Samuel Acevedo - Zacarias

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the class of Abijah. His wife was one of the daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous, the angel of God, and walked blameless in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, but they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were already old.

It happened that when Zacharias exercised the priesthood before God according to the order of his class, according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him to offer the incense entering the sanctuary of the Lord, and all the crowd of the town was outside praying at the time of the incense. And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear seized him, but the angel said to him, 'Zacarias, do not be afraid, for your prayer has been heard and your wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to you a son, and you will call his name, Juan. And Zacharias will have joy and joy and many will rejoice at his birth because he will be great before God. He will not drink wine or cider and will be filled with the holy spirit even from his mother's womb.

Brethren, we turn to verse 18, we see how Zacharias responds to the angel. This is very key here. "Zechariah said to the angel: How will I know this?, because I am old and my wife is of advanced age"

If you allow me to read the verse in the translation of the new international version that I like as they translate it. Zacarías says, how can I be sure of this? How can I be sure of this? Zacarías asked the angel. I am elderly and my wife is also elderly. Responding, the angel said to him 'I am Gabriel, who stands before God and I have been sent to speak to you and give you this good news and now you will be dumb and will not be able to speak until the day this is done because you did not believe my words, which they will be fulfilled in due time.”

And let's move on, brothers, to verse 24. “After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived and shut herself up at home for five months saying 'Thus has the Lord done to me in the days when he deigned to take away my affront among men.”

Now in the next few verses, in verses 26 to 38, this same being, this same angel presents himself to Mary and the shepherd brought this message, the Christmas message that perhaps we are most familiar with. The angel tells Mary that “...the Lord will also open your womb and the spirit of the Lord will cover you and you will give birth to the Messiah, you will give birth to Emmanuel, you will give birth to the immolated lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world, and as a sign, his relative Elizabeth, also in her old age is expecting a child and is still 6 months pregnant.

In verse 39 “In those days, Mary arose and hurried up the mountain to a city of Judah and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard Mary's salutation, the creature jumped into her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the holy spirit and exclaimed with a loud voice and said: Blessed are you, among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! Why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord come to me? Because as soon as the voice of your salutation reached my ears, the creature in my womb jumped for joy, and blessed is she who believed because what was said by the Lord will be fulfilled. Blessed is she who believed because what was said from the Lord will be fulfilled."

Brethren, one of the first things we can learn from this story, the story of Zacharias and Elizabeth, is this: Even the righteous experience barrenness. Even the righteous experience sterility. Zacharias and Elizabeth were just before the Lord, declares the word, they loved him, they served him, but even so, no matter how much they longed for a child, no matter how much they asked for a child from the Lord, they were a couple without children, they were a couple sterile.

Now, brothers, today there are many couples who want children and do not have them no matter how much they have asked the Lord, and no matter how much they want to hold a baby, the Lord has not allowed this couple to receive the blessing of a baby. But, brothers, believe me that in Biblical times, Biblical barrenness was very different from barrenness today. We are not merely talking about a couple who cannot conceive physical children. In biblical times, especially in the first century, the state of sterility, not having children, was a threat to their very existence. There was no social security, there was no retirement plan. Having children was her financial security. Having children, especially in the culture of the ancient Middle East, was what guaranteed your legacy would continue, that someone would care to share your story, your life story, your biography, from generation to generation.

Not having children, in this first century, particularly boys, not having them was, not only a threat to their future, but also to their past. You are left without a future, you are left without a past, you are left without someone who says 'that old man's life was worth something'. 'The life of that couple was something significant', 'they were born for something'. Not having children meant not having someone to tell your story and cover you in your old age, in the first century.

No wonder the psalmist writes 'as arrows are in the hands of a mighty man, so are children of youth. Blessed is the man who filled his quiver with them.'

So strong was the idea of sterility in the Biblical era, that many assumed that, like many diseases, sterility was an indication of a divine curse, that God had cursed this family. So, on top of all the threats that the sterile couple faced, there was the shame of not having children, there was the stigma of not having children, of suffering sterility.

Now, today we don't confront, a childless couple doesn't confront sterility like that. And the biblical sterility, the spiritual sterility in the 21st century is very different from the sterility of the first century. But it is just as dangerous. Today a couple can be full of children and experience spiritual sterility. As can a couple, they may not have physical children, but neither do they know spiritual sterility.

Today spiritual sterility is based on this: on not living the life that you expected, that you longed for, that you asked God over and over again. Perhaps at one time you had dreams, perhaps ambitions, perhaps someone prophesied something to you as a child and it has not come true. Maybe you came to the US with an agenda and some ideas: in two years I'm going to start my company, in 5 years I'm going to finish my university studies, in the meantime I'm going to meet my prince charming and I'm going to get married and go to have 2 and 3 children, and it has to be before the age of 35. Many dreams, many ambitions, things that you have asked the Lord and you kept those dreams in the basement or perhaps you have let them die.

Today's spiritual sterility, in other words, has to do with the way one sees their future. The way one sees the promises of the Lord. And perhaps, if the promises have been slow to fulfill, if these dreams have been slow to come true, if years ago you have asked the Lord for something, instead of continuing to ask the Lord for it, instead of continuing to wait for the Lord to carry out these dreams, instead of waiting on Jehovah, maybe you will settle. You've settled, you've settled for the life you have and you've given up. Yes, it's the same job, the same place, the same people, the same jokes, the same day, after the Christmas break comes work. There is the same receptionist giving you dirty looks, there is the same boss looking at the clock, there are the same clients, and there is always a client that the Lord sends merely to stretch our patience and bless us that way.

Maybe it's the factory, maybe it's the way you run your ministry. I don't know, but you have settled for the life you have. And he doesn't even dare to pray the prayers of his youth. He doesn't even dare to visit those promises again. You have conformed. It's not what you wanted. Perhaps you thought you were born for something else, for something greater, perhaps. But now, let's stop telling stories, as the Boricuas say, there's nothing else... this is what the ship brought, this is... What good is it if we don't settle?

Now, the angel of Jehovah comes on the scene to destroy your conformity. How uncomfortable is that. You go by, bring your request before the Lord, Pastor Omar says, 'this is a time for intimacy with Jehovah', he approaches the altar, minding your own business, asking for something from the Lord, someone approaches you, the same sister prophesy, again she puts her hand on you and says 'Lord, a tremendous promise comes for you'. How do you receive that?

When you .... that fuss to your compliance. What if the Lord tells you that there is more, instead of telling you that there is no more na... the Lord tells you, 'no, no, no, there is much more'. What if the Lord told you that his plans for you are greater than the life you have settled for. And that is what he tells Zacarías. He tells Zacarias, 'Zacarias, I have not forgotten your prayers. Your prayers are, -the word I love Revelation Chapter 5, I think Chapters 4 and 5, one of my favorite passages in the Bible, and it says there that the prayers of the saints, brothers, that prayer that you just raised to the Lord, that adoration that you have just raised before the Lord is the most precious thing before the Lord.

In the Kingdom of God there is no money, they use gold as the brick of the floor. What is gold worth in heaven, what is silver worth in heaven. With the pearls they make doors and windows. None of that is worth anything in the kingdom of heaven. Do you know what it is worth in the Kingdom of Heaven? Your sentences. Do you know what they care for in golden vessels in the Kingdom of Heaven? The prayers of the saints, in golden vessels, as incense. The Lord watches over your prayers. He says 'I did not forget your prayers, Zacarías, quite the contrary, I have not forgotten my promises. I have not put aside your dreams, maybe you kept your dreams, but I was the one who inspired those dreams. I gave them to you and I know precisely where you kept them, man, and it's time to get those dreams out now, because I gave them to you." And then Zacarías jumps and jumps and says "glory to God that the Lord has remembered his servant'. That's what he does.

You know, the Lord has put Zacarias in such a mess, because Zacarias has settled for his life. Zacharias has entered the temple to light incense before the Lord for the first time in his life, still as an old man. This is the first time in the life of Zacharias that he enters dressed as a priest to minister before Jehovah's temple and light incense. They know?

Another thing, never again according to priestly laws, he will do it again. He does it one time and one last time. There was approximately, someone wrote that there were approximately 18,000 priests in the service of Jehovah, in Israel in the First Century. He was from the class of Abijah, and there were 24 classes of priests, 24. Each class was in charge of ministering before the Lord twice a year and there were so many priests, and there was only one temple, how were we going to decide who was going to enter that temple? light the incense and pour out an offering before the Lord, well, it's a lottery. Let's get lucky.

And the word of the Lord says, that on that day, that Saturday the lot fell on Zacarías. Brothers, you can imagine the emotion of this man. Wow, I got it! He arrives to put on his...... it's not a rehearsal anymore, now.... this is the real thing. He already puts on his miter, puts on his priest's dress, prepares himself, consecrates a whole week for this moment. He enters and all this time I imagine Zacarías thinking 'you know, maybe Elizabeth and I don't have children, but I am a priest of Jehovah and this is the peak of my life. For this I was born. This is it. This is my end. But Lord what an end. Glory to God. Thank you, Father, for this opportunity. Now send your servant away in peace.

He enters to say goodbye to the priesthood, to say goodbye to his career, to say goodbye, let's say, to his dreams and his emotions, and even there, while he is lighting the incense, the angel of Jehovah appears to him and says: 'Zacarias, I'm sorry, but this is not the peak of your life. This is not your end. Zacarías fits you more. You have much more left. The Lord has much more for you. This is not the peak of your life, no, my brother, this is the beginning of your blessing. The Lord promises you joy, Zacharias, not bitterness. The Lord promises you joy, something to live for. The Lord has heard your prayers, Zacarias, and is ready to fulfill your wildest dreams. Congratulations, servant of God.'

And you know? Zacarías is not prepared for this. Would you be prepared for this? Frankly, would we be prepared for this? You know Zacarías's reaction is very typical of the reaction of those who received the same promise. The Lord, servant of God, will open your womb, the womb of your wife and the Lord will remove your sterility and you will enjoy a child. How is it that over and over again in the Bible everyone reacts more or less like Zechariah?

Abraham, the Lord had to tell him over and over again, no, no, no, it's true, I know you're practically dead. I know that Sara is practically dead, but they will have a son. Count the stars. Can you count them? No. You count the sand. Can you count it? No. Hello, Abraham, I did not change my mind, yes, last Wednesday I said that I was going to bless you. This Wednesday I tell you that I am going to bless you, on Saturday I tell you that I am going to bless you. Did I change my mind? No. She had to say, over and over again, to Abraham, Sara, the idea was so ridiculous, Sara, what does she do? Series. And to poor Isaac, they put 'laughter'. Series. Not only that but how does this end? Sara and Abraham say, look this is so crazy, this is so impossible, God is God and he will know what he is doing, but we are going to give God a hand and we are going to create a what? An Ishmael.

They did not react as differently as Zacarías. The Shunammite woman, do you remember her? In Second Kings. The prophet Elisha tells her, 'by this time, next year, you will embrace a child,' and what does she say? Glory to God, that's what I asked the Lord for. Is that what he told you? He says, 'No, my Lord. Man of God, do not make fun of your servant. Don't make fun of me. Do not tell me those things. Please don't cheer me up. Please, Jehovah, don't tell me something that will encourage me so much and encourage me to dream again, encourage me to embrace these promises again, to visit that box of dreams again, that box of promises. Don't encourage me to do that.

Isn't that what Zacharias says? Now, it is craving and Jehovah to give me children. Now, now that I have my AARP card, now that Dennis is giving me a 50% discount. Now, now, God wants to give me children. You know I don't want to get hurt from this, God. I don't want to dream again. How can I be sure? How can I be sure?

And you, my brother, how do you respond to the Lord's promise, especially when it comes to something you've longed for for a long time. When the Lord says to you 'No, I'm going to bless you. It is for a blessing that I have made you.

You know, the writer of the very famous movie, well he wrote the book that inspired the movie Chronicles of Narnia, C S Lewis, once wrote 'you know, it's not our ambitions that offend God, it's our dreams before God are not too ambitious, quite the contrary, they are too easy. He says that we as children, he says, we as children want to play with mud when God has a Mediterranean vacation for you. So says he. And it is not like that? We settle for playing with mud and God has trips, dreams, things for you that you never expected.

Now, what do we do when we receive promises like that? Well, it depends on what you think of God. It depends on your relationship with God. It depends on the exchange you have had with God. You know, if you think that others are in control of their destiny or if you doubt that there is a benign God, perhaps you believe that God exists. I'm not calling you an atheist.

You know the vast majority of Americans believe in God? The vast majority of Americans believe that there is a God. The eighty-year-old, 90% believe in God. Now, that you believe that God is an active God in your daily life, that is another thing. And if you doubt that there is a benign God, who loves you, who wants to bless you, who wants to protect you, who wants to pour provision on your life, who wants you to move forward, may you have victory. If you doubt that, then what they are going to lack is hope and Satan is an expert at taking away hope.

Satan is an expert in questioning the promises of the Lord, from the first words that Satan used to the human being. These are his first words, according to the new international version, the first thing he said to Eve, a human being, is is it true that God told them? Is it true that God told them? Is it true that God told them that he is going to bless you, you, your family, those crazy people?

How was your Christmas, my brother? You don't have an uncle or two or three, or an aunt or a cousin that weighs on you a little, but it weighs on you a little perhaps because it seems a bit to you, right? And it's a little uncomfortable. Is the Lord going to bless that family? Are you crazy?

And the Lord says, how is the Lord's response? The Lord sends Gabriel, Gabriel. The pastor preached about who this being was and the only thing Gabriel tells Zacarías about this respect is this: 'Look, I am Gabriel, I am before the presence of the Lord. Hello, I heard it, I witnessed that God said it. I heard him this morning say 'I'm going to bless Zacarias and Elizabeth'. What else do you want? God is faithful to his promise. God does not lie. God doesn't change his mind. He is true to his word. And He loves you. He loves you, Zacarias. If I am here and if I share this promise with you, it is because you are highly favored before the Lord.

Or maybe he wants to shake hands with God, like Abraham and Sarah did. Create an Ishmael. Do you know perhaps an Ishmael or two, brothers? This has perhaps been a church that is born prematurely, a ministry that rises prematurely, a company, a business that is planted without the Lord guiding it, without Jehovah's coverage, before its time.

You know in the Book of Acts, Priscilla and Aquila met an Ishmael named Apollo, a dynamic young man and full of a dynamic word, but something was missing and they saw. Look, this guy, he's got tremendous potential and he's missing something and they separated him, they cast him aside, they mentored him, they covered him, they blessed him and he became a pillar in the early church. But he started out as an Ishmael.

And the Lord responds to Zacarías, through Gabriel, and tells him 'you know, I love you so much, that you are going to be speechless for a while. For a while you are going to be silent because I do not want you to damage this, man, I do not want you to damage what I want for you, I love you so much that not a word I am going to allow to come out of that incredulous mouth until I keep the promises I have for you. And the ways of the Lord are serious business. Because the Lord tells him, through the angel, to top it off the Lord tells him 'and these words, these promises will be fulfilled, those three harsh words...... in due time. In due time.... in God's perfect timing.

Now, perhaps this is the most difficult thing that we can digest from the Lord, in due time. The ways of the Lord are like this. I love... have you guys seen the ads for the SUVs, these big trucks. I love them. And the ways of the Lord are something like these advertisements. Perhaps you are in a race with other automobiles, other cars, and isn't it logical to go along the smooth, open, direct road, the one that leads directly to the goal? Isn't that logical? But the Lord tells you 'no, no, no', and he puts you in his jeep and tells you 'it's not this way, it's this way'. And you go and it's a rocky road and boom... by the creek and you think the tires are going to explode and wow! where is the Lord taking me? Where are we going? He is crossing a forest, and he says to him 'Father, but we left some cars over there...' 'No, it's this way guys.... I know what I'm doing... boom, boom. Boom'.

But the men in the congregation are also getting excited, right? They are getting excited right? Oh yes, it's an exciting road. And in the end, when you realize it, it wasn't a waste of time, it wasn't crazy, on the contrary it was a...... You not only reached the goal, but you got ahead. There you are waiting for them, because the paths of the Lord are like that.

And the Lord took poor David down that path, he mounted him in his jeepeta. Do you remember David? In his youth, as a child, the Lord anoints him as king, but it takes 30 years for David to be crowned as king of Israel and Judah. And in those 30 years he was persecuted by Saul, he knew betrayal, he knew hunger, he knew persecution, he slept under the stars, he slept in caves, he had to borrow from the temple, even to eat. This was David's life at that time, but in those 30 years the Lord was fulfilling in each of those experiences, his promise in David, without him realizing it. It was in those 30 years, it was in that desert that the psalms were born, the psalms, the psalms that even now we sing.

With my God I will jump over the walls, with my God I will overthrow armies, He trains my hands for battle, I can fold my hands into something of bronze. He is shield, my eternal rock, He is the rock of my salvation, my high refuge, my...... He is my deliverer. Glory to God. That is your God.

Now when David wrote that psalm, he wrote it with his sword wet with blood, sleeping on the ground, in a cave, surrounded by men of little reputation that through this process the Lord was forming those men into an army and was making David a king. But there those psalms are born.

So, brothers, what do we do? What do we do when the Lord's promise is delayed? But the Lord has promised that we will embrace a son, what do we do? you know? Two things: 1. What the pastor said on New Year's Eve, rejoice. rejoice. You know, maybe you don't have a baby on your hands yet, but if the Lord promised you that you would have a baby, get ready for twins, get ready. If the Lord promised you, brother, rejoice from now on, because the Lord is faithful to his word. From now on you can still rejoice in the promise of the Lord.

Poor Elizabeth when she heard, what's more, she didn't even hear it, she felt because Zacarías was in what condition was poor Zacarías? Mute, he couldn't say anything to her. But at the moment she feels something move in her belly and she feels, but wait... that's a little weird... and she feels that this doesn't disappear, but that it grows, and grows, and grows, and grows and she says : 'but Lord I'm pregnant' and perhaps out of fear or astonishment, what does she do? She glorifies the Lord, but what does she do? He secludes himself, locks himself up because who knows if God changes his mind.

That's when Maria arrives, at the moment that Maria greets Elizabeth, the power of God comes down in that place. The spirit of the Lord covers both of them, what is in the womb of these women begins to jump and praise the Lord. The spirit of God, the spirit of life blesses you both. And Maria comes out singing, 'blessed, says Elizabeth, the one who believed that what was said on behalf of the Lord would be fulfilled'. And then Mary said 'the Lord magnifies my soul, and my spirit rejoices in God, my savior, because at my side the lowliness of his servant well here, from now on, not from the birth of the child, from the moment of the promise, from the moment the Lord promises that you will have his blessing, from now on all generations will call me blessed.

Did the Lord promise you anything, brothers, 10 years ago, 20 years ago? Blessed are you, because the Lord will fulfill it and here is, brothers, the beginning, in all this history the beginning that the pastor announced, that the pastor shared is running. The majestic power of the sterile that rejoices in its sterility.

What is found in Isaiah Chapter 54. Do you remember brothers? ‘....rejoice, oh barren, the one who did not give birth. Raise a song and shout for joy, the one who has never been in labor because there are more children of the forsaken than those of the married, Jehovah has said.'

But it goes further, we not only rejoice, but let us make room for the blessing. You know in part this message is inspired because in HERC, (HERC is experiencing an era of fertility). ................. just gave birth to a baby, Joy (joy). Glory to God. Soon Nidia ..............., our director of operations will give birth to a baby now in March, they are expecting the baby. How do they two fit in that office was something serious? See the two settling in. But it was something serious, brothers, the baby knows what he needs and he asks for it. What does the baby ask you? I haven't experienced it, I've talked to some men, but if your wife asks you for a cod and carrot salad at two in the morning, if that's what the baby craved, you're going to go out to a 24-hour Star Market to look for the cod, because that is what the baby asks for. What does the baby ask you? What books? What attitudes? How can you plan for this baby to arrive?

Nidia the other days ....., this week we take advantage of varnishing the third floor. Beautiful, that looks like a basketball court, but I didn't notice, no one else noticed, Nidia, who is expecting a baby, who is in the middle of her pregnancy, realized that there are certain vapors that made her uncomfortable. And she tells me: 'Samuel, I can't work here', 'but why?', 'I can't work here because it's a danger to my baby, it's a danger to the child I'm carrying'.

Siblings, which environments are dangerous for your baby? What environments can poison the vision that the Lord has of you? And what attitudes? The Lord at this moment, He takes advantage of these days, to form the baby in you. And with each discipleship class you take, that baby grows bigger. With each temptation you overcome, that baby grows bigger. With each time she asks the Lord for this vision, that baby grows more. Every time you share this crazy vision with others, that baby grows more, because the life of God is already in you, the power of God is already in you, the promise of God is already growing in you from now on you can celebrate. From now on you can receive, from now on you can give it a name and from now on you can expect that the Lord will use it for the glory of his name. Amen, brothers.

Let's stand up. How nice! The music that the Lord has for us is the sound of running water. You know, in sterility, in terms of spiritual sterility and fertility, males we have bellies too. Let's do something. Let's put our hands on our bellies. There is a promise that the Lord has deposited in the womb of each one of you and only you and God know it. Only you and God know. Only you know why the Lord made you. Only you know what you were born for. Only you know what God is doing in you, but God is faithful to his promise and we will bless God's promise in you, in the name of Jesus.

Lord, we thank you for your faithfulness. We thank you because in your word there is life. We thank you because we declare in the name of Jesus that you are fertilizing your work. You are filling our bellies with life. Lord dreams, Father, that perhaps have been saved, or have been forgotten, you are highlighting them again. You will not let us forget your words. You will not let us, Lord, forget your promises, on the contrary, Father, amaze us. amaze us. Surprise us, Father, with your faithfulness. Father we declare, Lord, ministries, gifts, companies, visions. Father, loads, loads. Lord, from now on feel the burden of life in your womb. Feel, Master, that we all feel the burden that is born in us, we cannot avoid the life that you have placed in us. We can't ignore it anymore. Father, we are sorry, that we feel this vision kicking against our belly, Lord. In the name of Jesus. We rejoice in you, in what you have to do in our lives. Glory to God. Bless the Lord with his promises, for he is faithful and his mercy forever.

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Sermon by Samuel Acevedo recorded January 8, 2006 in Congregación León de Judá (46 min.)

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