If you have a Bible, if you can open up to the book of Zechariah, the easiest way to find Zechariah is go to the New Testament, go to Matthew, turn left past Malachi, get to Zechariah, we'll be in Zechariah. Chapter 4.
As you know, re is a prefix that, when you put it at the beginning of the word, means to do something again. So to redo is to do again. To reheat is to heat again. To reassign is to assign again. To rebuild is to build again.
You get the idea. There's another reword I want to draw your attention to, and that's revival. Revival means to infuse life into sleepy, sluggish, indifferent Christians.
JI Packer, who is now with the Lord, made a career about speaking of revival, saying this. He said, this is what it is. It's when God quickens God. God's quickening visitation of his people touches their hearts and deepens his work of grace in their lives.
When God comes and quickens his people, a new, mighty and undeniable vitality, revolution rushes into the church.
Now, you may not be aware, but deep with who, within the vitality of who we are, we are born a people born of revival. Part of the reason we're here today is because. Because of the things of and that we care about the things of God is because people who've gone before us, who are now gathered to the great cloud of witnesses, have experienced revival. So do you pray for revival?
Do you hope for revival? Do you expect revival? In 1839, a revival swept through Scotland and altered the church's landscape and expectation. Islay Byrne said it this the idea of revival as the great necessity of the church of the age till then but a dim tradition of bygone days took strong possession of the minds of Christian men and has never lost its hold. From that hour it ceased to seem a thing impossible that God should raise the dead.
And I wonder if we, the American church at large, have forgotten our great need to be revived, to experience this kind of awakening. Because it seems, if you're like me, that the expectation of revival has retreated to the shadows of history. So much so that we've stopped looking for God to do anything beyond our expectations. And I wonder if we have shrunk our expectations down to manageable sizes, said that we might not be disappointed. And I don't want to be okay with that anymore.
I want to encounter God. I want to experience the power and the presence of God in new and jarring ways. And I don't think I'm alone.
Hansen and Woodbridge, in their delightful book on revival, says it this way. We submit that many Christians have grown content, grown content with the ordinary, that they don't bother asking God for anything more.
We who live in an era of small things must remember eras when big things seen and heard in the Bible, returned once more.
I'm ready to ask God for more. Are you?
Do you think there's anything that can limit our God? No. The first thing that happens in revival, if you study revivals, the very first thing that happens is that the Lord comes down in power to bless his people. What if we began calling out and praying to the Lord to come near in power?
6 · Richardson pivots from the introductory problem diagnosis to the text itself, forecasting the sermon's controlling claim: God has pledged Himself to His people and is able to do more than we imagine
Well, today we're going to turn to Zachariah, chapter four, and be reminded that our God delights to do the unexpected.
We see that our God has pledged himself to his people. So instead of trusting ourselves, instead of looking to our own resources, instead of imagining that we have everything we need right now, we can look to him and recognize that our God has pledged himself to us and that he is able to do more than we can ask or imagine. This we'll see in Zechariah, chapter four.
7 · Richardson reads the primary text in full, establishing the scriptural foundation for the entire sermon
So if you have a Bible, I'm going to read beginning in verse one and go all the way down to verse seven.
The Word of God says this. And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me like a man who was who is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, what do you see? I said, I see. And behold a lamp stand, all of gold, with a bowl on top of it and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on top of it.
And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on the left. And I said to the angel who talked with me, what are these, my Lord? And the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, do you not know what these are? I said, no, my Lord. And 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.
8 · Richardson prays for transformation rather than mere information, asking God to work powerfully despite the preacher's limitations
Let's pray.
Lord God Almighty, we open your word not to get information, but so that we might be transformed, so that we might experience transformation. I pray that you would do more than we can ask or imagine, even in this brief sermon, Lord, because we know that as when we open your word, Lord, you come in power. You're here with us in our midst. I pray that you would work despite my frailties, limitations, sins.
And I ask that you would help us, Lord, to meet you today, and in your name we pray. Amen.
9 · Richardson provides contextual background on the eight visions and positions Zechariah 4 as the fifth vision
The prophet Zechariah was given in one night, eight visions from God. That was quite a night. The fourth chapter of Zechariah is his fifth vision. And if you read Zechariah chapters one through six, you get a vision for what revival is to look like. But we're going to just look at the fifth vision and only look at it ever so briefly, briefly.
And there are three things I want us to notice from the text. First, we see a golden lamp stand standing stark and shining in bright relief before Zechariah is this massive golden lampstand.
10 · Richardson unpacks the details of the vision, contrasting the ordinary menorah with Zechariah's extraordinary "super menorah" with 49 flames continuously fueled by two olive trees
It's not an ordinary lampstand. You've probably seen Jewish candles before. You know, they're called menorahs. And this menorah is meant it usually resembles a plant with seven candles. But this menorah in Zechariah chapter four is very different from the classic one. This lampstand supports seven lamps, each with seven wicks. This is a super menorah with 49 flames burning brightly. Not only are there 49 flames, there are two olive trees next to the super menorah.
Why? Well, the olive trees were coveted at that time for oil. Olive oil was used to fuel the flames of the candles. And the olive trees played a crucial role in this picture. They delivered the continual source of oil for this super menorah so that the light could shine normally in the temple.
Someone would have to add a bit of oil to the candle socket on a regular basis to fuel the light. But here there is no one needed to to to provide that oil because we have two olive, olive trees right next to this massive golden apparatus. And it had all it needed. So the centerpiece of this fifth vision in Zachariah was the super menorah blazing into the darkness because it had a continual supply of oil from the olive trees.
11 · Richardson establishes the consistent biblical symbolism of lampstands representing God's people accompanied by His presence, citing Isaiah 60, Matthew 5, and Revelation 1
Now, in visions like this, it's important to understand what the lampstand signifies. Lampstands and the light they give are always in the Bible. An image of the people of God accompanied by the presence of God in the Old and New Testaments. Here's a couple examples. Isaiah says this to Israel in Isaiah chapter 60. Arise, shine, for your light has come. The glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples. But the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory shall be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. And in the New Testament, same thing, Matthew chapter five. You are the light of the world. A city set on the hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand. And it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
The Old Testament and New Testament purpose for the people of God is the same. Shine the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ into a dark world with the light that the Spirit of God provides. In fact, if you know your Bibles, you know that when Jesus appears to John in Revelation, we see in Revelation chapter one that Jesus is walking amongst the seven golden lampstands. These seven golden lampstands are symbols for the seven churches. So we have here in our super menorah of Zechariah chapter four, what we have is what we have a picture of the people of God fueled by the power of God.
The people of God are meant to shine forth the light of Christ into the thick and gloomy darkness that is this lost and dying world. That's the picture. That's what we see in Zechariah chapter four.
12 · Richardson identifies the angel in the vision as the Angel of the Lord—the pre-incarnate Christ, the second person of the Trinity
But I haven't really introduced you to the players yet. We read about we have an angel and we have Zechariah the prophet, the angel we see in verse 1. Verse 1 says, and the angel who talked with me came and woke me like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. The angel or messenger is not just any angel or messenger. If you read Zechariah, you find that this is the angel of the Lord. This is none other than the second person of the Godhead. This is God the Son, or better known, who we sing to and worship as Jesus Christ.
He is coming for the Lord, speaking for the Lord to Zachariah the prophet.
13 · Richardson unpacks Christ's mediatorial role, establishing that Jesus is both provider (giving all we need) and provision (giving Himself)
This is what Jesus always does. He is the grand mediator. This is where we see Our God has pledged Himself to His people for their good. We see Jesus our sole representative from the Father to us and our representative from us to the Father. He is both our provider and our provision. He provides all that we need in every respect in this life. He is our shepherd who leads us in paths of righteousness. He gives us all we need for life and godliness. He has granted us in him every spiritual power blessing.
He is our provider. He's also Himself our provision. He gave Himself once and for all and he did this voluntarily as a sacrifice to redeem us from the horror and penalty of our sins. And upon his resurrection and ascension, he provided for us His Spirit so that he would always be with us. And he could say, I will be with you always.
Even to the end of the age, he remains our provision, interceding for us each by name at this very moment. He is our great provider and provision, this Jesus, our Savior.
14 · Richardson tracks the dialogue between Zechariah and the Angel of the Lord, noting Zechariah's confusion and the Angel's pedagogical approach—giving a summary rather than exhaustive details
But Zechariah doesn't understand that yet. He doesn't really understand who this angel is, who this messenger is. And he doesn't really understand what what this golden super Menorah is. So verse five, we read this and after Zachariah asks what's going here? Verse 5, the angel who talked with me, answered me, answered me, answered and said to me, do you not know what these are? I said, no my Lord. Instead of giving an answer immediately with all the details of everything we get, well, we get a summary of what Zacharias sees. And in verse 6, the mediator is going to pass along a message of the meaning of the super Menorah.
Not just any message, but he says, this is the word of the Lord.
15 · Richardson introduces the sermon's key verse (Zechariah 4:6) and establishes the chain of communication: the Lord speaks to Zechariah, who is to pass the word to Zerubbabel
We've seen the golden lamp stand. Now we hear a specific message. Here's what the message is. Here's what Jesus, a pre incarnate Christ, says to Zachariah that we need to hear today. Look at verse six. It says this. 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. Get the progression.
The Lord speaks to Zechariah, the prophet, and Zechariah was to pass the word to Zerubbabel.
16 · Richardson provides historical context on Zerubbabel—his identity as a Davidic prince, his mission to rebuild the temple after 80 years of exile, the initial success followed by mounting opposition, and the resulting 17-year paralysis
Now none of you probably name your children Zerubbabel. Who's that? Well, he's the prince of the people of Jerusalem. Zerubbabel was a descendant from David of the ruling house of Jerusalem. Zerubbabel was tasked with leading in difficult times. The Jewish people had been in exile for 80 years in Babylon Darius the Persian had released them to go home and rebuild the Temple. Now, when they got there, Jerusalem was utterly decimated. The Temple was razed, and the people with it lost all of their national identity. So Zerubbabel was called by God to start the rebuilding of the Temple, the place that God lived.
If there was an address for God in that day, it was at the Temple. So Zerubbabel and his crew got started and things went well for a few weeks. But then it all went sideways. Difficulties mounted. There were various factions that opposed the rebuilding of the Temple, along with older saints who were discouraged.
And there were fits and starts. And so this opposition and negativism spread and the work of the temple stopped for 17 years. 17 years, as I'm sure you can imagine, Zerubbabel thought he was given an impossible task by God. So he gave up.
17 · Richardson applies Zerubbabel's discouragement to the congregation through a series of rhetorical questions designed to connect the ancient story to contemporary experience
Have you ever felt like giving up? Have you ever felt like life is just throwing you too many curve balls and following Jesus is just too hard? Have you ever felt like, I just can't do it anymore? Have you ever felt the gloom of discouragement and hardship? Have you ever felt alone so that nobody, well, maybe you thought nobody could really understand what was going on?
18 · Richardson identifies the Word of the Lord as the remedy for discouragement and unpacks the meaning of "Lord of hosts" as the Commander of invincible armies
What's the best medicine for those of us in that position? What enlivens the heart? What imparts hope? What empowers? What nourishes? What invigorates? What revitalizes? What do you and I, and apparently Zerubbabel, what do we need the most? We need the Word of the Lord. And that's what came to him.
And what was the word of the Lord? Here it is, verse 6. Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Lord of hosts, that's a word we read in the Old Testament.
Just come over that. Not even think about that. But when we read Lord of hosts, what do you what another way to render that is to say he is the Lord who leads invincible armies. The idea is this. Who can oppose our God? The answer is no one. The Lord, the Commander of all, all heavenly and earthly forces, says this. It's not by might, nor is it by power, but it is by my spirit.
19 · Richardson diagnoses the core problem—trusting in our own resources rather than God's Spirit—and contrasts God's response to Zerubbabel with what we might expect
You see, our problem is the same as Zerubbabel's problem. You know what it is? We look to our own strength, we look to our own resources, we look to our own abilities. And the Lord says, stop. It's not by might. It's not by your might. It's not by someone else's might, it's not by your power or someone else's power, but by my spirit.
It's encouraging to me that the Lord does not show up to Zerubbabel and chide him and rag on him for 17 years. For 17 years of inactivity. He doesn't come and go, dude, what are you doing? I've given you a task. Go get it. Go get after it. No. The Lord knows the weaknesses of his people.
And instead of ragging on Zerubbabel, he pledges his strength. And that's what he does with us as well. The Spirit of God knows where we are weak. And he doesn't look at us saying, oh, my goodness, what are you doing? How could you fall into that again?
He pledges his strength to his people. The Lord of Hosts, the Lord of invincible armies has pledged his strength. If you're a Christian, he is pledged. Pledged himself to you, the resources associated with God Most High. He has said, I'm with you.
Who can stand against you when we have him standing with us?
20 · Richardson diagnoses Zerubbabel's problem—having eyes only for opposition and inability—and illustrates the proper perspective through the story of Elisha and the Syrian army
Zerubbabel was despondent because he only had eyes for his opposition and his inability. And the Lord of Hosts says, look again. Instead of looking at all the obstacles in your way, look at the Lord of Hosts. It's a little bit like this. In Second Kings, chapter six, the whole Syrian army, the superpower of that day, was coming to get Elijah's successor. Successor Elisha. Elisha servant woke up early, got a cup of coffee, and saw the whole army arrayed against him. And the servant barges into Elisha and says, alas, master, what shall we do? And Elisha. And he said, that's Elisha.
Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those, more than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed and said, oh, Lord, please open his eyes that he may see. So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Elisha was going to be just fine. Why? Because the Supreme Commander of the universe says, I got you. And he does.
Zerubbabel was going to be just fine. Because the Lord of Hosts says, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit. And you know what? You will, too. The Lord, by his spirit has pledged his strength to us. He who is with us is more than he who is against us. John Knox said it this way.
A man or woman with God is always in the majority. That's just another way of saying not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of Hosts. Our God is a mighty warrior. Are you afraid?
21 · Richardson confesses his own tendency to focus on problems and strategize solutions rather than look to God, then issues a corporate diagnostic: we all suffer needless discouragement because we have eyes only for our problems
Do you fear? Are you discouraged? Could it be that you only have eyes for your problems? See, when my I don't know if you're like me, but when I have problems that face me, when I have something that comes and opposes me, I see it and I try to strategize and try to get away or get around it. When I. When I have, I focus on my problems, I obsess on my problems, and I I don't think about the God who promises to be with me in my problems. And so I get afraid.
But instead we can be like Elisha and say, lord, open my eyes to the reality of the truth. He who is with me, he who is with us is more than he who is against us. And I believe that we, all of us, suffer needless discouragement because we only have eyes for our problems, as real as they may be. Zerubbabel didn't have imaginary maladies. He had real problems.
But what Zerubbabel needed is the same thing we needed is this to be reminded that we will succeed not by might, not by our might, not by our power, but by His Spirit, says the Lord.
22 · Richardson delivers a direct confrontation: none of us have enough resources or faith, and we should have far more faith given what Christ has done
When you consider your resources, you do not have enough. When you consider your faith in the Lord Jesus, you do not have enough. We all in this room, without exception, should have much more faith in Jesus Christ than we do. Look at what he's done for us. He lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death, rose from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Father, is interceding for us right now, promises and pledges himself to us, and we still doubt.
But Jesus is patient and kind and merciful, and he allows problems to come to us so that we might recognize that it's not by our might nor by our strength, but by His Spirit that he gets things done. It's as if the Lord is saying, the answer to your problems is not by getting stronger friends or tapping into your internal power, but by looking to Him. We must not Christians, trust in who we know or what we think we can do. But the Lord who does the work, why?
Because it's not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.
23 · Richardson redirects the congregation's instinctive question from "What am I going to do?" to "What is God up to?" He exposes the American cultural lie of self-sufficiency (citing Maya Angelou as representative) and contrasts it with biblical truth: we are not enough, but God is and has pledged Himself to us
You see, when we struggle, when we face hardships and trials, the first question I ask myself oftentimes is this. What am I going to do? I look at my abilities, my resources, my strength, and I ask, how am I going to get out of this. But instead I probably should ask a different question. What is God up to? When problems come to us, they seem big. Maybe too hard, maybe too much.
And you know, I can think about planning or thinking or working to try to figure a way out. But oftentimes they come to me so that I can be reminded that it's not by my might nor by my power, but by his spirit that he gets anything done. Friends, does the Lord seem absent to you? Does he seem distant?
Sometimes he seems to disappear when crippling troubles come our way so that we realize that we lack the might and the power to see our way out. Friends, none of us, just to put it simply, none of us are strong enough. And that runs against the grain of every message that we hear in our American culture. A cursory examination of sentiments of all kinds of cultural sentiments bear this out. Everywhere we look, we hear things like this from Maya Angelou, Nothing condemned. The light which shines within.
That's a lie. I realize it's very un American, very un Disney, but it's true in the Bible, we're never directed to make ourselves strong by ourselves. Why? Because it's impossible. You look inside, you look at what you have inside.
You don't have enough. You're not enough. You can't do it. But I know someone who can. I know someone who's pledged Himself to us. I know someone who said, listen, you can't do it, but I can.
24 · Richardson identifies the root cause of low expectations—we've stopped asking God for great things—and reframes discouragement as an opportunity for hope because God has pledged Himself to us
We must look elsewhere for strength because it's not by our might nor by our power, but by his spirit. Maybe the reason, maybe the reason we expect little from the Lord is we've stopped expecting. We've stopped asking him to do great things. But it's not by his, by our might or by our power, but by His Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts. We all have great reason, if we look at our troubles and our hardships, to be discouraged because we lack the strength to get out of it by ourselves. But we have much better reason to have hope this morning. Not because of what we have, because the Lord of Hosts has pledged Himself to us.
25 · Richardson forecasts the third movement of the sermon—from vision to message to hope—and raises the narrative question of whether Zerubbabel succeeded
You might be wondering, how did it go with Zerubbabel? Did he get it done? Was the temple finished? Well, we've seen a golden lamp stand, we've heard a specific message, and now we witness an enduring hope.
26 · Richardson exposes the rhetorical force of verse 7—God openly mocking the mountain of opposition on Zerubbabel's behalf
Tucked away in verse seven is something that I think should encourage all of us. Verse 7. This is the angel of the Lord Jesus Christ, pre incarnate Christ, speaking this and Says, who are you, O gray mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of grace. Grace to it, great mountain. What is that?
That's Zerubbabel's impossible task of rebuilding the temple. It's that challenge that loomed like a mountain, an immovable obstacle before him in his life. And the Lord comes and says, bro, it's not by might nor by power, but by my spirit. And then in verse seven, the Lord, on behalf of Zerubbabel, Remember we said the Lord pledges himself to his people. The Lord, on behalf of Zerubbabel, openly mocks Zerubbabel's big challenge.
And he says, what? Who are you? What do you got? That's what he's saying, right? You got nothing. Who are you before Zerubbabel? Before the spirit of the Lord. Zerubbabel, before the spirit of the Lord. In Zerubbabel, you, O mountain, which is the idea of building a temple. You are.
You are a mountain no longer. You will be chopped down and there will be nothing more than a harmless metal that Zerubbabel calmly walks through with the Lord.
27 · Richardson unpacks the transfer principle: when we belong to God, our problems become His problems, and since nothing is impossible for God, every problem—no matter how insurmountable—is met with God's mocking question: "Who are you?"
The biggest problems we can have are as nothing. Zerubbabel's problems became the Lord's problems. See that? Zerubbabel's problems became the Lord's problems. And is there anything that our Lord can't do? No. Zerubbabel saw the problem of local opposition. And the Lord says, who are you?
Zerubbabel saw the problem of compounding difficulties with all the things that went into rebuilding the temple. And the Lord says, who are you? Zerubbabel saw all this rampant discontentment. And the Lord says, who are you? The Zerubbabel saw this swirling discontentment. And the Lord says, who are you? You know what that means? It means that your problems become his problems. And with him there is no problem.
28 · Richardson applies God's mocking question to a comprehensive list of contemporary struggles—sin, finances, relationships, impossible situations, wayward children, spiritual apathy
So what are you facing? Do you have a nagging sin problem? Listen to the word of the Lord. Who are you? Do you have financial reversals that are causing you trouble? Listen to the Lord.
The Lord says, who are you? Do you have relational ruptures that you don't feel like you can put back together? Listen to the Lord saying, who are you? Are you in an impossible situation where you just don't know what to do? Listen to the Lord say, who are you?
Do you have wayward kids? Are you experiencing spiritual apathy? Do you? Do you struggle with low expectations? Do you have spiritual sluggishness?
The Lord says to all of These problems and every other problem could have. Who are you?
29 · Richardson declares the sermon's "manifesto for revival"—not through human techniques but through hearing and believing the word of the Lord
And here is our manifesto for revival. It's not in praying the right prayers. It's not in taking outlandish risks. It's not in trying to gin up more faith. It's not in organizing meetings. It's not in lowering our expectations. It's by hearing and receiving the word of the Lord and believing that it is truly not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. What can limit our God?
See, all of us, probably, if we're Christians, we say nothing. Nothing. I mean, when we come to church and we sing these songs, seems great. When we pray with the saints, it seems wonderful.
But the truth is, when troubles hit, we think, hmm, can God really do anything? Is he really up to the challenge? Is he able to fix this? Yes. Who are you, O great mountain? What's your problem? What are you facing? What's that thing you're facing that you think, I have no idea what to do, I can't do it.
Maybe it's something you've shared with people. Maybe it's something that's a secret. Maybe it's something you've prayed about for 10, 20, 30, 40 years. Maybe it's brand new and it just hit you this week. Listen to the word of the Lord to you. Who are you to your problem? It's not by might that you will overcome that problem, nor is it by your power that you will overcome that problem. But it is by his spirit we find the Zerubbabel would succeed in the task the Lord gave him.
30 · Richardson exposes the timeline—four years from prophecy to completion—and clarifies that victory came not through dramatic angelic intervention but through grinding, daily faithfulness in the strength of the Lord
Look at verse seven. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of grace, Grace to it. The top stone, or the capstone, was the final piece of the temple that Zerubbabel would place on the temple at the end of the job. And when he put the last stone in place and all the assembled multitude gathered together shouted grace, grace to it. But you should know that from the time of this prophecy or this word in chapter four to the time of the finish of the temple was four years.
And there were no angel armies with horses or chariots that built that temple for him. Zerubbabel finished the task by grinding it out day in and day out for four years in the strength of the Lord.
31 · Richardson establishes the normal pattern of God's work: not dramatic miracles but grinding faithfulness one step at a time in the Spirit's power
Completion came only through the power of God in cooperation with the work that he did most of the time. That's how our victories are won. Not through dramatic miracles, but through grinding hard work, doing the next thing in your God given tasks. And even when you just Take the next step. So often the most important thing to do when we're faced with, with these mountains of troubles is just take the next step. We want a roadmap. We want to pop it into our phones and say, well, this is the way it's going to go and this is how you're going to go, and let me avoid tolls and troubles. But that's not how it works.
The Lord often just gives us one step at a time and says, it's not by might, nor is it by power, but it is by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
32 · Richardson applies the Zerubbabel pattern to contemporary vocations—husband, wife, parent, employee, retiree, student—identifying the common calling to follow Jesus
None of us are called to rebuild a temple, but each of us in this room have God given tasks just the same. What's yours? Are you a husband? Are you a wife? Are you a parent? Are you an employee? Are you a retiree? Are you a student? All of you in here, I hope, are Christians. There are different callings here.
But one thing we all have the same it's to follow Jesus, to stay close to Him. How do we stay close to Him? Not by might, not by our might, not by our strength, but by His Spirit. Are you discouraged? Could it be that you're trusting yourself to be strong enough, to be mighty enough, to be smart enough? The problem is you're not.
I'm not. None of us are. That's the problem. It's not by our might, nor is it by our power, but it is by His Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. This is where we can trust the God who supplies our every need, the one who we can trust, this God.
Can he fail us? No. Will we make mistakes? Absolutely. Maybe things won't turn out like we imagined them to turn out, but we. And we'll fail and we'll falter and we'll fall down.
I'm not saying he's here to just accomplish all of our hopes and dreams. Most often our hopes and dreams need to be reforged in the fires of real life. But if you pledge yourself to him in whatever you're called to do, no matter what you're called to be, and you work and you trust and you take the same steps together, you can't fail. How do we know? Well, because it's not by might, nor is it by power, but by his spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.
33 · Richardson issues a series of "what if" questions building toward a corporate call to revival—what if the congregation collectively stopped trusting internal resources and instead called upon God to visit them with power, persistently praying until He does?
What if. What if we as a people collectively decided to stop looking at our own internal resources to try to make ourselves happy, to try to make it through life, to try to figure things out. What if we really took to heart the reality that my God has pledged himself to me. And it's his might and it's his power and it's his spirit that's going to get anything done. What if we look to him and said, lord, meet me. What if we recognize that it is really. It is really a walk of faith and not by sight that we are to call to live? What if. What if we really lived our lives so that we leaned on him and his might and his power and trusted in the work that his spirit and only his spirit can do? What if we did that?
What if we called forth to the Lord who has pledged himself to us, the Lord of hosts whom no one can oppose? What if we. What if we look to him and we said, lord, it is by your might and by your power and by your spirit that you get things done. What if we did that? And said, lord, revive us, awaken us, visit us with power, you who are unlimited, you who have hung the stars in space, you who hold us together by the very word of your power. What if we did that? What if we called upon him by his might and his power and his spirit to revive us?
And what if we did that over and over and over and over until he did?
34 · Richardson concludes with a benediction-like summary: God has pledged Himself to us; may we call on Him to revive us
May God, the Lord of hosts, who is invincible and who is power immeasurable, may he meet us. He's pledged himself to us. May we call on him to revive us as well.
35 · Richardson closes with pastoral prayer confessing the congregation's (and his own) tendency to trust in self rather than God
Let's pray.
Lord, so often we. I look to my own resources, my own abilities, what I think I can do to get things done. And, Lord, I come up short. We all come up short, Lord. What we need is a touch from you. We need your presence to come to us in power.
I pray for my brothers and sisters in this room who face mountains of troubles that are piled up against them like Zerubbabel. I pray for them, Lord, and I pray that you would just be with them and help them to recognize the way forward is not by trying to figure out how to fix things or how to sort of engineer some kind of internal strength, but to look to you, Lord, I pray that you would do more than we ask or imagine. So often, Lord, we take our expectations and just think. Because we've never seen you do anything beyond our expectation, we think you can't do it.
But, Lord, I pray that you would help us. You would forgive us, Lord, because that's not the way it is. Lord, you're beyond. You are beyond all that we can imagine. Lord, one day we will see you. We will be like you.
One day we will. We will be in your presence, and we will behold your glory. In these days, Lord, we walk around sluggish and oftentimes darkened in our mind. And we just. We forget that you are the most pressing reality in the universe.
I pray, Lord, that you would interrupt our lives and that you would take our expectations for what Tuesday might look like and awaken us, Lord, the best of us are only half awake. I pray you would awaken us, Lord. Revive our souls so that we might. So that we might be. Might be Christians who live, as it were, in the suburbs of heaven for a while and be with you and know your presence and see you work in ways that we did not expect.
Revive our hearts, Lord, by your might, by your strength, by your power. In your name we pray.