Not By Ability, Strength & Wealth
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,‘ says the LORD of hosts.” – Zechariah 4:6
‘Might’ here means human strength, wealth, and ability.
Sometimes it’s hard to determine if a work is being empowered and supported by God. We often look for “fruit” which few agree on what fruit means as some sort of sign that God is in a thing or not.
I’ve seen many Christians have serious reservations about a ministry only to be disarmed and silenced by what they think is spiritual fruit.
A great way of evaluating a thing is not only looking for signs of fruit. But by looking at what sort of fuel a work needs.
- Does it need a massive flow of human might and greatness?
- Does it need a large flow of money?
The extent that a thing is from Jesus it will not need human strength, ability, and wealth. He just does not build with those things. He never did and never will.
If a work requires a powerful man/woman to happen and a lot of money, then it is a work of man. Not Jesus. As good and religious as it may seem… don’t bother with it.
Jesus may be able to work in a little here and there but he does that in spite of man. There is also a lot of fake fruit out there that causes confusion. Every religion claims “fruit” from heaven as some sort of evidence that God is on their side.
Don’t look for fruit, real fruit will be obvious and consistent with the life of Jesus if it’s real.
Instead just look for Jesus with great intensity and consistency. If we will do this He will build with us. He will produce real and lasting fruit as we seek him… preferably together.
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