Daily Devotions
April 10th, 2012 by Pastor SolleyLuke 1:5-20
5 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. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. 8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, 9 According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. 11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 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. 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15 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. 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 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. 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. 19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. 20 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.
I think there are many like Zacharias today. Zacharias was a priest, he ministered in the temple, he served the Lord, he was a man of faith. During his appointed time of service he would enter into the temple daily, go past the Brazen Altar, past the Laver of cleansing, enter into the temple, set in order the Table of Shewbread, be sure the Candle was trimmed and burning bright, offer up incense to God. Zacharias did these things on a daily basis, yet I wonder how real any of it was to him? He was a man of faith, he trusted God, served the Lord, Zacharias was a good and Godly man. But notice that when the angel appeared unto him that he was troubled and doubted what was told him. As a priest in the temple shouldn’t Zacharias have been used to hearing from God? Shouldn’t he have been used to being in the presence of God? Shouldn’t he have been used to seeing miracles from God? The answer to all those questions is yes, but he wasn’t. For years this man of faith may have just been going through the motions much the same way most Christians do today. People go to churches and fill the pew but are never filled by God, never filled with His Spirit, never hear from God, never see great things from God. The reason is that they like Zacharias just go through the motions. Have you ever wondered what you might see in your life if you gave all to God all the time? What Zaharias doubted came to pass and what we have never seen we will see if we just give all to God, if we stop just going through the motions of the Christian life.