Are You Prepared For A Miracle?

Good Morning Friends,

David killing Goliath was a miracle to some and to others just the way of God… the way of a shepherd. The Bible is filled with these kinds of surprising events. How we view them depends on what we are expecting. And what we know, or we think we know matters in a big way. How people viewed John the Baptist is the case in point today. Many still honor the presumed day of his birth which I think is appropriate for a major example of a birthday celebration in the Bible was that of King Herod who had John’s head chopped off to complete a promise made at the celebration. And I know of no one who celebrates Herod’s birthday now. When the time had fully come, a message would be brought into the world through this servant of God. In holy history this is kind of important. Interestingly, Zechariah, his father, had been silent for almost nine months before John’s birth. Zechariah writes the name of John on a tablet at Elizabeth’s request breaking with the tradition that John would be named after his father. It is then that Zachariah regains his speech and his first words are a song of praise. Humility often brings the right words. Everyone recognized that John was going to be an exceptional child. Zechariah, I think, understood that his son will be the forerunner to the Messiah. And so John was raised with a purpose and intent. People believed his birth was a supernatural event of sorts similar in some ways to the birth of Jesus. How we view it though depends on what we are expecting from God. Are You Prepared For A Miracle?

Scripture: Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.

Jeremiah 1:4-10 (NRSV)

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.

 Luke 1:57-66 (NRSV)

In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years. Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Luke 1:5-17 (NRSV)

When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’ Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised; before his coming John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his work, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of the sandals on his feet.” “My brothers, you descendants of Abraham’s family, and others who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.

Acts 13:22-26 (NRSV)

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.

Luke 1:57-66, 80 (NRSV)

See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

Malachi 3:1-4 (NRSV)

Message: One of the most interesting prophecies concerning John the Baptist is Malachi 3:1. In it we see that God is going to send a messenger, who will act justly, love mercy and walk humbly, preparing the way of the Lord. The text talks about two messengers. The first is John the Baptist but the second is Jesus, the messenger of the covenant. So, the focus here is not on Jesus’ first coming alone but his second as well. Each of the Gospels quote Malachi and they all say the same thing about John the Baptist. God had a plan and it was going to be played out when the time was right. The birth of John the Baptist sets the stage for this monumental set of events and in today’s text we see that it is getting some buzz. The neighbors of Elizabeth and Zachariah were all filled with awe as the story began to unfold, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about what such a birth would mean. They saw it as a miracle of hope. Before they thought that Elizabeth and Zachariah were a cursed childless couple who were unable to conceive and were being punished. But now they had become part of the hope that had been prophesied. Everyone who heard about it wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” As John developed some thought him the Messiah or Elijah. His father Zechariah even prophesied that John would be part of the redemption of the house of David. John knew that he had a very special task to perform for God. He was to prepare the way for the Messiah. He knew that the Messiah was somewhere close at hand. Later Jesus would pay John the greatest compliment that He ever gave to any man.

And So,we too can do great things if we expect a miracle. But we have to take risks if we want to walk on water. It might even get uncomfortable. Let me give you an illustration of the problem. There is a parable told of a community of ducks waddling off to duck church one Sunday to hear their duck preacher. After they waddled into the duck sanctuary, the service began and the duck preacher spoke eloquently of how God had given the ducks wings with which to fly. He pounded the pulpit with his beak and said, With these wings, there is nowhere we ducks cannot go! There is no God-given task we ducks cannot accomplish! With these wings we no longer need to walk through life. We can soar high in the sky! Shouts of Amen!¨ were quacked throughout the duck congregation. The duck preacher concluded his message by exclaiming, With our wings we can fly through life! WE……CAN…..FLY!!!!¨ More ducks quacked out loud AMENS! in response. Every duck loved the service. In fact, all the ducks that were present commented on what a wonderfully convicting message they had heard from their duck preacher….and then they left the church and waddled all the way home. Friends, walking on water is no big deal for a duck and flying isn’t either. They were made for that. And we were made for more. But for us the decision to grow into our potential always involves a choice between risk and comfort. This means that to be a follower of Jesus, we must renounce comfort as the ultimate value of our lives. If we want to soar with Jesus we need to not only expect a miracle but act on it. John the Baptist did and we can too.

Pray we realize that our desires and needs are met ultimately through Jesus. Pray we realize that God hears our prayer and fulfills our deepest needs in the way and time that makes the biggest impact. Pray we gain a voice and have the right words to share. Pray we praise the Lord. Pray we prepare for Christ’s return. Pray we receive the grace to repent and become holy. Pray God helps us to be obedient and used by God to glorify the divine will. Pray God reveals to us a destiny, dignity, discipline and dominion that impacts others to believe. Pray we love. Pray we join God in the work of preparing people’s hearts to walk with God. Pray that like King David we give joy to others, respect and honor God, solve problems, fight for justice, minister to others, lead the way for others. Pray we realize that John the Baptist was even greater than David because of not only what he did but what he did not do. Pray we realize that those in the Sunshine cast a shadow. Pray we expect a miracle of a light that shines from within. Pray we like John follow in the way of King Jesus. Pray we expect a miracle and act. Pray we are given the right words to share.

Blessings,

John Lawson