Sermon – January 3

January 3, 2016

2nd Sunday after Christmas

Text: Luke 1:68-75
“Blessed is 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, Who have been since the world began, 71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us,72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: 74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

A Life-Changing Visit
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ:

Do you remember the first time that you met your spouse? Did he or she have an immediate impact upon your life? Maybe you didn’t even know right away that this was the person that you were going to marry. While many may not recall fireworks going off, it would be hard to think of another person that will have a bigger impact on your life. When God chose to send His Son to this earth, this also was a life-changing moment, but not only for you. Many people were not aware of it at the time, nor are many people aware today of just how big of an impact He has had on this world. But we praise God as Zacharias did, “For He has visited and redeemed His people.” He came to rescue us from our enemies and to enable us to serve God as His friends. No one has impacted our lives more. May the Holy Spirit open our hearts to receive His message and impact us this morning.

1. Jesus came to rescue us from our enemies
What we have before us today is the song of Zacharias. The occasion was the birth of his son, John the Baptist. After doubting the word of the angel concerning the promise of this miraculous conception and birth, Zacharias had his tongue loosed after naming his son John as the angel had told him. The Holy Spirit inspired him in this song of praise depicting the work of the Messiah, and in the verses following our text, the role of John the Baptist as the forerunner of the Messiah.

He praised God For He has visited and redeemed His people. He didn’t visit with plan of destruction, but with a plan of redemption. Zacharias was an old man at this time and it is really doubtful that he would have lived to see Jesus endure the cross and defeat death in His resurrection. However, he knew that he along with others were going to be redeemed, that is bought back by the Lord. Jesus came to set things right, to buy back souls that were being held captive by Satan. It was so certain that the past tense is used even though the even hadn’t happened yet.

We continue in verse 69: And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David. In the Old Testament the horn is a symbol of strength. That is something that people can relate to because we observe it in the animal kingdom. It’s not just hunters that pay more attention to a buck with large antlers. Those with large horns no doubt command respect among the rest of the animals. The horn of salvation here is referring to the power and strength of the Messiah. Of all those in the line of David, He would be the most powerful.

Power would be needed as there were very powerful enemies to be defeated, and the enemies spoken of in verse 71 – that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us – were more powerful than all the legions that the Roman emperor could summon. The chief enemy is Satan. He has a tremendous amount of power, but even considering that, we’d have to say that his cunning and craftiness would be his chief weapon. He was able to deceive a perfect human being. He has spread enough lies about God and His Word that there have been many divisions in Christianity. He has his right hand man, the Anti-Christ – ensconced at the head of the largest branch of Christianity in the world. He also has pitted the world against Christians. Satan uses the State to impose his will against God’s people. Even now we find that he is using politically correct language – which is supposed to be a way not to hurt anyone’s feelings – to undermine the values that God knows are best and safest for us.

We certainly could not defeat the devil. It would take One far more powerful than us. This is the salvation that Christ brought into the world. He didn’t come to free us from poverty or sorrow or other symptoms of sin. He went right at the root cause of all the problems found in this world – sin itself. By taking on the punishment for sin Himself, He took away guilt and eternal death. He made Satan release us to Him.

This coming of the Messiah should have been on the radar for all of God’s people. In verse 70 we read, As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began. This wasn’t some last minute plan that God threw together. He carefully laid it out down to the last detail. Even though Eve was ready for the Savior at the birth of her first son, God waited until the time was right, and when the fullness of the time had come. But certainly it was going to happen.

We were told in verse 72 that Jesus came To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to our father Abraham. When God made His covenant with Abraham He swore to uphold it. He swore on Himself. That might seem a little strange, but there is no other higher power that God could make an oath to. But that gives power to His covenant. It makes it an unbreakable contract. That covenant to Abraham that we read about in Genesis was one of many that He made concerning His descendants. It was a promise of grace and mercy that He kept fully. That covenant of grace extends to you as well. God has made a promise to you that in His Son Jesus there is eternal life. That whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. That is a promise that He cannot break.

2. Jesus came so that we could live as friends of God
Having been released from Satan, we find that God gives us a purpose in life. That is important. Recall what is what like for the prisoners of the concentration camps in Germany after they were released. They were emaciated and helpless in need of medical care. The Americans and Russians not only liberated them, but got them back on their feet and back to their lives. On the other hand, recall how the people of Russia fared after the fall of the Soviet Union. They had freedom, but no idea what to do with it. There was still a lack of religion and that country was soon ruled by the Russian mafia and evil rose to the top again through crime and corruption.

We have been liberated from Satan. What now? What is our purpose? We could use that freedom to abuse the grace of God. We could use that freedom for selfish pursuits. Or we could be aimless and invent religions. Or as happens in an affluent society, we could invent a crisis and then work hard on solving that (e.g. man-made global warming of which there is no scientific proof). God has bigger plans for you. You are freed from slavery so that with a willing heart and mind you could follow Him and walk in the good paths of righteousness and holiness.

We read in verse 74 of this purpose of our redemption: To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand our enemies might serve Him without fear. This deals with “how” we serve God. You serve God in one of two ways. It is either because of fear or because of love. It is because you have to or because you want to. If you serving God in fear, that is a terrible situation. You will never feel as if you’ve done enough. Your conscience will never be clear. The demands of God are so staggering that we can’t even put a dent in them. It does become a slavery of sorts. You’re always afraid because you’re not sure if you’re condemned or saved.

Contrast this with serving Him without fear. Your life is a thank-offering to God. As far as your service to God being a salvation issue, that’s off the table. So it’s not a matter of worry about doing enough. Rather it’s day by day worship of God with our actions. This is not to say that our sinful flesh does not need to be reigned in and dealt with. But let’s talk about the power of the new man within you. There is part of you that joyfully wants to serve God out of thanks, and this is a rare thing.

We’ve talked about the how, now we need to touch on the what. God set specific standards: In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. We don’t’ get to set the standards, and that’s a good thing. It’s not that we can consider ourselves holy if we avoid drugs, but still get drunk, or avoid sexual deviancy and yet shack up with someone. Or use our mouths to praise God’s name on Sunday, but fill the air with curses the rest of the week.

God has given us a higher standard than the world would or our hearts would. His path is one that He has designed. If you follow the path of holiness and righteousness it is exceedingly difficult, but it is safe. You have to concentrate and be deliberate to remain on it, but it is well worth it. You have a choice every day of walking on that narrow path or the broad road that leads to destruction. What a terrible shame it is when those bought back with Christ’s blood throw away that grace and walk in evil and unrighteousness.

Jesus came to change things for the better. This was true of His entrance into the world, and also when He made an entrance into your heart. He changed your life when the Holy Spirit brought you to faith. Never forget how that happened and the purpose you now have. Amen.