ZACHARIAS FAILED TO ACT LIKE GOD !

ZACHARIAS FAILED TO ACT LIKE GOD ! God also spoke to Zacharias, but the reaction was not the same. ". . . The angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife is Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shall call his name John. . . And Zacharias said unto the angel, whereby shall I know this ? For I am an old man and my wife well stricken in years. In the angel answering said handing him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings. 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." (Luke 1:13 through 20). The text, that Zachariah was a priest of the course of Abijah; and his wife was of the daughter of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass that, while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest's office his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the time of incense. Allow me to paraphrase this. God sent an angel to Zacharias to tell him that his prayers were answered, and his wife was going to have a child. Zacharias said, "how do I know you're telling the truth ? You'll have to give me a sign." The angel replied, "I'll give you a sign all right. You won't be able to speak until the day it comes to pass." Notice how God dealt with these two individuals, Abraham and Zacharias. Here was a man who was walking in doubt concerning what God said to him. So God seemed to say, "if we don't get his mouth shut, this will never happen." So the angel stopped Zacharias from talking for nine months. But God renamed Abraham, so he would have to say what God said about him. Remember that God chose this method of calling things that are not as though they were. But there are some who misunderstand and deny what exists. For instance, someone might say, "I'm going to deny that I have emphysema," and continue to confess that they don't have emphysema. If they could get rid of it by denying it, they might still die with cancer. So that's not the answer. God's method is to call the theme that is not as though it were. That does not mean to deny what exists. You don't call things that are as though they are not. God's method is to call things that are not manifest in your life as though they were manifest.