Join Sharon Knotts as she expounds on the lessons of faith and doubt through the narrative of Zacharias and Gabriel from the book of Luke. Delve into the biblical accounts of Isaac’s plea for offspring and Manoah’s entreaty, to understand how belief paves the way for divine interventions. Sharon brings a fresh perspective to these age-old stories, illustrating the consequences of hesitation and the empowering nature of faith.
Greetings friends and new listeners and welcome to the Sound of Faith. I’m Sharon Knotts thanking you for joining us today because we know faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Today’s message, Don’t Make Your Angel Mad When God Answers Your Prayers. I know it’s an odd title, but this Word of the Lord can help you to know if you’re truly believing that your prayers will be answered or if past disappointments have calloused your heart with unbelief. And don’t make your angel mad when God answers your prayers. Did Zacharias know this? Of course he knew it. He knew all about that. Amen? And then he knew that Isaac grew up and married a beautiful girl named Rebecca. And they were very much in love. If you read their story, they were married many years and were still flirting with one another. And still having, you know, their sweet little ways they treated one another out in public. So even the king who thought that they were brother and sister said, wait a minute, brothers and sisters don’t act like that. I think they might be married. But as beautiful as their marriage was and as happy as they were, they didn’t have any kids. And 20 years went by and they still didn’t have any children. And the scripture says that Isaac entreated the Lord on behalf of his wife. And the word entreated in Hebrew is very strong. It is very strong. You come before God and you beseech him with everything that was within Isaac. He said, Father God, I am the product of a miracle. I was born to a man who was 100 and a woman that was 90. And if you could bring me forth, then you can give my wife, Rebecca, children too. And God heard him. And you know what? Rebecca didn’t get one baby, but she got two at one time. So she had to wait 20 years, but then she got two kids out of one pregnancy. Amen? So Zacharias knew about this. He’s got two strong precedents. But there’s another strong precedent. Hold your place in Luke. There’s a couple of verses I want you to read because you’re not as familiar with this story as you are with Abraham and Sarah and Rebecca and Isaac and in Judges, Judges the 13th chapter, we have another very compelling story that we know Zacharias would have been familiar with. And not only that, we can see the difference between someone who believes God immediately… in contrast to someone who falters and wavers. Now, we have the story of Samson. We don’t know his mother’s name. She’s just referred to as his father, Manoah’s wife. But let’s look in Judges, the 13th chapter. And let’s see, verse 2. And there was a certain man of Zorah of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah, and his wife was barren and bare not. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman and said unto her, Behold, now thou art barren and barest not, but thou shalt conceive and bear a son. And then he goes on to tell her that this is going to be a special son, that he’s to be raised according to the Nazarite law, which means that he was never to have anything to drink of the vine. In fact, his mother was not even allowed to eat raisins while she was pregnant. That’s another message, but I want you to see that. And that he was to be raised in a certain way because verse 5 tells us, For the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. I’ll paraphrase a little bit. So the woman is so excited about everything that she went and found her husband. And she said, a man of God has come to me. And she says he had a countenance that was like an angel of God. And the reason was is because he was an angel of God. And so she told her husband everything the man said, how that they were going to have a son. Now let’s see what Manoah says in verse 8. Then Manoah entreated the Lord. It’s the same word I just quoted to you about Isaac entreated the Lord for Rebekah. And Manoah entreated the Lord and said, O my Lord, let the man of God, which thou didst send, come again unto us and teach us what we shall do unto this child that shall be born. Do you see the difference here? His wife comes and tells him this fantastic thing. And he goes and he entreats God. And he says, God, I want you to send that man back. Why? Because I think my wife has just lost her mind. Because I think my wife is having hallucinations. Because I think that her grief over not having a child has now affected her mind and she’s going through some strange scenario where she’s dreamed this up in her head. How many know that there’s a true condition where women want to be pregnant so badly they start having all kinds of symptoms? that they’re pregnant. I knew someone personally that went through that. And I kept telling her, you are not pregnant. She was saying, look at me, I’m gaining weight. I said, yeah, you’re getting fat. She says, my back is killing me and it killed me with my other kids. I said, yeah, it’s because you’re getting fat. Started wearing maternity clothes. And eventually the doctor told her, you are not pregnant. So there is a real condition that people can go through. So maybe he thought his wife was going through that. And maybe he thought, I need this man of God to come back and tell me. I just can’t trust what she’s saying. I don’t know about that. You know, it sounds a little far-fetched to me. I want to hear it for myself. Is that what he did? No. He entreated the Lord and said, let him come back because I want to get all the instructions right. She explained how that we’ve got to raise him in a particular peculiar way. And I want to get it right. I mean, wow, we’re going to have a baby. Hey, we’re going to have a son. I’m going to be a father. And he’s going to grow up to be a deliverer in Israel. But we’ve got to do our part and raise him correctly. We’ve got to follow a certain protocol. And I want to make sure I’ve got it all right. There were no words of unbelief in his prayer. There were no, I think my wife has gone off the deep end. No, he said, praise Jehovah. I’m going to have a son and I want to be obedient. I want to do exactly what we’re supposed to do. So please let him come back. And he came back. And you know what? Manoa was still wasn’t there. I don’t know what he was off doing, but he wasn’t there. And when the woman saw the man, she said, will you please wait right here? I’m going to get my husband. Don’t go nowhere. And she ran and got her husband and he came back. Manoah came back. Amen. Now let’s look at verse 12. And Manoah said, now speaking to the angel, now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child and how shall we do unto him? He finally gets to see the angel for himself and he goes right to the first words out of his mouth. Let it come to pass. Let what God said, I believe it. Let it be done. I’m ready to get started. Amen. I believe the promise. I believe that what you said will come to pass. I believe that nine months from tonight, we’re going to have a baby boy. And I just want to make sure I know how I’m supposed to raise this child. Amen. Let’s drop down to verse 17. And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, what is thy name that when thy sayings come to pass, we may do thee honor? Do you hear what he’s saying? When they come to pass. Because they’re going to come to pass. Because I believe they’re going to come to pass.
SPEAKER 02 :
Because I believe that even though we’ve been waiting for this baby and all of our married life and we don’t have had no hope it would ever happen.
SPEAKER 01 :
I believe it’s going to come to pass. And I want to know, prophet of God, what is your name? So that when it comes to pass, I can tell everybody. Prophet Jeremiah said this would come to pass. Prophet Ezekiel. Prophet Noah. Prophet… And you can fill in the name. Amen. I want to know your name. I want everybody to know it was a prophet of God that said this and he was a true prophet because it came to pass just like he said it would. But of course we know it wasn’t just a prophet. We know that it was an angel of the Lord. Amen? And we know then that the angel of the Lord demonstrated this in a supernatural way. But here’s the point. The point is they believed. The point is they believed the word of the Lord. They didn’t even know they were talking to an angel. They still thought they were talking to a man. Even the second time they thought they were talking to an ordinary man who was a prophet who got a word of the Lord. Didn’t even know that they were actually speaking to an angel. But they believed the word of God. And I am saying to you that Zacharias knew about this story. He knew about Abraham and Sarah. He knew about Isaac and Rebekah. And he knew about Manoah and his wife who were the parents of the great Samson. And boy, did he deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines. He knew that he had at least three powerful precedents in the word of God. But what did he say? He said, back into Luke we are now. He said, whereby shall I know this? For I’m old and my wife is old. So basically what he said is, how do I know this is going to come to pass? I mean, after all, you can see I’m old and my wife is really old. That’s basically what he said. Well stricken in years. She’s very old. And whereby shall I know this? I don’t hear a shred of faith in his words. I don’t hear no let this come to pass. I don’t hear a when this comes to pass, we’re going to have a party. I don’t hear none of that. All I hear is unbelief. How am I supposed to know this? Basically, he was saying, if this is true, give me a sign. That’s what he was saying. Whereby shall I know? How shall I know? Give me a sign. You want me to believe this preposterous story? You want me to believe this now after all these years? Yeah, it’s true. I’ve been praying for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times. In fact, I prayed before I got here this morning. But I don’t believe my prayers. I pray them, but I don’t believe them. Because now you show up with the answer and say that prayer is heard. And I’m saying to you, give me a sign. If it’s true, give me a sign. And saints of God, this goes to show you that when a person’s heart is full of unbelief, it wouldn’t matter if an angel showed up on their doorstep. It wouldn’t matter. They still aren’t going to believe. That’s why when people start asking for signs, they’re getting further and further into unbelief. Amen? Because they’ll say, Lord, show me a sign so I can believe. So God gives them a sign. Well, Lord, if that was really you, then show me another sign. Just one more sign, Lord. See, that’s Gideon. Let the fleece be dry and the ground be wet. We’ll let the fleece be wet and the ground be dry. How about a trumpet sound? How about an angelic visitation? How about a dream? Amen. And so when you become dependent on those things, you’ll just want another sign and another sign and another sign. Amen? We’ve all been guilty of it. I’m not scolding you. I’ve been there too. Amen? But the problem is, is the devil can talk you out of them. He can tell you you imagined it. You let your mind play a trick on you because that’s what you wanted so badly. Amen? And so we can’t be dependent on signs. There are some people who are very, very susceptible to this. Not everybody, but some are very susceptible. And they always amaze me at the way they can take the smallest little detail and make it a huge, big thing. And I’m like, huh? How did you get all that out of that? I looked at the clock, and it said 12.02. And I remember that on 12.02, I dropped the pencil on the floor, and I bent over to pick up the pencil, and there was a piece of paper. And I picked it up, and the piece of paper had my name on it. And they can go on and on and on. I’m like, really? And it leads to some great big thing. I’m not saying that can’t happen because God does things like that sometimes. But we need to back all that up with scripture. Amen. We need to make sure we have something that we can stand on that is more solid than that. Because if you’re saying, Lord, if this is you, let somebody come to my door and ring the bell. And when I answer it, they’re going to say, Mary had a little lamb, little lamb. And then it doesn’t happen because that is really out there for somebody to come to your door and start singing that. That’s really out there. So it’s not going to happen unless God orchestrates it. But he’s not going to orchestrate things like that when we ask for them because we’re in unbelief. If you’re in unbelief and ask it, then God is only going to be reinforcing it. your tendency to be unbelieving. I found that he does these crazy things when we’re not asking for them or expecting them. And then we’re like, whoa, was that God or what? That was truly God. Or when maybe it’s a thought that’s in our spirit, but we say, you know, I’m going to back off of that. I’m just going to leave that there with the Lord. And then God does it. Amen? But you see, Zacharias had these wonderful things. Three powerful precedents. In the mouths of two or three, let every word be established. And yet he says, if this is true, if you expect me to believe that my wife now is going to have a baby, if you want me to believe this, then you’re going to have to show me a sign. Amen? because he did not believe in his heart. So my question is, why in the name of heaven did he waste all his time and years and breath and energy praying for a prayer that he didn’t really believe was going to be answered? Why was he praying that prayer all those years if he did not believe it was going to come to pass? Because had he believed it, when Gabriel came with those words, he would have been jumping for joy. He would have been looking at the big clock on the back of the temple wall, and he’s been thinking, I’m getting off, and I only got another half hour, and I’m out of here. I’m going home to Elizabeth, and I’m going to tell her the good news. He would have been waiting for his time to leave to get back home. if he would have really believed it, but he didn’t believe it. And so what we’re about to read now, I want to preface it with this. Don’t make your angel mad when God answers your prayers. Let’s look at verse 19, back in Luke where we were. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel. I think he expected Zacharias to recognize what that meant. 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. In a way, he’s already dumb. but now he’s going to be mute is the better word, okay? 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. Don’t make your angel mad when God answers your prayer. I think he ticked him off a little bit, don’t you? I think he had Gabriel a little bit mad. Gabriel said, look, do you know who I am? I’m not only an angel, I am an archangel. I am Gabriel, and you know what my main assignment is? I stand in the presence of God. Oh, my Lord. I just came from the presence of God and I came on a mission to change your life forever and to change the course of Israel’s history and ultimately the history of the world. I just came straight from God and the words that I spoke to you were out of God’s mouth. But you didn’t believe me. And he goes on to say this, but they shall come to pass. You see, I think if maybe, can I read his mind? Will you let me speculate a little bit and read his mind? He was probably thinking, if I had the authority, I would say, never mind. I’m going to somebody else. Forget about you. You don’t believe. You don’t deserve to be the father of this great prophet. Uh-uh, I’m going to find somebody else who believes God. But you see, he couldn’t do that. He had to do what God told him to do. And he had to give this great word unto a man that was full of doubt and unbelief. And it upset him. He didn’t like it. And he thought, well, you know, I can’t change the message. And I can’t leave you and go to somebody else. But I’ll tell you what, I’m going to fix you. I’m going to zip your lips and you won’t be talking no more doubt and unbelief. Somebody else is going to have to go and tell your wife about this because you’re not going to go home and spew your doubt and your unbelief on Elizabeth.
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You’re not going to go home and rain on her parade when she gets the good news that she’s going to have a baby. You’re not going to speak your doubt and unbelief and ruin it all for her.
SPEAKER 01 :
So you’re not going to say another word until that baby is born. Wow. Don’t make your angel mad when God answers your prayer. He said, look, I’m not here on some little mission. I’m here on one of the greatest missions of the entire history of mankind. And what I came to bring you is a tidings of great joy. You should be jumping with joy. Amen. And I’m going to tell you, they are going to come to pass in spite of you. They’re coming to pass. Amen. You want to know how this is going to happen. You want to know you want to sign. Well, you just got your sign. Amen. You just got your sign. So let’s see what happened after that. Verse 22, And it came to pass that as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. So apparently, this happened early in the week, and he had to finish his week out. Amen? And after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days when he looked on me to take away my reproach among men. What a powerful thing. So he went home after his week of service was up. And when he got home, he had to get out some of those big yellow legal pads. And carry them around with him everywhere. And he had to keep writing everything down. And writing everything down. Elizabeth is saying, now honey, I want you to tell me exactly what he looked like. I want to know every detail. Don’t leave nothing out now. Zacharias, I want to know all about it. I want to know exactly what he said. Tell me what he said. And there he is sitting down there. Writing it all down over and over and over again. Amen. And now the news is spreading and their relatives are coming. They’re traveling and they’re getting there and they say, what happened? Why can’t you speak, Zacharias? What happened to you? Did you have a stroke? No. No. Shaking his head no. Well, what happened? Are you ill? Are you sick? What did the doctor say? No. Get the legal yellow pad out and write it down again. And write it down again. Do you see what’s happening? Every time he writes down the angel’s words, the word of God is like a scalpel that cuts away another layer of his unbelief and another layer of his doubt. That’s what God’s word will do for you if you get it out and you speak it and you write it down. He couldn’t speak anything negative. He couldn’t speak his doubt and unbelief. He just kept writing down what happened, what the angel said. He didn’t have Microsoft. He didn’t have WordPerfect. He didn’t even have a Xerox machine. He had to keep writing it down and writing it down. I want to read to you. You don’t have to turn there unless you want to, but there’s a powerful verses in Habakkuk chapter two, verses two and three says, and the Lord answered me and said, write the vision and make it plain upon tables. Well, of course they wouldn’t have had paper like we have. Make it plain that he may run that readeth it for the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. and though it tarry, wait for it. It will surely come to pass. And that’s what God had Zacharias doing. He had him writing it down and writing it down. Your wife is going to have a baby. It’s going to be a boy. You’re going to name him John. He’s going to be great. He’s going to be a prophet. He’s going to be the prophet that brings the Messiah into his ministry. He had to write it down. And I don’t know if you’ve ever used that, but that is a great tool for myself. Especially when I’m trying to memorize scriptures that have to do with whatever I’m going through. And sometimes I get hung up and I get mixed up and I leave a phrase out and I reverse the order of the words. But when I write it down… Something about writing it down. It gets into my spirit. Amen. It gets into my spirit. That’s why to this day I still have handwritten notes. For my messages. I do not do them on the computer. It’s something about writing them down. Amen. That when I’m writing them down. It’s like I’m writing them on the paper of my heart. The parchment of my spirit.
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It’s inscribed in my spirit. And then I can say my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. I’m ready to declare and extol the majesty of my king. Amen.
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Amen. I hope you’re being blessed by our message today. Don’t make your angel mad when God answers your prayers. Have you ever thought how frustrating it must be for God when we doubt his word and constantly demand reassurances and affirmations? And imagine how his ministering angels must feel when Christians repeatedly fall into doubt and unbelief. Zacharias learned this when he was visited by Gabriel with the good news of the coming birth of his son John. But instead of rejoicing, he was skeptical and asked for a sign saying, how do I know this is true? Well, he got his sign when Gabriel zipped his lips for the next nine months and he couldn’t speak his unbelief to Elizabeth, his wife or anyone else. Then Gabriel visited Mary, a young virgin, with an even more impossible announcement of the birth of God’s Son. But she received his message with simple faith and said, Let it be unto me according to thy word. I believe your spiritual perception can be greatly influenced by this study of Zachariah’s stubborn unbelief versus Mary’s exemplary faith. Don’t let delays make you cynical. If you’ve been waiting a long time for answers to prayers, this message can instruct you how to rid your heart of unbelief and carry your promise to full term. Don’t Make Your Angel Mad When God Answers Your Prayers is available on CD for a love gift to the radio ministry of $10 or more. Request offer SK133. Our mailing address is Sound of Faith, P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203. Or you may order online at soundoffaith.org where you can order on MP3s. But to order by mail, send your minimum love gift of $10, request offer SK133, mail to P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203. Until next time, this is Sharon Knott saying, Maranatha.
