Not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit

 

COLERAINE INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SUNDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2024 – MR KEITH WILSON

ZECHARIAH 4

“Then 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.”

Note the words “This is the word of the Lord” – how we need that word of the Lord today. 

Verse 6 is a great verse.  A verse that is quoted if not in prayer but particularly when people have become despondent at the state of the world and the state of the church.  John 16 verse 14 “He shall glorify me (speaking of the Holy Spirit) for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you.”  We are concentrating on the latter part of verse 6.  There is a lot to look at in this chapter.  Twice he is asked – “what do you see” – he responded “I don’t know”.  The angel asked “you don’t know what this means?”  There are different opinions on what the 7 dreams or visions mean that were given to Zechariah.  Last month we discovered what his name means.  How fitting today when we remember those who have died, remember those who have sacrificed their lives.  Zechariah’s name means God remembers.  We want to concentrate today on the Holy Spirit.  John 16 verse 14 tells us “the Holy Spirit will receive of Christ and will give it to the believer.”  The story is told of a preacher going to church one winter evening and he was preaching on these words “he will glorify me.”  Seeing the church floodlight he realised this was the illustration he needed.  Floodlights are placed so we don’t see them, we don’t see where the light is coming from.  We are just meant to see the building on which the flood light is shining.  To make it visible where it would not be seen for the darkness.  This perfectly illustrated the Spirit’s new covenant role – he is to be spoken of as the hidden floodlight shining on the Saviour.  The Holy Spirit is to shine all its light upon the Son, upon the Lord Jesus Christ.  Think of it – it is as if the Spirit standing behind us throwing light our our shoulders onto the Lord who is facing us  Never see the Holy Spirit saying “look at me” but rather “look to Christ, see his glory, listen to him and hear his word.”  Go to him and have life, taste of his gift of joy and peace.  The spirit is the matchmaker to bring us to Christ, to ensure we stay together.  As we come today in Remembrance Sunday we can have our eyes focused on so many things yet God wants us to have our eyes focused through the Holy Spirit on the Son that he would glorify Christ because he would receive of Christ and show it to you.  If we could grasp the power of the Holy Spirit – “the work of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Christ to be.  Romans 5 verse 11 says “if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you.”  When you are attacked in the mind, when there seems so much attack from the enemy when thoughts come in and bombard us, when  we struggle with anxious thoughts, only thoughts but not of reality.  Let us remind ourselves that the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead lives in you. “He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you.”  The Spirit of Christ dwells in you.  He is like the floodlight that wants to shine all the focus on Christ.  Does not want the pre-eminence, the glory but rather the pre-eminence and glory to be centred on the Son.  When Christ dwell in us by his Holy Spirit he gives life to you and me.  Romans 4 “he was who was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification."  Believers have forgiveness through the cross, victory over sin through the crucifixion.  If Christ was only delivered for our offences where would our victory be?  We cannot underestimate the power of then  but it does not end there because he was raised again.  He died for you and he died for me.  He was delivered for our offences not for his own.  He voluntarily laid down his life as a sacrifice for our sin.  “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Death could not hold him.  We have victory through the cross, also victory over sin, through the resurrection.  He was raised again for our justification, he was raised to give you new life.  He died for your sin, we are dead to our sin when we come to Christ.  We have now the Spirit of Christ living in us.  Christ gives us the victory over the sin he died for, he has forgiven us that we might be raised  to new life in Christ.  Paul in Ephesians  3 verse 20 “Now unto him who is able to do exceedingly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us.”  There is a power that works in the believer, not your power or mine. It comes from God.  There is a power that raised Christ from the dead.  There is a power we have lives in us because of the Spirit of him that raised Jesus from the dead.  There is a victory we already possess.  We have power in us.  We can sometimes as Christians underestimate or not even fully grasp the power of the Spirit that works within us.  If we were honest we would say things are really dark, there is a lot of discouragement and defeat, a lot of sin, things bombarding us.  People are struggling.  God’s people are nearly like smoking flax, just smouldering.  We need to realise the power we have at our disposal, that is already in us.  He is able to do exceedingly above.  Exceedingly means much more, that is that word means.  He is able to do more than we ask or think.  We have dynamite power working in as a believer.  He knows your situation today.  We have all different struggles and trials.  God is able for your situation because of the power of Christ through his spirit that raised Christ from the dead, that lives in you.  Be encouraged.  If we belong to Christ today there is a power within us today.  Important that we realise that the situation we find ourselves in is like that here with Zerubbabel.  He was discouraged and defeated, despondent.  God came to him and said “not by might, nor by power but my Spirit.”  He goes on to say “Listen you are going to lay the capstone, the headstone, you are going to finish the temple, put the finishing touches to it.  Just like all those years ago when you laid the foundation stone years ago you will finish it.”  Why?  Because God said it.  I know we need to be careful when we hear people say “God has told me this or that.”  There are times when God speaks to us clearly and we know it is the voice of God.  When God speaks to his children they know it.  Why?  Because God lives within.  He gives us power waiting to burst out. 

Important that we realise and also to understand who the Holy Spirit is and who he is not.  He is much more than a force. He has a dynamite power and that power is living in us.  He is a person not a force.  Third person of the Trinity.  We serve a risen Saviour, he is in the world today.  We serve God who exists as a triune being.  He is very much a person.  Acts 5 tells us clearly who the Holy Spirit is.  The story of Ananias and Sapphia - verses 1 to 5.  They were trying to hide part of their possession, trying to say they were giving more than they were.  Verse 3 “Ananias why has Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?”  How can you lie to a force?  “Thou has lied unto God.”  The Spirit of God is the Spirit of God.  The Father planned our salvation, the Son procured it or applies it through his death on the cross and the Holy Spirit applies it to the believer.  The plan, the Father, from the foundation of the world, the work on the cross through Christ, the work of the Spirit through the application in glorifying Christ, bringing men and women to the foot of the cross.  Not to speak of himself but speak much of Christ.  Not to glorify himself but to glorify Christ.  That is where the work of salvation for your soul and my soul was completed – at the cross.  Someone once said “The Father to a large extent was rejected in the Old Testament, the Son to a large extent was rejected in the New Testament and the Holy Spirit is largely rejected today.”  When the Holy Spirit is rejected the temple lies in ruins.  This is what we see in Zechariah’s day.  When we see who he is and our complete reliance on him like Zechariah we see that God’s work is God’s work and all our might and power accomplishes nothing.  How can we claim the power of Christ if we don’t realise the power that worketh in us.  The Spirit of God is God.  God in creation used his Spirit -  Genesis 1 verse 2 “he breathed his life into Adam.”  Genesis 2 verse 7.  The word for breath is Spirit.  Can you imagine God breathing his Spirit into the life of Adam?  That is when he became a living soul.  He said to Adam “do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for in the day you eat of it you shall die” Genesis 2 verse 17.  God was telling, man whom he had breathed his life into, not to eat of the tree of knowledge.  What exactly happened when he did eat of the tree – he died, he was  spiritually cut off, he died spiritually.  In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came upon believers but in the New Testament the Holy Spirit indwells believers.  Thank God for the power of the cross.  Thank God he lives in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit was not only was involved in the creation of the world, not only involved in the creation of men and women, not only involved in the new creation.  John said “except ye be born of water and spirit ye cannot  enter into the kingdom of Christ.”  He brings the sinner to Christ. He convicts the sinner of their sin.  He teaches us.  How can we educate without the Holy Spirit?  He is the one who teaches us.  George Mueller “the word of God is our only standard and the Holy Spirit is the one who teaches us”. The Spirit of Christ to glorify Christ in our lives.  He teaches us, he brings us to Christ, convicts us, he teaches us, he empowers and guides us.  John 16 verses 7 – 15. He  He convicts world of sin, God’s righteousness and of the coming judgment.  Do you see the work of the Spirit, do you see the power of the Spirit living in your life?  It is the Holy Spirit that convicts alone.  The work of salvation belongs God.  God uses us to share the good news of the gospel.  We cannot convict nor can we convert.  There are people who try to convinces men to trust Christ on their terms, not for the glory of Christ but for their ministry.  If a person is to be convicted it is through the work of the Holy Spirit.  If the person is to be taught it is by Holy spirit no one can teach you the deep things of God.  The Holy Spirit applies his word to your heart and glories the Son of God himself.  1 Corinthians 6 “know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you?”  In other words “ Do you not know this?”  Simple things but hard for us to grasp.  Zechariah is talking of the physical temple.  It wasn’t any different in the Old Testament as it is today.  It was still a work of faith, a work of the Spirit.  It could not be accomplished by the flesh, only by the Spirit of the living God.  1 Corinthians is saying “know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God and ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God’s.” Let us leave this here today realising the power of the risen Spirit is living in us.  Glorifying Christ in us that others might see Christ and him alone.  That is my prayer.  Paul is really saying the Holy Spirit’s job is to glorify Christ.  When he dwells in you, you are to glorify Christ in your body.  When this happens the outcome is simple.  It is the fruit of the Spirit.  Galatians 5 verses 22 and 23 – “but the fruit of the Spirit” – it is a singular fruit notice that.  When someone comes to Christ, when the Spirit enters, when Christ is glorified the fruit of the Spirit of God works out in that individual.  “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law.”  He produces it and because he is God the fruit is in accordance to God’s commands does not need to be regulated by the law.  There is no law against the fruit of the Spirit.  The bible teaches there is one baptism of the Spirit of God – Ephesians 4 verses 5 and 6 “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all.”  When a person comes to Christ he is baptized into the body of Christ.  The bible also talks of being filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5 verse 18.  “Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess but be filled with the Spirit.”  This is continual.  Only one baptism many fillings.  If we want to live in the power of Christ, if we want to live serving him it is the job of the Holy Spirt to produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.  So you know that the Holy Spirit is one person in the Trinity that if we sin against him it is unforgiveable.  Matthew 12 verse 31 “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.” Do you know why?  If you reject the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing you to Christ you will never be forgiven by God.  When someone comes to Christ he is immediately baptised into Christ - 1 Corinthians 12 verse 13 “for by one Spirit we all have been baptised into one body.”  His work is to convict us, to convert us, to empower us, to comfort us, to guide us, he is the source of all wisdom  He is the source of all revelation and all power.  He sees us, he sanctifies us, and he glorifies us.  A W Tozer “When we have the Holy Spirit we have all that is needed to be all that God desires us to be.”  May we today if we are honest we can say we are not all God desires us to be.  “Not by might nor by power but by God’s power that will change us.  The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead and resurrected him too.