Mary And Elizabeth Give Hope

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

How you respond to sermons like this, determines your status as a waster of a life and God's precious gift of time, or a life-feasting child of God!

Zecharias, God's priest, was to father John the Baptist.

• When Gabriel appeared to him and told him of the impending birth, Zecharias doubted.

Luke 1:18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

He was therefore struck dumb – unable to speak.

On the other hand, when Gabriel appeared to Mary, and she believed.

• When Zecharias could not speak, Mary's speech to Elisabeth was so empowered by faith that Elisabeth was immediately filled with the Holy Ghost, and the unborn baby John in Elisabeth's womb leaped.

Zecharias was later filled with the Spirit in verse 67.

• You must understand that these infilling of the Spirit were not what born again people experience today.

• We know that because John 7:38-39 tells us that the rivers of living water of the Holy Ghost were not yet available because Jesus had not yet died and been glorified 30 years later.

• But they were filled in a special anointing to be able to PROPHESY.

Mary's words actually blessed people!

• They gave LIFE!

• However, Zecharias was struck dumb and unable to even speak.

• He had nothing to say.

• Belief versus unbelief made the difference.

After being filled, Elisabeth prophesied in verse 45.

• And she commented upon Mary's FAITH.

Luke 1:45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

The marginal reference informs us that the Greek source for these words can be translated as,

BLESSED IS SHE WHICH BELIEVED, THAT THERE SHALL BE A PERFORMANCE OF THOSE THINGS WHICH WERE TOLD HER FROM THE LORD.

Her faith in God's performance was necessary for God to accomplish that performance.

In Zecharias' case, his unbelief did not hinder God's performance, because because his wife would be the one to bear the child John.

But Mary had to believe in order for God to work.

It reminds me of Romans 4:21-22 where we read Abraham believed.

Romans 4:21-22 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

God did what Abraham believed him to do.

Some lose the game before they even start.

• They never even enter into a life of faith because they reason they cannot do it.

• They cannot PERFORM IT.

• Can you see the error in this reasoning?

They consider THEIR PERFORMANCE!

• But its not a matter of what we can perform.

• Its what God can perform.

We are only VESSELS!

We are not the performers!

• WE ARE THE STAGE AND THE LORD IS THE PERFORMER.

• Its His performance and His ability.