no, no, YES!
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“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her;
that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious abundance.”
For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees.
As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.
A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple.
I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.
O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.”
By your favor, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed.
To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
“What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!”
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.
It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.
For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him.
And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.
For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.
For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!”
And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.
no, no, YES!
Big Idea: God who commissions will provide technicians, hear our petitions, and remove opposition.
Mountains of obstacles
A Spirit-empowered servant
Doubtful people convinced
And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep.
And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it.
And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”
Then he 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.
Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ ”
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.
For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. “These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.”
Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”
And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?”
He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”
Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
Mountains of obstacles
A Spirit-empowered servant
Doubtful people convinced
Our first point is humility to hear from God. If we are humble enough to admit we can’t see everything clearly, and are patient with God, He will reveal to us what we need to know. Not more than we know, just what we need for the time. Zechariah is humble enough to ask questions.
There are things in the vision he doesn't understand. The angel doesn't answer directly, He moves on to the promise that Zerubbabel will finish the temple. He keeps Zechariah in suspense until he says the important part of the message.
The message focuses on vs 6-10. I know some of you are interested in what the lamp looked like and the golden olive branches, but that isn't the main point. the main point is that God is going to complete the work he started.
Then he 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.
This is a well-known verse, but often quoted on its own, without even a mention of Zerubbabel. This is ok, because the thought here is one that we can apply to many situations. If we desire to have more money to give to missions and our budget is tight, not by might, nor by power. Need to grow the church? Not by might, nor by power. Need to mend your marriage? Not by might, nor by power. These things are impossible with man but nothing is impossible with God.
So there were mountains of obstacles for Zerubbabel. Literally and figuratively. There was rubble where the temple once stood. It needed to be cleared. Like many of us at the beginning of a difficult project, a cleaning needs to be done before the real work begins. Sometimes the task is daunting. Zerubbabel may have looked at the ruins of the temple and been discouraged. The message should be encouraging.
By my Spirit means not only that God was in the work, but would fill willing people with his Spirit to do the work. This type of Spirit empowering is often to take a skill or talent that is innate to the person and supernaturally empower that person to do it. This could be skilled work or administration or leadership. A Spirit-empowered person may seem to be able to do things that normally seem impossible. But this doesn't mean God is going to make a talented baker a master violinist with a quick infilling of power. God usually uses the innate talents we already have and magnifies them to his glory.
It has been said, “God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called” But I have not found anything in scripture that says that. It has been repeated so much that people think its gospel, but I see that God takes a multitude of people with various talents and abilities and fills them with His Spirit to magnify himself, and this is good news for anyone who has a heart for God and a talent or skill. God can take that and magnify Himself through it, whether it is art, singing, speaking, organizing, or all kinds of things. It may be better to say that God calls those he has equipped.
The danger in the phrase “God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips those he calls” is that sometimes it has caused people, out of a desire to serve, to try to take on tasks that are beyond their talents or abilities. For many who have wanted to serve, this has ended in disaster, disappointment, and disillusionment with the ministry. We shouldn’t tell people with no skills in a particular area that they should just step in and do it and God will equip them, but rather we should try to help people to find usefulness in ministry according to the present giftings they already have.
Do you think God gave you a passion and talent for something that He cannot use to his glory? Do you think your value is less than someone else in church because you cannot do what they can? God made you unique! He put you into a place where He can use you to His glory, whether in your workplace or at home, or sometimes even through a hobby. We want to help people figure out what God is calling them to do. We want every person in this church to participate in the blessing of serving God.
That means you can put your passion to good use. Be unleashed! In the power of the Spirit of Almighty God, you can! In Exodus, we see God took skilled men and filled them with His Spirit to do work on the temple. They were already skilled craftsman, and God gave them a special filling of the Holy Spirit to do beautiful work. Why? To glorify himself.
Zerubbabel was the governor, a politician. Joshua was the priest. Zerubbabel had a passionate desire to see the temple rebuilt, yet there was a pile of rubble there. What pile of rubble is in your way, keeping you from doing what God has put in your heart? Not only was there a pile of rubble, there was opposition. Who is standing opposed to you being used by God for His glory? There were people that couldn't get past that even if the temple were rebuilt, it would never be like the old one. These are the ones who despised small beginnings. Who is saying to you that what you are doing isn't grand enough, or good enough? Who dares tell you that your Spirit-empowered efforts wont’s amount to much? But what did God say about that?
Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ ”
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.
For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. “These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.”
Great mountain of debris, Zerubbabel is going to eliminate you! The junk in our way to doing God’s will must be removed, and God will empower us to remove it. What is keeping you from God’s blessing? Usually, it is not being obedient to God, or submitted entirely to His Word and His will for our lives. Is there rubble in your house? Get rid of it. But don’t just get rid of it, replace it!
Take the rubble out, the sin, the disobedience, the rebellion, the anarchy. Replace it with God’s Holy Word, HIs Spirit, and be renewed! The rubble must be cleared before the new temple is rebuilt. What is your individual temple? Is it not your body? So rid your mind, your spirit, and soul of all the contaminating things and replace them with the good things of God!
What mountain of opposition do you face? Is it naysayers? Haters? “I can’t wait to see you fail” types? Zerubbabal had all these, and yet God said, it will be done. He probably even had those who gave the backhanded compliment. “Great Zerubbabel, it’ll be a nice temple (not great like Solomon’s, though). The people who despised small beginnings.
But Zerubbabel would finish the work, according to the word of the Lord, given by Zechariah. Zerubbabel was the man God would use. What He started, He would finish in Zerubbabel. Do you wonder sometimes if you will be able to finish out? Are things looking difficult and it seems like you will never get done what you feel God has for you to do? Don’t despise the day of small things. God will complete it. Zerubbabel would lay the final stone, and when he did, people would rejoice.
The same people who scoffed. The same people who discouraged. The same people who said, “Well, I miss the old temple. It was better. I wish we had the old temple.” Well, move forward in your thinking. Get your mind off the musty old past and be refreshed with new life and vision! What we are getting at here is that God has given us the ability to be filled with His Holy Spirit to accomplish the task He has given to us! Do you believe this?
God gave His Spirit to a select few in the Old Testament times as a down payment on when He would pour his Spirit out on all flesh. That promise was given by the prophet Joel, and affirmed by Jesus, who said He would send us a helper. What is a helper? One who comes alongside, or even better in this case, the Holy Spirit comes into us.
On the Day of Pentecost after Jesus ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit fell, and Peter declared it to be a fullfillment of Joel’s prophecy. The same Holy Spirit that empowered Zerubbabel is the same Holy Spirit that you have if you are in Christ! He will empower you to declare the Word of God to others. He will guide you into all truth as you seek for it. He will comfort you when you hurt. He will convict you of your sins so that you confess and be cleansed. He will do the ongoing work of purifying you of all the rubble in your life in order that when Jesus comes again, you will be rebuilt. As the temple rubble needed to be removed in order that the new temple be built, you as a temple of the Holy Spirit need your rubble removed so that he can remake you in the image of Christ. This is good news! Do you believe it?
I hope you do! Because God wants to bless you in ways you may not think of. We tend to think that the best blessings are material. Money, health, and the like. But those are not the real blessings! The real blessing is God himself! We get to have Him!
And he will complete what He started.
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,
always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,
because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,
so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise;
I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.
All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord, for they have heard the words of your mouth,
and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord.
For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,
and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.
And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
Rejoice always,
pray without ceasing,
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophecies,
but test everything; hold fast what is good.
Abstain from every form of evil.
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
Being well equipped brings results. United States Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer and Petty Officer Scott Ruskin, directly saved an astonishing 165 victims in the devastating flooding in central Texas. This was the first rescue mission of his career and he was the only triage coordinator at the scene. Scott Ruskin is an American hero. His selfless courage embodies the spirit and mission of the @USCG.
I can’t help thinking that Petty Officer Scott Ruskin did not have some help from above. Saving people from flood water is a physically exhausting effort. To save 165 in a single day is pretty much beyond the capabilities even of a very fit lifeguard.
I did a little research and found that this would be estimated to push even a rescue swimmer to the absolute limits of mental and physical work. The calorie expenditure he would have endured would have been 10,000 - 14,000 calories. This would result in several pounds of weight loss, muscle fatigue. How many of us could rescue 5 people in that flowing water, much less 165?
Equipped and empowered. What are you trained for that God can use to his glory?
