Ryan King – Class 2: Zacharias and Elisabeth

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Welcome Mark, everyone.
Thank you so much for being here

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once again as we listen to our
brother Ryan, King and John the

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Baptist allowing God to speak
for hearts.

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We’ll now invite our beloved
brother to share with us his

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second class for today, which is
entitled He Shall Be Great in

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the Sight of the Lord, Brother
Ryan.

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Good afternoon again, brothers
and sisters.

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So we passed between the the
pages of Malachi to Matthew.

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There’s 400 years of silence
that is broken and Luke

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introduces John the Baptist in a
very simple way.

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He said there was a man sent
from God whose name was John.

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And John, of course, is is a
derivation of that beautiful

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Hebrew name, Johannon, the grace
of the Lord.

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A man sent from God whose name
was John.

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And God was now about to speak
again.

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You know, there were many
prophets that were sent, but

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here is a prophet that we’re
told was specifically sent.

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From the presence of God
himself, he was a product of the

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Spirit we turn over to John
chapter five.

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We have the Lord Jesus Christ
testimony to John and what he

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was sent to do in John chapter
5.

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In verse 35 and speaking about
John the Baptist, it says that

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he was a burning and a shining
light.

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And you were willing for a
season to rejoice in his light

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previously John, and said in
John chapter one about John the

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Baptist he was not that light.
Now when that phrase is used in

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John one and verse 8, the Greek
word is Foss you like

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phosphorus, glowing in the dark,
a permanent light.

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John was not that permanent
light.

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That was the Lord Jesus Christ.
But what was John?

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Well, Jesus says he was a
burning.

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And a shining lamp.
And the Greek word that’s used

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there is is a portable hand
lamp.

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You know, it’s it’s a lamp that
you put a little bit of oil in

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and it would light up and would
sort of flare up your path for a

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short time and then it would go
out.

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He was a burning and a shining
portable hand lamp, said Jesus.

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You had to be quick because the
light was about to go out and

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once it had gone out you’d lost
your opportunity.

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He was a burning and a shining
portable hand lamp.

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As we said, one of the drawbacks
to living today is we’re not

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going to get a John the Baptist
to warn us about the Lord’s

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coming.
And So what?

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We need our brethren who can
stand up and illuminate our

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path, who can flare up our path
for a moment to to show us what

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we are for a moment of time.
Until that permanent Foss

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arrives from which nobody can be
extricated, our Lord Jesus

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Christ.
And there he was, John, giving

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men just a a moment of time to
see themselves to what they

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truly were until the Lord Jesus
Christ came.

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The great light which would
never go out.

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They needed it at that time and
and boy do we need that today.

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We need that light flaring up in
our path.

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So that brothers and sisters can
set their sails for the Kingdom

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of God.
And they really needed it,

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because Micah had said this,
Said the sun will go down over

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the prophets, the seers will be
ashamed.

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There’s no answer from God, said
Micah.

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And those words were fulfilled
when the last prophet, Malachi

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set down his pen.
There was darkness over the

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land.
The Greeks came in.

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The Persians came in.
There was no answer from God,

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but look at the next verse.
But truly I am full of the power

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by the Spirit of Yahweh, and
that 400 year darkness was now

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about to be dispelled by one who
came in the Spirit and the power

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of Elijah, which was the spirit
and power of his God, to dispel

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that 400 year period of
darkness.

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He was a man.
For his time, and here he comes

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now in the person of John.
But boy was the darkness thick

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that John had to dissipate.
He came into a world that was

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seething Jewish nationalism,
seized and permitted as it as it

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languished beneath the the iron
yoke of Rome, the nation.

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God’s ecclesia in the
wilderness, as they were once

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known, is now going to be
divided into many classes.

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The darkness indeed was thick.
Many people had no hope.

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Many people had no ambition.
It was a dark, dark period in

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the nation’s history.
There was no middle class at

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all.
When John came on the scene, you

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were either very rich or very
poor.

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And the poor would have found it
very, very hard to find any

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sense of hope, to find any sense
of of optimism in life.

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There was no middle class, the
parable, the rich man.

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And Lazarus was a perfect
depiction of life at that time.

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And Jewish nationalism, which
really could never be quelled,

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seethed and fermented as it
tried to throw off the iron yoke

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of rum, looking for anything
that might give them some sense.

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Of hope in life.
And so God’s people, brothers

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and sisters, were divided into
many classes.

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And this is who John came to.
There were the Pharisees, the

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clergy of the day, who were
zealous of tradition over and

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above the word of God.
Proud and arrogant they were.

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They were too proud to even
submit to the iron yoke of Rome.

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They were the Sadducees who
don’t believe in angels, spirit

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or resurrection, who possessed
for this for this time the

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office of the priesthood, and as
such had the key to the temple

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treasury chest.
People who live for this life

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and based upon how you did in
business, that to them was a

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measure of how God blessed you.
They were the scribes and the

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lawyers.
People who use the Bible to

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legislate against the poor on
behalf of the rich.

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There were the zealots, hot
headed fanatics, the Sakari as

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they were later known, who
didn’t think anything to to slit

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a throat to do anything.
They tried to get rid of the

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Roman overlord.
They were the Herodians, people

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whose policy was, well, if you
can’t beat them, join them.

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Who took off the plain robe of a
scribe to wear the purple of

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Herod’s court to all those
classes, brothers and sisters,

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John the Baptist was sent.
There was a man sent from God,

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whose name was John, who would
flare up and show men for a

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moment what they truly were and
dispel that darkness so that

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men.
Could be ready for the Lord’s

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coming.
And you know, amidst all of that

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chaos, there was still a
flickering expectancy of Messiah

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among the old people, the
Zechariasis and the Elizabeth’s

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people who could remember better
days.

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Who saw nothing in the the
present generation and just

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yearned within their hearts for
for Messiah, who was to come.

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That was the world with all of
its class distinctions, that

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John came.
It desperately needed this, this

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light.
You know, on other occasions God

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might not have done this, He
might have chosen a different

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method, But so great was the
need he he introduced into the

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nation this, this stark
aberration to wake people up.

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And that’s something that we
need to, isn’t it?

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Brothers and sisters, you know,
sometimes we have to look at a

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character like John to to see
the issues of life as as clear

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as they are because it’s easy to
forget about them in the in the

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the hubbub of this society,
people have become apathetic,

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People have become lethargic.
You know, I don’t know what it’s

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like here, but the city where I
come from there, 200

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Christadelphians of all makes
and models.

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And my my worry is is I I don’t
see I think the enthusiasm that

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we should be having for the
return of Christ.

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You know we’re buying and we’re
selling and we’re we’re building

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and we’re planting and we’re
consumed with all those things

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and and and we need a character
like John don’t wait to to sort

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of shake us up to to get us out
of our our lethargy and to bring

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us back to to some sort of of an
equilibrium.

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Now although these words I’m
about to quote to you don’t.

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Pertain to John the Baptist.
They fit his life and his his

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purpose absolutely beautifully.
Remember we said John means the

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grace of the Lord, Paul the
Titus in his second chapter.

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For the grace of God that
bringeth salvation hath appeared

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to all men, teaching us that
denying ungodliness and worldly

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lust we should live soberly,
righteously, godly.

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In this present age, looking for
that blessed hope and the

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glorious appearing of the great
God our Savior Jesus Christ, and

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there he was, the grace of God
hath appeared teaching us that

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we should deny worldly lust.
John didn’t have any

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possessions.
You know the camel skin doesn’t

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have to be dry clean.
Too often grasshoppers don’t

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need much cooking, denying
ungodliness, denying worldly

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lust.
Until the glorious appearing of

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the Great God and our Savior
Jesus Christ.

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And And those words really could
form a caption, couldn’t they?

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Over the top of John’s life.
And so the lamp was lit.

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The little portable hand lamp
was lit in Luke chapter one.

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So let’s come back to Luke,
chapter one.

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And in order that we might not
miss the point that the light

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was needed, Luke is going to
tell this most excellent

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Theophilus.
The background into which he

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came Luke, chapter one.
In verse five there was in the

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days of Herod, the king of
Judea, a certain priest named

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Zacharias.
Herod.

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Now who was he?
Well, Herod is a title.

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It means heroic.
And he was there as a

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fulfillment of Bible prophecy.
Because many years earlier Moses

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had told them that if they did
not keep the words of this law,

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strangers would rule over him.
Well, Herod was an Edomite.

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You can’t get a greater stranger
to a Jew than an Edomite.

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He was a man who was absolutely
devoid of any morality at all.

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He married 10 times.
He was a product of his age.

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He didn’t, he didn’t think think
twice to murder the the babies

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in in Bethlehem.
He was a man who was known as

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Herod the Great, and he was
great in everything that this

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world calls great.
He ruled over Judea with an iron

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fist for nearly forty years, and
he had temporarily pacified the

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Jews because he built for them a
temple which had gained for them

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some favor.
I mean, Herod understood that if

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you’re ever going to control of
people like the Jews, you got to

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throw them a bone every now and
then.

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And so we built them a temple,
which Jesus said was 46 years in

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building.
You know, it took another 20

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years to finish that temple.
So how long was it in building?

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66 years.
And it got built just in time

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for the Romans to knock it down.
But he was a man who was great

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in everything that men call
great.

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We know at that same time in
verse 15 of Luke chapter one.

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There was another man who rose
up, who was great, for he shall

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be great, verse 15 in the sight
of the Lord and in nobody else’s

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sight.
So here we have Herod the Great,

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who the world would admire, who
the world would vote for, who

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was great in everything that men
call great.

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But God voted for John the
Baptist.

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He will be great, says verse 15
in the sight of the Lord.

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There’s the contrast, Herod the
Great and a man great in the

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sight of the Lord.
We’re coming back to verse 5.

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Luke tells us that this boy
would be the son of Zecharias.

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Now, everything that Luke tells
us here is is of great

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significance.
You know that Luke is very

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detail oriented in both his
gospel and in the Acts, and he

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wants to tell us all about this
little family, Zecharias and

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Elizabeth.
Who were the parents?

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Of our John the Baptist.
So Zecharias was married to

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Elizabeth.
Now if we look at the meanings

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of those names, we have
Zecharias Ya hath remembered.

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Elizabeth means the oath of Ale
and John the mercy of God.

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Yeah, you look over at verse 72
of this same chapter.

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There is an obvious play upon
the names of this family in the

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song of Zecharias, which we
won’t have time to get to.

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He said this.
That God would perform the mercy

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promised to our fathers to
remember His holy covenant, the

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oath which He swore to our
Father.

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Abraham.
There is an obvious play you can

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see there upon the names of this
family.

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Zacharias ya hath remember
Elizabeth, the oath of ale.

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00:15:13,800 –> 00:15:17,120
John, the mercy of God.
Now just tuck those meanings

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00:15:17,120 –> 00:15:19,360
away in your mind, because
they’ll come back up.

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00:15:20,490 –> 00:15:24,490
Just shortly in in a second.
Now this Zechariahs, we’re told

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00:15:24,490 –> 00:15:28,610
in verse five, was of the course
of abaya.

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00:15:29,010 –> 00:15:31,410
Now the courses go back to
David.

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00:15:32,650 –> 00:15:36,250
You know, David, as the
priesthood expanded, the as as

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00:15:36,250 –> 00:15:40,450
sorry as the nation expanded,
the priesthood by necessity also

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00:15:40,450 –> 00:15:44,010
had to expand.
So he divided the priesthood,

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00:15:44,010 –> 00:15:49,690
didn’t he, into 24 courses.
And one of those courses was the

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00:15:49,690 –> 00:15:54,250
course of Abaya, the course of
abaya.

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00:15:54,450 –> 00:15:57,170
If we go back to first
Chronicles 24 and verse 10,

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00:15:57,410 –> 00:16:01,490
that’s the course that Zacharias
is a member of.

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00:16:01,490 –> 00:16:07,210
And when we look at which course
it was, the course of Abaya in

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00:16:07,210 –> 00:16:14,850
the book of Chronicles happens
to be the 8th course, the 8th

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00:16:15,090 –> 00:16:16,810
course, the number of a new
beginning.

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And wasn’t that John?
As he came into the land of

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00:16:21,240 –> 00:16:23,160
Judea?
He was a new beginning in every

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00:16:23,160 –> 00:16:26,680
sense of the word.
It was the 8th course, and of

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00:16:26,680 –> 00:16:28,560
course you’ll know that it was
on the eighth day.

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00:16:28,560 –> 00:16:32,160
Wasn’t it that that right of
circumcision was performed upon

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00:16:32,160 –> 00:16:36,160
a Jewish boy, and circumcision
primarily taught, didn’t it, the

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00:16:36,160 –> 00:16:39,760
cutting off of the flesh?
And that the children of promise

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00:16:39,960 –> 00:16:44,440
would not be produced by natural
means, but rather by spiritual

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00:16:44,440 –> 00:16:47,120
means?
Because when God gave Abraham.

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00:16:47,480 –> 00:16:51,600
The covenant of circumcision.
He could not have a child, but

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00:16:51,600 –> 00:16:55,360
it’s reminded Abraham of the
fact that the child of promise

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00:16:55,360 –> 00:16:58,400
that was to come would be God’s
son.

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00:16:59,640 –> 00:17:03,160
And Luke, again in the Acts of
the Apostles, puts this together

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00:17:03,160 –> 00:17:06,160
so wonderfully.
He says he gave him the covenant

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00:17:06,160 –> 00:17:09,880
of circumcision and so Abraham
begat Isaac.

247
00:17:11,119 –> 00:17:14,000
Now many years of time, of
course, came between those two

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00:17:14,000 –> 00:17:16,420
things.
But circumcision, being

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00:17:16,420 –> 00:17:20,339
performed on the eighth day in
the course of Avaya being the

250
00:17:20,460 –> 00:17:25,099
8th course, it spoke about God’s
workings amongst men.

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00:17:27,060 –> 00:17:30,460
It was God working in the lives
of men.

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00:17:30,460 –> 00:17:34,180
And John here of course, is not
begotten in the same way that

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00:17:34,260 –> 00:17:36,340
Jesus was.
But of course, as we’ll see

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00:17:36,340 –> 00:17:39,580
shortly, if if God had not
intervened in the case of these

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00:17:39,580 –> 00:17:42,580
two old people, John the Baptist
would never have seen the light

256
00:17:42,580 –> 00:17:46,080
of day.
It was the 8th course.

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00:17:46,080 –> 00:17:50,680
Speaking of that, that new
beginning connected with with

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00:17:50,680 –> 00:17:51,600
circumcision.
That.

259
00:17:52,480 –> 00:17:55,200
What about his mom?
That was his dad.

260
00:17:55,200 –> 00:17:57,280
That’s pretty special heritage
he has.

261
00:17:57,280 –> 00:18:00,200
What about his mom?
Well, she’s even greater because

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00:18:00,200 –> 00:18:04,600
it says there in verse five that
she was of the daughters of

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00:18:05,080 –> 00:18:07,880
Aaron.
Now that’s impressive.

264
00:18:07,880 –> 00:18:12,600
She’s not just the Levi, she’s
of the daughters of Aaron.

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00:18:13,040 –> 00:18:18,170
And in fact, Eli Shaba.
Elizabeth is Eli Shaba in

266
00:18:18,290 –> 00:18:20,410
Hebrew.
Eli Shaba was the name of

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00:18:20,490 –> 00:18:25,010
Aaron’s wife.
So this child’s got a pretty

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00:18:25,010 –> 00:18:28,690
nice heritage.
His qualifications for

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00:18:28,690 –> 00:18:32,010
priesthood, John the Baptist
were absolutely impeccable.

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00:18:32,450 –> 00:18:36,250
He’s got a mother and a father,
both who were in the priestly

271
00:18:36,250 –> 00:18:38,930
line.
You know, a mother who who comes

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00:18:38,930 –> 00:18:43,540
from the family of Aaron.
Why is he down in the wilderness

273
00:18:43,540 –> 00:18:47,540
wearing a camel skin?
You know how odd it is that that

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00:18:47,540 –> 00:18:52,180
a man with those bloodlines is
down in the wilderness of

275
00:18:52,180 –> 00:18:58,140
Geodeo, not a high priest, but
wearing a camel skin and not

276
00:18:58,140 –> 00:19:01,220
garments for glory and beauty.
So there’s there’s some some

277
00:19:01,220 –> 00:19:05,900
interesting things about John
that we need to unearth here, so

278
00:19:05,900 –> 00:19:08,060
just tuck that away too.
Remember the meanings of the

279
00:19:08,060 –> 00:19:11,380
names, and then also remember
that this is a boy.

280
00:19:11,830 –> 00:19:15,830
Who has got impeccable
qualifications for priesthood?

281
00:19:15,830 –> 00:19:18,790
I mean qualities, you know,
qualifications that really are

282
00:19:19,110 –> 00:19:21,030
par excellence.
I mean there was not even the

283
00:19:21,030 –> 00:19:23,430
high priests themselves at this
time would have had those

284
00:19:23,670 –> 00:19:28,190
qualifications, but John does
and we’ll see why shortly.

285
00:19:30,030 –> 00:19:33,830
But this old couple brothers and
sisters had a problem and you

286
00:19:33,830 –> 00:19:35,950
know, we we’ve all got across
the bear, don’t we, of some

287
00:19:35,950 –> 00:19:37,750
kind.
You know, we’ve all got an old

288
00:19:37,750 –> 00:19:40,300
habit we’ve all got.
A trial that really has been

289
00:19:40,300 –> 00:19:43,620
eating at it sometimes for like
20 years and and this was theirs

290
00:19:43,620 –> 00:19:49,220
in in verse 7 and they had no
child because Elizabeth was

291
00:19:49,220 –> 00:19:55,860
barren and they both were now
well stricken in years she was

292
00:19:55,860 –> 00:19:59,940
barren and and so notorious was
this barrenness that if you just

293
00:19:59,940 –> 00:20:06,700
skip over to verse 36 in verse
36 she was actually given a

294
00:20:06,700 –> 00:20:10,660
title.
In the sixth month with her who

295
00:20:10,660 –> 00:20:15,220
was called Baron now in the
Greek it’s the Baron one.

296
00:20:16,660 –> 00:20:23,340
She’s the Baron 1 tragically and
and I don’t know if people would

297
00:20:23,340 –> 00:20:27,180
have said that out of any
disrespect or or trying to to

298
00:20:27,180 –> 00:20:30,540
belittle her but you know this
this here’s a family whose

299
00:20:30,540 –> 00:20:33,580
bloodlines are so pure that you
know.

300
00:20:33,980 –> 00:20:37,020
This poor old lady became known
as as the Baron one and it was

301
00:20:37,020 –> 00:20:41,060
sort of just a tragedy to look
at this family with with all of

302
00:20:41,060 –> 00:20:44,420
these great bloodlines.
And yet you you see that they

303
00:20:44,420 –> 00:20:48,460
can’t have a child.
What a struggle that must have

304
00:20:48,460 –> 00:20:51,020
been for them, you know,
especially in Israel where it

305
00:20:51,020 –> 00:20:54,220
was a joy to have children
because they all wanted to be

306
00:20:54,220 –> 00:20:57,700
the one to to bear that Messiah
who would come.

307
00:20:57,700 –> 00:21:03,400
But but what was their attitude?
Your attitude is is, is a lot in

308
00:21:03,400 –> 00:21:05,840
life.
Attitude is a lot.

309
00:21:05,840 –> 00:21:08,680
Well, here’s their attitude.
If you come back to to verse

310
00:21:08,680 –> 00:21:11,160
six, you know it’s easy to give
up.

311
00:21:11,160 –> 00:21:13,560
It’s easy to ask God, well, why
is this happening to me?

312
00:21:15,040 –> 00:21:18,600
And they were both righteous.
They noticed this verse six

313
00:21:19,040 –> 00:21:24,320
before God and that means it’s
genuine righteousness.

314
00:21:24,320 –> 00:21:26,760
They’re righteous, not before
other people.

315
00:21:27,480 –> 00:21:29,280
You know, we sometimes think
we’re righteous because we do

316
00:21:29,280 –> 00:21:33,420
things in front of other people.
What’s meant what matters is, is

317
00:21:33,420 –> 00:21:35,620
that we do those things in front
of God.

318
00:21:36,660 –> 00:21:39,380
Well, they were righteous before
God.

319
00:21:39,540 –> 00:21:42,180
It was genuine.
They continued to worship and

320
00:21:42,180 –> 00:21:45,380
walk in all the commandments, is
in the ordinances of the law,

321
00:21:45,380 –> 00:21:49,420
and were blameless.
So the trial didn’t produce any

322
00:21:49,420 –> 00:21:51,620
bitterness in them, did it?
They continued.

323
00:21:51,900 –> 00:21:55,460
If anything, they were more
steadfast in the face of that

324
00:21:55,460 –> 00:22:01,830
trial, righteous before God.
And were blameless.

325
00:22:02,550 –> 00:22:06,310
Think about the the incredible
compliment that’s given there by

326
00:22:06,310 –> 00:22:08,110
Luke and the word blameless
doesn’t mean that they were

327
00:22:08,110 –> 00:22:11,030
without sin, but of course it
meant that under the law they

328
00:22:11,030 –> 00:22:12,430
would have made all the
offerings.

329
00:22:13,230 –> 00:22:16,470
They were at meeting every week.
They were at Bible class every

330
00:22:16,470 –> 00:22:19,190
week.
When the eclesia needed a job,

331
00:22:19,350 –> 00:22:21,990
they were there.
They walked in all the

332
00:22:21,990 –> 00:22:27,190
commandments, blameless, and
they prayed about.

333
00:22:29,030 –> 00:22:34,350
They prayed about that problem.
And they’re who knows how old.

334
00:22:34,630 –> 00:22:35,990
They’re well stricken in years
now.

335
00:22:35,990 –> 00:22:37,710
How old that is in verse seven,
I don’t know.

336
00:22:38,430 –> 00:22:40,470
But they kept on praying for a
child.

337
00:22:42,830 –> 00:22:45,990
They didn’t stop as old as they
were.

338
00:22:46,430 –> 00:22:48,470
They kept on praying.
Look at verse 13.

339
00:22:49,310 –> 00:22:54,750
Fear not, Zacharias, for thy
prayer is her now the word

340
00:22:54,750 –> 00:23:01,410
prayer there is desis D EE S.
I S it means a specific

341
00:23:01,890 –> 00:23:04,970
petition.
It wasn’t just any sort of

342
00:23:04,970 –> 00:23:08,450
prayer, it was a specific
petition that they made.

343
00:23:08,450 –> 00:23:12,090
And and I’d make the suggestion
to you that despite the age of

344
00:23:12,090 –> 00:23:17,370
this old couple, they are still
making a specific petition for a

345
00:23:17,370 –> 00:23:20,570
boy.
The word prayer there means

346
00:23:20,570 –> 00:23:24,570
something specific.
It’s not a general word, but

347
00:23:24,570 –> 00:23:28,400
something specific.
As old as they were, they kept

348
00:23:28,400 –> 00:23:30,840
on praying for a child.
They just picture an older

349
00:23:30,840 –> 00:23:32,360
couple who doesn’t have
children.

350
00:23:33,880 –> 00:23:37,160
They’re praying day in and day
out for a child.

351
00:23:37,160 –> 00:23:41,880
Now the look at that face, you
know, how often do we do we just

352
00:23:41,880 –> 00:23:46,440
give up when problems arise?
You know, we we need help or the

353
00:23:46,920 –> 00:23:50,320
the eclaisia needs help.
Maybe we get together and we

354
00:23:50,320 –> 00:23:54,240
have a special prayer.
And and the first sign of

355
00:23:54,240 –> 00:23:56,720
difficulty, you see people in
the meeting wanting to give up.

356
00:23:59,120 –> 00:24:03,600
This man is still praying and
asking God to do it despite his

357
00:24:03,600 –> 00:24:06,440
age.
Now was he rewarded by God?

358
00:24:08,160 –> 00:24:12,240
Was he ever look at for say they
came to pass while he executed

359
00:24:12,240 –> 00:24:15,280
the priest office before God in
the order of his course.

360
00:24:16,160 –> 00:24:20,280
According to the custom of the
priest office, his lot was to

361
00:24:20,280 –> 00:24:22,680
burn incense when he went into
the temple.

362
00:24:23,330 –> 00:24:28,410
Before into the temple of the
Lord His lot.

363
00:24:28,410 –> 00:24:31,290
Now this is where you kind of
need to to look at how that

364
00:24:31,290 –> 00:24:34,370
worked in the days of the Lord
Jesus Christ, because you won’t

365
00:24:34,370 –> 00:24:36,730
exactly find them doing it this
way in the law.

366
00:24:36,970 –> 00:24:39,770
The priesthood had changed a
little bit, but the great honor

367
00:24:39,810 –> 00:24:43,850
of any any member of that
family, the great honor was to

368
00:24:43,850 –> 00:24:48,490
burn incense in that holy place.
That was what they all strive to

369
00:24:48,490 –> 00:24:50,770
do.
And because there were so many

370
00:24:50,770 –> 00:24:55,650
people at that time that wanted
to do it, they drew lots for it.

371
00:24:57,610 –> 00:25:02,850
And when your name came out, you
burned incense on that one day.

372
00:25:03,890 –> 00:25:07,930
And then after that your name
was thrown out because you had

373
00:25:07,930 –> 00:25:12,730
had your privilege.
You only got it one time in your

374
00:25:12,730 –> 00:25:16,330
whole life to go in there and
burn incense.

375
00:25:16,970 –> 00:25:21,580
And on the 1:00.
Gay that Zacharias would ever

376
00:25:21,580 –> 00:25:25,020
get that privilege to go in
there and burn incense.

377
00:25:25,500 –> 00:25:28,260
There is Gabriel standing on the
right side of the altar.

378
00:25:29,020 –> 00:25:31,940
He’s been praying all of his
life for a child, and the one

379
00:25:31,940 –> 00:25:35,940
time his name comes out of the
hat, to use a modern expression,

380
00:25:36,100 –> 00:25:38,540
the one time his name comes out
of the hat is that’s OK, it’s

381
00:25:38,540 –> 00:25:41,740
your turn.
His only chance to do it his

382
00:25:41,740 –> 00:25:44,820
whole life he walks in.
There’s Gabriel standing on the

383
00:25:44,820 –> 00:25:48,390
right side of the altar.
Does God answer prayer in

384
00:25:48,470 –> 00:25:53,750
remarkable ways?
We went in there, and there was

385
00:25:54,710 –> 00:26:02,630
Al Gibor not just any Angel, but
Gabriel Edersheim, who was a Jew

386
00:26:02,630 –> 00:26:05,270
who became a Christian, wrote
very wonderfully about the the

387
00:26:05,270 –> 00:26:07,470
customs of the temple in the
days of Christ.

388
00:26:07,470 –> 00:26:10,550
And you see that last phrase
there for the first time in his

389
00:26:10,550 –> 00:26:16,410
life, and for the last.
This service would devolve upon

390
00:26:16,410 –> 00:26:18,090
him.
That’s the only time he ever

391
00:26:18,090 –> 00:26:21,090
would have gone in there to burn
incense.

392
00:26:22,170 –> 00:26:26,850
His name came up that day.
And there is Gabriel listening

393
00:26:26,850 –> 00:26:31,930
to that prayer and watching that
man as he burns incense.

394
00:26:31,930 –> 00:26:35,050
And now he is going to appear to
him with this great message.

395
00:26:35,050 –> 00:26:37,410
Now where did Gabriel last
appear in our Bibles?

396
00:26:38,090 –> 00:26:42,370
Was here in Luke chapter one.
Well, the last time he appeared

397
00:26:42,370 –> 00:26:44,410
in our Bibles was Daniel Chapter
9.

398
00:26:45,390 –> 00:26:48,430
Where he appeared to Daniel to
to give him the prophecy of the

399
00:26:48,710 –> 00:26:50,590
the 70 weeks.
Now I told you to remember the

400
00:26:50,590 –> 00:26:55,030
meanings of of the names.
But Daniel in his prayer you’ll

401
00:26:55,030 –> 00:26:58,550
find these three things.
He first asked for God to

402
00:26:58,550 –> 00:27:03,830
remember that the 70 years of
captivity have come to an end.

403
00:27:05,030 –> 00:27:07,270
In verse four he appeals for
mercy.

404
00:27:09,820 –> 00:27:12,860
And he explains in verse 11 the
reason why they’ve suffered 70

405
00:27:12,860 –> 00:27:16,260
years of captivity is because
they hadn’t followed the oath

406
00:27:17,420 –> 00:27:20,140
written in the law of Moses
Zacharias.

407
00:27:20,180 –> 00:27:26,460
Yahweh hath remember John the
grace of God, Elizabeth the oath

408
00:27:27,100 –> 00:27:31,820
of A on this, this great Angel
now spans those two bookends.

409
00:27:32,700 –> 00:27:36,180
He appeared in Daniel chapter
nine, 500 years earlier to

410
00:27:36,180 –> 00:27:40,420
Daniel to an aged man.
Who had been praying?

411
00:27:41,980 –> 00:27:46,260
And then he reappears in Luke
chapter one to an aged man who

412
00:27:46,260 –> 00:27:50,820
had been praying.
And you see all those details

413
00:27:51,580 –> 00:27:53,780
all matched up.
And Gabriel was listening to

414
00:27:53,780 –> 00:27:57,780
that man and now he’s listening
to this man to show the nation

415
00:27:57,780 –> 00:28:01,940
mercy.
God was now going to act in

416
00:28:01,940 –> 00:28:05,100
response to this great prayer.
And let that be an encouragement

417
00:28:05,100 –> 00:28:07,860
to his brothers and sisters.
How many years Zechariahs have

418
00:28:07,860 –> 00:28:12,940
been praying, we don’t know.
But God finally responded.

419
00:28:13,700 –> 00:28:17,140
We’ve got to learn faith, and we
got to learn patience when we

420
00:28:17,140 –> 00:28:19,820
come before God and ask what we
need.

421
00:28:20,940 –> 00:28:23,300
So he’s standing there.
We come back to Luke, chapter

422
00:28:23,300 –> 00:28:27,460
one, there in verse 11, on the
right side of the altar of

423
00:28:27,460 –> 00:28:29,500
incense.
The right side.

424
00:28:29,500 –> 00:28:31,620
Now, of course, most of us would
be right-handed, wouldn’t we?

425
00:28:32,260 –> 00:28:35,060
And in the right hand, of
course, is that hand which is

426
00:28:35,060 –> 00:28:38,830
the most dexterous.
Now it matters not with God, be

427
00:28:38,830 –> 00:28:42,790
it right hand or left.
But you know, what we read up in

428
00:28:42,790 –> 00:28:48,990
the Psalms is the saving power
of God’s right hand.

429
00:28:49,630 –> 00:28:52,870
My right, your left.
It’s a symbol of power and

430
00:28:52,870 –> 00:28:54,590
action.
So he’s he’s not on the left

431
00:28:54,590 –> 00:28:57,390
side of the altar, is he?
He’s on the right side because

432
00:28:57,390 –> 00:29:03,070
he’s now going to act and give
this old couple a boy who would

433
00:29:03,070 –> 00:29:05,150
be the forerunner of their
Messiah.

434
00:29:05,510 –> 00:29:08,350
The right side of the altar,
just take down these references

435
00:29:08,630 –> 00:29:15,510
about the right hand, Psalm 20,
verse 6 and Psalm 60, verse

436
00:29:15,670 –> 00:29:18,230
five.
And those two references are all

437
00:29:18,230 –> 00:29:22,150
about the saving strength of
God’s right hand.

438
00:29:22,150 –> 00:29:25,510
And that’s the saving strength
that’s now going to be

439
00:29:25,870 –> 00:29:30,670
manifested as He stands there,
this mighty Angel on the right

440
00:29:30,670 –> 00:29:37,200
hand of the altar of incense.
The Alter Vincent being used

441
00:29:37,200 –> 00:29:40,320
here in connection with
Zechariah is is very

442
00:29:40,320 –> 00:29:42,200
interesting.
I’d like to just turn this one

443
00:29:42,200 –> 00:29:45,480
up in Exodus Chapter 30.
Just come back with me to Exodus

444
00:29:45,480 –> 00:29:51,400
Chapter 30 because the Alter
Vincent was a very unique item

445
00:29:52,400 –> 00:29:55,600
in the Holy place.
It’s described in terms of a

446
00:29:55,600 –> 00:30:00,520
house.
The Alter Vincent was a little

447
00:30:00,520 –> 00:30:05,300
house in the Holy place.
And there in that holy place was

448
00:30:05,300 –> 00:30:07,220
a replica of every house in
Israel.

449
00:30:07,220 –> 00:30:10,420
Now just look quickly at Exodus
30 and verse three.

450
00:30:12,820 –> 00:30:16,500
And now shall overlay it with
pure gold, the top thereof and

451
00:30:16,500 –> 00:30:21,020
the sides thereof, roundabout
Exodus 30 verse three.

452
00:30:21,580 –> 00:30:25,260
Now if you have a margin, the
margin of my Bible for top is

453
00:30:25,260 –> 00:30:30,380
roof, and the margin for sides
is walls.

454
00:30:31,130 –> 00:30:34,530
So the altar of instance is
described in terms of a house.

455
00:30:35,210 –> 00:30:38,130
It’s got a roof and it’s got
walls.

456
00:30:38,170 –> 00:30:42,930
Now, the altar of instance was a
little box, like, like not big

457
00:30:42,930 –> 00:30:46,690
at all, but it’s got a roof and
it’s got walls.

458
00:30:47,050 –> 00:30:51,290
So what’s that saying?
It’s saying that every house in

459
00:30:51,290 –> 00:30:54,330
Israel ought to have been a
House of prayer.

460
00:30:55,770 –> 00:30:57,250
Do you think about the House of
Zechariahs?

461
00:30:57,250 –> 00:31:00,130
And Elizabeth, what was it?
It was a house.

462
00:31:00,610 –> 00:31:02,250
Of prayer.
And there in the Holy Place was

463
00:31:02,250 –> 00:31:07,530
a replica of every house in
Israel had a flat roof, and it

464
00:31:07,530 –> 00:31:09,810
had walls.
Deuteronomy 22.

465
00:31:09,810 –> 00:31:13,730
They had to construct their
houses with a flat roof and

466
00:31:13,730 –> 00:31:16,610
walls.
And so you think about that in

467
00:31:16,610 –> 00:31:18,290
terms of Zechariahs.
In his house.

468
00:31:18,290 –> 00:31:20,010
Was it a House of prayer, was it
ever?

469
00:31:20,410 –> 00:31:23,730
And standing there on the right
side of the altar, Vincent’s

470
00:31:24,250 –> 00:31:25,930
what his house had been all of
his life.

471
00:31:26,890 –> 00:31:31,710
Now there is Gabriel to.
To give him this wonderful and

472
00:31:31,710 –> 00:31:33,750
cheering news.
Coming back to Luke, chapter

473
00:31:33,750 –> 00:31:39,110
one, he was told that his name
was to be John, the Grace of

474
00:31:39,270 –> 00:31:41,910
God.
You know, Elijah had called for

475
00:31:41,910 –> 00:31:47,190
Yahweh Elohim of armies in First
Kings 19 but Elijah was shown

476
00:31:47,190 –> 00:31:49,510
No, that’s not what spirit we
need to have.

477
00:31:50,390 –> 00:31:55,310
We need this spirit.
John appears the grace of the

478
00:31:55,310 –> 00:31:58,310
Lord, which leads men to
repentance.

479
00:31:58,980 –> 00:32:02,420
And he was to be the cause of
great joy and gladness, says

480
00:32:02,420 –> 00:32:07,020
Luke, one in verse 14.
And many shall rejoice at his

481
00:32:07,020 –> 00:32:09,420
birth.
Because, of course, this one was

482
00:32:09,420 –> 00:32:13,140
to signal the forerunner of the
Messiah, for which so many of

483
00:32:13,140 –> 00:32:16,780
them had been waiting.
There would be joy and gladness,

484
00:32:16,780 –> 00:32:20,780
as there should be at the birth
of any child, especially this

485
00:32:20,780 –> 00:32:23,580
one.
More on that phrase just in a

486
00:32:23,580 –> 00:32:26,060
moment.
Now I ask you to remember the

487
00:32:26,060 –> 00:32:30,050
impeccable qualifications that.
John would have had for

488
00:32:30,410 –> 00:32:34,370
priesthood.
And we get to that in verse 15

489
00:32:34,490 –> 00:32:37,970
because this is what God said
he’s going to be.

490
00:32:39,810 –> 00:32:43,010
It says he will be great in the
sight of the Lord Luke 115 and

491
00:32:43,010 –> 00:32:46,570
shall drink neither wine nor
strong drink.

492
00:32:46,570 –> 00:32:49,210
In other words, he’s going to be
a Nazarete.

493
00:32:49,930 –> 00:32:53,370
He will drink neither wine nor
strong drink.

494
00:32:53,370 –> 00:32:56,570
Now the Nazarete vow was really
given just for one reason.

495
00:32:58,230 –> 00:33:00,830
If you see God told Israel,
Sonia, you shall be unto me a

496
00:33:00,830 –> 00:33:05,750
Kingdom of priest.
And then he gave a law which

497
00:33:05,750 –> 00:33:09,110
said it could never happen,
because unless you are of the

498
00:33:09,110 –> 00:33:12,430
tribe of Levi and of the family
of Aaron, you never could be a

499
00:33:12,430 –> 00:33:15,350
priest.
Well, how then could the words

500
00:33:15,350 –> 00:33:20,310
of Exodus 19 ever be fulfilled?
You shall be unto me a Kingdom

501
00:33:20,430 –> 00:33:23,230
of priest.
That’s where the Nazarete vow

502
00:33:23,230 –> 00:33:26,240
comes in.
Because the Nazarete vow was the

503
00:33:26,280 –> 00:33:32,200
opportunity for anyone in
Israel, either man or woman, for

504
00:33:32,200 –> 00:33:36,280
a given period, to imitate the
high priest.

505
00:33:36,960 –> 00:33:39,120
So the high priest was told not
to drink wine.

506
00:33:40,280 –> 00:33:42,400
So the Nazarete wasn’t to drink
wine.

507
00:33:43,400 –> 00:33:45,560
The high priest was told never
to touch a dead body.

508
00:33:46,640 –> 00:33:50,920
The Nazarete was told never to
touch a dead body as the the

509
00:33:50,920 –> 00:33:53,360
high priest wore the the great
crown.

510
00:33:54,350 –> 00:33:59,590
Upon his head with with the name
of God inscribed across it so

511
00:33:59,710 –> 00:34:02,950
the nazarete when he grew his
hair long he would have worn it

512
00:34:02,950 –> 00:34:06,750
in a turban in the in like sort
of a turban like what we see

513
00:34:06,750 –> 00:34:11,350
today which was very similar in
shape as you can see to the

514
00:34:11,350 –> 00:34:17,270
miter of the high priest he’s
going to be a Nazarete.

515
00:34:17,270 –> 00:34:21,909
But but but hang on a second I
thought John already had every

516
00:34:21,909 –> 00:34:28,489
qualification to be a priest.
Why does John have to be a

517
00:34:28,489 –> 00:34:30,170
Nazarete?
Nazarete.

518
00:34:30,210 –> 00:34:32,690
The Nazarete vow was for people
who could never be priest.

519
00:34:34,090 –> 00:34:38,730
And yet the record says that
he’s going to be a Nazarete.

520
00:34:39,210 –> 00:34:44,570
Gabriel says, you know, from his
mother’s womb, he’s got to be a

521
00:34:44,570 –> 00:34:47,610
Nazarete.
Well, what’s the reason for

522
00:34:47,610 –> 00:34:50,050
that?
John had no reason to be an

523
00:34:50,050 –> 00:34:52,330
Nazarete.
He’s already in the priestly

524
00:34:52,330 –> 00:34:55,570
line.
Well, who was greater, The

525
00:34:55,570 –> 00:34:59,690
Nazarete or the High priest?
Interesting question.

526
00:34:59,690 –> 00:35:08,650
Who was greater?
Got a 50% chance I guess the

527
00:35:08,650 –> 00:35:10,490
Nazarete.
Why?

528
00:35:11,410 –> 00:35:12,890
Because why was the high priest
there?

529
00:35:13,530 –> 00:35:16,770
The high priest was there by
dent of birth, by a carnal

530
00:35:16,770 –> 00:35:18,570
commandment as Paul says in
Hebrews 7.

531
00:35:19,130 –> 00:35:22,330
Why is the Nazarete doing this?
Because he wants to.

532
00:35:23,980 –> 00:35:28,220
Because he loves his God so much
and reveres his God so much.

533
00:35:28,220 –> 00:35:31,740
He wants to be like his high
priest so much that he says I’m

534
00:35:31,740 –> 00:35:34,140
going to be a Nazarete because I
want to be like my high priest.

535
00:35:35,140 –> 00:35:37,220
The high priest was just there
by dent of birth.

536
00:35:37,300 –> 00:35:42,100
He had no choice.
The Nazarete in a very real

537
00:35:42,100 –> 00:35:46,100
sense was greater than the high
priest.

538
00:35:46,100 –> 00:35:49,860
The high priest was there by a
carnal commandment, but the high

539
00:35:49,860 –> 00:35:52,020
priest was there.
But the Nazarete, sorry, was

540
00:35:52,020 –> 00:35:56,370
there.
Because he loved his God, he’s

541
00:35:56,370 –> 00:35:58,250
got to be a Nazarete, says
Gabriel.

542
00:35:59,090 –> 00:36:02,010
It’s as though, brothers and
sisters, the law is being set

543
00:36:02,010 –> 00:36:05,290
aside in this boy.
You know, John has absolutely

544
00:36:05,290 –> 00:36:11,250
nothing to do with the law.
Here is the spirit of the law, a

545
00:36:11,530 –> 00:36:15,810
separate one, as the word
Nazarete means a separate one in

546
00:36:15,850 –> 00:36:20,610
every sense of the word.
And it’s going to happen, says

547
00:36:20,610 –> 00:36:24,880
verse 15.
From his mother’s womb, which,

548
00:36:24,880 –> 00:36:27,040
again, that’s a difference from
the the law too, because a

549
00:36:27,040 –> 00:36:32,400
Nazarete normally could pick how
long he would be a Nazarete for.

550
00:36:32,480 –> 00:36:34,480
You could do it for a week, you
could do it for a month, you

551
00:36:34,480 –> 00:36:37,920
could do it for a year.
But Gabriel says no, he’s going

552
00:36:37,920 –> 00:36:39,840
to be a Nazarete.
He’s going to be a separate one

553
00:36:39,840 –> 00:36:43,720
from his birth.
This is my work.

554
00:36:44,400 –> 00:36:47,680
I mean, how much longer do you
think Zacharias and Elizabeth

555
00:36:47,680 –> 00:36:50,720
were alive after this?
I mean.

556
00:36:51,210 –> 00:36:53,370
Probably not very long.
They’re old and most stricken in

557
00:36:53,370 –> 00:36:57,810
years already.
So who then was going to be his

558
00:36:57,810 –> 00:37:00,570
father?
Well, it was going to be God.

559
00:37:01,610 –> 00:37:05,130
He was going to take over and be
his father.

560
00:37:05,130 –> 00:37:08,250
And John was in the deserts for
much of his early childhood.

561
00:37:08,970 –> 00:37:10,970
So who was his mentor?
Who was his guide?

562
00:37:11,690 –> 00:37:16,290
But Yahweh, this child indeed
was to be a product of his

563
00:37:16,290 –> 00:37:20,050
maker, a Nazarete, a separate
were, a separate one in.

564
00:37:20,710 –> 00:37:25,070
Every sense of the word.
So Zacharias is informed by the

565
00:37:25,070 –> 00:37:28,670
Angel that he’s going to have a
child.

566
00:37:29,830 –> 00:37:33,270
But poor old Zacharias, you
know, his faith was there,

567
00:37:33,270 –> 00:37:36,910
wasn’t it?
He was blameless according to

568
00:37:36,910 –> 00:37:38,790
the law.
But you know, like it is with

569
00:37:38,790 –> 00:37:40,830
with us sometimes, both and
sisters, you know when God

570
00:37:40,830 –> 00:37:43,910
answers prayers in your life,
you’re you’re sometimes just so

571
00:37:43,910 –> 00:37:46,390
staggered and and surprised you
can’t believe it.

572
00:37:47,480 –> 00:37:49,960
And that’s what happens here
with with Zacharias, you stop

573
00:37:49,960 –> 00:37:53,400
thinking for a second, you know,
we pray every day, don’t we,

574
00:37:53,400 –> 00:37:56,800
that Christ is going to come.
And you know when that knock

575
00:37:56,800 –> 00:38:01,120
comes on the door, you know, we
we might just be so, so overcome

576
00:38:01,120 –> 00:38:02,840
with the whole moment.
We might not believe it.

577
00:38:02,840 –> 00:38:05,560
And the Angel says he’s here.
Like who?

578
00:38:06,800 –> 00:38:08,720
That’s kind of what happens with
with Zacharias.

579
00:38:08,760 –> 00:38:11,760
It’s it’s all his hope and it’s
all his aspirations.

580
00:38:11,760 –> 00:38:14,600
But momentarily he he doesn’t
believe.

581
00:38:15,290 –> 00:38:18,770
Because the fullness of the the
expectation doesn’t match the

582
00:38:18,770 –> 00:38:22,770
fullness of the realization.
And so we read there in verse 18

583
00:38:23,610 –> 00:38:27,850
Zacharias says to Gabriel, well,
how shall I know this, You know,

584
00:38:27,850 –> 00:38:33,650
for I am old and and and my wife
is well stricken in years, so he

585
00:38:33,650 –> 00:38:36,890
temporarily doesn’t.
He loses a little bit of faith.

586
00:38:37,930 –> 00:38:40,130
You know that question, that
very same question there in

587
00:38:40,130 –> 00:38:42,570
verse 18 you might recall, was
asked.

588
00:38:43,710 –> 00:38:46,230
By another faithful man so
faithful that he became known as

589
00:38:46,510 –> 00:38:52,790
the father of the faithful,
whereby shall I know that I

590
00:38:53,470 –> 00:38:56,270
shall inherit it.
But in Abraham’s case, it was it

591
00:38:56,270 –> 00:38:59,030
was a question of faith.
He was asking what the modus

592
00:38:59,030 –> 00:39:03,070
operandi was for how he would
have a boy and immediately God

593
00:39:03,070 –> 00:39:06,710
showed Abraham the sacrifice.
But Zechariahs just temporarily

594
00:39:06,710 –> 00:39:08,870
loses heart.
He’s he’s so overwhelmed with

595
00:39:08,870 –> 00:39:12,430
the excitement of seeing Gabriel
that it says that he.

596
00:39:13,130 –> 00:39:18,330
Doesn’t believe.
And So what was his penalty?

597
00:39:19,730 –> 00:39:24,490
What did that lack of belief
cost Zacharias?

598
00:39:26,050 –> 00:39:30,250
Well, verse 19 says, I am al
Gabor that stands in the

599
00:39:30,250 –> 00:39:32,890
presence of God.
And I’m sent to speak unto thee

600
00:39:32,890 –> 00:39:37,170
and to show thee these glad
tidings, and behold, thou shalt

601
00:39:37,530 –> 00:39:39,770
be dumb.
He struck dumb.

602
00:39:41,260 –> 00:39:44,100
Now why would God strike a man
like that gun.

603
00:39:45,540 –> 00:39:47,420
It’s interesting.
He’s he’s in the holy place.

604
00:39:48,260 –> 00:39:50,380
And you know, normally when you
you came out of the holy place,

605
00:39:50,380 –> 00:39:53,860
everybody’s standing outside
waiting for Zacharias to come

606
00:39:53,860 –> 00:39:55,860
out.
You know, when the priest came

607
00:39:55,860 –> 00:39:58,020
out, he would come out with the
the blessing.

608
00:39:58,020 –> 00:40:01,340
Yahweh bless thee and keep thee.
Yahweh make his face to shine

609
00:40:01,340 –> 00:40:02,940
upon thee and Zacharias comes
out.

610
00:40:06,060 –> 00:40:09,380
He can’t speak.
It seems harsh.

611
00:40:10,100 –> 00:40:19,860
Why would he be struck dumb for
not believing verse 19, these

612
00:40:19,860 –> 00:40:24,020
glad tidings?
Let’s come back to our chapter

613
00:40:24,540 –> 00:40:29,420
Isaiah 40, because here it is.
Glad tidings.

614
00:40:29,420 –> 00:40:33,660
Where’s that from?
Isaiah chapter 40?

615
00:40:33,660 –> 00:40:37,660
This is the the chapter of John
that we have to keep coming back

616
00:40:37,660 –> 00:40:41,640
to to get our bearings.
He struck dumb for not believing

617
00:40:42,200 –> 00:40:48,240
the glad tidings.
Verse nine.

618
00:40:49,400 –> 00:40:50,920
We know these words so well,
don’t we?

619
00:40:50,920 –> 00:40:53,880
From the the Messiah.
Isaiah 40, verse 90.

620
00:40:53,880 –> 00:40:57,320
Zion that bring us good tidings.
Get the up into the high

621
00:40:57,320 –> 00:40:59,760
mountain.
Oh, Jerusalem, that bring us

622
00:40:59,760 –> 00:41:03,040
good tidings.
Lift up thy voice with strength.

623
00:41:03,520 –> 00:41:05,960
Lift it up.
Be not afraid.

624
00:41:06,860 –> 00:41:10,820
Saying to the cities of Judah,
behold your God.

625
00:41:11,380 –> 00:41:14,260
So what were they supposed to do
here with the voice of the good

626
00:41:14,260 –> 00:41:16,780
tidings?
They were to lift it up with

627
00:41:16,780 –> 00:41:22,180
strength, Be not afraid.
But Zacharias doesn’t believe

628
00:41:22,180 –> 00:41:25,300
the glad tidings, So what
happens to his voice?

629
00:41:27,140 –> 00:41:30,220
He struck dumb.
You see, it’s scriptural that it

630
00:41:30,220 –> 00:41:33,100
be so.
The voice was the the tidings

631
00:41:33,100 –> 00:41:35,460
were supposed to be proclaimed
in a loud voice.

632
00:41:36,300 –> 00:41:41,700
Zecharias doesn’t believe the
tiding, so he’s struck dumb.

633
00:41:42,740 –> 00:41:46,500
But but who’s the voice of
Isaiah chapter 40?

634
00:41:46,980 –> 00:41:51,980
Who’s the voice in this chapter?
Verse 3, It’s the voice of his

635
00:41:51,980 –> 00:41:57,620
own boy, and while Zecharias may
be temporarily struck dumb, the

636
00:41:57,620 –> 00:42:01,900
voice of his boy now comes
reverberating out of that

637
00:42:01,900 –> 00:42:05,430
chapter.
So because these glad tidings

638
00:42:05,430 –> 00:42:10,790
are supposed to be spoken in a
loud voice, Zacharias doesn’t

639
00:42:10,790 –> 00:42:13,190
believe it, and he’s struck
dumb.

640
00:42:13,950 –> 00:42:16,310
But who is speaking loudly in
this chapter?

641
00:42:16,310 –> 00:42:19,190
Well, it’s the voice of his own
boy.

642
00:42:20,710 –> 00:42:24,790
So we struck dumb because the
voice said, lift up your voice

643
00:42:25,390 –> 00:42:28,830
with strength.
So let’s just summarize this in

644
00:42:28,830 –> 00:42:30,790
terms of the the slide that we
had before.

645
00:42:30,830 –> 00:42:34,370
How do we know that Luke’s mind?
Is in Isaiah chapter 40.

646
00:42:34,370 –> 00:42:39,490
Well, firstly we see Zacharias
is is struck dumb for not

647
00:42:39,490 –> 00:42:45,450
believing the glad tidings, and
if we doubted that, that’s the

648
00:42:45,450 –> 00:42:47,450
answer.
The context of this chapter is

649
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about the birth of John the
Baptist and the sending forth of

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00:42:49,730 –> 00:42:54,290
the voice that lets us know that
we’re on we’re on shore ground.

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00:42:55,050 –> 00:42:57,410
Let’s come back to Luke chapter
one and see how Luke just picks

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this up so beautifully to show
that.

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00:43:00,180 –> 00:43:03,580
His mind was right here in in
John’s chapter in Isaiah chapter

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00:43:03,580 –> 00:43:06,540
40 because there are two other
points that that come up in this

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chapter that Luke is.
It is it pains to record Mary

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having been given her promise
that she was to have the

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00:43:17,420 –> 00:43:20,340
Messiah.
It says there in verse 39 of

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00:43:20,340 –> 00:43:23,620
Luke chapter one that Mary arose
in those days and went into the

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00:43:23,620 –> 00:43:26,900
Hill Country with haste into a
city of Judah.

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00:43:27,880 –> 00:43:30,720
Now Luke could have easily told
us what that city of Judah was,

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00:43:30,800 –> 00:43:33,360
couldn’t he?
In Luke chapter one in verse 39.

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00:43:33,360 –> 00:43:35,680
But he doesn’t.
It just says that Mary went into

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the Hill Country, into a city of
Judah.

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00:43:40,200 –> 00:43:43,560
What does Isaiah 40 say?
Get thee into the high mountain,

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00:43:45,120 –> 00:43:48,160
the Hill Country?
Say to the cities of Judah.

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00:43:49,680 –> 00:43:52,160
She went into a city of Judah.
Proclaim.

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00:43:52,160 –> 00:43:57,560
Behold your God, he’s coming.
The glad tidings that.

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00:43:57,900 –> 00:44:00,980
That God is interested in our
affairs and he’s about to send a

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voice to save us.
Proclaim that with a loud voice,

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00:44:04,300 –> 00:44:07,020
Zecharias is struck dumb for not
believing it.

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00:44:07,500 –> 00:44:10,700
Mary goes forth and proclaims it
upon the Hill Country of Judah.

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00:44:10,700 –> 00:44:13,940
But what about Elizabeth, the
mother of John the Baptist?

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00:44:13,940 –> 00:44:18,940
The other character in this
story, verse 42, specifically

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00:44:18,940 –> 00:44:24,740
notes when her prayer of
Thanksgiving was expressed.

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00:44:25,980 –> 00:44:28,900
And this we’re told.
Was a spirit inspired prayer.

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00:44:30,020 –> 00:44:36,540
It says that she spoke up with a
loud voice and said, blessed are

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00:44:36,540 –> 00:44:41,940
thou among women to marry, and
blessed is the fruit of thou

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00:44:41,940 –> 00:44:43,460
women.
Look at all of Luke’s illusions.

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00:44:43,460 –> 00:44:46,700
We have there to that grand
chapter of Isaiah 40.

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00:44:48,380 –> 00:44:51,780
So Zacharias lost heart
momentarily for not believing

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00:44:51,780 –> 00:44:53,860
the glad tidings, and he’s he’s
struck dumb.

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00:44:53,860 –> 00:44:56,620
And you know when Zacharias’s
mouth is finally opened.

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00:44:57,030 –> 00:45:00,470
At the the birth of of John the
Baptist, there comes forward in

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00:45:00,470 –> 00:45:03,750
verse 67 of this chapter, one of
the most remarkable and

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00:45:03,750 –> 00:45:05,750
scintillating songs you’ve ever
heard.

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00:45:06,950 –> 00:45:10,830
You know, we had to eliminate
that consideration because five

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00:45:10,830 –> 00:45:13,510
sessions in an afternoon would
be even harder than four.

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00:45:14,110 –> 00:45:17,190
But if we had a #5, we we
definitely would look at that

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00:45:17,190 –> 00:45:19,790
song.
He he once he learns the lesson,

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00:45:19,790 –> 00:45:23,830
he speaks one of the most
glorious songs that you can read

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00:45:23,830 –> 00:45:26,470
in your Bibles from verse 67
down to.

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00:45:26,820 –> 00:45:32,100
The end of this chapter And so
let’s finish with verse 24.

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00:45:32,820 –> 00:45:36,580
This remarkable faithful couple
is now told that they’re going

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00:45:36,580 –> 00:45:41,020
to to have a child.
So what does Elizabeth do?

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00:45:44,100 –> 00:45:47,300
And after those days, Luke one
verse 24, his wife Elizabeth can

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00:45:47,300 –> 00:45:51,380
see finally here it is all of
their hopes and prayers and she

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00:45:51,380 –> 00:45:56,090
hid herself 5.
Months.

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00:45:56,090 –> 00:46:02,810
What does John mean?
Means the grace of God and she

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00:46:02,810 –> 00:46:06,970
hit herself.
Five months to think about the

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00:46:06,970 –> 00:46:10,930
grace of God.
And the number five brothers and

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00:46:10,930 –> 00:46:15,810
sisters everywhere in the Bible
is the number of grace you know

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00:46:16,410 –> 00:46:17,930
you saw.
You see it with Abraham and

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00:46:17,930 –> 00:46:20,650
Sarah.
Your God adds the 5th consonant

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00:46:20,650 –> 00:46:23,590
of his name.
Making it the 5th consonant of

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00:46:23,590 –> 00:46:27,270
their name because they were
errors together of the grace of

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00:46:27,270 –> 00:46:29,830
life.
When Israel redeemed the unclean

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00:46:29,830 –> 00:46:35,150
animals they did so with the 5th
part. 5 is everywhere, the

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00:46:35,150 –> 00:46:37,190
number of grace.
And so to think about her boy

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00:46:38,070 –> 00:46:41,950
that was to be born, she she
went away and hit herself for

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00:46:41,950 –> 00:46:47,430
five months to think about that.
Where do you think she went?

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00:46:50,230 –> 00:46:55,150
Well, I think she went.
Into the wilderness, you know,

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00:46:55,150 –> 00:46:59,190
she didn’t go around saying,
look at me, God has taken away

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00:46:59,190 –> 00:47:03,590
my reproach.
She didn’t want to share that

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00:47:04,030 –> 00:47:05,910
news with the world.
She just wanted to share it with

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00:47:05,910 –> 00:47:08,870
God.
And so she went away.

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00:47:08,870 –> 00:47:13,870
Brothers and sisters, I think
into the wilderness like mother,

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00:47:15,390 –> 00:47:19,910
like son, to allow the voice of
God to to speak.

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00:47:21,040 –> 00:47:23,520
To her heart you can just
imagine, can’t you?

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00:47:23,520 –> 00:47:27,960
That is that that child formed
in her room in the wilderness.

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00:47:27,960 –> 00:47:33,680
Prepare ye the way of Yahweh and
make straight in the desert a

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00:47:33,680 –> 00:47:36,760
highway for our God.
She goes away into the

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00:47:36,760 –> 00:47:41,080
wilderness to hear the voice.
And tonight, our next study,

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that’s exactly where we’re going
to meet her son.

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Her son will be in the
wilderness.

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00:47:46,920 –> 00:47:50,240
And we’ll look at one of the
most thrilling studies.

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00:47:50,660 –> 00:47:55,940
You can do in the scriptures the
day of John’s showing unto

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00:47:55,940 –> 00:47:56,260
Israel.