Scripture Focus: Zechariah 4:1-10 – “And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. [2] 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. [3] And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” [4] And I said to the angel who talked with me, “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?” I said, “No, my lord.” [6] 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. [7] 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!’” [8] Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, [9] “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. [10] 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.”
I. The Grace of God in Our Confusion (1-5)
A. Zechariah was awakened (1) – “And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep.”
Our nation is spiritually asleep.
The American Church is almost completely asleep.
Some in this room are spiritually asleep.
God is sounding the alarm to wake us…and we dare not hit the snooze button
B. Zechariah was questioned (2a) – “And he said to me, “What do you see?”
A nation in decay. A nation divided. A nation depraved. A nation without leadership.
A compromised church. A church without Holy Spirit gifts and power.
A church without a consistent voice.
A church that would rather fight each other than the demonic realm.
A ravenous remnant who will not settle for anything less than awakening.
A praying Bride, longing for the Bridegroom to come for her.
A generation of believers who want truth instead of trends or traditions.
A spiritual incubator from which will emerge a consecrated, fiery move of God.
C. Zechariah was aware (2b-4) – “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?”
“What is the bigger picture to which is connected all the things I am presently seeing?”
D. Zechariah was confused (5) – “Do you not know what these are? I said, No my lord.”
He knew what he was seeing, but he had no idea what to make of what he was seeing
II. The Grace of God in His Plans for Us (6-7)
A. An essential truth to be shared (6) – “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”
1. It is not the strength of numbers that prevail – “Not by might…” Refers to military might
2. It is not the strength of any individual that prevails – “…nor by power…”
3. It is trusting in God that prevails – “…but by My Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”
B. An undeniable triumph to be shared (7a) – “Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain.”
Zerubbabel’s present mountain included:
1. Rubble from Israel’s past failures as a nation
2. Fear of the surrounding enemy
3. The financial needs and provisions to rebuild the temple
4. Discouraged, critical workers (Ezra 3:13, Haggai 2:3)
5. Interference from the powers that be (Ezra 4)
6. Loss of momentum and vision by the people (Haggai 1:2)
C. A spiritual treasure to be shared (7b) – Zerubbabel “…shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of Grace, grace to it!
The vision would come to pass. The project would be completed. The Lord would receive the glory.
III. The Grace of God in His Determinations for Us (8-10)
A. There was a personal promise (8-9) – “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.”
B. There was a prevailing promise (10a) – “For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel…”
C. There was a protecting promise (10b) – “These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.”
Nearly 2500 years ago a man named Zerubbabel believed in freedom. He left an easier life in the Persian Empire and traveled to a desolate city – the city of his fathers – to build a temple for Jehovah in Jerusalem. He left with great zeal and visions of the splendor of a restored glory to the city of God and its people. Yet when the difficult task of rebuilding the temple began, Zerubbabel encountered a mountain of obstacles. In chapter 4 of Zechariah God sends a word through His prophet to encourage Zerubbabel to put his hands to this great work and continue to spend himself for something greater than himself. The mountain of difficulty was immense indeed, but the grace of God was waiting to do something that had eluded Israel for nearly 100 years. It was time for God to work and he needed his man to embrace the challenge. In the face of immovable mountains, God has never flinched. Not for Zerubbabel in his day, and not for you this morning.