IKOYI BAPTIST CHURCH's Podcast

WAKE UP─WHAT DO YOU SEE?

July 28, 2019 Rev. Adekuunle Oyeniyi
IKOYI BAPTIST CHURCH's Podcast
WAKE UP─WHAT DO YOU SEE?
Show Notes

Today, God is extending two calls to us. First, a call to awake from slumber and secondly, a call to see correctly. Zechariah was a man who maintained a vertical posture with God. He kept looking up (Zechariah 1:18; 2:1; 5:1; 6:1). No wonder, God showed him many revelations that helped in reintegrating those who returned from the exile. What we see often determines what we become and how far we will go. People usually say, ‘seeing is believing’, but according to scriptural parameters, believing is seeing’ (2 Corinthians 5:7; John 11:40). The reason most of us still see difficulty and impossibility ahead is because we are not yet seeing correctly. Whenever a believer in God sees correctly, every mountain along the way will become level ground. May the Lord awaken us and help us to see correctly.

 

Wake up Call (Zechariah 4:1)

The ‘return’ of the angel presupposes a break in communication and transmission, considering what has been going on in the life of Zechariah in the previous chapters. 

He had personal revelation from God (Zechariah 1)

God showed him visions about the city of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel (Zechariah 1:19, 2:4) and individuals 

(Zechariah 3).

 

He had a continuous supply of divine presence (Zechariah 2:3).

Something happened along the way, there was a break in fellowship between God and Zechariah. It took the return of the angel for him to be awakened from sleep.

Sleep is one of the biblical symbolism of death (John 11:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13). How many of us are in church today but are already asleep? How do you and I measure up, considering what we used to be in the Lord?

There is need for a spiritual awakening if we will see correctly. We need to awake from slumber in order to fulfil God’s purpose for our life. I pray that when the Lord comes suddenly, we will not be found sleeping (Mark 13:36).

Seeing Correctly

It is instructive to note that Zechariah did not even see the mighty mountain before Zerubbabel but God saw it on his behalf. Something else caught Zechariah’s attention. What did he see?

 

 

i.               A solid gold lampstand: also known as menorah, golden candlestick or candelabrum. Right from the tabernacle in the wilderness, the golden lampstand provided light for the holy place. Because this chamber had no windows, the lampstand was the only source of light.

·             The lamps of the pure gold lampstand must be tended continually (Leviticus 24:4) 

·             The golden lampstand was a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, the light of the world (John 8:12, Hebrews 9:9) and who called the church to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16).

ii.             Two olive trees: these are oil-supplying olive trees. Symbolic of the work, presence and anointing of the Holy Spirit (Psalm 89:20, Matthew 25:7-8). A connection between the olive trees and the Spirit made in Zechariah 4:6. Just as the olive trees supply the oil for the lampstand, the Spirit is the supplier of strength for Zerubbabel and for us now. Do you have this oil?

 

What Do You See? 

After Zechariah saw correctly, he received a word for Zerubbabel (Zechariah 4:6-7).

Satan usually want you to see mountains:

·             defeat,

·             failure, 

·             disappointment, 

·             setbacks, 

·             impossibility, darkness…..

 

But when you truly se