Again, because we were here this morning, once again to Luke chapter number one. Luke chapter number one. I'm going to read a few portions from Luke chapter one, beginning with verses five through seven. Luke chapter 1 verses 5 through 7, there was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child because Elizabeth was barren. And they were both well advanced in years. Verses 18, or sorry, verses eight and following tell us how an angel appears to Zacharias and tells him that he will have a son in his old age. And that son will be the forerunner of the Lord. He will be the one that will prepare the way of the Lord. And his ministry will be great. And so I wanna look then at verse 24 and 25. Now after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived and she hid herself five months saying, thus the Lord has dealt with me in the days when he looked on me to take away my reproach among people. And then jump ahead, if you would, to verses 39 through 45. Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste. to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believes, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord." Well, this morning we looked. pardon me, this morning we looked at the man Zacharias and learned from the life of Zacharias something about God remembering, God's promises and how we respond to God's promises as shown in the life of Zacharias. Tonight I want us to look specifically at Zacharias' wife, Elizabeth. Of course, Zacharias and Elizabeth aren't the first people you might think of when you think of the Christmas story. They're a little bit more indirectly related to the Christmas story, and yet they are bound up in that Christmas story. Elizabeth, the scripture tells us, was righteous before God. Both she and her husband were. She is righteous before God. means that she has been justified by God through faith. Positionally, she stands before God clothed in a righteousness that is not her own. It is a righteousness that has been granted to her by God's grace. She is a daughter of Abraham. As Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness, so Elizabeth has believed God and it has been counted to her for righteousness. She is righteous before God. But not only that, she is practically righteous. She is a woman who walks in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. We're not saying here, the scripture's not saying here that she's perfect. But what it says is that when people looked at Elizabeth's life, They could not point their finger at inconsistencies and hypocrisies and life filled with sin. She was a person who was blameless. We're also told that she, verse five, was of the daughters of Aaron. She was from a priestly family. And with her husband, she was devoted to the service of the Lord. She wasn't a priest. but she too would have been devoted to the service of God throughout her life. But then the scripture also tells us something about her. It tells us that she was barren. Verse seven, they had no child because Elizabeth was barren and she's well advanced in years. In today's culture, where children are seen more as a burden than a blessing, it may be hard to understand why this is such a big deal in Elizabeth's life. But this is actually something that was such a difficult thing in her life that she would say that it was a reproach among people. We don't think of it this way. We, in our culture, people I have a tendency to think of kids as something that is a pain, something that they'd rather not have. They'd rather live their life and do things that are important, and then maybe once they've gotten that out of the way, they'll have kids. A lot of people think that way. But back then, children were believed to be a heritage of the Lord. And even beyond that, a person who was barren, who was childless, would often be looked at in a very negative way. It was a mark against a woman's womanhood to not be able to bear children in that day. It was also in some people's minds that if someone didn't bear children, there must be something wrong spiritually with them. There must be something messed up in their life. So no matter that Elizabeth lived her life with righteousness and people looked at her life and it was blameless. Many people in looking at her because she was barren, they would have looked at her and said, well, she might seem righteous, but there's probably something else going on. She lived no doubt under this reproach, under this burden of scorn and even suspicion maybe throughout her life. But it's a mark of her faithfulness to God that this barrenness does not make her bitter. It doesn't make her angry. This ongoing reproach that has gone all the way into her old age, we read it in verse 25, reproach among people. This reproach that she faces day by day has not turned her away from God. She continues to walk faithfully with her. I think there's a lesson in that for all of us. God allows and ordains those difficult providences. Let us not become bitter and turn away from Him. That's the way that some people respond today. Well, if God is not going to do what I want Him to do, I am going to be angry with Him. If He's not going to come through for me, why should I bother serving Him? That's not Elizabeth's perspective. Elizabeth's name means something like God is my oath or God is my promise. It's possible that this name has the meaning that a person's word was as solid as God, but it's also possible that this name would have been an expression of the parent's faith in God. In other words, God who promises is faithful. could be whatever the intention of the parents, it could be, it seems that perhaps that they are expressing their faith in God. Faith in God is passed on to Elizabeth. She is someone who trusts in God at all times. A woman of faith. But what I want us to focus on beyond her faith, or a part of her faith, is the joy that Elizabeth demonstrates in her life. Elizabeth, in the pages of scripture here, demonstrates joy in God's promises and in God's provision. When the promise is made and she conceives, From that point on, we see this great joy in what God has done and what God will do. Elizabeth's life reminds us to rejoice in God's promises. Her life reminds us to rejoice in what God has provided. First of all, we see from her that we should rejoice in God's unexpected goodness. Rejoice in God's unexpected goodness. So astonishing was this conception when God opens her womb, that if it were not for Gabriel's announcement ahead of time, this would have been totally unexpected. She's barren. She's an older lady. She is well advanced in years. And yet God in his goodness gives her a son. We recognize, of course, that God is not just being good to Elizabeth and good to Zacharias. This son that he will give to Elizabeth and Zacharias is good to them, but it will be also good for Israel. as John will prepare the way of the Lord. He will, as we read this morning, be great in the sight of the Lord, shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God, speaking of Jesus. He will also go before him, Jesus, the Lord, God, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Great goodness of God. But unexpected. Unexpected that God would use Zacharias and Elizabeth. Unexpected that he would open the womb of a woman who was barren and well past the age of childbearing. This unexpected goodness, as we saw this morning, speaks to us of God's unexpected ways, that he just generally does not do things in the way that we would expect him to do. We have in our mind, we line up the criteria, that if these things are in place, then God can do a great work. And God's like, what do I need that for? We have a tendency to think that way, even when it comes to matters of church. We have in our idea, in our mind, our idea of this person. If this person could become a part of our church, it would be so great. Or in wider terms, in God's great purposes, if only this kind of a person could become a Christian, how much good they could do for God. And humanly speaking, that may be true, how often God quite turns things a very different way, using the people we might least expect and passing over those ones that we would expect would be the most useful. This unexpected goodness of God speaks of God's unexpected ways, but it also speaks, I think, to those of us who have prayed and hoped for so long that it seems impossible that God would answer. For those who face situations so complex and so desperate that it seems there is no hope at all. And let me remind you that God delights to do the unexpected. And God is greater than any of the struggles and trials that we face in this life. Let us place our hope in Him. And when God acts, when God does his unexpected good work on our behalf, let us rejoice. Look at it with me in the text, verses 24 and 25. Now, after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived and she hid herself five months saying, thus the Lord has dealt with me. in the days when he looked on me to take away my reproach among people." These are words of gratitude. These are words of joy. She is happy in God. God has looked on me. He's dealt with me. He's taken my reproach away from among people. Elizabeth rejoices. I mentioned already that Elizabeth is a woman of faith, and even this rejoicing is rejoicing in faith. I want you to think about it with me. As difficult as childbirth is today, it was even more difficult in these times. Just as today, the older a woman is, the more complications and difficulties could attend childbirth. All of this to say that this conception and the prospect of childbirth is, in human terms, life-threatening to a woman of Elizabeth's age. And yet she rejoices. She rejoices in hope. She rejoices in faith. God has promised that he would give her a son. God has promised that he would use that son to his honor and glory and to prepare the way for Jesus, the Messiah, Christ. And so she rejoices. She rejoices in hope. Psalm 106, verse one, praise the Lord. Oh, give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. And here's where Elizabeth lives in this moment of her life. God is good. And so she will praise him and give thanks to him. But we also see in Elizabeth's life, rejoice in God's not only unexpected goodness, but in his unmerited grace. As we get to verses 39 and following, we find that Mary has gone to the house of Elizabeth and Zacharias. And we read in verse 41, what happens, after having been greeted by Mary, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb. First person to recognize Jesus for who he truly was, was a baby in the womb. Let that sink into our hearts and minds. We live in this culture of death, abortion on demand, this constant push for abortion, what is sometimes today called reproductive rights. It's not reproductive rights. It's reproductive wrongs. The first person to recognize Jesus is a babe in the womb. The babe leaps in her womb and the scripture tells us in verse 41 that Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. She spoke out with a loud voice and said, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, speaking of Jesus. Why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? There's just no note of astonishment. Astonished that God in his grace would have the mother of her Lord come to her. Now, normally speaking, their relatives, and Elizabeth as the older of the two, would have been the one that would have been given greater honor than young Mary would have. But Elizabeth recognizes that there's more going on than just a meeting between family members. And within Mary's womb is the Lord, the Lord of glory. Elizabeth's wonder is not just that Mary has come to visit her, but that Mary bearing Jesus, the Christ, the Lord has come to her. That's what's so amazing. Elizabeth rightly sees this as unmerited favor from God. This is the grace of God that this would happen in her life. Unmerited favor from God is truly amazing and it really is worthy of our joy. I wonder sometimes if we if I could put it this way, have become bored with grace. We stand up and we sing songs about it. Well, maybe not so much right now in the pandemic, but when we have normal services, we stand up and we sing songs like wonderful grace of Jesus or amazing grace. And we don't really think of grace as wonderful and we don't really think of grace as amazing. We've heard it all, we've sang it all already, and it's become old to us maybe. May we never get over grace. This really is amazing. That this infant within Mary's womb is the Lord of Glory. And that Elizabeth stands in that presence. And that's just all part of the bigger gospel, isn't it? A gospel in which Jesus became a man to live and to die for us, for sinners. We didn't deserve his grace. Grace by its very nature is undeserved. Do we get bored by the fact that Jesus has provided salvation for us at the cost of his blood? that he has risen for our justification, that he has ascended today, or that he has ascended and that one day he will return for us? Is that boring to us? We never be bored by God's grace. It would be people who rejoice in God's grace. This time of year is a year when we think about Jesus coming to live for us. But we also remember that He has died for us and risen for us, and that He is coming again. That's amazing grace. The fact that Jesus will come to receive us unto Himself, that's amazing grace. As Elizabeth stands before Mary, she knows that within Mary's womb is unspeakable, unmerited grace. Paul would say it this way, thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift. When he says unspeakable, he's simply saying that we don't have the power to express just how great that gift is. Friends, let us rejoice in God's unexpected goodness, but let us also rejoice in God's unmerited grace. There's another note of joy that Elizabeth sounds. Not only is there this rejoicing in God's unexpected goodness and rejoicing in God's unmerited grace, but there's also a note of rejoicing in God's unlikely ways. We talked about that this morning. God has a way of doing things in very, very unexpected ways to us. In this meeting between Mary and Elizabeth, Elizabeth will say, why is this granted to me? Verse 43, that the mother of my Lord should come to me for indeed, As soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed." Think about those words, blessed is she that believed. Think about that she that believed. Who is this she that believed? It's Mary. A young, unwed, young woman. She's betrothed at this point, but she's not married. She's a virgin, she's never known a man. That's the one that God is going to use to bring his son into the world. There is marvel and joy in God's use of Mary. Twice, Elizabeth will say, blessed are you, speaking of Mary, she'll say, blessed, verse 42, are you among women? And she'll say in verse 45, blessed is she who believes. Of all women, there is this incredible blessing on Mary. But it's amazing that it's on Mary. We can rejoice that God does all things well. We can rejoice that God does his thing in his own unexpected ways with his unlikely cast of characters. Think about Elizabeth Joy rejoicing in Mary as the one who's received a special blessing from God to bear Messiah. How unlikely it is that Mary would be that one. There's a sense in which, let's just pull this back a little bit and think about how we too can rejoice in God's likely ways. Certainly we can rejoice in the unlikely way that God brought redemption. If we were to plan this out, if we were to plan a way of salvation, we would not have come up with something like this. And we would not have come up with something that would have been to the salvation of our souls either. We can rejoice in God's unlikely ways in bringing redemption. We think about all of the twists and turns from a human perspective that brought about Christ being born in Bethlehem. All the times where it seemed like the whole thing was in jeopardy and God would raise up an unlikely person. We are reminded as we consider just the God's work of bringing redemption. We're reminded of what God says, my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. We can rejoice in God's unlikely ways just in bringing about redemption in general. But we can rejoice also in God's unlikely ways in saving us personally. Think about all the details that went into God saving us. The who that he used, the what that he used, the where that he used it, when, how, all of these things brought together in such a way that only God could. That would bring us to faith in Christ. I think about even my own coming to faith as a young boy. If you were to look at my life, the sort of things that you might have expected would have been the things that have brought me to Christ were not the things that God used ultimately to bring me to faith in Christ. Grew up in a home where there was family devotions and heard the word of God. And certainly that was part of what God used, but it wasn't ultimately the thing that moved me in God's providence to trust in Christ. I grew up going to church. And you would think that maybe under the preaching of the word, maybe the sermons from the pulpit God would have used. But it wasn't one of those kind of sermons from, I grew up actually at that age, it was in a very large church well-known preacher at that time. There are many, many people that made professions of faith through this man's preaching of the gospel. But God used the lesson and the appeal of a man who worked security, finished his security job, didn't even have enough time to change, and would come and teach a children's class on a Wednesday night. That's what God used to convict my heart. And I wonder what it was with you, how God brought you to faith. I think even in the history of our church, remember when Rashida came to faith in Christ, what kind of a series Might you expect that God would use to bring someone to faith in Christ? Well, what I was preaching about, I was preaching a series on the doctrine of election. And we had a baptismal service. And it was in that context that God reached down and opened Rashida's heart to truly trust Christ. God does things in ways that we might not expect. Even the very proclamation of the gospel is not the very thing, is not the sort of thing that we might expect. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 21, for after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. That word There, the foolishness of preaching is a word that combines both the act and the message. You could even say, through the foolishness of the message proclaimed. The gospel is, to this world, a foolish message, but it's wiser than men. The proclamation of the gospel might seem to be an outdated and foolish thing of a bygone era, witnessing preaching, all of that, that's something from some other time. It pleases God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. We can rejoice in God's unlikely ways in bringing redemption in general. We can rejoice in God's unlikely ways in saving us personally. We can also rejoice in God's unlikely ways of building his church, both here and in the big picture. We might think, as I kind of alluded to this earlier, we might think in our minds, this is the kind of person that we need to have a strong church. This is the kind of person that we need to really establish a church. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 26 to 31, you see you're calling brethren. However, not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. Those are the very types of people that we think would provide the solid foundation for a church, right? Wise, mighty, and noble, right? These are the kind of people, and yet Paul tells us, no, those aren't the kind of people that God normally calls. Not many of those are called. Well, who does God call to salvation? But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are despised hath God chosen. Yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught the things that are. Why does he do it this way? That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. God does things in unlikely ways. And we could spend our time being perplexed by it and wondering why would God do it this way? But there's another response. Let's rejoice that God's smarter than we are. Let's rejoice that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Let's rejoice in God's unlikely ways. But there's furthermore a note of joy in the words of Elizabeth, not only about God's unexpected goodness and His unmerited grace and His unlikely ways, but also His unfailing word. We've seen a hint of that already in her proclamation by faith, thus has the Lord dealt with me to take away my reproach from among people. She looks by faith to the day that she will have a son, but she also looks by faith to the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Look at it with me in chapter one, verse 45. She says, blessed is she who believed, For there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord. What things is she referring to? Well, she's referring to the things that the angel Gabriel told Mary. What were the things that he told Mary? Chapter one, verse 31, behold, you will conceive in your womb and will bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great. and will be called the son of the highest. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end." Elizabeth rejoices in God's unfailing word. There will be a fulfillment, verse 45, of those things which were told her. from the Lord. She's rejoicing in God's promises, God's unfailing word. Driving home the other day from school, spend a lot of time on the roads, driving back and forth to school hours over the course of the week, many hours. And I often have 680 News on. And one of the drives that I was driving back, I believe, and they had a little warning from 680 News and reminding people about scams this Christmas season. And they gave a number of scams to be beware of. They said, beware, of course, the same thing happens every Christmas season, right? But beware of the pretended affections. People will try to call or reach out on social media and make connections with people and pretend that they're in love with them and then start asking them for money, that's one of them. Another one that we all have received throughout the year is the call that's supposed to be from Revenue Canada. And if we don't call back, they'll bring us before the magistrate. Always chuckle about that one. But they said there's other scams as well in which people urge you to pay for something or invest in something and that there will be a guarantee on your investment. Untold money is gonna come if you give money to this cause. And they warned us about those things that seem to be too good to be true. And we know the saying, right? If it seems too good to be true, it probably isn't true. Well, friends, God says some things that might seem on first glance to be too good to be true. But when God says it, we can believe it. We don't have to be afraid that God is going to deceive us. We don't have to be afraid that God is going to plan something and then circumstances beyond his control are going to keep him from bringing his plans to pass. When God promises something, his word is faithful and true. I read from Isaiah 55 verses eight and nine earlier, but Isaiah 55 verse 11, we are told by God, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void. but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I send it." When God speaks, his plans and purposes are certain. When God promises, his word is unfailing. And friends, this is why Elizabeth could rejoice that there would be a fulfillment of those things which were spoken to Mary by the Lord. And this is why we can rejoice in the hope of glory, even while we struggle in this fallen world. Romans chapter five, verses one and two, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand. and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. This is why we can believe when everything seems to be going wrong, that all things work together for good, Romans 8, 28. This is why we can believe and rejoice that He, that when we seem to be abandoned, that we know that He will come again. and receive us unto himself, that where he is, there we may be also, John chapter 14, verses one to three. Because God has promised it, because Christ has promised it, we can believe. And my question for you is, do you believe? My friends, believe and rejoice this Christmas season. There will be a fulfillment of God's word. Emmanuel, God with us who came will come again. And so we can sing in a hope-filled way. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to you. Oh friends, let us rejoice this Christmas season. Rejoice in God's unexpected goodness. Rejoice in God's unmerited grace. Rejoice in God's unlikely ways. And rejoice in God's unfailing work.