The Prophecy of Zachariah - Part 2
As we said yesterday, God’s glory will be revealed again this time before He comes again. And all flesh shall see it.
And how do you think His glory will be revealed? It will be revealed through you and me as His children. We are like our Father. But in order for His glory to be revealed, we must prepare ourselves to be habitations of the fullness of His glory because the Word of God says that we go from one degree of glory to another. Our capacity must be enlarged. We are containers of the glory of God because the glory is His Presence manifested on this earth and there is usually a visible manifestation of His glory such as a cloud or fire. This is already being seen in places all over the earth and in churches where people are seeking the Lord with all their hearts. I have heard of one church where the fire department was called because fire was seen in the steeple. It was the fire of God and no literal fire.
It was spoken in the previous verse 76 that John the Baptist would go before the face of the Lord to make ready His ways so that-------
And we continue with verse 77 telling us what John would do-------
To bring and give the knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness and remission of their sins.
To bring and give knowledge of deliverance, of divine health, of freedom, of safety to His people, which is found in the forgiveness and washing away of their sins because God loves them with a heart of tender mercy and compassion.
Because of and through the heart of tender mercy and loving-kindness of our God, a Light from on high will dawn upon us and visit [us]
To shine upon and give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct and guide our feet in a straight line into the way of peace.
And because of God’s heart of tender mercy and compassion and love and kindness, Jesus, the Light of God came and visited us to shine forth and give the light of the Truth of Who God really is, of His great love. This truth has brought people out of the darkness of ignorance of God and out of the shadow of fear and death to direct them into peace—God’s wholeness, God’s freedom of completion, with nothing missing in our lives, with nothing broken in our lives.
So, we see from this passage in Luke that God showed Zachariah the purpose for Jesus’ coming. He prophesied ahead of time. For those who would have had ears to hear, they could have known what was coming. But most didn’t understand. Today, it is the same. There are those prophesying of His coming. We must ask the Holy Spirit to give us understanding of the times in which we are living, to quicken our spiritual ears to hear what He is saying and to do what He is asking us to do.
This world is full of those who don’t understand, who don’t know. They may think they know everything as they worship other gods, including themselves. America is full of people who think they know. It is our opportunity to tell them about Jesus as we are led to do so. Remember that telling people who are not ready to hear and without direction from the Lord will only produce tired and worn-out efforts. But when it is directed by the Holy Spirit, the fruit is sweet and the victory is sweatless.
Let’s continue to purpose in our hearts that we will be totally open to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that He has an open channel to minister to others through us. You are the only epistle that people read on this earth. Jesus has appointed you to be His vessel expressing His love to those with whom you come in contact, whether it is a family member or a stranger or your next-door neighbor. That is the work of the ministry. That is the preparing of the way for His coming.
And how do you think His glory will be revealed? It will be revealed through you and me as His children. We are like our Father. But in order for His glory to be revealed, we must prepare ourselves to be habitations of the fullness of His glory because the Word of God says that we go from one degree of glory to another. Our capacity must be enlarged. We are containers of the glory of God because the glory is His Presence manifested on this earth and there is usually a visible manifestation of His glory such as a cloud or fire. This is already being seen in places all over the earth and in churches where people are seeking the Lord with all their hearts. I have heard of one church where the fire department was called because fire was seen in the steeple. It was the fire of God and no literal fire.
It was spoken in the previous verse 76 that John the Baptist would go before the face of the Lord to make ready His ways so that-------
And we continue with verse 77 telling us what John would do-------
To bring and give the knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness and remission of their sins.
To bring and give knowledge of deliverance, of divine health, of freedom, of safety to His people, which is found in the forgiveness and washing away of their sins because God loves them with a heart of tender mercy and compassion.
Because of and through the heart of tender mercy and loving-kindness of our God, a Light from on high will dawn upon us and visit [us]
To shine upon and give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct and guide our feet in a straight line into the way of peace.
And because of God’s heart of tender mercy and compassion and love and kindness, Jesus, the Light of God came and visited us to shine forth and give the light of the Truth of Who God really is, of His great love. This truth has brought people out of the darkness of ignorance of God and out of the shadow of fear and death to direct them into peace—God’s wholeness, God’s freedom of completion, with nothing missing in our lives, with nothing broken in our lives.
So, we see from this passage in Luke that God showed Zachariah the purpose for Jesus’ coming. He prophesied ahead of time. For those who would have had ears to hear, they could have known what was coming. But most didn’t understand. Today, it is the same. There are those prophesying of His coming. We must ask the Holy Spirit to give us understanding of the times in which we are living, to quicken our spiritual ears to hear what He is saying and to do what He is asking us to do.
This world is full of those who don’t understand, who don’t know. They may think they know everything as they worship other gods, including themselves. America is full of people who think they know. It is our opportunity to tell them about Jesus as we are led to do so. Remember that telling people who are not ready to hear and without direction from the Lord will only produce tired and worn-out efforts. But when it is directed by the Holy Spirit, the fruit is sweet and the victory is sweatless.
Let’s continue to purpose in our hearts that we will be totally open to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that He has an open channel to minister to others through us. You are the only epistle that people read on this earth. Jesus has appointed you to be His vessel expressing His love to those with whom you come in contact, whether it is a family member or a stranger or your next-door neighbor. That is the work of the ministry. That is the preparing of the way for His coming.
posted by Rev. Kialeen Potterton @ 9:32 PM
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