The text this morning is Zechariah
chapter 12 verse 10 through chapter 13 and verse 1. Zechariah chapter
12 verse 10. The title of my message is In
That Day. In That Day. Those three words
are used by the prophet Zechariah more than 20 times in his prophecy. Sixteen of those times you find
them in the last three chapters of this short prophecy. Seven
of those times you find in this twelfth chapter. Zechariah seems
to have his mind more and more focused on one thing as he draws
his prophecies to its conclusion. He's directing the attention
of his people, those who read the book. He's directing your
attention and my attention by the Spirit of God to one specific
day. He speaks of that day, in that
day. He's pointing us to the day in
which the Lord God, our Savior, would accomplish redemption and
salvation for us by the sacrifice of his dear son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. If we would see that which is
here promised, we must go to Mount Calvary, take our place
at the foot of the cross, and behold the soldier's spear thrust
into the Savior's heart by God's appointment, opening for us the
fountain of life and salvation for sin and for uncleanness. As we look upon Christ crucified,
pouring out his life's blood unto death, we see the fountain
opened for sin, opened for uncleanness, that we might be washed and made
clean in his precious blood. We behold the Lamb of God taking
away the sin of the world by the sacrifice of himself. Without question, this fountain
was opened in eternity when God made him the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. And having been opened in eternity,
the fountain must be and was opened in time at the appointed
day of the Almighty. In that day are the words Zachariah
used to point God's elect away from the day of typical laws
and ceremonies and rituals and sacrifices. And to point us away
from the day of difficulty and trouble, to point us to the day
of God's salvation in Christ. He points the saints in this
Old Testament age to the gospel day in which we live. And he
points us back to the accomplishment of redemption by Christ Jesus
so that in the midst of judgment, In the midst of trial, in the
midst of heartache, let our minds ever turn away from those things
to Him who is our Redeemer and our Savior. And you will find
reason then to rejoice in the Lord always. As the Apostle admonishes,
rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. Look not
at the outward things of this day or even your inward struggles
of this day. Look out of yourself to that
day when the Son of God saved you by his grace and by his blood
at Mount Calvary. In that day. That was the day
of Christ's crucifixion as our substitute. There's no question
about that. When we get to John chapter 19, when our Lord Jesus
was, had his side thrust through with a spear, the soldiers came
and shoved the spear in his heart. One of them looked at him and
said, surely this is the son of God. And John tells us this
was done because back in Zechariah chapter 13, verse one, God said,
they shall look on me whom they have pierced. So certainly the
passage we're looking at has reference to our Lord's crucifixion.
That day was also the day the son of God saved his people by
the shedding of his blood. Look back at chapter nine and
verse 16. And the Lord their God shall
save them in that day as the flock of his people. for they
shall be as stones of a crown lifted up as an instant upon
his land in one day the Lord God took away the sins of his
people as he said he would and Zachariah chapter 3 by his one
sacrifice the Lord Jesus put away our sins by his one sacrifice
at one time he took away all the sins of all his people forever
that day is also the day God pours out His Spirit upon His
chosen. The day God pours out His Spirit
upon redeemed sinners. The day He calls His own by His
grace, giving them life and faith in Jesus Christ. It is my prayer that this day
will be that day for you. That day is the day God pours
out the spirit of grace and supplication upon his people. Look at Zechariah
12, 10. And I will pour upon the house
of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace
and of supplications. And they shall look upon me whom
they have pierced. And they shall mourn for him
as one mourneth for his only son. and shall be in bitterness
for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. That day refers
to this day. I want us to go back to Mount
Calvary. I want us to sit down at the
foot of the cross and gaze upon the crucified Redeemer until
our hearts are broken and healed. Until we see our soul's filth
made manifest and we're made clean. Until we're made to mourn
for him that was pierced and made to rejoice for him as well,
who loved us and gave himself for us. Hold your Bibles open
on your laps and we'll look at these few verses of scripture
together, line by line. Zechariah 12, beginning at verse
10. And I will pour upon the house
of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace
and of supplications. And they shall look upon me whom
they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth
for his only son and shall be in bitterness for him as one
that is in bitterness for his firstborn. And that day shall
there be a great mourning in Jerusalem as the morning of Hadadrimim
in the valley of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn every
family apart. The family of the house of David
apart, and their wives apart. The family of the house of Nathan
apart, and their wives apart. The family of the house of Levi
apart, and their wives apart. The family of the house of Shemai
apart, and their wives apart. The families that remain, every
family apart, and their wives apart. In that
day, there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David
and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. All right, let me call your attention
now to six things in this passage we've read. First, the Lord Jesus
here speaks of a great and mighty outpouring. He says, I will pour. I will pour. I sat and looked at that this
morning when I was going over my notes, and I thought, oh,
God, do that. What a word he uses, I will pour. When God pours, he pours. He pours buckets of grace. He who delighteth in mercy is
never niggardly in dispensing mercy. No matter what gifts we
speak of, his gifts are not small gifts in his hands. He always
gives liberally and abradeth not. He is rich in grace to all
who call upon Him. Our God and Savior is abundant
in kindness. He is plenteous in redemption. With Him is plenteous redemption. Where sin abounds, His grace
always much more abounds. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
is described as exceeding abundant grace. We can't begin to imagine
the riches of his grace or the riches of the glory of his grace
given to his saints by inheritance in him. The Apostle Paul wrote
to the Ephesians and he said, I pray that God will open your
understanding and give you eyes to see so that you may know the
exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe. I pray that
God will cause you to know the height and depth and length and
breadth of the love of Christ that passes understanding. So
when he speaks here of this day of grace, he says that I will
pour I will pour from heaven buckets of grace upon my people. Now, read along with me. Here's
the next thing. This great outpouring is promised
by our God to a specific chosen people. He doesn't promise to
pour grace upon all. He never does. He promises to
pour grace upon all a specific chosen people. Look at this.
And I will pour upon the house of david and upon the inhabitants
of jerusalem This is god's promise to david's house It is god's
promise to david's house without exception It is god's promise
to all the seed of david Oh, no, wait a minute. Wait a minute
There are many in the house of david already in hell You can't
possibly be talking about that. There are many in the house of
David who shall never know his grace. Can't possibly be, this
must not be true then. It's talking about another David.
It's talking about another David. This is talking about our great
David, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's talking about all his
house. Now I say that because there are multitudes. There are
multitudes who would have you to believe that Because the Jews
are Jews because they're related to Abraham physically related
to David physically Then they're God's chosen people and God this
prophecy is about the Lord Jesus coming again and setting up his
kingdom over in Jerusalem And all that nonsense and it is nonsense
but if you make it to speak of the physical seed of Abraham
and the physical house of David then you must declare that Every
Jew shall at last be saved And that is not the case. Judas was
a Jew, and Judas is in hell. This is talking about a spiritual
kingdom, a spiritual nation, a spiritual seed. It's talking
about the seed of David, the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace in infinite
unceasing abundance is here promised to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
that is, to all God's church. Hold your hands here or put a
mark here and look at some scripture with me I don't want you to take
my word for this. I want you to see it for yourself Don't
you see it for yourself turn back to 1st Samuel 1st Samuel
chapter 7 1st Samuel chapter 7 verse 16 God's promise to David and his
house in the Old Testament is Those promises were promises
concerning a house, a kingdom, a family, and a throne that would
be established and would stand forever. The promises, all God's promises
to David and his house, all the promises concerning David's kingdom.
All the promises concerning David's throne were promises made to
a family and a house and the kingdom and the throne that would
be established and would stand relentlessly without interruption
forever. First Samuel chapter 7 verse
16. Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established. What does
it say? What does it say? Forever, forever
before thee and thy throne shall be established forever. What? But wait, David's been
dead a long time. Nobody living on earth today
has any idea whether he was physically related to David's specific family
or not. The Jews don't know what their
genealogy is, they just know they're Jews. The physical seed
of Abraham. David's kingdom had been gone
a long time. There hasn't been a throne in
Jerusalem for a long, long, long time. The nation of the Jews
has been regathered since 1948, but there's not been a throne
there, and that kingdom had ceased to be a nation for nearly 2,000
years. But this promise is concerning a throne and a kingdom that would
stand forever without interruption. In Acts chapter 2, the Apostle
Peter speaks concerning this man David and the outpouring
of God's Spirit as it was promised back here in Zechariah. And he
speaks of it like this. He says in verse 30, therefore,
being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to
him that out of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh,
he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. Then in verse
33, Peter says, therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted
and having received the father, the promise of the Holy Ghost,
he hath shed forth this which you now see and hear. Now listen,
for David is not ascended into the heavens, but he sayeth himself,
the Lord said unto my Lord, set thou on my right hand. Look at verse 36. Therefore let
all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
that same Jesus this David This son of David this King whom you
have crucified both Lord and Christ All right back in Zechariah
Zechariah chapter 12 This promise of grace and Salvation
is to all Israel That is to all the seed of Israel, to all the
Israel of God, to all Abraham's true spiritual seed. Please, please, please, when
you read the book of God, Understand that Abraham's physical seed
was but a type of another seed in whom God preserved a seed
in the world until Christ came. And that seed is Christ. Israel
in the Old Testament was but a type of God's Israel, the true
Israel of God, his church. So that the national Israel was
but a type, a picture of God's church and kingdom. And in that
national people, the Lord God preserved a seed by whom he would
bring in Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, into the world. And you who are
gods, Abraham's seed Now we have in this building this morning
folks whose ancestry Everybody got we got black Americans and
Asian Americans and Mexican Americans and Italian Americans I don't
know what's wrong with Americans, but but we are all in this building
this morning right here my family is German American That's that's
the ancestry. That's the ancestry. I don't
call me German American. I ain't I'm American, but that's
my ancestry. We got some folks who are African
American. We got some folks who are Italian
American. Sitting right here. Sitting right here. Some came
from France. Right here. But all the seed
of Abraham. All the seed of Abraham. You understand that? In Christ
Jesus. Barbarian, Scythian, bond-free,
male, female, black, white, Jewish, Gentile, Mexican, Puerto Rican,
French, Italian, it doesn't matter. Those things, even circumcision
and uncircumcision, don't matter. But Christ is all in all of you. Christ is all if you're His.
Look at Romans chapter 2. Romans chapter 2. Verse 29. Now look back at verse
28. He is not a Jew which is one
outwardly. He is not a Jew which is one
outwardly. Neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh.
That's not the circumcision that has any connection with God.
Most every male child in this century was circumcised at birth. That's not what he's talking
about. That's not what he's talking about. That physical circumcision
of Abraham's seat represented something else. It represented
the new birth, the work of God made in your hearts without hands
by God the Holy Spirit. Look at verse 29. He is not a
Jew which is one outwardly. And circumcision is that of the
heart in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not of
men, but of God. Turn to Galatians chapter 3.
Galatians chapter 3. Look at verse 16. Now to Abraham and his seed. Were the promises made and what's
this? He saith not and to seeds as of many But as of one and
to thy seed Which is Christ? So skip all the promises God
made to Abraham in the covenant were really promises God had
already made to Christ in the covenant as our surety before
the world began, who would come into this world through Abraham
as Abraham's seed. And all the promises are fulfilled
in Abraham's seed singular. What's that got to do with us
then? Look at Galatians 3.29. And Ron, if this don't make you
jump up, I don't know what will. And if ye be Christ, then are
ye Abraham's, what does it say? S-E-E-D, singular. What? If ye be Christ, then are
you Abraham's seed. Now he's already told us in verse
16, I'm not talking about many, I'm talking about one. Not seeds,
plural, but seeds, singular. And if you're Christ, you are
one with Christ, Abraham seed to whom all the blessings are
given and heirs according to the promise so that we are one
with Christ. And yet he uses the term heirs
in the plural. We are heirs of God, each of
us personally, heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Now, look back at Romans chapter
11 one more time. Romans chapter 11. And so, now
remember what I'm telling you. God says, I'm gonna pour out
my spirit. I'm gonna pour out my spirit upon the house of David,
upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Now watch this. Romans 11, 26. And so, all Israel shall be saved. All Abraham's seed, all God's
elect, All God's church in the four corners of the earth, north,
south, east and west, all God's church, all Israel shall be saved. The church of God then is the
true heavenly everlasting Jerusalem. We are that Jerusalem which Paul
speaks of and say, Jerusalem, which is above, is the mother
of us all. We are that heavenly Jerusalem
described in Hebrews chapter 12. We are God's holy city. We are God's holy temple. So that God's church, his people,
we're Abraham's seed, we're David's family, we're the city of Jerusalem,
we're the temple of the living God. Well, that looks like, Brother
Don, That takes in everything in all the Old Testament that
was set forth as sanctified and holy and useful and good and
for God's glory, doesn't it though? Everything that means anything
to God, that's what you are. Abraham's seed, David's family,
the kingdom of God, the church of the living God. We are God. We are God. So this, this gift
of the spirit, this outpouring of the spirit is promised to
all a chosen people. God's elect back here in Zechariah
chapter 12. Here's the third thing I will
pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
the spirit of grace, the spirit of grace, the spirit of grace
and supplications. I will pour out the spirit of
grace and supplications to all Abraham's seed, all David's family,
all Christ elect, all my chosen, all the church of God. There
is an appointed day, an appointed hour, an appointed time called
the time of love when the Lord God pours out upon chosen redeemed
sinners, the spirit of grace and supplications. Now, this
was done once in Acts chapter two, when the Lord Jesus had
mounted to heaven and was seated on his throne. And as the inaugural
act of the risen, exalted Christ, he poured out his spirit upon
all flesh on the day of Pentecost. But that one time outpouring
of the spirit The signal of that which is done for all God's people
in his grace We were put in the spirit brought into the spirit
made to live in the spirit by the outpouring of the spirit
Listen to this. You don't need to turn that's
very familiar to you Galatians chapter 3 verse 13 Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for
us for it is written that Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a
tree now. Why was this done? That the blessing
of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ
That we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith Christ
redeemed us and because Christ redeemed us now God pours out
the Spirit of grace and supplications upon us and The God of glory
has chosen and blessed a people of every nation, tribe, kindred,
and tongue in Christ Jesus. All the Israel of God shall be
saved. All that the Father has given
to the Son shall be called and justified and preserved and glorified. He will indeed pour out the spirit
of grace, regeneration, supplication, and mercy on all the house of
David. And he will bestow upon all the
inhabitants of Jerusalem the sure mercies of David. He's called
here the spirit of grace. Why is that? Because all grace
is conveyed to redeemed centers, chosen of God from eternity by
the Holy Spirit. He comes in you in the new birth
and regeneration and and Joe he makes us partakers of the
divine nature He he makes us new creatures in Christ so that
David Byrd sitting back there being born of God has Christ
formed in him and in the Sun is all grace and all that God
can or will give to any sinner he has given to all his elect
in Christ before the world began and in the gift of his son gives
him all grace in the new birth so that all the blessings of
God are ours in Christ all grace regenerating grace and convincing
grace and Restoring grace, believing grace and preserving grace and
converting grace and illuminating grace, sealing grace, all saving
grace. All those gifts of grace called
the fruit of the spirit are yours by the gift of God. If you're
Christ. Through the spirit, love, joy,
peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith. All
those are graces of God. given to sinners and wrought
in sinners by the spirit of grace. So that those who are born again,
having this spirit of grace, become supplicators at the throne
of grace. What's the report about Saul
of Tarsus? Last I heard, he was down the road there taking believers
to prison. Terrible furious man is getting
close to us behold He prayeth He prayeth God did something
for him God poured out on him the spirit of grace and supplications
so that the sinner Born again by God the Spirit calls upon
God for mercy Not the other way around Not the other way around This spirit of grace and supplication
is that which causes us to seek the Lord and call upon his name. God has promised that he will
come and save his people. He's promised that he will be
merciful and gracious to his people. And yet for this, he
will be sought. We who are born of God call for
mercy. We who are born of God ask for
grace. The idea that a sinner asks and
then is born again is absolutely contrary to scripture and absolutely
contrary to reason if man had any reason. You see, man is born
dead in trespasses and in sins. Now, we go through the motions
of prayer and we repeat words that we were taught as children
to say when we pray. And that's another sermon. But we we we act like we're praying
a lot. But prayer. Prayer is found in
the heart. So Sam Wall, if you or Don Fortner
ever praise, we pray because God put it in our heart to pray. Davidson in it for Samuel 7 he
said do as you said Lord thy servant found it in his heart
to pray this prayer unto thee we pray because the spirit of
grace and Supplications is given to us turn back to Jeremiah 29.
Let me see if I can Make this clear Somebody said well that
that sounds like the men men asked for salvation and that
that's Arminianism I get so sick of hearing folks,
well, that's Arminianism, that's, that's hardshellism. I don't
care what ism it is, is it true ism? Is it what the book says? Is it what the book says? We
do not build our doctrine by a system of religion and we don't
bend the word of God to fit a system of religion. That's handling
the word of God deceitfully. Bob, if we believe this book,
we bend everything to the book. Not the other way around look
in Jeremiah 29 verse 10 Thus saith the Lord that after
70 years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you and perform
my good word toward you in causing you to return to this place That
sounds like a promise doesn't it? Just sound like a promise
to you God said I will he's our call and That means 70 years,
boy, you're coming back to Jerusalem. For I know the thoughts that
I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, not
of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall you call upon
me and you shall go and pray unto me and I will hearken unto
you. God says, I'll listen to you.
That's not what he says. Fred, God says I'll obey you. I'll hearken. God, obey a man. I will hearken to you. Is that
what he said? I'll hear you. I'll do what you've
asked. And ye shall seek me and find
me when ye shall search for me with all your that no one ever forget if we
pray, if we seek the Lord, if we supplicate the throne of grace,
it's because he has sought us and called us by his grace. Our
prayer, our supplication, our faith is not the cause of the
spirits coming, but the result of the spirits coming. He shows us our need and graciously,
sweetly, compels us to seek the Savior. The hymn writer put it
this way, I sought the Lord and afterwards I knew he moved my
soul to seek him, seeking me. It was not I that found old Savior
true. No, no, I was found to thee. All right, back in our text,
here's the fourth thing. I will pour out upon the house
of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace
and of supplications now watch this and They shall look upon
me whom they have pierced They shall look upon me whom
they have pierced The Savior says Look unto me and be you
saved all the ends of the earth For I am God and beside me there
is none else. That means that anybody in all
the world who looks to Christ believes on the Lord Jesus. Trust
the Son of God. Anybody in all the world who
looks to Christ lives by Christ. What is it? What is it? You mean
preacher? If I If I look to Christ, God promises
me salvation. That's what he said. Burl, look
away to Christ, salvation's yours. That's what he said. Oh, but you don't know what I've
done. You don't know where I've been.
You don't know what I've become. Look and live! That's his promise. And if you look, it's because
God's already given you life. Cause God's already given you
life. And, uh, I'll tell you something else about that. It
won't make you glad, make, make you mad to hear that. It'll make
you glad. How is it that I came to look? And my dad, my mom, my brother,
my sister, son, my daughter, my husband, wife sitting right
beside me. Heard the same thing I heard, but they still don't
look. I'm not going to look, because
he poured out his spirit upon me. He poured out his spirit upon
me. Now, you say, well, if I'm going to be saved, I'll wait
for God to pour out his spirit on me. And if he does, I'll look.
That's all there is to it. You can go to hell doing that
if you want to. You can go to hell doing that if you want to.
But looking is your responsibility. You must look. You must believe
on the Son of God. You don't need a college degree
to look. You may not be able to read, but you can look. You
may be destitute of all virtue, but you can look. You may have
no merit, but you can look. Looking only requires a need. Oh, Moses, the serpent's bitten
me. The fever runs through my body.
My mind is going, what can I do, Moses? Look to the serpent hanging
on the tree. Look to Christ. Well, I got a
little sting here, but I don't feel a thing. I don't believe
that was a serpent biting me. I believe that was a spider.
I don't need him. I feel a little uneasiness, but
no threat of life. I don't need him. And until you
need him, you won't look. Until you need him, you won't
look. Someone else can pray for me,
but no one else can look for me. I must look to Christ. Myself they shall look on me
now. What's this whom? They have pierced Towards you my sins My cruel
sins his chief tormentors were each of my crimes became a nail
and Unbelief the spirit I see the crowd in Pilate's hall. I mark the angry men. Those shouts of crucify appall
with blasphemies between. But of that shouting multitude,
I feel that I am one. And in that den of voices rude,
I recognize my own. I see the scourge tear his back. I see the piercing crowd. And of the crowd who smite and
mock, I feel that I am one. Around yon cross the throng I
see, mocking the sufferer's groans. Yet my own voice, it seems to
me, there mocked my Lord alone. It was I that shed the sacred
blood. I nailed him to the tree. I crucified
the Christ of God. I joined the revelry. Yet not
the less, that blood avails to cleanse away my sin. And not
the less, the cross prevails to give me peace within. Here's the fifth thing back in
our text. Be sure you don't miss this. And they shall mourn for him.
As one mourneth for his only son. And shall be in bitterness
for him. As one that is in bitterness
for his firstborn. Repentance is the result of looking. The result of faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. It is not a condition that qualifies
us to look. It's not a prerequisite to faith.
Repentance is the result of looking. Brother Ranere and his family
were subjected for some time to a ministry. That determined
whether or not you had about true faith by how sincere you
were in repentance. Is that correct? Yeah. And I recall years ago, I preached
up in Michigan. It's been a long 30 some years
ago. And a fellow sitting across the table from me, he said, he's
I've been seeking the Lord for 30 years. I said, do what? He's I've been seeking the Lord
for 30 years. And what he meant by that, and said by that, said,
I'm not a believer, I'm not saved, but I've been seeking the Lord
for 30 years. And I stopped what I was doing, put down my fork,
and I said, that's a lie. And he and his pastor looked
at me like I'd slapped him in the face with a wet dish rag,
which is what I meant to do. And I said, if you'd been seeking
Him for 30 years, you'd have found Him by now. No, it's not
our repentance that qualifies us for faith. It's faith in Christ
that causes repentance. Well, the Lindsay referred to
an article by Scott Richardson, just a brief sentence, really.
You said you saw it in two bulletins. I read it in five this morning.
Folks talk about repentance and they talk about being scared
of hell. That's not repentance. Talk about repentance and talk
about feeling guilty. That's not repentance. That's
not it. Job said, mine eye seeth thee, wherefore I abhor myself. Isaiah said, I saw the Lord high
and lifted up. John chapter 12, the Savior said
he was looking at me. And what I did, I cried, woe
is me, for I'm unclean. I'm a man of unclean lips, and
I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Brother Mahan
made this observation. True mourning for sin. has a
distinct and constant reference to the Lord Jesus. If I hate
sin because I'm exposed, I haven't repented. I merely regret that
I've been found out. If I hate sin because of judgment
and hell, I haven't repented. I merely regret that God is just. But if I see sin as a hateful
offense against my Lord, And I see my sin as crucifying him. Then I mourn with a truly broken
and repentant heart. True mourning is a great bitterness
as one mourns the death of his firstborn. Lord. Let me weep for naught but sin. And after none but thee. Then
I would oh that I might. a constant weeper be. The Lord is nigh to them that
are of a broken heart. And save us such as be of a contrite
spirit. Look to Christ. And the more
you look to Christ, the more you will know your sin. And the
more you know your sin, as you look to Christ, the more broken you are in your
soul. Because of what you are, that's what crucified the Redeemer.
You see that, Mark? Repentance isn't the fear of
going to hell, though that's involved. Repentance isn't just
somebody beating you up with the law, making you feel guilty
because other folks aren't so bad. Repentance is the response of the faith
look to the Son of God. You mean, Brother Don? I've been
looking for sorrow enough and grief enough and anguish enough
and brokenness enough to believe on the Lord Jesus. Now, I just,
I don't feel my sin enough. You're looking the wrong place.
You're looking in here. Look out to the Redeemer and
a look of the crucified one will break your heart, I promise.
Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved. Now look at verses 11 through
14. Now remember, Zechariah is still talking about God's mighty
operations of grace as he seeks out, finds, and saves his elect
in that day. He's appointed day for each. In that day shall there be a
great morning in Jerusalem. As the morning of Hadarimmon,
In the valley of Megiddo, two great periods of lamentation
for the Jews. And the land shall mourn. Now
watch this. Every family apart. And their
wives apart. The family of the house of David
apart. And their wives apart. The family
of the house of Nathan apart. And their wives apart. The family
of the house of Levi apart. And their wives apart. The family
of the house of Shammai apart, and their wives apart. All the
families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. What's that talking about? What
on earth is that talking about? Repentance and faith in Christ
is an intensely personal thing. personal thing. In this congregation,
some of you are in a household where you alone believe God. Some of you are blessed and you
believe God with your wife. And some of you believe God with
your wife and with your children. What a blessing. What a blessing. But each one must believe for
himself. The families apart and the wives
apart. God pours out his grace here
and every family here affected by his grace, benefited by his
grace. And each each family, each family
here. Oh, what grace God's given us.
Each one in the household himself, herself must believe. I cannot
believe God for Shelby Fortner. I can pray for her. I can preach
to her. I can't believe God for her.
You got to do that for yourself. We love those babies, those grandchildren.
Y'all don't have to tell them I still call them babies. Love
them. Love them. Pray for them. I preach
to them every time I get a chance. I seize every opportunity to
declare the gospel to them. But I can't believe for them. And I won't pretend to. They
must believe. Now hear me. I've said all that
so that you will hear me. You must believe on the Son of
God. Believing on Him, life is yours. Let me wrap this up. Verse one
of chapter 13. This is what happens when a sinner
looks to Christ. I'm thrilled to think of maybe.
Maybe, maybe, maybe. Oh, God, maybe. God will cause you to look to
Christ. This is what happens. In that
day, in that day, there shall be a fountain opened to the house
of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness. I heard men instruct me in the
gospel of God's grace. Brother Leroy Pat, Brother Lloyd
Moore, taught a Bible class, Sunday school class I was in.
Just like Mark was teaching those young people downstairs. And
I sat and tried not to listen, but I couldn't help but let it
get through sometimes. And I heard, and I heard, and
I heard. And the word began to pierce
my heart. And I tossed and turned in guilt. And I ran to Sinai and ran to
Sinai and ran to Sinai and tried and tried and tried and tried
and tried to do better. And I could not make myself clean. I could wash the cup and the
saucer on the outside, but inside was nothing but filth. I could
paint the gravestone and make it look pretty on the outside,
but inside was just dead men's bones. I couldn't do anything. Couldn't do anything. Then one
day, I heard a man preaching the gospel
of God's grace. I'd heard him many times before.
I'd heard the message many times before. But I heard. And Bobby, I couldn't help myself.
I found myself looking. And I went home clean. I went home clean. NOT GUILTY
BEFORE GOD! There is a fountain filled with
blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins and sinners plunged beneath that
flood lose all their guilty stains. Rock Barter one day was traveling
out west and he stopped by Yellowstone, I think it is, where that great
geyser is. And he'd been driving an old
Ford and had to work on it. It got out, his hands were dirty,
and he took his handkerchief and dipped it down in that water,
rinsed it out. It was just clean and white. And he began to sing that hymn.
There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins.
And sinners plunge beneath the flood, lose all their guilty
stains. He didn't know anybody came up behind him. Somebody
behind him said, Preacher, can we join you in the next verse? Can you join me and sing the
blessed hymn? Number 222 in your hymn book.
This will be our benediction.