way of hope (a sermon)

(This is an old sermon I gave back in 2008 during the Advent season. The conclusion is edited out because it was specific to the congregation)

Last week Pastor Joel talked about the Confident Hope we have because of the certainty of the things we know through the accounts written in the Bible. He even went so far as to show that our Hope is Christ Himself. Even though I can comprehend what he said last week, I can’t confidently say I live it very well all the time. However, I can say one thing confidently, without any equivocation; I can say that left to myself I would not be sure how this Hope is supposed to play out in my every moment.

I know theoretically what hope can do in someone’s life. It can make him ask that girl to marry him. It can propel her to rehab her knee so that she can play that sport again. It can cause her to send out her resume after graduation. It can lead him to offer forgiveness to the father that was never there.

Yet, there is a reality about Hope that often haunts us, that haunts me. Hope can lead to a harsh disappointment. I don’t like this reality, but no matter what I try to do this can be a very real result. She said no, when he asked for her hand in marriage. After rehab, she blew out her knee… again. Its 8 months later, and she still doesn’t have a job. He forgave his father for not being around just to see him disappear again. Have you ever had that happen?

You see, hope is a beautiful thing, but just like a rose there are some thorns to it. The dictionary definition of hope is “to have a wish to get or do something; or to wish for something to happen; or to wish for something to be true.” So as we look at the reality of this hope that we have that Joel spoke of, one question comes to my mind. How is this hope supposed to play out in my life day in and day out? This is why I think we need to see where Luke goes next in his thinking.

Before we look at the text, let’s pray…

If you have a Bible, open with me to Luke 1:5-25. Now as we look at this passage I want us to notice something right off the bat. He opens with the story of one couple. Take this in for a second. In his first 4 verses Luke sets up his whole book by stating he carefully investigated and is now writing an orderly account of all that has happened.

So instead of telling us about all the prophecies that have been fulfilled, or trying to prove things in an empirical sort of way, or even giving us four easy steps to live in hope daily; he chooses to begin with the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth.

Because of this reality, we can only make observations from their life. I can not give you a formula to help you live out the hope we have daily. So today I have entitled this message The Way of Hope. Hopefully by observing this account of this couple’s journey we see some similarities that can help us understand our lives, our stories, as we try to follow God in the here and now.

5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.

Luke takes some time in these few verses to introduce us to this couple.

1. The People
Zechariah and Elizabeth were not your typical couple by any stretch of the imagination. He was a priest and she was a daughter of a priest. They were upright in God’s eyes. And if that weren’t enough, Luke says they observed the commands and regulations of the Lord blamelessly – or faithfully! These were just good people. By the way they were both old. So, they were really good, really old people.

Then Luke adds some thing as he introduces the main characters. He introduces their conflict, their issue, their problem. 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.

2. The Problem
So even though they were really good old people, there was a glaring, unresolved issue. Elizabeth was barren. Now in our day and age that is not a huge barrier. We have fertility specialists, medications, treatments, procedures… Today we have done our best to work around that issue.

So I don’t think we sense the stigma that comes with this conflict in their time and their lives. And honestly, if you think about it long enough, you’ve heard this story before. Abraham and Sara were barren until Isaac; Jacob and Rachel were barren until Joseph; or Elkhanah and Hannah were barren until Samuel. If you read enough of the Bible this is a recurring motif. And because it is, it can become old hat and we can become callous to the weight of this issue.

But look at what the Author and Pastor Kent Hughes says about barrenness in the culture of that time… “In any culture infertility is an aching disappointment, and for some an almost unbearable stress. But the burden cannot be compared to that borne by childless women in ancient Hebrew culture because barrenness was considered a disgrace, even a punishment.”

In fact theologian Leon Morris mentioned the flip side; children were a sign of God’s favor and pleasure upon faithful men. So, here is this couple, and according to Luke a really good old couple, with this glaring deficiency that can make them question their standing with each other, with their friends, and even their standing with God. Can you imagine? Have you had those questions before?

“That was our third miscarriage. What’s wrong with us?” “No one invited me to that party, why am I so lonely, why am I so unlovable?” “She hasn’t talked to me in weeks, did I do something to drive my daughter away from me?” We may not know the barrenness of Zechariah and Elizabeth’s day, but we might have something similar. We’ve had those quiet moments where some kind of barrenness haunts the hollows our mind. If we take a second we realize that this couple’s story is more akin to ours than what is first seen at the surface. Let’s move on…

8 Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.

So far Luke has given us a glimpse of the People, the Problem, and now in their story he depicts their pivotal moment, their hinge point. Luke takes time to describe…

3. The Presence
This is the moment where the whole story, even history, turns on its head. This is the moment that Zechariah will never forget. Notice a couple of things about this scenario. First, Zechariah’s priestly division was on duty and he was chosen by lot to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. Let that sink in… Yup, that really didn’t do anything for me either. And, honestly, it didn’t until I understood the weight of this moment.

You see historically he was one of around 8,000 Jewish priests living and working in Palestine at that time. The structured service of the priests was determined some 1,000 years or so earlier under King David back in 1 Chronicles 23 and 24. The priests were divided into 24 different divisions, each with 300 or more priests. And each division served at the Temple in Jerusalem for two one-week periods per year. And each day 56 priests were chosen by lot to serve that day.

Scholars tell us that in anticipation of each of two daily services at the Temple, lots again were used to determine who would do what; it was like drawing straws to determine who got which job or task or assignment for that day. That day Zechariah drew the straw that allowed him and him alone to offer incense in the Temple Holy Place at the time of sacrifice. You have to know this piece though; NO priest was ever allowed to do it more than once in his entire lifetime. Many served their whole lives without ever having this opportunity.

Are you starting to catch how huge this moment was for our boy Zach? It was game time… So, in he goes, prepared to burn incense and pray for the redemption of Israel as thousands assigned before him had. Yet, this moment was different. God decided to break from the norm. In this moment there stood an angel before Zechariah. I am not sure how many of us can say that we have seen an angel standing before us, but do you see Zechariah response? He was startled and afraid.

Have you ever experienced a moment like that? Not necessarily a moment with an angel next to you, but a moment where you sense something greater than you is present; and it just leaves you gasping, if just for a moment. And in the midst of that gasp you have an uncanny clarity about your life and a sense of fear washes over you. You feel undone; you want to say with Isaiah ‘I am ruined! I am a man of unclean lips.”

The Temple was the place in Jewish history where God made His dwelling. The day Zechariah came into the house, things were a little different! The reality of God’s Presence has been completely flipped since. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." In the here and now God makes His presence known in and through His people. We don’t need to go to a temple, a synagogue, a monastery, or even a church to know the presence of God. If you have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, His presence is with you, in you.

13 But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. 16 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

I love this part of the story. In Zechariah’s experience of the presence of God through this angel some amazing things are done through what the angel says. First, he deals with where Zechariah is. The angel speaks to the fear that was washing over Zechariah in that moment. He says, “Don’t be afraid.” Then he acknowledges what Zechariah has done by saying, “your prayer has been heard”.

In that moment Zechariah was praying. What do our moments look like? They are full of our prayers, our curses, our doubts, our joys; God knows what we’ve done. In that moment the angel acknowledges what Zechariah’s done.

Lastly he speaks to Zechariah of what God will do by revealing…

4. The Promise
"Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord… 16 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God… to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Amazing, in this moment of Presence a Promise occurs. The thing that strikes me about this promise is that it deals so intimately with the deficiency, the problem that this couple had known for so long. It spoke directly to their barrenness.

But it doesn’t stop there. The promise really is the answer to the prayer that Zechariah was assigned to pray as the incense was being burned. Remember he was praying for the redemption of Israel. So now the story of this couple becomes knit into the fabric of a nation’s story. The child that would be born to the barren was to usher in and prepare the way for the coming King, the long awaited Messiah!

It’s not unlike what God does now with us. He speaks to where we are, He speaks to what we’ve done, but He speaks of what He’ll do, not only in us but through us for the good of those around us.

The last thing I want us to take note of in the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth are…

5. The Possibilities
Look at the last bit of this passage… 18 Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years." 19 The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time." 21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 "The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."

Do you see the possibilities that stem from seeing the promise of God in the presence of God? There are choices of how to respond in those moments. The responses are depicted through those involved.

There is Zechariah. His initial response was an understandable skepticism. (I might be dating myself but for some reason I picture Gary Coleman saying “what you talking bout Willis?”) Zechariah says, “How can I be sure of this? I’m old and Elizabeth ain’t no better.” So the angel steps up and says “I’m Gabriel, I stand in the presence of God and have been sent to give you this news of the fulfillment of your prayers! Because you’re not picking up what I’m throwing done, you’ve lost the privilege of speaking until it comes to pass.” Well, that’s more or less how the conversation went…

Then you have the people who were waiting for Zechariah. Now notice that while all this is happening to Zechariah, they were wondering and waiting. And then when he came out and he was making signs and not speaking; they realized something happened. But you have to guess since they couldn’t understand what Zechariah was trying to communicate; they probably just continued to wonder and to wait.

Lastly, there was Elizabeth. She was overwhelmed by the love God displayed to her by taking away the shame and disgrace she knew for so long. If you keep reading, later in the chapter we see how the birth of her son brings joy to many. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

Now there are many more responses that could have taken place in this account. What would have happened if Zechariah would have responded in faith, believing the promise that God gave to him from the start? There would have been no confusion in the waiting and wondering masses. They would have heard right away of the awesome intimacy of God breaking into Zechariah’s reality there in the temple. But he chose a different route and so the masses, the crowds, the people just continued to wait. This is not unlike our lives. How many of the people around us continue to wait because we fail to respond in faith to the things that God does in our lives the moment they happen?

Actually some did get to hear of God breaking into Zechariah’s reality. "62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him."

Then there is a whole section after that where Zechariah publicly praises God. Amazing! After that man’s initial faithlessness; God still writes him a key scene in the lives of the wondering and waiting masses.

I started with the question of “How is this thing called hope supposed to play out in my life day in and day out?” I want us to recognize the truth that God hears us and knows the barrenness that we have known. You heard a story of a couple who experienced how He makes his presence known and how He speaks a promise of hope. You’ve seen their possible responses.

He wants to make His presence known to us, and show us the promise that is found in Christ. As you take some time to process this, I would like to bring up George Lantz and let him share his story…

Lantz testimony...

As you have heard all that was said, some of you are seeing the barren places in your life really clearly – the difficult relationships, the past disappointments, hurts, the illnesses, the unpaid bills, etc. You follow Christ, yet these are areas that still feel so barren, so hopeless. These moments of heartache and emptiness are God’s invitation to us to press in and know Him as Immanuel – God with us.

Though it is difficult in those moments we need to invite Him to work and lead. That looks different for every moment…