He is Zealous for Zion!

These next couple of weeks we will be spending time in the Book of Zechariah. This book is a challenge and only in part because the "Z" on my keyboard is broken. Zechariah is the longest of the Minor Prophets and with that also comes the notoriety of being one of the most obscure and difficult books in the Old Testament to understand. Zechariah was preaching at the same time as Haggai with the purpose of encouraging the people to rebuild the temple.

Zechariah however, has a completely different feel to it from Haggai. It is Apocalyptic in nature; filled with symbolic visions much like Ezekiel and Daniel. These visions also lend the book to be very messianic in nature similar to Isaiah. This complexity leads to us spending more time here than we have on the other Minor Prophets. We must approach Zechariah with humility and ask God to help us to understand the contextual meaning of the book, or what it meant for those who were hearing of these visions first hand. There is also a message for us in those very same lines which is why we search its pages today.

The basic message and theme of the book are clear enough: "I am extremely zealous for Jerusalem and Zion" (Zech. 1:14).

When you place Zechariah and Haggai side by side you find that Zech's visions came in between Haggai's second and third prophecies or while the temple was being rebuilt. Haggai had led the people through a period of repentance prior to the start of the work (Haggai 1:12-15). So as Zechariah shares his visions with the people we are reminded that repentance is not just a one-time act.

Following this first message, three months later Zechariah has a series of eight visions in one night. The first four of which we will cover this Sunday and the next four next week. First, we see the rider and the horses, Zechariah sees a man riding on a red horse among Myrtle trees in a hollow, followed by red, sorrel, and white horses (Zech 1:7-9). The horses are further explained as sent by the Lord to patrol the earth to report back to the Lord. Their report to the Angel of the Lord is that“we have patrolled the earth, and right now the whole earth is calm and quiet.” Then "Angel of the Lord," asks how long will God not show mercy on Jerusalem and Judah (Zech 1:12). The Lord's response is comforting words Zechariah is told to proclaim: (Zech 1:13-17)

"The Lord replied with kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me.

14 So the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim: The Lord of Hosts says: I am extremely jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. 15 I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease, for I was a little angry, but they made it worse. 16 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: In mercy, I have returned to Jerusalem; My house will be rebuilt within it”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.

17 “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the Lord will once more comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”


Praise the Lord for His zeal for His people! He is just as zealous for you and I as He is in these verses for Jerusalem and for Zion!

As the explanation continues, however, we see that, while may seem the nations are "at ease" their judgment is forthcoming and God will show mercy to Jerusalem. This vision and the next both confirm the promise made to Zerubbabel by Haggai in Haggai 2:20-22.

"20 The word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21 “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah: I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overturn royal thrones and destroy the power of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overturn chariots and their riders. Horses and their riders will fall, each by his brother’s sword."

The other three visions, the four horns and four craftsmen, the man with the measuring line, and Joshua the High Priest each follow suit, with the goal to stir up the people to complete the temple, and exhorting them to repentance.

As we approach these visions (and the next four) it would be easy for us to simply skim them and point to Christ as the final fulfillment but as with all scripture, we must be cautious in seeking to understand these visions. Unless we have an inspired interpretation provided in the New Testament we should use caution and humility when interpreting them outside their original context!

Hope this helps to lay a foundation for you for this next miniseries through the book of Zechariah!

See ya Sunday!

Priorities

The prophet Haggai's book might be the second shortest in the Old Testament but that doesn't mean it is short on wisdom for us today. As the book opens in the opening verses we find a message that digs right to our own hearts. Take a look - Haggai 1:2-9

“The Lord of Hosts says this: These people say: The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.” The word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet: “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?” Now, the Lord of Hosts says this: “Think carefully about your ways:

You have planted much but harvested little.

You eat but never have enough to be satisfied.

You drink but never have enough to become drunk.

You put on clothes but never have enough to get warm.

The wage earner puts his wages into a bag with a hole in it.”

The Lord of Hosts says this: “Think carefully about your ways. Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house. Then I will be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord. “You expected much, but then it amounted to little. When you brought the harvest to your house, I ruined it. Why?” This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. “Because My house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.

The people had been back in Jerusalem for 18 years and their homes were finished and luxurious but the temple was in shambles. "The time has not come" is the excuse they have been using for all these years while they worked and worked securing their own all while neglecting the Lord's.

The Lord explains through Haggai that all the work they were doing for their own benefit was for naught. When we toil and labor for ourselves and neglect the Lord we expect much from our toils but actually see very little fruit. Why? Because we've neglected the Lord. 

We need to put the Lord first in all we do -- when we do so the result? Well simply put - Haggai 1:13 says, Haggai the Lord’s messenger, delivered the Lord’s message to the people, “I am with you”—this is the Lord’s declaration.

When we put him first he is with us and we find our satisfaction in him and him alone... 

see ya Sunday!

Not Just Roses and Unicorns

One of my favorite books of the Bible is the book of Habakkuk. Not just because the prophet has a cool sounding name either. But because of the manner in which he views the world. In Christianity today there is a prevailing line of thought that emphasizes the idea that when you trust in Christ all your problems vanish.

This is a myth that needs to be silenced once and for all.

Yes, it is true that when you surrender to Christ your most basic spiritual problem, your relationship with God is solved. But with that solution emerges an entirely new set of problems that you didn't face when you were an unbeliever.  Struggles like: "Why do good people suffer and evil people prosper?" or "Why isn't God answering my prayer?" or "When I'm doing my best for the Lord, why do I experience the worst from others?"

Friends, those who claim to be without problems are either not telling the truth or they are not growing and experiencing real life. Living in a dream world blocking out all reality.

That wasn't Habakkuk. Habakkuk surveyed the land of Judah, and the international scene, he found himself struggling with some serious problems. Thankfully, Habakkuk did the right thing he took his problems to the Lord.

We should follow Habakkuk's example and turn to God when the world seems to fall apart around us.

Hope to see you on Sunday!

A Familiar Place...

This Sunday as we prepare our hearts for worship and for communion our text brings us to a familiar place. We find the Prophet, Nahum, proclaiming pending judgment against the city of Nineveh. We encountered Nineveh previously when we studied Jonah. At that point, facing a similar punishment, the city was given an opportunity to repent. One hundred fifty years or so later God through Nahum offers Nineveh no such opportunity. The Assyrians had their chances to walk in obedience and exhausted all of them. Now the moment has arrived in which they would answer for the atrocities committed throughout the generations.  Nahum assures the children of God that "the Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will never leave the guilty unpunished." (Nahum 1:3a)

This message of Nahum for the people of God is one of consolation and encouragement that God has heard their cry and will judge those who have harmed his children without reservation. This message for those who do evil, however, is one of warning. A warning that we cannot rely on what mercy was shown to those who have gone before us. The faith of our fathers, the faith of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, is their faith to share for our education and encouragement but is not nor can it ever be our saving faith. That saving faith is found in none other - no amount of prayer, no amount of sacrifice, no amount of another's love or faith can grant someone salvation. The only faith that can save you is yours.  The Lord may be merciful and slow to anger, but the day of judgment does finally come. Will you be ready?

The question we must ask ourselves is this - are we trusting in what your parents or ancestors might have done to escape the judgment of God or are you trusting in what Christ has done for you? Putting your faith in him alone?

See ya Sunday!

Can You Hear It?

Eight out of the nine oracles found in the book of Zephaniah announce God’s just judgment of all the earth; and the judgment against Judah and Jerusalem in particular for the violation of the covenant they shared with the LORD.

However, the ninth oracle breaks from this pattern. In Zephaniah 3:14-20 we find a song that reveals that the God of justice and judgment is also the God of forgiveness and hope. We discover in verses that He is our King, the LORD in the midst of us (Zephaniah 3:15). He is our incarnate Savior who, in His love, rejoices over us (Zephaniah 3:17).

This song of rejoicing is not only a song in which the people of the LORD are exhorted to raise their voices (Zephaniah 3:14), but also one in which the LORD Himself participates. Thus, the LORD “rejoices” over the remnant of His people “with joy”; He “joys” over them “with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

Can you hear the song?

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Sing for joy, Daughter Zion;
shout loudly, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has removed your punishment;
He has turned back your enemy.
The King of Israel, Yahweh, is among you;
you need no longer fear harm.
On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear;
Zion, do not let your hands grow weak.
Yahweh your God is among you,
a warrior who saves.
He will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will bring you quietness with His love.
He will delight in you with shouts of joy.”
I will gather those who have been driven
from the appointed festivals;
they will be a tribute from you
and a reproach on her.
Yes, at that time
I will deal with all who afflict you.
I will save the lame and gather the scattered;
I will make those who were disgraced
throughout the earth
receive praise and fame.
At that time I will bring you back,
yes, at the time I will gather you.
I will give you fame and praise
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes before your eyes.
Yahweh has spoken.

Easy as 1, 2, 3...

“Mankind, He has told you what is good
and what it is the Lord requires of you:
to act justly,
to love faithfulness,
and to walk humbly with your God.”

Micah 6:8 is a verse that most people know. Right here we have a blueprint of exactly what God was requesting of his people. But the people Micah was ministering to just weren’t listening. Now to be clear, to make Micah 6:8 a salvation text is to misunderstand the message of the prophet. None of us can do what God requires until we first come to God as broken sinners who need to be saved. We can’t “act justly” unless we’ve first been justified by faith and are right with God. How could we possibly “love faithfulness” if we haven’t personally experienced God’s loving faithfulness? Finally, if we want to “walk humbly” with God, we must first bow humbly before Him, confess our sins, and claim His promise of forgiveness.

Unbelievers who think they are acting justly, loving faithfulness, and walking humbly with God are doing nothing more than fooling themselves; it doesn’t matter how moral their lives might be.
Titus 3:5 puts it like this: "Not by works righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us."

Friends, before we get comfortable up there on our high horses we need to remember that the only people God can save are lost people; the only people God can forgive are guilty people. If we see ourselves as God sees us, then we can by faith become what He wants us to become. But first, we must get out of our own way.

Honestly, walking humbly with God may be the most challenging part of this text. We are much better at defining what it isn’t than what it is. For instance, to walk humbly is to neither to have your nose up in the air nor your shoulders slouched over your feet. To walk humbly is to not exalt yourself, to not worry or be bothered by other people's opinions of you. To walk humbly is not to be above someone or below someone, but rather with someone. It is not thinking you can do it all on your own, carrying the burdens upon your limited human shoulders. It is not forgetting you are human. It is not living without grace. It is not playing God. So maybe walking humbly with God is simply about paying attention to who we are and what is around us. It is as Micah said, "I will wait on God, and God will hear me.

If we want to have a chance to live out Micah 6:8 we have to come humbly before God, will you do that today?

Micah ~ "Who is like Jehovah?"

After a restful and adventurous few days off for our anniversary, I am excited to get back to the grind and into our series looking at the prophet Micah.

Micah or "Micaiah" a prophet in the days of Jotham and Hezekiah brought his message to the people of Judah at the same time our previous prophets of Amos and Hosea were preaching to the northern kingdom of Israel. 

Micah was a reformer, he foresaw the coming judgment of Israel and was encouraging the Jews to return to the faithful worship of God and sincere obedience to his covenant but he like the prophets in the north was largely ignored. 

In chapters 3-5 which we will delve into this weekend, we see Micah's second message in the book. In these chapters, Micah rebukes not just the leaders of the church but the leaders in the community exploiting the poor. Following that rebuke though Micah offers the people hope in a series of promises. We see a Promised Kingdom (4:1-8); a Promised Deliverance (4:9-10); a Promised Conquest (4:11-13); and a Promised King ( 5:1-5). 

These promises are achieved via a purging of the nation. A purging seems painful but is necessary. Why? Because for us to walk rightly with, we need to have a personal purging, we need to be cleansed of all unrighteousness so that we can be pure before the Lord and ready for his return. The only one who can bring this purge about is the Lord himself. 

Just some food for thought as we prepare for church tomorrow!

Many prayers answered...

Thank you for your many prayers this week as we served in El Cotorro. We had our challenges, but God provided in every situation! Pastor William and his family send their warmest regards and thanks for sharing us with them for the week.

Below I have included some pictures from our week illustrating the project and will be posting more on Facebook later. It is amazing however how things work out. One of the things that Pastor William has been praying about for over a year now has been for the ability to purchase a home near the church so that they would have more space for materials and worship. This was an almost impossible dream, but thanks to friends from Colorado the funds were provided, and this week while we were there Pastor was finally able to secure a home two houses down from the church. This is an incredible blessing because for the last 4 years William and his family have lived at the church while it has been under construction. This blessing will change their lives and hopefully allow the project to speed up.

Please continue to pray for Pastor William and his family! Also, be praying if you would like to be involved in this project, we have another team heading down in October. October 6-13, 2017

Good Morning from Las Brisas

Good morning everyone, as most of you read this post our team will be hard at work about the Lord's work in El Cotorro. We appreciate your prayers while we are here!

This year has proven to be especially challenging. We struggled to find people to participate this year, and even then, we lost several participants before the deadline to go right up to just this past week. We’ve had missing passports and found passports, we’ve had sickness, even death attack our team member’s families. But we know without a doubt that this is where God desires for us to be. We know that God has a plan for each of those on the team and that we will be a blessing to Pastor William and his family at Las Brisas Iglesia Baptista.  

Our team this year consists of myself, Pastor Alex, Chrissy Bullard, Edie Nicholson, Pavel Bacallao, Pavel’s son Jaccell, and Tom Red from our sister church in Big Pine.

I look forward to our return next week and sharing with you the incredible blessings we received and gave on your behalf! Thank you for your prayers for safety and traveling mercies. Pray also that the Gospel message would be proclaimed!

Pastor Jonathan

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Looking at our passage this week in Hosea I can’t help but be reminded God’s redemptive work in his Son. Hosea chapters 4-5 we see this picture of a courtroom in which the judge is reading off the charges against his people. At the end of chapter 5, the sentence is pronounced, the Lord proclaimed in 5:15 “I will depart and return to My place until they recognize their guilt and seek My face; they will search for Me in their distress.” He was going to leave the people of Israel to their own devices until they were ready to repent.

Israel and Judah were weak and sick, and instead of turning to the Lord they turned to the King of Assyria and the only thing the Lord could do was to step back and wait for them to realize their predicament.

In chapter 6 we hear a plea of repentance from the people. However, it isn’t unusual for an individual when accused in a trial to express regret and remorse over what they have done and ask for a second chance. Which is what in this case we see Israel doing, except God in is sovereignty wasn’t fooled. God recognized their feigned repentance and proceeded to expose their hypocrisy.

The Lord calls their loyalty out like a “morning mist” vanishing like the “early dew.” Meaning that they are claiming loyalty now when it benefits them but as soon as the circumstances change they are gone.

To provide some substance to their faith, God sends His prophets with the Word of God, but over and over the people turned a deaf ear.  God doesn’t desire our relationship with him to be shallow, filled with empty words and emotions. He doesn’t want our hearts to be excited one day and frigid the next. Hosea 6:6 is a common theme throughout scripture “For I desire loyalty and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”  

God recognized the superficial nature of their sacrifices and rejected them. There is but one sacrifice which while it pained Him, He couldn’t refuse. The sacrifice of His Son on the cross.

Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t for himself, it was made for us. It was made that we might be reunited much as Gomer to Hosea with our Lord.

The power of Christ’s sacrifice, however, wasn’t found in his death. It was found in His Resurrection. What a glorious event that defeated death, hell, and the grave once and for all who believe. But just saying oh I believe in God is far from sufficient, we need to demonstrate true repentance.  

Happy Resurrection Day! 

Are You Cheating?

Last week we finished our study of Amos, a guy called by God from the Judean countryside to serve as a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel. This week we start a four-week mini-series on the Prophet Hosea. Hosea even though he is preaching around the same time as Amos, has a slightly different approach. Now, to be fair, there are times in scripture we see prophets taking some unusual methods to get the attention of the people. For instance, Isaiah for three years embarrassed the people by walking the streets dressed like a prisoner of war. The prophet Jeremiah carried a yoke on his shoulders for several months. The prophet Ezekiel even used a haircut at one point as an object lesson to get his point across.

The question is why did they need to do these things? I mean the prophet Jonah preached a super simple message repent or die, and here these guys are putting on a show….

To be fair these peculiar things as Wiersbe puts in were in fact “acts of mercy.”[1] The people were suffering from selective hearing, and they were allowing the sound of God’s voice to be drowned out and were no longer heeding the Covenant. The Lord called Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others to these strange things with the goal of shocking the people, waking them up to listen to what God had to say.

Hosea was no different from the rest of the prophets, he was called to live out a painful object lesson to wake up God’s people. Hosea was instructed to marry a prostitute by the name of Gomer who would then bear three children, two of which likely were not even Hosea’s. Then just when things didn’t seem like they could get worse Gomer left him for another man, leaving Hosea to buy back his own wife.

So why did God instruct this man of God (some think Hosea was a priest) to endure these challenges?

Well, it paints a vivid picture of what the children of Israel had done to God by chasing idols and prostituting themselves, committing spiritual adultery. We face the same challenges and temptations today. Look at what James the half-brother of Jesus said in James 4:4: “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (ESV)

Church, lest we face God’s wrath we need to heed what Hosea wrote. Each of the individuals in this story—Hosea, Gomer, and the three children—teach us critical spiritual lessons about the relationship between God and his people.

Israel had played the harlot, but God would take her back, just as he does for us when we cheat on Him.

The question we need to ask ourselves are we being faithful and true to our betrothal? When we allow other things, important things such as family, work, school, friends, to come between us and our relationship with God, we are cheating on Him. We must guard against this! Do these things matter? Yes, without a doubt and God cares just as much as you do if not more for these areas of your life but the thing you have to remember is that while God cares for your family he also cares for you. I love the illustration, when you get on an airplane they instruct you to put on your own oxygen mask first when faced with an emergency. If we don't focus on our own walk we can't hope to help anyone else!

May the words of Hosea encourage us to remain faithful to our first love!

See ya Sunday!

[1]Warren Wiersbe, Bible Exposition Commentary – Be Amazed (Hosea, Joel), (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor, 2003), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 316

Don't Starve...

Amos has so many lessons upon which we can meditate. The sermons he preached in chapters 3-6  compelling. Calling on the people to “Hear this word…” Urging them to see the error in their ways, to see that their pride and complacent behavior was the source of their fall.

The prophet’s record ends with five distinctive visions of judgment which God gave to His servant: a vision of a plague of locusts (7:1-3), a vision of a devouring fire (vv. 4-6), a image of a plumb line (vv. 7-9), a vision of a basket of ripe fruit (8:1-14), and finally a vision of the ruined temple (9:1-10). Amos then closes his message on a positive note as he describes the future glorious kingdom that God has promised to His people (vv. 11-15).

In chapter 8, our blue-collar prophet shares of a day of bitter mourning. A day we often refer to as “the Day of the Lord.” We see many vivid pictures in which we are told of what will happen “on that day” on the day of bitter judgment.

The Lord through His prophet proclaims that this coming judgment would, in fact, be like a famine (vv. 11-14), not only of literal food but also of spiritual nourishment. Amos knew as do we that "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Deut. 8:3 ESV) echoed by Christ in Matthew 4:4. Thus, these days would be days in which people would cry out for help, but they would indeed find no sustenance.  What a tragedy it is that all around we have plenty of "religion" but no Word from the Lord!  People stagger like drunks from place to place, always searching to find food and drink for their bodies as much as spiritual sustenance for their souls.

Today we experience this all too often in one of two ways. We are either famished, not receiving any nourishment spiritually or we are feasting on the wrong things, much as a diet of junk food and Coca Cola will surely destroy us from the inside out eventually causing our bodies to fail.

We are in a sense starving ourselves, consuming the Word one day a week and feasting on junk the other seven.

Think about it…. If you only ate once a week how healthy do you think you would be?

Don't Settle...

Last week we looked at the eight oracles or prophetic words Amos had for Judah, Israel, and the surrounding nations. This week, we see our country prophet zeroing in on "the family" (Amos 3:1). From Amos chapter three to chapter six we see our prophet preach a series of sermons each one building on the previous, each one addressing various issues that were facing Israel and Judah.
When he reaches chapter six, we find what I think is the source of their problems. He addresses two issues in chapter six which are intricately related. Complacency and pride. Amos 6:1 starts off proclaiming woe to those who have become complacent and ends expressing the Lord's hatred of pride. How are these related? Well let's consider what complacency means - The Oxford Dictionary describes complacency "a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements."

So you see, while Amos was telling them "Woe to you who are complacent in Zion" (Amos 6:1 NIV) he was setting them up to receive the knockout punch a few verses later when he says:  "The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself—the Lord God Almighty declares:

“I abhor the pride of Jacob
    and detest his fortresses;
I will deliver up the city
    and everything in it.” (Amos 6:8 NIV)

Catch that? The Lord abhor's the pride of Jacob. He is disgusted with those who sit complacently, perfectly content with what they have achieved. Thus sitting back and wait on the "Day of the Lord" to arrive knowing their salvation is secure, not worried about their brother.

Let's bring this up to today. Do we fall into the same trap? Israel and Judah were experiencing the best days economically, their social standing was secure, they weren't warring with their neighbors.

In the church today, (talking universal church here) we have more than we have ever had. We have access to resources no other generation has had yet are we taking advantage of the blessing which God has bestowed upon us or are we sitting complacently admiring with our achievements?

Are we embracing a "Field of Dreams" mentality (if you build it they will come) or are we actively sharing our faith with all who would listen?

I want to challenge you this Easter season - take advantage of the willingness of people to go to church and invite them! Go out of your way to find people, even people you think would never give the church the time of day. But don't just invite them to share with them what God has done for you and bring them!

Let's not let our pride stand between us and obedience to God!

See ya Sunday!