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Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 1:5-17
Fear Not, Christmas
Fear Not, Just Believe
Luke 1:5-17
If the obligation to attend church on Christmas Eve or Christmas day gives you the willies you have ecclesiophobia.
But the story didn’t start when the Angel appeared to Mary, no the story began half a year earlier and 100 kilometers away.
In the King James Version, Elizabeth is called Mary’s cousin but the word in the original Greek was much broader than that and simply meant someone who was related to you, somehow.
From the beginning this was to be a very special birth and a very special child.
This is the first time the words “Don’t be afraid” are mentioned in the Christmas story, so let’s dive in a little deeper and see why the angel told Zechariah not to be afraid.
The first lesson is Prayer Delayed is Not Prayer Denied.
I wonder how many times Zechariah and his bride had questioned whether God even heard their prayers.
We don’t grieve because our loved one is in heaven with God, we grieve because they are not here with us.
The second thing is that an Answered Prayer May Have Multiple Ramifications.
And, he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah.
Answered Prayer May Have Unforeseen Consequences.
That new job that you want, it may bring extra hours, more responsibilities, more travel away from home that wouldn’t have been there in your old position.
And if you know the story, then you know the part that I alluded to earlier, that John’s preaching eventually cost him his life.
Zechariah was told to not be afraid of the answers to his prayers and each one of us need to understand that when our prayers are answered, that we need to trust God to have control.
