Hey everyone and welcome to Refinery Life Australia.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
During February we are going to work our way through the gospel of John our theme is Responding to the Living Word.
Today we are talking about Your Helplessness without the Help of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer
Father, from Your loving, generous hand comes the gift of life and all the necessities of life.
From Your loving heart comes the gift of eternal life and all of the blessings associated with it.
We come believing today that from You comes the power to get wealth.
Thank you for the privilege of receiving an income.
Today we come bringing tithes and offerings to express our desire to cooperate with You in bringing Your kingdom into the hearts and lives of people around this entire planet.
Accept these gifts and bless them to Your glory.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Text
Zechariah 4:6 NKJV
6 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.
Scripture Reading
Zechariah 4:1-10 NKJV
Vision of the Lampstand and Olive Trees
4 Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And he said to me, “What do you see?”
So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps.
3 Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.”
4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”
5 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.”
6 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.
7 ‘Who are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth the capstone
With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”
8 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
9 “The hands of Zerubbabel
Have laid the foundation of this temple;
His hands shall also finish it.
Then you will know
That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.
10 For who has despised the day of small things?
For these seven rejoice to see
The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
They are the eyes of the Lord,
Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
Introduction
The words of our text were designed to encourage the heart of Zerubbabel, providing he would think God’s thoughts and walk in God’s ways.
The text could throw someone who seeks to accomplish heaven’s work with their own abilities and and strength alone into the depths of despair.
You cannot do God’s work without God’s power.
This is affirmed in the words of today’s text, “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.”
Have you been trying to do God’s work without God’s power?
Have you been trying to develop a Christian personality without the help of the Holy Spirit?
Have you been seeking to teach people what the Bible says without a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit for God’s enabling power?
Have you been seeking to speak to those who don’t know Jesus as Saviour without a sincere dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit to make your efforts effective?
Much of the weakness and failure of God’s people today can be traced directly to the fact that we are helpless without the help of the Holy Spirit.
- Without the Holy Spirit’s help, you are helpless and the future is hopeless.
Zerubbabel could not accomplish his purpose by the might and strength of military action.
No human power could enable the prophet to accomplish his divine mission.
We experience great failure and our lives are unfruitful if we attempt to do the work of God without the help of the Holy Spirit.
2. Without the Holy Spirit’s help everything divine is impossible.
Human effort alone cannot produce divine effects in our lives or the lives of others.
The Holy Spirit effects the birth from above in the hearts of believers.
The Holy Spirit bears testimony to new believers, following their conversion, regarding their membership in God’s family.
Without this divine testimony, they have no assurance and no joy of salvation.
The Holy Spirit takes up residence in believer’s bodies at the time of conversion.
The Holy Spirit then works in their hearts and minds and wills.
The Holy Spirit comes into believer’s hearts to bring about a renewal or transformation of their minds.
The Holy Spirit dwells within each believer, seeking to reproduce the character of Christ.
The Holy Spirit wants to present each of us as an exhibit of what Christ can do in one who will trust Him.
The Holy Spirit energises believer’s for service and makes them strong for the struggle against evil.
The Holy Spirit calls believers into the harvest fields for witnessing opportunities.
The Holy Spirit seeks to teach us the truth of God as it is revealed in and taught by Jesus Christ.
These truths prove that the Father God does not intend that we labour in human strength alone.
It is not His will that we experience the despair of failure.
He has provided the help of the Holy Spirit that we might not be helpless.
3. How can the believer experience the help of the Holy Spirit?
Why do we not see more evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit?
Believers must believe that they have already received the Holy Spirit and respond with trust to His indwelling presence.
We should ask for the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Obedience to the known will of God is one the essentials for the fullness of the power of the Spirit in our lives.
Conclusion.
You are helpless without the help of the Holy Spirit.
You cannot convert a soul to Christ without the Holy Spirit’s help.
You cannot develop a Christian personality or character without the Holy Spirit’s help.
You cannot understand the real truth of the Bible without the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit.
You cannot pray effectively without the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
Today the Holy Spirit exalts Jesus Christ as the adequate, loving, powerful Saviour who is eager to come into your life.
Today the Holy Spirit calls you to total trust and loving obedience to Jesus Christ.
Today the Holy Spirit wants to begin God’s good work in you, and you can trust Him to continue it until the Lord returns or until He calls you home.
Open the door today.
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
You’re important to God, and you’re important to us at www.refinerylife.org
When it comes to prayer, we believe that God wants to meet your needs and reveal His promises to you.
So whatever you’re concerned about and need prayer for we want to be here for you! Or even if you just want to say Hi, you can contact us
2022 IS A YEAR OF REPENTANCE AND BLESSINGS
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