Okay, now let's go back to Zechariah. Zechariah chapter one. And we'll
begin at verse seven, which gives a date. The four and 20th day
of the 11th month. The month Sebat, that's the month
on the Hebrew calendar. 24th day, that would correspond
to like our month of February. February, March. And this was
written 500 years before Christ. About 520 years, approximately. This happened and was written
down by the prophet Zechariah. He had called the people of God
to repentance. That's how he opened his prophecy.
And after three months, approximately three months after calling the
people to repentance, In one single night, the Lord gave Zechariah
eight visions to set before the people. And you can just imagine
what this would be like. Could you imagine receiving a
vision from the Lord? Well, understand that these visions
were not dreams. They're called night visions
because they were given in one single night. But they're not
dreams. These are visions that Zacharias
saw, how he saw them, I don't know. It's not detailed here.
But the key issue of these visions is right here, look at verse
seven. Upon the four and 20th day of the 11th month, which
is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius came the word
of the Lord. The word of the Lord. This is
the word of God. And one thing that shows us,
you know, anybody today who claims, you know, I don't believe the
Lord communicates with dreams and visions today. And the reason
I believe that is because we have the completed, revealed
Word of God in the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, it's
not to be added to or taken away. But whatever men say or whatever
men see, it must be under the authority of the inspired, verbally
inspired Word of God. And that's the bottom line. If whatever I say to you tonight
cannot be founded upon this sure word of prophecy, and I'll show
you that in just a moment, then whatever I say is no good for
you and no good for me. It's no good for anybody. But
this is the word of the Lord. Now, these night visions, they
were given to a people the people of Judah returning out of captivity,
they've been in captivity for 70 years, and under the government
and providence of Almighty God, and according to His Word, and
according to His predestinated purpose, they were returning
back to their homeland, to Jerusalem, to Judah, commissioned to rebuild
the temple and reestablish the sacrifices and the worship of
God, and to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. And that was a
joyous occasion, it was, but these were a people that were
distraught. These were a people that were in sorrow. There was
no king on the throne of David. There was a man that God put
in charge named Zerubbabel who was in the line of David. He
was the governor appointed by God, but he wasn't sitting upon
the throne. There was no king in Israel in
essence at that time. They were still under foreign
domination. And so as an encouragement, as an encouragement, God sent
the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Haggai first with his short prophecy,
the down-to-earth prophet, and then the visionary prophet, Zechariah,
a younger man, one who was probably born in captivity, but a man
whom God used greatly to set forth visions and messages, there
are messages after that. And all these things were full
of comfort and encouragement for the people of God. And all
these visions and the message of Zechariah were visions of
the coming Messiah and his kingdom. And as brother Aaron prayed,
let our eyes be focused upon Christ, stick to Christ. That's Zechariah's message to
the people of his day. In essence, through all these
visions, we'll take them one by one, what he does is he tells
the people of Judah, of Jerusalem, the Israelites returning, that
even though things aren't what they want them to be, and I thought
about this because are things ever what we really want them
to be? Very rarely. But even though things are not
what they want them to be, There is a glorious future, but that
future is not wrapped up in an earthly land. That future is
not going to be realized in an earthly temple or an earthly
priesthood through an earthly nation. That future can only
be realized in the coming of the promised Messiah, the Lord
Jesus Christ. who would come to do his great
work. And those people were being kept together, held together
by God, even in their captivity, even against their rebellion
and sin, because God had purposed to use them as an instrument
to bring Messiah through to the world. And that future was going to
be gloriously accomplished through the work of the Messiah and the
establishment of His people, spiritual Israel, Jew and Gentile. And that's what this whole prophecy
is about. This word of the Lord came to
Zechariah. Remember, Zechariah's name means
Jehovah Remembers. God remembered His covenant that
He made with Abraham And that's why these people came back out
of captivity, and that's why they were rebuilding the temple
in Jerusalem. But there's a greater covenant
that God made before the foundation of the world, the covenant of
grace, the everlasting covenant of grace between the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit, when God chose a people and gave
them to His Son. And that covenant that God remembers
is the ground of our salvation, Him sending Christ into the world
to be the Savior of His people. Zechariah was the son of Berechiah. His name means Jehovah blesses.
Jehovah remembers and Jehovah blesses. He blessed Israel greatly
in a temporal ceremonial way. But He blesses us, spiritual
Israel, eternally. with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Edo, that's his grandfather,
means appointed time. Jehovah remembers and blesses
at his appointed time. And of course, I always, when
I see that, I think of that time that was appointed before the
foundation of the world when it said God sent forth his son
in the fullness of the time to be made of a woman, to be made
under the law, to redeem them that were under the law. Now
again, this remnant of Israel, this remnant of Judah that Zechariah
prophesied to, they'd been commissioned to return to the land that God
had promised Abraham to rebuild the temple, to rebuild the city,
and to look forward in anticipation according to the word of God
and God's faithfulness and God's oath and God's promise. to send
the coming Messiah. And everything in Judah's return
and in Judah's prosperity was founded upon this. This is their
reason for existing. And my friend, it's our reason
for existing today. And if we've got any other reason
for existing as a body in Christ, then why are we here? I mean,
it's all for the glory of the Lord. And everything in our eternal
salvation, everything in our blessedness, everything in our
acceptance before God is founded upon Christ and Him crucified
and risen again. So, Zechariah had this message.
It's the word of the Lord. It's what God's prophets, God's
preachers preach. Paul wrote in Romans chapter
1, he said, I'm separated unto the gospel, but he made sure
they understood this is the gospel of God. This is not the gospel
of man, and it's the same gospel the prophets before me preached.
He told the Galatians, he said, this gospel of God's grace in
Christ, of salvation by God's sovereign mercy and sovereign
grace, it's not... I didn't receive it from men.
Men were used as instruments. He heard Stephen preach it, didn't
he? Saul of Tarsus did. He heard others preach it. And
if God had left him in his own sin, his natural state, he would
have continued to hate it. But he heard it, but he didn't
receive it from men, he got it from God. God is the author of
this message. This is not an opinion, but it's
God's inerrant inspired word for his people. And here's what
the prophet says, look at verse 8, he said, I saw by night. And
here's what I saw, this is the first night vision. I've entitled
this message, Christ Among the Myrtle Trees. He mentions that
several times here, Christ Among the Myrtle Trees. He says, I
saw by night and behold a man riding upon a red horse. And
he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom in a
low, low place. And behind him were these, their
red horses speckled and white. God's word shines at night. I believe that is so significant
here. God's word is a light that shines in darkness and his word
is that more sure word of prophecy that Peter spoke of. Darkness
here, he saw these visions by night, that darkness there, that
night there could describe well the state of the people of Judah.
As I said, they were downtrodden, they were distraught, they'd
been held in captivity in Babylon. the darkness of Babylon for 70
years. The temple was in ruins. Jerusalem
was a desolate place at that time. That beautiful city, that
beautiful temple, it was all leveled. And here, out of that
night, comes the light. And that light is a man riding
upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were
in the bottom, in the low place. Who is this man riding upon a
red horse? It's none other than the Lord
Jesus Christ himself. Now, I know when you think about
a red horse, you think about Revelation chapter 6. the horseman
of the apocalypse and the rider on the red horse is death, but
this is not the same here. This is a man riding upon a red
horse and he stood among the myrtle trees. His message is
not death. In fact, we'll see later on,
his message is a message of comfort and a message of peace, comfortable,
good words. You see, that rider on the red
horse over in Revelation, that's a message of judgment against
sin, but here this is the man standing. among the myrtle trees. And it's the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Savior of His people, the Protector of His people. In verse
11, He's called the Angel of the Lord, the Angel of the Covenant,
the Messenger of God. And you say, well, why does He
call Him a man? He's God. He is both God and man. This
is speaking of the future. This is a vision of the future.
This is a vision of Christ, the God-man mediator, the one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus who stood among
his people as a man, a perfect man, the God-man. And where is
he standing? He's standing in the bottom.
He didn't stand in the high places. He didn't consort with the influential
people of the world. It describes the lowly state
of his people. It describes the lowly state
into which he would be born from Zechariah's point of view, from
our point of view, what he was born in. He was born among his
people in a sinful world. in affliction, in sorrow, in
adversity, in oppression from powerful enemies and in darkness.
You think about his birth, that tender plant that Isaiah described,
that man of sorrows acquainted with grief who was despised and
rejected of men. We esteemed him not. Even at
his birth, he was born in a lowly manger. Even in his birth, a
powerful king tried to have him killed. All of that describes
this low place where these myrtle trees are. He came to where we
are. We couldn't get to where he is.
Salvation is not a matter of man rising up or improving himself
or reforming himself by his efforts and his will and his works. In
order for us to be saved, he had to come down to the lowly
place. He had to come down to this earth,
salvation of the Lord. It had to be totally of grace.
He had to come down, as Hannah said, and lift the beggar off
the dung heap. That's what salvation is all
about. Christ stands here as the light. He says here in verse
8, I saw by night, and behold, a man riding upon a ram, behold
him. Behold Him, behold the Lamb of
God, John the Baptist said, that taketh away the sin of the world.
Behold Him who is life eternal. The only way that we who are
by nature in darkness, blind, spiritually dead, can see light
is by looking to Christ. Look over at John chapter 3 with
me. I refer to this verse quite often,
but I want you to see it in light of what we're studying here tonight.
Christ is speaking of condemnation here. Verse 19 of John 3. Listen to what he says. He says,
this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world.
And men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds
were evil. This light of Christ, this light
of righteousness, this light of holiness, this light of God's
grace, this light of God's mercy, God's truth in Christ, exposes
everything that man by nature holds in high esteem and value
as recommended him unto God. And it exposes it to be evil
deeds. It's in opposition to the glory
of God. It's in opposition to the glory of Christ and his precious
work. It is self-righteousness. And
he says in verse 20, for everyone that doeth evil, hateth the light,
neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved
or literally uncovered or discovered. In other words, it takes the
light of Christ. We have to behold Christ. in order to understand the wickedness
of our best efforts to save ourselves. Paul said that in Philippians
chapter three when he said that I count all things but lost for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Count
them but done. But look at verse 21. Now here's
what beholding him means. But he that doeth truth. And
you know that's a great translation of that from the original. And
I love the way that's put. Do truth. How do you do truth? Well, he tells you, you cometh
to the light. How do you come to the light?
You come to Christ. You believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what doing truth is about. He says, he cometh to the light
that his deeds may be made manifest. That they are what? Wrought in
God or the work of God. That's what he's saying. And
back over here in Zechariah, this is what Zechariah's telling
these people. Behold Christ, look unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith. Consider him. Remember Haggai said that several
times. Consider him, set your heart
upon him whom to know is life eternal. Consider the apostle
and high priest of our calling. consider him whom to know is
our salvation this is the whole thing and God the Father in and
by Christ makes us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the Saints in light behold him and when the Holy Spirit
gives us spiritual life we're delivered from the power of darkness
and and translated into the kingdom of his dear son, the kingdom
of light. And all of it's based upon the
redemption that we have through his blood, even the forgiveness
of sins. He is the light. Now again, he
says a man riding upon a red horse back in Zechariah chapter
one. Christ as the representative
man here. Every high priest, you preach
that, be taken from among men. This is speaking of the future,
you see. This one will be both God and man in one person, and
he's a representative man who represented his people, God's
elect, before the Father, and he's identified with us in our
name and in our nature without sin. The Bible says what the
law could not do. in that it was weak through the
flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and for sin, or as a substitute for sin, as a sin-bearer, he
condemned sin in the flesh, he put an end to it. The Bible says
in Hebrews 2 and verse 14, for as much then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took
part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that
had the power of death. That is the devil. Don't ever
downplay or diminish the humanity of Christ. And don't ever downplay
or diminish the deity of Christ. He is both. There's one God and
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Now
what does it mean, this riding upon a red horse? Well, it speaks
of his power. It speaks of his power to conquer
and his power to judge. That's why he's riding on a red
horse. It's his wrath upon his enemies, but it also symbolizes
salvation for his people, but it symbolizes the blood of redemption
by which he conquered sin, he conquered Satan, and he conquered
the curse of the law. You see, the same blood of Christ
that cries out for our justification before God, That same blood cries
out for vengeance from all who refuse to seek, believe, and
submit to Him and His righteousness. You see, what condemns sinners
is our salvation. Remember in Hebrews chapter 11,
it talks about Noah preached while he was building the ark,
and he was a preacher of righteousness. He preached the righteousness
of faith, which means he preached the work of Christ. the obedience
unto death of Christ, the substitutionary work of the Messiah to come for
the salvation and the forgiveness and the justification against
all that would harm us. And it says, by which he condemned
the world. Now what does that mean? Well,
it means this, he that believeth shall be saved, he that believeth
not shall be damned. That's judgment. And Christ is
associated here with judgment. He's our redeemer. He's our warrior
king. He is our protector riding on
the red horse, this man. And then he stood among the myrtle
trees that were in the bottom. What are these myrtle trees?
Well, the myrtle tree is an evergreen. It had dark green leaves and
white star-like flowers, and it was very fragrant. And when
the flower is crushed, the fragrance even gets better, gets richer
when the flower is crushed. And it's always associated with
blessings of the Messiah. Look back over with me at Isaiah
55. I want you to see this. The myrtle tree is always associated
in the Old Testament with blessings in the Messiah. You know, in
Isaiah 55, this is where he starts off. Ho, everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, come
ye, buy and eat. Yea, without money, without price.
Salvation's by grace. It's mercy. Anything we have
this side of hell that is good and eternal is of grace in Christ. And he goes through there and
he talks about the Messiah and his work and the blessings of
the Messiah and the preaching of the gospel. And in verse 13,
the very last verse of Isaiah 55, listen, here's the results
of it in symbolic language. Here's the goodness. of salvation
in symbolic language instead of the thorn shall come up the
fir tree and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree
and it shall be to the Lord for a name for his glory for an everlasting
sign that shall not or never be cut off that's what he's talking
about here in Zechariah these myrtle trees they're symbolic
of Christ's church Shown here is the small myrtle tree in a
low, low place, in a dark valley, surrounded by enemies who persecute,
enemies who oppress, But under persecution and affliction, just
like the myrtle tree flower, when it's crushed, it gives off
that even a greater fragrance, a sweeter fragrance. Under the
persecution and affliction that we suffer here on this earth
as the church of God, we give off the sweet-smelling savor
of God's grace in Christ. Paul wrote about that over in
the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 4 when he was talking about this
glorious gospel and the ministry that we have. as the people of
God, as the church of the living God. We have a ministry, and
it's a glorious ministry, and it's because we have a great
treasure, and that treasure is the gospel. It's the glory of
God revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. And he says in 2 Corinthians
4 and verse 8, he says, we are troubled on every side, yet not
distressed. We're perplexed. Have you ever
been perplexed? That means you don't know the
answers. All the answers. You don't know
why this is happening. Have you ever asked that? Why
is God allowing this to happen? Why is God doing it this way?
I've done that. I do it all the time. You do
too. But he says we're perplexed but
not in despair. We have a hope. Persecuted but
not forsaken. The persecutions that we suffer
over the cross over our identification with Christ doesn't mean God's
forsaken us. In fact, they're one of the greatest
sons that we're His children and that He loves us, Hebrews
12 says. In fact, the Bible says there
in Hebrews 12 that those who don't go through that affliction
and persecution, He calls the chastisements of the Lord, He
says they're bastards and not sons, they're illegitimate children.
He says in verse 9, He says, cast down but not destroyed. Verse 10, always bearing about
in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also
of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. Now there's the
sweet fragrance right there. The life of Jesus manifest in
our body. That's the sweet fragrance of
the myrtle tree, His church, His people. Over in 2 Corinthians
chapter 12, listen to this one. He says in verse 9, Paul's here
talking about his thorn in the flesh. Do you have a thorn in
the flesh? He says, Paul prayed three times and the Lord wouldn't
remove it. What was the purpose? Why didn't he remove it? Well,
he said in verse 9, he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for
thee. He says for him, my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities
that the power of Christ may rest upon me." The infirmities,
that's the crushing of the flower. But the power of Christ resting
upon us, that's the sweet fragrance that comes from that crushing.
That's the picture here of the myrtle tree back in Zechariah.
Here's the people of Judah under oppression, under a foreign government. But if they build that temple
and worship the Lord, that's the sweet fragrance that comes
up. That's a picture of the church under persecution, under oppression. The myrtle tree down in the low,
low valley. But Christ stands in our midst.
That's what Zechariah is showing here. Here's this man riding
up on a red horse, standing among the myrtle trees that were in
the bottom, standing in our midst. And all of this, all of this
shows his glory and his power to save us, protect us, and preserve
us unto glory. It says here in verse 8 of chapter
1, it says, behind him were their red horses, speckled and white.
I believe that he's talking here about his faithful ministers
and the followers of Christ, who are the preachers of the
gospel, the witnesses of the gospel, preaching and witnessing
his gospel. Red, symbolizing the redemption
that he accomplished on our behalf, saved by the grace of God. Also,
symbolizing war, because we're at war with the world, we're
at war with the flesh, we're at war with the devil. This is
not an easy life. It's not a bed of roses. He talks
about white. He says they're red horses speckled
and white. White means righteousness. We
stand in the righteousness of Christ freely imputed and received
by faith. The arrows of Satan's accusations
cannot reach us because who shall lay anything to the charge of
God's elect? We have the gospel. We have that which protects us
unto glory and we'll never lose it. We'll never lose it. White
also means victory. We're victorious in Christ. This
speckled here, I believe it talks about how our lives are a mixture
of comforts and troubles, strengths and weaknesses, joys and sorrows,
successes and failures. The gospel that we have is a
bittersweet gospel. It's sweet to the taste but bitter
to the belly. That's what John saw in Revelation. Because when we see the glory
of Christ and the salvation that He freely provided for us as
sinners who are so undeserving, who've earned nothing but death.
What a sweet taste that is to know that he died for my sins,
that he established righteousness, that in him I stand washed in
his blood and clothed in his righteousness and cannot be condemned.
And yet I see the frowns and the opposition and even the hatred
that comes from the world and even from family members sometimes.
And that's a bitter part of it. Look at verse 9 now, he says
in Zechariah 1, Then said I, O my Lord, what are these? And
the angel that talked with me, there was an interpreting angel
here, a messenger from God, and he talked with me and he said
unto me, I will show thee what these things be. Zechariah, he
asked for the meaning of this vision, verse 10, and the man
that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, these are
they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the
earth. They patrol the whole earth. God sends his messengers
out over the whole earth. Christ said, go into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature. They're witnessing
the gospel of Christ, they're speaking his judgment against
sin, and they're serving him in whatever way he commands.
his pastors, his preachers, his missionaries, his evangelists,
all of those. I was telling the men back in
the study that we're on this website called Sermon Audio.
And since we started on that website, we've got, I think,
600 and some sermons on there. And I think we've had like, what
was it, 50,000 some downloads of those messages. And it goes
out all over the world. all over the world. But God has
raised up his ministers. He's established his churches
in different parts of the world. And though it may seem few at
any given time, he does have his witness. And that's what
he's saying. They go out to and fro through
the earth. God has a people out of every
tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation. He chose them before the foundation
of the world. Christ redeemed them, and he said, I must have
them. Remember he said that in John chapter six, when he spoke
of, he said, this is the will of him that sent me, that all
of which he had given me, I should lose nothing, but raise it up
again at the last day. Look at verse 11. He says, and
they answered, The angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle
trees and said, we have walked to and fro through the earth,
and behold, all the earth sit is still and is at rest. They
report to the master, our Lord. And what is their report? This
is their report on the earth. This is the report on the unbelieving
cursed world. And here it is, he says, the
world is living in peace and prosperity, they're secure and
they're comfortable, they're untroubled by their sin, there's
no sorrow for sin, there's no seeking the Lord. They think
everything's okay. That's what he's saying. They're
at rest. Peace, peace, when there is no
peace. That's what the world says, that's
their message. You know, it's Satan's first message. You know
how he put it in different words, but it was his first message.
Peace, peace when there's no peace. You know how he put it?
He said, thou shalt not surely die. And people today in this
world, they go about their business. Christ spoke of this when he
described the last days. He said it'll be just like in
the days of Noah. People will eat and drink, they'll
marry, they'll be given in marriage, they'll do this, they'll do that,
they'll go to work, they'll come home, they'll go to sleep, they'll
wake up, life as usual. But a flood is coming. A flood
is coming. And it's going to destroy this
whole world. And it's God's judgment against
sin upon this whole world. And there's only one place of
safety. And they don't know it. And they
don't care. That's what he's saying here.
And that one place of safety is the ark. And that ark is Christ. People today, I'll tell you,
I mean, I know, I'll say this all the time to myself, I don't
understand people who claim to know and believe what we know
and believe and yet they ignore it. They totally ignore it and
go about their lives, the business of their lives without any thought
of worshiping the Lord. I do understand it because that's
the natural man. That's what it is. And that's
what I'd be were it not for the grace of God and the mercy of
God. We wouldn't listen. We wouldn't heed these things.
We'd be just like the rest of the earth, sitting still and
at rest in our cursedness, in our danger. That's what it is. Well, The world is deceived by
its own pride and its own self-righteousness and its own religion, the religion
of works and freewillism, the religion of self-righteousness.
But look at verse 12. Now, in verse 12, it says, then
the angel of the Lord answered and said, now this is Christ
speaking, the angel of the Lord. This is the man who stood among
the myrtles, the myrtle trees. And he said, O Lord of hosts,
How long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem, and on the cities
of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore
and ten years? Now, what's going on there? This
is Christ stepping in to intercede for his people. This is the mediator,
the man, Christ Jesus, pleading for his people. He's pleading
here for Judah and Jerusalem, which are types of God's spiritual
Israel. And he says, he says, you've
worked your indignation these three score and 10 years, 70
years they were in captivity. And you know, we studied that
in Daniel and went to Jeremiah when we learned why they were
in that captivity for 70 years is because 490 years Israel had
failed to keep the Sabbath year. Equals 70 years. And the punishment
has to fit the crime. So they went into captivity 70
years. Seven, 70, meaning it's a number
of completion, the fullness of God's work. Remember, he created
the world in six days and rested on the seventh. And that's what
that 70 represents. This is the full measure of the
punishment that fits their crime. That's what he's talking about.
Well, what is that picture? Well, it's symbolic of the completeness
of the punishment that Christ himself took upon the cross for
the sins of his people. That's what it symbolizes. Christ
took the full measure of the wrath of God against the sins
of his sheep. the cross when he was made sin
he who knew no sin for us that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him that's the everything that God required in justice
was fully measured out on Christ the God-man on the cross the
whole debt of our sins which Christ became accountable, responsible
for, that was imputed to Him, He paid that debt in full, just
like the 70 years of punishment fit the crime. He suffered the
equivalent of an eternity in hell for all the sins of His
people, and in return gave us the full measure of blessedness
and righteousness that He worked out on that cross. Everything,
that means this, everything that God required of me in judgment,
Christ took for me on the cross, and everything that God requires
of me in salvation and acceptance, Christ gave to me from the cross. That's it. Everything, that's
why we talk about, you see, when the Bible talks about Christ
being our all, and in all, that's not just poetry. That's not just
a hymn we sing. That's reality. And that's what Zechariah...
Here's Christ interceding for His people on the basis of the
judgment of God being fully measured out already and no more judgment,
no more wrath. And I believe that's part of
the... that's what the Holy Spirit does when He convinces His people
of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. You know there in
John chapter 16 verses 8 through 11 He says when the Holy Spirit
comes, he will convict or convince, that's conviction. He'll convince
the world, not everybody in the world, but God's people out of
the world, his elect. He'll convince them of sin because
they believe not on me, Christ said. Everything without Christ
is sin, mark it down. If you don't have Christ and
without faith, it's impossible to please. If you don't have
Christ, everything we are, everything we do is sin in the sight of
God. We must have Christ. We must
be washed in His blood and clothed in His righteousness, or it's
sin. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. And then he said he's
going to convict the world of righteousness because I go unto
the Father. How did Christ go unto the Father?
You know, He died, He was buried, He rose again the third day,
and then He ascended to the Father. Now how did He go? As the one
who accomplished the work. As the one who established righteousness. And that's the righteousness
that brings us life and blessedness. That's the righteousness of Christ
imputed to us. He's going to convince us of
that. And then he says, he's going to convict the world of
judgment because the prince of this world is cast out. Now read
your Bible. When was the prince of this world
cast out according to the words of our Savior? John 12. Remember
what he said? He said, and I, if I be lifted
up, I will draw all unto me." Right before that, he says, now
is the judgment of this world. Now is the prince of this world
cast out at the cross. I don't believe the Holy Spirit
has to come along and convince men that there is a judgment.
Now, I know there are people who deny the judgment. Don't
get me wrong. And there are people who, by nature, none of us know
the standard of judgment. But you know, even false religionists
believe there's a judgment. But what does the Holy Spirit
convince us of? That our judgment has already
taken place on the cross of Calvary in the person and work of our
Savior. God doesn't hold it against me.
He said, my sins he'll remember no more. I'm washed in the blood
of Christ, folks. I'm clothed in his righteousness.
There is no matter against me in the law books of God. They've
been wiped clean. by the blood of the crucified
one. That's what it's all about. And
he intercedes. It's what the Lord of hosts,
how long would thou not have mercy? God's always had mercy
on his people, but what Christ is doing here, he's interceding
on our behalf as our advocate, as our mediator. And listen to
what he says. Now, here's what happens. Look
at verse 13. He says, and the Lord answered, and the angel
that talked with me And the Lord answered the angel that talked
with me with good words and comfortable words. What are those good and
comfortable words to those myrtle trees that are in that low, low
place? To that sinner who sees that
if God were to judge him based on his best works, he'd be damned
forever. Do you realize that? Lord, if
thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, who would stand? You say, well,
I'm better than that bunch over there. Still, if God were to
judge you on your betterness, where would you be? You'd be
damned forever. What are the good words and the
comfortable words that he could speak to a sinner in need of
mercy? God, be merciful to me, the sinner. Well, they're words of mercy.
They're words of grace. They're words of righteousness.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, Isaiah said. Speak to my people. Tell them the Lord has given
them double for all their sins. His wrath is removed. We're justified
in Christ. We have hope now. We have salvation. Not by our works, but by His.
It's the gospel. That's what He speaks here. Good
words and comfortable words. Where is the comfort that God
sends to His people? It's in Christ. He's our comfort. He's our peace. He's our assurance. He's our salvation. And what's
the issue? Look at verse 14. What's the
issue in these comfortable, good words? Well, he says, So the
angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou saying thus
saith the Lord of hosts, I'm jealous for Jerusalem and for
Zion with a great jealousy. What's he talking about? Talking
about two things there. Number one, God's honor and glory. That's what jealousy comes from.
And number two, ownership. You see, God owns us. We're bought
with a price. And he's jealous for those whom
he owns. Now can you imagine, now think
about that a little bit. Don't let that go in one ear
and out the other. If you're a child of God, chosen of God,
redeemed by the blood of Christ, God is jealous for you. You may
not have anybody in the whole world that's jealous for you
around you. I hope you do. But I'll tell
you something, God's jealous for you. That's right, He owns
you. And He's not gonna let anybody
else have you. He's gonna protect you, He's
gonna hold you in His bosom. He's going to love you with a
love like we can never understand throughout eternity. We'll spend
eternity exploring the depths of the love of God in Christ.
And He will not let you go. He won't sell you out. He will
never forsake you. He's jealous over you. And why
is that? Because His glory is the issue
in your salvation. If God were to turn you loose
or let you go or kick you out, He would be dishonored. Because
in your salvation, if you're a child of God, He reveals every
attribute of His character as both a just God and a Savior.
And He gave His only begotten Son to save you from your sins. He's jealous. Huh? Nobody else may be, but God is.
And that's what he's saying here, look at verse 15. He says, and
I'm very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease,
those who have a false hope, a false peace, a settled peace
without Christ. He said, I'm very sore displeased. You want to please God? You look to Christ. He said,
this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased, hear ye him.
And he says, for I was but a little displeased and they helped forward
the affliction. Now what is he saying? Well,
for a while God's wrath is held back. That's not talking about
God's waiting on this or responding to this. What that simply means
is what Paul called in Romans chapter three is the long-suffering
of God. God's long-suffering. Somebody
said, well, God ought to just bring his wrath down upon this
world. Well, my friend, if God was that
quick to show wrath, we would have never even existed. Adam
and this world would have been wiped out right after the fall.
That's right. But His wrath is held back and
only partially displayed for a time, but there's coming a
time when He'll unleash the full measure of His wrath upon the
enemies of Christ and His church. It's not always going to be that
way. Remember, Peter wrote about that in 2 Peter chapter 3. God's
not slack concerning his promise, but he's long-suffering to usward. That's his people, his redeemed
people. But you take comfort, child of God, that the full measure
of God's wrath toward you has already been unleashed in full
upon your Savior, your substitute, your high priest, your lamb on
the cross of Calvary. Take heart. Take comfort. Look
at verse 16. Therefore thus saith the Lord,
I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies. Oh, his tender mercies. The sure mercies of David. That's
what these are. My house shall be built in it.
Now, the application to this people physically was the temple.
But the application to us is the church. Christ said, upon
this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not
prevail again. God's house is going to be built. You see, the
salvation of his people is not conditioned on you or me. If
it were, the house would never get built. But Christ builds
his house. He's the builder. He's the foundation. He's the chief cornerstone that
holds it all together. He builds the walls with the
bricks of his people, the stones of his people. He's the capstone. And the gates of hell will not
prevail against it. He said, my house shall be built in it,
saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth
upon Jerusalem. There's a measuring line for
the church. You know, the Bible speaks of
that often. In Revelation 11, he talks about
John measuring the church. The measuring line. And what
that's talking about is God has mercy upon His chosen people.
He sends Christ to redeem and to build His church and a line
shall be stretched forth. This line is a measurement according
to God's measuring. What is that measuring line?
It's the gospel. It's the word of grace. It's
the word of truth. It's Christ and Him crucified.
It's the truth. That's how it's measured. It's
not measured by you or by me or based on you or me. It's not
measured by who the pastor is or who the pastor's not. Some
say, well, I wish somebody else was here pastoring this church,
standing behind this pulpit. I'm not the measure. And the
fellow before me wasn't the measure either. And the fellow that'll
come after me is not the measure. Christ is the measure. Who is
Jesus Christ? What did He do? Why did He do
it? Where is He now? That's the measure
of the church. Right there. It's our mutual
love for and belief in and submission to Christ. There's the measuring
line. God's grace, salvation by grace. Mercy. That's what this is all
about. Paul said in Ephesians 2, the
church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets
of which Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone. Everything's
measured by that cornerstone. Who is Jesus Christ? He's God
in human flesh. He's the Word made flesh and
dwelt among us. What did He do for His people?
He fully redeemed us from our sins. He saved us. He didn't
try to save us. He's not trying to save us now.
He saved us to the uttermost and He'll bring us to glory.
He keeps us. He'll bring us to glory. That's
the measurement of the church. What's the gospel that they preach?
Paul said it this way in Galatians 6 14, God forbid that I should
glory save in the cross of Christ. That's the measure of the church.
He said those who walk by that rule, peace be on them and the
mercy of God and they're the Israel of God. That's the church.
Do you glory in anything but Christ and him crucified? Do
you count yourself saved by anything but the grace of God in Christ?
Do you count yourself holy and righteous except as you stand
in Christ? That's the measurement of the
church. That's the measuring line And he says he says in verse
Verse 16 therefore thus saith the Lord I'm returned to Jerusalem
with mercies my house shall be built in it Saith the Lord of
hosts a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem verse 17
cry yet saying thus saith the Lord of hosts my cities That's
that's the population of his people. That's that's his church.
I That's what he's talking about. That's the full population of
God's government of grace through Christ. And he says, through
prosperity, through good. Now, where's that come from?
Where's that prosperity come from? Oh, there used to be a
fellow on TV down in Albany. He talked about the prosperity
way of living. And of course, you had to write
him a check. to get that prosperity way of living. But you don't
have to write a check here. Not for this now. We have to
write checks to keep the lights on and keep the heat on and the
air conditioning on and all that. But for this salvation, you don't
have to write. This prosperity comes through the one who prospered. And he did it by his obedience
unto death. This is through Christ. And he said, through prosperity
shall yet be spread abroad. He's going to save all his people,
even those abroad. And the Lord shall yet comfort
Zion, his church, and shall yet choose Jerusalem, his city. This
is the fact that God will reach his chosen people all over the
world with the gospel. His word will prosper in the
salvation of his people in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
And He comforts them with His word of grace and mercy and righteousness
in Christ. He will not forsake us. No matter
what happens, He's in control. His power is the power of God
and the salvation to everyone that believes. All right. Let's
sing hymn number 318 as our closing hymn. I Need Thee Every Hour,
318.