Expect the Unexpected Sermon

Pastor Chris Huff

(3 stars; 1 reviews)

Most people in our culture have gotten used to the ordinariness of life. We go to work or school every day, come home, relax for a bit, go to sleep, and do the same thing the next day. And we expect to continue following this same pattern until we retire, at which time we establish a new ordinary routine to follow. A farmer once observed that the hardest thing about milking cows is that they never stay milked. But we get used to our ordinary routines. They're not too hard, and not too easy. They're just kind of what they are. And we're comfortable with them. Even in the life of church, we've gotten used to certain routines. We gather 3 times a week for worship, prayer, and Bible study. At each of these services, we pretty much know what to expect. But what if God wants us to get out of the ordinary? God is calling all of us to live a life of extraordinary dependance upon Him. God wants us to live by faith, not by sight. God wants us to stop expecting what we expect to get out of life, and start expecting to see Him move in our midst. He wants us to expect the unexpected. âIn 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. 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. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, 'Do not be afraid, Zechariah, 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.' â(Luke 1:5-17) It's interesting that as Luke begins to tell the story of Jesus, he doesn't begin with Jesus himself. He doesn't even begin with Mary and Joseph. He begins with Zechariah and Elizabeth. This is like saying, âI'm going to tell you everything I know about potatoes,â and then beginning by telling you that the capital of Idaho is Boise. Why do you think he begins this way? It's because the story of Jesus doesn't begin with the birth of Jesus. It goes way back into the Old Testament and has to do with the fulfillment of prophecy. The text tells us that Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous before God (v. 6). But let's not misunderstand what the text is saying about them. They were not sinless. The Bible is clear that everyone has sinned (Romans 3:23). And this is even clear from this passage, because we'll see Zachariah sin in just a moment when he doubts God's message. Rather, they were made righteous by God's grace because of their faith in the coming Messiah. And they were blameless in the sense that they earnestly sought to please God in all that they did, not in order to earn God's favor, but out of their love for God. If we want to have peace with God, we've got to be like this couple. We've got to believe in Jesus Christ to save us from our sin. And because we know the grace of God, we ought to serve Him out of joy! The text also tells us that this godly couple had no children (v. 7). The topic of children or number of children is a very sensitive one for a lot of people because there are so many views on it and so much emotion is wrapped up in it. Many wealthy couples look at children as a hindrance because they get in the way of their careers. At the same time, many poorer families celebrate children and have several while society looks down on them for doing so. Others couples long to have children and haven't been able to. Some Christian families think it's their job to have as many children as they possibly can. Other Christian families think those Christian families are crazy! But I can say this: there may soon be more Muslims in the world than Christians. And it's not because they're winning more converts, but because they're having more children. Now, I should note that not having children in itself is not a sin. Paul mentions how it's acceptable to remain unmarried in order to have a greater gospel focus. The same can be said about the choice to not have children. But we should note that Paul allows this in the case of have a greater gospel witness. This choice should not be based on how it might limit our worldly success. No vacation, early retirement, or successful career is worth more than caring for one of God's children. This is also true about caring for children outside of your home. I really believe every Christian family should seriously consider the call of God to care for the orphan and ask how they can do that. Many families can and should adopt. Some families can't adopt themselves, but have the ability to make it more affordable for others who can. Or perhaps you can become a mentor to a child who is in a home that's in crisis. It's our blessing and responsibility as Christians not to avoid children but to love and welcome them into our lives, whether through birth, adoption, or just investing our time into them, caring for them as God cares for us. Children are a blessing. We need to remember that. They're not a hindrance. They may keep you from advancing in your career. They may need constant attention. They may require you to devote your entire life to caring for them. But they are a blessing, and we need to see them as a blessing. Zechariah and Elizabeth saw children this way. They desperately wanted a child. According to verse 13, Zechariah had prayed for a child. It's unlikely that this was a recent prayer, because then he would have been more expectant of an answer! But God had answered this prayer in His own time. When you pray, trust God. He will answer at the best time in the best way. Sometimes God will answer your prayer in the most unexpected way at the most unexpected time. But when you trust in God, sometimes you have to expect the unexpected. But Zechariah must have forgotten to trust God's timing when it came to this prayer. Zechariah had prayed for a child. An angel told Zechariah that he would have a child, and not just any child. Verse 15: This child would be great before the Lord. Verse 16: This child would turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord. Verse 17: This child would go in the spirit and power of Elijah, and would prepare people for the coming of the Lord! This would be the man of whom Jesus says, âAmong those born of women, none is greater than John.â Zechariah should have responded with praise! But notice how Zechariah responds. âAnd Zechariah said to the angel, 'How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.' And the angel answered him, 'I am 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 wondering 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. 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.' â (Luke 1:18-25) When you pray, trust God to answer. And when God answers, don't be surprised that He answered! If you know Christ as Savior, then God is your Heavenly Father who desires to give good gifts to His children. The story then follows this angel Gabriel to another location, and up to this point we still haven't even read the name of Jesus. âIn the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, 'Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!' But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.' â (Luke 1:26-33) So the angel came to another person with a very similar message as the first. Two unlikely women would become pregnant. They would each have a son. Both children would be great. And the angel even told each of them what they should name their child. Except the message that Gabriel brought to Mary was even more unbelievable. Verse 27: She was a virgin! Verse 32: Her child would be the Son of the Most High! And He would be King over Israel! Verse 33: And His reign as King would never end! And now, notice how Mary responds. âAnd Mary said to the angel, 'How will this be, since I am a virgin?' And the angel answered her,'"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.' And Mary said, 'Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from her.â (Luke 1:34-38) Now, at first, you might wonder why the angel doesn't scold Mary because of her response. After all, it looks very similar to how Zechariah responded (v. 18, 34). But consider these three points: 1. Mary had probably never prayed that she would become pregnant before she got married. 2. Mary isn't asking for a sign that the angel's message was true, it seems she's asking for some insight as to the process by which this was going to come about. 3. The attitude Mary expresses in her second response reveals not doubt, but humility (v. 38). This humble attitude is further revealed in what she does next in the story. âIn those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.' And Mary said, 'My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.' And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.â (Luke 1:39-56) Mary was excited about what was going to happen! She quickly went to tell her relative Elizabeth about it. Mary didn't know who to talk to about this, but she knew Elizabeth would understand, because she was in a very similar situation. But before Mary could say much at all, John the Baptist starts to fulfill his prophetic role. It was John's job to point to Jesus as being the Christ. He started doing this even before he was born! (v. 41). This verse says a lot about how we're to think about children, even before they're born. The Bible never refers to an unborn child as anything but a baby. It's not a group of cells, or a tissue, or a fetus, or a zygote. It's a baby! Life begins at conception! In just under 3 months, I will turn 31 years old. But I've already been alive for 31 years. It's just that the first 9 months of those years were living inside my mother's womb, and it would have been perfectly legal for my mother to kill me the first few months of my life. We ought not get our morality from the government, but from God. So the baby inside Elizabeth leaped for joy! This caused Elizabeth to cry out in praise, which then caused Mary to do the same. These two women were told to expect the unexpected. Elizabeth's child was unexpected because Elizabeth had always been barren! Mary's child was unexpected because she was a virgin! We need to expect the unexpected in our church. We might look at the current or past circumstances of our church and say, âIt's impossible to grow to a certain point or at a certain rate.â Or we might look at a certain person who has constantly rejected the gospel and say, âIt's impossible for this person to be saved.â But all things are possible with God. We need to expect the unexpected. You need to expect the unexpected in your own life. Don't be surprised when God does the miraculous in your life! He's God! God does miracles more easily than we can do anything! God made the sun with less effort than we can flip a light switch! We have to lift an arm, He merely spoke a few words! We might be impressed that we can build a boat and float, but Jesus could walk on water! We can turn on a faucet and fill a glass with water, but Jesus turned water into wine! We bury the dead, but Jesus raises the dead! Nothing is too difficult for God! Don't be impressed with what you can do, be excited about what God can do through you! This is exactly the attitude that Mary had, and you can see it clearly in her cry of praise to God. But her praise was also prophecy (v. 54-55). We need God's mercy. Since the first sin was committed, God had promised a Savior. And now God was bringing that Savior into the world, who would help all who turned to God to turn from their sin and be ushered into His presence in Heaven forever.

License