Prisoners of Hope - Part 1

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on November 26th 2023  by Lasya. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

Prisoners of Hope - Zechariah

Reporter at an event - interviews all the witnesses to understand the event. There has been no greater event in the history of mankind than the miraculous birth of Jesus.  Looking back we can say that this was a turning point in history, but in reality, it was the darkest of times and as Isaiah prophesied in Is 9: 2 “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” They were like prisoners who had but a glimpse of hope that they would see the light again. Zechariah, prophesying about the coming messiah, calls them in Zech 9:12 “Prisoners of Hope”. So this Christmas season we will be doing a series called Prisoners of Hope looking at the lives of some key people who were witnesses to the birth of Jesus.

While the other gospels start with the birth of Jesus or the ministry of John the Baptist, Luke takes a step back and starts with the origin story of John the Baptist - the very first witness in the story of the birth of Jesus. 

Luke 1: 5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, 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.

The story is rooted in history, during the reign of Herod, who was a puppet king of the Roman empire,  Zechariah was a priest married to Elizabeth. They were considered righteous before God and walked blamelessly - they were faithful to all that was commanded in the scriptures. But they were childless. Faithful yet unfruitful. 

Now Zechariah and Elizabeth lived in a time when the voice of God was silent for over 400 years after the prophet Malachi - it was a time of toxic religion when barrenness would have been attributed to sin. Imagine what this would have done to Zechariah and Elizabeth. Even when they were misunderstood and perhaps despised, they remained faithful. In the middle of it all they lived righteous lives. They probably waited for a long time with eager expectation that God would bless them with a child, but now it’s too late. Through the life of Zechariah lets learn about the God of hope - When hope is heavy, when hope is hurting and when hope is lost, how can we continue to be prisoners of hope? 

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. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 

This was significant in the life of Zechariah because a Priest would only get to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense once in a lifetime. There were so many of them to serve at the temple that by the time it was your turn again you were most likely dead. Isn't it strange that when it comes to serving in the church today we think of it as a burden rather than a privilege? A lot of this priestly serving in the temple looked very practical - washing vessels, cleaning the altar, sprinkling the blood, etc. Today it may look like serving on sound, putting up curtains, cleaning the bathrooms, but it is still serving the house of God. Now that Jesus made a way for us to enter his presence day or night, because he has become more accessible, let us not assume that he has become common. Everything we use in the context of service to God, becomes set apart. 

AP: Let us reflect on how we view serving here at Word of Grace. Do we see it as an honourable task to the King of Kings or do we think of it as “Oh I will help out when I can” or “ I am helping these people out” 

It is in the course of this service that Zechariah has a supernatural encounter! 

1. The Sting of Hope: 

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.”

Hope feels very good when we first receive it. When a prophetic word is spoken over you, when you have a dream or a promise from God, it is exciting! But as you keep holding on to it, it starts to sting a little. Pro 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick”. It is not likely that Zechariah was praying for a child when he was burning incense. He must have prayed for it in his 20s, and 30s, he would have really prayed hard in their 40s, it’s the last hope. But now, he’s beyond the point of hope. Have you had promises in your life that have become like that? 

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.” 

Hope stings when we give more weightage to our disqualifications over God's qualifications. Zechariah doesn’t realise that the prophetic word that is being spoken over his child is the fulfilment of the very last words of the OT. Malachi 4:5-6 “5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.” 

But Zechariah was too despondent to hear that. His heart was sick. He forgot the promises of God - he forgot about Abraham and Sarah, about Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, he forgot that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was also His God, he is also our God. But hope was not lost because the name Zechariah means God remembers. 

2. The Silence of Hope

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 (gospel). 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.” 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. 24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived. 

When we struggle to believe God, sometimes it's just better to be silent. But Silence is a place of reflection, of waiting on God. Zechariah was mute, but he could still do something. He definitely had something to do with Elizabeth’s pregnancy, he must have been helping Lizzie around the house, taking care of her, he probably started pondering the words of the promise in his heart, remembers the promises of old - Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Hannah, remembers the promises of the coming Elijah, the coming messiah and his heart probably started becoming well again in that silence. Even though it looked like a punishment for unbelief, this silence must have served Zechariah well. Throughout the gospels we see Jesus practising this as well- where he would withdraw from the public and go off by himself. 

AP: If you’ve been just going through the motions and finding it difficult to believe the promises of God, can I encourage you to find time to meditate on the word of God in silence? 

But I think there would've also been frustration. Mary, after receiving the good news from Gabriel, comes to visit Elizabeth. Then Elizabeth blesses Mary, Mary sings a song of praise… while the women are doing all this, imagine Zechariah, quietly in a corner, unable to speak, unable to give thanks to God for this miracle, unable to share the good news of the coming Messiah! 

Today, we too have good news that is preached to us, we know the messiah has come, we know that we are saved by the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross, and we have the words of eternal life and yet we choose to be mute. There is no angel from heaven that has caused that but we can become prisoners of our choices. It’s not that God’s promises are hindered, but our enjoyment of it can be. 

AP: This Christmas season, can we be more intentional to be vocal about the good news of Jesus Christ? Invite your friends and neighbours to the Christmas carol evenings, lets share the good news that we have been so privileged to receive.     

3. The Song of Hope

Elizabeth delivers a child. On the 8th day, he is circumcised when he is to be named. This is when all the neighbours and relatives poke their noses and ask, what's his name? Elizabeth says, John. But they say, no one in your family is called that… i.e. it is weird. So they say, what does she know? Let us ask Zechariah. He writes it out on a tablet and says, his name is John. The minute this happens, he can speak again and he starts praising God! 

Luke 1: 67-79 - “And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 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 promised 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 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

This is a completely different man from the one who encountered the angel Gabriel. This is a man whose hope has been revived!  He is not simply thanking God for giving him a son, he is filled with hope for all the promises of God. he is speaking into the future! He is remembering the promises of God right from the time of Abraham and he is releasing a blessing upon his son and upon all God's people. The song of Hope, reminds us of God's promises, revives our soul and restores our faith. We need songs of hope- we need to take hold of the promises of God, and push it forward. 

Zechariah - a prophetic picture of the nation of Israel 

Like Zechariah, the nation of Israel was waiting for the coming messiah for so long that when he appeared, their hearts were too hardened and hopeless to receive him. In fact till date there are so many of them who are unable to believe the good news of the messiah because they are carrying the sting of hope. 

Just as God was silent for 400 years until the things that he promised came to be, Zechariah was silent until the birth and naming of his son. But this silence did not mean that God was not doing anything. He was birthing the promises (over 300 prophecies of the OT came to pass in Jesus - in the fullness of time), he was working in the waiting. 

As Zechariah spoke and gave hope to people, Jesus the word himself became flesh and the living hope to all mankind. He is the inexhaustible supply of songs of hope. 

Today as we have surveyed the life of Zechariah, let us take a moment to reflect on our own hearts and our hope. Are you suffering with the sting of hope that has hardened a part of your heart? Have you silenced your hope because of the fear of rejection, or doubt? Do you have some songs of hope to release that you are unsure about? 

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.   

The Promise, The Prison, The Palace

This message was preached by Colin D via zoom  Word of Grace Church, on Oct  18th 2020. For the audio please click here.. For the worship please Click here

Romans 8: 28 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose.”

It is an amazing truth! How is God working for our good during bad things? How does He work disappointment and distress for our good and for His glory? Let’s look at it in the life of Joseph.

Jacob leaves Canaan with nothing, but he returns with a lot of things. Jacob is a transformed man and God changed his name to Israel. The hostility between the brothers also ends.

Genesis  37

These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. ³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. ⁴ But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

We see that Joseph is born into a dysfunctional family. His father loved and favoured one child over the rest. The difference in his treatment of Joseph is obvious and so the brothers did not like him. Then we see the prophetic in his life.

⁵ Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. ⁶ He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: ⁷ Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” ⁸ His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

Then he had another dream

“Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” ¹⁰ But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” ¹¹ And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.”

This is his initial life. In Genesis 37:18-36

How can we see Jesus in here? Joseph was a shepherd loved by his father just like Jesus. Jesus was also hated by his brothers. Joseph spoke his future sovereignty, his robe was stripped out, was sold into slavery, etc and we see many parallels to the life of Jesus.

Sometimes it is our family and the people closest to us who will misunderstand us. Why did these bad things happen to joseph? Was God with him? Even in the midst of the difficult situations we are going through, we know he is working out everything for our God.

Joseph is faithful and remains faithful in the coming chapters as well.

Genesis 39: 1-2

Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. ² The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.

Even in the darkest of situations, God did not let go of Joseph. The plans he has are to prosper you and not to harm you. Joseph was faithful to his father, and was faithful to Potiphar. He entrusted more to Joseph as he saw his faithfulness and that God was with him.

“From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field.”

Joseph’s presence in that house brought favour to the entire house as well as the fields. When we are faithful with what God gives us, he will bring blessing for our sake to the companies and colleges and institutions we work at.

Joseph was tempted in this situation with Potiphar’s wife. What is his response?

Verse 8-9 “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. ⁹ He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”

Joseph must have been very disappointed in life. But his disappointment did not lead him to disobey God. We can be many disappointments in life, but the test is – will we be obedient to God even in our disappointment.

Then a second time Joseph loses his cloak and it put him once again into a pit – verse 19-20 “¹⁹ As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. ²⁰ And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.” Now he is not just a slave but a slave prisoner.

Psalm 105:  17-18 “he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.¹⁸ His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron;”

If there was a time for disappointment, this would have been it. But God is with him even in there as it says in verse 21“But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”

No matter what you are going through, God is with you. Be faithful in what He has called you to do? Joseph became a servant, became a blessing, he resisted the temptation, was falsely accused, attempted no defence, was cast into prison even though he was innocent – there are a few things that mirror the life of Jesus as well.

God gave Joseph success in whatever he did.

2 notable prisoners – the baker and cupbearer were also in the same prison. Both of them had dreams and Joseph takes note of the faces of the people. Both of them share their dreams and he interprets them with the help of God and then he says “Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house.” But when the cupbearer was released “Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.” For another 2 years, Joseph was in the prison. But God is sovereignly at work in all the details of our life.

God raises us, Joseph, later on and the Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge. In Gen 41:42 “Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck.” This is the third time we see that Joseph received

Joseph was numbered with the transgressors – Jesus was crucified on the cross with the criminals. Joseph pronounced judgement on one of the prisoners and blessing on the other – Jesus did the same on the cross. Joseph was stuck in the prison for another 2 years and Jesus also was sent to the grave before God raised him up.

We can be disappointed and dejected in life, but what is important is how we behave. When we are forgotten will we continue to remember God, knowing he has our lives in His hands. God’s purposes are greater than we can imagine. God used Joseph’s life to protect and preserve the lives of His people.

Let’s be people who don’t take offence and misunderstand people. Let’s pray.

  

    Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is a part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Promises of Psalm 23 | Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on July 1st, 2018. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

We live in challenging times- nationally, internationally and even personally. There are ups and downs. There are people amongst us who are very sick, there are strains in marriage relationships, not able to find a job, breakdown of relationships, etc. there are all kinds of things that cause stress and anxiety. Through the service we have seen the goodness of God. That is wonderful! But in the midst of that, there are these challenges that come up. We need to anchor ourselves in Jesus so we can ride these storms.

Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

This is the best known passage in scripture. It is often read at funerals. But it is meant for everyday life. The imagery is of the shepherd who is God and we are the sheep.

1.      Provision: we may face situations in our life where we face lack. God promises to supply our needs but not out greed. Psalm 84: 11 says that no good thing will he withhold. God will meet our needs. This is not just theory. As we take hold of it, we will see the reality.

Kisan’s story: He joined Word of Grace last year, and was very happy to be here. His house was 8”x 10”. He and his wife Nutan lived there and even had guests over. Jesus gave him a new flat which is a 2 Bedroom apartment for a small rent. God provided lavishly for him.

2.      Peace: God’s peace over our lives. We lived through the invasion of Kuwait and overnight everything changed. But through it all God gave us such a peace. Many people were devastated, but we made it across. That is the goodness of God. We’ve got to draw on God in our difficult times. The situation might not change immediately but he will give us peace. We get bad news all the time and it troubles us. The antidote to that is to get into the presence of God and let His peace engulf you. 

3.      Guidance: we want to know what God wants us to do. We make 100s of decisions everyday and some may be big and some maybe small. He is interested in every decision. As we feed and soak ourselves in the word of God, he will enable us to have this navigation system within us so we may know what is right and what is wrong. There is also guidance between the good and the best. How can we get this guidance of God?

a.      Spending time with God in the quiet place. If we listen to His voice in the quiet place, we will be able to recognise Him in the midst of the chaos outside. It is important when it comes to jobs and marriages, etc. 

b.      Hear his leading even in small things.

4.      Protection and comfort: God’s promise is to be with us. What is the difference between us and the world? We carry the presence of God. The last several weeks I’ve been listening to messages on the presence of God. in life we are constantly disturbed and interrupted. But when are we making time to be in God’s presence? The Bible says ‘wait on the Lord’. What does wait mean? It means to wait. No one likes waiting. Cultivating God’s presence requires us to wait. His rod and His staff are one for protection and one for comfort. When sheep fall on their back they can’t get themselves back up. Have you been in such a situation? IN that situation he comes and delivers us.

5.      Promise of Protection and inheritance- in the presence of our enemies he pours out His goodness on us. The promise is for this earth as well as heaven. Our ultimate comfort is being with Jesus forever. Sometimes we can be so pessimistic, but God’s promise is for us to succeed.

So when you face challenges, go to Psalm 23. It declares God’s qualities and attitude towards you. So memorize it, declare it and believe it.

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that have people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service. To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.