Hey, podcast listeners. Thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. And right now, your generous gift will have twice the impact thanks to the Light the Darkness matching challenge. It's active now through December 31st.
To give a special year-end gift, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Hi, this is Robert Jeffress, and I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory, I'm an old man. I'm married to a mature woman.
There is no way we could ever have a child. And look how Gabriel responds in verse 19. And the angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. Zacharias was saying, Don't you know who I am? Gabriel says, Don't you know who I am?
And more importantly, don't you know who I serve? Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. Are you facing an impossible situation right now?
A lot of us are. Does it seem like God has forgotten you or can't hear your pleas for help? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress reminds us that even when our timetable doesn't match up with God's, God always proves himself faithful in the end. Now here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David. And welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Dr. Jeffress provides a firsthand glimpse into a 24 hour period in the life of Jesus from early morning to late night. Well, in addition to this teaching series, there's something I'd like to send to you. The 2025 Pathway to Victory daily devotional is ready, and it will help keep your eyes fixed on Jesus every day in the coming new year. I should say this is the most luxurious and comprehensive edition we've ever produced.
It's bound in navy blue leather covered with gold foil accents. It's more than 500 pages in length, and I've written a chapter for every weekday in the new year. A copy will be shipped to your home when you give a generous year-end gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. Plus, I'm very pleased to share with you that generous friends of Pathway to Victory have set aside a record-shattering matching challenge in the amount of $1.5 million.
Because of this gift, every dollar you give from now through December 31st will be automatically doubled in size and impact. I'll say more about these opportunities later on, but right now it's time to get started with today's study. Open your Bible to Luke chapter 1 verse 5 as we look at the remarkable moment when God finally broke his 400 years of silence. I've titled today's message, Touched by an Angel. Usually God, have you found this out? God usually waits until the very last moment when our backs are up against the wall to intervene on our behalf.
Because when he does, then there's no doubt who really performed the miracle. That was the experience of the couple we're going to talk about today. If you have your Bibles, I want you to turn to Luke chapter 1 as we discover one couple who was truly touched by an angel. And verse 5 tells the story of a miraculous birth of a baby.
And it's not the baby you're thinking about. We're going to get to that next time, the baby Jesus. But did you know there was another miraculous birth that preceded the birth of Jesus?
It was the birth of a baby whose name would be John, someone who would be pivotal in the life of Jesus Christ. Look at verse 5 with me. In the days of Herod, king of Judea. Now it's easy to skip past that and not understand what's going on. In the days of Herod, these were dark days in Israel to say in the days of Herod.
It would be like an Iraqi citizen today saying, in the days of Saddam Hussein. And yet it's against this dark backdrop of distress and bleakness that God was ready to answer the prayer not only of one couple, but of an entire nation. It was in these dark days, look at verse 5, that there was a certain priest named Zacharias of the division of Abijah and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth. I want you to look at verse 6. And they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. And yet even though they walked toward God, that didn't exempt them from problems. In fact, you'll find usually when you're trying to walk with God, it guarantees you're going to have problems. Look at verse 7.
And they had no child because Elizabeth was barren and they were both advanced in years. But notice how God intervened. Look at verse 8. Now it came about while Zacharias was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and to burn incense. Now, it's while Zacharias is inside the temple that the angel appears. Look at verse 11. And an angel of the Lord appeared to Zacharias, standing to the right of the altar of incense, and Zacharias was troubled when he saw him and fear gripped him. But notice how the angel greeted Zacharias. He said, do not be afraid, verse 13.
Whereas the King James says, fear not. He goes on to say, for your petition has been heard. Now what petition? Well, the obvious one is your petition for a son. He and Elizabeth had been praying for years that God would give them a child.
But I think it's more than that. It was not only their petition for a child, but it was the nation's petition for a Savior. For hundreds of years, the Jewish people had been waiting for the Messiah to come. And they were especially anxious right now because time seemed to be running out.
Let me explain what I mean by that. This angel Gabriel, 500 years before this, had appeared to another godly man named Daniel. And we find in Daniel chapter 9 that the angel Gabriel gave Daniel a vision of what was going to come, including the coming of the Messiah. And remember in what I call the most amazing prophecy in all of the Bible, Daniel 9, 24 to 27, Gabriel said to Daniel, now know this, you're in Babylon in exile right now, but from the moment the decree is issued by the king for you to leave Babylon and go back to Jerusalem, from the moment that decree is issued until Messiah is presented as Messiah, there will be 69 weeks of years or 483 years.
Well, we know when that happened. Every Israelite had it circled on his calendar, kind of like July 4th, 1776. That date happened to be March 14th, 445 BC, when the order came from Artaxerxes for Nehemiah to go back and to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. Now, 450 years had already passed since that 445 BC date when Gabriel appears to Zacharias. So all of Israel, at least those who knew the Old Testament knew, okay, it's 483 years until everybody's supposed to see Messiah, 450 years have already lapsed.
Time is running out. So when Gabriel says your petition has been heard, it's not just the petition for a son, it's the petition for a savior. But the Bible also said before Messiah comes, there will be one who announced his coming, a messenger.
Now, remember what Gabriel says here? He says, you shall have a son, you will call his name John. That name John literally means the grace of Jehovah. And I want you to look at the prophecies, the six prophecies related to the coming of John that Gabriel announced to Zacharias.
Write these down quickly. Number one, he will bring joy to others. John will bring joy to others. Throughout Luke's gospel, joy is always related to salvation. John would bring joy to the people because his coming would mean salvation is just around the corner. Number two, John will be great in God's sight.
Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 11, 11 about John the baptizer? There's nobody greater in the world than he. Why was he great?
Because he understood his role. His role was not to point the spotlight on himself, but to turn the spotlight on Jesus Christ. And in God's estimation, that's what it means to be great.
A truly great person is one who dedicates his life to exalting and glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ. Number three, John will never drink wine, verse 15. He would follow in part the Nazarite vow of not drinking wine. Now, it's not that drinking wine would send you to hell.
Nobody says that. Not that drinking wine would send you to hell. But it's interesting that in the Bible, whether you're a king or a ruler, or in this case, the messenger of Messiah, God said, other people may do this, but not you.
Not you. Isn't that interesting that the people God selected for a special purpose were told not to drink alcoholic beverages? Again, it's not that it would send them to hell. But if they were going to be in a position to be used by God in a powerful way, they needed to be controlled by nothing than the Holy Spirit of God. And that's why this prohibition is given about John. Number four, he will be controlled by the Holy Spirit.
The word filling of the Holy Spirit means to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. Number five, verse 16, he will turn many people to God. John, this messenger would be the bridge between the Old and New Testaments. John was going to preach a message of repentance, repent of your sin, turn from your sin. His job was to point out people's sin to make them ready for a savior.
And that's why Jesus, when he appeared, John pointed to him and said, here's the solution to your problem. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And then finally, verse 17, he will be a forerunner of the Messiah. Malachi 4, verse 5, behold, I'm going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. In Matthew 11, 14, Jesus said, John is the one who came in the spirit of Elijah. Now, this is the message that the angel Gabriel gave to Zacharias. Look at his response in verse 18, and Zacharias said to the angel, you've got to be kidding.
How can I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years. Somebody has pointed out that Zacharias had been married long enough to know that if he wanted to play any part in the conception process, he better not say I'm an old man and I'm married to an old woman. He doesn't say that. He's very, very discreet here. He says, I'm an old man, but my wife is very mature.
She's advanced in years. Smart guy. What is he saying here?
He's saying, Gabriel, you've got to be kidding. Don't you know who I am? I'm an old man. I'm married to a mature woman.
There is no way we could ever have a child. And look how Gabriel responds in verse 19. And the angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God. Zacharias was saying, don't you know who I am? Gabriel says, don't you know who I am? And more importantly, don't you know who I serve?
I serve the most high God. Do you really think this is a problem for God to do this thing? Do you think it's impossible for the God who flung the world into existence by a single word? Do you think it's impossible for the God who upholds the planet and the stars by his right hand? Do you think it's impossible for the God who created those hundreds of thousands of eggs that are in your wife's ovaries? Do you think it's really that hard of a thing for him to take one of those microscopic eggs and make sure they get fertilized at just the right time to have a child? Nothing is too hard for God.
The same thing is true for you and me. What problem are you facing right now that is too impossible for God to solve? Don't you know who we serve?
We serve the living God who is able to do above and beyond anything that we could ever ask or think. Gabriel forgot that. And so he says, how can I know this is really going to happen? What sign will you give me? Gabriel said, you want a sign? All right, verse 20. Behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place because you do not believe my words which shall be fulfilled in their proper time. Wow. It's a pretty harsh judgment.
You're going to be mute for the next nine months. That's the sign. You think, well, what's wrong with Gabriel?
Was he just having an especially bad day? Why would he, you know, respond that way to Gabriel? Don't forget. Don't forget what Gabriel had just witnessed, the miraculous display of an angel. But in an instant, he forgot that and said, oh, I don't think God can intervene on my behalf.
Ladies and gentlemen, never forget this. Unbelief is a sign of ingratitude. Whenever we doubt God's ability to intervene in our present situation, it's because we have forgotten his intervention in our past situations. How many of us today could point to times in our past when God intervened? God worked a miraculous work in our life or in the life of somebody we know. And yet we so quickly forget that. We forget the past. And we look at our present situation and say, there's just no way God could help me in this situation. Unbelief is a sign of ingratitude. That's why it's so important that we continually, continually thank God for what he's done in the past. Thanking God for the past gives us courage for the present and for the future.
This wasn't, though, just a punishment. It was going to be a sign. God said, okay, the way you're going to know that this promise is about to be fulfilled is you're not going to be able to speak until it happens.
It'll be a sign not just for you, but for the nation as well that the Messiah is on the way. Now, look at verse 21. And the people were waiting for Zacharias and were wondering at the delay, his delay in the temple.
They didn't know what was going on in there. All they were doing was waiting for Zacharias to come out. They probably were saying to each other, you know, we know Zacharias is old, but does it take this long to just light a little fire and say a couple of prayers?
What is taking so long? Look at verse 22. But when Zacharias came out, he was unable to speak to them.
And they realized he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. Now, folks, this is funny when you read it. Have you ever had laryngitis before? You wanted to speak, but not able to? It's pretty frustrating, isn't it? Or how about playing charades?
Have you ever played charades before? Trying to pantomime, get your team to understand what you're saying, and they never get it right? Can't you just see Zacharias coming out? He's unable to speak, and so he's trying to pantomime what happened.
You know, angel, you know, so forth. And they're trying to guess what happened. Finally, they understand he had seen a vision.
And when they understood, what did Zacharias do? He actually stayed there the rest of the week to fulfill his responsibility. But then he goes home. He's got to explain to Elizabeth what's happened.
Can you see him trying to pantomime to her what had happened and what was about to happen? We're going to do what? We're going to have a what, Zacharias?
Are you out of your mind? But it happened. It happened just as God predicted.
Look at the fulfillment of this in verses 24 and 25. After these things, Elizabeth, his wife, became pregnant. And she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when he looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men. Elizabeth became pregnant.
According to the tradition, she secluded herself for five months. But then notice what happened. Skip down to verse 57. Now, the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she brought forth a son.
And her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed his great mercy toward her, and they were rejoicing with her. And it came about on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias after his father. And his mother answered and said, No, indeed, he shall be called John.
Remember, that's what Gabriel said. And they said to her, There's no one among your relatives who's called by the name John. So they made signs to his father, Zacharias, as to what he wanted him called. And he asked for a tablet. And Zacharias wrote as follows, His name is John. And they were all astonished.
Can't you see that? They're trying to suggest another name. Zacharias panics and writes down, John, John, John. Zacharias did not want to tangle with Gabriel again. He wasn't about to have another punishment inflicted on him. He wanted to be sure he was obedient to everything Gabriel and God had said.
Verse 64, And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. Now, this is a strange story. You may wonder, What in the world does this have to do with me today? Well, of course, the main purpose of this story is, it's a true account of the events that would lead to the coming of Jesus Christ. It was the fulfillment of prophecy. That's why this story is primarily important. But nevertheless, in this story, I want to close with two timeless principles that I think apply to all of us, two timely truths that apply to us today.
I want you to write them down so you'll remember them forever. Principle number one, our timetable is not always God's timetable. Zacharias and Elizabeth were anxious for a son. Israel was anxious for a savior.
But only at the right time did God bring both the messenger and the Messiah. You know, sometimes we get frustrated because we pray about something, we pray about it and pray about it, and heaven is silent. We wonder, Does God not care?
Is he not listening? Sometimes, God's silence is because he's saying no, not because he hates us. But he's keeping anything that would be outside of his perfect good and loving will from harming us. But other times, the silence is simply God saying, Wait, just wait.
Wait for the right time. God has the right time in mind to fulfill that request for what you're asking. You see, what seems like eternity for us in waiting isn't eternity for God. God is not bound by time like we are.
Remember what the Apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 3.8? With the Lord, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. God is never early, God is never in a hurry, and God is never late. His answer always comes at just the right time.
Principle number two. Our problems are opportunities to experience God's power. Our problems are opportunities to experience God's power.
You know that word problem comes from a Greek word that literally means to drive forward, to thrust forward. Problems in our life are not just opportunities for us to be transformed into the image of Christ. They are actually opportunities for us to move forward in our faith in God.
You know, I've been a pastor for more than 30 years, and I cannot tell you the number of times I've heard people say this about a problem they have just passed through. It might be the death of a loved one. It might be a sickness they've experienced or somebody else they care about.
It might be a financial problem. They always, it seems like, have the same testimony. They say, you know, I never would have chosen this experience for myself, but I wouldn't have traded anything for it either.
Because through this experience, I saw the reality of God and His faithfulness. That's the value of problems. We don't ever choose them, but they have a way of driving us forward in our faith.
John Bainbridge says, a person with 50 problems is twice as alive as a person with just 25 problems. If you haven't got any problems, you should get down on your knees and ask, Lord, don't you trust me anymore? I doubt many of us are going to get down on our knees and ask God for more problems, but don't miss the point.
Our problems are really opportunities in disguise for God to demonstrate His faithfulness and His power to act on our behalf. Our series on Pathway to Victory is called, Re-Igniting Your Passion for Christ. And I can't think of a better way to spend the next few weeks than fixing our eyes on Jesus. Now, earlier I mentioned the devotional book that I've written for you that's also intended to help you keep your focus on the Savior, Jesus Christ.
I passed over the details rather quickly. But right now, I want to be sure you take a few moments to call or go online to ptv.org to request your copy of the 2025 Pathway to Victory Daily Devotional. This beautiful 532-page leather-bound book includes daily reflections to guide you through every weekday in the new year. It's intentionally written so that you'll start the year in January by exploring how to determine God's will for your life. Then, in spring and summer, you'll grow stronger in your daily walk with Christ with the wisdom from the book of Colossians.
And in the fall and winter of 2025, we'll take a deep dive into the parable of the prodigal son so that you can journey back home to the Father who loves you unconditionally. Well, in addition to benefiting from the daily devotional, you'll also be pleased to know that your generous gift will have twice the impact. Generous friends of Pathway to Victory have designated a matching challenge in the amount of $1.5 million.
That's the largest challenge in our history. Every dollar will be matched so that your generous gift of $100 becomes $200. A $500 gift becomes $1,000. A $5,000 gift would become $10,000.
Some are even able to give more. Because of this matching challenge, we are postured to impact our culture in 2025 as never before. Thanks so much for responding today with your gift to Pathway to Victory.
David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. Today, when you give a generous year-end gift toward our Light the Darkness matching challenge, we'll say thanks by sending you the brand new 2025 Pathway to Victory daily devotional. To request your very own copy, call 866-999-2965 or visit online at ptv.org. And when your gift is $100 or more, we'll also include the teaching series, Reigniting Your Passion for Christ, both on DVD video and MP3 format audio discs.
Remember, right now, because of our Light the Darkness matching challenge, your gift will be doubled in impact by another generous donor. So request your copy of these resources today. Call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. If you'd prefer to write, be sure to jot down this mailing address, PO Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222.
That's PO Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins. You can likely point to a time in your life when you felt closer to God than you do right now.
But just because your relationship isn't what it used to be doesn't mean it can't be restored. Hear an uplifting message based on the story of the prodigal son. That's Thursday on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. And right now, your special year-end gift will be matched and therefore doubled in impact thanks to the Light the Darkness matching challenge. Take advantage of this opportunity to double your impact before the deadline on December 31st. To give toward the matching challenge, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
