Thanks so much. Oh, the deep,
deep love of the Lord Jesus. It is indeed vast and unmeasured,
boundless and free. Well, hopefully you've still
got your Bible open to Zechariah chapter 8, or at least you have
a bookmarker there, or a ribbon, so go back to Zechariah chapter
8, Our subject this morning is marvelous grace. Now, the Old
Testament prophets, a lot of people think, well, these are
difficult to understand. And in some ways, they are. But
if we would understand this, the New Testament, I know a lot
of people say, we should preach out of the New Testament. The
New Testament is in the Old Testament, but it is concealed. It's like hidden in the Old Testament. And the Old Testament is in the
New Testament revealed. And really, we just have one
book of God. There is one Bible. The New Testament
is indeed in the Old Testament, but it's hidden. It's hidden
in pictures. It's hidden in types. It's hidden
in prophecies. But as we go to the New Testament,
we understand and we see that in the Old Testament, the same
gospel is set forth, but it's set forth in animal sacrifices. and in the mercies of God that
shone to his people through the shedding of blood of innocent
animals, animals that were innocent of the sins of the people. And
so if we come to the Old Testament, especially the book of Zechariah,
as we've been looking at it for the past several weeks, if we
have that understanding, then the word of God will kind of
come to light for us. And it isn't as difficult to
understand as you might would think if you'll always remember
that the Lord Jesus, He's the subject of all the Bible. And
in the Old Testament, He's seen rather obscurely, obscurely,
kind of in shadows. But He's just as real in the
Old Testament as he is in the New Testament. Zechariah here
is speaking about the salvation of God's people and that it is
a matter of certainty and a matter that is sure. The Lord has said
down here in verse 7, I will save my people. What's God doing
today? I know God's involved in everything
that's going on and He's moving all things according to His own
pace and according to His own purpose. But basically, this
is what God is doing. He's saving His people from their
sins. Now, He saved us by the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus. That is a finished work. We know that, right? The redemption
of our souls, the redemption of our bodies by the blood of
the Lord Jesus is a work that has already taken place. God is satisfied with the sacrifice
of Christ as indicated by the fact that He raised Him from
the dead. And the work that our Lord Jesus
came to do, He said Himself, it is finished, John 19, 30. He has saved His people legally,
legally, in honoring God's law and God's justice. Now today
he has preachers preaching the good news of finished redemption
by Christ And of God's saving, marvelous grace, He has His preachers
preaching this message, and the Spirit of God works in the hearts
of young people and middle-aged people and older folks as well. He works in our hearts, convincing
us that there is no other Savior but the Lord Jesus Himself. Have you been convinced? I have,
I'm convinced by the Spirit of grace, there is no one else that
I should look to for the salvation of my soul except the Son of
God, who loved me and gave himself for me. And I know that God is
today saving His people by revealing the gospel to the hearts of His
children. This is not a time for decision. This is a time for revelation,
for God to reveal to you, to reveal to your heart and to the
hearts of those who are watching, to reveal to our hearts our utter
neediness before God and of the marvelous grace of God to sinners
through the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm totally convinced that
this salvation is by grace, aren't you? There's no worthiness in
me, no fitness in me. Salvation has to be of grace.
It has to be the mercy of God to me through the Lord Jesus
Christ. God says, I will save my people. Now these verses literally and
historically, and they should be dealt with that way first,
is about a people who were taken into captivity about 70 years
before this, actually 72 years before this, because they've
been out of captivity now for two years. They were taken into
captivity by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. And they were
taken into captivity, that is the people of Israel were taken
into captivity because of their idolatry and because they ignored
the Word of God. It's a dangerous thing to ignore
the Scriptures, to ignore what God has to say. It is to court
the wrath of God when you ignore what He has to say. And they disobeyed Him for so
many years that finally the Lord said, I'm going to send you into
captivity in Babylon. And for 70 years they stayed
in that captivity. And the Lord has released them
to go back to Jerusalem. And when they get to Jerusalem,
those who were living when they were taken into captivity, they
remembered how Nebuchadnezzar came in and just ruined the city.
I mean, he totally destroyed it. It was a mess. It was nothing but rubble when
they left in captivity. And for those who were born and
raised in Babylon during the captivity, when they came in
with their parents and their grandparents, the parents and
the grandparents said, you should have seen this city years ago. It was absolutely magnificent. It was a beautiful city, filled with people, filled with
activity. Children in the streets. A city
at peace. But oh, look at it now. The temple
has been destroyed. The walls have been knocked down. So much garbage around. Weeds
grown up here and there. The beloved city of David. The city on a mountain, that
glorious city of God, is now in total ruins as they came back
to the city. And this is the condition of
the city of Jerusalem when the captives came back, having then
liberated They were turned loose by a man by the name of Cyrus,
who was the king. He said, y'all go home. You've
been in captivity 70 years. Just go back, go back, and resume
worshiping the Lord. And they got back. They said,
is this our city? We're so proud of our city. It
was so glorious. Our city was the envy of all
the other cities in the nation and all the other cities in the
world. But look at it now. It's such
a mess. And the Lord sends this man,
his prophet, Zechariah, to tell the people, The city is going
to be rebuilt. Things are going to be beautiful
again. You just wait. The temple will be rebuilt. Once
again, there'll be prosperity in the city. There'll be so much peace that
old men and old women will walk freely through the streets without
any fear. And little children, moms and
dads, will let the kids go out and play in the streets. There's
nothing to be fearful of. The day is coming, the prophet
of God said, when all will be well. And the people said, impossible. Can't be done. Look at verse six, thus saith
the Lord of hosts. By the way, that's an expression
concerning God that's found 18 times in this one chapter. And in this one verse, and of
course, the Lord of hosts means the Lord of the armies. Host
means armies. He's the Lord of everything.
He's the Lord of every army. The armies of heaven and the
inhabitants of the earth. And in verse number six, this
verse has bookends. The Lord of hosts is used to
begin the verse and the Lord of hosts is used to end the verse. Who is it that says things are
going to be marvelous again? The Lord of hosts says it. The
One who has absolute authority. The One who governs all things. The Lord of hosts has this to
say. If it'd be marvelous, if it'd
be amazing, if it'd be so difficult that you think it's impossible,
in the eyes of the remnant of the people? Do you think it's going to be
impossible with me?" He said, look at the city. It's
torn apart. What's a city going to look like
if an army comes through and destroys the buildings burns
the houses, knocks down the walls, nobody is inhabiting the city,
what's it going to look like after 70 years of being uninhabited? Not going to look like much. And the people who came back
said, Oh my, this is terrible. And yet the prophet of God says,
It's going to be just fine. God's going to have this city
rebuilt. And the people said, that's too difficult. If you
have a center margin in your Bible, that word marvelous, in
my Bible, you go over in the center margin, it says marvelous
or hard or difficult. Anybody else Bible say something
like that? I'm sure it does. Hard or difficult. And the prophet of God says,
the Lord of hosts says, if you think it's difficult for you,
if you think this is an impossibility, well, it is with you. But do
you think it's an impossibility with me? Nothing is impossible with God.
Now, this is the literal and historical setting of the passage
of Scripture. But we know in the New Testament,
the Israel of God, and especially Jerusalem, is another name for
the people of God. And you can look up these references
at your leisure. In the New Testament, the Lord's
people is called the Israel of God. Galatians chapter 6 and
verse 16 says that. We're the Israel of God. Galatians
chapter four and verse 26, we're called Jerusalem. We are the
city of peace. You see, there is a Jerusalem
today, not a literal, I'm not talking about a literal city,
but it's the city of God, a city who is at peace with God through
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are Jerusalem. We are Mount
Zion, Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 22. And we are the temple
of God, 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 17. And we are the
house of God, 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15. So what I want you to understand
is this. And may the Lord give us eyes
to see this and ears to hear this. And this passage of scripture
pertains not so much, or not only I should say, to literal
historical Israel, but to spiritual Israel, that is the house of
God, the true Mount Zion, the temple of God that the Lord is
building today. I have just a couple of words
to leave with you. The first word is ruined. Ruined. I've already told you when the
people who had lived in the city and were taken into captivity
when they were children or very young adults and here after 70
years they come back, they see this city. It was once a vibrant,
populated, safe, very prosperous city. But now it's been ransacked.
The temple has been destroyed. The walls have been torn down. That temple built by Solomon,
glorious, is no longer glorious. Why was
this city destroyed? I want you to take your bow,
hold your place there in Zechariah, and I want you to look back with
me to the book of Jeremiah chapter 11. You see, destruction, the destruction
of a people never comes without reason and without warning. Chapter 11. Look at verse 6. Jeremiah 11, 6. Then the Lord
said unto me, to Jeremiah, Proclaim all these words in the cities
of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye
the words of this covenant, and do them. For I earnestly protested
unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of
the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting,
saying, hear the three key words, obey my voice. Everybody got that? Say it with
me. Obey my voice. That's what God
said. Verse eight. They obeyed not, nor inclined
their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil
heart. Therefore I will bring upon them
all the words of this covenant which I commanded them to do,
but they did them not. And the Lord said unto me, A
conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, And among the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, they are turned back to the iniquities of their
forefathers, which refused to hear my words, and they went
after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house
of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
Therefore, thus saith the Lord, behold, I will bring evil upon
them which they shall not be able to escape. And though they
shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. Then shall
the cities of Jerusalem and the inhabitants of Jerusalem go and
cry unto the gods whom they offer incense. But they shall not save
them at all in the time of their trouble. For according to the
number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah, and according
to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars
to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal. Therefore pray not thou for this
people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them, for I will
not hear them in the time that they cry unto me in their trouble. What hath my beloved to do in
mine house? Seeing she hath wrought lewdness
with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee. When thou
doest evil, then thou rejoicest. The Lord called thy name. A green
olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit. With the noise of a great
multitude he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of
it are broken. For the Lord of hosts, there
is that same name. For the Lord of hosts that planted
thee hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house
of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against
themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal,
and God hath them taken into captivity." Remember this, sin always has
consequences. They forsook the worship of God.
They would not have the ways of God. They would not approach God by
blood sacrifice and call upon his name only. They sought out
other gods. They forsook the worship of Jehovah,
the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. And God said, that's
going to cost you. And they were taken into Babylonian
captivity for 70 years. You see, the condition of the
city of Jerusalem was a picture of the condition of the people
who lived in Jerusalem. But there's another picture here.
It's a picture of us and our sinfulness. We've been ruined. We've been
ruined by sin. God created Adam. He was such
a handsome man. He was a perfect man. Brilliant. He was brilliant. God brought
him animal after animal, and Adam said, I'll call this one
a giraffe, I'll call this one an ant, I'll call this one a
spider. I mean, just on and on. This
is a man who is magnificent. He had an intellectual ability
that, well, we wouldn't even be able to measure it today,
I suppose, on the scale of the IQ. He was something to behold. A
man pure and spotless in the righteousness that God created
him before the Lord. And He gave him a beautiful wife. And all around him, the animals
kind of bowed to him and acknowledged his presence. The Lord said,
you rule over all of this, but just remember, I rule over you.
And things were glorious. But Adam wasn't content in that
position, and he rebelled against God because God said, You rule
over everything, but there's a tree in the midst of the garden. Don't you eat of the fruit of
it. In the day you eat of it, you'll surely die. And you know
what he did. He ate of it. But Adam was a
representative man. And he was immediately ruined. The beauty became ugliness. His glory became shame. He was ruined in sinfulness. But being a representative man,
His action ruined all of us. That's why when your children
are born, today's Mother's Day, I've already acknowledged the
thankfulness we have for the moms. I tell you, when your mother
gave birth to you, she didn't have to teach you to lie. She
didn't have to teach you to steal. She didn't have to teach you
to hide the truth from her. You were born knowing that, and
as you get older, you just learn to perfect those things. What's the reason for that? Why
is it you have to discipline children? Why is it you have
to correct them? Because they, like ourselves,
We're ruined by sin. We were once beautiful in Adam,
but we're not beautiful anymore. And we stand before God as guilty
sinners. Why was the city taken into captivity? Or why was it devastated and
the people taken into captivity? Because they rebelled against
God. We've been ruined, folks. And you can acknowledge that
or not acknowledge that, but that doesn't change the truthfulness
of it. And something's gotta happen to us, otherwise we'll
be ruined forever. But here's the thing, that's
an impossibility as far as we're concerned. We can't turn ourselves
around. Well, just do better. Try keeping
the law. You need to join the church. You need to get baptized. And
people give you all kinds of cures for the ruin that we have
incurred through Adam's fall. But all of our efforts to do
better and be obedient and so forth and so on doesn't cure
our ruin by sin. Adam had no flaw. But now, that's
all that we've got is flaws. We're ruined by the fall. And it's too difficult to work
for us, for us to work ourselves into God's good graces. And if somebody says to us, you
know, I know you're falling into sin, but There's possibility
that God may do a work and make you a new person in Christ Jesus. Maybe God will wash you in the
blood of His Son, and wash all your sins away, and robe you
in the garments of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
you'll stand beautiful and perfect before God. And we say, that's
impossible. We're ruined. Well, it's impossible
for you. But it's not impossible with
God. See, this is the fault of the people who came back to Jerusalem. When Zechariah said, there'll
be life in the streets again, the temple's going to be rebuilt.
There'll be such peace that old men and old women can just kind
of walk slowly through the streets of Jerusalem without fear. And
the kids will be out there playing hopscotch and jump rope and all
of those sorts of things. There'll be life in this city
again. And they said, that's an impossibility. And I say to
you, there's a people, there's a people whose sins have been
forgiven through the blood of Christ Jesus. They'll stand perfect
and pure and beautiful in the garments of God's salvation before
the Lord without any without any sin, without any spot. And
people say, that's an impossibility. It is with us, but not with God. Not with God. Because you see,
there's a remedy for our ruin. That's the second word I want
to give you. We're ruined. I mean, the walls are tattered
and torn down. And the buildings are burned
to the ground. And the weeds are growing up over everything. But that which is impossible
with men is certainly possible with God. You see, this is His
amazing grace. This is His marvelous grace.
What does God do? He's already done something.
He sent His Son to save us from our sins. He has a people, God
has a people. His Israel, the true Jerusalem,
the city of God. He sent His Son and His Son lived
according to all the demands of God's law, showing and proving
He's fit to be the Redeemer. Nobody else could be perfect.
But He was, and therefore He goes to the cross of Calvary
and He lays down His life because that's what the law of God demanded
in order for us ruined sinners to be saved. There's the remedy. The remedy is in the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think of it. He who is God Almighty
came to this earth, laid down His life to make us beautiful,
more beautiful than we were in the first Adam. To make us more
perfect than we were then. For now, through the Lord Jesus
Christ, we're made the very righteousness of God in Him. My friend, that's a work that
only God could do. And I'll tell you what he's doing.
He's populating his true Jerusalem with sinners saved by his grace. This is the remedy for our being
ruined by sin. You know anything about the remedy? And here's what the Lord does.
He awakens us by His Spirit. And maybe He's awakened you right
now. And He's caused you to see, I'm
like the city of Jerusalem, devastated by the judgment of God through
the works of Nebuchadnezzar. I'm like a city torn down. I'm ruined in sin. But oh, what
God has done for sinners like me and in the Lord Jesus Christ. All who come unto God by him
are made the righteousness of God in him. You know what that is? Marvelous
grace. That's marvelous grace. And as
God views his people, I know as we view ourselves, we're still
sinners and so many faults and errors and sins. But as God views
us, we're a beautiful city. The walls are fully built. There's life where there was
once only death. For he sees us in the beauties
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Marvelous grace. You think of yourself. How ruined
you were. And look what God's done for
you. And someday you'll stand before
that glorious throne of God. without spot, without wrinkle,
or any such thing. And you'll be there due to His
marvelous grace. And what we once thought was
an impossibility, do you mean that I'm going to stand in the
presence of God, holy and righteous in the Lord Jesus Christ, without
a blemish, without a fault? It's almost too good to be true,
but it is true. It is true. And that's the good
news I wanted to share with you this morning about this grace
of God. Marvelous, marvelous grace. That which is impossible with
us, it's not impossible with God. Get your psalm book, let's
turn to 477. Number 477. We'll stand and sing
this song, verses 1, 2, and 4.