[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfredo, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word.
[0:14] Well, take your Bibles, if you would, and turn with me to the book of Zechariah. And we're excited to be in the house of God today, excited to be in the book of Zechariah and find out about our great God and what He's doing.
[0:25] So glad you're here today and looking forward to God working in each of our lives. Look, if you would, again, Zechariah chapter 14 and verse 9 is just a way to remind you of what we've read.
[0:36] This is where we're headed. You might not know where the world is today. And you might wonder, are things going to work out? And you might wonder, is the devil winning? You might wonder, what's going to happen?
[0:46] Well, I'll give you a hint of what's going to happen. Jesus is coming back. And He is going to set up a kingdom. And He will reign and He will be Lord. The Bible says in Zechariah 14, 9, And the Lord shall be king over all the earth.
[1:03] In that day shall there be one Lord and His name one. Father, I pray You'd help us to make much of You today. I pray You'd help Your people to have spirit-filled ears as I try to be a spirit-filled man to preach.
[1:17] I pray, God, that Your heart, let our hearts all be lifted up to worship You and to thank You. I pray that all of our people would turn their eyes toward You today as we look at this scripture.
[1:29] And I pray, Jesus, that You would be magnified. And we would be thankful to You. And we would leave here happy and rejoicing and thanking You. And I will give You praise for all.
[1:40] In Jesus' name, amen. Well, in the passage of scripture we've been reading here in the book of Zechariah, we have surely come to understand that God has a plan for the nation of Israel.
[1:52] And He always takes care of His people, Israel, and He will continue to do so. By the way, that ought to give you a lot of confidence. He gave His word to Israel and He said, I keep my word and you can mark it down at the very end of the time, I will still be taking care of my people.
[2:07] And then He gave us a promise. He told us He'd take care of us. He told us He'd never leave us and He'd never forsake us. He told us He'd save us. And since I know Him to be a God who takes His word seriously and keeps His word, I can be sure of my salvation and God taking care of me.
[2:24] Amen? You're going to see that some more today. Also, you're going to see today that there's a day of reckoning coming. You know, the world's kind of off course and things are all messed up and you wonder what's happening in politics and you wonder what's happening.
[2:37] And it looks like sin is running rampant and it looks like the world is all a mess. And it really is. And you begin to wonder, where's God? What's He doing? Why doesn't He step in? And all the way back in the book of Zechariah, here's what God said, I will be stepping in.
[2:52] I will be stepping in, but I'm giving you guys a little bit of patience. I've given you guys a little bit of time to share the truth and let people still be saved. But I am coming back and there will be a day of reckoning.
[3:05] And by the way, the world is lost in sin. It's on a self-destruction course. But Jesus is coming back to set up His kingdom and make things right.
[3:16] And He will come back in great power. He will come to bless those that are His and destroy those that rebel against Him and stand against Him.
[3:28] So I want you to think about it today. This is not a simple, just listen to it. It is your eternal destiny in the balance.
[3:39] I would like to show you a verse of Scripture before I jump into the passage that I didn't show you last week. Would you look at Zechariah 12, 10 with me? Have you ever wondered if Jesus is God? Have you ever heard somebody tell you that He's not God?
[3:53] If you've ever heard that and you've said, they've said, Well, you know, there's not a lot of Scripture in the Old Testament that says He's God. There's not a lot of Scripture. Well, I just want to show you a verse. I do love this verse. When I was reading it, it just accidentally, of course that didn't happen, but accidentally just jumped off the page at me.
[4:08] Look at this. And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication. And this is what I want you to underline in your Bible. They shall look upon me.
[4:23] Look at it. They shall look upon me whom they have pierced. Now, who's doing the talking here? Well, that's God the Father. That's Jehovah. That's Old Testament God.
[4:35] And He said, They shall look upon me whom they have pierced. And they shall mourn for Him as one mourneth for His own son, His only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him as one that's in bitterness for His firstborn.
[4:48] I just want you to face this. Who got pierced? It was Jesus. And they even quote this scripture and say, That's talking about Jesus. And so you got Jesus here in the Old Testament getting pierced because Jesus is God in human flesh.
[5:01] By the way, you remember when Abraham was going up the mountain? And they said, His son says to him, He said, Where's the sacrifice? And he said, Well, God will provide Himself a sacrifice.
[5:12] Well, God provided Himself a sacrifice because God Himself was a sacrifice. And God Himself was a sacrifice in Jesus. Jesus is God. God is Jesus. And God the Father. God the Son.
[5:23] And God the Holy Spirit. Just for your interest. That's extra today. I'm not even charging for that. It will not be put on the bill. Turn with me now to Zechariah chapter 9 and verse 14. First truth today.
[5:35] It was the Lord God Himself that said He would take care of His people Israel. You do understand before I start reading this verse that everything about salvation and everything about us going to heaven depends on somebody else and not on us.
[5:51] You do understand it's God working, not us working. You do understand it's a grace thing. It's a faith thing. It's God doing something.
[6:01] I couldn't pay for my own sins. I couldn't make my way to heaven. I couldn't get things right with God. But God stepped in and God came to me. When I couldn't get to Him, He came to me like you heard an old country song say.
[6:13] Look at Zechariah chapter 9 and verse 14. And the Lord shall be seen over them. And His arrow shall go forth as the lightning. And the Lord God shall blow the trumpet and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.
[6:25] Verse 15. The Lord of hosts shall defend them. They shall devour and subdue with sling stones. They shall drink and make a noise as through wine. They shall be filled. They shall be filled like bowls at the corners of the altar.
[6:39] The Lord was over the nation of Israel. He was at work in them. He was taking care of the nation of Israel. The Lord is going to defend the nation of Israel. And Israel is going to win.
[6:52] Israel is going to win. You know they're always in the forefront of the news. You always hear about them. They are hated and they are despised and they're mistreated. Other nations attack them. And you might even be wondering why in the world is Israel so important.
[7:05] But if you ever read the Bible you'll know this. They're God's people. God has a plan for them. And God never abandons His people. Go with me now if you would to Zechariah 10.5.
[7:15] It's God who will fight for them. It's God who will fight for them. In Zechariah 10.5 the Bible says, And they shall be as mighty men which tread down their enemies. Israel shall be like mighty men treading down their enemies in the mud of the street, in the mire of the street, in the battles.
[7:31] And they shall fight because the Lord is with them. And the riders on the horses shall be confused. It's God doing a work in Israel.
[7:42] It's God doing. Now that's important to you. You might honestly be thinking to yourself, What's that got to do with me? It has all to do with you. Because if God isn't a God of His word, I can't trust Him for my salvation.
[7:55] If God isn't a God of His word, I don't know anything. Because everything I know is based on this. God said it. And that settles it. The Bible says in Zechariah 10.6, I will, you've got to underline that, I will strengthen the house of Judah.
[8:10] I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them again to place them. He's going to put them back in their place. They're not going to get to Israel on their own. They're not going to be the UN.
[8:20] I will place them. I have mercy upon them. They shall be as though I had not cast them off. For I am their God, their Lord, their God, and will hear them. Notice that God is the one doing the work.
[8:32] He makes it clear. He is their God. And He will hear them. And if you're born again, you have the same promises in the New Testament. You have the same promises that you're God's people.
[8:43] And He hears you. And God always takes care of His people. And you might say, well, what's that got to do with me today? Here's what I want you to write down somewhere.
[8:54] Now I'm coming right down to you. Because God doesn't abandon His people. Why don't you write that down somewhere? God doesn't abandon His people. And I am His people.
[9:06] And you are His people. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5. And while you look that up, Hebrews 13, 5. Some of you this morning are thinking to yourselves, man, my life's all messed up.
[9:17] And the world's all messed up. And I don't understand what's going on. And I feel like God's left me. He never left Israel. And He ain't never going to leave you. He has never left His people. And He won't leave you.
[9:29] And in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5, this is New Testament. He said, let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have. For He said, I will never leave you.
[9:41] Nor forsake you. Now I need you to look this way just a second. You're worried. And you're thinking, I'm in a mess. It seems like God's not at work in my life. But if you listen to that and you believe that, you're listening to a lie from the devil and you're believing the devil.
[9:55] Because He gave His word that He will never leave us nor forsake us. If you hear that and see that in the Bible, say amen. So that means no matter where you are, no matter what mess you're going through, no matter what's happening to you, you can know that God is there working.
[10:10] He's not going to abandon you. You're reading Zechariah and you're like, I don't know why I'm interested in how God's taken care of Israel. I'm interested in it because I can read the news and know He's going to take care of them.
[10:21] But I'm also interested in it because there are times when Betty and I have been in a lot of trouble and it seemed like no one was there for us and no one was helping us. We were raising our kids and my son got diabetes or my daughter got raped or all kind of junk happened in my life and I wondered if I was alone.
[10:37] But here's what I had a promise of. He will never leave us or forsake us. Where are you this morning? What are you hurting about? What are your needs? If you're a born-again child of God, you got the promise of God.
[10:50] He loves you. He is there for you and He's at work in your life. That was such a truth that in Philippians 4 and verse 6 that God's people were told, you know God's going to take care of you so stop whining and start praying.
[11:04] Look in your Bible if you would. Philippians 4 and verse 6. Don't live in anxiety. Don't live in anxiety. Don't live a life where you're like, I just don't know what's going to happen.
[11:15] You're wringing your hands and you're wondering if God's still alive and you're wondering if God's at work. But He's at work. Look at Philippians 4, 6 with me. Be careful for nothing. Underline that.
[11:26] Be careful for nothing. That just means don't be anxious. Don't be worried. It's pretty hard not to be worried, isn't it? It's pretty hard to live in this world and not be worried.
[11:37] It's pretty hard to have your debts coming down the pipe at you and you wonder what's going to happen. It's pretty hard to have health issues coming down the pipe at you and say, I'm just a little nervous here.
[11:48] I'm just a little old me in this big old world and I don't have all the money. I don't have all. I wish somebody would help me. Here's what God said. Don't you worry. But in everything, in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
[12:09] He's God. He's bigger than you. He's bigger than your circumstances. He's bigger than what you're going through. He saved you and he's a good God and he keeps his word and you can trust him.
[12:20] And he said, so here's what I want you to do. I know you're torn up. I know your life's all messed up. But I'm the God who takes care of people. I'm the God who takes care of my people.
[12:31] And if you read the Old Testament, you know, even when I was upset with my people, I always told him I wouldn't abandon them. You see, you're like, I know what's going on. The reason things are going bad for me is he's upset with me.
[12:44] Come on, tell the truth. You say, I think he'd take care of me but I really messed up here. I kind of got off track. I done some stuff. Israel did all that all the time too, didn't they? But you know what God kept telling them? You're my people.
[12:56] That's what he said. You're my people. I'm going to take care of you. You're my people. And here's what he said in Philippians chapter four, verse six. He said, you got worries, you got problems, I'm your God.
[13:06] He told Israel, I hear you when you talk and your God listens to you. And he said, I want you to come and ask me in prayer. Prayer is simply a word that has to do with asking.
[13:18] Fact is, even today, they use that word in legal terms, I pray the court. I ask the court. It's prayer. You're going to go to God, you're going to ask him. And you're going to beg him, supplication.
[13:28] You're going to say to him, I really need you to work in this. But even when you pray, you're going to say, I know you're there. I thank you.
[13:39] Now, in the middle of my mess, I thank you. You can write Hebrews 11, six in the margin right there because it's impossible to please God if you don't believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them to diligently seek him.
[13:53] And so you can go to God just like they did in the Old Testament. They knew God was there. They knew God was real. And when that happens, and when you learn to do that as a Christian, it says in verse 7, Philippians 4, 7, it says that the peace of God, which nobody can understand, will take care of you.
[14:16] And in the middle of the mess, you can know, I don't understand and I'm still scared. Things are still wrong. But somehow I know my God takes care of his people and I'm his people.
[14:34] In fact, it is one of my favorite verses when I was a young guy. I used to have it on my business card way back in the 70s. It's 1 Peter 5, 7. Casting all your care on him because he cares for you.
[14:49] You came this morning and you're burdened down and you're beat up and you got a lot of junk going on and you don't know how to handle it and your worries got you so messed up, you're resorting to the bottle of pills or alcohol or you're resorting to psychiatrists and psychologists when you have a God who loves you, who has always kept his word and who is there for you and you have the privilege of going into his presence and asking him and he will hear you and answer your prayer.
[15:24] You say, brother, I don't know about my job. Well, you might not, but there's somebody bigger who does. I don't know about my health. There's somebody bigger who does. I don't know how I'm going to handle this.
[15:35] There's somebody bigger that does. Cast all your care on him. I want to give you one more verse. You know, I don't want to anger you, but I want to tell you God's not here for you to run him around.
[15:51] And so the reason sometimes God doesn't work in our lives is we go to God almost with a fist clenched, angry with him, and we don't go saying, whatever you want to do.
[16:02] I want your will. God's not some little genie up in the sky who's going to jump around and do what you want him to do. So he's the God who takes care of Israel. He's the God who takes care of his people.
[16:15] And this is one of the best verses in the world for where you are this morning because you are in trouble and you need him and you need him to step in. So read with me James 4, 7 if you would.
[16:27] James 4, verse 7. You see, God's going to work in the life of his people, but you and I need to start off at the right place. You don't go to God demanding.
[16:38] You go to God humbly. You don't go to God like some jerk who thinks you have a right to scream at the governor or the president and say, bless God, you don't do what I say. This ain't my country. You don't have that right with God.
[16:49] You go to God and you say, whoa, you're the great God of the Bible who keeps his word and I come to you and look what it says, submit yourselves. So I ought to go to God and I ought to say to him, Lord, I don't know what you want to do in my life but I'm going to trust you with it.
[17:04] Maybe this sickness is from you and you want me to go through this and bring you honor. Maybe this problem I have is something that you're going to get glory out of. I'll just say this, God, you're God, I'm going to trust you.
[17:19] I didn't come here to yell at you. I didn't come here to fuss at you. I didn't come here to straighten you out. I came to you knowing you're in charge. I don't know about any of the rest of you but I've been married for 43 years and if Betty really wants my favor, she doesn't come yelling and screaming at me because when she starts getting upset, it just makes me upset her.
[17:42] That's not a Greek word. That's English, upset her. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, you can just back off and so when you come to God, you submit. How many of us in this room would say, man, I have yielded my life to God.
[17:55] I want his will no matter what it is. You see, Paul went to God and he said three times, he said, I got this thorn in my flesh and I'm asking you to take it away and he asked three times and the Lord said, I'm not taking it away and so Paul's attitude was, well, I found out something.
[18:13] When I'm weak, that's when I'm the strongest and so I'll accept what you want to do in my life, God. So I submit. So you submit to God. Second thing you do is you resist the devil.
[18:25] Now listen to me, you need to underline that in the verse, you resist the devil because you're going to back up and you're going to say, I've had this devil attitude of wanting to fuss at God and yell at God and tell God what to do.
[18:36] I've had this attitude that God ain't God and God's not doing what he ought to do. That's a devil talk. Amen. You don't do that. You come to God and you say, I don't, I come to you loving you.
[18:46] I come to you trusting you. I come to you believing you and devil, you can hush. I'm not going to do that. I don't care what the world says. I don't care what others say. I trust God. And maybe there's a voice screaming in your head that you can't, but you resist him and he'll flee.
[19:02] Wherever you are this morning, draw nigh to him. Cleanse your heart. Purify your, cleanse your hands. Purify your heart. Skip down to James 4.10 because I am way behind already.
[19:15] Humble yourselves in the sight of God and he shall lift you up. God takes care of his people. God defends his people and you're his people.
[19:29] Do you remember when Paul, Saul was on the way to Damascus and he gets knocked off the horse and the Lord said, what are you doing picking on my people? What are you doing?
[19:41] Persecuting me. And, you know, Saul's kind of like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm picking on people. I ain't bothering you. And he said, you mess with my people. You're messing with me. God loves you. God loves you.
[19:54] And God's at work in your life. God's at work in your life. So, before I go on, you came this morning. You're in the book of Zechariah. And here's what you get out of Zechariah.
[20:05] God's there for his people. God takes care of his people. God hasn't abandoned his people. God's going to take care of Israel. God's going to bring them back.
[20:16] And even though God said in one of the verses, he said, I've abandoned you, but it's going to be like I never did because I'm going to fix it. And some of you have drawn away from God and you've gotten cold and you've gotten distant with God and you're not where you ought to be and you know you're not where you ought to be and you're like, I don't know if God would love me.
[20:31] Well, I know this. From the way he treats Israel, well, he loves you and he'll take care of you and he will work in your life. Go with me if you would. To Zechariah chapter 12 and verse 8. Second thing in this passage of scripture.
[20:44] There's a special day coming. In the text, it's called that day. And if you were a Bible studier and you enjoyed that kind of thing, you should go through Zechariah and just look for all the that days.
[20:55] Because he keeps saying, in that day, in that day, in that day. That's kind of like the day, you know, it's kind of like the big day you got on your calendar. It's kind of like these kids when they go to get married and you say, when are you going to get married?
[21:08] And they'll say, 28 days, 14 hours and 30 minutes from now. Everybody knows about that day for them. That day. Well, God says, I got a day. And it's that day.
[21:19] And he's counting down the time for you. He's going to make things right. He's going to take care of Jerusalem. These people have been away in captivity. They've been taken out of Israel and put into Babylonian captivity.
[21:31] He's going to bring them back. Today, they're spread out all over the world. They're Jewish people and they're abandoned as a nation. And he's going to bring them back. So, this is what he says.
[21:41] Zechariah chapter 12, verse 8. You have that? In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David.
[21:52] And the house of David shall be as God and the angel of the Lord before them. And it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
[22:04] News blast. The United States of America and other countries don't like Israel. And you might say, why in the world is, why is Israel important in our politics?
[22:17] Well, it says here, in that day, I will seek to destroy all nations that come against Jerusalem. So, what's going to happen and there's a day coming when the whole world is going to have, there's going to be this like a world war and they're all going to come against Jerusalem and everybody's going to attack Jerusalem.
[22:32] That's a coming day. And on that day, something miraculous is going to happen because God's going to stop it, destroy them in that day.
[22:43] He will move and destroy them. So, you can mark this down. Jerusalem will continue to be in the news. No matter what the presidents say or don't say and no matter what the UN says or doesn't say, you can mark this one down.
[22:58] There's a day coming when God will step in in Israel. A day when he will set things right. They're his people. They have always been his people and they will be his people. I want you to go with me to Zechariah chapter 13 and verse 1 if you will.
[23:10] In that day, there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanliness. And it shall come to pass in that day said the Lord of hosts that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land and it shall be no more remembered and also I will cause the prophets and unclean spirit to pass out of the land.
[23:33] So, here's a beautiful verse. You need to understand this. There was a fountain open. We saw that on Christmas Day. A fountain open. A fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins where sinners plunge beneath that flood and lose all their guilty stain.
[23:45] That's for us. But here in this verse, it's talking about Jerusalem. It's talking about Israel. See, Israel and Jerusalem have forgotten God. They have walked away from God and the reason they're suffering is because they know what the truth is and they ignore God and they ignore the truth and instead of serving the God of heaven, they've been serving the idols back in Zechariah's day and until today.
[24:06] Their idol may be money, it may be political fame, but they've got other gods and not the God of the Bible. But in that day, God's going to come in and do a work in Israel. He's going to save a bunch of people, going to raise up 144,000 witnesses and they're going to take the gospel all over the world and do what the church has yet to do.
[24:24] They're going to evangelize the entire world. But in doing so, two-thirds of them will die because you don't get away with rebellion against God. There's not this thing in the Bible where in the end, God's going to come out and say, well, it's all a joke, I love everybody and everybody's going to heaven.
[24:40] That's not the way it works. You'll choose whether you'll believe God or you won't believe God. And many Jews will say, no, God, we will not believe you, we don't like you, we won't follow you and they'll put their fist in his face.
[24:53] And look what the Bible says, if you would, in Zechariah chapter 13 and verse 8, you should come to pass in that day, so that the Lord two parts will be cut off and die, but the third will come through. I'll bring a third part through the fire and I'll refine them as silver and they shall call on my name and I will hear and I will say it's my people and they shall say the Lord is my God.
[25:16] So even Israel, they're not all going to get right with God, they're not all going to get saved because over two-thirds of them are going to reject God. Now you're here this morning, I've got a question for you. Are you a God rejecter?
[25:33] Are you a self-believer? Are you like, God I have my own plans and don't interrupt, don't interfere. Are you a God believer?
[25:46] A God acceptor? Are you surrendered and following Him? In that day, Jesus comes back and He makes all things right. You know the reason the world's messed up, don't you?
[25:58] Some of you would say, why does God let that happen? God let that happen because man chose not to let God be king. In the very Garden of Eden, man said, we don't like God and the way He runs things.
[26:10] He's got us in the Garden of Eden and He's got a tree in here we're not supposed to eat of. And all through history, men have chosen to rebel against God. You rebel against God because you want to rebel against God.
[26:20] You rebel against God because it's what your family's always done. It's what humans do. We rebel against God. And so that's how this world got all messed up. But there's a day coming when He will set things right.
[26:32] Are you ready for that day? Let me explain something to you. It may look like God washed His hands and went to sit on His throne in heaven and the world's just going along and whatever happens will happen and men will destroy the world.
[26:48] Climate change is destroying us and wars are going to destroy us. That's not how it's going to happen, guys. Because the God of heaven is coming back. And He is going to set things right.
[27:00] And there's a day coming in the New Testament in Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 27 if you have your Bible and you can look that verse up for me. It's appointed unto man once to die.
[27:11] But at that judgment. So there's a day coming for you. And we may not live till the big day when He comes back and sets things right. But you will face God. You will face God.
[27:24] It is appointed unto man once to die but after that the judgment. It is appointed unto man once to die but after that the judgment. And when people die they face God. Jesus is also coming back in Hebrews 9, 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many and to them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin to salvation.
[27:47] He's coming back. And so us that know Him and believe on Him He's coming to give us what He promised. The rapture's gonna happen.
[27:58] The second coming's gonna happen. His feet are gonna touch down on the mountain and we don't have to live in fear because He's coming to get us and do everything He said He was gonna do. They sang the song It's Well With My Soul and those songs were telling these same truths.
[28:12] He's coming. He's coming back the second time to salvation. salvation. And He will come back in judgment too. Now listen to this all of us are gonna stand before Him to be judged.
[28:27] Every one of us. I don't have time to go into it just keep coming we get to all of it. But there's a reward seat for us where God will say man here's a reward for how you served me here's a reward for how you honored me and He'll reward us.
[28:42] But then there'll be a great white throne judgment where He will know every thought you've ever had if you're not saved every word you've ever said if you're not saved and everything you've ever done if you're not saved and you'll be responsible for it.
[28:59] If you are saved Jesus took your responsibility He took your penalty and He's already paid for it He's already died for you. But if you're not saved so you came to church this morning you might be a member of vision you might have been baptized and circumcised and sanitized but if you don't know Jesus you'll answer for your own sin in that day.
[29:23] Do you know Jesus Christ as your Savior? You've got to understand that events are unfolding that will continue to unfold that will bring everything to exactly what God said.
[29:35] That's what the book of Zechariah is saying that God's really in charge. That things aren't spinning out of control that God's not up in heaven and said Oh my soul I don't know what happened or what I made.
[29:46] He's like I'll just give you all a little bit more time but I am coming in that day. Last thing I want you to see this morning go with me to Zechariah chapter 14 and verse 2 He's going to come back in great power and victory.
[29:58] 14.2 I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle. So all nations are going to come He's going to get them all coming there to fight and then He's going to step out and fight for His people chapter 14 verse 3 The Lord shall go forth and fight against those nations.
[30:17] And in verse 4 while He's in that fight He is going to split the eastern sky He's going to come down out of heaven and verse 4 it says and His feet shall stand upon that day that day you notice that upon the Mount of Olives you're like probably looking at me like right now I don't think I believe that well hang on if God said it we believe it and here's what He said that all of a sudden He's going to come down and He's going to put His feet on that mountain and that mountain is going to split and make a great big valley in the middle of it.
[30:47] It's going to go to the east and it's going to go to the west His feet shall put on the mountain and the mountain shall split. There's a lot of stuff here a lot of prophecy I'll try to get into more of it maybe evening services sometime in the future as we go through other books let me explain something He created the earth it's not a big deal for Him to split a mountain He could step His feet down on a stone mountain split it in a heartbeat wouldn't even have to bat an eye wouldn't even have to think about it you say well I don't know if I believe all that it really doesn't matter what you believe it won't change the facts and the facts are He's the creator the facts are He's coming again and the facts are He's the judge and the facts are that there's a day coming when He will come in great power we have looked to Him and believed Him and what the song said is when when my faith shall be by sight now when I will finally see what I have believed I believe the book and I'm going to see it all come true and the mountain is going to split the Bible says and then it says in verse 9 and the Lord shall be king over all the earth in that day today sin rape abortion drunkenness drugs sexual deviancy filth crime rape murder anything you can think of that's what's going on but in that day in that day
[32:14] He will rule with a rod of iron He will come and He will take control and then everybody's going to rise up against Him again because human beings simply want to refuse the rule of God so no matter what He's done and how many times He's spoken they keep rising back up and so after a thousand years of His reign they're going to come back again they're going to rebel against Him again in Zechariah 14 12 the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem listen to this this is horrible their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet their eyes shall consume away in their holes and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth if that's not horrific I don't know what is but here's what you can know He is God that sounds like when the atomic bomb went off in Hiroshima but you can mark this down it's far worse than that because the God of heaven will stand against all those who stand against
[33:20] Him here's what you can know Jesus is coming soon in great power it's all true the Bible His word and He will keep His word when He comes back there's going to be two sides to His coming back because we're in Zechariah and you're probably doubting it's Old Testament I don't know about that go with me to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 8 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 8 and then shall that wicked be revealed that will be the Antichrist and the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming even Him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders and all deceitableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved when He comes back many will be destroyed
[34:23] I don't think there's any way I can say that without it being harsh those who rebel against God will be destroyed but others will be blessed we're going to see Him as He is our great God that we have believed and entrusted some have looked for Him and wanted Him others have hated Him and ignored Him which are you?
[34:55] are you ready for His coming? some of us are eagerly awaiting the coming of Jesus the Bible says in 1 John 3 1 behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God can you believe that?
[35:13] we're called the sons of God what love our Father has for us therefore the world doesn't know us because it knew Him not beloved now are we the sons of God and it does not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him we shall be like Him we'll see Him as He is and every man that has this hope in Him purifies himself even as He is pure we're looking for Him to come we want Him to come we're excited about His coming and we want to get ready for His coming now when I was a little boy living out on the farm and our rich city cousins would come to visit us man we would clean our little four room shack we'd even clean the outhouse we'd get everything ready my mother would take off the towels off the racks that we used that you could see through and she'd put them brand new towels that we'd never use except when people came real people not us and she'd hang them back on the she'd hang them out there and then she'd make us all take a bath and change our clothes and put on our nice clothes because the family's coming we didn't want them to see the hillbillies the way we were and so I'd sit on the porch so I was about to go crazy waiting on them to come so excited to see my cousins but sometimes I'd get up and get messed up and get messed up again you know
[36:43] I'd get messed up physically and then she'd mess me up with a stick and but I couldn't wait for them to come well let me explain something to you better than that Jesus is coming soon and those of us that know him we are the sons of God we are going to see our father we are going to see Jesus we're going to go to heaven and because that's true we love him we talk about him we think about him and we want to be ready when he comes so we're cleaning the house we're changing out the towels and putting the nice ones we're taking a bath we're getting our clothes clean because we have the hope of seeing him and so holiness is something we want to have because Jesus is coming are you ready for his coming do you know him as your personal savior if you were to die right now and face the God of heaven would you know that your sins have been forgiven would you know that your life's been changed would you know that you're saved if you wouldn't today's your day you can be saved and if you're a Christian how can you keep playing with sin when Jesus is coming soon how can you keep getting out and playing in the mud hole when Jesus is coming soon it's a big deal and you're here and you're dealing with issues and you're upset and you're worried and you're saying well Jesus is coming so far what am I going to do he loves you and he hasn't abandoned you and you should get out of your seat in just a minute and come up here and just take all your cares and put them on this altar and say God
[38:21] I don't know how to deal with the junk in my life but I'm trusting you he loves you you're the sons of God there's nothing sweeter nothing greater than who we are because of what he did for us so today you should worship him you should be so excited God loves you he died for you he paid your sin debt he made you a new creature and he stands ready to hear your prayers he stands ready to help you with all the issues you're dealing with you're not alone unless you have rejected Christ but today you can change that you came in here and you've been religious but you've not trusted Christ you've been doing all the good works but you've not trusted Christ you're not sure that you'd go to heaven if you died but he loves you you can be saved he has done everything he has done everything for you to be saved he died for you he paid your sin debt and all you need to do is receive a gift this morning trust Jesus are you sure you're saved you know you're going to go to heaven when you die today's the day to make that decision this message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia for more information log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times location contact information and more audio and video recordings books to personalities or to theAD any matter of.