Root 66: Zechariah
Zechariah was another one of the post-exilic prophets. He spoke at the same time as the prophet Haggai, and had a message of encouragement to the people as they became discouraged from rebuilding the Temple.
God spoke to Zechariah through a series of crazy dreams. Josh Fairbaugh, our Connections Pastor, focused this morning on the dream that can be found in Ch. 4. It is a picture of two olive trees that have pipelines to a lampstand with 7 lamps on it. Zechariah was very confused about this, but the angel (tour guide through the dreams) helped Zechariah understand. The dream referenced Zerubbabel, who was in charge of rebuilding the Temple.
He gave Zechariah (and us) three Truths about God that can/will change your life.
1. God will do the heavy lifting (Ch. 4:6). This doesn’t mean that Zerubbabel didn’t have to show up, but God is saying, “I will take care of the obstacles.” The lampstand in the dream was a very common fixture of the day, and was always found in the Temple. The Priest would have to refill the oil every day so that the flames would not go out. The fire represented God’s presence, and the oil represented the Holy Spirit. This particular lampstand in the dream was connected directly to the source (olive tree)! There is coming a day when you will receive the Holy Spirit…we now know that day came at Pentecost. We ARE connected to the Holy Spirit, the Source of power.
2. God has already written the end of the story (Ch.4:7). The dream shows that Zerubbabel gets to put the topstone on the Temple, which means that it WILL be completed. That was such an encouragement to the people who were discouraged. God is the author. He is writing the story, so He is not worried about how everything is going to turn out. We shouldn’t be either.
He is the One that is building…not you or me. He is building YOU. Let’s keep the right focus in mind. (Matt 16:18; 1 Peter 2:5; Philippians 1:6).
3. God LOVES baby steps (Ch.4:10). In our culture, we are tempted to despise small things. Never forget that God is working in you, and you are charged to be faithful with today. The great majority of your spiritual growth is done in baby steps.
QUESTIONS:
1. What does your spiritual “roller coaster” look like? How would you live differently if you truly realized/remembered/believed that God, the author of life, is not worried about how everything is going to turn out?
2. How often do you fall into the trap of looking for things that God did not promise to do? He promised to build YOU- not governments, businesses, or portfolios. How is He building you right now?
3. Do you write-off people you think won’t make it? Is bigger always better in your book? What can you do to celebrate baby steps? with your kids, your spouse, your co-workers, your neighbors?
