6 Sarah Zachariah chapter 6 and
We would like to read verses 9 through 13 Now a preacher a
long time ago gave me an outline for the Bible, and I've used
it many times since I've been here It's very simple It's easy
to remember the Old Testament declares someone is coming The
Gospels declare someone is here. And Acts to Revelation declares
someone's coming back. Now, if you know the Gospel,
you know who that someone is. The Old Testament declared that
Christ is coming. The Messiah is coming. Help is
coming. Now, to a lot of people, they,
like it tells us in the New Testament, since our fathers have fallen
asleep, the same thing is being said. But there were some in
the Old Testament that understood that God would keep his promise. And those, God had given them
faithfulness and faith to believe the word of God. Now, in this
passage of scripture that we're going to look at, we find that
Zechariah, like many other writers of the Old Testament, was used
to give sign along the time someone's coming. Someone is coming, and
he uses it in his prophetic statements about the Lord, using God gave
him the ability to see types and shadows, the Holy Spirit
revealed unto him the ability to see types and shadows in those
folks that were near him, and even into this man Joshua that
was the high priest. He's going to be identified as
a type and a shadow and a picture of the one who is coming to take
care of the problem, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now beginning with
verse 9, it says, And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
Underline that at least in your mind, because this is the word
of the Lord. This is God's word. This is God's word to his people.
The Bible is God's words to his people. Never written to the
world, it was written to the church. And it is the church
that understands some things about it. Now, it goes on, take
of them of the captivity, even Hildah, Dei, and Tobijah, and
Jediah, which are come from Babylon. Now apparently, these people
have just arrived from Babylon as many others had arrived from
Babylon after 70 years of captivity. They were put there on purpose,
and they were released on time. Cyrus, the king, is mentioned
in the book of Isaiah as being directed by God to release those
that were in captivity. And here come a few more. Now
they're carrying something that is of great value to them, as
it is today. It tells us that they come, thou
the same day, and go into the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah,
and then take gold and silver and make crowns. Apparently,
these people were bringing something from Babylon, from the Jews in
Babylon, to come down to Jerusalem to be used in the construction
of the temple. Now, it says here, set them upon
the head of Joshua, the son of Josedek, the high priest. So
apparently, Zachariah is going to make, or someone of his appointee
is going to make a crown of gold and a crown of silver. Now I
was reading a number of commentaries and one of them finally made
a little sense about this. One is going to fit on the inside
of the other. Now this is so pictorial of the
Lord Jesus Christ being the God man. There was not anything about
him that was an alloy. He was the holy man and he was
God Almighty and put together in some great fashion that God
ordained in the covenant of grace before the foundation of the
world. We have the God man come. So this man, Joshua, the high
priest, is being used here as the construction of these crowns
and put together on his head. Go meet these folks that are
coming from Babylon. It's what God shared with Zachariah. They're going to be bringing
some gold and they're going to be bringing some silver and make
you crowns. At least two crowns. I'm just
going to say there were two. The one silver and the other
gold and set them, put both of them up on his head. The circumstances
that are in this passage of scripture are of the utmost importance
because we see a high priest crowned with a crown, given a
regal appointment, given a kingship. Now it doesn't tell us that he
was the king over the temple or it doesn't tell us he's the
king over Jerusalem. It doesn't tell us he's the king over Israel.
It doesn't tell us he's the king over Judah. It just simply tells
us that this high priest is given these two crowns, and then we
get to look at the very next verse here, and it tells us verse
12, and speak unto him saying, thus speaketh the Lord of hosts.
saying, behold the man whose name is the branch. Now there's some similarities
Zachariah could share with regard to Joshua and having these two
crowns upon him, but the similarities end at his flesh. Because this
man is just like the rest of all men, sinners. We can say,
as Joshua could say, sinners saved by grace. But that's it. He had nothing to do with his
position before Christ because he was born just like all men
are, dead in trespasses and sin. Now this one is going to be a
picture, a reflection, a signpost, a marker in the time. Now we could go through the scriptures
and I just picked out a few of them. They're very familiar passages
of scripture that remind us of this passage of scripture that
God said throughout the Old Testament, someone is coming. There's going
to be someone able to take care of the problem. take care of
the problem of the fall, take care of the problem of the natural
mind, the natural heart, take care of that problem, and eventually
be able to take care of the problem of this decaying dead flesh that
we carry about with us that begins to die as soon as we're born.
So that promise is going to be made. Now remember what it says
in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15, And it isn't even spoken
to Adam and to Eve. That wonderful promise mentioned
in Genesis chapter three, verse 15, is a direct condemnation
of the serpent. And in that condemnation of that
serpent, we get a great value in the promise that God would
send someone to take care of the problem. Just flip over there
for a moment so that we can read that. Genesis chapter 3 and verse
15, someone's coming from the very beginning, someone is coming.
Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15, as we find right here, just after
the fall, it was an event that took place that God knew well
what was going to happen. God purposed well what was going
to happen. God had already intervened in
the covenant of grace. He already had a lamb slain.
He already had the appointee. He already had the one coming.
Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15, the scripture share then, I will
put in between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her
seed. Now this is not to Adam and Eve. This is directed to
something else. But guess what? The church gets
to overhear it and rejoice in it. It says there, I'll put enmity
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed,
and it shall bruise thy head. Now, I appreciated a couple of
verses that were brought out in a Bible class on Sunday about
God dealing with Satan. Most of the people in the religious
world today believe what's going on is caused by Satan. God's
people understand that that's not right. Satan has been taken
care of. It's natural man's heart and
God permitting people to do what they're doing. Men, all men are
on the chain of God. All the non-elect are on the
chain of God. They can only go so far. And
when he allows them to go farther, it's because he allowed them
to go farther. So here we have the promise given now to Adam
and to Eve. We say, how did they comprehend
this? How'd they take it up? Well, apparently they understood
something because the name of their first son was, he's here.
They understood something about it. Well, through every generation,
there was this constant reminder that someone is coming. Turn
with me, if you would, to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 18.
Deuteronomy chapter 18. Moses brings up this subject
in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 18, announcing that someone's
coming. And it's very interesting, when
you look at the book of John chapter 1, when those Pharisees
came to examine John, they asked him about this very person mentioned
in Deuteronomy chapter 18 and verse 15. The Lord thy God will
raise up unto thee a prophet. Now, our translators put a capital
P there, and that's good. It'd have been okay if they'd
have put all capitals there, just like they did in branch
over in the book of Zechariah. Going to raise unto thee a prophet
from the midst of thee. What? We look back and say, well,
that's just so, look at that, that's just as clear and plain
as God pointing, someone's coming. Moses is announcing this to Israel. Of thy brethren, like unto me,
unto him ye shall hearken. No man shall come unto me, except
the Father which hath sent me. Draw him. They're going to recognize
him. Now, it's interesting in the
first chapter of the book of John that the Pharisees came
and they said, are you the Christ? No, I'm not. Are you Elijah? No, I'm not. Are you the prophet? No, I'm not. All three things. You know, modern day preacher
would have said, yep, yep, and yep. I'll pass the plate while
we're doing this. But this John said, no, I am
not. And that's John chapter 1, verses
19 through 25, if you want to take a look at them. But he just
said, and they brought it up, are you the prophet? Are you
the prophet? No, I'm not. But he did represent
the prophet. He represented the Christ. He
represented the promise of the fulfillment throughout the Old
Testament. Turn with me, if you would, to
the book of Isaiah chapter 7. You know, four months, it's going
to be Christmas Day. So let's just stop here for a
moment in Isaiah chapter 7. Isaiah again, he's got the sign
boards out. He's pointing people. Messiah's
coming. And he's preaching Christ. He's
preaching the gospel. He's preaching. And Christ has
been preached since the very beginning. Christ has been preached. Isaiah chapter 7. Isaiah chapter
7 and there in verse 14. Notice with me. Therefore the
Lord himself shall give you a sign. The Lord's going to do this.
Now, we have to wait for many, many years from this point down
to Bethlehem, but again, the sign is there. Nancy and I crossed
Montana one time. We're glad for the sign boards
along the way. It meant we're getting closer
to the end. That's a long ways across Montana. It's a long ways
from Northern California, I mean the border. to Southern California,
the border. And here it is. All these years
have gone by up to the time of Isaiah, and yet he's still pointing
people in the same direction. Someone's coming. Someone's coming.
The book of, well, let me finish that verse. Behold, I'll give
you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son and call his name Immanuel. Now we can just go
over to the New Testament, read that same verse of scripture.
Because the prophet said, a virgin shall conceive and call his name
Emmanuel. Emmanuel means God with us. God with us. Just like that prophet. Out of
the peoples, this man will raise up. And then, if you'll turn
with me to the book of Daniel. Two verses in the book of Daniel.
Chapter 2 and verse 44. Chapter 2 and verse 44. Someone's coming. Now, a lot
of confusion is, Developed in the minds of people over the
book of Daniel if we just remember one thing Daniel said someone's
coming All we're talking about is Christ is coming The promise
is coming God made a promise He's going to keep the promise
and he's going to come at the appointed time the right time
in fact the book of Daniel shares with us exactly when it would
happen and to those who could discover it. Now it's not important
for us to do that. We know He came at the right
time. We don't have to measure it out. We know He came at the
right time. And just appreciate that lesson
Mike brought about, we don't have to depend on someone telling
us when it's coming. When it happens, when the Lord returns,
people will know it. We don't have to have someone
tell us. Only an evil and adulterous generation seek after the sign,
and no sign shall be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah,
who was three days and three nights in the whale's belly,
so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the
heart of the earth. He promised the resurrection, and if he comes
out of the tomb, He is gonna be faithful to come and get his
own folks out of the north, the south, the east, and the west.
He'll bring them from the four winds of the world. All right,
Daniel chapter two, verse 44. The scripture said, and in the
days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom.
In the days of these kings. Now I remember when the common
market countries were the 10 toes. Foolishment. What would they
think of 28 common market countries now? What are they thinking?
Foolishment, which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom
shall not be left for other people, but it shall break in pieces
and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. God's
kingdom will stand forever, has stood forever, will stand forever,
and it will break up every other religious kingdom when it comes
to his people. When he comes to his lost sheep,
however trapped they are in whatever religion they are in, he will
break that trap and reveal Christ to them. And then in the same
book, Daniel chapter 9 and verse 24, someone's coming, someone's
coming. Daniel chapter 9, and there are
many other places in the Bible that these same things are brought
up time and time again. Verse 24, 70 weeks are determined
upon thy people and upon the holy city. To finish transgression
if there was as much time spent on the rest of this verse of
scripture as it spent on the first three words There to be
a lot better understanding because he goes on to tell us 70 weeks
are determined upon thy people upon the holy city to finish
the transgressions to make an end of sins and Daniel chapter
9 verse 24, to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation
for iniquity, to be reconciled, to be put back on friendly terms
with God again, to bring in everlasting righteousness. Boy, the next
person that ever brings this verse up to me, I'm just going
to say, okay, let's finish the rest of the verse, because that's
just two words out of it. and to seal up the vision and
prophecy and to anoint the most holy. That's Christ. Now, he
was anointed before the foundation of the world, but every time
he saves somebody, we, by the grace of God, get to announce
him as king. We announce him, he is my king. He is my king. All right. Now, let's go over to the book
of Zechariah for just a moment. In the book of Zechariah, we
read these words there in verse 12. And we'd like to spend a
little time tonight. We'd like to spend a little time
tonight on the plant of renown. The plant of renown. Here it
says in verse 12 of chapter 6. And speak unto him saying, thus
speaketh the Lord of hosts saying, behold the man whose name is
the branch. And it shall grow up out of his
place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. I wish I
could get a hold of that. He shall build, how does he build
his temple? He saves people. He's not going
to build a physical temple. He's building a temple by saving
His people from their sins. He's revealing Himself to His
people. He's bringing them out of darkness to His marvelous
light. That's what He's doing. And He has been building His
temple He is building his temple and he will continue to build
his temple just like we have been saved, we are being saved,
and we shall be saved. It's an ongoing issue that God
has for his people. I will neither leave you nor
forsake you. I will continue to be with you
every step. Well, there are three prophets
in the Old Testament that bring up this wonderful subject of
the branch. Would you turn with me over to
the book of Isaiah chapter four. Isaiah chapter
four. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah
bring this up. And in the book of Isaiah chapter
four, Isaiah chapter four, I want to begin reading with verse one,
Isaiah chapter four. Now this is an interesting verse
of scripture to begin this chapter with because we find this going
on. Religious people, God has saved,
can say, this is what I did. This is where I was. But by the
grace of God, he brought me out of that. In that day, seven women
shall take hold of one man. Now they think they're taking
hold of the man. But in religion, we do not take
hold of Christ. We take hold of our own imagination,
our own creation. Saying, we will eat our own bread. Now, Jesus said, I am the bread
of life. And if we're going to be saved,
he is a bread of life. Now these women, just religious
folks, they're saying, we'll eat our own bread. We'll provide
our own bread. We don't need bread. We have
our bread. And we'll wear our own apparel. Now that's like
saying, Christ's righteousness is not sufficient. His food,
his word, is not sufficient. And they go on to say, only let
us be called by thy name. to take away our reproach. Let
me be called a Christian, but I won't weary you by eating your
bread and wearing your clothes. Well, God says, from the very
beginning of that theology, not mine. Now, he saves a lot of
those who are in that category, because we're all there by nature.
We're all there by nature. We're all always saying, I'll
take care of myself. Now, I'll go through baptism.
I'll do this. I'll do that. But by it, I am
earning points. Well, here we have next verse,
verse two. And that day shall the branch
of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the
earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped
of Israel. and it shall come to pass that
he that is left in Zion and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall
be called holy, even everyone that is written among the living
in Jerusalem. And when the Lord shall have
washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, this is speaking
of more than just national Israel, or just a place over there called
Jerusalem, or just a physical temple. This is talking about
the church, what God does for the church. And shall have purged
the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of
judgment and by the spirit of burning, and the Lord will create
a upon every dwelling place of Zion, and upon her assemblies
a cloud of smoke by day, and a shining of a flaming fire by
night." What does that remind you of? As we go through the
book of Numbers, we're going to run into this. We looked at
it in the book of Exodus. Here is that glorious cloud of
God's wonderful providence and caring for his people by day
and a glorious light by night. Who did that represent? That's
Christ, Christ, and Christ. That is the Messiah. That's the
promised one. This is the one that they are
all pointing. He's coming. This one is coming. Don't look for another. This
one is coming. And he came. In all of His glory, with all
of His righteousness, with all of His purpose and promises made,
He came to redeem His people from their sins. And the church
says, hallelujah, because we couldn't do it. We were unable.
And then it goes on to say, verse six, and there shall be a tabernacle
for a shadow in the daytime, from heat and for a place of
refuge, and for a covert from the storm and from the rain.
Hallelujah, what a refuge Christ is to his people. I will never
leave you nor forsake you, and you will never have anything
touch you. What does it say there in the book of Romans? Who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. What storm comes up, what tempest
comes up cannot take away that blessed position that we have
with Christ. And so in that second verse,
in that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful. This
is a branch of the Lord all right again in the book of Isaiah chapter
11 Isaiah chapter 11 in Isaiah chapter 11 we have in verse 1
Isaiah chapter 11 verse 1 For there shall come forth a rod
out of the stem of Jesse now Jesse is a very important person
because through him David came and David is an example of Christ. He's a type and a shadow and
a picture of Christ. Of all the wrongs he ever did, God said, I love him with an
everlasting love. I love him with an everlasting
love. He's a man after my own heart. Now God didn't agree with what
he did. It was the heart of God that was important. All right,
let's notice here. In Isaiah chapter 11, and there
shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, a branch shall
grow out of his roots. And the spirit of the Lord shall
rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
spirit of counsel and might. The spirit of knowledge and of
the fear of the Lord. That's that spirit that we read
about in the scriptures. This is the multiplicity of the
spirit of God, the spirit of the Lord, wisdom and understanding,
counsel and might, and knowledge and fear of the Lord. That only
comes through Christ. He is our righteousness, our
sanctification, our redemption, That's him. All right. And shall
make him a quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, and
shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither shall reprove
after the hearing of his ears. He judges righteously. Righteously. It doesn't depend on who's on
the stand. Who's the judges? He judges righteously. With righteousness shall he judge
the poor and reprove with iniquity for the meek of the earth and
shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the
breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. What's that? His
word. His word. The rod of his mouth
and the breath of his lips And righteousness shall be the girdle
of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. So here
again, someone's coming. Look for this kind of person.
Look at this one. Pilate said, I find no fault
in him. And he understood why they brought
him out. They were upset with him from
a religious standpoint. He didn't agree with their form
of righteousness. All right, and then turn with
me to the book of Jeremiah, second prophet that brings up this branch.
Jeremiah chapter 23, Jeremiah chapter 23. And there in verse
one, Jeremiah chapter 23 in verse one, the branch, this branch
that Zechariah has brought up. Well, Isaiah brought it up, Jeremiah's
bringing it up, and Zechariah will bring it up again. In the
book of Jeremiah chapter 23, 23 verse 1 whoa be unto the pastors
that destroy and scatter the sheep of the pastor, saith the
Lord. Therefore, the saith the Lord God of Israel against the
pastors that feed my people. You have scattered my flock and
driven them away and have not visited them. Behold, I will
visit upon you the evil of your doing, saith the Lord, and I
will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries, whether
I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds,
and they shall be fruitful and increase, and I will set up shepherds
over them that shall feed them, and they shall fear no more,
nor be dismayed, neither shall be lacking." Now, that doesn't
mean that we're not going to have fear, but we're not going
to have fear about what the Word of God has to say. We'll come
to an understanding. God will reveal that. And behold,
the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David
a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and
shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. Now notice verse
six. And in this day Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell
safely, and this is the name whereby he shall be called the
Lord our righteousness. Here's a big signboard. Whoa. Lord, our righteousness. He is a righteous branch. He is the righteous branch. He is the righteousness of his
people. Don't lose heart, folks. Things
are really, if you lived in the days of Jeremiah, you'd say things
are going pretty bad. It's a terrible place to live.
And yet he just kept saying, Look over there. His promise
is coming. His promise. He will come. And
then, in Jeremiah 33, Jeremiah 33 verse 14. Jeremiah 33 and
verse 14. Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have
promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In
those days, and at that time, will I cause the branch of righteousness
to grow up unto David. And he shall execute judgment
and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be
saved and Jerusalem shall dwell safely. And this is the name
whereby she shall be called the Lord of Righteousness. So the
branch, we got this branch, it's been planted. It's always been
along here and every generation this branch has been there. This
branch has been sharing with people the glories of the gospel,
the glories of God, the glories of salvation, and also the terror
of the fall. How great it was that we would
be dead in trespasses and what qualities God exercised in his
ability to save that kind of folk. We read this some time
ago, but going back to the book of Jeremiah, excuse me, Zechariah,
Zechariah 3, verse 8. Here it was brought up earlier
in this book. Zechariah 3, verse 8. Here now, O Joshua, the high
priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, For there
are men wondered at, for behold, I will bring forth my servant
the branch. I'll bring him forth, sign after
sign after sign. Now there was only a few that
saw these signs. Only a few understood what it
meant. But those few were going to be
saved and saved completely. Religious people would go on,
drift on, not see him, not pay attention to him, just as we
read there. Concerning those pastors that have scattered the
flock they didn't pay any attention to the sign the sign is pointing
to Christ The sign is the gospel the sign is for his people now
as we look there at Zechariah chapter 6 and verse 12 we find
that as those two crowns were placed upon Joshua the high priest
a symbol of a king priest is brought before our eyes a man
with crowns Already the high priest is brought before our
eyes and We find in that the glorious picture of the God man
But he is prophet. He is that prophet that Moses
spoke about wrote about and those those Unbelievers came to John
and asked are you this prophet Christ is the prophet? He is
the priest He's the high priest, he's the great high priest. And
he is the king of kings and lord of lords. And in that moment
when Zechariah put those crowns upon his head, he is identifying
the fulfillment of this one is the Messiah. Joshua's name means
what we read in the New Testament as Jesus. Joshua's name means
Savior. So we have the God man, Emmanuel,
pictured here, the Savior. Here he is, a picture of him.
But don't just worship him. Don't fall down before him. You
fall down before the Lord. You fall down before Christ.
Now, there is a verse of scripture over in the book of Ezekiel.
Would you turn there with me? Ezekiel chapter 34. Ezekiel chapter
34, and I wanna read verses, begin with verse 24, because
in this passage of scripture, it speaks of a plant of renown. plant of renown now this is truly
as we followed this branch through the scriptures as we follow these
signposts through the scriptures of the promise the prophecy and
Christ is the fulfillment of prophecy in the book of of Ezekiel
Ezekiel 34 verse 24 we're going to read about a plant of renown. Ezekiel chapter 34 verse 24,
it says, and I will be their God and my servant David, a prince
among them. I, the Lord, have spoken it.
And I will make with them a covenant of peace and will cause the evil
beast to cease out of the land. That doesn't mean all the lions
are going to be gone. You're going to settle our heart down.
And they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in
the woods, and shall make them a place round about my hill a
blessing. And I'll cause the shower to
come down in his season, and there shall be showers of blessings. and the tree of the field shall
yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and
they shall be safe in their land. He's talking about spiritual
things here. He's not talking about physical
things here. Very little of the prophecies of the Old Testament
are talking about physical things. By and large, they're speaking
of spiritual things, just like Christ spoke of spiritual things.
He used the figure of bread, but he was not talking about
wholesome bread or flourish bread. He's talking about the bread
of life. He talked about a door, but he didn't talk about that
door. He's talking about himself as a door. He didn't talk about
a glass of water when he talked about himself. He talked about
himself being the water of life, spiritual life. And the tree of the field, verse
27, shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase,
and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am
the Lord when I have broken the bands of their yokes. What does that mean? He put sin
away, set us free, took us out of prison, however you want to
look at it, and delivered them out of the hand of those that
serve themselves of them. And they shall no more be prey
to the heathen, neither shall the beasts of the field devour
them, or the land devour them. You know what God does when he
saves his people? He gives them a mind to know
the truth, to identify the truth, to see the truth and know the
truth. He gives them a mind to do that. We didn't have that
ability before we're saved, but after we're saved, we're given
the ability to know the truth. We can hear someone preaching
and say, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, I don't think I have
to come back here. Or, oh my goodness, I've been
looking for this. I've been looking for this. But
they shall dwell safely and none shall make them afraid. And I'll
raise up for them a plant of renown. And they shall be no
more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame
of the heathen anymore. A plant of renown. Now, sometimes
I'm just plain curious. And I had to know what that word
renown meant. Now I thought it would be, I've
been using renown, a plant of renown, but it's a plant of renown.
And this word means to be high, elevated, standing out raised
up a title of distinction. Now this is used many, many times
in the Bible, but I want to read just a few verses in the book
of the Psalms that use the same word, and it is about the Lord
our Savior. He is our plant of renown. He
sticks out. He is high. He's elevated. He's
imminent. And that's what God people will
feel about Christ, that He has the preeminence. He is renowned. He is elevated. He's not my co-pilot. He's the King of Kings. He's
not just some friend that comes down and visits with us sometimes.
He is the Holy One of Israel. Well, here, turn with me to the
Psalms. I want to start with Psalm 5.
Psalm 5. Verse 11, and I'm gonna read
several verses here in the Psalms, just one right after another,
but this word name is used in it, and this is the word renown
over here. We're gonna take a short rabbit
trail, but it is so important about this branch, this plant
of renown. It has so much color about it
when it comes to the Messiah, to the Lord Jesus Christ. In
Psalm 5, and there in verse 11, Psalm 5 and verse 11, But let
all those that put their trust in thee rejoice, save people. Let them ever shout for joy,
save people. Because thou defendest them,
let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. Now most people
don't know the plant of renown and don't know anything about
the name. They don't understand what that is. Jesus. I love Jesus. I love Jesus. I
love Jesus. But this is a plant of renown.
His name is imminent. I mean, it is high. It is elevated. It is standing
out. It's raised up. It's high. And
that's what He wants us to know about Him. I am a Savior that
saves His people from their sins. I'm not just a casual Savior,
I am the Savior. And then quickly, turn with me
to chapter seven and verse 17. Chapter seven, I will praise
the Lord according to his righteousness and will sing praise to the name
of the Lord most high, the plant of renown, the imminent one,
the high and lifted up one. And then quickly, chapter eight.
Chapter eight and verse one. It says, O Lord, our Lord, how
excellent is thy name. Exalted, lifted. He's just not
one of us. He is Emmanuel. He's the savior
of people. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent
is thy name in all the earth, who has set thy glory above the
heavens. And in that same chapter, verse
9, O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth,
how imminent How liflofty, a plant of renown, to be honored, glorified. Chapter 9, verse 2, I will dwell
and rejoice in thee. I will sing praises to thy name,
O thou most high. Now, if you'll jump real quickly
back over to the book of Genesis chapter 11. Genesis chapter 11, this is the
building of the Tower of Babel after the flood. Sometime later,
here in the book of Genesis chapter 11, and this is how we have all
the languages of the world. Separate languages, this has
happened here on purpose. But notice with me here in chapter
11 verse 4, chapter 11 verse 4. And they said, these are the
ones that are building the Tower of Babel, Let us build us a city
and a tower whose top may reach into the heaven, and let us make
a name. Now that's the same word. Let
us have the imminence. Let us have the preeminence.
Let us have the lofty place. Let us be lifted up. Let us have
a free will. Goes on to sell us their whose
top may reach into the heavens, and let us make a name, lest
we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. Let
us have the imminence. Let us have the preeminence.
Let us have the superiority. Show everyone who we are. Same word. We're going to close it tonight.
We'll pick this up next week at the same place. We're not
quite finished. with the plant of renown, the branch. The branch. The Lord is the branch. He's
the plant of renown. His name is glorious.