Your Prayer Has Been Heard

Today on redoing your mind this obvious of Zacharias and Elizabeth have prayed their hearts for trial and for many many many many years. The answer of God was not as they grew older, my guess would be that they ceased that intercession asking for child Gabriel the Archangel. The Zacharias didn't say your prayers have been answered.remembered the tearful cries of Zacharias and Elizabeth even from years before will be encouraged today on Renewing Your Mind as we are reminded of God's personal, meticulous and loving care for his people.

As I promised last Sunday were going to continue our study of the Annunciation through Zechariah of the birth of son would be known as John not John the Baptist and I wasn't able to cover that narrative last week and so I'm going to tackle it again this morning and I will be picking it up at verse 13 of chapter 1 but the angel said to him, do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John and you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Zechariah said to the angel, how shall I know this for I am an old man and my wife is well advanced in years. The angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings, but behold, you will be mute not able to speak until the day these things take place because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time and the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple when it came out he couldn't speak to them and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless. So it was the soon as the days of the service were completed, that he departed to his own house and after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived and she had herself five months, and saying, thus the Lord has dealt with me in the days when he looked on me to take away my reproach among the people you've had the unspeakable privilege of hearing the very word of God receive it in your heart and in your souls last Sunday morning I mentioned that Luke being the sober and trustworthy historian that he was wasted no time introducing the supernatural to the narrative of those things that he was undertaking to set forth in his orderly account to began with this visitation of the angel to the priest Zacharias and I mentioned that the time that the New Testament is supernatural in its orientation through and throw and you can't read it with the home and throw out all of the allusions to those supernatural realities. I mentioned also that the word angel or envelopes occurs more often in the New Testament than the word for sin and more often than the word for love and so this is not simply a peripheral matter for the biblical accounts that we have four angels play significant role throughout the New Testament not only here with the Annunciation to Zacharias, but shortly thereafter the Annunciation by the same Angel to Mary the mother of Jesus and then the heavenly host the army of angels that attended and announced the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ on that Christmas night outside of Bethlehem. Also, we see the Angels appearing at the end of Jesus time of temptation in the wilderness when they came to minister to him. We see the Angels again. At the time of his resurrection as they come and announced to the women that he was not there, but that he had risen, we see the Angels escorting Jesus to heaven on the Shekinah got out of Lori at the time of his ascension and we are promised that we will see him again, descending from the heaven on clouds of glory escorted once more by these heavenly agents not one place, we don't see angels as at the cross, even though we don't see the Angels appearing during the crucifixion execution of our Lord, we know that they were there and they were there in full force and Jesus reminded his executioners. You have no power over me. If I give the word they use mighty house of angels will come and rescue me. But of course he had committed to the father to suffer even unto death. So the appearance of angels is not a something that never happens in the New Testament. However, in spite of these mentions that I've given to you their occurrences and manifestations even in the New Testament were exceedingly rare.

We look back over time and we tend to think that there was an angel.

Behind every bush and that every time that somebody turned around they saw an angel may decide the only way they could prevent that was to stop turning around.

But before this moment this godly righteous, obedient priest had never in his life had the privilege of seeing a real live angel and when that angel came into the holy place by the altar of incense Zacharias's response was the same as yours would've been in mine would have been. He was overcome with terror, so the first thing that the angel had to say to him was calm down. Don't be afraid said because your prayer has been heard and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John for go on with this message or something striking about this is this suggests that when Zacharias won the lottery and was 1/18,003. Stu had this privilege of going into the holy place to offer the incense on the altar of incense, which symbolize the prayers of the people that he took that opportunity in his old age to go into the holy place, and as he prayed, said, oh dear Lord to leave place let me have a son. Lots Elizabeth have offspring through your power.

This man had already been described as being blameless and godly and righteous, and for the life of me I cannot imagine that when he went into the temple and into the holy place that he prayed for himself when his task as the interceding priest of the hour was to pray for the nation of Israel. Can you imagine a godly priest like this forgetting his responsibility and instead praying for his own once in his own desires known on course for many many many many years. It's obvious that Zacharias and Elizabeth had prayed their hearts for child and for many many many many years. The answer of God was not sure that as they grew older and they realized the subject was past the age of childbearing that their prayer changed. Lord, give me the grace to accept our childlessness. My guess would be that they ceased that intercession asking for trouble because in their mind that Ben and Sarah and Abraham in antiquity, way too late for that. So I'm sure that when Zacharias came into the temple, and he prayed he wasn't praying for a child is praying for Israel for his people who were oppressed who were under the heavy hand of Rome and the heavy hand of Herod the tetrarch so the answer of the angel was stunning when he says your prayer is heard even praying for your people, even praying for the nation and the Lord has heard your prayer and here's what is going to do is to give you a son, because you just prayed for summer just prayed for the nation and the sun that you're going to have is going to be sense by God for the well-being of the people of Israel take us on to say, your wife Elizabeth will bear your son and you shall call his name John… Wait a minute what's that's in biblical terms. It was always three privilege of the parents, particularly the father to name their children and all the way back to the time of creation, the giving of the name indicated an expression of authority. When God said Adam and Eve over the whole creation and gave them the minyan the assigned the task to them to do what name the animals and that was not just an exercise in zoology or taxonomy they were expressing their authority over the animals by giving them their name. So throughout biblical history. It was the custom in the tradition of the parents to name the child because the parents indicated their authority over the child, but there were those rare occasions when a special child was born were God would take away from the parents the authority to name the child his name shall be Isaac is measurably Samuel is nice of you John.

His name shall be geniuses soon.

God does that. He saying this child is set apart. This child will be sanctified and consecrated for a special task that I have called him to perform and so not only does the angel told Zacharias that it can have a somebody tells him what his son's name is going to be and that will become important when the child is born, as we will read later in Luke's narrative and here's why. The Lord is naming this child because he's on a mission.

He belongs to God, for he will be great.

The angel says in the sight of the Lord.

They shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. Not because he was going to be a Nazirite, but because he was going to have a special role as a prophet who was an SFH profit one who would come out of the desert just like a large, because on the site will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. Those of you that think that you can disturb the womb because that which is in it is only so much undifferentiated protoplasm and not a human being taking before John the Baptist was even born.

While he was still in his mother's womb. He was filled by the Holy Ghost, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. What is can it be an evangelist as a war, an instrument of God to convert many of the people whose hearts have been hardened people of Israel who were the errors of the covenant of grace, who now despise the covenant of grace.

They still had their children circumcised, but they did. That is a mere formality. Their faith had long ago died and they were now actually in their unbelief in a posture of hostility towards the Lord their God. Just as the vast majority of people who live in our land are today in the odd shifts have anything to say. Just as there are people sitting in this room right now whose hearts are hardened against God. John is going to change that.

That is, he will be the instrument of God to change these things, he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God and he will go before God in the spirit in the power of a lodging is not going to be Elijah is going to be a large array dinner this in a sense, he is going to fulfill the Old Testament prophecy of the return of Elijah. Not because God couldn't bring Elijah back from heaven. But because he's going to anoint this child with the same power in the same spirit that he had given to the great prophet Elijah.

Why to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just and the make ready a people prepared for the Lord. I hate going over this so quickly is so much here. What does he mean turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. Some commentators say that you finally have a generation of godly people who will make the patriarchs in heaven happy to see them. I don't think it means that much. I think it's probably simply that the hostility the breakdown of family relationships that send engenders nations when they depart from the Lord God was can a chain, a new era was coming in newly voc was about the breakthrough in history and you're going to see a dramatic change in families and the houses and the relationships between the parents and their children knowing that the disobedient who scoff at the truth of God will finally see the wisdom of the chest for throughout world history and biblical history.

Those who embrace the truth of God's appeared to be. In the eyes of the world.

But the real full is the one who says in his heart there is no God but your son. The angel says is going to turn many of the people around that they will see the wisdom of righteousness, the wisdom of the just who embrace it and then he's going to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. In fact Zacharias that will be his chief task is number one responsibility will be to make straight the way of the Lord to be the herald of the coming Messiah to be the one who goes before him, whom the Lord is sending to redeem his people and your son is going to do that. This is too much for this old priest. He hears these words from the angel and listen to his response said how can I know this.

I'm an old man and my wife is advanced in years, somebody sent you the wrong address. Mr. Angel, you can't possibly be telling me these things. Don't you see to see the gray on my head. I'm too old for this stuff in my wife's well advanced in years. She can't have children. Are you playing with me in my hallucinating.

This is more than I can believe filled with factor analysis. This can't be can happen. We can't do it.

You know, I learned a long time. I can't never did anything Zacharias needed to read the little engine who could have his homework again. The theology of the Lord God omnipotent and what he says I can't pay means God can't know I can't do old so he introduces himself to this mysterious visitor from heaven he doesn't say my name is Zacharias is my name is I'm too old and my wife is advanced in years, not what does the Angel site instead of looking inside maybe you're right.

Maybe I better check the address and you don't have to worry about marrying this child the historical delivery him tell you I am Mr. too old and Gabriel I know you talked on that just the run-of-the-mill everyday rank-and-file angel Gabriel Hyman Archangel. My normal habitation is in the immediate presence of God is the Lord God himself who sent me here with all the power of his might and all of the might of his truth. Don't tell me you're too old.

I'm Gabriel who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this gospel.

These glad tidings, but you don't want to hear, and you will pay a price for that.

Zacharias and if you want to know what that price and I have to wait till next for the Sunday letter the case may be put in the providence of God. If I lived long enough will finish this passage, but not this that's Dr. RC Sproul with a message from the Gospel of Luke, and you're listening to the Lord's day addition of Renewing Your Mind.

I'm Lee Webb, Dr. Strohl was a wonderful pastor.

My wife and I were blessed to sit under his pastoral ministry for years at St. Andrews Chapel and we always loved it when he concluded the message with a twinkle in his eye like in that sermon the people loving and he love the people of his church, you heard the RC's biblical insight. In today's passage as he preached it so practical and helpful, and that insight was captured in a series of commentaries we like to provide you with a digital download of RC's commentary on Luke's gospel. It will prove to be a wonderful study companion for you as you continue your own study of this gospel so contact us today with a donation of any amount and we will make it available to you right away. You can go online to make your request and give your gift at Renewing Your Mind.work next week Dr. Sproles message is titled silencing the voice of doubt, there is little question that Zacharias had a difficult time believing what the angel said to them, we hope you'll join us next Sunday as we continue RC sermon series from the Gospel of Luke here on Renewing Your Mind