Sermon on Minneapolis 26.06.2011

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We will begin our services this morning with opening prayer and thanksgiving.

Holy and righteous God, our Heavenly Father, this morning again we wish to bow the knees of our hearts before you in praise and thanksgiving, thanking you for the many temporal blessings which we have been able to abundantly enjoy in this life, to be able to enjoy this beautiful weather at the time of midsummer and the time of summer vacation and many services. But above all, we wish to thank you that we have been able to bow our heads before you and yet again we wish to thank you that today we can be a child of God through the merits of your Son, Jesus Christ, and through faith a member of your grace house, your kingdom here upon this earth.

So we ask for your blessings and presence today again through your Holy Spirit. Bless our gathering, feed our hungry undying souls and lead us and comfort us on this narrow way of life. And bring us one day to that eternal home in heaven. One day. All of this we ask in the name of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Amen. Friday was St. John's Day, so thinking of that holiday, I will read the Gospel text for St. John's holiday for this year from Luke chapter 1, verses 57 through 66. And the words are heard as follows in Jesus' name.

Now Elizabeth's full time came that she should be delivered and she brought forth a son. And her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her and they rejoiced with her. And it came to pass that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child and they called him Zacharias after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so, but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his father how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing table and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marveled all. And his, or Zacharias', mouth was opened immediately and his tongue loosened and he spoke and he praised God. And fear came on all that dwelt round about them and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all they that heard him laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child this be in the hand of the Lord was with them. Amen.

First of all, I wish to bring belated greetings from Ecuador, where I was at the time, and I would like to thank my family, the people of Ecuador, and the public for their service at the beginning of the month with Brother Ron Honga from Menaga.

Here is part of the long story that is related of John the Baptist in the first chapter of Luke. And as we can see there is in this dialogue, in this story, discussion about the name that would be given to this newborn child.

All of us have been given a name by our parents at childbirth. And whether we realize it or not, we are not aware of it. Whether we realize it or not, these names most often have deeper meaning or another meaning. Often the meaning which we may not know or recognize or remember.

For example, the name Mark means mighty warrior. The name Michelle, for example, means one who is like unto the Lord. The name that was eventually given to this newborn child, John, means a gift of God or God is gracious unto me.

Sometimes names in the Old Testament or in the Bible just basically mean some physical characteristic of that child. Remember the uncle of Abraham, Laban, who lived there in Haran. And his name was Laban, which means white or blonde. Excuse me. He was Jacob who went to visit his uncle Laban and spent 21 years with that uncle.

Esau, the twin brother of Jacob, his name means a person who has red hair. We remember the prophet Samuel from the Old Testament. And they were a childless couple and aged in years. And the name Samuel means one who is asked for. So they were asking for a child. And somehow the name Samuel is referring to that event in their life.

Today, when a child is born into the family, we may not give much thought or deeper consideration to the significance of the name. Perhaps the name sounds interesting. And it may be a very popular name. Or maybe it's just a name. Or maybe a friend or a relative has used that name.

But in the Old Testament time and in the New Testament time, the names were very, very important. Your name told the other people who you were. Or other times, the name told what God was or what God is like. As we heard already, the name Michelle means one who is like the Lord.

Or the name during the Bible times may signify what that person is expected to be like and how he or she is expected to live.

In the Scandinavian countries, there are name days given. And so if we look at the Finnish calendar, for example, for June 24th, last Friday, it is the name day for John. And in Finland, the baby's name isn't announced until the day of baptism. Only the parents know the name of that child. And at the baptism, everyone with anxiousness is waiting for the pastor to announce the name given to this child by the parents.

So was the practice in the Old Testament time that the name wasn't given. It was given always at the moment of birth. It was often given at the time of circumcision, as we will see here. Or often, perhaps, sometime or even some years later.

In the Bible, we can see that sometimes an individual will have their name changed. The father of faith, Abraham. If we read in the chapters preceding Genesis chapter 12, we can see that his earlier name was Abram, which means the father of high places. But after God called him from Haran to the promised land to be the father of that great nation, his name was changed from Abram to Abraham.

And Abraham means a father of a multitude. So God told Abraham, more than the stars are in the sky and the number of grains of sand on the seashore will be the number of your descendants. So he was the father of a great multitude.

And the third patriarch, his name as a child was Jacob. But we remember that after that wrestling match on the banks of that river Jabbok, when he was going to meet his twin brother Esau after 21 years, he wrestled all night long with the angel. And as the sun was rising in the morning, Jacob's hip was pulled out of socket. And he was crippled.

So he latched on to the angel who was departing and he said, Don't leave. Don't leave me until you bless me. So the angel blessed Jacob and then said to Jacob, Your name is no longer Jacob. But from henceforth on, your name is Israel. And that's where we get the country name Israel today.

So here in this story, in the text of ours, it tells of a priest whose name is Zechariah. And he is married to a woman whose name is Elizabeth. And they are both from a priestly lineage from the line of Aaron, the brother of Moses. And they were an elderly couple. She was well past her childbearing years. And their hope and prayer during their life had been that they would be able to have a child.

So Zechariah was working in the temple area doing his priestly duties. And there was no small number of priests working in the temple. There was actually 18,000 priests working in the temple. No small number. There were 24 groups. And in each one of these 24 groups, there were four to nine families.

And each morning and each evening in the temple area, there was the offering of a sacrifice. And before the morning sacrifice was offered, there was incense that was burned. And after the evening animal sacrifice was offered, again incense was burned.

And a priest was chosen to burn this incense in the temple area, in the area called the Holy. And since there were so many priests, 18,000 of them, a priest only had one turn in his life and he was chosen to burn this incense. And not all priests ever even received this moment or this opportunity.

And now here was Zacharias, an elderly priest. And never before had he received this opportunity to burn the incense there alone in the temple area. But today was his day. Lots were drawn. And the lot fell on Zacharias, the priest.

So people were, during this ritual, gathered outside of the holy area in the temple. And the time of offering incense was a time of prayer. We know when incense is burned, it gives off smoke. And the smoke then rises up toward the heavens. And the rising of the smoke is illustrating the prayers of a person that rise up toward God in heaven.

So Zacharias closes the door. He goes into the temple. And he goes into the holy area of the temple area. And he is alone in that room. No one else. And I'm sure with some anxiety and some trepidation, he is then ready to burn that incense.

He tosses some sort of dust or material on top of the coals that are burning on the inside. This is the incense altar, which turned to smoke and then rose up toward the heavens. And at the same time, Zacharias is offering a prayer.

And it's interesting that the name Zacharias means that God will remember. And of course, for the reason that God will remember, it's a question of faith. He is praying on behalf of the people of Israel that God will remember the people of Israel who were then under the bondage of the Roman Empire.

And it was the prayer of the people of Israel that they would be released from under the yoke of the Roman Empire one day. But I'm sure the priest Zechariah also had a personal prayer that God will remember Zechariah and Elizabeth who were a childless couple.

We remember that both Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were both from the priestly line, from the line of the Lord. They were both from the line of Aaron. So it was seen that their family would receive a double blessing.

But now it looked like their family was receiving a double curse. For a family, a couple, it was a curse if they didn't have a child, if God never gave them a child. And secondly, it was the hope and expectation of every mother while the people were waiting for the coming of the promised Messiah that the mother in question would be able to be the mother of that Messiah which was coming one day.

And so the priest Zechariah is standing alone in the area called the holy of the temple area and offering this incense, burning this incense and offering a prayer on behalf of the people and on behalf of himself that day.

And suddenly he realizes that he isn't alone. There is someone else in the room with him. And lo and behold, there appeared an angel. An angel who was named Gabriel, one of the archangels that are mentioned in the Bible.

And according to scriptures, the last time this angel appeared was 600 years earlier. And that angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel there in captivity in Babylon. And the message of the archangel Gabriel to Daniel was about the coming Messiah, God's only son, Jesus Christ, who would come one day.

And so here it says in the earlier part of Luke chapter 1, and the whole multitude of people were praying outside at this time of incense. And now Zechariah was inside of the area called holy. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing there at the right side of the altar of incense.

And when Zechariah saw the angel, he was troubled and fear came upon this priest. But the angel said unto Zechariah, Fear not Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. And your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son and you shall call his name John.

And you shall have great joy and gladness and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink and so on and so forth. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

And then jumping forward a few verses. And Zechariah said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? How will I know this? Prove it to me.

So John was, I'm sure doubting in a way, but at the same time he was looking for a physical, a concrete sign that this is actually true. What the messenger of the Lord, the angel is saying to him.

He says, For I am an old man and my wife is well stricken in years. She's well beyond childbearing years. Menopause has long since passed. And biologically and physically, it is impossible for Elizabeth to have a child.

So Gabriel, the angel, gives Zechariah the priest a sign. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel who is standing in the presence of God and I am sent to speak unto you and to show you these glad tidings.

And this will be the sign. And behold, you shall be dumb. He lost his speech. He became mute for the next nine months of his life. And you will not be able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed or happen because you did not believe my words or you doubted what I said to you, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

So the people were waiting with anxiety, waiting with fear, waiting with fear, waiting with fear, trying, waiting with fear and left sadly to wait.

And the same they had that morning. And we also knew this at that time because we spoke at that time their bodies will be given to money which they have.

He's mute. He has lost his speech. What kind of priest or pastor is it who is not able to speak? That is their main tool that they use. That is how they perform their duties. They speak always to the congregation.

And so our text then jumps forward in time nine months. And now the baby is born. And the people, I'm sure, are amazed. How was it possible that such an elderly couple, now Elizabeth became pregnant and the baby is born, and this is a miracle, a miracle in our eyes, but something which was not a miracle for God. For he is all-powerful. He is almighty. He is omnipotent.

But anyways, now comes the day of circumcision, which is equivalent to our present-day baptism. And just like they do in Finland, they did in the Old Testament time and the morning of the New Testament time, at the rite of circumcision, the name was given to the child.

And this is what our text, this is where our text now begins.

And now Elizabeth's full time came, the time for her to give birth, that she should be delivered, and she brought forth a son. And her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her, and they were all happy for her.

And it came to pass that on the eighth day, circumcision always took place on the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and the people all expected that the child's name would be, naturally, Zechariah, after the name of the father. This was a typical practice.

If the name of the child wasn't after the father's name, it was after the grandfather, or at least someone in the relationship. And they all expected that when this child grows up, he also will be a priest like his father. It just goes without saying. It's just as natural as the sun rises in the morning.

So, and they, the people, expected this young child to be called Zechariah, after the name of his father.

Then his mother answered to the people and said, No, the child's name will be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of your family that is called by this name.

They, I'm sure, were astonished, bewildered, and just completely wondering. And this is actually, they thought perhaps a dishonor to the family, for you have no relative in your relationship that has had that name.

Why, in the world, would you choose John to be the baby's name? And they made signs to the father. We remember the father, the priest Zechariah, was still dumb. He couldn't speak.

And so they're motioning Zechariah to come and see what his opinion is on this very sensitive and important subject and topic. And they asked that, what would he call the child? What would his name be?

And so he asked for a writing table, probably some sort of wax-covered tablet. And he wrote saying, His name is John. There was no question, no quibbling. There was no longer any doubt in anyone's mind.

And everyone might have a doubt. Everyone marveled. And at that moment, then, Zechariah's mouth opened immediately and his tongue was loosened. And he began to speak. And he praised God.

And fear came upon all that dwelt around them. And all these things were spread abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts saying, What manner of child this shall be. And the hand of the Lord was with them.

So as we heard earlier from the words of Zechariah, Gabriel, when he appeared to Zechariah there in the temple area, he said, And many of the children of Israel shall be turned to their Lord, and he shall go before him in the spirit and the power of prophet Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, and make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

So these are some of the reasons why Gabriel stated and said, for the name given to him. And we can see that there is a direct correlation and comparison between John, John the Baptist, and the prophet Elijah from the Old Testament.

We remember prophet Elijah stood up before the king, the evil king Ahab, during his day. And so likewise, John the Baptist, without fear, would one day stand before the evil king, King Herod, who eventually had his head placed on a platter, beheaded John the Baptist.

And during the time of prophet Elijah, prophet Elijah, because of his preaching and his powerful acts and mighty deeds, he turned many of the hearts of the people from worshiping the false gods and idols of Baal onto true faith, to worship the true and living God.

And so likewise, when John the Baptist became an adult and began his public service and ministry, his opening statement was, Repent, for the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God is at hand.

So John the Baptist is considered and called the last prophet of the Old Testament time. The previous prophet was 400 years earlier during the time of prophet Malachi.

And after the preaching of prophet Malachi, God became silent. There was no new prophecy for 400 years.

And if we could read real quickly some of the last prophecy just before this 400 years of silence, if we can get past this Apocrypha book and find Malachi. Here it says, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, referring to John the Baptist, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

And so we remember when John the Baptist grew up, he was there baptizing people on the River Jordan. And the Bible says of John the Baptist that there is no greater prophet here on earth than John the Baptist.

But when Jesus approached and asked to be baptized, at first John the Baptist refused, feeling his inferiority to baptize the Messiah. But Jesus insisted and baptized.

And he lifted his finger and he said, Behold, here is the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sin of the world. And he figured that he is not even worthy to latch and unlatch the sandals on the feet of the prophet or the promised Messiah, Christ Jesus.

So here is John the Baptist being circumcised and receiving his name according to the announcement of the archangel Gabriel.

Now when Zechariah, the prophet, receives his speech back, he begins to sing a song of praise and thanksgiving. And from this point on to the end of the chapter is actually the speech of the prophet or of the priest Zechariah.

And at the end of this sermon, I will touch on a few points in this speech or this praise of the prophet. And I will also touch on the praise of the priest Zechariah.

In the first part of the speech, it is praise unto God the Heavenly Father for many of his good works and mighty deeds. And at the end of the speech then, are many points of prophecy that are to come.

So, Zechariah the priest begins to sing a praise. And he says, I praise thee, O Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people.

But then he goes on to say that he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.

So this picture or this analogy of a horn is being used for the coming Messiah who was yet to be born. And we know that an oxen has horns, a bull has horns, and rams have horns.

And a horn is typically a symbol of power and strength and is often an ornament of beauty, as well.

Some of the men here today are hunters. And during the fall season, we go hunting for white-tailed deer. Some may go hunting elk out in Colorado or the western states.

And even though these animals don't have horns, they have antlers because they shed them annually, we know how a bull or a bull elk or a bull deer, or a buck, a deer with antlers is proud of that set of antlers on their head.

They can almost feel that ornament of beauty upon their head. But thinking of a horn, we know how it symbolizes power and strength and how a bull or a ram or an oxen can use those horns for attacking and for its defense.

So you wouldn't want to jump into a pen where there's an angry bull.

I heard a story years ago of an old preacher brother. His name was Jan Nevenska. And he was very, what would I say, he was very, very peculiar in his ways and very particular in how he dressed.

And he was so particular he even ironed his shoelaces. He didn't want that even one wrinkle would be in any of his clothes or not even in his shoelaces.

So he was at services one time and it was, as was typical years ago before they had the RYs in Finland, often bigger services were held in public schoolhouses on the weekend.

And so there were all day services at the public schoolhouse. And it was lunch break or afternoon break. And so he wanted to go take a little break and be alone and have a little nap.

And so he walked across the schoolyard and jumped over the fence and was going to lay down and take a little nap underneath the shade of the tree quietly there by himself.

And he jumped over the fence. And before people realized it, he was gone. And then they thought to themselves that they better go warn him because there's an angry bull there beyond the fence.

And sure enough, as they're approaching the fence, they saw Jan Lewanska running at full speed with the bull with his horns down chasing right behind him.

And luckily he was able to clear the fence and not get speared by the horns of this angry bull. So that's what happened.

And so we can see that the horns of these animals are used for defense and also for attacking and for vengeance.

So here in this little song or this praise of the priest Zechariah, when he's using this illustration of the horn of salvation, he is saying, he is as if picturing an army that is about to be taken captive.

And at the last minute, we can imagine that help arrives and the enemy is then defeated.

So in the previous verse, we saw that he begins his speech or this praise of thanksgiving saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for God has visited the people and he has redeemed the people.

So redeemed means a prisoner is being set free. So according to that, the enemy has been defeated and there are no more captives.

And now he brings in this picture of the horn of salvation. And now, by and through the means of this horn of salvation, there will be total and complete victory over the enemy.

So the greatest warrior of all times is Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah. And he is the greatest warrior because he fought the greatest battle of all mankind.

When he fought the battle against the powers of darkness and he won the battle over sin and death and over the power of the enemy of souls.

But then later on and also with this word redeemed, is this picture of the debt that is being paid. And redemption or the debt being paid means forgiveness or remission.

And the debt is being dismissed or forgiven or erased. And all of us are debtors, sinners before the face of God, the Heavenly Father.

The Bible says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is no one who is righteous, no not one. There is no one who is good, no not a single one.

All have even fled before the face of God, our Heavenly Father. So we have a debt because we are sinners and we have transgressed the laws of God.

We have transgressed the moral law, the demanding law of God, our Heavenly Father. When as imperfect human beings we have not been able to live up to the standards that God has placed.

So in this way as human beings, as sinners, we are and we would be spiritually bankrupt and totally unable to pay the sin debt that we owe unto God.

As in a parable in the New Testament it uses this illustration of having a debt of 10,000 talents. A debt that no human being literally could be able to repay.

But God through His grace, His love and mercy as the priest Zechariah alludes to in this song of praise and thanksgiving that Jesus will be the one who redeems us.

Who sets us free from the shackles of prison. And He is the one who is able to pay this sin debt that you or I or anyone else would have the possibility of ever, ever repaying.

And the other thing that I would like to say is that God is the one who is able to redeem us. And so this is why God is sending His Son, His promised child, the Messiah into this world to redeem mankind.

And the final result is this. That He is to give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins.

And as a result through the tender mercy of our God, the day spring from on high has visited us.

So Zechariah the priest is using this title, this illustration of Jesus who is the day spring. Or it's like the rising of the sun, the sunrise, the dawn of a new day, the dawn of a new era.

We remember already in the old days in the Old Testament time in that Christmas prophecy of prophet Isaiah. He says of the people of Israel, which could be a larger and broader picture of all mankind, that the people who walked in darkness then suddenly saw a great light.

And His name shall be called Emmanuel, the Prince of Peace, the mighty counselor, and so on and so forth.

So Jesus, God's only Son, the promised Messiah, was sent into this world to bring this light, everlasting life, and to bring peace for you and I.

He is that dawn of the new day.

During the time of Noah, we remember God became frustrated and His patience ran thin. And He then destroyed the entire first world with a flood.

And then after that was the dawn of a new era. And using this as an illustration, as a picture, Jesus Christ was sent into this world to do that work of redemption and to die on the cross and shed His blood to the last drop so that mankind would be able to have and experience this day spring, this rising of the sun, to experience the dawn of a new time and a new era.

And so, the wages of sin are death, writes Paul to the Romans. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

And so we can rejoice and be happy today when by faith we are able to own Christ Jesus in our hearts and we are able to experience righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

And with that hope and assurance that one day when we are able to lay down the travel staff, we will then be able to exchange the cross for a crown.

And so the prophet, I mean, John the Baptist, whose memory we are, whose day we are recalling and remembering today, was the forerunner before Christ.

He was that crying voice in the wilderness coming to prepare the way for the Lord.

But John the Baptist has gone. He has passed. And his voice is heard no longer.

But in a way we could say that his voice is still being heard and is echoing. And he is preparing that way yet toward that eternal shore of glory.

And saying that, be ready, be watching. For that day will come when Christ the Messiah will return the second time with all of his angels and with the sound of a trumpet and with a shout.

He will come to gather from all four winds of the earth, all of the elect of the Lord, those whose hearts are washed with the blood of the Lamb.

And they will then be called into heaven's glory to rejoice and be with him forever and forever.

So the message of John the Baptist today is remember to be watching, to be waiting, to have sins forgiven and peace with God in heaven.

And that we have this assurance that our names are written in the Lamb's book of life in heaven.

So even now, uplift your hearts. Believe. Just as you find yourself. Sins, doubts, and cares of the journey forgiven.

Believe unto peace, freedom, and joy. In Jesus' name, amen.

The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us your peace.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.