Daring or Disbelieving
Christmas Mood Series
TEXT: Luke 1:5-38 (NASB)
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. 7 And yet they had no child, because Elizabeth was infertile, and they were both advanced in years.
8 Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11 Now an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her years.” 19 The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
21 And meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple, and he repeatedly made signs to them, and remained speechless. 23 When the days of his priestly service were concluded, he went back home.
24 Now after these days his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, 25 “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among people.”
Jesus’ Birth Foretold
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the holy Child will be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth herself has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called infertile is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the Lord’s bond-servant; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. —Luke 1:5-38
Compare these “Christmas Moods”
First off we see Zechariah, he is doing his priestly duty. He is burning incense and offering worship to God. The scripture describes him as righteous and that he was blameless before the Lord. But when the Angel visits him - he is accused of DISBELIEVING what the angel said would actually happen.
CAN YOU RELATE? (MOOD) to DISBELIEVING (Zechariah)?
In response to the angel’s message about the birth of his son
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature - defines γινώσκω for this context with the following category semantically (something English can not do).
- to arrive at a knowledge of someone or someth., know, know about, make acquaintance of
Zechariah’s question was not of
Other translations:
“How will I know this for certain?” (NASB).
“How will I know that this is so?” (NRSV).
“How can I be sure this will happen?” (NLT).
In other words, he is practically saying, “Well, what sign will you give me that this promise will be fulfilled? It is almost too much for me to believe. I can scarcely think that my prayer is really going to be heard. What sign will there be that God is going to do this for me?”
Have you prayed about some things for so long that now it just seems to be impossible?
Have you started accepting that this is just the way things are, and probably the way they will always be?
You need to Believe Again.
You need to Hope Again.
You need to pray that prayer in Faith Again!
You need to Trust Again!
It hasn’t happened yet, but EXPECT again!
WHY NOT BE
DISBELIEF
CAN YOU RELATE? To (MOOD) DARING (Mary)?
Mary has a
Zechariah - How Will I Know This? / Mary - How will this be?
Mary’s question was more along of the lines of how is this
Mary’s question was the desire for
Some people have said it is impossible to accept the Bible teaching of the virgin birth because it involves a biological miracle. What it really involves is the omnipotent (everywhere present) power of God, and the
In order to confirm the DARING faith of Mary, Gabriel then gave her the surprising information that her aged cousin Elisabeth had also conceived a son in her old age-though this was according to the natural order-and that it was now the sixth month with her, who was called barren. The explanation of all this is given in verse Luke 1:37, “For with God
In charming simplicity and in DARING devotion to the will of God, Mary answered, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
CAN YOU RELATE?
Are you willing to be DARING in your faith and
Some of the things God will ask of us and speak to us through His Word don’t seem to make sense. Sometimes they seem impossible. But we need to be DARING like Mary and say with all of our heart - BE IT UNTO ME, ACCORDING TO THY WORD!
God’s Word says that if I repent - He is faithful and just to FORGIVE ME AND CLEANSE ME!
God’s Word says that when I am buried with Him in water baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ that all my sins are washed away - and never to be remembered against me.
God’s Word says that He wants to give me the precious gift of His Spirit.
Be daring enough to take God at His Word that HE WANTS TO GIVE YOU THIS GIFT!!
HIS WORD says…
By His Stripes I am
By His Sacrifice I am
By His Spirit I have
Because of His great love - I am never alone!
BE DARING, Not DISBELIEVING in your MOOD this Christmas!
Take God at His Word!!