There are a couple of points in the calendar year that very sort of naturally lend themselves to reflection. Aren't there? A couple of points in the calendar year that lend themselves to periods of pausing and reflecting. The obvious one I'm talking about is, of course, New Year. Like most of us in the run-up to the 1st of January, we sort of consider our situations. We think about, okay, what is it in our lives need to change? We make a few hopeless New Year's resolutions, and then we sort of launch into a new chapter of our life. So it's true, there's reflection in New Year. But surely it's also true, certainly to a lesser extent, but surely also true for just now. Like the summer months are also a kind of natural time for reflection, aren't they? You know, people go away on holidays, things kind of slow down a little bit. It's natural for us to take time in sort of July and August to pause to just to assess things, to assess our circumstances and situations. Well, I'd say tonight that's exactly what I think we should be doing as a congregation of God's people and as individual Christians. We should be using the summer months to pause to pray and to reflect. You know, we need to ask ourselves, what are we doing? London City Presbyterian Church, what's our function in the city of London? What are we trying to achieve? As individual Christians, what is our function? What are we trying to achieve? We need to pray and we need to reflect. Well, as we do that, Consider doing that. What we have tonight in Zechariah chapter 4, it can help us with this. Now, what have we seen up to now? Well, we've seen that Zechariah the prophet has had the most interrupted night's sleep imaginable, hasn't he? God has woken him up and he has had these series of visions one after the other. Well, see this vision that we're looking at tonight? In this vision, God teaches Zechariah something about the purpose and something about the function of the people of God but on top of that what God also does is show him how God himself will bring these purposes about. So tonight what we have is valuable as we stop as a congregation and take stock. So if you haven't already done so I would invite you to have Zechariah chapter 4 open in front of you, because we're going to have to pay close attention to this vision that we've got here. Okay, first of all, notice with me the vessel of the Holy Spirit. That's the first thing we're going to think about, the vessel of the Holy Spirit. One of the most famous bands of the 1990s, was of course the Oxford-based band Radiohead. Whether you've heard of Radiohead or whether you like Radiohead or not is immaterial. We've all heard of Radiohead, okay? Now, Radiohead's career had a pretty obvious trajectory, didn't it? They've released a fairly normal album. Then the next album was a bit weirder, the next album was stranger still, until eventually they were releasing albums that just had sort of occasional electronic noises and that's all you got. Now, do you see that that's what's happening here with Zechariah and his visions? Do you see that? like it starts off and the first one's fairly lucid isn't it and it's fairly clear do you remember we saw horses and we're like okay we can we can deal with that we see the horses then what happened it got slightly stranger didn't it we had horns and we had craftsmen and last time it was even stranger still we were in heaven weren't we and we saw joshua and we saw satan accusing joshua and then we get to this tonight This is like listening to a Tom Yorks or Soul project or something, isn't it? I mean, it's strange, this vision, isn't it? So what have we got here? Well, primarily, we're dealing with two different things. We are dealing with a golden lampstand, and we are dealing with olive trees. Okay, golden lampstand, olive trees. Tell you what we're going to do. We're going to take these olive trees, and we're going to put them over here somewhere and forget about them just now, okay? Now, maybe say, what permits us to do that? But don't you see, that's what the angel does. I mean, Zechariah is shown this vision, he's shown a lamp, he's shown the olive trees, and he says, well, what are these? What are these olive trees? What does the angel do? The angel doesn't answer. The angel goes off in this tangent, would you say, or parenthesis, and it is not until the end of the chapter that the angel answers the question about the identity of the olive trees. So, come on, if the angel of the Lord is willing to leave the olive trees till later on, let's do the same thing. What does that leave us with? It leaves us with a golden lampstand. Okay. What's this? I mean, this golden lampstand, does it mean anything to us, really? It doesn't, does it? A golden lampstand, other than these beauties that we have dotted about in here? But what we have to understand is, to the people receiving this vision from God, through Zechariah, a golden lampstand would have been instantly understandable. You see, a golden lampstand was a symbol of, ready for this, a symbol of temple worship. The golden lampstands were permanent fixtures within the original temple, within Solomon's temple. So do you see, for the people of God, this vision, like we're struggling, to the people of God, the meaning of this vision here was absolutely instantaneously understandable. They knew what God was saying here. They knew that this was a call from God to begin the rebuilding of the temple. that had stalled since their return from Babylon. God here was calling that the temple rebuilding work begin again. That was the function of this lampstand, rebuild my temple. So you have that, but there's also a more, what would you say, a more fundamental message here. Now, I'm sure you'd all agree with me, that if you have an image, very often an image draws us straight away to a different reality. We've got that with the lampstand. You see the lampstand, the people of God instantly think of temple worship. But that works for us, like Luke. It was Canada Day this week, wasn't it? At some stage during the week. Well, you know, if we see a maple leaf, a picture of a maple leaf, it's the same for us, isn't it? We see the picture, we instantly think of Canada. Well, there's another image like that in these verses here. See, towards the end of the chapter, we are told what provides the fuel for this lamp. Do you see what it is? What provides the fuel? It's oil. Oil is poured into this. Now, here's the deal. In scripture, oil is one of those images that instantly points to a greater spiritual reality. Like when you see oil being used in the Bible, very often it points to the work of the Holy Spirit of God. Oil, the Holy Spirit. Do you see how that works? Can you think of examples of that? Think about it in Scripture, even the New Testament. If you were to set aside Christians for a specific task, if you were to set aside Christians for a specific equipping of the Holy Spirit, what was the church called to do? A couple of things. The church was called to pray over that person, but what was the other thing they were called to do? They were called to anoint the person with oil. Do you see oil and the Holy Spirit? So do you see what we've got here? Oil going into the lamp. Do you see what the people of God were being told? They're being told that this re-establishment of temple worship, this rebuilding of the temple, it wasn't going to come by sort of human ingenuity. It wasn't going to come by sort of brute strength of man. How was it going to come? It was going to be instigated by God himself, by the Holy Spirit of God. Just listen to verse 6. God says, not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord. So do you see it? Do you see the picture? The temple is to be rebuilt, and oil, the Holy Spirit, is going to fuel this. Now, okay, if you're with me so far, you're like, okay, we understand something of the symbolism here. There's a question, it's the obvious question, isn't it? We're in the 21st century, and we're in London. What on earth has this here got to do with you and me this evening? What is the application of this? Well, we understand that the golden lampstand here was a picture of temple worship. We buy into that, we get that. I want to ask you, what happens if we take this picture of a lampstand into the New Testament? What happens? Ring any bells? Golden lampstands. And I think about Revelation. I'll ask you to think about the start of Revelation. The seven golden lampstands of God are what? They're the seven churches of Jesus Christ. This picture isn't just for the Old Testament. This picture is relevant. This picture of a lamb stand is relevant tonight. And I think when we see that, what actually opens up for us is a really, really fundamental lesson for London City Presbyterian Church. You see, think about this. God could have used any image. The great God, in his infinite wisdom, he could have used any image to represent the church. What does he choose? He chooses a lamp. Now what is the function of a lamp? It is to shine. It is to be a light, isn't it? Do you see what we're seeing here? The Old Testament worshipping community and the New Testament worshipping community, we are called to be a light. A light into a very, very, very dark world. See, think about it. I was looking at this earlier on and I could count 49 different flames on this vision that Zechariah sees here now. Imagine him seeing that against the backdrop of a night vision. I mean, this would have been radiant, don't you see? The church of Jesus Christ. We are supposed to be dazzling. We are supposed to be brilliant against the darkness of the world. And so I have to ask you tonight, do you think that is true of us as a congregation, London City Presbyterian Church? Do we shine for Jesus Christ in the city of London? Or I'll ask you individually and personally, do you shine for Jesus? Do you shine in your community, the community that God has placed you into? Do you shine for Christ? And do you shine in amongst your family? Do you shine for Jesus? Do you shine for Jesus Christ in the workplace? Is that true of us? Now, there's a danger that we could make here. The danger is an obvious one. The danger, when a minister says that, you're like, oh, I don't shine. And the danger is that we become pretty down, and we're pretty depressed about the lack of radiance we give off for Jesus. Do you see that that's not the point of this? Consider the oil. Consider the oil here. God is saying to Zechariah that he is ready and he is willing to pour out his Holy Spirit. He is ready and willing to fuel us, to fuel the church. Perhaps tonight, and perhaps over the next couple of months, over this summer break, perhaps we should ask God to do just that, shouldn't we, as Christians? As a congregation, we should ask him for a new experience and a new knowledge, a personal knowledge of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Why? Because we are God's lamp and we need to shine brightly for the Lord Jesus Christ. So we see here a vessel or the vessel of the Holy Spirit. Secondly, please note the triumph of the Holy Spirit. The triumph of the Holy Spirit. Now, I don't know if you've ever had a day or a week where everything seems to have gone wrong. You know, one of those weeks where every single thing that you turn your hand to just collapses. Some of us, I think, probably feel that we've had decades like that. We've really got to understand that that was the case for this man called Zerubbabel. Okay, now Zerubbabel, he was the prince of the people. Come back to that. He's the prince of the people. And he's the one who's called to build this temple, called by God to erect this temple. And he is in the royal line of David. That's Zerubbabel. But what you've got to see is that he is having a tough time of it. Everything's going wrong for Zerubbabel. He started the temple work when the people came back from Babylon. And soon, all the people, they get distracted. And they're not interested in building up a worshipping community. They want to build up their own lives. Then add to the mix the fact that the Persians begin to get involved again. They begin to challenge his authority to build this temple. Do you see the point? Zerubbabel, everything is going wrong for him. He is dejected. And it's into that that God speaks and God gives him a promise here. Do you see the promise? He promises Zerubbabel that this temple will be completed. This tempo, he tells Zerubbabel, is going to be finished. Look at verse 9. Look at it. The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the function. Listen to God's promise. His hands will also complete it. Now, here's the thing. I wonder, do you see what God is doing there in giving Zerubbabel this promise? Do you see what he's doing? If not, think about this. In London, especially around here, if there's a sort of grand building project, let's say it's one of these massive office buildings that are going up. in Farringdon and around the church here. One of the first things that will happen, one of the first things that a designer or an architect will do is make one of these scale models, won't they, of the finished product. You've seen that, haven't you? Often they sit in the foyer of some of these office buildings. You'll go in and it's all very grand and over in the corner they'll have a scale model of the building. Now, why do they do that? Like why would an architect or a designer make a scale model of the building? I mean surely, surely part of it is to provide impetus, isn't it? Like they make this model, why? To show the whole crew that are going to be working on this what the finished product is going to be like. They make this model to do what? To sort of galvanize maybe? to sort of motivate the whole team, this is what we are working for. Now, don't you see that that is exactly what God is doing here in this promise with Zerubbabel? In a much, much more glorious and exalted way, he is giving him a final picture. He is showing him the completed project. God even describes it here. Look what he says. He tells Zubabu, this is how it's going to end. The mountains are going to fall, and you are going to walk across level ground, and you're going to take that final stone, and you're going to put it up on the temple, and all these people that are laxatizical, and all these people are skeptical, they're all going to be on that final day, they're all going to be singing with you, they're going to be rejoicing. This temple will be finished. Friends, don't you see? that what God does for Zerubbabel there is what he has done for you and I. Don't you see that? That God has provided us with the final scene and the final picture for London City Presbyterian Church and for your life. That's what he's done in scripture. Like how is this building project gonna end? It'll end with your perfection. in Christ, won't it? This building project. I mean it'll end with us being moved into a new city, a new Jerusalem, a new home. It's going to end like that. It's going to end with all of us, skeptical as we might be, joining our voices together in song. And do you see the effect that that should have on us? We've talked a lot about this this morning, but do you see the effect? That should galvanize us, shouldn't it? I mean, it should motivate us. I mean, we know the end. We know the triumph of the Holy Spirit of God. We know how this is going to work out. And that should motivate us to put aside all the differences that we have with each other and to serve each other. And it should motivate us to accept this call from God to service. It should motivate us. It should motivate us to go out with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Why? Because what does God say in Revelation 21-6? He says these words. He says simply, it is done. The building work will be completed. And it's greater than Zerubbabel has promised. Because Zerubbabel, think about it, the mountains fall and he walks across the level ground and he takes the last stone and he puts it in place, doesn't he? What's our last scene? Yes, that will happen, but it is Jesus Christ, the capstone. that is raised up and put in place and raised up above the worshipping community. Don't you see? We know the end is there. The temple is completed. We know that is happening. TPC, our work, your work as a Christian, it will be done. And that should spur us on in the Christian life. So we see the vessel of the Holy Spirit and we see the triumph, the end through the Holy Spirit. Thirdly, lastly, we see the source of the Holy Spirit. Have you been in the situation as a Christian that you have asked God a question in prayer? Usually the question, why? And it has seemed to take God a very long time to answer that question. A delayed response, it seems, from God in prayer. Do you see that that is exactly what we're dealing with here in Zechariah chapter 4? Remember what I said at the start. Zechariah has asked this angel for the identity of the olive trees. And what's happened? The angel has delayed the responses. Not till the very end of this chapter that Zechariah finds out what these olive trees are all about. I need you to do this with me. I know it's hot in here. It's hot and I know we're tired. I need you with me for this. I need you to do this. I need you to picture the scene that he's seeing. You've got a golden lamp stand. Can you picture that? And you have got olive trees, one on either side. This is what I want you to get. It is the olive trees here that are supplying the oil for the lamp. See, the oil is coming from the olive trees. Look at verse 12. Try and picture verse 12. So you've got branches from each of these olive trees, and the branches, the olive trees, are pouring oil into channels that are sort of flowing into this lamp. So you've got olive trees supplying this oil to the lamp, and Zechariah is scratching his head, and he's saying, what's this? Like, I understand the spirit of God, but olive trees supplying this? What are the olive trees? If we're gonna understand this, you need to remember what I said at the very start of the sermon series. I said there are eight visions, and they work in pairs, all leading into the center. You following me? The first vision works with the eighth vision. Second one, we're leading in the center. Second with the seventh. Third with the sixth. And they're all leading in the center. Everything is pushing into the two central visions in the book of Zechariah. The one we had last week and the one we have today. And when we realize that, surely you and I see the identity of these two olive trees. Who are they? They are the main characters from those two visions. We have Joshua and we have Zerubbabel. We have, yes, we've got the high priest and we have got the prince, the king. We have got God's chosen leaders here. His spirit filled leaders chosen to reestablish this worship. These are the olive trees. Do you see it? But here's the thing. What do we know about these prophecies? We know that they were pointing forward, don't we? We know that these prophecies are pointing to a greater spiritual reality. I was reading about a sect, a Christian sect this week. They looked at these olive trees and you know what they thought? They thought, oh, this must mean there are two coming messiahs. You know that that is not the case, don't you? You see what these olive trees are pointing to, don't you? What was God's plan? He would send his son, and what would Jesus do? He would fulfill both of these roles. He would incorporate both of these olive trees. What do you mean, who was Jesus? He was Hebrews 10, our great high priest, the one who's offering sacrifices, the one who is, who is a sacrifice at Calvary. He is also on top of that. Who? Revelation chapter one. He is the ruler of all the kings on earth. Do you see it? He is the great priest. He is the great king. He is the great Melchizedek. It is he. It is he. that these two olive trees anticipate, so what's the question we have to end with? How did our Lord Jesus Christ, how did he fulfill this vision here? How did he supply oil to the lamp? What did our Lord do? What did he do? He lived, he died, he rose, and? He lived, he died, he rose, and what did he do at Pentecost? He poured out the oil and the lamp. He poured out his Holy Spirit on the church, did he not? That Jesus Christ provided the crowning moment to his ministry in acts, that he poured out his Holy Spirit. He is the one that these olive trees anticipate. He is very literally the Christ, very literally Luke, the anointed one. So I end with this. We are in the summer months and you and I have been given an opportunity as Christians to pause and reflect. You and I are supposed to be lights. We are supposed to illumine the Lord Jesus Christ. But look what we have here. God is dwelling within us by his very own Holy Spirit. He has given us absolutely everything we need to shine for Christ. So friends, let's go into the week, but let us burn. Let us, London City Presbyterian Church, let us be a blaze for the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray.