WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.780 Let's read God's word together. 00:00:02.780 --> 00:00:06.480 This is Haggai chapter 2, verses 20 to 23. 00:00:07.339 --> 00:00:11.500 The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the 24th day of the month. 00:00:12.060 --> 00:00:14.700 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, 00:00:15.220 --> 00:00:19.059 I'm about to shake the heavens and the earth and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. 00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:23.760 I'm about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:26.160 and overthrow the chariots and their riders. 00:00:26.660 --> 00:00:28.699 And the horses and the riders shall go down, 00:00:28.699 --> 00:00:30.619 and everyone by the sword of his brother. 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:33.179 On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, 00:00:33.579 --> 00:00:39.460 I will take you, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord. 00:00:39.859 --> 00:00:44.259 I will make you like a signet ring, for I've chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts. 00:00:45.159 --> 00:00:48.840 And then in Matthew chapter 1, verses 1 to 17, the genealogy of Jesus. 00:00:49.620 --> 00:00:53.799 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 00:00:54.519 --> 00:00:57.980 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, 00:00:57.979 --> 00:01:00.640 and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 00:01:01.179 --> 00:01:04.739 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:08.859 and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 00:01:09.259 --> 00:01:13.219 and Ram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nashon, 00:01:13.719 --> 00:01:18.199 and Nashon the father of Sammon, and Sammon the father of Boaz by Rahab, 00:01:18.699 --> 00:01:20.819 and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, 00:01:20.819 --> 00:01:25.899 and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. 00:01:26.559 --> 00:01:29.919 And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 00:01:30.500 --> 00:01:34.579 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, 00:01:35.139 --> 00:01:38.419 and Abijah the father of Asaph, 00:01:39.419 --> 00:01:41.519 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, 00:01:41.859 --> 00:01:43.819 and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, 00:01:43.819 --> 00:01:46.279 and Joram the father of Uzziah, 00:01:46.759 --> 00:01:48.659 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, 00:01:49.179 --> 00:01:51.379 and Jotham the father of Ahaz, 00:01:51.799 --> 00:01:53.919 and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 00:01:54.479 --> 00:01:56.239 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, 00:01:56.699 --> 00:01:58.399 and Manasseh the father of Amos, 00:01:58.839 --> 00:02:00.759 and Amos the father of Josiah, 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:03.979 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah, 00:02:04.500 --> 00:02:07.739 and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 00:02:07.899 --> 00:02:10.439 And after the deportation to Babylon, 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:12.979 Jeconiah was the father of Sheolteal, 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:15.439 and Sheolteal the father of Zerubbabel, 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:18.519 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:21.319 and Abiud the father of Eliakim, 00:02:21.799 --> 00:02:23.419 and Eliakim the father of Azor, 00:02:23.959 --> 00:02:25.639 and Azor the father of Zadok, 00:02:26.060 --> 00:02:27.919 and Zadok the father of Achim, 00:02:28.439 --> 00:02:30.340 and Achim the father of Eliud, 00:02:30.780 --> 00:02:32.539 and Eliud the father of Eliasir, 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:35.300 and Eliasir the father of Matthan, 00:02:35.300 --> 00:02:37.479 and Matthan the father of Jacob. 00:02:37.740 --> 00:02:44.420 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 00:02:44.860 --> 00:02:50.560 So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations, and from David to the deportation 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:58.120 to Babylon, 14 generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ, 14 generations. 00:02:58.939 --> 00:03:05.820 Well, we turn this evening to the final portion of the book of the prophet Haggai, 00:03:05.819 --> 00:03:17.019 chapter 2, verses 20 to 23. Many years ago now, a friend, colleague, had a somewhat disconcerting 00:03:17.019 --> 00:03:23.500 experience after preaching in a particular church. After the service, he was confronted by a man 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:33.639 who demanded to know who had told him about what was happening in his life. A friend was somewhat 00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:39.419 taken aback by this. He explained that he didn't know what the man was talking about. And as their 00:03:39.419 --> 00:03:46.739 dialogue continued, it became clear that the sermon had spoken so directly into this man's personal 00:03:46.739 --> 00:03:56.419 situation that he was convinced that my friend had received inside information and had been preaching 00:03:56.419 --> 00:04:04.899 only to him. Now, of course, sometimes in preaching, it can be a temptation for a minister to compose a 00:04:04.899 --> 00:04:13.119 sermon with a particular individual, maybe a particular individual in mind. A sermon is constructed 00:04:13.119 --> 00:04:22.759 with one person in the crosshairs, as it were. That is never, this is the voice of experience here, 00:04:22.759 --> 00:04:29.060 never really a good idea. Because if a preacher decides to do that, there's one thing that is 00:04:29.060 --> 00:04:35.839 almost guaranteed. That particular individual will not be present at that particular service. 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:43.000 And here in the final words of this short book, you'll notice that Haggai's closing message has a very 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:51.560 particular focus. Unlike the previous messages addressed really to both leaders and the people, 00:04:52.079 --> 00:05:02.680 this address is directed towards one particular individual, this man, Zerubbabel. Now, Zerubbabel, 00:05:02.839 --> 00:05:10.819 his name means something like child of offspring of Babylon. And he's been mentioned numerous times 00:05:10.819 --> 00:05:19.060 in the book already, chapter 1, verse 1, and verse 12, chapter 2, verse 2, and 4. And he is the governor 00:05:19.060 --> 00:05:26.399 of Judah. It's likely that he was someone born in Babylon while the Jews were in captivity there. 00:05:26.779 --> 00:05:33.000 And when the Jews returned, Zerubbabel came home, and he was appointed governor under the rule of the 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:42.980 Persians. His was the pivotal leadership role in the life of the community. And as we've already seen, 00:05:43.399 --> 00:05:50.600 things had not gone too well for the people since their return. Indeed, such was their faithlessness. 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:58.639 There was a real question about their future. Haggai's previous sermon preached earlier this same day 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:07.399 had ended, however, on a resounding note of hope, as God had pledged Himself to bless His people from 00:06:07.399 --> 00:06:17.579 that day forward. Things may have been bleak, but God was going to turn things around. He was going to 00:06:17.579 --> 00:06:26.079 pour out His blessing. And so, on the afternoon, we know the 18th of December, 520 B.C., yet another 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:34.639 message is preached by the prophet Haggai, his fourth final recorded sermon. The Word of the Lord came a 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:43.659 second time to Haggai on the 24th day of the month. And God determines to speak to this individual, 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:52.339 Zerubbabel, and to encourage him in the task of leading the people of God. He wants to, God wants to 00:06:52.339 --> 00:07:01.399 underscore this great truth that despite the way sometimes things appear, there is a future and a 00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:08.719 hope for God's people. And that may be something that we ourselves need to hear again and again and be 00:07:08.719 --> 00:07:19.979 reminded of. Certainly in our Western European world, the church is no longer an institution of power 00:07:19.980 --> 00:07:29.860 and prestige as it once was. The Christian consensus that has existed for so many years appears to be 00:07:29.860 --> 00:07:39.060 disappearing. And in its wake, there are these huge social and ethical problems. The ideological foundations 00:07:39.060 --> 00:07:46.600 of Western civilization are crumbling. In its place, a new kind of society is emerging, 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:53.460 one that is often hostile to biblical faith and values. And for those of my generation and those 00:07:53.460 --> 00:08:00.660 who are older, we've witnessed the decline of Christian influence in our land. There is today a 00:08:00.660 --> 00:08:06.200 much more acute sense of the church's weakness, vulnerability, than there was perhaps even a 00:08:06.200 --> 00:08:13.939 generation ago. The kind of questions that some are asking today are, can the church survive? Does it have 00:08:13.939 --> 00:08:18.879 a future? And those were the kind of questions that people were asking in Haggai's day. 00:08:20.600 --> 00:08:28.300 But notice this, that the burden of Haggai's final message here is not one of exhortation and command. 00:08:28.899 --> 00:08:34.679 Rather, it is a sermon, really, that is full of the promises of God. Here is the Lord telling 00:08:34.679 --> 00:08:42.259 Zerubbabel of those things that He will accomplish. The Lord is not telling Zerubbabel about what the 00:08:42.259 --> 00:08:49.740 governor and the people must do for Him. He's telling Zerubbabel what He will do. In these few verses, 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:58.639 God says to Zerubbabel, not you will, but I will. In other words, this final sermon is all about God. 00:08:58.939 --> 00:09:05.819 It's all about what He is going to do. Here is God telling Zerubbabel about Himself and His great purposes 00:09:05.820 --> 00:09:16.300 for His people. And it's a message, I think, that like Zerubbabel of old, we would do well to hear and 00:09:16.300 --> 00:09:21.879 heed. And I want to highlight just three things that emerge from the text, three things about the God we 00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:29.700 worship and serve that are underscored, I think, in these verses. And the first thing that we dare not 00:09:29.700 --> 00:09:35.920 forget about the living God is this, that He is a God of sovereign power. And we have that in verses 00:09:35.920 --> 00:09:43.400 21 and 22. Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I'm about to shake the heavens and the earth, 00:09:43.700 --> 00:09:49.660 to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I'm about to destroy the strength of kingdoms of the nations, 00:09:50.020 --> 00:09:55.240 overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the horses and their riders shall go down, 00:09:55.240 --> 00:10:02.120 everyone by the sword of His brother. And so, the language that Haggai uses here 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:11.220 employs, reverberates with the sounds and the experience of God's redeeming power. 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:18.740 His words echo that found in different parts of the Old Testament. In the days of Moses, for example, 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:25.200 we know that God stretched forth His mighty hand, delivered His people from their Egyptian oppressors 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:32.860 a dramatic display of power and authority over the idols and the false gods of Egypt. He defeated 00:10:32.860 --> 00:10:41.440 Pharaoh. He brought His people out. And in Exodus 15, we're told of how Moses and the Israelites sang, 00:10:41.680 --> 00:10:49.060 I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted. The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. 00:10:49.059 --> 00:11:10.379 That's a picture of God casting down His enemies. And that same language of being overthrown is used in 00:11:10.379 --> 00:11:16.399 different parts of Scripture. We find it in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, for example. 00:11:17.159 --> 00:11:23.600 Deuteronomy 29, 23, the whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur, nothing planted, 00:11:23.919 --> 00:11:29.439 nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, 00:11:29.620 --> 00:11:37.379 which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger. Same word. Isaiah prophesies about Babylon, similar terms. 00:11:37.379 --> 00:11:44.159 Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians' pride, will be overthrown by God, 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:50.879 like Sodom and Gomorrah, Isaiah 13, 19. And then the reference here to falling by the sword of His 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:56.659 brothers, taken from Judges chapter 7, verse 22, part of the story of Gideon and the Midianites. 00:11:57.299 --> 00:12:02.360 300 trumpets sounded the Lord, caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:08.620 their swords. So, it's a picture again, you see, of God saving and rescuing His people against all the 00:12:08.620 --> 00:12:15.440 odds. So, here is God reminding Zerubbabel, I will shake the heavens and the earth. This is the language 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:24.700 of power. Our God will shake the heavens and the earth, and the so-called powerful kingdoms of men will 00:12:24.700 --> 00:12:33.860 crumble and fall. Here are words of great encouragement to a small nation, a people of no 00:12:33.860 --> 00:12:41.400 reputation, weak and powerless, dwarfed on every side by the great empires of this world. And God 00:12:41.400 --> 00:12:46.940 comes to them in their weakness and says, look at what I will do. I'm going to shake things up. 00:12:47.700 --> 00:12:54.340 These great superpowers will be overthrown. These earthly kingdoms will fall in ruined pieces. 00:12:54.340 --> 00:13:04.080 Because only the kingdom that God is building will last forever. Hebrews 12, the writer tells his 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:12.480 readers, remember they're receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. It's actually very similar to the 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:19.519 message that was given to Daniel in Babylon, when he was tempted to despair, tremble before the might 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:26.039 and the magnificent of that great empire. And God came to him and spoke of a kingdom that would last 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:31.860 forever. He reminded Daniel that all the great empires of this world were ultimately fragile, 00:13:32.740 --> 00:13:39.879 unstable, containing within them the seeds of their own demise and destruction. And God, in a similar way, 00:13:39.899 --> 00:13:46.139 is doing something like that with Zerubbabel. Yes, it looked as if the mighty Persian empire was in 00:13:46.139 --> 00:13:53.039 control. But no, nothing could be further from the truth. Because the kingdoms and empires of this 00:13:53.039 --> 00:14:00.279 world will inevitably crumble and decay. They are going nowhere. They have no lasting future. They 00:14:00.279 --> 00:14:08.319 rise, and then they fall. Remember Isaiah's words, Isaiah 40, surely the nations are like a drop in the 00:14:08.319 --> 00:14:14.939 bucket. Before him all the nations are as nothing. He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth. 00:14:14.940 --> 00:14:21.520 His people are like grasshoppers. He brings princes to naught, reduces the rulers of this world to 00:14:21.520 --> 00:14:27.500 nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, 00:14:27.680 --> 00:14:33.300 than he blows on them, and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. 00:14:35.620 --> 00:14:42.540 I think that's a message that sometimes we need to hear. Believers, perhaps, in 00:14:42.539 --> 00:14:53.279 countries under the power of Islam need to hear. We need to hear, even in our own Western culture, 00:14:54.980 --> 00:15:01.639 often hostile to biblical faith, where the church appears marginal and fringe. 00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:09.759 In these days of stress, we need to remember that God is able to shake the kingdom, kingdoms and 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:17.279 ideologies, such that we are given to ask, where are they now? Where have they gone? Hitler's acclaimed 00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:24.000 Third Reich, boasted to reign for a thousand years. Didn't last thirteen. We think of communism 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:37.519 in Eastern Europe, seventy years. Kingdoms come and go, and so we need not be afraid, because our lives are 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:45.080 in the hands of a God of sovereign power. He's King of kings. He's Lord of lords. His arm is not short to 00:15:45.080 --> 00:15:52.879 save and save and save. Yes, the grass withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of our God stands 00:15:52.879 --> 00:16:01.500 forever. He's the God of sovereign power who will overthrow the kingdoms of this world. So, that's the 00:16:01.500 --> 00:16:09.680 first thing that I think we're reminded of here. And then secondly, not just the God of sovereign power, 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:16.819 but also the God of steadfast promise. Verse 23, on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, 00:16:17.219 --> 00:16:24.139 I will take you, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a 00:16:24.139 --> 00:16:32.419 signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts. So, this final verse, really, of the book 00:16:32.419 --> 00:16:40.299 is an intensely personal word to Zerubbabel. I will take you, I will make you, I have chosen you. 00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:50.219 What's going on here? Now, notice how he is referred to here as my servant. That's a title 00:16:50.219 --> 00:16:58.299 often used in the Old Testament of King David, and that's significant, because Zerubbabel is believed 00:16:58.299 --> 00:17:04.460 to have been the grandson of Jehoiakim, the last official king of Judah, who was carted off to 00:17:04.460 --> 00:17:11.000 Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem. And so, the reference here, I think, is to that promise given 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:18.720 to King David 500 years before, where God spoke to David through the prophet Nathan, 2 Samuel 7, 12, 00:17:18.779 --> 00:17:24.940 and 13, when your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring 00:17:24.940 --> 00:17:32.059 after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house 00:17:32.059 --> 00:17:39.600 for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. And we sang some of those words 00:17:39.600 --> 00:17:47.100 from Psalm 89. You have said, I have made a covenant with my chosen one. I have sworn to David, my servant. 00:17:47.360 --> 00:17:52.080 I will establish your offspring forever and build your throne for all generations. 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:59.819 And so, Haggai is reminding Zerubbabel that he has been chosen. I have chosen you. 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:08.319 Similar language to use of Abraham in Joshua 24, 3, I took, I chose your father Abraham from the land 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:14.599 beyond the river. What we're being told here is that God has set His eye upon Zerubbabel and selected 00:18:14.599 --> 00:18:21.899 him to fulfill His covenant purpose. The Lord is going to take him and make him into something very 00:18:21.899 --> 00:18:29.019 special. I will make you like a signet ring, he says. Now, the signet ring, many of you know, was a 00:18:29.019 --> 00:18:35.699 symbol of the king's authority, a great symbol of the king's power and majesty, normally engraved with 00:18:35.699 --> 00:18:43.139 the king's seal. It was used to endorse official documents. And so precious was it, it was worn on the 00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:50.980 king's person at all times, either on a finger or perhaps on a chain around the neck. It was effectively 00:18:50.980 --> 00:18:57.920 the king's signature. It was his authorized means of identification. It was immensely precious and 00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:04.860 valuable. So, what does God mean when He says to Zerubbabel, I will make you like a signet ring? 00:19:05.140 --> 00:19:12.780 What is God promising to His servant? Is He promising to make him great? Well, no, I don't think that is it. 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:17.860 Because one of the strange things, of course, is that we know more of Zerubbabel than the rest of the 00:19:17.860 --> 00:19:25.660 Old Testament Scriptures. And to understand what's going on here, again, we need to go back before the 00:19:25.660 --> 00:19:32.120 exile to words spoken in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah 24, verse 24, 00:19:32.120 --> 00:19:38.280 As surely as I live, declares the Lord, even if you, Jehoiakim, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:45.980 wear a signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off. I will hand you over to those who seek 00:19:45.980 --> 00:19:52.859 your life, those you fear, to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and to the Babylonians. And then a few 00:19:52.859 --> 00:20:00.479 verses later on, the same chapter, verse 30, record this man as childless, a man who will not prosper 00:20:00.479 --> 00:20:06.699 in his own lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper. None will sit on the throne of David 00:20:06.700 --> 00:20:14.559 or rule anymore in Judah. So, in the days of Jeremiah, the covenant lay in tatters, 00:20:15.259 --> 00:20:20.240 in pieces broken and destroyed by the unfaithfulness of the king and the people. 00:20:20.440 --> 00:20:27.059 God cursed Jehoiakim and his line, and the people went off into exile. And to all intents and purposes, 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:33.440 it appeared as if the promise of a Davidic kingdom had absolutely failed. God's promise 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:39.700 had failed. It all come to nothing. The exile appeared to have signaled the end for God's people 00:20:39.700 --> 00:20:47.860 and the end for God's promise. But now you see things have changed. God has restored His people 00:20:47.860 --> 00:20:53.440 to the land of promise. And so, what we see in this verse of Haggai really is a reversal 00:20:53.440 --> 00:21:01.820 of the judgment and the curse of Jeremiah 24. The signet ring that had been torn off was now going to be 00:21:01.819 --> 00:21:09.899 put back on. Through Zerubbabel, God was going to lift that curse and bring blessing to His people and 00:21:09.899 --> 00:21:16.740 indeed to all the nations. He was going to restore His people, raise up His servant to the throne, 00:21:17.259 --> 00:21:25.139 and accomplish His mighty purposes. The Davidic line was going to be restored. The signet ring once again 00:21:25.139 --> 00:21:31.159 would be put back, and the blessings of the covenant would once more be poured out on the Lord's people. 00:21:31.819 --> 00:21:37.819 The great promises of God would come to pass. God says to Zerubbabel, you are going to be my 00:21:37.819 --> 00:21:45.200 signature in history. You're the guarantee that my promises to David will be fulfilled. Because God 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:52.559 doesn't allow His promises to fail. Yes, human history and human life may be littered with broken 00:21:52.559 --> 00:22:03.119 promises. But God is utterly faithful to His promises. Just when it looks like everything is all over for God's 00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:12.799 people, that His promises have failed, we see here God displaying His faithfulness in that He revives and 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:21.740 restores and renews. He is stubbornly, He is defiantly determined to fulfill His promise, come what may. 00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:24.220 Nothing can keep Him from doing that. 00:22:24.220 --> 00:22:37.920 Amid this broken world, He is a rock of security. He is the one who will never abandon His promise. 00:22:39.460 --> 00:22:45.620 And of course, in the New Testament, Jesus expresses the very same thought when He says, 00:22:45.619 --> 00:22:51.399 I will build my church, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 00:22:52.599 --> 00:23:01.099 Nothing can thwart His purposes for His people, not our sins, not our failures, not our enemies, 00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:08.000 not even our foolishness and stupidity. He will build His church and nothing will stop Him. 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:18.759 And despite opposition being organized at the very gates of hell, it cannot drown out the church-creating 00:23:18.759 --> 00:23:24.880 cry of Jesus Christ, who has promised to build His church, come what may. 00:23:26.740 --> 00:23:28.160 J.C. Ryle writes, 00:23:28.980 --> 00:23:35.160 The mystical body of Christ shall never perish or decay. Though often persecuted, afflicted, 00:23:35.160 --> 00:23:41.200 distressed, distressed, and brought low, it shall never come to an end. Visible churches like Ephesus 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:50.320 may come to nothing, but the true church never dies. Like the bush that Moses saw, it may burn, 00:23:51.259 --> 00:24:02.060 but shall not be consumed. No matter what people may do, no matter what the dark powers of this world may 00:24:02.059 --> 00:24:09.399 organize, no matter what schemes are devised against it, nothing can thwart that great vision of Jesus 00:24:09.399 --> 00:24:18.019 Christ to build His church. He is the author of eternal salvation, and He's begun by grace for many of us here 00:24:18.019 --> 00:24:28.379 to write that work of salvation into our lives. And He is Himself the one who will complete every single page. 00:24:28.380 --> 00:24:32.180 Remember Paul's words to the Christians in Philippi, 00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:39.900 He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 00:24:41.360 --> 00:24:43.760 Think of Jesus' words in John 6, 00:24:44.220 --> 00:24:50.720 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:52.160 John 10, 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:58.680 My sheep hear my voice, I know them, they follow me, I give them eternal life, they will never perish. 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:05.079 No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, 00:25:05.500 --> 00:25:10.380 and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:14.420 Here's the one that we can trust 00:25:14.420 --> 00:25:26.420 God in a world where so little can be trusted. The God of sovereign power, the God of steadfast promise. 00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:34.259 And then thirdly and finally and quickly as time disappears, the God of saving purpose. 00:25:34.259 --> 00:25:43.180 We encounter Zerubbabel's name in the Scriptures, just a few pages on from this in our Bibles, 00:25:43.259 --> 00:25:48.480 not of course in the Old Testament, but in that opening chapter of the New Testament that Chris 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:53.240 read for us, the beginning of Matthew's gospel, in the genealogy of Jesus. 00:25:54.379 --> 00:25:56.920 After the exile, Matthew 1 verse 12, 00:25:56.920 --> 00:26:03.580 After the exile to Babylon, Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 00:26:04.080 --> 00:26:06.320 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. 00:26:08.220 --> 00:26:15.060 And in that chapter, Matthew is announcing good news for the world. He's writing a gospel that 00:26:15.060 --> 00:26:20.960 centers on the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, the son of David and the son of Abraham. 00:26:20.960 --> 00:26:27.680 And he's telling us how the chosen one of God, the great servant of the Lord, the promised Savior, 00:26:27.960 --> 00:26:35.700 how he has come into this world to save, to rescue his people from their sins. And he has done so, 00:26:35.759 --> 00:26:42.720 you'll notice, in the line of Zerubbabel. Here is Jesus the Messiah coming to fulfill all the promises 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:49.720 of God and to sit upon the throne of David and to establish his eternal kingdom. And therefore, 00:26:49.720 --> 00:26:56.880 this man Zerubbabel is a key link in that great genealogical chain that will eventually lead to the 00:26:56.880 --> 00:27:03.480 coming of the promised Messiah and King. Here, way back in the days of Haggai the prophet, 00:27:04.400 --> 00:27:11.720 God is working out his saving purpose for the world, preparing the way of the Lord. Zerubbabel is a 00:27:11.720 --> 00:27:20.740 messianic figure pointing us to Jesus Christ. Because Jesus, of course, is the chosen one of God. He is 00:27:20.740 --> 00:27:29.579 great David's greater son. He is the true servant of the Lord. He is the Lord's signet ring and precious in his sight. 00:27:29.579 --> 00:27:39.679 But of course, for those great purposes of God to be accomplished, this precious servant of God 00:27:39.679 --> 00:27:48.720 was called to suffering and humiliation. And it's in Jesus that the curse of the fall 00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:59.579 is utterly reversed. And it's only through him that covenant breakers like us, exiled in the far country 00:27:59.579 --> 00:28:06.259 of sin and disobedience, can be brought back into a relationship with the living God. 00:28:06.259 --> 00:28:20.539 Because Jesus was the Lord's Son of God. He was the precious Son of God, and yet forsaken on the cross, 00:28:21.460 --> 00:28:29.480 cursed that we might be blessed, rejected that we might be accepted, enduring wrath that we might enjoy 00:28:29.480 --> 00:28:39.819 love and the very favor of God. And yet Jesus' cursing and death were no defeat, because he was raised up 00:28:39.819 --> 00:28:52.279 from the dead in conquering power. His victory proclaimed now among the nations. A day hastening on when we 00:28:52.279 --> 00:28:58.640 will see this Jesus lifted up, all of human history moving towards this great end. 00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:07.400 Towards the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and towards that new heavens and earth 00:29:07.400 --> 00:29:16.640 in which righteousness shall dwell. Christ will be exalted to the highest place. He has given the name 00:29:16.640 --> 00:29:25.120 above every other name. His enemies a footstool before His throne, and His kingdom will come one day in 00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:35.279 all its fullness and power and glory. Many years ago, when I was a student, that is many years ago, 00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:44.000 in the early 1980s, I was in Glasgow, and there was a lot of renovation work being done at that time 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:52.259 in many of the kind of Victorian tenement blocks in the city. And near to where I lived, there was a block 00:29:52.259 --> 00:30:01.079 to pass it almost every day. It was obscured. It was covered in scaffolding. And it seemed to be covered 00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:09.900 in the scaffolding for such a long time. The scaffolding almost appeared to be a permanent figure 00:30:09.900 --> 00:30:18.440 on the city landscape. Until eventually one day, the scaffolding was dismantled and taken down. 00:30:19.540 --> 00:30:26.820 And behind was revealed these gloriously renewed, renovated sandstone buildings. 00:30:28.740 --> 00:30:35.180 Friends, one day the entire scaffolding of human history will be taken down and be dismantled. 00:30:35.180 --> 00:30:43.940 And when that happens, what will be revealed is the glory of a new creation in which the kingdoms of 00:30:43.940 --> 00:30:53.299 this world will have become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. And here is our bright hope for 00:30:53.299 --> 00:31:03.220 tomorrow. It's not to be found in us, in our works. It's to be found only in the living God, 00:31:03.220 --> 00:31:10.620 whose kingdom will outlast the years. The God of sovereign power, the God of steadfast promise, 00:31:11.680 --> 00:31:21.240 the God of saving purpose. At the close of 1 Thessalonians, Paul pronounces this benediction. 00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:30.819 Chapter 5, verses 23 and 24. May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. 00:31:30.819 --> 00:31:38.039 May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:49.460 In these words, the one who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. 00:31:49.460 --> 00:31:59.420 Stop and think this evening, friends. He will do it. Not I will do it. Not you will do it. Not they will do it. 00:32:00.640 --> 00:32:08.100 He will do it. Do you believe that? Friends, we're called to live in the light of that great reality. 00:32:09.240 --> 00:32:17.019 All the ideologies and kingdoms of this world will one day fall, and above them shall be exalted the one 00:32:17.019 --> 00:32:26.079 whom the Lord calls my servant and my son, and whom by grace we call my Lord and my Savior. 00:32:27.480 --> 00:32:31.720 He will do it. Let's pray. 00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:39.839 God, our Father, in all our weakness and frailty and unbelief, we look away from ourselves. 00:32:39.839 --> 00:32:48.459 To you, the living and eternal God, we look to Jesus Christ, our great Savior and King, and we thank you for Him. 00:32:49.599 --> 00:32:56.199 Lord, help us to rest in Him, to trust in Him, and to live in Him. 00:32:57.480 --> 00:33:05.459 Help us to cast away and cast aside those feelings that we can do it. 00:33:05.460 --> 00:33:08.660 Lord, we have the energy, we have the resources. 00:33:09.920 --> 00:33:13.900 Lord, help us to turn to you, and to know in our hearts, 00:33:15.340 --> 00:33:17.059 you will do it. 00:33:18.039 --> 00:33:21.840 Lord, we bow the knee before the one who is King of kings and Lord of lords, 00:33:22.920 --> 00:33:24.740 our great Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:33:25.400 --> 00:33:27.660 And pray these things in His name. Amen. 00:33:27.660 --> 00:33:27.819 Amen.