Sermon Tone Analysis

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Anger
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Anger
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*Luke 1:57-80*
*Open to Luke 1:57-80 (pg.
1589)*
 
*Read 1:57-66*
* *
*Faith*
* *
Some missionaries were home on furlough staying with a church family.
When dinner came the missionary children were called and reminded to wash their hands.
The little boy, resistant to wash his hands, turned toward the bathroom and was overheard saying, “Germs and Jesus, germs and Jesus.
That’s all I hear, and I’ve never seen either of them!”
 
v    *RQ: Have you ever felt like this little boy?*
Ø     *Have you ever had a lapse in your faith?*
§        Or perhaps you are like me, lapses in your faith!
Ø     *Have you ever had a time when you questioned the workings of God?*
Ø     *Have you ever doubted the Word of God?*
§        We all would love to be able to say “No” to this question
·        But I bet if we were all very honest, we would have to respond “Yes”
 
v    There is a very short list in Scripture of people who had the gift of faith
Ø     And perhaps some of you here today have it
§        That gift from the HS that enables you to have the *Hebrews 11:1* kind faith
·        /Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see./
§         That gift from the HS that enables you to have the kind faith that Mary did
·        /“May it be as you have said”/
v    But we read in Scripture over and over again about people who doubt God’s Word from time to time
Ø     Who act like that little missionary boy, “I’ve never seen Him!”
§        Who act like…
·        Abraham & Sarah ~~ Isaac
§        Who act like…
·        Solomon ~~ Turning to the idols of the Canaanites
§        Who act like…
·        Zechariah in the temple
¨     And his lack of faith was displayed in the Temple when he asked for a sign
 
v    Here we have to be very specific
Ø     Doubt is not a sin
§        The opposite of Faith is not doubt
·        The opposite of Faith is Disobedience
¨     What is a sin is acting on that doubt
Ø      That is what Zechariah did…
 
In 1887, Henry Drummond preached a sermon in Northfield, Massachusetts, entitled /Dealing With Doubt /in which he made the following observations:
Christ never failed to distinguish between doubt and unbelief.
Doubt is can't believe; unbelief is won't believe.
Doubt is honest; unbelief is obstinacy.
Doubt is looking for light; unbelief is content with darkness.
Loving darkness rather than light, that is what Christ attacked and attacked unsparingly.
But for the intellectual questioning of Thomas, and Philip, and Nicodemus, and the many others who came to Him to have their great problems solved, He was respectful and generous and tolerant.
But how did He meet their doubts?
The church says "Brand him!"
Christ said, "Teach him."
When Thomas came to Him, denied His very resurrection, and stood before Him waiting for the scathing words and lashing for his unbelief…they never came.
They never came.
Christ gave him facts.
v    We all have doubt from time to time…
Ø     Honest questioning looking for light
v    But it is when we act on that doubt…
Ø     when we act in unbelief
Ø     When we are content with the darkness…*when we say can’t*
§        That is when God says, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test”
·        That is what Zechariah did in the temple
¨     And he was given 9 months to think about his disobedience
 
v    And then the day came when he was given another chance to act in Faith…
Ø     And that day was a very important day…
* *
*READ V. 59-63*
* *
*The Act of Faith*
v    You can imagine Zechariah on this day
Ø     Silent, for he cannot speak
§        Thinking of what the angel told him in the temple 9 months previous
§        But also thinking of the meaning of his child being circumcised
·        It was not a cleanliness ritual
·        It was a covenant rite
¨     I’m sure Zechariah being a priest had in his mind the very text that explained what this rite meant
Ø     *Gen 17:10-12 (pg.
23)*
·        The sign of the covenant was going to be administered
¨     That outer mark that symbolizes a spiritual reality
Ø     The mark that points to God’s eternal promise to be faithful to His people
§        That symbol of God’s faithfulness
 
v    The circumcision completed,  the relatives assume that the child’s name will be Zechariah after the father, as was the custom of the culture
Ø     Elizabeth states an emphatic “NO”
§        GK text construction almost yells it
v    The relatives are stunned
Ø     *How can this be?
This is not how it is done?
This is unheard of!*
§        So they turn to Zechariah to overturn Elizabeth’s decision
v    The moment has come for Zechariah to act in faith
Ø     The rite of God’s promised faithfulness has just been administered
§        *RQ: Will Zechariah respond in faith?*
v    He asks for a block of wood covered in wax and writes…
Ø     “His name is John”
 
There's a special relationship between flyer and catcher on the trapeze.
The flyer is the one that lets go, and the catcher is the one that catches.
As the flyer swings high above the crowd on the trapeze, the moment comes when he must let go.
He arcs out into the air.
His job is to remain as still as possible and wait for the strong hands of the catcher to pluck him from the air.
*Here is the very important principle…*The flyer must never try to catch the catcher.
The flyer must wait in absolute trust for the catcher will catch him, but he must wait.
v    At that very moment, Zechariah raises his hands and trust God’s Word
Ø     At that very moment, he raises his hands and trusts God to catch him
§        In the face of the pressure of the crowd and culture
 
v    And that is what God asks of us too!
Ø     To place our trust in Him and in His Word regardless of what the crowd says or the culture dictates
§        And that is difficult to do…
·        Our culture says respect everybody’s individual spiritual beliefs
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