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.”
And the child grew
and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his
public appearance to Israel (Luke 1:67-80).
At the end of nine months of silence Zechariah
was quick to obey the instructions of Gabriel, and with a pen he named his son
John. Immediately an explosion of praise and prophecy flowed from his pent up
heart through his freshly opened mouth. Zechariah proclaimed the mighty deeds
of God in the past and declared that his son and the coming seed of the house
of David would be God’s instruments for the fulfilling of His promises to the
offspring of Abraham. There would be complete deliverance from all enemies and
an outpouring of mercy that together would set Abraham’s seed free to serve the
Lord in holiness and righteousness forever. Then, Zechariah described the role
his son was to play in this marvelous plan as he prophesied that John would be
called the prophet of the Most High. Because everyone needs the same mercy,
forgiveness, and salvation described by Zechariah, every generation needs
disciples who are willing to imitate John and for their generation become the
prophet of the Lord.
Would you like to be part of work that
produces lasting results? Are there people in your life that have not
experienced the forgiveness of Christ? Do you know someone who will spend
eternity in Hell because they do not know the Way to Heaven? What keeps you
from sharing the gospel of Christ with others? In the prophecy of Zechariah
over his son John, the Spirit shows us some truth about God’s prophet that can make
us better witnesses and empower us to be more effective in the work that
produces lasting results, the work of leading others to Christ. As the Spirit
helps us apply the following truth, maturing disciples can become powerful prophets
of the Lord to our generation.
The Prophet of the Lord prepares hearts
to receive Christ. It is with the heart that faith is exercised… “For
with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses
and is saved” (Romans 10:10). John prepared the hearts of his audience
by confronting them in word and deed with the sinful condition of their hearts.
When, like John, our words and deeds convict the hearts of those watching us,
we live as the prophet of the Lord… “If you were of the world, the
world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I
chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. John 15:19
The Prophet of the Lord proclaims Christ’s
gospel. John gave his audience the knowledge of forgiveness and salvation. When,
like John, we share the forgiving, saving message of the gospel we speak as the
prophet of the Lord… “So with many other exhortations he preached
good news to the people” (Luke 3:18).
The prophet of the Lord presents God’s
mercy. John offered God’s mercy to sinners. Mercy is God’s love for those who
don’t deserve it. When, like John, we love the unlovely, we love as the
prophet of the Lord… “God shows his love for us in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
As we grow up into Christ we prepare
hearts, proclaim His gospel, and present His mercy as…
The Prophet of the Lord.
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