July 23, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. He asked me, ‘What do you see?‘ I answered, ‘I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. Also, there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.’” (Zechariah 4.1-3)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Previously, we were introduced to the “rock with seven eyes.” I spoke of it as the pre-vision of the Messiah. The Messiah is the rock of faith on which God’s people stand and to which they are connected and built up as the people of God. They become with Him one body. Stop here for a moment as if you are standing in front of a full-length mirror. Yes, we can certainly see all our physical faults. We may believe we are “cringe worthy.” Look beyond the physical dissatisfactions which the world enhances for your defeat. Look instead at the sense of a total picture of the image in which and by which you have been made. Remind yourself of the words of Joseph when he addressed his brothers who had come to Egypt not to meet and greet a long-lost brother but to solicit assistance for food and provisions for their father back in Canaan. Those words we can say now to ourselves and for ourselves, “What the enemy intended for evil, God is working for good.” I must remind ourselves of that “good” which God is working for. I stand by the iteration that “good” means “the purpose for which a thing was created is accomplished, functional, working, sanctified and blessed.” All of His creation was brought under the umbrella of “good.” Righteousness is the fruit of that “good” at work effecting the “goodness” of God. Too many people see righteousness as the work that is done to produce the “good” fruit. When we are called “the righteousness of God” do we really believe we are the work of God or perhaps even God at work? When we speak of “the righteousness of God” should we not more correctly consider the result of God’s work in us, for us and through us? Even more, should we not consider the work of God which is because of us now as we live in a word that seems to be more “cringe worthy” than God worthy? What is that work, as if you might need to ask? It is the work of our salvation which has been effected in Jesus of Nazareth who is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He is the fruit of a labor which God has purposed to redeem us from the “cringe-worthiness” which we see, or sometimes deny seeing, in the mirror. Whether through our eyes or in our “mind’s eye” as defined by others, God has put forth a new vision. Jesus the Christ is our “re-vision.” So, when we hear in Zechariah of the “rock with seven eyes,” we can mostly certainly claim the vision of the One who has the ability to see us as we were, as we are and as we are called to be. That vision comes to us in and through the rock of our salvation just as certainly as God took the “nothingness” of the universe and by His Word, the Spirit obeyed and put form, purpose and goodness into place. That first act was to separate the light which He called into being from the dark which existed. We would do well, I believe, to see that God did not so much “create” the light but call it into the presence of the darkness with an introduction. Think of an actor on a stage who walks out in total darkness suddenly illuminated by a spotlight to be introduced to the audience. The audience themselves are called “the fourth wall” meaning they are actually a part of the whole proceeding. They, too, are brought into the light because they begin to see what is about to unfold. This is a way of seeing what is happening with Zechariah. In a similar fashion, it is what was happening to John in The Revelation. Framed in the construct of Greek tragedy, The Revelation is produced as a great play used to communicate a great truth. It exists in seven acts with seven scenes and one powerful conclusion numbering 50 works or Jubilee. It is in “Jubilee” that all things are restored to their first place and allowed to begin again. The “vision” of the people is restored so that they can see themselves as God has always seen them: praise-worthy. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit obedient to the command of God to spotlight the work which God is doing to bring to fruition what God’s has intended to do.

In chapter four, we are given a glimpse into that re-igniting of the righteousness of God and the re-storing of His power in the world that reduced itself into chaos as people took on the duty and opportunity to remake and redo what God had done to their specifications over and against what God had already done perfectly. They put on imperfection perfectly and transposed humanity for godly. It didn’t work. It doesn’t work. It will never work. Only by the Spirit of God are we able to see and experience the “goodness” of God. And in Zechariah, that goodness is expressed in the menorah, the seven lights representing the seven manifestations of the Holy Spirit. They are as follow:

1) The Spirit of the LORD;
2) The Spirit of wisdom;
3) The Spirit of understanding;
4) The Spirit of counsel;
5) The Spirit of power;
6) The Spirit of knowledge; and
7) The Spirit of the fear of the Lord.

We see a similarity here with what is revealed in John’s Revelation. There are seven lampstands representing the seven spirits and the seven “faith in Christ” communities of Asia Minor who are under the supervision of John the Presbyter. They are called to bring the light of God into the world which the world cannot consume. It is the light of God, the Light of the world, whom we know is Jesus the Christ. Each fellowship is a part of the whole body of Christ. They are called to be reflections of the goodness of God, His righteousness, and to bear fruit in this season of life which is the “Age of the Church.” As the world looks at them, they are intended to be a mirror reflecting the image of Christ back into the world. The intention is so that the world can see not its own image but that which God intends. Think of it as a dressing room in which a person tries on new clothes. With each garment a new vision is created. What we are looking for is the one we believe is acceptable to us and to others. In God’s dressing room, we are called to put on the full armor of God and capture the vision which God has always had for us. That vision is the image of the Christ by which we were conceived, formed and empowered to live in this world as we would in Heaven. Following the outline of Ephesians 6. 14+, we will find there are six items which comprise the full armor of God: belt of truth; breastplate of righteousness; the gospel shoes of peace; the shield of faith; the helmet of salvation and the Word of God which is the sword of truth- the Spirit. But what is the seventh? The seventh is much like the image from the movie “Stargate.” There is a seventh symbol which represents the point of origin so that the stargate is opened and transport is possible from one world to another. What is that seventh symbol, that seventh garment, in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians? It is the covering of prayer. Prayer is the means by which “deep calls unto deep,” where the Spirit of God and the Spirit of human beings connect and communicate. It is the means by which Jesus not only spoke to God but made a permanent connection between God and His people. So vital and important was that “article of clothing” that we find Jesus instructing His disciples in it before He ever empowered them to “go out into the world” the first time in groups of two. We know it as “The Lord’s Prayer.” It is the manifold witness to us of who we are and whose we are. It brings to light what God’s will is as the Spirit speaks in us and for us when words fail us. It awakens us to new truths when we feel as if we are sleepwalking through the world and its nightmares. We are a world that needs to be clothed and covered in prayer now so that we can reflect back to the world the image of Christ and His Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit so that others may be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind that we would know that we are Your people and that You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.