Curse into Blessing

Pastoral Prayer for God to illuminate His Word to the Congregation.

Read Zechariah 8

Zechariah 8 ESV

1 And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.” 9 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.” 14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.” 18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace. 20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord. 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ ”

Key Question:Does the Promised Future in Jesus Christ Fuels Your Focus on the Great Commandment and Commission?

Man’s hopeless condition cannot be perfected by some slow process of social regeneration—it must be brought about through the miraculous process of individual regeneration.3

A. W. Tozer

God is continually reforms and renews people:

I. The Unfaithful turns Faithful. (V. 1-8)

God loves His own in a manner that both reprove and discipline are two sides of the same coin.

God’s faithfulness in and through us redeems and transforms the community where God is front and center.

Salvation is not limited to a people group, or time in history; It is limited to a single Savior.

1 John 1:9 ESV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

II. The Cursed turns Blessed. (V. 9-13)

As the temple is rebuilt God moves beyond a house of worship.

As God keeps His faithfulness worship transforms individuals to be blessed and be a blessing.

Revelation 1:5–6 ESV

5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

III. The Dead Made Alive. (V. 14-17)

God does not relent in His Purpose to make His people holy as He is holy.

As the men of old, from Abel and Seth, to those among us today, we are approved not by works, religious rituals, or superstition, but through faith alone.

Ephesians 4:17–18 LSB

17 Therefore this I say, and testify in the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their mind, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.

IV. Mourning turns to Joy. (V. 18-19)

The World offers temporary content that leads to apathy and disassociation.

God in His redeeming power offers true joy that comes from true freedom.

Jeremiah 31:13 LSB

13 “Then the virgin will be glad in the dance, And the young men and the old, together, For I will turn their mourning into joy And will comfort them and give them gladness for their sorrow.

V. The Mute turns Outspoken. (V. 20-23)

When we encounter God in all His Saving power we come to realize that we are not to remain unchanged and stagnant.

The ones who being called out of the world, surrender before Him, are unable to keep silent about who he is, what he has done, and what he will do.

Matthew 15:31 LSB

31 So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Hear the sobering truth spoken by Blaise Pascal:

The evidence of God’s existence and his gift is more than compelling, but those who insist that they have no need of him or it will always find ways to discount the offer.

Blaise Pascal (French Scientist, Polemicist and Christian Apologist)

Key Question:Does the Promised Future in Jesus Christ Fuels Your Focus on the Great Commandment and Commission?

How Can We Walk in Obedience to the Word?

It is a blessed fact that God’s promises are as large as his exhortations, and for each of the latter there is one of the former exactly meeting it.

Arthur Walkington Pink

The foundational blessing is to know and be known by the Lord Jesus Christ.

A new birth, leads to a new life, which is not about anything or anyone else other that Jesus Christ through us.

As we meditate on God’s Word, serve one another, and share His redemption we see our joy made whole.

The ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise is to have eternity with Him.

Call to Repentance.

Call to Join the Church and Her Work.

Closing Prayer.