I want you to go back where we've
been studying every Sunday morning, at least most of them for the
last several weeks, the book of Zechariah. And this morning
we're going to chapter six. I think one of the reasons that
Lots of preachers and folks in congregations avoid some of the
books of the Bible, books like Daniel, Zechariah, Revelation. I think the reason that these
books and others are avoided is because they're written with
so much symbolism. You know, in our culture here
in the West, we don't use symbolism very much, but actually the scriptures
are quite full of them. Lots of symbolism in the Bible. There are some people who say,
you know, I believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible.
Well, that's not actually true. Because much of the scriptures,
or I'll say a lot of the scriptures, are written in language that
is typical of, or kind of symbolic of, a biblical truth. And certainly that is the case
as we come to the book of Zechariah, his prophecy. It's absolutely
filled with people and things that really
picture spiritual things. And so that is the case this
morning as we look here in Zechariah chapter six and the first eight
verses. And I'm gonna, I'll do my best
set forth what these symbolic things, what they mean, what
truths we can take from them. And my subject is, quite simply,
chariots, mountains, and horses. Okay? Maybe that'll get your
interest right there. Chariots, mountains, and horses. And let me read the past that
I want to deal with this morning. These eight verses, first eight
verses of Zechariah chapter six. The prophet of God says, and
I turned and lifted up mine eyes and looked and behold there came
four chariots out from between two mountains. So you got that
picture. Four chariots. And all of them
are coming between two And then he tells us these mountains
were mountains of brass. In the first chariot, or literally,
the first chariot was pulled by red horses. The second, black horses. The third, white horses. the fourth grizzled and bay horses. That is, these are horses that
are spotted with the white and the spots would be reddish brown. And Zachariah He sees this vision. Remember, all of the visions
were given to him in one night. This was a very unusual night
of sleep for the prophet Zechariah as the Lord keeps giving him
one vision after another. So we can relate to Zechariah. He says, I answered and said
unto the angel, to Christ the Lord, remember this, this angel
is not a created angel, but the angel of the covenant, the messenger
sent from God. He spoke with me, he talked with
me, Zechariah said, and Zechariah raised this question, and I raise
it as well. What are these? My Lord? And that's the question you ask. What are these? What are these
and what do they speak of? What do they stand for? What
do they represent? And the angel answered and said
unto me, these, that is these four horses, are the four spirits of the heavens. which go forth from standing
before the Lord of all the earth. That's a very powerful statement.
I may preach a whole message on that one day. The Lord of
all the earth, who is that? That's our Lord Jesus Christ.
God made him Lord, God made him Christ by virtue of his successful
work of redemption that God the Father sent him to accomplish.
He's been made Lord over all. That's what Peter said. That
same Jesus that you crucified, God made Him Lord. He's Lord over all. He's everybody's
Lord. He's your Lord. Whether or not
you recognize that or not, whether or not you bow to Him right now
or not, whether or not you know that He reigns over all things,
that doesn't have anything to do with the fact of it. He is,
Christ is the Lord of all the earth. There's nowhere He doesn't
reign. He reigns because He shed His
blood. He satisfied divine justice and
saved His people. That's what God sent Him to do.
And God said, now the man Christ Jesus, the God-man, God said,
I've made Him Lord. You can't make Jesus Lord. There's
a well-known evangelist. He says that all the time when
he closes his program. Now make Jesus, make Jesus the
Lord of your life. You can't make Jesus anything. God made Him Lord. May God give us grace to bow
to Him and worship at His footstool. Well, look at verse 6. He says,
Black horses are they therein that go into the north country,
and then after them here go the white horses pulling the chariot
now, after them. And the grizzled go forth toward
the south country. The bay went forth and sought
to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth. And
He said, get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth.
So these horses pulling a chariot, they go everywhere. And remember,
this is one of the spirits. So they walk to and fro through
the earth. And not in a hurry, because God has sent them. Whatever their mission is, they're
not running, They're just walking. And that
tells you, whatever their mission is, it's absolutely a certain
thing that they will succeed. Now look at verse eight. Then
cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that
go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north
country. That is, there's a rest satisfaction
in what these spirits have accomplished. The last eight visions, this
is the last of the eight visions, I should say, of Zechariah, all
in one night. They're well suited to very much
encourage Zechariah and Haggai, who preceded him in preaching
to the people in Jerusalem, who came back from the captivity.
And then shortly after Haggai's ministry began, then Zechariah
joined him. These visions were also given
to encourage Zerubbabel, who is like the governor of Israel,
and he's kind of in charge of everything. He's in charge of
building the temple. And then there's Joshua, who
is the high priest. So these four men, they're the
leaders. They're the leaders of Israel.
And the building of the temple has now ceased. The people got
discouraged. The enemies mocked them and made
life difficult for them, so the work on the temple has ceased. God had ordained and God had
purposed that the worship of the Lord would resume in Jerusalem
at the temple. And now the workers, feeling
the threatenings of men, feeling great discouragement, They stop
the work. And so the Lord gives to Zachariah
these visions at night. It's like he goes into some kind
of trance. I can't explain it. You know,
back in those days, God spoke to men. God led men to write
the scriptures, having spoken to them in various ways, by various
means. Sometimes by an angel, sometimes
by a dream, sometimes by vision. And on this one night, one night,
Zachariah, he goes to bed, and then the Lord gives him eight
visions, and the Spirit of God inspires him, write them all
down. So these were beneficial not
only for folks back then, but they're really beneficial to
us now. And there's so much that we can
learn from these. The lessons that God is teaching
them, the lessons that God's teaching them, basically are
twofold. Number one, I've already said,
be encouraged. Be encouraged because I will
do my work. And I say to all the people of
God, don't be discouraged. I know the enemies are out there.
I know they're real. I know there's opposition to
the gospel of the grace of God, of the Lord Jesus Christ and
salvation through Him. But don't get discouraged because
God is doing His work. There is no power in heaven,
earth or hell that can frustrate what God is set out to do. So
be encouraged. The Lord says, my word will go
forth and it will not return unto me void. It will accomplish
my purpose. And that's both the incarnate
word and the written word. When the Lord Jesus Christ came
into this world, He was not on an errand of hoping that He might
help mankind and show grace to people if only they will receive
it. No, He came to satisfy the Father. He came to do what God's Law
said had to be done. He had to die in order to save
the objects of the mercy and grace of God, who would have
died if Christ hadn't died in our stead. We have a very encouraging
message, and I'm telling you, the Gospel is going forth today,
right now. The Gospel is what God has already
done for sinners in, through, and by Christ Jesus the Lord. And that message is going forth
with power. Because God is sending it forth. And the Savior said, I will build
my church. Be encouraged. And that's certainly one of the
reasons that these prophecies are given, these visions are
given. But another one is, the Lord said, I will punish
those who are in opposition to the building of the temple. And
for us, God's gonna punish those who are in opposition to King
Jesus and his glorious gospel of free and sovereign grace.
You cannot be opposed to God without reaping awful results. Judgment is coming. And this
is what the Lord has already indicated that. Go back to chapter
1. Let me show you something here
in chapter 1. I'll show you something in chapter
1 and also in chapter 2. But here's the encouragement.
Zechariah chapter 1. Look at verse 16. Therefore,
thus saith the Lord, I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies." That's
encouraging, isn't it? The mercies of God in Christ
Jesus. Ah, what encouragement for genuine,
bona fide, spirit-convinced and convicted sinners. God's coming
with mercies. Oh, God give us grace to flee
to Christ Jesus and be indeed mercy beggars. Oh God, be merciful
to me, be propitious to me. I'm the sinner. I don't know
about anybody else here this morning, Lord, I don't know about
them, but I know I need your mercy and it's only in Christ
Jesus. God says, I'm coming with mercies. That's encouraging, isn't it? He says, my house shall be built
in it. said the Lord of hosts, a lion
shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. I'm going to do my
work. I'm going to build the temple.
And that temple, of course, is a picture of our Lord's body,
but it's also a picture of our Lord's spiritual body, that is,
His church. What's the Lord doing today?
He's building His church. Our Savior said, I will build
my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
What's he doing? He's adding to the church daily
such as should be saved. He's promised. He's promised
that He'll save His people. But here's the other side of
the promise. He's also promised judgment upon
His enemies. Look in chapter 2. Look in verse
8. Chapter 2, verse 8. For thus
saith the Lord of hosts, after the glory, after the glory hath
he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you, caused life to be
difficult for you. He says, for he that toucheth
you toucheth the apple of his eye. Now look at verse nine. For behold, I will shake mine
hand upon them. And they shall be for a spoil
to their servants. And ye shall know that the Lord
of hosts hath sent me." That's a threat of judgment. And all
God has to do, He says, is just shake His hand. That's all it's
got to do. What's God got to do to bring
judgment across this world to those who know Him not, who will
not bow the knee to King Jesus? What's God going to do to those
whose ears are stopped to the gospel of His free and sovereign
grace to sinners through the bloody sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus Christ? What's God going to do? He's
just going to shake His hand and you'll fall into hell. That's what this is saying. Oh,
here are the promises of God. This is how the people are to
be encouraged. Zechariah, tell them, tell them
that I said I'm gonna do my work. And tell them, if you oppose
me, if you dare to oppose me, judgment is in store for you. Well, that's as much a message
for today as it was for back then, right? So that's the reason this book
of Zechariah was written. Now in the text, we find four
chariots, two mountains, four groups of horses that picture
four spirits or four winds that below. Let's just go right through
this, four chariots. There's no need to guess as to
what these represent. Did you know that? You already
have it in your Bible. Turn to Psalm 68. I know what
these represent. All you got to do is run a few
references and you'll locate what these symbolize. These four chariots are symbolic
of something. So go to Psalm 68 and verse 17. Psalm 68, 17. And here it tells us, the chariots
of God are 20,000, even thousands of What's the next word? Angels.
You got it? The chariots. The chariots picture,
they symbolize, they portray angels. Angels. The Lord is among them. That's important. The Lord is
among them as in Sinai in the holy place. The Lord is with these angels,
so here are these four chariots that go forth, and they're angels. And guess who's with them? The
Lord's with them. So whatever they do, they have
to be successful because the Lord of glory is with them. Understand? Now, I had Ron read that passage
in Hebrews chapter one. Angels of God are ministering
spirits who minister to those who are heirs of God's salvation. God uses the angels and he's
with them. But now let me give you a little
bit more information. In the word of God, angels, angels
quite often represent God's preachers, right? And the passage that comes
to mind, of course, is Revelation chapter one. You needn't turn
there. John saw the glorified Christ
Jesus. And in his right hand, he had
seven stars. Symbolism again, okay? And right at the end of chapter
one, he tells us those seven stars in his right hand are gospel
preachers. Gospel preachers. There's a little letter written
to every one of the seven churches of Asia Minor. And each one of
them is addressed to the angel of the Church of Ephesus, the
angel of the Church of Smyrna, and you go right down through
all seven of them, preachers of the gospel. The Lord has his servants who
go forth, like these chariots. We go everywhere. The Lord's
ordained that His gospel go everywhere, to all nations. And the reason
is because He's got a people in all nations. So the chariots
go in different directions. Why are they going different
directions? Why do preachers go here, there? God sends some
to Mexico. God sends some. Some of them
are in Africa. Some are in this country. They're
all over the world wherever God sends them. Why does He send
them forth? Because... They have a message
to declare to all the world, and when we go forth with the
gospel of the grace of God to sinners in the Lord Jesus Christ,
we are assured the Lord is with us. There can't be failures. You
see, that's the reason in 2 Corinthians chapter 2, Paul says we triumph
in those who are saved and we triumph in those who perish.
Because the gospel we preach is a savor of life unto life
for some and death unto death for others. That's why Paul says,
who is sufficient for these things? Well, no mere man is. But the Lord is our sufficiency. He tells us that in the next
chapter. So we keep on preaching. We keep on telling people about
the grace of God. We keep on telling people about
the Lord Jesus Christ and shame on the preacher who doesn't exalt
the Son of God. Shame on that man who gets in
front of a congregation and he says, I'm sent from God, but
then he doesn't declare that pure good news message of what
God has already accomplished by His Son. Four chariots. They're like preachers, angels
sent from God. We're like road signs, really. That's all, I'm just a road sign.
I'm pointing you to the way of life. I'd be a very poor, what's
the use in a road sign if it doesn't give you clear directions?
It's useless. And I'm telling you, most preachers
are useless. I can say that. After the 45
years of being in the ministry, I think I've earned the right
to say that. I've listened to a lot of preachers and they're
useless. They have no value. They have no message from God.
It's obvious the Lord is not in that chariot. because they
don't have the message that exalts Him, that gives Him the glory. You see, every preacher of the
Gospel, we know the one message that magnifies God, that helps
poor sinners, that feeds the saints of the Lord, the one message
is that grace of God to poor wretches like us. through the
blessed Savior. And I'll tell you, when I get
up here to preach, shame on me if I don't preach that message. Shame is on any man and every
man who fails to preach this message. The chariots, angels,
got it? Ministers of the Lord, preachers
of the gospel. Now, two mountains. They're said to be mountains
of brass. And you'll notice this, these
chariots all come through the two mountains. Well, what are
they symbolic of? What do the mountains represent?
What do you think of When you think of a mountain, I'm talking
about real mountains. We don't have too many real mountains
around here. Go out west, see some real mountains. I know when we went to Japan
and we were flying from Tokyo down to Hiroshima, you fly by
Mount Fuji. There's a mountain. There's a
mountain. When you see a mountain, when
you think of a mountain, what goes through your mind? In the
Bible, we read of the everlasting hills, right? When I think of
mountains, I think of that which is durable, lasting, very high, immovable, immense, That which
has been standing ever since God put them in place. And the passing of time cannot
affect the mountains. The mountains were here when
we came. The mountains will be here when
we're gone. And the next generation comes.
They've been here for thousands of years. They can't be destroyed. Because
these mountains that he sees in his vision are made of brass. What do these two mountains indicate? What do they symbolize? Because
everything goes between these two mountains. Everything. I'll
tell you what I think they represent. One of them is the purpose of
God. And the other one is the very
providence of God. And everything goes between those
mountains. Oh, how certain is the purpose
of God. I'm gonna be talking about the
purpose of God tonight regarding Christ Jesus. God's purpose can't
be changed, can't be frustrated. Long-lasting and durable like
brass mountains. And nothing gonna move God's
purpose. Nothing's gonna change God's
purpose. You're not gonna frustrate God's purpose. Well, you say,
I'm not gonna believe and that'll sure ruin things. You ain't that
big. You can't ruin what God has ordained
to do. You can't ruin His purpose. Who
you think you are? You're just a little peon. Preachers
preach, you know, God wants to do this, God wants to do that. God has purpose to save everybody,
but your free will won't cooperate. Do you think your free will stands
any possibility of being successful against a mountain of brass? That's really stupidity. And
that's how ignorant false religious folks are, and that's how ignorant
false religion is. You can't change the purpose
of God nor the power of God. God's sovereign purpose of grace
and predestination can never be set aside by man, man on earth
or demons in the air. How can we change the purpose
of God? Because even they have to go through the mountains.
See? Everything goes through the mountains. You've heard a predestinarian
who fell down the steps, and he got up, he just said, well,
I'm glad it's over with. Think about it. Purpose to happen. I'm telling
you, God has purposed everything. Say, Jim, I can't understand
that. who can understand the mind of God. If you can understand
the God you worship, I promise you, you've got the wrong God.
And this is the very problem with most people today. Their
God is too little. I preach the God who does all
his will. Among the armies of heaven, even
a heathen king said this, He does His will in the armies of
heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay
His hand. Nobody can stop God from doing
what He's purposed to do. His mountain of brass, His purpose
will stand forever. Forever. And the other mountain
of brass is providence. That which God has purposed,
He will most assuredly bring to pass. Put yourself in the shoes of
Zechariah and Haggai and Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel
the governor. They needed to be reminded of
these twin peaks of God's purpose and God's providence. And you need to be reminded of
it too. And so do I. I tell you what,
we wouldn't bellyache so much. We wouldn't fuss so much. We
wouldn't murmur so much. In fact, we wouldn't at all if
we really saw and understood everything's got to go between
these two mountains. Now, you can go through those
two mountains in misery and moaning and groaning, this isn't fair.
What did I do to deserve this? You can have that kind of attitude
if you want to, you're still going between the mountains.
Or you can say, this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
me. God, give me grace to rejoice
in your will. And then, I gotta get to the
horses. In the Bible, in the Bible, horses
portray power, might, Unusual, unusual strength and speed. They're pulling the chariots. The scripture says in verse 5,
these are the four spirits of heaven. A little word lesson
here. The word spirit and the word
wind are just alike in the original. Sometime back, Matt brought a
message from Ezekiel 37, dry bones. Do you remember what happened
when the bones came together And the Lord said to Ezekiel,
prophesy to the four winds. Remember that? You can read it
when you get home. Ezekiel chapter 37, prophesy
to the four winds. You see, the word four indicates
that which is like universal. It's in every direction. And
the wind is the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God. You see, let's go back to the
chariots. Chariots are wonderful, but they don't have any power
to move themselves. Right? Well, isn't that a beautiful
chariot? Yeah, but no horses. Sure is
nice to look at. Yeah, but where's the horse?
Some's got to give it power. Some's got to pull it. Preachers
of the Gospel, we have the right message, the message of grace,
the message of Christ only, grace only, salvation by God. But we've got to have horses
to pull the tarion. That's the Spirit of God. We meet in vain. We preach in
vain if the Spirit of God doesn't use the Word. You see, look back over at chapter
4 and verse 6. See, these are all really tied
together. Look at chapter 4 and verse 6. This is the messenger from God,
the angel of Christ. Then he answered and spake unto
me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel,
the governor, not by might, nor by power, but by my... What's the next word? Spirit. By my spirit. It's the Spirit
of God who's gotta pull the chariot along with power and make the
Word effectual. And He does. He does indeed make
the Word of God effectual. Preacher was effectual means
gets the job done. The Spirit of God gets the job
done. And as we preach, Salvation and
judgment, because we have to preach them both. It's the Spirit of God using
the Word of God who breaks the hearts of those to whom He sent. And some get greatly disturbed
about the message of judgment. God saves them by His grace. And I'll tell you, in the salvation
of sinners, learn this from verse eight. In the salvation of sinners,
it says that last statement, they have quieted my spirit. The spirit of God satisfied. You know God is never dissatisfied. Not with what He's purposed to
do. Our Lord Jesus, when He's dying
on the cross, according to Isaiah chapter 53, He was satisfied. He saw the results of His death. The Spirit of God can't be dissatisfied. He is always successful working
in the hearts of those to whom he said. God is never dissatisfied
with what he's purposed to do. Because all things go between
those two mountains. Mountains of brass. And I'll
give you a little taste of what I'm gonna talk about tonight.
These mountains of brass give me great, great comfort. And if God ever teaches you what
these mountains represent, the purpose of God and the providence
of God, you'll be greatly encouraged too. Let's sing a song of praise
to our Savior. Hymn number 50. Hymn number 50,
fairest Lord Jesus. Hymn number 50, verses one and
four.