How aware are YOU … of God’s presence during this very special season that we’re in? Here’s something that may be telling: What do you do personally in preparation for Christmas? Here’s Jane’s and my list…
- Shop for those who’ve given me their Christmas lists…
- Update the annual Christmas card list…
- Write my annual Christmas letter to both family & churches…
- Get the outside decorations put up while the weather’s still mild…
- Begin to sort through the inside decorations to see what’s still useable … and what might need to be replaced…
- Get the Christmas tree, rearrange furniture to make a place for it, and get it put up and decorated…
- Finish the other inside decorating…
- Bake for the holidays…
- Make up the Christmas dinner menu, assigning different family members to do different parts of the dinner…
- Do some last minute shopping…
- Get ready for 3 Christmas Eve services … and the list could go on & on…
All of this stuff to do… But, the question may still remain: Whose birthday is it? What’s all the hustle & bustle about? Why the over-the-top attitude toward giving to others? Do, we really remember whose birthday party it’s supposed to be? Or, do we even treat it like a birthday party anymore? Many times, to me anyway, it almost seems that we’re throwing a party for … well … US!
- How aware are we of God’s presence with us—Emmanuel—this time of year?
- Do we understand that what happened this time of year, over 2,000 years ago, was God’s plan to change the world?
- Do we have a deep understanding today … that God’s desire is to continue to change the world … through us?
God began to change the world into which Jesus entered … through a very unlikely couple … and a very unlikely circumstance. Listen to what happened to a man by the name of Zechariah … as he came to face-to-face with the presence of God one day…
“During the time when Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife’s name was Elizabeth; she also belonged to a priestly family. 6 They both lived good lives in God’s sight and obeyed fully all the Lord’s laws and commands. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth could not have any, and she and Zechariah were both very old.
8 One day Zechariah was doing his work as a priest in the Temple, taking his turn in the daily service. 9 According to the custom followed by the priests, he was chosen by lot to burn incense on the altar. So he went into the Temple of the Lord, 10 while the crowd of people outside prayed during the hour when the incense was burned.
11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar where the incense was burned. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was alarmed and felt afraid.
13 But the angel said to him, ‘Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. You are to name him John. 14 How glad and happy you will be, and how happy many others will be when he is born! 15 John will be great in the Lord’s sight. He must not drink any wine or strong drink. From his very birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, 16 and he will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will go ahead of the Lord, strong and mighty like the prophet Elijah. He will bring fathers and children together again; he will turn disobedient people back to the way of thinking of the righteous; he will get the Lord’s people ready for him.’
18 Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How shall I know if this is so? I am an old man, and my wife is old also.’ 19 ‘I am Gabriel,’ the angel answered. ‘I stand in the presence of God, who sent me to speak to you and tell you this good news. 20 But you have not believed my message, which will come true at the right time. Because you have not believed, you will be unable to speak; you will remain silent until the day my promise to you comes true.’21 In the meantime the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he was spending such a long time in the Temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them, and so they knew that he had seen a vision in the Temple. Unable to say a word, he made signs to them with his hands. 23 When his period of service in the Temple was over, Zechariah went back home.
24 Some time later his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and did not leave the house for five months. 25 ‘Now at last the Lord has helped me,’ she said. ‘He has taken away my public disgrace!’” – Luke 1:5-25 (TEV)
How aware are we of the presence of God … and God’s desire to use our lives for something much bigger than we ever dreamed of? Zechariah, even though he was busy doing God’s work, didn’t really expect God to show up on his doorstep, did he? Are we aware of what this season is really all about? And, do we expect God to use our lives in powerful ways to continue to change this world … for him?
Today, we need to learn more about this season that we’re in from Zechariah … and his experience with God. Here’s the first thing, I believe, that Zechariah learned in this story…
Right in the middle of our routine days, GOD LOVES TO SHOW UP AND SURPRISE US … and challenge us! Verses 8-11, just as a reminder, say: “One day Zechariah was doing his work as a priest in the Temple, taking his turn in the daily service. 9 According to the custom followed by the priests, he was chosen by lot to burn incense on the altar. So he went into the Temple of the Lord, 10 while the crowd of people outside prayed during the hour when the incense was burned. 11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar where the incense was burned. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was alarmed and felt afraid.” Literally, fear fell upon him… Even though Zechariah was in the middle of some very important Godly work, it’s as if he didn’t expect God to show up…
John Paton was a missionary in a chain of South Pacific (New Hebrides) islands. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station, intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave…
A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christianity—finally… Remembering what had happened, the missionary—Paton—asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, ‘Who were all those men with you there?" Paton knew no men were present, but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station.
Doesn’t God just love to surprise us … even in the midst of God’s work? But, sometimes we just don’t expect God to show up, do we? We pray and pray … but do we really expect answers to our prayers? Zechariah was burning incense on behalf of the whole Jewish nation; their prayers rising up to God depended on his work at the altar of incense. If anyone should have expected answers to prayers, it should have been the priest that was responsible for sending them up to God… But, he was surprised, wasn’t he … when he came face-to-face with the presence of God?
Now, here’s something I just can’t pass up: verse 13 goes on to say, “But the angel said to him, ‘Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. You are to name him John.” What prayer was answered?
Some biblical scholars believe that it’s a possibility that Zechariah’s prayer could be for a child in his life … and, yet, he knew—by his very reactions to this news—that he and Elizabeth were both old (over 60) and offspring probably wasn’t going to happen! What is a more palatable answer to ‘What prayer was answered?’ is this: I believe that his prayer was for ‘a coming Messiah’ … to free them from their oppressors—the Romans… The son to be born to them … would be a vital part of that process—that first advent… Do you see what was happening here? Zechariah was being asked by God to be a part of something much bigger than he could even imagine! Not just the miracle of childbirth in old age … but a part of God’s plan of salvation for all of humanity! His son, John, would be the last great prophet—the messenger who would come before—used to announce the coming of this Messiah that the whole Jewish nation had prayed for … and hoped for!
Right in the middle of our routine days, God loves to show up and surprise us … and challenge us! Are you ready to celebrate the birthday of the Son of God? Are you ready for God to show up in miraculous ways in your life—for the sake of his Kingdom?
We can also learn this from the story of Zechariah, as we allow God to help prepare us for the season ahead—for the birth of God’s Son, Jesus. Sometimes, WE REALLY DO NEED TO ‘HUSH UP AND LISTEN’ in order to understand all that God wants us to!
Verses. 18-20 remind us, “Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How shall I know if this is so? I am an old man, and my wife is old also.’ 19 ‘I am Gabriel,’ the angel answered. ‘I stand in the presence of God, who sent me to speak to you and tell you this good news. 20 But you have not believed my message, which will come true at the right time. Because you have not believed, you will be unable to speak; you will remain silent until the day my promise to you comes true.’” Can you imagine? God’s messenger shows up, tells you the truth that God wants you to know, and you react by questioning it? That’s what Zechariah was doing here … as if he didn’t believe that God could do what he said he was going to do! The truth is Zechariah hadn’t seen anything yet! Just wait until the day of resurrection; now that’s a day he’ll never forget…
Let me encourage you in something, as we begin this season of Advent together… Never underestimate the importance of ‘quiet time’ with God in your life. Many times, it is important that we just ‘hush up & listen’ to understand all that God wants us to in this life. But, God has to get our attention first!
With Zechariah, a task that normally would have just taken a few minutes … turned into several. Normally, the priest would just cast the incense on the hot altar, prostrate himself before it, then withdraw immediately. The delay here probably troubled the crowds at the Temple that day. What had gone wrong? Why was this day at the Temple different? Because God chose to appear to Zechariah through his messenger with Good News about his plan for saving humanity. Zechariah was silenced partly because of his unbelief; but even more importantly, I believe, he was silenced as a sign to both he and the Jewish nation that God had something in mind that was much bigger than all of them and he wanted to use Zechariah as an important part of that process!
Zechariah finally realized the presence of God like never before. He finally came to realize that what God wanted of his life was something much bigger than he’d ever dreamed of. He just needed to … ‘hush up & listen’ for a time. Perhaps, sometimes … we do, too…
Folks, the miracle of this season happens when we come to realize that it’s not our birthday—when we come to realize that this season is all about something much bigger than us! It’s about God’s plan to save the humanity that he loves so much; it’s about the Son of God and his birthday…
Just like Zechariah, when we come to realize the presence of God in a very real way … and that God wants our lives to be about something much bigger than what we could ever dream of or imagine … then, we can be a vital part of changing this world for God’s kingdom, too! It’s not our birthday. When we come to know that truth, we’re on our way to helping change this ol’ world for God and his Kingdom… When we come to know that truth, I’m going to bet that it will show in how we celebrate this season… It’s not our birthday, is it? So, how does God want to work through you today? How does God want you to celebrate the birthday of his Son?