Onward in God's Power!

“Building Our Lives on Bedrock” #8 August 25, 2019 GWB “Onward in God’s Power!” - Zechariah 4:6-10 - We need to build our lives on a solid foundation—on bedrock! Often we try to do things on our own—in our own strength, relying on our own ingenuity. We make church plans, plan strategies, and ask God to bless them. We need to hear God’s word: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” I. Discouraged community: We can’t build God’s temple! 4:6 1. When Cyrus defeated Babylon in 538 BC, he released Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:1-4). Thus Zerubbabel led over 40,000 Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild (Ezra 2:64). a. They laid the foundation of the second temple (Ezra 3:10-13), but then the work was stopped. They were discouraged by surrounding peoples who opposed them (Ezra 4:4-5, 24). The people of Israel were downcast; they questioned and criticized their leader Zerubbabel. b. God’s work came to a standstill for years . . . until 520 BC, when the Lord called Haggai and Zechariah to challenge them to get on with the work (4:24). Haggai was more confrontational, Zechariah more encouraging. 2. We, the church of Christ today, also face strong currents of opposition. a. Our culture tells us “Other religions are good too; Christ is not the only way, and the church is not the only community of faith. Stop preaching Christ! ” they insist. b. Others say there is no God at all—like the new evangelists for atheism— Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Christopher Hitchens. Even worse is a culture that “believes in a god / higher power” but ignores him as irrelevant to our lives. c. So we may get discouraged, thinking, “We can’t expect great things to happen in our community—we can’t expect God to turn Fishkill right side up—we can’t accomplish much for God’s kingdom here.” II. Empowered community: Go forward in the Spirit! Zech. 4:6 1. This is the word of the Lord: rely on the Spirit’s power (Zech. 4:6-8)! a. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the “Lord of hosts”—infinite in power! The Holy Spirit was active in creation (Gen. 1:2). What are mountains (of opposition) to us are nothing to him (v. 7)? b. God will get his work done; Zerubbabel will see the capstone placed on the temple (v. 8). 2. This is the word of the Lord: trust in God’s purpose (Zech. 4:8-10). a. It is God’s plan that the temple be rebuilt—it will be done! Zerubbabel has begun it—he will complete it! (8-10) b. Do not be discouraged! “Who despises the day of small things?” (v.10) c. God uses his people to build his kingdom. God was at work, bringing this task to completion through his frail and fallible people, the people of Israel under Zerubbabel. If God used them, he can use us! III. Fulfillment in Christ John 2:19; 1 Cor. 3:16-17 1. The OT temple, built by Solomon, destroyed by the Babylonians, then rebuilt by Zerubbabel was God’s dwelling place on earth. (A sacred symbol of his presence among his people—cf. 1 Kings 8:27). 2. Then Jesus came—and God really lived among us (John 1:14). The OT temple theme came to fulfillment in Jesus, who said of himself, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it again” (John 2:19). Jesus is the temple of God! In him, God lived among us. a. And the Lord Jesus said, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). Christ is the builder—his church is the temple! b. He had a small beginning—twelve apostles, then 120 disciples. “Who despises the day of small things?” Zechariah asks. c. We (and every other Christ-preaching church) are God’s temple in Fishkill. The church is the temple of God—the dwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16-17), the Spirit of power! Responding to God God displays his great power through a church doing his will—building his temple—together. 1. We are workers together with Christ, as he builds his church for his glory. a. We proclaim the good news, relying on the Spirit’s power to make it plain and personal (John 3:3-8). b. We are a “missional temple,” indwelt by God’s Spirit, relying on his power as we share the gospel (1 Cor. 3:5-9).The very gates of hell cannot resist its power. God is using us, along with many others, to bring his kingdom to our world. 2. We have to lift our eyes from our weakness to God’s power. We need not be discouraged by small beginnings. “We can’t!” is met by “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.” 3. We can trust that God will do what he says he will do—and obey him together. We have to take risks in obeying God together. Let us get on our knees together, seek the God who moves mountains, see God at work bringing his kingdom to our community, and let us give ourselves to him for his work. “Building Our Lives on Bedrock” #8 August 25, 2019 GWB