast between this man mentioned in verse one, who was heralded by the entire civilized world as the savior of the Roman Empire, and the birth of Jesus Christ heralded by angels in verse 11 to a small group of shepherds in the middle of nowhere.  An area called Bethlehem of Judea that was under the jurisdiction of Quirinius, who was the governor of Syria.  By the way, Luke’s information here regarding the census and Caesar and Quirinius gives historians a pretty good idea when Jesus was born.  And the better commentators have been able to establish that Jesus was born probably around 8-4 BC.

Luke, as you know, was a doctor, and as such makes a fine historian because of his attention to detail.  And another interesting thing about Luke’s account here is that he records these details in a very simple, yet exact sort of way, without unnecessary drama or fanfare.  In contrast to the pomp and circumstance that would have accompanied Caesar in his travels, Luke presents very simply the facts of Jesus birth.

Luke’s mention of the census gives us an understanding of how Jesus came to be born in Bethlehem.  In fact, in the last chapter Mary was visited by the angel in her home in Nazareth.  And it would have been normal for her to have had her child with her relatives around her.  But because Joseph was from the house of David, he had to travel to Bethlehem, the ancestral home of David in order to register for the census.  And Mary of course went with him.  Neither of them probably realized that they were fulfilling a little known prophecy regarding the Messiah, found in Micah 5:2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.”  And I find it really ironic that this emperor of the Roman Empire is being manipulated by God to arrange events in such a way as to require this travel for them which would result in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.

And even more ironic, the very people to whom this prophecy was given were expecting their own version of a savior very much like Caesar,  a descendent of David who would become a king that would overthrow Caesar and liberate them from the oppression of the Romans.  Unfortunately, they misunderstood the purpose of the Savior.  The Messiah would not be a political savior, nor a military savior.  But he would be a spiritual Savior, to take away their sins and make peace between God and man.  The angels proclaimed in vs. 14 “"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."  Caesar Augustus was lauded praise because he orchestrated the Pax Romana, the Roman Peace, by executing his rivals and annihilating his enemies.  But Christ achieved peace on earth between men and God by offering himself as a sacrifice to satisfy the judgment for sin.

This peace between God and man was accomplished through Jesus our Savior offering himself as a sacrifice on the cross to pay for our sins.  Col. 1:19  “For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.  And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.”

2 Cor. 5:21 says that “He made [Christ] who knew no sin to become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”  By faith in Christ’s sacrifice, we are healed, we are made righteous by grace, and we are reconciled as children of God, presented holy and blameless to God.

So who is this baby who would be the Savior of the world that was born in obscurity under the reign of this self styled god called Caesar Augustus? How could he achieve salvation and peace for men?  Well back up a verse or two in Col. 1 starting in vs. 15 and Paul tells us: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell.”

Isaiah prophecies in chapter 9:6 that this image of the invisible God will take human form as a baby.  “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

This kingdom Christ came to bring was a spiritual kingdom, wherein He rules and reigns in our hearts.  Jesus said that God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.  So then this invisible God through the Holy Spirit conceives this child in the human body of a young virgin called Mary, that the Spirit of God might become flesh so that we might know God. This was the prophecy in Matthew to Joseph concerning the child in Mary’s womb that Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and He would be called Immanuel, meaning God with us.   We could not know God fully until He revealed himself in the flesh.  And even though Jesus was raised into heaven, God still reveals himself to us today through His Word.  He said in John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

Not only are his words with us, but He has given us the Holy Spirit to live in us as well to be our Helper, our Comforter. John 15:26 "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.”  So even today, 2000 years later, we are still able to know Immanuel, God with us, because He dwells in His people, in our flesh. These once sinful bodies have become the temple in which God dwells.

One final thing I would like you to look at here in this passage is these shepherds to whom the angels made the announcement of Christ’s birth.   Contrasted against the civilized society of the Romans and even the expectations of the Jews, it is almost incongruous that God would select shepherds as the recipient for this angelic announcement of the greatest event in human history.  These guys were at the bottom of the totem pole in Jewish society, and they were completely off the radar in Roman society.  You just couldn’t go any further down the social ladder.  And I just want to point out that God is looking for the humble and lowly of heart to reveal himself to.  He isn’t interested in competing with man for the spotlight or the preeminence.  Jesus said in Matt. 11:25  “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” God seeks those who are humble in spirit and reveals himself to those that humble themselves.

But there is another reason that God picked these shepherds to declare that Jesus Christ was born.  And that is that these shepherds understood the concept of a Savior.  They understood the concept of a Savior because they knew firsthand the concept of a sacrifice.  These lambs that they watched over in the fields that night were probably sooner or later going to end up as a sacrifice on the day of atonement, or one of a half a million lambs that would be slain on the Passover.  The Passover represented the day when Israel was delivered from death by the slaughter of a lamb and it’s blood spread upon the door posts of their home.  It was a feast that was celebrated in every home, every year throughout Israel.  And chances are, these very sheep were being raised to provide the sacrifice that would be eaten on Passover night in remembrance of God’s salvation of Israel by the blood on the doorpost.  These shepherds would understand then the prophecy of Isaiah 53:6 “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. Vs.11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”

Tomorrow, March 25th, is the day that the Jews celebrate the Passover meal.  In Exodus chapter 12 Moses established the ordinance of the Passover which was to be a reminder of God’s deliverance of Israel from the judgment that fell upon the Egyptians.  Moses said, “And when your children say to you, ' What does this rite mean to you?'  you shall say, 'It is a Passover sacrifice to the LORD who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.'

On the night before He was crucified, Jesus also observed the Passover meal with His disciples in the upper room.  And as He led the disciples in the ceremony of remembrance, Jesus changed it from an old covenant symbol of deliverance to a new covenant symbol of remembrance.  It says in Luke 22:19 “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”

Today we too will celebrate this new Passover feast which we call the Lord’s Supper or Communion.  It is a symbol, a picture, a reminder of what Christ did for us on the cross.  Our Savior became the Lamb that was slain for the remission of sins.  And because of His blood shed on the cross for us, we that have faith in Jesus have been passed over in regards to judgment.  Our lives have been spared.  The Bible says that there is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.  We have a new covenant instituted by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Savior.  Celebrating this new covenant Passover is not a means of salvation by merely eating and drinking the wine and bread.  But it is done in remembrance of the salvation that was effected for us on the cross, if indeed you have appropriated by faith Christ as your Savior.  Salvation is by faith in what Christ has done for us, not by what we might do.  But we are reminded of His atonement by the observance of this ordinance.

The Apostle Paul presents this new Passover, the Lord’s Supper in this manner in 1Cor. 11:23 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.  In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."  For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.  Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.  But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.  For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.  For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.  But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”
Let’s pray.

who are you? Luke 1:57-80

As we continue today in our ongoing study in the gospel of Luke, we come to the record of the birth of John the Baptist.  As the angel Gabriel had prophesied, John was born to Elizabeth and the priest Zacharias.  His father, you may remember, had been struck dumb by the angel because Zacharias had doubted the word of God.  So for nine months he has been silent, forced to write out on a tablet anything that he wanted to communicate, and it would seem that he had also become deaf, perhaps not totally deaf, but deaf enough so that people who knew him had to make signs to him in order to communicate.

Chances are by this time these two people were in their 70’s.  Zacharias may even have been older than that.  So finally the day comes that Elizabeth has her baby.  And it must have certainly been the talk of the town.  After all, they are known in Jerusalem because of Zacharias’ priestly service to the temple, and so this event would not be hidden.  The text tells us that Elizabeth’s neighbors and relatives came to rejoice with her.  It was a tremendous thing to have a first born male child under even normal circumstances in that culture, and considering their particular circumstances, it must have been the event of the year.

And so, as was the custom of the Jews, on the eighth day after John’s birth they came to circumcise  the child according to the law.  And these friends and neighbors and relatives the text says would have named him after his father Zacharias.  That would have been the custom.  But Elizabeth says no, his name shall be John.  That was the name given to Elizabeth by Gabriel.  It was the name God had selected for John.

Now names generally had meaning in those days.  Zacharias name meant, “remembered of Jehovah".  And I’m sure people thought that would have been a fitting name for the baby, because his parents had been remembered by God by  blessing them with a child even in their old age.  But both Zacharias and Elizabeth had each been told by the angel very specifically that the baby would be named John.

John’s name had a special meaning as well.  It meant "Jehovah is a gracious giver".  And I believe that this naming of John the Baptist has significance for us today as well.  However, we don’t usually name our children today the same way that they did then.  I’m not sure what means people use to come up with names today.  I like retired heavyweight boxing champion George Forman’s method.  He named one child George Junior, another George III, another George IV, another George V, another George VI and one of his daughters Georgette.  I’m surprised that’s even legal.

They have a website, by the way, that ranks children’s names by what is considered to be the most popular.  I guess if you want to help your kid become popular  then you name him a popular name.  According to the website  the most popular name for boys, by the way, is (1) Liam, (2) Noah (3) Mason, (4) Ethan (5) Jack (6) Jacob (7)Jackson (8) Lucas (9) Aiden (10) Logan.  And just to be fair, the 10 most popular girl’s names are number one, Emma, 2, Olivia, 3, Sophia, 4, Isabella, 5, Ava, 6, Mia, 7, Emily, 8, Charlotte, 9, Ella, 10, Lilly.

And all those names have some sort of traditional meaning, but most of our children are not named because of it’s meaning, but usually because we like the way the name sounds.  Or perhaps, as in George Forman’s case, because it is easy to remember.

But names in Jewish culture were significant because they indicated something about the personality or characteristic of the person.  And names are even more significant when God names a person.  And we see that happen a few times in the Bible.  Jesus was named by God before He was born.  The angel Gabriel announced that He would be called Jesus:  which meant “Jehovah is salvation.”  It’s interesting in these three names in this chapter, you see a progression;  Zacharias; remembered by Jehovah, John, given the grace of Jehovah, and Jesus, the salvation of Jehovah.

There are other names given by God in the Bible.  For instance, Jacob was named Israel which means God prevails, given to Jacob after he wrestled with God.  And throughout Israel’s history we see his descendents, the Israelites, wrestling with God, always rebelling against God.  But in the end, God will  prevail.  He will save a remnant and the Israelites will one day mourn when see Him who they pierced.

Peter is another name given by God to a man.  Simon was a disciple of Jesus, and Jesus changed his name to Peter, which meant stone or rock.  Jesus announced that “you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”  God would change Peter from a turbulent, sometimes violent, conflicted man, into a living stone that God would found his church upon.  God sees the potential in Simon, and gives him a name that is a promise of what he will become.

And in that regard, we too have been given a new name.  Did you know that when you are born again as a child of God He gives you a new name? Rev 2:17 says “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.”  This new name is the family name of God that is given to the children of God. Rev. 3:12 “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.”  God declares that our name has been written in the Lamb’s book of life since before the foundation of the world.

So as we consider this text today, I want to focus on the question that the friends and relatives of Elizabeth asked, which is found in vs. 66, they said, “"What then will this child turn out to be?"  And I would like to use this question to ask you today as well, “Who are you?”  What kind of person in Christ will you turn out to be?  Considering that this incredible phenomenon that we call salvation has come down to us, to those of us that have followed Jesus in faith and received His righteousness by grace and are written in the Lamb’s book of life, considering how marvelous all this is, and by what kind of miracle we have been born again, then what kind of person will you turn out to be?  Who are you in Christ?  What is your name?  What is your purpose?

We know that up until the point that John the Baptist was declared by Jesus in Luke 7:28 that there was no man born of a woman who was greater than John, yet Jesus adds to that statement something even more remarkable.  He adds the promise that yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. In other words, he that is born of the Spirit is greater than he that is born of the flesh.  That promise is for you and for me.  John came preaching the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus came bringing the kingdom of heaven.  And God has given by his grace the kingdom of heaven to us as an inheritance.  And so we that are nothing in this life, are promised greatness in the kingdom of heaven.  You have a name which is known by God, given by God according not to what you have done, but according to what God wants to do through you.  What God wants to accomplish in you.  So then, it behooves us to find out what God’s calling for us be, what God’s plans are for us, so that we might become all that we are designed and destined to be in Christ.

And I think there are some clues to understanding God’s purpose for us here in this passage today as we look at the birth of John. The first thing we need to see in this text is that we should not allow our friends and relatives to define us according to the traditions of man.  Note that in verse 59 these friends and relatives were rejoicing with Elizabeth, and they wanted to name the baby according to tradition,  but they were acting in ignorance of the Word of God which Elizabeth and Zacharias had benefited from.  Even when Elizabeth said no, his name is John, they still argued.  Vs.61 “And they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name."  They even made signs to Zacharias to see if he would offer up a different name.  But Zacharias remembered the Word of God which told him that the baby’s name was to be John.

And notice something else here that I think is very instructive for us as well.  Zacharias has been dumb for 9 months.  He was struck dumb because he didn’t believe God’s Word.  He had questioned God, doubted God’s word, and God struck him dumb.  But note that God is just waiting for him to repent to bring about deliverance from his chastisement.  Sometimes, God chastises us when we are in rebellion.  And sometimes it’s hard to know whether or not a trial you are going through is due to your rebellion or a trial brought about by the devil to tempt you or test you.  But in this case, we know Zacharias is being disciplined by God.  And I believe God will make the difference known to you if you desire to know it.  But God is always waiting for us to repent.  He is like the father in the story of the prodigal son, looking down the road, watching and waiting for our return.  Ready to forgive.

And so when Zacharias makes this statement through his tablet, confirming the prophecy of God, agreeing with the Word of God, then God is there to release him. Vs. 64 “And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God.”  You know, you can’t praise God when you are in rebellion against God.  You can’t praise Him when you’re in sin.  God will not accept your sacrifices, your offerings, your songs, your lip service, when your heart is not right before Him.  God said in Isaiah 1:13 “I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.”  Don’t think you are pacifying God by coming to church with a rebellious heart.  Get your heart right first, then come to church and God will accept your offering.

I think it’s obvious that Zacharias had come to a place of real repentance.  And I think that is born out by what he did when he was finally able to speak.  I wonder what the first words you or I might speak if we had been struck dumb for 9 months? I heard a story once that every ten years, monks living in a certain monastery are allowed to break their vow of silence to speak two words. Ten years go by and it's one monk's first chance. He thinks for a second before saying, "Food bad." Ten years later, he says, "Bed hard." It's the big day, a decade later. He gives the head monk a long stare and says, "I quit." "I'm not surprised," says the head monk. "You've been complaining ever since you got here."

But old Zacharias didn’t start complaining.  He is the picture of true repentance.  The first words out of his mouth after 9 months is praise to God.  Look at his words starting in vs. 68.  Some have said that this is a song of Zacharias.  Some have called it the Benedictus. But this song of praise has two stanzas.  And the first, vs. 68-75 is about Jesus Christ.  Not until the second stanza does he mention John, his child who he was undoubtedly holding in his arms, but even then he only mentions him in context to what he was in Jesus Christ.

So, not only is Zacharias a picture of repentance, but he is a picture of how we should see our purpose in Christ as well.  Who are you?  Who am I?  What Zacharias is telling us here two thousand years later is that who you really are is not determined by what kind of work you do, or what kind of education you have, or what kind of accomplishments you may have listed on your resume, but who you are only matters in relation to who you are in Christ.  The Bible says the flesh profits nothing.  But as  Gabriel told Mary just a few verses earlier in vs. 37, “nothing will be impossible with God."  God is able to take someone who is nothing in the flesh, and give him new birth through the Holy Spirit, and make it possible for that which was nothing to become something useful for the kingdom.

I shared with some of you last Wednesday night at our Bible study that while I was in California I decided that I was going to quit writing a newspaper article on surfing that I had been writing every week for the last 10 years.  It worked out that it was basically 10 years to the week.  520 articles.  And there were a couple of contributing reasons that I quit.  One of which the pay was really, really bad and I had never received a raise in 10 years. (I sound like the monk!) But really, pay had very little to do with it.  The real reason that I quit was as I stated publicly in my last article, was that 10 years ago I thought of myself as a surfer, first and foremost.  I never considered myself a good surfer, but I was a stoked surfer and I wanted to share surfing with this community.  I even started a ministry based on surfing.  I took kids on mission trips, camping trips, taught surf lessons, got involved in surf contests.  I defined myself by surfing.  But over the last few years as God has been working in me and calling me and confirming me in this ministry, I began to understand that surfing is just something that I do.  It’s not who I am.  And so I said in my article that actually, who I am today is a pastor, first and foremost.  I believe God has called me to preach the gospel in this community, and to feed his sheep.  And though I hope to still be surfing 10 years from now, I no longer want to be defined as a surfer.  I have a higher calling than that.  And I want to give first place to that calling.  I want to be defined as  preacher of the gospel.

Folks, I may have been called to be  a preacher, but I would say to you today that you also have a calling from God.  You have a name given to you by God.  He has a purpose for your life. He has a plan that must come first if you are going to realize your true potential in Christ.  So many people see God as an addendum to a successful career, or a happy life, to a good marriage.  They think when I  am done sowing my wild oats and I settle down, and I get married, and I have a nice job and house and family, then one day I will add God to my life and I’ll have everything I need.  But I am here today to tell you that what God wants of you is not a little bit at the end, but like John to be all that we are designed to be from the beginning.

Zacharias said in vs. 68 "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,  And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant.”  He is singing of redemption.  Of salvation.  God remembered his promises to the patriarchs Abraham and David, the promise of salvation and blessing that would come through their loins.  And 2000 years later we have been singled out for this great salvation, this unbelievable redemption from our former, futile way of life.

Peter said since we know that “you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1Peter 1:18) “what sort of what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness!” (2 Peter 3:11)

Know this folks.  John the Baptist was great only because he served the Lord as a prophet and forerunner of the Lord. From an human perspective, he was an absolute failure. His ministry lasted only a year or two and then he was put to death. But in the sight of God he was great.  And you will only find your true purpose in life, only really accomplish anything meaningful in God’s eyes,  as you submit yourself completely and humbly to the service of God above all else.  Your service to Jesus Christ must come first and foremost and everything else must be secondary to that purpose.  You need to commit yourself to the Lord first, and find the place you want to live only as it fits into that commitment to Christ’s ministry.  You need to commit to the Lord first, and then find a wife or husband only as they fit into that commitment to Christ’s ministry.  You need to commit to the Lord first, and then find a job only as it relates to Christ’s ministry.  I know of so many lives that are upside down.  So called Christian men and women who are going to be ashamed on that day when they are called to give an account of their stewardship, because they have subverted Gods’ plan of redemption in their lives to their own plan for a career, for a husband, for a wife, for a business, for a retirement condo in Florida.  We somehow think that grace means that we can do whatever we want and God will be ok with it.  Folks, that is just flat out wrong.  The greatest commandment has never changed one iota; “"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Duet. 6:5)

So Zacharias, which means remembered by Jehovah, recounts the promises that God remembered which He had given to the fathers.  Vs. 72, “To show mercy toward our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to Abraham our father…” that is the promise of redemption for his people.  Then Zacharias tells what should be our response to this great salvation.  Vs. 74 “To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.”  We that are born again of the Spirit, like the name of John indicates, receive grace from Jehovah, and that having received grace we might serve Jehovah.  We can serve Him without fear because we have been redeemed from the condemnation of sin.  This service to the Kingdom is what we were made for.  This is what Christ died for.  That we who were nothing, might become sons and daughters of God, serving with Christ to bring salvation to the world.  That we might declare the name of Jesus;  Jehovah is salvation.

And so we hear Zacharias then say to his newborn son, “You child, “ finally his attention comes to his baby boy, “you child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on BEFORE THE LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS; To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH, To guide our feet into the way of peace."

Listen, you may not have been called to be a prophet with a capital P, or a preacher with a capital P, but every child of God has been called to be a preacher in the true sense of the word, a voice proclaiming the gospel of salvation to the world, to your world, the world you live and move in.  To give people the knowledge of salvation, to share with them the good news that there is forgiveness of sins for those that repent.  And every child of God is called to be a light unto the world, shining in a dark place. Phil. 2:15 “so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life.”

So the question today is not who John the Baptist was.  We have the benefit of history that has answered that question. The question today is who are you?  Where are you in relation to God’s plan?  What is God doing in your life, and through your life?  John the Baptist humbled himself before the plan and purpose of God.  He said regarding Christ, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  Have you submitted your plans to God’s plans?  Can you say that God’s purposes are your purposes?

1Cor. 1:26 tells us to “consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.”

God has given you a name that is written over with His name.  He has redeemed you with the precious blood of Jesus Christ that you might live in righteousness and holiness, serving God with fear of punishment.  He has a plan and a purpose for your life.  I hope that you will not be found in rebellion against the Word of God as Zacharias was and have God chastise you.  I hope that if you are being chastised today for rebellion that you will repent and confess that God’s plan is good and that you will commit to live the life that God has called you to live.

It may not be an easy life.  Verse 80 says that John lived his life in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.  More than likely his parents died when he was still fairly young.  He didn’t enjoy all the accomplishments and possessions and refinements of civilizations like the rest of the world.  But in the eyes of God there was no one greater born among women.  Folks, if you know the Lord as your Savior, then you have been born of the Spirit.  How much greater is God’s plan and purpose for your life having been born of the Spirit as opposed to one born of women?  I hope that you will seek to commit your life to live for God and serve him for the rest of your days.  That you will continue to grow strong in spirit, being faithful to perform that which God has called you to do, until God calls you home to be with Him.

True worship; Luke 1: 39-56

Today we are continuing in our on going study of Luke, and we find ourselves still in chapter one.  So far, two women have had a visit from the angel Gabriel, announcing prophetically that they would be with child.  Elizabeth was an older woman, probably past 60 years of age and had never had a child.  And Mary, is of course, a young virgin, not yet married.  Elizabeth’s child would be called John the Baptist, the greatest prophet in the eyes of the Lord, and Mary’s child would be Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, the very Son of God, called great because he was the Lord.

By the time we reach verse 39, Mary has just been told that she would be with child by the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon her, and also Gabriel says that her cousin Elizabeth was with child as well, which was a miraculous thing, that a barren woman well past child bearing age would be with child.

Now it’s not clear from the passage, but it would seem that when Mary becomes pregnant she doesn’t tell her future husband, Joseph yet, but instead leaves to visit Elizabeth. Perhaps she needs to see for herself that Elizabeth is with child as confirmation of what the angel told her.  Perhaps Elizabeth would be the only person that Mary feels that she can talk to about what has happened. 

And so God providentially provides through her visit with Elizabeth three confirmations of His prophetic word to Mary.  And I would just insert right here the importance of confirmation in spiritual matters.  As we have often said, you can prove just about anything you want to prove or assert by one verse of scripture.  It is important that we follow the Biblical counsel that everything is to be confirmed by two or three witnesses.   And especially in regards to what so many people today regard as prophecy.  Many have denigrated the true intention of prophecy from speaking forth God’s Word to nothing less that a cheap version of fortune telling.  And so many people act on what they believe to be some word from God, some divine revelation directly to them, and resist the need for confirmation.

So God confirms His Word to Mary through this visit to Elizabeth in three ways. First of all, personal confirmation. She personally witnessed the miracle of conception that had occurred in Elizabeth when she saw that Elizabeth was six months pregnant. There was personal confirmation that God performed a miracle in Elizabeth even as He said he would.

And then there was physical confirmation that came when the baby in the womb of Elizabeth, who was John the Baptist, leaped for joy when he heard the greeting from Mary who was with child conceived of the Holy Spirit. God literally was using the physical response of John the Baptist to confirm that in fact that this was a true word from God.  John wasn’t able yet to speak, but the Holy Spirit in him while yet in his mother’s womb recognized the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ who was in Mary’s womb.

Then there was prophetic confirmation. Personal confirmation came from Elizabeth. The physical confirmation came from the unborn John the Baptist. The prophetic confirmation came from God Himself who filled Elizabeth with His Holy Spirit and she spoke the Word of God in verses 42 to 45.  So we see that God confirms this great prophecy concerning the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ three times, or with three witnesses.  Even God keeps His own rule concerning verification.  

Then starting in verse 46, we have the response of Mary.  Some have called it the song of Mary.  It has been called the Magnificat.  It is Mary’s song of praise to God for His salvation.  In some respects, you can call this the first worship song of the church.  There have been praise songs and worship songs in the Bible before this, of course; Psalms is full of them. But this would be the first one of the church age, which was not possible until the cornerstone of the church was made flesh. 

And so I would like during the time we have left to look at what Mary’s song teaches us about worship.  There are a lot of misconceptions today in the church about worship, what constitutes worship.  In fact, what is happening today in the church in the name of worship is a relatively new phenomenon.  It’s a religious phenomenon that is less than 50 years old.  Today we have turned the church upside down in response to this desire to pursue a worship experience that is called contemporary.  It seems to be primarily limited to music.  It’s leaders are often chosen by their youthfulness and hipness and musical ability rather than the spiritual qualifications for a leader that are laid out for us in the Scripture, especially in 1 Timothy.  This religious phenomenon has separated church congregations that God had designed to be one body, working together,  unified in spirit and service.  But instead it is often divisive, separating this body according to musical tastes, fashion styles, lighting preferences, and according to age differences.  It has made old fashioned, God ordained preaching almost a thing of the past, and elevated music from a peripheral component of worship to the main course, and in the process de-emphasizing the Word of God.  

  

While I am not saying that everything about this new religious phenomenon we call worship should be considered suspect, I am very concerned that the enemy has induced many churches to offer up what amounts to strange fire to God and many naïve, uninformed church goers have been sold a bill of goods that will not, and cannot deliver on it’s promise of spirituality or even a committed Christian life.  In the modern church’s attempt to redefine worship for this generation, we are in danger of the sin of Cain, offering up to God an unacceptable sacrifice of our own choosing rather than what is pleasing to God.

So I think it would behoove us a church to consider what the Bible teaches us concerning what true worship is supposed to be like which I think we can learn from Mary’s song of praise.  I want you to see from this passage that worship is first of all spiritual, 2, worship is intelligent, 3, worship is scriptural, and 4, worship is humble.  This list is not exhaustive by any means, there are many other things that I could add to that list as well, but we haven’t the time to fully investigate all of them.  So I am limiting the list for the sake of time.  But I believe you could add that worship is joyful, worship is reverent, and worship is thankful.

But first let’s look at worship is spiritual.  Note verses 46 and 47: “And Mary said: "My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” If you have been with us for very long then you may have heard me teach that God created man in His own image.  God is a triune being; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  And so man also was made a triune being in the likeness of God.  God made man spirit, soul and flesh.  Man’s spirit is that element of man that was intended for communion with God, fellowship with God.  But man’s spirit died in the fall according to the judgment against our sin.  Therefore, Jesus tells Nicodemus that for man to receive eternal life, then he must be born not only of water, that is in the physical womb, but also of the Spirit.  For it is the Spirit that gives life to that which was dead.  You must be born again, Jesus said. So Mary is singing to God out of the joy of a reborn spirit.  And she is singing out of her soul.  She’s not singing soul music, necessarily, but what it means is she is singing and praising God out of a transformed heart and mind.  Being reborn of the Spirit results in a transformed mind, and that is what soul, or the Greek word, psyche, means.  It’s the seat of our emotions, mind and will.  It’s a heart tuned to God by a regenerated spirit.

But what I am getting at here is not just an intellectual knowledge of the difference between soul and spirit, but it’s an emphasis on spiritual as opposed to physical. John 6:63 says, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”  True worship then will emphasize the spiritual and minimize the physical.  That which stimulates the physical above the spiritual has the whole order of salvation upside down.  When we were dead in our sins our spirit was dead.  Therefore our fleshly passions enslaved our minds to do their will.  But when we are born again, the spirit is to be in control.  We are to walk in the spirit, so we do not do the works of the flesh.  The flesh profits nothing.  It’s still corrupt.  It hasn’t been made new yet.  One day we will receive a new body, but now we are still in the old flesh.  However, we are supposed to have a new nature.  So worshipping in the spirit is not going to happen through stirring up the flesh will it?  Throughout scripture we see that the spirit and the flesh are opposed to one another.  Therefore we are told to crucify the flesh that we might walk in the spirit.  That isn’t talking about goose bumps or emotional feelings, it’s talking about being tuned to the mind of God through the Spirit of God who has revealed God’s will  to us through his Word.

Folks, there is such a misunderstanding of this basic principle today in churches, and it is really being misapplied in the realm of what is called worship.  I’ve been in churches where the congregation was berated for not clapping their hands in a worship song, actually insinuating that if you didn’t clap your hands or wave your arms around or dance in the aisles, then you weren’t being spiritual.  I’m sorry, but that’s just flat out wrong, and it’s not taught in scripture.  Oh, you can find verses that talk about clapping your hands or lifting your arms, but to somehow say that is a means to spirituality is bogus.  In fact, many times I think it is detrimental to worship.  I’m not saying that it’s wrong to clap or raise your hands, but it’s never going to be the means of spiritual worship. The emphasis is on lifting up holy hands, that is clean hands as a result of a clean heart, holy, consecrated to God.

Which leads us to our next point, which I’ve already alluded to, and that is that not only is true worship spiritual, but it is intelligent.  Mary said my soul, my psyche, exalts the Lord.  Mary’s worship was an intelligible, intelligent offering to God.  She’s happy, she’s rejoicing, but it is expressed by quoting Scripture, recounting God’s deliverances, telling about God’s faithfulness.  It’s not just some mindless, physical exuberance that no one could understand. 

Recently a woman admonished my daughter about worship music.  She overheard her talking to some friends at school one day about a rap song that was supposed to be Christian, and Melissa commented to her friends that she didn’t find the song to be particularly exalting to God.  It could have been exalting anything, a girlfriend or something and sound just the same.  And this lady ended up urging Melissa that in the future she needed to go to a Christian rock or rap concert and just let herself go in the music.  She told her to just give in to whatever came over her there and she would find herself worshipping God.  This lady comes from the camp that espouses such physical manifestations of so called spiritual activity such as being drunk in the spirit, or being slain in the spirit. 

I got news for this lady.  She doesn’t know which spirit she is of.  The Bible says we are to test the spirits to see if they are of God.  It says there are many spirits that have gone out into the world, and not all of them are of God.  Just letting yourself go in an environment that is exalting the flesh is putting yourself at the mercy of any sort of spirit that wants to come in and deceive you. And let me assure you that the enemy is right here among us in church today.  Just because you are at church doesn’t mean Satan isn’t here as well, trying to deceive and snatch away the seed of the word of God as soon as it is sown.  The devil tried to tempt Jesus by quoting scripture to Him in the wilderness.  So don’t be surprised to find him working in the church.  The Bible says God isn’t the author of confusion.  God is a God of order and intelligent design and we are to respond intelligently.

Thirdly, true worship is not only spiritual, and intelligent, but it is scriptural.  Throughout this song, Mary is either directly alluding to a specific scripture, or she is directly quoting from it.  True worship must have as it’s basis an emphasis on the Word of God.  You show me a worship service without Biblical preaching and I will show you a church that is bordering on apostasy.   John 1 says Jesus is the Word.  And the Word became flesh.  You cannot emphasize God’s Word more than the Bible emphasizes God’s Word.  I already read you John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

Another place Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.”  He went on to say, “Thy Word is truth.”

Mary isn’t speaking out of her imagination some religious mumbo jumbo, she is extolling the virtues of God as revealed in OT scripture. For example, she starts out in verse 46 by saying. "My soul exalts the Lord," which is an echo of Psalm 34:2, "My soul shall make her boast in the Lord." In verse 47 she says, "And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior," which echoes Isaiah 45:21, "There is no God else beside Me, a just God and a Savior." And in verse 48 she says, "He has regarded the lowest state of His handmaid," which echoes 1 Samuel 1:11, "If You will indeed look on the infliction of your handmaid and remember me and not forget your handmaid," the words of Hannah. It also is reminiscent of Psalm 136:23, "Who remembered us in our low estate, for His mercy endures forever." Again in verse 48 she says, "Behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed," which echoes the words of Leah in Genesis 30 verse 13, "Happy am I for the daughters will call me blessed." In verse 49 she says, "He that is mighty has done to me great things," which echoes Psalm 126:3, "The Lord has done great things for us whereof we are glad." And then in verse 49 she says, "Holy is His name," directly quoting Psalm 111:9, "Holy and reverent is His name." And so she reveals that she is very well versed in the Old Testament as she unfolds her familiarity with Scripture and applies it to her own situation.

She also understands the history of Israel. She understands how God has exercised His mighty arm in verse 51 and how in the past He has scattered the proud. He has brought down rulers. He exalts the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, sent the rich empty handed. She understands how through the history of Israel God has helped Israel, verse 54, and done so in remembrance of His mercy promised, in verse 55, by the Abrahamic covenant. She is not just familiar with Scripture, she knows covenant theology. She understands the theology of the Abrahamic covenant. She understands that it was an eternal pledge made to Abraham by which generations to come would be blessed. She is knowledgeable of Scripture and she is familiar with theology.  So true worship will always be based on the Bible and sound Bible teaching and preaching.  Sound doctrine.

Lastly, true worship is humble.  Mary never takes center stage here, but she puts the Lord on the pedestal, and she refers to herself as His bondslave, or as His handmaiden.  Folks, true worship is not about how the music makes me feel, or expressing my individuality, or showing off my musical ability.  It’s not about me, period.  It’s about magnifying Jesus.  John the Baptist had it right when he would later say in his ministry, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Listen to Mary’s worship starting in vs. 48 and you hear humility stressed over and over again.  48 "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. "For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. "AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM. He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS; And sent away the rich empty-handed.”

Mary calls herself a bondslave, a bondservant of the Lord.  You can’t get more humble than being a servant.  And that is where true worship must start.  David said in the Psalms, “a broken and contrite heart, O Lord, you will not despise.”  Humility starts with a contrite heart broken over your sinfulness.  And then such a heart receives God’s mercy.   That mercy causes the penitent sinner to respond in service to the King of Kings who has spared his life, who has given us so much, even to the point of sharing in the holiness of Jesus Christ, and sharing in His inheritance in glory.  That cognizance should cause you to want to serve God. 

That’s what the word worship really means, by the way.  It means service to God. It was used to describe sacrifices by the priests, services rendered to God in the temple as we saw Zacharias doing in the beginning of the chapter. In Matthew 4:10 the Lord says, "For it is written, you shall worship the Lord, your God, and Him only shall you serve.” The word service is from the Greek word latreuo which is sometimes rendered worship and sometimes interpreted service.

1 Peter 2:5 describes worshippers as priests conducting services to God. “You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” And what are these sacrifices we are called to render to God?  The answer is in Romans 12:1,2 “"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service [lit., spiritual worship]". 

Mary was humble.  She was probably a sweet young girl of 13 or 14 years old.  She knew the Lord.  She knew her Scripture.  She knew the promises of Scripture concerning the coming Messiah.  And I believe her song is evidence of the fact that she did not consider herself worthy.  Rather her song reflects Isaiah 57:15 which says, “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.”

Mary understands that she has been blessed by the mercy of God, but she never considers herself the dispenser of blessing.  And contrary to the Catholic church’s teaching venerating Mary, Jesus himself teaches God’s perspective in Luke 11:27 “While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.  But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

And that brings us right back to the preeminence of the Word of God again, doesn’t it?  God’s Word has been given to us as a foundation for our faith and to order our days.  The Holy Spirit speaks to us through His Word.  And we serve God and worship God by being obedient to His Word.  The Bible says, “to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”  God isn’t interested in empty praise, ladies and gentlemen.  He is not interested in lip service from hearts that are proud and haughty and self serving.  God wants humble contrite hearts that will obey His Word and put His Word above our interests and our fleshly desires. 

God speaking through Isaiah in chapter one vs. 11 says, "What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.  I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.”

I can’t help but think that God is tired of our solemn assemblies, our rock concerts, our worship festivals, our lent season ceremonies, our Easter ceremonies, our Christmas mass, when our hearts are far from being obedient to His will.  In Matt. 15: 7-9,  Jesus says, "You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draws near unto me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."

Ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude by saying that God does want us to worship Him.  But He demands that we must worship him in spirit and in truth.  Not with the worship of Cain.  Not with the pagan influenced worship of the Israelites.  Not with the traditions of men.  But we are to worship as Mary exemplified in her song: worship in spirit, worship intelligently, worship scripturally, and worship humbly, serving the Lord with our entire being, in a manner pleasing to God, as God requires.