gtccotr/ws120512
Our
text this past Sunday was from the Gospel of Luke 1:5-25 … we
covered so much history and other pertinent information on our
countdown to Christmas and in the end confirmed the fact that – God
Hears.
This
evening I want to use these same verses to review some Life Lessons.
Luke
1
6
And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the
commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were
both well advanced in years.
Life
Lesson #1
There
Is More To The Plan Of God Than We Know
1.
Zacharias & Elizabeth were both blameless but yet barren
2.
There was no one to blame on earth or in heaven
3.
I’m sure they were disappointed but they remained blameless
Job
1:22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
8
So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the
order of his division,
9
according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn
incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
Life
Lesson #2
Don’t
Discount The Ordinary 1.
Extra Ordinary Opportunities Come At Very Ordinary Times to Very
Ordinary People – Even to fishermen, prostitutes and tax
collectors.
2.
Even when you don’t feel special, you still are
3.
John 15:16
You have
not chosen Jesus, but He has chosen you
4.
Isaiah 40:31
Run &
not weary, walk & not faint
5.
Become Great
In Your Ordinary
6.
Conquering the ordinary qualifies us for the extra-ordinary
10
And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the
hour of incense.
Life
Lesson #3
It
Pays To Surround Yourself With Praying People
1.
Without praying friends, we may not have a prayer
2.
Some prayer warriors are strange, but they will not cease to petition
God for you in your time of need.
3.
Even Jesus
knew He needed prayer support
in the Garden of Gethsemane
11
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right
side of the altar of incense.
12
And when Zacharias saw him,
he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
Verses
11-17 teach us the life lesson Life
Lesson #4 for
tonight
What
Seems Like A Surprise To You Is A Plan To God
1.
God is not shocked, surprised or taken off guard.
2.
Like Ester, Ester
4:14,
perhaps you came to the kingdom for such a time as this
18
And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I
am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years."
19
And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who
stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring
you these glad tidings.
20
"But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the
day these things take place, because you did not believe my words
which will be fulfilled in their own time."
Verses
18-22 reveal:
Life
Lesson #5
Sometimes
It’s Better That You Say Nothing
1. If
you can’t say something good ...
2.
Proverbs
18:21 Death and Life are in the power of the tongue
23
And so it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed,
that he departed to his own house.
24
Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid
herself five months, saying,
25
"Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on
me, to take away my reproach among people."
Life
Lesson #6
It
Might Not Be All About You
1.
Even though it may affect you, it may not only be about you
2.
God has a big picture plan ... an eternal perspective
3.
Don’t
limit God to:
a.
what you
know
there may be more to it, a lot more
b.
what you are
going through
our world or good vs. bad
c.
how you feel
God is not subject to our emotions of life
Thank
God for giving such wonderful insight and these life lessons as we
continue our Countdown to Christmas.
