You know, some people are late bloomers. You know, my daddy, my precious daddy, started kayaking when he was 70. It wasn't enough for him to keep it to himself. He made everybody try it.
Family Discussions:
How do you relate to Zechariah today?
What's the last impossibility you faced?
How did God help you through it?
What impossibilities do you face right now?
What does God's word say about that situation?
What does it mean to you when it says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"?
What attitude are you going to have facing the impossible that faces you in your life today?
How do we as a family come around you in the impossibility that's facing you today?
Episode Transcription:
00:14 In the next few days, we're going to be going through an amazing book of scripture. It's the book of Luke. My wife and I just finished reading this book as we read scripture together at night before we go to bed. And this book is awesome. It's written by a companion of Paul. He was a doctor. He was known for his absolute commitment to accuracy, and after he gathered all the accounts on the life of Christ, he wrote this book.
00:38 It begins in Luke 1, verse 18 and 19, with the story about Zechariah who was known for his magnificent faith. But on this particular day, on this particular day, Zechariah goes into the temple in Jerusalem to burn incense. And in the temple, he encounters an angel, and the angel says to him that even though your wife Elizabeth is older and she's barren, she's never been able to give birth to a child, that she's going to give birth to a son, and he's going to be soon to become John, who we know is John the Baptist.
01:15 And here we are in verse 18. "Zechariah says to the angel, 'How will I know this for certain, for I'm an old man.'" Zechariah is filled with doubt. "'I'm an old man and my wife is advanced in years,' but the angel answered and said to him, 'I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring to you this good news.'"
01:41 You know, some people are late bloomers. You know, my daddy, my precious daddy, started kayaking when he was 70. It wasn't enough for him to keep it to himself. He made everybody try it. He said, "You know, us Whites get our feet wet together." Straight away, he took the plunge. You know, most of us around here have become decent at the sport, not me, but still we marvel at that man's ability to paddle circles around his family. Late in his seventies, he did the Grand Canyon. He did 261 miles. The Grand Canyon, you know, Lava Falls, Son of Lava, the whole shooting match. He made it through two weeks with a bunch of yuppies, half his age.
02:27 And when he finished, they marched him in his kayak around on their shoulders like a king, and to them and to them he probably was one. But you know, old men like Dad aren't supposed to do stuff like that. Old men are supposed to sit in rocking chairs with their feet up and read newspapers. Old men, you know, are to order oatmeal in restaurants, and drink milk, and talk amongst themselves about age and sports. And old man play Canasta. But you know what? Old men can do a lot. For they absolutely aren't supposed to be out conquering the 10 hardest rivers in America or rubbing shoulders with baby boomers in the, in the, uh, gloaming hours of the wilderness or telling jokes or doing calisthenics or giving birth to prophets in the twilight of their lives.
03:32 "That's impossible. Nobody blooms that late," they thought when Zechariah came out of that temple, but don't tell my dad that. Do you know that Kentucky Fried Chicken was started when the Colonel received his retirement check? Um, here is the questions for today. How do you relate to Zechariah today? You may not be old, but, but when you're asked to do the impossible, how do you relate to Zechariah today? And then what's the last impossibility you faced? And help - how did God help you through it? And then, and then this question, what impossibilities do you face right now? And then what does God's word say about that situation? What does it mean to you when it says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"? And then lastly, what attitude are you going to have facing the impossible that faces you in your life today? And, and, and then man, here's the family question. You know, how do we as a family come around you in the impossibility that's facing you today?
