| << | Contents | >> |
Articles 2021-2023
Many eyewitnesses had compiled various accounts of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection and then had handed them down to others (Luke 1:1 - 2). And as Luke, the beloved physician, read them, he sensed the Lord tugging on his heart.
it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning (Greek, ANOTHEN – from above), to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus;
(Luke 1:3)
Luke, as he began his own compilation of the facts, had the sense in his heart that God was giving him Heaven’s perspective from above. His writing would be more than a mere rewriting of history; it would be inspired to bring to the reader the Holy Spirit empowered revelation of Christ.
And while he was undoubtedly writing to an actual historical individual named Theophilus (whose name means friend of God), yet he was also writing to anyone seeking to be intimately acquainted in friendship with the Lord. The question we each must ask ourself is: Like Abraham, am I a Theophilus?
The story begins with a married couple, Zacharias and Elizabeth who were both from the tribe of Levi and specifically from the family of Aaron (Luke 1:5). In other words, any son they would have would be genealogically qualified to be a priest, and most people would then probably assume that they knew what his future would look like. But God always has His own plans, and His strategies mostly differ from peoples’ assumptions.
They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.
(Luke 1:6)
They both had a faith–based relationship with the Lord like Abraham had. They knew Him; they heard His voice, and they walked with Him. They were also known to be faithful in all the Law of Moses. But Elizabeth was barren and they were both advanced in years (Luke 1:7).
Here was a calamity. Obviously, it would have been a cause of great grief for any Jewish woman to be unable to contribute godly children to God’s future plans for His people. But then along with this, the amazing prophetic promise was that the Messiah would both be born in Israel and at the same time be the Lord God Himself (Isaiah 9:6). For a woman to be barren meant that she would necessarily be excluded from that miracle. As a result, some may have concluded that barrenness was God’s judgment for sin in her life. The fact that Elizabeth was righteous in God’s sight (Luke 1:6) did not mean that some around her might not have had some doubts about her.
When it came time for Zacharias to enter the temple and to offer up incense before the Lord, a multitude stood outside praying (Luke 1:8 - 10). In the Scriptures, ascending incense is a prophetic picture of prayer. King David recognized this truth.
May my prayer be counted as incense before You; the lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.
Also, in John’s Revelation (Chapter 5:8), we see the prayers of the saints ascending like incense before the Lord. Then later, when John again sees the saints’ prayers going up as incense (Chapter 8:3 - 5), the earth was suddenly shaken and experienced thundering and lightning, resulting in Heaven’s prophetic trumpets to begin sounding. The point seems to be that as the saints contribute to the atmosphere of heaven through prayer, God responds with great change on earth.
And sure enough, as the people prayed outside the temple offering up the true incense, something amazing happened to Zacharias in the temple.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.
I wonder how long it had been since he and Elizabeth had prayed for a child. Since they were now advanced in years, perhaps they had finally laid down their desire before the Lord and then simply went on in faithful service to Him. But what was clearly impossible suddenly became imminent because God had a plan, a strategy, and the grace necessary for implementation. And Heaven’s intervention would bring great joy.
“You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord;”
John’s future was not about how great he would be before men, but how great he would become because of God’s eternal assessment and His internal work in John’s heart. Here we see the mystery of Heaven’s sovereign call coupled with man’s necessary response. Seeing the end from the beginning, the Lord determined to do whatever was necessary. He would invade John’s life with however much grace and with however much discipline that would be needed to bring him into the kind of greatness that is eternally impressive. No matter what, God’s purpose on earth would succeed. And John would start out life with a bang.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.
A Spirit filled newborn! How amazing is that?
And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.
Here was the prophetic task. It would not be about predicting who would be the next up and coming political leader. It would be about calling God’s people back to their true identity – which would only be found in Him. Many would hear and repent.
It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude (Greek, PHRONESIS – the wisdom) of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
The Lord their God was coming to His people and John would prepare His way. Though John did no mighty miracles like Elijah had (John 10:41), yet God manifested His power to change peoples’ hearts as His servant spoke. Though seemingly not as impressive as calling down fire from heaven or as exciting as raising the dead, yet the power to change the hearts of men is far more remarkable from Heaven’s perspective. A resurrected man will one day grow old and then die again. But a changed heart will bear fruit that endures forever.
And specifically, John would have an impact on dads. It seems that even in the first century, men could often get so focused on providing for their families that they did not spend enough time with their families. The resulting estrangement in the hearts of their children could then have long lasting repercussions affecting not only their love for their physical fathers but also for the heavenly Father that their dads spoke about.
Today, prophetic ministry that is called to prepare God’s people for the coming increased manifestation of His presence in His house must necessarily convey to fathers the priority of family in God’s heart, the necessity of fathers actually being fathers to their children.
And then also through John’s ministry, those who were actively disobeying the Lord would suddenly be confronted with their own foolishness. And they would see in him the wisdom of walking in righteousness. And they would turn.
I remember many years ago being deeply stirred as a young man by the writings of a particular older prophetic man. I so looked forward to meeting him. And when I heard that he would be speaking at a certain conference some hundreds of miles away, I went with great expectation. As soon as I met him, I asked him what I thought was a rather important question – something about geopolitical/economic events happening among the nations at that time. He mumbled something that didn’t seem very impressive to me and then turned to some other nearby men and commented on something they had already been talking about. I felt like a deflated balloon. I thought, “Man, did I travel all that distance just for this?”
A few hours later, as a group of men gathered for prayer, this brother came in and sat down. And when he began to share his heart, I suddenly found myself weeping. There was a power to his words that bore the presence of God right into my heart. The Lord was instantly real to me in a way that simply stopped me in my tracks. And I remember saying to the Lord, “O God, I’ve seen people moving in gifts of healing, prophecy, teaching, and evangelism. And that has been wonderful. But Lord, the power to change hearts. I’ve just seen it. Please, could You use me in some small measure like that?” And I have been praying that and similar prayers like it ever since.
Whenever God speaks, the power of eternity is unleashed. That’s how the universe got here. And when He became one of us two thousand years ago, He came as the living expression in flesh of the word that filled His own eternal heart. Today, His power has not diminished. As for us, we must receive His work of diminishing in us whatever hinders the revelation of Christ – He who is God’s eternal word going forth to shatter the powers of darkness and to establish the people destined to live forever. Amen.
Donald Rumble – January 2023
Search Comments
This page has been visited 0161 times.
| << | Contents | >> |
10 per page