April 20, 2025 • 26 mins
The stunning silence of heaven lasted 400 years. Then, in the humble quarters of the Jerusalem temple, as an aging priest named Zacharias performed his routine duties, divine silence shattered with two powerful words: "Fear not."
This message from Luke 1 reveals a profound truth about God's nature and His work in our lives. When Zacharias and Elizabeth faced the cultural shame and personal disappointment of childlessness despite their righteous lives, they couldn't see the masterful orchestration happening behind the scenes. God wasn't withholding blessing - He was reserving them for something extraordinary beyond their imagination.
The seemingly random selection of Zacharias by lot to burn incense that day wasn't chance but divine appointment. How many of our "random" moments are actually God's careful positioning? Your workplace, your errands, your daily routines - what if these aren't just obligations but divine opportunities to touch lives? That restaurant where your order gets messed up might be your chance to demonstrate Christ's grace to someone desperately needing kindness.
Most profound is the connection between the temple incense and our prayers. That sweet-smelling aroma rising from Zacharias' altar mirrors our prayers ascending to God's throne. When we pray, we aren't launching words into emptiness - we're creating a fragrant offering that God treasures.
Whatever fears grip your heart today, whatever prayers seem unanswered, whatever circumstances appear random - God sees, God works, God transforms. The same God who broke 400 years of silence with "Fear not" speaks that reassurance to you now. Join us as we continue exploring these life-changing truths from Luke's Gospel in our next episode.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor
and teacher, Ken Davis.
Pastor Ken is the senior pastorof Calvary Chapel, Southwest
Metro in Burleson, Texas.
Please join us as we study theGospel of Luke verse by verse.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
God has never done one imperfect thing.
Now you say, well, I don't knowabout that.
I look around the world and Isee lots of things that are
imperfect.
It's because of the corruptionthat has come into the world
through sin.
My wife shared something withme yesterday.
She'd seen this on a sign asshe was driving around town.
It said God forms, the devildeforms, but Christ transforms,
(00:43):
Amen.
And when we have thetransforming power of Jesus
Christ at work in our lives, weneed fear nothing and no man.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
The Gospel of Luke is the third account in the
Gospels of the life andteachings of our Savior Jesus
Christ.
As believers, there are fewstudies that will benefit us
more spiritually than studyingthe life and teachings of the
Master.
The plan and timing of the Lordare things that we could ponder
for the rest of this existence.
(01:14):
God's unfathomable wisdom isbeyond our understanding.
And yet, as we begin our studythrough the Gospel of Luke, we
see a great example of how Godused current circumstances, like
where we work to perform Hiswill and glorify His name.
Don't forget to stay with usafter today's message to hear
(01:34):
more information about Heed theWord, specifically how you can
get a free copy of this teaching.
But for now, open your Biblesto the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1
, verse 1, as we join Pastor Ken.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
The Old Testament, in the book of Malachi, ends with
these words Behold, I will sendyou Elijah, the prophet, before
the coming of the great anddreadful day of the Lord, and he
will turn the hearts of thefathers to the children and the
hearts of the children to theirfathers, lest I come and strike
(02:10):
the earth with a curse.
It's often been said that theOld Testament ends with a curse
and the New Testament ends witha blessing.
And yet within that cursethere's also a promise isn't
there, and that is that he wouldsend Elijah before the coming
of the Lord and that he wouldprepare the way for him, that he
(02:32):
would prepare the hearts ofthose people.
And in fact, we see there apromise from God that is soon to
be fulfilled within the pagesof the New Testament, that is
soon to be fulfilled within thepages of the New Testament.
The books of the New Testament,particularly the Gospels, begin
at somewhat differing points inhistory.
Now, obviously, in the orderthat they appear in our Bible,
(02:53):
matthew is first, then Mark,then Luke, then John.
But what I'm talking about isnot their order of appearance,
nor their date of having beenwritten, but rather the point in
the story in which they pick upNow, the one that, of course,
is the earliest point in thestory is the Gospel of John,
because the Gospel of John hasas the beginning of its story a
(03:15):
time that precedes even Genesis,doesn't it?
John 1.1 says In the beginningwas the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the word was God.
Now, at that point the earthhad not been created.
Not one beast, not one bird,nor man was upon the face of the
earth.
So John, chronologicallyspeaking, would be the earliest
(03:39):
part of the story there, inverse 1.
But then John skips from thatvery beginning point in time to
a much later time and he saysthere was a man sent from God
whose name was John, and Johncame to bear witness of the
light.
Which was that light that hadentered into the world.
I'm not quoting directly, butyou remember the story.
So John does give us a prelude,as as it were, from the very
(04:02):
beginning, but then comesimmediately to the ministry of
John the Baptist.
Matthew begins with thegenealogy and the birth of Jesus
Christ.
Mark begins with the ministryof the forerunner of Christ,
john the Baptist.
Turn just briefly.
I realize we haven't even readin Luke yet, but go one book
back to Mark, chapter 1,starting in verse 1.
(04:26):
The beginning of the gospel ofJesus Christ, the Son of God, as
it is written in the prophetsbehold, I send my messenger
before your face, who willprepare your way.
Before you, the voice of onecrying in the wilderness prepare
the way of the Lord, make hispath straight.
John came baptizing in thewilderness and preaching a
baptism of repentance for theremission of sins.
(04:49):
Then all the land of Judea andthose from Jerusalem went out to
him and were all baptized byhim in the Jordan River,
confessing their sins.
Now John was clothed withcamel's hair and with a leather
belt around his waist, and heate locust and wild honey.
And he preached, saying therecomes one after me who is
(05:10):
mightier than I, whose sandalstrap I am not worthy to stoop
down and loose.
I indeed baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit, amen.
Now, john was the last and thegreatest of the Old Testament
prophets and he came as theforerunner of Jesus Christ, and
(05:31):
we see here the beginning of hisministry, there on the banks of
the Jordan River.
But Luke takes us back to John'sbeginnings.
Turn, if you will, to Lukeagain, chapter one Now.
Last week we covered the firstfour verses and I'll go over
those briefly again and justsummarize what we talked about.
Luke says here Inasmuch as manyhave taken in hand to set in
(05:55):
order a narrative of thosethings which have been fulfilled
among us, just as those whofrom the beginning were
eyewitnesses and ministers ofthe word delivered them to us,
it seemed good to me also,having had a perfect
understanding of all things fromthe very first.
That phrase there can also betranslated from above having had
a perfect understanding ofthose things from above, what
(06:16):
we're seeing here is theinspiration of the Holy Spirit
in the writing of the gospel ofLuke.
Luke went out and heinterviewed all of those who had
been eyewitnesses to theseaccounts that he could find.
He asked them what was it like,what happened, what was said,
what was done?
And then, having gathered allof that information through the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit,he penned the words that we find
(06:37):
today in the Gospel of Luke.
Now, luke was a physician andit's interesting to note that in
the first chapter of Luke hetakes on the role almost of an
OBGYN and he gives us the onlyreal detailed account throughout
the scriptures of the births ofnot just one but of two babies,
both Jesus Christ and hisforerunner, john the Baptist.
(06:57):
And if we want to look atJohn's role, or rather Luke's
role here, as an OBGYN, wealmost look at the story of John
here as almost a prenatal visit, because that's very much what
is going to take place here.
We're going to see the verybeginnings not only of the
ministry of John the Baptist andof the birth of John the
Baptist, but even theforetelling of the conception of
(07:18):
John the Baptist.
Luke says it seemed good to mealso, having had a perfect
understanding of all things fromthe very first or from above,
to write to you an orderlyaccount, most excellent
Theophilus.
We remember last week,theophilus means lover of God.
So even if this was to aspecific person, we can say it's
also to those of us today wholove God, isn't it that he
(07:38):
writes to you, most excellentlover of God, most excellent
Theophilus, that you may knowthe certainty of those things in
which you were instructed.
We can know of a certainty thatthe things that we have been
instructed concerning the graceof God, concerning our faith in
Jesus Christ, are true becausethey are founded upon the
(07:59):
testimony of eyewitness accountsas recorded by Luke, this most
excellent of historians.
And so let us begin verse 5.
There was, in the days of Herod,the king of Judah, a certain
priest named Zacharias, of thedivision of Abijah.
His wife was of the daughtersof Aaron and her name was
(08:21):
Elizabeth, and they were bothrighteous before God, walking in
all the commandments andordinances of the Lord,
blameless.
Now, as we read here, we needto understand just a few things.
First of all, during that day,to be childless would almost
(08:50):
imply that the blessing of Godwas being withheld from your
life, because children were seenas not only a blessing from God
but an endorsement by God ofyour life.
If you had a lot of children,then you were blessed of God,
weren't you?
And if you were barren, thenyou must have been doing
something wrong, you must havebeen sinning in some way,
(09:11):
because obviously the Lord waswithholding from your life that
blessing with which he wished tobless you.
But Luke tells us very clearlythat that was not the case.
Elizabeth and her husbandZacharias were righteous before
the Lord.
In all the commandments and theprecepts that they were to
follow, they followed them.
Does that mean that they weresinless?
No, it means that when theysinned, they brought the
(09:31):
appropriate sacrifice to thetemple and that their sin was
covered by the blood of thatsacrifice.
In all the ordinances of Godthey were righteous before him
and in all the commandments theywere godly people.
They loved the Lord, and yetthat thing which they longed for
most of all was withheld fromthem.
(09:51):
Why Doesn't it seem unfair?
I have three boys, all undernine, and one phrase that I hear
quite often is Dad.
That's not fair, it's not fair.
And my response, of course, isyou're right, it's not fair, but
that's the way it is.
Sometimes things are not fair,but it's the way that they are.
(10:11):
Now, very times, in thesituation with my children, what
it is that is being withheldfrom them is something that they
very much want and desire, butalso oftentimes it is something
that they very much want anddesire, but also oftentimes it's
something that they very muchdo not need or perhaps deserve
at a given point in time.
And I may withhold thatblessing that they're wanting
for a season that, ultimately, Imay bless them with something
(10:34):
better.
In the same way, sometimes Godin our lives withholds things
from us for his own purposes.
Elizabeth wanted a child,zacharias wanted a child, as
we'll see in a moment.
They had prayed for a child andyet God had said no.
I'm not going to say he hadn'tanswered their prayer.
(10:57):
He had said no.
Can I tell you that sometimesGod says no.
And I can also tell you I'mvery grateful for that fact,
because there are times thatI've asked for things that, had
I received that which I askedfor, it would not have been for
my best.
It might have been forsomething that seems good at the
(11:18):
time, but ultimately it wouldnot have brought about the will
of God in my life.
I could be doing a lot ofdifferent things right now had I
gotten everything I asked forin life, but I would not be
standing before you today.
I might have a wonderful careerin politics or teaching at a
(11:40):
university or running arestaurant or doing any number
of things, but I wouldn't bepreaching the word of God.
Maybe I would.
I don't know, maybe God wouldhave brought me there by a
different path.
But I am where I am todaybecause God has moved and worked
in my life to bring me to thispoint, and the same is true for
you.
(12:01):
You might say well, I don't seethe hand of God working in my
life.
Why would God take notice ofsomeone as unimportant and
insignificant as me?
Can I tell you that God is norespecter of persons.
God does not look at one of usand prefer us over the other.
He may use us in different ways.
He may use us for differentpurposes.
(12:23):
Some of us may have theopportunity to minister to
millions, others to minister toone.
But what is it that Jesus said?
Even as you do unto the leastof these, my children, you have
done it also unto me.
And even as you have not doneit unto the least of these, my
children, you have done it alsounto me.
And even as you have not doneit unto the least of these, my
(12:43):
children, you have done it notunto me.
So, whether we minister to oneor to many, we minister to the
Lord Jesus Christ, and there isgreat blessing in that.
Trust God to direct your paths.
Trust God to lead you to theplace where he wants you to be.
If you have a desire to seekGod's face, then he will be
(13:08):
found by you.
If you have a desire to followGod's will, then he will lead
you.
God is not going to deceive you.
God is not going to mislead you.
God is not going to put you ina place, when you're willing to
follow him, where he does notwant you to be.
God is not going to open a doorand say, come this way, only
for you to fall down an elevatorshaft.
(13:29):
Now that having been said, whenwe seek God's will we have to
understand we must be seekingGod's will, not trying to
manipulate God's will to make itline up with ours.
That's why prayer and fastingand time with God is so
important, not because itchanges God's mind, but because
it brings our mind in alignmentwith God's mind.
Prayer doesn't change God.
(13:52):
Prayer changes us and it canindeed change our circumstances.
So Elizabeth and Zacharias hadnot yet received that which they
had wanted.
Now Zacharias was a priest andin that time the priesthood was
divided into 24 divisions andthey would work in the fields,
(14:13):
in their farming areas or intheir shops or in whatever their
regular trade was, for themajority of the year and for the
majority of their time, but oneweek twice a year.
So that's two weeks each year,but one week twice a year.
They would come in theirrotations into the temple and
lots would be cast to determinewho would take on what
responsibilities.
And so we see here thatZacharias is in Jerusalem.
(14:37):
He's at the temple.
So it was that while he wasserving as priest before God, in
the order of his division,according to the custom of the
priesthood, his lot fell to burnincense.
When he went into the temple ofthe Lord, his lot fell.
That means there was an elementof chance seemingly involved in
(14:57):
where Zacharias was going to beat that particular point in his
rotation.
Do you know what that means,guys?
God directed Zacharias throughhis job.
God put him where he wanted himat the specific time.
He wanted him there through hisemployment.
Can I tell you, there are timesthat God puts you in a place of
(15:19):
employment where you may notwant to be, where you may not
particularly like working, oryou may not think there's any
direct purpose for your beingthere.
And yet God has placed youthere for a season and for a
purpose that he might accomplishit.
Wherever you find yourself inyour life, whatever you find
yourself doing, whether it'sgetting your hair cut or going
to the grocery store, or goingto your job, or sitting at
(15:42):
dinner at a restaurant, lookaround and ask yourself the
question for what reason has Godbrought me to this place?
Whose life am I to touch forhim?
At this moment, when thatwaitress messes up your order as
she's coming to the table andshe got it all wrong even though
you told her three timesexactly how you wanted it, do
(16:03):
you get mad?
Do you get angry and say what'sthe matter with you?
Didn't you understand what Iwas telling you?
I didn't order this.
No, you see in that anopportunity to share the grace
of God with that person, toshare the love of God with that
person.
Now, does that mean you don'task for it to be corrected?
I'm not saying that.
I'm not saying sit there andeat your eggs raw or something
(16:23):
like that.
I'm saying respond with love,respond with kindness, respond
with understanding.
Can I tell you that you don'tknow, but maybe that poor
waitress got in a huge fightwith her husband before she came
to work that day and doesn'teven know if he's going to be
there when.
And you're mad because she gotyour eggs wrong.
(16:44):
How is the love of Christexercised in that?
How are we bearing witness tothe one who loves us so when we
treat those, his other creations, with such disdain and
disrespect?
When you go out and about amongthe workplace in the world where
God has placed you.
(17:04):
Look around for those that Godhas given you to love in that
place.
Look around for those that Godhas given you the opportunity to
speak to about him in thoselocations.
Pray as you're sitting in thebarber chair and say, lord, if
you want me to talk to thisperson, open up a door, give me
an opportunity, let him sharesomething with me that gives me
the opportunity to share youwith them.
(17:25):
Pray for those opportunitiesand be ready, because if you
pray for them, he'll give themto you.
So here's Zacharias.
According to the custom of thepriesthood, his lot fell to burn
incense when he went into thetemple of the Lord and the whole
multitude of the people waspraying outside at the hour of
(17:45):
incense.
Turn to Revelation, chapter 8.
Zacharias is in the temple,he's entered in to that holy
area that is the temple of Godand he's come to the altar of
incense.
And one of the things that he'sgoing to do there at the altar
of incense is he's going to takethat bowl of incense and he's
going to pour that on the coalsof that altar, and that incense
(18:08):
is he's going to take that bowlof incense and he's going to
pour that on the coals of thataltar and that incense is going
to burn and the sweet smell ofthat incense is going to waft up
into heaven and that isrepresentative of something very
, very special.
The apostle john, as he wasseeing the vision that he notes
for us in Revelation, says inchapter 8, verse 1, when he
(18:29):
opened the seventh seal, therewas silence in heaven for about
a half an hour and I saw theseven angels who stand before
God and to them were given seventrumpets.
Then another angel having agolden censer came and stood at
the altar.
Then another angel having agolden censer came and stood at
(18:50):
the altar.
He was given much incense thathe should offer it with the
prayers of the saints upon thegolden altar which was before
the throne, and the smoke of theincense with the prayers of the
saints, that's, you and I,those who believe in Jesus
Christ ascended before God fromthe angel's hand.
Jesus Christ ascended beforeGod from the angel's hand.
(19:14):
That incense that Zacharias wasburning there at the temple was
representative of the prayers ofthe people who were praying
right outside there in heaven.
As that bowl of incense isbeing poured out upon the altar
before the very throne of God.
As that wafts altar before thevery throne of God, as that
wafts up into the very face ofGod, as he smells that sweet
aroma, he's partaking of theprayers of his people.
(19:35):
You say why should I pray?
So that you can burn incense inheaven, so that your prayers
can rise up to God and to be asweet smell to him.
Don't you think he'd love that?
Don't you think he'd be blessedby that?
(19:55):
You say what gift can I give toGod?
You can give him the gift ofyour prayers.
You can give him the gift ofthat wonderful, sweet-smelling
aroma as it comes up before himfrom the altar, as those prayers
have been poured out there.
Turn back, if you will, to Luke.
Now, from the time of Malachithe prophet, there is no
(20:19):
recorded word of the Lord havingspoken to his people, israel.
A space of some 400 years haspassed with no word from God
whatsoever.
Now, certainly the scriptureswere being taught and studied
during that time, but from thedays of the prophet Malachi,
there had not been a prophet inIsrael to speak the word of the
(20:41):
Lord.
In that we have it recorded inscriptures.
We find nothing there, butsilence for 400 years.
That silence in verse 11 isabout to be broken.
Then, as the incense is burning,as Zacharias is there praying,
as all the people await outsidein prayer, then an angel of the
(21:01):
Lord appeared to him, appearedto Zacharias, appeared to him,
appeared to Zacharias and he wasstanding on the right side of
the altar of incense.
And when Zacharias saw him hewas troubled and fear fell upon
him.
But the angel said to him nowmark my words, friends, hear the
(21:22):
first words from heaven in 400years and those words are do not
be afraid.
I like the King James Versionfear not, fear not.
400 years of silence, and thefirst thing God has to say to
his people is fear not.
There are a lot of us today whoare troubled by all kinds of
(21:43):
fears Fears of terrorism, fearsof the wrong party being elected
or the wrong man, fears ofsickness and disease, fears of
rejection in relationships,fears of financial frustration
or failed attempts and brokenand lost dreams.
(22:05):
Fears of all kinds or failedattempts and broken and lost
dreams.
Fears of all kinds.
Fear, it paralyzes us, it gripsus and it prevents us from
moving forward into whatever itis that God desires for us.
Fear not.
Jesus used those words too.
He said fear not, for I am withyou Even into the end of the
(22:28):
age.
Fear not, for I am with youeven into the end of the age.
Fear not.
I've often said, and will saymany times more, that those who
fear God need fear nothing else.
And when I say fear God, I'mnot talking about a trembling
quaking oh my goodness, he'sgoing to squish me kind of fear.
I'm talking about a fear thatis born of the knowledge that
the one whom we serve spoke thisworld into existence.
(22:52):
I'm talking of fear that isborn of the knowledge that the
one who loves us is perfect inall of his ways.
You know, god has never had oneimperfect thought.
God has never done oneimperfect thing.
Now you say, well, I don't knowabout that.
I look around the world and Isee lots of things that are
(23:13):
imperfect.
That's because of thecorruption that has come into
the world through sin.
My wife shared something with meyesterday.
She had seen this on a sign asshe was driving around town.
It said God forms, the devildeforms, but Christ transforms,
amen.
And when we have thetransforming power of Jesus
(23:36):
Christ at work in our lives, weneed fear nothing and no man.
So the angel says do not beafraid, zacharias, for your
prayer is heard.
Your prayer is heard, saint ofGod, your prayer is heard.
What have you been prayingabout?
(23:58):
What have you been crying outto God?
For what thing in your life haskept you bound and beaten.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Unfortunately, that's all the time we have for today.
You've been listening to Heedthe Word, the teaching ministry
of Pastor Ken Davis, CalvaryChapel in Burleson, Texas.
We are currently making our waythrough the Gospel of Luke here
on Heed the Word.
The Gospel of Luke is packedfull of insights about Jesus,
our Savior, so we encourage youto join us again, same time,
(24:34):
same place, for the next StudyThrough Luke with Pastor Ken.
As we mentioned at thebeginning of today's broadcast,
this teaching, as well as manyothers, are available from the
Heed the Word media player.
You can listen to today'steaching, download today's
teaching, subscribe to the Heedthe Word podcast or even get a
copy on your mobile phone.
(24:54):
Everything's right there.
There's even a Bible availablefor you to follow along in the
scriptures as Pastor Ken teaches.
So log on to heedthewwordorgand continue studying with us
today.
If today's teaching has blessedyou, perhaps you'd like to visit
us for worship.
Calvary Chapel, Southwest Metromeets each Sunday morning at
(25:17):
10.30 am and Wednesday eveningat 7 pm.
We'd love to have you stop byand join us.
For more information anddriving directions, log on to
wwwheaththewordorg.
This has been another editionof Heed the Word, the
verse-by-verse,chapter-by-chapter and
book-by-book teaching ministryof Ken Davis, senior pastor of
(25:38):
Calvary Chapel, Southwest Metro.
Place a marker in your Biblesand join us next time for our
continuing study through theGospel of Luke, right here on.
Heed the Word.
You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor
and teacher, Ken Davis.
Pastor Ken is the senior pastorof Calvary Chapel, Southwest
Metro in Burleson, Texas.
Please join us as we study theGospel of Luke verse by verse.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
God has never done one imperfect thing.
Now you say, well, I don't knowabout that.
I look around the world and Isee lots of things that are
imperfect.
It's because of the corruptionthat has come into the world
through sin.
My wife shared something withme yesterday.
She'd seen this on a sign asshe was driving around town.
It said God forms, the devildeforms, but Christ transforms,
(00:43):
Amen.
And when we have thetransforming power of Jesus
Christ at work in our lives, weneed fear nothing and no man.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
The Gospel of Luke is the third account in the
Gospels of the life andteachings of our Savior Jesus
Christ.
As believers, there are fewstudies that will benefit us
more spiritually than studyingthe life and teachings of the
Master.
The plan and timing of the Lordare things that we could ponder
for the rest of this existence.
(01:14):
God's unfathomable wisdom isbeyond our understanding.
And yet, as we begin our studythrough the Gospel of Luke, we
see a great example of how Godused current circumstances, like
where we work to perform Hiswill and glorify His name.
Don't forget to stay with usafter today's message to hear
(01:34):
more information about Heed theWord, specifically how you can
get a free copy of this teaching.
But for now, open your Biblesto the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1
, verse 1, as we join Pastor Ken.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
The Old Testament, in the book of Malachi, ends with
these words Behold, I will sendyou Elijah, the prophet, before
the coming of the great anddreadful day of the Lord, and he
will turn the hearts of thefathers to the children and the
hearts of the children to theirfathers, lest I come and strike
(02:10):
the earth with a curse.
It's often been said that theOld Testament ends with a curse
and the New Testament ends witha blessing.
And yet within that cursethere's also a promise isn't
there, and that is that he wouldsend Elijah before the coming
of the Lord and that he wouldprepare the way for him, that he
(02:32):
would prepare the hearts ofthose people.
And in fact, we see there apromise from God that is soon to
be fulfilled within the pagesof the New Testament, that is
soon to be fulfilled within thepages of the New Testament.
The books of the New Testament,particularly the Gospels, begin
at somewhat differing points inhistory.
Now, obviously, in the orderthat they appear in our Bible,
(02:53):
matthew is first, then Mark,then Luke, then John.
But what I'm talking about isnot their order of appearance,
nor their date of having beenwritten, but rather the point in
the story in which they pick upNow, the one that, of course,
is the earliest point in thestory is the Gospel of John,
because the Gospel of John hasas the beginning of its story a
(03:15):
time that precedes even Genesis,doesn't it?
John 1.1 says In the beginningwas the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the word was God.
Now, at that point the earthhad not been created.
Not one beast, not one bird,nor man was upon the face of the
earth.
So John, chronologicallyspeaking, would be the earliest
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part of the story there, inverse 1.
But then John skips from thatvery beginning point in time to
a much later time and he saysthere was a man sent from God
whose name was John, and Johncame to bear witness of the
light.
Which was that light that hadentered into the world.
I'm not quoting directly, butyou remember the story.
So John does give us a prelude,as as it were, from the very
(04:02):
beginning, but then comesimmediately to the ministry of
John the Baptist.
Matthew begins with thegenealogy and the birth of Jesus
Christ.
Mark begins with the ministryof the forerunner of Christ,
john the Baptist.
Turn just briefly.
I realize we haven't even readin Luke yet, but go one book
back to Mark, chapter 1,starting in verse 1.
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The beginning of the gospel ofJesus Christ, the Son of God, as
it is written in the prophetsbehold, I send my messenger
before your face, who willprepare your way.
Before you, the voice of onecrying in the wilderness prepare
the way of the Lord, make hispath straight.
John came baptizing in thewilderness and preaching a
baptism of repentance for theremission of sins.
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Then all the land of Judea andthose from Jerusalem went out to
him and were all baptized byhim in the Jordan River,
confessing their sins.
Now John was clothed withcamel's hair and with a leather
belt around his waist, and heate locust and wild honey.
And he preached, saying therecomes one after me who is
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mightier than I, whose sandalstrap I am not worthy to stoop
down and loose.
I indeed baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit, amen.
Now, john was the last and thegreatest of the Old Testament
prophets and he came as theforerunner of Jesus Christ, and
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we see here the beginning of hisministry, there on the banks of
the Jordan River.
But Luke takes us back to John'sbeginnings.
Turn, if you will, to Lukeagain, chapter one Now.
Last week we covered the firstfour verses and I'll go over
those briefly again and justsummarize what we talked about.
Luke says here Inasmuch as manyhave taken in hand to set in
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order a narrative of thosethings which have been fulfilled
among us, just as those whofrom the beginning were
eyewitnesses and ministers ofthe word delivered them to us,
it seemed good to me also,having had a perfect
understanding of all things fromthe very first.
That phrase there can also betranslated from above having had
a perfect understanding ofthose things from above, what
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we're seeing here is theinspiration of the Holy Spirit
in the writing of the gospel ofLuke.
Luke went out and heinterviewed all of those who had
been eyewitnesses to theseaccounts that he could find.
He asked them what was it like,what happened, what was said,
what was done?
And then, having gathered allof that information through the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit,he penned the words that we find
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today in the Gospel of Luke.
Now, luke was a physician andit's interesting to note that in
the first chapter of Luke hetakes on the role almost of an
OBGYN and he gives us the onlyreal detailed account throughout
the scriptures of the births ofnot just one but of two babies,
both Jesus Christ and hisforerunner, john the Baptist.
(06:57):
And if we want to look atJohn's role, or rather Luke's
role here, as an OBGYN, wealmost look at the story of John
here as almost a prenatal visit, because that's very much what
is going to take place here.
We're going to see the verybeginnings not only of the
ministry of John the Baptist andof the birth of John the
Baptist, but even theforetelling of the conception of
(07:18):
John the Baptist.
Luke says it seemed good to mealso, having had a perfect
understanding of all things fromthe very first or from above,
to write to you an orderlyaccount, most excellent
Theophilus.
We remember last week,theophilus means lover of God.
So even if this was to aspecific person, we can say it's
also to those of us today wholove God, isn't it that he
(07:38):
writes to you, most excellentlover of God, most excellent
Theophilus, that you may knowthe certainty of those things in
which you were instructed.
We can know of a certainty thatthe things that we have been
instructed concerning the graceof God, concerning our faith in
Jesus Christ, are true becausethey are founded upon the
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testimony of eyewitness accountsas recorded by Luke, this most
excellent of historians.
And so let us begin verse 5.
There was, in the days of Herod,the king of Judah, a certain
priest named Zacharias, of thedivision of Abijah.
His wife was of the daughtersof Aaron and her name was
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Elizabeth, and they were bothrighteous before God, walking in
all the commandments andordinances of the Lord,
blameless.
Now, as we read here, we needto understand just a few things.
First of all, during that day,to be childless would almost
(08:50):
imply that the blessing of Godwas being withheld from your
life, because children were seenas not only a blessing from God
but an endorsement by God ofyour life.
If you had a lot of children,then you were blessed of God,
weren't you?
And if you were barren, thenyou must have been doing
something wrong, you must havebeen sinning in some way,
(09:11):
because obviously the Lord waswithholding from your life that
blessing with which he wished tobless you.
But Luke tells us very clearlythat that was not the case.
Elizabeth and her husbandZacharias were righteous before
the Lord.
In all the commandments and theprecepts that they were to
follow, they followed them.
Does that mean that they weresinless?
No, it means that when theysinned, they brought the
(09:31):
appropriate sacrifice to thetemple and that their sin was
covered by the blood of thatsacrifice.
In all the ordinances of Godthey were righteous before him
and in all the commandments theywere godly people.
They loved the Lord, and yetthat thing which they longed for
most of all was withheld fromthem.
(09:51):
Why Doesn't it seem unfair?
I have three boys, all undernine, and one phrase that I hear
quite often is Dad.
That's not fair, it's not fair.
And my response, of course, isyou're right, it's not fair, but
that's the way it is.
Sometimes things are not fair,but it's the way that they are.
(10:11):
Now, very times, in thesituation with my children, what
it is that is being withheldfrom them is something that they
very much want and desire, butalso oftentimes it is something
that they very much want anddesire, but also oftentimes it's
something that they very muchdo not need or perhaps deserve
at a given point in time.
And I may withhold thatblessing that they're wanting
for a season that, ultimately, Imay bless them with something
(10:34):
better.
In the same way, sometimes Godin our lives withholds things
from us for his own purposes.
Elizabeth wanted a child,zacharias wanted a child, as
we'll see in a moment.
They had prayed for a child andyet God had said no.
I'm not going to say he hadn'tanswered their prayer.
(10:57):
He had said no.
Can I tell you that sometimesGod says no.
And I can also tell you I'mvery grateful for that fact,
because there are times thatI've asked for things that, had
I received that which I askedfor, it would not have been for
my best.
It might have been forsomething that seems good at the
(11:18):
time, but ultimately it wouldnot have brought about the will
of God in my life.
I could be doing a lot ofdifferent things right now had I
gotten everything I asked forin life, but I would not be
standing before you today.
I might have a wonderful careerin politics or teaching at a
(11:40):
university or running arestaurant or doing any number
of things, but I wouldn't bepreaching the word of God.
Maybe I would.
I don't know, maybe God wouldhave brought me there by a
different path.
But I am where I am todaybecause God has moved and worked
in my life to bring me to thispoint, and the same is true for
you.
(12:01):
You might say well, I don't seethe hand of God working in my
life.
Why would God take notice ofsomeone as unimportant and
insignificant as me?
Can I tell you that God is norespecter of persons.
God does not look at one of usand prefer us over the other.
He may use us in different ways.
He may use us for differentpurposes.
(12:23):
Some of us may have theopportunity to minister to
millions, others to minister toone.
But what is it that Jesus said?
Even as you do unto the leastof these, my children, you have
done it also unto me.
And even as you have not doneit unto the least of these, my
children, you have done it alsounto me.
And even as you have not doneit unto the least of these, my
(12:43):
children, you have done it notunto me.
So, whether we minister to oneor to many, we minister to the
Lord Jesus Christ, and there isgreat blessing in that.
Trust God to direct your paths.
Trust God to lead you to theplace where he wants you to be.
If you have a desire to seekGod's face, then he will be
(13:08):
found by you.
If you have a desire to followGod's will, then he will lead
you.
God is not going to deceive you.
God is not going to mislead you.
God is not going to put you ina place, when you're willing to
follow him, where he does notwant you to be.
God is not going to open a doorand say, come this way, only
for you to fall down an elevatorshaft.
(13:29):
Now that having been said, whenwe seek God's will we have to
understand we must be seekingGod's will, not trying to
manipulate God's will to make itline up with ours.
That's why prayer and fastingand time with God is so
important, not because itchanges God's mind, but because
it brings our mind in alignmentwith God's mind.
Prayer doesn't change God.
(13:52):
Prayer changes us and it canindeed change our circumstances.
So Elizabeth and Zacharias hadnot yet received that which they
had wanted.
Now Zacharias was a priest andin that time the priesthood was
divided into 24 divisions andthey would work in the fields,
(14:13):
in their farming areas or intheir shops or in whatever their
regular trade was, for themajority of the year and for the
majority of their time, but oneweek twice a year.
So that's two weeks each year,but one week twice a year.
They would come in theirrotations into the temple and
lots would be cast to determinewho would take on what
responsibilities.
And so we see here thatZacharias is in Jerusalem.
(14:37):
He's at the temple.
So it was that while he wasserving as priest before God, in
the order of his division,according to the custom of the
priesthood, his lot fell to burnincense.
When he went into the temple ofthe Lord, his lot fell.
That means there was an elementof chance seemingly involved in
(14:57):
where Zacharias was going to beat that particular point in his
rotation.
Do you know what that means,guys?
God directed Zacharias throughhis job.
God put him where he wanted himat the specific time.
He wanted him there through hisemployment.
Can I tell you, there are timesthat God puts you in a place of
(15:19):
employment where you may notwant to be, where you may not
particularly like working, oryou may not think there's any
direct purpose for your beingthere.
And yet God has placed youthere for a season and for a
purpose that he might accomplishit.
Wherever you find yourself inyour life, whatever you find
yourself doing, whether it'sgetting your hair cut or going
to the grocery store, or goingto your job, or sitting at
(15:42):
dinner at a restaurant, lookaround and ask yourself the
question for what reason has Godbrought me to this place?
Whose life am I to touch forhim?
At this moment, when thatwaitress messes up your order as
she's coming to the table andshe got it all wrong even though
you told her three timesexactly how you wanted it, do
(16:03):
you get mad?
Do you get angry and say what'sthe matter with you?
Didn't you understand what Iwas telling you?
I didn't order this.
No, you see in that anopportunity to share the grace
of God with that person, toshare the love of God with that
person.
Now, does that mean you don'task for it to be corrected?
I'm not saying that.
I'm not saying sit there andeat your eggs raw or something
(16:23):
like that.
I'm saying respond with love,respond with kindness, respond
with understanding.
Can I tell you that you don'tknow, but maybe that poor
waitress got in a huge fightwith her husband before she came
to work that day and doesn'teven know if he's going to be
there when.
And you're mad because she gotyour eggs wrong.
(16:44):
How is the love of Christexercised in that?
How are we bearing witness tothe one who loves us so when we
treat those, his other creations, with such disdain and
disrespect?
When you go out and about amongthe workplace in the world where
God has placed you.
(17:04):
Look around for those that Godhas given you to love in that
place.
Look around for those that Godhas given you the opportunity to
speak to about him in thoselocations.
Pray as you're sitting in thebarber chair and say, lord, if
you want me to talk to thisperson, open up a door, give me
an opportunity, let him sharesomething with me that gives me
the opportunity to share youwith them.
(17:25):
Pray for those opportunitiesand be ready, because if you
pray for them, he'll give themto you.
So here's Zacharias.
According to the custom of thepriesthood, his lot fell to burn
incense when he went into thetemple of the Lord and the whole
multitude of the people waspraying outside at the hour of
(17:45):
incense.
Turn to Revelation, chapter 8.
Zacharias is in the temple,he's entered in to that holy
area that is the temple of Godand he's come to the altar of
incense.
And one of the things that he'sgoing to do there at the altar
of incense is he's going to takethat bowl of incense and he's
going to pour that on the coalsof that altar, and that incense
(18:08):
is he's going to take that bowlof incense and he's going to
pour that on the coals of thataltar and that incense is going
to burn and the sweet smell ofthat incense is going to waft up
into heaven and that isrepresentative of something very
, very special.
The apostle john, as he wasseeing the vision that he notes
for us in Revelation, says inchapter 8, verse 1, when he
(18:29):
opened the seventh seal, therewas silence in heaven for about
a half an hour and I saw theseven angels who stand before
God and to them were given seventrumpets.
Then another angel having agolden censer came and stood at
the altar.
Then another angel having agolden censer came and stood at
(18:50):
the altar.
He was given much incense thathe should offer it with the
prayers of the saints upon thegolden altar which was before
the throne, and the smoke of theincense with the prayers of the
saints, that's, you and I,those who believe in Jesus
Christ ascended before God fromthe angel's hand.
Jesus Christ ascended beforeGod from the angel's hand.
(19:14):
That incense that Zacharias wasburning there at the temple was
representative of the prayers ofthe people who were praying
right outside there in heaven.
As that bowl of incense isbeing poured out upon the altar
before the very throne of God.
As that wafts altar before thevery throne of God, as that
wafts up into the very face ofGod, as he smells that sweet
aroma, he's partaking of theprayers of his people.
(19:35):
You say why should I pray?
So that you can burn incense inheaven, so that your prayers
can rise up to God and to be asweet smell to him.
Don't you think he'd love that?
Don't you think he'd be blessedby that?
(19:55):
You say what gift can I give toGod?
You can give him the gift ofyour prayers.
You can give him the gift ofthat wonderful, sweet-smelling
aroma as it comes up before himfrom the altar, as those prayers
have been poured out there.
Turn back, if you will, to Luke.
Now, from the time of Malachithe prophet, there is no
(20:19):
recorded word of the Lord havingspoken to his people, israel.
A space of some 400 years haspassed with no word from God
whatsoever.
Now, certainly the scriptureswere being taught and studied
during that time, but from thedays of the prophet Malachi,
there had not been a prophet inIsrael to speak the word of the
(20:41):
Lord.
In that we have it recorded inscriptures.
We find nothing there, butsilence for 400 years.
That silence in verse 11 isabout to be broken.
Then, as the incense is burning,as Zacharias is there praying,
as all the people await outsidein prayer, then an angel of the
(21:01):
Lord appeared to him, appearedto Zacharias, appeared to him,
appeared to Zacharias and he wasstanding on the right side of
the altar of incense.
And when Zacharias saw him hewas troubled and fear fell upon
him.
But the angel said to him nowmark my words, friends, hear the
(21:22):
first words from heaven in 400years and those words are do not
be afraid.
I like the King James Versionfear not, fear not.
400 years of silence, and thefirst thing God has to say to
his people is fear not.
There are a lot of us today whoare troubled by all kinds of
(21:43):
fears Fears of terrorism, fearsof the wrong party being elected
or the wrong man, fears ofsickness and disease, fears of
rejection in relationships,fears of financial frustration
or failed attempts and brokenand lost dreams.
(22:05):
Fears of all kinds or failedattempts and broken and lost
dreams.
Fears of all kinds.
Fear, it paralyzes us, it gripsus and it prevents us from
moving forward into whatever itis that God desires for us.
Fear not.
Jesus used those words too.
He said fear not, for I am withyou Even into the end of the
(22:28):
age.
Fear not, for I am with youeven into the end of the age.
Fear not.
I've often said, and will saymany times more, that those who
fear God need fear nothing else.
And when I say fear God, I'mnot talking about a trembling
quaking oh my goodness, he'sgoing to squish me kind of fear.
I'm talking about a fear thatis born of the knowledge that
the one whom we serve spoke thisworld into existence.
(22:52):
I'm talking of fear that isborn of the knowledge that the
one who loves us is perfect inall of his ways.
You know, god has never had oneimperfect thought.
God has never done oneimperfect thing.
Now you say, well, I don't knowabout that.
I look around the world and Isee lots of things that are
(23:13):
imperfect.
That's because of thecorruption that has come into
the world through sin.
My wife shared something with meyesterday.
She had seen this on a sign asshe was driving around town.
It said God forms, the devildeforms, but Christ transforms,
amen.
And when we have thetransforming power of Jesus
(23:36):
Christ at work in our lives, weneed fear nothing and no man.
So the angel says do not beafraid, zacharias, for your
prayer is heard.
Your prayer is heard, saint ofGod, your prayer is heard.
What have you been prayingabout?
(23:58):
What have you been crying outto God?
For what thing in your life haskept you bound and beaten.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Unfortunately, that's all the time we have for today.
You've been listening to Heedthe Word, the teaching ministry
of Pastor Ken Davis, CalvaryChapel in Burleson, Texas.
We are currently making our waythrough the Gospel of Luke here
on Heed the Word.
The Gospel of Luke is packedfull of insights about Jesus,
our Savior, so we encourage youto join us again, same time,
(24:34):
same place, for the next StudyThrough Luke with Pastor Ken.
As we mentioned at thebeginning of today's broadcast,
this teaching, as well as manyothers, are available from the
Heed the Word media player.
You can listen to today'steaching, download today's
teaching, subscribe to the Heedthe Word podcast or even get a
copy on your mobile phone.
(24:54):
Everything's right there.
There's even a Bible availablefor you to follow along in the
scriptures as Pastor Ken teaches.
So log on to heedthewwordorgand continue studying with us
today.
If today's teaching has blessedyou, perhaps you'd like to visit
us for worship.
Calvary Chapel, Southwest Metromeets each Sunday morning at
(25:17):
10.30 am and Wednesday eveningat 7 pm.
We'd love to have you stop byand join us.
For more information anddriving directions, log on to
wwwheaththewordorg.
This has been another editionof Heed the Word, the
verse-by-verse,chapter-by-chapter and
book-by-book teaching ministryof Ken Davis, senior pastor of
(25:38):
Calvary Chapel, Southwest Metro.
Place a marker in your Biblesand join us next time for our
continuing study through theGospel of Luke, right here on.
Heed the Word.
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