Welcome to From the Pulpit.
Each week we bring you a different message
from some of history's greatest speakers in the
Christian faith and powerful summons from modern preachers
too.
This week we have Chuck Smith with his
message, When Life is Overwhelming.
We're getting into the book of Zechariah this
week and we'll take the first seven chapters
tonight and next week the next seven chapters
and then the book of Malachi and we
have completed the Old Testament and we start
off in the New Testament the following week.
So just about ready to finish up on
the Old Testament.
Been a great journey but we're looking forward
to getting into the New Testament and the
exciting truths of the New Testament.
This morning we'd like to look at the
fourth chapter of Zechariah, verse 6, where we
read, And then he answered and spake unto
me, saying, This is the word of the
Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might nor
by power, but by my spirit, saith the
Lord of hosts.
Who art thou, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain, and
he shall bring forth in the headstone thereof
with shoutings crying, Grace, grace, unto it.
Have you ever been working on a project
and you got to the place where you
thought, Well there's no use even trying anymore.
It's just too big.
The task is too great.
I can never do it.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by your circumstances
and felt that you couldn't take one more
step, that you might as well just give
up and quit?
Have you ever felt just like giving up?
If you have, then you understand the feelings
of Zerubbabel in our text today.
He was discouraged.
He was ready to give up.
He had returned from Babylon with other Jewish
people from the captivity, and they had high
hopes.
The people were in high spirits.
They were looking forward to getting back to
Jerusalem.
They had heard of the beauty of the
city of Jerusalem.
They had heard of the temple and all,
and they were anxious to see Jerusalem, and
they weren't really prepared for what they found
when they came to Jerusalem because the destruction
by the Babylonian army was so complete.
The city was nothing but rubble, piles of
rubble, and so the magnificent temple was just
completely destroyed, and the devastation was just unbelievable.
The people of the neighboring villages have pillaged
the city, and the people just, their hearts
sank when they saw the condition, and their
dreams were sort of shattered, and just because
of the reality of what they were looking
at.
Have you ever worked all day very hard,
and at the end of the day, you
couldn't see any visible results of your labor?
It seems like you made no headway, but
think of after working months, and again, having
that feeling that you can't even see what
you've done in these many months.
The pile of rubble still looks as big
as it did when you first started to
move it, and if you can catch this,
you're catching the mindset of the people.
They were discouraged, they were ready to give
up.
The people have become so demoralized that they've
given up the project of rebuilding the temple,
and they started working on their own houses,
and left the temple just to go.
The book of Haggai was written at this
same time that Zechariah was writing his book.
There's only about two months difference between the
writing of the two books, and Haggai was
calling on the people to get, not give
up, and to get back to work on
the house of God, and he pointed out
that God's blessings were lacking because they were
letting the house of God go desolate while
they were just tending to their own personal
houses.
We need to remember that the most important
relationship in our lives is the vertical relationship,
our relationship with God.
If this is right, then the horizontal relationships
will be right, but until this is right,
our whole life will always be out of
kilter.
It seems that there is a fixed axis
in our life between the perpendicular and the
horizontal, and if the perpendicular, my up-and
-down relationship with God is right, then my
horizontal is right.
I have a right relationship with you, but
if my perpendicular gets out of kilter, then
it's a fixed axis, and my relationship with
others becomes topsy-turvy, up and down, and
I have a real problem.
So, the importance of seek first the kingdom
of God, his righteousness, then all of these
other things will be added unto you.
God will take care of the others, but
the important thing, of course, is that vertical
axis upon which our whole lives spin, are
resolving, are revolving.
Jesus, of course, encouraged us to seek the
spiritual things first.
Through the prophet of Zechariah, God is going
to send the message to the leaders to
encourage them to return and to start building
the temple again.
God said, if you notice that you just
don't have enough money to get through the
week, that you're always, you know, just short
and so forth, it's because, he said, you've
forsaken my house, and you're busy about your
own things, and that's the reason why you're
just having so many problems, so many difficulties,
so much hardship.
So, during this time, Zechariah saw this vision
that the Lord gave him, and the vision
was of the menorah.
Now, the menorah was that seven golden candlestick,
a candlestick with seven little cups on the
arms of it, and that was to light
up the sanctuary of the Jewish temple, and
it was to be a symbol that God
intended the Jewish nation to be the light
of the world, and that was one of
the main furnishings of the temple was this
menorah, and each day it was the duty
of the priest to change the oil and
to put in new wicks and so forth,
and to make sure that that menorah was
always burning, the seven golden candlesticks were always
burning continually.
In the vision, that, of course, that was
quite a laborious task, every day it was,
you know, doing the same thing, cleaning up
and putting the fresh oil in, and it
was one of those things that could become
very monotonous after a while, but God gave
to Zechariah this vision.
He saw this menorah with the seven golden
candles, or the seven arms on this candlestick,
he saw the cups with the oil, but
then he saw on either side of this
menorah, there were olive trees, and there were
branches that were going from the olive trees
directly into these cups, filling them constantly with
the oil, so that it wasn't a daily
task that he had to worry about, getting
the oil and filling the cups, but here
was just this sort of a Rube Goldberg
kind of a thing, where these olive trees
were feeding the oil into the cups just
daily, and the Lord said to Zechariah, what
do you see?
He said, I really don't understand it, and
the Lord said, well, that's the word of
the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, it's not by
might, it's not by power, but it's by
my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts, this
mountain of rubble shall be removed.
In other words, he's discouraged, it looks like
they're not getting anywhere in the removing of
the rubble, but the Lord is giving words
of encouragement, not by might, nor by power,
but by my spirit, saith the Lord of
hosts.
Might is a word in Hebrew that is
used for human resources or human ability.
The work isn't going to be done with
human resources or human ability.
Power denotes human effort, physical or mental, and
it should be noted that they had tried
might and power, and they had run out
of their might and power, but the mountain
of rubble was still there, and the temple
was not rebuilt.
And so, it's interesting, when we have exhausted
our store of endurance, when our strength has
failed ere the day is half done, when
we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
our Father's forgiving has only begun.
His love has no limits, His grace has
no measure, His power has no boundary known
unto men, for out of His infinite riches
in Jesus, He giveth and giveth and giveth
again.
Today, we see men trying to do the
work of God through might and power.
The Christian periodicals are filled with the conferences
that you can attend, conferences on how to
raise the funds for your church, or how
to stimulate church growth, or how to win
the world for Christ.
There are Christian think tanks where men come
together and they explore new ideas to make
the church and the gospel more attractive to
the world.
They're seeking for success formulas, and for a
price, you can buy the recipe for developing
a large church.
So, step-by-step processes whereby you can
evangelize your community.
I was going to say that these programs
are a dime a dozen, but that's not
quite right.
They're $395 a seminar.
If you register in advance, $500 if you
wait and register at the door.
Through over the 50 years that I've had
in the ministry, I've seen hundreds of these
programs come and go.
I even participated in some myself in the
early years of my ministry.
As Zerubbabel and Joshua, I became discouraged after
putting out so much effort and so little
to show for it.
When I'd given up on the man's created
devices and ideas and their power routines, I
just started doing what the early church did
back in the book of Acts.
They continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine, in
fellowship, and in prayer, and the Holy Spirit
added daily to the church such as should
be saved.
As people would come from around the world
to discover the secret of the phenomenal work
that the Lord was doing here, they were
usually disappointed because they did not have, we
did not have the success programs to sell
to them.
And they always thought we were holding back
from them.
Now really, what is the real secret of
your growth there?
We said it's just the Lord, you know.
No, no, no.
Really, what are you doing, you know?
And they want you to lay out some
kind of a program for them, but we
didn't have any.
We were just teaching the Word of God,
loving one another, and watching God do a
beautiful work, and we've had that blessed privilege
of being able to do that.
As Paul wrote to the Galatians, O foolish
Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should
not obey the truth?
I want to ask you, did you receive
the Spirit by the works of the law
or by the hearing of faith?
Are you so foolish?
Having begun in the Spirit, are you now
going to be made perfect in the flesh?
There was a time when the hippie movement
was a hot item in the press, and
they were writing about it in the papers
and in the magazines and so forth.
This counterculture hippie movement had sort of taken
hold here in the United States.
And I was reading an article in the
Time magazine about these 65 hippies down there
at Black's Beach in San Diego who stripped
in to the bear and went swimming in
the nude there in the bay at San
Diego.
And I thought, is that all that, you
know, the magazine has a report on?
65 kids, you know, swimming in the nude
down in Black's Beach at San Diego.
We're going to be baptizing about a thousand
kids, you know, in Corona del Mar.
To me, that's more newsworthy than kids, you
know, swimming in the nude down there.
I think I'll get hold of Time magazine
and see if they would like to do
a report on something else that's happening in
the Pacific Ocean rather than just kids swimming
nude, you know.
And the Lord spoke to my heart.
I was driving home from church and thinking
about that, and the Lord spoke to my
heart.
He said, who's been your publicity agent up
till now?
And I said, well, you have, Lord.
And he said, well, look, you haven't had
to do any advertising.
And you've been in Look magazine, you've been
in Reader's Digest, you've been in several newspaper
articles.
Are you not satisfied with the job that
I'm doing?
And I had to say, well, Lord, I'm
very satisfied.
Forgive me, you know, let's, you know, forget
trying to contact Time magazine and let them
know.
When I got home, there was a fellow
sitting in the living room, and my wife
said, honey, this fellow's a reporter from Time
magazine.
He wants to do an article on, you
know, the church and the kids coming to
Christ and all.
And so the Lord was one step ahead
of us, which he always is.
But it was exciting to see how God
was working, and it is exciting to see
the work of God continuing.
The Lord was saying to Zerubbabel, you have
worked so hard until you're totally exhausted, you're
at the point of giving up.
You've pushed the people until there's no more
push.
It is true that you can push people
too far, and when they do not see
the promised results, they get discouraged and quit.
The time has come to let the Spirit
do the work.
Not by might nor by power, but by
my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts, this
mountain shall be removed.
The result of letting the Spirit do the
work, first of all, the work gets done.
The mountains will be removed.
We have different words to define a task.
We say, well, that's very easy.
Oh, well, that's difficult.
We say, oh, that's hard.
And then there are some who say, well,
that's impossible.
And so we have a tendency to measure
a task and grade it as far as
difficulty or ability to accomplish that particular task.
But you know, if it's God doing the
work, then any talk of impossibility is absurd.
He said, behold, I am God.
Is there anything too hard for me?
There may be mountains of difficulty in your
path.
It may be that you've been trying to
move those mountains.
It may be that you've been laboring strong
and hard in trying to, you know, level
things off, but it seems like the mountain
is still there.
And you have come to the conclusion, it
just is too much.
I'm weary.
I can't do it.
Well, when we reach the end of our
hoarded resources, our Father's full giving has only
begun.
And so there gives the opportunity for God
to begin His work and to do for
you what you can't do for yourself.
The work gets done when the Spirit is
the one doing the work.
Secondly, you have the assurance that the work
is going to be accomplished.
The hands of Zerubbabel, the Lord said, have
laid the foundation of this house, and his
hands also will finish it.
The assurance of God that work is going
to be accomplished.
And finally, God gets the work that is
done when it is done.
For we know that we weren't able to
do it and we had given up, but
now that God does it, we can just
watch him and we can just give the
glory to God for what he has done.
So he oftentimes waits until we get so
discouraged that we're acknowledging, I can't do it.
And that's what gives him the opportunity to
then step in and do for you what
you can't do for yourself.
When he accomplishes his desires and the great
success is always the result, all we can
say is to God be the glory, great
things he hath done.
We look at the challenge of the Great
Commission.
Jesus said to his disciples, go ye into
all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved.
He that believeth not shall be damned.
And the fact that this commission, we look
at the world in which we live and
we look at our weaknesses and we think,
how in the world can we ever reach
this world with the gospel?
It seems like, you know, things are really
just impossible, you know, to reach people whose
hearts have become so hardened and so enamored
by the world that they're just not interested
in the gospel.
How can we do it?
How can we reach them?
Well, not by might nor by power, but
by my spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts,
this mountain shall be removed.
Oftentimes in looking at the difficulty, we're prone
to just sort of give up and shirk
from the task.
And we say, who is sufficient for these
things?
But we must remember that our sufficiency is
not of ourselves, our sufficiency is of Christ.
We often get discouraged because we're looking at
the difficulty of the task rather than at
the sufficiency of Christ.
Maybe you have a mountain of rubble in
your life.
You know that it needs to be removed
and perhaps you've even endeavored to remove that
mountain of rubble out of your life because
you realize that it is hindering your walk
with the Lord so greatly.
And maybe you've come to that point of
almost giving up and just saying, well, just
not gonna happen, it just can't happen.
And know this, it's not by might nor
by power, but what the Spirit of God
can do, he can move that mountain for
you.
I may be too weak for the task,
but he's able to do much more than
I could ask or think.
And with his help, the mountain shall be
removed.
Don't give up, but give in to the
power that God has provided to give to
you the ability to move that mountain.
I know it's impossible for me to move
the mountain, but for him, there's nothing to
it.
Reminds me, when we were first starting out
in the ministry, we were pastoring down in
Tucson, Arizona, and our first child was just
18 months old at the time.
A brilliant little girl, just a real lover
and just the joy of our lives.
And smart as a whip, just, she was
so smart and, of course, just, you know,
lived with adults, just her mom and dad.
And she was just so, so, well, just
real sharp.
And so we had a Christmas program for
the church, and she had memorized this little
poem and did a real good job with
it.
And she was going to recite it for
the Christmas program.
And I can remember still teaching her, Mama
said I was too little, Daddy said I
couldn't do it, Merry Christmas.
There I said it.
Really, there was nothing to it.
And so it was just a little, but
she could say it so clearly, and we
were so proud of her.
And so when she, you know, she was
a little hesitant of doing it, but I
said, Honey, I'll buy you that new doll
for Christmas, if you'll, you know, say your
poem, you know.
Because I was so proud of her, you
know, being able to say it so clearly.
And just, she was so little, it was
just really remarkable.
And I was just wanting to sort of
show off my little daughter.
And she got up in front of the
people, and I looked down, and her little
lip was quivering.
And she looked up at me, and she
said, I don't want a doll.
She went running off, and I thought, you
know, I felt like a brute.
You know, I saw that little lip quivering,
and I thought, you know, I've been pushing
her too far.
And, you know, I felt real bad about
it.
But, you know, it was just one of
those moments that you sort of grew afterwards.
The mountains, they're too big for us.
We can't move them, but he can.
And it's not by might, nor by power,
but by his spirit, saith the Lord of
Hosts.
So, let's just let him move the mountains
for us.
And he will, if you will just allow
him to do it.
Father, thank you for the help that you
give to us.
And Lord, there are those here today who
have mountains of difficulty facing them.
They're looking at the task, and they're looking
at the situation, and they are feeling, Lord,
I just can't do it.
I don't have the energy, I don't have
the ability, I don't even have the desire.
It's just too much.
But Lord, I pray that you'll help them
to realize that you are able to do
exceeding, abundantly, above all that we could ask
or think.
And it isn't by our might or by
our power, but Lord, it is by your
spirit the mountain shall be removed.
And so, Lord, help us that we will
be able to turn over our mountains of
difficulties to you, to allow you to do
for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
We ask this, Father, in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Shall we stand?
The pastors are down here at the front
to pray for you.
And if there are situations in your life
that are just sort of overwhelming, and you
even hate to think about them because you've
tried everything and nothing seems to be working,
and you've been working on it for a
long time, but it doesn't, you can't see
any progress.
It looks like the mountain is still there.
Time to let the Lord take over.
And so, I would encourage you, come on
down and just say to them, pray for
me.
I just want God's help in dealing with
these issues in my life that are just
more than I can handle.
And they'll be happy to pray for you,
and God will be happy to move those
mountains for you.
So, may the Lord be with you, may
the Lord bless you, and may he move
mountains for you this week.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Give us this day our daily bread, and
forgive us our debts as we forgive our
debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil, for thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, and
the glory, and the glory, and the glory,
and the glory, and the glory, and the
glory, and the glory, and the glory, and
the glory, and the glory, and the glory,
and the glory, and the glory, and the
glory, and the glory, and the glory, and
the glory, and the glory, and the glory,
and the glory, and the glory, and the
glory, and the glory, and the glory, and
the glory, and the glory, and the glory,
and the glory, and the glory, and the
glory, and the glory, and the glory, and
the glory, and the glory, and the glory,
and the glory, and the glory, and the
glory, and the glory, and the glory, and
the glory, and the glory, and the glory,
and the
glory, and the glory, and the glory, Perry