An Angel Visits Zechariah
By Senior Pastor Dr. Bill Rains | April 28, 2024
Open your Bibles to the Old Testament book of Zechariah, chapter 4, verses 1-14. This message, "An Angel Visits Zechariah," is the 13th in our series on encounters with angels. Let’s pray: Father, thank You for this Youth Service Sunday and our wonderful children, teens, and young adults using their talents for You. We’re grateful for parents and grandparents investing in their spiritual lives, countering the world’s pull. Help me preach this text, though I feel inadequate. Save the unsaved and encourage us all in Jesus’ name, Amen.
In Zechariah 4, an angel awakens the prophet from sleep and shows him a vision: a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps…and two olive trees by it. Puzzled, Zechariah asks, What are these, my lord? The angel explains, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. The vision promises Zerubbabel, Judah’s governor, victory over obstacles—Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain—and completion of the temple with shouts of Grace, grace unto it. The olive trees are the two anointed ones—Zerubbabel and Joshua, the high priest—sustaining God’s light through His Spirit.
God’s Work Is Just That—God’s Work
This vision reminds us that God’s work belongs to Him alone. Zerubbabel and Joshua faced discouragement rebuilding the temple amid opposition, but the angel declared, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. It wasn’t their strength but God’s Spirit enabling them. We often view church—preaching, teaching, singing—as “our” work, but it’s His. I’ve fallen into thinking it’s “my” ministry, only to grow discouraged. Like Peter walking on water, we thrive when our eyes are on Jesus, not ourselves. And he is the head of the body, the church…that in all things he might have the preeminence (Colossians 1:18). When we see it as God’s work, not ours, we stand on safe ground and serve with joy.
God Will Remove Whatever Obstacles He Chooses
The angel assures Zerubbabel that God removes obstacles: Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof. Delays and opposition didn’t stop God’s plan; He promised completion. In our service, obstacles—time, resistance, or circumstances—can loom large, but God says, I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass (Isaiah 45:2). We mustn’t create our own barriers, like letting jobs pull kids from church, nor take matters into our hands. Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not…ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed…it shall be done (Matthew 21:21). Trust God’s timing—sometimes an obstacle is a stepping stone for growth.
We Must Value Small Things
Finally, we learn to cherish small beginnings: For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel’s task seemed stalled, but God valued every step. In a world obsessed with “big,” God uses the small—a boy’s lunch to feed thousands, Samson’s jawbone, Moses’ rod, Elijah’s cloud like a man’s hand (1 Kings 18:44). On January 7, 1979, two families started MBC in a small civic league building; 45 years later, look what God built! Small kindnesses, deeds, and moments matter. And the lord said unto him, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled (Luke 14:23). God wants His house full—big or small, every step counts.
