Majors In The Minors - Part 7 - Zechariah

Now, this summer months for June and July, we've been going through some of the minor prophet books. And uh as I was working on this schedule back in May and making some phone calls and messaging some individuals who had been teaching over the past several weeks, uh this particular Wednesday night was open. So, I thought, you know what? I'll just keep it for myself. And then as I looked at the book, it was going to be Zechariah. Now, you may be thinking, well, what was the big deal? Well, Zechariah has 14 chapters. Yeah. Nathan had three chapters last week in Habach. So, he ended a few minutes early, so I'm gonna borrow his time tonight, so it's going to average out just the same.

It may feel longer, but you got out early last week, so I don't want to hear any complaints. I'm just kidding. Just kidding. I think I got it trimmed down. Uh, Zechariah is a great book. If you never read it, I'd encourage you to read it. It is one of those books in the Bible that talks a lot about the prophecy of the Messiah that's to come. In fact, there's a lot of famous passage passages in Zechariah that you can read and probably have memorized. I'll bring a few of them up tonight. But as we go through the study, kind of unpacking a little bit of history along the way so that you have an idea of who Zechariah was and what he was writing about.

So, I'm going to give just a bit of an overview of history in there and then get into what I feel like the Lord has for us tonight as well. But, I will tell you that there were eight visions in the book of Zechariah. So, he evidently had some really bad pizza one night and I feel like I had some of those nights where I woke up with a lot of strange things in my head. Anybody else identify with that? Like, Lord, was that you or was that a bean dream? I don't know what was going on. But, uh, I'm going to go through a couple of those visions. I will not cover them all.

If I did, we would be here till in the morning because it's a lot of material. In fact, I did say to myself, you know, probably could have made a series out of the book of Zechariah. It was good. But, we're going to dive into that. also have my lovely assistant, my bride is gonna be reading some scriptures for us tonight as well. Give her a hand. My lovely assistant always get in trouble when I draw attention to her. So y'all don't look at her, okay? Nobody's seen. Zechariah chapter 4, reading verse number six. I'm going to read this one. And it says, "So he answered and said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubabel.

Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts, not by might." Imagine standing among the thousands of Jewish exiles who have been held in captivity for some 70 years and they have been going over the promises that God had given them that this was not going to be their end. It's not this was not going to be their forever. They living in Babylon. Some had never seen Jerusalem with their own eyes. Many had died and the ones who had been there were just mere children when they left in exile. So faint memories of what it was like and what life was like before captivity. But everything changed just as God had promised to the prophet Jeremiah the captivity had come to an end.

The Persian king Cyrus had issued a decree that all the Jewish people were allowed to return to their homeland. And from studying history, there was some estimated 50,000 that were captive that that were set free at one time. So, I need to get that crowd in your mind. It' be like one of our football stadiums, at capacity that was released from their captivity and they're heading home. As they begin to talk to each other about how good God is and how exciting this time is. And you need you need to have that that picture painted in your mind that it wasn't just they're walking down the street, but hey, this is our moment. This is our chance.

God's kept his word. God remembered us. So, we're returning back to our homeland. And in my mind, and I I've told you before, I feel like I got a pretty vivid imagination. I can just imagine the conversations are taking place, like we're finally going to get to go. For some, it was like we're going to finally get to see Jerusalem with our own eyes. We heard our parents talk about it. I remember grandma talking about it before she died. And for those that were alive again, they were probably just young young children, maybe early teen years. They're saying, "Yeah, I remember this and I remember that. I remember before they took us captive. I remember seeing this and that."

And they probably have this image in their mind of what they're going to be returning, what they're going to be seeing. Most of all, I I have to imagine that they were going to be talking about the glory of God returning back to the temple and worship returning back to the normal of the their daily activities. But when they finally arrived, their dreams collided with reality. Jerusalem still bore the scars of judgment. The city's protective walls were still broke down. and the gates of the city that had been set on fire were just a pile of ashes that were there. And the temple itself was nothing more than just a big pile of rubble. And you have to know that their hearts just kind of had to melt a little bit from the time of excitement that we're going to go back.

I'm sure that they they probably had the ability to be a little bit honest with theelves that it wasn't going to be perfect, but I dare say none of them really comprehended the moment. Isn't that a lot like life? Sometimes it throws us that curveball of things that we have planned and the expectations that we've built up. And I know I'm not alone in the room that there's been many times that I've had a great plan and idea in my mind and then reality had a way of readjusting that plan without my consent. And this is what's taking place in this moment. So, I'm trying to set this tone for you as you if you read the book of Zechariah is like a lot of the minor prophets, as you've probably picked over over the last couple of months, that that these were not ideal conditions that there's this overwhelming sense of God trying to reach back out to his people.

There's a lot of verbiage that is the same that if you'll return to me, I'll return to you. My desire is to be your God and for you to be my people. if you'll just stop focusing on the wrong things and focus on me, I'll meet you where you are. Well, that story continues on in the book of Zechariah. So for them, instead of hearing songs of worship, they started hearing the voice of opposition. Even as they begin to try to do their best, it's in my mind, I can see them having a little pow-wow getting together and saying, "All right, now I know this isn't how we planned for it to be. This isn't what we were expecting, but look, we're here.

We're not captive anymore. So, we got some work to do. So, let's get together and start rebuilding. And as they started that process of rebuilding the temple, they started facing opposition. Isn't it always interesting how the enemy loves to show up at the most inopportune times? Likes to show up right when we're kind of facing adversity, facing that down moment when things are not perfect. He likes to just kind of pile on that moment. Basically say, "Don't waste your time. Why would you even try? The the job's too big for you." And this is how I I have that mental image in my mind is that they're trying, right? You know, I don't think any any of us are really honestly above doing some work, right?

Investing our time and our effort or energy like we can work together. We can do this. I can I can see the the the motivated ones saying, "Come on guys, let's rally around." But every time they try to rally, if you read through not only the book of Zechariah, but most of these minor prophets, especially those that are writing post captivity, they're always talking about how there was the naysayers, the people saying you shouldn't be doing this. This isn't right. God's not going to be with you. You're never going to You're never going to restore it back to its former glory. Always trying to just throw a wet blanket on your dreams. I don't know about you, but I get tired of the devil throwing wet blankets on me.

I get tired of that discouraging voice that's there. I get tired of him telling me that I can't when I know I have a God who's telling me that I can. >> But this is what we see. This is the moment that's being painted here before us. And for a brief time as they continued to work, the altar was rebuilt and the foundation of the temple was laid. But eventually the opposition becomes so relentless that construction stopped. And for nearly 16 years, all they had was a foundation of the temple. Know about you, but that's a pretty long time. 16 years. Finally, they had all they could take. And they just seemed to stop working and go back to just everyday life.

Every day they walked past a dream that wasn't realized. Every day they walked past a reality that wasn't what they wanted it to be, but it ended up coming to pass. years later, the walls would would be rebuilt. We know that story in the book of Nehemiah, one of my favorites there, but we're not there yet. Okay? So, I'm trying to make sure you understand the timeline. We're not in the book of Nehemiah. That comes after the temple's being built. We're before that. They've they've started the foundation. Perhaps to me, one of the most remarkable parts of this story is God did not immediately send someone to rebuild the walls because he needed to adjust their perspective.

So, I want to make sure I set this up right for us tonight because I feel like there's a whole lot of things that you and I can glean in 2026 from something that took place a long time ago because the principles are still the same. We face an enemy and an adversary. I'm going to talk about him a little bit more in just a minute who's always telling us to stop. What's the point? You're never going to do it. But there's also this truth that we have a God who's on our side. >> And sometimes God does some of his best work in some of the worst moments of our life. Have you realized that yet?

I feel like I'm in a room of full of witnesses who can say, "You know what? I didn't always like what I went through." But if I'm honest, I look back at those times and I realize that God was doing some amazing things in my life. I didn't enjoy the pressure. I didn't enjoy the the the stress. I didn't destroy didn't enjoy the angst I was going through. But if I'm honest, God was really doing some spectacular things inside of me. That's the story we're we're in tonight in the book of Zechariah. We see it here. What I love about this is is that God instead of sending one person, he sends two prophets, Hagi and Zachchariah.

Both of those are writing at the exact same time. What he's trying to do is call his people back to his house. This wasn't an accident. If you and I had been planning this recovery mission, I feel like most of us would have probably had the same strategy. We need to protect ourselves. We need to rebuild the walls. But God doesn't ask them to rebuild the walls again. There'll be a man who will bear that burden many years later named Nehemiah. But we're not there yet. You and I would have been like, "We need to protect ourselves." But God's like, "I'm not worried about that right now. Let me shift your focus to where I know you need to be paying attention to."

God's priorities are often much different than ours. Before he rebuilt their security, he wanted to restore their worship. He wanted to strengthen the people in the very place the enemy had no power to control. Because God understands better than you and I understands. We got to make we got to make sure we remember this because walls can protect us but only God's presence can preserve us. And the best place to get into his presence is to be lost in worship. Like we know that, right? I'm I'm teaching to the church tonight. I know that. But how often it is that you and I sometimes become absent- minded. We have a little bit of amnesia when we face adversity.

We forget that when the adverse times come our way, the best thing that we can do is throw our hands up and start worshiping God. Yeah. That's the that's that's our best weapon right there is the worship. You know, even when it doesn't make sense. And we can confuse the enemy. I've referenced this many times, but but long ago, Bishop preached that message on crazy praise. When you when you just stop and begin to worship when it doesn't make any sense. When when when the natural world looks at you and say, "Man, your house is burning down. I know it's burning, but I'm my God's still good. He's still worthy of praise. He's still worthy of my worship.

What are you doing? I'm getting my weapon out. >> I know that I can defeat my enemy. I can worship my way through the problems. It's not that I'm not aware of what's going on in my life, but I'm also aware of the God who can take me through, who's bigger than my problems, who walks on the ways of the very thing that's trying to drown me in my life. So, I choose to worship. That's what God was doing in this book was trying to refocus them back to where they needed to be, an awareness that he was still there. They were so focused on what they couldn't do that they were missing the one who could do all things.

So in order to grab their attention, he's taking them back to, hey, stop focusing on the problem and look at me. That's what worship does. It's impossible to worship, to truly worship and focus on your problem. >> You can't do it. It's it's Listen to me. I'm going to say this because this is something we deal with in our world today in in in big ways. Stuff that's that's off the charts right now. And if you're measuring, we're dealing with unprecedented angst and anxiety and stress and pressures in our world today. And this is across generational lines. All right? But I'm going to tell you right now, it's impossible for you to be anxious and worship God if you're truly engaged with him.

Because you can't think about you and think about him at the same time. And to truly be engaged in worship, you have to shift your mind from where you are and what you're dealing with in your problems and you put your attention on the one who's in front of you, the one who can handle all these situations. So I think tonight, if it's all right with you, we should just stand to our feet right now on this Wednesday night Bible study and just put my hands up in the air with you and let's just worship God. God, you are good. >> God, you are worthy of all praise and glory. Lord, even on this Wednesday night when I know maybe we're a little bit tired and we we got a lot on our mind, but Lord, I want to focus on you because you are more than able to take care of every problem that we face in our life.

God, you are still on the throne. You're still alive and well. You're just as powerful as you has ever been. God, you're still a way maker and a miracle working God. And I praise you and I worship you in this place. Hallelujah. >> I love you, Jesus. You are worthy God of all praise and glory. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Yes. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. >> Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you. You can be seated. >> That felt pretty good. We may do that a couple more times before this is over with. After all, I got 20 minutes from Nathan I get to use. Before God wants you to build walls, he wants you to build an altar.

It was into this atmosphere of disappointment and unfinished work and weary hearts that God raised up the young prophet named Zachchariah. His assignment wasn't simply just to tell the people what to do. His assignment was to remind them who God was and what God can do. Because before God rebuilt the temple, he first had to rebuild their vision. I love it when God does that. I love it when he steps into the mess of my life and reminds me of who he is because he is still a waymaking God. >> Amen. Amen. He is. And that's the context to me of of this great declaration that we already read in scripture tonight. Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit.

We're going to unpack that tonight for just a little bit. So, is it okay if I start my sermon now? Good deal. The prophet that God chooses, the man God chose to deliver the message was no accident. His name was Zachchariah. And his name alone preaches a message. His name literally means the Lord remembers. Now process this with me for just a minute. When he walks up and introduce himself and say, "Hey, how you do? What's your name?" The Lord remembers. Now he's talking to those who are returning from exile. Those who probably at least once in those 70 years had to wonder, "God, have you forgotten us?" Anybody in this room ever had that thought?

God, do you even know where I'm at right now? Anybody ever felt that moment? felt that weight, felt that darkness, felt that heaviness. Yeah, I think we all at some point or another probably have felt it at least once, if not a dozen times in our life. God, do you even care? And then God sends a man whose very name is the Lord remembers. I don't know about you, but I think that's a little comical because God has a sense of humor. Amen. If you don't believe that, have some kids. Think about this significance. The people has spent all this time away and he's there to remind them God has not forgotten you. I feel like I need to remind somebody this.

Just because God is silent doesn't mean he's absent. Just because God is silent does not mean God is absent. He's still very much aware of where you are and what you're going through in your life. Just because the answer has been delayed doesn't mean the promise has been cancelled. Our timing is not his timing. He doesn't operate on our calendar nor our clock. He stands outside of time. You and I are find out he is infinite. Keep that in mind next time you're wanting to give up and walk away. That God is still working on your behalf because he's a covenant keeping God. He remembers every promise he's ever made. The prophet Isaiah said this in Isaiah 49:15.

Never can a mother forget her nursing child. Can she feel no love for the child she has born. But even if that were possible, I would not forget you. See, I have I love this. I have written your name on the palms of my hand. I mean, you think about that. He has your name and my name written on his hand. It's there. When he looks at him, he sees you. He sees my name. He sees your name. He doesn't forget where we are or who we are. We belong to him. How wonderful is our God. >> We may forget and we oftenimes do forget. We may feel like nobody cares, but I promise you, God loves you and he cares for you.

And he has not forgotten about you nor where you're at or what you're going through. He's the same God today, yesterday, and forever. He's here right now in this room. I feel him in this place. WHAT A GOOD GOD we have. >> >> He remembers his co covenant. He is a faithful God. Zechariah was unique because he wasn't just a prophet. He was also a priest. Ezra 5 and1 identifies him as the son of Edo. And in Nehemiah 12 list the Edo is one of the priestly families that returned from Babylon. This means Zechariah understood the two worlds that were there. He understood the prophet side. He also understood the priest side. He understood about worship and he also understood what it was like to hear the voice of God.

He knew what happened inside the temple and he also understood that what God desired for to do for you and I to do inside our own hearts. He was a guy who was uniquely qualified to speak to these people. Perhaps that's why his book is filled with so many vivid pictures of cleansing and wholeness and especially the coming Messiah because of this unique relationship that he had been brought up in in his side his family dynamic. But we see this young man. Many scholars believe that he was relatively young in his life. And if that's true, the picture of this scene, there's this older generation who has this vivid memory of Solomon's temple. And they remember the glory days.

They remember what had been lost. And yet, there's this young generation who had never seen it. They've only heard the stories. And here's this guy walking in trying to pull these two generations together. I love how God always raises up the right man at the right time to speak to his people because he's a God who understands what we're going through. God does not stop speaking because one generation grows weary. Why? because he's a God who keeps his promises. He's a covenantkeeping God. This message was bigger than just one generation. This message is bigger than one generation. I'm going to get into it a little bit more in just a minute, but it's bigger than one generation.

>> God spans all of time that is there. And he's going to keep his word regardless of whether or not there's one that gets tired and one that believes. He's always going to send his message right where we need it to be. Amen. His message was bigger. One of the reasons I love the book of Zechariah is because it's one of the most messianic books in the entire Old Testament. It doesn't simply just address the problems of Zerubal's day, but it stretches hundreds of years into the future. Here's just a little snippet of the things that Zachariah saw coming to pass as God was giving him these eight visions. He saw the coming branch. He saw the cleansing fountain for sin.

He saw the king riding in Jerusalem on a donkey. You know that story? Zachariah seen it. The Messiah was going to be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. the shepherd who would be struck and the sheep would scatter. The one whose hands would be pierced in the day when the Lord would reign over all the earth and on and on and on. All that's in the book of Zechariah. All these things he's seen because God was moving on him and his spirit was letting him see into the future the things that were going to take place. In other words, while everyone else was looking at an unfinished temple, God was pointing the prophet towards Calvary already.

Aren't you thankful? I say it often times that there that we have a God who has a plan. I mean, we messed it up, but thank God we didn't derail him. >> As I've said before, when when Adam and Eve messed up in the garden, God wasn't over there going, "What am I going to do now?" No, he had a plan. He had a plan. God always has a plan in place. Even when we don't see the end, God always has a plan in place. More the reason why we continue to worship him because we have a God who hasn't left us because he's got a plan for us. Not only the plan for us, but collectively, but a plan for you personally.

You have a plan that God has. As I've said so many times, when he was making you in your mother's womb, you were being knit together. King James language. He was putting in you the very things that he wanted to draw out of you one day for your kingdom purpose and plan. What a God we serve. What a God we serve. That he loves the smallest details of our life. All the things that make you uniquely you, he put there on purpose. So the difference between our perspective and God's is when we become consumed with today's problems, God's already working on tomorrow's promises. I'm going to say that again because some of you are taking notes.

While we're consumed with today's problems, God's already working on tomorrow's promises. So let's read a little bit about this. We're going to start in chapter 3 and my wife's going to read five verses for us. Start in Zechariah 3:1-5. >> Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, "The Lord rebuke you, Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?" Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the angel. Then he answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, "Take away the filthy garments from him."

And to him he said, "See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes." And I said, "Let them put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him, and the angel of the Lord stood by. >> To me, this is one of the most beautiful scenes in the entire Old Testament. this this glimpse that you and I get into the heavenlies into this courtroom scene that's taking place and Joshua the high priest is standing before the angel of the Lord and standing beside him is identified as Satan the literal word being interpreted the accuser is there isn't he really good at that isn't it amazing how he likes to point out all of our faults like Revelations 12:10 says the accuser of the brethren he delights in reminding you and I of every failure every mistake every sin every regret Yet, guys, his strategy hasn't changed.

He does the same thing through every generation. Yet, for some reason, we fall we fall prey to it every time. His strategy never changes. If he can keep you from coming to God, that's good. But if he can't, he'll try to convince you that you're unworthy to go before God. Either way, he wins. Now, here's the reality that we all know. The truth is, you're not worthy. Neither am I. But we're not based on our worth. It's based on his. >> It's based on what he was willing to pay. And he paid a high price for you and I to redeem us. That's what we need to remind oursel of. It's not what I have done.

It will never be about what I have done. And here's a clue. It's not about what you have done either. It's what he has done. Calvary took care of the penalty of sin for you and I. Thank God for that. Verse three. Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments. To me, if I'm honest, Joshua was kind of an easy target because understanding he was the high priest and he's there with filthy garments. You have to unpack what this means. He was ceremonially defiled, completely unfit to be in the presence of God. He wasn't just wearing dirty clothes because of work. He was wearing garments that declared, "I don't belong here." Isn't that a picture of you and I?

I don't I don't belong in his presence. You don't belong in his presence. That's just a story again. this picture that's being painted in the in the heavenly realms. Think about this irony. The high priest, the one who's responsible for representing the presence of God, is declared unworthy because of what he's wearing. He stood guilty. That's the story of every one of us. Isaiah said, "All of our righteousness is like filthy rags. You and I, on my best day, on my best day, I fall woefully short. And so do you. We can't be good enough. We'll never be good enough." But he was he was good enough. He lived a life for you and I that that that that caused us to be able to be redeemed.

And I'm thankful for that. No matter how good we think we are, no matter how many years we serve, no matter how faithful we've been, none of us can stand before a holy God based on our merit or the good things that we've done. We fall short every time. Salvation is not about our performance. None of us would make it. And what happens next to me is very incredible. If you read the words that are there, Joshua never says a word. He doesn't try to defend himself. I love this. I love this. He doesn't say, he doesn't argue. He doesn't defend. He doesn't doesn't even argue with Satan. He doesn't make excuses because there weren't any.

Instead, we hear this. The Lord rebuke you, Satan. It echoes through the heavens. The Lord rebuke you. Notice something beautiful. God doesn't deny Joshua's condition that he was dirty. He doesn't try to correct because it was a truth. The problem was there. The garments were really filthy. The accusations were based on sinful humanity. But God's answer wasn't to ignore Joshua's sin. His answer was to remove it. Verse four, then he answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, "Take away the filthy garments from him." And to him, he said, "See, I have removed your iniquity from you." God says, "You can't do it. You can't take care of it, so I will do it.

What you can't do, I will do, I will take care of the God continues to do in 2026. What we can't do, he continues to do every day of our life. When I ask, he's faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse me from all unrighteous." That's what First John tells us. Are you thankful for that? You should be. You should be. Because here's a clue. You're not good enough. I'm not good enough. Every day I need his mercy. Every day I need his grace. Every day I need to be exactly in the same position that Joshua's in. Not filthy rags taken care of because of what God has done for me. I'm thankful that he knows where I'm at and he's willing to do what I can't do.

>> Don't miss this. God doesn't tell him to clean himself up. He says, "I'll take care of that." That's what's happened at Calvary. And I've said this before, but I think it's important to revisit this to understand grace, right? Because that's what was going on there. You're seeing a picture of grace unfold. And grace, man, if there's ever been a word that's been misunderstood and been abused and stretched and malformed in modern Christianity, it's grace. It's been turned into something it was never intended to be. The best way I can tell you what grace is is you look at Calvary. That's grace. Grace is if you want to know what you're supposed to do, you take up a cross and you die.

That's what Jesus said. If you want to follow me, then you take your cross up, too. I'll go first. I love that about our God. He's always saying, "I'll go first. I'll set the example first. And I won't leave you by yourself. I'll give you the ability if you'll walk with me so that you can do those things. You can live an overcoming life." But to understand grace, the bar is set at Calvary. Not when it's convenient. Not when you want to. Not when you feel good. Not when culture says so. No. Grace says give all. Sacrifice all because of what he did. 2 Corinthians 5:21. For he made him and knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Jesus took our filthy garments so that we could wear his spotless robe. Now, here's what I believe. Zechariah places this vision here in in the chapter three right before chapter four because it's important for this to set the tone for what he's trying to do to understand the rest of the visions you have to get this principle that we're not good enough but God is God is because before God empowers his people don't miss this point here's a if you're a notetaker here's a note for you before God empowers his people he first cleanses his people before he fills us with his spirit he has to deal with our sin Not by might nor by power.

Before he says those things, he has to first say, "I remove your iniquity." Did you catch that? There's an order to scripture. Chapter 3 says, "I'll remove the iniquity." Before he ever gets to the part of pouring his power out, he says, "I got to take care of your sin problem." Don't ever get it out of order. Don't ever allow your emotions to take you to a place to where you can't thrive. Got to be careful, right? Especially even even the Pentecostal apostolic rank. Sometimes we can allow our emotions to get the best of us. But I'm telling you, if you're living in sin, you got to take care of the iniquity first. That's the order.

But here's the deal. He will take care of that for you. You don't have to do it. You just got to turn to him. You got to allow him. You got to be willing, like Joshua, to stand before him with your arms out saying, "God, I'm not worthy. I can't do it on my own. I know when you look at me, God, you see the filthy rags that I'm wearing." And let God rebuke the devil for you. Let him take care of that. Let him be the one that says, "You know what? Put the clean clothes on him. I remove the iniquity because that's something that only God can do. You and I can't do those things."

That's still God's order. Grace then power, forgiveness, then anointing, cleansing before we're ever commissioned to go out. God never empowers what he has not first redeemed. I'll say that again. God never empowers what he has not first redeemed. Joshua's filthy garments have now been replaced with clean robes and the high priest has been restored. These accusations have been silenced and now God turns his attention to another man. Not the high priest but the governor. His name is Zerubable. Joshua answered the question, how can sinful people stand before a holy God? But there was another question that's about to be asked. The question of how can ordinary people accomplish an impossible assignment? And God's answer has never changed.

It's the same for us in 2026 as it was then. Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. So, here we're going to see this answer. We're going to go to chapter four. We're going to read 10 verses starting at verse number one, 1-10. >> Now, the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. 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. Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl, and the other at its left."

So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, "What are these, my Lord?" 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." 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. Who are you, oh great mountain, before Zerubbabel, you shall become a plain, and he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of grace, grace to it. Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "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. For who has despised the day of small things, for these seven rejoice to see the plum line in the hand of Zerubbabel? They are the eyes of the Lord, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth." >> So this is the fifth vision. This is in my opinion the centerpiece of this book in which it all kind of circles around what he's doing. If you remove the this vision from Zechariah, you will lose the heartbeat of the entire prophecy of the book that is there. Notice what Zechariah sees. He sees a golden lampstand with a bowl on top, seven lamps, seven pipes feeding those lamps, and standing on either side are two olive trees continually supplying oil to those lamps.

It's an unusual picture to you and I, but to the Jewish people, the symbolism would have been immediately recognizable. Now, I think for most of us who've grown up in church, no matter really the denomination or or whatever title was over the door, I think if you've been raised in church to any degree at all, we all know that when we receive this sign that oil is consistently associated with the work of his holy spirit, what is there? Kings were anointed with oil. Priests were anointed with oil, the tabernacle was anointed with oil. Normally somebody had to continually refill the lamps. There was a duty of the priest that worked there to make sure that the light stayed burning.

It was a job to do. So part of this part of this vision is a bit unique. Somebody had to trim the wigs and refill the bowls and maintain the flame. But in Zechariah's vision, the oil never ran out. It's continually flowing from the olive trees into the lampstand. It was a picture of God's uninterrupted supply. Can I encourage us today? The source of God's power has never been your ability to keep by yourself. It's not something that you can do. He just freely gives it. It's like the old song says, we got to get under the spout where the glory comes out. That's our our responsibility is to make sure that I'm doing my part in my life every day to stay in the flow of his spirit.

God's always moving and he's always talking to us, but we're not always listening. We're not always paying attention. Shame on us. To me, when I look at this vision, I begin to study it out. that's a representative that we do have a responsibility not to make the oil flow but to make sure that I'm in position that I can feel his spirit moving in my life and guiding me and directing me every day. I hope that becomes a priority for you. Not just that you have a daily time of devotional reading and reading the word of God is vastly important. I may talk about that in the upcoming message on Sunday. But I'm going to tell you this, being sensitive to where his spirit is leading you is paramount for you to be successful in this life.

If you're going to make it, if you're going to make it, it's going to take more than just feeling his presence on Sunday and Wednesday. You better be tapping in on Monday and Tuesday and Thursday evening and Saturday midday. I need his presence in my life. And you do too. You do too. You do too. We need it in our life. If we're going to make it, we got to be led by his spirit everywhere we go. Amen. I'll amen myself if you won't do it. That's good preaching. Jesus would let her echo this same statement statement. Red lettered words. John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit.

For without me you can do nothing. Nothing. You may think you're doing something, but according to the red letter words I just read to you, you're not doing anything. You got to be tapped in. You got to be you got to be plugged into the source. Zub will see in this vision, the branch doesn't struggle to produce life. It simply stays connected to the source. And if you stay connected to the source, you will have life. You will bear fruit. It's impossible. It's impossible. Zerubel, we He's facing this impossible assignment. Then comes this interpretation. God says, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubable." As I said to you, he wasn't a priest. He wasn't a prophet.

He was the governor. He carried the responsibility of leading the rebuilding effort. I love this because God's basically saying, "It doesn't just have to be the ministry." Amen. >> This doesn't have to be me. Praise God. you get to help me. You get to be ambassadors, too. Did you know that? So, he goes to the one who's leading the charge. Imagine the pressure he had to feel every morning waking up and walking past that temple that's unfinished. Hearing the same cries of you're never going to do it. The same uh frustrations that have been going on for 16 years. Yet, he's the one who's supposed to be in charge leading this work. Imagine that pressure.

Limited resources, opposition from surrounding nations, people had lost their enthusiasm. Zerubil wasn't leading people who lacked ability. He was leading people who had lost their heart. Anybody ever been that that job before? Anybody ever had that management position? Anybody alive? I'm just making sure. Yeah, I've been there, too. I've been there. Here's what I know. Discouragement is contagious, man. Is it? It catches on when nothing else will burn. It only takes one Eeyore walking in the room. One Eeyore shows up and all of a sudden everything changes. Why is that? Ever notice there's some people that you're being you're just fine. Life is good. You've had no issues. You get around them for five minutes and you feel like I don't feel so good now.

I mean, you were fine. Life was good. Birds were singing. Sun was shining. Five minutes in their presence, you're like, you know, I need to go lay down. Why? Discouragement is contagious. Every day Zeruber will probably ask himself, "How are we ever going to do this?" And God finally answered the question and said, "Look, it's not by might nor by power, but by my spirit." So, we look at the word, the word might, if you if you if you go to the pure definition, it it represents strength, military force, human resources, large numbers, financial capacity. It's what an army possesses. It's what organizations depend on. It's what the world we live in. Trust. God wasn't condemning the strength.

He was simply saying, "My work is never dependent on the size of your resources." I love that he's not dependent on our resources. Thank God because mine are very limited. He's like, "I'll I'll handle the resource part. All I need you to do is have faith in me." Think about what what is it that you and I bring to this equation. Not much. Not much. I I'll just I'll just speak for me. I bring a big broken mess every time. And God's like, you know what? I can use that. I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful he doesn't reject me. He doesn't push me away. I'm so thankful that he takes what limited things that I have to bring to the table.

He's like, you know what? I'll take that and me and you become an overwhelming force. >> Isn't he a good God? Isn't he a good God? Isn't he good that he's not dependent on us? All I got to do is tap into him. I just got to stay under the source and then life has a way of working on my behalf if I stay connected to him, not by power. The word power points to an individual ability, talent and skill and influence and intellect and natural giftedness and connections, right? That's our world. It's who you know, your giftings. I'm not naturally gifted at really anything. Napping, I'm a pretty good napper. I'm I'm in fact my wife probably tell I'm probably an excellent napper.

If that was an Olympic sport, I would be there. Especially quick naps. But outside of that, I don't think I really have any talent and ability. I often ask God, I'm like, "What did you see in me? I'm just a mess." But I'm glad it isn't about my power. Some people think if we just had more people. Others think if I was more talented. Others if I had a better education or if I had more influence or if I was a little taller or I was a little slimmer. God says neither neither of those things is the answer. Not your collective strength. It's not about your individual strength, but it's by my spirit. That little word but changes everything.

God redirects the rubber's attention from what he lacks to what God supplies. Don't focus on what you don't have. Focus on who you have. Don't focus on what you don't have. Focus on who you have. You know him. You know him. You know his name. The name above every name. The name that every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess. You know him. Why? Why are you afraid? Why are you Why are you anxious? Why are you scared when you have the very thing you need to get you through any circumstance or situation you will ever face in your life? Just call on Jesus. It's not by your might. It's not by your power.

It's not by your talent or your ability or your bank account or your connections. It's because you know the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You know the ones who can step into your situation and has the ability to change it and turn IT AROUND INSTANTANEOUSLY. THAT'S OUR GOD. WHAT A GOOD GOD WE HAVE. WHY WOULD we ever take a back seat? [applause and cheering] Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. I'm worried a little bit. I'm worried about where we are. Things have never changed. The early church didn't have political influence. They didn't have impressive buildings. They didn't have wealth. They didn't have social status. Yet within one generation, the gospel spread across the entirety of Rome.

They were known as these are they that have turned the world upside down. It wasn't by their might or their power. They tapped into a source. It was contagious. Where are we at? You know, if I go back to to the our beginnings in modern movement and the apostolic Pentecostal movement, we go back to Topeka, Kansas and Isuza Street and the outpouring that happened as the revival spread. They didn't have wealth. They didn't have status. They didn't have big buildings. They didn't have fancy lights and pay systems. They didn't even have air conditioning. Yet, they had a connection with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. God's work is never dependent on human strength.

It's always dependent on his spirit. And I'm afraid sometimes and wonder if our greatest danger facing the modern church isn't this this not persecution but self-sufficiency. Listen to me. We have better technology than the generations before us. We have better facilities. We the most blessed financial generation that has ever been in this apostolic movement. We're all these things. Better communication, better resources. Yet, if we're not careful, we can begin trusting methods more than the spirit, programs more than prayer. He's not against excellence. He's not He's not against preparation. But none of those things can ever replace the work of the Holy Ghost. >> We we we can't be so comfortable that we forget that it's not about your comfort.

It's about spending time connected to the source. That's what the vision was. They were seeing the oil come out and they didn't have to go refill it. Why? because he was supplying this the need. The lamps was not going to go out as long as the supply was flowing and he has an endless supply. But guys, if we're not in the prayer room, >> if we're not in the prayer room, if we're not coming to prayer chain, if we're not showing up on family prayer nights, if we're not doing our own devotion and time of prayer every day, if we're not, I promise you, we're just going to entertain ourselves to death. Even inside the church, we will entertain oursel to death.

It's not about being entertained. It's about being in the presence of the almighty God. If we're ever going to reach our families and our cities, if we're ever going to see the backsliders come on, it's going to be because we spent a time on our knees in prayer, our face in the carpet, staying plugged into the source, if we want to change this city, we want to see God do miraculous things, it's going to happen by you and I doing our part of staying under the oil where his spirit's being poured out. And I promise you, we won't have to go pass out tracks and knock on any door. I promise you, when lives are being changed on a regular basis around here, the community will come in the back door.

We don't have to coax them. They're going to feel it. They'll drive past the room. They'll pull in the parking lot and say, "Hey, there's something different GOING ON THERE." WHY? BECAUSE WE TAPPED INTO A SORT THAT DOES NOT have an end to it. That's what Zeruba was seeing. THERE WAS A VISION PLAYING OUT before him. And I'm telling you, that's still alive TODAY IN 2026. OH, HOW this would be such a different place if every one of us had the same burden that I'M GOING TO STAY UNDER THAT SPOUT. And I'm not going to give up until I see God DO THE MIRACULOUS, TILL HE HEALS MY FAMILY, till he makes a restoration in my life.

>> COME ON, CENTERPOINT. WE HAVE THE KEY. WE have the ability to do this. We don't have to wait on another generation. We don't have to wait revival time. We can do it. We can do it. We can do it. We can be the church. >> I love that part in verse number seven. Who are you, great mountain? >> I love how God says you're worried about that mountain. You're being discouraged because the task looks BIGGER THAN YOU. WHO are you, great mountain? >> Who are you to stop what I'm going to do is what God's saying. Why are we intimidated by the mountain? I feel the Holy Ghost moving right now. I'm speaking to somebody.

Why are you being intimidated about the mountain? You got everything you need. If you're a child that's filled with his spirit, listen to me. You got everything you need. You have that same resurrection power coursing through your body right now. The same thing that got him up out of the grave that defeated it. The same thing that that allowed him to go down to to to to hell and grab the keys and look at them and say, "When my kids come back, you're going to open the gates for them." >> We have that coursing through our body right now. Why would you be intimidated by some mountain, some inconvenience in your life? Stand up and say, "Who are you, great mountain?

>> Do you want to stand in MY WAY? MY GOD is with me." >> Where's the faith at right now? I know there's Listen to me. There's some stuff going on in some families in our church right now. The last few weeks has been tough. It's been tough. It's been some hard things that I've been praying through as pastor trying to help some individuals and some families go through some some difficult things right now. It's got me on my face praying. But I refuse to be intimidated by what I can't control. >> I refuse I refuse I refuse to give into the mountain. I refuse to allow it to intimidate me when I know my God will take me through.

I may not know how. I may not know when, but I know my God is with me. He stands with me lock step and it is my responsibility to stay tapped into him. And if I WILL DO MY PART, I KNOW MY GOD WILL ALWAYS do his. >> I love the fact he doesn't deny that the mountain exists. The reality was there's opposition there. There's obstacles in life. There really were delays. It happens, right? It happens to us. But God asked the mountain the question almost as say, "Who do you think you are?" I like that. I like when God shows up and looks at the enemy and says, "Who do you think you are?"

Compared to human strength, mountains are intimidating. Compared to the spirit of God, there's just temporary inconveniences. Mountains may slow down us, but they cannot stop God's ability to change our life. Then comes one of my favorite promises. He shall bring forth the capstone with the shouts of grace, grace to it. The same Zerubel who laid the foundation would place the final stone. The God who called in to begin would enable him to finish the job. Paul writes in Philippians 1 and six, "Be confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it." Do you see that? He who started it, he'll complete it if you'll stay tapped into the source.

God is not only the author of our faith, but he's also the finisher. You got to remind yourself of these sometimes. See, like there's a whole lot of noise in our world. There's a whole lot of things shouting. There's a whole lot of stuff that's that's trying to captivate our attention. But sometimes you got to silence those things and you got to get back in the word of God. You got to dig out some promises. I'm a big believer that if you got a Bible, you need to have it all marked up and and and highlighted and circled and and there's some of those things you need to write down there. That's that's Kevin's promise.

That's Gary's promise. That's Pam's promise. That's Marco's promise. Write it down and claim it back to God. Read it back out to him. These they belong to you. >> You're his child. He purchased you long ago. Sometimes you just need to get out the word and start reading it back to him. God, these are the things I'm declaring over my life today. They're his words. They're the truth things that God's saying about you. Remind him of them. You'll find some power in that. As I get ready to bring this to a close tonight, I imagine Zerubel standing before that unfinished temple. And for 16 years, he passed by that work site every day seeing it in the state that it was in.

Same foundation. Every stone reminded him of what had been started but never finished. know about you, but I know what that feels like sometimes. There's been some things that have taken a long time in my life to come to pass. I know that feeling of walking past the same thing day after day, saying, "God, is it ever going to be different? Am I ever going to see it come to pass?" Knowing that I had a promise. I mean, some of you also know what that feels like. You have promises that have seemed unfinished, prayers that have seemed unanswered, dreams that seem delayed, mountains that refuse to move. But into that moment, God spoke this simple sentence.

Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. God never promises that there wouldn't be mountains. He didn't. He simply promised the mountain would not have the final word. The mountain, it won't have the final word. No, my God has the final word. I may not know all I face today, but here's something that gets me through. I know who holds my tomorrow. >> I have confidence in that. Zechariah 4:9, I love this. Listen to this. The hands of Zerubbabel had laid the foundations of this temple. His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. The God who called in to begin will empower him to finish it.

And I'm speaking to a group today. I don't know what's unfinished in your life, but the same God who gave you the ability to start it will give you the ability to finish it if you'll stay connected to him. That's that that's to me to me that's the great thing. There's so much is in the book of Zechariah, but to me it just kept jumping out as I was studying these past couple of weeks. It's not by might. It's not what I can do. It's not by my ability. It's not by my power. Nor is it by yours. But it's by his spirit. If we will stay tapped into what he's wanting to do, I promise you, it'll always come to pass.

Maybe not on my watch. Maybe not on my calendar, but it'll happen in time when God wants it to come to pass. My job, my job, your job is to say tapped into the source to make sure that I'm being obedient and following after your spirit everywhere I go. Church, if it got started, if he started it, I promise you, he will finish it. Nothing's changed. That story was long time ago. But today, whatever mountain stands before you, whatever assignment God has placed in your hands, whatever burden you've been trying to carry on your own strength, hear the word of the Lord one more time. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord.

Stand with me tonight. Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord. I'm gonna say it again. Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit. His spirit's in this room today. I know it's Wednesday night Bible study. I know that. But I you know what? God does some great work on Wednesday night, too. >> He does some great work there. As I said before, there there there's some things going on in our church family. I can't talk about all these things, but I need you to trust pastor right now. There's some stuff there's some families going through some stuff right now. We need to pray as a church body.

Some of you have had some things happen in the last couple of months and your faith is high. Okay? You you you're walking and you're like, "God just moved that mountain out of my way. He done these things. And I'm so thankful and I and I'm happy and I rejoice with you. But listen to me. I need to activate your faith right now because there's some other families right now. Their faith's low. They're struggling right now. They're going through some stuff. But we're the body. We're together in this thing. Can you help me pray right now? Will you Will you just take just just a couple of minutes with me right now? Can we can we just get into the spirit on a Wednesday night and cry out to God?

Jesus, we come before you right now. We need you, Jesus. We need you, Lord. There's some things facing our church family right now, God. There's some mountains that are standing in our way. There's some things that we're facing, Lord. They feel overwhelming, Lord. God, we we often times feel like, Lord, it's never going to change. But I pray today, God, that you would intervene on our behalf, Lord, that we could get into the flow of your spirit tonight on this Wednesday night Bible study. Lord, >> step into our church. Step into our lives. Step into our family right now, God, and do what only you can do. Who are you, great mountain? Who are you to tell us what to do?

My God is in control. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Lord, I plead your blood over this church and every family representing this church, every individual that's a part of this church. God, I pray God for your peace and your joy and your restoration, God, to flood us, overwhelm us, Lord God. Let us stay in the overflow of your spirit, God. Let your mercy that runs after us every day catch us, Lord Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. >> Oh, I love you, Jesus. I love you, Jesus. I love you, Jesus. >> Hallelujah. >> Hallelujah Jesus. Hallelujah Jesus. >> Hallelujah Jesus. God, we thank you so much for being with us tonight in this place. Thank you so much, Lord God, for the truth that you show us in your word every day.

God, as we get prepared to leave this place tonight, Lord, I pray that you would go with us through our homes. God, I pray your presence go with us everywhere we go, Lord. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.