What Will It Take For Us To Trust Him?
Our Monday Morning Bible Men's Study was pretty lively this morning for 5 AM. We had 14 men in attendance as we finished discussing the account of Zacharias and Elizabeth being told of the birth of their son, John the Baptist, in Luke 1:18-25. It was great to see all of the men so involved in the discussion and application of the truths in this passage.
The main point was that Zacharias expressed some doubt to Gabriel, when he was told that Elizabeth would bear them a son, who would prepare the people of Israel for the coming of the Lord. He asked, "How shall I know this?" He may have been asking for a sign, but mainly he wanted to be able to understand exactly how this would happen, since both of them were very old. Immediately, Gabriel pronounced a punishment for his doubt. He would be deaf and unable to speak until John was born. Why do you think that was his punishment? He had to spend 10 months of quiet listening to God and deciding to trust Him completely. However, the main question for us is, "What will it take for us to trust Him?" Zacharias was a righteous man who was blameless in the Law. He saw an angel in the Temple. He heard from God directly through this angel, yet he still had doubt. Let's not be too hard on Him, though. How often has God done miracles for us and blessed us, yet we still have trouble trusting Him in something new? I am afraid it happens to all of us. We let the flesh creep in. We want to know the logic of something. All we really need is a child-like faith that does not ask "why" or "how." Then, God can really bless us.
I am glad that God went ahead and blessed Zacharias and Elizabeth, and He still blesses us, inspite of our lapses of faith. Still, we ought to seek to trust Him from the very beginning when we hear from Him and not make Him have to punish us or give us an extra push. That should always be our goal when it comes to trusting God. Instant obedience ought to be the goal.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Leviticus 8-10 and Matthew 25:31-46.
The main point was that Zacharias expressed some doubt to Gabriel, when he was told that Elizabeth would bear them a son, who would prepare the people of Israel for the coming of the Lord. He asked, "How shall I know this?" He may have been asking for a sign, but mainly he wanted to be able to understand exactly how this would happen, since both of them were very old. Immediately, Gabriel pronounced a punishment for his doubt. He would be deaf and unable to speak until John was born. Why do you think that was his punishment? He had to spend 10 months of quiet listening to God and deciding to trust Him completely. However, the main question for us is, "What will it take for us to trust Him?" Zacharias was a righteous man who was blameless in the Law. He saw an angel in the Temple. He heard from God directly through this angel, yet he still had doubt. Let's not be too hard on Him, though. How often has God done miracles for us and blessed us, yet we still have trouble trusting Him in something new? I am afraid it happens to all of us. We let the flesh creep in. We want to know the logic of something. All we really need is a child-like faith that does not ask "why" or "how." Then, God can really bless us.
I am glad that God went ahead and blessed Zacharias and Elizabeth, and He still blesses us, inspite of our lapses of faith. Still, we ought to seek to trust Him from the very beginning when we hear from Him and not make Him have to punish us or give us an extra push. That should always be our goal when it comes to trusting God. Instant obedience ought to be the goal.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Leviticus 8-10 and Matthew 25:31-46.