Tatham, Ernest: When God Bypasses The Experts ~ Luke 3

Our subject this morning, as announced in the bulletin, is when God bypassed the expert. When God bypassed the expert. And the story is in the first few verses of Luke chapter three. Let me read verse two of the third chapter of the gospel by Luke. Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. The word of God came unto John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. Now, your Bible and mine falls into two very, very di- different, distinctive parts. The Old Testament, the New Testament. In my Bible, there is only one page that separates those two testaments. Do you know that that one page represents a period of about four hundred years? That between the close of Malachi, which is the last book in the Old Testament, and the first chapter of Matthew, the first chapter in the New Testament, there is a gap of about four long silent centuries. That's right. Now, in the Old Testament, the Lord God of Israel was very vocal. Hebrews chapter one verse one: God, who in diverse manners and in times past spake unto the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by his son. This ties the two Testaments together. In the Old Testament, it was God who was speaking. In the New Testament, it's still the same God who is speaking. In the Old Testament, he spoke in different ways, sometimes through dreams, sometimes through direct revelation, sometimes through an audible voice, sometimes through a prophet, sometimes through an angel, but God in various ways was speaking to the Father. That's the Old Testament. God was speaking. The New Testament says at the end of these times, God is speaking unto us through his son, not through angels, not through prophets, but through his son. And so Jesus Christ, our Lord, is God's final word to man. Now the Old Testament closes on rather a gloomy note. Those of you who are familiar with the book of Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament, will remember that it's the story of a discouraged people. The people of God, so-called, that is Israel, had come back from the captivity. They had come back from the seventy years sprawled them in Babylon, and they had resettled in the land of Palestine, and they had reestablished their national identity, and they had reestablished the religious ceremonies and so on, but the whole thing had fallen into decay. There was no real spark. There was no real vitality to it all. It was going through the motions of a dead religious system. They had given up the messianic hope. You know what I mean by that? They had given up the hope of the coming deliverer or the Messiah. They had shrugged it off and said, well, after all, centuries have passed, and these promises concerning a coming, uh, deliverer have never been fulfilled, and, uh, who knows? Perhaps heaven has changed its mind. So far as we're concerned, maybe so, maybe not. What difference does it make? And the people of Israel in Malachi's day had settled down in a decadent situation and had solemnly submitted to Roman rule, for they were not a free and independent people in Malachi's day. They were, they were a puppet state under the, under the, uh, boot heel of the Gentile who occupied the land. And so the people of God, as I say, were hopeless and rather sullen, as Malachi stole. But wait a minute, that isn't the whole story. For listen, let me whisper it to you. In the midst of all this, uh, hopeless despair, there was a little remnant of godly people who took seriously the word of God, and who still believed that God meant what he said. And we find them in Malachi under these words, and they're so well known to so many of you. They that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon his name. Lovely, isn't it? In the midst of all this, uh, discouragement, there was a little underground. Is that the right word? A little underground, a tiny minority of ordinary folks who really feared the Lord and who spake often one to another, and a- and they thought upon the Lord's name, and they read the scriptures, and within their breath, there beat still a hope that God was going to break in on humanity and do something for their spiritual and deliverance and political deliverance. The curtain goes down. And the Old Testament is complete. And with Malachi, heaven's radio station went off the air. And for four hundred years, there were no prophets. For four hundred years, there were no angels visiting men, as in the days of Abraham and in the days of Jeremiah. For four hundred years, there was no voice from God. And this little remnant clung to the scriptures, and they believed the scriptures, and they individually communicated with heaven on their spiritual CDs, but there was no public testimony. And then, wait a minute, we turn one page in our Bible, the break between Malachi chapter four and Matthew chapter one, and we realize that in that one page we have four hundred silent years passed by. And then the curtain rises on the New Testament. Let's just take a look at these people that we left four hundred years ago. What, what have we got now? The grandchildren of those grumbling malcontents back there in Malachi's day who wouldn't even light a fire on Jehovah's altar unless their palms were crossed. Men who were going through the motions of religion for the benefits that it yielded them. We've got the grandchildren. Who are they? The scribes, the Pharisees, these who had so much loud religious pretension and whose hearts were nothing but a garbage dump. We still have them in the New Testament. When the curtain rises in the New Testament, we have the scribes and the Pharisees and the priests in all their smug complacency and the religious pride and self- self-importance and so on. But wait, wait, I've got further news for you. Not only this crowd of religious humbugs, but we also have the grandchildren of that little remnant. Have you got it? The grandchildren of that little believing minority that repeats that in the book of Malachi. You find them in the New Testament. Read the first few chapters of Ruth's Gospel at your leisure, and you'll meet them. Who is this little minority? My beloved friend is just a, an underground. It's just a handful. A handful of whom? A handful of nobody. Oh, there's a godly priest. His name is Zacharias. His godly wife, whose name was Elizabeth. And then we meet a young, pure virgin in a little obscure town called Nazareth. Her name was Mary. And, uh, her young man, her fianc, his name was Joseph. And then there's an old lady who frequented the temple quite a bit. Her name was Anna. And there was an old man that tottered around the streets and talked about Jehovah fulfilling his word. His name was Finian. And then there's a very remarkable young man named John. Now let me detail the quote. There's an old priest and his aged wife, and they were functioning in the temple in Jerusalem, but they were different. Different? Oh, different. Yes, in their hearts they were different. They took the things of God seriously. They believed in Jehovah, the Lord God of Israel. And old Zacharias, my friends, had been burdened because of the decay of spiritual life. Zacharias' heart was burdened, his wife's heart was burdened, and they were saying in their prayers, oh God, raise up someone to arouse this nation and bring them back to me. Raise up someone, Lord, raise up a prophet, anoint him with thy spirit, and send him forth with a message of fire. In a prayer. I know that because of a little incidental word in chapter one of Luke and verse thirteen. An angel came down and visited that old priest and said to him, listen, Zacharias, fear not, for thy prayer is heard. Now, you'd never know from the rest of it that he'd been praying, but the angel knew about that prayer. Thy prayer is heard. What was he praying for? He was praying for a baby. A baby. No, I'm wrong. A baby boy. He and his wife had been praying for a baby. Had they forgotten their age? But the old man was a, he was, he was far beyond the retirement age, far beyond. He was an old man. His wife was an old lady. And prospects of their being parents were utterly. In fact, lay in the realm of the impossible. Biologically, it was impossible for them to ever become parents. And yet, methinks, they had been reading the stories of the Old Testament. They had been reading the stories of Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Rebecca, and their hearts were saying, Lord, you did it then, you can do it again. We believe that you're the God of the impossible, the living God. Give us a son, Lord. Now, they didn't ask for a, a priest. You see, a son normally born to a priest would automatically become a priest because the priesthood was successful. I believe they were praying for a prophet. A difference? Yes, a difference. There's a difference between a priest and a prophet, a vast difference. They were praying for a prophet, a baby boy. They had read the story of Samuel and Elkanah and Hannah, and they said, Lord, give us a son and make him a prophet. And let him call this nation back to thee. You know what happened? As the old man was functioning in the temple one day, suddenly he became aware of a presence, an angel standing by the right side of the altar, and the angel called him by name. Who had introduced them? Nobody had introduced them, but the angels know our names. Heaven is acquainted with it. Heaven knows your name, your address, where you live, what your business is, what you were thinking yesterday, what you were doing last week. Heaven knows all about that. He doesn't need any information, my friend, concerning you and me. He's the heart knowing God. The search of the heart. The angel came down and said, Zechariah, I've got good news for you today. Your prayer is heard, and you're going to become parents. And his name, the baby's boy, the, the, the, the baby's name will be called John. And the old priest was so shaken and startled when he got words out, he said, well, how will I know this? I think I can see that angel pulling himself to the full height of his dignity and saying, do you know who I am? My name is Gabriel. I come from the presence of the living God. You do not believe what I tell you? This is an insult. You're asking, how shall I know? How shall I know you're telling the truth? The angel said, listen to me, you won't speak again until the baby is born. You'll not speak until this my word is fulfilled. And the old man went out of the temple, and he went out, and it says he made signs to the people. He, he beckoned to the people, and the people looked at him, and they said, what's gone wrong? Did he have a stroke in there or something? What's wrong with the old man? And, uh, he made signs to them, and he told them by the sign language something of what he had seen. You know what happened? His ministry was concluded a few days later. And you know, my friends, God fulfilled his word and brought into that barren, lifeless, sterile situation life. And out of that came a baby boy. And when he was born, the whole area was electrified with joy, and the news spread. What a miracle. What a miracle. We've read about God doing that in Old Testament times, but God is alive today and trustworthy today. And the news spread around, and they came to Zachariah, and they said, uh, they came to his mother, and they said, we'll call him Zacharias after his father. And the mother said, oh no, you won't. His name is John. Well, they said, this is silly. There are no, there are no family connections named John. We always name him after his father. Well, the lady said, the mother said, his name is John, and then made signs to his. And they said, what will we call the boy? And the, the old man asked for a writing tablet, and he wrote, and he spelled out, I suppose, in capital letters, his name is John. And when he did so, something happened. Something happened. When, my friends, he took the wor- Lord at his word, you see, and he said, his name is John. The angels told, angel told me that before he was born. Suddenly his mouth was open, and he burst out in an outburst of praise and testimony to God. And so the boy was born, a boy of a very peculiar background, the boy of the miracle, uh, uh, birth, the boy who was to be, who was to be the prophet of all prophets. And John the Baptist burst in on the life of the nation, my friends, like a flash of lightning, and shook that nation from center to circumference, and brought hundreds of thousands, multitudes to the knowledge of the Lord their God. Did you notice, however, the setting of John's ministry? Did you notice the first verse or two of Luke chapter three? Did you notice it? I want you to look at it in your Bible. Luke chapter three, verse one and two. Now look, let me suggest before I read it. Here we have an imposing array of what we would call brass. Big brass. Look at it. Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, being governor of Judea, and Herod, patriarch of Galilee, his brother Philip, patriarch of Iturea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias, the patriarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests. What have we got here? I said a collection of brats. Here we have an imposing array of dignitaries of the highest rank. Here we have a collection, my friends, of the highest in the social and the political and the religious life of the nation. Who they got? Oh, let me look at it again. Tiberius Caesar. And who was he? He was the emperor. Everybody knew who Tiberius Caesar was. Yes. And Pontius Pilate. Hello, who is he? He was the governor of the state. Who else? Well, we've got three kings here, Herod, Philip, and Thaddeus. 3 kings. But wait, I'm not finished. Verse two: Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests. What have we got here? I think we've got seven, haven't we? We've got one emperor. We've got one governor, we got three kings, and we got a couple of priests, high priests thrown in for good measure. I say, my friends, you've got an imposing array of very, very important men here. Look, the living God is going to do something in the life of that nation. What'd he do? He bypassed all the experts. He bypassed the emperor. He bypassed the governor. He bypassed the king. He even bypassed the priests. Normally, normally the priests would be the channel of communication. The living God bypassed them all. And the word of God, it says in verse two, the word of God came unto John in the seminary. No, it doesn't say that. It says the Word of God came unto John in the wilderness. This is amazing. The living God blessed all these self-important men to one side. Men who were just playing around with things. Men who were far more interested in, in their reputation and in their salary and in their social positions and so on. God said, all right, if that's your interest, okay, but you're not becoming the communicants of my mind, the depositaries of my message. The word of God bypassed the whole bunch and came onto John, and the word in the Greek is came upon John, epi. The word of God came upon John and came upon John in the desert. Who was John? He was this illustrious, remarkable son of the miracle birth, of birth. He was the son of the old priest and his wife. And the word of God came upon John. Word of God, my, we haven't had anything like that for four hundred years. For four hundred years, I say the heaven's broadcasting station was silent, it was off the air. But once again, once again, the voice of heaven is heard, and he picks up an obscure young son of the desert. And the word of God came upon him. Brethren, this is the indispensable, the indispensable blessing and equipment for all Christian ministry. If the Word of God doesn't come upon you, you ought not to be a Sunday school teacher. You get it? If the word of God doesn't come upon you, you ought not to be an elder or a deacon or a leader in the church of God at all. The word of God comes upon me as a burden, as a burden. It's not something that's just mechanical and professional and perfunctory. It's something that comes by way of a burden. Such as the missionary home on furlough, who when asked, how are you enjoying your furlough, she said, I can't sleep for thinking about them out there. That's a burden. That's a burden. The word of God came upon John as a burden from God, and he said, I have to, I have to get it out or I'll explode. I have to preach it or I'll die. Son of Zacharias in the wilderness. Now, I'm not saying this, my friends, to downgrade education. I covet a greater education. I covet, my friends, the knowledge that some of my friends have. I stand in awe of them, but I say this, that education and knowledge are not enough. Knowledge is not enough. That's simply demonstrated by the fact that we live in a country that is the depository today of the greatest wealth and the highest per capita income, and the greatest depository of knowledge, and the highest standards of living in the world, the United States of America. And perhaps, my friend, there are fewer, if any, countries that have the greatest social problems than we have in this country. Men have conquered and are conquering outer space, but they can't conquer inner space and their hearts. That's why the Lord Jesus said to one representative of that, a very, very high educated, socially prominent man, except the man be born again or born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Here was John brooding over the scriptures. And if you want the secret of his greatness, you'll find it, I think, in verse fifteen of chapter one of Luke's Gospel. Luke one and fifteen. Here are three things, a promise, a provision, and power. Luke one fifteen. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord. This was said by the angel before John was born. He shall be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall be great in the sight of the Lord. Well known in heaven and by heaven. Great in the sight of the Lord. Let earthly, let earthly decorations and earthly applause fade away, that he should be great in the sight of the Lord. That's the promise. The prohibition, he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. I've said this many times from this platform, my friends, that men can become drunk on far more things than alcohol. Men can become drunk with money, drunk with fame, drunk with social achievements, drunk, my friends, over thoughts and pleasures, drunk, intoxicated with these things. Wine is an external, external stimulus, and there are all kinds of things that will stimulate the flesh, the old nature. He shall not be, he shall not touch wine. He shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. That's the prohibition. And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. Here is someone, my friend, a unique person. Here is a young man brooding over the word of God, filled with the Holy Spirit of God, and these the two indispensable elements of Christian equipment in all Christian service. Number one, the Word of God and implicit faith in the Word of God. Number two, the filling of the Holy Spirit of God. And John in the desert, the Word of God came upon him, and he burst out into the life of the nation. He began to preach in the Jordan Valley. Now, listen, John's ministry lasted only about six months. Like a meteor, right across the darkened heavens. He came in the ministry and the spirit of Elijah. All right. John came to the nation of Israel, and his message was simply this: get right with God. Simple as that. Repent and bring forth fruits suitable for repentance. Was this the message to the riffraff? Yes. Was this the message to the hierarchy and the important people? Yes. One message to all men. And John came in like a mighty bulldozer, and he prepared the way of the Lord, and he prepared the people for the way of the Lord. John came in, my friends, and he cut men down to size, and he said to the Pharisees, where did you come from, you self-important religious people that pride yourself on the knowledge of the Bible and are living like the devil? He said, listen, bring forth fruit fit for repentance, for the axe is laid at the root of the tree. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, down it comes and it goes into the fire. I come with an axe. That was John's minister. He came with an axe. And he said, the trouble with your life is not the fruit, the trouble with your life is with the root. The root isn't right, and therefore the fruit isn't right. The axe is laid to the root of the tree, not the fruit. Men work on the fruit and think if they can change the fruit, they'll change the tree. Oh, what crash. Holly. He said the ashes lay to the root of the tree, and the tree has to come down with a crash. That's repentance. That's repentance. What is repentance? Self-judgment. It's saying, God, be merciful to me as a sinner. It's saying to me, oh God, everything you say in your word is true. I'm lost, I'm guilty, I'm without Christ, I haven't this new life. I know that some of my friends have it, but I don't have this new life. Now, my friends, when a man takes his place like that and a- and pleads guilty at the bar of a righteous God, then God, my friends, can take him gently by the hand and lead him to the cross and show how that through the cross the precious blood of Christ has been shed. That on that cross, the blessed substitute bear the wrath and the judgment of a sin-hating God that was directed against you and me, and say to us this, in the language of First Timothy one fifteen: this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Jesus himself said, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Then he said, if you say that you have repented, John says, let me see it in your life. These who came to him a little later and said to him, what shall we do? These, uh, these, uh, these people, they came to him, the publicans and others, they said, what shall we do? He said, do this, don't do that. What was that? That wasn't a prerequisite for salvation. This was the evidence of salvation. See what he's saying? He's saying, now you say you've repented, you've been baptized, your sins are forgiven. Now then, this is the way you should walk. Do this, avoid that. Bring forth fruit in your life, making it clear to all that you're real. There's one thing John insisted on everywhere throughout his ministry, reality. He was a child of reality, and he had no room whatsoever in his life or his program for religious pretense and fraud. You know, I, I think we're living in a world today that is pretty well fed up with religious unreality, fallacyism, religious humbuggery. God save us from it. Oh, above everything else, my brethren, my sisters, let's be real. Let's be real Christians. Christians in the home, Christians in the shop, in the office, in the school, on the street. Let's be real. Let's not be afraid to be different. Let's not be afraid to confess our Savior and our Lord. This was John's message. Every valley shall be filled. Every mountain and hill shall be made low. I said he was a spiritual bulldozer, and that's what he was. He filled the valleys. He brought down the hills. But your life is a valley this moment. There's something lacking. There's a hollow spot. There are unfulfilled longings and, and desires. Every valley should be filled. He fills the hungry soul. He satisfies the longing heart. The Lord Jesus can fill and flood that life of yours and fill every valley. And then perhaps there's some mountains and some hills that need to be leveled. And then he says the crooked should be made straight. Some of us need straightening out. And the rough places should be made plain. Some of us need some sandpaper. The smooth, the rough places should be made smooth. He can do all that. He can fill. He can level, and he can straighten, and he can smooth. Will you give him a chance in your life? God loves you this morning. The proof of that is the cross of Christ, plus the fact that he's allowed you to stay here and listen to the message of the good news of God's salvation. Oh, friend, will you close in with God's offer of salvation? The Lord Jesus says, I gave my life for thee. Will you take him as your savior, confess him as your Lord, and then in the power of his Holy Spirit, live for him? You see, the Holy Spirit's activities are very evident in these first three chapters of Luke's gospel. I wish you'd read them all and see how that the Holy Spirit came upon this remnant of nobodies and made them into the nucleus of the New Testament church. Thank God for Christ, the Savior. Thank God for the Holy Spirit, the glorious empowerer of his people. Shall we pray together?