Heeeeeeere’s John!

Luke 1:57 Now Elizabeth's full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. 59 So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 60 His mother answered and said, "No; he shall be called John." 61 But they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name." 62 So they made signs to his father--what he would have him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, "His name is John." So they all marveled. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66 And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, "What kind of child will this be?" And the hand of the Lord was with him.

It is amazing what a year can hold. It was just a year ago that Zacharias and Elizabeth were serving out their elderly years, faithfully accomplishing God’s plan for their lives. Perhaps nothing much more to look forward to than the proverbial, “death and taxes.” In a word, their lives could probably be characterized as ‘uneventful.’

After all, what can a senior citizen expect from life that may bring about any sort of change - let alone a radical one?

It was in the midst of faithful humble service that the Lord arrested Zacharias’ life, and it is important to note all that happened in this ‘no-longer-normal-at-all’ life that he and Elizabeth lived together before the Lord.

His prayer (for a son) had been heard, (by God) and it was the angel Gabriel who told him so.

But his question about how he could know this had been silenced and his ears deafened since he last heard anything at all. (And the last thing he heard was that his wife would bear him a son!) I suppose if you were immediately deaf and dumb at the mere pronouncement of an angel you may also sense and trust God’s power to design conception even in those far too old to conceive.

And then, indeed, there WAS a conception. Elizabeth was pregnant. I’m pretty sure that in the midst of his imposed silence Zacharias was now living a life of awe in addition to the life of reverence he had previously lived.

Nine months is a long time to spend in silence, but isn’t it wonderful we don’t have to be able to audibly speak, or physically hear in order to speak to or listen to God?

And now, a son is born. What a difference THIS year had made. What would his name be? Would it be to the glory of his father – a little Zacharias junior? Or would it be to the glory of his father’s Father? Yes! His name would be JOHN!

-  Pastor Bill

Let It Be?

Luke 1:26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then 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 bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; 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 of His kingdom there will be no end." 34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" 35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible." 38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

In the words of rock-poet Paul McCartney, “When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me…”

I am so glad that isn’t true.

We have a greater than Mary who DOES come to us in times of trouble, and His name is Jesus.

Think though, of the investment God has made in Mary…His only begotten Son, the One Who is to come, born of woman, born of a virgin, born of this teenaged woman, Mary.

To truly consider all that has been entrusted to Mary is pretty incredible, and it speaks of the wonder of God’s trust in man, even though man has a history of completely disregarding and breaking that trust.

But there could be no other way. For The Son of God to be The Son of Man, He must be born of woman.

Her name was Mary. We can thank God for her, but not worship her. What of her parents who raised her and prepared her for this role? What of her grandparents and all of the community that prepared her for this?

Mary, the one who would hold the Savior of the World as her very own child – all the while knowing He was the child who belonged to the ages…

Let it be…Jesus!

-  Pastor Bill

Progressive Revelation

Luke 1:1 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. 5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. 8 So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10 And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

You awake in a darkened room and stagger groggily into the bathroom. You flip on the light switch – and – youch! Severe eye pain. It’s more than your eyes can stand…

The way God has designed our eyes is amazing. The pupil opens and closes depending on the brightness of the light source. Natural light provided by God has a gradual brightening and darkening. (We call those ‘morning’ and ‘evening.’) God understands the need for our exposure to light to be gradual rather than sudden.

John the Baptist IS “Elijah who is to come.” He is the gradual lightening to come before the Light of the World.

John the Baptist is key for the ministry of Christ for two reasons. 1.) He would be the fulfillment of prophecy spoken by Isaiah, (40:3-5,) and Malachi, (3:1 & 4:5.) 2.) He would be God’s emissary whose mission would be to prepare the ‘eyes’ of man for the Light of the World - Who is Christ the LORD.

God is gentle with His revelation before man. He knows our sensitivity to His Divine Light, and so the ground is well-prepared long before the light switch is flipped. (A mixed-metaphor for sure!) But you get the drift…2,000 years of prophecy followed by the birth of John the Baptist, followed by Christ. Do you see God’s prep work?

Who is the person who was your own personal, ‘John the Baptist?’ Whose personal ‘John the Baptist’ will you be? How fascinating God uses man to introduce men to God. We are not that Light, but we are those who bring others gradually to it.

-  Pastor Bill

Only You Know and He Knows

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

If we were to carefully examine ourselves we might be surprised by what we would find. (Especially if we were left with nothing but self-interest to examine ourselves by.)

There are so many things I cannot know about myself. I can’t see the back of my head, and I never would without the aid of a mirror. Can it be possible my soul has blind spots as well?

That would be a, “Yes!” Again, imagine if the only perspective of self-examination was self-interest. Where would that leave us? There are so many things we cannot see about ourselves, (blind spots,) and the things we can see that we don’t like can be covered up. (Camouflaged.)

The problem with the effectiveness of camouflage, (and it does work,) is that in deceiving others about our weaknesses we also deceive ourselves. Take our eternal condition for example. It is VERY easy to look the part of a Christian. Go to church. Smile. Carry a Bible. Call yourself one. Done.

The worst part is by doing those things I may even convince myself I am a Christian. Millions upon millions of people are in that exact position. Look the part. Be the part. I am the part.

The Word of God teaches otherwise. In 2 Corinthians 13, Paul writes in verse 5: Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you are disqualified.

But here’s the deal – what am I to use to examine myself by? (Knowing my blind spots, self-interest and extensive knowledge of camo.)

Answer: The Word of God is the ONLY impartial tool of examination known to man. Note: ALL other religious treatises deal with the actions of the flesh. ONLY God’s Word deals with the attitudes of the heart. You know…the part way down inside that cannot be seen by anyone…the part we may even hide from ourselves for as long as we choose…

When Jesus taught me to love my enemies, I knew I was guilty as sin. Here I was thinking I was a pretty good person, and along comes The Word slicing me open and showing me my heart in a way I had never seen before – or even desired to. The blessing is with the revelation of Truth comes the application of forgiveness and salvation. Unless you would rather not look. The choice is yours.

-  Pastor Bill

Resting Place

Heb 4:1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: "So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest,' " although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works"; 5 and again in this place: "They shall not enter My rest." 6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, "Today," after such a long time, as it has been said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts." 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

“Resting” is an interesting concept. Obviously, everyone needs it. You can’t go for too long without it.

The really curious part is how ‘resting’ recharges our batteries? Renews our strength. How does that work? How is that all I have to do is lay down for a bit – say 8 hours – and all of the sudden I’m as good a new?

When I was in college, part of my fraternity initiation was to be kept awake for 5 straight days, from Monday through Friday. The guy who designed our initiation had been a POW in Viet Nam, and he designed our initiation to incorporate sleep deprivation because he saw how powerful an influence it was. Being kept from sleep for an extended period of time makes you real loopy, and your brain stops functioning properly. It gets hard to think straight, and your body gets fuzzy and weak.

When you’ve been away from physical rest for a long enough period of time, you find yourself absolutely craving it, imagining it, practically dying for it. “I need rest!”

The same is true in the spiritual realm. God has designed us to require rest, both physically and spiritually.

In the same way physical rest is only found in sleep, spiritual rest is only found in Jesus. There is no other name under heaven which is given by which men may have rest. Don’t harden your heart to this fact – delight in it!

How wonderful it is at the end of a long exhausting day to climb into bed and just drift away! Equally wonderful is how at the end of a life-long tiresome search we can open our hearts to Christ and receive the eternal rest we have been seeking.

-  Pastor Bill

The Rest is His Story

Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. 3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, 'They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.' 11 So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.' " 12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God…

God is inviting everyone everywhere to enter His “rest.”

There are lots of ways we could probably think about exactly what that “rest” is.

It could be a certainty of God’s power always present in the life of the believer so they know they have no need to strive to accomplish anything for the Lord. It could be a confidence in His creation power capable of bringing healing in physical sickness and in relationships. It could be His ability to direct the heart of the king like rivers of water so we no longer have to worry about government being anything more than an extension of God’s will.

It can be all of those things and more. It starts at the beginning: “In the beginning God  created the heavens and the earth.” Believe that and the “rest” is easy.

I can rest in the knowledge of how good God is because I see how good His use of power has always been. His power has always been used for good in the midst of an evil world in which Satan has been provided latitude for degradation to bring us all to the place where we are allowed to make an obvious choice: Good? Or evil?

That people choose evil is undeniable. The question is: Why? An even greater question may be: Why would anyone choose evil after having seen how good God is? And this is the question the author of Hebrews poses in chapter 3.

The answer to both those questions is the loss of long-term focus brought about by the distraction of an immediate situation. Facing impossible odds. Hunger for present reward. Fear of failure. Any of those. All of those. Satan is a master of distraction. We so easily forget God’s story. For God so LOVED the world…

We choose what we see that will be lost over what we cannot see that cannot be lost. And so we refuse to enter His rest, because we forget how good God is.

-  Pastor Bill

Know Your Enemy? Know Your Friend!

Matt28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

It has always been an important strategy to “know your enemy.” After all, if you are to defend yourself from an attack, it is wise to know your enemy well enough to be able to anticipate when the attack may come, and also where it may come from.

Our enemy, THE enemy of all, walks about like a roaring lion, looking for those whom he may devour. It’s good to know that about Satan, so we are not caught off-guard by his attacks and accusations.

One of the attacks Satan likes to launch has to do with how we think about others. If it can be shown we have a physical enemy, then we understand the need to be at war with them until they are no longer a physical threat. We can take that further into the Spiritual realm, especially when those we perceive to be our physical enemies also espouse a religious philosophy which poses a threat to Biblical Christianity, and to Christians and Jews.

The Muslim world has been portrayed as such, and we have begun to understand the need to “know our enemy,” and to be wise about how to defend ourselves from a people group who seek to destroy us and our way of life.

But more important than knowing our enemy is to know our Friend. What a friend we have in Jesus! How important it is to know His heart, and to know His ways, and to know His love for all – including those we have commonly thought of only as enemies.

It is the love of Christ that, “binds the strong man.” How important for us to understand what Jesus had to say about our enemies. We are not free to hate them, we are called to love them and to pray for them. After all, Jesus died for their sins as well…

Our guest speaker this morning is Samy Tanagho. Samy was born and raised in Egypt where he worked as an attorney before he came to the United States in 1980. He studied Islamic Law and Islamic Religion at Ain Shams University, School of Law, Cairo, Egypt. Samy serves as the Director of Ministry to Muslims “Good Shepherd World Evangelism - Ministry to Muslims.” He has been involved in the Ministry to Muslims since 1976. You can visit them at www.muslimministry.com.

He is the author of the book, “Glad News! God Loves You My Muslim Friend.” He is currently a frequent guest speaker at various Bible Colleges. He teaches on the topic, “How to Communicate the Good News of the Christian Scripture Effectively to the Muslim People.” He has given seminars in conferences and churches throughout the United States and other countries on this subject.

-  Pastor Bill