Luke 1:18-25

Luke 1:18-25 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” The angel answered, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.” Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

When he came out, he could not speak to them. What words has God given you that make you unable to speak? Do you have unbelief in your heart? Are you unable to grasp fully the mission God has given you? In the above passage, God spoke words through an angel that Zechariah could not believe. For Zechariah the barrenness was too long; too many prayers for a baby had gone unanswered. How could he believe now, even with an angel in his presence? Yet, the angel of God expected him to believe. He said, I am Gabriel. I stand in THE PRESENCE OF GOD. I AM TO BE BELIEVED, FOR I COME FROM GOD. How many of us have heard the whisper of the Holy Spirit in our hearts about a new direction for our lives, yet we cannot believe it. Our prayers have gone unanswered too long. Now we are like Zechariah and Elizabeth; we are resigned to live the rest of our lives without a baby, without our prayers answered. But we must know, if the Holy Spirit spoke it in our hearts, our prayers WILL BE ANSWERED. If the Holy Spirit has been directing our lives, if we have been in constant communion with him, if our lives have been lived uprightly and committed to him, we can rest assured, He will fulfill what He is saying to us, FOR HE IS THE THIRD MEMBER OF THE TRIUNE GODHEAD.

We ask, how do I know I am hearing his voice? How do I know my prayers are appropriate? Are your prayers for your betterment or for the kingdom of God? Now, a better living situation can be for the betterment of the kingdom of God. A great job, plenty of money, and a nice home should be a positive thing in Christian's life, but sometimes a better, easier, or more affluent life can lead people away from God, not towards him. Jesus taught us: “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’" (Matthew 6:9-13) We definitely should pray for the necessities of life: give us today our daily bread, but beyond that we should be careful how we pray. Usually, we are not going to hear the Holy Spirit answer our self-willed prayers by saying, I am going to make you a millionaire or you are going to be the next star on television. He probably will not tell you that your stature in the world will rise immensely. But He will answer your prayers readily if you ask him to hallow his name with your life. He will answer your prayers if you pray, "Your will be done in my life." He will answer your prayers if you pray to forgive the people who have hurt you. His will for you is that you are like CHRIST as you walk this earth. God's will for you is that you reflect his likeness, so that his light shines on Earth, so that people will taste the salt of heaven. The Holy Spirit will answer your prayers and talk at great length with you about them if they are circumscribed within your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Now what about being silenced by unbelief. God has told many of you what He wants from your daily life. He has told you about his work in you, how He wants to use you. He has said I have a "baby" for you, one ready to be delivered. Can you believe? Many of you reading this breakfast desire only that God be lifted up in your life. If you believe and obey, you will see this happen. Notice the above passage says after this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant. Otherwise, Zechariah and Elizabeth took the necessary steps to become pregnant. They did not just sit in their lounge chairs and contemplate pregnancy. No, they took action. If you have a burning message in your soul, take action. If God has told you something to do, take action. Do what is necessary to fulfill the words of the Holy Spirit. Every city that heard the message of Jesus Christ, had a messenger who walked those dusty roads to bring the "good news." God's work takes action; God's work and will within you demands action. James said, show me your faith (belief) by your works. God's vision takes action; answers to prayers take action. If you want someone healed, you go and pray, and after that you go back to help in the healing process. Philip took action when dealing with the eunuch. First he explained how Jesus had fulfilled the scriptures about the Messiah, but he did not just leave the eunuch on the bank of the river. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. (Acts 8:38) Prayers are important, but the work God has planned for you to implement them is even better. Has God been telling you He has a new direction for your life, new implementation for you to do? If He has, do it by faith. Do everything necessary to fulfill that word that God has spoken over you.