WEBVTT

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Oh! Oh, well, hello, and welcome to another Thursday

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night fun edition of the Feral Christian Bible

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Study here on the porch. You will probably hear

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the thunder rolling in because we are expecting

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a humdinger of a rainstorm, and I, for one, am

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super excited about it because my flowers need

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it. Sorry, I had a piece of fruit earlier, and

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I had a seed in my mouth. I was like, it's like

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when you have popcorn, and the next day you're

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like... You know what I mean? It's crazy. So

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I'm so glad that you're here tonight. I am so

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very, very glad. If you've got your Bible, go

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ahead and open it to Zachariah. I'm telling you,

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I shouldn't have. The apple is still spitting

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out skin. If you're having trouble finding it,

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I always tell everybody to go find Matthew and

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then hang a lift. It's the next to last book

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of the Old Testament. So, tonight we're going

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to start a study that has completely captured

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my heart. I've titled it, Meet Me on the Porch.

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And it's based around, I came across this verse

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the other day when I was rereading Zechariah.

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And I was like, how did I miss this earlier?

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And my contemporary English version, the contemporary

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version. of the message it says in zechariah

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3 10 at that time everyone will get along with

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one another with friendly visits across the fences

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and friendly visits on one another's porches

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and i was like that's biblical go to the porch

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so i'm so excited so meet me on the porch comes

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from zechariah 3 10. but the time that we're

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finished with this study tonight you're going

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to see what the whole book's about it's not just

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about the porch Okay? So, the whole point of

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Zechariah, if you had to take like a one sentence

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takeaway, is God restoring what sin destroyed.

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So, let's have a little prayer to start out with.

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You want to? Father God, thank you so much for

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another night. Thank you so much for another

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chance to get to study your word with our friends

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on the porch. Thank you so much, Lord, for blessing

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me with the platform and the audience to share

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your word, to share your message, to expand your

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kingdom, Lord. Please be with all of us tonight,

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those who are broken, lost, wandering, hurt,

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just feeling a little left out, Lord. Just reach

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down to your hand and show them, especially tonight

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in Zechariah, that they're not forgotten, that

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you're rebuilding, that you're restoring, and

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that the master builder is back on the job. Lord,

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help us to see past the rubble, the ruins, the

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wake of our destruction. Let us see the promise,

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the potential, the covenant that you've made

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with your people. Lord, thank you so much for

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your son and his ultimate sacrifice to wipe away

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our sin and for us to live more like him every

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day. Lord, let us go into the world and be a

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light to others. Let us keep the porch light

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on and let us reach out and lift each other up,

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Lord, because we know that it spreads one at

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a time. We ask all this in your precious son's

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name. Amen. So welcome. Glad that you're here.

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All right. Before we read a single verse, my

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husband says I touch my face too much when I

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sit at the table, but I'm sorry. I use my hands

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to talk, and sometimes I have to pull my own

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hair out. I want to tell you where we are in

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history real quick because I feel like context

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really helps when we study these Bible stories

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because otherwise you're kind of where we're

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at in the timeline of history. And if you're

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like me, me and my friend Leah were talking about

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this the other day. Sometimes we confuse. world

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history with bible history and it's the same

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timeline so let's get you in here okay imagine

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that you have been forced out of your home okay

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your town has been burned your church has been

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destroyed your family is all scattered and everything

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familiar is gone. That was Israel. We're in 586

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B .C., okay? In 586 B .C., the Babylonians completely

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conquered Jerusalem. King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed

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Solomon's temple. People were taken hundreds

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of miles into exile into Babylon. So, stuff was

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bad. For 70 years, for 70 years, 30 years more

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than they wandered in the desert, for 70 years,

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they lived in exile. So, you don't have to go

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to this. I'm just going to give you some reference.

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If you want to write this down for later, 2 Kings

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25. Giving you a little history here of where

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we're at in the Bible. And 2 Kings 25, so you

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know a little historical context of where we

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are in Zechariah, okay? The revolt dates from

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the ninth year and the tenth month of Zedekiah's

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reign. Nebuchadnezzar set up for Jerusalem immediately

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with a full army. He set up camp and sealed off

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the city by building siege mounds around it.

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The city was under siege for 19 months until

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the 11th year of Zedekiah. By the fourth month

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of Zedekiah's 11th year, on the ninth day of

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the month, the famine was so bad that there wasn't

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so much as a crumb of bread for anyone. Then

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there was a breakthrough. At night, under the

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cover of darkness, the entire army escaped through

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an opening in the wall. It was the gate between

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the two walls above the king's garden. They slipped

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through the lines of the Babylonians who surrounded

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the city and headed for the Jordan on the Arab

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Valley Road. But the Babylonians were in pursuit

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of the king, and they caught up with him in the

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plains of Jericho. By then, Zedekiah's army had

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deserted and was scattered. The Babylonians took

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Zedekiah prisoner and marched him off to the

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king of Babylon at Riblah, then tried and sentenced

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him on the spot. Zedekiah's sons were executed

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right before his eyes. The summary murder of

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his sons was the last thing he saw, for then

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they blinded him. Securely handcuffed, he was

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hauled off to Babylon. In the 19th year of Nebuchadnezzar,

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king of Babylon, on the seventh day of the fifth

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month, Nebuchadnezzar, my goodness, that's a

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name, the king of Babylon's chief deputy arrived

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in Jerusalem. He burned the temple of God to

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the ground, went on to the royal palace, and

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then finished off the city, burned the whole

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place down. Okay, we're in history. He put the

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Babylonian troops he had with him to work knocking

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down the city walls, and finally he rounded up

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everyone left in the city, including those who

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had earlier deserted to the king of Babylon who

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took them off into exile. He left a few poor

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dirt farmers behind to tend the vineyards and

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what was left of the fields. The Babylonians

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broke up the bronze pillars, the bronze washstands,

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the huge bronze bath, which was called the sea.

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that were in the temple of God and hauled the

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bronze off to Babylon. They also took the various

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bronze -crafted liturgical accessories used in

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the services of temple worship, as well as the

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gold and silver censers and sprinkling bowls.

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The king's deputy didn't miss a thing. He took

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every scrap of precious metal that he could find.

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The amount of bronze they got from the last two

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pillars, the sea, and all the washstands that

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Solomon had made for the temple of God was enormous.

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They couldn't weigh it all. There was so much

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of it. Each pillar stood 27 feet high, plus another

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four and a half feet with an ornate capital of

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bronze filigree and decorative fruit. The king's

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deputy took a number of special prisoners. Sarai,

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the chief priest, Zephaniah, the associate priest,

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three wardens, the chief remaining army officer,

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five of the king's counselors, the accountant,

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the chief recruiting officer for the army, the

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60 men of standing from among the people. Nebuchadnezzar,

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the king's deputy, marched them all off into

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the king of Babylon at Riblah. And there at Rehoboam,

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the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon, killed

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the lot of them in cold blood. Judah went into

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exile, orphaned from her land. Regarding the

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common people who were left behind in Judah,

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this. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, appointed

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Gedaliah. Sorry, that's not right. Gedaliah.

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Oh, Sarah, there's so many big names. Gedaliah,

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son of Ahicham, the son of... as their governor.

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When veteran army officers among the people heard

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that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah,

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they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. You know about

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Mizpah from the Old Testament. Among them were

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Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, Johanan, son of Korah,

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Sariah, son of Tanhumath, and the Netophilat,

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and Jezaniah, the son of Mekethat, and some of

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their followers. Gedaliah assured the officers

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and their men, giving him his word, don't be

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afraid of the Babylonian officials. Go back to

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your farms and families and respect the king

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of Babylon. Trust me, everything's going to be

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all right. Sometime later, it was in the seventh

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month, Ishmael, son of Nephaniah, the son of

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Elishamah, he had royal blood, came back with

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ten men and killed Gedaliah, the traitor Jews,

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and the Babylonian officials who were stationed

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at Mitzpah. A bloody massacre. But then, afraid

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of what the Babylonians would do, they all took

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off for Egypt, leaders and people, small and

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great. When the king of Judah had been in exile

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for 37 years, evil Morotic became king in Babylon

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and let Jehoiachin out of prison. This release

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took place on the 27th day of the 12th month,

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and the king treated him whilst courteous, leaving

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him preferential treatment beyond anything experienced

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by other political prisoners held in Babylon.

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The king took off his prison guard and for the

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rest of his life ate his meals in company with

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the king of Babylon. Okay. The king provided

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everything he needed to live comfortably. Just

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to give you a little bit of history of where

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we are right now. They were in exile. Everything

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has been burnt to the ground. And there's also

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2 Chronicles 36 talks about it. And Jeremiah

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25 talks about it. So this has been retold and

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retold throughout the history of the Old Testament.

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If you'll notice, the Old Testament is history.

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The New Testament is the ministry of Jesus. So

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kind of giving you a back story here. God had

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warned them. For generations to turn back to

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him. But they refused. They just said, no, we're

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not going to do it. We like the way we're doing

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things and we're going to do it our way. And

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eventually the consequences of their actions

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caught up with them. Oh no, it's that bridge

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we say we'd cross when we come to it. That's

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where we are right now. Then something crazy

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happens. Something remarkable happens. God stirred

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the heart. Of a pagan king. The Persian king

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Cyrus. Allowed the Jewish people. To go home.

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So if we look at Ezra. Hang on. Getting to Ezra.

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This is where all the books get really tiny.

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And close together. Because they're. the minor

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profits, so. Hang on a second. Gotta get to it.

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I put my bookmark in here earlier, and then it

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fell out. I know. I was real upset about it,

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too. And so now, because Ezra's such a small

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book, but it's an important part to the thing.

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I should have marked it with a bigger post -it

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note, but it fell out. My bad. So Ezra's right

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after 2 Chronicles. It's earlier in the Old Testament,

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and that's why it's having a hard time finding

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it. Okay. So in Ezra 1, 1 through 4, in the first

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year of Cyrus, king of Persia, this fulfilled

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the message of God preached by Jeremiah. God

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prodded Cyrus, king of Persia, to make an official

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announcement throughout his kingdom. He wrote

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it out as follows. From Cyrus, king of Persia,

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a proclamation. God, the God of the heavens,

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has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He

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has also assigned me to build him a temple of

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worship in Jerusalem, Judah. Who among you belongs

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to his people? God be with you. Go to Jerusalem,

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which is in Judah, and build the temple of God,

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the God of Israel, Jerusalem's God. Those who

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stay behind, wherever they happen to live, will

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support them with silver, gold, tools, and pack

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animals, along with the freewill offerings of

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the temple of God in Jerusalem. Cyrus, a pagan

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guy. He was like, hey. God talked to me, and

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we're supposed to rebuild that temple, and if

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you're part of that bunch, then you can go too.

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Think about that. God used someone who didn't

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even worship him to fulfill his promise to the

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Israelites. Somebody that didn't even really

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subscribe to, didn't know anything about him.

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That's a good reminder that God isn't limited

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by who he uses. He can move kings, governments,

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neighbors, strangers, whoever he chooses to use

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to accomplish his purposes. It doesn't matter.

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It's up to him. It ain't up to you. So imagine

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finally getting to go home after 70 years, okay?

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After 70 years, you've dreamed about it. You've

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prayed about it. You've told your children stories

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about Jerusalem. And then you get there, and

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it's rubble. It's just the walls are broken.

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And the temple is gone and the streets are empty.

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And sometimes that's exactly what happens after

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we've wandered away from God. We think coming

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back will immediately fix everything. Instead,

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we often come home to the mess of our choices.

00:14:12.700 --> 00:14:15.580
Do we not? Or sometimes someone else's choices.

00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:20.279
And they've left all this mess behind. Maybe

00:14:20.279 --> 00:14:22.279
that's where some of us are standing right now

00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:25.620
tonight. Maybe you've come back to God, but your

00:14:25.620 --> 00:14:28.759
marriage is still hurting. Your finances are

00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:32.019
still a mess. Your anxiety didn't disappear overnight.

00:14:32.179 --> 00:14:38.220
Your grief is still swallowing you whole. Coming

00:14:38.220 --> 00:14:41.299
home to God doesn't always erase the rebel immediately.

00:14:43.179 --> 00:14:46.639
But it does mean that the master builder is back

00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:53.100
on the job. So around 520 B .C., God raised up

00:14:53.100 --> 00:14:58.519
two prophets. One was Haggai, or Haggai, depending

00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:00.840
on who you're talking to. The other was Zechariah.

00:15:02.059 --> 00:15:04.720
Haggai was practical. He basically said, quit

00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:07.000
remodeling your own houses and work on the temple

00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:12.259
of God. That's in Haggai 1, if you want to go

00:15:12.259 --> 00:15:15.720
into that. But Zechariah comes along with a completely

00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:18.480
different message. He says, don't lose heart.

00:15:18.700 --> 00:15:24.000
God has not forgotten you. One prophet encouraged

00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:27.440
their hands. One prophet encouraged their hearts.

00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:32.159
Sometimes we need both. Sometimes we need someone

00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:34.340
to tell us to get to work. But sometimes we need

00:15:34.340 --> 00:15:36.419
somebody to tell us why that work still matters.

00:15:38.340 --> 00:15:43.559
So let's begin. In Zechariah 1. One through three.

00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:48.399
One through four. It's even. I like to do even

00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:51.379
numbers. In the eighth month of the second year

00:15:51.379 --> 00:15:53.799
in the reign of Darius, God's message came to

00:15:53.799 --> 00:15:59.580
the prophet Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son

00:15:59.580 --> 00:16:02.580
of Iddo, which is a fun word to say. God was

00:16:02.580 --> 00:16:04.879
very angry with your ancestors, so give to the

00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:06.759
people this message from the God of the angel

00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:09.720
armies. Come back to me, and I'll come back to

00:16:09.720 --> 00:16:12.629
you. don't be like your parents the old time

00:16:12.629 --> 00:16:14.509
prophets called out to them a message from the

00:16:14.509 --> 00:16:16.269
god of the angel armies leave your evil life

00:16:16.269 --> 00:16:20.169
quit your evil practices but they ignored everything

00:16:20.169 --> 00:16:23.669
i said stubbornly refused to listen so the lord

00:16:23.669 --> 00:16:26.309
has been sore displeased with your fathers is

00:16:26.309 --> 00:16:28.230
what it says in the king james version therefore

00:16:28.230 --> 00:16:30.950
say unto them thus say the lord of hosts turn

00:16:30.950 --> 00:16:33.970
ye unto me and i will turn back into you did

00:16:33.970 --> 00:16:40.179
you catch that God doesn't always show you the

00:16:40.179 --> 00:16:42.080
blueprint. He doesn't always give you the construction

00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:44.059
plan. Sometimes it begins with a relationship.

00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:49.039
Hi, I'm going to be working on your roof. You

00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:52.019
see what I'm saying? Before he rebuilds the temple,

00:16:52.179 --> 00:16:55.240
he calls the people back to himself. That's how

00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:59.480
God works. We often pray, Lord, fix my situation,

00:16:59.659 --> 00:17:01.919
fix my life, fix my marriage, fix my home, fix

00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:07.529
my family. God says, come back to me. Because

00:17:07.529 --> 00:17:10.490
when we're close to him, he begins changing everything

00:17:10.490 --> 00:17:16.569
else. Does that make sense? So what does repentance

00:17:16.569 --> 00:17:20.990
mean? The word turn appears here again and again

00:17:20.990 --> 00:17:26.569
in Scripture. Repentance isn't merely feeling

00:17:26.569 --> 00:17:32.140
guilty. Judas felt guilty, okay? Repentance is

00:17:32.140 --> 00:17:34.500
changing direction. If you're driving towards

00:17:34.500 --> 00:17:37.819
Charleston on 64 East and you realize you actually

00:17:37.819 --> 00:17:40.940
need to go to Huntington, feeling sorry won't

00:17:40.940 --> 00:17:47.119
get you there. You have to turn around. The same

00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:51.000
is true spiritually. Repentance means agreeing

00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:54.259
with God about our sin and choosing to walk toward

00:17:54.259 --> 00:17:59.339
Him instead of away from Him. Notice God's promise

00:17:59.339 --> 00:18:03.079
right here. Turn ye unto me and I will turn unto

00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:05.779
you. Come back to me and I'll come back to you.

00:18:06.900 --> 00:18:08.119
You're going to have to make the first step.

00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:12.779
God isn't standing at the door with his arms

00:18:12.779 --> 00:18:14.799
crossed waiting to shame us. He's waiting to

00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:20.640
welcome us home. That echoes Jesus' parable of

00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:24.339
the prodigal son in Luke 15, 11 -24. The father

00:18:24.339 --> 00:18:27.569
runs to meet the son who returns. He doesn't

00:18:27.569 --> 00:18:30.130
fuss at him. He loves him. He welcomes him. He

00:18:30.130 --> 00:18:32.170
celebrates him. Oh my gosh, you're finally home.

00:18:33.109 --> 00:18:38.049
Thank you, Lord. The invitation has always been

00:18:38.049 --> 00:18:45.089
the same. Come home. Return. Come back. Can you

00:18:45.089 --> 00:18:50.990
tell you something? Something I've learned. Most

00:18:50.990 --> 00:18:52.970
people don't drift away from God all at once.

00:18:54.799 --> 00:19:01.680
It happens a little bit at a time. One missed

00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:08.940
prayer. One compromise. One bitterness that we

00:19:08.940 --> 00:19:11.099
refuse to let go. One Sunday morning skipped.

00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:15.599
One conversation we knew we shouldn't have had.

00:19:17.019 --> 00:19:19.319
One habit we promise we'll try to give up tomorrow.

00:19:19.660 --> 00:19:22.200
Nobody wakes up one morning planning to be far

00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:27.390
from God. We drift. We drift from God, and the

00:19:27.390 --> 00:19:30.089
good news is that if we drift away one step at

00:19:30.089 --> 00:19:33.230
a time, we can also come back one step at a time.

00:19:35.809 --> 00:19:38.250
Maybe tonight your first step is simply saying,

00:19:38.390 --> 00:19:44.430
Lord, I'm coming home. God has never turned away

00:19:44.430 --> 00:19:50.589
a heart that genuinely returns to him. So I want

00:19:50.589 --> 00:19:52.309
you to listen to how consistent God's invitation

00:19:52.309 --> 00:19:54.609
is throughout Scripture. Now, if you go to Isaiah.

00:19:56.170 --> 00:19:58.630
one of the major prophets, which he's real mad

00:19:58.630 --> 00:19:59.970
for the first half of the book and then he kind

00:19:59.970 --> 00:20:05.950
of softens up. But in Isaiah 55, verse 6 and

00:20:05.950 --> 00:20:14.809
7, I think is what I marked. Yes. Seek God while

00:20:14.809 --> 00:20:17.549
he's here to be found. Pray to him while he's

00:20:17.549 --> 00:20:20.170
close at hand. Let the wicked abandon their way

00:20:20.170 --> 00:20:22.069
of life and let the evil their way of thinking.

00:20:22.109 --> 00:20:26.130
Let them come back to God who is merciful. Come

00:20:26.130 --> 00:20:29.529
back to our God who is lavish with forgiveness.

00:20:30.130 --> 00:20:32.609
In the King James, it says, Seek ye the Lord

00:20:32.609 --> 00:20:42.650
while he may be found. In Joel, chapter 2, verses

00:20:42.650 --> 00:20:45.250
12 and 13, it says, Turn ye even to me with all

00:20:45.250 --> 00:20:49.609
your heart. In James 4, 8, it says, Draw nigh

00:20:49.609 --> 00:20:57.349
to God and he will draw nigh to you. Come. From

00:20:57.349 --> 00:21:00.490
the prophets to the New Testament, God's heart

00:21:00.490 --> 00:21:02.390
never changes and neither does his invitation.

00:21:02.750 --> 00:21:08.910
Come back. Come back. Come back. I've wandered

00:21:08.910 --> 00:21:16.009
far away from God. Now I'm coming home. The paths

00:21:16.009 --> 00:21:21.009
of sin no more I trot. Lord, I'm coming home.

00:21:22.139 --> 00:21:27.640
It's in the Bible a hundred times. So where have

00:21:27.640 --> 00:21:31.079
you drifted, porch? Where have you drifted? What

00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:33.400
have you allowed to become more important than

00:21:33.400 --> 00:21:37.920
your relationship with God? Are you asking God

00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:40.160
to rebuild your life while ignoring his invitation

00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:45.319
to come back home? Is there one step that we

00:21:45.319 --> 00:21:49.559
need to take this week towards him? Don't answer

00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:54.140
those for me. Answer them for God. I'm not going

00:21:54.140 --> 00:21:56.940
to judge you. That's between you and him. But

00:21:56.940 --> 00:21:58.859
it does help to, you know, it's like when my

00:21:58.859 --> 00:22:00.480
husband took my car to get an oil change today

00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:01.539
and they said, you want to change your oil filter?

00:22:01.619 --> 00:22:02.660
Yeah, might as well while you're here. You want

00:22:02.660 --> 00:22:03.859
to do the air filter? Might as well do that too.

00:22:03.940 --> 00:22:05.519
And I need wipers. And she probably needs to

00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:11.460
check her tire. Go ahead and check yourself.

00:22:15.259 --> 00:22:18.279
Spend ten... Uninterrupted minutes with God a

00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:22.480
day. No scrolling, no television, no distractions.

00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:24.900
Just you, your Bible, and the good Lord above,

00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:29.319
and a notebook maybe, and a prayer. Don't worry

00:22:29.319 --> 00:22:32.980
about reading 10 chapters. Read one. Read it

00:22:32.980 --> 00:22:35.180
slow. Read it twice. Read it three times. Ask

00:22:35.180 --> 00:22:37.099
a simple question. Lord, what are you trying

00:22:37.099 --> 00:22:40.960
to teach me right now? Sometimes restoration

00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:46.730
begins with 10 faithful minutes a day. Just saying.

00:22:48.250 --> 00:22:53.630
Now, moving on, we're going into Zechariah 1,

00:22:53.730 --> 00:23:00.809
verse 7. We're going to talk about the visions

00:23:00.809 --> 00:23:04.390
all the way into chapter 4. So we've talked about

00:23:04.390 --> 00:23:07.190
coming home. Now, Israel has returned from 70

00:23:07.190 --> 00:23:11.130
years in exile in Babylon. They're standing in

00:23:11.130 --> 00:23:13.650
the middle of broken walls, okay? Broken homes,

00:23:13.890 --> 00:23:20.700
broken dreams. And a broken temple. Yet God's

00:23:20.700 --> 00:23:24.240
first words weren't, get to work. Chop, chop,

00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:26.660
little onion. No, that wasn't, that's not what

00:23:26.660 --> 00:23:29.299
God said. His first words were, turn unto me

00:23:29.299 --> 00:23:35.140
and I will turn unto you. Come back to me. Because

00:23:35.140 --> 00:23:37.599
restoration always begins with relationship.

00:23:41.670 --> 00:23:43.509
Let's discover something else that's just as

00:23:43.509 --> 00:23:46.450
important. God not only calls us back, he lets

00:23:46.450 --> 00:23:51.730
us see what he's doing behind the curtain. Now,

00:23:51.750 --> 00:23:57.349
beginning in Zechariah 1, verse 7, Zechariah

00:23:57.349 --> 00:24:03.269
receives eight visions in one night. Now, the

00:24:03.269 --> 00:24:04.869
first time I read that, I'll be honest, I was

00:24:04.869 --> 00:24:08.609
like, what? I was trying to read Revelation.

00:24:09.710 --> 00:24:13.069
Horses, trees, horns, craftsmen, flying books,

00:24:13.490 --> 00:24:16.869
women in a basket, lampstands, olive trees. It

00:24:16.869 --> 00:24:18.849
sounds like somebody ate spicy chili and drank

00:24:18.849 --> 00:24:20.269
a glass of apple juice before they went to bed.

00:24:20.410 --> 00:24:25.329
But remember this. God often uses symbols because

00:24:25.329 --> 00:24:29.069
pictures stay with us longer than speeches. You

00:24:29.069 --> 00:24:30.549
always heard pictures are worth a thousand words?

00:24:30.690 --> 00:24:33.869
This is what that means. Jesus taught in parables.

00:24:34.430 --> 00:24:39.680
Ezekiel acted out sermons. John saw visions in

00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:42.980
Revelation. God isn't trying to confuse us. He's

00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:47.700
inviting us to look behind the curtain. So if

00:24:47.700 --> 00:24:51.700
you look at Zechariah 1, starting with verse

00:24:51.700 --> 00:24:55.940
7. On the 24th day of the 11th month in the second

00:24:55.940 --> 00:24:57.779
year of the reign of Darius. Oh my goodness,

00:24:57.859 --> 00:24:59.460
my eyes are starting to give out on me, friends.

00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:02.980
The message of God was given to the prophet Zechariah.

00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:05.359
One night I looked out and saw a man astride

00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:07.720
a red horse. He was in the shadows in a grove

00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:12.200
of birches. Behind him were more horses, a red,

00:25:12.259 --> 00:25:17.119
a chestnut, and a white. Sir, what are the horses

00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:18.839
doing here, and what is the meaning of this?

00:25:19.099 --> 00:25:21.619
The angel messenger said, Let me show you. Then

00:25:21.619 --> 00:25:23.359
the rider and the birch grove spoke up. These

00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:25.019
are the riders that God sent to check things

00:25:25.019 --> 00:25:27.819
out on earth. They reported their findings to

00:25:27.819 --> 00:25:29.500
the angel of God in the birch grove. We have

00:25:29.500 --> 00:25:31.299
looked over the whole earth and all is well.

00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:41.460
Everything is under control. The angel of God

00:25:41.460 --> 00:25:43.339
reported back, O God of the angel armies, how

00:25:43.339 --> 00:25:44.859
long are you going to stay angry with Jerusalem

00:25:44.859 --> 00:25:47.880
and the cities of Judah? When are you going to

00:25:47.880 --> 00:25:52.059
let up? Isn't 70 years long enough? God reassured

00:25:52.059 --> 00:25:54.119
the angel messenger good words, comforting words,

00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:56.519
and then who addressed me, tell them this, tell

00:25:56.519 --> 00:25:58.460
them that the God of the angel armies has spoken,

00:25:58.539 --> 00:26:01.180
and this is God's message. I care deeply for

00:26:01.180 --> 00:26:03.579
Jerusalem and Zion. I feel very possessive of

00:26:03.579 --> 00:26:06.220
them, but I'm thoroughly angry with the godless

00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:08.579
nations that act as if they own the whole world.

00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:11.720
I was only moderately angry earlier, but now

00:26:11.720 --> 00:26:14.220
they've gone too far. I'm going to go into action.

00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:17.099
I've come back to Jerusalem, but with compassion

00:26:17.099 --> 00:26:20.380
this time. This is God speaking. I'll see to

00:26:20.380 --> 00:26:22.680
it that my temple is rebuilt. A decree of the

00:26:22.680 --> 00:26:24.660
God of the angel armies. The rebuilding operation

00:26:24.660 --> 00:26:27.079
is already staked out. Say it again. A decree

00:26:27.079 --> 00:26:29.079
of the God of the angel armies. The cities will

00:26:29.079 --> 00:26:32.720
prosper again. God will comfort Zion again. And

00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:40.539
Jerusalem will be back in my favor again. The

00:26:40.539 --> 00:26:42.400
writers have gone through the whole earth. And

00:26:42.400 --> 00:26:44.700
the report, the earth still is still. Sounds

00:26:44.700 --> 00:26:51.549
peaceful. Except it wasn't. The nations were

00:26:51.549 --> 00:26:54.950
comfortable while God's people were struggling.

00:26:56.809 --> 00:26:59.049
Have you ever looked around and wondered why

00:26:59.049 --> 00:27:01.069
it seems like people doing wrong or prospering

00:27:01.069 --> 00:27:03.250
while you're barely hanging on by a thread? Have

00:27:03.250 --> 00:27:05.309
you ever wondered that? The prophet Habakkuk

00:27:05.309 --> 00:27:12.170
asked the same question. And Habakkuk 1, he answers

00:27:12.170 --> 00:27:20.490
him and says, hang on. I hate to tell you about

00:27:20.490 --> 00:27:24.130
it and not read it to you. In Habakkuk 1, 2 through

00:27:24.130 --> 00:27:28.309
4, he says, God, how long do I have to cry out

00:27:28.309 --> 00:27:29.869
for help before you listen? How many times do

00:27:29.869 --> 00:27:31.809
I have to yell, help, murder, police, before

00:27:31.809 --> 00:27:34.670
you come to the rescue? Why do you force me to

00:27:34.670 --> 00:27:36.650
look at evil, stare trouble in the face every

00:27:36.650 --> 00:27:39.029
day? Anarchy and violence break out, quarrels

00:27:39.029 --> 00:27:40.730
and fights all over the place, law and order

00:27:40.730 --> 00:27:44.279
fall to pieces. Justice is a joke. The wicked

00:27:44.279 --> 00:27:46.339
have the righteous hamstring and stand justice

00:27:46.339 --> 00:27:53.099
on its head. And then God's answer to Zechariah

00:27:53.099 --> 00:27:56.359
here is super powerful in 1 .16 when he says,

00:27:56.420 --> 00:27:59.119
I've come back to Jerusalem with compassion this

00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:03.400
time. In the King James Version, he says, I am

00:28:03.400 --> 00:28:07.000
returning to Jerusalem with mercies. Mercies.

00:28:07.039 --> 00:28:13.890
Not anger. Not revenge. Mercies. Porch, when

00:28:13.890 --> 00:28:15.849
God comes back to his people, he always comes

00:28:15.849 --> 00:28:20.450
carrying mercy. So rather than spend an hour

00:28:20.450 --> 00:28:22.150
on every symbol, let's just see the big picture

00:28:22.150 --> 00:28:24.289
because this is a long book and I want to make

00:28:24.289 --> 00:28:27.150
sure that we get the whole idea. All right. In

00:28:27.150 --> 00:28:30.250
the visions, there's four horns and four carpenters.

00:28:30.589 --> 00:28:35.670
This is in Zechariah 1, 18 through 21. The horns

00:28:35.670 --> 00:28:39.849
represent powers that scatter God's people. And

00:28:39.849 --> 00:28:44.910
the craftsmen represent God's answer. I looked

00:28:44.910 --> 00:28:47.410
up and was surprised by four horns. I asked the

00:28:47.410 --> 00:28:49.369
messenger angel, what's the meaning of all this?

00:28:50.450 --> 00:28:52.289
He said, these are the powers that have scattered

00:28:52.289 --> 00:28:54.250
Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem abroad. And then

00:28:54.250 --> 00:28:56.890
God expanded the vision to include four blacksmiths.

00:28:56.890 --> 00:29:00.089
I asked him, what are these about? And he said,

00:29:00.130 --> 00:29:01.970
since the horns scattered Judah so badly that

00:29:01.970 --> 00:29:03.609
no one had any hope left, these blacksmiths have

00:29:03.609 --> 00:29:07.450
arrived to combat the horns. They'll dehorn the

00:29:07.450 --> 00:29:09.369
godless nations who use their horns to scatter

00:29:09.369 --> 00:29:12.779
Judah to the four winds. here's what encourages

00:29:12.779 --> 00:29:15.180
me about that god always has a carpenter for

00:29:15.180 --> 00:29:21.839
every horn every force that tears down god raises

00:29:21.839 --> 00:29:24.240
somebody to build it back does that remind you

00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:32.599
of anybody jesus was the carpenter's son In Zechariah

00:29:32.599 --> 00:29:34.700
2, he talks about the man with the tape measure,

00:29:34.859 --> 00:29:37.519
the man with the measuring line. A man goes to

00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:39.720
measure Jerusalem, and God basically says, your

00:29:39.720 --> 00:29:45.259
measuring tape ain't big enough. Jerusalem would

00:29:45.259 --> 00:29:47.980
become so full of people that walls literally

00:29:47.980 --> 00:29:51.819
could not contain it. In Zechariah 2, verses

00:29:51.819 --> 00:29:56.579
4 and 5, he says, what are you up to? I'm on

00:29:56.579 --> 00:30:00.650
my way, he said, to survey Jerusalem. To measure

00:30:00.650 --> 00:30:02.369
its width and length, and just then the messenger

00:30:02.369 --> 00:30:04.450
angel on his way out met another angel coming

00:30:04.450 --> 00:30:07.309
in and said, Run and tell the surveyor Jerusalem

00:30:07.309 --> 00:30:09.970
will burst its walls with people bursting with

00:30:09.970 --> 00:30:13.269
animals, and I'll be right there with her. God's

00:30:13.269 --> 00:30:15.630
decree, a wall of fire around unwalled Jerusalem

00:30:15.630 --> 00:30:20.690
and a radiant presence from within. He said,

00:30:20.730 --> 00:30:22.710
I'm going to build a wall of fire around her.

00:30:26.069 --> 00:30:30.220
They wanted stone walls. God said, nah, I'm coming.

00:30:30.579 --> 00:30:34.960
I promise my presence. Sometimes we pray, Lord,

00:30:35.059 --> 00:30:38.599
protect me. And God answers, I'm with you. I'll

00:30:38.599 --> 00:30:42.019
be right there. His presence has always been

00:30:42.019 --> 00:30:43.960
the greatest gift. And do we remember what David

00:30:43.960 --> 00:30:47.599
prayed in Psalm 27? For one thing have I desired

00:30:47.599 --> 00:30:54.740
of the Lord. Not wealth. Not armies. God himself.

00:30:58.470 --> 00:31:02.150
desired the Lord. Now we arrive at one of the

00:31:02.150 --> 00:31:04.630
greatest chapters in the Old Testament, Zechariah

00:31:04.630 --> 00:31:09.670
chapter 3. If you're one of the people that underline

00:31:09.670 --> 00:31:12.650
your Bible or highlight your Bible, this is it.

00:31:13.170 --> 00:31:15.609
Underline it. Highlight it. Dog ear the page.

00:31:15.950 --> 00:31:21.789
Put a post today. It's one of my favorites. Because

00:31:21.789 --> 00:31:25.230
this chapter points us directly towards Jesus.

00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:37.599
You ready? Next, the messenger angel showed me

00:31:37.599 --> 00:31:41.160
the high priest Joshua. He was standing before

00:31:41.160 --> 00:31:43.400
God's angel where the accuser showed up to accuse

00:31:43.400 --> 00:31:46.019
him. Then God said to the accuser, I, God, rebuke

00:31:46.019 --> 00:31:49.180
you, accuser. I rebuke you and choose Jerusalem.

00:31:49.339 --> 00:31:51.579
Surprise! Everything's going in flames, but I

00:31:51.579 --> 00:31:55.170
reach in and pull out Jerusalem. Joshua was standing

00:31:55.170 --> 00:31:57.089
before the angel was dressed in dirty clothes,

00:31:57.210 --> 00:31:59.410
and the angel spoke to his attendants, Get him

00:31:59.410 --> 00:32:02.990
out of these filthy clothes. And then said to

00:32:02.990 --> 00:32:04.769
Joshua, Look, I've stripped you of your sin and

00:32:04.769 --> 00:32:06.430
dressed you up in clean clothes. And I spoke

00:32:06.430 --> 00:32:11.230
up and said, How about a clean new turban for

00:32:11.230 --> 00:32:14.930
his head also? And they did it. They put a clean

00:32:14.930 --> 00:32:16.589
new turban on his head, and then they finished

00:32:16.589 --> 00:32:23.769
dressing him with God's angel looking on. Joshua,

00:32:23.769 --> 00:32:27.410
the high priest, is standing before God. And

00:32:27.410 --> 00:32:29.250
Satan is right there, the accuser, standing beside

00:32:29.250 --> 00:32:32.069
him. And the Bible says that Satan's accusing

00:32:32.069 --> 00:32:37.849
him right now. That shouldn't surprise us. In

00:32:37.849 --> 00:32:40.450
Revelation 12, 10, it says, the accuser of our

00:32:40.450 --> 00:32:42.589
brethren. Like, we know that Satan's the accuser.

00:32:42.809 --> 00:32:45.049
Satan's always been an accuser. He's a pot start.

00:32:45.309 --> 00:32:48.630
He whispers, you're never going to change. You've

00:32:48.630 --> 00:32:52.680
gone too far. You're too dirty. You failed too

00:32:52.680 --> 00:32:56.539
many times. God don't like you. You ever heard

00:32:56.539 --> 00:33:02.660
those lies? Josh is the high priest, but he's

00:33:02.660 --> 00:33:07.279
not wearing his priestly robes. He's wearing

00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:10.779
filthy garments. And the Hebrew language here

00:33:10.779 --> 00:33:13.900
is especially strong. The picture isn't of a

00:33:13.900 --> 00:33:15.980
little dust or a grass stain. Zechariah describes

00:33:15.980 --> 00:33:18.740
garments that are utterly defiled, sold beyond

00:33:18.740 --> 00:33:23.359
anything a priest should ever be caught in. It's

00:33:23.359 --> 00:33:25.440
a shocking image because the high priest represented

00:33:25.440 --> 00:33:28.500
the people before God. Like Joshua has nothing

00:33:28.500 --> 00:33:32.279
to say. No excuses, no defense because he's guilty.

00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:38.799
That's us. In Romans 3 .23 it says, For all have

00:33:38.799 --> 00:33:40.299
sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

00:33:40.359 --> 00:33:42.559
If we have all stand before a holy God wearing

00:33:42.559 --> 00:33:45.299
the stains of sin, we all have fallen short.

00:33:46.579 --> 00:33:49.539
Over and over again. But then, my favorite moment

00:33:49.539 --> 00:33:51.839
in this scripture comes in, Zechariah 3, 4, where

00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:54.039
he says, take away the filthy garments from him.

00:33:55.960 --> 00:33:57.920
I want you to notice something. Joshua didn't

00:33:57.920 --> 00:34:04.700
take them off himself. God does. That's grace.

00:34:06.259 --> 00:34:08.960
We spend so much of our lives trying to scrub

00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:11.219
ourselves clean. I'll do better. I'll be nicer.

00:34:11.300 --> 00:34:13.059
I'll be a better wife, a sister, a mother, a

00:34:13.059 --> 00:34:19.380
daughter, a Christian. I'll try harder. But salvation

00:34:19.380 --> 00:34:21.900
isn't about self -improvement. It's about divine

00:34:21.900 --> 00:34:26.880
replacement. It's about removing the filthy garments.

00:34:27.019 --> 00:34:29.159
God will do that. God is doing it. And then he

00:34:29.159 --> 00:34:34.360
clothes Joshua in clean robes. In Isaiah 61 .10,

00:34:34.440 --> 00:34:36.719
he said, He hath clothed me with the garments

00:34:36.719 --> 00:34:42.119
of salvation. And in 2 Corinthians 5 .21, he

00:34:42.119 --> 00:34:44.480
says, For he hath made him to be sin for us,

00:34:44.500 --> 00:34:46.300
that we might be made the righteousness of God

00:34:46.300 --> 00:34:51.739
in him. He takes our filthy garments. He takes

00:34:51.739 --> 00:34:54.059
our sins so we can wear his righteousness. That

00:34:54.059 --> 00:34:58.840
is the gospel. And then God says something really

00:34:58.840 --> 00:35:02.960
remarkable here in 3 .8. Careful, high priest

00:35:02.960 --> 00:35:04.900
Joshua, both you and your friends sitting here

00:35:04.900 --> 00:35:06.719
with you, for your friends are in on this too.

00:35:07.500 --> 00:35:09.460
Here's what I'm doing next. I'm introducing my

00:35:09.460 --> 00:35:14.639
servant. Branch. Capital B. Branch. And note

00:35:14.639 --> 00:35:16.639
this. This stone that I'm placing before Joshua,

00:35:16.760 --> 00:35:18.639
a single stone with seven eyes, decree of the

00:35:18.639 --> 00:35:21.239
God of the angel armies, I'll engrave with these

00:35:21.239 --> 00:35:23.960
words, I'll strip this land of its filthy sin

00:35:23.960 --> 00:35:33.820
all at once in a single day. The branch is one

00:35:33.820 --> 00:35:36.699
of the Old Testament's names for Jesus, the coming

00:35:36.699 --> 00:35:40.389
Messiah. It's in Isaiah 11 .1. It's in Jeremiah

00:35:40.389 --> 00:35:43.789
23. It's in Jeremiah 33. Hundreds of years before

00:35:43.789 --> 00:35:46.190
Bethlehem, God promised that a righteous king

00:35:46.190 --> 00:35:48.349
would grow up from what looked like a dead stump.

00:35:51.349 --> 00:35:55.690
A branch. Y 'all ever been in the woods, seen

00:35:55.690 --> 00:35:58.789
a tree fall over, been dead for years, and then

00:35:58.789 --> 00:36:01.230
there's a big shoot of a tree coming through

00:36:01.230 --> 00:36:04.719
it? We saw one the other day at the Fox. That

00:36:04.719 --> 00:36:07.099
tree had been dead for 100 years. It fell over

00:36:07.099 --> 00:36:08.820
in a lightning storm. And I'll show you, there's

00:36:08.820 --> 00:36:14.619
a sprout coming up through the roots. Hope often

00:36:14.619 --> 00:36:21.880
begins where people think life has ended. So

00:36:21.880 --> 00:36:23.840
before we skip past the stone with the seven

00:36:23.840 --> 00:36:25.519
eyes, let's go on this for a second. This is...

00:36:25.929 --> 00:36:28.670
The stone with the seven eyes. This is symbolic

00:36:28.670 --> 00:36:31.050
language pointing to God's perfect knowledge

00:36:31.050 --> 00:36:34.369
and his complete plan of redemption. We all know

00:36:34.369 --> 00:36:36.190
that there's nothing surprising with God. The

00:36:36.190 --> 00:36:39.230
important promise comes next. I will remove the

00:36:39.230 --> 00:36:44.309
land of this filthy sin all at once in a single

00:36:44.309 --> 00:36:46.210
day. I will remove the iniquity of that land

00:36:46.210 --> 00:36:51.829
in one day. One day. Not little by little. One

00:36:51.829 --> 00:36:57.199
decisive, sweeping, failing motion. whoosh can

00:36:57.199 --> 00:37:00.440
you think of a day when sin was dealt with once

00:37:00.440 --> 00:37:09.260
and for all calvary hebrews said christ offered

00:37:09.260 --> 00:37:12.380
himself in chapter 10 verses 10 through 14 he

00:37:12.380 --> 00:37:18.840
says once for all once zechariah saw the shadow

00:37:18.840 --> 00:37:24.590
and we live in the light of its fulfillment 600

00:37:24.590 --> 00:37:29.090
years before Jesus was born. What filthy garments

00:37:29.090 --> 00:37:34.110
are you still wearing? Jesus has already, like

00:37:34.110 --> 00:37:35.449
we talked about this, he's already offered you

00:37:35.449 --> 00:37:38.230
new clothes, new wardrobe. Maybe it's shame from

00:37:38.230 --> 00:37:41.489
your past. Maybe it's addiction. Maybe it's bitterness.

00:37:42.969 --> 00:37:44.929
Maybe it's labels that other people have put

00:37:44.929 --> 00:37:49.989
on you. The enemy wants you to keep wearing clothes

00:37:49.989 --> 00:37:52.630
that God has already told you take off, throw

00:37:52.630 --> 00:37:56.179
away. They're dirty. Friend, don't keep dressing

00:37:56.179 --> 00:38:03.260
in what Christ died to remove. So going into

00:38:03.260 --> 00:38:10.039
Zechariah 4 here, we meet Zerubbabel. It's a

00:38:10.039 --> 00:38:13.559
funny word to say. Zerubbabel. The governor tasked

00:38:13.559 --> 00:38:15.699
her with rebuilding the temple. And here, one

00:38:15.699 --> 00:38:17.679
of the most quoted verses in all of scripture,

00:38:17.900 --> 00:38:21.719
not by might nor by power, but by my spirit,

00:38:21.739 --> 00:38:23.679
said the Lord of hosts. So if we're going into

00:38:23.679 --> 00:38:35.980
chapter four here. Yes. Going into chapter four.

00:38:37.550 --> 00:38:40.090
The messenger angel said in verse 5, can't you

00:38:40.090 --> 00:38:42.929
tell? No, sir, I said. Then he said, this is

00:38:42.929 --> 00:38:45.909
God's message to Zerubbabel. You can't force

00:38:45.909 --> 00:38:49.190
these things. They only come about through my

00:38:49.190 --> 00:38:59.710
spirit. Not by might nor by power, but by my

00:38:59.710 --> 00:39:08.619
spirit, saith the Lord. So this brings us to

00:39:08.619 --> 00:39:11.199
coming up to on the homestretch. We're in the

00:39:11.199 --> 00:39:13.500
quarter turn here. If you've been with us all

00:39:13.500 --> 00:39:15.280
night, you've probably noticed something. Zechariah

00:39:15.280 --> 00:39:19.320
isn't really about rebuilding the building. It's

00:39:19.320 --> 00:39:24.500
about rebuilding the people. We just watched

00:39:24.500 --> 00:39:27.219
the Lord take Joshua's dirty garments and put

00:39:27.219 --> 00:39:31.340
him on clean robes. Just complete grace. We watched

00:39:31.340 --> 00:39:34.119
God remove them. Not because Joshua earned it.

00:39:35.079 --> 00:39:37.880
Not because Joshua defended himself so well in

00:39:37.880 --> 00:39:40.500
court. It's because God is gracious and full

00:39:40.500 --> 00:39:44.179
of mercy. So we need to watch that grace now

00:39:44.179 --> 00:39:48.900
become a mission. Okay? Not by might. Chapter

00:39:48.900 --> 00:39:50.900
4. Let's begin with one of the greatest verses

00:39:50.900 --> 00:39:53.320
in all of Scripture in Zechariah 4, 6 when he

00:39:53.320 --> 00:39:56.280
says, You can't force these things. They only

00:39:56.280 --> 00:40:03.380
come about through my spirit. Not by might nor

00:40:03.380 --> 00:40:06.639
by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord. Can

00:40:06.639 --> 00:40:10.920
I get an amen? Because some of y 'all have been

00:40:10.920 --> 00:40:12.480
trying to rebuild your life with duct tape and

00:40:12.480 --> 00:40:15.000
determination, and you've been trying harder,

00:40:15.159 --> 00:40:18.079
working harder, loving harder, holding everything

00:40:18.079 --> 00:40:19.980
together with caffeine and stubbornness. God

00:40:19.980 --> 00:40:26.159
says you're using the wrong fuel. You don't build

00:40:26.159 --> 00:40:27.960
God's kingdom with muscle. You build it with

00:40:27.960 --> 00:40:32.980
his spirit. So, Zerubbabel. Isn't that a fun

00:40:32.980 --> 00:40:34.900
word to say? The governor leading the rebuilding

00:40:34.900 --> 00:40:38.840
of this temple was named Zerubbabel. What a name.

00:40:39.239 --> 00:40:42.139
I'm thankful my mama named me Sarah Beth. Imagine

00:40:42.139 --> 00:40:44.559
kindergarten. Today was my nephew's first day

00:40:44.559 --> 00:40:46.699
of kindergarten. His name's Maverick, which is

00:40:46.699 --> 00:40:48.960
hard enough, but could you imagine they go, Zerubbabel?

00:40:52.639 --> 00:40:56.659
Present. Poor kid. But God chose an ordinary

00:40:56.659 --> 00:40:59.159
man with an extraordinary assignment. So let's

00:40:59.159 --> 00:41:06.699
listen to verse 7 right here. So, big mountain,

00:41:06.800 --> 00:41:09.940
who do you think you are? Next to Zerubbabel,

00:41:10.099 --> 00:41:11.840
you're nothing but a molehill. You'll proceed

00:41:11.840 --> 00:41:13.920
to set the cornerstone in place, accompanied

00:41:13.920 --> 00:41:23.139
by chairs. Yes, yes, do it. Who art thou, O great

00:41:23.139 --> 00:41:26.250
mountain? The mountain represents impossible

00:41:26.250 --> 00:41:28.510
obstacles right here. And God says that mountain

00:41:28.510 --> 00:41:35.130
will become a plain. Period. Have you got a mountain?

00:41:37.090 --> 00:41:50.389
Cancer. Debt. Depression. Brokenness. Fear. God's

00:41:50.389 --> 00:41:53.269
still in the mountain moving business. Just so

00:41:53.269 --> 00:41:58.400
you know. Jesus echoes this truth in 1720, in

00:41:58.400 --> 00:42:01.340
Matthew 1720, when he says that faith in God

00:42:01.340 --> 00:42:04.320
can move mountains. The point isn't our power,

00:42:04.659 --> 00:42:07.219
it's his. With the faith of a mustard seed, you

00:42:07.219 --> 00:42:08.500
can look at that mountain and say, jump into

00:42:08.500 --> 00:42:11.159
the ocean. He said, with this much, this much

00:42:11.159 --> 00:42:15.980
faith. And it ain't up to us. It's up to him.

00:42:18.539 --> 00:42:21.820
So the vision continues here with a golden lampstand.

00:42:23.739 --> 00:42:29.500
Supplied. Buy two olive trees. The lamp doesn't

00:42:29.500 --> 00:42:31.619
burn because people keep pouring oil into it.

00:42:31.639 --> 00:42:37.199
It burns because the oil keeps flowing. The picture,

00:42:37.340 --> 00:42:41.179
God's spirit doesn't run dry. The same God who

00:42:41.179 --> 00:42:43.739
empowered Zerubbabel empowers his people today.

00:42:46.139 --> 00:42:48.340
So let's fast forward a couple hundred years.

00:42:48.420 --> 00:42:50.739
Now the prophecy starts moving like lightning.

00:42:51.940 --> 00:42:54.539
One prophecy after another, and every single

00:42:54.539 --> 00:42:56.579
one points towards Jesus. Let's walk through

00:42:56.579 --> 00:42:59.019
them together real quick, okay? The king arrives,

00:42:59.400 --> 00:43:04.719
Zechariah 9 -9. Shout and cheer, daughter Zion.

00:43:04.840 --> 00:43:06.659
Raise your voice, daughter Jerusalem. Your king

00:43:06.659 --> 00:43:10.980
is coming. A good king who makes all things right.

00:43:11.019 --> 00:43:15.219
A humble king riding on a donkey. A mere colt

00:43:15.219 --> 00:43:19.429
of a donkey. I've had it with war. No more chariots

00:43:19.429 --> 00:43:21.269
in Ephraim. No more war horses in Jerusalem.

00:43:21.369 --> 00:43:23.449
No more swords and spears and bows and arrows.

00:43:23.530 --> 00:43:26.150
He will offer peace to the nations, a peaceful

00:43:26.150 --> 00:43:28.590
rule worldwide, and the four winds to the seven

00:43:28.590 --> 00:43:34.210
seas. Beholdeth, a king cometh unto thee, lowly,

00:43:34.210 --> 00:43:39.530
riding upon an ass. Now, if you flip a couple

00:43:39.530 --> 00:43:41.289
books over into the New Testament, in Matthew

00:43:41.289 --> 00:43:45.730
21, it says Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey.

00:43:48.739 --> 00:43:52.679
Not a war horse, a donkey. Literally 600 years

00:43:52.679 --> 00:43:54.699
before it happened, Zechariah's like, hey, heads

00:43:54.699 --> 00:44:04.199
up, he'll be riding on donkey. Kings rode horses

00:44:04.199 --> 00:44:09.400
into battle. Jesus rode a donkey because he came

00:44:09.400 --> 00:44:11.719
bringing peace. Nobody shows up to start and

00:44:11.719 --> 00:44:20.090
step on a donkey. Jesus rode into town on a donkey

00:44:20.090 --> 00:44:25.010
exactly as Zechariah had said over 500 years

00:44:25.010 --> 00:44:28.829
before that. Could you imagine that if in 1500

00:44:28.829 --> 00:44:32.130
somebody said some dude named Elon is going to

00:44:32.130 --> 00:44:34.030
come along and build a spaceship and everybody's

00:44:34.030 --> 00:44:35.090
going to get free internet. We're going to be

00:44:35.090 --> 00:44:36.829
like, what? What's internet? What's a spaceship?

00:44:37.250 --> 00:44:39.949
And then it happens. 500 years later, that's

00:44:39.949 --> 00:44:42.150
what happened here. Zechariah said this is going

00:44:42.150 --> 00:44:46.710
to happen. And then it does. No questions asked.

00:44:47.320 --> 00:44:49.559
Then in Zechariah 11, we're going to skip up

00:44:49.559 --> 00:44:50.920
ahead a little bit because I want you to catch

00:44:50.920 --> 00:44:53.300
all these. 11, 12, and 13, which is really funny.

00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:58.559
Chapter 11, verses 12 and 13. Then I addressed

00:44:58.559 --> 00:45:00.199
them, pay me what you think I'm worth. And they

00:45:00.199 --> 00:45:02.960
paid me an insulting sum, counting out 30 silver

00:45:02.960 --> 00:45:10.039
coins. And God told me, throw it into the poor

00:45:10.039 --> 00:45:12.219
box. The stingy wage was all they thought of

00:45:12.219 --> 00:45:14.039
me and my work. So I took the 30 silver coins

00:45:14.039 --> 00:45:15.860
and threw them into the poor box in God's temple.

00:45:17.509 --> 00:45:21.469
30 pieces of silver. 30. Sound familiar? In Matthew

00:45:21.469 --> 00:45:26.289
26, 14 through 16, Judas receives 30 pieces of

00:45:26.289 --> 00:45:29.170
silver, which if you're doing it by spot price

00:45:29.170 --> 00:45:31.489
today is about 1 ,800 bucks. He sold out the

00:45:31.489 --> 00:45:34.309
Lord Jesus Christ for $1 ,800, less amount of

00:45:34.309 --> 00:45:36.590
money than it takes to buy a key he used. That's

00:45:36.590 --> 00:45:39.329
what Judas sold Jesus out for, 30 pieces of silver.

00:45:39.409 --> 00:45:40.789
And Zechariah's talking about it right here,

00:45:40.929 --> 00:45:45.280
500 years before it happens. And then he ends

00:45:45.280 --> 00:45:47.099
up taking that money, Judas does, in Matthew

00:45:47.099 --> 00:45:51.360
27, verse 3, and buys the potter's field, exactly

00:45:51.360 --> 00:45:54.860
as Zechariah described. God was telling the story

00:45:54.860 --> 00:46:00.340
of Calvary centuries before it happened. Now,

00:46:00.500 --> 00:46:02.320
one of the most astonishing verses in all of

00:46:02.320 --> 00:46:04.539
the Old Testament, if you ask me, Zechariah 12

00:46:04.539 --> 00:46:09.900
.10 says, next I'll deal with the family of David.

00:46:09.940 --> 00:46:13.440
Nope, nope, nope. Sorry, Sir Beth. I skipped

00:46:13.440 --> 00:46:20.780
ahead too much. 1210. Yes. On the big day, I'll

00:46:20.780 --> 00:46:22.480
make a clean sweep of all the godless nations

00:46:22.480 --> 00:46:24.079
that fought against Jerusalem, and next I'll

00:46:24.079 --> 00:46:25.699
deal with the family of David and those who live

00:46:25.699 --> 00:46:28.000
in Jerusalem. I'll pour a spirit of grace and

00:46:28.000 --> 00:46:29.659
prayer over them, and then they'll be able to

00:46:29.659 --> 00:46:33.019
recognize me as the one they so grievously wounded,

00:46:33.099 --> 00:46:38.769
that spearsing spear thrust. This piercing spear

00:46:38.769 --> 00:46:41.550
thrust and they'll weep. Oh, how the weep deep

00:46:41.550 --> 00:46:43.510
morning as a parent grieving the loss of their

00:46:43.510 --> 00:46:47.489
firstborn child. The lamentation in Jerusalem

00:46:47.489 --> 00:46:50.170
that day will be massive as famous as the lamentation

00:46:50.170 --> 00:46:55.289
over hatted women on the fields of Megiddo. They

00:46:55.289 --> 00:46:58.289
shall look upon me whom they have pierced. Notice

00:46:58.289 --> 00:47:03.280
who's speaking. God says they pierced me. centuries

00:47:03.280 --> 00:47:05.719
before Roman crucifixion becomes common, Zechariah

00:47:05.719 --> 00:47:10.280
describes the Messiah being pierced. And John

00:47:10.280 --> 00:47:11.900
tells us that that was fulfilled at the cross.

00:47:12.619 --> 00:47:16.320
John 19, 34 through 37, it says specifically.

00:47:19.559 --> 00:47:21.320
Sorry, it went straight to 20 and I had to go

00:47:21.320 --> 00:47:35.090
back to 19. In 19, 34 and 37, he says, When they

00:47:35.090 --> 00:47:37.250
got to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead,

00:47:37.269 --> 00:47:38.969
so they didn't break his legs. One of the soldiers

00:47:38.969 --> 00:47:41.190
stabbed him in the side with his spear, and blood

00:47:41.190 --> 00:47:45.650
and water gushed out. By witnesses to these things

00:47:45.650 --> 00:47:47.409
have presented an accurate report. He saw it

00:47:47.409 --> 00:47:48.909
himself and is telling the truth so that you

00:47:48.909 --> 00:47:51.849
also will believe. These things that happened

00:47:51.849 --> 00:47:53.969
confirm the scripture. Not a bone in his body

00:47:53.969 --> 00:47:55.590
was broken. In the other scripture that reads,

00:47:55.710 --> 00:48:03.829
they will stare at the one they pierced. John

00:48:03.829 --> 00:48:06.309
immediately points back to this very passage

00:48:06.309 --> 00:48:09.309
in Zechariah. Scripture is interpreting Scripture.

00:48:11.130 --> 00:48:16.130
I love when that happens. In Zechariah 13, verse

00:48:16.130 --> 00:48:18.690
7, it says, Sword get moving against my shepherd,

00:48:18.869 --> 00:48:20.909
against my close associate, decree of the God

00:48:20.909 --> 00:48:22.829
of the angel armies. Kill the shepherd and scatter

00:48:22.829 --> 00:48:29.119
the sheep. Smite the shepherd. In Matthew 26,

00:48:29.280 --> 00:48:31.500
31, Jesus quotes Zechariah right here himself

00:48:31.500 --> 00:48:33.539
when he tells his disciple, this prophecy is

00:48:33.539 --> 00:48:39.340
about me. Sometimes you don't have to wonder

00:48:39.340 --> 00:48:41.079
if the prophecy pointed towards Jesus. Jesus

00:48:41.079 --> 00:48:44.340
literally says it. This is about me. This part

00:48:44.340 --> 00:48:47.739
right here is about me. Now we come to chapter

00:48:47.739 --> 00:48:52.719
14, the final chapter. The king returns. His

00:48:52.719 --> 00:48:56.400
feet stand on the Mount of Olives. No, well,

00:48:56.500 --> 00:48:58.780
God's judgment's day is on his way. Plunder will

00:48:58.780 --> 00:49:00.519
be piled high and handed out. I'm bringing all

00:49:00.519 --> 00:49:02.159
the godless nations to war against Jerusalem.

00:49:02.340 --> 00:49:04.380
Houses plundered, women raped, half the city

00:49:04.380 --> 00:49:06.460
taken into exile, and the other half left behind.

00:49:12.420 --> 00:49:18.559
The king's coming back. And it says right here

00:49:18.559 --> 00:49:22.300
in... Chapter 14, verse 9, God will be king over

00:49:22.300 --> 00:49:25.920
all the earth, one God and only one. What a day

00:49:25.920 --> 00:49:36.840
that will be. That's the day he'll take his sand

00:49:36.840 --> 00:49:38.679
on the Mount of Olives facing Jerusalem from

00:49:38.679 --> 00:49:40.440
the east. The Mount of Olives will be split right

00:49:40.440 --> 00:49:41.960
down the middle from east to west, leaving a

00:49:41.960 --> 00:49:43.420
wide valley, and half the mountain will shift

00:49:43.420 --> 00:49:45.079
north and the other will shift south, and you'll

00:49:45.079 --> 00:49:46.420
run for your lives down the valley, and your

00:49:46.420 --> 00:49:48.059
escape route will take you all the way to Ezel.

00:49:52.039 --> 00:49:55.820
That compares directly with Acts 1, 9 -12 when

00:49:55.820 --> 00:50:00.119
Jesus ascends from the Mount of Olives. The angels

00:50:00.119 --> 00:50:02.860
told the disciples, that same Jesus, this is

00:50:02.860 --> 00:50:05.840
the same guy, where he came again, where he's

00:50:05.840 --> 00:50:08.119
coming back. This is where he left, this is where

00:50:08.119 --> 00:50:11.300
he'll return. This is his departing gate, this

00:50:11.300 --> 00:50:13.780
is his coming back gate. Not even a baggage return,

00:50:13.960 --> 00:50:18.809
he'd be right here. The Bible is one story. From

00:50:18.809 --> 00:50:22.030
Genesis to Revelation, it's one story, all pointing

00:50:22.030 --> 00:50:27.010
towards Jesus. Now, if you think about going

00:50:27.010 --> 00:50:29.489
back to chapter 3 here at Zechariah 3 .10, where

00:50:29.489 --> 00:50:31.230
it says, In that day saith the Lord of hosts,

00:50:31.349 --> 00:50:33.190
I shall call every man his neighbor under the

00:50:33.190 --> 00:50:35.929
vine and under the fig tree. They'll be friendly

00:50:35.929 --> 00:50:37.750
over the fences and friendly on the porches.

00:50:38.070 --> 00:50:41.190
Zechariah 3 .10. Don't rush past this. Imagine

00:50:41.190 --> 00:50:49.409
it. No war. No fear. No exile. No accusations.

00:50:50.070 --> 00:50:55.710
No filthy garments. Just neighbors. Sitting together.

00:50:56.349 --> 00:51:00.309
Talking. Worshiping. Laughing. Sharing bread.

00:51:00.829 --> 00:51:05.750
Sharing stories. Sharing peace. That's the picture

00:51:05.750 --> 00:51:08.630
that God leaves us with here in chapter 14. Not

00:51:08.630 --> 00:51:17.630
a throne room. Not an army. A porch. Do you remember

00:51:17.630 --> 00:51:24.730
in John 1 when Jesus met Nathanael? Nathanael

00:51:24.730 --> 00:51:27.250
is stunned when Jesus says, I saw you under the

00:51:27.250 --> 00:51:31.389
fig tree. We aren't told what Nathanael was doing

00:51:31.389 --> 00:51:32.690
there. He was just sitting there. Maybe he was

00:51:32.690 --> 00:51:34.570
praying. Maybe he was reading scripture. Maybe

00:51:34.570 --> 00:51:36.769
he was crying out to God. Maybe he was whittling.

00:51:36.889 --> 00:51:39.230
I don't know. Whatever happened beneath that

00:51:39.230 --> 00:51:42.130
fig tree was deeply personal, but Jesus saw him.

00:51:45.789 --> 00:51:47.590
Friend, there are moments when you think nobody

00:51:47.590 --> 00:51:51.530
sees your tears, that no one hears your prayers,

00:51:51.690 --> 00:51:59.349
that no one sees your doubts. Jesus does. He

00:51:59.349 --> 00:52:05.110
saw Nathaniel. He sees you. So let's put this

00:52:05.110 --> 00:52:09.510
whole book together here, okay? We wandered.

00:52:11.230 --> 00:52:16.010
God called us home. We stood guilty. God removed

00:52:16.010 --> 00:52:21.449
our filthy garments. We had no strength. God

00:52:21.449 --> 00:52:25.110
gave us his spirit. We needed a savior. God sent

00:52:25.110 --> 00:52:29.550
the branch. We rejected him. He rode in Jerusalem

00:52:29.550 --> 00:52:34.329
anyway. We betrayed him. He paid the tab anyway.

00:52:35.110 --> 00:52:40.590
We pierced him. He forgave us anyway. He ascended

00:52:40.590 --> 00:52:45.619
and he's coming back. And one day, he'll gather

00:52:45.619 --> 00:52:48.760
all of his people, not his strangers, but his

00:52:48.760 --> 00:52:58.699
neighbors around his table. Can I ask you something?

00:53:01.900 --> 00:53:06.739
Who needs an invitation this week? Who in your

00:53:06.739 --> 00:53:08.980
life feels like they're still living in Babylon?

00:53:11.119 --> 00:53:14.480
These are too dirty. for God, too broken for

00:53:14.480 --> 00:53:20.260
grace, too ashamed to come back home. Maybe God

00:53:20.260 --> 00:53:22.099
didn't ask you to preach a sermon to those people.

00:53:22.179 --> 00:53:24.039
Maybe God is asking you to sit in another chair

00:53:24.039 --> 00:53:31.500
on the porch. Call your neighbor. Invite somebody

00:53:31.500 --> 00:53:34.860
to lunch. Visit somebody in the nursing home.

00:53:35.239 --> 00:53:37.139
Text the person that you've been meaning to check

00:53:37.139 --> 00:53:39.900
on. Sometimes the most Christ -like thing that

00:53:39.900 --> 00:53:45.389
you can do is to simply make room. The kingdom

00:53:45.389 --> 00:53:52.650
has always grown one invitation at a time. You

00:53:52.650 --> 00:53:56.989
know I love this porch so much. Because every

00:53:56.989 --> 00:53:59.090
single time that we gather here, we're practicing

00:53:59.090 --> 00:54:04.590
Zechariah 310. One day there won't be Wi -Fi

00:54:04.590 --> 00:54:07.849
buffering. There won't be political arguments.

00:54:08.150 --> 00:54:12.789
There won't be sickness. No funerals. No anxiety.

00:54:15.340 --> 00:54:21.960
no broken hearts, no goodbyes. We will sit together

00:54:21.960 --> 00:54:25.619
in the presence of Jesus himself, maybe under

00:54:25.619 --> 00:54:28.599
a vine, maybe under a fig tree, maybe on a porch.

00:54:28.920 --> 00:54:30.940
I like to think that my house in heaven's got

00:54:30.940 --> 00:54:34.760
a great big old rack around porch on it. And

00:54:34.760 --> 00:54:38.460
every chair will be filled with people who came

00:54:38.460 --> 00:54:41.000
because someone loved them enough to say, come

00:54:41.000 --> 00:54:47.920
sit with me. That's the gospel. That's the kingdom.

00:54:48.659 --> 00:54:55.539
That's the porch. Now, I'm not going to go through

00:54:55.539 --> 00:54:59.260
all of these verses one by one, but I want to

00:54:59.260 --> 00:55:00.579
tell you about them in case you want to look

00:55:00.579 --> 00:55:02.760
them up later. Zechariah 3 .10 is our favorite

00:55:02.760 --> 00:55:09.039
from tonight. Micah 4 .1 -5. 1 Kings 4 .20 -25.

00:55:11.039 --> 00:55:16.539
John 1, 43 through 51. Luke 14, 15 through 24.

00:55:18.460 --> 00:55:22.480
Hebrews 13, 2. Romans 12, 13. And Revelation

00:55:22.480 --> 00:55:24.800
3, 20. And I'm going to tell you what they all

00:55:24.800 --> 00:55:28.659
mean. We're at the end of Zechariah here, and

00:55:28.659 --> 00:55:31.239
we've walked through the ruined cities. We've

00:55:31.239 --> 00:55:33.199
watched Joshua stand in his filthy garments.

00:55:33.320 --> 00:55:35.679
We've seen the branch. We've watched the king

00:55:35.679 --> 00:55:37.599
ride into Jerusalem on a donkey. We've stood

00:55:37.599 --> 00:55:42.239
at the cross. We've looked ahead to Christ's

00:55:42.239 --> 00:55:46.300
return, but tonight we're going to go back to

00:55:46.300 --> 00:55:48.400
one little verse that it's easy to overlook.

00:55:51.559 --> 00:55:53.219
I'm going to paint it on the sign and hang it

00:55:53.219 --> 00:55:57.820
on my porch. At that time, everyone will get

00:55:57.820 --> 00:56:01.440
along with one another with friendly visits across

00:56:01.440 --> 00:56:04.380
the fence and friendly visits on one another's

00:56:04.380 --> 00:56:10.210
porch. If you read too fast, you're going to

00:56:10.210 --> 00:56:14.429
miss that invitation. In the King James, it says

00:56:14.429 --> 00:56:18.250
a fig tree. Why a fig tree? I've always wondered

00:56:18.250 --> 00:56:20.030
that. Why a fig tree? Why does it say fig tree

00:56:20.030 --> 00:56:22.889
in the King James Bible? Why didn't God say they'll

00:56:22.889 --> 00:56:25.389
gather in palaces? They'll gather in the field.

00:56:26.449 --> 00:56:28.550
Why not castles? Why not the temple? Why not

00:56:28.550 --> 00:56:31.829
somewhere impressive? Instead, he paints a picture

00:56:31.829 --> 00:56:35.130
of ordinary people sitting together, talking,

00:56:35.289 --> 00:56:39.630
laughing, resting, sharing life. That tells you

00:56:39.630 --> 00:56:43.230
something about God. He loves meeting people

00:56:43.230 --> 00:56:48.429
in ordinary places. This wasn't a random expression.

00:56:48.630 --> 00:56:50.489
Throughout the Old Testament, sitting under your

00:56:50.489 --> 00:56:53.250
own vine and fig tree meant something. Let's

00:56:53.250 --> 00:57:02.090
look at it. In 1 Kings 4 .25, This describes

00:57:02.090 --> 00:57:04.309
the peaceful days of Solomon's reign. Notice

00:57:04.309 --> 00:57:07.530
the picture. Everyone had enough. Nobody was

00:57:07.530 --> 00:57:10.539
hiding. Nobody was running. Nobody was at war.

00:57:10.960 --> 00:57:14.840
They were home. That's what the kingdom of God

00:57:14.840 --> 00:57:17.880
looks like. It's not luxury. It's security. It's

00:57:17.880 --> 00:57:23.840
peace. It's contentment. Micah says the same

00:57:23.840 --> 00:57:29.300
thing. You've ever paid attention to Micah, which

00:57:29.300 --> 00:57:30.980
I'm going to go to because it's a short book.

00:57:31.199 --> 00:57:36.119
In Micah 4, 1 through 4. He says, but when all

00:57:36.119 --> 00:57:37.920
is said and done, God's temple on the mountain

00:57:37.920 --> 00:57:40.219
firmly fixed will dominate all mountains towering

00:57:40.219 --> 00:57:42.780
above surrounding hills. People will stream to

00:57:42.780 --> 00:57:44.639
it and many nations set out for it saying, come.

00:57:46.960 --> 00:57:48.800
Let's climb God's mountain. Let's go to the temple

00:57:48.800 --> 00:57:50.699
of Jacob's God. He will teach us how to live

00:57:50.699 --> 00:57:52.699
and we'll know how to live God's way. True teaching

00:57:52.699 --> 00:57:56.559
will issue from Zion. God's revelation from Jerusalem.

00:57:56.679 --> 00:57:59.320
He'll establish justice in the rabble of nations

00:57:59.320 --> 00:58:02.190
and settle disputes and faraway places. places

00:58:02.190 --> 00:58:04.329
they'll trade in their swords for shovels and

00:58:04.329 --> 00:58:06.190
their spears for rakes and holes nations will

00:58:06.190 --> 00:58:08.289
quit fighting each other quit learning how to

00:58:08.289 --> 00:58:10.349
kill each other and each man will sit under his

00:58:10.349 --> 00:58:13.489
own shade tree and each woman safely will tend

00:58:13.489 --> 00:58:21.630
her own garden micah says in the last days nations

00:58:21.630 --> 00:58:25.409
will beat swords into plowshares people won't

00:58:25.409 --> 00:58:27.829
train for war anymore then he says every person

00:58:27.829 --> 00:58:33.159
will sit beneath their fig tree And nobody will

00:58:33.159 --> 00:58:40.360
make them afraid. No one shall make them afraid.

00:58:41.000 --> 00:58:46.059
Fear disappears in God's kingdom. Porch, how

00:58:46.059 --> 00:58:49.260
much of our world do you reckon runs on fear?

00:58:51.280 --> 00:58:54.440
Fear of tomorrow, fear of sickness, fear of rejections,

00:58:54.440 --> 00:58:56.940
fear of politics, fear of the news, fear of failure,

00:58:57.139 --> 00:59:00.320
fear of not being enough. One day, fear loses.

00:59:02.030 --> 00:59:10.190
And Jesus went. I've got to tell you why this

00:59:10.190 --> 00:59:14.090
verse grabbed my heart. Because I realized, I

00:59:14.090 --> 00:59:20.289
realized that God's picture of his kingdom looks

00:59:20.289 --> 00:59:24.789
a whole lot like my porch. Think about it. What

00:59:24.789 --> 00:59:28.030
happens on your porch? You wave at neighbors.

00:59:28.650 --> 00:59:32.150
You drink coffee. You shell beans. You laugh.

00:59:32.389 --> 00:59:38.389
You cry. You pray. You rock babies. You tell

00:59:38.389 --> 00:59:42.130
stories. You watch storms roll in. You watch

00:59:42.130 --> 00:59:45.949
storms roll out. The porch has always been a

00:59:45.949 --> 00:59:48.530
place where strangers become neighbors. Maybe

00:59:48.530 --> 00:59:50.809
that's why I love this porch so much and not

00:59:50.809 --> 00:59:52.550
just this one sitting behind me, the one that's

00:59:52.550 --> 00:59:56.230
sitting right here in front of me. Every night

00:59:56.230 --> 00:59:58.809
that we gather together, we're practicing kingdom

00:59:58.809 --> 01:00:09.820
living. It's amazing to think about, isn't it?

01:00:11.539 --> 01:00:14.539
And John 1, just skip ahead a little bit. Verse

01:00:14.539 --> 01:00:17.900
43 through 51, he says, The next day Jesus decided

01:00:17.900 --> 01:00:19.559
to go to Galilee. And when he got there, he ran

01:00:19.559 --> 01:00:23.159
across Philip and said, Come follow me. Philip's

01:00:23.159 --> 01:00:25.159
hometown was Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and

01:00:25.159 --> 01:00:26.940
Peter. And then Philip went and found Nathanael

01:00:26.940 --> 01:00:31.420
and told him, Well, we found the one that Moses

01:00:31.420 --> 01:00:33.380
wrote of in the law, the one preached by the

01:00:33.380 --> 01:00:37.090
prophets. It's Jesus, Joseph's son. The one from

01:00:37.090 --> 01:00:39.730
Nazareth, Nathanael said. Nazareth? You've got

01:00:39.730 --> 01:00:42.489
to be kidding. But Philip said, Come see for

01:00:42.489 --> 01:00:46.070
yourself. And when Jesus saw him coming, he said,

01:00:46.110 --> 01:00:50.130
There is a real Israelite, not a false bone in

01:00:50.130 --> 01:00:52.989
his body. And Nathanael said, Where did you get

01:00:52.989 --> 01:00:56.570
that idea? You don't know me. And Jesus said,

01:00:56.630 --> 01:00:58.550
One day, long before Philip called you here,

01:00:58.670 --> 01:01:02.489
I saw you under a fig tree. Nathanael exclaimed,

01:01:02.590 --> 01:01:04.949
Rabbi, you are the son of God, the king of Israel.

01:01:05.289 --> 01:01:07.429
Jesus said, you've become a believer simply because

01:01:07.429 --> 01:01:09.309
I say I saw you one day sitting under the fig

01:01:09.309 --> 01:01:12.869
tree. You ain't seen nothing yet. You haven't

01:01:12.869 --> 01:01:14.949
seen anything. Before this is over, you're going

01:01:14.949 --> 01:01:17.170
to see heaven open and God's angels descending

01:01:17.170 --> 01:01:22.329
to the son of man and then ascending again. Fascinates

01:01:22.329 --> 01:01:24.510
me. Philip tells Nathanael, we have found the

01:01:24.510 --> 01:01:27.610
Messiah. We found him. And Nathanael's like,

01:01:27.690 --> 01:01:31.250
I don't think he did. And then Jesus said, before

01:01:31.250 --> 01:01:32.909
Philip called you over here to talk to me, I

01:01:32.909 --> 01:01:39.730
saw you. How did Jesus know? We aren't told.

01:01:39.949 --> 01:01:42.789
Maybe Nathaniel had been praying. Maybe he had

01:01:42.789 --> 01:01:44.449
been studying scripture. Maybe he was wrestling

01:01:44.449 --> 01:01:46.090
with doubt. But whatever happened under that

01:01:46.090 --> 01:01:48.690
fig tree, it mattered because Jesus saw him.

01:01:53.550 --> 01:02:01.800
Can I encourage somebody tonight? Maybe you think

01:02:01.800 --> 01:02:04.280
no one notices what you're doing. No one notices

01:02:04.280 --> 01:02:07.539
your prayers or your tears or the nights that

01:02:07.539 --> 01:02:14.239
you lie awake talking to God. Jesus does. He

01:02:14.239 --> 01:02:16.079
saw Nathaniel before Nathaniel ever saw him.

01:02:17.119 --> 01:02:26.679
And he sees you. It's amazing, isn't it? If you

01:02:26.679 --> 01:02:32.139
look at 14, Luke 14. I know I'm all over the

01:02:32.139 --> 01:02:33.659
place tonight, but I've been studying a lot of

01:02:33.659 --> 01:02:38.380
scripture for this week. Chapter 14, verse 15

01:02:38.380 --> 01:02:41.039
says in Luke, that triggered a response from

01:02:41.039 --> 01:02:42.820
one of the guests, how fortunate the one who

01:02:42.820 --> 01:02:46.659
gets to eat dinner in God's kingdom. Jesus followed

01:02:46.659 --> 01:02:48.460
up, yes, for there was once a man who threw a

01:02:48.460 --> 01:02:50.039
great dinner party and invited many. When it

01:02:50.039 --> 01:02:51.599
was time for dinner, he sent out his servant

01:02:51.599 --> 01:02:53.599
to the invited guests saying, come on in, the

01:02:53.599 --> 01:02:56.710
food's on the table. Then they all began to beg

01:02:56.710 --> 01:02:59.110
off, one after another, making excuses. The first

01:02:59.110 --> 01:03:00.510
said, I bought a piece of property. I need to

01:03:00.510 --> 01:03:02.909
look it over. Send my regrets. Another said,

01:03:03.030 --> 01:03:04.650
I just bought the team of oxen. I really need

01:03:04.650 --> 01:03:08.530
to check them out. Send my regrets. And yet another

01:03:08.530 --> 01:03:09.989
said, I just got married, and I need to get a

01:03:09.989 --> 01:03:12.610
home for my wife. The servant went back and told

01:03:12.610 --> 01:03:14.809
the master what had happened, and he was outraged

01:03:14.809 --> 01:03:16.809
and told the servant, Quickly, get out in the

01:03:16.809 --> 01:03:18.630
city streets and alleys. Collect all who look

01:03:18.630 --> 01:03:20.650
like they need a square meal, all the misfits

01:03:20.650 --> 01:03:22.489
and the homeless and the down and out, and you

01:03:22.489 --> 01:03:25.969
can lay your hands on and bring them here. The

01:03:25.969 --> 01:03:27.449
servant reported back, Master, I did what you

01:03:27.449 --> 01:03:29.369
commanded, and there's still room. And the master

01:03:29.369 --> 01:03:31.429
said, Then go to the country roads. Whoever you

01:03:31.429 --> 01:03:37.030
find, drag them in. I want my house full. Let

01:03:37.030 --> 01:03:38.650
me tell you, not one of those originally invited

01:03:38.650 --> 01:03:40.309
is going to get so much as a bite at my dinner

01:03:40.309 --> 01:03:45.010
party. Jesus talks about a great dinner party,

01:03:45.150 --> 01:03:47.449
and people start making excuses. I bought land.

01:03:47.710 --> 01:03:49.969
I got some oxen I got to check on. I got married.

01:03:51.280 --> 01:03:53.840
So the master says, go find the poor, find the

01:03:53.840 --> 01:03:56.500
broken, find the forgotten. Go into the highways

01:03:56.500 --> 01:04:02.760
and the hedges, bring them home. I want my house

01:04:02.760 --> 01:04:08.820
full. King James, it says that my house may be

01:04:08.820 --> 01:04:14.619
filled. That's God's heart. Not empty chairs,

01:04:14.860 --> 01:04:22.050
a full table. Scoot down, make room. Hospitality

01:04:22.050 --> 01:04:27.750
is holy. In Romans 12, 13, it says, given to

01:04:27.750 --> 01:04:31.789
hospitality, not occasionally friendly. Given

01:04:31.789 --> 01:04:35.230
to it, devoted to it. Then in Hebrews 13, 2,

01:04:35.269 --> 01:04:37.650
it says, be not forgetful to entertain strangers.

01:04:42.010 --> 01:04:46.809
For some have hosted angels unaware. Hospitality

01:04:46.809 --> 01:04:50.239
isn't entertaining, it's making room. Some of

01:04:50.239 --> 01:04:52.039
the most powerful ministry you'll ever do won't

01:04:52.039 --> 01:04:54.079
happen behind the pulpit. It happens across the

01:04:54.079 --> 01:05:00.719
table. I want to challenge every one of us this

01:05:00.719 --> 01:05:04.300
week as we close tonight. Ask God the simple

01:05:04.300 --> 01:05:09.219
question, Lord, who needs a chair? Maybe it's

01:05:09.219 --> 01:05:11.860
your elderly neighbor. Maybe it's the widow down

01:05:11.860 --> 01:05:16.860
the road. Maybe it's the co -worker who always

01:05:16.860 --> 01:05:22.099
has to eat lunch alone. Maybe it's somebody who

01:05:22.099 --> 01:05:23.739
hasn't talked to God in years because they're

01:05:23.739 --> 01:05:27.380
convinced that they don't belong. Don't wait

01:05:27.380 --> 01:05:32.000
for them to ask. Invite them. You don't have

01:05:32.000 --> 01:05:35.119
to preach. You don't have to have all the answers.

01:05:35.280 --> 01:05:43.539
Just make room. People are often loved into listening

01:05:43.539 --> 01:05:50.750
before they're ever argued into agreeing. So

01:05:50.750 --> 01:05:52.889
the gospel in one sentence here, if someone asked

01:05:52.889 --> 01:05:54.809
me to summarize Zechariah in one sentence, I'd

01:05:54.809 --> 01:05:57.889
say, God invites dirty people to become his neighbors.

01:06:00.070 --> 01:06:05.650
Isn't that crazy? Isn't that the gospel? He called

01:06:05.650 --> 01:06:09.949
us home. He washed us clean. He filled us with

01:06:09.949 --> 01:06:13.010
his spirit. He gave us the king. And now he says,

01:06:13.130 --> 01:06:15.409
now go and bite somebody else. And she told two

01:06:15.409 --> 01:06:22.949
friends, and she told two friends. One last scripture

01:06:22.949 --> 01:06:30.369
to end tonight. Revelation 3 .20. He says, look

01:06:30.369 --> 01:06:34.789
at me. I stand at the door and I knock. If you

01:06:34.789 --> 01:06:36.710
hear me call and open the door, I'll come right

01:06:36.710 --> 01:06:40.289
in and sit down to supper with you. Behold, I

01:06:40.289 --> 01:06:46.070
stand at the door and knock. Jesus didn't kick

01:06:46.070 --> 01:06:52.139
the door in. He knocks. Penny. Penny. Penny.

01:06:54.679 --> 01:07:05.500
He knocks. Love always invites. He's standing

01:07:05.500 --> 01:07:07.440
at the door of our hearts knocking. Just waiting.

01:07:08.079 --> 01:07:12.639
Just waiting. Waiting for us to welcome him.

01:07:13.340 --> 01:07:16.500
And once we've welcomed him, he calls us to become

01:07:16.500 --> 01:07:22.289
people who open our own doors. Maybe tonight

01:07:22.289 --> 01:07:24.030
you've been watching from the edge of the porch.

01:07:25.429 --> 01:07:30.269
Listening. Wondering if God could ever want somebody

01:07:30.269 --> 01:07:37.929
like you. The answer is yes. Spoiler alert. The

01:07:37.929 --> 01:07:40.010
gospel is not for people who have it all together.

01:07:40.030 --> 01:07:42.889
The gospel is for people who know that they don't.

01:07:46.650 --> 01:07:49.269
Jesus is not looking for perfect people. He's

01:07:49.269 --> 01:07:57.099
looking for willing hearts. If you've never trusted

01:07:57.099 --> 01:08:02.920
him, today is a wonderful day to come home. If

01:08:02.920 --> 01:08:08.199
you've wandered away, the invitation from Zechariah

01:08:08.199 --> 01:08:11.960
still stands. Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord,

01:08:11.980 --> 01:08:14.380
and I will turn unto you. Come back to me and

01:08:14.380 --> 01:08:19.319
I will come to you. And the Lord has never broken

01:08:19.319 --> 01:08:25.079
that promise. Let's have a word of prayer, shall

01:08:25.079 --> 01:08:30.899
we? Lord, thank you so much for walking us through

01:08:30.899 --> 01:08:35.140
Zechariah. Thank you for every single promise

01:08:35.140 --> 01:08:37.319
in this book that brings us towards Jesus. Thank

01:08:37.319 --> 01:08:39.779
you for the grace that removes filthy garments,

01:08:39.899 --> 01:08:42.180
the spirit that strengthens weak hands, and the

01:08:42.180 --> 01:08:47.720
hope of the coming King. Now help us become the

01:08:47.720 --> 01:08:50.039
people of the porch, Lord. Help us notice the

01:08:50.039 --> 01:08:53.060
lonely, to welcome the stranger, to feed the

01:08:53.060 --> 01:09:01.210
hungry, to encourage the weary. Lord, help us

01:09:01.210 --> 01:09:04.430
find our way home. Help us bring others to you.

01:09:06.789 --> 01:09:09.350
Help us point every person we meet back towards

01:09:09.350 --> 01:09:21.510
Jesus. In his holy name we pray. Amen. May our

01:09:21.510 --> 01:09:24.449
homes and our churches and our lives become little

01:09:24.449 --> 01:09:28.350
pictures of God's kingdom. Where there's always

01:09:28.350 --> 01:09:35.279
another chair. Always another invitation. We

01:09:35.279 --> 01:09:37.180
spent a lot of time in Zechariah tonight, and

01:09:37.180 --> 01:09:38.939
I hope that you'll never read this little book

01:09:38.939 --> 01:09:43.420
the same way again. When you see a fig tree,

01:09:43.600 --> 01:09:48.779
when you see a porch, remember the invitation.

01:09:50.619 --> 01:09:56.500
Remember the kingdom. When you pull up another

01:09:56.500 --> 01:10:02.680
chair, remember Jesus. Because one day every

01:10:02.680 --> 01:10:04.739
believer will gather around the table of our

01:10:04.739 --> 01:10:06.720
king on the porch and every invitation we've

01:10:06.720 --> 01:10:08.880
extended in his name will have been worth it.

01:10:11.739 --> 01:10:18.279
Just come home. Until then, friends, keep your

01:10:18.279 --> 01:10:21.479
Bibles open, your powder dry, and your head on

01:10:21.479 --> 01:10:24.300
a swivel. Be nice to old people, animals, and

01:10:24.300 --> 01:10:26.600
children. Love your neighbor. Give it to God

01:10:26.600 --> 01:10:29.260
because he loves you and I do too. Until the

01:10:29.260 --> 01:10:31.220
next time, friends. Thanks for joining us, and

01:10:31.220 --> 01:10:34.020
please remember, I'm Sarah Beth Terry, and you're

01:10:34.020 --> 01:10:34.979
not getting up.