At Last, God Answered the Cry

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inspires you to honor God and make disciples in your community.

This week, we'll be looking at a song that was

written by most probably you know this guy, Zechariah. All right, Zechariah,

as you would remember, this is more of a rica

for all of us that he is a priest, an

old priest who have been.

Faithfully serving God.

In fact, if you read Zechariah, he's really an ordinary,

an ordinary guy who have been serving God through the years.

But what makes him different in a sad way is

that even if he has been serving God through the years.

To Mandana Shanghaka Goda, imagine that maybe for some of

us who were thinking that Lord, I've been faithful through

the years, but the twenty eighteen, but the blessing that

I've been crying out for, maybe it's not a child,

maybe it's something else.

Lord doesn't the Lord, will you bless me. Will you

be with me? Lord, I've been faithful.

And then all of a sudden, as we all know,

the Angel Gabriel appeared, the same angel that appeared to Mary,

and told Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth, who as we know,

is a relative of Mary, said Zachariah, Elizabeth, you will

have a son. Remember that it's in the Old Testament,

similar to Abraham and his wife Sarah when he had

the son, even though in their old age. And that's

the start of my confidant, guess what I'm about to do,

something new, and you, Zachariah and Elizabeth will have a son.

He's gonna be it's going to be John the Baptist,

the last prophet before the the great Prophet comes Jesus,

and he's.

Going to prepare the way of the Lord. You're gonna

have a son.

And we all know how Zechariah responded, right he men, Lord, Amen.

You know that's not how he responded. He responded with doubts.

He was doubtful. Look and what was the consequence of

his doubt. He was silenced for probably nine months. Imagine

my own since Zakariah for nine months.

Can't help but thinking married Chila n.

Then after that, when the son was born, John, when

he held it, held him to his arms. In his arms,

he was able to speak once again, and he was

able to write this beautiful song most probably known as

Benedictus in his original language and its Greek. It's just

one long Greek song. But now we're going to read it,

and you're going to see something amazing.

It's so packed.

That's read from Luke one, verses sixty seven to sixty eight.

It says, here and his father Zachariah was filled with

the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord

God of Israel.

For he has visited and redeemed his people well.

His verse the very first word blessed in Latin natum Benedictus,

the very first thing that that Zechariah rather did.

When he was able to speak, when he was able

to write.

After see his son, John was declared that God is blessed,

Blessed be the Lord God.

He was worshiping God.

He was worshiping God with what he has experience in

his life. You know, what, come to think of it,

what can we offer God? Can we offer him our riches?

He's richer than us. He owns everything. Can we offer

him our achievements? He doesn't need it, He has achieved

infinitely more than us. Can we offer him our success?

He's more successful than us. Can we offer him our

good works? And as we know, our good works are

like filthy ragsibah? So what can we offer God he

doesn't already have. But here's something amazing. We can't bless God.

We can bless him in the sense that Lord, I

thank you.

We can thank God.

Imagine that we get to give something to God, and

that's us blessing him, thanking him, acknowledging what he has done.

And that's what Zechariah did. The very first line is

saying God, thank you, Blessed be the Lord God.

And then afterwards it's being followed by two small words

that most probably did not Inita for he preposition prepositions,

did not in not appreciate it.

But when I was studying this, I was amazed.

These two words can also be translated because blessed be

the Lord God of Israel, because Lord, I worship you.

Because you know what the sad part is, especially with worship.

You know when we come here every Sundays, you get

the sing songs. That's just one aspect of worship. Everything

is worship, from giving to serving and aill. But sometimes

the weakly grind of worship strips us of the essence

of worship. Isn't it true that we we we can

experience or we can have a more meaningful worship and

we not only know the person, but we know what

he does and what he did to us.

Mis Gig religion, Alan worship, worship, worship.

Every Sunday. But for Zaca Riot it's different. Blessed be

the Lord God, because.

There's a meaning behind it.

You know what the sad part in our society right now,

especially for the younger generation, is that God is separated.

God is just a concept, a subject, especially ku among

religious schools Tiba religion, math science, see God, Pank religion,

James God. Well that's just a math. Well that's just

a science. God is just in a day Sunday one and.

A half hour. Well that's just a school. Go well,

that's just a business. Go well, that's just a family.

Got family or church.

And has a sad part. God is not just a concept.

God is not just isolated in a subject. The same

God who is here in religion is the same God

of math and science. The same God who was present.

To our gent, to our.

Grandfather's mothers, fathers, is the same God is present today.

And God is not just an idea or a concept.

It's different from knowing someone to experiencing someone. And that's

what Zacharai experienced. Imagine know God for the longest time.

He's a priest, he's.

Been serving God to man, but it all changed when

he experienced God, because it's all knowledge until he experienced God.

And my prayer is for this generation, for all of

us here, that we don't just know God here it's important,

of course, but we experience Him in our lives, that

he's not just a concept. He's not just an idea.

He's not just a subject. He's not isolated to one nation,

he's not isolated to one generation. But God is a

God who is active. God is a God who acts.

He's on the move, He's doing something. In the Potamadzi Lord.

In fact, in the next couple of verses, you would

see eight verbs action words in almost every verse.

What does it show? What does it communicate?

That God is on the move, that God is a

God who acts, what's the two the first two verses

of the first two verbs, rather that God used for

this Oneito blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for

he has visited.

And redeem these people.

The first two verbs or action words that we could

see are the verbs visited and redeem.

Now Bacina be going visit or visited? Isn't it true?

The first thing that comes to our mind our visitors?

What long you hear? You love having visitors in your house?

Right and maybe for some.

Of you you find joy that maybe you know because

you get to talk to someone. And especially in this Christmas,

do you have relatives who are staying with you?

Tva, you host them.

Christmas and it's a joy for us. They will come,

they will stay here for a while, and then they

will eventually leave.

May besitazabay because we're very hospitable people. Sububan dessert.

First, you know, one day, one week, month, but imagine

having a guest for one year. Now he'll pick kind

and the reaction at what happened to sert we don't

want that because we know a visitor is someone who comes,

stays here for a while and then leaves. And the

problem with that When we read that verse, maybe we're

thinking God comes here, stays here for a while, and

he'll leave.

But that's not what the verse actually really means.

If you unpack it, the more appropriate meaning is that

visited means someone who is looking after because he's concerned

with oneself. Or a more appropriate description is having gathered

and made ready the things necessary for a journey. See

the sayyadito, not try your bown family. Not out of

town or out of the country right, So out of town,

out of countryhang full production. I mean the GISTI and

all and with my wife and I when we go

out from time to time for out of town.

Or go home to our home in Mariquina and her family.

I am the one who usually packs first, So same bag,

So put all my things, I will put my wife's clothes.

I would put uh the things needed me Jedi. I

would put Jedda in the bag. And then afterwards, I

would say, you know what my wife, because she's a

responsible wife, would do. She would revisit the things I

would pack. You would visit the things that your husband

packed and really anti mosquito repellent. And then she would

see and she would look at the details of the bag,

and she's concerned about it because it's something personal that

she would use and we would use in our journey

as a family.

You know what's something interesting.

When God visited look at the details of men, looked

at the status of mankind.

You know what he saw. He saw the need for redemption.

He saw the sins the way that's down, He saw

the need of a savior.

You see the big.

Problems that we have right now in the world, Poverty,

lack of education, war, disunity, terrorism, climate change, and all

those things are legitimate problem. But if you look at

its very core, it's sin. Sin destroys our relationship with God.

Sin destroys our relationship with people. Sin destroys our relationship

with God's creation. Sin destroys and separates. And when God

saw that, he saw the need to pay the penalty

for our See, since that's why it says they're redeemed.

The word redemption means God paid the penalty for our

sins through Jesus Christ, so that we could live a

free life, no longer under the slavery of sin, but

under the freedom of the price that Jesus Christ is paid.

So Lord, when he visited, he saw that the need

to be redeemed, and then let's continue the verse. Avidito

Verses sixty eight sixty nine. Less it be the Lord

God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed the

people and has raised up a horn of salvation for

us in the house of his servant.

David.

You phrase now horn of salvation is another way of

saying the Messiah. Now a horn of an ox looks

something like this. The horn that the ox has it

he it uses it to defend oneself against any predators,

and at the same time it uses these horns to attack.

What is God saying here, sa Verso he has raised

up a horn of salvation. God has raised up the Messiah.

We could run to him as our defender. We could

run to him as our warrior.

Who would fight for us.

A new application astin do you need someone to fight

for you? Do you need defending? Before we even tap

our connections, let me encourage you.

God has raised up the Messia. We can run to

him as our defender. We can run to him as

our warrior, and he will fight for us.

And the Bible says, okay, that we are more than

conquerors through him.

If God is for us who.

Could be against us. He has raised up a horn

of salvation. He could be our defender, he could be

our warrior, and we are victorious in him. Look at

the other verses seventeen to seventy two, as he spoke

by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

that we should be saved from our enemies and from

the hand of all who hate us. To show the

mercy promise to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant.

At the very heart of God's redemption was his mercy.

Can you tyrnity diem case?

That is a mercy.

Mercy is God's goodness for those people in distress. When

he looked at the condition of mankind, he saw scram a.

The sin is going to destroy them.

Their sin is going to separate them from a relationship

with Me.

And because of his mercy.

He chose to redeem us. And that's what God's mercy is.

God's mercy is always meant to bring us to repentance.

And Lord wowin goodness for those who are in distress.

That's God's mercy in our lives. And then look at

this action words or verbs almost every.

Verse Maron.

As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets

from of old, that we should be saved from our

enemies and from the hand of all will hate us.

To show the mercy promise to our fathers, and to

remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to

our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered

from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear.

What can we see here? God spoke, God promised, God remembered.

And then God acted. Question my word bussy guid the

binni gay seo. Maybe through your quiet time, through your

victory group prayer and fasting my word dong nigay slor

my promise, bussy God satin. It's a family, natin's business.

It's a school. Let me encourage you with this.

If God said something, if God promised something, he will

remember it and he will fulfill it at his own time,

in his own ways, in accordance to his will. That's

what we can see here. Not only that, what else?

And we notice most of the verses are in the past, tense, redeemed, visited, delivered, spoke.

That's hard.

Zacharai here was saying, Lord, thank you for the redemption

that we already have.

Thank you for delivering us. Thank you for raising up

the horn of salvation. Someone who will fight for us,

someone who will be our defender, Lord Salamata.

You know why that is interesting? Remember because when Zachariah

wrote this down, they were still under the Roman Empire.

The whole nation is still being abused, the whole nation

are still being enslaved.

What does it mean?

Zechariah was making a declaration in a past tense. It's

as if already God did it, But in reality it's not. Lord,

thank you for redeeming us, redeem they're under the Roman Empire.

In fact, mammatizes Zakara magrestoxy Jesus.

Lord, thank you for delivering us.

Deliver in fact, couple of chapters after there's going to

be a census and babies are gonna get killed.

What delivered? And you know what for some of us here?

And let me tell this, even me versus, this is hard.

When we declare things that are not as if they are,

when we declare things that are already done, when in

fact the situation in front of us says otherwise. Lord,

thank you for providing for us, providing Look at you

what's in front of you, Uda Bayaren eighteen papers the paylists. Lord,

thank you for reconciling my family, reconcile you just had

a fight last time.

Lord, thank you for healing me healing And that's that's

why it's hard.

And I think it's hard also for Zachariah. Remember he

doubted the first time the angel showed up.

But what made but what was different?

What made him not just see what's in front of

him but focus on God. It's in the first verse

that we read, and his father Zachariah was filled with

the Holy Spirit and prophesied kuntay Lampo. Would you agree,

it's so natural and easy for us to look at

the problems, It's so natural and easy for us to

look at the reality. But let me tell you this,

when the Holy Spirit comes and fills us up, he

changes our perspective. We don't disregard what's in front of us,

but we take into account what God said He do

the spotlight and the Holy Spirit shifts from the problems to God.

And my prayer is for me and my family and

from all for all of us here this Christmas, Lord,

I pray that we will be filled with the spirit,

so that we may have a change in our perspective,

that we can declare things that are not as if

they are.

That's why we can go to the campus.

If you're a student, Napaka, when you go there, you

see immorality, you see the the rise of unbelief. You

can declare, Lord, thank you, because leaders are coming.

From this campus.

That's why when when there's there's there's a problem in

our family, through the grace of God and by being

filled by the Spirit, we can declare, Lord, thank you

for providing for us. Lord, thank you for healing me. Lord,

thank you for going ahead of me, for fighting for me.

Again. It's hard. That's why we need to ask God

fill me with the spirit. Lord. I need it. I

need that it's going to be a change in my perspective.

But got the next couple of verses seventy four to

seventy five. It says here that we, being delivered from

the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear,

in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. The

result of mercy and redemption is not a license for

us to sin, but rather to serve Him without fear

and live a holy and righteous life, Na's.

Tiny God lip a macasala.

But to use our life for His glory and to

use our lives in holiness and redemption.

Let me encourage for some of us here.

Maybe for some of us here, we're just afraid of

being a part of what God is doing. A joomunagmaging

under discipleship, and for whatever reasons, mahmasiras is go besita.

Let me encourage you in view of His mercy and redemption,

Serve Him without fear.

Serve Him without fear. For some of us here, Christmasah,

there's a sin, there's an issue. Let me encourage you.

Maybe this season is a time that we align ourselves

to God and say, Lord, enough of this. I want

to live a holy and righteous life. Serve Him without fear.

Let me read the last couple of verses.

He says in verses seventy six to seventy nine, And

you child, for the longest time, the majority of the verses,

we're all focused on God. Now it shifts to his son,

and even this he needed, it's still about God. It's

still it's about the next generation and how they can

be a part of what God is doing. And you

child will be called the prophet of the Most High.

You will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people and the

forgiveness of their sins because of the tender mercy of

our God. Whereby the sunrise shall visit us from one

high to give light to those who sit in darkness,

in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into

the way of peace. That's John the Baptist's rule. He

is the last prophet. He will prepare the way of

the Lord. He will preach the message. And that message

is the same message that you and I are still

preaching today.

What's the message about.

Forgiveness of sins, the tender mercy of God, the light

coming through, breaking in the breaking through the darkness, the

light guiding us, the light giving us peace. Same message,

and that's what we have right now. That's what we

are being reminded.

Of every Christmas.

The message that was declared, forgiveness of sins, the mercies

of God, the light that guides the peace that we have.

But while I was studying.

These verses, I came to see two words that just

made me sad.

It's the words sit in. Look at the verse.

The sunrise by the way, your sunrise is another symbol

for the coming of the Messiah. The sunrise shall visit

us from one high to give light to those who

sit in darkness. The words sit in can still be

if you study in its original language. Can also be

translated as Duell's tagalog to mambai, not settel.

And here's the sad part.

God came with the forgiveness of our sins in his

tender mercy, guiding us light breaking through. But there are

people who chose to sit in darkness, dwell in darkness to.

Mumbaness the darkness.

In the Bible, if you study the word light, it

usually means God's presence, God's goodness, God's holiness, God's truth.

And of course, oppositely or on the other hand, darkness

is ungodliness, immorality.

Falsehood, evil.

Look at here, the light shines through the darkness. But

there are people who sit in darkness. Who says, Lord,

worship along you give up.

Bagle.

When God is saying I'm going to break through your life,

in your family and your company, in your campus, there.

May be some of us here who choose who chooses

to sit in renato damanna, that's sad.

The effect of that, if you choose to stay in darkness,

will produce death.

It may not be physical death, but definitely it will

be spiritual death.

It's going to be a death of God's destiny for us,

our purpose, and for some of us here. Maybe you're

here and there isn't any peace here matula problem. And yes,

maybe you need the rest, Yes, maybe you need a

medication or two appropriately, But let me propose to you,

maybe you also need.

The light of the Gospel of God to shine in

our hearts. Look at the verse.

He gives light to guide our feet in the way

of peace.

Light shining through that's God's will. God wants us not

to settle in darkness. God wants us not to.

Stay here and will and say, Lord, Tamanato masayana, when

the light has already shone through our darkness, giving us

a path to peace, forgiving our sea since through his

tender mercy, let me end with this declaration. I want

to say, this redemption is here. God's light has already shown.

God is breaking through the darkness of our hearts. God's

extending his hand of tender mercy to us. You see

the song of Zachariah is about God's tender mercy and

how it has brought us to redemption, freeing us from

since giving light.

To our dark hearts. Redemption is here.

God broke through, Light has come, Hope has erupted. God's

calling has come. Step into the light.

Don't sit in, don't dwell Welcome to Mumbai. Step in.

As I end, this good news doesn't stop with us.

Here's a good news this Christmas. You and I can

become a John to someone else.

You and I that next reunion, that next Christmas party

that you would host for your company. You and I

can become a John and prepare the way of the

Lord for someone else.

To guide them to the light that leads to peace.

My prayer is the hatio detO.

We will utilize this time to be a John to

some else as well. The same way that we have

experienced the light that comes from God is the same

way that we will declare His light to those people

still sitting.

In dwelling in darkness. Spelled our heads and let's spray Lord,

thank you for today. Lord.

I pray right now that you would open our hearts.

There may be for some of us here who lives

in thick darkness. I just feel like, right now, some

of us we have you know, we have done something

a sin.

And let me propose to you. Wouldn't you want now,

not in Delia next year? Would you agree?

Let's settle it now, Let's leave it at twenty seventeen

so we can enter twenty eighteen with a new light.

That's what I want to pray for. Let's all about

our heads and spray. Lord, I pray for that. For

some of us here, maybe God is convicting you of

sin you've done against him, primarily but also to someone else.

Can we deal to Can we deal that sin to God? First?

Say Lord, I'm sorry for this sin. Lord, I'm sorry

for name that sin. To God. Lord, I'm sorry for

this sin. Lord.

I'm sorry for sitting in darkness, for dwelling in darkness.

I believe right now, for some of us here, God

is saying to you, my daughter, my son, you have

dwelt in darkness for the longest time. I am shining

my light upon you. Masakret means, and that's big long

lily blinding us. And maybe because of that you are

afraid to step forward further. And we've got is saying no, no,

just stay leaves and you will see that it's much

better here. Peace is here, forgiveness of sins is here,

and ending love is available.

Lord. I pray Door, we give up our sins. Lord.

I know we're not perfect in our own will never be,

but you are perfect. God. Help us serve you without fear,

walk in holiness and righteousness.

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