The Spirit Changes

Rev. Avedis Boynerian graciously forwards to me the synopsis of his Sunday service ahead, enabling me to better follow his Sunday sermon from the pulpit of The Armenian Church of the Martyrs. With permission, I reproduced  the body of the Sunday, June 1, 2025 service here, as forwarded to me. Vaհe H Apelian

 

The stained glass panel at the pulpit of 
The Armenian Church of the Martyrs

So, he 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 Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6).

We live in a world filled with 

discouraging situations, 

discouraging financial news and 

discouraged people.

There is too much 

unintentional and

negative thinking in our lives that 

we must overcome, or 

 we will become the victims of failure. 

After 9/11, 70% of the people in the US admit to feeling fearful, apprehensive, or discouraged about life. 

People who are discouraged generally 

lack confidence, 

lack enthusiasm, 

lack the conviction to do what is best. 

People who feel discouraged are 

less likely to love,

less likely to give, 

less likely to care,

less likely to serve as they should. 

{Today, many people are easily discouraged, deterred, detoured from the path God wants them to be on.}

 

Today, millions are depressed and need medication for their depression. 

(Listen)

{The number one reason that Christians do not ascend to the highest level of spiritual maturity is discouragement.}

Today, more Christians are disengaged from churches or Christian fellowships because they have somehow given in to feelings of discouragement, or have internalized their setbacks and say, “What is the use?” And throw the towel.

Our scriptural passage (Zechariah 4:1-9) encourages us, as it were to King Zerubbabel. 

{“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit’, says the Lord Almighty”} (6). 

 

The context of God’s vision to His people is this: 

70 years earlier Babylon had destroyed Israel and all their cities, walls and temple. 

God gave Zerubbabel the assignment to rebuild the wall and temple. 

At first, Zerubbabel and the people had the enthusiasm for the task. 

They went through the 

+ first stage – rebuilt the altar, and 

+ second stage – laid the foundation of the Temple. 

Just after the second stage, opposition came - the local residents opposed the building project and were discouraging the workers from participating in the project. 

 

Zerubbabel started well, but even after 70 years, he could not finish what he had started and was greatly discouraged. Therefore, God intervenes and tells Zerubbabel, “What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground” (7)

{God is able to not only tear down mountains of discouragement, but He is able to build what is necessary to finish what we have started.}

{NO matter what obstacles we may be facing, God is able to remove all obstacles and allow us to overcome them by His Spirit.}

God does things, others cannot do.

God specializes in things thought impossible.

God is greater and mightier than our greatest challenges. 

God’s resources are unlimited.

 

God’s Spirit provides us with the necessary strength, the necessary encouragement, and whatever we may need to be protected from all challenges. 

God is pro-active. {We just need to let go of our discouragements and to let God take control.}

Someone said, “If God is your Co-Pilot, change seats.” 

We do not need to be discouraged if someone 

- criticizes us, 

- attacks us or 

  - falsely accuses us of something we did not say or do.

God is bigger than all our challenges. 

God can do much with a little, because ‘a little is much with God.’

Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move” (Matthew 17:20).

 

God may allow certain obstacles to prevent us from doing what we would like to accomplish. 

{We need to believe and trust that God’s Spirit is sufficient for every obstacle that we go through.}

Most of us tend to let certain things go to our head. 

So {God tends to keep us in humble positions.

So, we are more likely to depend on Him for our needs.}

{God’s Spirit uses the discouraging circumstances to help us become mature Christians.}

Only when we put God first in everything, we will be able to remain encouraged despite the discouraging circumstances. We just need 

+ to wait on Him, and 

+ be of good courage, in the meantime, and 

+ He will do the rest 

+ He will strengthen our heart. 

We just need to allow God to make us better rather than bitter from life’s obstacles. God is able to deliver us from any and all discouraging people situations and problems.

Yes, God is able to provide our needs. We just need to trust Him to supply us our needs. 

- Some of us are discouraged because we believe that life should be a utopia of happiness and a victory and success. As a result of our unrealistic expectations, we become discouraged when things do not go our way.

- Some of us are discouraged because we think we do not have enough money, enough materials or enough resources. {Whatever we feel lacking in terms of money, materials or resources, God will richly supply us with abundance if we will simply, as He taught us, “ask, seek and knock.”}

Again, we remember the word “push” and use it as an acronym for the verb ‘pray’; 

“P” for “pray.”

“U” for “until.”

“S” for “something.”

“H” for “happens.”

Therefore, we need to “push” that is, we need to “pray until something happens.”

God’s Spirit has the ability to 

+ convict us + compel us and 

+ prompt us to do things we never would have thought of doing, on our own.

God’s Spirit has a way of motivating us out of our complacency by convicting us about our sins, our discouragements and our negative thinking. 

Jim Elliot, the famous martyred missionary to the Indians, once wrote about God’s ability to persuade anyone to do God’s will. He said: {“He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what He cannot lose.”}

Let’s not think that God encourages us just for our own benefit alone. God encourages us so we can encourage others. 

Life is NOT ‘Me, Me, Me’. Life is NOT ‘What’s in it for ME’. Life is meant to be lived for GOD and OTHERS.

Maybe many of us are in the same place with Zerubbabel. We have 

+ unfulfilled dreams, 

+ uncompleted goals, and 

+ half-built projects. 

+ We may have laid the foundation of the project, but 

+ we are discouraged and stuck. 

+ Unfortunately, we see the cup ‘half empty’.

God has good news for us today. He says: {“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” says the Lord} (6).

{What God is saying is this: “What you have started and could not finish, take heart, you will be able to finish it NOT by your might, but by my Spirit.”}

Therefore, 

- we do not need to be discouraged and give up 

- we do not need to be discouraged because of our financial difficulties.

- we do not need to be discouraged because no one encourages us.

- we do not need to be discouraged because there is no progress.

- we do not need to be discouraged because we do not see the end of the tunnel

- we need to be determined to finish what we have started not by our power, not by our might, but by God’s Spirit! 

{To finish our assignment, is to see it from God’s perspective - to see it, the way God sees it: FINISHED.}

To finish our assignment is to see that God is in control and He is able to encourage us to finish, also to see that God finishes what we have started. More importantly, God finishes what He has started.

 

We need to believe that when God is working in and through us, He will make the mountains reduced to nothing, He will help us find a way when there seems to be no way. {Regardless of how big our problems maybe, God is sufficient! Yes, indeed! He is! God is enough!} Yes, indeed! He is!

This morning, God wants to empower us by His Spirit. May we be willing to receive God’s Spirit into our lives.