Are you a spirit filled Christian
Key Passage: Zechariah 4:6
Date: March 22, 2021
And we’re going to just read one verse to get us started. And then I’ll go back through this chapter a little bit tonight, Zechariah chapter four. Very familiar passage, or a portion of this verse in verse number six, you’ll probably know. I believe it was Billy Sunday. If I remember, I had always had his Bible open to this passage here, Zechariah 4:6. And just a great—great truth we’re going to look at. I try to get the whole chapter in here, a little Bible study in just a moment.
Zechariah, one of those minor prophets. I see it’s taken a little while longer to find it. And I understand that. I’ve been there before. I did not realize we’re at couples retreat, and I was sitting by Jacob. We were turning—you know, they had us turn in different places in the Bible. Somebody told me later on, Jacob was racing me. That’s not fair. He didn’t even tell him we were racing finding things in the Bible, you know. But I understand sometimes those minor prophets can be harder to find. Or you can just cheat like Brother Keith. He’s got it on his phone, you know. I’ll tell you what, there, you know. But that’s all right. Zechariah chapter four. If you’ve got it, would you say amen? Amen. Good deal.
Let me give you just a little background here about Zechariah. You know the children of Israel were in captivity in Babylon for 70 years. They disobeyed, and God said, and we’ll get him the Sabbath years. And he did 70 years. He had told him captivity. And then you remember that God led a new king, and God had already named him about 150 years prior. And remember Cyrus took over, and through Cyrus, God had the Jews that would like to go back, and they went back to rebuild the temple. And you remember, Book of Ezra, they were rebuilding the temple. Nehemiah, the walls, and they rebuilt the walls in 52 days. And the temple—the temple, the foundation of it—they were over there building in the book of Ezra. They had a lot of opposition. You remember, for a while, it got on a pause. It just stopped for years. Then God had two prophets. He raised up two prophets to really prod them to start rebuilding again: Haggai and Zechariah. Remember that? We studied it on Wednesday nights, a year or so in 2019. Remember, Haggai was the older one. He was, we think, around 84 years old, Haggai was. Remember, he’s the one that preached. He said, “It’s not time for you to just dwell in sealed houses while the house of God, the temple, just lies desolate.” And he said, “Go get you some wood and start building.” You remember Haggai? That was just down to earth. That was his message.
Then about two months later, this younger prophet, Zechariah, started preaching. He was a little more, maybe not quite as practical. And the book of Zechariah has a lot of visions in it. And some of the Bible, it’ll have a near truth and then also prophecy. It’s almost like you’re looking through a lens or a telescope, and there are two different lenses in there: one close up and one far away. And the passage we’ll look at tonight has some of that in it. But this vision—we’re going to look at one vision, chapter four. And this vision, God gave Zechariah about all sinners around building the temple. Remember, he went back with that group and he said, “All right, let’s get back to building the temple.” And God used those two preachers to get them back to it. And they did rebuild the temple. That’s kind of the context of what we’re looking at tonight.
But we’re going to just read one verse to start us all, verse number six. Zechariah 4 and verse number 6. If you’re able to, would you please stand as we read God’s word together just to try to show it respect?
Zechariah chapter number four and verse number six: “Then he answered and spake unto me saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel.” Zerubbabel was one of the leaders when they were rebuilding the temple. 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.” You remember when it’s capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, that’s Jehovah. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.”
Would you pray and ask God to speak to our hearts tonight as I ask the same? Father Lord, we do come. I know from your word, Lord, it’s your desire for your people to be spirit-filled. So, Lord, I do ask, would you let that desire burn in our hearts tonight, Lord? Create the desire, give us a personal vision of being spirit-filled. Father, help me to rightly divide your word in this passage, and would you send your Spirit applying it to each individual life? And Lord, we will praise you and thank you for what you do. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen. Thank you so much for standing.
Would you go back to verse number one, verse number one? We’re just going to kind of go through this passage in this chapter tonight. Would you go back to verse number one of Zechariah chapter four? And he says there, “And the angel that talked with me came again.” And this is the seventh vision, some say. He came again and waked me as a man that is waking out of his sleep. Some will say this was given to him while he was sleeping this vision at night, but no, God had woke him up. This angel here woke him up. By the way, it’s always good to be awake and alive for the Lord. Every once in a while, we always need to be shaken up a little bit when we’re just getting in our ruts and routines. And God sent this message, just waking him up. And he said, “I’ve got something to tell you about and talk to you about.”
Verse number two, let’s keep going: “And said unto me, What seest thou?” And I said, “I have looked, and behold, 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 which are upon the top thereof.”
Now, let’s show—we’re just going to kind of go through this. This is typically what people would call the menorah, the candlesticks, seven golden candlesticks. They used it in the tabernacle, in the temple. If you remember, you walked in the most—or the holy place—on the right, the table of showbread, and then the altar of incense. Over here is the candlesticks. And it’s all made out of gold. It was beaten, made by one piece. And it has three old legs coming out on each side, and that formed six, and then one of the middle was seven. On top of that, it had a little bowl, like a little bit of a cereal bowl, if you will, and they put the oil in there. And then the candle, the wick was in there. You remember, over in Revelation, the candlesticks and Jesus, and he trimmed them and so on. I believe this is all part of that. There’s a little extra added here with the pipes.
But just a couple of thoughts about it. Sometimes that could represent the lamp stands and whatnot, Israel. But here’s the thing, the glaring thing: Jesus is the light of the world. Now, I remember when Jesus left, he said, “Hey, you’re the light of the world.” Now, I want you to take that person—if you’re a born-again Christian, you’re the light of the world, Jesus shining through you.
Until the rapture, Jesus is not going to come down here physically and walk on this earth, but he does through his people. We’re called Christians, that means “little Christ.” And Jesus wants to shine through you. If you look at it just on a map, Jesus did not travel very far when he walked on the shores of Galilee 2,000 years ago. It was very limited, if you will, as far as physically where he walked, but now he walks around the world through his people. And we’re to be the light of the world, or to shine brightly so the people at work—some of those will never go to church unless they see the light of Jesus through you, their co-worker. Young people in school—some people are never going to go to church, never go read the Bible. You’re the only Bible they’ll ever read. And we’re to be the light. Jesus said before he left, “You’re the light of the world now.”
Now, it’s interesting, the oil there, the olive oil, represents the Spirit of God. That oil gave those wicks the fuel, the gas, the power to burn. And if we’re going to shine brightly for the world to see Christ through us, we must be fueled by the Spirit of God. He’s the one that makes you shine brightly. That’s interesting. The Holy Spirit doesn’t speak of himself. I remember someone years ago said, I was in a church, a large number of people, maybe a thousand people. And he said, “Man, I’m telling you, the Spirit of God was working there.” And he was telling me about this healing and this little bit of circus show stuff, speaking in other tongues and whatnot. And I said, “No way.” I said, “Did anybody get saved in that service?” He said, “Well, no.” What was the emphasis of that service? The Spirit of God. Now, I’m for emphasizing the Spirit of God. We’re going to do that tonight. The Spirit of God speaks of Jesus. And that oil is there to let that light burn. Jesus is the light of the world. The Holy Spirit doesn’t promote himself; he promotes Jesus. Yes, sir, these three are one, but the Holy Spirit promotes Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is moving in a great way. He’s going to be promoting Jesus Christ. That’s what he does.
So, the light there. Let’s just keep reading. We’re trying to glean some things out of this vision here that God gave Zechariah. Look at verse number three: “And the two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.” Now, there are pipes, and this golden oil, this olive oil, was flowing from these trees into these lamps. I think most Bible scholars would agree with this, but the close—the local view, if you would—most I think would agree with this was two men God was using greatly to build the temple: a man named Zerubbabel, he was the civil leader of that group that was there to build the temple. And then Joshua, he was a priest, a high priest there, he was a religious leader. So you got a civil leader and you got a religious leader. And I think that’s a close-up view, these two olive trees.
And then the farther prophetic view is over in Revelation, chapter 11. We just did it in time series not too long ago. We won’t get into that, but in the end, you remember, there are the two witnesses during the tribulation period. And their ministry is a ministry of power. I mean, the old antichrist in the world trying to kill them, and who—those are men of power. And they die for three days, I believe it is, but then they come back and God takes them home. And I believe it speaks of that in a faraway view.
But let me just try to apply that a little bit to our day and our lives. God was supplying the Spirit through these men, if you will. God still works through spirit-filled men and ladies. In 2021, we get so caught up on methods and mechanics and this new technology and this new way of doing it, but you cannot bypass a spirit-filled Christian. It’s amazing how we get caught up on this new way to do God’s work. Friend, I’m not against all of those, but you cannot bypass a Christian wanting to become holy so the Holy Spirit of God can flow through this. You can’t bypass that. The great need for us to shine brightly with the life of Jesus is for us to have the Spirit of God flowing through us. That was the method that he used: them when they were building the temple, these two men, even in the tribulation period, the men of power. Where do you get that power from? What did they say? “And you will get power,” Acts 1:8, “when the Spirit comes upon you.” That’s the great need.
Listen, the greatest husbands there are are spirit-filled husbands. The greatest wives there are, spirit-filled wives. If you want to make an impact at your workplace, the spirit-filled Christian—they make an impact. That’s when you’re going to shine and burn brightly for the Lord Jesus Christ, when you have the Spirit flowing through you. We get so lost in all the mechanics and methods in our day and time. God works through men and women. I praise the Lord for the radio station, Brother Fagali, different ones have in Iraq. We just had, and I’m for all of that. We support those things and give financially and the way. But, friend, with all the technology and Facebook and YouTube that we use and all the things we have in our day and time, we try to use all those, but we cannot bypass one Christian that loves somebody and cares about them, and they’re living right, and God’s working in that Christian’s life, and another person sees that. You can’t bypass that. You go to a family reunion and somebody says, “Something’s different about you. You’ve changed,” and you say, “That’s because God’s working in my life.” You can’t bypass that in our day and time. We want to use every method in the world, and I’m not saying all of them are bad, but we forget the bottom line is the Spirit of God. That’s where the power comes from. And we’ve got to have Christians that say, “I want to have a clean life so the Holy Spirit can flow through me.” That’s what’s happening here in this passage. God’s using these two olive tree men and people to supply the oil so the light shines brightly.
I say this so often. I’ve worked at some lot of factories when I used to weld for years and years. In fact, one of the people that came to the funeral Friday, he used to work at the place I used to work at in East Chicago, Union Tank Car Company. And I was surprised. Wow, we had a great conversation. It is a large factory in East Chicago, not the cleanest place in the world. In the locker room, you have to have blinders on, everything.
But here’s the thing: you get a dirty old factory, filthy mouth, all the rest of that, and you drop a Christian in the middle of that that is all about themselves—little self-righteous, thinking they’ve got it all together, “Look at me”—and it will repel those men. The world can see through a hypocritical, judgmental, fake Christian just like blink, and it’ll turn them off.
But you drop a spirit-filled Christian in the middle of all that—you can’t explain it. It’s not that person working; it’s God. And those people, some of them have messed-up lives, and they know their lives are messed up for the most part. They’ll see there’s something different about that person, and it’ll attract them. They’ll want to know something. When they need somebody to pray for their uncle or they’re at, they’ll come to that spirit-filled Christian.
And it’s not a matter of knowing the most of the Bible. I’m for Bible knowledge. I’m for all of that. But, friend, it’s for someone that’s just trying to live a holy, clean life, and they’re wanting the Spirit, and they’re begging the Spirit of God to flow through them, and they can see Jesus in that person. Sometimes we can have a lot of Bible knowledge but not be living it. Sometimes knowledge puffeth up, as Corinthians talks about. I’m for all the Bible knowledge. You know I’m for all that. But, friend, you cannot bypass trying to have the Spirit of God flowing through you. That’s the key. That’s what’s going on in the passage.
Let’s just keep reading, if you would. Look at verse number four. Verse number four: “So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my Lord?” Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, “Knowest thou not what these be?” I like just the phrase of Zechariah. And I said, “No, my Lord.” Then he answered, making me say, “This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel.”
Can I stop for just a second? I’m sorry, I keep stopping in the middle of these passages. But think about Zerubbabel: he’s trying to lead these people to build the temple, and there’s a lot of discouragement. They’re just—in some ways, there was rubbish left. You remember the book of Lamentations, yes, and God using Jeremiah to write that, and remember all the smoke and the smoldering of the dead bodies? That was years later, but it’s just heaps. In the book of Nehemiah, trying to build the wall, he said some of the people that were scoffing, making fun of them, they said, “Do you think you’re going to build something out of this rubbish?”
And that’s what Zerubbabel was up against. And they had actually—they had to stop building for a while, just to discourage them. And Zerubbabel is just like me and you. Do you ever feel inadequate to do a work for God? I’m sure Zerubbabel was there. “How can us and our little team of builders rebuild the temple? We don’t have much resources.” I’m sure Zerubbabel was feeling that way. God’s trying to encourage Zerubbabel, speaking directly to him, and he’s given this vision to Zechariah for him.
At verse number six, let’s go back there, would you please? “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.”
Now, friends, can we just stop? Let’s just talk about that for a second. Our temples are not physical temples we want to build. We’re looking to build a new building, but our end result—you know, the end result—that building is going to burn one day. The end result of what all we want is temples. That’s people. Well, no, you know, your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you. Okay? And the temples are people. The Spirit of God lives inside of born-again Christians. And here’s the thing: if we’re going to build temples—I’m talking about where we have marriages straightened out and children growing up living for the Lord, and we have people who have victory in their lives and are winning over addictions and problems and discouragement—if there are going to be temples built, it won’t be by might or power. The best moms ever have been, have been spirit-filled. If you’re going to have temples built in your home, it’ll be by the Spirit of God. If we’re the best Sunday school teachers ever have been, it’s spirit-filled Sunday school teachers. Best preachers—preaching to myself—they’re not those that know everything, because nobody knows it all, got every technique down pat, but it’s spirit-filled preachers. The best soloists and choir and music, it’s spirit-filled.
I remember—I think one of the specials that spoke to my heart the most, years later, I still remember. We were at a church down a dirt road outside of Live Oak, Florida, the middle of nowhere. I mean, you’re just in fields, cow pastures everywhere. You drive down a dirt road, and there’s a church out in the middle of nowhere. And yet this little mom and her son—he was just, I don’t know how old, not very old—got up and sang a song. And they weren’t the best singers in the world. God used that. And they sang about being thankful to God. And they probably could not join a lot of choirs; some choirs would probably kick them out. But I’m telling you, God spoke to my heart. And years later, I still remember how God moved in my heart down at a dirt road, a little bit of church, and a mom and her son, country folk. But man, they sang, and I believe they were spirit-filled when they sang. And it did something to my temple. And that’s what he’s saying: It’s not going to be your might. It’s not going to be your power. If temples are going to be built, it’s going to be built by the Spirit of God. That’s the key. That’s the need of the day and time. That’s the need at family reunions. That’s the need as we go out soul winning.
I was trying to teach our class always, and I try to start it off with a story. Many of you have heard this story; you’ll know it. It’s story number 48. Remember that story, you know? You’ll know it. I’ve seen you’re in Bible College, and they’d send freshmen, say, “Hey, Paul, teach how to go soul winning.” I did everything right. I mean, I followed—you know, I had it all down pat—and nobody wanted to listen to me. And that freshman would go over there, he would mumble, stumble over his words. And I think, “I can’t even understand what in the world you were saying over there,” you know. And God would use him to see three people saved one Saturday. And God said, “It’s not you. I don’t mean all your talent and all the rest of that. It’s the Spirit of God that works.” If temples are going to be built, it must be. It has to be. It’s God’s plan by the Spirit of God.
It’s interesting those words. I don’t know, but I fully understand them today. I’ve honestly studied them many different times: “Not by might.” I was listening to J. Vernon McGee. I wanted to find out what he thought about them. He tends to think “might” is more intellectual, not by brains, and then “power” is the bronze. I’m not sure. Strong’s Concordance—I’ll tell you what Strong’s thinks about the words. Might, according to Strong’s Concordance, probably a force, whether of men’s means or other resources: an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength. It’s not going to be by all that. Strong says power—the definition he gives for it is vigor. Not going to be all our vigor to get the job done. If temples are going to be built, it’ll be built by the Spirit of God.
It’s interesting the first time the word “power” is used in all the Bible is Jacob, where he’s talking to his wives, Rachel and Leah, and he’s talking about their dad. And he says this—remember, he’s about to leave town. He’d been serving Laban for years, over 21 years, I believe it is. And he says, “And you know that with all my power I have served your father.” First time that word used. And God says, “Not by might, not by power.” If I’m working in my flesh trying to get the work of God done to build temples, I can spend all my energy, but if the Spirit of God’s not in it, if temples are built, it’s built by the Spirit of God. That’s what he’s saying, clear as day. And yet he’s encouraging this man, Zerubbabel, that’s trying to get a group of people to build a temple, and he’s probably discouraged and defeated, and the resources are lacking, and there’s been a change of king over in Babylon and a change of the resources and discouragement. And yet God says to that man, he says, “Hey, don’t worry too much about all that: ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.’” Just weak Christians can be spiritual Christians through the Spirit of God. That’s the key if temples are going to be built.
Let’s keep going, let’s keep going here in this passage. Look in verse number seven, if you would please. Verse number seven: “Who art thou, O great mountain?” Typically in the Bible, mountains represent problems. Remember the New Testament, “If you have faith, you move mountains.” I don’t remember Jesus ever moving a physical mountain. I believe he was talking about mountains of problems in front of you. And he says, “Who art thou, O great mountain before Zerubbabel? Thou shalt become a plain.” God says, I can remove those problems, those obstacles in your course. “And he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shouting, crying, ‘Grace, grace unto it!’”
Just a word or two about that. He says now this headstone—they’re not speaking of Jesus Christ. Now this temple—you remember before, the first temple, Solomon’s temple—man, the grandeur and the wealth. I cannot remember off the top of my head how many millions and millions, maybe billions now, that they think it took to build Solomon’s temple. But this temple here was very small in comparison. Remember the people that had seen the first temple, and now they’re seeing this second temple, they weep, they cry, they say, “Boy, it’s—I remember the great temple. Look at this one now.” They’re weeping over it. And Zerubbabel is just—man, he’s just trying to get a temple built, do what God wants. And God says, “Hey, don’t get too shook up. It’s not by my might or power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” And he said, you know, that mountain, it’ll be a plain.
And here’s the thing: though this temple at that time was not that much grander, and later on, Herod added on and built onto it, that’s the temple that Jesus walked in. That’s the temple. Solomon didn’t have Jesus come, the Messiah come, in that temple. It was this temple that Jesus Christ—when they took him over there, the temple was a baby, and it was added on by Herod—but this is the temple. This is the foundation here. He said, Zerubbabel, “Hey, God’s going to use this temple in a great way.” God’s the one that does a great work. And he says, Zerubbabel, “Don’t stop doing what you’re doing. People are going to talk about it and give you opposition, but it’s going to be my Spirit that does the work.” And the headstone, the cornerstone, the chief stone, the rock—he’s going to walk in that temple right there. That’s what it’s talking about.
Let’s keep going here. Verse number eight, verse number eight, if you would, please. Verse number eight: “Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, ‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it.’ Thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you.”
It reminds me of a verse, Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” God’s called you to do something. You say, “I can’t get that done.” No, but God’s called you to do it. God can finish it. God sent Zerubbabel; your hands started it, and I’m going to use your hands to finish it. Everybody’s going to know God’s involved in it. Yeah, that’s what it’s saying. Faithful is he that called you, who also will do it.
I hope Brother Warren doesn’t mind me mentioning it, but I thought about Brother Warren. He’d been serving the Lord for a long, long time. And you see his braces on his legs now. He’s a bionic man. Did you notice that now? And he’s singing in the choir, praise the Lord for it. And he’s coming down, and he let me know, “I’m all right.” And he did. And he did. Hey, he’s going to finish his course because faithful is he that calleth you will also do it. By the way, he’s finishing it. That testimony spoke to me; it stuck in my mind. He’s still up there seeking for the Lord.
Can I say this: If God has called you to do something and his Spirit is clearly leading you, all hell cannot stop you if God’s in that thing. You can have the greatest military in the world trying to stop you if God wants you to accomplish that. God can make that thing happen. That’s what the Lord is telling us. Your hand started it. Yes, there’s been a change in leadership over from Babylon. There’s been problems and opposition, but you’re going to finish it by the power of God. That’s what I say it.
Let’s keep reading, if you would, please. Let’s go on to verse number 10, verse number 10. Verse number 10: “For who hath despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel.” Plummet is like a long string with a weight at the end of it. It’s kind of like a level we have in our day and time. They can see if the walls are straight or not through that. “For they shall rejoice and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. For these seven are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.”
That little phrase there: “For who hath despised the day of small things?” You say, “Preacher, I’m not much. I don’t have much.” Hey, don’t let the devil despise the day of small things. Great things usually come out of little things. What are we saying? Little is much when God is in it. Don’t despise small things. The greatest ministry I know of, the ministries that I know of, started with just a little small thing. That’s what it talks about in 1 Corinthians 1:27-28 over there. He said he chose the things that are not to bring to nought the things that are. It just starts with nothing, basically—small things. What about that little boy? He just had a little sack lunch, and just two little bluegill and some biscuits that my mom made for him, you know. But Jesus took that little lunch and fed 5,000 plus women and children. We just don’t despise the day of little things. You say, “We had four visitors, a few little kids. What’s a big deal?” That’s just kids writing about us. Hey, don’t despise the day of small things. One of those kids might grow up and be a great Christian lady or man or preacher or missionary. Don’t despise the day of small things. God said to Zerubbabel, “I’m going to work. I’m going to use it.”
I was a good man—I just thought—I thought it was an illustration, but I remember we started in the little daycare, and we were maybe in the storefront, a little second storefront, but we had a visitor. And I always tried to call—if I knew a visitor was visiting from another independent Baptist church—I always tried to call that pastor to be ethically right and say, “Hey, I want you to know.” And we hadn’t had to do it much then because we didn’t have any people then. But I called a pastor and said, “Hey, just want you to know.” And boy, he was just ruffled by me. And he said, “Those people aren’t interested in your storefront. They’re going to a good, established church.” And I didn’t say much. And I don’t say this gleefully, but he’s not in the ministry today. I say that’s sad. Don’t despise these new churches starting up. Praise the Lord for them. Don’t despise that they have small things. God does mighty works with small things. That’s the way he gets over this temple and the older people [saying], “Well, it’s nothing like it used to be.” Jesus was using, and he walked through this temple in the future. Yeah, don’t despise the day of small things.
Let’s keep going if you would, please. We’re in verse number 11. Verse number 11: “Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?” And I answered again and said to him, “What be these two olive branches, which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?” And he answered me and said, “Knowest thou not what these be?” And I said, “No, my Lord.”
I’ve already mentioned, and I’ll say it again, I think the local, the near view of this is Zerubbabel, Joshua, the civil and religious leader. But then again, in Revelation 11, you read that later on, the two witnesses during the tribulation period in their ministry of power. But I want to note again that this golden oil was flowing through men, people. The Spirit of God flows through people. All have in each spirit-filled Christian that is flowing through. That last verse then said he, “These are the two anointed ones that stand before the Lord of the whole earth.”
Can I just say God would like to anoint you tonight? The key is not really your public life. The key is when you’re standing before the Lord. They stood before the Lord. I say it again, the best nursery workers ever have been are those that are anointed because they’ve been standing before the Lord. We just had a little meeting, the new people in the hospitality ministry. The best hospitality ministry workers are those that are anointed; they’ve been standing before the Lord. The ones that make the greatest impact at the workplace for the Lord are those who have been standing before the Lord. They’re anointed. They’ve been before the Lord. We get so focused on public life. God can take care of that—a private life, our life alone with God. By the way, they can get to the point, like Elijah. Elijah was even standing before a wicked Ahab, and he kept using this phrase about talking about Jehovah. He kept saying, “Before whom I stand.” I like that. You get to the point, you stand before even a heathen king like Ahab, and you say, “You know, really, the honest truth is I’m standing in the presence of God, not you.” But God is the big one; he’s willing to control you. It’s all about you standing before the Lord and God anointing you, God placing his hand on you, and fear of God being able to flow through. That’s the greatest need. Man, I like to see some people—I like for God to use me to see somebody saved. It’s the Spirit, the old golden oil. That’s what made the light shine brightly. I say again, God doesn’t work machinery. Machinery is not bad, but God flows through people. And he said, “Look, these are men right here. They’re anointed. They’re standing before the Lord.” Do you have the Spirit of God flowing through you? Is your life right? Is your tongue right? Is your eyes right? Is your mind right? Can the Holy Spirit flow through you?
You know the verse: Ephesians 5:18, “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” The comparison there is to a drunk man. He’s controlled by another substance. Are you controlled by the Spirit of God? That’s the comparison there. Are you under the intoxication of the Spirit of God? That’s what it’s talking about. Do you ask for the Spirit of God? The Bible says to ask. I’m not talking about the indwelling; that came when you got saved. But I’m talking about the fullness of power. Luke 11:13, what a wonderful passage. He says, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Are you asking? My faith? Oh, the great need—a great need for that light to shine brightly is whole, spirit-filled Christians.
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes, please? You’re here tonight. You say, “Preacher, not that I haven’t been at all, but I want to be seeking and asking for the Spirit of God to flow through me. I’m going to ask for him to anoint me, if you will, put his hand on me.” Life’s so short. The older I get, wow, it just flies by. Wouldn’t it be good if God uses us during the time we’re here? God to put his hand on us. Build temples, people. That’s what I’ll ask for every temple: “Not by might, but by my Spirit.”
“Preacher, I’m going to be seeking and asking and trying to seek for the fullness of the Holy Spirit.” God spoke to my heart. I’m going to be seeking after that. God spoke to my heart about that tonight. If that’s you, slip your hand up. I’m going to seek after that. That’s a great need. He knows your heart. He knows your heart. Thank you for having that hunger.
It all starts with salvation. We don’t have the indwelling of the Spirit of God until we’re saved, a born-again Christian, a child of God, regenerated. You hear tonight and say, “Preacher, I don’t even know that I’m saved. I don’t know that I have the Spirit of God dwelling inside of me. I don’t know that he can flow through me because I don’t know whether I have him. I’m not sure that I’m a born-again Christian. I don’t know that I’m saved.” If that’s you tonight with your head bowed and eyes closed: “Preacher, I don’t know that I’m saved.” If that’s you, slip your hand up. “Preacher, I don’t know that I’m saved. I don’t know that I’m a born-again Christian.” Slip it up.
All Christians, let’s seek his fullness, his filling, his anointing—not for crazy show or all that, no, no, no—so God can flow through you, so they see the light of Jesus in your life. Would you please stand tonight? We’ll have a word of prayer. And let’s just spend some time. It would be a great thing for all of us to come. Let’s just seek the Spirit of God. I want the world to see Jesus. Would you tell him that in me? Would you do that? Someone is saying about her dad at the funeral, “I saw Jesus.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if somebody could say that about you?
Let’s pray and ask the Spirit of God to flow through us. Father, we sure need that. I need that, Lord. Forgive me so much of me; let it not be me, let it be you. Would you flow through us? Give us that hunger tonight. Give us your Spirit flowing in and through us tonight. Bless the invitation, Lord, please. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Would you come as we sing? Would you come? We can have machinery. We can get crowds, possibly. But if you’re going to have temples—temples of God, temples that God’s working in, God’s building, and God’s indwelling in temples—if you’re going to have temples, he said, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.” It’s how temples are made: by the Spirit of God. Would you seek the Lord, seek His filling as we sing another verse?
“To Jesus, I surrender. Make me, Savior, Lord. May Spirit, I know Thy power divine. Dead Savior, I surrender.”
Hey, think back. Think back of that person God really used in your life. Maybe a parent, maybe a Sunday school teacher, but think about that person God really used in your life. Moral for the not, guarantee, that’s a spirit-filled Christian. God was working through them. That’s the need of the hour. It’s the way temples are made, and temples are made by the Spirit of God. So glad you’re here tonight. Glad to have every person here. Glad you’re faithful to the house and the work of God. What a blessing. Good to have a guest with us tonight. Thank you for coming to be with us. We’re honored to have you all. Thank you very, very much. Appreciate that. And just praise the Lord, folks are at the altar. It’s a good thing. It’s a good thing. It’s a good thing. Praise the Lord, folks are at the altar. It’s a good thing.
Original File: Are you a spirit filled Christian - Sunday PM - 03-21-2021 Pastor Paul Chisgar