Luke 1:5-6 (KJV)
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named
Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of
Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before
God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Here we find that Zacharias and Elisabeth, prior to marriage, had a
priestly heritage. The Bible states they were both righteous before God,
walking in ALL the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Nobody was able to lay any evil to his or her charge. While these two
were sinners just as you and I are, each was known for their holiness
and integrity toward God. What are you most known for, dear lady? We should
all strive to have such a spotless testimony! Though this sacred pair
lived a rich, rewarding and righteous life together, there was a place
of sorrow for them as well...
Luke 1:7 (KJV)
And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both
were now well stricken in years.
We discover that Zacharias and Elisabeth were childless. They are described
as “well stricken” in years at this point in time, so we can imagine for
most of their married lives they went to the Lord in prayer over this
matter of having children. I wonder if they ever got discouraged over
not seeing results when they prayed so long and hard for offspring? Humanly
speaking, they must have struggled somewhat with God's plan for their
lives in this particular area...
Have you ever wrestled with God's plan for your life, dear lady? Have
you ever given up hope and stopped praying or have you kept on and persevered
no matter how dismal things appeared? Though your place of sorrow may
not be that you are childless today, it may be another type of distress
that has sent you to the Lord in prayer, yet without change. Perhaps you
are frustrated because you don't understand God's design for your life...
Oftentimes we loathe it when the Lord takes so long to change our circumstances,
amen? We become anxious and agonize over answers to prayer such as "no"
or "wait", hoping instead for a "yes" from the Lord. How do these answers
tend to affect your relationship with the Father? Some walk away from
God when they don't understand His sovereign plan or get the answer they
prefer. Nevertheless, we need to submit to His Lordship and accept what
it is He is doing and trust His timing as well! We learn that Zacharias
did not quit on God but kept up his duties...
Luke 1:8-9 (KJV)
And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before
God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest's
office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the
Lord.
This is a description of the ministry that Zacharias performed. He was
chosen to offer incense in the holy place. Such a high honor was permitted
to a priest but once in a lifetime and this was Zacharias moment. The
incense was offered daily before the morning sacrifice and after the evening
sacrifice. Zacharias would go in and perform his ministry, pray, and then
come out and bring a word to the people that were waiting without. He
was busy serving God and doing right in spite of his circumstances. Ladies,
when we are busy in this way, it is then that God speaks and directs us....
Luke 1:10-12 (KJV)
And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time
of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing
on the right side of the altar of incense.
While Zacharias was burning incense in the temple, the whole multitude
of the people was praying without. An atmosphere of prayer prevailed in
the hearts of those gathered together in the Lord's house. All the cares
and concerns of each person were being sent upward, entrusting them to
God and hoping for an answer. Meanwhile, what do you think Zacharias was
praying about? Do you think he begged God for a son one more time, or
had he long since given up hope? At that very moment, in the midst of
the Lord's work, an angel appears to speak directly with Zacharias...
Luke 1:12 (KJV)
And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
At the appearing of Gabriel by the altar, Zacharias was troubled and fearful.
What do you think about his reaction? Do faithful servants of God become
troubled and fearful? Do faithful and righteous servants succumb to doubting?
You bet they do! Zacharias was frightened, for the angel's appearance
could have meant Divine judgment... You see ladies, God knows exactly
what is going on in our hearts at all times - even when others around
us are unaware of our inward struggles. The people outside the temple
may have been impressed with Zacharias’ consistency as a Christian, but
God knew what was lacking in his life. Our loving, personal God puts His
finger right on that very place in our hearts and reveals to us where
He wants to extract doubt and replace it with faith in Him. That means
that it may be a place in our hearts that we don't even see clearly ourselves!
Zacharias was alone with God and He sent an angel to point out to this
priest exactly where the problem was because he needed help. Get alone
with God and He will do the same thing for you! Why do you think the devil
hinders us so much from spending time with the Lord?! He doesn't want
us to see things properly. He doesn't want our faith to grow... He wants
us to doubt our God!
Luke 1:13 (KJV)
But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard;
and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his
name John.
Fear not for thy prayer is heard... Do you ever wonder if your prayers
are being heard? It's always wise to examine yourself in order to avoid
fear and come up confident that you are on praying ground. Be sure that
there is nothing hindering your prayer life. It is something that we should
do continually! Perhaps that is what Zacharias was struggling with, for
it appears there was some doubt mixed in with his prayers and it was ascending
upward into the nostrils of the Lord... In response to the foul aroma
of dwindling faith, the angel of the Lord appeared at just the right moment
- when God sent him - to put his finger firmly on that doubtful place
in Zacharias heart and expose it to him. Ladies, the Lord doesn't want
hesitancy in our prayers! He wants us to come BOLDLY to the throne of
grace to find help in time of need. He doesn't want us to just pay Him
lip service and while praying, leave out our believing! He wants our prayers
to be coupled with faith. Why? Because our loving God knows that doubt
is a slow strangler of a healthy prayer life and will result in the complete
death of prayer altogether.
Matthew 21:22 (KJV)
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall
receive.
Certainly the Lord knew where Zacharias was headed by his prayer life.
This mature saint was probably ready to give up in his heart. Elisabeth
might not have known that, the people waiting outside the temple might
not have known that about this righteous man - but God knew it! And He
cared! He cared enough to bring about a strange plan in Zacharias life
to reveal some things about himself to himself. What a personal God we
serve, amen ladies? Though God is eager to bless His children, He cares
more about the inward condition of our hearts and deals with those issues
first. Then He changes our outward circumstances. Man would have it the
other way around, probably never even dealing with the inward issues at
all!
Proverbs 4:23 (KJV)
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
So, where are you in your prayer life today?? Have you given up hope?
Have you quit talking to God because His plan appears so strange to you?
Have you not seen enough of a change take place and therefore begun to
doubt God, allowing signs of unbelief to creep into your prayer life?
Don’t let the devil strangle you to death with doubt – keep tight hold
of faith in God and keep your prayer life alive!!!
Luke 1:14 (KJV)
And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
Ladies, this is exactly what God wants for each and every one of us as
His children - joy and gladness! Don't get anxious, even strange plans
can bring about joy and gladness…. You can be sure that the devil is not
interested in us experiencing joy and gladness through prayers that are
answered! Why? Because he knows that we will become motivated to keep
on praying and prayer brings results - Godly ones! Our enemy is definitely
not for those kinds of results in our lives!! Others might be drawn to
God as they witness the power of your prayer life and close relationship
with God. Souls might be snatched out of hell through prayer. Victories
might be won in prayer. Prayer is the devil's greatest enemy, for he is
rendered powerless when we, in purity of heart, get on our knees before
our powerful Father in heaven and ask in faith for His help and grace.
Satan would rather destroy the design of God upon our lives...
Luke 1:15-17 (KJV)
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither
wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even
from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn
to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power
of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient
to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Yes, Zacharias was getting much more than an answer to prayer this day.
He was getting the total life's picture of this child with which he and
Elisabeth were going to be blessed! What a picture it was too! How many
of us as parents wouldn't want a child such as John born to us! This baby
sounds like a perfect child: someone great in the sight of the Lord, who
wouldn't fall prey to wicked influences, who was filled with the Holy
Ghost, and would be a soul winner! Wow! An answer to prayer beyond what
this godly couple had ever hoped or asked for!! But what is Zacharias
response...
Verse 18:
And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am
an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
WHEREBY SHALL I KNOW THIS…
Uh-oh! Zacharias forgot Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, "Trust in the Lord
with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all
thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”
Ladies, Zacharias was guilty of trying to use his own wisdom to figure
out God. Because of that, he is about to miss a wonderful, miraculous
answer to prayer! Zacharias doesn't recognize this blessing for what it
is! Looking at things through his own eyes and not God's has now hindered
him from enjoying the very answer to prayer he has labored fervently on
his knees and waited for many long years!! He is not able to trust the
Lord for the doubt that resides in his heart… Whenever we look at situations
with our own eyes, we will decide they are impossible.
Let's not try to figure God out ladies, let's just trust Him, amen? You
would think the fact that because an angel personally delivered this message,
this promise of receiving a son, would be a great encouragement to Zacharias
faith! Instead, do you see how much doubt has deteriorated his heart??
Zacharias didn't recognize the shape his own heart was in because he was
outwardly faithful to God, yet inwardly faithless. God was illuminating
this to His priest... He had the form of faith, but not the filling! Could
God be showing this to you today, dear lady? Are you doing all the right
things outwardly in serving Him, but inside are you faithless? Has YOUR
viewpoint, YOUR understanding of things, become the ruler by which you
measure life? Learn from Zacharias... You are most blind when you lean
upon your own eyesight!
1 Cor. 2:5 (KJV)
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power
of God.
At this point, I can only wonder what the angel Gabriel must have been
thinking, for in verse 19 he says to Zacharias, “....I am Gabriel, that
stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew
thee these glad tidings.”
Ladies, Gabriel left the excitement of heaven to deliver a special message
to Zacharias, a glad message! What a fun job he had, amen? I'll bet he
couldn't wait to deliver it because he knew himself how wonderful God's
plan was. It's fun to deliver others good news, isn't it? No doubt this
angel had to be greatly grieved and even a bit shocked upon delivering
God's promise of a child as he witnessed this man’s reaction to long-awaited
good news. This baby was evidence that the Messiah was coming; he was
going to prepare the way of the Lord!! Having just left heaven, where
God is greatly praised, Gabriel now stood by and watched Zacharias dissect
God's message with his own wisdom and whittle it down to nothing with
the tool of unbelief! There was no thankfulness, no praise to the Lord...
What does it do to you when you deliver a special message from God to
a lost person and they don't receive it as good news? In their wisdom
they say the Bible is not true and shun God's letter of salvation to them.
It's greatly grieving, amen?
As Christians, the angels are watching us as Hebrews 12:1 clearly explains.
They observe our faith in God. They are strengthened by their observation
just as other Christians are when they see our strong faith. And they
are discouraged when they witness our doubt in the very God of whom they
stand in the presence. Let's not be responsible for causing man or angel
to stumble over our lack of faith, including ourselves! What is the condition
of your faith today? Don't think it doesn't matter to God...
Luke 1:20-23
And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day
that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words,
which shall be fulfilled in their season. And the people waited for Zacharias,
and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came
out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen
a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were
accomplished, he departed to his own house.
The verses above show us the consequences of the unbelief present in Zacharias
heart. What was hidden to the eyes of others is now out in the open! Skepticism
was hidden to Zacharias, yet he now knows that his heart was faithless
after God spoke with him through Gabriel. How does he know? Zacharias
was rendered speechless by the angel as punishment for his doubt! When
the time came for him to leave the temple and bring a word of the Lord
to the people, he found he couldn't speak! A once in a lifetime honor
bestowed upon him to serve God as an ambassador, and his doubt had silenced
him. Zacharias couldn't even share with the people what he had just learned
about the coming of the Lord and how his son would pave the way. He was
silenced by God and rendered ineffective as His representative. What a
scary thought!
Has doubt in your heart kept you from speaking out for your Lord? Has
it robbed you of your joy as a child of God? Has it interrupted your service
for the Lord? Unbelief will silence and cripple you if it is not replaced
with faith! Zacharias had been questioning God's ability to fulfill His
Word. What have you been questioning God's ability to do, dear lady??
Faith is blessed, but unbelief is judged as we've seen today. Unbelief
is something that God does not accept in the heart of any man or woman.
Certainly He does not accept it dwelling in the hearts of His children!
Therefore, He will bring us to that point of recognizing unbelief in our
life just as He did with Zacharias. Ladies, our doubts do not prevent
God's Word from being true! Our doubts will not prevent God's plan from
being carried out! They will simply blind us and silence us and hinder
our service, blocking our joy and gladness. We will become handicapped
Christians. Is that the way you really want to spend the rest of your
days??
Before you criticize Zacharias today, examine yourself and see how strong
is your own faith! Perhaps you have doubted the ability of our great God
to do what He says He will do. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate
your level of expectation that God could do something amazing through
your life? Do you have a long-term frustration that has been present in
your life that needs to be entrusted to the Lord? How can you strengthen
your realization that God is in control of the events of your life? Do
you need to mix some faith with your prayers? It is possible to be outwardly
faithful yet faithless inwardly, but why be “stricken dumb”?
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
Revised 2003
