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May turn to Zechariah chapter 
4, as we take up the fifth of these night visions. We remember 
the first four visions. The first one, God communicates 
comfort to the post-exilic community, those who had come out of Babylon 
and who had returned to Jerusalem in order to begin again to build 
the temple. The second vision, God promotes 
security. He tells his people that he would 
surround them, that he would guard them, that he would strengthen 
them. The third one, he promises his 
presence, that he would abide in their midst. And the fourth 
one, as we saw last week, was the cleansing of the high priest, 
a picture of the redemption that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ, 
very specifically a picture of justification where all our sins 
are pardoned or forgiven and we receive the righteousness 
of Christ imputed to us, received by faith alone. Well, this fifth 
vision focuses on Zerubbabel or on the actual civil authority 
in Israel. If chapter three was the focus 
upon Joshua, the high priest or the religious element in Israel, 
now the scene shifts to consider the political authority and the 
fact that the people of God would indeed be successful in the establishment 
of this second temple. We'll just pick up reading in 
chapter four at verse one. Now, the angel who talked with 
me came back and wakened me as a man who was wakened out of 
his sleep. And he said to me, what do you see? So I said, I 
am looking and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on 
top of it. And on the stand, seven lamps 
with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are by 
it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left. So 
I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, What 
are these, my Lord? Then the angel who talked with 
me answered and said to me, Do you not know what these are? 
And I said, No, my Lord. So he answered and said to me, 
this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel. Remember, Zerubbabel 
was the governor. They didn't have a Davidic king. Zerubbabel was of the line of 
David, however, but he functioned as a governor in Israel or the 
political authority here. So he answered and 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 forth the capstone with shouts of grace, 
grace to it. Moreover, the word of the Lord 
came to me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation 
of this temple. His hands shall also finish it. 
Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 
For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven 
rejoice to see the palm line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They 
are the eyes of the Lord, which stand to and fro throughout the 
whole earth. Then I answered and said to him, 
what are these two olive trees at the right of the lampstand 
and at its left? And I further answered and said 
to him, what are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles 
of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains? Then he 
answered me and said, Do you not know what these are? And 
I said, No, my Lord. So he said, These are the two 
anointed ones who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth. 
Amen. Well, it's difficult to nail 
down some of the particular details in this chapter, so I won't even 
try. We'll get the main lesson from 
the passage that I think is very clear, very powerfully communicated 
by this particular vision of the golden lampstand. And that's 
what's set out in verses one to five. It says the angel who 
talked with me came back and awakened me. So the angel continues 
in this presentation of these night visions. Remember, Zechariah 
and Haggai were the prophets of the post-exilic time. They 
were sent very specifically to encourage the people of God. 
They were sent as preachers to exhort the people of God to continue 
to build the temple. Remember that their city, their 
nation, their religious focal point had been destroyed about 
70 years prior. And so now they've come out of 
that exile. They've come out of captivity. 
They've returned back to their land because of the decree of 
Cyrus. And they initially started by 
laying the foundation. But because of some opposition 
in the land, they stopped and they put the building progress 
or put the building plan on hold. And so God in 520 BC dispatches 
Haggai and Zechariah to rouse the people and to call them to 
repentance and to call them to build this temple that would 
be, again, their religious focus or the center portion of their 
religious life as God's people. Now, remember that this was on 
February 15th. in 519 B.C., where the prophet 
received these various visions. And there is a pattern given 
by the visions themselves. Perhaps when we're all finished 
with the particular visions, I'll try and make some sense 
out of it at that particular point. But there is rhyme, there 
is reason. The book is constructed very 
tightly, very cogently, and very systematically. So, the fifth 
vision that we're concerned with tonight, I would say, describes 
the power of the Holy Spirit. That's the thrust of this particular 
vision. In the building of this physical 
structure, they were in utter dependence upon God, the Spirit. This is represented by this lampstand 
with the two olive trees that has a constant and uninterrupted 
flow of oil. As we look at this vision again, 
it's very difficult to determine the specifics of it. I'll just 
read one commentator, Walter Kaiser. He says this lampstand 
could not be the seven branched menorah You know, that seven 
branched candlestick that you see sometimes very popular in 
the Jewish world, very popular at Christmas time around here. 
Always wondered why somebody would put up a menorah in their 
window at the season that celebrates the birth of Christ. It seems 
a bit odd to me, but Kaiser says this is not what it is. If you 
look online or you look in Bible commentaries or all of that, 
some will say that it is the seven lamp or the seven branch 
candlestick called the menorah. But it probably isn't that. Kaiser 
says this lampstand could not be the seven branch menorah known 
to us from the famous Titus Roman arch representation found in 
later Jewish art. Rather, it was probably a cylindrical 
pedestal made out of gold with a bowl on top. The bowl, or in 
some translations, the flared feature on top of the column, 
had seven lamps, each with seven pinches, or sprouts, to hold 
seven wicks. Similar lamps, or saucer-shaped 
lamps, dating from 900 B.C., with seven pinches around their 
lip, have been found at Dan and Dawson. And so again, while it 
may be difficult to sort of visualize this, the idea is that there 
is a constant flow of oil based on the olive trees on either 
side of the lampstand. This intricacy of bowls and tubes 
and all of that just shows us the facility by which the oil 
is dispersed where it needs to be. And again, I believe the 
rub is verse six. When he comes to make application, 
when he comes to put this into concrete terms, he says, this 
is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, not by might nor by power, but 
by my spirit. So the olive oil in this particular 
vision represents the constant and uninterrupted flow of the 
Holy Spirit upon the post-exilic community while they are building 
the temple. And I think specifically in verses 
6 to 10, we have three primary lessons. And this is the focus 
of our study this evening. Or it might be the application 
of the vision to their particular context. And that first lesson 
is the primacy of God's Spirit. Sometimes people think the Spirit 
came on Pentecost and that prior to that there was no Holy Spirit. That's simply not the case. God's 
people have always been possessors of the Holy Spirit. Remember 
that Psalm of David in Psalm 51. Take not thine Holy Spirit 
from me. At the transfer of civil authority, 
the Spirit departed from Saul and the Spirit came upon David. The day of Pentecost was a new 
epic in redemptive history. The Spirit comes in a mighty 
way, in a powerful way, but the Spirit of God was active and 
present in this particular era as well. And that's the emphasis 
that God wants to communicate to Zerubbabel. Remember, Zerubbabel 
is the governor. He is tasked with leading the 
people. He is tasked to make sure that 
this temple is rebuilt, to make sure that they do those things 
in obedience to God's holy law. And so God sends this vision 
to Zechariah so that Zechariah would go to Zerubbabel and hence 
to all the people as well to tell them this is not something 
we are doing in our own strength. This is not something we are 
doing according to our own power. This is not something we do by 
our own might. In fact, God says not by might 
nor by power, but by my spirit. This refers to the constant and 
uninterrupted supply of the Holy Spirit. Now, think of this, brethren, 
with a new covenant perspective. The Holy Spirit was absolutely 
necessary for the physical building or reconstruction of the physical 
temple. They needed the Holy Spirit in 
order to build this this structure in Israel. How much more do we 
need the Holy Spirit to engage in the sorts of things we do? 
We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities 
and powers. There are a lot of enemies targeted 
against the church. We cannot go in our own strength, 
we cannot go in our own might, we cannot go in our own ability. 
We must be dependent upon the Holy Spirit. Zechariah 4 is as 
Pentecostal a message as is Acts 2. You cannot undertake to do 
for God in your own strength or by your own ability. Thomas 
McCombs, he says here the word rule, which is the word spirit 
assures the presence of God in the building project. The post 
exilic prophet Haggai echoes this in chapter two and verse 
five. You can look there for just a 
moment. It's one book back, Haggai chapter two, verse five. This was a time where God encourages 
the people in the building of the temple. Notice how he encourages 
in Haggai two, five, according to the word that I covenanted 
with you when you came out of Egypt. So my spirit remains among 
you. Do not fear. You can undertake 
to build the temple. You can undertake to witness 
for Christ. You can undertake to worship 
God on a Lord's Day. All these things you can do because 
God supplies the Holy Spirit and he supplies it in a constant 
and uninterrupted flow, the same way that this lampstand receives 
the oil from the trees standing on either side with all of the 
elaborate system to disperse that oil. God is in control. God is for his people. But he 
says, because his spirit was actively present among the people, 
the success of their work did not depend on their feeble strength. And that's what they had. Remember, 
they're coming out of captivity. They're coming out of a seventy 
year period in slavery. And they came out not with a 
great deal of numbers. The total was roughly 50,000 
people at this particular time. And as we'll see in just a few 
moments, when you compare the book of Ezra, they were under 
opposition. It wasn't like they wandered 
back to Jerusalem and everybody said, hey, welcome back to your 
homeland. It's good to see you again. Is 
there any way we can assist you in building the temple? No, they 
were opposed. They met constant obstacles throughout 
this period of restoration. He goes on to say, without God's 
active presence in history, they could not have overcome the powerful 
forces that oppose them, nor move the hearts of kings to help 
them. That is so perceptive. God, through 
the prophet, is encouraging the people that it is not by their 
might It is not by their power, but it is by the Holy Spirit 
that calls them to dependence, that calls them to prayer, that 
calls them to obedience, that calls them to faithfulness. And 
it does encourage them for the task at hand so that they realize 
that what they're undertaking isn't simply what everybody else 
does. They are living in obedience 
to the God of heaven who has commissioned them to construct 
the temple where God and sinners could meet together. Now, as 
we consider this in our own time and in our own context, not by 
might nor by power, but by my spirit, church growth will not 
be promoted by our ingenuity. Church growth will not be promoted 
by our programs. Church growth will not be promoted 
by our abilities. Church growth is not promoted 
by anything, save the spirit of the Triune God. When somebody 
says, boy, your church is small, you ought to do this, that or 
the other. That's not accurate. We need to live in dependence 
upon the Holy Spirit of God. We need to faithfully preach, 
faithfully teach, continue steadfastly in the apostles doctrine, in 
fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers. But we 
must realize that it's God the Lord. It is Jesus Christ specifically 
who has promised in Matthew 16 to build his church. Many of 
you have heard of Martin Lloyd-Jones. He was a very famous preacher 
in the 20th century in London. Well, he succeeded a man by the 
name of G. Campbell Morgan. G. Campbell 
Morgan actually brought Lloyd-Jones to Westminster Chapel with the 
view to having Lloyd-Jones succeed him after he retired and then 
died. Well, G. Campbell Morgan said 
this. Now, remember, he's writing earlier in the 20th century, 
but I really believe it applies just as powerfully today. He says, not by resources, nor 
by resoluteness. OK, this is a translation or 
an interpretation of not by might nor by power. Now, it's good 
if we have resources and it's good to be resolute. But when 
God adds to the church or when God does a mighty work, we don't 
pat ourselves on the back for our resources or for our resoluteness. We praise God, the spirit for 
his power. He says, not by resources nor 
by resoluteness. These may be high, pure, mighty, 
but in so far as they are human, they cannot accomplish the work 
of God in the world. We need to keep that in mind. 
We are seeking to do spiritual things that only the spirit can 
do. He uses means he uses people. He uses churches. But the victory, 
the power, the glory all belong to him. He goes on to say, by 
might and by power, by resources and resoluteness, we may be able 
to legislate for ourselves. We can do much on the human level, 
but by these things we cannot shine as lights in the world. 
We are very far from believing that. Now, he says, if I were 
asked today to give what I think to be the reason for the comparative 
failure of the Church of God in missionary enterprise, I would 
say that we are terribly in danger of imagining that by our own 
splendid resources and resoluteness, we can accomplish the work. Sometimes 
you hear these engineers of missions and evangelism and the way they 
talk and the way they carry on and the way they plan and their 
resoluteness and their resources. One scratches his head and comes 
away and says, where's the spirit? Where's the Holy Spirit? Are 
you acting in dependence upon him? Are you stepping out in 
faith upon him? Are you looking to Jesus as the 
great architect and builder of the church? Or do you think that 
in this 21st century you have figured out a better way to do 
it than those first century guys? I mean, think about it. What 
did the apostles do? They wandered into towns and 
they preach the gospel. They met with people. They talk. 
They defended the truth. And that was what they did. Think about the great missionary 
movements that have been conducted in history. What did Terry do? He went to India and he spent 
several years, several years before he ever saw a convert. Some today might say, why are 
you wasting your time? If you don't have 100 converts 
in the first year, forget about it. Leave. Unless, of course, 
you're one of those potential converts. I wouldn't want them 
to leave. Stay there until I'm converted. 
And in our 21st century, with all of our technology, with all 
of our ability, is it really that much better than going to 
a people, loving them and teaching them the Bible. That is what 
it's all about. It's not by might. It's not by power, but it is 
by the spirit. of the living and true God. That's 
what Zechariah was to communicate to Zerubbabel and to the people 
of the post-exilic community. That is a message that needs 
to be communicated today. This is what we need to hear. 
Again, not suggesting we get rid of all our resources, that 
we get rid of any resoluteness and determination. We do those 
things, but we do them in utter dependence upon God, the Holy 
Spirit. Notice the second lesson with 
reference to the application of this vision. It is the efficacy 
of God's grace. I realize sometimes we use words 
that we don't always define because we assume everybody already knows 
them. Efficacy, as you may be able 
to figure out, deals with being effective. We talk about the 
efficacy of Christ's redemption. We mean that it's effective to 
accomplish the purpose it was intended to do. And in this particular 
section, we see the efficacy of God's grace after this declaration, 
not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of 
Hosts. Notice the challenge. Who are you? Oh, great mountain 
before Zerubbabel, you shall become a plane. Sometimes in 
the Bible, mountains refer to civil power. And in this particular 
context, it may refer to any obstacle, any civil authority, 
any power that would seek to oppose the building of this temple. 
We see in history how God got around that. God changed the 
heart of the power. You know where the money came 
from to build this second temple. Fifty thousand people coming 
out of captivity in Babylon don't have a lot of dough. They don't 
have a lot of shackles. They don't have a lot of drachmas. 
They don't have a lot of minas. They don't have a lot of loonies 
and toonies. You know what God did? He moved Darius to orchestrate 
this plan. Read all about it in the book 
of Ezra. What's the king do when he authorizes them to build? He says, take money and give 
it to them so that they can buy what they need and so that they 
can build this temple. That's the way he leveled that 
mountain. If the civil authority opposes 
you, well, I'll just work in his heart to not only not oppose 
you, but to actually finance this operation. So you see what 
the prophet says in light of the fact that the spirit of God 
has been supplied constantly and in an uninterrupted fashion. He asks, who are you? Oh, great 
mountain before Zerubbabel, you shall become a plane and he shall 
bring forth the capstone. That means the final piece of 
the temple. The capstone is not the cornerstone. It's not the foundation. The 
promises made by the prophet to the exiles that they would, 
in fact, be successful in this building program. They would 
see that capstone ultimately be placed upon this temple structure. And what would they attribute 
it to? They say with shouts of grace, grace to it. In other words, they wouldn't 
finish the temple and say, look at what wonderful things we have 
done for ourselves. Look at what majestic things 
we have built for ourselves. You remember Nebuchadnezzar before 
God humbled him? What did he do? He looked at 
his vast empire. He looked at his vast kingdom 
and he got proud. He got puffed up. He looked upon 
this kingdom and he began to take praise or began to praise 
himself for what good things he had accomplished. That's why 
God humbled him. That's why God sent him out to 
live like a beast so that upon his return, he would confess 
that God most high rules. Very similar to Herod in Acts 
chapter 12. Remember when the people are 
saying the voice of a God and not of a man? Well, he didn't 
humble himself. He didn't repent. And God killed 
him and ate him up with worms right before the audience. Pretty 
amazing display of God's sovereignty. So when they finish this temple 
structure, they say grace, grace. We are here by God's grace and 
we have accomplished this building by God's grace. It is significant, 
McCombs says, that the people attribute the work to God, crying 
grace, grace to the stone. They do not celebrate their own 
abilities or national might, for they had little of that. 
The people learned of the mighty power of the Holy Spirit. You see, all of this is just 
as New Testament ish as the New Testament is. This is what Paul 
says to the Corinthians. First Corinthians one twenty 
six. Not many wise, not many noble among you. You're not in 
Christ because you've accomplished things. You're not in Christ 
because you've done things. You're in Christ because God 
is gracious. And that's what they would confess 
when they put that capstone upon the temple structure. And the 
third lesson is the certainty of God's plan, the certainty 
of God's plan. Notice in verse eight. Moreover, 
the word of the Lord came to me saying the hands of Zerubbabel 
have laid the foundation of this temple. His hand shall also finish 
it. Then you will know that the Lord 
of hosts has sent me to you. For who has despised the day 
of small things for these seven rejoice to see the plumb line 
in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, 
which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth. God promises 
that his plan will come to pass. He says it. His hands shall also 
finish it. Now, imagine if you were Zerubbabel 
at this time. This would be an encouraging 
word. This would be just what the doctor ordered. You need 
encouragement. God sends an angel of the Lord 
to give this vision to Zechariah. Zechariah says to Zerubbabel, 
I need to speak with you. This fifth vision particularly 
relates to you, Zerubbabel. And God has promised that you 
will, in fact, finish the temple. How do you think that would send 
him back to his work? How do you think that would affect 
the people of God? They wouldn't sluggishly and 
lazily and lethargically just sort of meander about having 
that promise that God would finish the work, would send them with 
a spring in their step, would cause them to to take up their 
hammers, to take up their their trowels, to take up whatever 
tools that they were assigned and to do it earnestly and to 
do it fervently. Well, the church today has been 
given a promise that the church will be built. It isn't a speculation. It isn't a perhaps it isn't a 
possibility. Jesus Christ speaks very clearly 
in Matthew 16. I will build my church. So does that promise affect us 
in like manner? Do we go about our task with 
a spring on our staff? Do we go about our task with 
hope, with a bit of positive energy, if I can use the language 
from the world? Can we go about these things 
celebrating and realizing that there is one much greater than 
us who is in the business of building his church? Brethren, 
that's how it functioned in this particular instance. If it wasn't, 
if it was the case that these visions were seen by the prophet 
in 519, the temple was finished in 516. That's pretty amazing. They didn't have Makitas, they 
didn't have Bobcats, they didn't have the machinery that we currently 
possess. They didn't possess all of those 
resources, but what they had was the spirit. They had the 
promise, and they therefore went in faith to their task happily. That is how the church ought 
to function. The efficacy or the certainty, 
rather, of God's plan. Notice what he says in verse 
10. For who has despised the day 
of small things? Notice this, this is a reproof. 
Don't despise the day of small things to God's normal plan isn't 
bringing the people out after 70 years, putting them back into 
Jerusalem, opening heaven and dropping a structure into the 
midst of their camp. That's not how God works. Right. He doesn't just drop things out 
of heaven, say, there you go. When Jesus said, I will build 
my church, he envisioned at least 20 centuries. He envisioned the 
Protestant Reformation, he envisioned the 21st century. He doesn't 
just drop it into the laps of his people, no. And what do his 
people sometimes do? They despise the day of small 
things. They begin to look around and 
they say, well, this isn't the way God described it, so he must 
not be with us. This isn't the way the Bible 
says it, so it must not be true. I believe we're guilty of that, 
brethren. We are guilty of not believing 
the promises of God because we despise the day of small things. They faced several oppositions 
in this building program. One of the problems, after they 
laid the foundation for the second temple, the older people complained. They grumbled. Why? Because it's 
not like what we had under Solomon. They wanted to go back to Solomon. 
Isn't yesterday always the best of days? You ever meet people 
like that? Oh, back then, back then, back 
then. Look, you're in the present and you're supposed to be going 
forward. Don't despise the day of small things because God hasn't 
dropped a structure into your laps. Do not believe or assume 
that he is inactive. This applies to the church as 
well. This applies when we don't always see what we believe are 
great results. We preach, we teach, we pray, 
we labor, we fast, we cry, we do whatever, and it doesn't seem 
as if God is blessing. Well, it could be the fact that 
we are despising the day of small things. We need to realize that 
each institution, each body of people, everything has a small 
beginning. And this is the way God purposed 
it to be. Remember Daniel's vision, or 
when he's interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's vision. Nebuchadnezzar sees this 
great, big, mighty image. And it is a composite of the 
various world empires or the various kingdoms. And then he 
sees this small stone. And what is this small stone 
do? But it knocks down this image, this little tiny stone. But then, 
you know what? That stone, it keeps growing. 
It keeps growing. It keeps going forward. It becomes 
a great and a mighty mountain. That is the kingdom of God. It 
starts small. Isn't this what Jesus taught 
in the kingdom? Terrible. A woman leavens or 
puts leaven into the lump of dough and what happens? It takes 
a little while, but it pervasively influences the entirety. What 
about the parable of the mustard seed? What's the mustard seed 
like? It's the smallest of all the 
seeds. But once you plant it, what happens? You get a great increase. You 
get great growth. Brethren, the lesson for us is 
to not despise the day of small things. We need to realize that 
God is faithful to his word. God is going to deliver on all 
of his promises. One man said that this event, 
the rebuilding of the temple, would also affirm the presence 
of God's spirit with them, imparting his strength to their feeble 
efforts. The greatest of efforts and institutions 
all have had small beginnings. The church began with a handful 
of timorous disciples. Think about it. Who did Jesus 
select? He didn't select the highest 
profile guys. You take a CEO in a company, 
what does he do? He assembles the best team. We 
hear pastors do that. They assemble their team. They 
hand select and hand pick guys that are proven in their character 
and ability. And they assemble their team 
for maximum benefit. Jesus sees fishermen. He says, 
come put your nets down and follow me. I'm going to make you fishers 
of men. Who would have ever thought that this movement of Christianity 
would have begun with Peter? One of the people, Peter. Peter denied the Lord to a servant 
girl. I mean, brethren, if that doesn't 
magnify and celebrate the grace of God. See, what's great about 
Peter is his God. What's great about Peter is his 
savior. That's what the gospel is designed 
to promote the greatness and the glory of God most high. He 
says the greatest efforts of efforts and institutions, all 
of that small beginnings. The church began with a handful 
of timorous disciples and now its domain is in the world or 
is the world. If you look from a satellite 
to Christian influence in the first century, it was a small 
matchstick sized light. You look from that same satellite 
today and there's a lot more light on this globe. It's not 
complete. Not utopia. They're still sinners. We're still here. But what happened? That one matchstick light. The 
hands of 12 men committed to justification by faith alone 
and the atoning work of Jesus Christ started preaching, started 
teaching, started discipling. What happened? God started planting 
churches throughout the region. What happened? God sent Paul 
to respond to the Macedonian cry for help. The gospel now 
goes to Europe. What's happened in Europe and 
the history of the world? God is blessed. God has sent 
his truth. And, you know, God is still doing 
that. God hasn't stopped. God hasn't ceased. God isn't 
over. It may appear to be a day of 
small things, but Christ shall have dominion. That's what the 
Bible says. Large numbers of adherence or 
vast amounts of wealth are not necessarily a mark of blessing 
on a work of God. Just because you don't have the 
best facilities or the most numbers doesn't mean you're not the real 
deal. I find this to be an encouraging chapter of Holy Scripture. So, 
those are the three lessons, the main idea in this chapter. Again, to visualize this lamp 
and the flow of oil and all that sort of thing is a bit difficult, 
but these three things we ought to take away. The primacy of 
God's spirit, the efficacy of God's grace, and the certainty 
of God's plan. With those things in his mind, 
Zechariah went to promote encouragement to Zerubbabel, who then in turn 
spoke to the people and the people went about their work with joy 
and with thanksgiving. And then he explains the symbols. 
And I just want you to notice something in verses 13 and 14. 
Then he answered me and said, Do you not know what these are? 
Notice that Zechariah asks a question. The angel says, You don't know 
this? No, I don't. Please explain it to me. Calvin 
says it just shows us our need to study that much more. He asks, 
what do these things mean, he said, verse 14, these are the 
two anointed ones who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth. 
Here's what I think he's speaking about. This olive tree, olive 
tree represented the king and the priest. We got the priest 
in Joshua, the high priest, chapter three. We got the king or a king 
like figure in the governor, which is Zerubbabel. The idea 
here is that God dispenses, God supplies his spirit through means 
in this instance, through the governor and through the priest. 
Now there's movement in the prophet Zechariah. There's movement to 
chapter six. where there is one who will function 
as both king and priest. Notice in Zechariah six, verse 
twelve, speak to him, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, 
saying, Behold, the man whose name is the branch from his place. He shall branch out and he shall 
build the temple of the Lord. This helps us understand the 
Gospels. This helps us understand John 
two, when Jesus said, destroy this temple and in three days 
I will raise it up. And they're thinking about Herod's 
temple or this second temple. It had had some issues or it 
had some problems. So it took some time for them 
to restore it. That's why Jesus contemporary 
said it took 46 years to build this temple. And are you going 
to raise it up in three days? John, the apostle said he is 
speaking. about the temple of his body. The branch is not coming to set 
up some future millennial temple where animal sacrifices will 
be reinstituted. That is to go backward in history. 
What Jesus comes to do in His person and in His work is to 
be the true temple. He is to be the fulfillment or 
the antitype of what the temple pointed to. He is reality, not 
shadow. Notice verse 13. Yes, he shall 
build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory and shall 
sit and rule on his throne. So he shall be a priest on his 
throne and the council of peace shall be between them both. So 
in Zechariah setting all of tree one, all of tree to the political 
and the ecclesiastical authority whom God mediates or God sends 
his spirit through. In the new covenant, it is the 
king priest who sits upon the throne where he ever lives to 
make intercession for his people and where he rules and reigns 
over them. So that is Zechariah for the 
fifth vision received by the prophet on February 15th, 519. I just want to close with a quote 
from TV more with reference to the sin of despising the day 
of small things. And I may not be preaching to 
you, but I'm certainly preaching to me because I have often struggled 
with this, not maybe despising it. Well, probably I did, but 
wanting so much more in terms of God's blessing and that sort 
of a thing. Here's what more says. It is 
not only unwise, but it is wicked to be disheartened because of 
the external feebleness of the church. Compared with the work 
she has to do and the enemy she has to encounter, God is her 
strength, her glory and her hope. And to despair of her is to deny 
God. We cannot judge based on our 
assessment. There is one who is in heaven, 
who has promised to build his church. Our task, our responsibility 
is to depend on the spirit, to walk by faith and to obey that 
master builder. And if you are here tonight and 
lampstands and oil and all these things are only confusing you, 
you need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what all 
of this points to. While they were pounding nails 
onto that second temple that was a type of the one who would 
come to fulfill all that the temple symbolized. It is the 
Lord Jesus who by his perfect life and by his substitutionary 
death at Calvary and through his resurrection That is the 
means, the only means by which we have salvation. By looking 
to Christ, believing the gospel, we will know everlasting life. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your word and we thank you for the prophet Zechariah. 
We thank you for the Christ centeredness of this word. And we just pray 
that you would help us to be dependent upon your spirit to 
realize that the work we undertake is not by might, not by power, 
but by your spirit. And Father, we thank you that 
if we big evil men love to give good gifts to our children, how 
much more will our heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those 
who ask? We ask, we seek, we knock, and 
we pray that you would supply all of our needs in Christ Jesus. 
And it's in his name that we pray. Amen.