#225 Light of the World Series# 2

#225 Light Of The World Series# 2
By: Pastor Karl Thomas

Luke 1
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,[a] of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
Zechariah – God has remembered. Elizabeth – God has promised.
John – God has graciously given. Put these all together:
God has remembered His promise and graciously given.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
They had two give two weeks of service each year … Incense — Only get to do it once in a life time, many priests never get this opportunity
Zechariah is specifically chosen at this time … God sets you up for stuff.
 

10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
 

Mark 4:24
“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.
Jeremiah 1:12
“Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am [actively] watching over My word to fulfill it.”
Romans 10:17
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Romans
Faith Works:
Romans 10:8-10
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart … For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Mark 11:23
“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”
World is voice activated!
 

3 Hindrances To Hearing

1. DOUBT

James 1:6-7 “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;”

2. FEAR

Mark 5:35-36 “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”

3. UNBELIEF

Hebrews 3:16, 19, 4:2 “For who, having heard, rebelled? … So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief … but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”
Joshua 6:10
“Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, ‘You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.’”
Be quiet! I don’t want anyone to mess this up!
 

Proverbs 18:21 (AMP)
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].”
 

Luke 1:21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.   
He had time to think on this before he went home … waiting in silence … well Elizabeth its like this!
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, (They did the wild thing!) and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
 

Luke 1:34, 37-38
“Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ …  ‘For with God nothing (NO RHEMA) will be impossible.’ Then Mary said, ‘Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be (AMEN) to me according to your word.’”
 

John’s Birth
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.
 

Zechariah’s Prophecy
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,   for he has visited and redeemed his people
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us  in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear,
75  in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;  for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
 

John 8:12
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”
All the darkness in the world cannot put out one candle flame.
 

Jesus is the light. It is Jesus or darkness.
The world was made for HIS light.
Everyone in the world needs His light
The whole world will be filled with HIS light.
 

John 12:36 “While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
 

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
 

COME TO THE LIGHT!

225 Light of the World Series# 2, PowerPoint Slides

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