A HAPPY FAMILY

LUKE 1:5-16

1st SAMUEL 1:24-28

A RIGHTEOUS FAMILY

LUKE 1:5-16

⁵ In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. ⁷ But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

⁸ Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, ⁹ he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. ¹³ But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. ¹⁴ He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.

Hi, Welcome to The Stable Sanctuary; a site that highly esteems and values you. Today, we want to learn about A Happy Family. The Holy Bible has numerous illustrations of what a happy family is like. The Family is the first thing that God loves most. The family is also the first thing that the enemy hates most. Hence , when one truly and sincerely loves God, one is able to have a very stable family. Where one may not access the knowledge of God, one may end up with unstable family. Stable families raise stable generations over long periods of time. Unstable families result into unstable generations. Whatever we do today is likely to follow our generations for very many years.

The Bible text illustrated shows the family of a certain Priest named Zachariahs in the days of King Herod of Judea. Elizabeth, Zachariah’s wife was barren ; meaning that they had no child.Both were righteous before God. They kept the laws of God and were blameless.Their life was a life of Righteousness in the fear of the Lord , their God. At this point, they were very old and Childless just like Abraham was with Sarah before Isaac was born. In other words, this family needed a miracle. In the course of his ministering in the Holy temple, Angel Gabriel visited Zachariahs as the whole multitude were praying outside. On seeing the angel, Zachariahs was troubled and he became afraid. The angel encouraged him not to fear, “… For your prayer is heard”  yeah, when one prays in the will of God, the prayer is answered in His due Time. Angel Gabriel tells Zachariahs…”Your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son and you shall call his name John” The name “John ” means “Jehovah shows favour or grace. This is an emphasis on one who would introduce Jesus Christ, The Lord of glory.

Many people were to rejoice at the birth of John because he was destined to introduce the Messiah or the saviour of the world; Our Lord Jesus Christ. John therefore was going to became a great prophet . He would be filled by the Holy spirit in his mother’s womb . He was to turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. During John’s ministry , there would be a great move of the Holy spirit. What a great favour this Childless family received from God in the High heavens. It was great and marvellous. Indeed. To receive a divine visitation from the throne of grace in heaven brings about much joy and exhuberant happiness.

FULFILMENT OF A VOW ;

1st SAMUEL 1:24-28

²⁴ After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,^[a] an ephah^[b] of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. ²⁵ When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, ²⁶ and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸ So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

The Holy Bible text above illustrated is the story of Hannah, wife to Elkanah. Madam Hannah was Childless for very many years. She lived in bitterness of soul,  prayed and made a vow unto the Lord God of Israel. 1st Samuel chapter one and verse eleven records “…..she vowed a vow , and said, O Lord of hosts if you will indeed look on the affliction of your handmaid and remember me and not forget your handmaid but will give unto your handmaid a man child then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life ….”

Later on, the child is born and Hannah calls him Samuel; meaning “ I have asked him of the Lord” to fulfill the vow she made in prayer, madam Hannah brings the young boy Samuel into the Temple to serve God all the days of His life . She also brings offerings to the Lord; Three bullocks for sacrifice one epha of flour as a thank offering, and a bottle of wine as a drink offering. Hey, material blessings enable us to serve God effectively when we give God as offerings. They help establish our relationship with our maker permanently. At this time, Samuel was probably five years old. In 1st Samuel chapter two verse twenty one, the Holy Bible records : “And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord” in the House of the Lord at shilloh. From the foregoing, we learn that God in Heaven is the giver of all good things. When we give to him in any measure, he gives us back in abundant measure. He adds abundance.

#Our God in the highest heaven wants our families to be happy.

# May you have a Happy Family through Jesus Christ. Amen.