WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.919 Father, we give you thanks and praise that you'd like to hear the prayers of your children. 00:00:04.759 --> 00:00:10.519 And Father, we ask that the Holy Spirit would fall with gentle but deep power upon us this morning 00:00:10.519 --> 00:00:12.620 as we listen to your word. 00:00:13.380 --> 00:00:16.580 We ask, Lord, that you would bring your word deep into our heart. 00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:20.900 And Father, you know how many of us struggle with whether there's any meaning in life 00:00:20.900 --> 00:00:22.039 or whether there's any hope. 00:00:22.660 --> 00:00:26.560 And we ask, Father, we give you permission to have your word come by the Holy Spirit 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:31.479 so that we might understand that meaning and hope that you desire your children to have 00:00:31.479 --> 00:00:33.920 and to live out of and grow into. 00:00:34.659 --> 00:00:38.179 And all these things we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:39.039 Amen. 00:00:39.640 --> 00:00:40.579 Please be seated. 00:00:42.259 --> 00:00:43.060 Excuse me. 00:00:43.659 --> 00:00:49.019 Just as we're getting started, I had my second dose of the vaccine yesterday morning. 00:00:49.960 --> 00:00:52.640 And so right now, this is working right? 00:00:52.780 --> 00:00:52.879 Yeah. 00:00:52.880 --> 00:01:01.480 And so I was fine yesterday, but I woke up a bit achy and a little bit with less energy 00:01:01.480 --> 00:01:02.740 than I would normally have. 00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:08.540 And it feels a little bit as if there's a cloud between my ears and between my eyes and the 00:01:08.540 --> 00:01:09.219 back of my head. 00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:14.920 So anyway, I just let you know that that's just what's going on inside of me. 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:15.439 But you know what? 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:16.659 I'm not here to talk about me. 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:18.040 Actually. 00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:19.140 Yeah. 00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:19.379 Anyway. 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:19.680 Sorry. 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:20.740 Let's stick to the topic. 00:01:20.739 --> 00:01:25.119 Look, if you, I don't know how many of you are listening very carefully. 00:01:25.319 --> 00:01:26.239 There's no test. 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:31.659 When Amy read the first part of the, read the text that I'm going to preach on, Haggai 00:01:31.659 --> 00:01:34.319 chapter 2, verses 20 to 23. 00:01:35.259 --> 00:01:41.119 But my guess is that unless one of you is a rare person who Haggai is like your favorite 00:01:41.119 --> 00:01:41.959 book in the Bible. 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:43.719 You read it all the time. 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:45.119 You've memorized it. 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:51.180 If you're like most people, it sounds a little bit like yada, yada, yada, yada, yada, yada, 00:01:51.180 --> 00:01:51.560 yada. 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:54.600 Because it's all these weird things. 00:01:54.800 --> 00:01:58.820 It doesn't seem to have anything easy to grasp onto. 00:01:59.540 --> 00:02:03.520 And it doesn't seem to have anything that sort of, it's hard to see how a text like this 00:02:03.520 --> 00:02:07.000 could even have a beginning of any meaning to any of us in our lives. 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:11.960 And so for Christians who are so well trained, you're not allowed to say that in public. 00:02:12.099 --> 00:02:13.800 But inside you sort of do. 00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:17.520 And that's one of the reasons why many Christians find reading the Bible boring. 00:02:18.099 --> 00:02:22.159 Or if they do read the Bible, they read the more interesting bits over and over again and 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:26.139 leave books of Haggai into the wasteland that you never read. 00:02:27.020 --> 00:02:33.840 And so if we were honest, what we would say is that it seems as if it's a bug that should 00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:41.520 be fixed, that it's too bad that God couldn't go back in time and fix this bug so that his 00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:47.120 word was easier to understand and easier to understand how it applied to your life. 00:02:48.199 --> 00:02:49.520 Because it seems to be a bug. 00:02:50.140 --> 00:02:53.620 But I guess one of the things, and I hope maybe this will help you with reading the Bible, 00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:55.780 it's actually not a bug. 00:02:55.780 --> 00:03:04.680 It's a design feature that God, in fact, intentionally put passages like this in the Bible. 00:03:04.819 --> 00:03:06.759 And I'll explain why it's a design feature. 00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:12.500 On one hand, especially for the New Testament, but even not just the New Testament, if you 00:03:12.500 --> 00:03:19.460 were to read big bits of Isaiah or bits in Genesis, I've known people who've just read 00:03:19.460 --> 00:03:23.620 the New Testament by themselves with very little contact with Christians who become Christians 00:03:23.620 --> 00:03:24.920 just from reading the New Testament. 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:29.860 So on one hand, there is enough that you can understand from the Bible that it can change 00:03:29.860 --> 00:03:32.759 your life in an eternal sense. 00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:39.700 But on the other hand, sometimes you'll hear arguments about which came first. 00:03:39.780 --> 00:03:44.360 Did the church create the Bible or did the Bible create the church? 00:03:45.020 --> 00:03:50.879 And more Anglo-Catholic types and Catholic types, and skeptics, by the way, and people who 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:54.659 don't believe, you know, challenge the Christian faith, they'll just say, well, are these political 00:03:54.659 --> 00:03:58.000 decisions made by the church which created the Bible? 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:03.019 And other people, more likely Protestant types like myself, will try to say, no, no, the Bible 00:04:03.019 --> 00:04:04.359 created the church. 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:09.139 And then somebody will pause and say, well, it's the classic chicken and the egg problem. 00:04:09.519 --> 00:04:13.659 And it is a bit of a chicken and the egg problem, but there's a very Christian solution to the 00:04:13.659 --> 00:04:14.680 chicken and the egg problem. 00:04:15.019 --> 00:04:19.360 And that is that it's not that the chicken comes first and then the egg, or that the egg comes 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:22.439 first and then the chicken, but that God created both the chicken and the egg. 00:04:23.139 --> 00:04:24.199 He created both. 00:04:25.300 --> 00:04:31.280 And so it is with this particular, with the Bible, is that God created a Bible, his word 00:04:31.280 --> 00:04:34.100 written, and he also created his people, his church. 00:04:34.740 --> 00:04:40.060 And God, just as the Father did not intend for you and I to walk in the Christian faith 00:04:40.060 --> 00:04:43.020 alone, like we become a Christian one by one. 00:04:43.100 --> 00:04:44.120 We're not born a Christian. 00:04:44.120 --> 00:04:49.680 You need to make a decision or recognize a decision that you want to belong to Jesus, 00:04:49.860 --> 00:04:51.720 that you want to trust him as your Savior and Lord. 00:04:51.840 --> 00:04:53.420 And you only do that individually. 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:54.519 Your parents can't do it. 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:55.780 Your grandparents can't do it. 00:04:56.040 --> 00:04:57.139 Your culture can't do it. 00:04:57.139 --> 00:04:59.340 It has to be an individual choice from the heart. 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:02.879 But at the same time, God didn't design us to live by ourselves. 00:05:03.620 --> 00:05:07.680 He didn't design us to walk with Jesus by ourselves, but to walk with others. 00:05:08.500 --> 00:05:12.120 And so it is, when you come to texts like this, this is part of the reason why Christians 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:13.560 should come to church on a Sunday. 00:05:13.660 --> 00:05:18.160 It's why they should maybe have small groups or mentoring relationships or something like 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:19.840 that, because we need help to read the Bible. 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:25.840 And it's both that, it's not as if you come here because I have had God zap into me this 00:05:25.840 --> 00:05:29.060 perfect knowledge about how to interpret the Bible. 00:05:29.180 --> 00:05:30.379 No, it's not like that at all. 00:05:30.379 --> 00:05:34.060 You see, part of what happens in a church is that I will preach, of course, and try to 00:05:34.060 --> 00:05:34.699 explain the Bible. 00:05:34.860 --> 00:05:38.180 And many times people will say, well, I don't know if that George is correct, or why didn't 00:05:38.180 --> 00:05:38.939 you talk about this? 00:05:39.019 --> 00:05:39.879 Or, you know, the pushback. 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:41.120 And that's partially how I learn. 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:47.160 But as well, I need to be part of, in a sense, the larger church if I'm going to understand 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:47.620 the Bible. 00:05:47.819 --> 00:05:50.560 So when I read this text, I'll be completely honest. 00:05:50.620 --> 00:05:53.879 Other than one thing in it, which I sort of knew, and a couple of other things that I 00:05:53.879 --> 00:05:59.860 guessed, I had to depend upon reading people, in a sense, in the broader church, the wider 00:05:59.860 --> 00:06:05.480 church, to read some of their writings, including even people who are dead, to have a better 00:06:05.480 --> 00:06:06.240 understanding. 00:06:06.379 --> 00:06:08.879 In fact, actually, one of the people that I did read actually is dead. 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:11.100 He died about seven or eight years ago. 00:06:11.819 --> 00:06:14.079 And so I have to read these types of things. 00:06:14.180 --> 00:06:15.719 And it's not just like a local thing. 00:06:16.259 --> 00:06:23.600 I was sharing at the 915 service that my favorite commentary on 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus is 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:25.199 written by a Kenyan man. 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:32.399 And it was reading a commentary by a fellow in Kenya that really helped me to see the 1 00:06:32.399 --> 00:06:37.599 and 2 Timothy and Titus in brand new ways, because he came at it in ways that I had just 00:06:37.599 --> 00:06:38.480 never seen before. 00:06:38.599 --> 00:06:40.439 And it's been so helpful to me. 00:06:40.939 --> 00:06:44.219 And so it's actually one of the first books I'll look at if I was to teach on something 00:06:44.219 --> 00:06:45.939 from 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. 00:06:45.939 --> 00:06:49.719 So I guess what I'm saying is this, and I'm going to have a couple more things to say 00:06:49.719 --> 00:06:50.719 about it as we go along. 00:06:51.160 --> 00:06:55.360 The fact that this is hard should lead us to say, Lord, that's really hard. 00:06:56.779 --> 00:07:01.199 I have no idea what on earth that means or what difference that's supposed to mean to 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:01.779 my life. 00:07:02.459 --> 00:07:05.040 But ask, Father, that you use it in my life in some way. 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:09.740 And what I suggest for Christians is you should try to read the Bible every day, and you should 00:07:09.740 --> 00:07:12.060 think of Bible reading like brushing your teeth. 00:07:12.060 --> 00:07:17.000 Now, maybe I'm the only one in the room, but I have never had a mystical experience brushing 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:17.560 my teeth. 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:22.939 It would be just like God to give me one this evening, just because, you know. 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:24.759 But I don't have mystical... 00:07:24.759 --> 00:07:28.680 You know, but you brush your teeth because you should brush your teeth because it's good 00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:29.220 for you, right? 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:31.579 And it's the same way that you read the Bible. 00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:34.840 And you read the Bible from the beginning to the end, and there's different Bible reading 00:07:34.840 --> 00:07:37.939 patterns, plans, and a lot of times you don't understand it. 00:07:37.980 --> 00:07:41.379 But there's still other things going on in his word that it might mean that a year later 00:07:41.379 --> 00:07:45.759 or five years later you get this big insight, or that later on in the afternoon, or sometimes 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:49.079 right while you're reading it, it'll just confront you in a very powerful way. 00:07:49.899 --> 00:07:56.439 But the fact that parts of the Bible are hard to understand is a design feature, not a bug 00:07:56.439 --> 00:07:58.439 that we wish that God would fix. 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:00.040 So let's walk towards it. 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:01.060 We're looking at this text. 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:04.339 One of the things, if you're a guest here, is that we preach through books of the Bible. 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:08.719 We don't sort of just cherry-pick little bits that we like and sort of say, oh, don't 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:11.840 read that part of the Bible because that's sort of naughty or hard or something. 00:08:11.940 --> 00:08:15.680 We read through books of the Bible, in a sense, that's because they were written as books. 00:08:15.760 --> 00:08:17.500 So let's turn to Haggai chapter 2. 00:08:18.380 --> 00:08:20.400 You can find it on your phones as well, I suppose. 00:08:20.500 --> 00:08:24.200 Just don't check your Twitter feed or your Facebook posts or something like that if you're 00:08:24.200 --> 00:08:24.660 on the phone. 00:08:25.500 --> 00:08:29.380 Haggai chapter 2, verses 20 to 23, just four verses. 00:08:29.520 --> 00:08:30.380 And here's how it goes. 00:08:30.980 --> 00:08:33.720 And I am in big trouble because I never started my stopwatch. 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:37.000 So I'll just say I've only been preaching for two minutes. 00:08:37.259 --> 00:08:37.720 No, I'm just... 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:42.440 Anyway, so here's how it goes. 00:08:43.340 --> 00:08:47.779 The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the 24th day of the month. 00:08:48.180 --> 00:08:49.300 And we'll just sort of pause here. 00:08:49.399 --> 00:08:52.920 When there's very few verses, we can just sort of pause to have a look at it. 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:56.440 So if you've missed any of the other sermons, here's what's going on. 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:58.580 This is taking place in the year 520 BC. 00:08:59.300 --> 00:09:01.259 And God has done like a miracle. 00:09:01.259 --> 00:09:09.139 The Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem about 60 some odd years before this, captured the 00:09:09.139 --> 00:09:12.819 leaders of Israel and most of the people and carried them away into Babylon. 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:15.259 And then... 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:19.439 But there'd been prophets who prophesied that they would return and that the temple would 00:09:19.439 --> 00:09:19.939 be rebuilt. 00:09:20.500 --> 00:09:22.319 And then the Babylonian Empire fell. 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:26.639 And Persia, which we now call Iran, defeated the Babylonian Empire. 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:30.580 And this is part of the big miracle is that it would be almost as if... 00:09:30.580 --> 00:09:36.620 It's just as big a miracle as if the Ayatollah of Iran said that he wanted to rebuild Jerusalem 00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:37.780 and have a temple built. 00:09:38.340 --> 00:09:39.500 And we'd all go, what? 00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:40.960 Like, what? 00:09:41.400 --> 00:09:44.400 Be front page news for weeks, for months. 00:09:44.680 --> 00:09:45.520 And there'd probably be... 00:09:45.520 --> 00:09:46.900 Anyway, it's just like it's huge, right? 00:09:47.259 --> 00:09:51.460 So anyway, so the Persians take over and they allow... 00:09:51.460 --> 00:09:53.980 In fact, they encourage some Jewish people to return. 00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:56.060 They come, they start to rebuild the temple. 00:09:56.220 --> 00:09:58.280 There's local pushback, as you can well imagine. 00:09:59.220 --> 00:10:03.180 And so they end up spending their time working on building their own little kingdoms. 00:10:03.800 --> 00:10:08.220 And then Haggai comes about four months prior to this and he delivers a word that comes from 00:10:08.220 --> 00:10:08.560 God. 00:10:09.180 --> 00:10:11.620 And the word from God is you've got to start building the temple. 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:13.240 And we've talked about that before. 00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:15.980 That's about four months prior to this. 00:10:17.240 --> 00:10:23.659 And the heart of it is that God wants to dwell amongst them and shower his love upon them 00:10:23.659 --> 00:10:27.279 and have them be his people and have him as their person. 00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:28.799 That's what God desires to do. 00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:33.720 And it touches their heart and they start to rebuild the temple. 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:38.299 And then two months later, the first part of chapter two, we have another word that comes 00:10:38.299 --> 00:10:41.579 from Lord delivered by Haggai. 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:46.519 And then now we have the part just before this and this, about two months after that 00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:51.419 second word or four months after the first, we now have on the same day two different words 00:10:51.419 --> 00:10:51.919 that come in. 00:10:51.959 --> 00:10:56.939 We looked at the other word yesterday and now we look at this final word that comes on 00:10:56.939 --> 00:11:00.139 in mid-December, 520. 00:11:00.979 --> 00:11:05.439 And here in this particular case, the word is just to this man by the name of Zerubbabel. 00:11:05.439 --> 00:11:06.459 Look at verse 21. 00:11:08.299 --> 00:11:19.099 Actually, just before we read it, what's going on here in the text is, and this is, by the 00:11:19.099 --> 00:11:22.740 way, one of the problems when we want like simple, clear, digestible stuff. 00:11:23.599 --> 00:11:31.859 Usually simple, clear, digestible stuff has no nuance, no depth, nothing intriguing. 00:11:31.860 --> 00:11:40.899 And what's going on here is that in a sense, three riddles are being posed. 00:11:41.940 --> 00:11:46.500 And these three riddles, I'm going to try to show them to you what they are. 00:11:47.379 --> 00:11:50.399 These aren't just Jewish riddles or Christian riddles. 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:58.179 They actually touch on riddles of human existence that, especially when you come to the third 00:11:58.179 --> 00:12:03.600 one, but especially the first and the third one, you'll see that in fact, every religion, 00:12:04.059 --> 00:12:08.559 every spirituality, every ideology has to wrestle with these riddles. 00:12:08.699 --> 00:12:09.519 They're real riddles. 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:13.399 They're riddles of the human condition that are just real. 00:12:13.399 --> 00:12:16.019 But the fact is that most of us never think about these riddles. 00:12:16.179 --> 00:12:18.039 We just live unexamined lives. 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:23.399 And so once again, the Bible here, the Lord is inviting you to live an examined life and 00:12:23.399 --> 00:12:24.579 consider these three riddles. 00:12:24.860 --> 00:12:25.879 So let's begin. 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:27.240 Verse 21. 00:12:28.199 --> 00:12:33.220 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I'm about to shake the heavens and the earth. 00:12:33.819 --> 00:12:35.879 Now just sort of pause here. 00:12:36.539 --> 00:12:38.840 Some of you here are nerds. 00:12:39.259 --> 00:12:40.460 You all know who you are. 00:12:40.460 --> 00:12:45.180 Most of you who are nerds are probably more techie type nerds. 00:12:45.180 --> 00:12:48.960 And I love techie nerds because it's so many things that have to be fixed. 00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:54.060 There's also a few grammar nerds in the place, and there's also a few theology nerds. 00:12:54.500 --> 00:12:58.820 And so for those of you who are theology nerds, this is a little nerdy thing. 00:12:59.480 --> 00:13:02.580 Whenever you see in the Old Testament, just about every time in the Old Testament when you 00:13:02.580 --> 00:13:07.860 see shake the heavens and the earth, it's actually technical language for, here's the nerdy 00:13:07.860 --> 00:13:09.180 part, a theophany. 00:13:09.179 --> 00:13:14.919 In other words, it's language that says that God is going to actually show up. 00:13:15.959 --> 00:13:20.500 In a sense, he's going to no longer be invisible, but visible and actually come to the earth. 00:13:21.359 --> 00:13:28.219 And that just as when Moses, God comes down to reveal the law to Moses, it's like there's 00:13:28.219 --> 00:13:31.439 earthquakes and thunders and lightning and the whole earth shakes. 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:36.620 That ends up, in a sense, becoming a type of a picture for the rest of the time of what 00:13:36.620 --> 00:13:40.300 it's going to be like when God, one of the ways to understand God showing up, like actually 00:13:40.300 --> 00:13:41.080 showing up. 00:13:41.560 --> 00:13:44.760 And the heavens and the earth are all shaken. 00:13:46.020 --> 00:13:48.080 And so here's going to be one of the riddles. 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:53.740 The Bible here says that God is going to show up. 00:13:53.960 --> 00:13:59.139 And as we see in a moment, that when he shows up, there will be a completely new earth and 00:13:59.139 --> 00:13:59.820 heaven afterwards. 00:13:59.940 --> 00:14:02.240 We don't see it very much here, but we see it in the rest of the Bible. 00:14:03.180 --> 00:14:07.300 And here's the thing that actually touches every single one of us, actually especially 00:14:07.299 --> 00:14:13.159 for Canadians, because the fact of the matter is, is if you follow science, science tells 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:15.139 you that everything eventually dies. 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:18.159 That's science. 00:14:18.779 --> 00:14:21.059 The second law of thermodynamics wins. 00:14:22.099 --> 00:14:23.099 Everything dies. 00:14:25.959 --> 00:14:31.719 And on the other hand, most secular people and also religious and spiritual people, they 00:14:31.719 --> 00:14:37.279 ignore what science says and in fact are often captivated with different views. 00:14:37.299 --> 00:14:40.899 visions of a perfect future. 00:14:41.939 --> 00:14:48.219 And whether it's developed by a type of human consciousness or by government or by technology 00:14:48.219 --> 00:14:52.779 or by spiritual practices or whatever, that there's going to be some time when there'll 00:14:52.779 --> 00:14:54.859 be a peace and harmony on earth. 00:14:54.939 --> 00:15:00.079 And once again, people who tell that ignore the science bit, pretend it doesn't actually 00:15:00.079 --> 00:15:00.500 happen. 00:15:00.699 --> 00:15:03.039 The science bit means that part is foolish. 00:15:03.179 --> 00:15:04.000 It can't happen. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:10.059 But in fact, there seems to be something hardwired about human beings to have hope and to have 00:15:10.059 --> 00:15:15.480 some type of a sense that what happens down the road matters to how I live today. 00:15:15.639 --> 00:15:17.000 That there's some type of... 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:23.600 Like, you know, basically, if you were to discover that when you leave here, you get a bit of a 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:28.259 pain, you go to the emergency room and the doctor says, I'm really sorry, there's nothing 00:15:28.259 --> 00:15:28.919 left we can do. 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:30.759 You only have 24 hours left to live. 00:15:33.559 --> 00:15:36.639 You better call your family and see if they can get here before you die. 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:40.299 And the threat of death removes. 00:15:41.439 --> 00:15:44.899 Like, how can there be hope and meaning if I die? 00:15:44.899 --> 00:15:48.159 We don't tend to think of it. 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:54.399 So this is actually talking about something very real, a real riddle about how will the 00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:55.939 end come about, so to speak? 00:15:56.019 --> 00:15:57.639 Will it come about as natural processes? 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:03.139 Or will it be an end that's caused by God showing up and bringing all things to a proper 00:16:03.139 --> 00:16:03.480 end? 00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:05.879 But then look at verses 22. 00:16:06.539 --> 00:16:10.199 It starts to get a little bit deeper and it actually takes a bit of a dark turn. 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:17.640 Now, once again, this dark turn is often mocked in the world, but it shouldn't be mocked because 00:16:17.640 --> 00:16:18.200 it's real. 00:16:19.100 --> 00:16:23.460 We all know that there are some places in the earth which are very, very, very evil. 00:16:23.680 --> 00:16:26.379 There are some systems which are very evil. 00:16:26.520 --> 00:16:28.980 There are some governments which are very evil. 00:16:29.140 --> 00:16:34.180 There's some, not just the state power, but the culture and religion is part of it and 00:16:34.180 --> 00:16:35.580 spirituality is part of it. 00:16:35.660 --> 00:16:38.300 And it's just, there's something very, very evil. 00:16:38.299 --> 00:16:42.639 And that has to be accounted for and it has to be dealt with and understood. 00:16:42.959 --> 00:16:46.599 And that's when it starts to move into this little bit of a darker thing. 00:16:46.899 --> 00:16:47.779 And it goes like this. 00:16:47.819 --> 00:16:48.639 Look at verse 22. 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:51.459 So verse 21, I'm about to shake the heavens and the earth. 00:16:52.019 --> 00:16:53.000 Sentence continues. 00:16:53.559 --> 00:16:57.859 And overthrow or overturn the throne of kingdoms. 00:16:59.179 --> 00:17:04.899 I'm about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations and overthrow the chariots 00:17:04.900 --> 00:17:06.400 and the horses and their riders. 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:12.580 And the horses and their riders shall go down, everyone by the sword of his brother or sister. 00:17:13.860 --> 00:17:16.860 Now there's a couple of things here which are very, very interesting. 00:17:17.019 --> 00:17:21.140 You might notice that there's a, those of you who are grammar geeks, you might notice that 00:17:21.140 --> 00:17:23.920 there's a singular throne but plural kingdoms. 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:30.539 And in fact, some Bible translations try to get around that by having a plural for thrones 00:17:30.539 --> 00:17:33.340 so that it matches kingdoms because it's not really good grammar. 00:17:34.039 --> 00:17:38.039 But actually, if you think about it for a second, and this is a very important thing. 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:40.300 It's one of those things that people make fun of. 00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:44.779 But it's not something that we should make fun of but that we really need to enter into 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:45.420 and think about. 00:17:46.660 --> 00:17:51.220 You see, later on in the New Testament, Jesus reveals that there will be an antichrist. 00:17:51.220 --> 00:17:56.680 And later on, we discover that at some point in time, there is the beast, the whore of Babylon. 00:17:57.660 --> 00:18:04.140 And that in a sense, what you see is that beneath or underneath or above the thrones and the 00:18:04.140 --> 00:18:07.279 kingdoms of the world is a devil, the devil. 00:18:08.039 --> 00:18:13.039 That in fact, there is a singular throne behind the thrones. 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:21.940 Now, the Bible here has some nuance here, if you think about it for a second, but it has 00:18:21.940 --> 00:18:23.779 lots of nuance in the other parts of the Bible. 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:29.399 The Bible is not saying that every single country, you have to understand that the devil 00:18:29.399 --> 00:18:31.899 is actually the one who's running the country. 00:18:32.099 --> 00:18:35.420 There's common grace that God restrains evil. 00:18:35.420 --> 00:18:38.960 And people really do pass better laws than existed before. 00:18:39.100 --> 00:18:41.440 There can be real improvement and change in society. 00:18:41.620 --> 00:18:45.940 And we should pray for people who work on Parliament Hill and people who work in the 00:18:45.940 --> 00:18:51.560 bureaucracies that they will do their job very well, that it will help us to move towards 00:18:51.560 --> 00:18:56.080 just laws rather than unjust laws, wise economic policies rather than foolish ones. 00:18:56.560 --> 00:18:57.820 But let's be honest. 00:18:57.819 --> 00:19:04.700 First, when we look at the world, don't you often look at some governments and systems 00:19:04.700 --> 00:19:06.480 and smell sulfur? 00:19:08.980 --> 00:19:14.559 Now, sulfur is the language, the stink of where the devil is. 00:19:16.579 --> 00:19:19.480 I mean, how could you not look at, just to give the simple example, how could you not look 00:19:19.480 --> 00:19:25.159 at Nazi Germany and not see the overwhelming stench of sulfur? 00:19:25.160 --> 00:19:33.540 How could you look at racism in the southern states and not smell sulfur? 00:19:34.700 --> 00:19:41.460 How could you read about the slave trade and not smell sulfur? 00:19:43.160 --> 00:19:47.259 And there's other things that go on in our society now, both in Canada and outside, because 00:19:47.259 --> 00:19:51.380 it's not a matter of all those bad people who live behind us or all those bad people who 00:19:51.380 --> 00:19:52.320 live in different countries. 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:59.379 But there are times when in Canada you can smell sulfur, that in fact it's not a foolish 00:19:59.379 --> 00:20:05.460 idea to believe that there might be something demonic and devilish behind the throne. 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:10.859 And so what this text is saying is, look at this, is that the God is going to show up. 00:20:11.179 --> 00:20:12.879 There'll be a time when God will show up. 00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:15.539 Verse 21, he's going to shake the heavens and the earth. 00:20:15.899 --> 00:20:17.119 That's his language that he's going to show. 00:20:17.179 --> 00:20:19.079 And he can't show up and not shake things. 00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:23.199 It's not as if when God shows up, we all just reach out his hand and say, oh, God, glad 00:20:23.199 --> 00:20:23.699 to have you. 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:24.819 Here's an extra seat at the table. 00:20:24.899 --> 00:20:25.500 Let's have a beer. 00:20:25.639 --> 00:20:26.220 No, no. 00:20:26.339 --> 00:20:26.720 He comes. 00:20:26.819 --> 00:20:27.579 Everything gets shaken. 00:20:28.460 --> 00:20:32.019 And then, and he's going to come to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. 00:20:32.019 --> 00:20:38.500 That there will be a final dealing with that demonic entity. 00:20:40.839 --> 00:20:47.960 And not just the ultimate demonic entity, but all demonic beings, which harass so many 00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:53.359 people in Canada and to the ends of the earth who wear talismans and do other types of things 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:55.859 to ward off evil spirits and evil eyes. 00:20:55.859 --> 00:21:02.079 And the lesson here is that when God shows up, those are overthrown. 00:21:05.339 --> 00:21:09.159 And then he says, I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations and 00:21:09.159 --> 00:21:11.079 overthrow the chariots and their riders. 00:21:11.219 --> 00:21:16.779 And the horses and the riders shall go down, everyone by the sword of his brother. 00:21:19.699 --> 00:21:21.179 Now, hopefully I'll remember to do it. 00:21:21.199 --> 00:21:22.699 I didn't do it at the 915 service. 00:21:22.779 --> 00:21:23.659 It slipped my mind. 00:21:23.660 --> 00:21:27.160 But what you need to see here, see, one of the things that happens when you do, remember 00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:29.960 I said it's really important just to read the Bible, even if you don't understand things? 00:21:30.600 --> 00:21:35.640 Because what happens when we read the Bible and you read it regularly is the Bible starts 00:21:35.640 --> 00:21:38.160 to put in patterns in your mind. 00:21:39.320 --> 00:21:42.420 You're not conscious of it necessarily, but it's just, it's there. 00:21:42.980 --> 00:21:47.860 And then maybe one day you're reading a particular text and all of a sudden the pattern comes to 00:21:47.860 --> 00:21:51.279 consciousness and you realize all along that there's this pattern. 00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:57.180 And what we see here is this pattern, which is all the way through the Bible, that it's 00:21:57.180 --> 00:22:02.079 not just that God is going to show up and that when he shows up, he just uses his power 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:04.299 to deal with evil. 00:22:04.700 --> 00:22:09.980 But that when he shows up, one of the things that he does is in a sense remove the restraints 00:22:09.980 --> 00:22:20.059 of common grace so that the inherent self-destruction of evil is allowed to happen. 00:22:21.339 --> 00:22:25.860 See, last week, one of the things that we talked about is that sanctity or holiness, being close 00:22:25.860 --> 00:22:27.480 to God, is its own reward. 00:22:27.980 --> 00:22:31.420 But it always brings other blessings or good in its wake. 00:22:31.420 --> 00:22:38.220 And in a sense that the Bible also says is that in many ways, sin or evil is its own punishment. 00:22:38.940 --> 00:22:42.660 But it also brings other woes in its wake. 00:22:44.180 --> 00:22:54.840 And that there's something about the very nature of evil and lies to consume and compete, to 00:22:54.840 --> 00:22:56.580 consume itself and to consume others. 00:22:56.940 --> 00:22:58.460 How did the Second World War start? 00:22:58.460 --> 00:23:02.840 The Second World War started when Stalin and Hitler made a secret agreement in the middle 00:23:02.840 --> 00:23:04.740 of August to divide up Europe. 00:23:05.539 --> 00:23:08.019 And then Nazis began their assault on Poland. 00:23:08.220 --> 00:23:11.259 In about three weeks, I think it was, somebody will correct me whether it was two and a half 00:23:11.259 --> 00:23:16.039 or three weeks later, the Soviet Union moved in to start to take up the parts that they were 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:16.799 going to take up. 00:23:17.600 --> 00:23:21.279 But then, of course, at some particular point in time, Hitler turns on Stalin. 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:26.600 And in some ways, you see in that simple thing a very, very prominent thing of all evil. 00:23:28.460 --> 00:23:34.340 We have all maybe met or, if not met, have read of people who tell lies and then become 00:23:34.340 --> 00:23:39.360 so good at telling lies and so frequent at telling lies that you start to realize that 00:23:39.360 --> 00:23:42.440 they can't actually any longer tell what the truth is. 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:49.539 That the lie becomes so closely part of them that they've lost the ability to understand 00:23:49.539 --> 00:23:50.059 the truth. 00:23:51.100 --> 00:23:58.000 And once lies overtake a person, it ruins economies, it ruins governments, it ruins families, it 00:23:58.000 --> 00:23:58.880 ruins your life. 00:24:00.220 --> 00:24:03.100 That there is something that comes about evil. 00:24:03.180 --> 00:24:04.440 And that's sort of what's seen here. 00:24:04.440 --> 00:24:10.220 That it's not just that God comes and uses his power, but he removes the restraints of 00:24:10.220 --> 00:24:15.400 common grace so that evil turns on itself and brings destruction. 00:24:17.660 --> 00:24:23.360 Now, I'm a child of immigrants. 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:28.860 I was born about 13 months after my parents came to Canada. 00:24:28.859 --> 00:24:37.119 My parents are lower, lower, lower, were lower, lower, lower working class, like just a step 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:39.179 above poor, as low class as you could get. 00:24:39.899 --> 00:24:44.359 They had a grade 8 education and they came to Canada seeking a better life. 00:24:44.959 --> 00:24:47.759 And I was born about 13 months after they came. 00:24:48.740 --> 00:24:55.119 And part of the reason that they chose Canada was because they knew one person in Canada. 00:24:55.119 --> 00:24:58.819 I mean, that's still probably very true for many people who come to this country as immigrants 00:24:58.819 --> 00:24:59.500 or refugees. 00:25:00.299 --> 00:25:05.059 And the funny thing is, is they knew this fellow from their community and who actually later 00:25:05.059 --> 00:25:07.739 on became their brother-in-law, my uncle Joe. 00:25:08.179 --> 00:25:11.479 And he couldn't decide whether he was going to go to Australia or Canada. 00:25:12.379 --> 00:25:16.059 But then about six months, well, a bit more than six months because he had to come, he got 00:25:16.059 --> 00:25:17.599 a job offer in Canada. 00:25:18.419 --> 00:25:21.959 If he'd gotten the job offer in Australia, my parents would have immigrated to Australia. 00:25:22.479 --> 00:25:22.739 Why? 00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:27.660 Because if you're an immigrant, it's really handy if you can get out and you get off the 00:25:27.660 --> 00:25:28.839 boat and you know one person. 00:25:29.960 --> 00:25:31.839 That's a lot better than knowing zero people. 00:25:32.819 --> 00:25:34.299 And that's how I ended up coming to Canada. 00:25:35.220 --> 00:25:39.420 Now, part of all of this, and this is in many ways like I'm a very typical white Canadian, 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:44.579 I can tell you the names of my, I've never met my father's mother and father. 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:47.460 My father's father died when my father was only four. 00:25:47.460 --> 00:25:53.200 And because travel was so expensive back then, my father's mother died before we were able 00:25:53.200 --> 00:25:56.059 to go back to the old country to meet her. 00:25:56.759 --> 00:25:58.779 So I never met, but I could tell you their names. 00:25:59.880 --> 00:26:06.079 But my parent, my mom's mother and father, they eventually immigrated to Canada because 00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:08.059 all five of their children had come to Canada. 00:26:08.140 --> 00:26:12.059 And when the fifth one, their baby, came to Canada, they decided they wanted to be in Canada. 00:26:12.059 --> 00:26:13.559 So they came to Canada. 00:26:14.059 --> 00:26:17.759 And so I knew Gilbert and Victoria very, very well. 00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:20.639 I have lots of memories of both of them. 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:28.200 But I can't tell you Gilbert's parents' names or Victoria's parents' names or Molly's parents' 00:26:28.379 --> 00:26:29.819 names or James' parents' names. 00:26:29.899 --> 00:26:32.720 Those are the four sets in a sense of grandparents. 00:26:33.240 --> 00:26:35.059 I can only go back two generations. 00:26:36.359 --> 00:26:38.539 Now, I think I'm a very typical white Canadian. 00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:41.779 At the earlier service, we had somebody here who was from Africa. 00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:43.960 And I asked him, we can be a bit informed. 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:45.700 I said, how many generations back can you go? 00:26:46.500 --> 00:26:47.460 And he did this. 00:26:48.379 --> 00:26:48.740 Eight. 00:26:49.299 --> 00:26:53.159 He can give you his forebears for eight generations. 00:26:54.539 --> 00:26:57.420 And there's large parts of the world that are very interested in this. 00:26:57.500 --> 00:27:00.740 Now, I mention all of this because, you see, one of the things that the Bible teaches 00:27:00.740 --> 00:27:02.460 is the Messiah is going to be human. 00:27:03.659 --> 00:27:05.819 And humans have forebearers. 00:27:05.819 --> 00:27:15.500 And even though I don't know the names of James and Molly's parents, they do have names. 00:27:15.599 --> 00:27:19.960 And you could go back and back and back and back and back and back and go on because that's 00:27:19.960 --> 00:27:21.319 how human beings work. 00:27:22.439 --> 00:27:27.720 This next verse, if the first thing is talking about God is showing up, the second, this last 00:27:27.720 --> 00:27:32.240 verse is going to give a very puzzling thing that the Messiah is going to come at the end. 00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:37.680 And that the Messiah coming at the end is going to be part of God shaking the heavens and the 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:37.980 earth. 00:27:38.940 --> 00:27:40.339 And so just look at verse 23. 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:45.960 And part of the reason that we don't recognize it is that it uses some technical, once again, 00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:47.779 theological nerdy language. 00:27:47.940 --> 00:27:51.779 So you theological nerds, there's theological nerdy language here. 00:27:52.140 --> 00:27:53.960 So that's the first one is on that day. 00:27:54.180 --> 00:27:58.339 And in the Old Testament, when you see that, it usually is referring to something about the 00:27:58.339 --> 00:28:00.660 God bringing all of the world to an end. 00:28:00.660 --> 00:28:05.480 And then you'll notice in this verse, three solemn declares, declares the Lord of hosts. 00:28:06.300 --> 00:28:09.620 And I will take you, O Zerubbabel, my servant. 00:28:09.840 --> 00:28:11.960 And here we have two more technical words. 00:28:12.040 --> 00:28:13.200 The first one, take you. 00:28:13.840 --> 00:28:17.500 Some of you who have more Presbyterian backgrounds, that's the word for election. 00:28:18.440 --> 00:28:21.779 And so there's this idea of election, that God has chosen him. 00:28:22.100 --> 00:28:25.960 And that, of course, is emphasized by them then saying, my servant. 00:28:26.080 --> 00:28:29.600 If you go back and read the book of Isaiah and other places in the Old Testament, that's 00:28:29.599 --> 00:28:33.279 a name for the Messiah, my servant, declares the Lord. 00:28:33.559 --> 00:28:38.799 And make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts. 00:28:38.839 --> 00:28:43.679 And chosen is once again technical language of choosing the Messiah, the agent by which 00:28:43.679 --> 00:28:46.099 he's going to bring about this remarkable change. 00:28:46.099 --> 00:28:55.759 And so what you see here, which is very, very interesting, is that, well, first of all, 00:28:55.799 --> 00:28:57.480 here's where another one of the patterns comes up. 00:28:59.879 --> 00:29:04.500 It's often the case that we look at a text like Jesus saying he's going to come back soon, 00:29:04.579 --> 00:29:07.779 or Paul saying he's going to come back soon, or Old Testament language about the coming 00:29:07.779 --> 00:29:08.279 soon. 00:29:08.279 --> 00:29:14.420 And then you don't see it happening soon, so you think that it's actually not, that 00:29:14.420 --> 00:29:17.779 we've tried to, they've tried to explain it away after it was a failed prophecy. 00:29:17.920 --> 00:29:19.500 But that's not what's happening at all. 00:29:19.940 --> 00:29:25.519 It's actually something which is very wise and really speaks to the human condition. 00:29:27.019 --> 00:29:31.519 You see, it's part of the human condition to both think and plan for the future and also 00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:32.879 to think and plan for the day. 00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:39.700 And so what you see is if you go back and you read 2 Samuel and you read many of the 00:29:39.700 --> 00:29:44.040 different Psalms and you read other parts of the Old Testament, that what you see is 00:29:44.040 --> 00:29:49.280 you see this regular sense of immediacy and indeterminacy. 00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:53.580 That, in other words, part of it is that it's going to be something that happens today, 00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:56.540 but on the other hand, there's something about it that implies that it's going to happen 00:29:56.540 --> 00:29:57.880 also sometime in the future. 00:29:58.680 --> 00:30:02.860 And so it is for Christians that we, in sense, are encouraged to learn to live. 00:30:02.880 --> 00:30:09.060 As if Jesus will come today, that a Christian who lives as if Jesus will come today is living 00:30:09.060 --> 00:30:09.880 a wise life. 00:30:11.800 --> 00:30:15.760 But the Bible isn't saying that we should always just live as if Jesus is coming today. 00:30:16.360 --> 00:30:20.320 We should also live as if Jesus is going to come in 20, 30, 40, 50 years. 00:30:21.060 --> 00:30:27.740 And just as a wise person is toggling between their retirement and managing their career, 00:30:28.680 --> 00:30:32.560 they plant gardens that they hope will be able to harvest in the future. 00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:37.820 They make investments and they listen to sound investment advisors that you know you're going 00:30:37.820 --> 00:30:40.120 to let the money ride for five years or 10 years. 00:30:40.560 --> 00:30:43.580 And just as you do those wise things for the future, you also deal with the day. 00:30:43.660 --> 00:30:44.920 You live within your budget in the day. 00:30:45.600 --> 00:30:49.340 And so the Bible here is actually showing that the nature of Christian hope and the coming 00:30:49.340 --> 00:30:51.900 of the Messiah, and it sets this pattern before you. 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:52.920 It's not a mistake. 00:30:53.420 --> 00:30:54.880 It's actually a design feature. 00:30:54.880 --> 00:31:00.080 And it prepares you when you hear Jesus say that no man knows the day of the hour, and 00:31:00.080 --> 00:31:03.660 when you hear 2 Peter say that a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like 00:31:03.660 --> 00:31:06.180 a day, that we are called to live as if Jesus will return today. 00:31:07.400 --> 00:31:12.480 But it would be very appropriate if our council, we're doing things to try to get royal seminary 00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:15.160 established so that it will thrive for 20, 30, 40 years. 00:31:15.160 --> 00:31:19.360 And that's part of the biblical pattern of how you live. 00:31:21.180 --> 00:31:22.420 But here's the riddle. 00:31:23.320 --> 00:31:25.180 How does the Messiah connect to God? 00:31:31.580 --> 00:31:33.759 Now, this is more of a riddle for the Jewish people. 00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:38.940 Because, you see, they basically thought that the only way to understand it is that somehow 00:31:38.940 --> 00:31:42.800 God is doing everything, but the Messiah sort of is there, but I guess watching or whatever. 00:31:42.799 --> 00:31:47.519 But the language is more as if there's somehow a joint acting. 00:31:47.639 --> 00:31:50.799 But how can somebody act like with God as if they're equal? 00:31:50.919 --> 00:31:52.119 And there's a bit of a riddle here. 00:31:52.919 --> 00:31:56.919 But that's nothing compared to the biggest riddle, which is what I'm going to close with. 00:31:57.000 --> 00:31:58.460 I hope I'm still in the frame and all that. 00:31:58.539 --> 00:31:59.879 I haven't moved around very much. 00:32:04.579 --> 00:32:11.139 We all know that if God shows up and he brings in a world that's good, that's beautiful, 00:32:11.140 --> 00:32:18.980 that's true, that's loving, that's perfect. 00:32:21.420 --> 00:32:22.700 Well, what happens to evil? 00:32:25.340 --> 00:32:26.400 How do you deal with evil? 00:32:27.620 --> 00:32:28.920 How do you deal with wrongdoing? 00:32:29.860 --> 00:32:31.360 How do you deal with lies? 00:32:32.320 --> 00:32:33.440 How do you deal with hatred? 00:32:34.860 --> 00:32:36.120 How do you deal with racism? 00:32:37.880 --> 00:32:39.060 How do you deal with prejudice? 00:32:39.059 --> 00:32:40.059 How do you deal with hatred? 00:32:41.859 --> 00:32:48.539 So the basic way that most systems of thought try to think this through is that that's very simple. 00:32:48.659 --> 00:32:55.159 God just comes or the Messiah comes and just kills all the evil doers and kills the liars 00:32:55.159 --> 00:33:00.799 and kills the racists and kills the hateful people. 00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:07.099 And that's actually sort of fundamentally the primary way that we sort of understand that. 00:33:08.319 --> 00:33:11.460 But you see, if you think about it, and this is very, very true. 00:33:11.539 --> 00:33:17.680 If you look at history and you look around the world today, you'll see that what has to happen there is there has to be a denial. 00:33:17.680 --> 00:33:29.740 If I believe that, I need to deny that I have ever loved a lie, that I have ever loved hatred, that I have ever loved evil. 00:33:29.740 --> 00:33:34.940 And I need to pretend to myself that I've never done these things. 00:33:35.680 --> 00:33:39.740 And so what often happens with these different systems is you develop a system where you're... 00:33:40.279 --> 00:33:46.400 And by the way, short critique of white fragility, that bestseller, this is what white fragility does. 00:33:46.400 --> 00:33:52.280 She puts herself in a place as if she is without sin to attack other white people. 00:33:54.140 --> 00:33:56.160 It's the classic religious thing. 00:33:56.300 --> 00:33:58.900 It's the classic ideological thing. 00:33:58.980 --> 00:34:00.240 It's all white people's problems. 00:34:00.360 --> 00:34:01.480 It's all black people's problems. 00:34:01.580 --> 00:34:02.720 It's all rich people's problems. 00:34:02.840 --> 00:34:04.440 It's all poor people's problems. 00:34:04.880 --> 00:34:06.000 It's all Africans. 00:34:06.220 --> 00:34:07.280 It's all North Americans. 00:34:07.460 --> 00:34:08.420 It's all the Chinese. 00:34:09.240 --> 00:34:11.240 And so what we do is we create these others. 00:34:11.559 --> 00:34:13.940 And it's as if, well, they're really bad. 00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:15.119 They're really terrible. 00:34:15.320 --> 00:34:16.220 They're really evil. 00:34:16.219 --> 00:34:17.019 And we're not. 00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:20.419 And if you're aggressive enough about it, they can't attack you. 00:34:20.799 --> 00:34:25.379 And then you try to redefine evil so it doesn't look as if what you're doing is evil. 00:34:25.500 --> 00:34:26.899 Whatever you're doing is a lie. 00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:31.399 Whatever you're doing is just unjust. 00:34:31.839 --> 00:34:33.659 So you redefine your own actions. 00:34:33.839 --> 00:34:35.939 You redefine the other person's actions. 00:34:36.579 --> 00:34:43.559 And you try to create facades and manage it so you don't have to actually have people say, 00:34:43.559 --> 00:34:51.079 George, you have a problem with evil and lies and hatred just like every other human being on the planet. 00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:57.519 So how can God let me in? 00:34:57.519 --> 00:35:05.840 See, so God's going to show up. 00:35:06.320 --> 00:35:07.539 He's going to shake everything. 00:35:07.679 --> 00:35:08.940 He's going to dethrone evil. 00:35:09.480 --> 00:35:11.099 The Messiah is going to come up. 00:35:11.460 --> 00:35:15.639 The line that looks as if it had died with the invasion of Babylon. 00:35:15.639 --> 00:35:22.619 But in fact, God is in a sense by this text saying, I have never let my plan to have a Messiah come back ever die. 00:35:22.699 --> 00:35:23.699 It can be submerged. 00:35:24.259 --> 00:35:26.099 It can have a different appearance. 00:35:26.619 --> 00:35:31.759 But there will in fact be someone in the line of David who one day will be the Messiah. 00:35:32.480 --> 00:35:34.859 God only works on plan A. 00:35:34.980 --> 00:35:36.480 He does not need plan B. 00:35:36.480 --> 00:35:39.139 He did not say, oh, gosh, what am I going to do? 00:35:39.219 --> 00:35:40.740 The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem. 00:35:40.860 --> 00:35:41.980 I have to come up with a new plan. 00:35:42.780 --> 00:35:45.400 And so here we have Zerubbabel, not named a Jewish name. 00:35:45.800 --> 00:35:47.619 He's under the authority of Persia. 00:35:48.079 --> 00:35:49.860 He doesn't run anything or own anything. 00:35:49.980 --> 00:35:52.500 He hasn't even been a particularly great person or anything like that. 00:35:52.539 --> 00:35:57.440 But he responds to this offer to be with him and that God will do whatever it needs for him to be with him. 00:35:57.460 --> 00:35:58.539 And he responds to that. 00:35:58.880 --> 00:36:03.099 And God says, listen, Zerubbabel's existence, that's the significance of the signet ring, 00:36:03.099 --> 00:36:07.319 is a sign that even if there's no more kingdom, even if there's all these other things, 00:36:07.400 --> 00:36:12.920 is it might go underground, but that human line will continue until the Messiah comes 00:36:12.920 --> 00:36:14.460 and he will be born of that human line. 00:36:17.799 --> 00:36:22.480 But if you understand the problem of how you can have God show up and deal with evil 00:36:22.480 --> 00:36:27.759 and not annihilate you, you'll understand how only the gospel solves it. 00:36:30.539 --> 00:36:32.779 I mean, one of the things is we can look at alcoholics. 00:36:33.099 --> 00:36:35.319 We're drug addicts as a bit of an example for this. 00:36:36.960 --> 00:36:39.880 That the evil of their alcoholism, the evil of their drug, 00:36:40.460 --> 00:36:44.519 becomes in a sense fused to their personality, their identity. 00:36:48.039 --> 00:36:50.579 And our pride is fused to us. 00:36:51.219 --> 00:36:53.679 It's almost as if you were to watch something like Venom 00:36:53.679 --> 00:36:58.799 and how does it you have this parasite that's so completely and utterly connected to you as a human being 00:36:58.799 --> 00:37:02.139 that to remove the parasite will kill the host. 00:37:02.139 --> 00:37:04.319 And only the gospel provides the answer. 00:37:04.320 --> 00:37:10.460 And the gospel says that God showing up and the Messiah showing up are the same person. 00:37:11.380 --> 00:37:14.180 And the Messiah is going to come the first time to deal with evil 00:37:14.180 --> 00:37:17.600 in a way that allows people to be part of my kingdom. 00:37:17.840 --> 00:37:21.200 And the second time he comes, it will be to bring in my kingdom. 00:37:21.199 --> 00:37:26.980 And when Jesus dies upon the cross because he is the image of God, God, the Son of God, 00:37:27.319 --> 00:37:31.839 in a sense when he dies on the cross, when I put my hands in Jesus and trust him as my Savior and Lord, 00:37:32.419 --> 00:37:35.639 it's as if all of the lies, 00:37:36.679 --> 00:37:37.679 all of the evil, 00:37:38.679 --> 00:37:39.980 all of the prejudice, 00:37:41.039 --> 00:37:42.019 all of the shame, 00:37:42.019 --> 00:37:44.820 it's as if it's sucked out of my body, 00:37:45.239 --> 00:37:47.880 separated from me and sucked out of my body onto him. 00:37:49.440 --> 00:37:52.559 And he carries the penalty that that deserves. 00:37:54.980 --> 00:37:57.559 But then if that was all that the Messiah did, 00:37:57.659 --> 00:38:01.059 I would just be a withered, empty husk. 00:38:01.059 --> 00:38:05.659 But at the same time that as Jesus dies upon the cross, 00:38:05.719 --> 00:38:06.299 and in a sense, 00:38:06.440 --> 00:38:10.440 all of that which is so closely identified with me is taken away. 00:38:11.199 --> 00:38:12.559 At the same time, 00:38:12.980 --> 00:38:14.779 his life comes into me. 00:38:15.799 --> 00:38:18.179 That's one of the wonderful things if you read the Gospel of John. 00:38:19.579 --> 00:38:20.259 That in a sense, 00:38:21.599 --> 00:38:22.299 the light 00:38:22.299 --> 00:38:24.219 comes into you. 00:38:25.139 --> 00:38:25.579 Life 00:38:25.579 --> 00:38:27.079 comes into you. 00:38:29.559 --> 00:38:30.960 The waters of life 00:38:30.960 --> 00:38:32.039 come into you. 00:38:32.280 --> 00:38:32.860 The truth 00:38:32.860 --> 00:38:34.139 comes into you. 00:38:35.860 --> 00:38:38.039 The miracle of the new wine 00:38:38.039 --> 00:38:38.559 and the shep, 00:38:38.619 --> 00:38:40.019 that comes into you. 00:38:40.400 --> 00:38:41.619 And you now have not a 00:38:41.619 --> 00:38:43.480 shattered 00:38:43.480 --> 00:38:45.559 husk of a person, 00:38:46.360 --> 00:38:48.320 almost intangible like a ghost, 00:38:49.019 --> 00:38:51.019 but a solidity and reality to it 00:38:51.019 --> 00:38:52.099 that comes from the Gospel. 00:38:54.139 --> 00:38:56.179 And so this text is sitting before us, 00:38:56.720 --> 00:38:57.519 and it's a very good one. 00:38:57.619 --> 00:38:59.159 How would your progressive politics 00:38:59.159 --> 00:39:00.159 deal with the problem of evil? 00:39:00.159 --> 00:39:01.519 How will Marxism deal with it? 00:39:01.559 --> 00:39:02.960 How will psychology deal with it? 00:39:03.019 --> 00:39:03.399 How will 00:39:03.399 --> 00:39:06.980 make America great deal with it? 00:39:07.019 --> 00:39:08.179 How will Biden deal with it? 00:39:08.219 --> 00:39:09.519 How will this religion deal with it? 00:39:09.539 --> 00:39:11.399 How is it going to deal with these problems of evil 00:39:11.399 --> 00:39:12.699 and actually really deal with it 00:39:12.699 --> 00:39:13.639 so that at the end of it, 00:39:13.980 --> 00:39:15.619 evil is dealt with in a just way 00:39:15.619 --> 00:39:17.059 and there really is goodness in life, 00:39:17.099 --> 00:39:19.319 and only the Gospel provides an answer to that? 00:39:19.320 --> 00:39:23.580 Just one final thing and close. 00:39:26.280 --> 00:39:28.280 One of the things which is so wonderful about this text 00:39:28.280 --> 00:39:30.059 is not only to remind us that we are to live 00:39:30.059 --> 00:39:31.500 as if this might be the last day, 00:39:31.559 --> 00:39:32.900 that maybe even during the Lord's Supper 00:39:32.900 --> 00:39:33.640 he will return, 00:39:34.539 --> 00:39:35.100 but on the other hand, 00:39:35.140 --> 00:39:37.580 to also live so that we are looking forward 00:39:37.580 --> 00:39:39.300 to seeing our grandchildren married 00:39:39.300 --> 00:39:43.160 or our grandnieces married 00:39:43.159 --> 00:39:46.699 or that we build some type of movement of the Gospel 00:39:46.699 --> 00:39:49.299 that builds and builds over the decades ahead. 00:39:50.299 --> 00:39:51.519 But if you know 00:39:51.519 --> 00:39:54.359 that through your repentance 00:39:54.359 --> 00:39:56.579 and through your acts of service, 00:39:57.379 --> 00:39:59.219 your labor for the Lord 00:39:59.219 --> 00:40:01.379 is never in vain. 00:40:01.380 --> 00:40:05.140 Your financial generosity, 00:40:05.720 --> 00:40:08.280 your standing for justice, 00:40:08.680 --> 00:40:09.780 your caring for the poor, 00:40:11.220 --> 00:40:13.519 your teaching Sunday school, 00:40:13.680 --> 00:40:14.680 your serving coffee, 00:40:15.099 --> 00:40:16.380 your bringing a casserole, 00:40:17.660 --> 00:40:20.559 anything done for the Lord 00:40:20.559 --> 00:40:21.539 is never in vain. 00:40:21.760 --> 00:40:22.000 Why? 00:40:23.039 --> 00:40:24.079 He will return. 00:40:24.619 --> 00:40:25.180 Maranatha. 00:40:25.960 --> 00:40:26.760 I invite you to stand. 00:40:27.900 --> 00:40:28.519 Please stand. 00:40:31.740 --> 00:40:32.579 Matt's going to come up 00:40:32.579 --> 00:40:33.800 to lead us in some intercessions 00:40:33.800 --> 00:40:34.860 and you can sit in a moment, 00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:36.119 but let's just stand for a moment 00:40:36.119 --> 00:40:38.019 and let's just close this with a prayer. 00:40:39.780 --> 00:40:41.559 Father, we give you thanks and praise 00:40:41.559 --> 00:40:42.860 that the Messiah is, 00:40:43.519 --> 00:40:44.400 that in fact God, 00:40:44.460 --> 00:40:45.820 the Son of God is the Messiah, 00:40:46.000 --> 00:40:47.039 that it's you yourself 00:40:47.039 --> 00:40:48.280 who have dealt with the evil 00:40:48.280 --> 00:40:49.460 that we cannot deal with, 00:40:49.500 --> 00:40:50.500 that only you, Father, 00:40:50.599 --> 00:40:53.820 only you can separate evil and lies 00:40:53.820 --> 00:40:55.519 and hatred from us 00:40:55.519 --> 00:40:57.380 without unmaking us, 00:40:57.460 --> 00:40:58.920 but actually giving us life. 00:40:58.920 --> 00:41:00.460 Only you, Father, 00:41:00.460 --> 00:41:02.220 can open the door to you 00:41:02.220 --> 00:41:04.300 and make us so that we can fit with you 00:41:04.300 --> 00:41:06.059 and be in your kingdom 00:41:06.059 --> 00:41:07.579 in a way that doesn't just sort of 00:41:07.579 --> 00:41:08.820 gloss over evil, 00:41:08.960 --> 00:41:10.039 the evil in our lives 00:41:10.039 --> 00:41:10.940 or the evil in others, 00:41:11.039 --> 00:41:12.440 but that only you, Father, 00:41:12.800 --> 00:41:13.820 have been able to deal with it 00:41:13.820 --> 00:41:14.840 in the person of your Son. 00:41:15.280 --> 00:41:16.099 And we ask, Father, 00:41:16.159 --> 00:41:16.960 that you would grip us 00:41:16.960 --> 00:41:18.199 with the truth of the Gospel 00:41:18.199 --> 00:41:20.099 so that we have a secure stand 00:41:20.099 --> 00:41:20.780 to examine, 00:41:21.240 --> 00:41:23.280 place to examine our own consciences. 00:41:23.920 --> 00:41:24.340 And Father, 00:41:24.400 --> 00:41:25.760 we give you thanks and praise 00:41:25.760 --> 00:41:27.639 that you are always working on Plan A, 00:41:27.639 --> 00:41:29.019 that Jesus will return 00:41:29.019 --> 00:41:31.139 and build within us hope, Father, 00:41:31.199 --> 00:41:32.920 that our sacrifices and labor 00:41:32.920 --> 00:41:33.759 for the Gospel, 00:41:34.239 --> 00:41:35.059 the local church, 00:41:35.119 --> 00:41:35.900 and world mission 00:41:35.900 --> 00:41:37.599 are never in vain, Father, 00:41:37.659 --> 00:41:39.500 that they are never in vain. 00:41:40.079 --> 00:41:41.219 And finally, Father, 00:41:41.659 --> 00:41:42.699 come Lord Jesus. 00:41:43.000 --> 00:41:43.900 May he come soon. 00:41:44.759 --> 00:41:45.819 All these things we ask 00:41:45.819 --> 00:41:46.679 in the name of Jesus, 00:41:46.900 --> 00:41:48.099 God's Son and our Savior. 00:41:48.619 --> 00:41:48.940 Amen. 00:41:48.940 --> 00:41:49.059 Amen. 00:41:49.059 --> 00:41:49.179 Amen.