The Silence Is Broken Christmas 2018

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.