[0:00] As we come together to worship the Lord, let us seek his blessing upon his word. Let us pray. Eternal and ever-blessed Lord, our Heavenly Father, we give thanks that we have access unto thee through the one who said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.
[0:30] And we give thanks today that we can have boldness and confidence to come into thy presence through thy Son, the one who died and was buried and who rose again and who ascended to thine own right hand.
[0:51] Who ministers there on behalf of his people, waiting until that appointed time when he shall return, not to offer himself again as a sacrifice for sin, but to engather his people and to bring them into the inheritance that he has prepared for them, so that it will be true on that day that his people will be forever with him.
[1:22] We give thee thanks, O Lord, for the great promises that are in thy word, and that they have been sealed for us through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
[1:35] And as we come before thee, O Lord, this day, we confess our sins. We acknowledge that we sin against thee in thought, in word, and in deed.
[1:47] But blessed be thy name for the provision that thou hast made for sinners such as we are, and through thy Son that he is the fountain, that has been opened for sin and for uncleanness, for the efficacy of his finished work, and for the great promise that thou hast given to us, that if we confess our sins, that thou art faithful and just, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
[2:17] that through the work of thy Son that we can be reconciled to our God, that the fellowship and communion that was broken by sin can be restored in him, so that we can have peace with God.
[2:36] We give thee thanks, O Lord, for all the tokens of thy goodness and kindness that thou dost so abundantly outpour upon us, and we pray that thou would accompany the gospel this day in the power of thy Spirit, that thou would open the hearts of our people to receive it, that it may be lodged in their heart, that they may come to understand that great news that was given to the woman who came to the sepulchre early in the morning when the angel said to them, I know whom you seek, Jesus that was crucified.
[3:20] He is not here. He is risen. Come see the place where the Lord lay. And we give thanks unto thee that today we have that good news of our risen Lord and our risen Saviour.
[3:34] And we pray, O Lord, that thou would enlighten the minds of an understanding of our people, that they may come to see their need of that risen Lord and Saviour.
[3:48] We pray, O Lord, that the gospel would prosper not only in our own communities here, but that we'll prosper throughout our islands and throughout our nation, and even unto the ends of the earth.
[4:03] We are dependent upon thy Spirit to take thy word and to apply it to the hearts of our people. For it is the work of thine own hand that shall ultimately give thee praise.
[4:18] And we give thanks unto thee, O Lord, that where thou hast begun that good work in the hearts of sinners such as we are, that thou will bring that work to completion, to the glory of thine own grace.
[4:34] For we acknowledge that it is all of grace, that we have no merits of our own that we can bring before thee, that there is no spiritual goodness in us as we are by nature.
[4:48] But we give thanks that through the work of thy grace, that thou dost work in the hearts of sinners, so that their works will come to be works that would glorify thine own name as they exercise faith upon thine own Son.
[5:09] O Lord, we give thanks unto thee for that salvation that was brought out by thee through thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray, O Lord, that this, that is uplifted in the Gospel today, that it may, O Lord, penetrate into the hearts of many, and that many would come to repentance, and that many would come to seek the mercy of God in Jesus Christ.
[5:40] Remember, O Lord, those who are ill, and pray that thine healing hand may be upon them. And those whose hearts are full of grief today, those who grieve over the loss of loved ones, we pray that thou would indeed bind up their wounds, that thine own comfort may flow into their hearts.
[6:04] Remember our young people and our children, and we seek that it may please thee to raise up a generation that would fear thine own name, and who would be thy witnesses in this world.
[6:18] We pray for thy people, those whom thou hast redeemed for thyself, that they may be faithful unto thee, that they may be as lights that would shine in the midst of the darkness of the world that is around us.
[6:33] We pray for the careless and the indifferent, and pray that thy spirit would reach out to them, and that they would be compelled to come in, that they would be lovingly persuaded to come and to embrace the gospel, the gospel of salvation, the gospel of the peace of God.
[6:53] We pray, O Lord, that thou would be with us here as we come together to worship thee, that our worship may be acceptable to thee.
[7:03] Open our hearts to thy word, enlighten our understanding, and forgive us for all our sins, and all that we ask. It's in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
[7:17] Amen. We shall now read the word of God as we find it in the prophecy of Zechariah, and chapter 6.
[7:29] Zechariah and chapter 6. And I turned and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of brass.
[7:46] In the first chariot were red horses, and in the second chariot black horses, and in the third chariot white horses, and in the fourth chariot grizzled and bay horses.
[7:57] Then I answered and said unto the angel that taught me, What are these, my Lord? And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.
[8:13] The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country, and the white go forth after them, and their grizzled go forth toward the south country.
[8:23] And the bay went forth and sought to go, that they might walk to and fro through the earth. And he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth.
[8:36] Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldhah, of Tobiah, and of Jediah, which are come from Babylon.
[8:59] And come thou the same day, and go unto the house of Josiah the son of Saphaniah. Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua, the son of Josedic, the high priest.
[9:12] And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of all, saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch, and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.
[9:25] Even he shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne, and the council of peace shall be between them both.
[9:38] And the crown shall be Helman, and to Tobiah, and to Jedidiah, and to Hend the son of Saphaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the Lord.
[9:49] And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord, and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto you, and this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.
[10:06] May the Lord bless unto us the reading of that portion of his word, and seeking his help and blessing, let us again turn to verse number nine.
[10:18] And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldia, of Tuposi, and of Jedidiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah, the son of Saphaniah.
[10:38] Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua, the son of Josedic, the high priest, and speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, say, Behold the man whose name is a branch, and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.
[10:57] Even he shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
[11:13] The first six chapters of this prophecy consists of eight visions that was given to the prophet in one night.
[11:25] Zechariah chapter 6 brings us to the last of the eight visions. This has indeed had been some night for the prophet.
[11:37] The visions had started with horses and ends with horses. And these visions were revealed to Zechariah in order that he could urge the Jewish people to press on with the work of rebuilding the temple and restoring the true worship of God on a regular basis.
[12:00] However, at the end of this last vision, the prophet records, And the word of the Lord came unto me. Now we are not sure if this was immediate or if there was a lapse of time between receiving the visions and the Lord speaking to him.
[12:20] However, all the visions has ended and the Lord speaks to the prophet. And from verse 9 to the end of the chapter that follows what is called an appendix to the eight visions.
[12:35] or rather what we have is the grand climates to the eight visions. Zechariah was instructed to go to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah, and there that he would meet with three people who had recently returned from Babylon.
[12:56] The Jews did not return at one time. By looking at the book of Ezra, we learn that there were many groups coming back to their homeland over a considerable period of time.
[13:11] The names of those he was to meet was Heldai and Tobiasa and Jehidiah. And they had brought gifts back with them from Babylon.
[13:25] And he has instructed to take of them of the captivity even of Heldai and of Tobiasa and of Jehidiah which are come from Babylon and come thou the same day and go to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah.
[13:42] Then take silver and gold and make crowns. Zechariah was instructed to take the silver and the gold that they had brought to Jerusalem and to make crowns and to crown Joshua the high priest.
[14:03] Now, it is unlikely that more than one crown was made. Sometimes in Hebrew the plural is used to indicate something that is excellent, something that is unmatched, something that is outstanding.
[14:20] So the idea would be of an outstanding crown. an outstanding crown for the Hebrew word used for crown here is different to the word used for the headdress of the high priest.
[14:34] The word that is used here is never used in reference to the clothes or the apparel of the priest but it is a sign of royal rank.
[14:48] For instance in Psalm 21 which refers to the king being crowned with these was thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
[15:00] The word for crown there means it is the word used for royalty. Now, the last time we studied Zechariah we focused upon a man by the name of Serubbabel who was given the task to oversee the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem after the return from exile.
[15:26] As a covenant people they were weak they were small they were vulnerable however Serubbabel was told that the way forward for God's people for God's covenant people were not by might not by power but by my spirit saith the Lord of hosts.
[15:52] Serubbabel was keenly aware that the task before him was great and he was conscious of his own weakness in the face of the many obstacles that laid before him and in his eyes these obstacles all looked like mountains.
[16:09] However, he was given a promise who art thou O great mountain before Serubbabel thou shalt become a plain and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings crying grace grace unto it.
[16:25] Serubbabel was promised that he would be successful that his hands had laid the foundation and that he would also finish it and that it was all achieved by the grace of God.
[16:41] And the people rejoiced when they saw the plummet in the hand of Serubbabel. Now we noted that although historically Serubbabel built the temple nevertheless that he was a figure of something that was beyond himself.
[17:00] That Serubbabel and the temple project speaks to us of a greater than Serubbabel of one who is building a true temple and we shall come to see that in a moment.
[17:15] But what we have learned about this man Serubbabel it may surprise us that Zechariah is instructed by the Lord to crown Joshua the high priest and not Serubbabel the governor.
[17:32] the Lord instructed Zechariah then take silver and gold and make crowns and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedic the high priest.
[17:48] One would have thought that Serubbabel the governor would have been the one to be crowned but in fact what we find is that there is no mention at all whatsoever of Serubbabel in this passage that is before us today.
[18:07] The crowning act upon Joshua the high priest has led some to argue that the text has become corrupt and that it should read Serubbabel and there are some who would replace Joshua with Serubbabel but there is no evidence whatsoever to support that change.
[18:31] If the crown had been placed upon Serubbabel then it could have caused a major problem because such action could be misunderstood by the Persians and they might have construed it as indicative of a political rebellion against the Persian throne wherein Serubbabel was no longer governor but that he was now a man that had been invested with kingship and the Persians may have looked upon that as rebellion by the Jews who had returned from exile.
[19:10] Also the Jews themselves may have misunderstood the action because Serubbabel was a descendant of David and they may have concluded that he was the promised descendant of David who was to be the Messiah.
[19:30] Now although all the reasons we have noted at the moment are all reasonable that is that if Serubbabel had been crowned as king that the Persians may have looked upon that as rebellion by the Jews and that it could also have been misunderstood by the Jews themselves.
[19:50] Although these reasons are all reasonable nevertheless I think there's a greater reason for this action that it was Joshua the high priest that was crowned.
[20:04] Joshua as the high priest is crowned because as a high priest we must remember that he had no claim whatsoever to kingship.
[20:17] Such a union of the offices of king and priest was forbidden. They were always kept separate separate among Israel.
[20:28] Always kept separate among the Jews the office of king and priest. You remember when King Isaiah tried to burn incense on the altar of incense he was punished with leprosy for his intrusion to act upon the rule that belonged only to the priests.
[20:51] But here it is the high priest and the Lord has instructed that he was the one that was to be crowned. In chapter 3 we have Joshua brought before us clothed with filthy garments standing before the angel of the Lord which we noted was the second person of the Trinity the Son of God and also there was Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
[21:22] However the filthy garments are taken away and he is roped with a change of garments and he is told I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee. Then Joshua is told Hear now Joshua the high priest thou and thy fellows that sit between thee for they and men wandered at for behold I will bring forth my servant the branch and with his coming there was to be a great blessing of rest and tranquillity.
[21:55] In that day saith the Lord of us shall you call upon every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree. Now as we come to the passage before us and the high priest being crowned we come to the self same principle that we have noted there when we were reflecting upon the visions that here we have an action that speaks of something beyond itself.
[22:26] The same as we noted there regarding seroubable seroubable spoke of something that was beyond himself. The fact of seroubable building a temple spoke of something that was beyond itself.
[22:43] And the same here with Joshua being crowned the high priest being crowned is speaking of something that is beyond itself.
[22:54] It is a foreshadowing of the person and the office of the one who should be the true and only priestly king.
[23:06] This is one of the most remarkable messianic prophecies in the Old Testament that shows us that both these functions of priest and king are going to be combined in one person, the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.
[23:29] This of course was prophesied by David in Psalm 110, the Lord hath sworn and will not repent, thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
[23:44] The book of Hebrews in the New Testament, chapter 7, informs us that Jesus ushered in a new kind of priesthood, one that was symbolized by the mysterious figure of Melchizedek from Genesis chapter 14, who was himself at the same time priest and king.
[24:08] And Jesus is made a priest not after the order of Aaron, not after the order of the Levitical order, but he is made a priest after the order of Melchizedek.
[24:21] Why? Well, one of the reasons is this, that Melchizedek was a priest and king, that both offices was combined in one person.
[24:35] He is made a king, a priest rather, after the order of Melchizedek. Now, having placed this crown upon the head of Joshua, the high priest, the prophet was commanded to deliver to him the following message.
[24:53] Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch, and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.
[25:08] Even he shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne, and the council of peace, shall be between them both.
[25:23] Behold the man whose name is the branch. The attention of Joshua is directed away from himself, towards the man whose name is the branch, and that name is a well-known messianic title.
[25:44] In the Bible, there are many exhortations given to us in many forms to behold this man. In the book of Isaiah, we'll read, Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, and whom my soul delighteth.
[25:59] I have put my spirit upon him, and we shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. In the New Testament, we have one from a preacher by the name of John the Baptist, who says, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
[26:16] But here, Joshua is directed to behold the man whose name is the branch. The title branch is a title that we have already come across in the prophecy of Zechariah, as we noted in chapter 3 and verse 8.
[26:37] And when we studied that verse, we noted that this title, which is given to Jesus Christ, has been used in another three significant places in the Old Testament, besides Zechariah.
[26:50] In Jeremiah chapter 23, we are told, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth in his days.
[27:08] Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and this is his name, whereby he shall be called the Lord of Righteousness. The message of Jeremiah 21 and 22 is that all the kings have failed, and chapter 3, 23 builds upon that message by teaching that all the prophets and priests have failed as well.
[27:35] They have all failed, but what the people needed was a true king, a true prophet, and a true priest, and here the Lord promises through Jeremiah that he will raise such a person.
[27:51] Another significant passage is Isaiah chapter 11, chapter 11, and there shall grow out of his roots.
[28:02] The stem of Jesse is a reference to the father of David, and from his roots would come the branch who would fulfill the promises given to David as recorded for us in 2 Samuel chapter 7, and thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee.
[28:20] Thy throne shall be established forever. A reference here to the humble origins of the humanity of Jesus from the earthly line of Jesse.
[28:34] Yet he will achieve what God has planned, and in chapter 4 of Isaiah we have these words, in that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious.
[28:49] But I suppose that our familiarity with these words comes from the New Testament and from a man called Pilate. Behold the man of the words with which Pilate after having examined Jesus and the charges brought against him by the Jewish leaders, he introduced Jesus to the crowds outside his palace, as recorded for us in the Gospel of John chapter 19.
[29:16] Behold the man. He puts the matter in the hands of the people. Pilate wanted to avoid deciding over Jesus and he was seeking some way to release his prisoner.
[29:33] Therefore Pilate took Jesus and scourged him and added to his scourging was the insult of the Roman soldiers. Pilate who was assigned to flock Jesus.
[29:45] After the soldiers planted a crown of thorns and put it on his head and they put on him a purple robe and said, Hail, King of the Jews. And they smoked him with their hands. And when the soldiers had completed their mockery, Pilate brought Jesus out and he says to the crowd, Behold, I bring him forth to you that he may know that I find all fault in him.
[30:07] And Jesus came forth wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe and Pilate said to them, Behold the man. Why call him the man?
[30:21] Well, Pilate was hoping that the crowd would take sympathy upon the prisoner and that they would ask for his release. But you know, Pilate said more than here than he realised himself.
[30:33] when he curled the crowd to behold Jesus as the man, he said more than he realised himself.
[30:45] The whole of the Bible, the whole of gospel preaching centres around this man. The whole of God's redemptive plan centres around this man.
[30:59] And as we preach the gospel, we in a sense also cry out to you, behold the man. The apostle Paul making the contrast between Adam and Christ says the first man is of the earth, earthly, in reference to Adam.
[31:17] But he says the second man is the Lord from heaven. This man is the Lord from heaven. This man is the last Adam.
[31:30] behold this man. Instructing us that this man who is called the branch to which Joshua's attention has been drawn has a true body and a true soul, a true human body and a true human soul.
[31:50] He is a man. He has flesh, he has ears, he has eyes, he has nose, mouth, hands, feet and all the internal organs exactly like me and you.
[32:05] He was to be an ordinary man but not an ordinary person for he is the branch. He is the branch.
[32:15] Behold the man whose name is the branch. This man is a key to all the Old Testament prophecies and all the Old Testament promises.
[32:30] Behold the man, he is the fulfillment of the first promise and all the promises of the Old Testament that was given to such as Moses and David and so on.
[32:42] So this man is a fulfillment of the promises. He is the key to all the prophecies of the Old Testament. He is the substance of all that was foreshadowed in the sacrifices.
[32:54] He is prophet, he is priest, his king, the branch. Now we are told here that the man whose name is a branch, in reference to Jesus, that he shall grow up out of his place, or more literally, he shall branch up from under him, or as the ESV has it, for he shall branch out from his place.
[33:22] He shall branch out from his place, from his humble origins and weakness. The branch will branch out, in other words, he will go forward, and he will succeed in his work.
[33:39] Luke tells us that Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. This man, looking at him, an ordinary man, he lived like a man and spoke like a man, and he grew from a baby to an infant, to adolescent, and to a young man.
[33:57] This man, the last tantum, was sent on a mission, though. He was sent on a mission. When his conception was announced, the message of Joseph was, and she shall bear forth a son, and they shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
[34:16] business. This man was conscious that he was on a mission. The branch is on a mission. And he made it known at twelve years of age, when they sought him at the feast in Jerusalem.
[34:32] He told Mary and Joseph, was he not that I must be about my father's business? Despite his apparent obscurity, he will succeed in his mission.
[34:48] And then, let's describe for us what is the work that the branch is going to accomplish. Here we are told, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.
[35:00] The branch, who is on a mission, and his mission is to build the temple of the Lord. Even he shall build the temple of the Lord.
[35:14] Lord. So far, in the prophecy, we have seen that Zechariah were given certain visions. And the point of those visions was to reinvigorate the people and rebuilding the temple at Jerusalem.
[35:35] Despite all the obstacles, the problems that confronted them, in order to stir them up, rebuild the temple at Jerusalem.
[35:45] He is given those visions. But here, they are reminded that the Jerusalem temple was only temporary. That the work of the true temple was not in the hands of Zerubbabel, the governor, but in the hands of a far greater than Zerubbabel, in a man called the branch.
[36:08] branch, that the branch would build the temple of the Lord. The new temple will be built quite different from the temple in Jerusalem.
[36:20] Jerusalem. And this new temple was not a matter of a building of stone, but rather a spiritual temple. And this new temple will be not merely for the Jews, but it was also for the gathering of the nations as they come to worship, because it says, and they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord.
[36:47] The New Testament speaks of the church as the temple Christ proceeds to build. In building the church, he made himself the cornerstone.
[37:00] In 1 Peter 2 verse 5, we read that we are, ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
[37:19] God. The apostle Paul says the same thing in his letter to Ephesians in chapter 2. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the buildings, freely framed together, groweth into an holy temple in the Lord, in whom ye also are built together for a reputation of God through the Spirit.
[37:52] We are God's temple in and through Christ. Jesus is building his temple, and that is the meaning and end of history.
[38:06] That is the whole meaning and end of history. Jesus, the branch, he is building his temple. God lifts the eyes of the Jews from the material temple of Cerebubal.
[38:24] He lifts their eyes to the spiritual temple. From a temple building to the temple builder, he directs their eyes to the branch, Jesus Christ.
[38:39] Christ. In Psalm 127, we read, Except the Lord build the house, the labour in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
[38:54] It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrow, for so he giveth his beloved sleep. You know, it is interesting that the name of Solomon is prefixed to the title of that psalm, Psalm 127.
[39:13] As you know of Solomon's temple, its splendour and its glory in comparison to the temple of Cerebubal, who was now instructed to build what, but we are reminded by the psalm here that without the help of the Lord, it will come to nothing, except the Lord build the house.
[39:42] They labour in vain. It's a reminder to us that whatever spiritual undertaking we desire to be taken, for it to be successful and prosper, we need the help of the Lord.
[39:58] Cerebubal was reminded of that, was he not? not by might, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.
[40:12] Solomon was aware of that, and so was Cerebubal. And the same must be true for me and you. Whatever spiritual undertaking we desire to do, we must seek the Lord's self, for without his blessing, we shall labour in vain.
[40:36] But here is our encouragement. The branch, Jesus Christ is building his church, and though so little of its final glory can now be seen, and though we may sometimes feel defeated and discouraged, let us remember our Joshua, our priest-king, who is building the true temple, not just one of stone, but a spiritual house of God.
[41:12] Here in Psalm 127, he says, For so he giveth his beloved sleep. Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain and build it, except the Lord keeps the city, the watchman waketh but in vain, and so on, and he comes and he says, For so he giveth his beloved sleep.
[41:40] He gives his beloved sleep in the full assurance that the Lord is building his temple, that the Lord is building his house.
[41:53] a peculiar rest, a rest that is based on the assurance that the Lord is working and building his church and that his labour will be successful and shall prosper.
[42:04] The labour of the branch, it will be successful, it will prosper. The spiritual house of God will be built.
[42:16] every stone will be built upon each other. In John's vision recorded in the book of Revelation chapter 21 we read, And I saw no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb of the temple of it.
[42:40] The temples existed as places where one went to meet with God, but in heaven there would be no need for a temple because its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.
[42:53] One commentator says this, There is no need for a temple in heaven because for the fellowship of believers with their God is direct and immediate.
[43:05] God tabernacles with his people. They are constantly in his immediate loving and abiding presence. they are there.
[43:18] They are there forever with the Lord. There is no need for a temple, for a place to be set up in order to meet with God because God is immediately before them.
[43:33] God As we recently studied, God told Moses to build the tabernacle and the innermost part was known as the Holy of Holies where the presence of God dwelt in Shekinah glory.
[43:51] Afterwards there was the temple of Solomon which was a permanent structure. Then in the fullness of time the presence of God went beyond a temple building and began in the ministry of Jesus Christ.
[44:04] John in his gospel writes that the word became flesh and tabernacled among us. Speaking of his body Jesus said destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.
[44:15] His death and resurrection are now the place of our meeting with God. It's a ground for our blessing. When Jesus ascended he sent his spirit to live within his people so that Paul could see in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you which ye have of God and ye are not your own.
[44:40] However we know that we are still in this body of sin which robs us of much of the glory and joy that belongs to us. But the day comes when we shall be made perfectly blessed in the full joy of God to all eternity.
[45:00] all the life of Abraham was summed up as looking forward to the city that has foundations. Well the branch is building his temple and he will prosper.
[45:19] He will prosper. He will bring the temple to completion. salvation. But the question for me and you today is this.
[45:30] Are you one of the living stones that makes up the temple of the Lord? Are you one of the living stones that makes up this temple that the branch is building?
[45:46] Yes he is building and although we may be discouraged at times and feel that we have failed and that we have been defeated although we may feel like Elijah falling into despondency yet we know and this is our point of encouragement and this is the point of our strength.
[46:12] we know that the branch is building his temple and we know that the branch shall prosper in building his temple.
[46:28] Oh he says none of them will be lost. None of them will be lost. Every stone by the election of grace will make up this temple.
[46:45] Well will you be one of the stones that will make up this temple. May the Lord bless his word to us. Let us pray. Eternal and ever blessed Lord we give thanks today that the branch is building up his temple.
[47:04] temple and we give thanks that even in the midst of discouragements and when we may feel that we have failed nevertheless that our encouragement and our hope and assurance is in the fact that he the branch is building up his temple and that he shall prosper and that he shall complete that temple.
[47:31] That he shall present it as a glorious temple. We give thanks unto thee O Lord for thy word that encourages us and gives us strength from day to day.
[47:44] We ask O Lord that thou would continue with us during this week. And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forevermore.
[48:02] Amen.