(By Kim)
In the gospel of Luke, chapter 1, Gabriel, the angel of the Lord appeared to two people – Zechariah and Mary, but both their responses were exactly the opposite. Through Zechariah and Mary, I am going to draw a parallel and share with you in two parts on our blog, what a church (we) shouldn’t be and what it should be like.
A tree (church) without fruit.
First, let’s see the kind of church WE shouldn’t be.
All works, yet no fruit
Zechariah is symbolic of a church that has a form of godliness, but denies its power ( 2 Timothy 3:5). Both Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth had a royal priestly lineage to boast of. The Bible also says that they observed all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.
But they were old and childless!
So, here is a church that has been in existence for decades. It has a repute of its own and seems to do all its functions religiously, but it has only works and no fruit. From the outside, all looks perfect , yet the fact is that it is fruitless. It has many activities, events and conferences but there are no breakthroughs in the lives of people. The church has remained stagnant in its growth because there is no evangelism or no ‘good news’.
Filled with unbelief and skepticism
When Zechariah saw the angel, he was startled and gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: Don’t be afraid, your prayer has been answered. Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along years.” The MSG version of the Bible puts Zechariah’s question this way: Do you expect me to believe this?
God in His mercy wants to revive this dead church. He sends a breakthrough that almost looks impossible, yet the church is holding on to unbelief. It is earnest in praying, but sadly filled with unbelief when it comes to receiving answers to its prayers! God is pouring out His new wine, but the church says, ‘The old is better.’ (Luke 5:39).
Unable to be a voice to this generation
Because Zechariah did not believe, he was struck dumb. Meanwhile the people outside were waiting for him. But when he came out, he could not speak to them. They realised that he had seen a vision, but remained unable to speak. (Luke 1:21-22).
Because of unbelief, the church is unable to be a voice to the generation that is in darkness. The world outside is waiting to hear the message of the gospel and its power, but the body of Christ is left without words. The church is in the presence of God, and yet is unable to share God’s heart to the world because it is operating in stubbornness and unbelief.
This is the kind of church we shouldn’t be!
There is some good news
There are some people like Elizabeth in this dead church that are ready to take God at His word. We are living in the last days and there is a mighty move of God coming. God will do what He promised to do. For those who are stuck with unbelief, they will be dumbfounded at the move of God. They will see what God promised happen and will end up praising God. But blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believed. God will move and show forth His miracles through those who are available like Elizabeth who too I believe received a word from the Lord (though not as dramatically as her husband), as she knew that her child had to be named John.
Don’t miss our next post on what kind of church we should be, the one that attracts the hand of God!