Turn with me if you would now
to the book of Zechariah chapter 4. It's the second to the last
book of the Old Testament. Malachi is the last book and
then Zechariah is before that. Zechariah chapter 4. As many of you know, we've been
looking at Zechariah a little bit lately. And I've been finding
that one or two things in each chapter has been standing out
to me and causing me to want to preach it. And that's the
case today. There are five verses in this
chapter that will be the foundation of this message. We're not going
to approach this from a verse-by-verse point of view like we often do,
just going through things verse-by-verse. We're not going to look at that
in that way. We're going to read the truth
of what's being said here, and then we're going to support that
truth and declare that truth and expound on that truth. And
I'm going to go ahead right now and tell you what that truth
is. This is the whole foundation
and the whole point of this message. Salvation is of the Lord. That's why I had our brother
read Jonah 2 just a minute ago. Salvation is of the Lord. Now let's read this chapter and
I'll point out five verses specifically and then I'm gonna tell you something.
Zechariah 4 verse 1 says, and the angel that talked with me
came again and waked me as a man that is wakened out of his sleep
and said unto me, what seest thou? And I said, I have looked
and behold a candlestick all of gold with a bowl upon the
top of it and his seven lamps thereon. and seven pipes to the
seven lamps which are upon the top thereof, and two olive trees
by it, one upon the right side of the bowl and the other upon
the left side thereof. So I answered and spake to the
angel that talked with me, saying, what are these, my Lord? Then
the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, knowest
thou not what these be? And I said, no, my Lord. Then he answered and spake unto
me saying, all right, now here is the dream or the vision. This is what it represents, what
we just read, verse six. Then he answered and spake unto
me saying, this is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying,
not by might nor by power, 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. Moreover, the word of the Lord
came unto me saying, the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation
of this house, and his hands shall also finish it. And thou
shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who
hath despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice
and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. With
those seven, they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and
fro through the whole earth. Then answered I and said unto
him, what are these two olive trees upon the right side of
the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered
again and said unto him, what be these two olive branches which
through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said,
knowest thou not what these be? And I said, no, my Lord. Then
said he, these are the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of
the whole earth. They're the witnesses, the testifiers,
the supporters that make up the triune membership of the Lord
of the whole earth. God's word, no matter what it
says, we read things and know exactly what it's talking about.
We read things and have no idea what it's talking about. God's
word, no matter what it says, It was written for one purpose
only, to point us to Christ. No matter
where we are in the Word, no matter what is being said in
the Word, this whole book is the revelation and the declaration
of Jesus Christ. This man Zerubbabel right here
represents Jesus Christ. This is talking about Jesus Christ.
And here is the point that God's Word is making in Zechariah chapter
4. God said, Zerubbabel is the one who is going to build this
house. Look at verse 6. It says, Then
he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the
Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might nor by power, But
by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts, who art thou, O great
mountain, that will stand in the way of Zerubbabel? Who or what will possibly stand
in the way of the work of Jesus Christ? He will work and who
will stop him? Verse 7 says, 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. Zerubbabel's bringing grace.
That's what he said. Zerubbabel is bringing grace. You know, the law, the mountain
of the law, Mount Sinai, the mountain of the law, came by
Moses. But grace, shoutings of grace,
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Free grace. Do you like the sound of that?
Free grace. Sovereign grace. Salvation is
by grace. Salvation is of the Lord. That's what that means. Salvation
is of the Lord. Salvation is solely in the work. The living, the dying, the bearing,
the sacrificing, the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ. Salvation is solely in the blood
of Jesus Christ. Grace is in the blood of Jesus
Christ. Grace was given in the blood
of Jesus Christ. Mercy is applied through the
blood of Jesus Christ. Judgment shed the blood of Jesus
Christ. Justice accepted the blood of
Jesus Christ. Salvation is in that blood. The
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is of the Lord. It's
of the Lord. Verse nine, right here, the hands
of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house and his hands shall
also finish it. And thou shalt know that the
Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you, for who hath despised the
day of small things? For they shall rejoice and shall
see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. With those seven,
they are the eyes of the Lord. That complete seven is the number
of completion. All eyes are on Jesus Christ.
They run to and fro through the whole earth. Christ started the
work of salvation. Christ finished the work of salvation. The whole thing was in the hands
of Jesus Christ. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
is of the Lord. Now, I ran across an outline
that a man gave many years ago, and this outline has been preached
many different times by many different preachers. And it's
so good, and it's so true, and it's so well laid out, I want
to repeat it to you this morning. I pray the Lord will cause this
to really sink in. I pray he'll cause us to see
this, to believe this, to trust in this. Here's a five-point
outline on how salvation is of the Lord. We say salvation is
of the Lord, and it is. Salvation is of the Lord. We
acknowledge that. Well, how? In what way? What does it mean to say salvation
is of the Lord? Here's a five-point outline.
Number one, salvation is of the Lord in the origination of it. That means where it started,
where it began. Now this, what I'm about, this
line is old-fashioned. I wrote this down and it sounded
old-fashioned to me and I kept it in my notes because I mean
it. This is joyful to me. All right. This is truly joyful
to me. This brings me so much joy, so
much happiness. This shows us the heart and the
compassion of our Lord. Where did salvation originate? Who started it? Who purposed
in the heart for it to be done? Did it start with us realizing
the dangerous and deadly condition we're in? Us having a light bulb
moment, you know, going about life and then seeing ourselves
and seeing our condition and all of a sudden realizing we
need to cry out to Him for mercy and help. Is that where salvation started?
No. It started with God Almighty.
Our salvation started with God Almighty. Who designed salvation
in the heart first? Who purposed in the heart to
bring it to pass first? Here's the answer. God did. God
did. Mankind has nothing to do with
the origination of salvation. Mankind did not enter the council
halls of God and have any part or any input or any say in purposing
and designing and decreeing the salvation of sinners. What a
perfect design it is. What a glorious design, what
a glorious decree we have. Man had no part in that. That
was all God. God alone did every bit of that
before the foundation of this world. Revelation 13 verse 8
says, Christ was the lamb slain in the mind, will, and purpose
of God. before the foundation of this world. Ephesians 1 verse
4 says, every soul who would be saved was chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world. A long time ago, I believe
it was back in the 1800s maybe, and I think it was in England,
there was a small village where, a small town I guess, where a pastor of one of the churches
in that town. He was out one day working in
his garden and a woman was walking down the street and saw him right
there in his garden and walked up and talked to him and said,
said, you pastor that church over wherever it was. He said,
yes, I do. She said. You preach election,
don't you? And he said, yes, I do. You preach that God chose who
he would save. He said, that's right. She said,
I don't know about that. I don't think I can go along
with that. I don't think I agree with that. I just can't see that. He said, well, let me ask you
a question. Are you saved? And she said, oh yeah. He said,
well, who saved you? Did God save you or did you save
yourself? She said, God saved me. He said, well, did he do
it on purpose or was it an accident? She said, he did it on purpose.
He said, honey, that is election. God saving who he will on purpose. That's election. Acts 15 verse
18 says, known unto God were all his works from the beginning. on purpose, according to purpose. God is a God of purpose. Salvation started with God. It was of the Lord in its origination. Number two, salvation was of
the Lord in its execution. Not only was it purposed by God,
it was done by God. Not only did he desire it and
will for it to happen. Most people get in pulpits and
say, God desires for you to be saved. God wills for you to be
saved. And they're waiting on man to
then do something to make it happen and accomplish it. No. Not only did God desire it in
his heart and will for it to happen. God is the one who accomplished
it. In Isaiah 46, God said, I purposed
it, I'll do it. And he did. God sent his son into this world. Who sent the son of God into
this world? The son of man, son of God, son
of man. Who did? God did. God sent his
son into this world. God sent his son to a cross. God sent his son to a grave. Isaiah 53 says, it pleased the
Lord to bruise him. Thou hast made his soul an offering
for sin. Yes, wicked men had their hand
in the binding of Him, and the accusing of Him, and the lying
on Him, and the beating of Him, and the stripping of Him, and
the driving of nails into Him, and the mocking, and spitting,
and cursing of Him. But Acts chapter 4 says they
were only doing what God predetermined to be done. Isn't that amazing? Who did all that? Everything that happened in the
suffering and the dying of Christ for His people, all of it was
prophesied in the Old Testament. All of it. His death was no accident. It
was no surprise. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, for
this very cause came I into the world. This is what I came to
accomplish. Without the Lord Jesus Christ
doing what he did, accomplishing what he did in salvation, there
would be no salvation. There would be no salvation.
Salvation was of the Lord in its origination. Salvation was
of the Lord in its execution. And salvation is of the Lord
in its application. the applying of it to God's people. God is the one who gives it. God is the one who applies it. He is the one who quickens his
people to it. That's not in man's ability at
all. That's by God's spirit alone.
That quickening is not in man's power at all. That's by the Spirit
of God alone. That is in His hands to do how,
when, and where He wants to do it. God saves people how, when,
and where He wants to save them. I cannot meet with anybody and
lead them to Christ. Okay, I'm going to lead you to
Christ. Last night, somebody told me
to, so I came over and right there, I led them to Christ.
It doesn't work that way. I can preach until I am blue
in the face for 50 years and either God never turns the light
on or 50 years later a person says, wait a minute, or it could
take 50 seconds. Salvation is of the Lord. Are
you serious? Salvation is not in man's hands.
It's not your decision. It's not your will. It's not
your deeds. It's not your anything. It's
not your goodness. It's not your righteousness.
It's not your holiness. It's not your anything. Salvation's
of the Lord. In its origination, in its execution,
in its application, salvation's of the Lord. Well, that's exactly
what it says. There it is. I pray all the time. Lord, open someone's eyes today. Mine first. I believe God has
opened my eyes. I'd like for him to open them
again because every morning when I wake up, my flesh wants to
close them. Lord, open my eyes again today.
Let me see Christ again today and open somebody's eyes somewhere. I don't care if I'm preaching
or not. I don't care if it's in Kingsport or not. Just open
somebody's eyes somewhere. That's not by man's might, that's
by God's Spirit. He does it how, when, and where
He wants to do it. He said, I will be merciful to
whom I will be merciful. We have to bow to that. He said,
I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. John 5 says, the
Son quickeneth whom He will. John 6 says, no man or woman
can come to Christ except the Father which sent Christ. Draw
that man or woman. First Samuel 12 says, it pleased
the Lord to make you his people. It pleased the Lord to make you
his people, to make you believe, to make you come, to make you
call, to make you fall. He said, my people will be willing
in the day of my power. It is God which worketh in us
both to will and do. Romans 9 says, it is not of him
that willeth, nor of him that runneth, it's of God that showeth
mercy. Can we see salvations of the
Lord? Salvations of the Lord. This is what the apostle Paul
said. He said, when it pleased God, who separated me from my
mother's womb and called me by his grace, he revealed his son
in me. Now, wait a minute, when did
that happen, Paul? when it pleased God. That's when it happened. He called me by His grace. Grace. Grace. A sinner's ears
is open to this thing of grace. Everybody knows the word grace.
Everybody sings amazing grace. But it's not until God reveals
it and quickens a person to it that they really see what grace
is and that they see who grace is. Grace, grace. That's all a child of God has
is shoutings of grace. That's all we have is grace.
He chose me. He called me. He revealed his
son in me. The salvation of Christ alone
in me. All right, number four. Salvation
is of the Lord. in its sustaining power. And what that means is we're
being kept by the power of God. Have you ever heard somebody
say, now if you don't stop sinning, you're going to lose your salvation.
You ever heard that? No man or woman can keep himself
or herself in the saving grace of God. It takes the power of
God to do that. God does not point his people
in the direction of glory and say, now you go ahead now, do
the best you can. And if you make it, I'll meet
you there. He does not do that. The scripture says he carries
his people all the way. Aren't you so glad for that?
In Luke 15, our Lord gave that parable of him laying that sheep
on his shoulder and carrying that sheep all the way home,
rejoicing, saying, rejoice with me for I have found my sheep,
which was lost. I went out and got my sheep and
I have carried it all the way home. Scripture says he brings
us to God. That's how it works. He brings
his people to God. Philippians 1.6 says he which
hath begun a good work in you will perform it all the way to
the day of Jesus Christ. I'll never leave you. I'll never
forsake you. That's comforting. It's so comforting.
Salvation is of the Lord. In the origination of it, in
the execution of it, in the application of it, in the sustaining power
of it, and number five, in the ultimate final perfection of
it. In Christ, our sin has been dealt
with and it has been paid for and it's finished. But we are still walking around
in the sin ruined bodies. We all know it. We are still
dragging around these dead, sin-ruined bodies. And the scripture says
this body cannot enter glory. This body of corruption, this
body of mortality, it cannot enter God's presence. It has
to be changed. Well, I can't do that for myself.
In order for me to enter glory, this sin and the effects of sin
is going to have to get out of my body. It's going to have to
be removed from my body inside and out. I'm going to have to physically
be perfected inside and out, holy, pure, righteous, inside
and out. I can't accomplish that for myself.
If this is going to happen, God Almighty is going to have to
do that for me. Well, the glorious news of salvation
is Christ is able to do that for me. He is able to do that
for us. Paul said Christ is able to change
these vile bodies. Jude said Christ is able to keep
us from falling and to present us faultless before the presence
of God's glory. Christ said he is able to raise
us up at the last day. Salvation is totally, completely
beginning to end of the Lord. Now, with that being set forth,
I hope clearly declared, Let me end this message by telling
you this, okay? God, whose salvation is in the
hands of, totally in the hands of, totally in the hands of. I remember when the Lord started
really opening my mind, my ears, my heart to the fact that this
is really in God's hands. It's really God's choice and
I don't have a say in the matter. That scared me to death. That
scared me to death. I don't have a say. I can't influence
Him. This is in His hands alone. Okay.
All right. God who holds salvation in His
hands. This God is plenteous in mercy. This is important to know. Salvation
is of the Lord. It's His doing, His will. This
God is plenteous in mercy. This God right here who holds
salvation delights to show mercy. He delights to show mercy. And
he delights to show it to lost, ruined sinners. Christ came into
this world to save sinners. He came to seek and to save that
which was lost. He came to be gracious. The Lord is gracious. Zerubbabel
is the one shouting grace, grace unto it. Do we see that in this
text here? Zerubbabel is the one shouting
grace, grace unto the house of God. What is the house of God? That's his people. His people
he purposed the work of salvation for. Could he be gracious to
us? Could he be merciful to us? The
answer is yes. Yes. Every soul, and every time
I read over this, I get it a little bit more. Let me see if the Lord
will let you enter into this. Every soul who comes, and if
a person comes, it's because they are brought. It's because
it's all the work of the Lord. We've already established all
that. Every soul who is brought to the salvation of the Lord. Some people are brought to the
salvation of a decision. Are you going to make your decision?
Yes, I'm going to make my decision. Okay, then you're saved. Why
are you saved? Because I made my decision. That's
the salvation of a decision. You're going to get in that water
or not? Yes or no? Okay, I'll get in the water.
All right, then you're saved. Why are you saved? Because I
got baptized. That's the salvation of baptism. Are you going to
this? Are you going to that? Okay. Every soul who is brought to
the salvation of the Lord, Does that strike you? Every soul who
is brought to the salvation of the Lord, the salvation that
starts with the Lord, the salvation that is accomplished of the Lord,
the salvation that is applied by the Lord, the salvation that
keeps going because of the Lord, and the salvation that ends at
the Lord. Every soul that is brought to the salvation of the
Lord. Every soul who comes needing
the salvation of the Lord. Every soul who sees I'm such
a sinner, my only hope is the salvation of the Lord. Every soul who comes to the salvation
of the Lord will have it. Every soul will receive it. This
man whose salvation is in his hands, this man receives sinners. Sinners in need of mercy. He
said, the whole do not need a physician, the well do not need a physician,
but the sick do. This man receives sick sinners. Christ died for sinners. Now,
is that us? Is that us? If it is, then the
salvation of the Lord is for us. Run to the Lord, look to
the Lord, There's grace for the guilty in the salvation of the
Lord. There's mercy for the miserable in the salvation of the Lord.
There is grace, grace, shoutings of grace for every soul who needs
it. Every soul who finds it and receives
it will say, Christ laid the foundation. Christ laid the top
stone. Salvations of the Lord. Christ
started it. Christ finished it. Salvations
of the Lord. Amen.