All right, now an update. We have been in a month of prayer as we consider a major building project at the church. We asked people to devote February to pray about this project. And I'm. I just want to give you an update. Please turn in your Bibles to the book of Zechariah. It is one page over from Haggai, so if you've gotten used to turning to Haggai, just one page over. Now, Haggai and Zechariah are very unique. They were complementary prophets at the same time for the same purpose. They were both sent to God's people, trying to rebuild the temple and bringing words of encouragement and direction. So Zechariah, chapter four, we're going to begin reading in verse one. And as we read, let's remember this is God's word.
And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me like a man who was awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, what do you see? And I said, I see and behold a lampstand, all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left. And I said to the angel who talked with me, what are these, my Lord? Then the angel who talked with me answered and said, do you not know what these are? I said, no, my Lord. And then he said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel. Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts, who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of grace, grace to it. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice. And you shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. These seven are the eyes of the Lord which reigns throughout the whole earth. And then I said to him, what are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand? And a second time I answered and said to him, what are these branches of the olive trees which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out? And he said to me, do you not know what these are? And I said, no, my Lord. And then he said, these are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
This is God's word. And Lord, we pray your blessing over the preaching and the hearing of it in your son's name. Amen.
I remember vividly, almost viscerally, where one of my dreams died. It died behind the UTEP library in a little plaza between the big library and the lower level business administration building. There is a little plaza back there that nobody ever really goes to because it feels weird and is kind of in the shadow of the library. And I remember I was there on a series of phone calls trying to get advice about a major life decision I had. So the life decision in front of me was what to do after college. I was graduating from utep and I knew I wanted to do something in ministry. And I had a couple ministry opportunities in front of me that I was praying about. And the first one was to intern to be a pastoral intern here at this church. Now, the caveat is that the pastors explained I would have to, in order to make it work financially, be willing to also be the facilities guy of the church and building maintenance guy as a pastoral intern. So basically, like, you, you, you can do some, you know, learning, but you're also going to have to fix anything that breaks and learn how to do that. And it's, you know, whatever, how much of that is there? And they said, well, I don't know, we'll find out. And you just, that's your job. Your job is to figure that out. So I was like, okay. And I knew I was starting from. I mean, I knew I had not been a pastor before. I was going to start sort of in an apprenticeship mode. And that was one option. The second option was that I could become a director for a large conference of young adults with big name speakers led by a nationally recognized Christian author. Spend my days doing things like cool set designs, working with a creative team, emailing people that I respect for years that were famous pastors and authors. And after that phone call, I don't remember the series of phone calls, but I remember after the last phone call, it was clear, it was clear to me that the advice was, and the counsel was, if I wanted to be a pastor, I needed to start the work of learning to be a pastor, not the work of learning to be a conference director. And I gotta admit, I didn't love that because it wasn't until that moment, that moment when I realized that I had, maybe not even realizing it, had a whole dream for my life mapped out already. I dreamed that I would, okay, I'm going to move to this other city. It was a large city. I was going to become the conference director. I would become cool, which was a big life accomplishment I was hoping to achieve, especially growing up as a nerdy homeschooler in the 90s. I would become just a little famous in the Christian world. I'd get to rub shoulders with important people. And then eventually, maybe, maybe eventually I would plant a church. But not like a lame church, a cool big church with good lighting. That was in my mind. That's what I was hoping for. That's the trajectory of the next 10 years. And yet, after all that counsel and after praying myself, I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that God was saying I needed to die to that dream and resign myself to what I felt was a day of small things.
We often live in days of small things, don't we? Our lives seem smaller than we had hoped. Maybe as a teenager, they seem less flourishing, less important at times than we hoped. And yet God here lifts the curtain and shows us that, that thinking in terms of the days of small things is deceptive because no day is actually small if we are in that day with God's purposes and power.
But remember that the books of Haggai and Zechariah are prophetic books. And remember that most prophetic literature in the Bible is, is not primarily about predicting the future, okay? Although there is A prediction here, but it's not primarily about predicting the future. It is primarily about helping God's people see their present. Rightly, it is an unveiling, a revealing of what's really going on in the world.
6 · Unpacks the historical context of Zechariah's audience — exiles returning from Babylon's grandeur to Jerusalem's ruins, feeling they lived in a day of small things with no power and no purpose
And so what the Lord is doing here is he is rolling back the reality, in a sense, to help God's people see that their days that seem small, as they actually are. And this people, man, they need it. Remember the context. These people had come back to Jerusalem. They had been sent from Babylon, this huge metropolitan city that they had built lives in. They came back to restore the glory of Jerusalem. And. And maybe some of the kids were, you know, had grown up hearing these stories. And they arrived to find a derelict ghost town. The walls were destroyed, the temple was destroyed, the economy had collapsed. And they find themselves scraping and clawing building materials together, doing this work with their bare hands, trying not to question why they are where they are, but very much feeling that they live in a day of small things with no power and. And no purpose.
7 · Contrasts Jerusalem's former glory as a blazing city of light visible from a distance with its present derelict state — scattered torches at makeshift camps
And this image then, this image then would be striking, sent to a bunch of people trying to rebuild in the rubble, because this image of a giant light that's shining out into the dark would have been a sharp contrast to what they were living, okay, that in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was famous in the ancient world for being slight, on a slight elevation. So that a lot of the Psalms speak of going up to Jerusalem, if you've heard that language, let's go up to Jerusalem. So. So they're on this incline. And before you'd even see Jerusalem, what you would see is against the night sky, if you're walking, you would see a. A dim light on the horizon before you could even see Jerusalem. And that dim light, it would grow brighter and brighter as you moved closer. And then you would finally kind of crest the hill and see the city. And this is a city of thousands on thousands of people with lamps all throughout the city, with beautiful walls and the beautiful temple raised up. And. And it would be a striking sight in the middle of the night. But it wasn't that anymore. Right now in the day of Zechariah, it's a derelict city. And instead of this beautiful, blazing city, it's. Well, honestly, it's probably a bunch of scattered torches at makeshift camps as people are trying to undertake a building project. Not impressive, not encouraging.
8 · Detailed exposition of the lampstand vision — a super menorah of 49 flames (seven lamps with seven wicks each), made of fine gold, with an endless supply of oil from two olive trees
And yet this image, this image of Zechariah 4, which really is the heart of Zechariah in this book, this image forces its way into the consciousness of God's people. And it's of a blazing fire and lamp. And lamp is. It's not just blazing, it's a golden lamp so that even the lamp itself looks aflame. And it is fine gold, better than Solomon's gold. And there's a giant bowl of oil, and that oil is feeding into two lamps. And each of those lamps has seven flames. And so if you're keeping track at home, it's 49 flames, right? Everybody who knows that, like they're celebrating 50 years old has a conversation of, is it safe to put 50 candles on the. You know, you go back and forth with your family and this is that picture where at some point you get enough candles and it doesn't even look like individual candles. It's just an inferno, blazing. One of the commentators I read said that if you've imagine a menorah, if you've ever seen a Jewish menorah, this is no mere menorah. This is a super menorah. That's a commentator saying that, right? I was like, can I call it that? He's like, yep, that's what it is, a super menorah. Impossibly big, impossibly bright. And we with an endless supply of fuel, notice the picture that these olive trees basically are. They're tapped into the olive trees feeding the bowl of oil so that the olive oil is just flowing into this and never runs out. And so you have this impossibly bright thing fed forever. That's the image.
9 · Captures the interpretive exchange between angel and Zechariah, where Zechariah confesses he doesn't understand the vision
And then I love that the angel asks Zechariah, do you get it? And Zechariah on behalf of all of us says, no. It's like the Lord's going, are you encouraged yet, Zechariah? And Zechariah is like, I know, I see a big thing. I'm not sure. So thankfully for Zechariah and for us, the Lord explained.
10 · Announces the sermon's three-point structure (three images of encouragement) and applies the 'day of small things' theme to the congregation's present experience
So we're going to see three images, three images meant to stir up and encourage God's people. And wherever you are today, you probably are living in a day of small things. That. And. And these truths are for that day. There's a part of your life that feels small, and these truths are for that part.
11 · Introduces the first image (power) and identifies Zerubbabel as the civic leader — governor of a ghost town with few resources, discouraged people, enemies, and no army
And so first image, an image of power. I love verse 6. This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel. Now, Zerubbabel was the. The civic leader, the governor in a sense of this people. And imagine the difficulty of his position. He's the governor of a ghost town. He's the civic. He's the mayor of a destroyed, burned out city. And every day he wakes up, he's under pressure, he has few resources, he has discouraged people, he has enemies all around him, he has no army to meet them. And imagine how small he would feel waking up every day, his power level small, his task great.
12 · Direct pastoral identification with the congregation — inviting them to see their own smallness in Zerubbabel's position
And maybe you can relate to that. Maybe you can relate to feeling small. As you wake up in the day, you see what's in front of you in a particular area of your life.
13 · Unpacks Zechariah 4:6 — the contrast between Zerubbabel's small inventory of strength and the Lord's infinite power
We'll hear the word of the Lord. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord. Notice the contrast. Not by human might, not by human power, but by the divine spirit of the Lord of Hosts. It's a, it's a contrast between Zerubbabel and the Lord, Zerubbabel's might and the Lord's might. So, so Zerubbabel, his, his inventory of strength is small, but the Lord's spirit is there. The Zerubbabel's resources and power are minimal, but the Lord's power, Yahweh's power, that word capitalized lord means Yahweh, I am who I am. The great I am is there. And Zerubbabel has no army, no troops to speak of, but he is supported by the Lord of Hosts, which means the Lord of angelic powerful armies. And do you see what the Lord's doing? He's saying, zerubbabel, this will happen. But it's not going to be due to your inventory of power and might. It's going to be due to mine, my power and might will power my purposes.
14 · Expounds the mountain-leveling image — what seems an insurmountable obstacle to Zerubbabel will become a plain with a snap of God's fingers
And then the second image, I love this, this, this massive mountain image. Imagine that in front of Zerubbabel, he's on this path, there is a giant mountain that just gets dropped onto the highway. And Zerubbabel's thinking, I don't have enough power to even climb over this. I don't know if I have enough power to even go around this. And yet, and yet the promise is this, before you, Zerubbabel, the mountain shall become a plain meaning what seems like a mountain with a snap of God's fingers will be obliterated and Zerubbabel will walk straight through. The point is this, that Zerubbabel's resources and power are small, but God's are infinite and great.
15 · Personal story of visiting the Nevada atomic museum and experiencing a nuclear blast simulation — flash, rumble, dust, air blast, visceral bodily alarm
Now recently I had been wanting to visit the atomic museum in Nevada because my grandfather was involved in some of the last above ground nuclear testing in Nevada. And so I wanted to go out there as sort of a heritage thing. And so my wife was kind Enough to go with me. And I got to go to this amazing museum about the history of nuclear testing. And there were. Look, this is. Imagine this. I'm not a physics major. I'm not a science major. I am a creative writing major at an atomic museum. And so my comprehension of it was minimal. And they had this one exhibit where they're showing you the atoms and what goes on. I'm like, cool, that's a lot of colors. And so there's a bunch there. But thankfully for people like me, they had a particular exhibit. The particular exhibit was that they would do a little kind of a faux simulation of a nuclear bomb of what it's like to see it go off in the distance. So I said, okay, great. So you go into this little tiny theater and it looks. It's kind of cool. It's built like a bunker to make it look like a bunker. So you're like, oh, this is cool. So the big doors open and then there's red lights. And then you sit there and wait for the show to start and then they close the doors and then the red lights and you do the thing and you're like, oh, this is cool. It's cool. And there's. It's like a concrete room and there's like a little viewport right there, right? And so they're. They're saying, okay, Tan and I, they do the countdown. And then. I wasn't prepared for this. I thought it was going to be like. And it'd be like, oh, that's cool. And then we leave. Instead, what they do is they set. They simulate the atomic bomb going off and there's an amazing, brilliant flash. And they flash a bunch of lights at you, like, bam. And you recover just in time to feel your seat rumbling and continuing to rumble. And you can see from, you know, however far away where the atomic explosion was, there's. There's this wall of dust moving towards you like impossibly fast. So bam, flash, rumble. You see this dust and then as it hits, they shoot you with a ton of air while your sheets, you know, seats vibrating. And for just a split second, you have to remind yourself that this is a simulation because your body's going, this is not good. We got alarms and then there's stuff going on and there's a. You know, and then it ends. And then they have veterans who are like my grandfather that talked about seeing these above ground tests. And here's, here's the point. I don't think I ever fully understood the power of a nuclear Blast. And I still don't. But I understand more of it now, having experienced that.
16 · Draws the analogy from atomic power hidden in the atom to God's power being in the last place people look — in Him, with them
And the irony is this. One of the scientists basically says, it's amazing that all of that power was in the last place we thought we should look, which was inside an atom. And in a similar way, and in a far greater way, God is telling his people, you're looking out there for power. Where can we find power? Where can we find strength? What about me? What about you? We don't have it. Where can we find it? And the Lord is saying, it's right there. It's right there all along. It's in me. I am with you. I am the source of power. And lest you think that it's just a little bit of power, no, this is a mountain, literally leveling kind of power. The power that brought the Israelites out of Egypt and slew armies and spoke the world into being. That's the power. Not by your power, not by your might, but by my spirit, says the Lord of Hosts. Like that. That's. That's a different calculation altogether.
17 · Applies the power contrast to daily Christian experience — checking our own small inventory versus looking to the Lord's endless power changes everything about how we face the day
Doesn't that change the way you wake up and you're like, checking, okay, what's my power and level and strength inventory today? Not great. And then we look over at the Lord and we go, endless, Endless.
18 · Expounds the 'shouts of grace, grace' language at the end of Zechariah 4:7
And here's the best part about this. Doesn't this feel, at some point, just too good to be true? You're like. Wait, what you're saying. I'm sorry, you're saying I'm weak, but you have endless power. You're just give to me. Yes. And notice the way that the phrase ends. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of grace. Grace. What this is symbolizing is that when the last stone is laid, Zerubbabel, and all the people will look back at what has been accomplished, and their conclusion will be, you know what accomplished this? Grace. Grace meaning God's favor. On the undeserving.
19 · Connects the grace theme to the Israelites' actual failure — they had let the work die for 16 years
Look, these were people that had fallen down on the job. They'd let the work die for 16 years. That had to get stirred up. And at the end, their conclusion is going to be, listen, you know, how we did this wasn't by our power, wasn't by our mind, wasn't by our grit, wasn't by our intensity, wasn't by our smarts. It was the grace of God to give us the power of God for the purposes of God. That's. That's what they'll say in the end.
20 · Refutes the 'divine credit score' mentality — the assumption that we must deserve God's power before receiving it
And friends, similarly for all of us, isn't that good news? Because I Think sometimes we go, okay, well, well, we might get God's power, but. But we gotta kind of do our part to. To unlock the power, to get him to give us the power, right? We do an inventory not just of our own power and strength, but. But our inventory of deservingness. It's like we check our divine credit score and we go, oh, this isn't a great month. I really need to ask for something big. But my credit. Yeah, last weekend was not great, you know, And I'm still. I still have that hit from early January on there, still like this. And so we go, okay, well, based on this divine credit score, what can I get? What kind of power and help can I get, Lord? And the Lord just throws it aside and says, that's not why I help. It's grace. It's grace. My power and my might are available to my people by grace.
21 · Brief pastoral interjection expressing personal conviction about the goodness of grace-based power
Oh, friend, this is such good news.
22 · Direct evangelistic application — God's power and presence are available to the undeserving who recognize their need
Look, if. If you are not a Christian today, if you're not sure where you are today, I want you to hear this. I want this to land on you. Because the power of God and the presence of God are not for the deserving, but for the undeserving who know that they need it. Right? Do you?
23 · Identifies the blazing lampstand as part of a biblical-theological thread — God's presence is consistently represented by power and light throughout Scripture, especially when His people need it most
Look, the connection here is. Is miraculous and amazing because you have this picture of a blazing fire in the middle of the darkness when God's people needed it most. And it points forward. It's this thread throughout the whole scripture of God's presence being being exemplified by power and light, right? In. In different places.
24 · Connects the lampstand image to Jesus' self-identification as the light of the world in John 8 — those who follow Jesus will have the light of life and not walk in darkness
And then you arrive in. In the New Testament at John 8, and what does Jesus say, but I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
25 · Evangelistic application contrasting the world's futile self-help (soggy flint) with Jesus as the light of the world
In many ways, this picture of a blazing light is pointing forward to Jesus, right? That Jesus gives us his might and his power, not because we deserve it, but because of grace. And that's good news for anyone who finds themselves in the dark, right? Look, today, if you're not in Christ, I want to. I want you to feel this. The rest of the world around us, all they can do is hand you soggy flint and tell you if you just try hard enough, you'll spark your own heart and life back to life, right? It's like, is this working? Doesn't seem to be working. And they're like, oh, try a new one. It only costs a bazillion dollars. And just try a new marriage, try a new this, try a new that, try a new career. And you're like, it's not working. And the Lord is going to. There's only darkness out there in soggy flint. But I am. I am the light of the world. And if you'll come to me and claim me as your savior and your Lord, I will come into your life. I will light up your life, friend.
26 · Reinforces the evangelistic call by refuting the cultural assumption of inner light
If that's you today, don't go looking out there. Especially, this is what our culture wants to do. Don't look down inside yourself thinking, okay, well, maybe at the bottom of all that darkness, there's a little spark of light. I can. No, listen, this is a room of people. We've all checked. We've all checked inside ourselves and we're like, yep, nope, not there. There's no light there, no fire there. You know where there is him. Jesus, why don't you come to him today?
27 · Invitation for non-Christians to make Jesus Savior and Lord, with offer to pray for and with them
Friend, if that's you, if you. If you're there today, if you want to make that decision, to make Jesus your Savior and Lord, we would love to pray for you and with you today.
28 · Transition from first main point (power by grace) to second main point (perspective)
But that's the first point. An image of power by grace. Second, an image of perspective.
29 · Reads and frames Zechariah 4:8-10a as a shift from addressing Zerubbabel to addressing the people
Notice verse 8 now transitions audiences to the people. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hand shall also complete it. And then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice and shall see. See the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
30 · Interprets the promise as God giving His people future perspective — they will look back and remember that God said it and did it
Now, the second interpretation is aimed at the people, and he's telling them this. Just as you saw your leader lay the first stone, you will see him lay the last stone. And you're going to see him right before the big temple dedication with the plumb line, walking around, making sure all the walls are straight. That is going to happen. In a sense, this is a word spoken today. But for them to look back on from the future and say, remember. Remember when God said that he was going to do it and he did it. Take heart. Take heart. If the day seems small, if the day seems uncertain, take heart. The Lord does what he says, right? That's a perspective that you only get from God's vantage point.
31 · Asserts the limitation of human perspective versus the Lord's omniscient perspective
Because, look, we. We live in the little gap of our lives, and our perspective is so limited, isn't it? And it's almost like, okay, do we see what God's doing? I have no idea, right? And yet the Lord is going, listen, you may not know, but the Lord does. You may not have A plan. But the Lord does.
32 · Expands the perspective to include the congregation's retrospective advantage — they can look back and see that God fulfilled the promise: temple completed, walls rebuilt under Nehemiah, Jerusalem restored, and ultimately the stage set for Jesus
And look, we get an even greater benefit. We get the benefit of looking back on this passage and on this fulfillment and seeing that, yep, God sent his people, they laid the stones, they finished it. Not only did they finish it, eventually through Nehemiah's leadership, they finished the walls. Eventually, Jerusalem comes back to life as a light for God's people. And eventually that sets the stage for the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah himself. And it's all part of God's plan. Is he. He's working all the time. But this day of small is not small. When you look back from the perspective of eternity, that's what the Lord provides to his people. The day only seems small to us because we lack God's divine perspective to see his plan.
33 · Introduces an illustration of elaborate domino chain competitions to set up an analogy about perspective and one's place in a larger design
Now, recently my boys and I found this show where people competed by building chains, elaborate chains of dominoes. You guys ever seen these videos online where people will like, do competitions against one another? And I'm not talking about like, if you play dominoes at home, I'm not talking about like, click. Wasn't that fun? No. These are like room sized things with these insane contraptions. Like dominoes are going up and then they're going down and they're going this way and then they're making patterns. And like, I saw one that was like, looked like waves going back and forth and this little boat was going. And I'm like, what in the world? And so, you know, my kids and I are in awe of these things.
34 · Uses the domino analogy to show how individual believers question their place in God's design
And I thought we and our perspective are like one domino in this chain of what God is doing from beginning to end, questioning our place in the design. And this is a moment where it's like, you know, we've got this row of dominoes and the domino's there and he's going like, yeah, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know where my life is going. I don't know what I'm doing with my life. He's not going anywhere. You know, I doesn't seem I'm doing anything important or meaningful or, or I don't even know is God's plan even gonna work? I'm not even sure. And it's like this, this is where the Lord takes that one domino and says, do you see this massive, intricate design? And the domino goes, oh, oh, wow. And he didn't. And Lord putting the domino back. So play your part, play your part, right? That, that's what the Lord is doing here.
35 · Extends the domino analogy to capture the biblical pattern of God's promises and fulfillments throughout generations leading to Zechariah
Because God's people, even by this time they would have been hearing the like this, this amazing fulfillment of, of God says it and then he does it. God says it, then he does it. God says, do this and then he gives his power. God says, do this and he works his plan. God says, do this and it works his power. And it's that click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click. Like all throughout the many generations leading up to Zechariah. And that, that domino is not going to go, yeah, I hear this wave of dominoes, but what if it fails in my day? What if my life doesn't work? What if my life is meaningless? Like, no, look at the design, look at the fulfillment. Therefore look ahead of you at the very next domino and trust that God's going to do something that greater than you can imagine through it.
36 · Applies the domino/design imagery directly to the congregation — you are part of God's eternal design just as surely as Zechariah's people were
You friend. Hear this, brothers and sisters. You are part of God's design just as surely as the people in Zechariah are. And you may question at times, is this life meaning anything? Does it matter at all? Is it, is there anything good that's coming from this? And the Lord is saying, step back and behold the eternal design of God for God, for his people here. The endless wave of God says it, he does it. God says it, he does it. God says it, he does it. And the design is greater than we can imagine.
37 · Applies the eternal design perspective to marriage — what feels like one more small act (service, reconciliation, budget meeting) is actually part of God writing a 40-year picture of Christ and the church affecting generations
Look, this, this matters because think of some areas here. Think of, think of marriage, right? What we see in marriage is so often just one more act of service, one more sigh and going to reconcile, one more tough meeting about the budget, you know, one more, one more, one more. And you're thinking, is this, Is this going anywhere? Does this matter? But friends, what God is doing in our marriages is he's saying, back up and behold the picture of Christ and the church that I am going to write with your marriage over 40 years and the generations that will be affected through it, right? Just step back.
38 · Applies eternal design perspective to parenting — one more correction or comfort feels futile, but the Lord sees the child at 40 with their own family, at 70-80 with grandkids
Or parenting, same thing, right? When you yet again have to correct some parents behavior that you were sure your kid outgrew six months ago, but now suddenly it's back miraculously, and you're like, what, what is this? We just did this, you know, or it's even worse. The second one picked it up, you know, the first one's fine, second one picked it up and they're doing it now and you're thinking, okay, one more, one more. Fighting to be patient, one more correction, one more comfort, one more, you know, all of this and you're thinking, is this doing anything? And the Lord steps back and sees the life of that child who at 40 will have their own family and at 70, 80 will have their own grandkids, right? They see so much. The Lord sees better than we do.
39 · Applies eternal design perspective to vocation — clock in, clock out feels like nothing, but the testimony of older Christians is that the Lord does things through you in that office that you can't see for decades
Think about vocation, right? Your work, you clock in, clock out, clock in, clock out. And you're thinking, this isn't doing anything. This career is going nowhere. And yet, and yet here's the testimony of the, the men and women in the church that have lived long lives and had long careers. The Lord does things through you in that office and through that office that you can't yet see until decades from now. You look back on it. Who knows if the Lord might have the salvation of somebody there, that he might have skills there that you develop, that you use to advance the gospel, that, that he might get you into positions that he wants you to cast influence through something seemingly small. You don't know what the Lord's doing. All you see is the next click, click, punch in, punch out.
40 · Summarizes the application of the perspective image — if we could see as the Lord does, it would transform how we view our lives
My friends, if, if we could see as the Lord does, wouldn't it transform the way we look at our lives? But that's what the Lord is doing here. He's saying, see with the eyes. I have an image of perspective.
41 · Transition to the third and final main point: an image of purpose
Third and last, an image of purpose.
42 · Reads Zechariah 4:10b-14 and interprets the two olive trees as the two anointed ones — likely Haggai and Zechariah themselves, the two prophets addressing God's people
Verse 10b. These seven are the eyes of the Lord which reigns throughout the whole earth. Meaning again, just reinforcing the. The. The flame is God's presence among his people. Verse 11. Then I said to him, what are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand? And a second time I answered and said to him, what are these two branches of the olive trees which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out? And he said to me, do you not know what these are? Again, I'm so grateful for Zechariah. I said, no, my Lord, thank you. I don't either. Verse 14. Then he said, these are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth. I love this. The prophet now asks this question, what about the olive trees? I get the the presence of God blazing among the people of God, but what about the olive trees? And God says, those are the two anointed ones. As if it's obvious. Now there is some question over what the meaning of the anointed ones is. But I think it makes mo most sense in the context to believe that the anointed ones are the two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah.
43 · Unpacks the imagery — Haggai and Zechariah are the branches through which the oil (God's power and presence) flows to the people of God
Okay, so the hack these two prophets are. Notice the imagery. The branches of the tree that are tapped for the oil of God's people and God's presence, right? So they are the branches through which, in a sense, the olive oil comes to the people of God. They are the ones who take the power of God and the might of God and through prophetic speech, pour that on God's people who. They speak God's word after him, that the. The people of God might have light and fire and power. Do you see this? This is. This is so interesting.
44 · Asserts that God is showing Zechariah his place in the picture — you are essential to this work even though you're not the masonry guy but the word guy
Now, a couple things to notice here. First, notice that. That God backs up, and then Zechariah shows Zechariah where he is in the picture. Because so often, here's the reality, we might see God doing something among the p. His people or his purposes, and we might not immediately see ourselves in the picture, right? We might say, oh, great, the Lord's really advancing through those people, okay? And the Lord's really doing something, but through those people. And I'm over here, right? We're. We're like the. The. There's always been a. A fun moment where every. Everyone who's had a boyfriend or girlfriend or engaged, you know, fiance has that awkward moment when they're trying to feel out. When do they get into the family photo, right? Like at Christmas time, you know, it's Thanksgiving, and they're taking a photo for Christmas time for the card. And. And then the boyfriend or girlfriend's always like, so do you want. Do you want me to take. Take the picture or kind of, you know, what. What's going on there? And then eventually they get to the point where the mom or the dad says, oh, get in here. What are you doing? And you're like, oh, okay. You know. And although, side note, I did hear of one particular family who very strategically would always place the boyfriends and girlfriends on the outer edges of the family photo in case it needed to be cropped for the Christmas card, which is kind of brilliant, but also really a little concerning. They thought that far ahead, and yet, right. Everybody has that moment of going, am I really part of this or am I outside the picture? And you see what God's doing for Zechariah. He's saying, zechariah, you are part of this picture. You right there, what you are doing is essential to this picture. And Zechariah may have even felt like, well, man, I'm not. I'm not the best building guy. I'm not the masonry guy. I'm. I'm the word guy. I'm the. Here's the message guy. And the Lord is saying, no, that is essential. Like every single one of the people of God is essential. They are meaningful. They matter to the work of God.
45 · Cites 1 Corinthians 12:7 (slightly misquoted as 12:17) to establish that each believer has been given the Spirit's manifestation for the common good — meaning every believer matters to God's work, even when their contribution seems small
First Corinthians 12:17 says, to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. Meaning, if you're a brother or sister in Christ, if you're a son or daughter of God, you matter to what God's doing. It's not like the rest of us are doing something and you're going like, do I get in the photo or not? No, you absolutely do. Right? You have gifts and talents and abilities, and maybe what you're doing seems so small, but, friend, you have no idea what God's doing through that. You have no idea.
46 · Identifies Zechariah's specific task — taking God's words and delivering them to God's people so that God's people have God's power — and extends it to all God's people
And in addition to that, the other thing I want you to notice is the specific task of Zechariah is so critical to the people of God. The task is to take the words of God and deliver them to the people of God that the people of God might have the power of God, right? That's the prophetic task. But that task, right, is given to Zechariah in a unique way, but is given to all the people of God to carry forward, right? The. The. The people of God are meant to live everywhere with open Bibles that the power of God might flow to the people of God, right?
47 · Applies the open-Bible principle to every area of life and ministry — if stuck (marriage, parenting, career, relationships), open the Word
And. And what that means is, friends, all we do as Christians, we do. And if we're. If you're thinking like, okay, I'm stuck. I don't know what to do here. Open the Word. That's what the solution is here. Open the Word. Look, if you're stuck in marriage, open the Word. Open the Word With a mentor couple that can help you. If you're stuck in parenting, Open the Word. If you're, if you're stuck wondering where your career is going, see what the Bible has to say about work. If you're stuck wondering how to relate to this difficult person, Open the word. Right? We want the Bible open As we sing, as we teach. We want the Bible open in our home groups, we want it open in youth group, we want it open in the kids ministry, we want it open everywhere. If you're sitting across from a, a, a friend who needs encouragement, get the, the Bible open because they need the power of God and it's there. And what you've got to do is connect the power of God to the people of God through the word of God, right? That's what we need.
48 · Applies the purpose image to Cross of Grace's immediate future — every believer matters in the next season, and all need to bring to bear the word of God to have the power of God
Look, friends, if we. I don't know what the Lord has next for us, but I do know two things. One, every single believer here matters in this next season of Cross of Grace Church. And two, all of us need to bring to bear the word of God that we might have the power of God in this next season.
49 · Transition back to the personal story from the introduction to close the sermon with resolution
So let me end with this. Let me close out my own story, because if you're here and you're like, well, it. So how did you go from the janitor to one of the pastors? And so there's some missing gaps there. Is this the janitor, like you're asking your friend? It's okay. Let me tie this together. Okay.
50 · Recounts the year as pastoral intern/facilities guy — feeling small power, small days, small jobs
So I. I spent that year resigning myself to small things and little power. That year of doing facility maintenance and learning to be a pastor. Oh, man, did I need, did I need God's power? I didn't know anything about facilities. And I found out very quickly. I also didn't know anything about pastoring. I didn't know anything about ministering to God's people. And I had to take. The thing I had to do is take the posture of a learner because I got good at running conferences, but not at pastoring people. And my power felt small and the day felt small and the jobs felt small. And I remember one vivid moment where I was trying to fix a sprinkler thing gone awry in the backyard and I had to dig down deeper than I expected because it was not just a nozzle, it wasn't just a sprinkler head. It was the thing below it, the connection. You could tell, I don't even know the words. It was like the thing down there that I've got, the other thing that goes into that thing. And so I'm down there and I'm coated in mud and, and I'm trying to clean up so that I can do some kind of church meeting. And I remember looking in the mirror and going, what am I doing? What am I doing? I literally don't know what I'm doing with sprinklers, but I also don't know what I'm doing with my life.
51 · Testifies that in the year of small things, God met him at the end of his own strength in powerful ways
And yet that year, guys, God met me. God met me. I found that at the end of my own strength and my own ability and my own might, God met me in powerful and unexpected ways. He gave me persuasive perspective. I talked to a bunch of older pastors in that season that was so helpful. They said, you're not thinking about the next year, you're thinking about the next decade. You're thinking about a 40 year ministry run. That's what you're Thinking about. Right, don't think about this week. Think about that ministry run of 40 years and, and God gave me guidance and friends. I, I am, I wish I could say that. Okay then. From that moment on, I've never struggled again. But I just got married. I was ready for whatever came next. And then I got fired. The church had to let me go because they did not have enough money in the budget for me. And so then it was like all the way back to a day of small things, all the way back to little power, wondering what's going on and yet the Lord met me and I. That opened the door to pastoral training and on and on and on. I wish I could tell you about all that, but over 16 years, here's what I've learned, okay, or maybe I should say I'm beginning to learn better. That when your strength seems smallest, God's power is available. That when you have no perspective of what God is doing, God is always up to something. And when you feel you have no purpose, God absolutely has a purpose for you.
52 · Contrasts the outcome of the two paths — the prestigious conference shut down, the famous Christian leader denied the faith, all that crumbled
And so I feel I've had a front row seat these last 16 years to see God do things through cross of grace that I could never have imagined. Look here, here's the reality. That conference I was supposed to run shut down within a few years. One of the big guys I was going to work for, that was Famous Christian Guy, he ended up denying the faith, walking away. All that stuff crumbled and fell. And yet this stubborn little church God has done more through over the last 16 years than I ever dreamed. And God all along, when I felt useless and powerless, was inviting me to have a front row seat to what he was doing.
53 · Applies the personal testimony to the congregation — God is the same for you as He was for me
Friend, I don't know your story, but I do know God is the same God for you that he has been for me. God's power is the same power for you that has been for me. And God's purpose for you is the same purpose as all of his people as I've seen in my own life.
54 · Transition to closing prayer
Would you stand and let's pray? I'd love to ask the Lord for help.
55 · Closing prayer asking God to breathe on faintly burning wicks (those sputtering in their Christian life), to bring them back to life, to help them feel the grace gift of power, and to help them trust Jesus even in the dark — remembering that Jesus came as the light of the world in their darkest, most hopeless, smallest moment
Oh heavenly Father, Lord, I just pray particularly God, that just you bring into mind, Lord, that image in the prophets of faintly burning wick you will not extinguish. Lord, just have the sense that there may be some that have faintly burning wicks that today that, that feel, feel like they're sputtering in their Christian life, that what they've got in front of them feels too big. When they look at their life, they don't know what the purpose is. Lord, I just pray that by the spirit of the living God you would breathe on them and that faintly burning wick you would bring back to life. Lord may they feel, they would feel the grace gift of power that comes from the God of the universe seeking, saving them, transforming them and setting them to work in his purposes. Lord, I just pray that that no Christian would leave here discouraged and that every single believer would feel the flame of God's presence in their heart and would leave with a sense that God, you came to them as the very light of the world. You came in their darkest moment, their most hopeless moment, their smallest moment and you sparked their heart back to life with the power of Jesus Christ. And so Lord, how if that moment we have to look back on, how will we not trust you now even when it seems dark? Help us to trust you Jesus. Amen.