Luke 1:5-13
The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well advanced in years. Now while he served as priest before God, when his division was on duty, 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 crowd of people were praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not fear, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
Prophecy
Prophecy is the result of being filled with the Holy Ghost. Zechariah was dumb and unable to speak until his tongue was loosed through the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Then he not only spoke some words for the first time in months, but he also prophesied: “His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied…” (Luke 1:67). Spirit-filled believers and churches should prophesy. By virtue of being filled up with the Holy Spirit, we should overflow. Filled is the Greek word pietho, meaning to imbue, influence, or supply. Spirit-filled believers should speak by the influence of the Holy Spirit because they have been imbued, influenced, and supplied with an abundance of the life of the Spirit of God. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, we utter words that bring edification, exhortation, and comfort, and there is always an abundant supply of such utterance given to us by the Holy Spirit. {eoa}
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