Sermon
#4 Luke
Sermons
Title: UNBELIEF
Text: Luke 1:18-25
Subject: Zecharias’ Unbelief
Date: Sunday Evening - 25,1999
Tape # V-25a
Readings: Office: Mark Henson Auditorium: Gary Baker
Introduction:
One
of the first corruptions of the human race was the horrible sin of unbelief. It
is recorded in Genesis chapter three that our mother, Eve, being beguiled by
the serpent, was persuaded to unbelief. She believed the devil’s lie without
reason and did not believe God, whom she had every reason to believe. Such is
the natural wickedness of the human heart to this day that we are all naturally
inclined to believe the devil’s lie regarding all things, without the slightest
justification for doing so, and naturally inclined not to believe God, when we
have every reason for doing so.
Unbelief
is an original and universal corruption of all men. It is the deepest seated of
all corruption. And it is at once the worst of all corruptions and the father
of all other corruptions. If pride is the mother of all sin, unbelief is the
father.
Yes,
I did say, unbelief is the worst of all the corruptions of fallen humanity.
Nothing so highly honors God as believing him; and nothing so vilely dishonors
God as unbelief. Yet, horrible as this offense is, it is the sin we most
readily excuse in rebels and most easily justify in ourselves. Tonight, I want
by the Word, power, and grace of God the Holy Spirit, to unmask this devil who
yet resides in us all, expose his ugly face, and inspire our hearts to oppose
him with vengeance.
With
that in mind, I want us to read Luke 1:18-25 together. My subject tonight is unbelief.
Proposition: Here
is Zecharias, a man of great faith and faithfulness, stricken dumb by the angel
of God because of his unbelief.
Luke 1:18-25 "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 show 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. 21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he
tarried so long in the temple. 22 And
when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had
seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained
speechless. 23 And it came to pass,
that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to
his own house. 24 And after those
days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, 25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in
the days wherein he looked on me, to
take away my reproach among men."
May
God the Holy Spirit be our Teacher, as I endeavor to show you the things taught
in this passage of Holy Scripture.
I.
unbelief
is found in the hearts of the very strongest believers upon the earth.
Zecharias was a truly
remarkable man. He believed God when very few did. He worshipped God in Spirit
when almost all around him were entirely given over to ceremonialism. Yet, when
Gabriel told him that his wife would soon bear him a son, this faithful old man
said, “Oh, no. You must be mistaken. Not my wife. I’m too old and she is too”
(V. 18).
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."
Why
did Zecharias not believe the angel’s message? Because it was totally contrary
to human reason, experience, and science. You see, the basis of faith is divine revelation; but the basis of unbelief
is human reason. As J.C. Ryle, put it, “Where
reason begins, faith ends.”
Had
not this well instructed priest in Israel read in the Book of God about
Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac? --or Manoah, his wife, and Samson? -- Was he not
aware of what God did for Hannah? Of course! He knew all those historic facts
better that we do. He knew very well that the Lord our God is the sovereign,
omnipotent Monarch of the universe. He knew that with God nothing is
impossible. He knew that the God who could cause the sun to go backwards ten
degrees could easily reverse the aging process of an old woman’s womb.
There
was nothing wrong with Zecharias’ doctrine. The problem was with his heart.
When it came to the personal, practical application of divine truth to his own
life and his own experience, Zecharias, this man of great faith, was filled
with unbelief!
But
we must not be too hard on old Zecharias.
His fault is the common fault of us all. All God’s people on this earth
are plagued with unbelief. It is a fault, a sin, a horrible evil in us all. The
histories of Abraham, Lot, Moses, and Peter stand as glaring beacons to warn
us, to make us aware of this monstrous devil which resides in us all. Let us
pray, honestly and earnestly, like the poor, distraught father in Mark 9…
Mark 9:17-24 "And one of the multitude answered and
said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; 18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he
teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and
I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. 19 He answereth him, and saith, O
faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer
you? bring him unto me. 20 And they
brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and
he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him?
And he said, Of a child. 22 And
ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him:
but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the
child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."
A. How our unbelief must shock the angels of God.
It
was this same angel, Gabriel, who 490 years earlier brought a message from the
throne of God to Daniel, assuring him of the coming and redemptive
accomplishments of the Lord Jesus Christ, who would be cut off as the sinners’
Substitute, not for his own sins, but for ours (Dan. 9:26). Daniel believed
God’s word. Daniel, a prisoner at Babylon, without one shred of external
evidence, believed God!
But
Zecharias, who virtually lived in the temple, who had the entire Old Testament,
with all the recorded miracles wrought by God, when that same angel spoke to
him, turned his heart not toward God and his Word, but toward his own life
experiences and learned reason. Therefore, he was filled with unbelief.
1. Though God no longer speaks
to men by angels (Heb. 1:1-3), they were frequently messengers of mercy in days
gone by.
2. God still has angels today
(pastors - Revelation 1-3), by whom he speaks to men upon the earth, by whom he
shows fallen men his wonders…
Psalms 96:3-4 "Declare his glory among the heathen,
his wonders among all people. 4 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods."
Psalms 105:3-7 "Glory ye in his holy name: let the
heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.
4 Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore. 5 Remember his marvellous works that he
hath done; his wonders, and the
judgments of his mouth; 6 O ye seed
of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. 7 He is the LORD our
God: his judgments are in all the
earth."
·
His Word
·
His Works
·
His Will
·
His Way
B. But our unbelief puts a heavy, dark, thick veil over
the Word of God.
·
Unbelief hides the glory of God from us (John 11:40).
·
Unbelief holds back he blessings of God from us.
Isaiah 48:16-19 "Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I
have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his
Spirit, hath sent me. 17 Thus saith
the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth
thee by the way that thou shouldest
go. 18 O that thou hadst hearkened to
my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as
the waves of the sea: 19 Thy seed
also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel
thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before
me."
·
Unbelief hinders the Lord from performing his mighty works among us.
Mark 6:3-6 "Is not this the carpenter, the son of
Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his
sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. 4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but
in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. 5 And he could there do no mighty work,
save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went
round about the villages, teaching."
II. no sin is more vile,
reprehensible and dishonoring to god than unbelief.
As
nothing dishonors God like unbelief, so nothing provokes him to wrath and
judgment like unbelief.
Hebrews 3:15-19 "While it is said, To day if ye will
hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. 16 For some, when they had heard, did
provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. 17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the
wilderness? 18 And to whom sware he
that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19 So we see that they could not enter
in because of unbelief."
Hebrews 4:1-3 "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise
being left us of entering into his
rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but
the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that
heard it. 3 For we which have
believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they
shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation
of the world."
What
is it that makes unbelief such a base, vile thing? Three answers are obvious…
A. Unbelief is a denial of
God’s power.
B. Unbelief is a denial of
God’s Word.
C. Unbelief is a denial of
God’s veracity.
1 John
5:9-11 "If we receive the witness of men, the
witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath
testified of his Son. 10 He that
believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not
God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of
his Son. 11 And this is the record,
that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son."
III. unbelief, perhaps more than
anything else, compels our heavenly father to use his rod of correction.
God
never punishes his people for sin. He punished our sins in his dear Son at
Calvary. But he is a truly loving Father. As such, he chastens his children
with the rod of correction.
Hebrews 12:5-11 "And ye have forgotten the exhortation
which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the
chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for
what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers,
then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore
we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence:
shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days
chastened us after their own
pleasure; but he for our profit, that
we might be partakers of his
holiness. 11 Now no chastening for
the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it
yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised
thereby."
Zecharias’
unbelief brought the Father’s rod down heavily upon him. He was stricken deaf[1]
and dumb by the hand of God for at least nine long months.
1. Divine chastisement is often
lengthy.
2. Our Father’s chastisements
are always suitable.
The
ears that refused to hear God’s Word were stricken deaf, until Zecharias
learned to hearken to the Word of God. The tongue that refused to speak God’s
praise was tied, until it learned to speak forth Jehovah’s praise.
IV. unbelief will bring your
soul to eternal ruin.
John 3:35-36 "The Father loveth the Son, and hath
given all things into his hand. 36 He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
I
know that faith is the gift of God and that no man can believe, except God give
him faith. Yet, unbelief is the deliberate, willful choice of rebels. And God
will not hold you guiltless for your rebellion against him and his Son.
V. all unbelief will soon come
to an end.
The
Lord God will soon cause all men to see all truth with absolute clarity. In
that day, those who perished in unbelief will be convinced of all truth, but
brought into everlasting contempt.
But
in that day, when the Lord visits us again, as he did Elizabeth of old (vv.
24-25), he will take away our reproach forever. Blessed be God, we will not
forever struggle with these evil hearts of unbelief!
Until
that day, let us watch and pray against this terrible sin by which our God is
so greatly dishonored.
·
Unbelief robs us of peace.
·
Unbelief makes our knees weak and our hands heavy.
·
Unbelief takes the joy out of our salvation.
·
Unbelief destroys patience.
·
Unbelief makes contentment impossible.
·
Unbelief dishonors our God!
Let
us seek grace from our God to trust him implicitly, for the glory of his name.
Isaiah 7:9 "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall
not be established."
·
Unbelief trembles before a maid. Faith slays Goliath.
·
Unbelief trembles in a thunderstorm. Faith sleeps in a lions’ den.
·
Unbelief paces the floor. Faith believes God. “LORD, I BELIEVE. HELP THOU MINE
UNBELIEF!” Help me, my God, to trust you, to trust…
1. Your Word.
2. Your Wisdom.
3. Your Will.
4. Your Work.
AMEN.
[1] The fact that others communicated to him with signs (v. 62) implies that he was deaf as well as dumb.