Shepherd's Lighthouse Church

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.  Zech 4:6

The Scriptures contain many illustrations of the truth laid out in this passage. 

The examples move from the parting of the Red Sea 1500 years before the Cross to the Lord’s calming of the storm on the Sea of Galilee.

Between those two events we see David’s encounter with the Philistine giant, Goliath.

Let’s look at  1Sam 17:40-51.

Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good- looking. So the Philistine said to David, “ Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands.”

 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.

And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

Notice what it was that brought Goliath down - a smooth stone – just one. 

A stone smoothed by the water in the brook.   

The removal of roughness might be speaking of spiritual maturity brought on by the washing of the water of the Word.

And why five?

There are those who would teach that the five stones represented the five-fold ministry of Eph 4:11 working together like the fingers of a hand -  And He Himself gave some to be apostles; some prophets; some evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

But five is also the number of Grace. 

Grace - which is the very Spirit of God. 

Charis - grace:  God’s influence on the heart and its manifestation in the life of the believer.

Grace is the manifestation of Divine Will in a child of God.

It is God’s purpose that we be channels of His divine Will.

It is God’s grace that enables the believer to proclaim that Jesus is Lord and resist the Devil.

It is the work of the Holy Spirit on the soul of a yielded vessel that brings stability in the midst of chaos. 

It is His presence that imparts the strength to withstand the onslaught of the Devil and carry us through to victory over impossible circumstances and conditions.

Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.  Zech 4:6

Look at the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus 14:19-22  

And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

There are those who believe that a strong wind blew the water into a wall. 

But verse 22 tells us that the water was a wall on their right and on their left.

Not likely that a literal movement of air could do that.

But the Hebrew word translated “wind” is “ruwach” – the same word that is used for spirit.  Qodesh Ruwach – Holy Spirit - Breath of God.  (Gen 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”)

In the parting of the Red Sea we can see how an impossible obstacle is removed as the Spirit of God is projected into the adversity.  

What is God trying to tell us?

God’s Grace introduces order into the chaos. 

Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.  Zech 4:6

Let’s look at Jesus.

Matthew 3:16 tells us, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.”

I believe that Jesus was filled with the Spirit of God from conception and that the incident at His baptism was simply for the sake of the witnesses.

In His three years of public ministry Jesus showed us in both word and deed the awesome power of grace to calm the storms of life and bring the arrogant to their knees. 

With gentleness and great finesse, Jesus toppled the mountains of tradition and changed the direction of the human history.

And as the very definition of Grace He corrected religious error and built a glorious bridge to unite man and God with His own body.

We see this in Hebrews 10:19-20 where we read, “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh...”

Jesus showed that chaos begets chaos. 

But that by the Spirit of God, grace will transform chaos into peace.

After Jesus rose from His grave He appeared to His disciples in the upper room and commisioned them for ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit - He breathed on them. 

John 20:22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Have you received Jesus in the Upper Room - the “alayah?”

Are you confronted by giants that mock you and torment you as Goliath mocked and threatened the army of God? 

Are you discouraged by some impossible obstacle? 

Is there a Red Sea that you must cross?

Do you find the storms of life threatening to overwhelm you or tear you apart?

The answer is within your reach. 

Know the Word of God. 

Believe the Word of God. 

Stand on the promises of God – don’t be a hearer of the Word only.

Hebrews 11:6 declares that, “... without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

The Spirit of God is imparted through His Word - it is the Logos: Divine Mind….

This is the very mind of God that is imparted to those who are born again and members of the body of Christ.

The believer is transformed into an instrument of Divine Grace only by the Holy Spirit of God. 

We are channels through which God breathes order into this fallen world.

Remember, It is not by might nor power but by the Spirit of God that the believer is victorious over any and all adversity.

It is only by union with Divine Mind, by the Word of God, that the mountains placed in our lives by the Enemy can be removed.

 

Amen