Better Than Restored
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Better than Restored
I’ve spoken before about our tendency to think nostalgically. A remembrance of the ‘good old days’. Some of us are nostalgic about good old days from before we were ever born. Maybe we see a movie or a TV show like Bonanza or The Waltons or Little House on the Prairie. We think that those were the days, and we sometimes wish we had that “simple” life. Of course, life probably wasn't so simple as we think it may have been.
Our modern life may be hectic, but then again, we have modern conveniences, modern technology, modern medicine. If our lives are too hectic and complicated, it is probably our own fault. With all the ease compared to what Ma and Pa Ingalls had back in the day when they settled on the Prairie, we should be able to really enjoy life. Farmers up north don’t usually worry about freezing to death in the winter, or whether our cash crop will survive an early frost. They have electricity, gas, crop insurance. No one really has it that tough compared to our ancestors, yet we have this nostalgia about those good old days.
Sometimes we look back and think that in those days, there was less sin. Not true. We may have invented new ways to sin, but sin is and always has been part of the human experience. Check your history books and you will see we are not the first generation to deal with rampant sexual sin, or the abuse of the poor and disadvantaged. These sinful behaviors have always been around. It seems to be getting worse, and perhaps in ways, the boldness of the sinner has changed, but the heart of man has always been wicked, according to scripture.
Some people have nostalgia for old things. But old things wear and rust and sag, and so people have made hobbies and even careers restoring old things. People restore furniture, cars, tractors, homes, train depots, church buildings… just about anything you could think of has been restored, or at least preserved.
I know a man who has a classic Corvette that he restored. His car won the highest award by the National Corvette club, and is now worth about $300,000. He told me that when he went through all the inspections to receive the award, that every detail was looked at. They counted the stitches in the seats and convertible top. They went in the trunk with mirrors to look at every detail. He had to find tires that were from the original tire molds that were used to produce the tires for a 1958 Corvette. The inside of the hood even had to have paint overspray just like a car form the assembly line would have had. After the physical inspection, experts took his car for a drive to make sure it ran just like a car off the assembly line in 1958 would.
Many more details were checked, and I can’t even remember them all, but here is the point. Nostalgia causes people to go to great lengths to bring something back the way it was. We so desire to recapture some memory or experience from the past that we will make a lot of effort, and in the case of that car, spend a lot of money, just to make something the way it was.
Today, we look into the scripture and the prophecy of Zechariah and see that when God takes something that has decayed and suffered the effects of a fallen world, he does not merely restore it. He isn't interested in the Corvette club awarding him for bringing things back the way they were. It’s way better than that. He wants to make things much better than they were. And if He wants to make things much better, than He will make them much better. He is the one who can take a human decayed by sin, and give them new life and eventually, and new body. And in the case of the temple of the Jewish people, He doesn't intend to merely restore it to the greatness of Solomon’s temple, He is going to bring something so much better, and we will see about that soon. Let’s read our last of the 8 visions of Zechariah and also a great encouragement from God through Zechariah and for those who diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.
Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze.
The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses,
the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong.
Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
And the angel answered and said to me, “These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.
The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward the south country.”
When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth.
Then he cried to me, “Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country.”
And the word of the Lord came to me:
“Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah.
Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.
It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” ’
And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord as a reminder to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah.
“And those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the Lord. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”
I want to cover the last vision, which is from chapter 6:1-8. Four chariots that seem to represent the power of God’s wrath. Scripture is clear: Those who do not serve God, who live in Rebellion to Him, can expect that on the great and terrible day of his judgment, they will not find it to be a pleasant thing. He is the creator, He does get to make the rules, and He has shown us how we ought to live. Every person who sins is without excuse. Every person offered salvation through Jesus Christ who does not repent and turn to Him is without excuse. Every person who grew up in the church and has all the knowledge that can lead on to salvation yet never personally receives Christ is without excuse.
As we have seen before in scripture, God used nations to bring His special chosen people, Israel, back to him. Those nations chosen by God to get Israel's attention often went too far, and God will not allow His people to be unavenged. He will settle things and bring justice to anyone who oppresses others. This vision in 1-8 shows some restless horses, chomping at the bit, ready to bring the justice of God. His justice will come upon all the wicked. We are all wicked, and deserve judgment. He provides a beautiful way for us to be free of His wrath, through Jesus Christ.
The command of God is to repent (Turn to me, and I will turn to you) The very first preaching of Jesus is a command, recorded by Matthew: Matthew 4:17
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Not if anyone feels a need for a savior today, would you all bow your heads and close your eyes, and I see that hand going up in the back. No! The first words of preaching recorded by Matthew of our Lord are a command. Nothing leading up to it, no gentle persuasive preaching, just a command. Repent, the kingdom of Heaven is at hand. And so as Zechariah’s prophecies complete, and we see those horses of judgment chomping at the bit to be instruments of God’s wrath, we must be reminded that His wrath is coming. It is at hand. If you have yet to repent, that means turn from your sin and turn to God, I plead with you to do so because the time is short, and I don't want you alienated from God, but restored to Him. A free gift of salvation awaits the one who repents of sin and runs to God.
Indeed, Paul said in a famous sermon at the Areopagus that man was created to seek God.
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
Would you seek God? He created you to seek Him. But some say they have been seeking Him, they can’t find Him, they don't sense He is real. Are you seeking with all of your heart, or half-heartedly? Paul said God created us to seek Him. Jeremiah, the prophet of old, said something better. Want nostalgia? Look at the message of the prophets! Those were the good old days of preaching, when men and women were called to return to GOD!
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
Seek me with all of your heart, and you will find me. Pray and call upon me, and I will hear you. Please, I beg of you, don’t quote Jeremiah 29:11 all by itself. Many of you probably have bought graduation cards, or wedding cards with that verse, or you have written it inside, but I beg you, don't leave out the part about the calling on the Lord! The seeking with all the heart! It must be said, it must be preached. This is the gospel, the good news, not just “God has good plans for you” That’s awesome! But tell me more! How can I experience the fullness of His plans for me? By seeking Him with all of your heart, and calling upon him. You will find Him and He will hear you. But don’t be half-hearted about it.
So the message of the wrath of God need not scare you as we wrap up these 8 visions. Instead, let it wake you from slumber to grasp the gift God has provided you. Please respond not just to an invitation to salvation, but a demand from Christ: “repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
Now we move to the word of the Lord from verses 9-15. Zechariah has a promise. Keep in mind that this prophecy is primarily for the people in Zechariah’s immediate context. Be careful not to apply it in the wrong way. Zechariah was encouraging Jewish exiles who were returning to their homeland that he would see to the rebuilding of the temple. Unfortunately, many have applied prophecies like this today. Many Christians are under the impression that the end times will be when the temple is rebuilt, but that really isn't the plan of God, and I will explain that shortly. But Zechariah’s message from God would be very encouraging to those who heard it. Not only would the temple be built, there would be unity. Unity here represented by Joshua, the priest, being placed in the temple, and the civil authority, which was Zerubbabel, having a royal presence as well. Could the church and government get along? Yes, if God is in it.
It says in verse 13 that the counsel of peace will be between them both. Why would this happen? Well, people were broken before God. We know that the people who rebuilt the wall had renewed their commitment to the Word of God and they were the ones who also would finish rebuilding the temple. Peace and unity are impossible, though, if God is not in it.
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
So we pray the Lord be in it for us. A temple was being rebuilt, and when the temple was going to be rebuilt, there needed to be unity. We must have until to expect God’s blessing on anything we do as well. As the local church, when we want to rebuild something we are involved in, or should we decide to start a building project, then we would do well to remember that we better not make a move unless we are sure that the lord is in it.
Lincoln:
Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
So our lesson from the word of the Lord through Zechariah is that as the temple would be rebuilt in Zerubbabel’s day, He will also rebuild that which He has promised to us. And to look at what he promised to us, we must look at the Revelation of John. We will look there and I pray that after we see the beautiful restoration the Lord has in store, we will be in a mind to worship Him with great joy. We will finish with a song about the name that gives us our blessed hope for eternity.
Maybe you are still chewing on the first part of the sermon, and wonder if you should repent to receive the gift of salvation. Yes! You should, if you are a broken person, God loves to see that brokenness. The reason is not that He wants to lord it over you, so to speak, that you are a wicked sinner. No, He knows that when you come to the place of brokenness you are ready for that renovation project He has in mind for you. He makes all things new.
If you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him. If you call upon Him, He will hear you. Jesus did not come to condemn you, but to save you. He proved that on the cross, and He showed how God will make all things new when He was resurrected. When this old world winds down, and the judgment is done, those who responded to His grace will be in an eternal state of joy.
Let’s see what John the revelator saw would take place in the end. In the book of Revelation, John saw the city Babylon destroyed. The place of every sin and vice, the place of all earthly wealth and power, utterly destroyed by the judgment of God. This is what we know about God: He will bring justice, and just as the last vision of Zechariah promised, God will deal with those who are continuously rebelling against Him. But in chapter 19, we see what wonderful things He has in store for those who choose to believe Him by believing that Jesus is the Son of God, who died and was raised again for the remission of sins.
You know what remission means? Every cancer patient wants to hear this word. Remission means removed. When cancer is in remission, it means it is gone, as far as the doctors can tell. A friend had cancer as a teenager, and the treatment was ultimately successful. He is in remission still. Someone else’s cancer was gone, but it came back. We continue to pray it will be in remission permanently. But when Jesus said His blood was for the remission of sins, that word meant pardon, cancellation, forgiveness, liberty, release, dismissal. When Jesus’ blood removes our sins, they are gone!
Leukemia is a disease that affects the blood. I’ve known too many people that have had it. Way too many. Some have won the battle, and some have not. I don’t begin to understand it. But sometimes it goes away and comes back. Leukemia affects the blood, but the blood of Jesus affects a much worse cancer, that of sin. And our sin, by the blood of Jesus, when we receive it and the grace of God saves us, the cancer of our souls, the sin, is completely removed, forever removed, and the cleansing blood of Christ can cure us of the cancer of sin in our life.
So in Revelation 19, after the world has been judged and those in Christ have been saved completely, there is a celebration that kicks off the time when we will be with Christ. I will get to the issue of the temple shortly. I know some of you are wondering why I said not to look for its rebuilding, and I will show you in scripture shortly. Let’s look at Revelation 19:
Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. What task is greater than sharing the salvation of Christ? We seem to always get stuck on the thought that prophecy is all about end of the world stuff, but prophecy is about Jesus! All of it! The prophets called people to repentance, and John records that the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy! So share Christ. You can, in that sense, be a prophet. Share the gospel. Share what the bible says is in store for those who follow Christ! It is good news!
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.
The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—
on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls.
The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal.
He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement.
The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald,
the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
Now we will move to verse 22.
And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
Do you see? No temple is necessary! This is what God had been telling through all of the prophets. Don’t cry “The temple, the temple the temple”. God was basically saying, “You think the temple is so great? Wait until you get a load of me and my Son!”
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,
and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.
They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.
They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
“And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me,
but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.
Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,
and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
