Too Good, But Still True: God has Visited and Redeemed His People!

Trevor S Ferguson

December 29, 2014

Luke 1:68-75 (KJV)
⁶⁸  Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, ⁶⁹And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; ⁷⁰As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: ⁷¹That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; ⁷²To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; ⁷³The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, ⁷⁴ That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, ⁷⁵In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

INTRODUCTION

Life on earth seems to be dominated by bad news!

Shortly after creation, Adam and Eve sinned and ended up being cast out of the Garden of Eden. Their sin resulted in the curse of sin being passed on to all humanity. By the time we get to Genesis chapter 4, we find the Cain has killed his brother Abel, and with that act, bringing murder and shame into the first family. The generations after Adam fell deeper and deeper into sin, until God had to bring judgment in the form of the great flood. The flood wiped out all humanity, except for Noah and his household, who were saved in the ark.

After this God called Abraham and established the nation of Israel. Israel was to be a nation of priest and a holy nation, which would represent God here on earth, but Israel failed miserably and ended up in captivity – first, the Northern kingdom under the Assyrians and then the Southern Kingdom under the Babylonians. By the time of the New Testament the kingdom of Israel was under Roman rule, with a king (Herod) imposed upon them by the Roman authorities. Israel was badly in need of spiritual and political deliverance!

In today’s society, news media are again dominated by bad news – lead stories on radio, television and news papers are often tales or murder, motor vehicle accidents, plane crashes, financial crises and political scandals.  Rarely do we find good news in the headlines. As a result of this pervasive negativity, good news is often hard to believe!

From the spiritual perspective, man has become so used to sin and its repercussions that it is hard for many to believe that God will actually save from sin and bring about redemption for their souls. Even among the religious, we sometimes find that good news is thought to be too good to be true.

The story of Zacharias and the birth of John the Baptist, gives us an example of how one priest was transformed from a doubter to a prophet and proclaimer of the good news. Today, I believe that God wants to transform persons here who find it difficult to accept the good news of salvation. I declare to you that while this salvation may sound too good to be true, it is indeed true. God has visited and redeemed his people and the door of salvation is open to you today.  

EXPOSITION

Let us look at the story in bit more detail.

Luke begins the account of the gospel with the appearance of the angel Gabriel to Zacharias. Zacharias was one of the priests in Israel and along with his wife Elizabeth was described as being righteous and blameless before God, but they had no children and were now quite old. It was Zacharias’ turn to offer incense before God and therefore he went in to the Holy place of the temple, while the others waited outside. While in the Holy Place the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias. When Zacharias saw him he was he was troubled and fearful. The angel however told him that he had no need to be fearful because his prayers were answered and his wife Elizabeth would bear him a son. The angel went on to tell him that the child should be named John.

This first revelation must have been surprising for Zacharias, but what comes next was even more shocking! Not only was he to have a son, but this son would be great in the sight of the Lord and he was to receive the Holy Ghost even while he was in the womb. Add to that, this son would walk in the spirit and power of Elijah, turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and to prepare the way for the coming Messiah!

All this probably sounded too good to be true, so Zacharias became suspicious. He began to habour doubts and therefore rather than responding in faith he demanded that the angel provide proof that he was indeed an angel and that what he had said was indeed true. Zacharias was afflicted with the plague of doubt that is afflicting so many people in the world today. People find it difficult to take God at his word, but seek to ask God to back up His word signs. People with true faith will however take God at His word and act upon it!

Let me point out that God is not well pleased with doubters. Jesus chided the Pharisees and Sadducees in Matthew 16: 4 – “A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.”  Similarly, in speaking to Thomas after the resurrection Jesus said to him that because he had seen he now believed, but blessed are those who have not seen but still believed.   

Let’s get back to the story. The angel did give Zacharias a sign, but not the type of sign he was looking for; he was struck dumb and would not be able to speak until the words of the prophesy had been fulfilled. After being struck dumb Zacharias now believed but was unable to express his new faith; nevertheless his life was changed forever. When he exited the temple he made signs to the people to indicate what had happened – presumably he could still write, so he may have written out what had happened to him in the temple. When the days of his assignment were accomplished he went home and soon thereafter his wife Elizabeth conceived. Nothing else is said of Zacharias until the birth of his son.

When the baby was eight days old he was circumcised and relatives gathered for the naming of the baby. Elizabeth’s relatives wanted to name the baby Zacharias, after his father, but Elizabeth wanted him to be named John – presumably Zacharias had told her the name that the angel had given him. Amidst the protest of the relatives they eventually made signs to his father to enquire what he should be called. Zacharias asked for a writing tablet and wrote – His name is John! With this act Zacharias confirmed his faith in what the angel had declared. He had moved from being a doubter to a man of faith! His mouth was loosed, he began praising God and being filled with the Holy Ghost he began to prophesy concerning the redemption of God’s people!     

APPLICATION

This prophesy of Zacharias encapsulates the essence of the Christmas message – Listen again to the prophesy as given in the New Living Translation

“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people. He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago. Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us. He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant— the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham. We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live.

God has visited and redeemed his people! God has visited and redeemed his people! He has sent us a mighty Saviour. We now have the opportunity to be saved from sin and from our enemies. God will show us mercy and has given us the opportunity to serve him without fear all the days of our lives! 

This prophesy echoes some of the message spoken by Isaiah several centuries before:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

This promise of salvation is available to all today. This is the essence of the message of Christmas. The great God of heaven came to earth in the form of a baby; lived on earth like a regular human being; embarked on an earthly ministry at about thirty years old. Preached the gospel for a period of three years. Performed miracles, healed the sick, raised the dead, opened the eyes of the blind, and delivered men and women from oppression.

But his ministry was not limited to that brief period round about AD 30/33. He was lead to the cross, crucified, died, but rose again on the third day! After his resurrection he met with his disciples, commissioned them to preach the gospel to the world and then ascended up into heaven.

But that was still not the end of the story – Approximately 10 days after his ascension, while the disciples prayed in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, He came back to us I the form of the Holy Spirit. Luke puts it this way:  

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

This was God coming to dwell with us. This was our Emmanuel! This was God with us and God in us!!

Peter further declared that this promise is extended to all who will believe  in all generations - For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Acts 2:39)

The message of Salvation and the power of the Holy Ghost spread like wild fire! The apostles faithfully carried out the great commission and in their generation the gospel spread throughout Judea, into Samaria and throughout Europe, Asia Minor and possibly parts of Africa. Where ever the apostles went they carried the message of salvation and the power of the Holy Ghost.

After the death of the Apostles there was great opposition to the faith and erroneous doctrines were introduced in the church, to the extent that the original apostolic message of repentance, water baptism in Jesus name and the infilling of the Holy Ghost was swept underground. Nevertheless God raised up reformers who challenged the status quo and eventually leading to the full reemergence of the Apostolic doctrine. Notable occurrences included the outpouring of the Holy Ghost under the ministry of Charles Perham in 1901 and the great Holy Ghost revival at Asuza Street from 1906-1909 under William J. Seymour. Since then God has continued to pour out his Spirit publicly to all who will ask him. He continues to visit and redeem his people. He has left the door of salvation wide open so that whosoever will may come right in.

CONCLUSION

Today we have shared with you the basic gospel message. This is good news and it is true! Regardless of how deep you might have gone in sin, the door of salvation remains open to you. It may sound too good to be true, I can guarantee you today. This is true. This is real!

Today you can receive forgiveness of all your sins and receive the hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ. You can receive water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Ghost.  

The same child who was born in a manger has now become your Saviour. Put your trust in him today. The story may seem too fanciful, too wonderful, or simply unbelievable but we stand as witnesses today. It is true.

  

Lay aside your doubts; lay aside your fears; break free from skepticism. Just believe! I challenge you today – Put your trust in this great saviour. He will never let you down. Come taste and see that the Lord is good. God bless you today!