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As Christians we hold to the idea that God is a
sovereign God. |
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This is seen in the hymns and songs we sing. |
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Lines such as |
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God is working his purpose out as years
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Praise to the Lord the almighty the king of creation.
Jesus shall reign where ever the sun
Reign in me sovereign Lord, reign in me
and the list goes on. |
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Yet, there are times when we doubt the
sovereignty of God. There are times when we struggle with
the concept that God is in control and His purposes will
prevail. |
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And, when you talk with other people, non
believers, they can present a list of situations with a
question for each one Where is your God? |
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And yet in the bible we are constantly reminded
of God's sovereignty and God's reign and God's love. The
story of the Jews is a story that displays God's rule and
his purpose and his love. |
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And if you were asked to describe the way God
loves His people what adjective would you use? |
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Dearly too weak |
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Fully a bit better |
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Zealously now that's getting better |
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I'm not sure how that would sound in today's
lingo |
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Awesomely, Wickedly, Filth-ely. (It depends on
your age!) |
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As we begin to look at the night visions of
Zechariah we encounter the zealous love of God for his
covenant people. |
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A zeal that leads God to say "I am very
jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. I am extremely angry with
the nations" |
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The visions portrayed in Zechariah are really a
single unit. And together disclose the plan of God for
the future of Jerusalem and Judah. |
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They follow a similar pattern: |
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A description of what the prophet sees |
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A question to the angel as to the meaning of
what he sees |
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An explanation from the angel |
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- Four of the visions are then followed by an
oracle |
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In the first vision Zechariah sees the reporting
to the angel of the Lord from the horsemen who patrol the
earth. |
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Here in the figure of the angel of the Lord we
have a pre-incarnation appearance of Christ. |
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A hint of the full purpose of God to dwell with
his people. For it will be in Christ's incarnation,
becoming human, that God will fully dwell with humanity. |
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But here, the patrollers report to the Lord that
there is peace in the world. Now that sounds like good
news. |
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The bad news is that this peace is forced and is
unjust and inhumane. |
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It is not God's peace. |
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It is a peace that is forced upon people by
oppressors and dictators. |
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A situation we are all too familiar with as we
look around our world. |
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As we look at our neighbours in East Timor. |
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As we look at those in our society who are under
the poverty line, or the homeless, the dispossessed, the
racial minorities in many countries. |
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This is what some people will raise as the
question "where is your God?" |
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This is not God's peace. |
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This is not God's justice. |
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This is not God's purpose. |
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And now we see the first purpose of God for the
new Judah. Look at verses 14 17 |
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14 So the angel who talked with me said to me,
Proclaim this message: Thus says the LORD of hosts; I am
very jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. 15 And I am
extremely angry with the nations that are at ease; for
while I was only a little angry, they made the disaster
worse. 16 Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned
to Jerusalem with compassion; my house shall be built in
it, says the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall
be stretched out over Jerusalem. 17 Proclaim further:
Thus says the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again
overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort
Zion and again choose Jerusalem. |
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The anger of God, which we saw last week
directed at the ancestors is now directed at the enemies
of Judah. |
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Those who had kept her in exile. |
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Those who try in vain to fraught the sovereign
plan of God. |
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And instead of with anger, God has returned to
Jerusalem with compassion. |
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And here we see a promise of God. My house shall
be built. |
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And although it will not be for another 80 years
till the walls around Jerusalem will be finished , the
measuring line will stretch out - a message of hope and
encouragement. |
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The compassion of God - To restore the glory of
Jerusalem. |
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And what is the ultimate glory of Jerusalem? |
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It is the dwelling place of God. |
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It is the focus of the nations. |
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It is the meeting place with God. |
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The second vision is straightforward in its
image and message. |
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Horns were a symbol of power. |
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Blacksmiths they will remove the power of the
nations. |
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Here, again the Jews are reminded of God's reign
over all the nations. |
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This is our God, the God of all the nations, the
God who will be the judge over all and to whom all will
need to bring account. |
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The third vision again focuses on Jerusalem and
here again is the zeal of God for her. |
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The stone walls - a strong protection. But, the
protection of God even greater. |
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The Temple - the glory of Jerusalem. But, the
glory of God will outshine it. |
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Again, we are reminded that it is God who is our
protector, he is the sovereign. And it is God who is our
glory. |
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In chapter 2 verses 6 to 13 we have the next
oracle from God. |
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A message for all Jews to return and work in the
rebuilding of the temple and Jerusalem. And a warning
that the other nations around are about to face the
judgement of God - the anger spoken about in the first
vision. |
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And Zion, the holy city, Jerusalem, is the safe
haven. |
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But it is more than a safe haven for the Jews. |
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Verse 11 "Many nations shall join
themselves to the LORD on that day, and shall be my
people; and I will dwell in your midst. And you shall
know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you". |
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It is the safe haven for all the nations. |
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Again as we see the plan of God being revealed
to his chosen people, we are reminded of God's ultimate
purpose. |
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To bring salvation to all people. |
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For God to dwell with humanity. |
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And again we are encouraged to remember the zeal
that God has for us. |
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The plan he has set in place to bring all people
to himself, not in a geographic place but rather in a
Son. A plan he has set in place that shows the jealousy
he has for his people in that he would allow his Son to
die to save us. This is our God. This is his love. |
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I want to ask again the question I asked earlier
- If you were asked to describe the way God loves His
people what adjective would you use? |
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Further, I want to ask who are God's people
today? |
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And, who are the enemies of God's people? |
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And can apply what we are reading about God's
sovereign plan in Zechariah and indeed in the other
prophets of the Old Testament to the situation we see in
the world today? |
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I know that the prophecies here in Zechariah are
not yet fulfilled. |
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For will not Christ coming in his full glory to
rule over his kingdom bring the prophecy "the Lord
being the glory within Jerusalem" to its ultimate
fulfilment? |
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Zechariah is a book about the past and the
future. |
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It is about what God has done in Judah. |
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It is about what God has done in Christ. |
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And it is about what God will do in "that
day" (2:11), the day of the Lord when all the
fullness of God will be revealed. |
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As such, we get a picture of a sovereign God
throughout time. |
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This is the God of our time. |
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Our God is the sovereign God who rules, a God
who's promises are trustworthy. |
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A God who has and is remembering his people. |
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A God who is concerned with justice and mercy. |
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Who are God's people. The church is God's
people. Those who are in Christ. These are the people
that God loves. |
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And God's love is never passive but always
expressing itself in positive encouragement of what is
right, or, when it is spurned, in unmistakable
judgements, intended to bring the sufferer to his senses,
and back to God. His love is so intense that it can do no
less. |
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So for us what do we learn. It can be
summed up in 4 words. |
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Know, work, trust and wait. |
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Know of God's zealous love for you in
Christ and be encouraged and strengthened in your faith. |
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Work for God's justice both at a personal
level in the way you treat others, and on a wider
scale by support of good government, support of
organisations who work for justice, by prayer and by
making Christ known and supporting those who are making
Christ known. |
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Trust in God's rule and that his purposes
will succeed. |
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And Wait for the return of Christ and the
fullness of the glory of God. |
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There are times when we doubt. |
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There are situations in this world that we can
not understand. |
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There is the apparent victory of evil. |
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But greater than these remains a risen Christ as
a seal of the promises of God. |
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And so I think its right that we remain strong
and know the fullness of God. So in the words of Paul
from Ephesians chapter 3 (16-21) "I pray that,
according to the riches of [God's] glory, he may grant
that you may be strengthened in your inner being with
power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in
your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and
grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to
comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and
length and height and depth, and to know the love of
Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be
filled with all the fullness of God. |
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Now to him who by the power at work within us is
able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can
ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in
Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.
Amen." |