Music
Hey everyone, welcome to Steadfast Baptist Church. If you could please find your seats and grab your song books.
We're going to start off tonight in song number two, Glory to His Name.
Song number two, Glory to His Name.
Song number two, Glory to His Name. Let's sing it out.
Sing it out.
There to my heart was the one of mine. Glory to His name.
I am so wondrously saved from sin. Jesus so sweetly abides with him.
There at the cross where He took me in. Glory to His name.
Glory to His name. Glory to His name.
There to my heart was the one of mine. Glory to His name.
Oh precious fountain that saves from sin. I am so glad I have entered in.
There Jesus saves me and keeps me clean. Glory to His name.
Glory to His name. Glory to His name. There to my heart was the one of mine. Glory to His name.
Come to this fountain so rich and sweet. Cast thy poor soul at the Savior's feet. Plunge in today and be made complete.
Glory to His name. Glory to His name. Glory to His name. There to my heart was the one of mine. Glory to His name.
All right, let's open up in a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening's service at Steadfast Baptist Church.
Thank you for all the blessings that you give us in our lives, our friends and family and great church family as well, Lord.
I just pray that you bless this time together. Bless this time of singing. We love you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
All right, for our next song, let's go to song 36, Christ Arose. Song number 36, Christ Arose.
Let's sing it out together, song 36.
With a mighty triumph o'er his bones, He arose a victor from the dark domain, And he lives forever with his things to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior. Vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord.
Come from the grave, he arose! With a mighty triumph o'er his bones, He arose a victor from the dark domain, And he lives forever with his things to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
Death cannot keep his prey, Jesus my Savior.
He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord.
Come from the grave, he arose! With a mighty triumph o'er his bones, He arose a victor from the dark domain, And he lives forever with his things to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
18 and under that can quote it. You can get an ice cream. On the inside we have service and soul winning times. And then we have our church stats down below. Make sure you're turning in all of your stats to our soul winning tribe captains and lieutenants.
On the right we have a list of expecting ladies. Please be in prayer for those who are expecting. And then I'm going to go over our prayer list in just a moment. We have our upcoming events.
July 6 is the Pure Words Baptist Church Soul Winning Marathon. Those that signed up to participate in the church transportation, an email has been sent. Did anybody sign up for the church transportation and not get the email or not notice the email?
Okay, you should have gotten that if for whatever reason just contact me. There should be two vehicles and I put the information in the details. It's going to be probably a pretty long day but if you are planning on doing that, we really appreciate it.
I think there's almost about 30 of us coming from steadfast so I anticipate it's going to be a pretty good trip and so please if you're not participating just pray that those who travel and everything would go smoothly.
And we're really looking forward to going to the San Antonio area for soul winning. Also on the back we have the congratulations to the Conire family on the birth of Zachariah Castilian. He was born on the 22nd, 4.15 a.m. 7 pounds 10 inches and 21 inches long.
Very fitting that he would be born during the Zachariah series, you know what I mean? And so you all better be careful what chapter or book of the Bible I pick next. No, I'm just kidding. You expecting ladies. No, I'm just kidding.
On the inside we have a prayer list and we've been praying for the name's grandmother. We've been praying for the Carlson's mother also. Miss Miller's friend, Miss Tamara. Brother Elijah, his nephew. Miss Eva, her daughter who's also pregnant which is exciting news.
We have brother Oz. We've been praying for him. We've been praying for brother Foley, for his fiancee. We've been praying for the brother Roger. He's also asking for prayer there as well. So we'll go ahead and say a quick word of prayer for those who were mentioned.
Thank you Heavenly Father so much for Steadfast Baptist Church and thank you so much for all these ladies who are expecting. Please help them during their pregnancies and give them a easy delivery. Please help their children's development.
I pray that you would also just bless our upcoming soul wedding events, that you'd keep everybody safe and that we could see many people saved. I pray that you would also just bless our church family that needs favor for anything at work or just in their house or just any of their needs.
I pray that you would also bless those who are struggling with health. I pray that you would just please give them just favor if possible, just a full recovery and just to give them just peace during this difficulty.
I pray anybody that's not able to come to church due to illness, that you would just give them the strength and give them the health so that they could get back into church. We just thank you for all that you give us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
So that's pretty much all I have as far as announcements. We're going to go ahead and sing our Psalm of the Week, Psalm 67. So if you have that special handout, you can sing it nice and loud. Psalm 67.
All right, let's sing it out together, Psalm 67.
O God, let all the people praise Thee.
O let the nations be glad and sing for joy.
For Thou shalt judge the people, righteously and governed.
The nations upon earth, the nations upon earth see long.
Let the people praise Thee, O God.
Let all the people praise Thee.
O let the nations be glad and sing for joy.
Then shall the earth yield her in Greece.
And God, even her own God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.
Let the people praise Thee, O God.
Let all the people praise Thee.
O let the nations be glad and sing for joy.
Great singing.
As the offering plates are being passed around, please turn in your Bibles to Zechariah chapter 10.
Zechariah chapter number 10.
Zechariah chapter 10.
Zechariah chapter number 10.
The Bible reads, ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain, so the Lord shall make bright clouds and give them showers of rain to everyone grass in the field.
For the idols have spoken vanity and the diviners have seen a lie and have told false dreams.
They comfort in vain, therefore they went their way as a flock.
They were troubled because there was no shepherd.
Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds and I punished the goats.
For the Lord of hosts had visited his flock, the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle.
Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.
And they shall be as mighty men which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle.
And they shall fight because the Lord is with them and the riders on horses shall be confounded.
And I will strengthen the house of Judah and I will save the house of Joseph and I will bring them again to place them.
For I have mercy upon them and they shall be as though I had not cast them off.
For I am the Lord their God and will hear them.
And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man and their heart shall rejoice as through wine.
Yea, their children shall see it and be glad, their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.
I will hiss for them and gather them.
For I have redeemed them and they shall increase as they have increased.
And I will sow them among the people and they shall remember me in far countries and they shall live with their children and turn again.
I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt and gather them out of Assyria and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon.
And place shall not be found for them.
And he shall pass through the sea with affliction and shall smite the waves in the sea and all the deeps of the river shall dry up.
And the pride of Assyria shall be brought down and the scepter of Egypt shall depart away.
And I will strengthen them in the Lord and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for this chapter of the Bible, Lord.
I just pray that you bless Pastor Shelley as he preaches to us your word that you'd fill in with your Holy Spirit.
Help us to have soft hearts to hear your word and make applicable changes to our lives.
And I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.
We are here in Zechariah chapter 10 and as we keep getting further and further in the book of Zechariah,
it seems like the narrative changes a little bit where we're kind of getting away from some of the more immediate prophecies that the book of Zechariah is delivering
to getting to more future and more end times ideas and concepts that are kind of being brought up.
Zechariah chapter 10 I find is kind of a difficult chapter to be understood because there's not a lot just even on the surface that really makes a lot of sense.
It seems like a lot of it is just kind of talking in a very poetic way.
And I think when you look at it from a big picture, it actually does make a lot of sense.
But just kind of on the surface, a lot of these verses are very difficult.
So especially if you read this chapter or if you've thought about this chapter and you kind of feel like,
man, I don't feel like I'm getting a lot out of it.
That should be normal because this is what I would call a harder chapter of the Bible.
Zechariah is a harder book of the Bible.
And sometimes it takes reading these chapters over and over or thinking about the broader context,
looking a lot of things up before you can even kind of get any semblance of what we're talking about.
And why I like going through books of the Bible like this is some of this information is still a little bit in your mind from the previous chapters.
But I want to kind of revisit something.
And I want to give you a context as we go through this to help kind of make sense of things.
But in chapters 1 through 3 of Zechariah, it paints this picture of peace and safety.
And that's going to be true in the immediate future because they're going to rebuild the temple.
They're in a difficult time.
They're actually going against the king's commandment to rebuild the temple.
But God's reassuring them, no, it's going to be safe.
There's going to be peace.
And what I think there's this undertone in the book of Zechariah is kind of an end times description or timeline that's kind of unfolding.
And in chapters 1 through 3, that peace and safety are kind of reminiscent in my mind of the rapture.
Just in the sense that once we're raptured, we have complete peace.
The Lord has rescued us.
There's safety.
There's no more difficulty.
There's no more oppression.
And so there's kind of that picture.
In chapter 4, it then brings up the two witnesses.
Which really, their ministry is mostly, if we think about the end times, and we're thinking about that last seven years timeline,
well, that rapture point is a little bit beyond the midpoint.
But it's kind of the midpoint in general.
And so that latter section is mostly, that latter three and a half years is where we're talking about the two witnesses.
During that period, you also have chapter 5 describing Babylon, which is kind of there at the end of Daniel's 70th week.
Chapter 6 is kind of talking about the return of Christ, but not so much in the rapture sense,
more in the sense when he's returning to rebuild the temple in the millennial reign.
So you kind of have the rapture, two witnesses, then Babylon being judged, then you have the return of Christ for the millennial reign.
In chapter 7, Zechariah kind of gives us a warning about the past, of not making mistakes of the past,
and why they even had the judgment.
And then chapter 8, it talks about them dwelling in Zion, what that's going to be like.
Chapter 9, we kind of talked about how the enemy nations are going to be destroyed.
And so we kind of have those elements of all focusing a little bit on the millennial reign.
And what I think that chapter 10 is doing is it's staying in that same context of the millennial reign of Christ that we're thinking about.
So I want to just kind of give that broad context, and then I'm going to explain how it makes a lot more sense here as we go through this chapter.
But notice what it says in verse 1.
Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain, so that the Lord shall make bright clouds and give them showers of rain to every one grass in the field.
Now, that just seems a little bit strange, like why are we just asking for rain, why is it bringing up latter rain.
But keep your finger here and go to Deuteronomy chapter number 11.
And the Bible brings up latter rain a few different times.
I just want to explain what latter rain even means, and then kind of how I think it fits in this particular chapter.
But in Deuteronomy chapter 11, verse 14, the Bible says that I will give you the rain of your land in its due season.
The first rain and the latter rain that thou mayest gather in thy corn and thy wine and thine oil.
So if we think about a year, you have a couple important growing seasons.
You kind of have a spring season, and you have a fall season.
So the first rain is talking about that first crop harvest that's kind of in that spring time.
And then you have a later harvest, which is in that fall harvest.
Both need rain, and they're crucial times for rain in order to have that particular harvest.
Well, the Bible has this kind of picture, especially when it comes to prophecy.
Jesus Christ is the one that came in that first rain.
He's that first fruits of that harvest.
But the Bible talks about in the end times, it being that final fall type harvest,
where it's kind of that end part of the year.
And so that's kind of a foreshadowing or an idea of the end times,
and kind of that last part of human history and that last season.
So what I believe the Bible is kind of alluding to here as we go back to Zechariah chapter 10,
is he's saying, you know what, you need to still pray for rain, even in the end times,
even in that latter part of human history, and even all the way up to the very end.
And specifically, what does it give them?
It gives them showers of rain to everyone, grass in the field.
So, of course, rain brings harvest, rain brings fruit, rain brings produce,
rain brings success, brings blessing.
That's what rain is a picture of.
And so what I think God is trying to communicate here is that God can still bring a blessing,
even all the way up to the very end.
And even in the very final stages of human history,
there can still be a blessing for God's people during that period of time.
So I think that because we live in a very tumultuous time,
I mean, arguably, you know, I think that there's a lot of fear in the world today.
I feel like there's a lot of anxiety in the world today.
There's a lot of doomsday predictions.
There's a constant just hashing of just this could be the end of the world,
and there's so much uncertainty,
and there's so much conflict with the government, who the president is,
and, you know, COVID was a pretty extreme thing that a lot of people went through,
and there's just all this fear-mongering going on in the world,
and a lot of people wondering, is it the end, or are we getting to the end,
or when is it going to be the end,
and just a lot of people kind of thinking about all these things.
And it can cause people to get very upset.
It can cause people to be disappointed or feel like,
man, I wish we were going through a time when things were good,
or I wish we could go back in time,
and I wish I got to live during a season of human history
where it was just fun and we just got to enjoy.
But I think what God is trying to do is He's trying to communicate
that there can still be good times for God's people,
even all the way up to the bitter end,
and that we don't have to sit here and constantly be afraid or disappointed
or look down upon the future or think that it's somehow negative.
We can still embrace, even if we were or whoever it is
that has to go through the end times, that there's still blessing,
and we still should pray that God would bless us and give us food,
give us, you know, the things that we need, even in that latter rain,
even in that final season of human history.
And I believe that when we kind of talk about this chapter,
I'm really trying to frame it as that last portion of human history.
Now, specifically, you also have in verse number 2, it says,
For the idols have spoken vanity,
and the viners have seen a lie and have told false dreams.
They comfort in vain, therefore they went their way as a flock.
They were troubled because there was no shepherd.
So he kind of has some what feels like disjointed thoughts here.
Initially, he's saying, hey, ask God for rain.
Then the second breath, he says, For the idols have spoken vanity.
And he says, And the diviners have seen a lie and have told false dreams.
I believe that, you know, this, again, makes sense
if we're kind of thinking about the end times picture
because the Bible says specifically in the end times
that there's going to be a great falling away from truth
and how there's going to be what we would call a great apostasy in the world.
And just because there's a great apostasy,
just because there's a lot of evil in the world
doesn't mean that God has forsaken His people
or the remnant or those that are loyal under the things of God.
But specifically, God can't just allow evil
and all these horrible things to go on without them being punished.
So God is going to punish the wicked
and throughout Jerusalem and throughout the children of Israel's history
and even just the world in general, idols were a major thing.
Idols were a huge component of false religion.
And it's the same today.
It's just called the Roman Catholic Church
where they have all kinds of idols, but they speak vanity.
There's no truth to them.
They're completely meaningless and worthless.
There are just these giant celebrations of Mary
where you'll have all these Catholics just lined up
with this giant structure of a Mary
and they're parading her up and down the street
and they're just bowing and they're crying
and they're making a big ceremony of the whole event
and it's all meaningless.
There is no benefit.
It is completely worthless at its best.
At its worst, it's demonic.
At its best, it's meaningless, it's vanity.
And specifically it says, and the diviners have seen a lie.
The preachers of these false religions are liars.
They lie about everything.
It says they have told false dreams.
They comfort in vain.
Now this is what's interesting to me.
God already knew, and again there's no new thing under the sun,
but God already knew that all the false prophets have one thing in common.
They all preach nice things only, don't they?
Why didn't it say that they rebuke in vain?
Why didn't it say they reprove in vain?
Why does it say that they preached hard in vain?
It's because the false prophets never preach hard.
They never reprove. They never rebuke.
They comfort. They comfort in vain.
And that's why people heap up to them false teachers
is because they want someone to tell them something comfortable.
You know, it makes me think of therapists,
psychological therapists and counselors and all these different professions.
Basically you're just hiring someone to just lie to you
and tell you something nice or put you on drugs to feel good.
But they're a lot of times worthless and meaningless individuals,
and they simply comfort in vain.
They simply just tell you lies.
They tell you what you want to hear.
They try to encourage you in your sin in many cases.
Many individuals will go to a counselor or therapist or these individuals,
and they're complaining.
They say, I feel bad because I got divorced and it's hurting my heart.
And they're like, you go, girl.
You don't feel bad about that. You made the right decision.
And they try to encourage them and comfort them
that their bad decision is actually somehow not bad.
And that conviction, that guilt that they're feeling in their heart and their mind
was the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
And it's actually these comforters trying to quench the Holy Spirit
or quenching whatever God-given conviction they have from their conscience
and cause them to not feel bad about their sin.
And so they just comfort them in vain.
And there's so many churches today, and there's so many pastors today,
they just comfort in vain today by just lying to them
and making them feel comfortable in their sin,
making them feel comfortable in their transgression,
making them feel like they're not upsetting God by their lifestyle or their decisions,
but rather God's not mad at them.
God's not mad at you for breaking rules.
He just wants a relationship, man.
And it's all about relationship, and He's just ready to be buddies, man.
You know, this is what's really sad for me,
and I was thinking about this today while I was going soul-winning,
is how many people are going to be surprised that they went to hell.
Because you and I both know if you go soul-winning,
almost every single person, you say, hey, have you died today?
Are you sure you go to heaven?
They all say yes.
Well, I'm sorry to tell you, not everyone's going to heaven.
In fact, according to the Bible and according to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
there's few that are saved.
That means that a lot are going to be surprised.
And we're not just talking Christians.
I mean Muslims, Hindus, all kinds of different religions out there.
They think they're good.
They think they're going to the afterlife.
They think they're going to heaven.
And boy, are they going to be surprised when they go to hell.
And you want to know why?
It's because some false prophet, some liar,
made them feel comfortable on their journey to hell.
That's what they did.
And people say, like, how dare you confront me about soul-winning?
How dare you confront me about how to go to heaven?
How dare you confront me on what my beliefs are about going to heaven?
And it's like, well, I don't want to make you feel comfortable on your journey to hell.
You know what I mean?
How many people are just fine and satisfied with their journey to hell,
and in fact, you ask them, how do you go to heaven?
I don't even know.
But you're comfortable getting there on that path, on that journey?
I mean, how many times do you drive in the car having absolutely no idea where you're going?
I mean, it happens, but generally speaking,
we would all feel so uncomfortable that we'd try to figure out where we're going first, wouldn't we?
We'd pull over.
You know, what if your phone, most of us probably use the GPS.
What if your phone just said, sorry, I have no idea where you're going.
I have no idea where you're at.
I have no idea what's happening.
You'd be like, I'm going to get a new phone.
I want to know where I'm going, right?
But think about how many people, when it comes to their journey to heaven,
they're going to a church where their GPS is basically saying, like, you can turn right or left.
You're like, what do you mean right or left?
You can do whatever you want.
Go up, go down, go left, go right.
You'd be like, I'm getting a new GPS.
I want to know exactly where to go, what street I have to take,
and how many people today, they have genuinely no idea how to go to heaven,
what it even takes, what it even looks like, but they think that they're really going.
Why? Because they've been comforted in vain because of liars.
Says this in verse 2, therefore, they went their way as a flock.
They were troubled because there was no shepherd,
meaning that because the preachers are lying, the flock just has no idea where they're going.
They have no idea what to do.
They're not making good decisions.
If you just have a bunch of sheep out there with literally no shepherd,
well, they're going to just all wander wherever and doing whatever,
constantly being eaten by wolves, constantly devoured, falling in ditches,
destroying themselves, drowning themselves, killing themselves.
And look, that is what God's people looks like today in large sections of America today
because they have no shepherd.
Christians have no idea where they're going in life,
no idea what they're doing, no purpose, no vision, no real genuine spirituality.
Many Christians are so depressed.
People are killing themselves. People are hurting themselves.
They're making bad decisions. They're getting out of church.
They're not reading their Bible. They're not praying.
They're not preaching the gospel. They're not doing the things of God.
Why? Because of lying false prophets.
And you know what? It's a real battle today.
It's a real struggle today for the false prophet against the true prophet
because there's so many of them and there's so few of us.
And it's important to go to a church where you do have a shepherd that is leading
because otherwise you're going to find yourself where, who knows where,
troubled, confused, all kinds of problems.
You know, it's important what church you go to.
And there's a lot of reasons to pick a church.
And I'm not saying they're all legit.
I'm just saying there's a lot of reasons why people go to a church.
It's five minutes from my house, right?
That could be a reason why someone goes to church.
It's convenient. It's close.
Some people go to a church just simply because it's big.
Some people go to church because it's small.
Some people determine what church they're going to go to
based solely on the size of the church.
Some people pick church based on the music only.
Some people pick the church based on where their family goes.
Some people pick the church based on where their friends go
or where they can go and meet different people or different friends.
Some people go to church exclusively for the kids' programs.
And that's a lot of people, in fact.
They go because they just, I want to be away from my kid for two hours.
And so I've got to go to a church where they're going to literally
entertain my kid for a few hours.
And so that's where they go to church.
There's a lot of reasons to pick a church.
But to me, the most important and the one that I've always considered
as the one that I am determining at church is the shepherd.
Who's the shepherd of the church?
Because to me, that's the most important factor
is the preaching and the shepherd.
That's why I would pick a church.
I wouldn't pick it because of the music program.
I wouldn't pick it because of my friends.
I wouldn't pick it because of how close it is to my church.
I wouldn't pick it for a lot of reasons.
I'd pick it because of who the shepherd is
because that's the most important factor
of what's going on with the church.
And I always say, go to the best church in the area.
You know, if there's someone preaching great,
there's a great shepherd, go there.
It's not a competition.
But at the end of the day,
that should be a very important factor
into what church you're going to
is who is leading the church and who the shepherd is
of that particular church.
That's a really important aspect of the church itself.
Everything rises and falls on leadership.
And let's just be honest,
not all churches are created equal.
Not all churches are created equal.
And when I visited a church
and I thought, man, this church is really great,
you know why?
It's usually because they had a great shepherd.
You know, it's like,
why is it that Verity Baptist Church
just happens to be such a fun church to visit
and go to and has cool conferences
and they're really successful
and they're having a lot of fun?
It's because they have a great shepherd
and pastor in minutes.
It's like, why are people moving all over the country
to go to the middle of the sun,
I'm sorry, the desert in Phoenix
and go hear someone preach and yell at them.
It's because Pastor Anderson is a great preacher.
That's why people,
and you know, sometimes people just don't even get it.
They don't understand because they have a carnal mind.
But you know, the spiritual persons that seek for
a good preacher, a good shepherd,
that should be a litmus test
for what kind of church that you're going to go to.
And when the shepherd is Steven Furtick,
you run away screaming.
When the shepherd is a heretic,
you run away screaming.
When the shepherd is preaching lies,
you go from that church, you leave that church.
It doesn't matter, well, but that's where we grew up.
That's where our friends are.
That's what's close to my church
or close to my house.
You know, that doesn't matter.
As soon as you identify this is a bad shepherd,
you got to get out of there.
And so many people are sticking in a church
where they don't even like the shepherd.
And you know what?
That's a bad decision.
If you recognize that the shepherd's not a good shepherd,
you need to get out of that church.
You need to go to a church
where they have a good shepherd.
Verse 3,
Now inevitably what happens
when you have a bunch of false prophets?
Well, you have a lot of false converts
and the Bible uses animals to denote spiritual truths.
The goat is an animal to represent unsaved Christians
or unsaved people in general.
I use the word Christian because they're in that religion.
They're going to a, quote, Christian church.
They call themselves a Christian,
but they're not saved, therefore they're a goat.
Because when you look in Matthew 25,
and we'll actually go there a little bit in the future,
but if you look in Matthew chapter 25,
the people that are identified as goats
were still seeking to please the Lord.
They were still wanting to serve,
and in fact they were upset.
They're like, when did we see Jesus
and not minister unto him?
You know, it wasn't like,
why wasn't it a completely different religion?
No, they were in the theory, the right religion,
but they weren't actually saved.
They didn't actually believe on Jesus.
They didn't actually have salvation by faith.
They were just Christian religious.
And you know, going to a church
doesn't make you a Christian, a true Christian.
It doesn't make you saved.
Getting baptized doesn't make you saved.
Doing some church things doesn't make you saved.
Reading the Bible doesn't make you saved.
Putting your faith in Jesus Christ is what makes you saved.
And you're different on the inside
and you're no longer a goat, you're a sheep.
And my sheep hear my voice, and I know them,
and they will not follow the voice of a stranger.
But at the end of the day, there's a lot of unsaved people.
They love strangers, and boy, do they follow them.
If we were to go and examine some of these mega churches today,
if we were to go to Gateway,
if we were to go to some other non-denominational church,
if we were to visit them and talk to the congregation,
a lot of them would not be saved.
And in some denominations, it would be virtually everyone.
That's not saved.
Almost every Catholic is unsaved.
Virtually most of the Catholic light versions are unsaved.
And unfortunately, even a lot of non-denominational people
are even unsaved today.
And we see this happening in our culture
just like it happened in times past.
Just like when Jerusalem was originally destroyed,
they had all these preachers, they had all these prophets,
but they had all these goats in their city.
And you know what?
That's what destroyed them is the lack of actually having Christians,
people that are saved, people that love the Lord,
people that are serving Him.
And you know, that's a danger for our country
and for every country
when you're just filled with goats and you have no sheep.
We need to maximize the sheep
that are in a particular area to protect it.
And of course, God is also concerned with His flock
because at times, there's not a good shepherd.
And I would say that that's even true today.
That there are sheep in this world
where they don't have a great church to go to near their area.
And in fact, in some places, maybe not even a good church.
Or they have to drive really far.
And it's very difficult.
And even if they do find a saved pastor,
a lot of times it's not even necessarily doing that great
or doing that hot.
He could be that old man that's lying to them a lot,
the old prophet.
And so God's upset.
Notice He says in verse 3 of mine,
anger was kindled against the shepherds.
God gets mad at preachers.
God gets mad at pastors.
God gets mad at church leaders
when they're not doing the right thing.
And you know what?
There's a level of accountability
that's even a little bit higher
for pastors, for shepherds, for spiritual leaders
that they're doing the right thing
and that they're preaching the truth
and that they're ministering unto God's people.
And so it's important
because God is going to get very mad at them
and He wants His flock to be taken care of.
And when you're a bad shepherd, God will remove you.
God can destroy you.
God will take care of that
because He wants His flock to be taken care of.
And so He's saying,
hey, I'm visiting Judah
because I want to give them a good shepherd.
I want to get back to having good shepherds
and good ministers and good leaders
and people that are going to take care of them.
And He's made specifically Judah
as a goodly horse in the battle.
Now again, there's always carnal truths
and there's always, like, immediate relevancy in the Bible,
but a lot of this language
seems like it's just kind of talking about generalities
and pictures and kind of foreign things.
I feel like a lot of this is just kind of generally
talking about the ever-going battle
because right now at this time,
they're not really, if you think about it,
they're not really experiencing some of these things directly.
You know, it's not like they have a bunch of false prophets
and they're constantly battling all these different goats
or something like that.
It's actually a lot of the saved people have returned
and it's mostly like the cream of the crop has actually returned
and they're rebuilding the temple.
But as time goes on,
you always have this issue,
you always have this battle between the false prophets
and the goats
and you have the true prophets of God
and you have the sheep
and there's always this constant battle
and this is the battle that's every age, every century.
God's always at war with Amalek
and there's always this battle,
and of course in the Old Testament,
God used a lot of really physical battles
and logistical things
to help us understand the spiritual battles
that are going on in the spiritual realm
because we can't see the spiritual realm.
We can't necessarily understand all the spiritual battles
that are happening every single day,
but there's always this constant battle
between the liars and the false prophets
and those are the true men of God
and the sheep
and so he's trying to make Judah
this goodly horse in this battle again, okay?
And Judah has been kind of this
un-forsaken tribe,
this just limelight spot
throughout the entire Old Testament period.
Why?
Well, because they're important
for what they're going to bring into the world
is ultimately the Good Shepherd, okay?
Now, it says specifically
that he's made Judah
his goodly horse in the battle.
Verse 4, out of him came forth the corner.
Now, that's just, again,
this verse is just really hard to understand,
just isolated,
but I think what the context has been bringing up
is Judah specifically.
So I think in verse 4,
we have to maintain the same concept
or the same context here
that we're talking about Judah.
So out of him,
I interpret that in verse 4
as Judah every single time.
So it could be out of Judah
came forth the corner,
out of Judah the nail,
out of Judah the battle bow,
out of Judah every oppressor together.
This is really kind of difficult,
but I kind of want to focus a lot of the sermon
on this particular verse here for a second
because I think understanding it kind of
helps us with this big picture.
But I believe that verse 4
is kind of acting as
a prophecy in the same way that
Genesis 49 acts as a prophecy.
Now, in Genesis 49,
you have all these specific prophecies
about the 12 tribes of Israel
that are coming,
and it's not about that immediate time.
It's kind of just talking about them
from a picture of their entire timeline,
like just the entire timeline
of the tribe of Judah
or the entire timeline of the tribe of Issachar,
the entire timeline of Benjamin.
If we were to analyze their entire life
and their entire cycle as a tribe,
what does it look like,
just generally speaking?
If we were to kind of summarize
their entire experience,
what is that like?
And I think, again,
this is kind of what it's trying to do,
is it's trying to talk about Judah in general,
not like right now,
not just only in the future,
just like Judah.
Like, we think about them
from an entire timeline perspective, okay?
And specifically things about Judah,
I think, that are going to happen.
Now, before we get here,
keep your finger,
go to Genesis 49.
I should have just told you
to go there already,
but go to Genesis 49.
Let's just read a little bit
of what God said about Judah specifically, okay?
And why he's made it such a special tribe,
kind of the apple of his eye.
But Jacob or Israel
is giving a prophecy,
a last minute,
kind of last moment of his life prophecy
to his 12 children
and even, technically,
the sons of Joseph as well.
But in verse 8, he's talking about Judah.
Judah, thou art he,
whom thy brethren shall praise.
Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies.
Now, again, is this really,
did this happen for Judah the person?
No, it wasn't really about Judah the person.
It was about Judah as the tribe, okay?
Now, it says specifically
that he's going to be praised,
and in his hand is going to have
the neck of thine enemies.
That sounds like this guy has a battle,
something to do with battle,
something to do with fighting,
something to do with war, okay?
And it says in verse 8,
thy father's children
shall bow down before thee.
Verse 9, Judah is a lion's whelp.
This is talking about, like,
his roar, his cry.
From the prey, my son,
thou art gone up,
he stooped down,
he couched as a lion,
and as an old lion,
who shall rouse him up.
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until Shiloh come,
and unto him shall the gathering
of the people be.
Binding is full unto the vine,
and his ass is cold
unto the choice vine,
he washes garments in wine,
and his clothes in the blood of grapes.
His eyes shall be red with wine,
and his teeth white with milk.
So, of course,
Judah is given this great prophecy,
and, you know,
from studying it in other passages,
we can kind of see
that this is talking about
the Lord Jesus Christ.
And it's reminiscent of a couple things.
It's not only Jesus Christ, though,
because, of course,
where does that lineage start?
It starts with David.
Because initially,
the children of Israel
are given a king,
King Saul,
but he's from the tribe of Benjamin.
But then the tribe of Benjamin
and Saul is replaced,
and his lineage is replaced
by Judah specifically,
and by David specifically.
And then from David,
the Bible gives this prophecy
of how the scepter's
not gonna depart from David.
But what does it say?
Until Shiloh come.
Okay, so basically,
the scepter is given,
it's kind of handed off
from David unto Shiloh,
and it's talking about
this kind of unbroken
kingdom lineage.
And specifically,
there is a break here.
There's a couple breaks.
Of course,
there's the 70-year
Babylonian captivity.
We kind of just didn't
have anybody on the throne.
But then,
as soon as we're rebuilding,
we're continuing
that same thread,
and we have Zechariah
prophesying,
and we have Zerubbabel
coming in that same lineage,
and we're gonna continue
forth with that same lineage.
We have Josiah
instituting the priesthood.
We have Zerubbabel
as that governor,
as that ruler,
as that leader,
and we're gonna carry that forth
unto the Lord Jesus Christ.
He talks about Jesus
specifically,
binding his foal
unto the vine
and his ass's colt
unto the choice vine.
We kind of saw that
in the previous chapter,
talking about Jesus Christ
coming in lowly
on that ass's colt.
And we also have him
being mentioned here
as he washed his
garments and wine,
talking about his death
and his clothes
and the blood of the grapes.
His eyes shall be
red with wine
and his teeth
white with milk.
So he's preaching
the Word of God,
and we see
crucifixion being
prophesied here.
Go back to Zechariah
chapter 10 now.
So what I believe
in verse 4 here
is we're kind of getting
a look at Judah
as a whole again.
Just like we kind of
got a look at Judah
as a whole here
in Genesis chapter 49,
it's kind of giving
the same concept.
And it says in verse number 4,
out of him
came forth the corner.
Now to me,
that would be reminiscent
of the Lord Jesus Christ again,
and how Jesus Christ
is that cornerstone
that's going to come out
of Judah specifically.
We could look at a lot
of different verses on that,
but the Bible just says
over and over
about Jesus Christ
being the corner.
He's the chief cornerstone.
I actually wrote down
a few different verses on that,
but there's definitely
a ton that bring this up.
But the Bible says
in Job 38,
whereupon are the foundations thereof?
Or who laid the cornerstone thereof?
And it talks about
when the morning stars sang.
Psalm 118 says
the stone which the builders
refused has become
the headstone of the corner.
In Matthew 21,
it brings up that same quote,
and it says,
Jesus saith unto them,
did you never read
in the scriptures
the stone which the builders rejected?
The same has become
the head of the corner.
This is the Lord's doing
and it's marvelous in our eyes.
1 Peter chapter 2 says,
wherefore also is contained
in the scripture?
Behold, I lay in Zion
a chief cornerstone,
elect, precious,
and he that believeth on him
shall not be confounded.
And in Acts chapter 4,
it says this is the stone
which was set at naught
of you builders
which has become
the head of the corner.
Now again, a cornerstone
or a corner is representative
of the origin of a foundation,
the beginning of a building's construction.
And of course,
that's what Jesus Christ
represents as the beginning,
as the origin of what?
The New Testament.
He's the origin and the beginning
of those who are gonna be redeemed.
He's the firstborn
of every creature.
And of course, Colossians 1
makes it abundantly clear
that he gets all the preeminence.
Well, why does he get
the preeminence?
Well, think about it.
Jesus Christ was the creator.
He created Adam.
So before Adam was Jesus.
Jesus is already the Son of God
in heaven
before we ever had the first Adam.
So Jesus is preeminent.
He's the first before the first Adam.
Then he's also the first
begotten of the dead.
So before anybody's
begotten of the dead,
Jesus is first again.
Why?
Because in every single situation,
Jesus is always the first.
And when it comes to the New Testament,
he is that cornerstone
where we have that beginning building
of those who are saved, redeemed.
And of course, that's important
because out of Judah
came the corner.
That's where we got the origin.
That's where we got the beginning.
That's where we got the foundation.
That's where we got
the most important piece
of human history
is that cornerstone,
which is Jesus Christ.
I mean, think about it.
The most important thing
that's ever happened
is Jesus Christ specifically.
So consistently throughout the Bible,
God already knowing all things
with his foreknowledge
is constantly reiterating
and focusing and highlighting
the things that are going to bring us to
that point in human history.
Just like a movie
might realize that there's
a particular climax or a scene
that's really important.
But before we just start with that scene,
we build, right?
We start building with the story
and getting all those elements
and you're following these certain people
and you're like,
why am I following these certain people
in the story?
It's because they're going to be
the main characters
in this climatic scene or epic
and we want to know who they are.
Who is the most central character
of human history of the universe?
It's Jesus Christ.
And so the whole Bible
is just following this narrative
of bringing us to the birth of Jesus Christ
and his death, burial and resurrection.
And who's bringing us Jesus is Judah.
That's why he's focusing on Judah
and out of Judah came the corner.
Additionally here it says,
out of him the nail.
Now this can have a few different
actual understandings,
but I think initially we kind of think
about him being nailed to the cross.
But I think there's other
deeper meanings here too.
Go if you would to,
I want to go to Isaiah 22 first, okay?
Isaiah 22.
Colossians brings up the idea
of how things were nailed to his cross.
And it was specifically talking about the law
and the ordinances that were against us
that were contrary to us
and how these things were
nailed to the cross.
And you know really I think
it's just generally speaking even the law.
The law itself was nailed to the cross
and that's why we're dead with Christ
and the law no longer has dominion over us.
Therefore we are free in Christ
and the curse of the law
is by being hung on a tree
He was hung on the tree by the nails
and so that's what basically
destroyed the law's power and dominion over us
and gave us salvation and gave us freedom.
And you know it's talking about
out of Judah came the nail.
Came what?
Came the salvation from the law, okay?
But I think that there's another meaning
that we can kind of derive from
this particular word
or understanding as a nail.
Because what is a nail itself?
A nail is something that is fastened
and it's secure.
Now in the book of Isaiah
it brings up another prophecy
of the Lord Jesus Christ
through a different person
because the Bible is you know
all the prophets picture Jesus
all the different characters of the Bible
are constantly foreshadowing
different aspects of Jesus
and Isaiah 22 it also is bringing up
another character
that pictures and foreshadows Jesus
as Eliakim.
Look at verse number 20
and it's come to pass in that day
that I will call my servant Eliakim
the son of Hilkiah
and I will clothe him with thy robe
and strengthen him with thy girdle
and I will commit thy government
into his hand
and he shall be a father
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
and to the house of Judah.
Now that's a really important verse honestly
because it helps you understand
Isaiah 9 6
when the Bible talks about
the Lord Jesus Christ
being the everlasting father
the word father in Isaiah chapter 9 6
is talking about a governor or ruler
and here it's using that exact same word
in the exact same book of the Bible
to help you understand what a father means
and there's a difference between
Eliakim being a father
and Jesus
because Eliakim died
but Jesus Christ will never die
because he's the everlasting father
meaning that once he comes to set up his rule
and set up his kingdom
there'll be no end to his kingdom
he will be the everlasting father
and of course that's the whole emphasis of Isaiah chapter 9
is the fact that Christ's kingdom
will be a permanent everlasting kingdom
that's the whole point that's being made here
in this chapter
some people will falsely say
that Isaiah 9 proves that Jesus Christ is God the father
and that's just not true
those of us that believe in the trinity
understand there are three that make one God
the father, the son, and the holy ghost
these three are all God
but they're not each other
there is a distinction between the father and the son
so I just want to make that point
but notice the parallel here
of Eliakim
and what's being said
it says he's going to be a father
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah
that's the same as Jesus
Jesus is going to be the governor
of these specific areas
verse 22
and the key of the house of David
will I lay upon his shoulder
so he shall open and none shall shut
and he shall shut and none shall open
that sounds exactly like Jesus too, doesn't it?
Jesus has the key of David
and he can open and close and no man
I mean that's what he says in Revelation
about specifically how he can open and no man can shut
and he can close and no man can open
and then it says in verse 23
and I will fasten him as a nail
in a sure place
and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house
so what this is a picture of a nail
is something that is steadfast
it's nailed
and now that it's nailed
you can't do anything about it
and think about it
if you've got a nail
and you nailed it all the way in
a lot of us in a modern day context have that little head
so maybe you can kind of squeeze it back out there
but imagine if it doesn't have a head
I mean once that thing is nailed in there
it's done
it's secure
it's fast
it's not going to move
it's just
it's basically steadfast
it's a great way to
unmovable
okay
and it's basically saying like
once Jesus Christ is established
it's done
and isn't that a great thing
that when Jesus Christ died on the cross
was buried and rose again
it was a nail in the coffin to the law
in the sense that what
it's been established
it's been done
it's never going to change
it's the everlasting gospel
Jesus is the once for all sacrifice
he's been nailed
he's been sealed
he's the only redeemer
the only savior
the only one that will ever
cause us to go to heaven
everything's been completely accomplished in him
he is that nail in a sure place
and nothing will undo it
nothing can conquer it
nothing can defeat it
boy out of Judah came the nail
meaning that this is the final nail to the coffin
you know sometimes we use that language
to refer to someone when they're finished
or when something's accomplished
it's that final nail
right
and it's just like hey
everything needed for salvation
was finally accomplished
it was that nail
to just get it all done
that's where we got it
because everything else leading up to
was just a foreshadow
was just a type
was just giving us a semblance
but this is the nail
this is exactly that secure thing
and it says in verse 23
and he shall be
for a glorious throne
to his father's house
well of course
doesn't that sound like Jesus too
how Jesus is going to be established
and he's going to have a glorious throne
unto his father
and it says in verse 24
and they shall hang upon him
all the glory of his father's house
the offspring and the issue
all vessels of small quantity
from the vessels of cups
even to all the vessels of flagons
so again
you know I'm just trying to
help you understand that
while this is talking about Eliakim
and specifically his kingdom
and his reign
it's a foreshadowing type of Jesus Christ
and notice how it uses that word nail
and I believe that nail
is to help us understand the nail
in Zechariah chapter number 10
and then we use that great language
in Colossians about things
being nailed to his cross
meaning what?
that it's finished
because the nail is a picture
of something being finished
accomplished
and it's sure
it's steadfast
it's never going to change
okay
now go back if you would
to Zechariah chapter 10
so we're just kind of
we're trying to peel back
the layers here
and get a deeper understanding
of some of these verses
a lot of times what I try to do
in these chapters
is try to give you a semblance
of just like what's happening
in that time
and what's like
just kind of the surface level
but it doesn't seem like
Zechariah 10
has much surface level
like it seems like
it's actually just a very deep book
in general
so that's why we're kind of
going a little bit deeper
and kind of getting the more
nuanced meanings
out of some of these texts
but it also says
out of him the battle bow
now again I would just reference this
to what we kind of talked about
in Genesis 49
where it talks about how his hand
is going to be in the throat
of the necks of his enemies
like his hand's going to be
in the neck of his enemies
and of course Judah is
known for a lot of battles
you could even take this
in the modern context
or the current context
of its particular timeframe
Judah's obviously going to
have to go through certain battles
you have the Maccabean revolt
against Antiochus Epiphanes
and you have different battles
and struggles there even
so maybe there's a loose reference there
but you also have
really the more big picture
of the constant spiritual battle
between the false prophets
and the goats
and you have the sheep
you have God's people
and generally speaking
the devil consistently
throughout the entire scripture
is battling to destroy
the seed of the woman
there's this battle between
the serpent and the seed of the woman
and the seed of the woman
is going to crush the serpent's head
and the serpent is going to bite his heel
so you see this battle
you see this conflict
that's going on
in the scripture consistently
and think about even at the birth of Christ
how the devil is trying to literally
destroy all the babies
just to kill Jesus
so there's this constant battle
that's raging when it comes to
the children of Israel
and Judah specifically
and the devil seems like
he constantly wants to wipe Judah
off the face of the map
because he wants to get rid of Jesus
he wants to get rid of that
coming seed of the woman
the last piece here
is kind of interesting though
because it says
out of him every oppressor together
now I want to make it clear that
I don't believe that necessarily all of this
it's not saying like
out of Jesus came forth
Jesus or something
it's saying like out of Judah
right?
so the picture is Judah
well Judah is actually a mixed bag
because Judah
while it does bring us
the Lord Jesus Christ
Judah also brings us
some of the worst people to ever live
the Jews
okay?
and you know
it's consistent theme in the Bible
that they are oppressors
I want to take you to a few places
go back to Zephaniah chapter 3
go to Zephaniah chapter number 3
and in fact if you want to
you can look at
kind of that first chapter 2
but it's a really short chapter
or I'm sorry, book of the Bible
but in Zephaniah
if you look at chapter 1
and you kind of
you kind of notice a few different things
in verse 1 itself
it's talking about the prophecy happening
during the
the days of Josiah the son of Ammon
king of Judah
so that kind of gives you a hint like
this is kind of like
about Judah
and it also says in verse 4
and I will stretch out my hand upon Judah
and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
so it's generally talking about them
it does bring up other places
and other places God's going to judge
but then look at verse 1 of chapter 3
woe to her
that is filthy
and polluted
to the oppressing city
now that's not necessarily clear who we're talking about
but if we keep reading
it says she obeyed not the voice
she received not correction
she trusted not in the Lord
she drew not near
to her God
cities that are just these heathen pagan cities
are not described as having God
as being her God
also it says in verse 3
her prince is within
her are roaring lions
her judges are evening wolves
they gnaw not the bones till the morrow
her prophets are light and treacherous persons
her priests have polluted the sanctuary
they have done violence to the law
the just Lord is in the midst thereof
he will not do iniquity
every morning doth he bring his judgment to light
he filleth not but the unjust know no shame
so again
if we take the context
it's pretty clear that we're talking about Jerusalem
and we're talking about Judah
and what are they described as?
the oppressing city
that's what they're literally described as
so it's like Judah kind of has this heritage
or this perpetual issue
of constantly being a city of oppression
and constantly oppressing people
through what?
their false prophets
their false teachers
their religious leaders
are constantly hurting the people of God
and there's not a lot of cities
where you can literally say in verse 5
the just Lord is in the midst thereof
so that's another evidence clearly
but let's go to even clearer passages
go back to Ezekiel chapter 22
go all the way back to Ezekiel chapter 22
and I just kind of want to show you this pattern
for the sake of time we're not going everywhere
we could go through all of Isaiah
we could go through Jeremiah
and just see consistently how Judah and Jerusalem
is being called a city of oppression
and how they're oppressing people
and how God's telling them not to oppress people
just over and over
like stop the oppression
quit oppressing people
then you get into Ezekiel
which of course this is in the timeline
of the Babylonian captivity
and parts of it
and he's a contemporary with Daniel
but he's kind of explaining why he even destroyed Jerusalem
or why he's going to destroy Jerusalem
says in Ezekiel 22 verse 19
therefore thus say the Lord God
because you're all become dross
behold therefore I will gather you
into the midst of Jerusalem
so he's saying I'm going to gather all of Israel
into the midst of Jerusalem
as they gather silver and brass and iron
and lead and tin
into the midst of the furnace
to blow the fire upon it to melt it
so will I gather you in mine anger
and in my fury
and I will leave you there
and melt you
yea I will gather you and blow upon you
in the fire of my wrath
and you shall be melted in the midst thereof
as silver is melted in the midst of the furnace
so shall you be melted in the midst thereof
and you shall know that I the Lord
have poured out my fury upon you
and the word of the Lord came unto me
saying son of man say unto her
thou art the land that is not cleansed
nor rained upon in the day of indignation
there is a conspiracy
of her prophets in the midst thereof
like a roaring lion ravening the prey
they have devoured souls
they have taken the treasure in precious things
they have made her many widows in the midst thereof
her priests have violated my law
and have profaned my holy things
they have put no difference between the holy and profane
neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean
and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths
and I am profaned among them
her princes in the midst thereof
are like wolves ravening the prey
to shed blood and to destroy souls
to get dishonest gain
and her prophets have daubed them
with untempered more seeing vanity
and divining lies unto them
saying thus saith the Lord God
when the Lord hath not spoken
the people of the land have used oppression
and exercised robbery
and have vexed the poor and needy
yea they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully
doesn't this sound pretty reminiscent
of Zechariah chapter number 10
when it was bringing up hey
these idols and these prophets are preaching lies
and they're hurting the flock of God
and he's going to judge them specifically
and then he brings up this idea of oppression
and it's exactly the same
concept as why he originally destroyed them
why there was the Babylonian captivity
and notice what it has the most famous verse
verse 30
and I sought for a man among them
that should make up the hedge
and stand in the gap before me for the land
that I should destroy it not
but I found none
what a sad phrase to end
I just wanted a man
to do something about it
and I found none
therefore have I poured out my indignation upon them
sometimes you have to ask this question
like why is God not destroyed America yet
maybe it's because he's at least found one person
but you know what?
it gets bad when he says
I'm looking for someone to help
and I can't even find one
then he just destroys it
then he just nukes it
you know that's why it's important
for God's people to stay salty
and to be that bright and shining light
you know when it came to Sodom and Gomorrah
he needed ten
couldn't find ten
here he just wanted one
I mean look how low he went
he just wanted one
and he couldn't even find it
that's very sad
that's very disappointing
now go over to Matthew 23
I bring this up because
I want to at least paint the picture historically
historically Judah has gone down a bad path
waxed worse and worse
gotten to become a very oppressing city
God's warning them
don't do this path again
they're starting over
they get a rebirth
they're getting to rebuild the temple
but what path does he not want them to go down
he doesn't want them to go down a path of oppression again
but what do we find
when the Lord Jesus Christ
comes unto his people
comes unto Judah
comes unto Jerusalem
what is the spiritual state of this particular area
well look at Matthew 23
and he's going to talk to the religious leaders here
look at verse 2
saying
this is Jesus saying
the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat
all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe
that observe and do
but do not eat
after their works
for they say and do not
now this is what's so funny to me
is people when you preach the word of God
if I get up and I preach the Old Testament
if I preach the law
someone will call me a Pharisee
right
this is like
oh you think women should wear dresses and skirts
you're a Pharisee
but wait a minute
if a Pharisee got up and said
women should wear dresses and skirts according to the law
what is Jesus' commentary on that
he said
all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe
that observe and do
why was Jesus mad at the Pharisees
it's because they didn't do it
it wasn't because they weren't saying the right thing
it's because they weren't doing the right thing
and you know what
there's a lot of false prophets today
that it's crazy when I listen to them preach
because they'll get up and they'll say
you need to read your Bible
don't just trust what people say
check what the Bible says
I'm thinking like
yeah
check what this guy's saying about the Bible
right
they'll get up and they'll say all kinds of things
we need to trust in the Lord
Jesus our Savior
they'll say all these great things
and I'm thinking like
wow
I wish people would actually apply that
you know in their life
but
you know
what was a huge problem with the Pharisees
it was that they
lied about what they were doing
they're saying that they're serving God
they're saying that they love God
but they themselves didn't love God
they didn't trust God
they didn't read the Bible
they weren't pure
they were basically hypocrites
and that's what he calls them out for
in this chapter repeatedly
verse four
what did they do?
for they bind heavy burdens
and grievous to be born
and lay them on men's shoulders
but they themselves will not move
them with one of their fingers
you know what that sounds like?
oppression
they were oppressing everybody else
they're laying grievous burdens on other people
what is a problem?
a minister is supposed to serve
they minister
what were the Pharisees doing?
laying burdens on people
making their lives harder
you know the whole point of a minister
is to actually minister to people
and actually take things off of them
to take off burdens
to burden themselves
whereas what are they doing?
they're oppressing people
they're putting burdens on other people
making their lives harder or more difficult
you know that's a good way to judge
how good you are of a minister
are you taking people's burdens
or are you giving people burdens?
like are you somebody that people want to be around
because you're going to make their lives better
or are you making
are they making your life better?
well you know it comes pretty clear
I mean the apostle Paul was so extreme at this
that he didn't even take a paycheck
because he just didn't want any excuse
he wanted to make it clear like
I'm laying down everything for you guys, right?
now again there's nothing wrong with pastors
or people getting paid
or taking a paycheck
you know if they sow spiritual things
they should be willing or capable of reaping carnal things
but the net overall
should be them pouring out more than they're receiving
giving more than they are receiving
and what are the Pharisees doing? they're taking
what did Eli and Hophni
or what does Eli's son Hophni and Phineas do?
they just took from everybody
they didn't minister on anybody
they didn't love anybody
they didn't do good on anybody
they were oppressing
so we see that Judah went down the same road
and it's saying like hey
out of Judah came every oppressor
it's like boy
you know you want to know what the worst oppressors were in the world
they were coming from Judah
the bankers and the money changers
and all these people just laying these grievous burdens
and just burdening people with the law
oh you got to get circumcised to be saved
that's a burden
oh you got to keep all the law
oh you got to tithe on anise and cumin
are you making sure you're tithing on all your anise and your cumin?
I mean just over the top just burdens
and just causing people
just all this difficulty
robbing widows
it's the same thing when Jesus comes back
and look what he says in this chapter in verse 37
oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem
thou that killest the prophets
and stonest them which are sinned unto thee
how often would I have gathered thy children together
even as a hen gathered their chickens under her wings
and ye would not
behold your house is left unto you desolate
for I say unto you
ye shall not see me henceforth
till ye shall say
blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord
and so the Lord Jesus Christ
is rebuking them
and he's blaming Jerusalem for being the worst place
like think about it
he's like basically saying you guys are the worst
so it's kind of funny
how out of Judah came the corner
and it came the oppressor
right, go back to Zechariah chapter 10
but you know I think that it's also really important
because what does man want to do?
man wants to trust in himself, trust in his works, trust in his race
trust in his ethnicity
like I'm of Judah, I'm special
but you know what, there wasn't anything special about Judah
except for the Lord Jesus Christ coming out of it
because you know what was the opposite?
well what does it say?
out of him every oppressor together
and they all came together and they condemned the Lord Jesus Christ
he came unto his own and his own received him not
you know what?
there wasn't anything special about being part of Judah
you know what was special about Judah? Jesus Christ
and what he brought us and what he gave us
but you know we all have to trust in Jesus to be saved
not in being Judah
not being a Pharisee
not oh I have the works of the law that's going to save me
nope that's not going to save you
and in fact all those people were some of the worst people to ever live
they were the worst oppressors
and you know what, there's no new thing under the sun
who are the worst oppressors today?
it's the Jews
the Jews are still the same type of people
some of the worst people that there ever has existed
now of course they are the false Jews though
they are the goat Jews
we are the true Jews and we're the greatest people
because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed unto us
and look at what it says in verse number 5
and they shall be as mighty men which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle
and they shall fight because the Lord is with them and the riders on horses shall be confounded
so I think what he's kind of doing is he's kind of giving a loose
perhaps prophecy of the children of Judah
that in the future they may go through some battles and they're going to win
but ultimately the spiritual picture is that we are those children of Judah
that are going to tread down our enemies
and we're supposed to tread on serpents
we're supposed to go out there and we have victory constantly
we're going out there and we're running into someone that says they go to the Catholic church
and in 15 minutes we're getting them to renounce the Catholic church and become a Christian
and joining the tribe of Judah
the true Jews, those who are the saved
we're going out there and we're treading on Father so and so
which is blasphemous title anyway
and we're treading down on all the non-denominational liars
and all these false prophets and teachers that are going out there
and we're basically crushing them
and we're showing people with the sword of the Spirit how to be saved
how do we slay those enemies with the sword of the Spirit today
and you know, today we even have that bow
which is the internet
we're just getting videos and we're just shooting people a video
shooting them an email
and shooting them a message
and shooting them a social media text or whatever
a message or DM or whatever you want to call it
you know, that they got out there
and we're just from our boat
we're just sitting here
and we're just like, hey Bahamas, have some
you know, hey Philippines, have some
you know, we're sending our preaching everywhere
and you know what, we're supposed to constantly be in battle
and we're supposed to use our sword
and let's use the bow of the internet the best that we can
and let's reach as many people for Jesus as possible
because we're in a real battle today
people are really dying and going to hell every second
and we need to be in this battle
and you know what, the Bible says that Jesus Christ and God
is going to make us as mighty men
mighty today
when I look at this world's crop
they are not mighty men
they are cowards
you know why?
every single one of them
when they get up and they accidentally say the word faggot
and try to be mighty
as soon as the heat comes
they're like, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean that
I didn't really, I didn't want to say that
I may never work for this network again
I'm so sorry
you know, that's what they're like
you know, we're like, yeah, they are faggots, bring it on
here's the DVD
watch the sodomite deception
get the t-shirt
you know, we're not like sitting here
crying and cowering
and they're like, oh no, aren't you worried about being protested?
we weren't even protested this year
I feel ashamed, did I not preach hard enough?
do I need to preach harder?
all faggots are disgusting and going to hell, there
our government should execute every faggot
I can't even get protested anymore, I don't even know what to do
it's not like I want to
but you know, at the end of the day
we shouldn't be afraid, we should be mighty men
that are prepared for the battle
that are ready to fight
because the Lord will fight with us
what does it say in verse 5?
and they shall fight because the Lord is with them
what gives me confidence to fight
is that the Lord is with me
and that the Lord is with us
and you know what, the riders on horses
they're going to be confounded
verse 6
and I will strengthen the house of Judah
and I will save the house of Judah
and I will bring them again to place them
for I have mercy upon them
and they shall be as though I had not cast them off
for I am the Lord their God and will hear them
so he's saying
they're going to get such restitution
such redemption
it's going to be as if they were never even cast off in any way
which is important because he's kind of talking about like
look, we're going to rebuild the temple, the temple's going to be the same
the people are going to come and they're going to populate the city
and the city's going to be the same
and they're going to just be basically all the way back to where it feels like nothing even happened
like when we fast forward a little bit
and we looked at that time period and we go all the way back
it would be like the same and we'd think like
oh, I can't believe that this was actually destroyed
and was laid waste for a while
they've totally been healed
full healing, full redemption, full restitution
which is what the Lord Jesus Christ does for us
when it comes to salvation, right?
it's as if we had never sinned
that's what it means to be justified
just as if I never sinned
it's a full restitution
and it's as if I had never sinned
I'd never had that breach
I'd never had that thing, why?
because I get that imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ
and I get to stand before God
just completely redeemed, completely healed
no blemish found in me
not because of works of righteousness which we have done
but by his mercy he saved us
by the imputed blood of Jesus Christ
he completely redeemed me
and I can stand before the throne of God
blameless because of what Jesus did for me
now in verse 7 it says
and they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man
and their heart shall rejoice
as through wine, yea
their children shall see it and be glad
their heart shall rejoice in the Lord
I will hiss for them and gather them
for I have redeemed them
and they shall increase as they have increased
and I will sow them among the people
and they shall remember me in far countries
and they shall live with their children and turn again
I will bring them again also
out of the land of Egypt
and gather them out of Assyria
and I will bring them into the land of Gilead
and Lebanon
and place shall not be found for them
and he shall pass through the sea
with affliction and shall smite the waves in the sea
and all the deeps of the river shall dry up
and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down
and the scepter of Egypt shall depart away
and I will strengthen them in the Lord
and they shall walk up and down
and his name sayeth the Lord
So, kind of this last section
he brings up the idea of Ephraim
also returning and them also
being redeemed. It says specifically
in verse number 9
that he's going to sow them among the people
and they're going to remember him
in far countries
Well, I believe that this is kind of just
a picture, again
of the
replacement theology concept
of how the children that are saved
are going to be going all over the world
and all the different parts
they're going to be redeemed out
Keep your finger and go to Revelation chapter 5
for just a second
and I want to show you kind of an interesting verse
in relation to that
In Revelation chapter 5
look at verse number 9
and this is about the Lord Jesus Christ
the lamb
the lamb that's been slain that we're talking about
it says in verse 9
So, Jesus redeemed people from everywhere
and so again, I think that we kind of see this
constant picture of
hey, there's being people who are redeemed from all these different areas
and they're all coming
but another concept was that they're all coming
and they're all being redeemed
while those nations are literally being destroyed
That's what he's kind of bringing up in Zechariah chapter 10
is how they're going to be destroyed
He says in verse 11
So let's think about this
What is the on the surface definition?
or understanding?
Well, Egypt and Assyria became wasteland kingdoms
and they're not important anymore
Right? I mean, today, those aren't important kingdoms
those have not been important kingdoms
Egypt used to literally rule over the world
used to be one of the most powerful nations
throughout history
and pretty much at this point and then
into the future, Egypt just becomes a nothing-burger
just kind of a lower kingdom
a lower nation
so does Assyria
these places never become powerhouses ever again
and most of the power
it's coming from the Grecian empire
then there's going to be the Roman empire
then you pretty much have Europe
maybe the Mongolian empire
you know, with a little bit of that part of the world
you kind of just have the
Europe ruling the world for the rest of human history
until you kind of have America
which we're a daughter of Europe
we're a daughter of that Roman empire
and the British empire, essentially
and so
that's pretty much been the world picture
that we've had
and it's true
dried up Egypt, dried up Assyria
they're just gone
another aspect of this is kind of a bigger spiritual picture
is the fact that God
is going to constantly judge the wicked
and is going to destroy the wicked
in general
go to Proverbs chapter 3
and it's kind of
well, I might go to one other place
but we're pretty much wrapping up finishing here
Proverbs chapter 3
I want you to understand
that throughout history
obviously
we kind of have cycles repeating
you know, you kind of have
different cycles that often repeat
where you kind of have like a rebirth
phase of human history
and then people
start trusting the Lord and then they have
wealth and success and then
corruption comes and then they get destroyed
and then it's like a rebirth again
this kind of like cycle that's constantly
going through human history
and those cycles can be long periods of time
they can be a little bit shorter cycles
if we're going to try and probably
put ourselves in one of these general cycles
it seems like we're kind of in that
corrupt, you know, about to be destroyed
process
like we're heading for this kind of destruction
but what we have to notice is constantly
whenever we go through those processes
God somehow is capable of judging
all the wicked and destroying them
and then preserving all the remnants out of it
so like even though
He goes through and just destroys all these people
He still kind of like preserves the safe
and that's what I want
you to have this hope
and have this confidence in the Lord
because He brings us up in the book of Proverbs
specifically, like what He says in verse 21
my son
let not them depart
from thine eyes, keep sound wisdom
and discretion, so He's saying keep wisdom and destruction
verse 22
so shall they be life unto thy soul and grace
to thy neck, then shalt thou walk
in thy way safely
and thy foot shall not stumble
when thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid
yea, thou shalt lie down
and thy sleep shall be sweet
be not afraid
of sudden fear
neither of the desolation
of the wicked
when it cometh
for the Lord shall be thy confidence
and shall keep thy foot from being taken
now that is a great promise
of the Bible where He's saying hey
whenever there's all this fear
and there's all this worry about what's going to happen
you know what, don't allow that
to stop you from getting a good night's rest
you just go to sleep
lay down your head safely
and what's your confidence
your confidence is that the Lord
will sustain thee
the Lord will keep thee
you know it says that in I believe Psalm
I want to see if we can find this
go to Psalm 3, I think that's another one
that's really
kind of similar to this
yea, that's what I wanted
Psalm 3
verse 1, Lord, how are they increased
that trouble me?
many are they that rise up against me
many there be which say of my soul there is no help
for him in God, Selah
but thou, O Lord, art a shield for me
my glory and the lifter up of mine head
I cried unto the Lord with my voice
and he heard me out of his holy hill, Selah
I laid me down and slept
I awake for the Lord sustained me
you know if you ever feel down
if you're ever upset
if you're ever worried
this has always been my remedy
it always will be my remedy
read Psalm 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
and you might not even
just read it until you feel better again
and you might not even have to get all the way to chapter 10
they're really short
but it really covers
this concept of kind of being afraid
or being fearful
or worry or any of these kind of things
you know just read those Psalms
and just meditate on them
he's like talking about, hey, you're worried about sleeping?
read Psalm 3
think about Proverbs chapter 3
that's a great couplet, right?
Psalm 3, Proverbs 3
hey, you can go to sleep
don't be afraid of sudden fear
one last place I'm going to go
to Matthew chapter 25
and we'll finish
so let's kind of wrap up with a conclusion here
how does all this kind of fit together?
what is kind of this big picture?
well again
if we think about this chapter in a sense of
like maybe an end times picture
we're kind of talking about Christ returning
when we think about the book of Zechariah
where we've come to
the return of Christ, the dwelling of our nations
him destroying all the wicked, destroying all the evil nations
how they're not going to stand
but he brought up in this chapter
those goats and his flock, didn't he?
and you know what?
that's another end times concept
that's going to happen when Christ returns
he's not only going to destroy all these nations
but he's literally going to gather
together
all the goats and all the sheep
and he's going to judge them
okay?
and we have to live in a world filled
with all these false prophets and the goats
and we're battling and fighting
and we hear this sheep specifically
but in Matthew 25 it brings up this concept
in verse 31
when the son of man shall come in his glory
and all the holy angels with him
then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory
and before him shall be gathered all nations
and he shall separate them one from another
as the shepherd divided his sheep from the goats
and he shall set the sheep on his right hand
but the goats on the left
this is what I think is important about this parable
and I'm not going to go through this parable for the sake of time
but notice how Jesus can carefully dissect
and he can just pull out the sheep
and put them over here
and just pull out the goats
and just put them over here
and he can just perfectly separate them
and you know he says in other passages of the Bible
that he's allowing the tares to grow amongst the wheat
so we have to just trust the Lord
that he knows what he's doing
and even though we have a lot of goats in this world
and though we have a lot of tares in this world
and even though there's a lot of fear about them being destroyed
we should realize that Jesus still knows that we're his sheep
and he still cares about us
and he's still capable of drawing us out and keeping us safe
and rewarding us at the end of the day
and recognizing who we are
he still cares for us
and as much as you could possibly care for a literal sheep, animal
God cares about us even more
I mean think about it
if you literally had a sheep
if we went home and you had a little farm and you had a little sheep
you'd be thinking about I gotta feed this thing
I gotta take care of it, I'd be thinking about a shelter
if it fell in a ditch you'd wanna go and pull it out
I mean you'd care so much about it
you'd care about your children even more than that
and you'd think God cares about you
even more than you care about your children
oh ye of little faith
but sometimes we allow the world to scare us
and to make us think like
oh no it's doomed or be upset
God doesn't want us to be like that
God wants us to be praying for the rain and the latter rain
and he wants us to recognize that
yeah he may destroy all those people
but he can still bless us in these difficult times
he can still give us
you know the things that we need
and so we just need to trust in the Lord
we need to stay faithful
to what he's given us
and recognize that in the end
you'll be appreciative of the fact that you served God
and you didn't serve this world
let's close in prayer
thank you Heavenly Father so much for
giving us these deep truths of the Bible
thank you so much for giving us
your son, the Lord Jesus Christ
to give us that imputed righteousness
to be that corner and be that
nail, that finish
of the Gospel
thank you for also just giving us the ability
to have rain even all the way up to the end
I pray that you would continue to bless
Steadfast Baptist Church
that you'd bless this congregation, that you'd keep us safe
that you would deliver us from evil
that you would allow us to be a bright
and shining light in such a dark world
that we could still get many people saved
and we'd recognize the battle that we're in
that we'd start using that battle bow
that we'd use the sword of the Spirit
that you've given us
and we would continually just tread down our enemies
so that we could rescue
as many sheep as possible in Jesus' name we pray
Amen
Alright for our last song
let's go to song number 96
God leads us along
song number 96
God leads us along
song 9
6
In shady
green pastures
so rich
and so sweet
God leads
his dear children
along
where
The water's cold flow bathes the weary one's feet.
God leads His dear children along.
Some through the water, some through the flood.
Some through the fire, but all through the flood.
Some through grace or road, but God gives a song.
In the night season and all the day long.
Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright.
God leads His dear children along.
Sometimes in the valley in darkest of night.
God leads His dear children along.
Some through the water, some through the flood.
Some through the fire, but all through the flood.
Some through grace or road, but God gives a song.
In the night season and all the day long.
Though sorrows befall us and Satan oppose.
God leads His dear children along.
Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes.
God leads His dear children along.
Some through the water, some through the flood.
Some through the fire, but all through the flood.
Some through grace or road, but God gives a song.
In the night season and all the day long.
Away from the mire and away from the clay.
God leads His dear children along.
Away up in glory, eternity's day.
God leads His dear children along.
Some through the water, some through the flood.
Some through the fire, but all through the flood.
Some through grace or road, but God gives a song.
In the night season and all the day long.
Thank you all for coming. God bless. You are dismissed.