Word and we will look again tonight at these last couple of verses in the book of 2nd Chronicles. There's still just a few encouraging tidbits that we want to look at at the end of this very, very intriguing portion of Scripture. And we look tonight, our text, first of all, the last two verses of chapter 36 of 2 Chronicles. And you'll notice verse 21, the context, we have this reminder of the promise of God that the exile would last for 70 years and then would be ended. And so we see in verse 20, the word of God, he took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him," referring to Nebuchadnezzar, and to his sons, until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah. until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept sabbath to fulfill seventy years. Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing. Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia. The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up. And then if you'll turn with me again in the book of Zechariah. Zechariah chapter 4. And so during that Then King Cyrus in 537 B.C. issued his decree, and there were a few people who came back to the land who had been scattered and lived up in all of those north countries in the Babylonian Empire and then the Media-Persian Empire, and Cyrus' decree permitted them to come back. and to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. And they started building, but then they grew very discouraged, and they quit building for about 16 years. The foundation just grew weeds. And the Lord raised up two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, with the message of life and hope calling the people to look to the Christ and get back to work. And so Zechariah chapter 4 is our text tonight, one of the visions that God gave to his people through the prophet Zechariah. Again, the word of the living God, Zechariah beginning in verse 1 of chapter 4. And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, what do you see? I said, I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left. And I said to the angel who talked with me, what are these, my Lord? Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, do you not know what these are? I said, no, my Lord. Then he said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel. Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain, and he shall bring forward the topstone amid shouts of grace, grace to it. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. These seven are the eyes of the Lord which range through the whole earth. And then I said, what are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand? And a second time I answered and said to him, what are these two branches of the olive trees which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out? He said to me, do you not know what these are? I said, no, my Lord. And then he said, these are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth. Thus ends the reading of God's very word. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. Lord, you have told us in The book of Romans, chapter 15, that whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction. We upon whom the end of the ages have come. And so Lord, we ask that these words that you gave through the mouth of your servants, the prophets, thousands of years ago. Lord, they are just as true today as they were then. And Lord, you gave them to your people at that particular time for the purpose of encouraging them and stirring them up to faith in the Christ and to joyous, bold living for the Christ. And Lord, we need that same message in our day. And so come by your spirit, Lord, and open these portions of holy scripture to us that we might rightly understand them and that you would write it upon our hearts and lives to give us strength and encouragement in you, oh Lord, and vigor and zeal and strength to live for you in our day. In Jesus we pray, amen. Well, the people of God had been through 70 years of exile. We looked several weeks ago at Daniel chapter 9, where God records for us the testimony of this great old man of God who had been reading the prophet Jeremiah. And as he is reading, he ran across several times in Jeremiah's prophecies that the exile would last 70 years. And Daniel chapter 9 records for us Daniel humbling himself before the living God, confessing first of all the faithfulness and right judgment of God upon his people for the exile to have taken place to begin with, and that it was in accordance with God's warnings that he had given. And then Daniel pleads for mercy. Daniel cries and begs as he is confessing the sin of his fathers and of the people down to that very day, that for the sake of God's name, that the Lord would look down from heaven and he would fulfill the restoration that God had promised as well. The Lord moved in the heart of a pagan king, and it is a thrilling thing to think of Cyrus the Mede and his testimony. And if you'll turn back with me to 2 Chronicles, I want you to notice some of the things that Cyrus said in his proclamation. Liberal Bible scholars many times scoff at things like this and try to explain away through what we would call natural occurrences. They point out the fact that it was the practice of the Persian kings, unlike the Babylonian empire, the Babylonian empire would displace people when they would conquer them. But the practice of the Persian Empire, generally they viewed that if they left the people in their own lands when they conquered them, that people would be more content. And while that is very true, why was that the case? And whether Cyrus self-consciously really did bow before the living God, or whether he was just practicing for political expediency, which we can see plenty of in our day and time. It's kind of like politicians in our day and time giving lip service. to the God of the Bible and to truths, and they do so because they think it will be to their political advantage. That we do not know from this text, but what we do know is is that the effect of Cyrus' decree was God was fulfilling his word. And we know why Cyrus did this, whether he self-consciously intended to do anything to truly, from the heart, honor the living God or not, really, for our purposes, is beside the point. We do not know the motive of his heart, but what we do know is the one who had stirred his heart. And this is a wonderful illustration of the proverb over in Proverbs chapter 21. And you can keep your finger there. And that expression has become kind of a strange one if you're using your iPhone to go from passage to passage. But if you have a Bible, you can keep your hand there at 2 Chronicles and over in Proverbs 21 verse 1, the king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he will. The Lord turns king's hearts where the Lord wants them. And so that's what we see here in 2 Chronicles chapter 36 verse 22. Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled. The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing. The Lord stirred in the heart of this pagan king, and whether he was converted through the testimony of a man like Daniel, we do not know. From Holy Scripture, God does not tell us, but what we do know is a sovereign God was at work stirring in kings' hearts to accomplish the fulfillment of God's promises that he had made decades before through the mouth of his servant, Jeremiah the prophet. This decree in verse 23 is amazing. Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, the Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem. Whether he really understood and embraced the God of the Bible when he issued this decree, we do not know. But what we know is, at least he gave lip service. to the fact that God Almighty had put him in his position of power and it was for the purpose of him issuing this decree that God's people were now permitted after 70 years to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple, the house of God. Cyrus, at the end of this decree, says, And so here's this call to action that God stirred in the heart of this pagan king. Now, you remember the lessons that we have seen already from the book of Zechariah. In the first six verses of chapter one, the Lord reminded his people of the utter folly of not listening and heeding and believing and embracing the word of the living God. The Lord asked the question, Your fathers, where are they? How did things go for them when they rejected the word of God? And even the prophets, do they live forever? But God's word will indeed stand forever. And here were people who now had been privileged to come back from that foreign land to rebuild. The last part of chapter 1, the Lord gave visions about how God was at work, like a master chess player, moving pieces on the board of human history to accomplish His purposes. And none can thwart Him. None can outmaneuver Him. thwarting Him and capturing His efforts. The Lord reminded His people that they could and ought to trust the living God. And in chapter 2, one of the applications of this truth was, God said, I know some of you have been afraid to come back. There were a handful, comparatively, of the people carried off into captivity who had come back, and they had laid the foundation, but now they were demoralized. What resources did they have to build? And they were at the total, it seemed like, total mercy of wild beasts and all kinds of enemies. And the Lord reassured them, do not be afraid. I know Jerusalem doesn't have a city wall yet, but I will be a wall of fire around you. Trust and obey. And then last Lord's Day evening, we looked at Zechariah chapter three. And not only did they have dangers without, but they had the sin problem. And here was Joshua the high priest, and he was covered with filthy garments, and Satan stepped forward to accuse the leader of God's people, the one who was supposed to be able to take them into the presence of God, to secure the smile of God and his blessing upon them in their individual lives, their families, and the life together as God's people. And it is a bleak picture when they have no standing with the living God. But the Lord himself steps forward, the branch, the one promised to come from the root of David to save to bless in His saving work, His saving presence, and to give them His protection and smile because they are covered with His righteousness. And then tonight we come to Zechariah chapter 4. Can you imagine? You have no real political clout. You have no media, you have no wealth, and you're called upon to build the temple and the city of God. It was a demoralizing situation that God's people faced. They were up against mountains of opposition. What future was there? And it is in that context now that the Lord gave this glorious vision. He addresses a man by the name of Zerubbabel. And Zerubbabel, you remember in chapter 3, the man that was the focal point of that vision was Joshua, the high priest, not Joshua, Moses' attendant. Same name, but hundreds of years later, a different man by the same name, who was the leader of the church. Zerubbabel is the governor. He's the leader of civil government. And this vision is, at first glance, kind of strange. If you've read this, or even just heard it this evening, and you go, OK, we've got a lamp with a lot of other little lamps on top of that lamp, and we've got an olive tree, and we've got branches, and we've got pipes, and we've got people. What all is that? Why is that so encouraging? Well, if you're not really clear about what all this means, I have words of encouragement for you. Because several times in this passage, the very prophet, Zachariah, who is given this vision is asked by this touring angel, we'll call him, the angel that was giving the tour, the guide, asked Zachariah, do you not know what these are? When Zachariah would say, what does that mean? What is that? And the angel would say, do you not know what that is? And Zachariah over and over said, no. And in Southern we would say, I don't have the foggiest. I don't have a clue. I have no clue what this means. Well, let's dig in and look for just a few minutes at this very encouraging word from the Lord. In verse 1, And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, What do you see? And I said, I see, and behold, lampstand all of gold with a bowl on the top of it. And so here was this great big lampstand that God shows Zerubbabel and Zechariah. And he says, Zachariah, what do you see? He says, well, I see this lamp stand, and on top of it is this huge bowl. And on top of this bowl are seven other little bowls, and on each of those seven bowls are seven lips. seven little wicks sticking out. And so here you have now this source of light that is this bowl with these lamps on them with all of these multiple wicks. And then beside this stand with all of these lights, verse 3, and there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on the left. And I said to the angel who talked with me, what are these, my lord? And then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, do you not know what these are? I said, No, my lord. Then he said to me, This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain, and he shall bring forward the topstone amid shouts of grace, grace to it. And so the guiding angel now explains to Zechariah, he said, here's what you are seeing. This is a message from Almighty God and he tells him what the message, what the vision of the lamp stand and the bowl and the two olive trees Here's what it all means. And so let's look at what he says it means in verse 6 and 7, and then we'll press on and look at the rest of the details, and then we'll come back to verses 6 and 7. But it's about how God is going to empower and accomplish His promises. in rebuilding the temple and rebuilding the city of Jerusalem. And so he says, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel. This vision is all about a message from Almighty God to the leader of God's people in terms of the civil government, the governor, Zerubbabel. And here's the message, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord of hosts. He says, here's what this vision means, Zechariah. This vision is teaching Zerubbabel and all of God's people that even though you don't have any resources, You do have and belong to and know the one who owns everything in the universe and who has all power. You remember the Spirit of the living God is one of the first things that the Lord teaches us in Holy Scripture. Turn back with me to Genesis chapter 1. Genesis chapter 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And so God speaks matter into being on the first day of creation. Out of nothing, the book of Hebrews tells us. And this matter that God speaks into being is just that. It is just formless matter. Verse 2, the earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And so here we see this first reference now to the Spirit of the Living God. And He is the one who comes to bring order out of chaos and to give life. He is the one who is the agent. He is the powerful one of the Godhead who is taking this formless void of matter and bringing order. Over the succeeding days of creation, God separates the light from the darkness and the expanse above from below in terms of water. God called the expanse above heaven, and that was the second day. The third day, God caused the dry land to appear. God powerfully is it working. The Lord caused the earth to sprout vegetation, creating life and bringing all of the variety of creation into being. In the book of Job, the Lord reminds us that it is the Spirit of God who is the one who gives life. In Job's discourses with his friends, Job is confronted by a fellow by the name of Elihu, and if you'll turn with me to Job 34, Elihu, he declares this in verse 13. Who gave him charge over the earth, and who laid on him the whole world? If he should set his heart to it, and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust. It is the Spirit of God who gives life. And we see, of course, in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 37, the prophecy of the valley of dry bones. And it is the Spirit who comes and makes those bones come together. And it is the Spirit of God that breathes on them and they come to life. we have seen in the book of 2 Chronicles, a reminder to us of the blessed, powerful, mighty working of the Spirit of God. Turn back with me to 2 Chronicles chapter 16. And as God is rebuking King Asa for his unbelief, in that context reminds Asa and all of us Oh, what a blessing it is for the Spirit of God to come and live in our hearts. The Spirit of Christ, wherever He is, there is blessing and life. And we read here in 2 Chronicles 16, verses 7 and following, At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him, Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand." Talking about previously in Asa's life. But now he did not seek the face of God. Yet because you relied on the Lord, He gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward Him. And so, Zechariah and the people of God are reminded, not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel, you shall become a plain. Even though there were mountains in front of God's people, If the Spirit of God was pleased to exert His power, that mountain would turn into a plain, just a level, easy place for them. And He, Zerubbabel, shall bring forward the top stone. It was just a foundation that was growing weeds, but the Lord says the Spirit of the living God would so bless and stir and empower God's people that Zerubbabel himself would be the one who would lay the capstone of the building. And everybody would be acknowledging It was the grace of God. It was what God had done. They would be shouting, grace, grace to them. It is grace that has brought us to this point. It will be grace that blesses this house and gives us a future. Old John Newton had it right. "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, "'and grace my fears relieved. "'How precious did that grace appear "'the hour I first believed. "'Through many dangers, toils, and snares, "'I have already come. "'Tis grace that's brought me safe thus far, "'and grace will lead me home.'" That was the message. That's what the vision meant, the angel said. I am so thankful the angel answered Zachariah's question. I must confess that if I didn't have the interpretation It might be a little difficult for me to glean the truth, but now that we know what this message is, let's read on and see the exciting additional information the Lord gives to us. in verse 8. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hand shall also complete it. And how was that going to be? Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. God was going to provide the materials, and the wealth, and the protection. And God was going to Himself come by His Spirit, stirring in the hearts of these people who had become so weary, and tired, and discouraged, and overwhelmed. with the obstacles that were before them. The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hand shall also complete it. And then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice." And so my question to you is, Are you tempted to despise the day of small beginnings in our day? God's people were tempted to just give up. They looked at the mountain of opposition that was before them in their day. political intrigue, all kinds of business people who lived around there and surrounding communities, and they were all saying, oh, whatever happens, we're not going to let the people of God rebuild the temple and rebuild Jerusalem. We must do whatever it takes to stop it. It was overwhelming. But the Lord was at work, it was his good pleasure. And who is he? He is the Lord of hosts, the Lord of the armies of heaven, the one who created the heavens and the earth. And the Lord called his people, do not despise the day of small beginnings. Whoever has despised that day, you keep looking, and you will see what God is doing. Whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. And who was going to accomplish all of this? These seven are the eyes of the Lord at reference to the spirit of the living God that we read about in chapter 16. The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to strongly support those whose heart is completely His. These seven are the eyes of the Lord which range throughout the whole earth." And then I said to him, well what are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand? Now here's the thing that was so amazing about this vision. This lamp that had this huge bowl that had these seven smaller lamps and then the seven wicks on each of them. Notice that there are these two golden pipes that go from these olive trees into the bowl. And here's the picture, that these olive trees are producing a constant supply of oil for this lamp. It never goes out because these trees are constantly producing oil and these pipes are piping it in directly. Again, you remember what this vision is all about. It is about, in verse 6, the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Zerubbabel, you are going to be blessed of God to rebuild the temple, leading God's people in this major work. Verse 12, And a second time I answered and said to him, What are these two branches of the olive trees which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out? He said to me, Do you not know what these are? What are these pipes? And he said to me, Do you not know what these are? I said, No, my lord. And then he said, These are the two anointed ones. who stand by the Lord of the whole earth." Now you remember when people were in the Old Testament set apart to do a task for Almighty God, they would be anointed. We see prophets, priests, kings, oil would be poured upon them. And it was the symbol of the Holy Spirit being poured out upon them to empower them to do a particular task. And this vision was such an amazing message of grace and hope that God was going to use Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the governor as pipes through which the Spirit of God was going to pour His mercy and power. No, left to themselves, they are nothing. But God loves to take weak, small, pitiful people and places and do great things for His praise. And so here we are in our day. We look back on this and we see how God fulfilled these promises and this message and used it in a mighty way. And you can read in the book of Ezra and Nehemiah how even though it was a fierce struggle, that indeed not only was the temple rebuilt, but the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt. God indeed did use His people and stir in them by His Spirit to accomplish this task which even the people of God at the time, many of them, despaired. You remember the context. For 16 years, God's people have just given up. But the Lord sent these two prophets to proclaim the gospel, calling the people to believe in the Christ and to follow the Lamb, to stand for the Lord of hosts, to not be afraid to do what Almighty God called them to be and do according to the word of His mouth. And so it is in our day. We face a culture that is full of great darkness and opposition to the true and the living God. There is no doubt about that. And what does God want us to do in our day? There is an even greater temple that God Almighty is at work building. And God is calling you and me. He is calling our families, our church family, His people, to stand upon the Word of God, to be wise, and to build. God is calling upon us to not be foolish, like the Lord Jesus described in Matthew chapter 7, and build on the sand of man's opinions. but to build on the rock, on Jesus Himself and His Word, the Holy Scriptures, in our own lives. God calls upon us to look to Christ this night and instead of being overwhelmed by the opposition that is in front of us, to fix our eyes on Jesus as we read in Hebrews 12, lest we grow weary and lose heart. God says the mountains that are before us are no match for the Spirit of the living God. The Spirit of Christ is at work. God calls upon us not only to build upon the rock of Jesus our own lives, but our families. There is much opposition against a Christian, biblically defined family in our day and time. But the Lord calls us to take to heart this wonderful vision that God gave to His people in Zerubbabel's day, and for us to press on, humbly following the Lamb, boldly standing upon the Word of God, loving each other as husband and wife and parents and children, brothers and sisters, building Christian homes for the glory of God, not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. God is calling us in the face of all the darkness and opposition to hear the voice of King Jesus as he says, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. as we give ourselves anew to build the house of God in this place and pray that God would use us to spread the gospel all over this region and state and land. and that it would even spread to the other nations of the world. That is our prayer. That is the task that God Almighty has given us. Do not despise the day of small beginnings. For in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God is at work. And Joshua and Zerubbabel were people just like you and me. And Jesus loves to take weak, frail, pitiful vessels and save us and fill us with his spirit that we might stand and live for him. We pray that this nation and the other nations of the world would lay down their futile war against the King of Kings and bow before the Lord Jesus. Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts. And so in our day and time, we see all of the major institutions of this land arrayed against the gospel and the truth of God's word. And what will we do? Will we be like the children of God in Zechariah's day and despair and give up? No, God graciously sent these prophets to call them to faith and obedience in the Christ afresh. And God has recorded this for us, that we might take this message to heart in our day. Praise God, we have a Savior. His name is Jesus, and He is a living Savior. not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Amen. Father, we desperately need this word of encouragement just in our own hearts, Lord. We confess to you that the darkness is heavy and oppressive and just seems to be all about us. Oh, Lord, you are the light of the world. And we look to you and we pray that you would take this wonderful message of salvation in Jesus and life and hope in Him and that you would write it upon our hearts that we might get up and get to work. Father, thank you for the joy that we have to give ourselves anew to you this night, to build our lives upon you, Lord Jesus, and your word. And we give ourselves to you, Lord, unreservedly, anew and afresh. Lord, we give ourselves and stand as Joshua, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. As a congregation of your people, we stand together, Lord, confessing our love for you and for one another in your name, and commit ourselves afresh to be a biblical church. not ashamed of the gospel of Holy Scripture, and not ashamed to be and do what you call us to, to worship, to love one another, and to be salt and light in this dark world. O Lord, as citizens of this land, we are not ashamed, and we will not shrink back from standing. and raising the banner of the King of Kings. And so, Lord, thank you for this portion of Scripture. Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you are powerful and mighty to save, and that you can even turn the hearts of kings to accomplish your good purpose, like you did with King Cyrus. And so, Lord, we look to you. Bless now as we sing, and as we conclude our worship, we give our praise and ask for your continued blessing now, in Jesus' name, amen.