Reality Either Makes You Hope or Takes Your Hope

Last 3 Prophets

Last words of the OT. The first words of the NT are from JB.

Then, Jesus showed up on the scene and they rejected Him.

How did they miss the message of their Messiah?

Was God, thru the prophets, not clear?

You be the judge.

Ultimate Optimism

Think of those times in your life when your optimism about the future was at an all-time high.

Spring time. Warm weather. The feel of the warm sun, the smell of the grass and weed pollens (sneezing). Still causes me to smell the dirt and leather of my baseball glove.

Pitchers and catcher report for spring training in just a few weeks and everyone is destined to make it to the WS.

The D-backs picked up a couple of new players and the pundits say they will challenge the Dodgers for the division.

Then, the end of March, the season starts and reality sets in. Nobody promised anybody they’d make the Series. The teams have to go out and earn it over 6 months and 162 games.

Do you remember when Graduated from high school or college, maybe grad school and you see nothing but good things in your future. You are going to own the world. Top of your field. Best in the business.

I always dreamed of being the pastor of the biggest church in town.

Schools over, career starts, and reality sets in. Maybe it was a boss, co-worker, the economy, whatever, but somewhere along the line it took your hope for the future away and you just try to survive till you can retire.

Maybe you remember when you started investing in your retirement. You did the math of what compounding interest will do over time and it made you hopeful. Lifestyle. Travel.

Then, reality and you couldn’t make all your deposits, maybe you had to made a few w/drawls and now you can’t retire like you thought you could and it’s taken your hope.

You remember when you first got married. Silly, stupid in love. That kind of love makes you hopeful.

Your parents weren’t pfct, you saw the flaws in their marriage, but yours was going t/b different.

But, then, the honeymoon ends and reality sets in. Marriage is hard. You both made promises, till death do you part. But, it’s hard to get there and it can take you hope along the way.

Same deal when you had your first kid. You were going t/b different. You were going to do it right. You watch your friends as parents and you say to each other, “That kid’s going t/b trouble. They better get control of him fast.”

Then, your kid gets into trouble. What happened to the hope you had for your family? Parenting is hard work b/c reality is hard and it can take all your hope away.

Nobody promised it would be easy or that your kids would turn out no matter how much hard work you put in.

I remember when I first met Jesus. I knew about Him. But, accepted His offer to save me. I was 17.

I was alive for the first time. I felt it. I had a purpose for college and my life. I served in a college ministry while I went to school. Filled w/ hope for my life and career.

As someone new to faith, like so many, I had the idea that God would make things easier for me. God never gives you anything you can’t handle.

Except. He does. The new reality of knowing Jesus made me hope. But the old reality that life is hard still tried to take my hope.

Here’s the point today:

God’s reality will make you hope when your reality tries to take your hope.

We don’t have to give in and lose it b/c we can trust God that we’ve got it.

Look beyond the immediate and see your future.

Don’t let it take your hope.

This is where Israel was when these 3 prophets wrote.

They had come into the PL the first time and were filled w/ tremendous hope. The wandering in the wilderness, 2 million funerals were a distant memory. A minor setback.

Something I said last week. We cant’ mess up God’s plan, we can only mess up our lives.

God’s plan was for Israel to take the PL. And, they did. Not the first generation out of Egypt. They messed that up. Joshua led the next gen. in.

Tremendous optimism. Then, the reality of living in land that had been dominated by foreign gods combined w/ the arrogance of Israel led to disaster.

Now, they are back, but they are struggling. Mired in poverty. The wealth they had was long gone (Oh, for the good old days.)

God promised them a bright future. Was it true? Would they get it? Would they be able to keep their hope and joy until they got it? And, how would they get it?

That’s the subject of visions 3 and 4 from Zechariah chapters 2 and 3.

Reason for Hope

Zechariah 2:1–13 NIV

Then I looked up, and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand. I asked, “Where are you going?” He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is.” While the angel who was speaking to me was leaving, another angel came to meet him and said to him: “Run, tell that young man, ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it. And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within.’ “Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the Lord, “for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven,” declares the Lord. “Come, Zion! Escape, you who live in Daughter Babylon!” For this is what the Lord Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye—I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me. “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord. “Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.”

Zechariah 2:1-

The vision is simple; a surveyor who is marking the boundaries of Jerusalem and measuring its area.

They couldn’t see the boundaries b/c the wall had been destroyed. He’s measuring it to determine how the ppl will fit w/in the walls in the future.

Then, in the vision, they get the interpretation of the vision. And, the point is, there will be so many ppl, they won’t fit w/in the walls.

Jerusalem will be so prosperous in the future that their current situation in poverty will be a distant memory.

So many ppl, so much commerce, so much wealth, so blessed by God, beyond measure. Their prosperity will spill beyond the measurements of the surveyor.

One of the characteristics of OT prophecy is there can be multiple partial fulfillments before the final complete fulfillment.

Partial fulfillments to encourage the ppl that the grand finale is coming. Just hang on to the hope that you have.

So, the vision has both a near future fulfillment and distant future fulfillment. I’ll get more into this in a minute.

No matter how hard life may be at the time, the future is very bright. Keep walking and everything is going to work out.

So, no matter how hard life may be at the time, the future is very bright. Keep walking and everything is going to work out.

The angel expresses the urgency for Zechariah to communicate this to Israel. They are struggling. Life is hard. The reality of their re-establishment in the PL is beginning to take their hope. They are losing it.

They need to know God’s reality so it can make them continue to hope.

Jerusalem was going t/b rebuilt. We know it was b/c Nehemiah wrote about it. God promised and it was going to happen.Not only did they build the wall around the city but the area outside the wall was densely populated, too.

But, this vision didn’t just point to Nehemiah’s rebuild. If they thought his rebuild was encouraging, wait till they see the rebuild in the end!

The clue in the text that this is about the end times are the terms “daughter Babylon” and “daughter Zion”.

A future generation of the current cities, not the cities of that day, or this day.

All the Jews scattered, and all believers around the world will come and either re-establish or establish for the first time a residence in the New Jerusalem.

There is something encouraging when ppl agree w/ you. When you’re being criticized, persecuted for what you believe, but there is a large group that agrees and will join you in your home land.

The entire city will rejoice, just like Kansas City did last Sunday. Everyone will shout for joy who comes to reside in the new Jerusalem.

Not so for those in the new, and old, Babylon.

Israel was poor. No military. No money. But, the desire for revenge would have strong. But, they could do nothing but wish for revenge.

But, the desire for revenge sucks all the joy out of you.

They could let it go b/c God was going to deal w/ them.

They had enslaved Israel, just like Egypt had enslaved them. And, when Israel left Egypt God arranged it so that they plundered Egypt’s wealth when they left.

He will do the same when He establishes the New Jerusalem. Those once were enslaved by Babylon will plunder them. The entire wealth of the world will be possessed by those who live in God’s kingdom.

Babylon and the rest of the world should be warned. You mess w/ God’s ppl, then you’re messing w/ God and He will mess w/ you. It won’t go well.

It is freeing the let God handle those who’ve hurt you or who’ve hurt the ppl you love.

You’ve heard it said, holding a grudge, wishing revenge on someone is like taking poison expecting them to die.

But, all that does is kill you inside.

We can forgive b/c we can have confidence that God is making things right better than we ever could. His way, His time. All good.

Then, like in the Garden of Eden, God will walk among us. His presence right here. When we are in His presence we experience everything He offers.

Peace, joy, patience, kindness, love, self-control, etc. He’s has so much of it is spills out on everyone close by.

His presence, it’s personal. It’s intimate. He emits, oozes life. When you’re that close it gets all over you.

Just like when your toddler eats and sneezes. It gets all over you. You have t/b close. And, when you are you can’t help but get sprayed.

The Kingdom will be filled w/ people from every nation. We will all join together and live in the same neighborhood.

And our shouts of joy will transition into awe-inspired silence in the presence of God has He has fulfilled His promise to rebuild and repopulate.

And, when He does, we will be blessed beyond measure; beyond the measurement of the surveying in vision #3.

That’s the hope that we have. But, how do we get there.

Our lives should be dedicated to getting this. Our highest priority. But how? How can we be assured of being a part of it and experiencing everything God promised?

How do we make our reservation for a place in the kingdom?

Vision #4 in ch. 3.

Reservation for Hope

Zechariah

Zechariah 3:1–10 NIV

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.” Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by. The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here. “ ‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day. “ ‘In that day each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

The vision was a little more complex this time, but still fairly simple.

There’s Joshua, the priest. He recognized him.

But, there was Satan, too. He knew who He was.

And, an angel and a group standing nearby.

Joshua was dressed in nasty clothes. The Hebrew word for filth there, is human waste. Can you think of many things nastier? Covered, smeared, reeking of human waste.

Dog waste is pretty nasty. And, there was the Sunday afternoon one spring when I made by two boys clean up the trash can we used for the dog waste.

All winter long we had collected the stuff from the back yard in the trash can. Except, early in the winter someone didn’t get the lid on the trash can. And, it snowed, and snowed, and melted, and the trash back fell into the watery mess in the can.

The boys created the mess they needed to clean up the mess. They were like 7 and 9 years old. I turned them loose o the driveway with the nasty can, a shovel, and somewhere along the way the decided to get the hose and add more water.

I’ve told this story before, and you may recall from that time that this Sunday afternoon in the spring was Mother’s Day.

Not one of my finer moments.

The stench in the neighborhood was horrendous. One neighbor was having a party on their deck. They moved inside. Other neighbors were slamming their windows.

The boys were filthy. Nasty.

Joshua was nastier.

He was as good as dead. Like a well-seasoned, dried out stick in your fire place.

Pulled out, saved from the fire, only t/b accused by Satan of the obvious nastiness, not worthy of God’s attention.

And, yet, God cleaned him up anyway. Joshua didn’t do anything to deserve it. God’s grace, mercy, prompted Him to clean him up and change his appearance.

He cleaned him up unconditionally, but gave him a job to do conditionally. The job had 3 parts and it was conditioned on something.

The condition? Keep my commands.

And, what are the 2 greatest commands?

And, he saved him for a purpose. Joshua had a job to do. Joshua had a job to do and it had 3 parts.

Keep those and you’ll keep you job.

Part 1: govern my house. That is you’ll have gifted and empowered services to perform in the temple

Part 2: Have charge over my courts. That is you’ll guard the truth and prevent lies from misleading the ppl.

Part 3: Have a place among the standing. That is, those standing in the temple in the presence of God. He will have access and be able to boldly and confidently enter into God’s presence.

According the vision, how is God going to facilitate all this?

One day He is going to bring His brach. That’s a reference to David and the promise that a descendant will sit on the throne as king.

The stick will be pulled out of the fire and grafted into the Branch of David and it will sprout to life.

There is a stone in front of him. The stone has 7 eyes and an etched message in it.

The stone will be a stumbling stone for those who refuse to believe and surrender their lives to the King.

But it will be the Chief cornerstone to those who do believe. The foundation, security, strength and life for those who accept Him.

The 7 eyes, 7 represents God. Eyes provide both input and output. They are the windows of the soul allowing people to see the character inside. And they see the character and heart of those nearby. God will make himself known and know the condition of the heart over everyone in the world.

And, the etching? It was custom to etch the name of the owner/ builder and purpose of the building into the cornerstone. Everyone built their own buildings.

The Messiah is the owner/builder of the temple who’s purpose is the dwelling place of God.

And, in one single day God will remove all the sin and guilt from the land so no one stands before Him in their filth anymore.

The vision is for anyone who surrenders their life, presents themselves to God to be changed, cleaned up, is given the promise that in the distant future they will be blessed beyond measure. They will be part of a populated kingdom where God Himself walks throughout for all eternity.

You may say, that’s OT, Zechariah, what about us?

Romans 3:23 NIV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 NIV

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We’re all as good as dead. Dry sticks in your fire place.

But, God pulls us out. And we still stand before Him in the nastiness of our sin.

Ephesians 2:8–9 NIV

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

You didn’t pull yourself out of that fire.

But, we have an accuser

Revelation 12:10 NIV

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

Watch out earth. Satan was called out for his attempt to take over and now he is ticked off and pointing out every bit of filth in our lives, showing God that we are not worthy of the life he offers.

Romans 5:8 NIV

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

We were still filthy, nasty, and he changed our clothes. He changed our appearance. When the HS came in he baptized us and changed the way we look to God.

From filthy rags to white as snow.

And, we’ve been saved for a purpose

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Gifted and empowered service in the temple of God, that is the church, guarding the truth with free access to God once the curtain was torn in two.

Don’t let the difficult circumstances of the reality in your life steal your joy by taking away your hope.

Focus on God’s reality for your life and let it make you hope b/c you know your future is secure and your reservation is set for all eternity in His repopulated kingdom where his blessings will spill out all over you forever.

Applications

Wealth

Be content w/ what you have here. Do not chase wealth that you’ll leave behind when you’re gone and will eventually burn up anyway.

All the wealth of the world will be available to you when you get to heaven.

Stop chasing wealth and be content.

Forgive

Is holding a grudge stealing your joy?

Let God get even.

We have fairness in our genes. And, when we feel we have been unfairly hurt it is natural to pursue getting even.

That’s fair.

Do the unnatural thing. Turn it over to God.

If someone hurt one of God ppl, including you, then they hurt God. He will handle it better than you ever could.

Rest assured He’s handling it.

Let it go and forgive everyone who hurts you.

Stand accused

Yes, you stand accused. You have an accuser.

Some of us don’t need an accuser, we’re too good at accusing ourselves pointing out our flaws and hanging onto all the things we’ve done wrong in our lives.

Whether it’s Satan, or you accusing yourself, no, you’re not worthy of the life God offers.

But, He gives it to you anyway. If God’s not going to hold any of this stuff against you, you don’t need to hold any of this stuff against you. And, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Forgive yourself.

Let the guilt go.

Jesus has taken it away. Don’t believe the lies that you need to hang onto it.

Hope. Joy.

God’s reality will make you hope when your reality tries to take your hope.

Don’t let it take your hope.