When We Turn To The Spirit Of The Lord

Zechariah 4:1–10 (NKJV)

1 Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. 3 Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” 4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 6 So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts. 7 ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ” 8 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. 10 For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”

Introduction - Eight Visions

Zechariah received eight visions from the Lord after the rebuilding of the temple had started. A vision of a man standing among the myrtle trees. A vision of the horns. A vision of a man with a measuring line. A vision of the High Priest. A vision of the lampstand and olive trees. A vision of a flying scroll. A vision of a woman in a basket. and a vision of four chariots.

There isn’t enough time for me to expound on all of these visions and their meanings today but I’m going to explain how the vision of the lampstand and olive trees will help us in the stressful situations we face today.

We have to face a lot of situations. Some of them we can handle quickly, and some of them are overwhelming. We can be so stressed out, that we want quick relief so bad that we will begin to lean on our understanding instead of acknowledging God in all of our ways. Stress may even cause one to doubt the promises God has made to us.

We might think we have all the answers and don’t turn to the Lord with our situations. Pride can cause us to think we can handle our own situations without the prayers of others and the power of God. Pride will throw us into stress and anxiety.

Stress causes emotional and physical ailments and we don’t have to go through these things as long as we live our lives in a way that enables us to turn to the Spirit of the Lord for help.

1- The Fifth Vision

In our text, there is a gold lampstand with a bowl at the top. The lampstand has seven lamps with seven pipes leading to the seven lamps. And on both sides of the lampstand are two olive trees.

Zechariah had a hard time understanding this vision so the angel of the Lord interpreted it by giving him a word from the Lord to Zerubbabel.

Understand that we can receive a vision or a word from the Lord, but we might struggle to fully understand the message we’re to receive. God will never leave us hanging in the balance of misunderstanding or missing the message if that happens. So He will take the time to make sure we fully understand.

God wanted Zechariah to give Zerubabbel, the governor a message because Zerubabbel was charged with the difficult task of rebuilding the temple.

We are charged with difficult tasks such as parenting, careers, caring for sick loved ones, all while remaining confident, through faith, that God will give us divine provision to complete our tasks with victory!

2 - But By My Spirit

God wanted Zerubabbel to know that he could finish his assignment but it wasn’t going to be easy.

The Jews had already faced opposition and discouragement as we can see in Ezra 4:1-23.

Have you ever been discouraged or opposed in your life? Have you ever wondered how you were going to overcome a situation? Have you ever faced what seemed to be an impossible situation? Has anyone tried to stop you from doing something the Lord called you to do?

Keep this in mind. Those situations aren’t for you to handle on your own. You can’t handle them on your own! You need help! Humble yourselves, repent and go to the source of your strength and understanding. He is ready to help you just for the asking!

3 - The Oil

The oil represents God’s strength and enabling power. The lampstand Zechariah saw in the vision had seven lamps, and the lamps had seven pipes running to them. And these were between two olive trees.

I repeat. The oil represents the anointing, strength and enabling power of God. The lamps had a constant flow of oil running to them, and the olive trees provided an abundant flow of oil.

God wanted Zechariah to tell Zerubabbel that He could finish the task of building the temple but he wouldn’t be able to do it without the abundant flow of power and resources from God Himself!

Conclusion

Stop trying to handle it by yourself! Stop letting the devil trick you into thinking God has forgotten you. Don’t let him trick you into thinking you can handle it on your own.

Give God some room to work!

When we turn to the Spirit of the Lord...

Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!

Reading Jeremiah 32:27, God wants me to tell you He is the Lord, the God of all flesh. He’s asking you a question; “Is there anything too hard for Me?” Says the Lord.

When you get in right alignment with the Lord, He will bring you out, ease your stress, pick you up, and dust you off.

We have to humble ourselves, humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways. He will hear from heaven, forgive our sin and heal our land.

When we turn to the Spirit of the Lord, we won’t need our own might or power because we will have His Spirit working for us!

Remember what seems impossible to us is possible to the God of possibilities. Jesus reminds us in Mark 9:23 “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” And again in Mark 10:27 “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.””