Does Your Past Disqualify You? (Luke 1:67-80) | Daily Devotional & Bible Study

Your Past Doesn't Disqualify You, It Prepares You: Luke 1:67-80

For nine months, Zechariah couldn't say a word. The man whose entire job was to speak on behalf of God to the people of God lost his voice because fear got louder than God's. And the very first thing he does when that voice comes back is prophesy.

Today we finish Luke 1 with Zechariah's prophecy. We'll talk about what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, what prophecy actually is, what the horn of salvation means, and how the area where Zechariah failed became the very place God used him. If you've been quietly disqualifying yourself because of your past, this one's for you.

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What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

Luke tells us Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. That's the same language he used for Elizabeth, and you're going to see it over and over in Luke and in Acts. The most famous example is Pentecost in Acts 2, but Luke uses it for Peter, for Stephen, and for Paul at key moments too.

And almost every time Luke says someone was filled with the Holy Spirit, a prophetic word follows. It's his signature way of telling us that what comes next isn't coming from that person's own thinking or feelings. It's coming from God through them.

I love that God keeps using people in the story of Jesus. Does He have to? No. But He does, because we were created to be in relationship with Him, to know Him, to make Him known, and to be known by Him.

What is prophecy, really?

A lot of people hear the word prophecy and think of predicting the future. Sometimes it means that. More often, prophecy is God's people speaking on His behalf, reminding others what God has already said, what He's already done, or what He's promised to do. It's forthtelling more often than foretelling.

And prophecy isn't weird. It's all through your Bible. Entire books of the Old Testament are the words of the prophets. The silent years were called silent because there were no prophets in Israel. Now that Jesus is on the scene, we see the Holy Spirit and prophecy come roaring back.

Here's what's interesting. Zechariah was a priest by training and by vocation. Prophecy wasn't technically his job. But after nine months of silence, the first thing he does with his restored voice is step into a prophetic role, and God uses him in it.

What is Zechariah looking back on?

His prophecy has two halves. If you're doing the color method and marking timing words, you may have caught it. The first half looks back, and the second half looks forward.

In the first half, he praises God for keeping His covenant promises and raising up a Savior from David's line. He reminds the people what God already said through the prophets of old: that He would save them from their enemies and show the mercy He promised to Abraham.

What do holiness and righteousness actually mean?

Verse 75 talks about serving God in holiness and righteousness, and I think a lot of us check out when we see those words. We figure we could never measure up. I usually fall off the wagon by breakfast.

But in the biblical sense, holiness is about spiritual wholeness, being dedicated to God and made whole because we're in right relationship with Him. Righteousness is very similar. It's being in right relationship with God.

How do we get there? Through belief in Jesus. Before Jesus, that relationship was maintained through animal sacrifice under the old covenant. Jesus becomes the new covenant. He's the final sacrificial lamb.

What is the horn of salvation?

This is a Hebrew idiom that Zechariah's world would have understood immediately, but it's easy for us to miss. The image comes from an animal's horn, like a bull or a ram. The horn was that animal's main source of strength and its primary weapon for defense.

So calling something a horn meant it was a source of real, effective power. In Psalm 18, God is called the horn of my salvation. In Psalm 132, God promises to make a horn sprout for David. When Zechariah says God has raised up a horn of salvation in the house of David, he's saying God has raised up a powerful deliverer from the promised royal line. This isn't the gentle, comforting side of God. It's His strength, the kind that actually acts on your behalf.

What is Zechariah looking forward to?

In the second half, he turns to the future and speaks over his son. John will prepare the way for the Lord by giving people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, so that when Jesus offers salvation, they're ready.

Then he speaks about Jesus, the sunrise from on high who gives light to those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, and guides our feet into the way of peace.

The word for peace here carries the idea of shalom, and shalom is so much more than the absence of conflict. It means complete wholeness, things being set right. Ever since Eden, people have been trying to get back to that wholeness. It's impossible without Christ. Because of Jesus, we can finally be whole and restored to God.

That's the good news. Jesus is the good news.

Why does "serve him without fear" matter so much?

Go back to verse 74. Zechariah prophesies that God's people will be delivered from their enemies so they can serve Him without fear.

Think about who's saying this. Nine months earlier, fear fell on this man in the temple, and his fear-driven demand for proof cost him his voice and possibly his hearing. Now, filled with the Holy Spirit, he's prophesying that the whole point of salvation is to produce people who can serve God without fear. It's the exact opposite of where his story started.

How does God use our past?

Why do you think God took Zechariah's voice so seriously? Because his voice was going to become his area of spiritual gifting. As a priest, his entire role was to speak for God to God's people. Fear overcame him and he doubted, and there was a consequence and discipline. But that discipline led him right into his gifting.

The enemy attacks in infancy what he fears in maturity. My mouth has been getting me in trouble my whole life. In first grade, my desk was literally put in the hallway because I would not stop talking. And my whole life is now dedicated to serving God with my voice.

Your past does not prevent you. It prepares you, as long as you surrender it to Him. Some of us have disqualified ourselves from what God wants to do because of where we've been. But when you lay that down at the foot of the cross and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and use you, He can take those dark seasons and step you right into your calling.

Featured quote

"Your past does not prevent you from God's plan. It prepares you for God's plan. But you have to surrender it."

Scripture referenced

Luke 1:67-80 (ESV), Psalm 18, Psalm 132, Acts 2

Timestamps

• 00:00 Finishing Luke 1, and why we're going slowly
• 00:56 Don't compare what you see to what I see
• 01:22 Reading Luke 1:67-80
• 02:47 Prayer
• 03:17 Zechariah's voice returns
• 04:00 Filled with the Holy Spirit
• 04:54 Luke's signature pattern: filled, then prophesied
• 05:47 Prophecy isn't weird. Do you read your Bible?
• 06:46 Forthtelling, not just foretelling
• 07:45 A priest steps into a prophetic role
• 08:15 Two halves: looking back and looking forward
• 09:14 What holiness and righteousness actually mean
• 11:27 The horn of salvation
• 12:52 Psalm 18 and Psalm 132
• 14:12 John will prepare the way
• 15:00 The way of peace and the meaning of shalom
• 16:17 Back to Eden
• 17:28 Serving Him without fear
• 18:38 Why God took Zechariah's voice so seriously
• 19:31 Your past doesn't prevent you, it prepares you
• 19:54 My desk in the hallway
• 20:25 The enemy attacks in infancy what he fears in maturity
• 21:15 Don't disqualify yourself
• 22:07 Prayer
• 23:29 Maui and the longing for Eden

Frequently asked questions

What is Zechariah's song called?
It's traditionally called the Benedictus, from the first word of the Latin version, meaning blessed.

Where did John grow up?
Verse 80 tells us he grew and became strong in spirit and lived in the wilderness until his public appearance to Israel.

When do we start Luke 2?
Next episode.

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