Zacharias' Song, Part 2

Let's pray together. Father, we thank you that you truly are wonderful. 2nd Corinthians, excuse me, Isaiah chapter 9 tells us that your name is wonderful. And we thank you Lord that the wonder working power of Almighty God works as much today as it did 2,000 years ago and 2,000 years before that. You're always at work and we thank you for that. We pray that you'd be in work in our lives today. That your word would transform us. That we might be able to behold your great and wonderful glory and thus live in obedience to your word in Jesus name.

Amen. If you have your Bible I would invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 1. Luke chapter 1. Luke chapter 1. We have been studying the great narrative, the great saga of salvation in the first chapter of the gospel of Luke.

We've, I think somewhere between 14 and 15 messages and just in chapter 1. At that rate, it'll take us a couple of decades to get through the book of Luke. But don't worry, we'll speed up as we get through the second chapter of Luke.

But we've spent some time here helping you understand God's whole redemptive plan. And Luke began by telling us that he, he wanted to present to us the exact truth. He wanted to make sure that we understand what is real, what is true, what is right. And so he, he spent time examining those and understanding those, examining those who were with Christ and who had, had a ministry with him so that he might give us the exact facts. And he began with that introduction about Zacharias and Elizabeth. And from that introduction, he, he gave us the, the great announcement about the birth of the forerunner of the Messiah.

And from there, a parallel account about Mary in the announcement about the coming of Messiah. And the two accounts run similar, run parallel together. And with that, there was a great celebration about the coming of the forerunner as Elizabeth would be filled with the Spirit of God and break forth into praise. Likewise, Mary, because she was going to give birth to the Messiah, would break forth into praise. And so you have an introduction of the individual, Zacharias and Elizabeth, along with Mary.

Then you'd have the enunciation about the child that would be born. And then you had a celebration about that child. And then you had the birth of that child. John the Baptist, of course, first.

And then Zacharias breaks forth into his praise. And in Luke chapter 2, we had the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. And what Luke is doing for us is showing us the most incredible link between the Old Testament and the New Testament. How Christianity truly is a fulfillment of Judaism. Judaism is the root and Christianity is the fruit. And so Luke has taken a lot of time to explain to us the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. You know, I think sometimes we forget that God has a marvelous plan.

His plan of salvation is so incredible. Remember, the Lamb of God was slain before the foundation of the world. And so we know that sometime in eternity past, God made a decision. That is, He was going to redeem a bride for His Son. And so God created the heavens and the earth. And on that stage of earth, He placed mankind. And God knew there was only one way to redeem a bride for His Son that would radiate the glory of His Son. And that's why He allowed sin to enter the world. If there was no sin, the bride could never truly fully radiate the attributes of Christ.

Because it's only in the realm of sin that we understand grace, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. And if the bride was ever truly going to represent and radiate the glory of Almighty God, all those things must be clearly seen. So God allowed sin to run its course. He allowed Satan to fall. He allowed the deception of Adam and Eve in the garden. And because they believed the lie of Satan, they fell into sin and plunged humanity into the depths of depravity. When that happened, God began to reach out and redeem His people.

And Luke brings forth for us the coming of that Redeemer. How He would come to earth and how He would live the perfect life and how He would die so that you could somehow live that perfect life. He would rise again and Luke begins to tell us that whole story. And up to this point, it's been a narrative. We've learned about the different characters. We've learned about how they lived and how the angel Gabriel came to them and made the great announcement. But when we get to Zacharias' song in Luke 1, 67, the Benedictus of Zacharias, we begin to see the deep theology of Luke as he unfolds for us what it is Zacharias said concerning the coming of the Messiah.

And the song of Zacharias is that one song in the Bible that shows us how Christianity truly is the fulfillment of Judaism. And it links everything together for us so we can begin to clearly understand the plan of salvation as God unfolds it before our eyes. And we had this great privilege of sitting down week after week after week and studying what God has intended for man. And Zacharias, when he bursts forth into praise, after having been deaf and mute for nine months, finally gets to let it all out.

And we don't know all that he said, but we do know some of what he said. And that's why we have Luke 1, 67 and following. We began last week by helping you understand this because it centers around three specific promises that God made. The Old Testament calls them covenants. One was a Davidic covenant, the other was an Abrahamic covenant, and the other is the New Covenant. And this song centers around those three elements. They become the stanzas of the song. And Luke begins by saying this, that his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied.

We'll stop right there. This is Father's Day. And fellas, if I could give you one message, it would be this. You need to be filled with the Spirit of God. You need to be controlled by God's Spirit in order for you to lead your family in a way that honors God. There's no other way to do that except to be controlled by His Word and by His Spirit in order that you might lead your family in a way that teaches them the truth of God. And as fathers, that's our responsibility. And so if I could give you just one word of exhortation, it would be to be filled, to be controlled, to be dominated by the Spirit of God so He controls your emotions, He controls your actions, He controls your relationships, He controls your dealings in the marketplace, He controls everything about you so that when you open your mouth, you can speak forth the Word of God.

That's the essence of what it means to be a father, someone who is controlled and dominated by the Spirit of God in such a way that when he opens his mouth, he speaks the things of God. And so Zacharias was a man filled with the Spirit of God. He opened his mouth, he began to speak these words, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people. He speaks as if redemption has already been accomplished because He knows that His Son is the forerunner.

He knows that in the womb of Mary is the Messiah. How does He know that? Because Mary was with He and Elizabeth for three months. And she would have conveyed to Him Luke 1, 32, which talks about what the angels said about the Son of the Most High God. His kingdom would reign forever and ever. So He knows that in the womb of Mary is the Messiah. He knows already that His Son is the forerunner to the Messiah, and He will turn the hearts of the families back, or the hearts of the fathers back to their children.

He will prepare the way of the Lord. He knows all that. You can imagine this priest having been able to sit down and read what Mary and Elizabeth were communicating together because he couldn't speak and he couldn't hear and realize what was taking place in his life. In spite of the fact that he didn't believe when Gabriel came to him and made the announcement about his son John. And just like a like a big balloon blowing up with all this hot air, in this case all this theological truth, just waiting forth, or waiting for the opportunity to spring forth the truth.

And now in verse 64 of Luke 1, when he writes, His name is John, the Bible says that his tongue was loosed and he began to praise Him.

And the praise of Zacharias is all about redemption. Because that's the essence of our praise, the redeeming work of God. He says God has visited his people. That's an Old Testament phrase that talks about the fact that when God, who is supernatural, invades the natural, great and mighty things begin to happen. And in this case, it was redemption that was being accomplished. He says, verse 69, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David his servant. And that that tells us that that this man knows about the Davidic covenant.

Because the horn of salvation, according to Psalm 132, is the horn of David. Of course, that takes us back to the animal kingdom and horns representing power, the ability to kill and to conquer. And that's how Israel understood their Messiah. It's a conquering warrior. In fact, over in the book of Jeremiah chapter 50, verse number 34, it says that their Redeemer is strong. They understood the power of Messiah. Psalm 18 too. The Lord is the horn of my salvation. And Zacharias knew that in the house of David was the power to save.

How did he know that? Because he says, As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. They knew that when the son of David arrived, they would be saved from their enemies. He would be a political ruler and he would overthrow whatever government was there. And he would rule and reign from the the city of Jerusalem. And he would be the king that would enable Israel to live in peace. They'd be saved from their enemies. In these covenants, the Davidic, the Abrahamic, and the new covenant are the stanzas of a song.

The Davidic covenant, a universal promise. The Abrahamic covenant, a national promise. The new covenant, a personal promise. One dealing with the ruler who would come. The other dealing with the land that would be possessed when the ruler came. But the third one, the new covenant, would be the one that would open the door to both Abrahamic and Davidic promise being fulfilled in the life of Israel.

And Zacharias sees it all unfolding before his eyes. He knows his son's the forerunner. He knows Messiah is going to come. That means redemption is going to be accomplished. He knows that Mary is from the line of David. We'll see that in Luke chapter 3. He knows that Joseph is from the line of David. He understands Davidic promise because the Old Testament, he says, the prophets of old have already written about it. Remember, we took you back to 2 Samuel 7. Turn back there with me for a moment, if you would.

2 Samuel chapter 7. Need to hurry and turn because we started late today. And we don't want to go too late today. We know we're going to go a little later than normal, but we don't want to go too late. So hang with me. Remember 2 Samuel chapter 7? It is the covenant given to David. And a good question was asked last week. How do you know that in this covenant in 2 Samuel chapter 7 that God is talking about Solomon and God is talking about the coming of Messiah? How do you know that? Well, it says, verse 12, When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you who will come forth from you and I will establish his kingdom.

He shall build a house for my name. Remember David wanted to build a house for God. He knew that God was in this little tent. The dwelling of God was in the tent and David lived in this great palace and he felt like God needed to be in a in a in a nice beautiful temple and he wanted to do that and Nathan said no you can't do that because you're a man of bloodshed instead your son's going to do that. So God gives the promise and says you're going to have a son that's going to build my house. Now listen, we know that Solomon built the great temple.

We know that. But we also know in Zechariah chapter 6 that when the branch comes, the Messiah comes, he too will build a temple in the millennial kingdom. We know that. So both is true. Now read on. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Solomon's throne wasn't forever was it? It was only for a short time. But the son of David, the Messiah, his kingdom will be forever. And then it says, I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me when he commits iniquity. Did the son of David, that is, did Messiah commit iniquity?

No. He was sinless. He was spotless. There was no sin. But did Solomon commit iniquity? Oh, yes, he did. Yes, he did. I was sharing with our leadership not too long ago. I think it was Monday night. Was it Monday night or two Monday nights ago? I forget what it was. But the whole fact about that when you're on top of the city of David and you're able to look down over that 30 acres of the hill of Ophel, you have the Kidron Valley over to your left and then you have another hill called the hill of offense.

Because that's where Solomon allowed all of his wives to build the altars to their pagan gods. And as you sit there and look over the city of David and realize that the hill of offense was right over here, you realize Solomon's downfall. You realize Solomon's iniquity. He allowed those women to control his mind and emotions. And after Solomon, the kingdom was divided. It never was like it was under King David. And yet, God made a promise to David. He says, I will correct him with a rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men.

But my loving kindness shall not depart from him as I took it away from Saul whom I removed from before you and your house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever. God says forever.

Your throne shall be established forever. Now, you know what the amazing thing about this is? Solomon was not born yet. Not only that Bathsheba is not even in the picture yet. Solomon was the second son born to Bathsheba.

God has given a promise. Listen very carefully to what I'm going to say. God's given a promise to David that he will have a son that will build a temple and that when he commits iniquity, I will correct him. And from his loins will come an ultimate descendant who will reign forever and never. And yet, Bathsheba is not even a part of the picture. That doesn't happen until later on down the road. And you know that story about David and Bathsheba. And the adulterous affair he had with her and the murder of her husband Uriah.

And all the lies that David had to weave in order to accomplish his feat of deception. And that child was born that was conceived out of an adulterous affair and that child died. And after that child died, David got up. He cleansed himself. He washed himself. He worshiped. He went back into Bathsheba and they conceived a son and that son's name was Solomon. Do you understand the implications of that? There is no sin in your life that is so great that it will thwart the plan of Almighty God. God already knew about the affair with Bathsheba before David ever met Bathsheba.

God already knew that there was going to be a son that would build a temple and it would come from Bathsheba. That's why she's in Matthew chapter 1, the genealogy of Christ. See, God orchestrates the events of life to bring about his great and wonderful purposes. And God made a promise that David, your kingdom will be forever. And the Jews, boy, they were waiting for that promise to be fulfilled. They wanted deliverance from their enemies. They wanted freedom from their oppression. They wanted freedom from their persecution.

At the time of Zacharias, they were under Rome's domain. And they were oppressed and they were afflicted and they wanted freedom. And they longed for the coming of Messiah. Longed for that day. Remember Anna and Luke chapter 2? She longed for the redemption of Jerusalem. That one day the Messiah would come and redeem his people, would save them, would rule, and they would be his people. The Jews longed for that. And Zacharias knows about Davidic promise. Now this covenant is referred to 40 different times in the Old Testament.

Because God wanted Israel to know, you're going to have a king. And that king will rule and reign forever. That's my promise to my servant David. And you will be the benefactors of that promise. The beneficiaries of that promise. It's going to come to you. So they longed for that day. And Zacharias understood that. He longed for that day. And now he knows. Now he knows. The forerunner has been born, John the Baptist. And he knows that Messiah is right on his heels. Redemption has been accomplished.

There will be salvation from our enemies. And from all those who hate us. Unfortunately, you know the story. And how it unfolded. And how they would cut off Zacharias' son's head. Because he preached the gospel of repentance. And they would crucify the Messiah. Because as Luke tells us, we will not have that king rule over us. That king didn't come on Israel's terms. He came on God's terms, but not on Israel's terms. That was Davidic promise. There will be a descendant of David who will rule and reign forever and ever on the throne of David in Jerusalem.

You can read about it in Psalm 110. You can read about it in Zachariah chapter 14, verse number 9, 1 Chronicles 17, Psalm 89, Isaiah 9, 6 and 7. You can read about it all throughout the Old Testament. Because God made a promise. It was a Davidic covenant, but there was another covenant. There was something else. That when that king came, Israel would finally be able to serve their king in the right way.

And that was Abrahamic promise. Listen to what Zacharias says in verse 72. Because this is the Abrahamic covenant. To show mercy toward our fathers. Who are the fathers of Israel? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. And to remember his holy covenant. What covenant is that? The oath which he swore to Abraham, our father, to grant us that we being delivered from the hand of our enemies. Okay. So once we're delivered from the hand of our enemies, once the Messiah comes and we are set free from the enemies that rule over us.

Listen. We might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. That's Abrahamic promise. That finally we can serve our God without fear.

Without fear of someone else coming in and taking control of us and in ruining us and destroying us and and killing us and our kids and our families. And we'll be able to finally serve him the right way in holiness and in righteousness how he deserves to be served.

That's Abrahamic promise. Now this is very important. Because if you don't understand the Abrahamic covenant, then you're going to miss the essence of God's redemptive plan as it is spelled out in the Old Testament. So turn back with me if you would to Genesis chapter 12. Genesis chapter 12. Now the Lord said to Abram, verse 1 of chapter 12, Go forth from your country. What country is that? Ur of the Chaldees. Okay. Ur of the Chaldees. Go forth from your country and from your relatives and from your father's house to the land which I will show you.

So God has come to Abraham and God is showing mercy to Abraham and mercy is being demonstrated to a man who was a worshiper of pagan gods. And this is how God begins to show his mercy. To a man who is a pagan idolatrous worshiper in Ur of the Chaldees and God calls him to a land. To get to that land listen, he has to cross a river called the Euphrates. And that's where you get the term Hebrew. Hebrew means to cross the river. There were no Hebrew people before Abraham. There were no Jews before Abraham.

There wasn't a Jewish nation before Abraham. Abraham was the first Jew. But before he was a Jew he was a Gentile. Okay. And God called Abraham to go to a land that he would show him and listen to what he says. And I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great. And so you shall be a blessing and I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. There is the Abrahamic covenant. And we know it's a covenant because of Genesis chapter 15 and we'll look there in a moment.

This covenant is reiterated eight times in the book of Genesis. Genesis 12, 13, 15, 17, 22, 26, 28 and 35. Eight times it's reiterated because it is absolutely essential to the Jewish nation. They need to understand it. And God says I'm going to bless you.

Not because of who Abraham was but because God made a choice to show mercy on one man and make him a blessing that he might be able to bless the nations of the world. That's the Abrahamic promise. But there was a problem. His wife was barren. She had no kids. It's hard to have a nation when you don't have one, right? So how's that going to happen? Well, God's going to have to do a great work. But doing a great work is no problem for God, right? And God called this man and he made a promise to him.

An unconditional promise. An irrevocable promise. A promise based not on Abraham but on God. And so God called him and says, I'm going to give you a land. A land. And I'm going to make you a blessing in that land. You know, Israel is a blessed people. And they have blessed many other people because they are a blessing. But the true fulfillment of Abrahamic promise has yet to happen in Israel. Turn with me to Genesis chapter 15 for a moment.

God says, I'm going to bless you and I'm going to bless all the nations of the world because of you. That's how we know salvation. John 4 22. Salvation is of the Jews. Everything came from the Jews. The law came from the Jews. The prophets were Jewish. Everything came from the Jews. Messiah came from Judaism. Everything comes from the Jews. It's all rooted in Judaism. And God says, I'm going to make you a promise, Abraham.

I'm going to bless you. I'm going to bless the nations that come from you. In fact, you know what? I'm going to bless you so much that if someone decides to curse you, I'm going to curse them. I will curse them. Because you are my people. Now Genesis chapter 15. Genesis 15 is the confirmation of the covenant. Genesis 12 are the terms of the covenant. Genesis 15 is the confirmation of that covenant. Listen to what God says.

Verse 18. And on that day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham saying, that's how we know it's a covenant. To your descendants I have given this land from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. Now remember when Abraham was called from Ur the Chaldees, he had to cross over the river. Once he crossed over the river Euphrates, God says this is your land.

That land of Israel has river boundaries. To the east is the Mediterranean Sea. To the south is the great river. I'm not sure it's the Nile river, but there is a river that runs east and west that's on the northern boundary of Egypt. And that river runs all the way to the Euphrates. That means the land of Israel is the land of Iraq, is the land of Iran, is the land of Lebanon. That is all their land. Now we can go to Iran today and read them Genesis 15 and they're not going to say, oh wow, we didn't know we were in Israel's land.

Let's go give it to them. They're not going to do that. I'm going to tell you why in a moment. But that's all their land. All that boundary is theirs. And God made sure that Abraham knew that not only would he bless him and not only would he bless the descendants after him, but he would bless them in a land. In a land. He says the Kenite, the Kenizzite, the Kadmonite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, and the Raphaim, and the Amorite, and the Kenite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite. That's their land.

But it's no longer going to be their land. Let me tell you something. Have you ever met a Girgashite? Have you ever met a Jebusite? Have you ever met a Kenonite? No. Because God never promised them an eternal land or eternal kingdom. I've only met an Israelite. Unfortunately, I've met a few termites every once in a while, but I've only met an Israelite. And so that's because God made a covenant promise to them. That's why they're still around. You can't get rid of Israel. Satan's tried. Read Revelation 12.

Revelation 12 talks about Satan's plan to destroy the nation of Israel. He can't. He wants to, but he can't. Because God has preserved them. God has protected them. So God says, I'm going to make your name great.

The Jewish nation has a great name. They have a great name in literature. They have a great name in finance. They have a great name when it comes to education, when it comes to medicine, when it comes to the arts. They have a great name. And through them all the nations of the world will be blessed. God's going to do that. But he's also going to give them a land. He describes for us the parameters of that land. So we will know which land is theirs. Now Genesis chapter 17. Now when Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am God Almighty.

Walk before me and be blameless, and I will establish my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly. Now the covenant was unconditional. The covenant was unconditional. But the fulfillment of the covenant required obedience on the part of Abraham. Walk before me and be blameless, and I will multiply you exceedingly. Now remember, Genesis 16 comes between Genesis 15 and 17. And in Genesis 16 you have Abraham's relationship with Hagar. And from Hagar came Ishmael, Sarah and Abraham thought that they could enact the plan of God by Abraham going into his maidservant, she conceiving, bearing a child, and that's how God was going to bless the nations of the world.

But that wasn't God's plan. That's why God comes to him and says when he is old, he appeared to him and says, I am God Almighty. I am El Shaddai. I can accomplish anything I want to accomplish because I'm the all-powerful God. But you Abraham have to walk before me and you must be blameless. And if you are, I will multiply your nations exceedingly. Then he says, that Abraham fell on his face and God talked with him saying, as for me, behold, my covenant is with you and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

No longer shall your name be called Abraham, but your name shall be called Abraham, and I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. That phrase, the multitude of nations, is why there is problems in the Middle East today. Because Abraham truly is the father of a multitude of nations. Because from Abraham comes Ishmael, the father of the Arab nations. From Abraham comes Isaac, the father of the nation of Israel, as well as Jacob, as well as Esau, the father of the nations of the Middle East.

That's why Iran is not going to come over and say, hey, you know what? We read Genesis 15 today in our government meeting and we decided that this truly is your land. They're not going to come over and say that because you see, they are descendants of Abraham through Ishmael and through Esau. Not from Isaac and Jacob, but we know the Bible is very clear. The promise, the seed comes through Isaac and comes through Jacob, not Ishmael and Esau. See that? So God says, verse 6, And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you.

And kings truly have come forth from the descendants of Abraham. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant. Now we know the covenant's an everlasting covenant. To be God to you and to your descendants after you, and I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God. Now you have the salvific component of the Abrahamic covenant.

Whenever you have something that's eternal, it must be based on a relationship with God. And the only way you can have a relationship with God is if there has been the forgiveness of sins. He says, Abraham, I'm going to bless you. I am going to bless your descendants. Not only that, I'm going to give you a land. Here are the boundaries to the land. Not only that, to your descendants, I will be their God and they will be my people. And this will be an everlasting covenant. It will last forever, Abraham.

The Jewish nation knows that. And they know that when Messiah comes and rules and reigns and they are saved from their enemies, they will now be able to live in that land in peace. That's why we pray for the peace of Jerusalem. And once they live in that land in peace, then they will truly be able to worship their king in holiness and in righteousness. But the only way you can worship the king in holiness and in righteousness is to somehow have his righteousness reckoned to your account or imputed to you.

It's the only way. To remove Genesis 22. If you've been with us for any length of time, you know about Genesis chapter 22. And God's call upon Abraham. Abraham needed to understand the Abrahamic covenant in its entirety. It was more than just a land. It was more than just a blessing. It was more than just blessing the nations of the world. It was more than just having an eternal covenant. There was something else wrapped up in the Abrahamic covenant that Abraham had to grasp and once he grasped it, it became the essence of what the gospel truly was in the Old Testament.

So God says take your son, your only son. Take it to Moriah, Mount Moriah. Moriah foreseen by God. Take him to a place that's already been foreseen by God. So Abraham journeyed. He got to the base of the mountain. He told his men to stay down and he and the lad would go up on top of the mountain. Because God says I'm going to sacrifice.

I want you to sacrifice your only son. So God takes him. So I mean, Abraham takes him to Moriah. You can go to Moriah today. Moriah is where the Temple Mount is. That's Mount Moriah. God says to Abraham, you take your son, your only son, to a place that I've already foreseen.

And you take him there and you sacrifice him. So Abraham and Isaac, they make their their way up Mount Moriah and Isaac asked that familiar question. We got the fire. We got the knife. But where's the lamb? And Abraham says very eloquently, God will provide himself as lamb. Or a little translation, God will see himself as lamb. So he binds his son Isaac. He gets ready to sacrifice his son and the angel of the Lord stops him. Stops him. He says in verse 12, do not stretch out your hand against the lad and do nothing to him.

For now, I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son from me. Now, why would Abraham take his son, his only son, his son of promise, the seed that would bless the nation of the world? Why would Abraham be willing to take his son on top of the mountain and sacrifice him? Because Hebrews 11 19 says that Abraham believed that God could raise the dead. So Abraham goes on top of Mount Moriah expecting there to be a resurrection. Because he knows what God has said. You are to slay your only son, the one whom you love.

So Abraham, going through all these emotions, takes his son up onto the hill, confident, believing, knowing, because he's a man of faith, that God would raise his son from the dead. Because if he kills his only son, the son of promise, how is he going to bless the nation of the world? Can't. So he believed that God would raise his son. So he took his son. He tied him down. He stretched his hand and was just about to sacrifice his son. And the angel of the Lord stops him. Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked and behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns.

Listen, this is very important. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Or in the stead of his son. Abraham went on top of Mount Moriah expecting a resurrection, but experienced a substitution. He experienced a substitution. The ram now would be the substitute that would be sacrificed instead of his son. Now stay with me. This is so important. Verse 14. And Abraham called the name with that place the Lord will provide or Yahweh Yireh, which in Hebrew literally translate the Lord will be seen.

Where will the Lord be seen? On Mount Moriah, which means foreseen by God. In the place foreseen by God, God will be seen. And when God is seen, listen, as the substitute, that he becomes the provision of salvation to all those who believe. Now listen to this. As it is to this day, by the way, whenever you see the phrase, as it is to this day, because this is a living abiding word of God, it is that way today. Mount Moriah is Yahweh Yireh, the Lord will be seen. Mount Moriah, by the way, if you've been in Israel with us, is Mount Calvary.

Because Mount Moriah is a long mountain that ends at Golgotha. It was one long mountain. And the stones were taken to build the wall around the city of Jerusalem. And where it ended was Golgotha. And so what was foreseen by God was the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. What was foreseen by God would be seen by all because on Mount Calvary would be the substitute for your sins and for mine. This was all part of the Abrahamic covenant. How do we know that? Read on. Then the angel of the Lord called Abraham a second time from heaven and said to him, By myself I have sworn to the Lord because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son.

Indeed, I will greatly bless you and I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. And in your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed my voice. The Abrahamic covenant is the covenant that is a unilateral covenant. That is, God made it and there was no one else required to keep it or make it. Not only was it unilateral, it was irrevocable. God says this is an eternal covenant.

And not only that, it was an eternal covenant that would last forever. And the only way there can be an eternal covenant with God, the God of the universe, is if there is a forgiveness of sins. And the only way there can be forgiveness of sins is through the divine mercy of God that would provide a substitute for you. In your stead. And that is all part of the Abrahamic covenant. It is an unconditional covenant. They will be saved. Israel will be saved. Israel will have a land. But it is conditioned on faith.

That is, in order for the Abrahamic covenant to be fulfilled in its entirety, you must believe what Abraham believed. You must believe and have the faith that Abraham had. That God would provide a substitute. Now turn with me to Galatians chapter 3.

I know we're going extra long today. I am so sorry. And I know you're out there. You got all this heat coming out of your body because it's hot in here. But hang with me. I got to give you this verse. Hebrews, excuse me, Galatians 3 verse number 6. Even so, Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Abraham received righteousness. Abraham had righteousness imputed to him. How did he do that if Jesus didn't die or Messiah didn't come until later? Because people in the Old Testament were saved the same way people in the New Testament were saved.

They had to believe. They had to believe in the substitutionary work of the coming of Messiah for their sins. You see, the righteousness reckoned to Abraham's account was the righteousness of Christ, even though Christ had not come to earth and died as a sacrifice on Calvary's tree. See that? And yet it was reckoned to his account because he believed what? What did he believe? John 8 56 says that Abraham rejoiced. Listen, to see my day. When did Abraham see the day of Christ? Genesis 22. That's when he rejoiced because he realized that the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant would come through the substitutionary work of a lamb that would be seen by God, for he will see himself as the lamb who would substitute in the stead of you and me.

See, that's the miracle of salvation. See, God had it all mapped out. He had it all planned out. It's a perfect plan. And then he says this, verse 7. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. That is, those who believe what Abraham believed are true sons of Abraham. So in an essence, listen, in essence, we become partakers of an Abrahamic covenant, of an Abrahamic promise that we are a nation who will be blessed as Christians. Why? Because we believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

We believe in the substitutionary atoning work of Jesus Christ on Mount Moriah, the place foreseen by God. And then it says, in the scripture foreseen that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, all the nations shall be blessed in you. So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. So we now are sons of Abraham. Why? Because we believe what Abraham believed. We believe in the true God of Israel, who would send himself as lamb to be the substitute on the place foreseen by God, so that you would not have to die for your own sins.

That's the Abrahamic covenant. And Zechariah sees it. He says, man, this is great. The mercy that began with Abraham and extends down through his descendants, which allows us to worship God and serve him in holiness and righteousness. How is it we as a people of God can serve the Lord God of Israel in holiness and righteousness? The only way we can do that is to have the righteousness of Christ reckoned to our account, imputed to us. In other words, Abraham lived the life of Christ before Christ ever came to earth.

Just like we now live the life of Christ since Christ came to earth. That is what Jesus did at Calvary. That's why he lived the life that he lived on earth for 33 years. So that life now will be reckoned to our account. So when God in heaven looks down below, he sees not your life, not my life. He sees the life of his son in us. And my friends, that's salvation. And that's the Abrahamic covenant. And Zechariah sees it all. Zechariah says, redemption has come. Having said that, on this Father's Day, I wonder if you as a father understand the implications of Christ's substitutionary work on Calvary's cross for your sins.

That you might live the life of Christ, that you might live his life, that you might live the life that brings glory and honor to God in front of your family, in front of your friends. That's what's most important. On this Father's Day, instead of receiving a gift, give the gift. Give the gift of example and influence that says my life is controlled by God. My life is the life of God being lived through me, that I might be an example to my family. A leader in my home, a leader in my workplace. So when people see me, they see Jesus Christ.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for today and all that you've done. We praise you for the glorious work on Calvary's cross. And I just pray, Lord, that today's message would help us all understand your great redeeming work. That we might live in light of your word and follow you in obedience. In Jesus' name, amen.