MIDWEEK ADVENT 3           December 17, 2025         Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke1:67-79 (EHV)

 

GIFTS FOR US TO BRING THE COMING SAVIOR:     A Praising Mouth

 

          “Do you pray with that mouth?” I hope I don’t in any way diminish your respect for the men who have served you as pastors here and elsewhere. As you already know, pastors are just people and like all people are sinners. And young men in college who are studying to become pastors aren’t necessarily spiritually mature when they start their 8 year journey. They come from various backgrounds and live in the same society you do. So, like happens with you, some of society’s sins become part of their lives too. That was true when I started college and I’m sure it is still true today. One of those bad sinful habits of our society that sometimes get picked up by God’s people is what I call a potty mouth. A mouth that spouts the four letter words. A mouth that uses the foulest and most vulgar words to describe body parts and body functions rather than the cleanest ones. And here is the big reveal, the shocker. Some boys hoping to become pastors but not yet pastors, use them too. When I was in school, we had a way of helping each other get better. If someone slipped and said “offensive to God words” someone else would say, “Hey, do you pray with that mouth?”

          That’s a good reminder for all of us. God listens to everything that comes out of our mouths and He cares what comes out of our mouths. He does not want the mouth that He has given us to eat food with enjoyment and to communicate with others used to spout profanities and vulgarities. And in fact, there is something we can do with our mouths that brings joy to Jesus. It can be another gift for us to bring for our Savior. In addition to the two we have already talked about, a trusting heart and a humble spirit, we can bring a praising mouth.

          To learn about that we turn to a veteran pastor, one who should have been spiritually mature but wasn’t. The priest Zechariah. He and his wife Elizabeth had prayed for a child but so far God had said, “Not yet.” One day when Zechariah was serving in the Temple the angel Gabriel appeared to him and said he and Elizabeth would have a child, a special child, the one we know as John the Baptist who would prepare the way for Jesus. Instead of saying, “Wow! Thank you! This is awesome news! I can’t wait to tell my wife,” Zechariah chose to doubt God’s messenger. He used his mouth to express that doubt. To help him learn to trust God, Gabriel told Zechariah he would not be able to speak until his son was born.

          Then, of course, everything happened just as God had announced and once his son was born and following the Lord’s command Zechariah named him John, Zechariah was able to speak again. What would he use his mouth for? To defend himself and his bad decision? To correct all the misunderstandings that had happened between him and Elizabeth up until this time? No, he used it instead, to praise.

 

^“ Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited us and prepared redemption for his people. ⁶⁹ He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, ⁷⁰ just as he said long ago through the mouth of his holy prophets. ⁷¹ He raised up salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, ⁷  in order to show mercy to our fathers by remembering his holy covenant, ⁷³ the oath which he swore to Abraham our father, ⁷⁴ to grant deliverance to us from the hand of our enemies, so that we are able to serve him without fear, ⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Two things jump out us. Why Zechariah praised and how he praised. Why did Zechariah praise? He knew he had received grace and mercy from God. Two words in the Bible that are very close in meaning but slightly different are mercy and grace. If you have to split them, grace is the love of God that moves Him to give us gifts we don’t deserve and cannot earn. Mercy is the compassion of God that moves Him to free us from the punishment we’ve earned for ourselves. God gave Zechariah mercy when he allowed him to talk again. God gave Zechariah grace by giving him and Elizabeth a child.

 

GIFTS FOR US TO BRING THE COMING SAVIOR:     A Praising Mouth

 

How did Zechariah praise? Praise tells others the great things God has done. Look at all the great things God has done that Zechariah highlights. He praises God for redemption. He praises God for salvation. He praises God for keeping His word. He praises God for His mercy. He praises God for allowing people to live without fear, rather serving God because they want to in righteousness and holiness. Zechariah’s gift to the Christchild? A praising mouth.

Like Zechariah we have received grace and mercy from God. God made Zechariah unable to speak when he used his mouth to doubt God. What has God done to you and me for the times words have come out that should not have? Did God give you your mouth to gossip, to tear others down? Did God give you your mouth so you could talk like and fit in with the unbelievers in our country? Do you pray with mouth? What God gave us is mercy. He has not given us the punishment we have earned. Instead we have received grace, the gift of a Savior and free forgiveness for all our mouth sins and every other one.

That puts us in the same position Zechariah found himself in, able to bring our Savior the gift that he wants. It seems to me that gift giving in our country has changed quite a bit. When you read the stories of what life was like in America in the 1900s, especially at the beginning of that century but still somewhat toward the end, a lot of gift giving was based on needs. Socks and undies were appreciated gifts. A warm coat or new dress also appreciated. We live in more affluent times so many people in our lives truly have everything they need and more. Gift giving shifts to giving something they want. What do you give to the Savior, Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords who has everything? Something only you can give. Your praising mouths. If we put our heart into it, every word we say or sing in every worship service is something Jesus wants. It’s coming from a praising mouth. Every “Thank you Jesus,” that we let slip when we recognize God’s help with anything in our lives is a gift from us Jesus wants. Every time we get a chance to tell others of the hope and help we have because of Jesus is a gift that Jesus wants and other people need. Do you praise with that mouth? Absolutely I do, and so do you! Amen.