[0:00] You may be seated. Well, good morning, church. I'm glad you have come to worship the Lord! and gathered together with the saints.
[0:14] If you're a guest with us today, we're in the book of Zechariah. To find that book of the Bible, if you want to turn to the first book of the New Testament, Matthew, and turn left a couple of books, you will find yourself in the book of Zechariah.
[0:27] We're going to be looking at a passage that will begin in chapter 2. And so if you want to find Zechariah chapter 2, we will be there shortly. Zechariah is a prophet of God in the Old Testament.
[0:41] He is in a timeline after Israel has been taken into captivity to Babylon, which then is taken over for 70 years, and then Persia Empire.
[0:56] They are in captivity for 70 years, and the Lord has then allowed them to return miraculously. And now the people of Israel have now returned to the city of Jerusalem, but there's a problem.
[1:09] There are no walls. They've been broken down by Nebuchadnezzar. The temple has been burned and destroyed, and so the temple is gone. It is a vulnerable place to be if you're a person to return to your homeland, but your homeland is in disrepair.
[1:29] We're about 20 years after they have returned to Jerusalem there, and they are in the process of rebuilding, building, and Zechariah is a prophet who is encouraging the people, let us build again a house of the Lord.
[1:46] Let's build this temple again. And so he is sent as a prophet of God to invigorate the people to do that. Additionally, though, he is a prophet of God who is foretelling of a Messiah that will come.
[2:01] One day there is a Messiah that will come and make all things right for the people of God and for Israel. So that is kind of who Zechariah is.
[2:11] That is who Zechariah is and what his message is to the people of Israel. And we find ourselves today, and I would encourage you, if you're not as familiar to the book of Zechariah, please go back a couple of Sundays.
[2:24] Pastor Jay preached a message giving the historical background to this that was great, that will be of much help to you. We find ourselves, though, Zechariah one night had eight visions.
[2:38] In one night. Sometimes we have fitful nights of sleep. I don't imagine this one was all too restful for Zechariah.
[2:48] He saw eight visions, and so we have looked at two of them. The first one was the horsemen among the myrtle trees. The second one was two weeks ago, before the Resurrection Sunday.
[3:01] It was the four horns and four craftsmen. And then today we will look at the surveyor. And so we are going to read Zechariah chapter two.
[3:14] Let's take a peek at what Zechariah saw as he records his vision, his third vision, Zechariah two, verses one through five.
[3:27] The text reads this. And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand.
[3:39] Then I said, where are you going? And he said to me, to measure Jerusalem, to see what it's width and what its length. And behold, the angel who was talking with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him and said to him, run, say to that young man, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls because the multitude of people and livestock within.
[4:05] And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst. So I have an image that I want to share with you, potentially what Zechariah's vision may have looked like.
[4:21] There was a man who was measuring the city of Jerusalem. And so Zechariah saw this, and then these two angels, or these two messengers, came and spoke to angels.
[4:35] One, the angel of the Lord, who is believed to be a Christophany, Christ in the Old Testament, the second person of the Godhead, and then another angel also were then talking.
[4:46] One of the angels turned to the other one and said, hey, go after that man, as it says in verse 4, run to him and say to that young man, and I believe the young man to be Zechariah, young and say to Zechariah, Jerusalem shall be inhabited with villages without walls because the multitude of people and livestock within it.
[5:06] So that's what's happening in the vision there. But the question I have for us to consider, by the way, what is difficult about preaching the Old Testament and specifically these visions, Jay keeps reminding me when I give some voice of like, man, this is hard, he will remind me this was your decision, Scott.
[5:32] And so don't talk to me about it. But what is very difficult about these messages is to find transferable principles. Like, this is what he saw.
[5:44] This is what the message was for the Israelites of that day. But how does this apply to us? I'm going to be mentioning two principles to us at the end of the message. And so I will state the first one now.
[5:58] The second one will wait, but we will review this first one again. But I believe one of the principles can be this. Our God who dwells among us is our source of protection and our good.
[6:12] The God who dwells among us is our source of protection and our good. The question is, when will this happen?
[6:24] This vision of Jerusalem that will burgeon in population, will swell in population, in both livestock and people.
[6:36] And so he sees this man measuring, but the point is, this is the measurement of Jerusalem today, but it's going to expand its boundaries. Why is it going to expand the boundaries?
[6:48] We're told. We're told. It says, run and tell that young man, verse four, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls because of the multitude of people and livestock in it.
[7:05] It's going to swell, not only in population of livestock and animals, but also it's going to swell in people, in the population of people.
[7:18] So that, get ready, Jerusalem is going to burgeon in growth. That's the message that the angel told to Zechariah as he saw this vision of an ancient surveyor over Jerusalem.
[7:35] Now you say, my question is, when has this happened or will this happen? And has this happened to this day of what this vision that Zechariah saw?
[7:47] Because notice one other interesting aspect of this. Jerusalem will one day not need any fortification, no walls for protection.
[7:59] And notice with me, as villages without walls. So the population is going to grow and it's just going to grow and grow and it's just not going to need any walls.
[8:12] And we're told why it's not going to need any walls because it says in verse five, and I will be to her, Jerusalem, a wall of fire around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.
[8:28] Verse five. Why is it that Jerusalem will not need any walls because the Lord says, I will be as if, the Lord is speaking, I will be as if a wall of fire around Jerusalem.
[8:43] Wow. Second, I will be the glory of Jerusalem in her midst. So I will be, the Lord himself will be as if a wall of fire around the city of Jerusalem and the Lord himself will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
[9:02] So I'm asking myself the question, where, when, did this happen or will it happen? Secondly, has Jerusalem ever seen this?
[9:17] I'm going to argue, no. Nothing like this has yet happened in history for the city of Jerusalem. There are many times the Lord Jesus visited Jerusalem.
[9:28] He, he taught there as a young boy. He visited, the last time he visited Jerusalem, he went there to die for sin.
[9:39] So, one of the difficulties we have about an Old Testament prophet, I'm trying to stand in timeline to world events. These, and so, work with me on my illustrations and so, this is maybe not a strong suit but these are to, these pillars are to represent the advent of Christ.
[9:59] He came the first time. He appeared the first time to die for sin on the cross. That's what this one means. Second time, the Lord will come. He will come on a white horse.
[10:12] Yes, you're welcome. For our purposes, you'll work with me. What's difficult in the timeline of history, Zechariah is prior to the first advent of Christ and he is looking at the things that are in the future for Jerusalem, for Israel, for the nations and this messianic figure that's going to come and one of the difficulties about an Old Testament is they, they, they think this is going to happen in one person, the Messiah and that is true but what is not really anticipated for the leaders of Israel is that, that is going to happen in one person but in two different occasions.
[10:59] So we, as the church, who believe in his first coming, in the person and work of Christ for the forgiveness of sin, we have the advantage to say, oh, those Old Testament prophecies have been fulfilled in Christ in his first coming and there are another set of prophecies about the Christ that will come in the second coming.
[11:21] So we are in between these two advents but for the prophets of God, they were standing on this side looking into the future and not able to understand what time that it's going to be coming and this is why oftentimes the Jews in the first century denied Christ.
[11:38] Some of them denied thinking, no, our Savior is coming as a warring king and a just king and he is going to rule the nations. That's true but that, a man who died on the cross doesn't look like that king and so some people in the first century denied Christ because of that, others willingly denied Christ because their authority was threatened.
[12:01] They knew who he was and they were unwilling to accept him. That in the background, the question I have is when will this occur when Jerusalem will exist with the Lord Jesus in her midst, dwelling in her midst and being as if a wall of fire around her, protecting her and she will swell in population.
[12:27] When will that occur? And I'm making the argument, I don't see any time in history past those distinctions being true so I'm looking at the future thinking, it has to be in the future and I will define when that will happen in the future with a little more clarity as we go along.
[12:45] The Lord's glory will be her protection and Jesus will be enthroned in Jerusalem again. So when will this happen? I want to make a clarifying comment.
[13:03] Some theologians disagree with the understanding that this is going to be defined sometime in the future. Some theologians say, well, the church is now the new Jerusalem and it's a spiritual understanding rather than a literal understanding.
[13:22] So they will say, Jesus is enthroned in the heart of people who have come to believe in him so the church has swelled and we are the new Jerusalem and it's a very spiritual understanding of this.
[13:32] I don't read it like that. I don't think we need to read it like that. I think we can read this as a very literal, physical event that will happen yet into the future and I'll explain how I get there.
[13:43] So I believe that Jesus will physically and literally be on the throne in Jerusalem ruling over the earth. When will this occur?
[13:55] Well, let me share with you a timeline of events that will occur that are yet future. Before the Lord comes and is on his white horse, his second time that he comes to earth, prior to that, I believe the church will be raptured and I'm going to move into the future and I'm going to let the white horse, his coming, his return be the distinction line.
[14:21] Prior to the Lord's return, the church will be raptured. After the rapture, there is an undisclosed amount of time between that and when the tribulation starts.
[14:32] The tribulation starts, which is a seven-year period of time where the tribulation is a good word for it. It's a time of trouble. What starts the tribulation is a signing of the peace treaty with the Antichrist with Israel.
[14:48] Three years into the tribulation, the Antichrist is going to break that peace treaty that he had with Israel and then the last three and a half years will be hell on earth for those on earth.
[15:01] Then, the Lord, to put an end to that, he is going to majestically come on his white horse and we will read a passage about that here in the near future.
[15:13] And he will come and he will judge the nations and he will put an end to all of that and Satan will then be bound for a thousand years. What, at the time of his return, that starts a thousand-year reign of Christ.
[15:29] Then, at the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ, there will be a new heaven and a new earth. Okay, we're going to back up to the white horse. When the Lord returns on his white horse, that starts the thousand-year reign.
[15:44] Sometimes this is called the millennial kingdom. Sometimes it is just referred to as the kingdom. And so, if I say the millennial reign, the kingdom, or the thousand-year reign or something like that, you'll understand I'm referring to this period of time.
[15:59] It's at this time after he comes, he judges the nations, he will then, I don't know how you say, unseat himself from his horse.
[16:15] I don't know. He gets off his horse. So, then, he will sit enthroned in Jerusalem and this period of time where Jesus will literally reign in Jerusalem for a thousand years will occur begins here for a thousand years.
[16:33] So, it's at this time that I believe Zechariah is seeing into the future. Of course, he is way back here and he is saying there's a time where the Lord himself will be enthroned in Jerusalem and he will be as if a wall of fire around it and he will, he will dwell in her midst.
[16:54] When will that occur? Here. Okay. And this is not to scale. Okay.
[17:09] So, let's read other verses because this may not be as familiar to you so I want to read some passages that speak to these things. So, let's talk about what Isaiah saw.
[17:22] Isaiah, a prophet of God who preceded Zechariah. Zechariah is here. Isaiah is here. He precedes before they were sent off into captivity and this is what Isaiah reads.
[17:33] I think this, it'll be on the screen for you. Isaiah 53, he looks in, he goes, what's the work of the Messiah going to be? And he says, and Zechariah, or Isaiah rather, he was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief and as one from whom hide their faces and he was despised and we esteemed him not.
[17:52] Surely he was born our griefs and carried our sorrows and yet we esteemed him smitten, stricken by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions and he was crushed for our iniquities and upon him the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed.
[18:07] He's speaking of his first time. He took our iniquities. So, Isaiah speaks and he says, that's his first coming. But then, the timeline of events go on and now look at Jeremiah.
[18:22] Jeremiah says other things about the future. Now, Jeremiah preceded Isaiah so he's even further back a little bit into the timeline. He's writing before speaking to Judah about Assyria taking them captive and so he writes in Jeremiah 3.11 and this is going to have similarities from what we're going to read in Zechariah.
[18:48] And the Lord said to me, faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than a treacherous Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, notice he's saying go to those in the north and say, return faithless Israel.
[19:05] That's going to be important. They're in the north. Return to Israel. Declares the Lord and look and not look and I will not look on you in anger for I am merciful declares the Lord and will not be angry forever.
[19:17] Only acknowledge your guilt that you rebelled against the Lord your God and scattered your favors among foreigners until every foreigners under every green tree and that you will and that you will have not obeyed my voice declares the Lord.
[19:33] Return, oh faithless children declares the Lord for I am your master and I will take you one from a city and two from a family and bring you to Zion. Right now I'm going to stop and just before we continue I want us to see he's calling those in the north to return.
[19:52] Then he says in verse 15 and I will give you shepherds after my own heart and I will feed you with knowledge and understanding and when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land in those days okay I'm I'm I'm sharing with you he is now writing Jeremiah is writing to you to them about this time when Jerusalem will swell you say Scott how do you see that in verse 16 and when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land in those days declares the Lord and they shall no more say the ark of the covenant of the Lord it shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed it shall not be made again now wait a minute you say Scott why is this important that the ark of the covenant of the Lord will not even come to bind or be remembered because to the Jews the temple is everything it's where the presence of the Lord dwells so you must rebuild the temple and in the temple specifically in the holy of holies you have this piece of furniture called the ark of the covenant on top of the ark of the covenant is a lid called the mercy seat and it's where the high priest would sprinkle blood to atone for Israel's sin once a year the ark of the covenant is so important but when you have
[21:14] Jesus in your midst you don't need the ark of the covenant anymore he's already in your midst he is very present and so no wonder why the ark of the covenant won't even come to mind you have his presence in person okay you could get excited about these things if you're not careful and at that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of God at that time Jerusalem will be called the throne of God he is there in person the throne of the Lord and all nations shall gather to it to the presence of the Lord in what city in Jerusalem and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart and in those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel and together they shall come to the land of the north and to the land that I gave their fathers for a heritage now wait a minute what also will the Lord do in this millennial kingdom all the promises to Abraham remember from the city or from the river
[22:23] Euphrates I'm going to give this land to you Abraham and to your descendants and so there's there's a land covenant that the Lord has to be faithful to keep to his people Israel and so not only is he standing in Jerusalem but he is going to allow Israel to have their inherited lion that the Lord promised to them in previous generations and so what is that that's going to uncover parts of Syria today parts of Lebanon today much of Iraq today some of Saudi Arabia today all of Jordan today and some of Egypt because of the Sinai Peninsula will be Israel and the Lord will be sitting in Jerusalem enthroned and the nations will be coming to him there will be a time of peace for a thousand years and the land will be restored to Israel oh what a glorious time Isaiah then writes my point in reading these other prophets is this
[23:26] God is speaking similar things to other prophets about the same time Isaiah chapter 2 verses 1 through 4 and the word of Isaiah the son of Amuz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem it shall come to pass in later days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of its mountains and shall be lifted up above the hills and all the nations flow to it let me time out a little bit if you go to Jerusalem today there's something about the temple mount in the city of Jerusalem that is unique it is not the highest point around when you go to Israel today you will likely take a bus tour and they will stop on the mount of olives and you will look down on the city of Jerusalem but in the millennial kingdom topography changes and now Jerusalem is the highest point around established as the highest of the mountains and shall be lifted up above the hills and all the nations shall flow to it verse 3 and many people shall come and say come let us come go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways that we may walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem so Jesus is sitting enthroned in Jerusalem it's the highest hill around he is sitting in the temple and he is teaching people and the nations are coming to him and people are saying hey you want to hear from the Lord come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord you'll hear from him personally okay you can get excited number verse 4 he shall judge he shall judge between nations and shall decide disputes among many peoples and they shall beat their swords into plowed shears and their spears into pruning hooks and nations shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war anymore not only will he be sitting in
[25:36] Jerusalem but that period of a thousand years will be a time of peace people will be beating their weapons into gardening tools this is sad news for West Point for Annapolis and the Air Force Academy they will be not necessary anymore why do you need to learn war Jesus is on his throne he's not going to let that happen okay so I why did I share that I want us to have a picture and to paint that picture a little more fully I want to read from you and you say well Scott where do you get a thousand years rain anyway well prior to that you say let me get to the white horse if you're not familiar remember at the end of the tribulation the Lord will dramatically come and put an end to all this evil and this is what we read and I saw heaven open up and behold a white horse and the one sitting on it is called faithful and true and in righteousness he judges and makes war his eyes were like a flame of fire and on his head were many diadems and he has a name written that no one knows but himself and he is clothed with a robe dipped in blood and the name by which he is called the word of God and the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen white and pure followed him on the horse on white horses and whose mouth comes a sharp sword in which to strike down the nations and he will rule with an iron rod and he will tread the wine press the fury of his wrath of
[27:32] God the almighty and on his robe and on his thigh is written has a name written king of kings and lord of lords he will come on his white horse and put an end to all this evil and he comes in fury and judgment and then ushers in this time of peace and that is his second advent or his second coming okay but then you say Scott help me understand why you believe there's a thousand year reign of Christ revelation 20 verse four and then I saw thrones so now we're in the new testament we're no longer in the old testament we're now in the new testament we're seeing John the revelator speaking of what he sees in the future the lord reveals this to him and in verse 20 verse 4 he says this and I saw thrones and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed
[28:33] I also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God and those who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received the mark on their forehead or the hands and they came to life and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years so you have two groups of people you have the saints and the first part of the verse and then you see there are those who did not take the mark of the beast in the latter part of the tribulation and it says they came and lived with Christ and reigned with Christ for a thousand years when Jesus is sitting on his throne and so his authority is being delegated to all these others who are faithful to him in hard times okay and you say well Scott tell me more about what this time period is like let's turn to Isaiah 11 verse 6 through 9 what this time of peace looks like when Jesus is on his throne it says this in
[29:36] Isaiah 11 the wolf shall dwell with the lamb and a leopard shall lie down with the young goat and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together and the little child shall lead them the goat and the bear shall graze and their young shall lie down together and the lion shall eat straw like an ox there's no more carnivorous activity the lion is eating grass like an ox we're going back to an Edenic type of setting in Eden notice the cow and the bear they're grazing together the wolf and the lamb they're dwelling together the leopard and the young goat they're not eating each other they're just out grazing together hey mom let's go to the pasture and you'll see all of them together and it gets even better the nursing child shall play in the hole of a cobra and the weaned child the toddler if you will shall put his hand on the adder's den so can you imagine a little toddler mom puts the child down next to a snake den and it's okay because it's just time to show and tell hey mom look
[30:47] I got a cobra they don't bite anymore there's nothing to be afraid of and that's what it will be like when Jesus is on the throne it's all creation it's just going to be so different verse 9 they shall not hurt or destroy and all the holy mountain for the earth shall be full the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea isn't that beautiful how ubiquitous will be the knowledge of the Lord over the face of the earth so ubiquitous it's like the sea that covers the ocean that covers the earth it's everywhere it's everywhere you would be hard pressed to find someone and say hey do you know the Lord everyone will likely say yes now having said that I know that in this period of time there is one last rebellion that will be quelled in the battle of Armageddon at the very end and then the new heaven and new earth so that not everyone loves the Lord at this time but most people and and there is this knowledge of the
[32:02] Lord that is ubiquitous it's everywhere now so when I read Zechariah 2 you're saying that was some detour to Zechariah but when I read Zechariah 2 verses 4 and 5 and when it says and said to him run say to that young man Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls because the multitude of people and livestock in it Jerusalem is going to swell with them in population and I will be to her a wall of fire around declares the Lord and I will be the glory in her midst in my mind I only have one time to fit this event in and it's in here in the millennial kingdom okay continuing on verses 6 through 9
[33:03] I'm not going to say much about these verses up up flee from the land of the north declares the Lord for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the earth declares the Lord up escape to Zion Zion be in Jerusalem you shall dwell with the daughter of Babylon for thus says the Lord of hosts after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye behold I will shake my hand over them and they shall become plunder for those who have served them then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me a couple of things I want you to see this is the Lord ushering his people to return I also want you to see how how mindful the Lord is to the nation of Israel again Zechariah is prophesying to the people of God to Israel at this point and notice how how much he cares for them he refers to them as the apple of his eye if I said hey
[34:10] I'd like to touch the pupil of your eye could I have any volunteers and and probably there would not be many and then there would be some bold ones that as I got closer they would either look away or or they would have a hard time not blinking why because the pupil of your eye is the most sensitive part and that's what Israel is to the Lord they are very dear to him and it says verse 9 and behold I will shake my hand over them and they that they shall be plundered for those who serve them notice how hard it is to have the Lord punish those who punished Israel who plundered Israel all the Lord has to do is he says I shake my hand over them it's done now those nations that plundered Israel are now being plundered just by that it's not very hard last we're going to get to the last verses chapter 2 verses 10 through 13 so then what does
[35:13] Zechariah say here in verse 10 sing and rejoice oh daughter of Zion for behold I come and I will dwell in her midst declares the Lord and many nations shall join them to the Lord in that day and shall be my people and I will dwell in your midst and you shall know the Lord of hosts has sent me to you notice a few things in verse 10 there's this should be when the Lord is dwelling in with them there should be a response of singing and rejoicing and notice why many nations shall join them in the Lord in that day not just Israel will celebrate but those nations that came to faith in Christ and who enjoy that Jesus is the Christ he's the Messiah he rules so these nations will join them in the Lord that day as well and the Lord will inherit Judah and the portions of the
[36:13] Holy Land and will choose and will again choose Jerusalem and then there's a fitting response be silent all flesh before the Lord for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling at one point in time the Lord indwells his holy dwelling and will say enough and he will mount his horse and say I'm coming to put an end to all of this and the response should be silence why there should be such awe and reverence oh the Lord he is good and he is just and he is loving and he is mine and I am his okay so you say okay Scott you get to the so what question so what I'm a I'm a single mom I'm going through a rough patch with my spouse
[37:16] I'm single and I would love to be married Scott my adult children are estranged from me I just lost my job I've been a Christian for many years and I just feel spiritually stuck I just can't seem to beat my addiction I recently lost a loved one I recently received a diagnosis that isn't good Scott have you seen the gas prices recently and so what is this vision of Zechariah have to do with your present circumstances well I want you to consider for one moment Israel's circumstance when Zechariah said this let's go back here they had just returned to Jerusalem there's walls have been down there's no temple yet built they're they're in a place of desperation they're very vulnerable this outposted city they're not even their own nation they're like a vassal state to
[38:18] Persia what did it mean to them that's a terrible circumstance so whatever your circumstance is I think here's some principles that we can say number one our God who dwells among us is our source of protection and our good the God who dwells among us is the source of our protection and our good you can take that to the bank secondly you can face the future with bold confidence not based on your present circumstances but confident in God's word the second one reads this you can face the future with bold confidence not based upon your present circumstances but confident in God's word and why is that so challenging I'm going to give you six reasons why I think that's really challenging to do it's challenging for us it would have been challenging for the nation of Israel here here's some things because we naturally are driven by what we see and not what God has said our instincts are often shaped by visible realities our circumstances our outcomes immediate pressures in our life but scripture tells us to walk by faith and not by sight and when circumstances feel overwhelming they often appear more real to us than God's promises so I'm encouraging us why is this so difficult to face the future with bold confidence and not based on our present circumstances but confidence in God's word number two present suffering feels more authoritative than future promises at times pain uncertainty hardship speak loudly they demand our attention
[40:08] God's word by contrast often calls us to trust what is unseen and not yet fulfilled the tension makes confidence in the future feel very fragile and that's what makes it difficult number three please do not confuse God's word with our interpretation of our situation we tend to interpret God's character based on our circumstances so when things are hard so we think well God must not be good but rather interpret circumstances through God's word and we say God is good therefore even this hardship has purpose number four our faith is often weak and is easily shaken even true believers wrestle with doubt and like the father in Mark 9 24 we often live with intention of Lord Lord I believe but help my unbelief and perhaps that's many of us here Lord I believe but help my unbelief help my unbelief and have confidence in God's word because it requires a dependence upon your grace number five we prefer control often over trust bold confidence in God's word requires surrender trusting in his plan his timing his outcomes and that challenges our desire to control the future and secure our own stability
[41:31] Israel couldn't do that nor can we and lastly God's promise is often unfolded differently than we expect we may believe God's word is true but struggle when his fulfillment does not match our assumptions this will lead to discouragement and hesitation and trusting him again don't do that so let me state the second one principle one more time we need to face the future with bold confidence not based on our present circumstances but confident in God's word these things that I've spoken to I believe wholeheartedly will be true because scripture has told us so and so we all can trust in the Lord let me pray father you are amazing you are amazing you're thank you for this vision of a surveyor that tells the people of Israel there's going to be a day when Jerusalem will swell you will not need walls rebuilt but you will just because I will be your source of protection and I will dwell in your midst you won't even need an ark of the covenant anymore it won't even come to mind
[43:01] Lord I thank you that today you are present with us you assure us that you are with us you tell us in Ephesians 1 13 that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise you already dwell inside your people so thank you Lord for the assurances and the promises that we have because of you that you've given to us Lord the people of Israel were not able to see necessarily that there is going to be two advents of this Messiah thank you for getting to live in a time period where we see your past faithfulness and we can trust in your future faithfulness Lord you are good and it's in your beautiful name we pray