59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

Luke 1:61-62 KJV

This world is an interplay of forces! There are PUSH factors constantly vying with PULL factors. This happens on both a Celestial level and also a Terrestrial level!.

In physics class we learned that force is a physical reaction [strength, power, or energy] upon an object that could change the state of motion of that object causing it to shift/move.

If a ball is rolling in an eastward direction – in order to get it to roll westward, a greater force [with higher mass and acceleration] must be applied to it to change its course to the newly desired direction.

Change is hard! Things naturally want to continue along familiar patterns. Any attempt at change is often met with stiff opposite resistance & can only be overcome by greater application of force!

From a spiritual context, ever since sin came into the world and the earth moved out of alignment with heaven, force must be applied to make ‘thy kingdom come on earth as it in heaven‘. Even at the onset of the Kingdom Jesus said in Matt 11:12

"And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force". Matt 11:12

During the naming of John The Baptist there was a tug-of-war! It was more than a mere family argument! At the heart of the issue lay the question: what direction should his life flow toward? Should it maintain the patriarchal flow according to the pattern of His fathers OR should it flow into the higher track of destiny that heaven had prepared for him?

On one side, the kindred spirit pushed for John’s life to maintain familiar track. On the other side Elisabeth matched them and pulled toward the track of divine destiny. The result was a ‘stalemate’. John’s destiny hung on a balance! An extra unit of force was therefore required to ‘break the stalemate’

Two key learnings we looked into in todays Discipleship class:-

Elisabeth Leveled up!

"And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,"
  • Elisabeth was wise to hide herself! 5 is the number for Grace.
  • She understood the ‘law of the extra mile‘ that in order to force generational shift something more than ‘ordinary grace’ is needed. ‘Overcoming Grace’ must be contracted. Like Noah who found grace in the sight of the Lord Gen 6:8
  • She understood that certain things in life do not respond to talk but power! So to be equipped with the power freely given but not openly accessed you must remain in the upper room Luke 24:49
  • She understood that before you can ever successfully confront somethings you must first be properly hidden in Christ (which doesn’t happen by mere church attendance but by hiding in the secret place). That hiding comes in the ‘back side of the wilderness till you draw near to see the spectacle of the bush burning but not consumed!
  • Elisabeth withstood pressure and dared to be unpopular because she understood what was at stake!
    [The understanding of what is at stake is not hawked in the streets – but revealed in the hiding place!]
  • She understood that a day of open confrontation must surely come unannounced to all men,. But it is those who have been prepared quietly in the secret place who will not faint in the day of adversity! Prov 24:10
  • Elisabeth’s capacity to fight the battle to a stand still demonstrates that no amount of consistent time spent in the secret place will ever go to waste!

There is power in agreement!

'Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.' Eccl 4:9

'Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven'. Matt 18:19

  • Zacharias though handicapped for a season was still able to cast His lot and break the deadlock! It tells us that Christ has designed His church in such a way that there will always be a brother/sister available to come into agreement with! Something’s are better confronted in agreement!
  • Even in the garden of Eden God sought to strengthen Adams power of dominion by availing him the ‘power of agreement’! So he brought a partner through whom the very definition of walking in agreement would be demonstrated!
  • Satan understands the potency in the power of agreement between Husband and Wife and dedicates a vast level of energy to continue to keep them divided! It is no mistake that marital issues are #1 in d church today.
  • On the surface it would appear a choice between His wife and His kindred. Yet It was a choice between the Carnally Minded and the Spiritually minded! Zacharias chose well because He too had been having seasons of hiding! He was not new to it!
  • There is power in agreement between two spiritually minded people! God himself becomes the guarantor of such a pact!
    And with God on side who can be against us?

Round Up

  • Christ seasonally calls men into hiding sometimes corporately..more often individually.
  • In order to respond correctly to Him we must 1st win the battle against constant distractions!!!!
  • Since He resurrected He rarely showed himself openly but He shows himself to those to those he has gathered in the hiding place.
  • Only those who have seen Him in hiding can speak truly witness for Him in the open!
  • How often have you hidden with Him this year?
  • Have you come to understand what is at stake like David who asked in 1 Sam 17:29 ‘is there not a cause’? OR are you still engaged in ceremonial distractions with SAUL’s company who have no answer to Goliath!
  • Church engagements will never be a substitute for the hiding place and season. Your ability to function well and contribute something
  • As we round up the discipleship calendar year – understand that it is not all about the ceremony of ‘Cross-Over Night’ attendance but more crucially your time well spent in hiding till you find ‘grace upon grace’. John 1:16

PEACE BE UNTO US ALL