Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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A Fresh Touch For You
We will find in the story of Luke 1:5-25 five stages that show God’s desire to touch us.
The stages are:
I. SETTING (5-7)
II.
SELECTION (8-10)
III.
SCOOP (11-17)
IV.
SKEPTICISM (18)
V. SENTENCE (19-25)
Confession Of Faith: I am not moved by what I see or by what I feel.
I am moved by what I believe.
I believe the WORD of God The victory is mine! - I have it Now!I can see it through the eyes of my faith
I.
The SETTING
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly.
But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.
Zechariah and Elizabeth knew disappointment.
Zechariah and Elizabeth knew the pain of infertility.
Here was a couple that was well into their sixties.
And for years, they went crazy hearing all the lines…
“Just relax.”
“Don’t try so hard.”
“Take an extended vacation.”
“Why don’t you adopt a child?”
“Have faith.”
“Just trust God.”
“There isn’t any unconfessed sin in your life, is there?”
I am sure that they went through all the stages that infertile couples go through.
At first, they deny that it is happening to them.
But, then it becomes evident that children aren’t coming and so they attempt to avoid children altogether.
Then, there is the anger.
At this point, all they really want to do is hide.
Because they are just plain mad.
It just seems so unfair.
Then, somewhere along the line, acceptance sets in.
They come to the conclusion that this is their lot in life.
The text here reveals, the fertility issue, that they are faithful.
Zechariah and Elizabeth were upright in God’s eyes.
You see, the infertility is not the end of the story.
For God delights in working through people who listen and seek to follow Him.
This leads us to…
2. The Selection
Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
Zechariah , he
was one of out of 20,000 priests in Israel.
He served at the temple in Jerusalem for two one-week periods each year.
Now…when it came to offering the incense at the daily sacrifice, a priest could only do this once in his lifetime.
It was an honored ministry, for the priest stood in the Holy Place alone.
And as the worshippers prayed outside, the priest offered the incense inside, symbolically offering the prayers of the people to God.
This was a task of prestige because there were some that would never have the opportunity to enjoy this privilege.
So…
Zechariah experiences a coincidence that is not one.
On this day, it finally happens to Zechariah.
He was so lucky!
Has that ever happened to you?
Something really unexpected happens, and you say, “I am so lucky!”
And then you realize that luck had nothing to do with it.
You know that you have been amazingly touched by God’s intervention in your life.
And this is what has happened to Zechariah.
The lot has finally fallen on him.
But it is a whole lot more than conincidence.
This brings us to…
3. Scoop
It is at this point that Zechariah’s life takes on new meaning.
You know, Zechariah and Elizabeth had probably prayed for a long time for children.
The answer, though, had always seemed to be “no.”
Was it that God didn’t care?
The truth is…God cared more than they ever possibly thought.
He was preparing a surprise for them all along.
But, the time had to be right (and God always get the timing right!).
So…
Zechariah gets some unexpected news.
Can you imagine this scene for Zechariah?
He gets all the proper priestly garb on.
He works to remember all the steps he must follow (because he never has done this before).
He is probably a bit nervous.
And being a faithful man, he was very much humbled by the whole process.
Just as he is in the routine, there is an angel who must have startled the daylights out of him, for the angel says, “Don’t be afraid!”
You know why he says that?
He says it because Zechariah was really scared.
This is not what he expected to face when he entered.
And then, the angel gives the gracious part of this message, “Your prayer has been heard.”
There is going to be a child after all!
Yes, it had looked hopeless, but this is the very thing that God specializes in.
Zechariah and Elizabeth would have a son.
And he was to name him John.
John was shorter form of the Hebrew name, Joch-a-nan.
Jochanan means “God is gracious.”
It was a name full of meaning, for God was not only being gracious to Zechariah and Elizabeth, God was being gracious to all the people of the world.
For this son, John, was going to be a prophet in the spirit and power of Elijah.
He was going to prepare the way for the Messiah.
For Zechariah, this was the dawn of a new day.
For 400 years God has been silent, and on this day, he is the first to hear from God.
But now comes…
4. Skepticism
Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this?
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