Zechariah 1:4-6

 

Zechariah 1:4-6

The Enduring Hope Found in the Logos

 

Zec 1:4  Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD. 

Zec 1:5  Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? 

Zec 1:6  But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us. 

 

1. Repent of Your Self Effort and Self Glory. – vs. 4*
1. Your fathers had a faithful witness to call them to repentance.

                                               i.     Jeremiah 16:19-21 

2. They were warned just like you to repent of your sin and turn to Christ.

                                               i.     Jeremiah 35:15 

3. Please do not repeat the same mistake and refuse to heed the call to repentance.

                                               i.     Acts 3:11-26 

2. Tradition Fails. The Memory of Great Men Fades. – vs. 5*
1. Nations come to an end, great men die, and religious systems crumble. Can your identity be taken away? If so, how would such an event affect your world view?
3. The Logos Endures Forever. – vs. 6*
1. God’s word endures to reveal Christ to every generation. The effect of the word, which reveals the Word, is as follows:

                                               i.     God’s word takes root in your spirit.

1.     John 10:14-18 

                                             ii.     You repent of your sins and live a changed life by His power

1.     Titus 3:4-7 

                                           iii.     You live to see the goodness and justice of God.

1.     1 Peter 2:24-25 

2.     “This then, is a brief outline of this first sermon of Zechariah: He first wishes to make the people pious and God fearing by means of threats and promises; and in order to frighten them, he offers them the example of their good deeds like these, he first wants them to be pious, so that they might not think that God would be satisfied with their work of building the temple and the city, as their fathers had thought that it was good enough if they sacrificed. No, my good man, rather than all good works he wants faith and a heart converted to him. That is all he is interested in. This must come first and be preached first: ‘Return to me, and after that build me a temple’ and not, ‘first build me a temple, and after that return to me.’ Good works inflate us and make us proud, but faith and conversion humble us and make us despair of ourselves.”         – Martin Luther

Zechariah 1:1-3

 

Zechariah 1:1-3

Turn Unto Me, Saith the Lord of Hosts

 

Zec 1:1  In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, 

Zec 1:2  The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers. 

Zec 1:3  Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. 

1. Zechariah Identifies the Date and Authorship of His Book – vs. 1*
1. This book was written in November of 520BC, coupled with Haggai it is one of the final warnings given to the Israelites. There would be one more final warning about 400 years before the birth of Christ and that would be Malachi.

                                               i.     Haggai 1:1 

2. This book is authored by God and recorded by Zechariah.

                                               i.     Zechariah was a descendant of a prophet

1.     2 Chronicles 9:29 

                                             ii.     Zechariah would later be killed by his audience in response to his prophesy.

1.     Matthew 23:31-36 

2. God Hates Sin and will Punish the Sinner. – vs. 2*
1. God Hates You. God Hated Your Fathers

                                               i.     Tradition, no matter how great it is, is flawed. Tradition is created by men that are under the wrath of God. No amount of religious effort can save you. Your very nature is wicked. There is absolutely no hope in man or in what man can produce.

1.     Ephesians 2:1-3 

2.     1 Peter 1:16-19 

3. God Loves You and Longs to Invite You Into His Trinitarian Fellowship, if You Will Only Turn to Him. – vs. 3*
1. The Triune God invites us to come into His fellowship, and lay down our rebellion. – vs. 3

                                               i.     While it is true that God hates sin and sinners, that is not the complete truth. God is not only a judge, but He is love. He can love us because Christ made satisfaction for our sins.

1.     John 3:16 

                                             ii.     The Lord of Hosts longs to have fellowship with you and has paid the price so that we can achieve that. He begs you to not harden your heart but come into His eternal rest.

1.     Hebrews 3:7-14 

                                           iii.     The book of Zechariah is a plea to the Jewish people to come to Christ. It is a plea to us to come into the beautiful fellowship with Son, Spirit and Father, and experience the love of God and not His wrath. This book is filled with beautiful imagery of the trinity and His love for you.

1.     John 15:5-11 

Joel Beeke | TMS Chapel | Developing Private Prayer in Ministry - Isaiah...

Some Wonderful thoughts on prayer...

5 Pillars of Biblical Masculinity: Nick Freitas' Message to Christian Men

Shocking Admission by a Catholic Priest

H.B. Charles Jr. Preaches on Psalm 2 at NRB's Proclaim 19 Convention

Wow just great...

Eastern Orthodoxy: Why Are Young People Converting?

A great response to a growing concern. One that I have had for sometime...