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ZECHARIAH 4:1-7

"HOW THE WORK OF THE LORD IS DONE"

I. THE TASK BEFORE THEM; THE REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE.
        A. They had just returned from 70 years of captivity in Babylon.
                1. Jerusalem is wasted.
                2. The once glorious Temple of Solomon is a heap of
                   rubbish.
        B. The task seemed impossible.
                1. When Solomon built the temple, he employed 150,000 men.
                   He had 3,000 foremen on the job.
                2. Only 50,000 people had returned from Babylon, including
                   the aged, women and children.
                3. Solomon had an unlimited treasury.
                4. They had only meager funds.
        C. The task seemed impossible.
                1. Many so discouraged they gave up and concentrated on
                   their own houses.
                2. The work on the temple finally ceased.
                3. Zerubbabel, one of the men in charge, had given up.

II. ZECHARIAH'S VISION.
        A. The lampstand with the seven cups.
                1. Similar to the lampstand that stood in the Holy Place
                   of the Tabernacle, and later the Temple.
                2. It was a symbol that God wanted His people to be a
                   light to the world.
        B. Two olive trees on either side of the lampstand with pipes
           connected to the seven oil cups of the lamp.
                1. One of the daily tasks of the priests was to pour oil
                   into these cups.
                2. The lamp was never to go out
                3. Man always is using his inventive mind to get out of as
                   much work  as possible.
        C. Here Zechariah envisioned this Rube Goldberg contraption.

III. GOD'S MESSAGE TO THE DISCOURAGED ZERUBBABEL, "NOT BY MIGHT, NOR BY
     POWER, BUT BY MY SPIRIT, SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS."
        A. Many times God's word has isolated application.
                1. Naaman told to dip seven times in Jordan to cure his
                   leprosy.
2 This is not a universal leprosy cure.
        B. Many times God's Word states a universal principal of God that
           holds true  at all times.

1 Such is the case here.
                2. There is only one truly effective way to accomplish the
                   work of God: "Not by might..."
        C. How the church needs to hear this message
                1. Oft times, more time and energy is spent organizing a
                   program than is spent on the program itself. Much more
                   than is spent in  prayer.
2 Pastors take courses in Leadership Dynamics so they can better  motivate
  and manipulate people.
                3. The church is trying with all its might to do the work
                   of God.
                4. Churches hire professional fund raisers. The letters
                   sent out with self-addressed envelopes enclosed, are
                   psychological masterpieces.
                        a. How can that poor little widow hoard her entire
                           social security check when Brother Clobberts is
                           in such desperate financial straits.
                        b. She doesn't realize how high taxes are on an
                           $850,000 winter house in Palm Desert, Prop. 13
                           notwithstanding. "Not by might..."
        D. How we need to hear this message today 
                1. Those areas in my life where I have experienced such
                   defeat.
                        a. I have tried so hard, with all my might
                        b. Someone asks us, "But have you tried --," and
                           before they can finish we say yes, because we
                           have tried everything.
                2. God, by His Spirit, can do for us what we could never
                   do.