Seeking God’s Favor – part 3
Zechariah 7:1-14 (11-14)
December 18, 2016

We are now in a new section here in the book of Zechariah.
• It has been two years since those night visions and the temple is about half-way finished.
• And during this period we had an incident occur that sort of inspired this new section.
• We had a group of men travel to Jerusalem from Bethel with the intention of seeking God’s Favor.

(2) “Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD.”
Literally “to soften the face of the LORD”

And their question gave us a little more insight there as well.
They wanted to know:
(3) “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?”

We noted that they had been fasting in the fifth month
In remembrance of the destruction of the temple and the burning of Jerusalem.

But there were two main reasons why that was no longer making sense.
• One was because the new temple was half-way finished and frankly it seems strange to fast about a destroyed temple when you’ve nearly got a new one.

• But perhaps the bigger issue was that it didn’t seem like that fast they had been so faithful to participate in had brought about the type of favorable response from God they had anticipated.

So now they are going to Jerusalem to see what’s up.
• God, are you just not interested in this fast?
• God, why are you not rewarding this fast like we expected?

So we are talking about what it means to seek God’s favor.
How you do it…
Why you do it…
What you should expect when you do it…

The first thing God addressed with them was in regard to their motive.
#1 CONSIDER YOUR REAL PURPOSE
Zechariah 7:1-7

What God revealed was that they weren’t fasting to please God,
They were ultimately fasting to please themselves.

They were only fasting as a means to manipulate good things out of God.
That is an absolutely wrong motive.

The things we do can only be done for one purpose and one purpose only
And that purpose is for the glory of God.

And even when we do receive reward from God we must understand that
It is only because He is generous, not because we have earned it.

Since everything we get from God is the result of His generosity
We have to quit looking at our service as a means to earn reward
And instead look at it as a means in which to glorify God.

Jesus spelled it out really clearly:
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

So the first issue you need to look at regarding a life
that seeks to please God or earn His favor is that you ask yourself:
Why you are doing it; what is your motive?

Is it for God’s glory or your benefit?
One is a true sacrifice, one is not.

So first we said to Consider Your Real Purpose

Then last week we started looking at the next truth to consider if you really desire to live a life that pleases God.
#2 CONSIDER SCRIPTURE’S REITERATED PROPHECIES
Zechariah 7:9-10

And this is really such a good and important point that is made.

(9) “Thus HAS the LORD of hosts SAID…”

In other words Zechariah points them
Not to a new revelation from God, but to an old revelation.

In this case it is a revealed word
That God has said over and over and over and over again.

“Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.”

We do need to look at that command in its specific nature,
But first we need to recognize that this is not a new command.

In fact, we looked at nearly every Old Testament prophet
And found that they were all saying this.

The problem was that Israel continually ignored those sermons
In favor of continuing on in their religious traditions.

And to that we were making this point.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SEEKING THE FAVOR OF GOD
AND IN DOING THE THINGS THAT ARE PLEASING TO HIM;
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO THAT WITH A CLOSED BIBLE.

God has not kept His desires for how you should live your life a secret.
In fact in most cases He has said it over and over and over.

These people were going through strenuous religious ordinances
In order to try and earn God’s favor;
How much easier it would have been to just read the Bible
And see what God had already said He wanted?

AND HOW INSIGHTFUL THIS IS FOR US.
How often we come wanting God’s favor, wanting to please God,
AND LIKE THESE PEOPLE WE SEEK IT THROUGH A MEANS
WHICH GOD HAS NOT COMMANDED

Let me give you a New Testament example:
TURN TO: MATTHEW 15:1-9
• Did you hear Jesus there?
• It’s the same thing isn’t it?

You got all caught up in some religious ceremony
And totally disregarded what I’ve been saying for years.

Let me show you another New Testament church that got off track here.
The church at Colossae obviously wanted to please God,
But the problem was that they were trying to please God
Without knowledge of the truth that God had revealed.

That is why Paul prayed for them like this:
Colossians 1:9-10 “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”

What were they doing?
How were they trying to please God?
Colossians 2:16-23 “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day — things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use) — in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

Someone had told them that it was all about their religious routine.
Their festivals and new moons and Sabbaths and what they handled and tasted and touched and even more than that, what they abstained from.

And Paul said “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

In other words, those things all look good, but they really don’t help at all.
You would be better off to have a true knowledge of what God actually wants so that you know how to really please Him in the way you live.

Which is why Paul went on in chapter 3. (reminding what God wants)
Colossians 3:5-10 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him”

See, it’s not confusing.
Just learn to do the things that God has said to do in His word.

WHAT IS MY POINT?
• If you are serious about seeking the favor of the Lord…
• If you are serious about living in a manner that pleases the Lord…
• Then read your Bible and do what He says.

It is IMPOSSIBLE for someone to claim that they are seeking God and desiring to please Him WITH A CLOSED BIBLE.

1 John 2:3-6 “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

It is also IMPOSSIBLE to claim to seek God and desire to please Him if a person DOES NOT DO what their Bible says.

James 1:19-25 “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”

You get the point?
If you really are serious about living a life that pleases God
You cannot do this apart from studying and obeying the word of God.

These people want to please God,
Zechariah merely tells them that they should
Do what God has been saying for years.

With that being said, it is important that we not skip over those specifics.
We need to pay attention to those things as well,
Lest we end up just like the Israelites of old.

Look at the list:
“Dispense true justice”
(Treat your brother the way God says to treat him)
“practice kindness and compassion each to his brother”
(sounds like the golden rule here doesn’t it?)
“do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor;”
(that is refusing to take advantage of those who are easy to take advantage of)
“do not devise evil in your hearts against one another”
(that is focusing on self and how to get ahead of your brother)

I actually heard Joel Olsteen on TV this week say that
“You cannot love your brother if you do not love yourself.”

That is the exact opposite of what Scripture says.
Scripture says you cannot love your brother if you do love yourself.
You’ll naturally love yourself, you have to choose to love your brother.

Now none of those commands are surprising to us,
We’ve seen them continually.

These are the types of things that God has commanded if you want to please Him.
WHY?

Because all of these commands
Are a direct contradiction to the natural desires of the flesh.

• The flesh will cheat and lie to get ahead.
• The flesh will take advantage of people less powerful.
• The flesh will look out for itself before it ever cares about anyone else
• The flesh will constantly look for a way to get ahead, even by plotting evil

The ONLY reason a person would walk in “true justice”
The ONLY reason a person would “practice kindness and compassion”
The ONLY reason a person would care for “the widow or the orphan”
The ONLY reason a person devises good in their heart instead of evil

IS BECAUSE GOD HAS COMMANDED IT

Let me give you a New Testament equivalent here.
TURN TO: ROMANS 12

Everyone is familiar with that opening verse about worship being
When you present your body a living sacrifice to God.

But what does that mean really?

(READ 9-21)
There is something like 27 individual commands there
And none of them is easy and none of them is automatic.

The only reason you would do any of those things
Is because they please God.

And now you are starting to understand what worship is,
And what it means to seek God’s favor,
And what it means to live to please God.

We seek God’s favor…
We live to please God…
When we do the things that God has commanded, for God’s glory alone,
Even if those things don’t naturally appeal to us at all.
Make sense?

So you want to please God…
• Consider the Real Purpose (motive)
• Consider the Revealed Prophecy (what God has said)

But there is a third thing we need to understand as well.
#3 CONSIDER GOD’S REVEALED PASSION
Zechariah 7:11-14

We just looked at everything God had been saying throughout history
To His people through His prophets.

• It didn’t take us long to figure out what things really mattered to God.
• It didn’t take us long to figure out how to really please Him and seek His favor.

However, those in the past
Ignored all that God said through those prophets.

In short, God told them to drop the religion and start obeying from the heart and they ignored Him.
(11-12a) “But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets;”

The question is:
HOW DID THAT WORK OUT FOR THEM?

(12b) “therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.”

Really, what did His great wrath look like?
(13-14) “And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the LORD of hosts; “but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is desolated behind them so that no one went back and forth, for they made the pleasant land desolate.”

So let me ask you a question.
• Would you say that these things actually mattered to God?

• I know God said to do all those things, but did He really care whether or not you did them or was He just sort of cool about the whole thing?

I’d say it really mattered.
GOD’S REVEALED PASSION speaks volumes about how to please Him.
God was really angry. So angry in fact that He scattered Israel, destroyed their temple, ignored their prayers and made their land desolate.

• Time and time again God told these people to do justice and walk
humbly and love their brother.

• Time and time again they ignored those commands and sought
instead to bring sacrifices to God as an appeasement.

In response to their stubbornness God “refused to listen to them”,
He “scattered them…among all the nations”,
And He “desolated” their land behind them.

And apparently 70 years later, they still haven’t figured that out.

I know we looked at part of it last week, but let me take you a little further:
TURN TO: JEREMIAH 7

Last week we read (1-7), let’s go a little further.
(READ 8-16)
• Before Jerusalem there was Shiloh.
• It was were God first dwelled in Israel.

But God had no qualms destroying that place because Israel didn’t get it.

Now TURN TO: 1 Samuel 4

Here was Shiloh, where God’s ark dwelled.
(READ 4:1-11)

Now notice what Jeremiah was doing in Jeremiah 7.
He was asking people who were currently missing the point
To consider people who had previously missed the point.

Jeremiah was asking the religious people of Jerusalem
To consider how God previously destroyed the religious people of Shiloh.

In effect, he was telling them to Consider God’s Revealed Passion.

That is the same thing Zechariah is now doing 70 years later.
He is asking these refugees to consider the revealed passion of God back in the days of Jeremiah.

Do you see how angry God was back then?
• Just as Jeremiah told them they should learn from the previous destruction of Shiloh.
• Zechariah is telling them they should learn from the previous destruction of Jerusalem.

See, you learn what people want in the present,
By the way they responded to similar situations in the past.

I had a dad that could teach you how to read minds.
• Because if you didn’t learn to read his mind you were going to get in a lot of
trouble.
• I learned from past experiences how to please him in the present.

When Carrie was pregnant with Zek and we were living in Crawford,
• I was pouring a glass of tea, and after I finished pouring a glass of tea some
tea ran down the front of the pitcher. I grabbed the dish towel and wiped it off. Carrie looked at me and said, “I know you didn’t just wipe that tea off with my dish towel.” I’ve never done it again since!

YOU SHOULD LEARN FROM RESPONSES IN THE PAST.
(Israel didn’t)

And incidentally we should as well.
TURN TO: 1 Corinthians 10:1-11

Learn from the past.
• If you really want to please God, then find out what sort of things pleased Him in the past.
• If you want to avoid irritating God, then find out what sort of things irritated Him in the past.

Consider God’s Revealed Passion
WHAT IS THE POINT?

We have here a delegation of people who have been fasting for 70 years
And they have come to God to find out what their sacrifice is worth.

And to answer them God reveals that
• Although their sacrifice may have in fact been very difficult,
• It was actually no different than what their ancestors continually
did.
• They totally ignored what God said was important in order to do
the things they thought should earn them the most reward.

This never worked in the past,
So why would you expect that it would work now?

Listen to Jesus on the issue:
Matthew 23:23-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

It’s the same issue isn’t it?
If you want to please God…
If you are really interested in seeking God’s favor…

• Then open your Bible and read about what He says pleases Him and do that.

• But don’t invent your own system of religious works and then take them to God expecting Him to reward you for it.

• God is a generous and gracious God who does promise many times to reward His children with good things.

• But it is important to understand that those rewards are NEVER earned, but are always given out of God’s grace.

• In response to this grace, we then seek to do the things that God says please Him.

• Not because these things gain us more earthly treasure, but because these things bring God more glory.

If you want to seek God’s favor…
If you want to please God…
• Do it with a pure heart.
• Do it with an open Bible.
• Do it with a historical context of how God has responded before.

2 Corinthians 5:9 “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”

Our God Reigns
Revelation 11:14-19
December 18, 2016

Recently we have been looking at another parenthetical section in the book.

After observing the hardness of heart by sinners who refused to repent even after the horror of the first and second woes, which was also the 5th and 6th trumpet,
One had to wonder if all this preaching is really worth it.

If the truth I preach is only going to get me in trouble and they aren’t going to believe anyway, then why bother?

Chapter 10 and the first 13 verses of chapter 11 answered that question.
On one hand we “prophesy again” because we don’t want anyone’s blood on our hands.

There is a terrible judgment coming upon this world and sinners
(whether they listen or not) must be warned.

On the other hand we continue because we serve a God who has the ability to save even the most unthinkable people through the preaching of the gospel.

We saw that in chapter 11 where God used two faithful witnesses to bring about full scale salvation to:
• A city that was so evil that it was actually called “Sodom and Egypt”;
• A city so dangerous that Jesus Himself warned believers to flee.
• A city with a history of already having killed the Son of God
• A city where Satan himself currently sets up his center of worship.

We saw God save that city through His two faithful witnesses.

And so we learned that despite what it looks like,
We should remain faithful to preach the gospel
Because sinners must hear and because
We don’t know what God might actually be accomplishing.

Well now that parenthetical section is over and we are back on schedule, all be it, very briefly.

We read in verse 14, “The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”

This verse actually flows seamlessly from the end of Revelation 9.

• That “second woe” was the 200 million strong demonic death army that killed 1/3 of the earth’s population.

• That woe is over “behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”

So we are back now into the natural chronological flow.
(You should know that this flow won’t last long,
as chapters 12-14, are yet another parenthetical section)

But for this morning we are back on track;
Specifically with the sounding of the seventh trumpet.

The seventh trumpet represents that coming and dreaded “third woe”.
And now it is upon us.

But before we see the specifics of that “third woe” we first are given here a very important and highly anticipated announcement.

It is the announcement of the reign of Jesus Christ.

3 things
#1 THE DECLARATION OF CHRIST’S REIGN
Revelation 11:15

Here we have that sounding of the seventh and final trumpet.
“Then the seventh angel sounded;”

And I would remind you that this trumpet is a very significant one.
One of the things we learned in that most recent parenthetical section is that
THIS TRUMPET WOULD MARK THE END.

Revelation 10:5-7 “Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, WHO CREATED HEAVEN AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE EARTH AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE SEA AND THE THINGS IN IT, that there will be delay no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.”

At this trumpet God’s patience will have fully run its course.
“there will be delay no longer”

Everything that God promised in the Old Testament to the prophets
Will finally come to its full fruition at the sounding of this trumpet.
When this trumpet sounds we know it is the end.

And that is why before we have a description of the details
We have a much anticipated announcement.

“and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”

With the announcement of the final judgment of God,
Also comes the announcement of the reign of Christ.

What is actually occurring here?
It is a transfer of power.

Yes it is true that God has always been and will always be sovereign.
He has never lost control in even the slightest measure.

However starting way back in the garden we saw the usurper show up and corrupt God’s creation.
• God had created everything perfect and God had declared everything good.
• However, the enemy deceived Eve and tempted Adam who transgressed
God’s command and instantly this world fell into the power of the evil one.

That is why throughout the N.T. we have such strange titles for Satan.
• 2 Corinthians 4:4 calls him “the god of this world”
• Ephesians 2:2 calls him “the prince of the power of the air”
• John 12:31 calls him “the ruler of this world”
• 1 John 5:19 says that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one”
• Revelation 2:13 taught us that Pergamum is “where Satan’s throne is”

In short, while God is sovereign over all things
We do understand that Satan is the usurper and deceiver
Who has set up his throne on the earth and currently
We do not see the physical kingdom of Christ here,
We see only the kingdom of Satan.

This is also why Satan was able to offer this kingdom to Christ during His temptation.
Matthew 4:8-9 “Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”

Satan could legitimately make that offer because he is in fact the god of this world
And this world does in fact lie in his power.

Furthermore “the kingdom of this world”
IS A KINGDOM THAT TOTALLY OPPOSES GOD.

The Psalmist hit the nail on the head:
Psalms 2:1-3 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”

That continues to be the cry of the world even today.
There is no interest in bowing in submission to God.
There is no interest in following His commands.
The world is in a hurry to throw off God in every possible way.

Paul thoroughly described this rebellion in Romans 1.
TURN TO: ROMANS 1:18

We are hit with the reality that man does know God,
It is just that they don’t like the truth about God that they know,
So they suppress it.

God has made Himself evident through creation
And man has resisted that revelation at every turn.

Paul says that they “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man”

Instead of God, the world wants religion.
(You can easily craft religion to fit your own desires, much like an idol.)
They exchange the glory for an image.

(25) “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…”

They also exchange the truth for a lie.

(26) “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural.”

They exchange the natural for the unnatural
Thus rejecting God’s intention for humanity.

(28) “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer; God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,”

They also change what is proper for what is improper.

You get the idea?
The “kingdom of this world” is ANTI-CHRIST at every turn.

And to make things worse…
(Romans 1:32) “and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

It is absolute and utter rebellion against God.
Not only is it participation in things which God calls evil,
But it is also approval of those who do it.

It is the kingdom of this world and it hates God, hates Christ,
And emphatically resists any rule that He might have over them.

Jesus summed it up after His parable of the minas.
Luke 19:27 “But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.”

The world in which we live is in utter rebellion against Christ.
We do not see Christ’s kingdom reigning upon the earth.
The kingdom we see is a direct opposite of Christ’s kingdom.

AND GOD HAS CLEARLY DRAWN THE BATTLE LINES.
James 4:4 “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

These two kingdoms have nothing in common.
And God has clearly stated which kingdom must have our allegiance.

That is also why this current kingdom is SO GRIEVOUS to believers.
• Have we not prayed, “Your will kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”?

• It is why we saw John weeping in chapter 5, it is because he was afraid no one was ever going to overthrow that kingdom.

Well rest assured that “the kingdom of the world” will not last.
When that seventh trumpet sounds we finally hear
The declaration of what every believer has longed for.

It is the declaration of what every believer has prayed for.

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ”

And you should know that it is an ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY.
Psalms 2:1-9 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'”

Even in the day when the world rebels the hardest,
And takes its strongest measures against the will of God;
GOD IS NOT WORRIED IN THE LEAST.

• When schools cancel prayer…
• When judges legalize gay marriage…
• When scientists promote evolution…
• When governments censor evangelism…

“He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.”

Their attempts are as futile as Pilate putting that seal on the tomb of Jesus.
It won’t work.

God has already decreed that there is a day coming
In which the kingdom of this world will fall and Christ will reign.

Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

1 Corinthians 15:24-28 “then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.”

CHRIST WILL REIGN.

“and He will reign forever and ever.”
• There is no “let’s just survive the next 4 years” mentality here.
• When Christ begins to reign He will never relinquish the throne.

Isaiah 9:7 “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

Daniel 2:44 “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.”

Luke 1:30-33 “The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

The kingdom is coming, and when it comes it will never end.

Adrian Rogers:
“People ask all the time, ‘What’s this world coming to?’. I’ll tell you what it’s coming to, it’s coming to Jesus. Jesus owns this world. It was made by Him and for Him and the Bible says it’s coming back to Him…and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ.”

That is what we see here.
It is the Declaration of God’s Reign.

#2 THE DESCRIPTION OF CHRIST’S REIGN
Revelation 11:16-18

The fact of God’s reign is a certainty, but what will God’s reign mean?

We just finished an election cycle in our country,
And our new president will be sworn in in about a month.
Many are asking, “What will a Donald Trump presidency look like for America?”

Well that remains to be seen,
But I can tell you what a Jesus Christ kingdom will look like for this world.

1) IT WILL MEAN GLORY FOR GOD (16-17)
“And the twenty-four elders, who sit on the their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.”

Listen to heaven here:
You are and You were, and now we see that You always will be.
• You have always had the power to do anything You desired.
• You have always had the power to bring all things under Your control.
• You have always had the power to break all rebels into submission.

AND TODAY YOU HAVE FINALLY DONE IT!
Thank You God!!!

The Reign of Christ will mean Glory for God.
Philippians 2:11 “and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

On this day God will no longer be scorned or rejected or ignored.
God will be glorified.

2) IT WILL MEAN DEFEAT FOR THE ENEMY (18a)
“And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came,”

• We’ve already talked about the animosity of the nations.
• We’ve already seen how they did not want the Lord to reign over them.
• Today we see people repeatedly reject the truths of Scripture and the commands of Holy God.
• They read what the Bible says and then defiantly reject it, in effect telling God to leave them alone and “You’re not the boss of me!”

And here we find that when Christ did come to reign
The world was “enraged” at Him and sought to keep Him from reigning.
In fact they killed Him by death on a cross.

But as Peter said at Pentecost:
Acts 2:32-36 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”‘ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.”

The nations may in fact be enraged at God and His Christ,
But that is of absolutely no significance.

The answer is given in 4 little words:
“but Your wrath came”

And of course they are referring to the great wrath of the tribulation
Whereby we have seen God exterminate sinners.

They rebelled against God, but they will not succeed.
Jesus will reign and His enemies, (regardless of how angry they are),
Will not survive.

The Reign of Christ means glory for God, and defeat for the enemy
3) IT WILL MEAN JUDGMENT FOR SINNERS (18b)
“and the time came for the dead to be judged,”

This world can cry “judge not!” all they want but that will not stop God.
He will judge all sinners.
Every man will give an account of their deeds.

Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,”

It is no secret that the world hates judgment.
• The world hates to have their sin exposed.
• The world hates to have their sin confronted.
• The world hates to have their sin rebuked.

But it doesn’t matter.
When Jesus reigns it will mean judgment for sinners.

4) IT WILL MEAN REWARD FOR THE RIGHTEOUS (18c)
“and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great”

Today the righteous press on amidst toil and conflict.

1 Corinthians 4:11-13 “To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.”

Jeremiah was probably the most outspoken about this.
Jeremiah 15:15-18 “You who know, O LORD, Remember me, take notice of me, And take vengeance for me on my persecutors. Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away; Know that for Your sake I endure reproach. Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. I did not sit in the circle of merrymakers, Nor did I exult. Because of Your hand upon me I sat alone, For You filled me with indignation. Why has my pain been perpetual And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream With water that is unreliable?”

The kingdom of this world is hard on those who are faithful.

But on the day that Jesus reigns
All those who remained faithful will be rewarded.

WHY?
Because for the first time in the history of the world we will have A JUST KING.

Isaiah 11:3-5 “And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.”

What a glorious day this will be!
• No more will sin be accepted…
• No more will sin be celebrated…
• No more will sin be tolerated…
• No more will righteousness be scorned…
• No more will faithfulness be attacked…

When Jesus reigns sinners are judged and the righteous are rewarded.
You get excited just thinking about it don’t you!

5) IT WILL MEAN THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED (18d)
“and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

Here we find that God is an environmentalist,
But not in the way in which we think of it today.
He’s not referring to those who use hairspray or burn tires or make Styrofoam.

God is referring to those who have corrupted the world with their sin.
It wasn’t hairspray that wrecked God’s creation, it was sin.

Genesis 3:17 “Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.”

Isaiah 24:20 “The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard And it totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it, And it will fall, never to rise again.”

It is sinners who continue to corrupt God’s creation

You want to know the biggest pollutant on the earth according to God?
Numbers 35:33 “So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it.”

Listen: A Pro-Choice Environmentalist is an Oxymoron
(heavy on the moron)

But when Jesus reigns, not only will they be judged,
They will also be destroyed so that they never hurt this earth again.

Isaiah 11:9 “They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.”

God will be glorified
The enemy will be defeated
Sinners will be judged
The righteous will be rewarded
The wicked will be destroyed
And because the time has come, heaven is absolutely rejoicing!

The Declaration of Christ’s Reign The Description of Christ’s Reign
#3 THE DEMONSTRATION OF CHRIST’S REIGN
Revelation 11:19

This is an interesting scene,
And one which is a little difficult to fully understand.

In particular it is very Jewish in its feel
Since it deals with “the ark of His covenant”

If you are not familiar with the Ark of the Covenant, let me give you a very brief crash course.

• When Moses was on Sinai immediately following the Exodus from Israel God
gave him specific instructions regarding the building of this ark (like a chest)

• This ark was to be set inside the holy of holies and on top of this ark is where
the mercy seat would rest.

• And this would be the place where God would promise to meet with Moses and
speak with him.

It became synonymous with God’s presence, even God’s glory.
Many times in the Old Testament they would take the ark with them
Signifying God’s presence in their endeavors.

It also became a lasting symbol of God’s faithfulness,
Since the inside the ark they were to keep the ten commandments, a jar of manna, and Aaron’s staff which budded.

• The ten commandments represented God’s law
• The jar of manna was to remember God’s faithful provision
• Aaron’s staff was to remember God’s sovereign rule through His appointed leaders.

This ark then not only represented God’s presence,
But also His faithful working with and for Israel.

I THINK IT IS INTERESTING THAT IT APPEARS NOW.
We have already discussed that the primary purpose of the tribulation will be the salvation of Israel.

Well on this day, when Jesus begins to reign,
God allows Israel to see that although they had broken their covenant
And even lost their ark of the covenant, God never had.

• They may have broken God’s Law
• They may have forgotten God’s provision
• They may have rejected God’s appointed leader
BUT GOD HAD NOT

They were faithless, but He remained faithful.
Certainly after having killed their Messiah, they had no grounds to ever expect that He would still one day come and reign.

But He will, because God remains faithful to His promises.

But that is not all we see.
“and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.”

Here we have a preview of what is to come.
We know that after the blasting of this 7th trumpet there are 7 vials
Or 7 bowls of wrath that will be poured out.

Let me read to you real quick a description of that final bowl.
Revelation 16:17-21 “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.”

The final wrath will be seen in “lightning” and “thunder” and an “earthquake” and a “hailstorm”.

Here we have a taste of what God’s judgment will feel like on the earth.
When heaven announced that Christ would reign,
The earth instantly gets a little taste
Of what that final act of judgment will feel like.

NOW THE REALITY FOR THE EARTH IS THIS:
• There is no chance that the kingdom of this world will survive.
• Jesus is going to reign, God has already decreed it.
• And He will reign in perfect justice.

To that end, Peter asked:
2 Peter 3:11-13 “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”

The Psalmist said it like this:
Psalms 2:7-12 “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

There is no future in resisting the reign of Christ in your life.

When Peter told the Jews at Pentecost that God had made the Jesus who they had crucified both Lord and Christ, here is how they responded:
Acts 2:36-42 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

That is a very fitting and appropriate response.
Since Jesus will reign and will judge and destroy all sinners,
It is only fitting that you repent of your sin and submit your life to Christ.

Our God Reigns.

Seeking God’s Favor – part 2
Zechariah 7:1-14 (8-10)
December 11, 2016

Last time we met we began looking at this new section of the book of Zechariah.
• It occurred two years after the night visions.
• It is a section prompted by the arrival of a group of men from Bethel.

Scripture says that they came to “seek the favor of the LORD,”
(Literally: “to soften the face of the LORD” or “to stroke the face of the LORD”)
They were after God’s favor.

And I think this is a pretty important point for us to consider.

Now certainly we don’t want to confuse this with salvation.
That is to say that we in no way want anyone to think that
We are seeking to please God to such an extent to cause him to save us.

THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE.
Paul is clear that “there is none who does good, not even one.”

Galatians 2:21 “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

We know that justification only occurs through faith in Jesus Christ.
It is His righteousness that is credited to our account
Whereby God then declares us righteous based on what He has done.

That is justification…that is not what we are talking about.

We’re talking about those who are already saved.
(We’re talking about the justified, the elect, the chosen, the redeemed)

That is what Israel was.
God had already revealed that through those night visions.

What we are talking about is
How we as believers continue to seek the favor of God,
And what sort of reward we can expect for it.

And while Christ has made us pleasing to the Father,
We are still those who seek to please God with our lives.

Colossians 1:9-10 “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”

Saying also:
2 Corinthians 5:9 “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”

2 Timothy 2:4 “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.”

So it is clear that for a believer there is still the issue of
Seeking to please God in the way in which we live.

But that is an issue that has been VERY CONFUSING for God’s people,
Not only today, but clearly also in the past.

And that is what we are here talking about.
• We have a group of people who have traveled to Jerusalem to seek God’s favor.

• Just from our reading it seems as though perhaps this was a group who was curious why God’s favor wasn’t more readily seen in their lives.

In fact, they came asking a question.
(It was the question which provoked the response of Zechariah 7 and 8)

“Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?”

Just by way of REMINDER:
• There was no fast commanded for the fifth month anywhere in the Law.
• The fifth month was the month that the temple was destroyed.
• No doubt it became a commemorative and yearly time of weeping and fasting as the anniversary of that terrible event came each year.
• But it wasn’t commanded.

HOWEVER, we noted that it had been 70 years since the temple had been destroyed.
• Odds are good that these who have made the 12 mile journey from Bethel to Jerusalem weren’t even alive when the event occurred.
• For them it was far less about grief and emotion and despair, and much more about tradition.
• They did it because they had always done it. One such indicator is the fact that they are still going by their Babylonian names and not Jewish names

These people were most likely raised in Babylon
And had merely continued on with this uncommanded fast
Out of tradition.

Now they have returned to Israel
And they want to know if they should continue.

As we said last time this feels a little like a LOADED QUESTION.
It’s almost as if they have given God their resume,
Reminding Him that they have faithfully participated in this fast for many years.

The reality is that they want to know if
There is any pay off for what they have done.
What sort of spiritual currency have they accumulated?
And why isn’t it more apparent in their lives?

And we noted that it is human nature to gravitate here.
Most of us (though none would admit it) like to believe that
We deserve certain amounts of God’s favor
As a reward for the things we do well.

Like Peter who asked Jesus, “Behold we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”

To which Jesus responded that they would be rewarded,
But that God’s reward system is not like you think.

In fact Jesus gave that cryptic statement and the parable that followed, “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.”

There Jesus indicated that God does reward His children,
But that reward is not based upon merit, but upon God’s generosity.

It didn’t matter if you came to work early in the morning, at midday, or in the evening, God’s generosity rewarded the same.

But we like to think that when we do religious things
That we deserve more favor than those who don’t.

After all, we attend church…on Sunday night…in the cold!
Surely God will reward us better than those who didn’t.

That was sort of the attitude of this delegation.
They wanted to know what sort of favor they would be receiving
For their tremendous sacrifice.

But if you’ll remember God had a question for them.
In fact it was a question God had already asked
Many years before through Isaiah in Isaiah 58.

#1 CONSIDER YOUR REAL PURPOSE
Zechariah 7:4-7

The question God asked was this:
(5) “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?”

And of course you notice that God added in there the “seventh” month
Which they had not mentioned.
The 7th month was the murder of Gedaliah.
God actually beats them to the punch and says
“I know all about your fasts”
What I want to know is were any of them done for Me?

And of course the answer God reveals is “NO”
(6) “’When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves?”

The first answer given to these who want to know their reward
Is that their sacrifice was invalid
Because it wasn’t actually a sacrifice.

When you sacrifice one thing just so you can gain another,
That’s not called sacrifice, that’s called an investment.

I could tell you that I gave $15 dollars Friday morning to a couple in need. And that sounds sacrificial until you find out that
They gave me donuts in response.

Yes I parted with my money but the payoff was baked sugary goodness!
You can’t call that a sacrifice.

And it works the same for religious involvement.

TURN TO: Matthew 6
• (READ 6:1-4)
• (READ 6:5-6)
• (READ 6:16-18)

Jesus was making that same point wasn’t He?
You can’t call your giving or your praying or your fasting a sacrifice
Because you were receiving reward for it.

Consider what Paul said:
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”

Love is self-sacrificing, but if all your religious deeds
Were done without sacrificing self, then there is NO REWARD.

You are getting the point aren’t you?

SO, WHY WEREN’T THESE PEOPLE GETTING A REWARD?
What was wrong with their motive?

Are we to assume they only fasted for public reputation like the Pharisees?
Possibly, but it doesn’t say that.
Are we to assume that they only fasted without truly sacrificing (love)?
Possibly, but it doesn’t say that.

LISTEN CAREFULLY HERE.
Let’s say you do you religious deed AND you do it in secret.
Let’s say you do it in a truly SACRIFICIAL way (you don’t get donuts in return).

CAN YOU STILL BE DOING IT WRONG?
YES

How?
If you are doing it only for a temporal reward and not for the glory of God.

It is true that God is promised to reward us when sacrifice ourselves correctly,
We just read that in Matthew 6.
“And your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

But that reward is an eternal one, not a temporal one.

Many people have gone astray because they thought that
If they sacrificed and did it secretly
That God would reward them with a temporal payoff.
And many of those same people grew disillusioned with God
When it didn’t happen.

Remember Asaph in Psalm 73 upset because the wicked are prospering and he wasn’t?

Remember what Paul told Timothy?
1 Timothy 6:3-10 “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

There are people who do try to sacrifice in mighty ways
And in secret ways who still don’t please God,
Because they think it is a means to a temporal reward.

I’m going to secretly put $10,000 in the offering plate
So that God will give me $50,000!
Are you really doing that for the glory of God
Or are you doing it for your benefit?

Do you see the point?

So when questioning is God pleased with
my sacrifice or with my ministry or with my action
The first thing you must do is CONSIDER THE REAL PURPOSE.

• Who are you really seeking to benefit?
• Who are you really seeking to honor?
• Why are you really doing it?

To that one would have to ask:
WHAT IS THE PROPHER MOTIVE FOR SEEKING GOD’S FAVOR?

1 Corinthians 10:31 “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

• That passage comes as Paul is examining the freedoms of the Corinthians, especially their propensity to eat meat sacrificed to idols.

• Theologically they knew that false gods were not real and therefore eating the meat was not sinful.

• However, their testimony could offend their brother and cause him to stumble, and it could run the risk of leading them back into idolatry.

So as a summation of the issue Paul simply reminded them
To do all things for the glory of God.

When we tell a person to check their motives this is what we are asking.
Who were you seeking to benefit?
• Why did you pray?
• Why did you give?
• Why did you fast?
• Why did you attend church?
• Why did you preach that sermon?

Who were you seeking to glorify?
Because I can promise that if your religious involvement was for the purpose of glorifying you, then God will not be pleased.

To revisit that passage we saw last week in Isaiah 58
Isaiah 58:3 “Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers.”

YOU’VE GOT TO EXAMINE YOUR MOTIVES,
Because if it is only done for your own personal benefit or glory
Then you need not expect that God will reward that.
You already have your reward.
However, if your motives are pure, then Scripture promises that
God does in fact reward His children in eternity because He is generous.

So you are one who is seeking God’s favor…
• First, Consider the Real Purpose

#2 CONSIDER SCRIPTURES REITERATED PROPHECIES
Zechariah 7:8-10

So let’s say we’ve answered that first questioned regarding our motives
And to the best of our ability we can say that
We really do only want to please God, for His glory.

SO WHAT DO WE DO?
(What sort of action should we do?)

And this is so obvious…
(8-9a) “Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah saying, “Thus HAS the LORD of hosts SAID,”…

Did you catch the tense there?
Do you want to do the thing that please God?
THEN LOOK AT WHAT GOD HAS SAID.

And in this case, it is not some obscure message
Only repeated in dark corners with secret handshakes.

(9-10) “Thus has the LORD of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’”

Do you really want to please God?
Then do what God says.
• Things like “true justice”
• Things like “kindness”
• Things like “compassion”
• Things like caring for “the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor”

And what is so obvious here is that anyone
Who ever wondered what God wanted them to do
And even read their Old Testament a little
Could not possibly miss what God wanted.

THE SCRIPTURES CONTINUALLY REITERATE WHAT GOD WANTS

TURN TO: 1 SAMUEL 15:22-23
• You remember the message Samuel had for Saul.

TURN TO: PSALMS 50:7-23
• Do you hear God there telling them that their religious sacrifice are of little value?
• Do you hear God telling them to focus on things like justice and integrity?

TURN TO: ISAIAH 1:10-17
• Same message isn’t it?
• I’m not interested in your religious sacrifices, I want you to take care of the helpless.

TURN TO: JEREMIAH 7:1-11; 21-23
• And again we find that God is not so interested in religion as He is in them taking care of the widows and the poor

TURN TO: EZEKIEL 18:5-9
• Are you catching a theme here of the things God thinks are important?

TURN TO: DANIEL 9:11-13
• Daniel figured it out didn’t he? It wasn’t about sacrifice and religion, it was about obedience to God’s word.

TURN TO: HOSEA 6:4-6
• There again, I’m interested in obedience, not ceremonial religion.

TURN TO: JOEL 2:12-13
• There it is, “rend your heart and not your garments”. I want true devotion, not ceremony.

TURN TO: AMOS 5:21-24
• You’re picking up a theme aren’t you?

TURN TO: JONAH 4:10-11
• The entire purpose was to reveal Jonah’s lack of compassion.

TURN TO: MICAH 6:6-8
• Again, it’s the heart not the religion

We look at those because I want you to understand the situation here.

• After all of those prophets for all of those years have said the same thing over and over and over about religion verses obedience, are you really confused as to what it means to seek the favor of the Lord?

• You come with a resume about some fast you have kept for 70 years expecting God to reward you with His favor.

• I think it’s time you open your Bible and figure out what God has said over and over and over regarding obtaining His favor.

But in case you are short on time,
Zechariah actually summarizes it for them (again).
(I can almost hear Zechariah sigh as he says it)
(9-10) “Thus has the LORD of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’”

This was hardly new information by the time Zechariah preached it.
If they had only paid attention to the messages of the prophets from the past
This would have been crystal clear.

With that we’re out of time, and we’ll get the rest next time.

But let me just leave you with a closing thought here.

Let’s say you are a person who really does simply want to live in a manner that pleases God.
Let’s say that your motives are even the right place. That is to say that you aren’t doing it for your own glory or for some sort of temporal payoff.

You really just want to live your life in a manner that pleases God.

Let me put it to you like this:
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO THAT WITH A CLOSED BIBLE.

God has not kept His desires for how you should live your life a secret. In fact in most cases He has said it over and over and over; just as we saw here.

These people were working going through strenuous religious ordinances in order to try and earn God’s favor; how much easier it would have been to just read the Bible and see what God had already said He wanted.

Saving Jerusalem
Revelation 11:1-13
December 11, 2016

This morning we come to what is pretty much universally accepted to be
The most difficult and confusing chapter in the book of the Revelation.

If you’re a commentary type person, and you’ve ever read commentaries on the book of Revelation then you are aware that no two readily agree on what the main point is.

My personal favorite comes from William Barclay who says “it is at one and the same time the most difficult and the most important chapter in the book of Revelation.”
(Barclay, William [The Daily Bible Study Series: The Revelation of John Volume 2; The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, PA, 1976] pg. 65)

So I guess it’s good to know that
The most important chapter is the one that nobody understands.

Typically when we run across such confusion
I almost always shoot for a more simplistic approach.

I tend to believe Bible interpretation becomes the most difficult When we try to go beyond what God has chosen to reveal to us.

For example:
We saw in chapter 10 that John was told not to record whatever it was that the seven peals of thunder said.

Well obviously if you try to figure out what was said
Then you’re going to have a difficult time
Since God never intended for you to know.

I think that sort of thing happens quite regularly in the book of the Revelation;
It seems that people look for deeper meanings than perhaps what is intended.

So our goal (and I think this is always a wise decision) is
To simply look at the things that are made plane
And see if we can understand the things that God is clearly revealing.

FIRST you must remember that we are in the middle of a parenthetical section.

After revealing the judgments of the first 6 trumpets
(In particular the 5th and 6th trumpets
Which were the locusts and the 200 million demonic army),
John made a startling observation.

Revelation 9:20-21 “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.”

And we have said repeatedly that this observation
May have been a DISHEARTENING one for John.

• He is now on the island of Patmos all because he has been faithful to proclaim the first revelation that he received from God; namely the gospel.

• And now John is being given a second revelation to go and preach which will be even harder for an unbelieving world to swallow.

You have to wonder if John questioned the rationale to all of this.
(I know we regularly do)
If they aren’t going to believe, and preaching is only going to get me in trouble; then why not just keep it quiet?

That supposed question was emphatically answered in chapter 10.

John saw a giant angel clothed in the glory of God who gave him a little book to eat.
• In reality that book is the book of the Revelation.
• It is the same scroll that the Lord Jesus has been opening which has been ushering in the judgments of God.

John was told that the scroll would be sweet in his mouth and would turn his stomach bitter, which it did.
• At first glance the vengeance of God and the return of Christ was a welcomed reality; John loved it.
• However, when the reality of the judgment of sinners began to sink in, it was indeed difficult to handle.

And with this understanding John was told to “prophesy again”

Well it is important for you to know that we are still in that same interlude.
In fact John is still caught in that same vision.
(There are no chapter breaks in the original Revelation)

John has just been told to “prophesy again”
And from there the vision continues.

I remind you of that because
I don’t want you pulling this chapter out of its context.

This chapter is also an answer to the reality that people are not repenting even under the judgment of God.

This chapter is also a message to John who needs to continue to be faithful to preach even in the midst of difficult reality.

This chapter follows that theme and that message.

Now another thing that will help us here is when we realize that the first two verses of this chapter represent information that we already know.
That is to say, this is information that Jesus already told us.
In large part this is information that has already occurred
And even in John’s day is already occurring.

(1-2) “Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. “Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.”

First we have a command to measure “the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it.”

Surveying denotes ownership.
We see it throughout the Scriptures. Probably the most extensive in this area is the entire end of the book of Ezekiel when Ezekiel measures everything.
It is simply God’s way of revealing what is His.

And here we find God declaring what is His.
• “the temple” is His.
• “the altar” is His.
• “those who worship in it” are His.

There we find a definite declaration of what belongs to God.

In the midst of a crooked and sinful world,
God has selected and decreed what is His,
It is those who worship God through His sacrifice in His temple.

Now we also find another truth that we already know
That is that those which are His
Are promised to be surrounded and attacked and even trampled.

(2) “Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.”

SO we have that which is inside which belongs to God
And that which is outside which is trampled by the world.

Now where did we hear all of this before?
Matthew 24:1-2 “Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

Jesus told His disciples that everything was going to be under attack.

Matthew 23:37-39 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! “For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'”

Luke 19:41-44 “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

And to some extent JOHN WAS ALREADY SEEING THIS,
Just as we are already seeing it.

The Revelation was received by John in AD 90,
That’s 20 years after the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.

John already saw the temple demolished.
John was already seeing believers persecuted.
John was already well aware of the hardship of being a worshiper of God.

Today we know that on the temple mount sets that gaudy Dome of the Rock which is an Islamic worship site where they believe Mohammad ascended to heaven to receive his great vision.

We already see the world trampling under food
The things that belong to God.
Certainly there is an element to these two verses that is HISTORY.

However, there is an element that is also PROPHECY.
A time is coming when this will even escalate beyond what we see now.

Luke 21:20-24 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”

If you want to get even more specific look to the Olivet Discourse when Jesus said:
Matthew 24:15-22 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. “Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”

Jesus already told us these things.
More than that Daniel told us these things many years even before Jesus.

(And you’ll have to go listen to the Daniel sermons if you want more info here, but basically Daniel revealed to us about a man named Antiochus Epiphenes who would oppress Israel, and this man would be a picture of the Antichrist who is to come.)

And Jesus reiterated the work of this Antichrist who would set up his “ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION …in the holy place.”

Paul reminded of this:
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”

• Apparently Antichrist will rebuild God’s temple during his 3 ½ year campaign of peace,
• After which he will enter that temple and declare himself to be God and demand worship.

And according to Jesus when that happens YOU’D BETTER RUN.
Don’t go into your house…
Don’t try to save your valuables…
Just run!

Because this event will signify a tribulation like the world has never seen before, and tribulation which will last for 3 ½ years.

This tribulation period will undoubtedly be
The darkest and most deprave time the world has ever known.

Satan will be more active…
Truth will be more opposed…
Persecution will be more intense…
Faithfulness will be more difficult…
Than at any other time in all of human history.

Jesus even said if those days weren’t cut short
Even the elect wouldn’t survive it.

The things that God values are going to be under attack and trampled.

So, while John certainly knew what persecution was like
(and felt tempted to quit preaching because of it)
Now John finds that the persecution is actually even going to get worse.

And God is going to use this information to reiterate to John
That same point he taught him in chapter 10.

Namely that being faithful to God in this world
Will not make you safe or popular.
And yet we are called to preach the truth to a world that hates it
And will hate you for preaching it.

So at this point we find the theme intact.
• We have God’s people and God’s temple and God’s truth being pretty much universally rejected by the world.
• The truth revealed in verse 2 represents the same rebellion that we saw in chapter 9; it is the world in rebellion against God.

That was the very reality which we said
Gives us pause about preaching the truth.

FROM THERE WE SEE THE NEW INFORMATION
THAT GOD WANTS TO REVEAL TO JOHN ABOUT
PREACHING THE TRUTH IN A HOSTILE AND STUBBORN ENVIRONMENT.

What we see in verses 3 through 13 is new information.

• During the darkest time the world will ever know,
• In the most dangerous city for believers the world will ever have
• God is going to raise up two witnesses who will proclaim His truth
• And ultimately through their faithfulness take back God’s city.

It is obviously a chapter meant to motivate faithfulness among the redeemed regardless of difficulty.

3 points here
#1 A CONSTANT WITNESS
Revelation 11:3-6

You don’t see it yet, but you will in a moment that
These witnesses are raised up and minister in the midst of Jerusalem.

Only it’s not called Jerusalem right now, verse 8 reveals that it “is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.”
• Sodom was the most vile city to ever exist.
• Egypt was the most vile nation.
• Now those titles have been transferred to Israel and more specifically Jerusalem.

It is the city Jesus specifically told people to flee from.
It is the most dangerous city for believers of all time.

And yet, even in this infamous city God raises up two witnesses.

(3) “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”

Granting them authority to preach is
The same thing Jesus did for us in the great commission when He said:

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The same is done for them here.
They are divinely commissioned with the right
To proclaim God’s truth to a wicked and unbelieving world.

AND THEY DO.
• They “prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days”.
• That is 3 ½ years, or during the final half of the great tribulation.

IN SHORT, at the same time that:
• Antichrist is setting up his abomination in the temple
• And believers are fleeing from the city,
• These two are running into the city and starting to preach.

They may be the boldest missionaries the world has ever seen.
And they preach faithfully in this city, right below the statue of the beast.
They are a constant bur under the saddle of Antichrist.

John says they are “clothed in sackcloth”
Sackcloth was the garment of mourning.
Preachers clothed in it signified the preaching of doom.

Imagine these two guys standing right below the statue of the beast
Emphatically declaring to everyone who worships the beast
That they will be judged eternally for their rebellion against God.
Talk about a difficult ministry, this is it.

It is also revealed to John that:
(4) “These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.”

Now I don’t mind telling you that this would be much easier if you’d all come on Sunday night where we talked extensively about this as we are studying the book of Zechariah.

TURN TO: Zechariah 4

Now we don’t have time to give all the details here, again if you want more,
Go back and listen on the website, it would be extremely valuable for you.

• But in Zechariah 4 we are in the middle of Zechariah’s night visions which he received from the Lord. (8 of them in one night)

• This is vision number 5 and it addresses the difficulty and discouragement regarding the rebuilding of God’s temple after the refugees return from the Babylonian captivity.

• Zerubbabel is the governor of the land and Zechariah is the prophet and neither of them are too confident that this project is going to get done.

So God gives this vision.
(READ 1-7)
• You see that we have a menorah (representing that Israel is to be light to the world) and it is supplied with oil directly from the tree.
• The tree produces the oil, which flows through the pipes, to the bowl which feeds the lamp.
• It is a supernaturally supplied lamp.
• Which is God’s point to Zerubbabel that this project of rebuilding the temple will be “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit declares the Lord”

God is going to do this.

Later we find that Zechariah is still confused regarding the vision.
(READ 11-14)

There we find the imagery revealed.
God is the One rebuilding the temple,
But He is doing it through His anointed ones.
They were Joshua the high priest (Zechariah 3) and Zerubbabel the governor.

THE POINT IS THAT
GOD IS TAKING OTHERWISE INCOMPETENT PEOPLE
AND WILL USE THEM TO ACCOMPLISH
AN OTHERWISE IMPOSSIBLE TASK.

And that is the imagery given here regarding these two witnesses in Revelation 11.
• Like Joshua and Zerubbabel these two men are God’s ordained vessels
• Through whom He is going to accomplish what seems like an otherwise
impossible task.

Does that make sense?
God is going to do the impossible through these two men.
(Because God can do impossible things through His servants)

Well you say, that’s well and good, but if they are really going to preach in the center of Jerusalem I don’t see any way that they’ll last 3 ½ years.

That’s true, so…(5) “And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way.”

Drastic times call for drastic measures
And God does not allow His ordained servants to minister unprotected.
If you mess with these guys you get incinerated.

And some would say, well if God would protect me from harm like that then I’d be more faithful to preach too.

REALLY? When was the last time you needed protection from harm?

God protected these men from being killed, not from being hated,
Or maligned, or talked about, or ignored, or rejected.

These men were absolutely hated by everyone in this city.
• Partly because of their message of doom and repentance
• Partly because of their ability to afflict pain on anyone who doesn’t listen to it.

(6) “These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.”

This verse has caused many to say that these two men must be the return of Moses and Elijah.
• After all Elijah never died, and Jude told us that the devil wanted Moses’
body real bad.
• Both of those men showed up on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured.
• And beyond that the tools in the tool belts of these men are eerily similar to
the powers that both Elijah and Moses had.

But again, we’ll just stick to our decision not to venture beyond what we’re told.
If it is Moses and Elijah, the Scripture doesn’t tell us.

The point is that these men have the ability
To make life miserable of anyone who doesn’t believe their message.
These guys aren’t going to win any popularity contest any time soon.

But here they are, in the most dangerous city for believers the world has ever known and they are maintaining a constant witness of the truth.
• It is dangerous…
• It is difficult…
• But God is using them and God is protecting them.

So we see A Constant Witness
#2 A CELEBRATED REVOLT
Revelation 11:7-10

It’s a very key phrase we read:
“When they have finished their testimony…”

In short, God keeps them absolutely off limits
Until He fulfills His entire purpose for them.

That tells us something about God’s people
Serving God even in dangerous places.

If God calls you to it, God has a plan to preserve you in it
Until He fully accomplishes His purposes for you.
That is true for you
That was true for John
That will be true for these two witnesses

They were off limits for 3 ½ years until they finished their ministry.
They fully proclaimed the whole truth.

And then “the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make ware with them, and overcome them and kill them.”

They are finished, and the Lord allows them to retire.

And then comes one of the VILEST SCENES recorded in the entire Bible.

(8-10) “And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.”

The world hated these men because they “tormented those who dwell on the earth.”
• They tormented them with truth
• They tormented them with fire
• They tormented them with drought

This world which has thus far refused to repent will absolutely hate them.
And that hatred reveals itself in
The most disgusting display of depravity we’ve ever seen.

They refuse to let them be buried.
(In the Old Testament that was about as low as you could get. You may remember the Philistines hung Saul’s body on display after he died until a band of Israelites took it down)

Not only that, they set up a live feed, 24-hour news video for the world to continually gaze on their bodies.

And even worse the world declares it a global holiday. For Dead Prophet’s Day you actually give and receive gifts.

Why?
Because the light has been removed from the darkness.
We can now live in our sin the way we wanted to
Without these people continually telling us it’s wrong.

THE WORLD IS ECSTATIC.
It is a very fitting demonstration of just how much the darkness
Hates the light and just how much a sinful world hates the truth.

The world will kill you and be happy about it when they do.
And that should be no surprise at all.

A Constant Witness, A Celebrated Revolt
#3 A CERTAIN VICTORY
Revelation 11:11-13

They never saw that coming.
(Probably wishing now they would have buried them)

God raises them back to life “and great fear fell upon those who were watching them.”

They probably thought they were about to be
Incinerated with fire from their mouth.

But instead of any retaliation or retribution
God just takes them up to heaven.

This wasn’t about allowing them to get even with anyone,
This was about God verifying that they in fact
Were His messengers proclaiming His message.

They were from God. No doubt about it.

(12) “And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them.”

Remember all along Antichrist has claimed to be God
And now, it is quite obvious that he is not.

Not only that, but…
(13) “And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake…”

After removing His prophets God then shook Jerusalem
And caused 1/10th of it to fall, which killed, 7,000 people.

And then here is the really interesting part.
“and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

These people in an instant went from praising Satan to praising God.

The clearest and most natural interpretation is that at once
These people repented and started worshiping the one true God.

SO WHAT DO WE DO WITH THAT?
Well, as we said at the beginning,
Keep it context with the point of this entire section.

• John was faced with the reality of preaching to a people who would not repent; a calling that must have seemed futile, and yet God emphatically told him to continue anyway.

• And then John is shown a vision of two men who preach the truth in the most difficult and rebellious city the world will ever know, and it is hard, no doubt about it.

• And yet, God uses not only their preaching, but also their death, the mockery the world makes of their bodies, and then their resurrection to accomplish His purpose of redeeming the most unredeemable city the world will ever see.

GOD WILL WIN.
God is going to win this city which is filled with
The most unbelievable animosity the world has ever seen.

SO WHAT’S THE POINT?
The point is the same as chapter 10 – “prophesy again”
• Your preaching doesn’t have to widely accepted,
• Your preaching doesn’t have to be even remotely popular.
• Your preaching does not have to be loved by those you preach to.

That’s not the point.
The point is that God is doing His work through you.

You, like Joshua, like Zerubbabl, like these 2 witnesses
Are merely olive branches, lampstands that God seeks to use
To shine His light in the world.

And if you will be faithful regardless of the opposition,
Then God will use you to accomplish His sovereign, decreed, and perfect purposes. Whatever they may be.

It’s not about whether or not you think it will work.
It’s about whether or not you are faithful to what God has asked you to do.

• John go prophesy again
• Ezekiel go whether they listen or not
• Isaiah preach until they are all destroyed
• Jeremiah go even though they war against you

BECAUSE I AM USING YOU TO ACCOMPLISH MY PURPOSES

And that is true for us as well.
We are called to be faithful
Even when the mission appears hopeless
Because the architect of the mission knows what He is doing.

You be faithful.
You prophesy again.

Seeking God’s Favor – Part 1
Zechariah 7:1-14 (1-7)
December 4, 2016

Tonight we enter a new section in the book of Zechariah.
We spent quite a while covering that one infamous night
In which Zechariah had 8 visions from the LORD.

But those visions are now over and God’s truth revealed from those.
Now we move into a new segment.

It is actually a period of time 2 years down the road.
(1) “In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev.”

• It has now been 2 years since the night visions and that also means that the temple is about ½ completed at this point.

And God is about to speak again.
This time the message being prompted by a question
That is presented by a traveling delegation.

(2) “Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD,”

The question that they ask is
The catalyst for this next message from Zechariah.

This delegation will ask a question and Zechariah 7 & 8
Are God’s answer to the question they ask.

You are familiar with “Bethel”.
• It was a city 12 miles north of Jerusalem.
• It is most famous for its having been a center for apostate worship.

1 Kings 12:28-29 “So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.”

• I’m sure you remember how Solomon’s son Rehoboam split the kingdom and how Jeroboam became king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
• One of the first things he did was set up a golden calf in Dan so that the people of Israel would not return to Jerusalem to worship because he feared he would lose his kingdom.
• Those golden calves he set up became the sin that Israel never recovered from. Nearly every king after him has the same horrific legacy, “He did not depart from the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat”

But now, it is apparent that after the exile,
Some of the refugees have once again begun to inhabit that city.
And on this day a delegation of them shows up in Jerusalem,
Where the temple construction is under way.

The men are called “Sharezer and Regemmelech”
• Which are not Jewish names, but are most likely pagan names
• They were given in Babylon (similar to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego)

And they come with the men of Bethel “to seek the favor of the LORD”

“to seek the favor of the LORD” is a really interesting phrase.

A literal translation of the phrase would be: “to soften the face of the LORD”
Or “to stroke the face of the LORD”

It is a phrase that routinely speaks of intense prayer before God.
BUT IT CAN ALSO INDICATE AN ATTEMPT TO APPEASE GOD.

The idea is to flatter God with prayer;
To inquire before God in such a way as to appease Him
And provoke a favorable response from Him.

Obviously seeking God’s face in intense prayer is a great thing.
The problem is when we only do it to satisfy our own selfish desires.

We are familiar with what James said:
James 4:3 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

We’ll see in a moment where this delegation falls on that issue,
But I want to make sure you understand what is happening.
• These people have traveled to Jerusalem to pray and seek the face of God.
• They have come to soften His face toward them.
• They have come to try and receive His favor in their lives.
• And they are inquiring about a specific thing they’ve done.

(3) “speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?”

I actually think this is quite a loaded question
And one which reveals their hearts to an enormous extent.
Why do I say that?

Because they don’t just come asking, “LORD, what is your desire for me?”
They come saying, “We’ve been doing quite a lot for quite a while, is there anything else?”

It sort of reminds me of the questioning of the Rich Young Ruler
When he told Jesus, “All these [commands] I have kept; what am I still lacking?” (Matthew 19:20)
There is an almost self-sufficient arrogance going on there.

Like the Pharisee in the temple:
Luke 18:11-12 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’”

It’s not really a person entreating God’s favor
So much as it is a person telling God why they ought to receive it.

And make no mistake their sacrifice was a real one.
“Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain as I have done these many years?”

Just by way of explanation:
• There was no fast which was commanded for the fifth month of the Jewish
year.

• This was a fast which emerged as a result of the destruction of the temple,
which had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in the fifth month.

2 Kings 25:8-12 “Now on the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the LORD, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Then the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the people, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile. But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.”

Naturally those who saw the temple destroyed and survived the slaughter and who were carried into Babylon remembered that horrific event.

• America still remembers December 7th
• America still remembers September 11th
• You still remember dates of the death of loved ones or other tragedies in your
life.

These Jews who had been exiled turned the 5th month
Into sort of an obvious time of fasting and mourning
Over the destruction of their temple.

The 137th Psalm gives a little insight into their mourning.
Psalms 137:1-6 “By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst of it We hung our harps. For there our captors demanded of us songs, And our tormentors mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” How can we sing the LORD’S song In a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, May my right hand forget her skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth If I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy.”

They naturally remembered and wept and fasted.

But think about it.
• That was over 70 years ago.
• Odds are good many of these people weren’t even alive when it happened.
• These people didn’t feel the sting
• They’re still going by their Babylonian names

I wasn’t alive December 7, 1941
While I try to understand what it must have been like, I’m sure it’s an entirely different emotion for those who lived it.

My kids weren’t alive September 11, 2001
They have no idea of what that felt like to us.

Here we have a group of refugees who are still keeping up with the fasts and ceremonies of those who originally felt the sting.
(It has become more about tradition than emotion)

And they have done it “these many years”.

And before we just pass this off as insignificant let me ask you when the LAST TIME YOU FASTED from anything from any amount of time was.

(I’m sure some of you have; in a purely temporal sense some of gone on diets)

You and I know that giving up things that the flesh craves for any period of time is not necessarily something that we eagerly do.
Whether it’s food or entertainment or comfort or anything else.

Now, many in our culture will do it if they can see a payoff.
• For example, people will go without sugar if they are promised to lose weight or
to feel better or to be healthier.

• People will put their body through rigorous training if they can get toned or win
the competition, etc.

But not many are too hip on sacrificing
Especially if they can’t see a value in it.

BUT HERE WE HAVE
• People who have been putting themselves through a fast
• Which God never commanded,
• And which has lost its personal sting,
• And they are wondering if there is any benefit in it?

I mean beyond that, it seems a little strange to fast about losing the temple when the new temple is well on its way.

Do you understand then what is happening?
These people want the payoff.
These people want God’s favor.
They want God’s blessing.
And they want to know
How much spiritual currency they have accumulated for having been so faithful to this uncommanded fast for so many years.

Seems like it ought to be worth something right?

Now of course we could go into a long message
Talking about the impossibility of earning God’s favor.
• We could talk about how all our righteous deeds are filthy rags.
• We could talk about how there is none who does good, not even one.
• And we could talk about how only in Christ are we made pleasing to God.

In short we could talk about the impotence of religious works
And the necessity of grace.

BUT THAT ISN’T THE ISSUE HERE

The issue isn’t JUSTIFICATION

We’ve already been through the night visions.
Is God pleased with Israel?

Yes.
• He has already revealed that He is jealous for them.
• He has already revealed that He will defend them.
• He has already revealed His election of them and justification of them.
• He has already revealed that He is working through them.
• He has already revealed that He will sanctify them.
• And He has revealed that He will crush their enemies.

On top of that He has delivered them from Babylon back to Israel
Where He is now helping them rebuild the temple and their land.

Yes, God is pleased.

The question is regarding the benefits or reward or favor that is achieved by those who are already saved.

HOW DO I ACHIEVE GOD’S FAVOR?

So these people came up who have been sacrificing themselves through a ritualistic fast and they want to know if it has pleased God and if He wants them to continue?

(2-3) “Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD, speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?”

Well, let’s see how God answers.

God answers by asking them to consider 3 things.

#1 CONSIDER THE REAL PURPOSE
Zechariah 7:4-7

That is to say; EXAMINE THE MOTIVE
Why are you doing it?

It is not specifically stated, so we can’t be dogmatic,
But it could be that this delegation from Bethel
Actually felt like maybe God wasn’t rewarding them as He should have.

You know, they felt like participating for 70+ years in an uncommanded fast
Was worth a little more blessing than they were actually receiving.

And I think that fits the context,
Especially when you consider the answer that is given here.

The Lord actually calls to mind a parallel incident
That is eerily similar to the current one.

First He says:
(5-6) “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted? ‘When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves?”

That is to say: “All this fasting you did, was it for Me or was it for you?”

And then He says:
(7) “’Are not these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?'”

In other words we realize that in verses 5&6
God was simply quoting Himself from earlier times.

They wanted to know if their fasting was producing any reward or favor?

And God basically says, “I’ve answered that question before haven’t I? And the answer now is the same as the answer was then, which is, ‘Why are you doing it?’”

When did God answer this question before?

TURN TO: Isaiah 58

• Isaiah (as the LORD just revealed) ministered during a time when Jerusalem
was prosperous and was full of people.

• But those people were greedy and still thought God was giving them the short
end of the stick so they came to God with a question.

(READ 1-3a)
Recognize the question?
Stated a little different, but the same basic point.

Hey God, we’ve been fasting here,
And it doesn’t seem like it’s paying off the way it should.

In that day God revealed that the reason was because they didn’t fast for Him, they fasted for themselves.
(READ 3-14)

That was a pretty strong point there from God wasn’t it?
Sure you fast, you do without certain foods,
But you don’t do it because you want to please Me.

• You aren’t really seeking Me, you aren’t really concerned about what I want.
• You are just going through some ritual whereby you expect that I will be
obligated to reward you.

INCIDENTALLY THIS IS A VERY REAL ISSUE IN REGARD TO RELIGION.
We talk some about the reformation and why it is important,
Here is another aspect.

In the Catholic church we talk of the term “merit”.
And merit is: the quality of being particularly good or worthy, especially so as to deserve praise or reward:

Now, in the Catholic system there are three types of merit.

Congruent Merit is that which is given and is fitting, but is not required. Meaning you do something good which could be rewarded, but doesn’t have to be.

For example; You clean the bathroom here at the church.
A reward would be fitting, but it is not required.

Condign merit is that which requires a reward and in fact, it is unjust not to receive a reward for it. Merit that is so virtuous that it obligates God to reward it. (Jesus work, some of the saints)

Meaning you do something that God owes you for,
And God would be unjust if He failed to reward you.

And in the Catholic church there four requirements that must be met here.
1) It must be morally good
2) It must be morally free (done with pure motive)
3) It must be done with the assistance of grace (beyond natural human ability)
4) It must be inspired by a supernatural motive (done in love or faith etc.)

And if you do something that meets those 4 requirements
Then God is bound to give you reward.

The third is Supererogatory Merit
Which are works that go beyond God’s requirement and you actually obtain more merit than you need. (The extra merit is deposited in the Treasury of merit where others can obtain it through indulgences, etc.)

Now obviously that is legalism, not the gospel.
That is also why grace was so often defined as “God’s unmerited favor”,
Meaning God chose to reward you when you did nothing to deserve it.

But you understand why this was such an issue in the reformation.
It’s because so much of the time WE WANT TO BELIEVE IT.

We may not admit it, but we want to believe that if I go to church or if I read my Bible or if I give money that God owes me a reward.

In fact, we get offended if we think God short changes us and gives us hardship instead of “blessing” or even worse if God “blesses” someone who has done less than us.

Here’s a story for you:
TURN TO: Matthew 19
• Of course you remember the Rich Young Ruler who went away sad.
• And then you remember Jesus making the point about how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Well then comes Peter asking for the balance
In his own personal treasury of merit.

(READ 19:27-29)
• Jesus told Peter he would be rewarded.

So does Jesus there actually affirm the reality of Condign merit?
You would think that if it were not for the next statement He makes.
(30) “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.”

Well that’s kind of cryptic, what did He mean by that?
(READ 20:1-16)

We learned that God dispenses reward according to grace not merit.
Every one of those laborers received more than they deserved.

And Jesus’ parable there was meant to reveal that
We are not rewarded based upon our merit,
But based upon God’s generosity.

Peter wasn’t receiving many times as much because of his sacrifice.
Peter was receiving many times as much because of God’s generosity.

But we like to let that old issue of merit
And what I deserve creep in don’t we?

Well that is what is creeping in here.
These people (like in Isaiah’s day) have been sacrificing for quite a while.
And they want to know what it has earned them.

Perhaps you are curious how much God owes you
For that spiritual service you’ve been performing.
SO LET’S SEE HOW MUCH VALUE YOUR SERVICE IS WORTH.

First issue God raises is that you CONSIDER THE REAL PURPOSE

So we sacrifice for God and we feel like we’ve earned a little reward from God, and to that God asks the question:

Why did you do it?

We’ll look at the rest of the chapter next time