Christmas 2018
Part 1
“The silence is broken”
How many of you have ever been in a place where there is complete silence?
Sometimes that sounds like a fulfilled dream
Until it actually happens
Silence so thick that you can hear your own heart beat
Nothing else
The type of silence that I speak of can cause loneliness
And even despair
People who are in prison and have been placed in solitary often suffer extreme effects from the silence
Imagine with me if God were to go silent
God in this day speaks primarily through his word
Imagine not having his word
The silence would be overwhelming
God also speaks in other ways
Through nature
Though people
Though prayers
And miracles
But in the days before Jesus
He primarily spoke though his prophets
Isiah
Jeremiah
Elijah
Elisha
Daniel
Ezekiel
Hosea
Joel
Obadiah
Jonah
Micha
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
To name the most well-known of God’s prophets
He also spoke to the people though appearances of himself called
Theophanies
The burning bush
Melchazidek
The pillar of fire and cloud
To name only a few
And sometimes he sent his angels to speak
Such as at Sodom and Gomorrah just to name one well known instance
Often in the Old testament days
God spoke directly to men
Sometimes to their heart’s
Sometimes audibly
----
We see God speaking in various ways
All throughout the Old testament
From the creation God spoke into existence
To the end of what we call the Old testament
Then
Suddenly
---- Silence-----
The prophet Malachi was God’s last word to man under the Old covenant
All the prophets had preached of God’s love
And his Judgment
They had called for obedience
And had even shown the future by giving signs
Prophesies
About the coming Messiah
---- God spoke -----
The people listened
And then they quickly forgot
Or stopped listening
And
Then
God stopped speaking
For 400 years
No prophesy was given
No appearance of angles
Or miracles are recorded
No burning bushes
No red sea partings
No word from God was recorded
Maybe God still spoke to a few individuals
We don’t know
The bible is silent on that
They were Dark years
Years where the people must have felt very alone
Even in despair
Utter silence from the creator
Then
When the time was right
The silence was broken
Over the month of December
We are going to preach the Christmas story from a slightly different perspective
After 400 years
God once again spoke
And today we will begin with his words to one man
And as we progress though December
We will hear
God’s word to mankind
Though the birth of Jesus
The NOEL
Let’s look at God’s final words from the Old Testament First
Chapter 4 verse 5-6
“Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD arrives. 6 His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
Let me cowboyise this passage just a bit
God
Though Malachi
Told the people
I’m done for now
I’ve sent people to speak to you
I’ve shown up myself
And ya’ll have ignored me
Done what you wanted
So, I’m going to be silent for a while
You need to chew on what has already been said
Search your hearts
And one day
I will send another to speak for me
And when he comes you had better listen
So, for 400 years
Silence from God
Then we come to the New testament writings
Listen to me
Luke is the 3rd book in your bibles
But
Please remember all of the gospel writers are recording the same events
So, all the gospels are God’s first words to man for 400 years
Regardless of the order in the book
Dr. Luke
The author of both Luke and Acts
Gives us the best account of the silence being broken
Let’s read Luke 1 :1-25 together
Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. 2 They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples.[a] 3 Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most honorable Theophilus, 4 so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.
5 When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.
8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. 10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.
11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.[b] 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,[c] and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”
19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20 But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. 22 When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.
23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”
God had not spoken for 400 years
And now
He sends his angel Gabriel to speak to a priest named Zechariah
Both Zechariah and his wife are very old
They have had no children
Which at the time was considered to be a curse from God
In fact, they had stopped even dreaming of children
Instead focusing on God and their duties
Zechariah was just a common priest
Not a man of rank or authority
Just one of 20,000
But God arranged to have him in the right place at the right time
To be a part of his plan to deliver his words to the world
Zechariah was chosen to perform the duties in the temple on this day
This was pretty must a once in a life time deal
The job was decided by lots and 1000 men were in the pool.
Zechariah was chosen
And I have no doubt he was pretty excited , this was considered to be a real honor
But he had no idea what was going to happen next
As we have seen from our text
God sent Gabriel
To give him a bit of news
Put yourself in his shoes
You are doing a once in a lifetime thing
Serving God
And then Gabriel shows up
Verses 11-12
While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him.
I can tell you
Zechariah did not know whether to run or faint
This was not something he was expecting
But he had been placed where God wanted him
At the time he wanted him there
For the purpose God desired
Verses 13-17 tells us what Gabriel was sent for
13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.[b] 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,[c] and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”
Here in the first Chapter of Luke
God breaks his silence
He tells an Old priest
That the prayers of him and his wife have not only been answered
That they will have a son
And that that Son
Will be the fulfillment of prophesy
He will proclaim the coming of the messiah
He will prepare the way
For Jesus
And in preparing the way
The silence of God will end for all mankind
A new covenant will begin
Everyone will have the chance to be saved
--------------------
We know the son of Zechariah as
John the Baptist
A Voice crying in the wilderness
And we will hear much more about him in the time to come
But for now
Let’s focus on this
God broke the silence when the time was right
He knew the time and place
He knew the events and circumstances
He orchestrated the entire thing
Placing Zechariah where he wanted him
Answering the prayers of his wife
Because
Of their faithfulness
Listen to me
Zechariah heard the silence being broken because of his faithfulness
And the faithfulness of his wife
God’s word says that were righteous in God’s eyes and faithful to follow all of his commandments and regulations
I need you to hear me
Had
Zechariah and Elizabeth been anything but faithful
Anything but obedient
God’s plan would not have changed
But their part in the plan would have
God would have simply used someone else
We must remember
God has a plan
And we have the blessings of being part of his plan
And our faithfulness determines what part we will play
But make no mistake his plan will prevail
---Expand on this ---witnessing- serving- missions etc-----
God spoke to Zechariah through an Angel to tell of a coming messiah
God speaks to us today
Though his word
Though the preaching of his word
To tell us of that Messiah
Jesus Christ
The Lamb of God
The reason for the season
The reason for our joy
Our hope
Our peace
Our eternal salvation
He has come
The plan of God has been unleashed
And in fact, is complete
In this plan
From his word
Though Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirt
God is speaking to you
He is no longer silent
Here is what he is saying
I love you
I created you
I want to spend eternity with you
I want to restore you
Forgive you
He is also saying
I want your obedience
1 want your love
I want you to be a part of the plan
I want you to receive the blessing prepared for you from the beginning of time
Can you hear him?
Are you listening
We listen with our hears
But we also listen with our hearts
Open your heart and hear his words
John 3:16 speaks to us of his love
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave[a] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
God breaks the silence by telling of his son
The Son of God
The savior who takes away the sin of the world
God loved
So, he gave
And if we listen
If we hear
If we believe
His plan will be fulfilled in us
Salvation for all who will is available
We can be restored
Forgiven
And used by God in mighty ways
Let’s go back to God’s final words before hos silence
In the final words of Malachi
God tells of a curse
Punishment for disobedience
Punishment for not hearing
Not listening
Malachi 4:6b
“Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
Here is that fulfillment
John 3:17-18
17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
The silence has been broken
God is speaking
He is saying
You’ve got to make a choice
I love you
And sent my son to die for you
Salvation is available
Blessings are available
Can you hear?
Will you hear?
Will you respond?
Close from the heart
Pray
