WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:11.580 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other 00:00:11.580 --> 00:00:15.280 use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:22.620 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:25.080 --> 00:00:26.080 Good morning. 00:00:26.260 --> 00:00:29.980 I'm Catherine Lopez, and I'm part of the Central Berkeley Community Group. 00:00:30.660 --> 00:00:36.280 Today's scripture reading is from the prophet Haggai, chapter 1, verse 12 through chapter 00:00:36.280 --> 00:00:42.039 2, verse 9, and chapter 2, verses 20 to 23, as printed in the liturgy. 00:00:42.859 --> 00:00:45.179 A reading from the prophet Haggai. 00:00:46.039 --> 00:00:52.859 Then Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, Joshua, son of Josedach, the high priest, and the whole 00:00:52.859 --> 00:00:57.519 remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet 00:00:57.520 --> 00:01:00.460 Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. 00:01:01.140 --> 00:01:02.520 And the people feared the Lord. 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:08.980 Then Haggai, the Lord's messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people. 00:01:09.340 --> 00:01:11.200 I am with you, declares the Lord. 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:18.040 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the 00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:23.320 spirit of Joshua, son of Josedach, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant 00:01:23.320 --> 00:01:23.980 of the people. 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:29.780 They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty their God on the 24th day 00:01:29.780 --> 00:01:30.840 of the sixth month. 00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:37.659 On the 21st day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai. 00:01:38.359 --> 00:01:44.920 Speak to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua, son of Josedach, the high 00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:46.960 priest, and to the remnant of the people. 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:52.300 Ask them, who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? 00:01:53.080 --> 00:01:54.460 How does it look to you now? 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:56.840 Does it not seem to you like nothing? 00:01:56.840 --> 00:02:00.359 But now be strong, Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. 00:02:00.659 --> 00:02:03.780 Be strong, Joshua, son of Josedach, the high priest. 00:02:04.340 --> 00:02:07.520 Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. 00:02:07.780 --> 00:02:11.219 And work, for I am with you, declares the Lord Almighty. 00:02:12.379 --> 00:02:15.759 This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. 00:02:16.539 --> 00:02:18.259 And my spirit remains among you. 00:02:18.580 --> 00:02:19.240 Do not fear. 00:02:20.039 --> 00:02:21.780 This is what the Lord Almighty says. 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:26.759 In a little while, I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea, 00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:27.920 and the dry land. 00:02:28.500 --> 00:02:32.860 I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come. 00:02:33.259 --> 00:02:36.560 And I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty. 00:02:37.180 --> 00:02:40.920 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord Almighty. 00:02:41.640 --> 00:02:46.180 The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house, 00:02:46.259 --> 00:02:47.379 says the Lord Almighty. 00:02:48.099 --> 00:02:51.719 And in this place I will grant peace, declares the Lord Almighty. 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:58.000 The word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the 24th day of the month. 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:03.659 Tell Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, that I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. 00:03:04.219 --> 00:03:08.360 I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:11.639 I will overthrow chariots and their drivers. 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:15.419 Horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother. 00:03:15.419 --> 00:03:22.539 On that day, declares the Lord Almighty, I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, 00:03:22.780 --> 00:03:28.599 declares the Lord, and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord Almighty. 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:31.719 The grass withers and the flowers fade. 00:03:32.419 --> 00:03:34.299 The glory of God is the Lord. 00:03:34.299 --> 00:03:34.359 Amen. 00:03:34.359 --> 00:03:34.839 Amen. 00:03:34.839 --> 00:03:34.919 Amen. 00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:35.419 Amen. 00:03:35.419 --> 00:03:35.919 Amen. 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:36.419 Amen. 00:03:36.419 --> 00:03:36.919 Amen. 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:37.419 Amen. 00:03:37.419 --> 00:03:38.419 Amen. 00:03:38.419 --> 00:03:39.419 Amen. 00:03:39.419 --> 00:03:40.419 Amen. 00:03:40.419 --> 00:03:41.419 Amen. 00:03:41.419 --> 00:03:42.419 Amen. 00:03:42.419 --> 00:03:43.419 Amen. 00:03:43.419 --> 00:03:44.419 Amen. 00:03:44.419 --> 00:03:45.399 Amen. 00:03:46.139 --> 00:03:46.500 Amen. 00:03:46.500 --> 00:03:47.539 Amen. 00:03:47.539 --> 00:03:48.699 Amen. 00:03:48.699 --> 00:03:49.579 Amen. 00:03:49.579 --> 00:03:49.819 Amen. 00:03:49.819 --> 00:03:50.639 Amen. 00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:51.699 I will be noi. 00:03:51.699 --> 00:03:52.060 Amen. 00:03:52.060 --> 00:03:52.939 Amen. 00:03:52.939 --> 00:03:53.039 Amen. 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:53.239 Amen. 00:03:53.239 --> 00:03:53.619 Amen. 00:03:53.619 --> 00:03:54.299 Amen. 00:03:54.299 --> 00:03:54.579 Amen. 00:03:54.579 --> 00:03:55.579 Amen. 00:03:55.579 --> 00:03:55.699 Roberts. 00:03:55.699 --> 00:03:55.739 Amen. 00:03:55.739 --> 00:03:55.939 Amen. 00:03:55.939 --> 00:03:57.259 Amen. 00:03:57.259 --> 00:03:57.639 Amen. 00:03:57.639 --> 00:03:58.079 Amen. 00:03:58.079 --> 00:04:00.119 Amen. 00:04:00.119 --> 00:04:02.259 Amen. 00:04:02.259 --> 00:04:10.119 Amen. 00:04:10.119 --> 00:04:11.179 Amen. 00:04:11.180 --> 00:04:18.920 and so we got home, and I was sawing off branches, and, you know, it's kind of like there, 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:24.379 but it's leaning to the right now, and, you know, you spend all this time selecting the tree, 00:04:24.600 --> 00:04:31.319 sawing the tree, lighting the tree, decorating the tree, and then after a few weeks, you know, 00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:37.319 we just throw it somewhere, and it's like after Christmas, there's just dead bodies all over the 00:04:37.319 --> 00:04:41.019 place, Christmas trees laying all over the place. We just snap out of the Christmas spirit, 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:47.439 wake up one morning and go, there's a tree in my house, throw it away, but we try to keep our tree 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:52.579 for, you know, the whole 12 days of Christmas to January 6th, which has meant in years past that 00:04:52.579 --> 00:04:58.819 we've had a tree on our curb for like a month, and I'm tying $20 bills to the tree, begging people to 00:04:58.819 --> 00:05:04.799 take it away. I'm out there in February sawing the tree. It's like this tree is so much work in my life, 00:05:05.479 --> 00:05:10.639 but I think it's worth it. You know, we need trees, we need lights, we need ornaments, we need 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:17.439 Christmas carols and cocos and candle to get us into the joy of Christmas time, especially in 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:24.839 December, which is the darkest month of the year, and not just physically dark. It's dark in a lot 00:05:24.839 --> 00:05:30.060 of different ways. If you're a guest with us, you should know that we're a church in grief right 00:05:30.060 --> 00:05:36.139 now. Church has just lost one of our beloved youth, a family that's mourning the loss of their 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:43.680 their eldest son. We have kids in our church who are being bullied at school, people who are struggling 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:51.120 with their physical health and well-being, folks who are caring for aging and dying parents. One of 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:55.680 you I talked to this past week, and you said, you know, the threat of COVID for my family and my home 00:05:55.680 --> 00:06:02.479 country has been nothing compared to the threat of terrorism there. All of us are struggling in some 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:08.700 way, probably with holiday stress, with dysfunctional families, with depression and anxiety, or maybe 00:06:08.700 --> 00:06:16.080 that's just me. Is that just me this December? Well, the book of Haggai is written to the people of God 00:06:16.080 --> 00:06:23.700 who have experienced awful tragedy and severe trauma. It's called the Babylonian invasion, the Babylonian 00:06:23.700 --> 00:06:32.340 exile, in which people experience their loved ones dying and their families being ripped 00:06:32.339 --> 00:06:40.459 apart and their homes torn down and their city burned to ashes, their temple reduced to a pile of 00:06:40.459 --> 00:06:48.939 rubble, and they found themselves refugees, the people of God, refugees in a foreign land. We read in Psalm 127 00:06:48.939 --> 00:06:56.719 these words, it says, by the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. 00:06:56.720 --> 00:07:04.120 On willows there we hung up our lyres, our musical instruments. How shall we sing the Lord's songs 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:12.360 in a foreign land? If anyone knew tragedy and trauma, if anyone knew suffering and sorrow, if anyone knew 00:07:12.360 --> 00:07:19.060 discouragement and depression, it were these remnant of exiles who just returned home to Israel. And in 00:07:19.060 --> 00:07:25.900 Advent, this is what we listen to as a church. We listen to the Old Testament prophets. We listen to 00:07:25.899 --> 00:07:33.060 these prophets who are longing with hope for a better day. They're longing with hope for the day of the 00:07:33.060 --> 00:07:39.179 Lord. They're longing with hope for the day of the long-awaited Messiah who will come and redeem 00:07:39.179 --> 00:07:46.899 his suffering people and restore God's beloved creation. And so when we get into Haggai, the preaching 00:07:46.899 --> 00:07:52.479 of Haggai, the sermons of the prophet Haggai, they're given in the midst of incredible darkness. 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:59.000 But it's against the backdrop of that darkness that God's light shines all the brighter. 00:08:00.200 --> 00:08:06.939 And so here's the message, I think, for us today at Christ Church, that God's Word and Spirit 00:08:06.939 --> 00:08:17.759 promise us a signet ring king. God's Word and Spirit promise us a signet ring king. I want to say a few 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:25.360 words about God's Word and Spirit. Haggai points to this dynamic that's comprehensive throughout the 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:31.759 Bible and that's critical for having a life with God. And that is the union and the harmony in our 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:39.179 lives between the Word of God on the one hand and the Spirit of God on the other hand. The Word of God 00:08:39.179 --> 00:08:47.120 is external to us. It's outside of us. It's this objective revelation of God who makes Himself known. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:55.639 And that revelation exists apart from us. It exists irrespective of and independent of our thoughts and 00:08:55.639 --> 00:09:03.159 feelings about that revelation. But then there's the Spirit of God which is internal. The Spirit of God that 00:09:03.159 --> 00:09:11.120 comes inside of us and gives us this subjective revelation of God's presence and God's power in our hearts, in our 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:19.039 experience, in our conscience, so that we can personally acknowledge and understand and accept this 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:26.899 one who is making Himself known to us in His Word. The Holy Spirit comes to us and enables us to love Him 00:09:26.899 --> 00:09:33.379 and live for Him and enjoy Him and glorify Him. So I want you to think for a minute about this external 00:09:33.379 --> 00:09:40.360 objective word. You heard it multiple times in this text, the voice of the Lord, the message of the Lord, 00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:48.039 the Word of the Lord. God shares His thoughts with us so that we might know Him. And you can hear it in 00:09:48.039 --> 00:09:55.680 verse 12. Then Zerubbabel and Joshua, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice 00:09:55.680 --> 00:10:00.659 of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai because the Lord their God had sent Him and the 00:10:00.659 --> 00:10:07.720 people feared the Lord. This is how you know that you've truly heard the voice and the Word of the Lord. 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:16.779 When you fear Him, that is when awe and respect and reverence grips your heart. And from your heart, 00:10:17.220 --> 00:10:24.320 you obey with your head and what you think and with your hands and what you do. So when God gives 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:30.420 His Word, what does He say to His people here? What does He say to His people who are discouraged and 00:10:30.419 --> 00:10:39.959 depressed and depressed and despondent? He says to them in verse 13, I am with you, declares the Lord. 00:10:40.959 --> 00:10:46.639 And then He says the same thing down in verse 4. He says, be strong, be strong, be strong, 00:10:46.759 --> 00:10:54.539 all you people of the land, for I am with you, declares the Lord Almighty. And in verse 5, He says, 00:10:54.539 --> 00:11:01.559 my spirit remains among you. These are a people who are thinking to themselves, we cannot match up to 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:10.599 our past and we have no power to achieve anything in the present. And to this people, God says, 00:11:10.719 --> 00:11:19.519 stop listening to yourself and start listening to me and my sufficiency. For in me, the living God, 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:29.120 who is present right here with you, you have all that you need. The people of God see their unattainable 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:37.840 past. They see their hopeless present. But what does the Lord see? The Lord sees Himself. The Lord sees 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:45.019 the blessing of His Word. He sees the presence and the power of His Spirit. And so He says to His people, 00:11:45.019 --> 00:11:55.659 stop listening to your story of hopelessness and start listening to my promises. Because in their 00:11:55.659 --> 00:12:03.360 despondency, they are saying to themselves, I can't and therefore I won't. And God is saying, 00:12:03.439 --> 00:12:11.399 I'm inviting you to an obedient faith that says, I can't, but God can and therefore I will. 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:23.139 Now, by His Word, God breathes out His self. He breathes out His truth. But how do we breathe in 00:12:23.139 --> 00:12:30.860 His breathed out Word to us? And that's where the external objective Word meets the internal subjective 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:36.639 spirit. In verse 14, we read in chapter 1, 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:49.519 Then the spirit of the whole remnant of the people was stirred up. The spirit of Zerubbabel, 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:56.539 the spirit of Joshua, the spirit of all the people, they came and they began to work on the house of the 00:12:56.539 --> 00:13:03.279 Lord Almighty, their God. There are certain things that we cannot do in our own strength and our own 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:09.279 power. Certain things that are impossible to accomplish in our own resources. And so the Holy 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:16.579 Spirit of God comes to us from outside. The same power of God that ordered creation, the same power 00:13:16.579 --> 00:13:24.860 that raised Christ from the dead comes and penetrates my inner self and gives me the uncreated energies 00:13:24.860 --> 00:13:34.779 of the Holy Spirit so that by faith I begin to join God in His work to make a place for His presence and 00:13:34.779 --> 00:13:41.879 His glory to dwell in this world. That's what the people of God begin to do. You see, the people had 00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:47.820 been disinterested in God. They'd become unresponsive to God, but we're told literally in the Hebrew, 00:13:47.820 --> 00:13:54.060 they're roused from their sleep. That the Holy Spirit awakens them and revitalizes them with the 00:13:54.060 --> 00:14:02.000 Word of God and they shake off their sluggishness and their fear. And there's this inward renewing work 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:09.620 where smoldering embers are roused to a living flame in God's people. And the quickening of their 00:14:09.620 --> 00:14:17.000 spirit sparks this zealous resolution, this energized obedience, this fresh courage to begin the work 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:25.539 of building up the kingdom of God in their midst. Now, Advent is a time for us to do the same, 00:14:26.279 --> 00:14:35.759 to be renewed both in God's Word and in God's Spirit. If we are all spirit without the Word, 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:42.519 we're going to be a people who are lost in our own subjectivity, a people who are lost in what we think 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:50.819 and what we feel and what we experience, not grounded in God's truth, will be tossed about on the waves of 00:14:50.819 --> 00:14:56.600 ideologies and blown about by the winds of every teaching that changes every five minutes on Twitter. 00:14:58.279 --> 00:15:05.399 But if we're all Word people without the Spirit, we'll know the truth, but we'll have no power to do the 00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:11.740 truth. We'll have no change that comes upon us from the inside in our heart and our head and our hands. 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:18.519 And the Word of God will remain abstract and impersonal rather than become illuminated and 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:26.379 alive for us like it does with the people of God. And so our invitation to you, Christ Church, is to 00:15:26.379 --> 00:15:34.980 make use of the resources we provided for you. Our guide to morning prayer in the back, our Advent 00:15:34.980 --> 00:15:39.919 devotional that you should have gotten in your email on Friday, on these Wednesday night services where 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:45.620 we're journeying to the cradle, we're tracing out all these themes of the Scriptures and singing all of 00:15:45.620 --> 00:15:55.539 our greatest songs to have our hearts stirred up by the Spirit of God, stirred up by the Word of God to be 00:15:55.539 --> 00:16:04.500 His faithful people. So God's Word and Spirit, that's how that works throughout the Scriptures and 00:16:04.500 --> 00:16:09.899 that's how it works in our lives. But in this particular instance, God's Word and Spirit promises 00:16:09.899 --> 00:16:21.059 us a signet ring king. God's Word and Spirit promises us a signet ring king. To this promise of God's 00:16:21.059 --> 00:16:28.519 witness, God's presence with us, He adds this promise, these promises actually of how He intends to be 00:16:28.519 --> 00:16:33.679 with the people of God in the future. Now how many of you are familiar with Handel's Messiah? 00:16:34.539 --> 00:16:41.099 Anybody listen to Handel's Messiah? George Fritter Candle, this is his great oratorio. It's become 00:16:41.099 --> 00:16:46.579 ubiquitous in the celebration of Christmas around the world. It was actually written for Easter time. 00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:51.360 Only the first third of it is about the birth of the Messiah. But if you've heard the oratorio, 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:59.160 part and part one, the bass stands or comes on the stage and begins to sing the words of Haggai 00:16:59.160 --> 00:17:07.079 chapter 2 verses 6 and 7. Now I won't attempt the high baroque style for you and you're welcome. You can 00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:13.620 thank me later. But there is this one word in this particular song, the word shake, and it seems to last 00:17:13.619 --> 00:17:20.099 for almost a minute as it's sung. And as it's sung, the singer himself is shaking. And you can almost 00:17:20.099 --> 00:17:26.279 feel the earth-shaking promise of God in the song. And here are the words in verse 6, 00:17:26.379 --> 00:17:33.279 thus saith the Lord. Thus says the Lord Almighty, in a little while I will once more shake the heavens 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:38.819 and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations and what is desired by all nations 00:17:38.819 --> 00:17:43.439 will come. And I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty. And down in verse 9, 00:17:43.500 --> 00:17:48.980 in this place I will grant peace, declares the Lord Almighty. And Andrew did an amazing job last week 00:17:48.980 --> 00:17:55.399 telling us about this house of God, this point of intersection between the timeless and time, 00:17:55.500 --> 00:18:02.119 between heaven and earth, between divinity and humanity, and how God has in fact filled that place 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:09.359 with his glory and filled that place with his peace in the person of Jesus. And all who are united to 00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:16.539 Jesus are the house of the Lord. I encourage you to go back and listen to that. But today I want to 00:18:16.539 --> 00:18:22.599 talk about how God not only shakes the earth to build up the house of his temple, but he also shakes 00:18:22.599 --> 00:18:28.899 the earth to build up the royal house of his king. And that's what verses 20 and 23 are about. 00:18:28.900 --> 00:18:36.240 This final little sermon given directly to Zerubbabel. And Zerubbabel himself knows that 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:42.820 he's not a great king. Yes, he's in the line of the great King David, but he's only a governor. And 00:18:42.820 --> 00:18:49.019 we're not even sure if that title is anything more than honorific. He's basically the mayor of a city 00:18:49.019 --> 00:18:54.840 in ruins. And in reality, he's the heir to nothing. There's no throne for him to mount, 00:18:54.839 --> 00:19:01.899 no crown for him to wear, no empire for him to rule, no royal acclaim for him to enjoy. 00:19:02.759 --> 00:19:09.179 The royal enterprise in Israel and David's house has long since run into the sands. Zerubbabel, 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:14.980 his great, great, great, great grandson is not a great king and he does not have a great kingdom. Now, 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:22.419 King Darius of Persia, that, that's a great king. That is a guy who's ruling with some serious 00:19:22.420 --> 00:19:28.600 authority and power over one of the world's greatest empires, only to be rivaled by the Roman Empire. 00:19:30.740 --> 00:19:38.620 Here is Zerubbabel. All around his little province of Jerusalem, nations are opposing and thwarting 00:19:38.620 --> 00:19:42.920 the people of God as they're trying to build up the kingdom of God. And he's thinking to himself, 00:19:43.259 --> 00:19:49.019 how is God going to deal with all this opposition? How's he going to deal with all this injustice 00:19:49.019 --> 00:19:58.940 that's just overwhelming around me? And to him, God says, I'm going to keep shaking up my creation. 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:06.779 Verse 21, tells Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, that I'm going to shake the heavens and the earth. 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:12.700 And I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow 00:20:12.700 --> 00:20:18.839 chariots and their drivers. Horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his 00:20:18.839 --> 00:20:24.480 comrade. It's as if God is saying, Zerubbabel, do you feel that the world is against you? 00:20:25.859 --> 00:20:33.539 Well, it is, but I'm about to turn the world upside down. I'm about to turn the world inside out. 00:20:33.619 --> 00:20:42.179 The shaking image is an image of God defeating his enemies and establishing his rule. It tells us that 00:20:42.180 --> 00:20:49.460 the tectonic plates of political history are going to move in such a way that it favors God and the 00:20:49.460 --> 00:20:57.019 people of God. That earth-shattering events are going to take place where God inaugurates his rule 00:20:57.019 --> 00:21:04.080 and his reign. And if you pay attention to verse 22, it's emphatic and decisive about the defeat 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:10.379 and the overturning and the destruction that God is going to bring on his enemies. It's this political 00:21:10.379 --> 00:21:17.699 announcement that is actually deeply disturbing bad news if you're a person of power and privilege. 00:21:18.539 --> 00:21:26.399 Because it says, the Lord himself is personally coming for you. And when he comes, there's going to be a 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:33.700 cosmic shaking because of the presence and the power of the creator God. And what will this decisive divine 00:21:33.700 --> 00:21:42.860 coming put into effect? Well, on the grandest worldwide scale, as befits the creator God, he's going to 00:21:42.860 --> 00:21:51.220 reorder heaven and earth, it says. He's going to dispose of political structures and dismantle military might, and 00:21:51.220 --> 00:22:00.120 there's going to be a global judgment on the sin of the nations. That all those people throughout time 00:22:00.120 --> 00:22:07.660 who've misused their thrones and misused their chariots and their swords and all their power, the prophet, 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:14.900 God says through his prophet, they're going down. They're going to fall under my just judgment. And God is going 00:22:14.900 --> 00:22:22.900 to unleash all the self-destructive energies of our self-centeredness and is all going to collapse in upon itself. 00:22:23.820 --> 00:22:32.259 And this whole world that's organized without reference to God, this whole world that's yielding its submission 00:22:32.259 --> 00:22:44.580 and its allegiance to the kings and powers other than God's anointed king, are going to receive divine justice and be set right. 00:22:44.900 --> 00:22:51.120 Now, that may not comfort us because we're not really suffering people to the scale that like our brothers and sisters 00:22:51.120 --> 00:22:58.060 in North Korea might be suffering or in Iran might be suffering, but this is really, really good news 00:22:58.060 --> 00:23:06.900 if you're under an oppressive regime. It's all the imagery and words from the Exodus. God is saying, 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:13.720 you remember what I did to Egypt, that great superpower? You remember the victory I caused on the far side of the Red Sea? 00:23:13.720 --> 00:23:22.740 I can do that again. Superpowers are nothing to me. And so the question is, well, what is God going to do 00:23:22.740 --> 00:23:29.400 after he defeats all of his enemies? Is there going to be this giant power vacuum left on the earth after 00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:34.759 all these kingdoms are dispelled? And God says, no, I'm not just going to defeat my enemies. 00:23:34.759 --> 00:23:42.660 I'm going to establish my rule. And how am I going to do that? I'm going to do it through my signet ring king. 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:50.039 Now, Zerubbabel is kind of this odd figure historically. He's kind of a walking question mark. 00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:56.640 People of God look at him with some tension because they know he's a descendant in the line of King David. 00:23:56.640 --> 00:24:02.840 They know about all the mind-blowing promises of God. Did you know that God promised that one of David's descendants 00:24:02.840 --> 00:24:11.020 would sit on God's throne forever? God promised that one of David's descendants would rule over 00:24:11.020 --> 00:24:18.640 all of the creation forever. And so they turn their eyes to Zerubbabel, and all they see is this pale 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:25.100 figure of a man, this weak governor of Judah, this guy who's not even a king. He's just completely 00:24:25.100 --> 00:24:30.480 oppressed with all the promises of God on his shoulders, and none of them fulfilled. 00:24:31.880 --> 00:24:38.759 And in that context, God says in verse 23, on that day, declares the Lord Almighty, I will take you, 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:44.759 my servants, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and I will make you like my signet ring, 00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:53.039 for I have chosen you, declares the Lord Almighty. All the promises of God to King David are being 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:59.200 reignited in the person of Zerubbabel. And you got to think about the final verses of this book like 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:08.039 an impressionist painting. You've got a thunderstorm. You've got an earthquake. You've got clashing armies. 00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:18.639 You've got civil disarray and conflict. You've got destruction. And then there's one shaft of sunlight 00:25:18.639 --> 00:25:27.500 that's piercing through all of this darkness, and it's shining on one item, this golden ring on 00:25:27.500 --> 00:25:36.759 the finger of God. And God is saying, look, through my chosen one, through my servant, I'm going to pick 00:25:36.759 --> 00:25:43.339 you up, Zerubbabel, and I'm going to slip you on my pinky finger. And you are going to be my signet 00:25:43.339 --> 00:25:53.720 ring on my right hand. The signet ring is a picture of God's intimacy, his authority, and his image. 00:25:54.819 --> 00:25:59.579 It's a picture of intimacy because kings would often take their signet ring, put it on a necklace, 00:25:59.700 --> 00:26:05.759 and wear it right here next to their heart. Kings would take their signet ring, and when they'd write a 00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:11.220 decree, they'd melt a little wax, and then they'd stamp it, they'd seal it, and they'd say, this decree 00:26:11.220 --> 00:26:18.799 is going to happen. This is for real. This is legit. The signet ring was a symbol of the image of the 00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:24.400 king. It's the identity by which it's where would be known. And God is saying, Zerubbabel, I'm not going 00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:31.539 to give you my ring. You are going to be my ring. You're going to be my intimate, authoritative image by 00:26:31.539 --> 00:26:38.639 which I will be known on the earth, so that when people look at you, they're going to see me. 00:26:39.899 --> 00:26:48.700 What a promise. The question is, when will all this happen? When is God going to shake the nations 00:26:48.700 --> 00:26:55.019 to bring about his victory? When is God going to establish the rule of his signet ring king? 00:26:56.059 --> 00:27:00.879 Well, it certainly doesn't happen in Zerubbabel's person or in his lifetime. It actually happens in one 00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:06.960 of his great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandsons who's kind of in the DNA 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:13.680 of Zerubbabel as he receives this great promise from God. Now, to bring this home, I wonder if any 00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:18.840 of you have watched the Charlie Brown Christmas special. Anybody seen this? If you haven't seen 00:27:18.840 --> 00:27:25.800 it, you need to pull out your phone and watch it right now. If you have seen it, go home later 00:27:25.799 --> 00:27:31.339 today. That's your homework. You got to watch it. But a distraught Charlie Brown, he cries out. He says, 00:27:31.419 --> 00:27:37.720 isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about? And his buddy Linus offers the answer. He 00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:42.700 says, sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. And he starts recounting, 00:27:42.779 --> 00:27:48.059 Linus starts to recount the beginning of Luke's gospel. And as he's doing that, you know what Linus 00:27:48.059 --> 00:27:52.480 is always holding? What's he always holding in the Peanuts comics? His security blanket. 00:27:52.480 --> 00:28:01.140 And if you pay close attention, Linus, when he's quoting the gospel of Luke, he drops his 00:28:01.140 --> 00:28:07.940 security blanket. When he says those words, fear not, from the angels of God, he drops 00:28:07.940 --> 00:28:14.120 the security blanket. Fear not, he says, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, 00:28:14.180 --> 00:28:21.380 which shall be to all people. For unto us is born this day in the city of David. 00:28:21.380 --> 00:28:29.700 In the city of Zerubbabel, in the city of God's great king, a savior is going to be born, which is 00:28:29.700 --> 00:28:36.660 Christ, the Messiah, the Lord. And he drops that security blanket when he hears about the chosen one, 00:28:37.280 --> 00:28:44.480 the servant of the Lord, the signet ring king, this long awaited Messiah. It's how Charlie Brown comes to 00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:50.940 know what Christmas is all about. It's how Linus gets over his fears and drops his insecurities. 00:28:51.380 --> 00:29:01.160 Why does he do it? Because from his cradle, to his cross, to his church, and to his coming 00:29:01.160 --> 00:29:09.800 again, Jesus the king has been shaking the nations and will keep shaking the nations with his gracious 00:29:09.800 --> 00:29:17.080 rule and his liberating reign. And if you trace out the Christmas story, you can see that King Herod 00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:26.259 is feeling the shaking of God. And that's why he goes to kill Jesus and slaughters all those innocents of 00:29:26.259 --> 00:29:33.439 Bethlehem with his genocidal sword because he can feel the shaking of God coming. These kings from the 00:29:33.439 --> 00:29:41.059 far east, these wise men, they come and they can feel the shaking. Why do they bring gifts fit for a 00:29:41.059 --> 00:29:46.220 greater king? Gold and frankincense and myrrh? Because they can feel the cosmos begin to shake. 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:52.259 The shepherds felt the shaking when the night sky began to dance with angels and it filled up 00:29:52.259 --> 00:29:57.960 with this heavenly chorus, glory to God in the highest heaven because it's happening now. 00:29:57.960 --> 00:30:08.279 Mary and Joseph felt the shaking when they held God's breathtaking swaddled self in their arms. 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:18.360 Zechariah and Elizabeth, Simeon and Anna, they felt the shaking when they saw in this vulnerable baby 00:30:18.359 --> 00:30:31.319 God's answer to our suffering and our sin. Heaven and earth began to feel the shaking when this baby 00:30:31.319 --> 00:30:40.339 grew up and he became a man and he started casting out our demons and healing our diseases and satisfying 00:30:40.339 --> 00:30:48.219 our hunger and forgiving our sins and teaching us life transforming truth from God's word and 00:30:48.220 --> 00:30:59.259 giving us the Holy Spirit power of God himself. All of the cosmos began to shake because it saw in Jesus 00:30:59.259 --> 00:31:10.799 this intimate authoritative image by which God wants to be known. In this powerless baby, in this crucified 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:17.660 criminal, in this resurrected conqueror, we see all the authority and power. 00:31:18.220 --> 00:31:25.960 All the grace and mercy, all the justice and judgment, all the glory and peace of God being exercised 00:31:25.960 --> 00:31:35.860 through his signet ring king. And a day is going to come when Jesus is going to be seen by every eye 00:31:35.860 --> 00:31:44.180 and he's going to be honored by every bent knee and he's going to be confessed by every tongue 00:31:44.180 --> 00:31:50.759 that he is the king who comes in both judgment and salvation. 00:31:53.620 --> 00:32:00.120 Some of us might feel nervous about that. And if you feel nervous about that just judgment that's coming, 00:32:00.539 --> 00:32:03.700 that's probably a good thing and a right thing for you to feel. 00:32:03.700 --> 00:32:10.259 But the good news of Christmas is that we can now look into our judge's face 00:32:10.259 --> 00:32:15.700 and we can see our Savior there in Jesus himself. 00:32:16.660 --> 00:32:22.759 You see, this is what Charles Schultz, the maker of peanuts, is saying through this heavenly fear not. 00:32:23.759 --> 00:32:29.180 Through Linus dropping his security blanket, it's just so simple and brilliant and profound. 00:32:29.180 --> 00:32:37.380 When Linus realizes that Jesus, our Davidic signet ring king, is born to save us, 00:32:37.820 --> 00:32:41.820 it separates him from his insecurities and his fears. 00:32:42.460 --> 00:32:44.160 And it can do the same for us. 00:32:45.100 --> 00:32:50.080 The coming of God's anointed king, Jesus, frees us from all those false securities 00:32:50.080 --> 00:32:54.060 that we are unable or perhaps even unwilling to release ourselves. 00:32:54.059 --> 00:32:56.879 But friends, we need not be afraid. 00:32:57.779 --> 00:32:59.740 Because God became flesh. 00:33:00.599 --> 00:33:06.299 And because Jesus is the signet ring on God's all-powerful pinky finger, 00:33:06.539 --> 00:33:10.079 we can drop our security blankets too. 00:33:11.940 --> 00:33:14.159 I'm out of time. Bummer. 00:33:15.919 --> 00:33:17.279 I'll close with this. 00:33:17.279 --> 00:33:22.460 We're sitting around the table Monday night, Catherine and I doing what we do, 00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:24.279 being very imperfect parents. 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:28.619 It's trying our best to pass along our faith to our kids. 00:33:29.379 --> 00:33:32.240 You know, reading scripture or praying or listening to a hymn. 00:33:32.339 --> 00:33:36.160 This particular night, we were reading the Heidelberg Catechism. 00:33:36.500 --> 00:33:41.660 And our deal is like, we set a timer and you just have to listen to me read it for five minutes. 00:33:41.660 --> 00:33:45.740 So that's, if you sit at our table, that's what you're getting into. 00:33:47.060 --> 00:33:50.560 Question 32 came along and it hit me like a bolt of lightning. 00:33:50.920 --> 00:33:52.440 And I'll leave it with you here. 00:33:53.460 --> 00:33:56.420 The question is, but why are you called a Christian? 00:33:57.800 --> 00:33:58.400 Answer. 00:33:59.480 --> 00:34:03.940 Because by faith, I am a member of Christ. 00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:09.119 And so I share in His anointing. 00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:13.380 I share in the royal anointing. 00:34:14.279 --> 00:34:18.920 I share in the messianic signet ring king's anointing. 00:34:19.719 --> 00:34:24.559 And so because I share in His anointing, I am anointed to confess His name. 00:34:25.259 --> 00:34:29.460 And to present myself to Him as a living sacrifice of thanks. 00:34:30.219 --> 00:34:34.519 And to strive with a free conscience against sin and the devil in this life. 00:34:34.819 --> 00:34:36.739 And catch this, after this life, 00:34:36.739 --> 00:34:43.699 I'm anointed to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity. 00:34:49.939 --> 00:34:51.379 If that's true, 00:34:52.379 --> 00:34:55.119 we can drop our security blankets. 00:34:55.119 --> 00:35:02.779 Indeed, if that doesn't cause us to drop our security blankets, 00:35:03.219 --> 00:35:05.440 I don't know what possibly could. 00:35:06.480 --> 00:35:08.279 Brothers and sisters, you are anointed 00:35:08.279 --> 00:35:11.559 with the signet ring king 00:35:11.559 --> 00:35:13.920 to reign with Him 00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:15.940 over all creation 00:35:15.940 --> 00:35:18.839 for all eternity. 00:35:20.039 --> 00:35:21.259 Lift up your hearts 00:35:21.260 --> 00:35:24.300 in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:35:25.120 --> 00:35:25.360 Amen. 00:35:25.360 --> 00:35:25.500 Amen.