Once again, we come to the pinnacle of a worship service where we have the opportunity toimmerse ourselves in the Word of God. And we will be looking at Zechariah four, verses, 11 through 14 in a few minutes. And this is actually the third and final part of a little series on the fifth out of eight visions that God gave to Zechariah and ultimately to us, under the heading of "The Radiant Light of God's Glory."

Now, before we look at the text, there's some things that I want to share with you that I hope will help frame what we are about to examine. You know, as I witness the unrestrained depravity of our culture being paraded before us in defiance of a holy God, I not only sense increasingly more the reality that I am an alien in this world, are you all with me on that? It's like we're not made for this place. This is seriously insane. But I also marvel all the more at what God has done in saving me by his grace; otherwise, I would be leading the parade. And I'm reminded of First John three, beginning in verse one, where we read, "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself just as He is pure."

Oh, dear friends, to be like Christ. And you know, it is our longing to see and be like Christ in the future that animates our passion to see and be like him in the present, to purify ourselves, even as he is pure. Don't you long for glory? Don't you long to see the Lord? Oh, my. First Corinthians 13:12, the apostle Paul says, "For now we see in a mirror dimly..." "Ainigmati" in the original language; in the Greek. We get our word "enigma" from that, denoting an obscure phraseology or riddle yet to be solved; that somehow right now we have imperfect and indirect knowledge; we have human limitations. We are fallible, and the corruption of sin distorts our understanding, our judgments. Yes, indeed, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then," referring to when we will be like Him, "but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known." And Jesus himself said in Matthew five and verse eight, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall what they shall see God." How I long to see Christ, and how I long to see him glorified on this earth, rather than consistently mocked and ridiculed and disregarded.

And you know that's going to happen someday. We read this, for example, from the prophet Haggai, or Habakkuk, in chapter two and verse 14, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." And Paul reminds us in Philippians two beginning in verse 10, of what's going to happen someday. And that is, "...that at the name of Jesus, EVERY KNEE WILL BOW of those who are in heaven and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." Not that he is Savior, because the vast majority of the world will not have tha, but one day they will have to admit that he is Lord, "...to the glory of God the Father."

But I want to remind you, as we look at the scriptures, we see that none of this is going to happen until the Lord of all the Earth pours out his wrath upon the nations of the world. And the reason why he will do this is, for example, stated in Second Thessalonians 2:10, it's because, "...they did not receive the love for the truth so as to be saved." There's all kinds of people, especially in our culture right now, that are becoming very religious, very conservative. Oh, they love God and all of those types of things, but hell will be filled with people like that unless they receive the love for the truth so as to be saved. Moreover, a straightforward reading of Scripture makes it clear that God is going to use his restored nation of Israel in this process of ultimately bringing glory to himself. They will finally, one day, be the witness nation they were originally intended to be, and they will be a blessing to all the nations. And it's sad to see that there are so many Christians, many that I love, that think that somehow Israel has been permanently disenfranchised; that the church has completely replaced Israel, and therefore that God didn't really mean what he said, as we read earlier in Ezekiel 36, and what the authors clearly intended, that's not really what God meant, and what the audience clearly understood.

But I marvel at Israel today and ethnic Jewish people around the world, they are certainly God's beloved enemy. They have not come to faith in Christ, but he has promised to redeem them and to restore them at his Second Coming. In fact, Ezekiel 36 that I just read all the way through chapter 37 and verse 28 is really the preeminent passage in scripture that describes the regeneration, the resurrection and restoration of national Israel. In fact, in Ezekiel 37 verse 28 it says, "'"And the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever."'" There's no hint that Jews will somehow be absorbed into a Gentile church or vice versa. In fact, the whole section of Ezekiel, and all the other prophetic passages, underscore the promise that the Jews will inhabit the land, and the Gentiles will surround them. You simply cannot escape this, each being very distinct ethnic entities, yet manifesting diversity within the unity of the new covenant.

And I want you to remember this as you see all of the chaos in Israel in the Middle East today. This is all part of why Satan is causing all of these problems. But we read, for example, in Isaiah 19 beginning in verse 24 it says, "In that day," referring to the millennial rule of Christ, when he comes again, "In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, 'Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.'" Many of these people that we see today are going to come to faith in Christ. Isaiah predicted the central role Israel will someday play in the kingdom. In Isaiah 60, beginning in verse one, it says, "'Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.'"

And I marvel at how God promised to use Israel, even in the final days of the pre kingdom judgments. For example, in Micah chapter four beginning in verse 13. And here, by the way, he's speaking, the context is he's speaking of the battle of Armageddon, when he will have. Power the remnant of His people to participate in the destruction of their enemies. There we read Micah 4:13, "'Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, for your horn, I will make iron and your hoofs I will make bronze, that you may pulverize many peoples, that you may devote to the LORD their unjust gain and their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.'"

Now, those are just a sampling of some passages. But what I want you to understand is that we see elements of all of these future realities in the eight prophetic visions, and frankly, all the way through the prophecy of Zechariah. And in these visions, we see promises concerning Israel and the nations - truths pertaining to God's presence, both past and present and future, for that matter, his saving grace, his judgment, the restoration of Israel and his future earthly reign as Messiah. And at the center of these visions, which is vision four and vision five, we have the most important aspect of all of the visions, because there the center of gravity around which everything orbits is information pertaining to the person and the work of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is both Priest and King, whose glorious power and presence is symbolized, as you will recall, by a lamp stand.

Now I've broken this this whole section down into three categories. We've seen the first two. We're going to look at the third one today. We've seen "The Golden lampstand of God's Glory." Secondly, "The Spirit Empowered Work of the Coming Messiah." And now today, we're going to see "The Messiah's Future Role as Both King and Priest."

Now, let me read the passage to you in verses 11 through 14. And remember now the context. Zechariah is absolutely overwhelmed; he’s filled with wonder at all that God has revealed to him, even in, now this, this fifth vision. And he says in verse 11,

"Then I said to him, 'What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and 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 are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.'"

Now here, Zechariah is given an explanation of what has been revealed to him so far. You will recall, if you go back to verse two, he sees this oil receptacle over seven lamps which would allow the oil to flow into the lamps by the force of gravity. And which, by the way, as you may recall, are very different from the menorah that that required the priest to constantly fill them in the tabernacle, in the temple; they had to put the oil in by hand. In verse two, it also speaks of seven lamps on it and seven spouts. In other words, tubes or conduits through which the oil flowed. And it says, "...belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it." So he sees these seven spouts, these seven tubes, which are connected to each one of the lamps for a total of 49. The lampstand and the tabernacle and the temple had no connecting spouts, but only seven branches to hold the lamps. And in verse three, also, he sees two olive trees by it, on the right side of the bowl and on the other, on its left side. And we know from this passage and others that olive trees were the source of oil for the lamp stands. And in the Old Testament, they are a metaphor for the pure presence of God. And here we see them strategically placed on either side of the lamp stand providing an endless supply of golden oil to maintain the light. And as we've studied, this symbolized the automatic, the the perpetual supply of oil that flowed from the two olive trees on either side of the bowl, and this represented the Holy Spirit who would empower Zerubbabel, along with all of the Israelites in that day, to accomplish the enormous task of completing the temple. But it also points to the far distant application of the building of the millennial temple and the execution of God's eternal plans and purposes through the person and the work of the Messiah in the kingdom age.

Because what we see in the prophecies, constantly in the Old Testament, is how that there will be a near and a far fulfillment. But the governor, Zerubbabel, and the high priest Joshua, therefore, prefigure the Spirit's unending empowerment of the coming Messiah Priest-King, who will lead millennial Israel to fulfill her calling as a witness nation. And in verses 11 through 14, now he receives an explanation that these two olive trees picture the quote "two anointed ones," which, by the way, in the Hebrew says, "two sons of oil who are standing by the Lord of all the earth." That's there in verse 14.

Now, with that background, let's look at this under the heading, "The Messiah's Future Role as Both King and Priest," verse 11, "Then I said to him, 'What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?'" Again, remember now the lamp stand symbolizes the presence and the power of God. And he gets even more specific in the next verse. "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?'" In other words, what is this continuous, supernatural flow of golden oil coming from the bowl then dispersed into the seven spouts for each of the seven lamps. And that symbolizes the divine enablement of the power of the Spirit for both Israel and the Messiah. But I want you to notice something else that that I find quite remarkable. You've got this continuous flow of golden oil coming from two trees, right? And then you've got two olive branches, in the Hebrew it's literally two ears of olives, or it could be translated, "clusters of olives." So, in other words, it's a bough that's just filled with olives, and emptying golden oil from themselves. So, you've got two trees, two olive branches, and you've got two golden pipes, these conduits that channel the golden oil flowing from the branches into the golden lampstand.

I might add just as a parentheses here, notice the olive trees and the branches are inseparably linked, which will have great bearing on the prophetic symbolism. So you've got two trees, two olive branches, two golden pipes, and then Zechariah asks two questions, and finally we see two anointed ones. Verse 13, "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.'" Again, these are the two sons of oil, denoting those who have been anointed by oil and thereby having been marked out for authority for a special function. "'These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the LORD of the whole earth.'"

Now what does this mean? Beloved here, I believe that God is revealing an astounding theological truth, and that is that God is combining two theological, spiritual realities into one, the merging together of two offices, both priest and king. And in the immediate context, the two offices consisted of Joshua, the priest, and Zerubbabel, who was the appointed governor. Remember, there was no king of Israel at that time. But together, they prefigured the Messiah, who alone can be both priest and king.

Now you will remember that the two God ordained offices in Israel that required an anointing of oil were the king and the priest. The king represented God before the nation, and he had to have come from the tribe of Judah. And a priest represented the nation to God, and he had to come from the tribe of Levi; no man could ever be both. And you will recall that when a king tried to be a priest, bad things happen. You remember when King Uzziah in Second Chronicles 26 acted presumptuously as priest and offered incense in the temple, and God judged him with leprosy. And no man ever fulfilled these offices perfectly in perfect righteousness. I mean, just think of all of the priests and all of the kings in Israel's history, and how they all fail to honor God in their respective roles. But thankfully, God is going to mediate his glorious presence to a wicked and watching world one day through his beloved Son, the Messiah, Priest-King, the Lord Jesus Christ - the long-awaited Messiah.

And it's also important to remember something that we read in Psalm 110, where David said that the Messiah would come from "the order of Melchizedek," a man who was both king and priest. You read about this in Genesis 14, especially verse 18. Now this was prior to the Levitical priesthood, which was ordained for the Old Covenant, the covenant of the law, but God ordained the priesthood of Jesus Christ for the New Covenant, the covenant of grace. Now bear with me here, I want you to see this, because these are magnificent truths that will help you understand more of what God is up to.

You will recall in Genesis 14 verse 18, we read this,

"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth.'"

Interesting phrase, "possessor of heaven and earth." This is very similar to the phrase we see in Zechariah 4:14, "the Lord of the whole earth." But he goes on to say,

"'and Blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.'

He gave him a 10th of all.

The king of Sodom said to Abram, 'Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.'

Abraham said to the king of Sodom, 'I have sworn to the LORD God Most High possessor of heaven and earth,

that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours.'"

And so we see here Melchizedek being a priest and a king. In Hebrews five, chapters five through seven - if you want to study this in detail, you can hear my expositions on those passages Hebrews five through seven - make it clear that Melchizedek is the type of the superior antitype that he prefigured, namely the Messiah, the Priest-King, the Lord Jesus Christ. And indeed, the priesthood of Melchizedek was superior to the Levitical priesthood. As you study it, you will see that that his priesthood was royal; it was universal. It was characterized by righteousness and by peace. It was without genealogy. It was eternal. In Hebrews five, and verse five says, "So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, 'YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU';" You will recall that's what the Father said at the Lord's baptism, a clear statement affirming his divine appointment and priesthood.

Back to Hebrews five and verse six, "just as He says also in another passage, 'YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.'"

I might add that in that day, this was a powerful revelation to the Jews, because they knew that for centuries, the office of the high priest was basically a political appointment. It was filled by impulse, the impulse of human rulers, not by God. And human rulers used them as, you might say, political appointees who would essentially help them advance their personal and political agendas. My, we've seen this down through history. I was thinking about this with respect to the Roman Catholic Pope. If you know anything about Roman Catholicism, you know that it is an apostate religious system. And the Roman Catholic Pope, who they claim is the Bishop of Rome, the earthly head of the church, rather than Christ, is the quote, "Holy Father." Sometimes they will call him "The Vicar of Christ." He's one that can speak ex cathedra, which means he can exercise God like infallibility with what he says. Which, by the way, is complete, in contrast to First Timothy two five, where we read, "For there is one God and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." So, the Pope has assumed for himself a position of authority that does not need to be filled. And historically, the papacy, the Roman Catholic priesthood, just has a legacy of heresy, of immorality, of corruption. And even today, Pope Francis, if you know anything about this guy, he's a Neo-Marxist. He promotes liberation theology that originated in Latin America in the 20th century. He promotes the LGBTQ abominations and approves of same sex marriage. And on and on it goes.

Now back to Zechariah four. Aren't you thankful that what we have here, in this amazing section of scripture, is indeed what Zechariah one seven calls "gracious and comforting words?" These are gracious and comforting words that were given to Zechariah and the people of that day, as they should be to us. Because what he's saying here is that we have one mediator between God and man, the man Christ, Jesus, who is both priest and king, and he's coming again to dwell amongst us. Folks, that's what drives me every day to study the Word of God and preach the Word of God, because I believe this with all my heart, Hebrews seven, beginning in verse 22,

"Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing,

but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently.

Therefore he is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;

who does not need daily like those high priests to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people..."

Why?

"Because this He did once for all, when he offered up Himself.

For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law appoints a Son made perfect forever."

Now back to what's going on here in Zechariah four, verse 14. You've got both Joshua and Zerubbabel, the two anointed ones. They're seen here standing by the Lord of the whole earth. And that is a position, biblically, of reliance. And who is the Lord of the whole earth on whom they must rely? Well, it's the Messiah. It's the Lord Jesus, the only one who could be the recipient of both of those two anointed offices of both priest and king. Now I also want you to understand something that's very important. Remember, there's always near and far application to these prophecies. This whole scene clearly has millennial implications, and we see this especially in the appellation "The Lord of the whole earth." Now why would I say that? Because we see this same phrase used elsewhere in Scripture to describe the universal rule of the Messiah during the millennial reign in the kingdom age. For example, in Zechariah six, verse five, that phrase is used in the context of Messiah's subjugation of his enemies and his rule of the whole earth. It says these are "the four spirits of heaven." It's referring to the angelic forces doing the divine will, His divine will, and judgment. "'These are the four spirits of heaven going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth.'"

By the way I've got to stop there. Isn't it great to know that we worship, that we serve, that we trust in the Lord of the whole earth? And Micah uses the phrase in his prophecy of the establishment of the millennial kingdom to describe just the universal sovereignty of the Messiah to defeat the invading armies that are coming against Israel at Armageddon. And I read this passage earlier, Micah 4:13, "'Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, for your horn I will make iron and your hooves I will make bronze, that you may pulverize many peoples, and you may devote to the LORD their unjust gain and their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.'"

I've always appreciated Bible scholars, and one in particular, a 20th century scholar, Merrell Unger, also an archeologist/theologian. He used to be a Dallas Theological Seminary. He wrote a great summary of that really helps us see this fifth vision. And I want to give this to you. I couldn't improve upon it by any means. Here's s a summary of this fifth vision given by the interpreting angel. Here's what Unger says, quote,

"As the golden candlestick symbolizes Israel in full fellowship with God as a light bearer to the nations, as she was divinely intended to be in Old Testament times, and as she will actually be in her millennial restoration, so the two olive trees represent the two offices of the kingship and priesthood through which the blessing of God was to flow (and will yet do so to the nation and through the nation in witness to all the nations of the world). Since the two olive trees on either side of it represent the royal and priestly office in Israel, the two ears of olives portray the two incumbents of these offices in that day, Zerubbabel, the civil prince, featured in chapter four, and Joshua, the ecclesiastical head set forth prominently in chapter three. These are the two anointed ones; the sons of oil, which means those characterized by oil. That is," he says, "consecrated to their office by anointing with oil." And characterized by the operation of the Spirit in their official capacity as God's representatives of the people. But, “he goes on to say, "the two offices of king and priest, as well as their incumbents of that day in their official capacity, foreshadow the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, in His millennial role as both King and Priest. It is he as quote 'King of Kings and Lord of lords,' and as quote 'a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.' Psalm 110, verse four, who will quote, 'sit and rule as King Priest upon His throne, and He shall be a priest upon His throne.' Zechariah 6:13." End quote.

Oh beloved, the millennial promises that help us see the fulfillment of the Abrahamic and the Davidic and the new covenants, which underscore, once again, the central role ethnic Israel will play in the end time drama, redeemed Israel will finally worship their King-Priest Messiah, and become the political and religious center of the world. For indeed, as Paul tells us in Romans 11:29, the covenants with that God gave to Israel are "irrevocable." Those covenants included the promises even pertaining to the land of Israel. Read about that in Genesis 15, in particular, verses 18 and following; a unilateral covenant, you will remember where God and in a fiery storm, walked through the bloody sacrifices by himself. Why did he do that? Hebrews 6:13, "For when God made a promise to Abraham, since He had not won greater by whom to swear, he swore by Himself." This is like the covenant that he made with King David, the Davidic Covenant in Second Samuel seven, another irrevocable covenant, like the New Covenant. But with David, he said regarding the introduction here in Jeremiah 31, regarding that, he says, "Behold days," this is verse 31 of chapter 31, "'Behold days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.'" Now, folks, I hope you can see this. I don't want you to miss this. Please understand that the primary strategy that God has chosen to reveal himself publicly, to reveal His glory before a wicked mocking and watchful world, is through his covenant faithfulness to the nation of Israel, when he saves them and restores them; a generation of that people to Himself. And this will happen as a result of Daniel's 70th week. In other words, the tribulation.

In fact, we read about this in Daniel 9:27, Why will that time come? Quote, "to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place."  In other words, when they go through this horrible time and the pre-kingdom judgments, Daniel's 70th week, the horrors of that seven-year tribulation will bring them to a place where they realize that their only hope is in the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. And I might also add that the world is being prepared for this time even now. Our friend, Dr Bookman calls this "End Time Season." Quote, an End Time Season of terror. And here's what he says, "This seductive deception and diabolical, murderous hatred of the Antichrist, the indescribable terror of the world's military and technological might arrayed for the destruction of God's covenant people, the consequent absolute, existential despair of that hitherto rebellious nation. The knowledge of the gospel message which God causes to saturate so thoroughly the world, even during the seven years of crescendoing dread. The shared remembrance of 2000 years of Christ followers wallowing in new covenant blessings and now the glorious descent of a white horse rider whose name is Faithful and True, who bears a," quote, 'sharp sword to destroy his enemies, and who is accompanied by an army which no man can number,'" all of that Bookman says, "will be used by a covenant keeping God to bring a generation of living Israelites to cry out for salvation, individually as to faith, and universally as to number." End quote.

Beloved during that season of Jacob's trouble, as it's called, according to Hosea five verse 15, it says, in their distress, "they will earnestly seek Me." That will be the day when God will make Jerusalem quote, "...a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples; the siege of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will also be against Judah." Zechariah 12, two. And verse three goes on to say, it will be when, "all the nations of the earth will gather against it." Referring to Israel, all the nations of the earth, which would include the United States. But on that day, the Lord will protect "the inhabitants of Jerusalem," Zechariah 12, eight. And verse nine says, "'Indeed, on that day, I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.'"

Folks that will be in the moment of their greatest peril when all hope seems lost. At that point, we read, according to the inspired apostle Paul in Romans 11:26, at that moment,

"...all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,

'THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.

THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.'

And Zechariah speaks of this as well, in chapter 12, beginning in verse 10, it says,

"'I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.'"

And beloved, all of this was prophesied all the way back in the Pentateuch. We read in Deuteronomy four, beginning in verse 30,

"'When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.

For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you, nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant with your fathers, which he swore to them.'"

And folks, here's what's really fascinating, all these astounding predictions concerning Israel and the coming Priest-King are summarized in these eight visions, especially the one that we've been studying here, in the fifth vision, where we see most vividly the radiant light of God's glory. Indeed, Israel and her Messiah, as well as our Messiah, will be at the center of all of the blessings, of all of the nations of the earth that will one day come to saving faith. As I read earlier, Isaiah predicted the central role of Israel in Isaiah 60, beginning in verse one. Let me read it one more time.

"'Arise shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

For behold, darkness will cover the earth in deep darkness the peoples, but the LORD will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you.

Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising.'"

Now, may I leave you with this thought this morning, even as the Messiah's dual millennial role of Priest-King will be empowered by the Holy Spirit - the golden oil of the Spirit that's poured into the priest and the king - I want you to remember that we too, have the same resource available to us right now as believers through the power of the Holy Spirit. Remember that in his humility and in his humanity, the eternal Son of God incarnate accepted the role of living a life of total dependence upon what the Spirit would provide for him. While the Holy Spirit contributed nothing to his deity, the Holy Spirit contributed everything to his humanity; and his obedience to do the will of the Father was not animated by his intrinsic divine nature as God, but rather solely through his human nature. It was a result of him relying upon the power of the indwelling Spirit. He did not depend upon his divine nature to resist sin, he depended upon the power of the indwelling Spirit. He availed himself of the resources available to every one of us who have been saved by his grace, who have therefore been, quote, "born of the Spirit," John three and verse eight. We all have the same supernatural, divine enablement that Jesus relied upon to operate in his humanity in perfect holiness during his incarnation. The same enablement is for every one of us who have been born again, and therefore our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

John Bunyan got a hold of this in his Christian life. You may recall in your reading of the Pilgrims Progress; there's a section called "The Fire by the Wall." Let me read you what he said.

"Then I saw in my dream that interpreter took Christian by the hand and led him to a place where a fire was burning against a wall. Someone was standing beside it trying to put the fire out by constantly pouring great amounts of water upon it, yet the fire continued to burn higher and hotter. 'What does this mean?' asked Christian. Interpreter answered, 'This fire is the work of grace that is formed in the heart. The one who throws water on it to extinguish it is the devil. But as you can see, the fire is burning higher and hotter in spite of this. And now you will see the reason why.' So he took Christian around to the back side of the wall, where they saw a Man with a container of oil in his hand."

I might add that "man" is capitalized.

"Secretly, this man was continuously pouring oil into the fire. Then Christian asked, 'What does this mean?' Interpreter answered, 'This is Christ, with the oil of His grace continually maintains the work already begun in the heart. Because of this, in spite ofwhat the devil can do, the souls his people will continue to walk, but he just wants to do to the souls of the people will continue to walk in His grace. The fact that the man was standing behind the wall to maintain the fire is meant to teach you that it is difficult for those experiencing temptation to see how this work of grace is being maintained in their souls.'"

Beloved, It may be difficult for you to see how Christ is working through the power of his Spirit in your life, but he is always at work regardless of what you're going through, even this day he's at work in your life. Maybe difficult to see, but it's not difficult to know if you believe what God has said in his word. Philippians one six, for example, says that, "I am confident," the apostle Paul says, "I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."

Now, I want to close with a warning. All of these great promises pertaining to the Christian life, the power of the indwelling Spirit - and certainly all of the promises concerning the glory of Christ that will one day be manifested publicly before, as I say, a wicked and watching world - all of those things are marvelous truths for the redeemed, for those who have truly come to saving faith in Christ. And I hope that includes you, because Jesus has warned that many people who claim to have faith in Christ are self-deceived, and they will never enter the kingdom. And we see this in our country today.

We see all kinds of religiosity. We see all kinds of cultural Christianity, of churchianity, of external Christianity, where people claim to follow Jesus, and they celebrate Jesus, and they dance to Jesus and sing to Jesus, but they have never been so broken over their sin that they cry out in desperation for his saving grace. Folks, that's the stuff of genuine repentance, and therein is the good news of the gospel - that we are a depraved people, a rebellious people, and you must come to a point where you realize that, and it breaks your heart. And as a result of that, you look up and you see a holy God and say, "Have mercy on me, the sinner, because I cannot save myself. I cannot be good enough to get into the kingdom, you must do something." And thankfully, he has done something, he's provided the Lord Jesus Christ.

So when we come to Christ in genuine brokenness over our sin and cry out for his undeserved, undeserved grace, that's when he saves us. That's the stuff of genuine Christianity. And as a result of that, everything changes, doesn't it? Everything changes. You're given a new mind, a new heart, a new nature, a new song, and you long to do the will of God because you love Christ, and because you love Christ, you love his word. Anyone that you love, you love to hear. You love to talk to right? I want to hear the voice of my God. I want to spend time with Him in prayer. Again, this is the stuff of genuine Christianity, and unless that somehow describes what's going on in you, then all of these great promises that I have preached to you today are not for you. What awaits you will be eternal destruction and the solitary confinement of an eternal hell, because God is infinitely holy, and that's what he says our sin deserves. So I plead with you, as a minister of the gospel, that you examine your heart and make sure that you have truly come to a place of genuine repentance, and that you truly love Christ. And as a result of all of that, the great truths of his Word will be "gracious words" and "comforting words" as all anticipate that day when he takes us home. Amen? Amen, let's pray together.

Father, thank you for revealing yourself to us in so many profound ways, especially through the power of your word. I pray if there be one within the sound of my voice that does not know what it means to truly be in fellowship with the living God, to be truly reconciled to you through genuine saving faith, Oh, Lord, won't you make them miserable until they bow their knee and confess their need that only you can meet. We commit all of that to you, and we long for that day when you will come and take us unto yourself. And we pray this for the glory of Christ. Amen.