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Man in the Mirror (Luke 1:5 - 25)
22 Plays1 year ago
Sunday Message recorded 16 June 2024
by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church -- Columbus TX
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
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Transcript
Opening and Gratitude
00:00:06
Speaker
Thank you, John, and thank you, Team Westfall for a great job leading us in worship.
Honoring Fathers and Heavenly Father
00:00:11
Speaker
You know, we do want to honor the dads that are here today, and we're so glad you're here in worship and you're wanting to honor the Lord. You know, I just want to make it clear that there are no perfect dads. There's only one perfect father in this universe, and that's our Heavenly Father. And so regardless of what your experience has been when you were growing up and so forth with your dad, I just want you to know that there's a Heavenly Father who loves you so much has a great plan for you and wants to give good things to you.
Father's Day Celebrations
00:00:42
Speaker
And so we're just celebrating him as well. But what we have each Father's Day, we have a small gift that we would like to give. And so this Father's Day we have
00:00:53
Speaker
some baskets up here. And so I want to always ask the children or the students if they would come and help to distribute these. So dads, we're going to need you to let us know where you are. So why don't we have all the kids come on up and you can grab a handful of these pens and we're going to get them to the dads. But why don't we have the dads stand so we can all give you an applause that we love you. Thank you so much for all that you are. um
00:01:25
Speaker
um Thank you so much. Okay, you may be seated, but just wave to these guys and girls and let them know that you would like one of these. These are some pins, so we will be asking the camera to zoom in on you to make sure you're taking notes today. I'm kidding. That's just a joke. But anyway, I do thank the Lord so much for who you are and for all you do. And so I pray that today will be a blessing.
Challenges in Biblical Manhood
00:01:52
Speaker
I pray that you'll be honored with Father's Day.
00:01:58
Speaker
In 1989, Patrick Morley wrote a book and he was addressing biblical manhood and the challenges men face. ah Mia, could somebody make sure that down there in the live stream and the fellowship hall that they have the pins too? Yeah, thank you so much. But Patrick Morley wrote this book about biblical manhood and challenges that we men face today. And he entitled the book, Man in the Mirror. But it's because there's like the temptation to sort of try to wear this mask. We create a mask and we try to have a false self that comes across to other people. But I think that in our time with the Lord, we need to be real. We need to be authentic.
00:02:45
Speaker
And I think that will help us to live authentically in our lives. But, you know, in Ephesians 4, 22 to 24, and Colossians 3, 9 to 10, it says that every Christian man has two men that he's going to have to decide between. There's an old man representing his old way of living, and the Bible says you've put off the old man with its deeds. But there's also a new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him.
Influence of Fathers
00:03:19
Speaker
I pray that every day that we're making a choice, guys, that we would say, you know what? We're going to set aside the old man that we used to be without Christ, and we're going to live and be that new man who we are created to be in Christ Jesus. Why is that so important? Well, I want to share a poem with you. I didn't write this poem, but I want to share it with you. It's called To Any Daddy. There are little eyes upon you, and they're watching night and day. There are little ears that quickly take in every word you say. There are little hands all eager to do everything you do. And a little boy who's dreaming of the day, he'll be like you. You're the little fellow's idol. You're the wisest of the wise. In his little mind about you, no suspicions ever rise. He believes in you devoutly, holds that all you say and do
00:04:19
Speaker
he will say and do in your way when he's grown up like you. There's a wide-eyed little fella who believes you're always right and his ears are always open and he watches day and night. You are setting an example every day in all you do for the little boy who's waiting to grow up to be like you. Isn't that powerful? It reminds all of us who are fathers you know that we have such an important role. We're going to be influencing our children. you know In some ways, if I were going to say, where is the mirror?
00:05:01
Speaker
You know what I could say? I could say, look at your child, because our children are going to mirror what they've seen in our lives to some extent. That is where we will see the man in the mirror. Our reflection will be seen in our kids. Isn't that what that old song when I was in high school dating myself, Cats in the Cradle? Remember that song where at that that he keeps saying, I'm gonna be like you, Dad. You know I'm gonna be like you. Proverbs 27, 19 says, as in water, face reflects face. You ever look down at a pond or lake and you see yourself? So the heart of man reflects the man.
Reflecting Christ's Image
00:05:48
Speaker
Since man and woman, boy and girl, each have been given a free will or kids may choose not to be like their dad. So perhaps a better mirror for a man would be to look regularly at his heart. What is your heart? What's it looking like in there? 1 Corinthians 13, 12 compares our current knowledge of God to looking into an ancient bronze mirror. They had to polish those, and they tried really hard, but it still seemed like that the image that they would see in the mirror back then in the old days, it was still dim, it was still an obscure reflection. But in 1 Corinthians 13, 12 it says, for now we see in a mirror dimly,
00:06:34
Speaker
but then face to face. Now I know in part, and then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." Wow. Isn't that amazing that when the Lord returns, we're going to know Him. We'll see Him face to face. But I thought it was shocking here in verse 12 of 1 Corinthians 13 is it says, now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. God knows what we look like on the heart. He knows what our life is like.
00:07:11
Speaker
But you know, James compares the word of God to a mirror. So today when you open up your Bible, it's like you're gonna open up a mirror. It's gonna reflect, it says, the natural face in a mirror. So what will we do with what we see? You know, I think the truest reflection of our lives will be at the return of Christ. Then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known, But until then, why don't we look into God's word? You know why we need to look into God's word for our image? Because in God's word, it's truthful. It's objective. It's going to tell us exactly the way it is.
00:07:56
Speaker
2 Corinthians 3.18 compares every believer to a mirror that is reflecting more and more of Christ's image as we yield to the Holy Spirit. It says, and we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Zachariah's Story and Faith
00:08:24
Speaker
So today I want to ask every dad to look with me into the mirror of God's word. It's going to be framed around a biblical character named Zachariah. So that's going to be the frame, but I want you to look beyond the frame and look into the mirror of God's word and look and ask God, what do you see Lord? I read this week where someone said mirror, mirror on the wall. Do you see Christ in me at all?
00:08:53
Speaker
I think that's an important question to ask ourselves. As we read through Luke chapter 1 verses 5 through 25, I think we're going to look deeper into the mirror of God's revelation. and You're going to look beyond the life of Zachariah into the illumination of the Holy Spirit in your heart. So the question is, how am I looking as a dad? Would you stand with me in honor of God's word? I'm going to read verses five down through verse 25. It's pretty lengthy, but here's what it says. In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
00:09:39
Speaker
And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. Now, while he was serving as priest before God, when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
00:10:23
Speaker
Zachariah was troubled when he saw him and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, do not be afraid, Zachariah, for your prayer has been 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 before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink. And he will 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. And he will 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 for the Lord a people prepared. And Zechariah said to the angel,
00:11:22
Speaker
How shall I know this? For I'm an old man, and my wife is advanced in years. And the angel answered him, I'm Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God. And I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place because You did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time. And the people were waiting for Zechariah and they were wandering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them. And they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple and he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
00:12:14
Speaker
After these days, his wife, Elizabeth, conceived. And for five months, she kept herself hidden, saying, thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me to take away my reproach among people.
Prayers and Encouragement for Fathers
00:12:29
Speaker
Let's go to the Father in prayer. Lord, this is your word. It's eternal. It's living and active. It's the Lord today. Speak to each heart that is here. Today we're here to honor and encourage those who are fathers, thank you for them. But Lord, we pray that today you would speak through your word into every heart, not just the dads, into the hearts of mothers, into the hearts of students and children, into the hearts of young adults and senior adults and median adults. I pray that everyone could hear the voice of your spirit speaking to us about the way we live our lives. Help us to be honest enough to look at the man in the mirror
00:13:11
Speaker
and to say, who's really? What am I like? Who's really living this life? Is it Christ? Am I becoming more like Christ? Or am I continuing to be more like myself? So speak to us this day. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you. You may be seated.
00:13:31
Speaker
Now I realize that most of you men don't like to stand in front of a mirror. Probably like me, you don't like what you see there. So you gotta say, I don't want to see myself. But you know, when I'm on the rowing machine in the gym, I see guys that are standing over there in front of those mirrors. And they'll, they'll stand there, they'll do this, and they'll turn sideways like this. god sun As I see them kind of spinning around, and I'm really not trying to make fun of anybody, at least they have the courage to look at it. Yeah, I don't even want to go look at it. you know I'm glad that in front of the rowing machine there is no mirror. So I have a great time. But I want us to look at this man in God's mirror from five different angles. And like I said, the man may be you, maybe the man's not you, but the man should be you.
00:14:20
Speaker
So let's look at the first angle. I believe that the man in the mirror should be, he is, a rock for his wife. You know, I can't serve here 17 years and not see the lives of men in this congregation. There are many men in this congregation. I just want you, you who are visiting to know something. There are men in this congregation, they are rocks for their wives. They've been there. There's such a support for them. The Bible refers to the Lord as a rock, but I believe that also that metaphor could be transferred over to the husband as well, that a husband should be dependable. He should be somebody that the wife says, you know what, I can lean on him when I feel weak. I thought about three different ways that I saw Zachariah being like a rock for his wife, Elizabeth.
00:15:17
Speaker
Perhaps this is the way you're living and I know your wife appreciates who you are. How about this one? It says, in the days of Herod, king of Judea. Just think about the dangers that were in that day. I think that Zachariah would say, you know what, I will be a shelter. I will be a shelter for my wife. When she wants to feel safe, she can come to me. I will do all I can to protect her. You know, Herod was very evil. He was a cruel person. And so we should say, even if there are dangers out there, I have your back, saying to your wife or to your family,
00:15:57
Speaker
But also notice that it says in verse seven that they had no child because Elizabeth was barren. You know, back then it was really hard for a woman who could not have a child on her own. And so I wonder if he was so supportive because it says they've been married several years. And so he was so supportive through all the disappointments. I think that's a way that a husband is supportive and like a rock for his wife. She may have some disappointments that you don't know about, guys. But you need to say, whatever is hurting you hurts me. When you're disappointed, I want you to come to me and tell me about it so that I can pray for you. I think that's being a rock for your wife. But I think also when it says that they both were advanced in years,
00:16:48
Speaker
Yep, they've been married a long time. They were together a long time. You know how I think a man can be a rock for his wife? Be steady. Be steady. Be steadfast through the seasons of life. Just be there and say, you know what? A lot of things may change in our lives, but my love for you and my commitment to you, it'll never change. I guarantee you that is a great way to be a father whenever the children know mom and dad are good. mom and dad are close, mom and dad are tight. The man in the mirror, well, he's a rock for his wife. I believe that the man in the mirror is also someone who has resolved in his walk, in his walk. It says, and they were both righteous before God, walking, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. You know, God has appointed husbands and fathers to be the spiritual leaders of the home.
00:17:46
Speaker
And I believe that when the husband, when the father, when when we sag, I believe the whole family drags. There's not going to be a lot of enthusiasm out there if we're not living it as well. So I just encourage you to follow Zacharias's footsteps and say, you know what? I am going to lead my wife spiritually. You know, it says they were both righteous. It doesn't say that just Elizabeth was righteous. It says they both were righteous. So he must have been leading. And you know what his wife said? If that's the way you're going, I'm going to go there too.
00:18:25
Speaker
Zacharias was leading his wife, but I believe also with his resolve, he said, you know what? I'm gonna live out the word of God. I'm gonna live out what God tells me. It says here they were walking. You know, walking in the Bible, it talks about living. It's how they were living in daily life. This man Zacharias, he was living out what God was showing him. Walking blamelessly in all the commandments is what it says. So he's trying his best. Was he perfect? No, he wasn't perfect. Only Christ was the perfect, only perfect human who ever walked this earth. But you know what? He was pointed in the right direction. He was saying, you know what? I want to live out what I read in the Word.
00:19:11
Speaker
But I think also when it mentions the statutes of the Lord, I believe that he wanted God to call the shots in his life. And so I believe that Zacharias was leaning toward God's will. He was leaning in the direction of God's will. He was comfortable with God being in charge over his life and over his family. He wanted God's will. I believe that's part of what I would be referring to when I say he has resolved in his walk. So the man in the mirror, well, he has resolved in his walk and he's a rock for
Responsibilities in Work and Worship
00:19:47
Speaker
his wife. But let me give you another one. The third one is the man in the mirror is responsible in his work.
00:19:56
Speaker
how many How many different jobs are mentioned in the Bible? Any ideas? You know, Liberty University, I found a ah document that they posted online that they found 43 different jobs. And I don't think they were saying this is all of them, but they said, these are the ones we can give you the scripture in the verse. So there was 43. There's another man named Steve Shirley who said, you know what I read? He said, I read, I can't verify, it but he said, I read, there are over 5,000 jobs mentioned in the scriptures. When I was looking, I thought, well, I can just, off the top of my head, think about builders and weavers, stonemasons and carpenters, musicians and tanners, blacksmiths and merchants, tin makers and soldiers, shepherds and farmers, fishermen and doctors, lawyers and priests.
00:20:47
Speaker
It just goes on and on. Those are just the ones off the top of my head. There's way more. But you know what I wanted to to just point out from this is he was going to be responsible at work for one reason, so he could take care of his wife, so he could take care of his family, he could take care of his home. So his particular job was being a priest, right? But notice once again the the time that he was living, the time that he was working in. Was it easy when Herod was king of Judea? No. So here's what I wanted to say about being responsible where you work.
00:21:26
Speaker
There are no perfect jobs. There are no perfect jobs. There are no jobs where there are no problems. And so what we have to learn to do is to say, God, help me be content. Help me be content with the job that you've given to me. You know, when John the Baptist, that's gonna be Zachariah's son, when he would grow up and become like a mighty prophet, a man of God, one of the things he told the soldiers was, he said, guys, you need to be content with your wages. Are you content with the job that you have? There are probably lots of people who would like to have a job. And if you have a job, to say, God, thank you for the job that you've given to me. Because I know how we are. we're always wanting We're always thinking the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. But there's commitment to his work here. Did you see it where it says he was serving as a priest? Verse 8, now while he was serving as priest,
00:22:25
Speaker
You know, if you talk to employers and those who hire, one of the things they'll say it's really difficult today is getting anybody to just show up for work. Somebody will just be committed and say, you know what, if you give me this job, I promise you, I'll give you my fair of work when I'm here. I will put my hours in. There are also some things that happen that can't be measured. Here's one of them, connections through our work. Do you know who he met because he was at work? He met his wife, Elizabeth. you know What about you? Did you meet your wife when you were preparing for work? When you were at work?
00:23:06
Speaker
And I think to myself, well, I met my wife Jodi when I was at Southwestern Seminary. And I didn't go there to meet a wife. I went there to prepare for God's work. And it was right then that I got to to meet her. i can I can never forget it. We were in a missions in Asia class. And I said, just to her right and just to her left was her boyfriend. And I said, oh. How are y'all doing? Good to see you today, you know. um But you know what, after a while, she was walking around a campus at Southwestern Seminary without him. And I thought, you know what? I believe there's been a change. you know So anyway, I told my friend, I said, yeah, I believe I'm going to ask Jodie Godot out on a date. And he said, oh, she's a godly woman. I said, great. So the next day, he comes in the library. He tells me, guess what? It's all worked out. And I said, what's worked out, Chuck? He said, I told Jodie that you wanted to ask her out. And I said, you didn't, man. And that day, when I'm going to the restroom in the library at Southwestern Seminary, guess who comes out of the ladies' side when I'm going to the men's side? Jodie Godot, wasn't it? I started to say, hi, Jodie, and my voice cracked. I was younger. I was like, hi, Jodie. Anyway, it's like, oh, man, she knows everything now, you know.
00:24:25
Speaker
But you never know. I mean, God's gonna bless you when you put your commitment into your work, when you're responsible. There'll be connections. Maybe where you're working now, it's like you're at point A and God is gonna have somebody come to point A that's gonna help you to be connected to go to point B. I'm telling you, that's the way it happens in life. But there's also cooperation in his work. Did you see how he wasn't the only priest? Do you see the word divisions in there? It means group. There were like 24 different groups of priests. And there were several thousand that were all together. So it was where they had to rotate doing what Zachariah is going to do a little bit later in this passage. But here's the main thing I want to say about being responsible in your work, wherever you work.
00:25:17
Speaker
and that is the consecration of his work. It says that he was a priest before God. What do you do before God? Whatever kind of work you do, it doesn't matter, it doesn't have to be priesthood, it doesn't have to be a pastorate, it doesn't have to be a missionary, but whatever you do, wherever you work, would you say, I'm gonna do this work as unto you, God? I want to give you two cross-references that you can look at later, Ephesians 6, 5 through 9. Ephesians 6, 5 through 9. Colossians 3, 22 through chapter 4 in verse 1. Colossians 3, 22 through chapter 4 in verse 1.
00:26:01
Speaker
to say to the Lord, Lord, I want to render service service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man. That's Ephesians 6, 7. Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men. Colossians 3, 23. If there's anybody that works heartily, it's it's these college students that are here this summer working out at Pine Cove. If you're ever are around them, if your kids are ever around them, they're just like so full of energy and so full of enthusiasm because they're doing it for God. They're not making a lot of money out there. They're just out there to share and to work and to labor for the Lord, to honor Him this summer. And I think it's awesome. But what about you and what about me? Are we gonna be responsible in our work?
00:26:51
Speaker
The man in the mirror also has reverence and rejoicing in his worship. Do you worship? Do you do your work as though this is this is what I'm going to present to the Lord today? You know, for Zachariah, since he was a priest, he wanted to honor, to offer an incense in the holy place. And so he had to go in there and trim the wicks on the lampstand, and then he had to burn incense on a very small altar in front of the veil that separated the holy place. And while he's in there, and this may happen to you at work, not that you'll see an angel, I mean, a visible angel, but you know what? You may have an encounter with God at work. Why would I say that?
00:27:35
Speaker
ah because of my father. On this Father's Day, I tell you how my dad came to know Christ. My dad was working in a factory, and he was singing an old country song called He Touch Me. It's more than a country song. It's actually a gospel song. But my dad said that for some reason, he said, I began to weep. And he said, he was on the midnight shift, and he was working on the machine. And he said, I just had to stop. I couldn't see what I was doing anymore. And he said, I stopped and I said to the Lord, Lord Jesus, just come on in. Just take my life. I give you my life. And he said, about that time, his supervisor looked like he was going to come over there because he saw my dad had stopped working. But then he he he did this. He said, it's like he forgot something. And he turned around and went back. And my dad said, thank you, Jesus, for helping the supervisor go back to his office. And he said, I need to finish with you. And my dad surrendered his life to Jesus Christ right there. Where?
00:28:34
Speaker
at work. He wasn't in a sanctuary. He wasn't at church. He wasn't in a Sunday school class. He wasn't in a revival. He wasn't that at a Christian camp. My dad was at work. When you're at work, don't you know, you could experience God there. You could say, God, everything I'm doing today, I'm gonna do it with a whole heart because it's all for you. But I thought to myself, you know, there's an appearance of an angel. You know, just sort of as a side note, there's something I ran across this week that I couldn't wait to tell you. You know the last time that the Bible records an angel appearing to somebody? It was 500 years before this this event, okay? 500 years, there's like 400 years between Malachi and Matthew, between Old Testament and New Testament, 400 years. But 500 years, it'd been a long time since a man had seen an angel.
00:29:27
Speaker
But guess what the guy's name was? This guy's name's Zachariah. The last guy's name was Zachariah. Zachariah the prophet in the Old Testament, he saw angels. And so all I'm saying is, you may have a fresh encounter with God through the Holy Spirit. Not that you'll see somebody, but just you'll know that God's dealing with you. But also, I see not only the appearance of the angel, I see the fear of the priest. You know, what did he do? Says he was troubled, he was fearful. You know why I think we don't fear God? Because we we don't have a clue how great he is, how mighty he is. Do you know that one angel in the Old Testament? One angel took care of 185,000 Assyrian troops during the day of Hezekiah. One angel.
00:30:15
Speaker
I mean, if one angel came in here, he might his head might bump the ceiling up there. We don't know how tall they might be, how big they might be. We don't know how mighty they might be. But this guy looks over there to his right, and there stands an angel. And I guarantee you, he was shaken in his boots. I believe that sometimes we've lost the reverence, the reverence that we ought to have for holy God. for a mighty God, for a God of grace. And we ought to say, Lord, I'm just so blown away at who you are. You humble me. You humble me that you will come and appear to me. But you know what he said to him that I think would have made his day? He said, you know what? You're going to have a son. And that's why I've been sent to come. And they waited so long to have a child. And they couldn't. They were trying as hard as they could. And so what an answer to prayer.
00:31:09
Speaker
But you know also I believe that the man in the mirror should not only have reverence, he should have a balancing thing going on, not just reverence, but also rejoicing. When we sing, we're to sing with everything we have because of how good and gracious and merciful that God has been. Why would we sit there tight-lipped when we've got a God like we have? But you know, whenever that angel was talking to him, he said, you know what's gonna happen? He said, people are gonna get excited when you have that baby. Verse 14, you should be rejoicing over the answer to your prayers, Zachariah. But how about us? How many prayers have we had answered in our lives? And do we give God praise? Do we sing with everything we have? Rejoice over the anointing with God's power. He says, you know what? Your son is gonna have my power. Power of my spirit is gonna be on your son. He's gonna accomplish great things because of that.
00:32:05
Speaker
I think he said he would have said, you should also be rejoicing because of the assignment that I have. This baby's gonna have a purpose. Do you know that your son, your daughter, your grandson, your granddaughter, God's got a plan for them, a very important plan. And so if nothing else, you should say, God, I thank you for my son, I thank you for my daughter, my grandson, my granddaughter, because you got a great plan ahead for them. Let me give you one last thing. The man in the mirror, sometimes, sometimes, he has reversals during his waiting. You know, the Bible is true. The Bible is accurate. And whenever a man makes mistakes,
Trusting God's Timing
00:32:49
Speaker
when he's flawed, when he fails, doesn't cover it up. It's going to show it big and plain so that we can all learn from him.
00:32:57
Speaker
Verse 18, the promise God had made had two areas that Zechariah said, you know what? I just can't go there. And so here are the two areas where he struggled with doubt. The first doubt was Zechariah's assurance. I believe this is behind the question, how shall I know this? His struggle was assurance. Is that your struggle? God's promised something in scripture and you're still waffling and wavering? But I believe also that the second doubt was Zachariah's ability. You see, Gabriel was coming and telling him, this is what God's going to do. But do you know what Zachariah, his response was? We can't do that. You know what? Elizabeth can't do that.
00:33:48
Speaker
You know, look at, him at least, you know, he has the the wisdom to say, I'm an old man, but he didn't say she's an old woman. He said, my wife has advanced in years. It kind of dressed up a little bit, you know. But anyway anyway, I thought, good for him. But you know what? What do we do when we're doubting during a season of waiting? You've been praying for something for a long time. It hasn't happened yet. How do we keep on believing? I believe we need to we need to feed our faith. Romans 10, 17 says, so faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word. You know, if Zachariah, during that one moment, if he could have just replayed the tape of the Old Testament, he would have thought, wait a minute, what about Abraham and Sarah? What about Isaac and Rebecca? What about Jacob and Rachel? What about Manoah and his wife? What about Elkanah and Hannah?
00:34:44
Speaker
They also were barren, and yet look how God came through. Like that song that we used to sing, God will make a way, and there seems to be no way? Wow. You know, the man in the mirror, sometimes he has reversals in his waiting. So I want to give you just a few quickies here from verses 18 to 25. If you're fast with notes, you can get it. But the next time you're in God's waiting room, which by the way, if you're in God's waiting room, it's not wasted. God doesn't waste time. We waste time. He doesn't waste time. If He has you sitting down in the waiting room, you're waiting on something to happen. I want to give you these quick things from verses 18 to 25. First, verse 19. We wait for one who brings good. We wait for one who brings good.
00:35:38
Speaker
Do you know that there's actually a verse in the Bible that says, no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly. It's in Psalm 84. Would you say, God, umm I'm gonna wait for you because you've got my best. You've got what is good. That's what the angel says to him, right? The angel said to him in verse 19, I was sent here to bring you good news and you don't believe it. You're not going to be able to say anything else because of that until that baby is born. Verse 19, we wait for one who brings good. He's not going to bring you evil. Verse 20, there are consequences for unbelief. If we don't trust him, then we're not going to be willing to obey him. And so I'm just telling you, there are consequences when we don't trust God, when we don't obey God.
00:36:28
Speaker
Verse 20 also would tell me that there are God's God's plans will happen, but they happen in his time, not our time. And I think that's what was happening to Zachariah and Elizabeth. It had been so long. They thought it's over. We might as well accept it now. It's never gonna happen for us. You feel that way? You ever feel like it's never gonna happen for you? But God's got a timing, see? He's got a lot of things he's arranging so that he can keep his promises and his word.
00:37:01
Speaker
I wanted to also point out something in verse 21. Did you see how while Zachariah, while he's waiting on God's timing, while Elizabeth's waiting, look outside the temple. It says that all the other people are saying, he should have been out of that temple by now. He was just going in there to offer the incense, he should be out by now. Something's wrong. So while he's facing his delay, other people are on board the ship. That's the same in your life. That's the same in my life. Don't forget, there are other people who are watching you while you are waiting on something that God's promised. And so that's why it's so important that you respond with faith and not unbelief because those closest to you, they're listening and they're watching to see how do you act when God doesn't come through for you. But I guess verse 25 would tell us, oh yeah, God always keeps his promises.
00:37:59
Speaker
You know, others in scripture struggle with the seasons of doubt. Are you? How about Abraham? What about Moses? What about Gideon? What about Thomas? And probably the list could go on. But I want to close with Zechariah. You know, look at the man in the mirror now. I know he made mistakes. I know he didn't trust God whenever he was telling him that. But I want you to look in the the man at the man in the mirror now. Look at Zechariah in chapter 1, verses 62 to 65. You know, once he's told, you know what? You're a daddy. You remember when they came to you and said, you're going to be a daddy from now on. Remember how that made you feel? Well, the medical doctor, Luke, records immediately. So Luke would know, because he's a doctor, you see. Luke would say, immediately Zachariah's mouth was open, his tongue was loose. And so what does our man do now?
00:38:55
Speaker
I tell you what he does. He glorifies the Lord with his words. He testified to the Lord with his words. What are you doing with your words? What are you doing with your life? What does your life look like? You see, the great thing about the scriptures is that they tell a man the truth about two things. They tell a man the truth about his spiritual deficiency without Christ. We're not gonna make it into God's family. We're not gonna make it into heaven. We're not gonna be able to get rid of the sin dead without Christ. We're always gonna come up short. The deficiency without Christ, this mirror is gonna show it to you. But here's the great news. The second thing it shows us is the spiritual sufficiency.
00:39:46
Speaker
in Christ. He lived the perfect life and that's what every dad should say today. I'm not perfect but I'm following the one who is. He's making me be more like him. Listen, I close with this last thing I was thinking about and I thought, how can I say this? Because I know we all struggle, right? Don't allow your struggle to become your identity. Ah, you know, well, this has always been a problem. That's always been a problem. Don't allow your struggle to become your identity. Let the finished work of Christ define who you are. Because we have been redeemed for a purpose. In God's sight, he looks not at us, he looks at the blood of Christ. And so he sees within us
00:40:36
Speaker
the perfect atonement of His Son. So, Dad, hold your head up and say, I'm living for Christ. I'm going to honor Him. When I look in the mirror, that's who I'm called to be. That's who I am in Christ. Let's stand together. I want to give an opportunity for any that need to make a decision today. I'd like to let you know I'll be standing down front. And we'll have the musicians come. We'll sing a last song. But during the song, if there's something on your heart you want to pray about it, you could come and pray at the altar. Just talk to the Lord himself. Come talk to me. You may want to say, you know what? I don't need to go in front of anybody else. I need to sit down right here. I just need to stand here with my eyes closed and my faith focused on the Lord. And I need to i need to get things right with him. That's fine. But I'm just letting you know I'll be here if you need me.
00:41:30
Speaker
Lord, thank you so much that you're the one we're following. You're the king that we want to honor. So help us, oh Lord, in our walk and in our work. Help us before our wives and our families. Help us when we're waiting. Help us, oh Lord, to say, I'm going to rest in the Lord and rest in the perfect atonement of his son. Lord Jesus Christ. For that defines who we are. And so help us as we look into the mirror of your word to say, Lord, make me like that man. Make me like that man. Make me like Jesus Christ. It's in his name we pray. Amen. You come as we sing this song of invitation.
00:42:19
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.