What a pleasure it is to be here
tonight. We welcome each one, and we welcome those who have
joined us by Zoom. We're going to be in the book
of Zechariah. Zechariah chapter 10. As I was
going through the lesson tonight, it reminded me of a plant that
my dad planted many, many years ago. It was a blackberry plant. Now, some people may ask, why
in the world would he plant a blackberry plant? Well, where I grew up
at 4,800 feet, once in a while, we had one or two black, in quotes,
berries show up. Now, they were bitter to the
core. And I wondered why we'd have such a thing. Well, I didn't
realize until I met Nancy and went to visit her folks on the
coast. And she asked me to go blackberry picking. that that
was real blackberry picking, because I could fill a gallon
bucket in five feet on this and eat half of them. Well, that's
kind of the way it has been here in the book of Zechariah. We
haven't moved very far, but the bucket continues to be full.
We continue to see the rich blessings of our Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ, declared by this faithful gospel preacher. Now today I
was visiting with a young man and I asked him this question
as I read a passage of scripture from the book of, I believe it's
1 Peter, about Noah was a preacher of righteousness. And I asked
this question, I says, was Noah a successful preacher? He says,
I've never thought about that. I said, well, the scriptures
tell us, or it's assumed that there was about 100 years that
it took to build the ark, and while that time he preached,
he was a preacher of righteousness. Was he a successful preacher?
I don't know. Well, how many people went on
the ark with him? Eight. Now success was not measured
by numbers. Success is measured by faithfulness. He was a faithful preacher. Now
these are some times, tough times, that Zachariah is preaching under,
but he's a faithful gospel preacher during all of this time. And
much of this chapter was written in verse, in original, so we're
not going to take everything literally. That's a big mistake
we make when we look at the Old Testament and take it literally.
It is spiritually discerned. And here in these first few verses,
we've seen many things that are spiritual and for blessings for
the church. And there are blessings to claim.
I want to read verses 1 through 6 of this 10th chapter of the
book of Zechariah. ask ye the lord rain in the time
of the latter rain so the lord shall make bright clouds and
give them showers of rain so everyone grasps in the field
for the idols now he compares God compares the Lord, compares
where rain comes from, comes from Him, and the idols have
spoken vanity. And diviners have set a lie. Now this is just those who are
preaching not the truth. Those are those shepherds that
weren't feeding the flock, and they didn't have anything to
feed to begin with. So it goes on to say here, and have false
dreams, they comfort in vain, therefore they went their way
as a flock. They were troubled because there
was no shepherd. My anger was kindled against
the shepherds, and I punished the goats, for the Lord of hosts
has visited his flock, the house of Judah, and hath made them
as a goodly horse in battle." So the Lord compares the house
of Judah with the church. Many times in the Old Testament,
when he uses the word house of Judah or Judah or Israel, he's
speaking about the church. Now we know that not all Israel
represented the church. Not all Israel knew anything
about the gospel. In fact, we find very much the
opposite for all of those folks died in unbelief. They had the
gospel preached unto them, but it was not mixed with faith.
And we know who puts the faith in. A cake doesn't put oil in. A cake mix does not put the eggs
in. A cake mix does not put the milk
in. A cake mix does not do those things. It is the person making
the cake. So faith is put in and God didn't
do that. So here we have that there was
no faith by most of them because God did not give it to him and
they all died in unbelief. But there is a picture that we
have here out of all the world. We have one nation chosen by
God to represent what it is for God to choose His people out
of all people. Here we have a picture of the
church. There was no Hivites, Hittites, Jebusites, Egyptians
that were there to have the atonement made for. Now we do know that
in the process of God's good grace that He does save Gentiles.
But as a type, we see it only given to Israel. Then it tells
us here in verse four, out of him came forth the corner, out
of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, and out of him every
oppressor together. Now let's continue through verse
six. And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies
in the mire of the streets in the battle. And they shall fight,
because the Lord is with them, and the riders on the horses
shall be confounded. And I will strengthen the house
of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. And I will bring
them again to place them, for I have mercy upon them, and they
shall be as though I had not cast them off. For I am the Lord
their God, and will hear them." Now this continues in such a
glorious manner through the rest of the chapter, but we're going
to stop there for just a time, and we're going to get our gallon
bucket full of blackberries very quickly here. Out of him came
forth the corners. And we have here four things
that are brought out. Now, there's some cause for issues by various
commentators because some commentators say that the hymn is the Lord
of hosts. And some say that the hymn is Judah. Now, the answer
is Judah is the servant of the Lord of hosts. Now, whatever
we want to come to a conclusion of, the Lord is the master and
Judah is the servant. So whoever it is, behind the
scenes or in the open, God is directing what's going on here
in this verse of scripture out of him. Now if he's going to
use Judah to do it, thank God. And if he's going to use himself
to do it, thank God. But we're going to have here
some things that are such a beautiful picture of what Christ does for
the church. Now all agents, we're going to
find these four things, are agents of the Lord. All agents must
have their commission from Him, the Lord of hosts. Everything
must be granted by the Lord of hosts. He's the first of all
things. Now, one of my wonderful verses
of scripture that I go to, you know, sometimes we just have
a day that needs to read. Daniel chapter 4 verses 34 and
35. Some days just go that way, and we need that. So would you
go with me to the book of Daniel chapter 4? We read this a number
of times with regard to the book of Zechariah, but here we have,
because in the book of Zechariah there's lots of times that the
name Lord of Hosts is used. In Daniel chapter 4 and verse
34 and verse 35, we have Nebuchadnezzar mentioning these words. Now there are times in our lives,
there are times in the day, in the week, in the month. It's
just good to go back here and be reminded of these words that
Nebuchadnezzar shares with us about the Lord of Hosts. It says
here, then all the inhabitants of the earth, excuse me, verse
34, and at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up
mine eyes into heaven, and my understanding returned unto me,
and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him. Sometimes
it's just necessary to go back here and hear these words. We've
had a trial. We've had a problem. We've had
an issue. And we go back here and we find out that God uses
these agents for his glory. And we go back here and we hear
him saying through the mouth of Nebuchadnezzar, he uses people's
mouth. He made a donkey talk one time.
And we could just say, here's another donkey talking, but he's
talking the truth of the gospel. It says there, and I blessed
the most high and I praised and honored him that liveth forever
whose dominion is an everlasting dominion. Sometimes I need to
hear that. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion. He's not changing his mind over
time. And then it says, and his kingdom
is from generation to generation. From the very beginning to the
very end, his kingdom. He's the king that rules over
his kingdom. He is the absolute monarch. And
then in verse 35, and all the inhabitants are reputed as nothing.
You know, left to ourselves, that's the estimation that God
has of the entire world. They are reputed as nothing.
Now, unless the God of Heaven gets involved, unless the Lord
of Glory gets involved, unless the Lord of Hosts gets involved,
we'll go through this life reputed as nothing. But if the Lord of
glory should get involved and save us by his grace and for
his glory, then there is such glory that he pours out that
we will be joint inheritors with the Lord Jesus Christ, heirs
of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. So it's good to read
some of this sometime. And he goes on to tell us here.
And he does according to his will in the army of heaven and
among the inhabitants of the earth. That's what he's going
to do over here in the book of Zechariah. That's what he did
in the book of Ezekiel. That's what he does in the book
of Numbers. He's doing all things according to his purpose, according
to his will. He does his will according to
the will of the army of heaven among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest
thou? So he shuts our mouth before
we open it, really. Thank God he does that. All right,
now there's another passage that's been read many times recently.
Mike has read this a number of times. We've read this a number
of times. And probably we went back to a number of the speakers
that we've had. They've used this passage of
scripture that's over in the book of Acts, chapter two. As we think
about these things are the agents of the Lord. Whether we're talking
about a coroner, whether we're talking about anything that God
uses. He's their agents of the Lord.
And here in the book of Acts, lest we get too confused about
what was going on there at the crucifixion, we hear after the
resurrection, these words that God gave to a preacher of righteousness. And it tells us here in the book
of Acts chapter two and verse 23, Him, the Lord Jesus, He was delivered, being delivered
by the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of God, being delivered
by God. Everything that happened was
an agent of the Lord in that, everything. Pilate was an agent,
the high priest was an agent, Judas was an agent, Peter was
an agent. They were all used by the Lord
for his glory, his honor and praise. And it says, he was delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, but he
rests his case and said, you by wicked hands have crucified
and slain. Now they did it by permission,
but they did it. All right, now let's go back
to the book of Zechariah there in verse four. And out of him
came forth the corner. Now, as we look at this, we find
that this word is often translated cornerstone. Out of him is the
corner. There's verses of scripture that
tell us that there was horns on the four corners of the altar. Takes us right back to the four
winds, the four corners of the earth, wherever God draws his
people. Anyway, we have here the corner. Out of him came forth the corner,
the cornerstone. And it is a well-known emblem
of Christ throughout the scriptures, this cornerstone. In fact, the
Lord brings this to our attention in his ministry, that these passages
of scripture in the Old Testament that referred to a corner or
a cornerstone is talking about the Lord God Almighty. So turn
with me, if you would, to the book of Psalms 118, if you would. Psalms 118, as we look at some
passages that the Lord left through his preachers of righteousness
declaring the gospel in the Old Testament, just as we find them
declaring it in the New Testament, we have here in Psalm 118, verse
19. Psalm 118, verse 19. These wonderful words that are
recorded just as he said, out of him will come the corner.
Out of the Lord will come the corner. Now, we know the Lord
came through the tribe of Judah. So we could say, well, out of
Judah came the corner too. And the corner is, where do they
tell you to stand in a hurricane if you're in a building? In a
corner. That's the strongest part of
a building. So stand in the corner. Stand in Christ. Psalm 118 verse
19. It says the Lord hath chastened
me sore, but he hath not given me over unto death. Open me the
gates of righteousness. I will go into them, and I will
praise the Lord. This gate of the Lord into the
righteous shall enter, and I will praise thee, for thou hast heard
me and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders
refused is become the head of the corner. Now, speaking this
from a spiritual context, nobody picked up on Christ. Nobody picked
up on the Messiah. But he's become the very cornerstone. He's become the very most secure
part of the building. He's the part that the church
is all attached to. And we are secure in that cornerstone. So it says, this is in verse
23, this is the Lord's doing and marvelous in our eyes. So
we are astonished. We're astounded. at the strength
that we have in Christ because he is made the corner. Well,
this continues on through the Old Testament as well as the
New. So move just a little bit to the book of Isaiah, if you
would, and we find another preacher of righteousness is declaring
this, a faithful preacher of righteousness. In Isaiah chapter
28, Isaiah chapter 28. In Isaiah chapter 28, beginning
with verse 14, Isaiah 28 verse 14 says wherefore
hear the word of the lord ye scornful men That rule this people which is
in jerusalem Because ye have said we have made a covenant
with death and with hell Are we at agreement when the overflowing
scourge shall pass through it shall not come unto us For we
have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves.
Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for
a foundation, a stone, a tridestone, a cornerstone, a precious cornerstone,
a sure foundation, he that believeth on him shall not be ashamed or
make haste so the comparison between what we by nature trust
in and what the Lord gives us to trust in there is no comparison
this is a sure corner this is the true corner this is the one
that we have so mentioned throughout the scriptures this is the Lord
of glory in all of his salvation so this is a wonderful place
for us to take and look at it says there In verse 24 there,
it says, let me get in the right place here.
Verse 16, excuse me, verse 16. It says, therefore thus saith
the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion. That's his business. He's doing it. He's prepared
it. He's providing it. He's laid
a foundation stone, a true stone, a precious corner. stone, a sure
foundation, and he that believeth shall not be ashamed or make
haste." So we have this, I'm doing it, I've got it, I'm building
it, and I'm adding the stones to it, and that's the church.
In the New Testament, Matthew chapter 21, verse 42, Matthew
chapter 21, verse 42, we have the Lord picking up on this.
He knows who he is. He's the appointed cornerstone.
He's the one that appointed the cornerstone. And He's the one
that's brought out there in the book of Zechariah, the corner.
I will have the corner. In Matthew chapter 21 and verse
42, Matthew chapter 21, verse 42, Jesus said unto them, did you
never read in the scriptures? Now, can you hear what those
people said? I read the scripture for four
hours this morning. What are you talking about? The
Pharisees, they had phylacteries. They had verses of scripture
all over them. The stone that the builders rejected,
the same is become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's
doing and marvelous in our eyes. Therefore say I unto you, the
kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation,
bringing forth fruits thereof." Well, we know there's only one
that produces fruit. There's the fruit of God, the
fruit of the Spirit. So it says there, have you never
read in the Scriptures? Now, he's just quoting a passage
we just read in Psalm 118 and Isaiah there in 28. Here he is,
quoting those verses of Scripture and saying, I'm the corner. And
unless I reveal unto you that I'm the corner, you're refused. Well, let's look at another place
in the book of Luke, chapter 20. The book of Luke, chapter
20. This wonderful corner. Now, to many, it doesn't look
very safe. To many, it doesn't look very
classy. To many, it doesn't look very appreciable. To many, it
just isn't interested. But in a storm, and he's revealed
that this is the place to be, and we're there in a storm, we
find out just how beautiful a place it is. When we face God, we find
out just what a beautiful place it is, to be found in Him, to
be found in the corner, to be hidden in the corner, to this
wonderful, structural, beautiful place that God has given us in
Christ. And here in the book of Luke
chapter 20, and there in verse 17, And he beheld them and said,
what is this then that is written? The stone which the builders
rejected, the same has become the head of the corner. Whosoever
shall fall upon the stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever
it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. Humble yourselves
before the Lord. And how do we do that? You know,
I used to work a lot at that. There's an impossibility. You
just can't humble yourself before the Lord. Because we humble ourselves
before the Lord and we're proud of it. But He humbles us. And He, cast yourself unto the
Lord. Trust the Lord, don't move a
muscle. Trust Him. And you know, the Lord gives
us the ability to trust Him with all our might. I can't dissect
it, and I can't diagram it. but I know in whom I have believed
and that he is evil." He's the chief corner. He's the cornerstone. Now this is brought up in the
book of Acts chapter 4. This whole subject is a biblical
subject. Do you realize that over there
in the Old Testament if they were to make an altar they were
not to hew those stones? Don't add your works. Leave it
as it is. And that's just the cry out Leave
Christ alone. Don't add anything to Him and
don't take anything away. Don't put your works on Him.
Don't add it. It will destroy. It will destroy. Acts chapter 4 and there in verse
11. Acts chapter 4 and verse 11.
We're going to read verses 11 and 12
there in Acts chapter 4. Verse 11, it says, this is the
stone which was set at nought. What's that word nought mean?
Nothing. Nobody paid any attention to
it. Nought of the builders. Now the Jews, the Pharisees,
the religious people thought they were the builders of the
kingdom of heaven. But this stone, they had nothing to do with.
It was out. It has become the head of the
corner. Who promoted it to that position? The Lord God Almighty. Neither is there salvation in
any other. This is the meaning of this.
For there is none of the name under heaven given among men
whereby we must be saved. He is the corner. He is the head
of the corner. This is him. And Paul brings
this up in the ninth chapter of the book of Romans. The ninth
chapter of Romans, verse 33. Romans chapter 9 verse 33, as
it is written, we have this subject brought up again, that there
is only one corner, and it is the Lord's corner. He has brought
this through the covenant of grace in Romans chapter 9 verse
33, as it is written, behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone
and a rock of offense, and whosoever believeth on him shall not be
ashamed. You know, to religion, it is a stumbling stone. I cannot
find any other place where the enmity that natural man has is
so displayed as it is when it comes to people's interpretation
of the Bible. Well, my God wouldn't do that. That's not in my Bible. I've
never read that. That's just enmity against the
Word of God because God's people are brought to a place they will
believe the Word of God. over in the book of 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 3. This
is brought up again. It's so important. This is the
chief corner. This is the corner in Zion. I
lay in Zion. This is the church's only hope.
This is the only position that we can have, is in this corner. He's the cornerstone. He's laid
in Zion. What's Zion? That's the church.
Outside of him, there is no church. With him, there is the church.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, and there in verse 11, for other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus
Christ. We can't lay. The foundation has been laid. We'll agree with it or disagree
with it. If we agree with it, Lord has had to work a work.
So here it is. And then, if you'll turn with
me to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2. And verse 20, and are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse
20, Jesus Christ himself being the chief coroner. I will bring
out the coroner. I'm not going to leave it up
to anyone else. Any other corner is not the corner. This is the
corner. Jesus Christ the righteous. He's
the chief corner. Now the word stone is there in
italics. It wasn't in the original. It's been put there hopefully
for clarity. Sometimes it does and sometimes
it doesn't. And one other place is over in
the book of 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. Psalms, Isaiah, Matthew, Luke,
Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians. And now in 1 Peter
2, verse 6, 1 Peter 2, verse 6, wherefore also it is contained
in the scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone,
elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be
confounded. unto you therefore which believe
he is precious. This is a safe place to be in
the corner. But unto them that be disobedient,
the stone which the builders disallowed is become the head
of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense,
even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient,
whereunto also they were appointed." They've met their appointment.
But it's over the same corner. The church has found contentment. The church has found safety.
The church has found security. But those without Christ, they
have found only a stumbling stone, disbelief, and we find out even
at that, they were appointed to that. So the church has found
a place, a covert in the storm, a satisfactory place to rest,
and nothing can get to the church in that position. Well, as we
go back to the book of Zechariah, we find that that's only one
out of three things that the Lord brings up in that one verse
of scripture. We may have a couple of buckets of blackberries in
this verse of scripture, but in the book of Zechariah, again,
There in chapter 10, the next thing that's brought up in that
verse of scripture, verse 4, out of him came forth the corner,
out of him the nail. Now, this word is used a number
of times over in the book of Exodus when it was the pins that
held down the tabernacle curtains or the curtains outside. Those pins were to be made of
brass and they were long pins. Now the reason I know they're
long pins because one of them was used at one time. A guy fell
asleep on the ground and a lady went over there and pinned him
to the ground. So they were long pins and they made the tabernacle
secure. Now one year, first year, second
year I went elk hunting up in the Heppner area. There was a
positive thing. I got my help, but we went set
up our tent didn't put any pins in Through the tent we went down
in the canyons to do some Scouting before season started came back
the wind had come up and our tent now. It was a big wall tent
was completely upside down off of Our beds were still there
Our bedrolls were in place, everything was in place, nothing was disturbed,
but the covering was upside down. Well, when we got it set back
up, we made sure that we pinned it down. Now, there have been
times when I've hunted with these guys, and we're there dark, dark
30, and they say, we need to put some pins down. I understand
now why. Now, I find that this is so comforting
for the church that he pins us down. He secures us. It's not our security, it's his
security. He's the one that pins us down.
So let's look at this a little bit as we think about this nail. They're tent pegs. They're used
to support the tabernacle. They're used to the courtroom,
courtyard curtains, and they're made of brass, and they're used
about 10 out of the 19 times in the book of Exodus when it's
describing the building of that. We find out that of Him is our
tent peg. He's our tent peg. It's not us. There's no security in us. If He should regard iniquity,
who shall stand? So I find out that my security
is not me. My security is not you. My security
is not this church. My security is the one who is
the tent pin, the tent peg, and he drives it through us and we
are secure. The book of Isaiah, would you
turn with me to Isaiah 22? We have here in this passage
of scripture, it talks about a nail. In Isaiah chapter 22,
now the Lord takes care of his people. He does not leave them
high or dry. He takes care of them. He is
the sure foundation. He is the cornerstone. Everything
that we need is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. And now, where's
our security? He's our pin. He's the one that
takes this tent and pins it down. He puts it in a sure place. Well,
Isaiah chapter 22, Isaiah 22 and verse 23, we have this about
the Lord. Isaiah chapter 22 and verse 23. And I will fasten him as a nail
in a sure place." Now, this is talking about Eliakim. If you
look in verse 20, the son of Hilkiah. Now, the Lord is the
anti-type of this man. He was used. Now, those in authority
can be used as pins. They can help with society. They
can help with law. They can take care of problems.
But the antitype of Hilkiah, him, as it tells us here, I will
fasten him as a nail in a sure place. And he shall be for a
glorious throne to his father's house. Now this is reflective
of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is he, I will fasten
him as a nail in a sure place. Now our securities depend upon
that nail in a sure place. You know, as we think about this,
we find that there's another passage, and we've already went
through it when we were going through the book of Ezra. Back
up to the book of Ezra, but in actuality, when it comes to chronological,
we're going ahead of Zechariah. In Ezra chapter 9. Ezra chapter
9 and verse 8. Now here, we have a nail in a
holy place. Over here, we have a nail in
a sure place. Well, when we look at Christ,
we have a sure place, but it's a holy place. In the book of
Ezra, chapter 9, verse 8, and now for a little space, grace
hath been showed from the Lord our God to leave us a remnant
to escape and to give us a nail in his holy place. Ezra 9, verse
8. and give us a nail in his holy
place that our God may lighten our eyes and give us a little
reviving in our bondage." Wow. We thought a lot of that when
we went through, but when we look at that he's our nail, he's
our tent peg, it takes on more meaning because we have here,
we have a nail in a holy place. The Lord our God is holy. And he said, except we be holy
like he is holy, we'll not see the holy God. So that holiness
has to be given to us. It's given as a gift. It's imputed
to us. It's blessed to us. But we're secure in this holiness. And then it's a sure place. He is a nail in a sure place. Now when we think about it, It
talks about the stability and the security that we have in
Christ. He is as stable as a rock, because he's called a rock. He
is stable. On Christ hang all the vessels
of mercy. We find no mercy outside of Christ.
On him hangs it all. The covenant of grace is hung
on Christ. All the promises and blessings,
all the glory of the church and the salvation of his people is
hung on Christ. He is a nail in a sure place. He's a nail in a holy place. Now, there in the book of Colossians,
it tells us about something that was nailed to the cross. A sure place, a holy place. Christ took it. Jump over there
with me to the book of Colossians chapter 2, would you? Colossians
chapter 2. We're going to look at a couple
of verses here in Colossians and in the book of John. In Colossians
chapter 2, the church just says hallelujah for this nail. Colossians
chapter 2 and verse 14. This is a glorious place. Blotting
out. Verse 14. Now, we should read
the whole chapter. No, we should read the whole
book, but we're gonna read verse 14. Blotting out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us. Was against us. The law was against
us. But this blotting out the handwriting
of ordinances was against us, which was contrary to us. What? It was weak to the flesh, we
couldn't keep it. and took it out of the way, nailing
it to, what? His cross. I'm so glad he's a
nail in a sure place. He's a nail in a holy place.
And he took all of that stuff that was held against us, and
it was given to him, nailing it to his cross. Now, jump back
with me to the book of John chapter 20. John chapter 20. It never
struck me, like today, when I was going through this, This is what
Jesus did here in John chapter 20 verse 25. John chapter 20
verse 25. In John chapter 20, you remember
how Thomas was railed on. He's an agent though, remember
this. He is an agent. What prevented him? Well, he
was sick. He was visiting his family. He
didn't feel like going to church. I don't know. But he was an agent
of the Lord. And it says here, Thomas 1 of
the 12, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. And
other disciples therefore said unto him, we have seen the Lord.
But he said unto them, except I see the hands, the print of
the nails. and put my finger in the print
of the nails and thrust my hand in his side, I will not believe."
Now, Thomas was a believer, but there was this that he would
not believe. Now, look at this. And after
eight days, again, his disciples were within, and Thomas said
unto them what was with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being
shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
After all that nonsense that these guys have done to the Lord,
ran, lied about him, never knew him. And Peter is the example,
but the rest of them did exactly the same thing. They ran too. And here he says, peace be unto
you. And you know what? He meant every
word of that. He was not trying to set them
up. He was just declaring the truth. Peace be unto you. I am
a nail in a sure place. I am a nail in a holy place.
I am a corner. And he goes on to say, Thomas,
reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands, and reach hither
thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless,
but believing. And Thomas answered and said
unto him, What a glorious conclusion to a bad situation. We would
go through this a hundred times. to come out with this answer, my Lord and my God. A nail in a sure place. A nail
in a holy place. A nail, nail to His cross with
all the allegations against us. And so we have a Savior that
saves. A Redeemer that redeems. a nail
in a sure place, a nail in a holy place, and a corner laid in Zion
that the church found security on. Now, we're not going to have
time to go on to the battle bow. We'll look at that bucket full
of berries next time. But in that verse of scripture
there are two things left. I will draw out the battle bow
and Let's just read that before I mess it up. Zechariah chapter
10, verse 4, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor
together. Every oppressor together. Just
remember, they are all agents of the Lord, doing his will. agents of the Lord. Out of him
shall come forth the corner stone, out of him the nail, out of him
the battle bow, and out of him every oppressor together. And
one of my wonderful verses of scripture, who is this that cometh
forth out of Basra with dyed garments? Who is this? He has fought the battle. All
right, we'll stop there and Lord willing we'll pick up at this
point next time and we'll continue to fill our bucket out of the
rich blessings of Zechariah chapter 10.