Jentezen Franklin - Small Talks From Angels - Part 1
I want you to open your Bible to the book of Zechariah 4. Zechariah 4:1. "And the angel," notice this, "And the angel that talked with me came again and waked me as a man that is wakened out of his sleep". Talking angel. Verse 5, "The angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, 'Knowest thou not what these things be?' And I said, 'No, my Lord.'" Verse 6, "Then he," who? The angel sent from the Lord, "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,' sayeth the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plane, and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, 'Grace, grace unto it.' Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 'The hands of Zerubbabel,'" this is the angel speaking, "'Have laid the foundation on this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you".
Now, here's my verse, verse 10. "For who hath despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice and see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven, they are the eyes of the Lord, that run to and fro throughout the whole earth". I wanna preach to you today about this amazing verse, it's one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, Zechariah 4. It's very meaningful to me as a pastor because it's one of those great promises that has helped us build the church. Zechariah 4 has been a theme. The Lord dropped something into my spirit about that, the verses I just read, and I've never focused in on just the one that I'm looking at, but that whole bunch of scriptures that I read are powerful, powerful verses.
Zerubbabel was sent back to build the temple. It was devastated and destroyed, and he was released from Babylon captivity to go back. He had favor with the king of Babylon to rebuild the temple and rebuild the walls in the city. And as he went back, it started off great, but then as the text said, it was like a mountain that was standing before him. He laid the foundation and then nothing happened. He got it going, but the dream and the vision that God gave him ceased. And the angel, God sent an angel and the angel said, "Thus says the Lord to you, Zerubbabel, the mountain that you're facing, God is gonna smooth it out. It will move from a massive, uncrossable mountain to a smooth highway and plane that you will be able to walk right into the promise that God gave you".
And then, he said something else powerful. And he said, "And your hands laid the foundation". God started it, and he said, "Your hands are going to finish this project. For who has despised the day, do not despise the day," one translation said, "Of small beginnings". It's an angel talking about small things, about seemingly insignificant. Don't make little, don't despise the small start. Don't despise how insignificant it looks like your dream is just so down here when you were believing for so much bigger and so much greater that I was going to do.
And I'm preaching today about this angel talking about small things. I wanna call it, "Small Talk from Angels". Zerubbabel was in the dilemma. He was in an unfinished building project. God sent him to rebuild the walls and now nothing's happening. It's been ten years. The workers stopped showing up, they were being sued. You can read the story. They were literally being shut down by the government that was against what they were doing. In that time, the leaders over that providence shut 'em down, time after time. And the project was started, but it was sitting there unfinished for over ten years. And God sent an angel to a depressed leader. A person who started out with a blaze of a vision and great success, and now it's just not happening, It's just not. There's no progress being made in what Zerubbabel knew God had called him to do.
And the angel goes to this depressed leader with a little small talk, and he says, "Let me tell you the key to this whole miracle is don't you despise the little, small part that God has started because if God ever starts something, He is the author and He is the finisher. He will never leave it like it is, even though you've seen nothing taking place for ten years in that area of your life". The devil was whispering in Zerubbabel's ear, "You are a dismal failure. You ought to give up on that vision, give up on that dream, give up on that hope because it's not going to happen". He's standing in the middle of the unfinished, he's depressed, nobody's showing up, the excitement for the vision and project has waned and it's over.
Have you ever had location frustration? By that, I mean you know where you're going, but you don't understand where you are. Do you think that we just showed up and bam, the Lord gave us all of this? Do you have any idea 30 whatever years ago how that it looked so impossible to be where we are today? How many times hell whispered to me, "You can't afford it, you can't do it, you are not good enough... This church can't do it". And in those moments, that's when you need some small talk from the angel, because God rarely starts out big and majestic. He says, "I wanna find people who value, despise not the day of small beginnings". God called you. God gave you the vision. He started it, and now you're discouraged, but here comes an angel. I might be that angel today. Here comes an angel with small talk. He said to him if you keep reading, and I think I read it. He said, "What do you have in your hand"? He said, "I got a plumb line".
That's the thing these builders use. He said, "All I got is a plumb line". He said, "Well, that's what I'm gonna use, that's the small beginning". In other words, just hold the line. When God's told you something, don't despise the day of small beginnings. "I called you. I sent you. Your hand started it, your hands are gonna finish it. It's not by might, it's not by your talent and your power and your connections, but it's by my Spirit," says the Lord of hosts. "Well, what do I do"? You get out front and you hold the line. Just hold the line. Do what I told you to do. Ten years, nobody showed up, and then he said, "And then take the finishing stone". The headstone was the last stone that you put in when the project was complete. And he said, "Go get the headstone". And it was a big deal back then. And he said, "Start shouting at the headstone".
And I preached a sermon on this, and it was while we were building this building. And even my little son, Drake, rode in my lap. He was a little bitty fella, and they put us on a bulldozer. When we walked from the old building to this building as a church, I preached, and we got out and walked down the street and came here, and we dedicated this property, and we had a bulldozer. And me and Drake got on the bulldozer, I wish they had let me drove it around a little bit, but they didn't trust me to do that. And we sat up there and it was running, but they wouldn't let us go nowhere, amen. But the Lord gave me a message in the middle of that and He said, "Tell the people, every time they ride by the property, shout, 'Grace, grace.'" Which means this, if God's grace doesn't do it, you can forget it.
If you've got a dream and it's bigger than what you're able to do and it started out amazing, and now you're in a place where a lot of activity is just not happening concerning that call and that dream, it's gonna take the grace of God. There is a grace that God can give you to do a thing. Sometimes we look for the big things, but there's such glory in the small, significant thing that the grace of God is upon you, and that's what the angel was saying. Zerubbabel's standing there in the midst of the unfinished wanting to quit. I need to tell somebody listening to me today, it's never a good time to quit. You say, "But I'm going through hell".
Well, don't stop there. Keep on moving. I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I don't camp out in it. You know, God notices a holding on spirit. Just get out front and hold the line sometimes and say, "I'm not letting go until you bless me". It's the little things. Despise not the day of small beginnings. The Bible said in Micah 5:2, "Who are you O, Bethlehem though you be small". You're tiny, you're small, but God had such a big plan for that little, little town called Bethlehem. David, the king of Israel would be born in that city, and later Jesus Christ would be born in that city. It was the beginning. What if they had despised the small beginning? There's glory in the little thing when God's hand is on it.
The scripture said, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth"? That was a saying back then because it was considered the smallest, little nowhere place in Israel in Bible days. Can anything good come out of that side of town? Can anything good come out of that bad neighborhood? Can anything good come out of that dysfunctional family? Despise not the day of small beginnings. It's little, but it's loaded. The word "Despise" means do not undervalue where you are. Joseph learned to not devalue where he was. And when they threw him in a pit, stripped him of his coat, he was sold into Egyptian slavery, the scripture said when they put him in Potiphar's house, he did not despise the day of small beginnings, but he worked so hard that Potiphar, the chief executioner of Egypt, put him over his whole house.
And then, when Potiphar's wife lied on Joseph and they threw him into prison for a crime he did not commit, and he served 17 years for a crime he did not commit, he didn't despise where he was. But the Bible said that he worked, and he saw value where he was and the prisoner captain put him over the entire prison, and the Bible said, "Nothing was done in the prison that was not done through the hands of Joseph". I mean, I could see that in my mind. His cell was so clean, his bed was so made, even his little mouse was shampooed and he'd say, "Sit," and it would sit and go up, I don't know what it was, but wherever he was, he flourished. Quit waiting on a big break and if you're in prison right now, God knows where you are, and God starts something, and He'll finish it and...
Well, I feel like preaching. And after 17 years, God said, "Since you didn't devalue the little things, I'm about in 24 hours to take you from the prison to the palace and you're gonna sit at the right hand of the king". Clean your car up, amen. How 'bout the little things? "Woo, I'm waiting on God to give me my house". But the apartment you're in, you don't keep it clean. You gotta value where you are. And God sees that stuff. Alright. You want Bible for it? Luke 19, the parable of the talents. The first servant was given a talent. And the Bible said, "He looked at it and said, That's all I'm getting?'" And the Bible said, "He looked at it and then, 'This small-time mess. This ain't go buy nothing. I'm not gon' do nothing with this. That's just a little bit. I'mma wait till I win the lottery and then I'mma do something with it. But right now, this is nothing".
And the Bible said that he hid it. The second servant was given his talent, and he took it, and he invested it, and he worked it, and he did not despise the day of small beginnings. And listen to this. The Bible said he was, "Faithful with a little". Jesus said, "Because you've been faithful with a little," and Jesus translates faithfulness with a little to kingdom reigning. And He put him over ten cities if you keep reading that story. He put him over ten cities because he was faithful with a little. And he looked at the guy who did nothing with what he had because it was too little, and he said, "You are a wicked servant and I'm gon' take what you've got and give it to that guy who would do something with what he had and wouldn't despise the day of small beginnings".
When you understand that. You know the Bible said that God told Samuel to go anoint someone to be king of Israel in Jesse's house. And Jesse, the father, brought in all his boys. He had eight boys. He brought all of them in but David. And the seven looked like that they were king material. And Samuel started to pour the oil on 'em and he said, "Not that one, not that one, not that one, not that one, not that one". And he said, "Do you not have anybody else"? He said, "I do have a boy out there, but I don't even believe in him and I'm his father. I'm just telling you, he's just a little old. He's the runt of the litter. And..."
Listen to what God said though. I love this about God. God said in Psalm 78, "I saw David when he was following the ewes pregnant with lambs". God said, "I noticed David". God's notices the little things about our walk, about our life that other people don't see. God said, "The first time David caught my attention, it was because he was kind to pregnant sheep. I liked how he picked up that pregnant sheep and carried it when it was struggling". And God said, "You think I don't see the little things? I'm the God who notices the little things".
God noticed Joshua in Exodus 33:11. For the first time, Joshua is mentioned, and the Bible said that the young man tarried in the tabernacle. He tarried in the tabernacle. When the church service was over, all of his buddies said, "Let's go play ball. Let's have a good time". But this young lad named Joshua, God said, "I noticed he loves that church, I notice he's volunteering. I notice if they need somebody to park the cars, he parks the cars. If they need somebody to usher, he ushers. If they need somebody in the choir, he joins the choir. He loves my tabernacle. He tarries in the tabernacle". He became a mighty general, but it started just loving the house. "I noticed that," God said. God first noticed Elisha when he was pouring water over the hands of Elijah.
It's the little things, the insignificant things. The only thing one time Jesus told the disciples to do was, "Push the ship off the shore, and make a platform for Me because there's so many people, I need to stand and borrow your business, your fishing boat, I need to use it to preach from". And all they did was push the boat out into the water to let Jesus stand and preach. Jesus notices the little things. Setting the stage for a miracle. I remember when Jairus' daughter was dead, the scripture said that Jesus told nine of the disciples to wait out in the hall. Said, "Everybody get out of the room," and turned to nine of His disciples and said, "Y'all stay out here in the hall".
And He took three of His disciples and went in the room with Him. And what I want you to understand is sometimes God watches what you do when He has you standing in the lobby when He's doing big business behind the door in other people's ministries, and other people's dreams, and other people's lives, and other people's visions. But they had to keep a good attitude. God had a mighty plan for all nine of those guys. Come on, say, "Amen". But they had to have a good attitude in the hallway when God was doing big stuff. He was raising a dead person with three other disciples in that room, and they didn't get to go in there, they had to stay out in the hall.
Sometimes God has you in the hall to give you an attitude check. He notices the little things. It's not easy to stay in the lobby when Jesus is doing big business behind the door with other people. Keep a good attitude. The little things. Little things can distract us, wait in the lobby. The power of waiting in the lobby with a good attitude is so important until God says it's your turn. The power of pushing the boat out and providing a stage for somebody else, it seems like it's a little thing and they're doing the big thing. But somebody had to push that boat out. God notices the little things.