DESPISE NOT SMALL THINGS Devotion 11 of 24 How we need men and women of God to affirm to us the completion of the work that has been begun in us! Often hearts grow faint because of our own weaknesses and the opposition of our enemies. It is then that our hands and heads need to be lifted up with a good word from God. – Tomorrow:
"Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "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. 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." Zechariah 4:8-10, NKJV
It is good to know the Lord has extended Himself to assure us of His own commitment to the "great salvation" in which we have been brought by grace to participate.
1. "The LORD WILL PERFECT that which concerneth me: Thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of Thine own hands" (Psa 138:8).
2. "Who shall also CONFIRM YOU UNTO THE END, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Cor 1:8).
3. "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you WILL PERFORM IT UNTIL THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST" (Phil 1:6).
4. "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, WHO WILL ALSO DO IT" (1 Thess 5:23-24).
5. "Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and FULFILL ALL THE GOOD PLEASURE OF HIS GOODNESS, and the work of faith with power" (2 Thess 1:11).
6. "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, MAKE YOU PERFECT, STABLISH, STRENGTHEN, SETTLE YOU" (1 Pet 5:10).
7. "For HE WILL FINISH THE WORK, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth" (Rom 9:28).
It is no wonder that Jesus speaks of Himself as the consummate Start and Finish, Initiation and Completion. This perspective is found the way in which our Lord speaks of Himself.
1. "I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending" (Rev 1:8).
2. "I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last" (Rev 1:11,17; 2:8).
3. "I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End" (Rev 21:6).
4. "I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last" (Rev 22:13).
Under the law, God revealed Himself as the "First" and the "Last," confirming He had no competitors – no personality or power that can thwart what He is doing. "Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I THE LORD, THE FIRST AND WITH THE LAST; I am He" (Isa 41:4). The idea here is that God was with them in the beginning ("the first"), and with them at "the last" as well. Also, that He as with those who were at the beginning of His workings, and those who were at their conclusion.
Again the Lord declared, "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I AM THE FIRST, AND I AM THE LAST; and beside Me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for Me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them" (Isa 44:6-7). The purpose of this revelation was to show God's people nothing could stop what God had determined. His will could not be supplanted by the will of another, and His work could not be aborted by some competing god. This was not made known so men could develop a systematic theology about the nature of God, but so that they would be encouraged to have faith in Him, trust Him, and believe He was for them, no one could effectively be against them.
Beginnings are good, but they are not an end of themselves. It is the "end," or conclusion of the work that brings the greatest glory to God! He is not honored by a foundation that remains without a building That is why the hands of Zerubbabel and his brethren had to be made strong. The work was too challenging to complete without the strength that comes from the awareness that God finishes what He begins. If the work was not completed, the Lord would prove no better than those to whom Jesus alluded when He said, "Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish" (Luke 14:29-30).
This message is pertinent in our times for at least two reasons.
1. The contemporary church has placed an inordinate emphasis upon beginnings, with hardly a thought being given to endings. The Scriptural emphasis on the edification of the body (Rom 14:19; 15:2; 1 Cor 14:12,26; Eph 4:12,16,29; 1 Thess 5:11; 1 Tim 1:4) has the conclusion in view. That is the preeminent objective for growth, spiritual advancement, and being changed "from glory unto glory" (2 Cor 3:18). The aim is that our faith "might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet 1:7). Those who do not survive the final test will be lost. Those who have brought into the church such as cannot survive the ultimate judgment of God, will lose something because they have put people who were ultimately nothing more than "wood, hay, and stubble" upon the foundation of Christ (1 Cor 3:12-15).
2. Those who are laboring for the stability of the saints need to be encouraged about the commitment the Lord has to their work. He will bring it to completion if they are working together with Him (1 Cor 3:9). He is fully able to keep souls "from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24).
PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You for revealing Your own commitment to the good work of salvation. I desire to labor with You in this marvelous work, sowing and watering things You can bless. In the name of Jesus, give me grace to labor with a larger awareness of Jesus being the "Ending," the "Omega," and the great "Finisher."