The Holy Spirit - Learning from Zechariah
God promises to bless His faithful people: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there My House will be rebuilt’ (Zechariah 1:16). God looks upon His House, and He sees His glory - ‘I will be the glory within it’ (Zechariah 2:5). He sees the glory of His presence - ‘I will live among you’ (Zechariah 2:10). We read here about the Temple at Jerusalem. We read about its glory. God’s Word speaks about another ‘temple’ and another ‘glory’. Through ‘faith’ in ‘Christ’, we have become ‘a holy temple in the Lord’ - ‘a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit’ (Ephesians 2:21-22; 3:16-17). To every believer, God says, ‘Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you... Glorify God in your body’ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit”, says the Lord Almighty’ (Zechariah 4:6). There is only one Power by which the work of the Lord can be done. It is the power of the Holy Spirit. We must not try to do God’s work in our own strength. We must exchange our weakness for His strength. We must ‘wait for the promise of the Father’ - ‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you’. Great things happen when God’s people are ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ - ‘About three thousand were added to their number that day... The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved’! Let us pray that God will ‘pour out’ His Spirit upon us (Acts 1:4,8; 2:4,17-18,41,47).
‘Here is the Man whose Name is the Branch... It is He who will build the Temple of the Lord...’ (Zechariah 6:12-13). These words point us to our Lord Jesus Christ: ‘I will build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it’ (Matthew 16:18). How does Christ build His Church? He sends His blessing when His people are obedient to Him: ‘Those who are far away will come and help to build the Temple of the Lord... This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God’ (Zechariah 6:15). Christ is ‘building a people of power’. He calls us to ‘move through this land by His Spirit and glorify His precious Name’. Let us pray, ‘Here I am, wholly available - as for me, I will serve the Lord’ (Mission Praise, 151,229).
When people stop listening to God’s Word, their life becomes ‘a desolate wasteland’ (Zechariah 7:11-14). What are we to do when we see this happening? - ‘Do not be afraid... Be strong’. We must keep on believing God’s promise: ‘I will save you, and you will be a blessing’. We must keep on praying that our faithful witness will bring others to the Lord: ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you’ (Zechariah 8:13,23). We must pray that ‘the Spirit will be poured upon us from on high and the desert will become a fertile field’. ‘Don’t hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Father’ (Isaiah 32:15; Matthew 5:15-16).