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But By My Spirit, Pt. 1
Zechariah 4:1-14 says, “1And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, 2And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: 3And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. 4So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? 5Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 6Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. 7Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. 8Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 9The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. 10For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth. 11Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? 12And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? 13And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 14Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
Back in the Old Testament, it meant a great deal to God to have a temple or a building to step into and fill with His presence, while today God is more about filling our bodily temples with His glory. One of those men who was determined to press through every obstacle to construct a temple for God’s glory was a man by the name Zerubbabel. The children of Israel had been in Babylonian captivity, and now after it had ended, they were given permission to build a temple. The prophet Haggai rose up and began to speak concerning how everyone had their nice, comfortable homes, while the temple of God laid waste! God, at the time, was looking for a man to rebuild the temple, and Zerubbabel answered the call. Yes, resistance and trouble came, but because he persevered and stood faithful, God rewarded him with visitations and revelation knowledge of His character and Word!
One night, as he was asleep, an angel, that had already came by to talk to Zechariah, came by again to wake him up out of his sleep and give him a prophetic word. After the angel woke him up, he asked Zechariah, “What do you see?” He responded how that he saw a golden candlestick with a bowl on top of it, with seven lamps and seven pipes, which are on the top of it. An olive tree sits on both the right and left sides. Then he asked, “What are these things?” And before the angel of the LORD ever gave Zechariah the illumination of the revelation, he said these words, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” The first thing he wanted to make clear is that what he desired to do for God could not be done in himself, in accordance to his carnal flesh or abilities. It could only be accomplished by the Spirit of the LORD! He would then stop speaking to Zechariah for just a second, and he speaks to a mountain, saying, “What are you doing here oh mountain?” Sometimes, you just have to speak to your mountain! He then says to the mountain, “Before Zerubbabel, you will become a plain, and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.” What powerful words from the LORD, and God is not a man that He should lie! He fulfilled that which He spoke!
In the same manner, we will face moments in our lives where mountains of fear, doubt, negativity and intimidation stand right in our way, and it will appear as though we can never cross it. But it is in that moment where God is saying to His people, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.” When you can do it in yourself, God receives no glory out of it, but it is when you have to take a step of faith and rely fully upon God to accomplish the task that He is truly exalted. It takes faith when you are stepping out of your comfort zone to do something you have never done before for God, and you depend on God to use you to bring results for His kingdom. That is what Zechariah did, and his faith was rewarded! God can never use someone to do great things for Him when they are arrogant in their own talents and gifts because pride falls before destruction, but it is those who, in the world’s eyes, are classified in the group of misfits or unqualified that God uses in such phenomenal exploits for His kingdom because they are humble and full of confidence in the LORD!
When you step out in faith, God will make every mountain that is before you flatten to a plain because it is speaking and declaring in faith that moves mountains out of your life! God is not moved by a want or need, but by faith. That is why you need to say to your mountain, if you have the faith as of a grain of a mustard seed, “Be thou removed,” and once that mountain is removed, whatever that mountain may represent in your life, you can lay the foundation of that ministry with a shout of praise, crying out, “Grace, grace” unto it. God never has to do anything, but because of His grace and our faith in Him, which is like our spiritual explosives that decimates those mountains, we are able to do exactly what He has called us to do and lay the foundation for a ministry that will truly touch and change lives. It is all about winning souls to the Kingdom of God, and we should allow nothing to separate us from that specific purpose!
The angel then continues in the prophetic word, that what Zechariah started, he will finish it because God does not call us to start something that is never completed. It is never about how you start a race, but how you finish it. Why start a ministry work that quits due to negligence or a lack of faith? We must continue to stay strong and press through every obstacle because the result is touching and changing lives for the glory of God! Let nothing stand in the way of your purpose in God, and if it looks impossible, just know that with God, all things are possible!