Jentezen Franklin - Small Talks From Angels - Part 2 (06/04/2024)
In Zechariah 4, the angel tells Zerubbabel not to despise small beginnings, promising that the same hands starting the temple will finish it by God's Spirit, not human might. The message hits hard: God turns insignificant starts into mighty completions, encouraging believers not to give up when progress stalls.
A Wake-Up Call from Heaven
I want you to open your Bible to the book of Zechariah chapter 4, verse 1. Verse 1 says, "And the angel that talked with me came again and waked me as a man that is wakened out of his sleep." Talking angel. Then in 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 is the big one: "Then he," 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,' saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain, 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 have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you."
The Power of Small Beginnings
Now here's my key 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 want to 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. The Lord dropped something into my spirit about these verses, and I've never focused in on just this one before, but the whole passage is powerful.
Zerubbabel was sent back to build the temple after it was devastated and destroyed. He was released from Babylonian captivity to go back. He had favor with the king of Babylon to rebuild the temple and the walls in the city. It started off great, but then, like the text says, it felt like a mountain standing in his way.
He laid the foundation, and then nothing happened. He got it going, but the dream and vision God gave him seemed to cease. God sent an angel, and the angel says, "Thus says the Lord to you, Zerubbabel, the mountain you're facing, God is going to smooth it out. It will move from a massive, uncrossable mountain to a smooth highway and plain that you will be able to walk right into the promise God gave you."
Don't Despise the Small Start
And then the angel said something else powerful: "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 of small things?" One translation puts it, "Do not despise the day of small beginnings."
It's an angel talking about small things, about seemingly insignificant starts. Don't make little of it. Don't despise the small start. Don't despise how insignificant it looks when your dream is way down here, but you were believing for so much bigger and greater.
I'm preaching today about this angel talking about small things. I want to call it, "Small Talk from Angels."
Zerubbabel was in a dilemma—he had an unfinished building project. God sent him to rebuild the temple, and now nothing was happening. It had 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.
When Progress Stalls for Years
In that time, the leaders over that province shut them down time after time. The project was started, but it sat there unfinished for over ten years. God sent an angel to a depressed leader—a person who started out with a blaze of vision and great success, and now it's just not happening. 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 word "despise" means do not undervalue where you are.
Joseph learned to not devalue where he was. When they threw him in a pit, stripped him of his coat, sold him 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 put him over his whole house.
Faithfulness in Low Places
And then when Potiphar's wife lied on Joseph and they threw him into prison for a crime he did not commit—he served seventeen years—he didn't despise where he was. The Bible said he worked, saw value where he was, and the prison captain put him over the entire prison. Nothing was done in the prison that was not done through the hands of Joseph.
Quit waiting on a big break. If you're in prison right now, God knows where you are. God starts something, and He'll finish it.
Sometimes God will drop you in the strangest places and say, "Do it here." He took Ezekiel and dropped him in a graveyard and said, "Have at it. Have a revival." "There's nothing here but bones, Lord." Despise not the day of small beginnings.
I hate to tell you this, but there just aren't enough wonderful places. If you're in ministry, there aren't enough great churches just to hand you one. So God will drop you into places and say, "Let me see some passion, let me see some prayer, let me see some sweat, let me see some tears. Build it."
Building Where You Are Planted
When you get weary, endurance has to be transformed into adventure. The Lord told Jeremiah in chapter 29, "Tell the elders of Babylon, who are down there in captivity and want to come home to Jerusalem." Jerusalem is where the glory is, but Babylon is wicked.
He said, "Build houses, plant gardens, seek peace and prosperity in the city that I have put you. Pray for the peace of the city because if it prospers, you will prosper." In other words, sometimes God says, "Build houses and plant gardens. I don't care how bad it is."
That's kinda how you feel about America right now. It looks bad, looks dark, but you know what? We're the church and we're in Babylon right now. We're not home yet.
So what are we gonna do? We're gonna build houses, plant gardens, be the light, stand up for what's right, preach the truth, get out and vote. We're gonna say, "This is our nation, and bless God, hell can't have our schools, our marriages, our communities, our cities, our constitution."
Give me a big "Amen," somebody.
A Personal Word Against Quitting
I remember when I was so discouraged, fighting so many battles, needing so many resources. One time the devil said, "Why don't you just quit?" It felt like he was riding me hard. "Just quit, just quit."
I said out loud, "Because I'm called, you fool. And I'm never gonna give up, and I will not despise the day of small beginnings." Hallelujah.
I'm saying right where you are, God can bless you. Right where you are, God can use you. Right where you are, God can raise you from insignificance to great impact for His glory.
I don't know who feels like giving up, but the Lord told me to tell you: He's the God who can take the small things and multiply them exceedingly, abundantly above all you can ask or think.
An Altar Call for Breakthrough
I'm gonna ask you to stand to your feet. And it seems like such a small thing that I'm gonna ask you. But I feel like saying to every person in this room, if you don't know you're right with God, this is your altar call.
If you've got trouble in your home or in your life, this is your altar call. If you're in a painful season when it looks like your dream is drying up and dying, God does not want you to quit and give up.
I don't believe you're here by accident. I believe there's glory in the insignificant. When God breathes on it, it will live.
If I'm preaching to you and you know it, get out of your seat and come stand right down here. I'm not gonna do this long. It's not how long we pray, it's the small prayers, the small beliefs—all it takes is a mustard seed of faith.
Especially, this is what I feel: You're fighting for your dream right now. You've worked hard and you need to see a breakthrough.
Come on. I need this church to just lift your hands all over this room. And maybe there's trouble in your home—shout the grace of God. If the grace of God doesn't do it, you sure can't do it.
If you got a son or daughter on drugs or alcohol or whatever, just see the small things God's doing. He can turn it around if you'll believe.
A Special Call to the Young
Alright, now listen to me. I felt the Lord check me and He said, "I want you to challenge the young people, the youth that are in this room. I'm going to transplant my dream for their life."
I want teenagers, college students, if you're in your twenties and under—this is crazy, I've never done this—but I want you to get on the stage with me because today's gonna be a day when God... 'Cause you gotta know your purpose.
You don't decide it. Listen carefully: you don't decide your purpose. It was put in you the day you were conceived.
And this is an important service because if God's grace comes on you to do a thing, nobody can hold you back, nobody can stop you, nobody can tell you how far you can go.
God puts a dream in His people. Because if our young people don't have a vision, they become unrestrained. They'll waste years doing crazy stuff, but when you got a vision for your life, it keeps you disciplined.
And He says, "Don't you despise the day of small beginnings." Don't devalue who you are, who God is, and His dream and purpose for your life.
Surrender and Step Into Purpose
I was 20 years old when God called me to preach. How many of you are 20? Let me see your hand. I was you. God found me at 20 and said, "I have called you to do a thing." And you're just as called as I am in whatever field God puts in your heart.
You gotta seek the Lord. If you're not careful, you're gonna wait your whole life. So at a young age, really commit to God and say, "Show me the way."
You're so important to us. You're so important to the kingdom of God. You're not gonna be perfect, you're gonna mess up, do stupid things—that's part of life. But if you'll keep holding on to God, hold the line, stand for Jesus.
Now, pray right now, and I want them to begin to sing this song. Close your eyes and say, "Jesus, I surrender everything to you. I'm stressed out, worried about how I'm gonna do it. So I just give up and give everything over to you, use me."
Use me, use my gifts, use my talents. I will not despise the day of small beginnings. This is a big moment. This is a moment that will mark you.