The 40-Day Challenge : Day 19
- 14
- Feb
- 2013
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
who have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham: to grant us that we,
being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.” (Luke 1:67-75)
Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit when he prophesied these words.
And his words were not the same as Mary’s.
Before we talk about what we have just read, I’d like you to pay attention to the following: Mary was not unable to speak for months… We could say that her situation was different because she had a different reaction.
Both of them asked questions. Zacharias asked a question because he had doubts, while Mary asked a question because she believed what the angel had told her. She wanted to know how it was going to happen and what she should do.
After being unable to speak for months, Zacharias, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied.
When will we be filled with the Holy Spirit and used by God?
When we decide to pay the price and learn from Him.
“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
for He has visited and redeemed His people.”
To redeem is to save from error or evil.
When Zacharias said those words, he was emphasising God’s care for us. He knew the people of Israel had no right to His mercy because, despite having been chosen, they had made many mistakes.
And the same thing happens to us when we learn and recognise God’s mercy, for we have no right to be saved because of our mistakes.
“… and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David.”
Even though we believe in God and keep His discipline and commandments, we fail Him many times. In light of this, all we can say is that salvation is a powerful thing!
Zacharias saw God’s mercy in his life. This is why his words were so clear and to the point. He recognised his mistakes and learned his lesson.
He was a righteous man, yet he had to learn. And so do we. We make mistakes but we have to carry on learning.
“… that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us…”
God allows us to go through difficulties so we can learn to break free from what holds us back, from our ‘enemies’, e.g. our own will, our feelings.
“… to perform the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham…”
Everyone sins… but God never changes! His mercy never ends.
God does not need to take oaths, for He has all the power and does not need to convince anyone of this. Then, why did He take an oath?
Because he values each one of us and insists that we remain confident. This is why He swore by Himself and by the covenant He had with the patriarchs.
“… to grant us that we,
being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve Him without fear…”
We feel frustrated when we are dominated by our feelings. We can’t praise God out of fear; instead, we do it in a religious way, with repetitive and meaningless words.
Why?
Because when faith is contaminated with feelings, it’s emotional.
When our feelings (our ‘enemies’) are controlling us, we can’t be bold or decisive. We can only be bold when we are free from the bondage of sin.
Zacharias would never be able to praise God freely if he had allowed his doubts to prevail.
When we break free from the bondage of sin, all worries, doubts and suspicions go away. This is why I consider feelings sin, because they hold us back. They are our enemies!
“… in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.”
We live in holiness when we live according to the Word of God and not according to our feelings.
We cannot eliminate our feelings, but we have to be aware that they are our enemies. So, every time we see that they are trying to take the lead, we must cut them at the root. We cannot allow them to prevail — not even for a day!
Dear friend, you have to cut the evil at the root.
I don’t know your situation, but one thing I know: if you remain the same after the 40-Day Challenge ends, it’s a sign that you are living by emotion, not by faith. You have accepted the Word of God with joy, but you have not hated your mistakes, and you have not valued yourself.
And when do we value ourselves?
When we fight to be independent from what other people think about us.
Esther
14th July 2014 at 8:47
This is a strong this message and it makes me examine myself more if i am living in the Word of God or based on my feelings only. This had opened my eyes to the wrong things i’ve done. And now, i will strive harder to cut those evilness from their roots.
For this, i will accept all the problems that will come to me for i know God will not forsake me and always guide me to the right path.
It is true that we must live by His Words for thy will save us and have an eternal life with Him.
And someday, I will share the story of my life to the people who still do not know Him truly.
thank you for this message mrs Viviane. God less you and your family:)
Siphosethu Cpt
18th June 2014 at 6:27
God allows us to go through difficulties so that we can learn from them. When He speaks, we sometimes don’t do enough to display our faith in Him, so He puts situations that will force us to show whether we live by faith or by emotions and its high time then that we analyse ourselves and decide whether we remain the same or change for the better. The challenges have helped me a lot and I’m developing in my inner self. I’m making my feelings to strive in order to satisfy the spirit.
Thank you very much Mrs Vivi.
Sandra
10th October 2013 at 12:02
Thank you Mrs Viviane!
Kisses
Norma
28th August 2013 at 18:32
Zacharias even though he was a righteous man he had to learn from his mistake and as soon as he received his voice back he did not complain but glorify God. Many times when we come out of a hard situation we usually complain against God but today through this message i have learnt to praise the Lord in any situation. Every evil has its root so every time i want to get rid of it i have to find the root and cut it. I also value myself more when i become independent from what other people think about me. Strong message. Thank you Mrs Viviane
Kisses
Anne
21st February 2013 at 1:42
Wow This is so strong! The Holy Spirit really spoke to me through this! I have learnt that i still need to analyse myself, why i behave in certain ways, and seek the truth (Jesus) when doing this, the truth (Jesus) will set me free! This is so strong! I never thought of it like this! I also learnt that I need to be prepared, its like jumping into a swimming pool to save someone who is drowning when you yourself cannot swim! For me to help others and lead them to Christ i need to make sure that I know Him first-Have knowledge of Him, so i can spread this knowledge to others!
Thank you so much for posting this!
Anne-Stratford