* When God goes silent, be quiet and listen - when He speaks again, it will be good!
* Before John was born his dad was mute.
* His inability to talk was a visible sign that he had seen a vision.
* PAUSE - up to this point God had been silent for over 400 years.
* No prophets and no prophecy from anyone.
* The last prophecy came from Malachi and it predicted someone coming who would clear the way for the Messiah.
* Everyone was waiting for a word from God.
* Now, everyone was waiting for a word from Zechariah!
* When he named the boy John, his tongue was loosed, and so was God’s!
* Vs 67-80 - the first words out of his mouth were a prophecy!!!!!
* Is there any wonder why God raised John the Baptist in the wilderness?
* Everyone was probably watching him to see how he turned out, so God had to get him away from the crowds.
* And when John entered the scene, the world hasn’t been the same since!
Luke 1:67-80 (4/2/20)
Silence
April 2, 2020 • Benham Brothers
Luke 1:18 (3/23/17)
March 23, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* Faith is a matter of focus. * If we keep our focus on God we gravitate toward faith. * If we keep our focus on man we gravitate toward fear & doubt. * Zechariah fell for the same thing Moses fell for - when God’s word came he focused on himself and not the God Who was giving the message. * His punishment? * He lost the ability to do what he was created to do. * He was a priest and had to communicate as a part of his job - but now that was gone. * Other people could no longer be nourished by Zech, the priest. * God wants to be a nourishment for others through us, but it requires our faith in God for that to happen. * We have to keep our eyes on Him and not on ourselves.
Luke 1:24-25 (3/22/18)
March 22, 2018 • Benham Brothers
Luke 1:24-25 - Motive * How do you know if you’ve done something with the right motive? * By how you respond when the thing either comes to pass or doesn’t. * If it doesn’t, do you say, “not my will but Yours be done?” * This means you had the right motive. * If it does come to pass, do you have a meek and humble response (like Peter & Elizabeth)? * Notice Elizabeth got alone and simply wanted to thank God for blessing her. * She didn’t go out and announce to everyone. * A pure motive is always humble before the Lord and grateful for His role in your life.