Table of Contents
PRAYER
Our main goal in this time together is to build relationships and learn to walk alongside one another in all that God has called us to be and do. Let’s start by praying for each other.
Does anyone have prayer requests or personal stories of how God has been moving in your life that we can celebrate together?
RETURN TO ME TOPICS
A Love That… :: A Mercy That… :: A Justice That… :: A Presence That…
THIS WEEK
We’re in a new series called Return to Me: The Heart of God Through the Minor Prophets.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll look at the bold messages of 12 prophets—names you might not know, but words that clearly show God’s deep love and concern for His people.
This week, Pastor Alvin Brown walks through the book of Zechariah to remind us that God’s presence isn’t something we strive to earn. It’s something we’re invited to return to. But how? How is it possible to return when presence goes missing? If you’ve drifted, feel spiritually numb, or just know something’s missing, this message gets to the heart of it.
To begin, let’s reflect on these questions:
What’s one thing this past week that made you smile or gave you peace, even unexpectedly?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
SCRIPTURE
Have someone read aloud Zechariah 1:1-6 and Zechariah 4:6-10. As you listen, notice any words or phrases that stand out, and ask the Holy Spirit to highlight something for you.
Zechariah 1:1-6
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying,
2 “The Lord was very angry with your fathers.
3 Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.
4 Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord.
5 Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, ‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”
Zechariah 4:6-10
6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
7 Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.
10 For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
What does the Lord call us to remember about returning to His presence?
Not by Might
God doesn’t just want our effort and might. He wants our undivided hearts.
Zechariah opens with a clear call from God: “Return to Me.” After 70 years in exile, the people had come home, but their hearts were still far from Him.
They were rebuilding the temple, but God wasn’t after a structure. He wanted relationship. He warned them not to repeat the past by relying on their own strength or just going through the motions.
God’s presence isn’t something we earn through effort. It’s received through repentance, trust, and a heart turned back to Him, made possible through Jesus alone.
What does “returning to God” look like in your life right now?
Have you ever felt like you were “back in the land” but not fully back with God? What was that like?
Why do we tend to rely on our own effort instead of turning to God’s presence?
What keeps us from recognizing that we’ve drifted from God’s presence? What helps us notice and return to His presence?
How does God’s invitation in Zechariah 1:3 challenge or encourage you personally?
Not by Power
God’s presence is not just comforting, it’s convicting.
Even when our hearts yearn to be God’s presence and are willing, we can still feel tired, stuck, or unsure of where to begin. That’s where God’s words to Zerubbabel come in: “Not by might, nor by power…” (Zechariah 4:6).
In other words, this life with God can’t be built through our strength, effort, or hustle. Like a disconnected spark plug in a lawn mower, our work means little without the power of God’s Spirit igniting it. We don’t return to God through striving, but in an obedient and faithful surrender.
What does it look like in your life to rely on your own strength instead of God’s Spirit?
Can you think of a time you were doing all the “right” things but still felt stuck or drained? What did you learn from it?
Why is it so easy to default to hustle, strategy, or willpower when following Jesus?
Where in your life right now do you need to stop doing things in your own power and ask for the power found in the presence of God?
But by My Spirit
God’s presence empowers us to do what we never could on our own.
Through Zechariah, God tells Zerubbabel (and us too!) that rebuilding what truly matters doesn’t happen by our strength or effort, but by His Spirit.
Like a power tool not plugged in, we can have the right tools and intentions, but without the Spirit, nothing lasting takes shape.
God cares more about who we’re becoming in Him than what we achieve for Him. He sees the small steps, not just the big outcomes. He’s not asking us to prove ourselves. He’s inviting us to trust Him.
The real power to return and rebuild comes not from within us, but from the Spirit of God who lives in us through Jesus.
Where in your life are you tempted to rely more on effort than on God’s Spirit?
What small step of faith are you taking, or feel called to take, that no one else sees?
How does it change your perspective to know that God values faithfulness over flashiness?
When have you seen God complete something you could’ve never finished on your own?
What would it look like to stop striving and start trusting in this current season?
CLOSING THOUGHT
Sometimes we drift and don’t even notice when presence goes missing. We’re showing up, doing the things, but our hearts are far.
Zechariah reminds us that God isn’t just after activity, but He’s after our heart’s affection. He doesn’t want us to rebuild life with Him through our own strength or hustle, but by His Spirit.
So if you’re tired, discouraged, or unsure where to start, you’re not disqualified. No, you’re actually in the perfect place to return to His presence.
As it always is, the invitation is still open: not by might, not by power, but by His Spirit. God see, knows, and cares. He sees the small steps, He honors faithfulness, and He finishes what He starts.
So let’s not just go through the motions. Let’s turn our hearts toward Him again, fully, honestly, and humbly.
Let’s close in prayer: God, thank You for inviting us back, not just with our actions, but with our hearts. We admit we’ve tried to do life in our own might and power. Help us to slow down, listen, and trust Your Spirit completely. Remind us that You see the small steps and that You’re not asking us to prove anything other than to surrender to believing in and following You. We desperately want to return to You, and witness others where we live, work, and play return to Your presence as well. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Alvin Brown, the Lead Pastor of Mosaic Church Fort Worth, brings over a decade of pastoral ministry experience and more than 20 years of operational and technical leadership expertise. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Telecommunications Management from DeVry University and an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. He enjoys spending quality time with his wife, Mallary, and their three children and contributing as a writer to various media outlets.
