THE SPIRIT OF GRACE AS OUR HELPER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY AUGUST 18, 2022.

SUBJECT : THE SPIRIT OF GRACE AS OUR HELPER! 

Memory verse: "This is word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts." (Zechariah 4 vs 6.)

READ: Ezra 4 vs 1 - 5: 

4:1: Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the LORD God of Israel,

4:2: they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers' houses, and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon King of Assyria, who brought us here."

4:3: But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers' houses of Israel said to them, "You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us."

4:4: Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, 

4:5: and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius King of Persia. 

INTIMATION:

The Spirit of grace—the Holy Spirit—is our enabler for extraordinary tasks. It usually causes a temporary and spontaneous increase of physical, spiritual, or mental strength. The empowering of the Spirit can be an extraordinary and supernatural occurrence to prepare a person for a special task. This power of God is available to us to accomplish our tasks. We should ask the Holy Spirit’s help as we face our daily problems as well as life’s major challenges. The Holy Spirit is a personality promised and made available to all believers in Christ, as our Helper in our new life as Christians. He enables us to accomplish those tasks we ordinarily will not be able to handle.

To understand His helping power, we will look at the passage we read today from the Book of Ezra. The adversaries of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin were people who had been relocated in the northern kingdom when Assyria conquered Israel. In an attempt to infiltrate and disrupt the project these people offered to help in the rebuilding project. Their real motive was to disrupt the temple project because they don't want Jerusalem to be strong again on their return from exile. 

Although it is true they were worshipping the God of Israel, but they also worshipped many other gods. To these foreigners God was just another 'idol' to be added to their collection. In God's eyes, this was not worship—it was sin and rebellion. True worship involves devotion to God alone. The Jews however, knew this, they saw through their ploy and refused their assistance. Since the Israelites (Jews) were well aware of that fact, they told the Samaritans, their long-time enemies, that they had no part in building a temple to the Lord. And this angered the Samaritans that they began to do everything in their power to harass and cause trouble for the Israelites, to frustrate their purpose and plans. 

Now, in Zechariah 4 vs 1 - 3, the Bible says, "And the angel who talked with me came again and awakened me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And said to me, What do you see? So I said, "I am looking, and there is a lampstand all of solid gold with its bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other upon the left." 

In Zechariah’s vision the lampstand, the seven lamps upon it, the seven pipes to the lamps, are connected to the two olive trees that fed the lamps continuously with oil. Students of the Word of God know that oil represents the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the power of Almighty God. And the grace of God is the power of the Holy Spirit available to us to meet our needs and solve our problems. Now, the seven lamps on the lampstand can only give light and glow if they have oil supplied to it, and they had constant supply of oil from the olive trees. 

The angel explained the vision to Zerubbabel in Zechariah 4 vs 4 - 6 thus; "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: 'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts." Here the Lord is speaking to the same people who were trying to build the temple with Zerubbabel. He showed them how they should react to their frustrating situation, that their response to troubles should be to depend not upon their own abilities or efforts, but upon the limitless power of the Holy Spirit to meet the issues and resolve the crises they face. 

The vision given to Zechariah, shows the limitless power of God's grace in meeting our needs being made manifest. Remember, it is not by your power or might but by the Spirit (the grace) of God that we overcome all our lives' challenges. Many people believe that to survive in this world a person must be tough, strong, unbending and harsh. But God says, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit." It is only through God's Spirit (God's grace) that anything of lasting value is accomplished.

Prayer: Abba Father, by my strength I cannot do much to prevail, but by Your strength available to me through the Holy Spirit of grace, I can do all things. Therefore, I earnestly seek the enduement of Spirit of grace to help me accomplish tasks of before me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!