God’s Will Accomplished In His Time, In His Way: Gospel of Luke #02
This is an exposition of Luke 1:5-25. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, February 21, 2016.
Intro:
Have you ever found yourself asking God if He knew what He was doing? I mean you found yourself in a position that, as far as you could tell, made absolutely no sense and you could not see any possible benefit – so you began to ask why? Oh, you didn’t doubt God’s existence. You didn’t question His love. You didn’t question His power – you just wondered what in the world was going on! Don’t give me that pious look. We’ve all done that. That is part of the human condition. The real question is how do we handle those times? How do we respond when those feelings come up?
To help answer that question we are going to turn to the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke is part of a two-volume history written by Luke the physician who was a traveling companion of the apostle Paul. What we know about the author of this Gospel is gleaned from passing references in Scripture and early church tradition. Luke was a gentile probably from Antioch. He was a trained physician. Some have suggested that he was a ship’s doctor, given his knowledge of ship travel evidenced in the book of Acts. History and archeology have proven that he was a careful and accurate historian. One tradition says that he was educated at Tarsus and it was there he met Paul, as they were students together. Sometime in the early 60s he wrote a systematic history of the person and ministry of Jesus. The Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts form a two-volume history. Luke tells of the life and ministry of Jesus. Acts tells of the on going work of Jesus through His church. The date of writing is arrived at because it is obvious that the Gospel was written before the book of Acts – Acts 1:1. And Acts ends with the apostle Paul in prison in Rome. The favorable light in which the Roman government is portrayed would indicate that it was written before Nero’s persecution in AD 64. So the Gospel is written sometime between 60 and 63.
The purpose of Luke’s Gospel is stated in Acts 1 Acts 1:1-4. He was writing an orderly account of the life and ministry of Jesus so that his friend Theophilus would know with certainty the things concerning the Lord Jesus. Whether this was in an attempt to bring Theophilus to faith in Christ or to strengthen his faith we do not know. Luke, the Gentile, writing to a Gentile is concerned with presenting Jesus as the universal savior. He is the savior of all mankind. The savior of the Jew and the Gentile. Luke, being a man of science, brought a scientific approach to his work. Luke was not an eyewitness of the events presented in his Gospel but it is obvious that many of his accounts are eyewitness accounts. As a careful historian he interviewed the people involved. This is especially evident in the opening chapters. Here we find material unique to Luke’s Gospel. As Luke tells of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus and His forerunner John the Baptist.
Text: Luke 1:5-25
We are introduced in the opening words of Luke’s Gospel to Zechariah and Elizabeth who are devout and faithful servants of God. Both are direct descendants of Aaron. Zechariah is a priest who, as he is introduced, is serving his rotation in the Temple in Jerusalem. We are told that both are upright in the sight of God. Both are faithful in observing all of the Lord’s commands. Both are, according to Jewish law, blameless. This is a godly couple. These are folks who are faithful in every respect. They just have one problem. They are childless. Now in their day, in Jewish culture, that was seen as a curse. The Hebrews understood that children were a gift from the Lord. They turned that around and said the lack of children is the punishment of the Lord. Thus they were living in disgrace. Add to that the fact that every devout Jewish husband and wife dreamed that they would give birth to the Messiah. As long as they were barren there was no hope of that. This is the heartache they lived with. Faithful, devout servants who were seen by others as bearing the curse of God. I’m sure at times they felt they were cursed as well.
Can you identify with them? Have you ever been overcome by the “Why Me?” Have you ever thought, “Lord I can give you the names of 12 people who ought to get this treatment – you know I don’t deserve this – why me?” As we explore what happened to Zechariah we find an important principle unfolding for us. One that you and I need to learn. One that we need to keep constantly before our eyes. It is a lesson we must learn over and over again.
Thesis: As believers, we can confidently trust God to accomplish His will in His time in His way.
God is sovereign. That means He is in control. His purposes will be accomplished. He will do what He said. But it will happen in His time and it will be done His way. Now I recognize that is easy for me to say. As I stand here in this pulpit, this morning, it is easy to say. When I am in the midst of a struggle, when life is threatening, when all hell is breaking loose in my life that is the furthest thing from my mind! But that does not change the fact that it is true. As believers we must consistently fall back in assurance that God is in control. That is at the heart of faith and trust.
There are three things I want us to note in our text as we seek to draw eternal principles from the experience of righteous Zechariah.
- God often blesses us at the most unexpected times. (1:5-12)
- God often blesses in the most extraordinary ways. (1:6-7,12-17,23-25)
- God often validates His word in an undeniable fashion. (1:18-22)
Conclusion:
God blesses at the most unexpected times.
In the most extraordinary ways.
And validates His word in undeniable fashion.
All of which serves to teach us that we can confidently trust God to accomplish His will in His time in His way. Therein is our confidence and hope.