I want us to spend a little bit
of time in Zechariah 4 before we have the Lord's Supper. If
you want to know what God is doing in this world today, all
you need to do is read the Scriptures. The Old Testament Scriptures
are just beautiful pictures of what the Lord Jesus Christ is
doing in His Church. He's gathering people If you're
with me in Zechariah chapter 4, he's gathering people to build
a house. He's building a house, a house
where he will get all the glory. He will build, he will build. My house, verse 16 of Zechariah
1, my house shall be built in it. And how does he build it? He builds it by the preaching
of the Gospel. He builds it by taking, if you
go to chapter 3, by taking and standing before people and their
accuser and saying to them that they are perfectly clean in my
sight. And Joshua was there standing in verse 3. Joshua was clothed
with filthy garments and stood before the angel. And he answered
and spake unto him that those that stood before him, this is
the Lord Jesus Christ, take away the filthy garments from him. And he says to him and he says
to all of his people, behold, I have caused thine iniquity
to pass from thee. That's the glory of the gospel,
isn't it? that sinners have their iniquity passed from them. Where
is their iniquity gone if it's passed from them? It went to
the Lord Jesus Christ from before the foundation of the world.
And he goes on to say that iniquity is passed away from them. And
he says in verse nine, the end of verse nine, thus saith the
Lord of hosts, I will remove the iniquity of that land in
one day. Just one day. Everything about
the gospel is about one day, one person, one day, one promised
event outside of Jerusalem. and the Lord is gathering his
witness to himself. And we looked at this a little
bit a few weeks ago, but let's go back to chapter 4, and Zechariah
is asking what the candlesticks are and the seven lamps, and
then he says in verse 6, He answered and spoke unto me,
saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying,
Not by might, not by power, not by the activities of men, not
by the collected activities of men, the great wisdom of men,
but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great
mountain, before Zerubbabel? Thou shalt become a plain, and
he shall bring forth the headstone thereof, with shoutings crying,
Grace, grace, unto it. Wherever the Lord is building
his house, And wherever the Lord is raised up and high and lifted
up as that headstone, that's the shouting of all of God's
people, isn't it? The shouting is always going to be the shouting.
From heaven is grace, grace unto it. Grace, grace. Grace in the salvation of everyone
of God's people. Grace in the salvation of gathering
those people together under the sound of the gospel. Grace begins
and grace completes the work. And God repeats things twice.
He's doing it for emphasis. And we need it to be emphasized,
because every moment of our lives, naturally, we think that my salvation's
got something to do with what I've done. And I have to maintain
my salvation by something that I do. And if I don't do whatever
it might be, if I don't do enough Bible reading, if I don't do
enough praying, if I don't do enough of something, then all
of a sudden, I'm going to lose. Grace, grace means that grace
begins And grace finishes. But not only that, but look what
it does. Who art thou, O great mountain?
And we looked at that, the great mountains of sin, the great mountains
of unbelief, the great mountains of all of the obstacles that
stand before God's people. Satan stands as a great obstacle. This world stands as a great
obstacle. And it just becomes a plane.
Who art thou, O great mountain, before Zerubbabel? Zerubbabel,
of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ here pictured in the King
of Israel who builds this house, the house where the Lord comes.
And he says in verse 9, That hands of Zerubbabel have laid
the foundation of this house. His hands shall also finish it,
and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto
you. For who has despised the day
of small things? It always appears where the grace
of God is at work, it's a small thing. It's a small thing, isn't
it? It can be ignored by this world. Who has despised the day of small
things? For they shall rejoice when they
see the plummet, the plumbob in the hand of the rubble, with
the seven, which are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and
fro through the whole earth. The plumbob marks what is perfectly,
perfectly vertical. And it's just to one point, isn't
it? aligned and perfectly stable
in every way, it's going to have a perfectly vertical wall. And so there's a great foundation
laid, the Lord Jesus Christ is the great foundation stone laid,
the Lord Jesus Christ is the great builder of the building,
and the Lord Jesus Christ is the great finisher of the building.
And when the building, the top, the cap, the headstone is finally
put on, There are shouts. Everyone says, grace, God did
it all. God did it all. God did it all
by himself. And that stone, I love Isaiah's
description of that stone. Behold, I lay in Zion, in the
church of God, I lay in Zion for a foundation stone, a tried
stone. You think of the trials that
the Lord Jesus Christ went through and all of his church with him.
A precious cornerstone. a sure foundation, and then what's
the result of it in Isaiah 28 verse 16? He that believeth shall
not make haste. And then he says, judgment also
while I lay to the line and righteousness to the plummet. and is going
to be built on perfect righteousness and perfect judgment and all
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace, grace unto it. Grace begins
and grace finishes. Grace applies the law and shows
us our need of a saviour and grace reveals the gospel. Grace
kills The flesh of man, the proud flesh of man in the grace makes
alive. Grace wounds proud hearts and
grace heals. Grace lays the foundation, grace
brings forth the headstone. Grace reigns first in the salvation
of any sinner and grace reigns to the end. grace to move from here into
the very presence of God is all the work of grace. Grace lays
the foundation, grace brings the rejoicing, grace laid a foundation
in eternity and grace finishes in heaven in the new creation. Grace made the promises, there
was a covenant of grace made from the foundation of the world
And because it's grace, grace, it's not works, works at all. God saves by grace. There's not
to be a sound of a hammer on it. It's grace, grace because
it's impossible with man. It's impossible for man to build
a house to honor God. God will build his house. And
God's house is built on the declaration of the Lord Jesus Christ. God's
house is built on the declaration of free and sovereign grace. It's grace grace because it's
impossible with man. It's grace grace because grace
reigns. It's grace grace because of the
opposition to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It has to
be grace grace for God to get all of the glory. One of the things that's remarkable
isn't it, when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary, in Mary's womb
and the Lord Jesus Christ, life was formed in that virgin womb. Life from God. And I'm so pleased
that God says we're to believe it. Everything about salvation is based on us just believing
what God says. But do you think about that body
that was built? We are members of his body, flesh,
bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. As each little cell
was added to another cell, it's a picture of the body of the
Lord Jesus Christ, isn't it? He lays a foundation, that foundation
that came from heaven. the foundation of the church.
Until that body was perfectly formed and came from that worm
and that body then grew for 30 years, you think about the millions
and millions and millions of cells and the millions and millions
and millions of people that are in the body of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what he says, isn't it? That's his description
of this building that he's talking about. He's talking about a physical
building in Jerusalem, but he's really talking about the building
of the church, isn't it? We are members of his body. And according to Ephesians 21,
29, he nourishes and he cherishes his body. as the Lord, the Church, verse
30, Ephesians 5. We are members of his body, of
his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave
his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife and they
too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery. Mitch
is going through a mystery, mysterious ceremony on, but it's a picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you should listen to what he
goes on to say. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning
Christ and the church. It's grace, grace, because God
gets all the glory. It has to be grace. our weakness. I want to finish the story of
Mephibosheth. Some of you might have heard
my sermon back in Kingsport. But there was in this story a
great picture of the Lord gathering his church to himself. What sort
of people are gathered by grace? Well, the Mephibosheth are gathered
by grace. Mephibosheth, as you might recall
from some weeks ago, Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan. And
Mephibosheth was saved because there was a covenant made before
Mephibosheth even knew about it, a covenant between Jonathan
and David. And Jonathan and David had a
love for each other. They loved each other as their
own souls. They were so close. And when
David was king, he said, is there someone that I can show mercy?
Is there someone that I can show the loving kindness of God toward? For Jonathan's sake. It's a glorious
picture, isn't it? God the Father shows us grace
for Christ's sake. For Christ's sake. It's the company,
the accomplished faithfulness. And you might recall that Mephibosheth
was way across the Jordan hiding, expecting to be killed by the
king. And when he heard the summons
of the king, he thought, this is the end of my life. You can read
the story in 2 Samuel 9. Mephibosheth is brought into
the presence of the king. And David looks at him and he
adores him. And Mephibosheth spent his life
sitting at David's table, lame in both his feet. But I want
us to pick up the story. You might recall that David's
son Absalom betrayed him and betrayed him with one of David's
best friends and accomplishers, one of his friends in his court. And David had to flee Jerusalem
because Absalom had taken the kingship from him. It's extraordinary,
isn't it? It's a picture of the trials
that God's people go through. But David is still the king.
And Mephibosheth can't walk and he is utterly dependent upon
other people to carry him. And to honour David as David
was going, he got his donkey saddled and he got the people
in chapter 16 of 2 Samuel. I want us to look at what it
is for someone to come into the court of God, what it is to be
a sinner brought again and again and again by the grace of God
to be part of this family. to be part of the people that
eat at David's table. So David is leaving Jerusalem
in disgrace, his son has turned against him, the nation has turned
against him, he's fearful for his life and Mephibosheth Organizers
for there to be. Let's read with me in chapter
16 verse 1 of 2 Samuel. David was little past the top
of the hill. Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him. And this is all that Mephibosheth
had organized. He'd organized all of this. He
had the asses saddled and upon them 200 loaves of bread and
there was supposed to be someone else on those asses. Mephibosheth
had organized it for him to be on those asses. 200 loaves of bread, 100 bunches
of raisins, 100 summer fruits and a bottle of wine. Mephibosheth
was going out to be with David, his king. And the king sat under
Ziba, who was the servant of Mephibosheth. What meanest thou
by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for
the king's household to ride on, and the bread and the summer
fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine such as be faint
in the wilderness may drink. And the king said, And where
is my master's son? Where is Mephibosheth? And listen
to what Ziba said. Have you ever been betrayed? Wrongfully accused? Betrayed? Where is he? Ziba said unto the
king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem. Listen to what this scoundrel
said. For he said, Today shall the house of Israel restore to
me the kingdom of my father. Mephibosheth had already been
sitting at the king's table at the camp. And the king said to
Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertain to Mephibosheth. I've
given you, I'm now giving you everything that he had. And Mephibosheth listened to
this religious man with evil and murder and deceit in his
heart. He says, verse 4, I humbly beseech you that I may find grace
in thy sight, O my Lord and my King. And the story goes on and you
can read the next chapters. David's forces eventually win
and Absalom is killed and David is distraught that his son has
died and the kingdom is restored and David returns to Jerusalem.
Let's turn over to Chapter 19 of 2 Samuel. I want us to be
reminded again and again of what it is to come into the presence
of God Almighty. Even having been saved we still
come in exactly the same way. And listen to what happens. David
had come back and Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to
meet the king. And for all of this time, we're
not told how long it is, but months and months and months,
Mephibosheth had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard,
nor washed his clothes from the day the king departed until he
came again in peace. And it came to pass, when he
had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said
unto him, wherefore wentest thou not with me, Mephibosheth? And
he said, why didn't you come with me? Why did you do that?
Why did you betray me? And he answered, My lord our
king, my servant deceived me. For Mephibosheth said, I will
saddle me a mass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the king,
because thy servant is lame. And he has slandered thy servant
unto the lord the king. But my lord the king is as an
angel of God. Therefore, Do therefore what is good in
thine eyes. That's repentance, isn't it?
That's coming to God, acknowledging that he has God, acknowledging
the fact that the King, David is a picture of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the King has the right, the sovereign right over all
things. And he says in verse 28, for
all of my father's house were but dead men before my lord the
king, yet that didst thou set thy servant among them that did
eat at thine own table, what right therefore have I yet to
cry any more unto the king? And the king said unto him, why
speakest thou any more of thy matters? David was ashamed, I
think, and saddened by what had happened, but he'd made a promise.
And he kept his promise, but I love what Mephibosheth said. In verse 30, Mephibosheth says, said unto the King, Yea, let
him take all. You can have the whole lot. You
can have everything. If I am in your presence and
in your favour, if I'm in the company of the Lord Jesus Christ,
these are the people that sit at the King Jesus' table, brothers
and sisters in Christ. Let him take all for as much
as my Lord the King is come again in peace to his own house, which
is what exactly the Lord Jesus Christ did after defeating all
of his others. So how do you come? The Spirit and the Bride
say come. The Church is never saying go
away. The Church is always saying come.
How do you come? You come like Mephibosheth. unable
to walk, lame in both your feet. You come showing and revealing
the fact that you're just a sinner. You come in your filthy clothes
again and again and again. You come with your beard not
trimmed. You come, how do you come? Just as you are. How do you come after you've
come? Just as you are. Why do you come? Because to be in the King's presence
is worth all of this universe. There's a story over in 2 Samuel
21, and I can't tell all the story now if I wanted time, I
would need to have a break. But there was a famine in the
land and the Gibeonites had been deceived by Saul and murdered
against the covenant. The covenant had been broken
in verse 21. And the Gibeonites say, what
will satisfy the Gibeonites? And the Gibeonites say, a complete number. And David
delivered seven of those sons into the hands of the Gibeonites
so that it would rain on Israel again. They had broken a covenant,
brothers and sisters. But in verse 7 of verse, chapter
21, but the king spared Mephibosheth. There's another Mephibosheth
mentioned there, but he's the uncle of Mephibosheth. The king
spared Mephibosheth. It's a glorious picture. You
might have time to listen to my message in Kingsport or the
one we have here sometime, but I just love the picture of what
it is to come to the King's table. You come in your filthy rags
like Joshua. You come because to be in the
presence of the Lord Jesus Christ is worth all of this universe.
And you come, and you keep coming at every opportunity. You come
to Him. We come, we come because grace
causes us to come. Grace makes us needy. Grace builds
the building. All of the stones in the building
of the Lord Jesus Christ are stones carved, ordained, and
placed by the grace of God. What a blessed house it is. What
a table for us to sit at. We are the blessed people, brothers
and sisters in Christ. And we say to all and anyone,
come, come because the company is wonderful. Come because the
food is delightful. come because there is a King
that reigns and rules and He calls us to Himself over and
over again. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father,
we thank You for the building of the house of our great and
glorious Saviour is a building built by grace, grace. It's a building built With those
living stones, each and every single one of them washed clean
in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's built as a building
which is perfectly, fitly framed together. A house in which our
God dwells by his spirit. A house in which he gets all
the glory because he does all of the work. and we get all of
the delight of being in His presence. Our filthy rags taken away, we
are brought again and again to be reminded of the glory of free
and sovereign grace. The Lord Jesus Christ did it
all long, long ago. And what he's done long, long
ago is what he's maintaining and growing and establishing
in this world today. Father, help us to see this gathering
and the gathering of your people and the things of this world
through the eyes of the light of the world, that light that
shines in the darkness. childlike faith to come and come
and keep on coming for the glory of your son's holy name, our
Father we pray. Amen.