“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.” (Zechariah 4:6)

Very briefly, we find in Zechariah chapter four that the prophet Zechariah was shown a vision by God. The gold lampstand has a bowl on top and seven lamps with seven lips on each lamp to receive oil from the bowl. From the bowl above are 49 pipes that furnish oil to each of the lamps. There are also two olive trees, one on the left and one on the right of the lampstand with golden pipes providing oil from the bowl.

The lampstand and the seven lamps are a picture of the eyes of God as His omniscience and omnipresence are the Light of the world. Therefore, Jesus is the Light of the world. (John 8:12; 9:5) We, the Church, are to be the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14) And in this passage, Israel is to be the light of the world, as originally intended.

The bowl above the lampstand and the oil are a picture of the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit. Apart from the Holy Spirit, God does not work, and man cannot work. (Acts 1:8)

Nehemiah was the lead contractor of the building that was taking place.

The two olive trees were Joshua the high priest as one and Zerubbabel the governor as the other. They represent the political and priestly structure of Israel. They are representative of Our Lord Jesus who will reign in the Millennium as both Priest and King of kings. Yes, this vision given to Zechariah is a prophecy of Christ’ rule in the one thousand year reign, the Millennium, after the Tribulation, but it is much more than that.

The entire message is about the power of God. It is saying that what God wants done, will be done. It is saying that all “we”accomplish can only come to fruition by the power of God in our lives. The Holy Spirit is the power of God. He is God.

In creation, it was the Holy Spirit who “moved upon the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2)

It was the Holy Spirit who made Sarah’s womb fruitful again.

It was the Holy Spirit who stood between the Egyptians and Moses and the children of Israel.

It was the Holy Spirit who guided the slingshot of David.

And in this passage, it was the Holy Spirit who made possible the building project that was being conducted by the leadership of Nehemiah. It was being accomplished, not by Nehemiah, or the governor Zerubbabel, or the high priest Joshua, but by the Holy Spirit. God was ready to bring Israel home from the land of slavery, again, and start anew. He made it all happen, and He would be their Light to the world.

Now we come to us.

In our lead-in passage, it states, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit.” The Hebrew word for “might” means the power of many, such as an army for example. The Hebrew word for “power” means the power of one, such as a king for example. All the contractors or armies, or kings, or priests on earth are not going to accomplish the task of restoring Israel to the homeland. “But by my spirit” was the only way it would work. “But by my spirit” would make a dream come true.

Are we any different than the people of Zechariah’s day? Can we have any spiritual accomplishment in our lives apart from the Holy Spirit? Some seem to think so.

I wonder how many times today’s churches have proceeded with a project (just name whatever comes to mind) without first consulting God? Have we asked of God, “Should we do this? Is this your will? If it is your will, how should we proceed?” By the way, I don’t think a one-time prayer meeting on Wednesday night, with actual time spent in prayer of roughly 10-15 minutes classifies as consulting God about a given issue, but that is often how it is done.

Maybe you have been called to preach or pastor a church or be a foreign missionary or to another ministry. Have you truly been called? Why do you think that? How much time have you spent in prayer about that “calling?” Many are actually in the niche that Christ called them. With a preacher for example, you can often tell by the content of their message. However, many more I have heard apparently made their own niche. It didn’t come from the power of God.

What is going on in your life as a Christian? Do you feel like you’re groping in the dark for what to do next? Maybe you’re depending on your power instead of the Holy Spirit.

Look, I’ll step out first and head to the front of the line. We all, as Christians, need to take a closer look at the third person of the God-head, the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples;

“16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:16-18)

Remember when Peter denied Jesus not once, not twice, but three times before the rooster crowed, just as Jesus said he would? Do you recall how bold he was on the day of Pentecost? What happened? The Holy Spirit is what happened. Peter stopped relying on Peter, and allowed himself to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit. From that day forth, Peter was no longer just a disciple trying to keep up with John. He became an Apostle, one of the greatest of the original Church leaders, and bravely faced death for his Lord.

As long as we try to live our Christian lives by our own power, we will continue to stumble along through life, confused and overcome by life’s surprises.

Maybe we are one of those who thinks “I’ve got it all together. Everything is going just the way I want it.”  Maybe it isn’t going the way “He” wants it. Do you even know Him? Could Jude be referring to you?

“12These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.” (Jude 12-13)

There is no power in us. Whether you are relying upon God’s acceptance apart from His Son, or upon your own power as a true Christian, you and I have no power in us. The power comes from the Lord God Almighty, and He offers it freely by His Spirit. Don’t know His Son, Jesus? Listen to the Holy Spirit who invites you to come to Him. Aren’t satisfied with your life as a Christian? Step aside, and give Him the control of your life. Let Him show you what He can do through you by His power.

Over five years ago now I wrote a song called “The Last Chapter.” This is something we all need to think about, because it affects everyone of us.

A book, is being written, by the life, that we live
Each turn, of the pages, is more detail, that we give
It started, very simple, at our birth, long ago
And records, our life, as, we grow and grow
The beginning, of the book, tells, from whence we came
But the end, is more important, we’ll never, be the same
All the chapters, in between, tell, what got us here
If we rest, in the Lord, or have, a need to fear

Somewhere, in those pages, should be a plea, to God above
To save us, by faith in Jesus, and fill us, with His love
Did we put, our faith in Him, if we did, it will show
When we turn, the last page, to Heaven, we will go

CHORUS:
The last chapter, has been written, the end, is drawing nigh
As they close, my life’s book, I’ll meet my Savior, bye and bye
The last chapter, is closing, just a few, words to go
I’ll soon, be with Jesus, and by His Word, I know it’s so

God keeps at least two books and possibly more.

One is the “Book of the Living” mentioned in Psalms 69:28 and Exodus 32:32-33. This book contains the names of all people who have ever lived.

The second book is called the “Book of Life” or the “Lamb’s Book of Life.” It contains the names of all who will live with God for eternity in Heaven. It is mentioned in Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 20:12; 20:15; 21:27; Philippians 4:3. To answer the obvious question, “No” it is never erased once in this book. See John 10:28-30; Romans 8:37-39; Revelation 3:5.

The lyrics of the song above may be the content in one of God’s books, a record of each of our lives from conception to the grave.

Each of us is writing an autobiography of our lives every day we live. Each decision we make. Each choice we take is written down. All those things that only we know about, so we think, are recorded in Heaven.

I have good news and bad news concerning this.

Bad news for those who reject Jesus (Unsaved):

If you live your life and die without asking Jesus to save you, your name will not be recorded in the Book of Life, and you will not be admitted in Heaven. You will be judged at the great White Throne judgment and transferred from hell to the Lake of Fire, there to remain for eternity.

All your actions while on earth will be judged, probably to determine your place of torment in the Lake of Fire, but your rejection of God’s Son is what seals your fate. This determines your eternal destination. Even though all your actions on earth will be made public to all, the most tragic part will be your rejection of Jesus Christ.

Good news for those who trust in Jesus (Christians):

Call upon Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and He will. He will save you, causing you to be born spiritually in Him. You are then eternally in His family. Your eternal destination with Jesus in Heaven is guaranteed.

Are the sins of those who trust in Jesus Christ made public in Heaven?

No they are not. For God to air our dirty laundry would violate His own word and make Him a liar. But what about this verse?

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)

There are two things done in our bodies that count. The first one is belief in Jesus Christ to save us.

“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10)

Allow me to add here, because I know someone is going to worry about it. If you cannot speak with your mouth due to a physical condition, but you have asked Jesus to save you in your mind, your thought, you are His child.

The second is found in 1 Corinthians 3:9-15. It concerns works. Our works will be judged to see if we have any rewards that Jesus can give us. It has nothing to do with salvation. It has nothing to do with sin.

Also, lest we forget, Jesus blotted out our sins and nailed them to the cross. He promised not to remember our sins. He even removed them as far as the east is from the west.

“13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14 ESV)

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)

“And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17)

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalms 103:12)

Does this mean then that a Christian can live like hell (sin), not worrying about those bad things being made public, and proceed on to Heaven with no thought of any repercussions?

Let me say this. I want to be sure I am very clear about this. If anyone has that attitude, the genuineness of their faith in Jesus is highly doubtful. In other words, a true Christian is not going to think like this.

Also, if it is possible a genuine Christian would tempt God with this attitude, he might as well prepare himself, or herself, for a real good old-fashioned whipping, because it’s coming. No, it won’t be brought up in Heaven,

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23)

Consider King David. He paid dearly for his sins while upon this earth. In his case, they were made public while on earth, and man did he pay.

Our Father in Heaven will allow us a little rope, but when we get to the end, He will punish His own. King David went beyond the rope. In Acts 13:22 David was identified as a man after God’s own heart, but there were no favorites played here.

“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:” (Acts 10:34)

So, how is your book coming along? If you’re like me, you would like to rip out several pages. What’s important though is how am I living my life … right now? The past is gone. The future is now. Just make sure when the last chapter is written, there is found a page that says, “He trusted Jesus to be his Savior, and to please Him, he followed his Lord.”