DECEMBER 12, 2021 SUNDAY MESSAGE
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Transcription Notes:
My name is Serena Acker, and I'm honored to serve as an elder here at Common Ground Northeast
Andrea, Tara, Molly, Mary and Linda. These are the names of just a few of the women in my life who
have all struggled with infertility. Andrea's eggs weren't viable. Tara could get pregnant, but she was
unable to sustain a pregnancy. Molly had two sons, but then suddenly battled infertility as they tried
for their third.
Mary had six. Count them six miscarriages with no explanation. Linda couldn't get pregnant with no
explanation as to why. So she gave up her dream of ever becoming a mom. These women all have
different stories, but they share a common thread.
A desire to have a baby. For many, infertility is a source of pain and shame, frustration and
disappointment, financial drain and exhaustion. Jonathan and I felt those things as we battled
infertility for four years. Thankfully, our story ended with a child, but waiting and trusting in God's
timing is hard because his timing often is not our own. Today we are going to be looking at the life of
Elizabeth in the Bible who knew all too well the pain and the discouragement of infertility and the
importance of trusting God's timing.
If you were with us last week, then you know that we are in a series called The Women of Advent,
during which we are celebrating the role of women as we celebrate the birth of Christ. Today we are
going to look at Elizabeth, who is part of the Christmas story, though she often gets overshadowed by
Mary. Admittedly, we don't know a lot about Elizabeth. We know that she's the wife of Zechariah, and
the only place that she and her story show up in the Bible is Luke chapter One.
So that's where we're going to be today.
Elizabeth and her husband are described in Luke One six as being righteous before God, walking
before Him blamelessly by obeying all of His Commandments and ordinances. What a beautiful
description. I want to be described that way, don't you? Scripture goes on to tell us that Zechariah and
Elizabeth were childless and they were very old. We don't know exactly how old they are.
Lifespans were drastically different back in Bible time, so she could have been anywhere from middle
age to older age. But regardless of exactly how old she was, we know that she was well past
childbearing years now, with our 21st century minds infertility might not sound like that big of a deal
because we have so many treatments available today, but that wasn't the case in Bible times. People
of this time viewed children as a blessing from the Lord, and it was a duty and a calling of a woman to
provide children, especially a son.
So if a couple experienced infertility people automatically assume that they had some unconfessed
sin in their life or that God was somehow displeased with them, though we know that that's not true
because verse six just told us that they were righteous before God. Elizabeth lived so many years as a
barren woman that it likely would have defined her life.
There were undoubtedly years of praying and trying and waiting and hoping, but by her age those days
would have been passed. Regardless, it was still likely a point of shame for her and Zechariah until an
angel appeared to Zechariah and told him that in spite of their age, they were going to get pregnant
and their son would be a forerunner of the Messiah. Let's continue in Luke One. It tells us that
Zechariah was serving as a priest before God. Verse nine says he was chosen by Lot according to the
custom of the priesthood.
Let's pause there for a moment. Casting lots could be compared to rolling dice. Now we don't know
exactly what method was used, but we know that the Jews did not view it as chance. They really
believed that God had a hand in the outcome. So at that time there were literally thousands of priests.
So a priest could only expect to offer a sacrifice or burn incense once or twice in their lifetime. This
was Zechariah's time. So on this particular day he was the winner of the dice roll. He used to go into
the temple and to burn incense. Only the priest was allowed into the area of the temple called the
Holy of Holies, which is where the altar of incense was held.
So Sakurai goes in like normal. He's not expecting to encounter an angel. So you can imagine his
surprise when he sees this celestial being verse eleven. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him
standing at the right side of the altar. Of instance, when Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was
gripped with fear.
It's a typical response for people in the Bible when they see an angel. Oftentimes the first words out of
an Angel's mouth are, don't be afraid. Doesn't this make you wonder how amazing Angels must be?
So the angel comforts him in verse 13. Don't be afraid, Zechariah.
Then he goes on to reassure him that your prayer has been answered. But what prayer? Zechariah is
an old man. He has prayed all kinds of prayers over the years. Admittedly, his prayers for a child were
likely something that frequented his prayers at one point.
But as the years went by and they got older, I doubt that prayer continued. The angel goes on. Your
wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. You are to call him John. He will be a joy and a delight to you and
many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.
Hello. What future parent doesn't want to hear that about their child? Then an angel includes a few
details about John that I find interesting. The first is that he is never to take wine or any other
fermented drink. Can you imagine John learning that he actually can't have a glass of wine and he's
doomed to always be the designated driver.
That's a joke. Abstaining from wine showed a special devotion to God. John was to be set apart. The
angel also says that John would be filled with the Holy Spirit. Now we think of being filled with the
Holy Spirit as someone who turns to the Lord and repents.
So how could this be with a baby? What the angel was saying is that John was being anointed for a
special purpose. He had a special calling on his life. So Zechariah is in the temple and he encounters
this angel who tells him he's going to be a father. I can just fixture his face of confusion, trying to
process what he just heard.
Wait, I'm going to be a dad. Wait, what? It's not exactly what he said, but it actually was kind of close.
Luke 118 Zechariah asked the Angel, how can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well
along in years, which is a totally reasonable response, except it stemmed in doubt.
Zechariah's disbelief cost him greatly. The angel responds, I have been sent to speak to you and to
tell you the good news, and now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day that this
happens because you did not believe my words. Essentially, Zechariah was punished for his disbelief.
He couldn't grasp what God was doing, and so he was given a period of silent reflection. The Bible
told us that he was righteous, and yet he clearly still needed to learn to trust God and what God was
telling him.
If we keep reading, I kind of get a kick out of Luke 121. Meanwhile, the people were waiting for
Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. Only the priests offering the sacrifice
would be allowed to be in the Holy of Holies. So they're standing outside looking at their watches like
what is taking so long? When Zechariah finally comes out, he's unable to speak.
So I imagine him trying to describe what happened not only just to the priest outside, but then later on
to his wife. It probably looked like some early form of charades of like.
And wouldn't you know what the angel prophesied came true? Verse 24 says, after this, Elizabeth
became pregnant. When God chose Elizabeth to bear John the Baptist. Her life changed. Her
reputation as a woman who was barren was suddenly changed until now, a miraculous pregnancy.
I can only imagine her delight. Elizabeth's response was one of praise and Thanksgiving to God. The
Lord has done this for me, she said. In these days he has shown favor and taken away my disgrace
among the people. She gives all the glory back to God.
Within the next month, an angel appeared to Mary to tell her that she would be with child as the
mother of Jesus. You've probably heard that story once or twice. So we're going to fast forward to
Luke 139, which tells us that Mary, after she found out she was pregnant, got ready and hurried to a
town in the Hill country of Judea, where she entered Zekariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. Let's
pause here for a moment. Mary was in Galilee.
Elizabeth is in Judea, which is about 80 miles away. It probably would have taken three to four days
for her to actually get to Elizabeth. So Mary took great lengths to try to get to her. It's speculated that
she did so because her life was in danger. As an unwed teenage mother, her fiance's family could
have killed her.
So as much as she wanted to share this good news of her pregnancy with Elizabeth, she also may
have been fleeing for her life. Elizabeth is a Kim's woman or a relative of Mary. We don't know exactly
how they're related. It's speculated that they were cousins, but if that's true, there's a pretty big age
gap because Mary was just betrothed and Elizabeth was well past childbearing years. Regardless, we
know that they are related.
I'm guessing that Mary's arrival came as a surprise to Elizabeth. We live in a day and age of constant
communication, but Mary couldn't just pick up the phone and text Elizabeth, saying, hey, I'm coming
over. So Mary shows up and this is what happened in verse 41, when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the baby leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. It's interesting to me that
Mary didn't say anything more than a greeting, but Elizabeth knew from the Holy Spirit that Mary was
pregnant.
Now I want to point out there that there are about 87 things that Elizabeth could have said.
Girl, what are you going to do? What are people going to think? Have you thought about Joseph in this
whole thing? And if they were going through her mind, she didn't say them. Instead, she speaks words
of blessing over Mary.
Elizabeth is so overwhelmed that she exclaimed, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the
child you will bear. But why am I so favored that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon
as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she
who believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her. The whole scene is full of joy.
I imagine them jumping and squealing and laughing as women do when we get good news. Notice
too, that Elizabeth calls Jesus as her Lord before he was even born. She knew from the Holy Spirit.
Elizabeth was around six months pregnant about this time, and the scripture tells us that Mary stayed
about three months, so presumably until Elizabeth gave birth. Verse 57 is when the big day arrived.
When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to her son. Her neighbors and relatives
heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy and they shared her joy. Elizabeth insisted that his
name be John, as the angel prescribed, even though no one in their family had that name. At that
time, it was expected really for a son to be named after his father or his grandfather. So not only
would he carry on the name, he would then also carry on the legacy of work as well.
So had John been named Little Zach, as everyone presumed he would have been expected to grow up
and be a priest like his dad. So by insisting that the child be named John, Elizabeth and Zechariah
were renouncing their family and their work for the next generation, you can see how Elizabeth and
Zechariah were told. So even though they were told what to name their son, you could see how this
could cause quite a stir in that culture. But Elizabeth and Zechariah remained firm in their decision.
When Zechariah wrote on a tablet confirming that the baby's name was to be John, all of a sudden he
was able to speak.
He was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied that his son would one day be a Prophet of the most
high, preparing the way for the Messiah. So essentially that's the story of Elizabeth, she was barren
until she was old and God miraculously made her pregnant. She was a faithful and prophetic woman
of God who played a key role in events surrounding the birth of Jesus. Her story is worth paying
attention to. I'd like to highlight a few lessons I think we can learn from old Liz.
Lesson number one, God provides. As we look at Mary and Elizabeth, one was young. Mary was
probably 13 or 14 years old and one was much older. God and His amazing Grace put these two
people together. They were walking parallel paths with their angelic visions and their miraculous
pregnancies.
Mary was blessed. I am sure to have the gift of an older woman walking with her through this. And as
a barren woman, Elizabeth knew what it was like to be whispered about to be feeling outside of the
norm of society, to have her life not turn out exactly like she wanted. Elizabeth was uniquely equipped
to be a supportive shoulder for Mary. When I was battling infertility.
It was a gift for me to be able to spend time with women who understood they had been through the
battery of tests, the pain of the shots, the roller coaster of emotions. Every month when I finally got
pregnant, I was blessed to be pregnant at the same time as one of my good friends. So it was so
comforting to be able to text her when my clothes weren't fitting and the aches and the pains and the
swollen ankles, all that came with it. It was such a gift to know that she knew I could talk to my
husband about it, but she understood she could empathize not just sympathize.
God provided miracle babies for Mary and Elizabeth, and he provided the support and encouragement
they needed to get through the season.
Lesson number two, God's timing is perfect from an earthly perspective, God's timing probably
seemed off with Mary's pregnancy coming way too early and Elizabeth coming way too late.
As a woman who had just already probably been through menopause. But clearly God had a plan.
When Elizabeth found out she was pregnant, she could have questioned God's timing. Really? God,
you're going to allow me to get pregnant now.
She could have complained that God waited too long because this pregnancy is going to be a lot
harder on her body as an older person and as an older mom, would she even live long enough to see
her child fulfill his destiny? But Elizabeth didn't do any of those things that we know of. Rather, she
turned and offered praise back to God. She rejoiced over the blessing that she was given, even though
it wasn't in her preferred timing. Mary trusted God's timing, too.
Her response could have been pregnant. I'm not even married. What is Joseph going to think? But
instead, her response was, I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me, as you have said, is there an area
of your life where you are trying to trust that God's timing is perfect?
Perhaps you're in a season of waiting, which is what Advent is all about. Maybe you, too, are waiting
for a baby or a husband or healing or the reconciliation in a relationship, and maybe your
circumstances look hopeless like Elizabeth. Mary and Elizabeth trusted that God's timing was perfect
even when it didn't make sense to them. Lesson number three, God can do the impossible. Do you
think that your situation is hopeless?
Let me remind you that God can do the impossible as a Virgin, it should have been impossible for
Mary to become pregnant. Similarly, if Elizabeth had been through menopause, her body would be
incapable of burying a child. God makes a way when there is no way. Remember Andrea, my friend
whose eggs weren't viable. She thought it would be impossible for her to become pregnant until she
did.
With the help of an egg donor she successfully carried and gave birth to my twin nieces, Molly, battled
Infertility after her two sons. It seemed impossible for God to add to their family, so they turned to
foster care. They're currently in the process of adopting two of their foster children, who their
biological sons adore after six miscarriages. A successful pregnancy seemed unlikely for Mary, but
her 7th was successful. Her daughter, Abby, was my best friend in kindergarten, Tara couldn't sustain
a pregnancy, so it seemed impossible that she would have a biological child until her sisterinlaw
offered to be her surrogate.
Tara's sister Inlaw, is currently pregnant, and Tara's baby is due in June. Linda, whose inability to get
pregnant was unexplained, gave up on her dream of being a mom because it just seemed impossible.
Until one day she received a phone call from her gynecologist, who obviously knew of her struggles
with infertility. The doctor, said that someone had abandoned a baby. Would she want it in each of
these circumstances?
God provided it wasn't in the timing or the way that my friends wanted. But God made a way when
there was no way here's where I want to acknowledge that not every barren woman ends up with a
baby. If you are waiting for a child this season, I want to reassure you that God sees you. He hears
your prayers and he knows the longings of your heart. My prayer for you is that you can hold that
hope.
That desire for a baby with the truth, that God is good and he has a plan. And his timing is perfect.
Even when it's really hard. We serve a God who can make a post menopausal woman and a Virgin,
both pregnant. We serve a God who makes the lame to walk and the blind to see.
We serve a God who makes donkeys speak and men who doubt like Zechariah become silent. We
serve a God who raised Jesus from the dead. He can do the impossible. Whatever your struggle it
comes down to this. Do you trust him?
Do you really trust him? Do you trust that his ways are better than your ways? That his timing is
perfect and more better than your own? Do you trust that he will provide? Do you trust that he will do
all that he says he will do?
Friends take heart. We serve a God who has a plan. I can't guarantee that your prayer will be answered
in the way that you want or in your desired timing. But I can tell you this God will provide. His timing is
perfect and he can do the impossible.
Amen, well, you pray with me. God, I just thank you so much for the story of Elizabeth and for her life
and the lessons that we can take from that Lord, I ask for forgiveness on behalf of all of us, for the
times that we think that our timing is best and we can get angry. Blame you during those times. So,
Father, increase our faith and our trust in your goodness and in your timing and knowing that that is
best in your name.
Amen.
COMMUNION:
(1 COR. 11:23B-26)
“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
PRAYER REQUESTS:
We are hosting prayer team meetings for both the congregation at large and individuals to sign up for individual prayer.
SUGGESTIONS FOR WORSHIP:
“Praise & Worship” Spotify playlist and “Praise & Worship” YouTube playlist (slightly different from each other), both of diverse music that are being constantly updated!
Bethel Music :
Bethel Music’s hours of live music YouTube Playlist, also being constantly updated
Bethel provides chords to most (if not all) of their songs here (just have to register email, but free!)
Live worship moments from the Upper Room YouTube Playlist
Journal writing! (I’m a writer too, so sometimes creative writing and writing my thoughts to God is my form of worship.)
Declare and worship with truth by singing and praying scriptures.
WORSHIP NIGHT! Dedicate a night to worship with friends and family, your house church or neighbors, those who need prayer, love worship, or just enjoy music through a video chat platform like Zoom. You can have one person leading at a time (switching off to whoever else wants to lead) while others sing along, pray, or prophesy, etc.
Serving your community, both online, in person, or both, is a great way to worship God, from spreading encouragement and God’s Word online to physically serving food to others. If you are able to go out and serve, click here for opportunities.
COMMISSIONING:
As Jesus said in John 20:21,
"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
Go, be the Church!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.