5/1/2013

NOT BY MIGHT NOR BY POWER BUT BY THE SPIRITOF THE LORD

Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? Bewitch - To fascinate; to gain an ascendancy over by charms or incantation; Gal 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Gal 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Foolish - an-o'-ay-tos unintelligent; by implication sensual, carnal Made perfect - ep-ee-tel-eh'-o - to fulfill further (or completely), execute; by implication to terminate, undergo: - accomplish, do, finish, perform. this is a dissention from higher to lower beginning w/ spirit and trying to finish with flesh while this scripture is specifically speaking about judaizers who were those who contended that the Christians still had to do the works of the law including circumcision and such to be in right standing with god. The principle is applied to us today in that we must not drift too far from God. We must always be influenced by the Holy Ghost. We should not have been more spiritually inclined while we were seeking the Holy Ghost than we are after we have received the Holy Ghost. Having at first been taken up with spiritual things, at some point due to the dulling and sedating effect of flesh we are no longer as interested in a higher life in Jesus Christ. GAL 1:6-7 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel- 7

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NOT BY MIGHT NOR BY POWER BUT BY THE SPIRITOF THE LORD

which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. As a result the church was deserting what Paul had taught them Not deserting the church, but what they had been taught. b. They had been hearing what was on the outward appearance a form of gospel, but it wasnt really a gospel at all! c. They were confused because there were people trying to pervert the gospel. Pauls strong response: Gal 1:8-9 - But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! 1. The Jewish people had just come through a very difficult time of history, they had been captive for many years, and their homeland had been destroyed. a. At this point in the book of Zechariah however many of them had returned home to live, the city had been rebuilt. b. The temple of God however was not in existence. c. They knew their history however of the great Temple of God Solomon had built, and now Zerubbabel was encouraging them to build a new one. 2. They were weak, still recovering from a difficult time and they were being asked to believe God to rebuild His temple. 3. While God was pleased to see them restored to the land, He was very concerned to see them restored to a relationship with Him also! a. God's concern was not just national, it was spiritual.

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NOT BY MIGHT NOR BY POWER BUT BY THE SPIRITOF THE LORD

b. The Temple of God was the symbol of their life with God, thus it needed to be built or they would forget their God. 4. The people however had doubts about their ability to build God a house, they just didn't see how it would be possible! a. So many things for God would never happen if we stay full of doubts. b. If the doubters had their way, even though their logic seems correct at times, nothing much for God would get accomplished. ILLUS: The following statements are taken from official documents, newspapers and magazines widely read during their day. Listen to what the "authorities" had to say: 1840 - "Anyone traveling at the speed of thirty miles per hour would surely suffocate." 1878 - "Electric lights are unworthy of serious attention." 1901 - "No possible combination can be united into a practical machine by which men shall fly." 1926 - (from a scientist) "This foolish idea of shooting at the moon is basically impossible." 1930 - (another scientist) "To harness the energy locked up in matter is impossible." There have always been those who said, "It can't be done." Yes, even the experts can be wrong. But the real tragedy is that 99 percent of the people believed them. -- Source Unknown 5. God tells them that they need not fear, it won't be by "might, (perhaps human strength) or power, (possibly political power) but by my Spirit (God's power!)" that the job will get done. a. They just needed to believe and obey! b. Even the "mighty mountain" (the biggest obstacles thrown at them) will "become level ground" as they obey the Lord and believe that God will enable them. 4:7 c. In fact, God tells them that the day will come when they will see Zerubbabel lay the capstone on the finished building and they will shout at that time "God bless it, God bless it!" 4:9

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NOT BY MIGHT NOR BY POWER BUT BY THE SPIRITOF THE LORD

B. Critics 4:10 1. In spite of all the encouragement from God and the encouragement from God's servant Zerubbabel, the critics come out and challenge the ability they have to build a new temple even with God's help. a. Whenever you attempt to do anything for God you can expect there will be some critic to tell you why it can't be done! b. God asks them not to despise the small beginnings of the work. 3. The truth of the matter is that anything significant done for God will likely go through a small and impossible stage! ILLUS: "Let's build a bridge across the Niagara," someone proposed nearly a century ago. Great idea, it would save miles of travel and solve many problems. But how were they to begin? The canyon walls were too steep, and the rapids were too wild to get that first strand across from cliff to cliff. Then someone got a bright idea. They'd offer a ten dollar prize to the kid who could fly a kite from one side to the other. That's how the first string got across. It was then connected to larger string, and it in turn was connected to a slender cable. And the slender cable was connected to the strong cable that made the entire construction possible. When the project was first announced, the critics laughed at the project. When they heard that a "kite was going to solve the problem," the sophisticated engineers had a field day. Well, history had the last laugh. One young boy, Homan Walsh, flew the first string across the chasm with his kite in 1848. He succeeded and the process worked just as it was envisioned. The boy collected his ten dollars; the great suspension bridge was started with a single string. -- Source Unknown 3. While the beginnings of this new temple would indeed be small, they were not to despise it, they will rejoice when they see the day Zerubbabel has the plumb line or possibly cap stone in his hand to show that God indeed did help them.

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NOT BY MIGHT NOR BY POWER BUT BY THE SPIRITOF THE LORD

II. GOD'S PROVISION ILLUS: James Black, formerly of Free St. Georges in Edinburgh, describes a trip he took through the tulip fields of Holland. He says that the beautiful beds of flowers were divided by canals which were crossed by foot-wide planks. As Dr. Black and his party visited the various beds of brilliant flowers they had to cross these little canals on the narrow planks. When they came to a canal that was twelve feet wide, they hesitated. The plank seemed so narrow. Would the owner of the field make a wider bridge for them across the canal? No. He blew a whistle and a man came and handed them a thin pole which made it easy to cross the canal on the narrow plank. Dr. Black says that he then made a marvelous discovery. "How easily you can cross the narrowest plank if only you have something to hold on to." You can go through life with all its tensions, all its uncertainties and all its changes if you have something to hold on to."My times are in Thy hands." -- William Austin, Pastor's Annual (Zondervan, 1967), p. 256. 2. The Church's success is not the result of man's clever abilities, it is the success of God's Spirit at work in individuals that come together to make up His Church! 4. We must live in such a way as to believe that God really is at work in His Church, that He very much desires to have His temple be a great structure for ministry. ILLUS: Sometimes it's important to be very up front with your husband when changes need to be made. Early in their marriage, Martin Luther's wife watched him battle bouts of depression, even question God's willingness or ability to help him through a difficult trial. Without saying a word, she donned a black dress and veil, reserved for times of mourning. When Luther asked why she was dressed that way, she commented, "Because

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NOT BY MIGHT NOR BY POWER BUT BY THE SPIRITOF THE LORD

God is dead. It's obvious by the way you're acting."-- Unpublished class notes from Dr. John Hannah, Church History 201, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1976. b. If we are not careful we can forget too that God is still building a great Church! Zec 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, 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.