We return once again to the prophecy of Zechariah, and we are in Zechariah chapter four. This is the second in what I believe will be a three-part little series that I've entitled, "The Radiant Light of God's Glory." And this is an opportunity for us to understand the fifth out of the eight visions that were given to Zechariah. And certainly, one of the primary responsibilities that I have as a Bible expositor, as your pastor, is to help you understand not only what the text says, but what it means to you, and to us now, and in the future; to help bridge the cultural and the historical gap between a prophecy that was given some 2500 years ago, so that you can see how it applies to us today, how it is relevant to us today, and what it means for us in the future.

And before we look at the text, I hope you understand the astounding privilege that we have toread prophetic literature that God has inspired, because it is in these prophecies that we understand how God is at work. We begin to see his sovereignty being played out, shall we say. And it gives us confident hope of future blessing and boy, we all need hope. What if we did not have the hope of Christ? If we did not have the hope that he's coming again, that all we had to hope for is the next person in the next election? Look how that's worked out. You know, it's easy to get discouraged, to lose hope, because we are constantly bombarded with the news, with all of the chaos and corruption and violence in this fallen world. And I have to admit, I'm very thankful that God in his grace allowed Donald Trump to get elected. He's certainly not a perfect man, but my, compared to what we have had, and to see what he and his administration are doing, exposing all of the corruption, providing for us policies that will help protect my family, and yours, and give us freedoms and certainly the the tofu eating Starbucks sipping progressives are now hyperventilating on their yoga mats as they see the Trump administration absolutely dismantling their whole woke cult and the corrupt leftists in Washington, in leadership, are obviously outraged as the DOGE audit exposes all of their bribing mechanisms and all of the slush funds, and all of the ways that they get money. They come into office, and they may make little under $200,000 a year, and within a few years, they're worth multi millions. And of course, the meltdown that they are having is a testimony to their guilt. I'm telling you some of these things because I want to contrast what we're seeing, which is really history. This is historical, what we're seeing happening in our country, but I want to contrast this with the glorious hope that we have when Christ returns.

Some people will say about the leftists in our country, they just don't get it. You know, they just don't get it. They're not changing course. They lost the election, but they're continuing to throw these childish tantrums, to build straw men arguments, hypothetical complaints that aren't even grounded in reality, and many times, outright lies. And you look at the the bizarre appearance and rhetoric of the self loathing, delusional transgenders, protesting, demanding attention and affirmation. Folks, these people need the Lord. They need the gospel. They need the truth. And what people don't understand is the reason. Quote, they "don't get it." Right? And the reason most people don't "get" the sin that they're living in is because they're lost. They're spiritually dead, and because, as Romans 1:28 says, God "has given them over to a depraved mind to do those things that are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed and evil..."  and the list goes on and on.

It reminds me of Hosea's words when God was using him to warn the northern kingdom of Israel, Ephraim about impending judgment. There we read in Hosea 4:17, "Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone." That's what we see today in our country. People are joined to idols, and God is just leaving them alone to destroy themselves. Psalm 81 beginning in verse 11, we read the same thing, "'But My people did not listen to My voice, and Israel did not obey Me. So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices.'" Beloved, sinners cannot change their sinful natures. That's why people don't get it. Jeremiah 13:23, says, "'Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?'" Rhetorical question, obviously, no. And he goes on to say, "'Then you also can do good who are accustomed to doing evil.'"  People who are accustomed to doing evil, are not going to change. And I want to caution you, though now under the Trump administration, I think some good things are happening, and probably more good things are going to come, and there may be some improvement in society, but you must understand that most of the people, even conservatives in the United States, reject the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They do not understand biblical authentic Christianity. A lot of people are saying there's a revival of religion breaking out in our country, and I would agree we're seeing that, but religion is very different than authentic Biblical Christianity.

May I say that hell is going to be filled with religious people? Hell will be filled with people of faith. My heart breaks as I say that, but there's so much false teaching and false gospel out there. In fact, I was so disappointed President Trump put Paula White in as his faith advisor. She's a total charlatan, a prosperity teacher; thinks she's an apostle. I could go on and on with it. It's heartbreaking to see this, but I want you to know this, that a day is coming when God is going to judge this world. That's the trajectory that we are on, when Christ returns and pours out his just wrath upon those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul reminds us of this in Second Thessalonians, one beginning in verse eight, he will come "...dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed - for our testimony to you was believed. To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."

And one day, the name of the Lord Jesus will be glorified in all of the earth, and this is the theme of the text that we have before us that God himself has revealed to us. Now, my goal this morning is to help you understand the authorial intent of what is recorded in this text, and to apply it to each of our lives, because again, this is God breathed revelation from the one true God. But I also want to excite you about the reality that Jesus is coming again to glorify himself onthis earth. And I also want to help you understand the work of the Holy Spirit in your life, to help you see that every God glorifying work that you do has been energized by the Spirit of God, and that will continue unless you - because of your sin, because of your rebellion - unless you live for yourself and not for him, and grieve him and quench his work in your life. So that's what we're going to be looking at here this morning. So let me read the text to you. We're in Zechariah four. I'm going to read the 14 verses. We're going to only look at really versesthree through 10 this morning, but I want to read the whole thing in context, so that you get the flow of it.

"Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep.

He said to me, 'What do you see?' And I said, 'I see, and behold, a lamp stand all of gold, with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it;

also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.'

Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, saying, 'What are these, my lord?'

So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, 'Do you not know what these are for?' And I said, 'No, my lord.'

Then he said to me, 'This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel, saying, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the LORD of hosts.

"What are you? O great mountain. Before Zerubbabel, you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'"'"

Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.

For who has despised the day of small things. But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel - these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth.'

Then I said to him, 'What are these two olive trees on the right of the lamp standing on its left?'

And I answered the second time and said to him, 'What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes which empty the golden oil from themselves?'

So he answered me, saying, 'Do you not know what these are?' And I said, 'No, my lord.'

Then he said, 'These are the two anointed ones who were standing by the Lord of the whole earth.'"

Now I've divided this section into three categories. We looked at the first one last week, "The Golden Lampstand of God's Glory." And I'll review that very briefly in a moment. And secondly, what we're going to look at today is "The Spirit Empowered Work of the Coming Messiah." And that will be verses four through 10, and then verses 11 through 14, that we will look at Lord willing next time, will pertain to "The Messiah's Future Role as Both King and Priest."

Now, by way of review, and I do this for you, because I do it for myself. When I immerse myself in these great texts throughout the week, remember that about 50,000 Jewish exiles were allowed to return to Judea, to their land after 70 years of captivity in Babylon. And about five months before the eight visions that God gave to Zechariah, we know that he raised up another prophet by the name of Haggai. And Haggai was to stir the hearts of the people to resume the work of quote, "the house of the LORD of hosts," Haggai 1:14, and a few other passages. Now that was crucial, because this was where God dwelt amongst his people. This is where the sacrifices were offered. This is where the Old Testament believer would identify himself outwardly with the covenant God as one of the covenant members of his covenant people. It's where sacrifices would temporarily satisfy the just wrath of God. And those sacrifices, of course, pointed to the final sacrifice: the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. But Haggai also delivered a very stern rebuke to the priests for their impurity and to the people for their delay in building the temple. You read about that in Haggai two.

Moreover, according to Haggai, chapter two and verse 20, he received a far-reachingrevelation of the destruction of Gentile world powers that would occur just before the establishment of the kingdom, the millennial rule of the greater Zerubbabel - Zerubbabel being the governor at that time - the greater Zerubbabel, who is the Messiah. Let me read this to you, because what I want you to get is, whenever you study Bible prophecy, you will see there will be a near and a far application as to the fulfillments. Haggai two verse 21, "'Speak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, "I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the horses and their riders will go down, everyone by the sword of another. On that day," declares the LORD of hosts, "I will take you Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant," declares the LORD, "and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,"' declares the LORD of hosts." And this, of course, is a foreshadow of the Messiah who would descend from Zerubbabel, who was a descendant of David and would therefore re-establish the Davidic line of kings on on the earth. He would be the final, he would be the culminating King, the final King at the millennial reign.

Now, as you might expect, these this remnant of Israel that returned were met with lots of persecution. The Samaritans were hammering them constantly, plus the Israelites themselves still felt like slaves, because even though they were in their land, they were still under the rule of Darius, the ruler of the Medo Persian Empire. So they were discouraged. Wouldn't you be? I would be. You're discouraged. You're disheartened. You're even apathetic towards God, and so you're preoccupied with yourself. You're trying to get your family re-established, you're trying to build your own home, and you begin to neglect true worship and obedience from the heart, the types of things that we see even in evangelicalism today.

So first, God sends Haggai, and then later, he sends Zechariah to warn them, to instruct them, and to encourage them to finish the temple. And of course, repentance was the prerequisite for all of the spiritual blessings. Now we have examined the first four visions, and I'm not going to go over them, we don't have time for that. But the last time we were together, we looked at the first part of this fifth vision, okay, and we did this under the heading the Golden Lampstand of God's glory. And there, in verses one through three, we see this lamp stand that symbolizes the coming presence of the light of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ, that would pierce the satanic darkness of this current world order. And you will recall there was a seven-branched candle that was in the tabernacle, later on in the temple, that symbolized the radiance of God's glory among his people. It typified the high and the holy calling Israel had to be a witness nation of God's glory, and it also pointed to the glory of his presence among the among them in his kingdom. And you will recall that the golden lamp stand in that fifth vision is much more elaborate than the lampstand originally in the tabernacle and the temple, there were three very significant variations that emphasize, you know, supernatural intervention. It was self-sustaining. It was self-filling. Didn't require somebody to keep filling it with oil. It would burn perpetually. And it uses the number seven a lot in that particular section, underscoring the completeness and the perfection of this burning. And certainly the burning was a symbol of the manifestation of the ineffable brilliance and the irresistible power of the glory of God, even yet future, and the olive trees that produced this endless supply of oil, and the two offices of priest and ruler, Joshua and Zerubbabel in the immediate text, all of those things would pre figure the Holy Spirit's work in the Messiah who alone can be priest and king, and he will be one day.

Now, you will recall that there were two God ordained offices in Israel, and they both required anointing oil. You have the king, and you have a priest. And the king represented God before the nation, and he had to come from the line of Judah, and the priest represented the nation to God, and he had to come from the tribe of Levi so no one man could be both. No man ever fulfilled his office perfectly. All of this pointed to the one who could fulfill both, namely the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. So this fifth vision given to these returning exiles in the day of Zechariah is one of of Messianic exaltation and promise and hope and blessing; blessings pertaining to the fulfillment of the Abrahamic and the Davidic and the new covenants. What a tremendous comfort it would have been to those dear people, beleaguered people, to be reminded that there is one who is coming that will fulfill all of the mediatorial roles of a king and of a priest like none other. So he's in essence saying to them, "Folks, do what I'm asking you to do. Don't think it's in vain. Yes, this temple isn't like the Solomon's temple, but I want you to build it. I'm at work in all of this. Don't think that I've abandoned you."

So that's a little summary of the first part of this vision. And now we're going to look more closely at the second part, under the heading, "The Spirit Empowered Work of the Coming Messiah." Beginning in verse four, notice what he says. "Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, saying, 'What are these, my lord?'" So he's curious about the symbolism. You know, what's going on here? "So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, 'Do you not know what these are?' And I said, 'No, my lord.' Then he said to me, 'This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel.'" Now again, remember, this is the royal governor, this is the descendant of David, a member of the royal line and an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ. Go to the genealogy in Matthew one, beginning in verse 12 and following, and you'll see more of this. So this revelation now is given to Zechariah to pass on to Zerubbabel. He needs some cheering; he needs some encouragement. Going to help him to know that the Spirit of the Lord is at work in you, and he's also going to begin to see, as will all of the people, that Zerubbabel is pre-figuring the work of the coming Messiah. So the theme here is, basically, look, don't be discouraged. I'm in charge. What you're doing is not in vain.

And so Zechariah sees in verses two and three, quote, "the lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top, and it's seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it." Also "two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on his left." And he's asking, now, okay, what does all this symbolize? And that's what we examined before. Now he comes to verse six. "Then he said to me, 'This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel, "Not by might..."'" Might refers to to human resources, like wealth or military prowess and so forth, "'"...Not by might nor by power..."'" a term that refers to human strength or wisdom or efficiency, ingenuity or whatever, "'"Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,"' says the Lord of hosts."

Now if we look closely at the Hebrew syntax, you'll see that there is no subject or predicate. Predicate being a clause containing a verb that states something about the subject. And sowhat we have, here in the Hebrew, is a short, succinct phrase that is, in effect, a slogan. That's what it is, a slogan, a promise of blessed agency that is going to come from the Holy Spirit to help Zerubbabel, the Hebrew governor, accomplish the goal of rebuilding the temple, and notice who says it. And I love this, "Says the LORD of hosts." Says the LORD of hosts." I'm always struck by just the force of that statement, the authority of that statement, "The LORD of hosts." By the way, I looked, and it's used 53 times throughout Zechariah's prophecy. 53 times it's the LORD of hosts. Lord is Yahweh, the divine name. It's derived from an old form of the Hebrew verb, to be or to become. And this is what we would call the great I AM, and his name emphasizes his self-existence, his pre-existence, and the changeless commitment that he has to his people. This is the one who's saying all of this. It's God's affirmation that he is the God who is always present. He is the God who is always working at every point in history to accomplish his purposes. He is with us now and forevermore, and he is the LORD of hosts, in other words, the commander of Heaven's armies. And so the point here is that the automatic and perpetual supply of oil that's flowing from the two olive trees on either side of the bowl represents the Holy Spirit who would empower Zerubbabel and all of the Israelites to accomplish this enormous assignment, this enormous task, this colossal task, to complete the temple. And the certainty of this promise is anchored in the unalterable, immutable, unassailable, invincible character of God Himself, The LORD of hosts; the Almighty Creator and sovereign ruler of heaven and earth, who has at his disposal - as if he needed it - the angelic hosts of heaven.

Now this word of the LORD of hosts, to Zerubbabel, and also to Joshua and the others through the prophet Zechariah, is really an amplification of Haggai's words that were given four months earlier. I want to read this to you so that you can make the connection. Haggai two, beginning in verse four. "'"But now take courage Zerubbabel," declares the LORD, "take courage also, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land, take courage," declares the LORD, "and work; for I am with you," declares the LORD of hosts. "As for the for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt,"'“ My catch this, "'"My spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!"'"  Wow, what comfort.

Moreover, the Lord said the same thing through Isaiah. In Isaiah, 59 verse, 21, "'As for Me, this is My covenant with them,' says the LORD, 'My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring,' says the LORD, 'from now on and forever.'"  And of course, this affirms God's everlasting promise, and his everlasting nature revealed in the New Covenant. For example, in Isaiah 55 three, I don't think you have have this on your notes, up on the screen, but there he says, "'I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David.'" And so this is what he's affirming here. And he's saying it this way, My Spirit, the Spirit of the Living God. and his words can be trusted forever. But also, as I say, this points to the far distant application of the building of the millennial temple in the execution of God's eternal plans and purposes through the person and the work of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ in the kingdom age.

Now back to the promise of spirit empowerment for Zerubbabel and returning remnant of Israel. Again, a near and a far application, which is typically the case; pre-figuring the Spirit's unending empowerment of millennial Israel to finally fulfill their calling as a witness nation under the leadership of the Messiah, Priest-King, the Lord Jesus. But I want to camp on this slogan for a moment and try to make this very practical to you, because it's a precious slogan that is relevant to each one of us, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts." You've all heard that phrase before. You've heard that many times, and I want to think about this just for a moment with you.

We all know that human might, human power, is woefully inadequate to accomplish any kind of supernatural work decreed by God to bring glory to himself. We just can't do that on our own. And we see that it is God who is ultimately sovereign over everything that happens in his plan of redemption, in his plan for the kingdom and so forth. Ephesians, one four, "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world." In other words, you and I didn't have anything to do with that. Let me give you a few other passages. Romans one beginning in verse six, "...you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints..." a reference to the efficacious, irresistible call of God to salvation. First Corinthians one two, "To the Church of God," Paul says, "which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling..." again the effectual call of elect sinners to salvation. It's solely by the work of God, not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit. Romans 9:16, he says that salvation "does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy." First Corinthians one, beginning in verse 23, "...we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block to Gentile’s foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." And here's why, "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble." And in my Bible, it's got my picture right there. Your Bible needs to have your picture right there. "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise." Verse 30, "By His doingyou are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, 'LET HIM WHO BOATS, BOAST IN THE LORD.'"

Dear Christian, as we look at Scripture, we see that it was the work of the Spirit of God that caused you, and caused me, to be born again. He is the one that raised us from spiritual death to spiritual life, that supernatural, instantaneous impartation of spiritual life to the spiritually dead. He is the supernatural agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, First Corinthians 12:13. And in John three, remember Jesus' words to Nicodemus, who was basically saying to him, Hey, I'm the great teacher of Israel, I'm a fastidious keeper of the law, but I don't think I'm going to make the cut. What must I do to be saved? Okay? Jesus answered John, three, five, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water..." which, by the way, is not referring to baptism. That was an Old Testament figurative language that refers to the cleansing and the purification of the soul. You read about that in Ezekiel 36. "'I say to you, unless one is born of water,'" in other words, unless there's this cleansing in the Spirit, "'he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, "You must be born again."'" Then he gives this illustration, "'The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.'"

Beloved, it is the Holy Spirit that indwells, that sanctifies, that instructs, that empowers us for service. He is the one that seals us unto the day of redemption, and he sovereignly bestows gifts on us, perfecting the saints to put the glory of Christ on display. And we know biblically that we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us. But apart from me, Jesus said you can do nothing. And the key to that spiritual power is trusting in Christ and obeying him, and through that, the Spirit of God works.

So back to Zechariah four, six. "'This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel.'" Here's what I want you to tell him, "'"Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the Lord of hosts.'" Now notice how the Lord goes on to illustrate this, and he does this by personifying a great mountain. He says verse seven, "'"What are you, O great mountain?"'" And of course, this is a figure that we see in other passages of Scripture, really symbolizing an immovable object, a restrictive impediment and an obstacle that can only be moved by supernatural force. And what is this mountain in this context, at that time? Well, it's the staggering difficulty of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem in that day with all of the hostility of the Samaritans around them and the recalcitrance, the rebellion of the people; but it also speaks of the ultimate work of the Messiah, who must come and judge the nations and rebuild the temple. We're going to see more of this in verses eight through 10.

Verse seven, he says, "'"What are you O great mountain?"'" In the Hebrew, it is "O mountain the great one. What are you?" He says, "'"Before Zerubbabel, you will become a plain."'" In other words, every obstacle is going to be removed. You're not going to do it, I'm going to do it, and you'll be able to proceed as if you're on a flat service. So in other words, the immense difficulties that you are now facing are going to be removed by the power of the Holy Spirit -the one who will work in you, the one who will work through you as the civil head, as the governor of Israel; the one who is of the Davidic line, the one who prefigures the Messiah, in whom the Spirit will also work. And the ultimate work of the Messiah is also linked to this text, illustrated by another one in Isaiah 40, beginning in verse four. And this, by the way, speaks of the coming Messiah to rebuild the temple. We read it earlier in our scripture reading. He's going to level all of the difficulties with his judgments. And there we read Isaiah 40, beginning in verse four, "Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low, and let the rough ground become a plain and the rugged terrain a broad valley. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." And by the way, in that text, as we read earlier, verses nine through 11, he announces the good news of the earthly kingdom where Christ will reign.

Now back to Zechariah four, and verse seven, he goes on to say, "'"And he,"'" referring to Zerubbabel, and ultimately the Messiah, "'"he will bring forth the top stone."'" This is a fascinating statement. Historically, there would be like a ceremony, like a procession that would occur, where they would take the final top stone, the final glorious stone that would be put on the top, the pinnacle of a building, in this case, the temple, and it would be brought forth from the place, the work area where it had been fashioned. And so he's saying, and Zerubbabel will bring forth the top stone. In other words, it's going to happen. And he's going to do it with shouts of "'"'Grace, grace to it!'"'" This is just a thunderous, shall we say, exclamation, "grace, grace, grace." The idea here, if we put it in our vernacular, is it's speaking of the undeserved, the glorious favor of God in accomplishing this.

Now, by the way, remember all of these visions, according to Zechariah one seven, were given for the purpose of, quote, "gracious and comforting words." And this is gracious. This is comforting words. I mean, if you were as irreparable, and all the people, and you're dealing with all this stuff, believe me, this is going to be great. Don't you know, they were weary. The builders were weary. And folks, by practical application, our only hope is in Christ, not by might, not by spirit, not by my power, but by the Spirit. But again, this vision prefigures the promises made to the ultimate governor, the ultimate King that will build his temple, the Lord Jesus. And here we see a passage that you're very familiar with, you're going to see the near and the far application. It's Isaiah nine, beginning in verse six, "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us." And we're familiar with the near fulfillment of that prophecy. But then you have the far fulfillment that it goes on to talk about in the same sentence, "and the government will rest on His shoulders." That hasn't happened yet, it will. "And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government, or of peace on the throne of David and over His kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness. From then on and forevermore, the zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this."

Now this brings us to verses eight through 10. And here now the focus turns away from Zerubbabel, and that would implicitly speak of the Messiah, but here it's going to speak more explicitly of the Messiah. Notice, in verse eight, "Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it.'" In other words, he most certainly will finish the work of the temple. And I might also say that especially in that ancient culture, the laying of a foundation of a building, of course, would be the first step for the building. We know that, even in our culture and historically, we know that it would be a royal official that would ceremonially lay the first stone, similar to like our groundbreaking ceremonies. And in this case, it's going to be Zerubbabel that's going to lay the foundation, a man from the line of David. Because remember now, only from the line of David could a person be authorized to build, quote, "His house." "My house." So again, this prefigures as well, as we're going to see, the building of the true temple of the Lord by the Messiah, a man whose name is Branch. Remember our study. Zechariah six, we're getting ahead now in verse 12, we read this, "'"Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, a man whose name is Branch," which is a term referring to the Messiah, as we've studied in the past, "For He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD. Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices."'" And of course, this is consistent with the Davidic Covenant that was given in Second Samuel seven, verse 13, "'He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.'" I enjoy reading the work of a converted Russian Jewish man, a great theologian and author, his name was David Baron. He lived from 1855 to 1926 and here's what he said, quote, "Messiah, the true son of David, shall not only be the real builder of the future literal temple, which through the millennial period shall be the center of the true worship of Jehovah on this earth and the house of prayer for all nations, but also the much more glorious mystical building which, through eternity, shall be for the habitation of God through the spirit of this spiritual temple, he is himself the sure foundation, the precious cornerstone and headstone of the corner, as well as the master builder. Then when covered with the beauty of her Lord and made perfect in the comeliness which he shall put upon her, there shall be shouting of joy and admiration, not only by men, but by the hosts of heaven. Grace, beauty, loveliness is unto it." There, he's referring to what we just looked at the end of verse seven. Oh, what a breathtaking day that will be.

Again, verse nine, "'The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it.'" But notice what he says next. "'Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.'" And what's fascinating is here, the angel of the Lord, the pre-incarnate Christ, is being sent by the LORD of hosts to consummate God's covenantal promises to Israel, especially as they relate to the millennial temple. In fact, we see that this is a reference to the Messiah with this little phrase "has sent Me." This consistently refers to the Messiah. Let me give you an example. Zechariah, two, beginning in verse eight, "For thus says the LORD of hosts, 'After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye." Goes on to say, "'Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.'" You know what's fascinating when you think about it, when these returning exiles, this remnant of Israel, finally finished the temple, they knew for absolute certain that the Lord had revealed these things to the prophet Zechariah, and they would know for sure that the prophecies concerning the coming Messiah would also be fulfilled literally. Talk about gracious and comforting words.

And then finally, in verse 10, "'For who has despised the day of small things?'"  This is a rhetorical question. It's like, come on, folks, don't be discouraged, don't think that what you're doing is insignificant, he says, "'But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.'" A plumb line: we know what that is, we've seen them. It could be even a rock on on a string, and used to make sure that that an edifice is straight, or it's plumb, that the walls were vertical and the structure was centered and so forth, he says, "'But these seven,'" what is seven referring to? Well, as we've studied before, in the earlier visions, the seven eyes represent the seven-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit through the Messiah. We see this in Isaiah 11 one through three. You see it in Revelation five six. So, the text here speaks of the presence and the power of the Spirit who is seeing all of this, who's working in all of this, causing it to be accomplished; and again, both a near and a far fulfillment to these plans and these purposes.

And then he says this, indeed, "'these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and frothroughout the earth.'" In other words, God sees everything that's going on.

As we wrap this up this morning, this reminds me of Second Chronicles 16 nine, where we read that, "'the eyes of the LORD look to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart are completely His.'" I want to ask you a question, Is your heart completely his? Or are you pretending? Do you have some external religiosity about you? And you can say some of the religious things that even give you the illusion that perhaps you're born again, but in reality, you really don't love the Lord Jesus Christ. You don't live to the praise of his glory. You don't long to hear his voice in His Word. In fact, you seldom even open your Bible. Folks, you want to be so careful, the Lord Jesus Himself, may I remind you, said in Matthew seven that not everybody who calls me Lord is going to enter the kingdom, only those who do the will of the Father. And you're not going to be able to do the will of the Father unless you've truly been born again. And if you're truly born again, that will be the desire, that will be the passion of your heart. It will not be onerous. It will not be a duty. And when you hear his word, and you read His Word, you will find that it is like sweet honey. You will want to live it out because you love the Lord. May I challenge you, as we see in this text to those dear people of that day, never underestimate the importance of what God has called you to do in your life; the service that he has put before you. Wives, mothers, don't underestimate the incredible power, not to mention blessing, that you have to raise your children in the discipline and the instruction of the Lord and to honor your husband. Husbands don’t think for one minute that what you do when you get up every day to go to work, if you're doing it for the glory of God, and you've got a bigger purpose, and don't think for a minute that that is somehow unimportant; that the only ones that do things that are really important are, you know, the pastors and the elders and the... that is such a lie. We're all part of this body. Everything that we do for God's glory is important. It's all part of his plan. You, young people, as you endeavor to be responsible to fulfill your duties as perhaps a student or whatever, do it unto the glory of God and know that he sees it, that it's important. Don't underestimate it. You nursery workers at Calvary Bible Church. You kitchen helpers. I can't imagine anything more horrible than working in a kitchen, maybe working in a nursery. You know? I mean, that's just me, but aren't you glad that we all have different gifts and different passions, but all of us working together, look what God is doing, what he's doing in our church. And our church is a part of 1000s of other churches. Every act of worship, every service, every obedience. Don't...never underestimate those things. Galatians 6:9 "Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time, we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of faith."

And then finally, remember that whatever is happening in your life right now, the Spirit of God, if you're truly born again, the Spirit of God is at work in you. Whatever is happening in your life right now, whether it's good or bad, he's up to something, and you are precious. In God's eyes, you have been purchased by the very blood of Christ. And as Paul said, "I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ." So be encouraged with those great truths and be encouraged that all that God has promised is going to come to pass to the praise of his glory. And so when you turn on the news and you shake your head and you think, what in the world is going on, know that ultimately he is in charge, and he will accomplish his good purposes in redemption for the glory of his name and his kingdom. And in that, we find hope and comfort, amen? Let's pray.

Father, thank you for the great truths of your word. I pray that you will cause them to bear much fruit to the praise of your glory in each heart. May we all be deeply encouraged, may we be excited, may there be a sense of exhilaration, even as we leave here today knowing that you are the great sovereign who will accomplish your good purposes. And so in this we rejoice. We give you thanks for the glory of Christ, and it's in his name that I pray. Amen.