John 1 ,14-18  (notes in PDF format)

Jesus, The Light
John 1:6-13

Last Sunday morning we began our study on the Jesus of the Bible.
There is no more important truth than the truth that is Jesus.

There is no more penetrating truth than the truth that is Jesus.
In Jesus day, people did everything imaginable with Him, Except nothing.

You can’t do “Nothing” with Jesus.
You are forced to make a decision.

Matthew 12:30 “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”

The writer of Hebrews points out the eternal flaw
Of simply trying to ignore the truth about Jesus.

Hebrews 6:4-6 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”

When people try to ignore Jesus:
“they again crucify to themselves the Son of God”

It is impossible to do “Nothing” with Jesus.

On that day when He confronts your soul,
You must either yield to Him and call Him Lord,
Or you must resist Him and yell crucify,
But you cannot simply ignore the choice.

There is no more important decision you will ever make in your life than when you decide what to do with Jesus.

That being said, we are examining who Jesus is.
Last Sunday morning we saw that Jesus is the Living Word of God.
This morning John shows us that Jesus is the Light of the World.

4 truths
#1 THE LIGHT IS IMPORTANT
John 1:6-8

John the apostle begins this section by referring to the man
Whom we all know as John the Baptist.

He was the one sent ahead of Jesus in the Spirit of Elijah proclaiming to “make straight the way of the Lord”

John specifically says in verse 7
“He came as a witness, to testify about the Light”

WHY WOULD LIGHT NEED A TESTIMONY?

It seems to me that light generally speaks for itself.
The answer is also in verse 7
“so that all might believe through Him”

Because God wanted to make sure that everyone got it.
Light doesn’t generally need a testimony, but God wasn’t taking any chances that people might miss it.

THE POINT IS, LIGHT IS THAT IMPORTANT.

Think for a second about the importance of light.
The plague of darkness put Pharaoh on his knees.
Put someone in solitary confinement with no light, and they will go crazy.
I heard of a man whose show steers went blind being kept in the dark.
Also for the making of oxygen on the earth, plants need it.
Without light, there is no life.

This is true about Jesus.
He is literally the Light of the world, and just to make sure you didn’t miss Him, God sent a messenger ahead of Him to point out that He was coming.
So let me take just a second and tell you how important Jesus is.

If you were to travel back to the Old Testament, you would find either a tabernacle, or a temple. When you entered, you would see the veil, and immediately be reminded that God was off limits.

Of course the reason is because He is holy, we are sinful.
TURN TO HEBREWS 9:1-12
Man could not get to God apart from Jesus.

Romans 3:21-26 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
God could either be merciful, or just.
It was Jesus who allowed God to be both holy and merciful.
to “be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

JESUS PAVED THE WAY TO GOD.
Jesus is important.
So important that God sent a messenger ahead
To make sure the people understood that.

It is the same reason we preach Jesus today.
Jesus doesn’t really need my testimony, He can speak for Himself.
His Spirit can convict you without my help.
But the Light of Jesus is so important that God raises up witnesses about Him just to make sure that you know how important it is.

The Light is Important, without it, there would be only darkness as we continue to be separated from God.
#2 THE LIGHT IS INFORMATIVE
John 1:9
I like what John says here.
“This was the true Light”

It makes you want to say, “John, is there an untrue light?”

WHAT DOES A FAKE LIGHT LOOK LIKE?

He answers that by telling us what it is that makes Jesus true light
“coming into the world, enlightens every man”

The true light shines and enlightens.
True light shines. If something doesn’t shine, it isn’t light.
But True light also enlightens, reveals the truth about something.

Real light is informative. Fake light is not.
(EXAMPLE: The Lights at Canton didn’t tell the truth)
True light shines, and tells you the truth about what it shines on.

We know this because of what Jesus said about His followers.
Luke 8:16-17 “Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. “For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.”

NOTICE THE TWO ATTRIBUTES?

Light is informative. That’s why people carry flashlights.
That’s why you put lights in your house, or flood lights outside.
I want you to know that Jesus is “the true Light, which coming into the world, enlightens every man.”

Jesus shines, and He “enlightens every man”

We know that doesn’t mean salvation because not every man gets saved.
But rather it is talking about the fact that Jesus exposes every man.

When the light of Jesus shines upon you,
He reveals what you really are, whether you like it or not.

He didn’t just come to highlight your good points.
He didn’t just come to make you look good.
He came to show you what you are.

Luke 2:34-35 “And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed — and a sword will pierce even your own soul — to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

You can’t hide what you are from Jesus.
He has a way of enlightening every man.

The woman at the well couldn’t hide from Jesus.
John 4:27-30 “At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?” So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.”

The Pharisees couldn’t hide from Jesus.
John 8:39-47 “They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, ” If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
Light is Important, Light is Informative (JESUS IS:)
#3 THE LIGHT IS IRRITATING
John 1:10-11
Now I can hear you.
DID YOU JUST INSINUATE THAT JESUS IS IRRITATING?
Absolutely.

He is irritating in the same way light is irritating.
He is irritating in the same way the mirror is irritating.

People don’t like to be exposed, people don’t like to know the truth about themselves, it irritates them.
There was a country singer who used to sing:
“I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then,”

The simple truth is the light is irritating.
That is why you see the tragedy that happens in verses 10-11.

“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.”
Creation not recognizing the Creator.

“He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”
A Boy not recognized by his family

But the question that poses after reading those statements is:
WHY DID THEY NOT RECOGNIZE HIM OR RECEIVE HIM?
Well, what is it that causes people not to be able to recognize light?

You must have eyes.
Matthew 13:14-15 “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.”
They didn’t recognize the light because they had closed their eyes.

WHY DID THE CLOSE THEIR EYES?
Why do you close your eyes in the light?

Because it is irritating.
John 3:19-21 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
People closed their eyes because the true light irritated their sin.

John 7:7 “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.”

It was this sort of light that irritated the people in Isaiah’s day.
Isaiah 30:9-11 “For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD; Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. “Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”

True light is irritating, and this is what Jesus does to your sin.
Why do you think people take a step back when you mention Jesus?
Why do you think foolish evangelists tell you not to use Jesus name?

I’ve seen it more times than I care to repeat, some church growth guru will tell you not to mention Jesus because it offends people. YOU BET HE DOES.

He is irritating, but that doesn’t mean we are to stop.
In fact Jesus compared His followers to 2 things, both of them are irritating.
(salt & light)

I want to tell you something about Jesus.
He came to get real with you. He came to expose you.
He came to irritate your sin.

If you have never dealt with your sin, then you have never dealt with Jesus.
If you have never repented, then you have never dealt with Jesus.
If you have never been convicted, then you have never dealt with Jesus.

When you get face to face with Jesus, it can be irritating.
Isaiah 6:5 “Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”

The Light is Important, the Light is Informative, the Light is Irritating
#4 THE LIGHT IS IRREPLACEABLE
John 1:12-13
There were many who did not receive Jesus.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.”

We live in America, and we are accustomed to our “rights”.
The only problem is we often apply these to God as well.

BUT YOU AREN’T BORN WITH THE RIGHT TO COME TO GOD.
You lost your rights when you fell into sin.
You only get the right through Jesus.
HOW VALUABLE DOES THAT MAKE HIM?

You see the Light is irreplaceable.
We live in a day of imitation sweeteners…
You can have a salt substitute…
You can buy “off brand” products…
BUT DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE TO FIND A LIGHT SUBSTITUTE?

THE LIGHT IS EXCLUSIVE
Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”

There is only One who can give you the right to get to God.
There is only One who can introduce you to the Father.

1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
He is the irreplaceable One.

Isaiah dealt with those who followed fake fire.
Isaiah 50:10-11 “Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with firebrands, Walk in the light of your fire And among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: You will lie down in torment.”

You can’t find another way besides Jesus.
You must deal with Him.
And the only way you get “the right” is by believing in Jesus.

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.”

The word “believe” translates PISTEUO
“to believe, also to be persuaded of, and hence to place confidence in, to trust, signifies in this sense of the word, reliance upon, and not mere credence.”

It is more than agreeing with a truth you can’t prove wrong.
It is to totally rely upon Jesus. To surrender your all to Him.

Then John tells us how a person comes to believe in Jesus.
“who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
DO YOU WANT TO BE A CHILD OF GOD?
There are 3 ways it doesn’t happen.

1) GENETICS “not of blood”

Some think being raised in a Christian home will work. WRONG
I don’t care if your granddaddy was a deacon. IT ISN’T GENETIC

2) DESIRE “nor of the will of the flesh”

Wanting to go to heaven won’t work.
Check the Rich Young Ruler…

Romans 9:16 “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.”

3) PERSUASION “nor of the will of man”

Getting preached to does not make you a believer.
GOING TO CHURCH WON’T CUT IT
I can’t even get myself into heaven, let alone you.

I’ll tell you how a person comes to Jesus.
They must be born…of God.

Matthew 16:13-17 “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
The ability to come to Jesus is a gift from God.
You come when He calls, not when you want to.

John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

This is why it is so imperative that you deal with Jesus
When you have the opportunity.

That is why Jesus said this.
John 12:35-36 “So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. “While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.”

This is the point I want you to see.
If you don’t come to Jesus when He calls.
If you don’t respond to the Light when it shines on you,
Then how do you ever expect to gain the right
To become a child of God?

Jesus is Important, He is the One who bought access to God.
Jesus is Informative, He will reveal to you exactly what you are.
Jesus is Irritating, He will demand removal of the sin in your life.
Jesus is Irreplaceable, He is the Only way
You must do something with Him.

This morning we are going to honor Jesus
By partaking in the Lord’s Supper.
To eat the bread is to realize His body was broken for you
To drink the juice is to realize that His blood was shed for you

We partake and in so doing testify
That it was the Light of God that proved to be
The only thing that could lead us out of darkness.

John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

 

Jesus, The Living Word

John 1:1-5

For the last 2,000 years, no person in the course of history
Has ever been more scrutinized than the man named Jesus.

He has been held up to every standard
He has been accused of every flaw

He has been accused of being demon-possessed, He is called Divine
He has been called a lunatic, He has been called Lord
He was followed by the masses, and yet rejected by His hometown
He is the most controversial person to ever walk across the world’s stage.

Some say He never lived
Some say He didn’t really die
Some say He didn’t rise
Some say He won’t return

He has been the most maligned and misrepresented figure in all of history.
Even in the Bible, Paul saw this taking place.

2 Corinthians 11:3-4 “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.”

Galatians 1:6-9 “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”

Every generation has had it’s share of people
Who were ready to redefine Jesus.

Every generation has supplied a public opinion about Jesus.
Matthew 16:13-14 “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

But despite what the masses have said, only one thing matters.
Matthew 16:15 “He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

There is no greater calling upon a human life than to determine, what do you do with Jesus?

When you walk across God’s courtroom, only one thing will matter.
What did you do with Jesus?
There is no greater truth to be taught than the truth about Jesus.
And it is that truth we find in the Bible.

So let us begin to study about who this Jesus really is.
We begin this study by looking at:
Jesus: The Living Word

And there are 4 truths that I want you to see,
So that you may give Jesus the proper place in your life.
#1 THE PERSONALITY OF THE WORD
John 1:1-2

We are here talking about the word of God.

No verse in the Bible gives us a loftier view of the Word
Than this verse recorded in John.

In verse 1 John gives us 3 attributes of the Word

1) ETERNAL
“In the beginning was the Word”

You hear people talk about how you can’t believe the Word of God
Because it is 2,000 years old.
How wrong they are. It’s way older than that.

It is eternal.
It never had a beginning, it will never have an end.

Some day when history is completely unfolded
And we are able to see the beginning and the end of all things,
People will look and find that when the beginning happened,
The Word was already there.

And the Word will always be.
Matthew 5:17-18 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

The Word of God is eternal.
Psalms 33:11 “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation.”

Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

It stands the test of time.
How many books have long since been placed on the shelf as outdated?
How many scholars have long since been proved wrong?

700 years ago, scholars knew the earth was flat.
Isaiah 40:22 “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.”

400 years ago, scholars knew the earth was the center of the universe.
Job 38:33 “Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or fix their rule over the earth?”
THE WORD OF GOD IS ETERNAL
2) SUPERNAL (high in rank, exalted)
“and the Word was with God”

There is no higher or more exalted place.

But not only is the Word exalted in position,
The Word is exalted in prestige.

No word will ever be more exalted than the Word that is with God.
Psalms 19:7-11 “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”

3) SUPERNATURAL
“and the Word was God”

You understand this statement.
I could come up to you and say, “What do you do with Jesus?”
You would say, “Oh, that’s just Rory”

So it is with the Word. The Word was God
The Word is alive

Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

Jeremiah 23:28-29 “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?”

There is something about the Word of God.
It isn’t like reading from the Koran. It isn’t like reading from The Book of Mormon.
The Word has a way of penetrating your soul.
The Word has a way of exposing your secrets.
The Word has a way of guiding your steps.

The Word is supernatural.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
But then notice what John does here in verse 2.
“He was in the beginning with God.”
The title changes to “He”

When we talk about the Word, we are not talking about a concept,
We are talking about a person.
We are talking about Jesus.

This is fundamental to your faith.
Do not miss what I am about to say.
PEOPLE HAVE TRIED TO SEPARATE JESUS FROM THE BIBLE
“They worship the Bible more than they worship Jesus”

YOU CANNOT SEPARATE THE TWO
THEY ARE ETERNALLY INTERTWINED
They stand together, and they fall together.

To obey one is to obey the other, to disobey one is to disobey the other.
To claim to obey Jesus, but not the Bible is an impossibility.
1 John 2:3-5 “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 Word is a He!
2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;”

When you look at Jesus and the Bible,
Don’t see it as that which is separated,
Don’t even see it as that which is saturated.
See it as that which is synonymous.

The Jesus of the Bible is the Jesus we worship.
If you don’t obey the Bible, then you don’t obey Jesus.

This concept of separating the two,
Is conceived by men seeking to re-create a more self-pleasing Jesus

Impossible. “the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”
The personality of the Word and the personality of Jesus
Are one and the same.
He is Eternal
John 8:58-59 “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.”

He is Supernal
John 17:4-5 “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

He is Supernatural
Hebrews 1:1-4 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”
The personality of the Word.
#2 THE POWER OF THE WORD
John 1:3
Take for a second and consider the power of God’s word.
The way John wants you to see it is by looking back at creation.

When you look back at the first chapter of Genesis,
You don’t find God doing anything.
He didn’t have to do anything; everything did just as He said.

Genesis 1:3 “Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.”

Genesis 1:6-7 “Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.”

Genesis 1:9 “Then God said, ” Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.”

Genesis 1:11 “Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so.”

Genesis 1:14-15
“Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.”
Genesis 1:20-21 “Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.”

Genesis 1:24 “Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so.”

Genesis 1:26-27 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

You don’t find God doing anything there.
He didn’t have to. His word was enough.
When God said, “Let there be light”, it had better come from somewhere.

(My Great-Grand Father would rattle his tea glass)
So it was with God, it is called authority.

This is what has blown the mind of scientists for years.
They can’t seem to figure out how it happened.
I’ll tell you how it happened, God told it to.

John Sullivan
“I’ll tell you where God came from. He came from no-where. There was no-where for Him to come from. I’ll tell you what God was standing on. Nothing. There was nothing to stand on. God came from no-where, standing on nothing, reached into everything took of something, hung it on nothing, and told it to stay there.”
And it was so.

Job 26:5-14 “The departed spirits tremble Under the waters and their inhabitants. “Naked is Sheol before Him, And Abaddon has no covering. “He stretches out the north over empty space And hangs the earth on nothing. “He wraps up the waters in His clouds, And the cloud does not burst under them. “He obscures the face of the full moon And spreads His cloud over it. “He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters At the boundary of light and darkness. “The pillars of heaven tremble And are amazed at His rebuke. “He quieted the sea with His power, And by His understanding He shattered Rahab. “By His breath the heavens are cleared; His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent. “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; And how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”

We are talking about the power of His Word.
(“Get your own dirt.”)
Only God has the power of creation, and when He wanted it, He spoke it.

Well let me tell you again, Jesus is the Word
“All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
Colossians 1:15-20 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

Jesus created this world, it was made by Him and for Him.
He is the powerful spoken Word of God.

He is the ultimate picture of God’s authority.
Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

John 5:22 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,”

Matthew 7:28-29 “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”

When Jesus wanted something done,
He didn’t have to do a thing, He only had to command it.
He healed the sick with a word.
He cleaned the lepers with a word.
He said, “Lazarus come forth.”

#3 THE PURPOSE OF THE WORD
John 1:4
You know why God gave us the Word. It was to benefit us.
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. “But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

God’s Word is meant to bring life.
It is meant to Illumine men, to bring them to salvation.
Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

Proverbs 6:23 “For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life”

It is impossible for you to enter eternal life apart from the Word of God.
Romans 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

Romans 10:14-17 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!” However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

It is the Word that is meant to give life and lead mean to salvation.
2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

And of course this Word is Jesus.
“In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men”

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

John 20:30-31 “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

The purpose of the Living Word was so that you might leave the life of darkness and be moved into eternal life in the Son of God.

#4 THE PERPLEXITY OF THE WORD
John 1:5

This is the real dilemma with the Word of God. Men didn’t pay attention to it.

Israel spent 40 extra years in the wilderness because they didn’t listen.
Moses only saw the Promised Land from a distance because he didn’t listen.
Jerusalem spent 70 years in Babylon because she didn’t listen.

Men didn’t pay attention to the Word of God.
Men did not grasp it as important.
And is this is exactly what men did, and do with Jesus.

John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;”

John 5:45-47 “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. “But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

John 8:25-27 “So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning? “I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.”

This world has been filled with men
Who were confronted with Jesus and did not comprehend it.

Hell is full of people who didn’t comprehend the Light.

Israel is a tragic example of this.
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.”

They did not recognize the light. They did not comprehend Jesus.

How about you?
John 12:35-36 “So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. “While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.”

You see Jesus is the Living Word of God.
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

The way speaks of His Power
The truth speaks of His Personality
The life speaks of His Purpose

HAVE YOU EVER COME TO JESUS?
He is the greatest phenomenon this world has ever seen.
And He is the One you must do something with.

Your eternity doesn’t depend on who this world says Jesus is.
Your eternity doesn’t depend on who your parents say Jesus is.
Your eternity doesn’t depend on who your spouse says Jesus is.

Matthew 16:15 “He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

The Lord Remembers
Zechariah 4:1-14
October 9, 2016

As you know we are working our way through the book of Zechariah,
And not just because of its eschatological implications
But also because it contains such an important message.

The prophet’s name means “The Lord Remembers”
And this is such an important reality for us to grasp in our own lives.

It certainly was for these refugees.
All you have to do is bring to mind their recent history and you can see why they needed to know this.
• The Nation split after Solomon died
• Half the nation was carried off into exile
• God’s glory left the temple
• The rest of the nation was carried into exile
• The temple was destroyed
• God’s people lived in a foreign land for 70 years
• Now returning, only a small portion returned
• And rebuilding the temple has proven difficult

Have you ever been bombarded by one trial after another after another?
You feel like you’ve endured your fair share and yet before one lets up another hits?

That must have been how these refugees felt.

God’s message to them is that He remembers them.
They are not forgotten, and they are not abandoned.

This was the primary ministry of Zechariah.
To remind Israel that God has not forgotten them.

And that in and of itself is AN IMPORTANT REALITY
That we have yet to touch on fully.

Have you ever pondered the phrase?
“The Lord Remembers” or “The Lord remembered…”

It is what theologians call an “ANTHROPOMORPHISM”
It is when God speaks as though He were a human.

Of course God has no need to literally remember since God never forgets.
God can’t forget for He is omniscient, He knows all.

So in one sense to ascribe the need to remember to God
Could almost be construed as a heretical application.

Except for the fact that the Bible says that God remembers.
Noah
Genesis 8:1 “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided.”

Lot because of Abraham
Genesis 19:29 “Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.”

Rachel
Genesis 30:22 “Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb.”

The Slaves of Egypt
Exodus 2:24 “So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Psalms 105:37-43 “Then He brought them out with silver and gold, And among His tribes there was not one who stumbled. Egypt was glad when they departed, For the dread of them had fallen upon them. He spread a cloud for a covering, And fire to illumine by night. They asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock and water flowed out; It ran in the dry places like a river. For He remembered His holy word With Abraham His servant; And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful shout.”

Hannah
1 Samuel 1:19 “Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD, and returned again to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah had relations with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.”

Over and over the Bible reiterates
God remembering a person or group of people.

Psalms 98:2-3 “The LORD has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”

Psalms 106:44-46 “Nevertheless He looked upon their distress When He heard their cry; And He remembered His covenant for their sake, And relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness. He also made them objects of compassion In the presence of all their captors.”

And because we know that God is omniscient and never forgets
We understand that this phrase DOES NOT indicate that there are times
When we slip from God’s mind until He reads the post-it note on His door

Actually it is a phrase that indicates
God’s faithfulness to always keep His promises.

You could almost think of it as God prioritizing His will.
• He will always do what He determined to do.
• He will always remember the promises He has made.
And this should be a very comforting reality to God’s people.

James Boice – “The hope is not in reasoning that God is aware of all things and is therefore aware of you. That is true, but not always helpful. The hope is in knowing that God will act again! And in the meantime, your job is to go on in faithful obedience to what he has already shown you — however long ago that may have been.”
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/the-bible-study-hour/read/articles/remembered-by-god-11789.html

In short, if you are a beneficiary of God’s sovereign promises
Then you can go forward in absolute faith and assurance,
Regardless of the difficulty,
Knowing that God will always remember to keep His promises.

God will do what He said.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

1 Corinthians 1:9 “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

And this is really the point of the book of Zechariah
To these down-trodden refugees.

GOD IS GOING TO DO WHAT HE SAID
BECAUSE GOD ALWAYS REMEMBERS.

Proving that to these refugees has been
THE MAIN THRUST OF THESE NIGHT VISIONS WE HAVE SEEN.

The Vision of the Angelic Patrol – God reminded that He is jealous for Israel and is angry at the nations who afflicted them.

The Vision of the 4 Horns and 4 Craftsman – God reminded that He will punish those nations that afflicted you.

The Vision of the Surveyor – God reminded that He still considers Jerusalem to be His possession, He has not forgotten the city where His name dwells.

The Vision of Joshua’s Atonement – God reminded that He has chosen Israel and plucked them from the fire and will therefore certainly atone for their iniquity and forgive their sin.

All of these visions are summed up in the reality that
God remembers His covenantal promises to Abraham and to David
And that He will surely keep His word.
GOD WILL DO IT

And that really seems to be the main point of this 5th night vision.
• God is going to do what He said.
• In fact, He is doing it.
• And He is the One doing it through you!
TONIGHT THE MAIN THRUST OF THE VISION
Stems from the difficulty they are having rebuilding this temple.

It is a hard task.
Building the temple would be hard enough, but consider the added difficulties.
• Limited man power – only a few actually returned to Jerusalem
• Hostile natives – they’ve already stopped them once
• Skeptical Rulers – currently sending word to Darius to find out if this is ok
• No Security – remember there is no wall around this city where they are working
• Critical analyzers – as you will see again tonight many of the people who watched them rebuild were critical of how much less impressive this temple was than the old one.

This was a hard task.

God shows up to remind His people that
He has not forgotten His purpose and He will do what He said.
In fact, He IS doing what He said.

So let’s look at our text tonight.

There are 4 things I want you to see in this chapter.
#1 A DISCOURAGED PROPHET
Zechariah 4:1

What we find here is that angel comes to give Zechariah another vision.

But this time, unlike the previous,
We learn the condition in which the angel finds Zechariah.

He says the angel “roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep.”

“roused” here in the Hebrew is UR (oor)
And it means “to stir up”

1 Chronicles 5:26a “So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, even the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away into exile…”

2 Chronicles 21:16 “Then the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs who bordered the Ethiopians;”

You read that and you realize what God is doing.
He, through the work of His Spirit, is causing men to do His will.
It is a very Spirit-driven type of reality.

What you should also know is that
God has been doing this very thing regarding this project of rebuilding His temple long before He did it here to Zechariah.

Ezra 1:1-2 “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying: “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.”

Ezra 1:5 “Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites arose, even everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.”

God has been doing this and now He is doing it to Zechariah.

“as a man who is awakened from his sleep”

That doesn’t mean that Zechariah is just sleepy.
The implication here is that Zechariah
Had either grown apathetic, or discouraged.

Being asleep in Scripture often pictures a person who isn’t as focused and ready as they should be.

After giving the practical expectations of Christian living, Paul said:
Romans 13:11 “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.”

Paul wasn’t implying that believers were spending too much time in bed,
But rather that they were not paying attention,
That they had grown apathetic and complacent.

And it is very likely that Zechariah found himself there.

He knows what God wants – He wants the temple,
But rebuilding this temple is hard.
And one has to wonder if Zechariah really thought they could pull it off.

You have to wonder if anyone in Israel really thought they could pull it off.
The temptation is to get discouraged and seemingly give up.

Zechariah here has fallen into discouragement.
• But the angel wakes him up.
• The angel confronts him and tells him to get on the alert.

A Discouraged Prophet
#2 A DIFFICULT VISION
Zechariah 4:2-5

So the angel wakes Zechariah up and gives him a vision
That he at least partly doesn’t understand.

“I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold”

This was not uncommon, and it symbolized that at least in part
Israel was the light of the world.

It ultimately and perfectly pictured Christ who would be the light of the world.

“with its bowl on the top of it”

This is a little different.
This lamp actually worked on a gravity flow system.

The bowl containing the oil was set on top of the lamp
So that oil would flow down into the lamp and keep the lamp burning.

“and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it;”

So this is a large lamp with a total of 49 flames.

Here is where the difficult part came for Zechariah.
(3) “also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.”

So now we not only have a lampstand, but we also have a bowl on top,
And here we find that beside the bowl, we have two olive trees.

The figure is that there is a NEVER ENDING SUPPLY of oil
Running from the tree, into the bowl and feeding the lamp.

SOMETHING IS SUPPLYING POWER TO THE LIGHT

Now it is obvious that Zechariah understood the lamp, the bowl, and the 49 spouts, but he did not understand these trees.

(4) “Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, my lord?”

(You’ll seen realize that Zechariah’s lack of understanding
Is what is fueling his discouragement)

And the angel even seems a little surprised that he doesn’t know.

(5) “So the angel who was speaking with me answered and so to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”

So we have A Discouraged Prophet, A Difficult Vision
#3 A DIVINE REMINDER
Zechariah 4:6-10
(6) “Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.”

Now I love what God is doing here.
The message is for Zerubbabel, but who is it given to?

It is given to Zechariah, he is in turn supposed to relay it to Zerubbabel.
(Zerubbabel is the governor, he needs to hear this)

But the other person who needs to hear this is Zechariah.
(That’s why the angel appeared first to Zechariah and not straight to Zerubbabel)

And notice the message he is supposed to render.
“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit” says the LORD of hosts.”

And we know what he means.
• This project you are working on.
• This difficult project…
• This project that isn’t running as smoothly as you would like…

This project will not be done in your own “might”.
This project will not be done by your own “power”.

This project will only be accomplished “by My Spirit”

Only God can accomplish this great project. – we understand John 15

BUT THROUGH GOD IT WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED.
(7) “’What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”‘”

Zerubbabel faced a mountain – it was a figurative mountain.

The mountain was his project, it must have seemed impossible to move.
But God promised this mountain was coming down.

And WHEN this temple will be built,
(That is what God means by “he will bring forth the top stone”)

And as the temple is finished there will be “shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”

NOW WHY GRACE?
Because all will realize that GOD DID THIS by His divine power.
And so when it is built, He will get the glory.

Now, for a moment let’s rest in that truth.
• We face our mountains don’t we?
• We face our impossible missions.

But Jesus has always told us
Where the power to pull down a mountain comes from.
Matthew 17:20 “And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”

It doesn’t take strength to move a mountain, what does it take? FAITH

God pulls down mountains by the power of His Spirit.
We cannot overemphasize the importance of the Spirit of God,
He is the One who makes impossible missions possible.

AND THIS IS A LESSON WE HAD ALL BETTER LEARN.
• You can’t be the spouse you need to be by your own power…
• You can’t be the parent you need to be by your own power…
• You can’t be the employee you need to be by your own power…
• You can’t be the Christian you need to be by your own power…

Everything must be done in the power of God’s Spirit.

That is what Jesus meant in John 15 when He told us to “abide in Him”
Saying “apart from Me, you can do nothing.”

And that is what God just told Zechariah to go tell Zerubbabel.

But that is not all that God has to say.
(8-9) “Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.”

This part of the message was not for Zerubbabel, this was for Zechariah.

It is apparent that Zechariah, along with his discouragement,
Was having a few doubts.
He was doubting whether or not he had heard God correctly.

REMEMBER these refugees had already stopped building once.
• It was Haggai and Zechariah’s preaching that caused them to start again.

Ezra 5:1-2 “When the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them, then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them supporting them.”

Zechariah was largely responsible for spearheading this project.
When things are hard who do you suppose they questioned?
When they hit snags who do you suppose they looked cross-eyed at?

IT IS THE PAIN OF LEADERSHIP.
• People will follow a leader, but you had better know he is also the very first person they’ll blame when things get tough.

Don’t think for a second that Zechariah wasn’t carrying a huge burden.
His life and reputation and ministry
Depended on the success of this project.

And what if…he had not heard God correctly?
I promise you at times Zechariah questioned the whole situation.

That is easy to do.
• When you hear from God and you move forward
• And then it seems like nothing is going according to plan,
• You can sure wonder if you really heard from God or not.

And so God has a little confirmation for him.
“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.”

You may remember when God called Moses to go back to Pharaoh and lead his people out, Moses was a little apprehensive.

God had proof for him.
Exodus 3:12 “And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

It was a confirmation after the fact.

That is the same type of thing God does here for Zechariah.
I am the one speaking to you.
You just trust Me, and when it is done, you’ll know it was me.

That is what God is doing for Zechariah.

And yet God has one more thing to tell him.
(10) “For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel — these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth.”

And here we find another reason Zechariah was a little discouraged.

He was preaching to get the temple rebuilt,
But not only was their opposition from outside Israel,
But there was also scorn from within Israel.
In fact Ezra tells us that the people alive now who had seen Solomon’s temple
Were weeping over had pathetic this one was.

Ezra 3:12 “Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy,”

Haggai also recognized their scorn.
Haggai 2:1-9 “On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet saying, “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people saying, ‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison? ‘But now take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ declares the LORD of hosts. ‘As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!’ “For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘ Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. ‘I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the LORD of hosts. ‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the LORD of hosts.”

Haggai heard their scorn as well, but promised this temple would have more glory than Solomon’s. It did too – Jesus would preach in this temple.

But that is the scorn Zechariah has faced.
To many of the people this was “the day of small things”

And so even the negative and skeptics inside Jerusalem
Were discouraging this mission.

And it is apparent that their mocking had gotten to Zechariah too.
He was listening to the grumblers who mocked his mission.

But God said, “For who has despised the day of small things?”

That is to say, “Who do they think they are?”
Furthermore, “Why does their opinion matter?”

They may despise this mission, “But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel – these are the eyes of the Lord which range to and fro throughout the earth.”

God tells Zechariah that there may be some
Who despise what you are doing, but not God, He is glad.

And really, if God is pleased with the mission
Does it matter what anyone else thinks?

And that is the Divine reminder that God gives here to Zechariah.

Zechariah was discouraged because he didn’t know how this mission would ever be accomplished, God said it will be by My Spirit.

Zechariah was discouraged because he wasn’t sure he had heard God correctly, God said, when the mission is accomplished you’ll know for sure.

Zechariah was discouraged because there were some who opposed his mission, God said, don’t fret them, this mission makes me glad.

YOU MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN, BUT GOD REMEMBERS

God can do it. God will do it. And God will be pleased with it.

A Discouraged Prophet, A Difficult Vision, A Divine Reminder
#4 A DIRECT EXPLANATION
Zechariah 4:11-14

Zechariah still hasn’t forgotten about those two trees.

Now, the angel did answer, Zechariah just didn’t understand the answer.

(11) “Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?”

But apparently the Angel thinks he should know by now
And doesn’t answer.

(12) “And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?”

Again he asks, who are these branches that carry the oil?

And the angel almost seems surprised that he doesn’t know still.
(13) “So he answered me, saying, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”

It’s almost like the angel said, “You still don’t know?”

(14) “Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.”

These two branches that let oil flow through them to the bowl that supplies the candle, these are the “two anointed ones”

These are two selected, spirit-filled men that God has chosen.

They are also faithful men for they “are standing by the Lord”

They are Zerubbabel and Joshua.
They are men that God has filled with His Spirit.
They are men that are faithful to God to fulfill His word.

And here then is the point.
• You have a lamp that must shine, but in order to do so it needs oil.
• You have a source of oil in the tree,
• But notice that the oil is flowing through these two branches, namely
Zerubbabel and Joshua.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

God is accomplishing His purpose, by His Spirit,
But He is doing it through His people.

The fact we are reminded of?
God uses His people.

His people can’t do it on their own,
Their own power and strength won’t cut it.

But when God’s people are filled with God’s Spirit and are faithful to God, He can move mountains through them.

SO…
• God has remembered His people
• God has remembered His promises
• God has remembered His city and His temple
And God is working to accomplish it.

The real point?
You need to remember.
• Remember that God is faithful, don’t get discouraged
• Remember that God is faithful, don’t be put off by difficulty
• Remember that God is faithful, don’t think you walk alone
• Remember that God is faithful, and thus abide in Him

He knows what He is doing in your life
Even if the circumstances you are in have caused you to question that,
And He is faithful to do what He says.

Now after reading all of this, let me ask you:
Who was rebuilding this temple?
God was – He was doing it behind the scenes by His Spirit.
(Don’t you love when you see God move like this!!!)

1 Thessalonians 5:24 “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

Sealed For A Purpose
Revelation 7:1-8
October 9, 2016

Last week we started looking at this text regarding the 144,000.
Actually to say we started might be a little of a stretch.
Let’s say we intended to start.

But hopefully you are aware of the issue and purpose of the chapter now.

The Lord Jesus Christ, in response to the cry of the martyrs,
Has begun to unleash His active wrath onto the world.

When that sixth seal was broken
It became clear that the Lord was now in the business
Of unleashing His personal holy fury on the sinful world.

At one point even ripping back the sky
That those on earth might see Him on the throne and know that
All of these catastrophes were the direct result of His wrath.

And when this happened a universal cry rose from the earth.
Revelation 6:15-17 “Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

AND THIS WAS THE QUESTION WE DEALT WITH LAST WEEK.
• We can easily say that those who are able to stand are those whom God causes to stand.

• And God causes sinners to be able to stand before Him through the work of Christ and the preaching of the gospel.

That is the answer.
And that is also the point of the Revelation 7.

When sinners ask at the end of chapter 6 “who is able to stand?”
God immediately reveals a chapter to answer that very question.

REVELATION 7 IS MEANT TO SHOW US WHO IS ABLE TO STAND.
So let’s take a brief break from the chronological flow of the events of the tribulation in order to answer this very important question.

Two main things we see
#1 THE SEALING OF SLAVES
Revelation 17:1-8

God is answering the question regarding who can stand.
And the first thing He reveals is that He has purposely sealed
A specific group of bond-servants (slaves) for this task.

Let’s work our way through it, and there a few things I want you to see.
1) THE PLAN OF DESTRUCTION (1)
“After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.”

This verse is actually following along in the chronological flow of
The judgments regarding the tribulation.

When that sixth seal opened we saw a great shaking in which
• The sun turned black,
• The moon turned to blood,
• The mountains and islands disappeared,
• Stars fell to the earth,
• And the sky split apart.

But those were NOT the final judgments Christ has prepared for the world.
There is more.

This scroll is sealed up with 7 seals not 6,
Which means there is still one more seal to open.

And what we find in verse 1 is “four angels”
Who are preparing themselves for the judgments of this 7th seal.

They are “standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.”

To help you understand what is happening here,
You need to understand THE REFERENCE TO WIND that is used.

Often times in Scripture wind is a picture of judgment.
Jeremiah 49:36 “I will bring upon Elam the four winds From the four ends of heaven, And will scatter them to all these winds; And there will be no nation To which the outcasts of Elam will not go.”

Daniel 7:2-3 “Daniel said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. “And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.”

Hosea 13:15 “Though he flourishes among the reeds, An east wind will come, The wind of the LORD coming up from the wilderness; And his fountain will become dry And his spring will be dried up; It will plunder his treasury of every precious article.”

Wind isn’t the only analogy used for judgment, but it is one that God uses.
And that seems to be the picture here.

These angels have a specific duty and that duty is
To restrain this particular judgment which is designed
To afflict the earth, the sea, and the trees.

Their job is to restrain that judgment
Until the time which the Lord has determined.

The point then is that there is a definite plan of judgment in the works.
• A judgment which will afflict the earth, the sea, and the trees.
• And it is a judgment which is currently being restrained.

Incidentally when this 7th seal is eventually opened it will usher in 7 trumpet judgments and they are very much focused on the destruction of these things.
• The first trumpet burns 1/3 of the earth (8:7)
• The second trumpet turns 1/3 of the sea to blood (8:8)
• The third trumpet turns 1/3 of the fresh water bitter (8:10)

It seems then that these are the judgments which are determined,
But which these four angels are currently restraining them.

SO THE PICTURE IS CLEAR.
The Lord has just unleashed fury on the earth with that great shaking
And He is about to unleash more fury upon the earth, sea, and trees.

There is a plan of destruction in place.
2) THE PAUSE OF THE PLAN (2-3)
“And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”

As these angels are preparing to unleash this next wave of judgments,
Another angel comes flying in and tells them to wait.

There is something that must be done
BEFORE these judgments are poured out.
“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”

We need talk about this just a little to understand what is going on here.

“seal” is SPHRAGIS
And it literally referred to a signet ring.

In those days you wrote a decree, you dripped wax on it
And then you sealed it with the imprint of the ring.

That ring came to denote ownership or authority and also protection.

Let me give you a few examples of what the word means.

John 3:33 “He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.”

Obviously there it takes on the connotation of
One who endorses something.

John says that if you receive the testimony are saying that God is true.
You are endorsing God.
You have “set your seal” to that fact.

This would also seem to be the point in:
John 6:27 “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”

There again the indicator is that God has made
A public declaration or endorsement of Christ.
To put your seal on something was to say it is true.

Romans 15:28 “Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain.”

There again, the same thing.
It is almost like when a notary public places that stamp on a document.
They are sealing it, endorsing it, verifying that it is true.

But that is not all it means.
It is also a means of SECURITY.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”

God is making us secure and proving that by giving us the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13 “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,”

Ephesians 4:30 “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

So we are seeing that the seal of God
Was for the purpose of endorsing and protecting.

It indicated those who are the Lord’s
And it protected them from some specific harm.

ARE THERE ANY INDICATIONS OF ANYTHING LIKE THIS HAPPENING IN SCRIPTURE ANYWHERE ELSE?

If we had time we could go and read Ezekiel 8 & 9.
• Ezekiel 8 outlines the horrific wickedness of Israel,
• Ezekiel 9 outlines the just wrath that will be poured out upon it.

But in giving the orders to those who will be the literal hand of judgment God first gives an order.

Ezekiel 9:4-6 “The LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.” But to the others He said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare. “Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary.” So they started with the elders who were before the temple.”

The Lord commanded to mark or seal those who were his.
(You knew they were his because they hated the sin in their midst)
And those who were sealed were off limits from the judgment.

Remember in the Egypt, before that final plague of the death angel, what were the children of Israel to do?

Exodus 12:22-23 “You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. “For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you.”

That blood was a seal.
It depicted the approval of God and a protection from judgment.

Remember the conquest when Joshua went to conquer Jericho, there was a woman there named Rahab who had aided the spies.

Joshua 2:17-19 “The men said to her, “We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear, 1unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household. “It shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be free; but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.”

That scarlet thread was the seal that identified Rahab and protected her.

So we’re clear then what is happening here.
Before judgment comes, God wants these bond-servants to be sealed.
He wants them identified and protected.

If you are curious what the seal depicts or looks like:
Revelation 14:1 “Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.”

The seal is the name of Christ and God.

And this makes sense for we remember what the Lord told the church at Philadelphia:
Revelation 3:12 “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.”

It is a sign of God’s ownership, God’s approval,
And also of divine protection which would make them
Off limits from the coming judgments.

And we know this is true, for by the time we get to Revelation 14 which is a preview of the second coming we find that all 144,000 are still there standing with the Lord.

Revelation 9:1-5 “Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man.”

They are sealed, they are protected, and neither the judgments of God, nor the persecution of Satan is able to touch them.

(Incidentally it is this seal that Satan will mimic as he will seek to enforce his own seal on humanity which you know as the mark of the beast)

Now we should make the distinction that this particular seal
WILL NOT BE for all believers in the tribulation.

Not every believer is off limits from the destructions that come.
• Certainly many will die as a result of the wars and famines and earthquakes .
• Certainly many will die at the hands of the antichrist and Satan.
• That is made clear because we have so many martyrs below the altar.

This seal then is not an indicator simply of salvation
(or all believers would have it)
This seal is an indicator of a specific ministry.
THESE ARE SEALED FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOSPEL

So we see that there is a plan of destruction in place,
But the Lord has chosen to pause that plan until He can seal His bond-servants.
3) THE PROTECTION OF SLAVES (4-8)

Here we find that it is important to the Lord
That you know who these are who are being sealed.

The most obvious answer we see is that they are 144,000 Jews.
• This is not the church.
• The church is not Israel.
• Israel is not the church.
• These are 144,000 Jews.

What is extremely remarkable here is that they are divided up by tribe.
• That is remarkable because Jews have absolutely no tribal records today.
• After the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the temple in AD 70
Israel lost all of that information.
• There is not a Jew alive who has a clue what tribe they are from.
• But God obviously knows and by His own sovereign decree He seals 12,000
from each of these tribes.

That is pretty remarkable.
This is sovereign election at it’s finest

Now also if you are one of those keen students
• You probably noticed that Dan is omitted.
• You may have also noticed that instead of Ephraim the tribe is listed as
Joseph,
• While Manasseh the other son of Joseph is listed.

Many have questioned and wondered at this,
And there is not a clear answer given.

Most assume that since the tribe of Dan was so closely associated with idolatry
That they disqualified themselves from this service,
But that is nothing more than a guess.

What is true is that in Ezekiel 48 the tribe of Dan is listed among the registry of those in the millennium so we know God is in the business of saving them.

In short, we don’t really know why Dan is omitted,
But we again chalk this up to God’s sovereign prerogative.
He is sealing a specific 144,000 from these 12 tribes.
He is marking them as His special ministers on the earth.

But aside from the being 144,000 Jews
I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE MORE ABOUT WHO THEY ARE.

Back in verse 3 it was made clear that first and foremost they are “the bond-servants of our God”

“bond-servants” is DOULOS
At that was literally a slave.
Exodus 21:2-6 “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. “If he comes alone, he shall go out alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him. “If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone. “But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.”

This was a person who became a willing slave of his master.

Incidentally, this was the PREFERRED TITLE OF THE APOSTLES
When referring to themselves.

The term “Christian” was a derogatory term which was given to them as a term of derision by a non-believing world and certainly became a badge of honor.

However, the apostles referred to themselves as
“bond-servants of the Lord” or “slaves of the Lord”

THAT IS WHAT A CHRISTIAN IS.
In fact, if you are not a slave of the Lord
Then Scriptures says you are a slave of sin.

There is no notion of being a Christian who is not in total submission to Christ.
THAT IS WHAT WE CALL A FALSE-BELIEVER.

That is one like whom Paul described to Titus
Titus 1:16 “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”

These 144,000 are called “bond-servants”
So we know that MUST ALREADY BE BELIEVERS in Jesus Christ.

Now this is interesting as well,
Because we have to wonder WHEN THEY WERE SAVED.

They clearly were not saved before the rapture
Or else they’d be with the church in heaven.

I think a key phrase regarding this group is found in Revelation 14.
Revelation 14:4 “These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.”

There we learn that these 144,000 are the “first fruits to God”
Obviously they are the first fruits of the nation of Israel.
Perhaps you remember Paul’s letter to the Romans
And that famous section regarding Israel found in chapters 9-11.

Romans 11:11 “I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.”

And later:
Romans 11:25 “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery — so that you will not be wise in your own estimation — that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;”

And
Romans 11:28-29 “From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

It would stand to reason then that immediately following the rapture,
There will be Jews who having heard the gospel previously
And will turn to Jesus Christ after the fact.

• Perhaps it is the abomination of desolation that Jesus spoke of.
• Perhaps it is simply due to the difficult events of famine and sickness and
death

But the real reason is because God has ordained to save them.
• These 144,000 will be the first.
• They will lead the way.
• They are those who have been “purchased” and are “first fruits”

They are the beginning picture of the harvest that is coming.
Obviously they had heard the gospel before the church was removed,
For no one is saved apart from it, but it is clear that now they have believed the gospel
And become bond-servants of Christ.

And God has taken these sovereign chosen believing Jews
And sealed them for His own purpose.
They are Jews
They are believers in Christ
And now they are sealed for a purpose

We would ask: WHAT PURPOSE?
Well if you want to fast-forward a little we can read about them again at the end of the tribulation.

Revelation 14:1-5 “Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.”

• Revelation 7 marks the beginning of their ministry.
• Revelation 14 marks the end.

And let me tell you what is unmistakably clear:
THEY HAD ABSOLUTELY NO CONFUSION
REGARDING WHY THEY HAD BEEN SAVED AND SEALED.

THEY KNEW THEIR PURPOSE.

Some very interesting facts about them.

They “have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste.”

• Indicating their absolute moral purity and unwillingness to succumb to the temptations of the flesh.
• Their lives stood in absolute contrast to the sin of the culture.

“These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.”

• It speaks of their devotion to Christ.
• They don’t in fear, they don’t back down from the mission.
• When they sing “Wherever He leads I’ll go” they mean it.

“No lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless”

• These are truth speakers.
• They aren’t false prophets, they aren’t false teachers.
• They proclaim truth and they do it above reproach.

And the indication here is that
They were used of the Lord in a tremendous ministry.

And the effects of that ministry will be seen next week
• As we examine the unnumbered multitude of people from every nation, tribe, and tongue standing around the throne of God having been saved out of the great tribulation.

The Lord set these apart for the purpose of preaching the gospel,
And the end of the chapter makes it clear that they did their job.

They preached and multitudes of people were saved.
They preached and multitudes were “standing before the throne” as a result.

And that is THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION of chapter 6..
• You find yourself under the wrath of God…
• You find yourself facing eternal destruction…
You wonder what is necessary to make it possible to stand before God?
And the first answer that would be given to this sinful culture is this:
• Do you see those people who claim to be slaves of Jesus Christ?
• Do you see those people with the name of Jesus written on their foreheads?
• Do you see those people who don’t crave sexual immorality like everyone
else?
• Do you see those people don’t lie but speak the truth to you?
• Do you see those people who live above reproach?
• Do you see those people who only seem to care about what Jesus wants?

If you want to stand before God you’d better listen to what they’re saying.
They are telling you how to stand.

And we will find at the end of the chapter that many will listen.
Multitudes will be saved as a result.

Now obviously we are not yet living in that day.
• These who will be the 144,000 have yet to be saved (they may not even be born yet) and obviously they have yet to be sealed or to begin their ministry.

But that DOES NOT MEAN that
There is nothing that the church can learn from this.

In fact, again I remind you that the book of the Revelation
Was specifically written for the bond-servants of Christ.

“What are we supposed to learn from looking at these 144,000?”
• You are supposed to see what God is looking for in a bond-servant.
• You are supposed to see what type of person God seeks to use as He
calls His elect to Himself.

You see what they look like in the middle of their ministry.
You see what you should look like in the middle of yours.

We are also those who claim to be slaves of Christ.
We call him Lord, we say He is in control.

We are also those who are sealed.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”

Ephesians 1:13 “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,”

Ephesians 4:30 “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

No, that doesn’t mean that nothing bad is allowed to happen to us on this earth.
But it does mean that regardless of what happens on this earth
NOTHING CAN STEAL OUR ETERNAL INHERITANCE.

And the Lord gives us that security
For the same reason He gave the 144,000 security.

SO WE CAN SERVE HIM RELENTLESSLY WITHOUT FEAR
OF LOSING OUR INHERITANCE.

2 Timothy 1:8-14 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”

God sealed the 144,000 for ministry
And they took that security and used it to be faithful.

Wouldn’t it be something if everyone who claimed to be a Christian would do the same?
• If they would keep themselves from defilement through sexual immorality?
• If they would follow the Lamb wherever He goes?
• If they would speak only the truth in all things?
• If they would walk blameless on the earth?

Wouldn’t it be amazing if those who claimed Christ actually lived different from the world and designated themselves for the purpose of being used by God for His purpose of salvation?

And yet you know it and I know it…
The average “Christian” today is seemingly unconcerned.

I personally think the 144,000 should stand as
A tremendous source of conviction to the church
Because they will be what the church should be.

I don’t see how we can adopt any other mindset than the one they had.
• They knew why they had been saved.
• They knew why they had been sealed.
• They knew why they were there.

And they were faithful to that task.
They are a tremendous example to the church.

Do you understand why you are here?
Do you understand your obligation to the glory of God?
Do you understand your calling as a witness of Jesus?