Strength In His Promises (Zechariah 8:9-17)
Notes
Transcript
Strength in His Promises
Strength in His Promises
Preamble:
Text: Zechariah 8:9-17
“Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of Yahweh of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built.
‘For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of the adversary, and I set all men one against another.
‘But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares Yahweh of hosts.
‘For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.
‘And it will be that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’
“For thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Just as I purposed to bring about evil to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says Yahweh of hosts, ‘and I have not relented,
so I have again purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear!
‘These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates.
‘Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love false oaths; for all these are what I hate,’ declares Yahweh.”
Pray
Our text today tells the reader to be strong as it speaks of His work, His will, His word and His way.
We often speak of our hope in the future, but…
Our future hope rests in our current strength.
Our future hope rests in our current strength.
Intro: If we are weak, we will not be able to persevere, or endure.
One thing, you may have noticed, over the past few years, I’ve really began to emphasize Christian maturity, that we are not to be easily tossed around, as Paul says, by every wave of doctrine.
Instead, we are called to a mature faith in Christ.
In fact, Paul encourages the church to “speak the truth in love” - something familiar to us this morning from our text here in Zechariah. (Ephesians 4:14-15)
I mentioned last week, that we may not have the biggest faith, but that it is the object of our faith that truly matters.
Our faith is not in our faith - it is in Christ Jesus.
It is in God’s promises for our future.
One commentary said of our text, in summary, that “God’s word is clear that hope for the future is essential for endurance and effectiveness in the present.” (MacArthur)
We see consistently that the believer’s hope in the future is always tied to their current circumstances, and therefore gives them endurance, strength, to persevere.
Paul makes this abundantly clear in Romans 5 when he says, Romans 5:3–5 “… we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not put to shame, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
All of that to say, once again, our future hope rests in our current strength.
The strength we gain from His work.
Strength in His Work
Strength in His Work
“Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of Yahweh of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built.
Strength in His Will
Strength in His Will
‘For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of the adversary, and I set all men one against another.
‘But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares Yahweh of hosts.
‘For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.
Strength in His Word
Strength in His Word
‘And it will be that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’
“For thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Just as I purposed to bring about evil to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says Yahweh of hosts, ‘and I have not relented,
so I have again purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear!
Strength in His Way
Strength in His Way
‘These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates.
‘Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love false oaths; for all these are what I hate,’ declares Yahweh.”
Conclusion: