SHOUT "GRACE, GRACE TO IT!"

The forlorn leader sat on a pile of ruins looking over what had been a beautiful city and the center of worship for his nation. Twelve years earlier 50,000 exiles returned to Jerusalem with permission from the king of Persia to rebuild the altar and the temple. However, only the altar had been rebuilt and work on the temple had stopped without any apparent way to get it going again. The leader of the Jewish exiles was Zerubbabel and he sat looking out over the rubble and the unfinished rebuilding with a growing sense of discouragement.

When the exiles arrived in Jerusalem they were excited and enthusiastic about what lay ahead. God had brought them out of exile back to their home and they felt surely they would quickly rebuild the altar and the temple. But things started to change as opposition arose from the neighboring Samaritans. Not only was there opposition but the pursuit of self-interest began to rise among the exiles. Families wanted to rebuild their own homes and their businesses; they had family needs that demanded attention and their interest and enthusiasm for the work of God began to fade.

Finally weariness set in among the people. After all, it had been twelve years, and when they arrived they had no concept of just how big the task was. First, all the destruction had to be cleared away before they could begin rebuilding. So after twelve years the task was unfinished—but the people were finished. They simply did not want to work on this anymore. No matter what Zerubbabel did, the people refused to go back to work and it appeared to be a hopeless situation.

Into this dreary mess of discouragement God sent a prophet with a message for Zerubbabel, for the exiles, and on down through the centuries it is a message for us. It is a powerful word for anyone who has ever faced the discouragement of an unfulfilled promise, the betrayal of someone close to you, the inability to finish a task that seemed so clear in the beginning. You could write your own list of discouraging and hopeless situations that you are currently facing, I’m sure. But Zechariah has a word from the Lord that is going to change your life.

“This is the word of the Lord . . . ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.
Who are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth the capstone
With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’” (Zechariah 4:6-7, NKJV)

As we understand the situation that confronted the leaders of the exiles, it helps us to understand the word of prophecy for Zerubbabel and the situation he faced.

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”

This sentence has been a part of the vocabulary of the Spirit-filled church for as long as I’ve been alive. When I was a boy at least once a week we sang a chorus at church that began with those words. The truth this statement declares is fundamental to success in the things of God and I am not sure how well I have learned that lesson!

This slogan line of Pentecost affirms that our success will not be constructed on the arm of flesh but it will be breathed into existence by the Spirit of God. This does not demean well thought-out plans or education, but it does prioritize for us God’s involvement in all our plans. “Seek first the kingdom of God . . . and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33, NKJV).

The prophecy then addresses the opposition that had stopped the work on the temple.

“Who are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain.”

“Just who do you think you are, ‘big mountain’? You are not going to stop the progress of God’s kingdom any longer. You are going to be reduced to nothing more than flat ground” (my paraphrase).

“And he shall bring forth the capstone.”

This is very encouraging. The capstone was the finishing stone of a construction project, the final stone to go into the wall. What this statement symbolizes is that the original vision will be brought to completion by the power of God working through His people!

“With shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”

You may ask, “What is this supposed to mean? Is this suggesting that we face our problem and shout ‘Grace, grace!’ at it? This seems too simple and rather undignified.”

Is this undignified? Absolutely, and that’s the point! In our quasi-dignified and overly culturally relevant church we have lost much of our identity and our power, and this story symbolizes that. Somehow in our rush to success we have forgotten that true success in the kingdom of God comes “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit.” Success in the things of God does not come from ideas copied from a best seller on business but from truths that are imparted to praying people who copy them down as heaven speaks them.

Is this exhortation to shout grace at the problem too simple? Probably for some who do not have ears to hear. To others, however, as the revelation comes they will realize that this is one of the most powerful truths we are given. Grace is defined as the “the unlimited and unmerited favor of God.” We can’t buy or earn grace—it is God’s alone to give.

Grace is miraculous and it reminds us, “It is not by might nor by power but by His Spirit!” Grace is the miracle that lifted Joseph out of prison and put him in the palace. Grace took David from being a lowly shepherd boy and constructed the path for him be to become the great warrior king. And grace took Daniel from the ranks of slavery to a man of influence in Babylon.

When Zechariah spoke this prophetic word, I believe he was saying:

“This promise, this vision, is going to be brought to completion not through the strong arm of flesh but by the Spirit of the Lord. You are to turn and face the opposition, this mountain of difficulty that has stopped your forward progress—“the mighty mountain”—and you will watch it turn into flat ground. Be encouraged, child of God, because the promise is going to be fully completed. Right now begin to declare that the favor and blessing of God is upon this promise; this was His vision, born of His Spirit. Go ahead and shout to the opposition, to every problem that is in your way. Shout, ‘Grace, grace!’ Go ahead, don’t just mutter it under your breath, child of God. Say it—shout it like you mean it!”

I first heard this truth taught by our pastor, Dr. Jack Hayford, when we lived in California. Dr. Hayford taught this all over the world in conferences and pastors’ gatherings. Pastor Jack would finish his teaching by leading the group in singing “Amazing Grace.” At the end of the song he would have the musicians continue to play but would instruct the congregants to bring to memory problems they were facing and begin to shout the words, “Grace, grace to it!” He testifies that he has received testimonies from all over the world of miraculous answers that have come because God’s children simply and humbly followed the prophetic word and shouted, “Grace, grace to it!”