Teacher: Pastor Chet Lowe

Main Scriptures: Zechariah 3, Galatians 6, Matthew 21

Date of Message: November 10, 2022

• Review
  • The nation of Israel has returned after their exile and is rebuilding
  • Zechariah has had 3 visions so far
• The 4th & 5th vision will be to encourage Joshua, the priest and Zerubbabel, the prince/governor
  • Joshua was discouraged because of the sins of the nation
  • Zerubbabel was discouraged because the task of rebuilding seemed so big
• 4th Vision
  • Zechariah 3:1-10
    • Satan was accusing, but Jesus was acquitting
      • The people were truly guilty, but Jesus is able to truly redeem, restore and renew
    • In the vision, Zechariah is working alongside of Jesus in restoring the repentant sinner, rather than being like Satan and condemning (Galatians 6:1-5)
      • Let us follow his example and join Jesus in His work of restoration and renewal of sinner
    • Just like Jesus gave counsel to the restored Peter (John 21) and the healed lame man (John 5), He is giving counsel to Joshua as a leader
      • We are ambassadors for Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:20)
        • We represent more than ourselves
    • Jesus is the
      • Servant (Isaiah 52, 53)
      • Branch (Isaiah 11:1)
      • Cornerstone (Isaiah 28:16, 1 Corinthians 10:4)
        • He will either be our salvation or our stumbling block
      • The Rock (1 Corinthians 10:4)
        • Moses didn’t go into the promise land because of how he interacted with the Rock
    • The stone had 7 eyes
      • In the Bible, 7 represents completion (Revelation 5:6, Isaiah 11:1-2)
    • The stone had an inscription
      • Inscriptions tell you the building’s owner or purpose
        • This inscription is about the millennial kingdom
          • After the tribulation, the armies of the world will invade Israel. While they are attacking at the end of the 7 year tribulation, Jesus will show up on a white horse. He will speak a word, and the battle of Armageddon will be over. The Jews will see the “One they’ve pierced” and mourn and repent and be saved. There will then be 1,000 years of prosperity
• 5th Vision
  • Zechariah 4:1-14
    • Zechariah is woken up in the night for a spiritual reason (We shouldn’t be surprised if this happens to us!)
      • He sees two olive trees feeding the menorah with the oil it needs to stay lit
        • Zechariah has never seen a menorah. He is young and they’ve been in exile
          • The menorah was the only light in the temple of God and it was lit all night
            • Light is bold in the darkness (Matthew 5:16)
            • We are called to have our lamp always filled with oil (Matthew 25)
      • The work of God is only done by the power of the Spirit
        • It isn’t done by human strength or wisdom
        • God will provide tasks too large for you to accomplish by yourself so only He gets the glory (2 Chronicles 20:12)
          • Ezra 6 tells us that Zerubbabel placed that capstone (the final piece) on the temple 4 years later
      • Ezra 3:12-13 lets us know why Zerubbabel had been discouraged
        • Criticism causes discouragement
          • We must be committed to obedience despite the critics around us. Jesus was (Matthew 11:16-19)
            • Walking in the Spirit looks like
              • Purposely applying God’s will to our lives with everything we have
              • Trusting the Spirit to give us the strength to do it
      • The olive trees represent the anointing of Joshua and Zerubbabel
        • We are also anointed to the work of the ministry—we are a royal priesthood and a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9)
          • Don’t grow weary (Galatians 6:9)
          • Ask for the filling of the Spirit (Luke 11)