Melphon's Podcast

I’ve been thinking and meditating upon the theme of God’s presence, His dwelling right from the Garden of Eden, the Tabernacle, the Temple and now the church or the body of Christ.  This morning I woke up, before heading to the morning service, to the powerful consciousness of His presence centred around the words of our Lord in Matthew 18. Concerning the coming together of saints, at least two or three:

 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:19–20).

Matthew 18 is the fourth major discourse of Jesus recorded in Matthew’s Gospel. In verses 15–18, Jesus teaches His followers about conflict, accountability, reconciliation, and life together as the church 

A reflection on Psalm 90

In this prayer of Moses, we encounter a powerful contrast: God is eternal and strong, while our lives are brief and fragile. The psalm moves from praise for His greatness to an honest recognition of our frailty, then closes with heartfelt prayers for His compassion and favour. As we reflect, let us recognise that we can find our refuge in God, seek His wisdom, and trust His strength in our daily lives.

I have decided to take a word from my daily journal to encourage you. Whatever you’re going through, whatever is on your mind, be encouraged!

Today, I seem to have started late! No, I was early as usual, but I lingered a little, troubled by thoughts about my extended family.

I speak about enemies here, but please remember that people are not our enemies. Our enemies are the Devil and the spiritual forces of darkness.

By God’s grace, I joined our church’s morning prayers, Morning Glory, and shared a word of encouragement with all five of us there. Afterwards, I read and meditated on Psalm 92, “a song to be sung on the Sabbath Day”. It greatly encouraged me, and I want to encourage you with these words too.

Do you know that, as a child of God, you have been chosen to ultimately shine, triumph and manifest in light if you lean on God’s truth and hold on to it to the end? This is the hope we read about in the final chapters of Isaiah. The book begins with judgement on God’s people, Judah and Israel, and the nations around them (chapters 1–39). God is a God of justice, so persistent violations of God’s law—sin—must be judged, for “righteousness exalts a nation and sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Yet the message of judgement gives way to future forgiveness, restoration and hope (chapters 40–66), because the God of judgement is also full of grace and mercy.

Information is not scarce; the challenge is knowing what to consume and what to avoid. In a world shaped by social media, our attention is constantly drawn to “what is trending”—the fashions, fads and talk of the day.

Spiritually, too, there are now challenges in discerning the right doctrine, teaching and even theology amid “what is trending” in church circles. There is for example, talk and necessity of “marketplace relevance”, matters of “kingdom and dominion”, “reigning in with Christ in government”, and many other topics out there. The dangers of falling into a trap of wrong teaching, veering off on a spiritual tangent or developing a doctrinal imbalance are many. There is an ever greater need to walk circumspectly, to walk carefully in the spiritual terrain, particularly for younger, immature believers in the faith. Simultaneously,  the zeal to know God, the desire and search for truth among younger generations—millennials, Gen Zs and those younger—is also very high. So how do you avoid the danger of drifting, being misled in the wrong direction or becoming imbalanced? These dangers are real, and sometimes it takes only a small deviation for a plane to go completely off course. How do you, even as a pastor, keep the flock on the right path amidst so many choices of messages—whether popular or from renowned teachers, preachers, apostles and prophets? 

Are you facing a situation and you are wondering, just how will it happen, how will I do it, because you have neither the resources nor strength to accomplish it? This is what today’s message is all about. I particularly want to encourage someone, a servant of God that has begun work, a ministry, calling or a project and you are imagining how it will all come together because presently things are looking tough. You are probably frustrated with the fact that there is little or no progress. 

Part 1: The Flame of Authentic Faith

Introduction 

Today I start a three-part series on the need to pass on truth and build faith generationally revolving around 2 Timothy 2:2. 

Research such as Barna Group findings on the State of the Church highlights that Gen Z value intentional mentorship and peer-to-peer relationships. They respond most effectively to “relational authority”—leaders who listen, walk alongside them, and empower them to lead rather than simply issuing directives.

In this series, we draw lessons from Paul’s personal pastoral letter to his young mentee, Timothy on how and what it means to pass on faith generationally. 

Today we read, “remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you” (2 Timothy 1:7).

“It is not by might nor by power but by my Spirit”

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit…”(Zechariah 4:6) is certainly one of the most reassuring statements, in the Old Testament and, perhaps, the entire Bible. Yes, I have heard it cited countless times and quoted it in my prayers severally. Yet, its applicational significance cannot be fully appreciated until we understand the proper historical setting. This is what we endeavour to do today. 

The historical context of this verse is the book of Ezra. Around 520 BC, a small remnant of Jewish exiles returns to Jerusalem from Babylon under the Persian decree of Cyrus the Great led by Zerubbabel (governor and descendant of King David) and Jeshua (the high priest), their primary mandate is to rebuild Solomon’s destroyed Temple. The initial momentum is halted by relentless political opposition from neighbouring groups, economic hardship, and severe morale failure lasting close to 20 years, “the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia” (Ezra 4:4,5). Three prophets, Zechariah, Haggai and Malachi minister to Judah at the time. 

Zechariah 4 is a message of encouragement. Zerubbabel has neither the political autonomy, economic wealth, nor manpower to finish the temple project. It is into this paralysis that the prophet Zechariah receives a series of night visions to re-energize the leaders. Zechariah 4 centres on a vision of a solid gold lampstand (the menorah) positioned between two olive trees that feed oil directly into the lamp’s bowl through continuous pipes (Zechariah 4:1-3). Zechariah asks the angel of the Lord what the vision means. The oil continuously flowing from the olive trees represents the divine supply of God’s Holy Spirit. The lampstand represents God’s presence and light to the nations (see Revelation 1:20). So, now we read Zechariah 4:6-7 in context: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: “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…”(Zechariah 4:6,7, NKJV).

The message to Zerubbabel is clear, “faith in the power of God’s Spirit [will] overcome mountainous obstacles… reduce them to “level ground.” Nothing will hinder the rebuilding of the temple. The ongoing light (the work of God) isn’t maintained by human labour filling oil jars, but by a direct, uninterrupted supernatural supply”. What’s more,  Zerubbabel is told not to be discouraged by the seemingly slow progress, small beginning, “Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. For who has despised the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:8-10)

Application 

Here is the message to you and I. Are you facing a great challenge; a discouragement; hindrance to your advancement and growth in the Lord; a huge church project that looks unsurmountable? The Lord’s message is do not be discouraged by your lack of force or resources, trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the mountain for, it is “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, Says the Lord of hosts”. Moreover, do not despise any little progress, appearances of success or achievements made so far.    

Lord, I surrender to and look to you. I fully trust in and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Melphon Mayaka