{"id":10457,"date":"2022-04-03T15:23:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-03T19:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/?post_type=message&p=10457"},"modified":"2022-04-11T15:25:41","modified_gmt":"2022-04-11T19:25:41","slug":"on-that-day","status":"publish","type":"message","link":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/message\/on-that-day","title":{"rendered":"On That Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Below is an automated transcript of this message<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Good <\/i><\/span> morning Eastgate! See, I got that right today. Let’s see if I can keep doing that. I am getting used to our new name.

\nI’m excited about this song that we just sang, aren’t you? Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will provide. That word, \u201cJireh,\u201d in Hebrew, means \u201cprovision or provider.\u201d He’s not only our provider in that He provides for our needs, but He, Himself , is our best provision, our deepest provision.

\nLet’s go to Him in prayer before we begin the message today. Lord, we do come to You, as provider, as Jehovah Jireh. We, first of all, come seeking Your hand. We come, because some of us have financial needs that we need for You to help us meet, Lord. You’re our provider. Some of us have physical needs, some of us have loved ones or, we ourselves, are having medical challenges. We have physical needs. Others are here and we have relational needs. There’s a marriage, a family relationship that we need Your <\/i><\/span> hand, Lord. You are our provider; not only that, You’re enough. We seek Your face because all of our needs are met in Christ Jesus. Lord, now as we open Your word, speak to us. That’s our deepest need, really, is to hear from You. We seek Your face. In Jesus\u2019 name. Amen.

\nWe’re in part nine of our ten-part series in the book of Zechariah. Can you believe it? We are getting down to the last chapters. We have three chapters to go. We’re going to cover two of them today and that will leave one final chapter, chapter 14, for next Sunday, Palm Sunday. It’s going to be the perfect chapter for Palm Sunday.

\nWe’re going to be in chapters 12 and 13. You’ll hear a repetitive phrase in these final three chapters. In the previous three chapters, chapters 9, 10 and 11, we covered the first oracle. There were two oracles, two <\/i><\/span> burdens or two judgments that were given to the Prophet Zechariah from the Lord. The first one, we’ve already covered.

\nThe previous three chapters revealed the first oracle of the LORD revealed to Zechariah, which described Christ\u2019s first advent, His first coming. When you read chapters 9 through 11, you’re looking at the information that’s already happened. It was written 600 years before it happened, in 518 BC. It’s already happened, so, from our perspective, it happened 2000 years ago, at Jesus’ first coming.

\nIn these final chapters, get your seatbelts on, because this is exciting stuff. Chapters 12, 13 and 14 is the second oracle. It’s primarily about the second advent, the second coming of Jesus. Here we have 2600 years ago, the Holy Spirit revealing to the prophet Zachariah what Jesus would do, has already done and that which He has yet to do. So, this is exciting stuff.

\nThe repetitive phrase that keeps repeating in these final three chapters, is this little three word <\/i><\/span> phrase, \u201con that day.\u201d We’ve titled this message, \u201cOn That Day.\u201d The recurring phrase, \u201con that day,\u201d occurs seventeen times in these final three chapters. This second oracle gives details about Christ\u2019s Second Coming. \u201cOn that day,\u201d occurs ten times in today’s reading. \u201cOn that day\u201d surely must refer to the day of the Lord, to the day of Christ\u2019s coming. When we talk about this word, \u201cday,\u201d \u201cthe day of the Lord,\u201d it doesn’t really mean a 24-hour day. Instead, it refers to all those things that will come to fulfillment at the end.

\nIn fact, Peter tells us this about that day. 2 Peter 3:8-10 (ESV) \u201c\u2026 with the LORD one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. \u2026But the day of the LORD will come like a thief\u2026\u201d This day of the Lord will come and it will surprise most everyone, but not us, because we are God’s people. We’ve been informed, we’ve been made aware of His coming . <\/i><\/span>We live in the last days now. There’s a day coming; a culmination of God’s plans for us is coming.

\nPaul talks about it like this in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 (ESV) \u201cNow concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the LORD will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, \u201cThere is peace and security,\u201d then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.\u201d We’re not to be surprised because we’ve been given the instructions in order <\/i><\/span> to be ready.

\nI wonder, are you ready for Christ’s return? Are you ready? That’s what these two chapters that we’re going to be studying today are talking about; how to be ready when Christ comes again. Some of you are good at getting ready for stuff. Others of us are not so good at getting ready for stuff; we kind of just let life happen, but then life happens and then we wish we had been ready.

\nDo you remember when you first started school? Do you remember every year, at least for most of your school career, around August, you’d start getting your school supplies together. Maybe you would get some new tennis shoes or some new clothes and you’d lay them out the first couple of nights of school. You would be so excited to go to school. Of course, as the year goes on, that excitement wanes a little bit. Before, though, you’d get ready and your parents would help you get ready. Before you go to college , <\/i><\/span> there’s some prerequisites. You have to get those things ready. You have to apply. You can’t just show up at class and hope to get a diploma. You have to get ready if you want to buy a house. Some of the young families here are trying to buy their first house. You’re often surprised by how much the bank expects you to get ready. Can you bring this? Can you bring that? We need a copy of this. We need this deposit. All of these things in life require getting ready. Why be surprised, then, that we must be ready for Christ’s return?

\nAs we look at this passage, it’ll help us get ready for that day when He returns. In Zachariah chapter 12 and 13, the prophet received a second oracle from the Lord, revealing the promises that Jesus, the Messiah, would fulfill for Israel in the last days at his second coming <\/i><\/span>. I believe, as we look at these promises that we can see that they are already available for us today. How can we receive these promises? The text gives us these four promises that we can see are available to us today. Let’s look at the text; we’ve got two chapters to read. We will take it in four portions. Let’s read the first nine verses of chapter 12.

\nZechariah 12:1-9 (ESV) 1 \u201cThe oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 \u201cBehold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, Iwill <\/i><\/span> will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, \u2018The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.\u2019 6 \u201cOn that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 \u201cAnd the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on <\/i><\/span>that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.\u201d This is God’s word.

\nWe’re looking at something that hasn’t happened yet. We’re looking at it, but we’re also looking at how we can learn about its promise to us today. Here’s the first promise that’s available to us today:

\n1. He gives salvation to those who believe in Him.

\nChrist gives salvation to all those who believe in Him. Let’s \u201cunpack\u201d these nine verses and see this promise revealed. I would, first of all, give you the setting. Remember, I’ve said to you, this is the second oracle. You see that in verse 2 of chapter 12; this is the second oracle and it refers to a day that has yet to come. The description here is of the day of the Lord, when the nations of the world will lay siege to Israel; the nations of the world will come against Israel. That is not that hard to believe, is it? It could happen. We already see the <\/i><\/span> evidence of that today.

\nThere’s a couple of things to think about here. If you would have been reading the bible, say in the early 1900\u2019s, you would have thought, How is this going to happen? There’s not even a place called Israel anymore. There’s not a nation called Israel. Israel wasn\u2019t a nation for 1900 years; not since 70 AD, when the Romans overthrew and destroyed the temple. The country and the people were dispersed throughout the land. It wasn’t until 1947 when Israel began to exist again as a nation. So, first of all, we had to have an Israel, which we do. Then, we have to have a world that turns against Israel and wants what Israel has; a world that wants to overthrow them. That hasn’t fully happened, although we see the evidence of it today. But that day is coming and then, at that time, on that day, the Messiah will return for the second time. King Jesus will return and He will defend them against the nations <\/i><\/span> of the world. That’s what we’re looking at here in this prophetic language, which is filled with metaphor and symbols.

\nThis is the overview here, these nine verses that the Lord Jesus will come and rescue Israel on this future day. We can see the evidence. Let me underline a few of those thoughts to help you.

\nFirst of all, I would point to verse seven that says, 7 \u201cAnd the LORD will give salvation\u2026\u201d Do you see that word? Salvation? That’s where we get our first promise. He’s going to deliver Israel, but this promise is already available to us today. The thing about what happened 2000 years ago was the Jewish leaders. The priest describes the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Jewish leaders, the so-called shepherds, which we’ve read about in previous chapters who rejected Jesus. Only a small remnant of Jews believed in Jesus, and that was the foundation of the church <\/i><\/span>. The first disciples and the early believers were all from the Jews, but then that was it. Then, it went out to the world and the Gentiles largely became the ones who believed in Jesus and have followed Jesus to this day. Ever since then, there’s been a hardness, like a blindness to the Jewish people that they just couldn’t see Jesus as belonging to them as their Messiah. This prophecy says, there’s a day coming when the nations of the world will lay siege to Jerusalem. You can see this if you look up at verse two, 2 \u201cBehold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah.\u201d So, it won’t just be Jerusalem; all of Judah, all of Israel will be surrounded by the nations of the world. Then, the Messiah will come and save them, rescue them.

\nSo let’s look at some of the images here, just to see how He will rescue them. <\/i><\/span>. The first thing I would take note of is in verse one, we see that the Lord wants to give us His credentials, so that we can recognize that He has the authority. This is kind of unique here in scripture. He wants to go back to creation because He’s about to do something new that He’s never done before. He’s about to come as King. He’s about to establish His kingdom. But, He first has to do battle against those that are enemies of His kingdom and so, He gives us His credentials.

\nHe gives three credentials: (1) Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens. By the way, He says that He is the one who laid the universe in place. He set all of the stars and planets in orbit. He is the creator God. (2) He founded the earth. He created this place called Earth. He created it with its seasons, its animals and its plant life. All the details. He is the Creator God who made these <\/i><\/span> things. But He’s not finished. (3) He formed the spirit of man within him, which sounds like Genesis, when it says, \u201cAnd the Lord formed man from the dust of the earth and he breathed on him and man became a living soul.\u201d He says that this is who I am. Then, He starts using creation words, \u201cbehold, I’m about to make,\u201d that’s a creative word, isn’t it. I’m about to do something creative here. I’m the Creator God. I’m still doing something here.

\nVerse 2, \u201cBehold, I am about to make\u2026\u201d You see that word, \u201cmake,\u201d in verse two and you see it again in verse three, \u201cOn that day I will make\u2026\u201d Then, you see it again in verse six, 6 \u201cOn that day I will make\u2026\u201d Do you see the repetition? This is the Creator God. He’s about to make a new kingdom. He’s about <\/i><\/span> to do something new. He’s already made it available to us. When we’re saved, we become a new creation.\nHe’s about to make all things new. But it first involves a battle. He says, I’m going to do this with Israel.

\nFirst of all, he says, 2 \u201cBehold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples.\u201d What’s that? He is going to make the nations taste of this, drink it and it’s going to make them drunk. It’s going to make them stagger. They’re going to become foolish about this, they’re going to come against Israel, but they’re going to be like one who is staggering. Like someone who is drunk.

\nThere’s four images here that He will make of Israel. The first is a \u201ccup of staggering\u201d in verse two. Then in verse three, \u201clike a heavy stone.\u201d It\u2019s the kind of stone from a weightlifting contest that is the idea in the Hebrew language here. \u201dI <\/i><\/span> will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples, all who lift it will surely hurt themselves.\u201d Ladies, I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to lift something and it hurt you, but every guy in the room will admit that they’ve tried to lift something and it hurt them because somebody said, \u2018I don’t think you can lift that.\u2019 We men would say, \u2018Yes, I can.\u2019 Then you try.

\nOur church was portable for 19 years. Some of you were around during those days. We would set up and tear down every Sunday, so we rented places. We rented the Forest Hills Middle School auditorium for 15 years; we rented the auditorium at Community Christian school for four years. Add that up and that’s 19 years of backing trailers up every Sunday morning, unloading the stuff, setting the church up with all of the chairs, all the sound equipment and all the nursery equipment. When church was over heavy <\/i><\/span> stone that the world is going to want to try to to pick up and it’s going to break their back.

\nThen, He gives a third image in verse six, \u201cOn that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood.\u201d It\u2019s like a furnace with coals that you put in dry wood. The nations are the wood and Israel’s the blazing pot.

\nHe’s not finished with that imagery. He gives a fourth image here, \u201ca flaming torch among sheaves.\u201d If you’ve been alive for a while, back in the day, they used to stack the corn sheaves or they would stack hay in a certain way. Now, we have these huge bales that we use, but then it would be sheaves of hay or sheaves of wheat. If you would put a torch <\/i><\/span> to that, it is dry and would burn right up. The nations would be like the sheaves and Israel would be like the flaming torch.

\nThese four images all point to the destruction of every enemy that comes against Israel during this time. This little bitty nation that shouldn’t be able to even exist, the Messiah will come and rescue, deliver and save them. This is going to happen on that Day. That’s what the scripture says; it’s coming and all the pieces are in place.

\nHe uses some more words here. He says in verse four, \u201cOn that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.\u201d I will cause blindness and total chaos. He says in verse nine, \u201cAnd on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.\u201d

\nWho is this warrior? It’s the Messiah, King Jesus. He’s coming again on that day. Here’s the good news that’s in the future; He’s going to defend Israel and prove who He is to Israel. Right now, here we are. We’re <\/i><\/span> the church. He’s already offered us salvation and promised salvation right now.

\nHave you received Jesus? It says in Romans 1:16 (ESV) \u201cFor I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.\u201d This is Paul speaking.

\nDo you believe in Jesus? How do you get ready for the second coming of Jesus? How do you get ready? The first step is to believe the promise that He died for you and He’s the Savior of the world. Have you received Him as your Savior? Do not reject Him, my friend, and do not postpone it because the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place now. Have you received Jesus as Savior? He’s coming again.

\nLet’s keep reading. We’ve got much to read; verses 10 through 14 of Chapter 12. Let’s read.

\nZechariah 12:10-14 (ESV) 10 \u201cAnd I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so <\/i><\/span> that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves.\u201d

\nHere’s the second promise that we see revealed here:

\n2. He pours out His Spirit to enable our repentance.

\nLook at verse 10, \u201cAnd I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy\u2026\u201d He’s not talking <\/i><\/span> about water here. He’s not talking about a liquid, although water is often the image or the metaphor for the Holy Spirit in the bible. He says, \u201cI will pour it on the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit.\u201d I believe this should be capitalized here, certainly. It’s talking about the spirit of grace and pleas of mercy. Who brings this but the Spirit of God? The LORD promised to pour out on Israel the spirit of grace and pleas of mercy so that they would mourn and repent that they had rejected \u201cHim whom they have pierced.\u201d That’s to ask for repentance and to say, \u2018God, forgive me.\u2019 He is going to pour out His Holy Spirit on Israel in the last days. They’re going to be defended by the Messiah and then they’re going to look up to Him and say, \u2018Wait a minute. You’re the one who was crucified.\u2019 They’re going to recognize Him. Where do you see that Gary? Look, He <\/i><\/span> says, in verse 10, \u201cwhen they look on me.\u201d This already happened in the past that He was pierced for our transgressions. But this event in the future, when Israel looks on Him and recognizes Him, is yet to come. Now we’re seeing evidence of it already happening. It will come to pass that they will look and say, \u2018Wait a minute, that’s our Messiah. He already came and we rejected and crucified Him.\u2019 It says that He’s going to pour out His Spirit. \u201cWhen they look on me,\u201d this is God speaking. Then he changes to \u201con him.\u201d You see that shift because now He’s pointing to Jesus, the Lord of Hosts. \u201cWhen they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.\u201d This is Christ Jesus; He\u2019s defended the people of Israel.

\n I <\/i><\/span> believe that what we saw in those first nine verses points to the Battle of Armageddon. It points to that big battle that takes place. We’ll see reference here to Megiddo as we look down in verse 11. I’ve been on Mount Carmel and I’ve looked over the plain of Megiddo. I’ve seen that vast plain. Many, many modern generals have looked at that place and said, \u2018that’s the perfect place for a battle.\u2019 It’s an amazingly flat plain, where you could see for miles and miles.

\nThey look at Jesus and their hearts are pierced because they pierced Him and they weep. You see it over and over again the word, \u201cmourn;\u201d it appears five times in this passage. There is weeping.

\nWhen I was growing up, I used to hear my mom refer to someone getting saved. She would say, \u2018did you see that how that person was really touched with the tears of <\/i><\/span> repentance?\u2019 She would talk about tears of repentance. I started thinking, \u2018well, I guess you have to cry to get saved.\u2019 Don’t leave here and say, \u2018Pastor Gary said you have to cry to get saved.\u2019 But I do believe that repentance is necessary for salvation. You might say, \u2018Well, which one comes first, salvation or repentance?\u2019 That’s a good question. For some, you start believing first and then you feel the Holy Spirit convict you and you repent of your sins. But, sometimes the Holy Spirit starts convicting you of your sins and then you ask to get saved. So, I guess the answer to which one comes first is that they both come first, they both kind of come together and it depends on how the Lord’s working in your life, but both are necessary for salvation. There’s a \u201cfeel good\u201d kind of salvation that some preach and that some falsely receive. It believes that you <\/i><\/span> just need to pray the magic prayer and and you don’t have to say that you are sorry for your sins.

\nHe promises to save us as the result of seeing what He did on the cross for us when we look at Him, whom we have pierced, and by the way we did it. It wasn’t just the Jews looking and saying, \u2018we did that;\u2019 it’s me and it’s you. Our sins put Him there and that’s the ugliness of sin. Our sins put Jesus on the cross and pierced Him. When you look upon that, the Holy Spirit gives you the power or the insight to repent.

\nThere are two kinds of repentance that the bible talks about. One is Godly repentance and one is worldly repentance. We all are born with the ability <\/i><\/span> to perform worldly repentance. What does worldly repentance look like? It\u2019s simple. If your mama catches you, when you’re a little kid, doing something you’re not supposed to do, and she says to you, \u201cI’m going to spank you.\u201d You’re sorry, but you’re not sorry for what you did, that you hit your brother, you’re sorry that you’re about to get a spanking. That’s worldly repentance. You are sorry you got caught. That’s worldly repentance. You are sorry that you are about to get punished. You are about to get put in \u201ctime out.\u201d That’s worldly repentance.

\nGodly repentance is I\u2019m sorry that I hit my brother. I’m sorry that I disappointed my mother. That’s Godly repentance. Do you see the difference? Here’s what the scripture says in 2 Corinthians 7:10 (ESV) \u201cGodly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.\u201d Why does worldly sorrow bring death <\/i><\/span>? Because it’s not real repentance.

\nI sense here, as we look at this passage, that a large revival breaks out in Israel on this future day. On that day. They look and say, \u2018Wait a minute; the whole world is against us, but the Lord is protecting us.\u2019 They were turning to the Messiah.

\nThen, you see all of these households. You see David’s household and you see Levi’s household. It’s like he listed all of the \u201ccommunity groups\u201d in Israel; they all went back to their \u201ccommunity groups,\u201d they broke into prayer groups, the women prayed over here and the men prayed over there. They all wept and said they were grieved that we rejected the Messiah. Now they believed and repented.

\nIsaiah 53:5 (ESV) \u201cBut he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.\u201d This <\/i><\/span> imagery of one pierced was attributed to the Messiah. He was pierced through His hands and through His feet and in His side. He was pierced for our transgressions.

\nThere’s a revival already at work in Israel today. Did you know that? It’s already unlike any other generation. There are generations of people coming to faith in Jesus as Messiah. I’m gonna pop up the websites you can go to and look at some of the testimonial videos. One is treeoflifeisrael.org or oneforisrael.org You can go to either of these and be amazed at the testimonies of Jewish people believing in Jesus as Messiah. The tree of life for Israel site is particularly of interest because they have someone that does street interviews. They will say, \u2018I want to see <\/i><\/span> if you can guess a famous leader; one of the most amazing leaders that has ever lived.\u2019 Then, he’ll hand them cards and have them read quotations and descriptions of this leader. Finally, at the end, he asks them to guess who this leader is. They might guess a famous Rabbi\u2019s name or they would say that they didn\u2019t know. At the very end, he tells them that it\u2019s Yeshua; this is Yeshua. It’s amazing that they don’t recognize Him. Any one of us would say that it\u2019s Jesus. Then, some of them, you’ll see their heart turning and some will go and turn away. There’s not really what you’d call a \u201cmiddle of the ground\u201d response. They respond very emotionally. one way or the other. Watch some of those videos if you have time. I’m saying to you that we live in the last days. We’re already seeing the clock ticking, the puzzle pieces falling into place for the fulfillment of Zechariah\u2019s <\/i><\/span> prophecy in Christ\u2019s return.

\nAre you ready? Have you been saved? Have you received Christ as Savior and have you repented, which means to turn away from your sins? Saying, \u2018I am sorry I offended You, God, and I repent.\u2019 For me, it always involves tears. It doesn’t matter how manly you are or how strong you are. When you look upon the cross, it moves you to tears and mourning for what we’ve done to the Lord.

\nLet’s keep reading. Zechariah 13:1-6 (ESV) 1 \u201cOn that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. 2 \u201cAnd on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they <\/i><\/span>shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, \u2018You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.\u2019 And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 \u201cOn that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, \u2018I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.\u2019 6 And if one asks him, \u2018What are these wounds on your back?\u2019 he will say, \u2018The wounds I received in the house of my friends.\u2019

\nHere\u2019s the third promise that Jesus makes available to us today:\n3. He offers His blood to cleanse us from our sins.\nLook <\/i><\/span> at that first verse of Chapter 13, 1 \u201cOn that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.\u201d David is the human king of Israel, but there’s a son of David coming and He’s the fountain. He’s the fountain and that fountain is already open. It’s already open for business. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins and all those who come to Him are cleansed. It’s open now, but there’s like an \u201cout of order\u201d sign on the side that faces Israel. It’s like they’re under a blindness, with a hardness of heart and they don’t see the fountain that’s already there. But, there’s a day coming when it will be open to them and their eyes will be opened. Their hearts will be open to this fountain, this fountain which represents the blood of Jesus that cleanses us.

\nYou know, we <\/i><\/span> were already using the imagery of \u201cpoured out\u201d for the Spirit. Here, we have imagery of a fountain that talks about the fountain of God’s cleansing power from Christ’s sacrifice. I sometimes have people come to me, especially people that are just starting to consider Christianity or maybe they’re young in their faith. They start reading the bible and they start at Genesis, the first book. The bible is not an ordinary book, so you don’t necessarily want to start there. I usually tell new believers to not start at Genesis but start with the book of John and learn about the Gospel of Jesus; learn about The Good News. When they finish John, then read James because they need to get ready for hard times. The book of James will get you ready for hard times. The book of John will get you ready so that you know that you’re a believer. The book of James will help you get through difficult times; then, take on some other books . <\/i><\/span>

\nI wouldn’t necessarily tell a new believer to start at Genesis and start reading because what’ll usually happen is they’ll come to me early on and say, \u2018Boy, there’s a lot of blood back there in the Old Testament. All of those sacrifices are hard to keep up with.\u2019 They’ll get kind of overwhelmed with it. Here’s a simple way to think about this for just a second. All of those sacrifices and all of those levitical laws back in this day are like checks written on a future deposit, not one of them is worth a thing, not one of them is worth the paper they’re written on unless somebody makes a deposit in the \u201cbank of righteousness\u201d over here somewhere and makes those sacrifices of all those lands they had if they were of any worth, if they would have counted at all, they wouldn’t have had to keep doing <\/i><\/span> it day after day and year after year. They were waiting for the Messiah to come and make the deposit of the sacrifice that would make them all good.

\nThat fountain is Christ Jesus and His sacrifice. Matthew Henry says this, \u201cThis fountain opened is the \u2026 blood of Christ, and God’s pardoning mercy in that blood, made known in the new covenant, are a fountain always flowing, that never can be emptied.\u201d This is the fountain we’re talking about.

\nThen, he says that it will cleanse them from sin and uncleanliness. We’re talking about sanctification now; salvation and repentance. We’re talking about this cleansing power that God gives. We say, \u201cCome as you are;\u201d that’s our invitation, \u201cand be forever changed by the love of Jesus.\u201d Don’t leave as you are; let Jesus cleanse you; let His sacrifice clean you up.

\nHe says that there’s a day coming when He’s going to do this <\/i><\/span> for Israel. It\u2019s going to look like this; He’s going to cut off idolatry. Look at verse two,\u201cAnd on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness.\u201d He’s going to cut off false prophets. There will be no more false preaching. It gets detailed here; it basically refers to a Levitical vehicle law that says that parents are not supposed to let their children be heretics. Verse 3 \u201cAnd if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, \u2018You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.\u2019 And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.\u201d It\u2019s rough language there, but it’s familiar to the Jewish audience.

\nVerse four says, 4 \u201cOn that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive.\u201d The prophets will be ashamed of the kind of prophecy they used to preach. They’ll take off their hairy cloaks.

\nHairy cloaks were what a prophet wore in those days. Think back to Elijah over here in the New Testament. He was wearing a camel’s fur. I’m glad prophets and preachers don’t have to wear hairy cloaks anymore; that seems like it would be itchy. But, they quit wearing the cloaks, which was a mark of a prophet <\/i><\/span>. The prophets begin to dress like farmers. Verse 5 says, \u201cbut he will say, \u2018I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.\u201d Basically he says, I’m a worker of the soil.

\nI have felt like that on Mondays sometimes, after working really hard the past week. Sometimes, on Mondays, I don’t think I want to be a preacher anymore. I think I will be a farmer. But then, within 24 hours, the Lord reminds me that He called me. Maybe, you sometimes have a Monday where you feel like there’s gotta be a simpler life.

\nThe Lord is cleaning up the religious house. He\u2019s cleaning up the idolatry. He\u2019s cleaning up everything. Verse six is kind of hard to describe what it means. because <\/i><\/span> some people land in the camp that contextually this sounds like the false prophets that are talking about being wounded. Verse 6, \u201cAnd if one asks him, \u2018What are these wounds on your back?\u2019 he will say, \u2018The wounds I received in the house of my friends.\u2019 What does it mean when the scripture says, \u2018What are these wounds on your back?\u2019 Most translations, especially the King James translation and others say, \u2018What are these wounds on your hands?\u2019

\nThe thing about Hebrew is it’s kind of a flexible language. It could be hands or it could be that which is between your hands, which is your torso. But, I like hands. I like that that\u2019s where they tend to land, where the older church fathers landed on scriptures like this.They believed it was hands. So, when you look at this, if it’s contextually the false priest, then he was cutting himself probably in order to express his religiosity. It was a thing that prophets used to do; they would do self immolation or self cutting, in order to prove their virtue. I don’t think that’s what it means. I land where Dr. Unger lands. Unger argues that that<\/i><\/span> the Hebrew does not indicate self-inflicted wounds as some commentators suggest. Although there are various interpretations, we believe this to point to Jesus who was \u201cwounded in the house of His friends.\u201d Verse six is a Messianic prophecy; He was wounded. His hands were wounded and they asked Him how it happened. He said that He received it in the house of His friends. His own people wounded Him. His hands were pierced and His feet were pierced. That’s where I land. I agree with Dr. Unger. J. Vernon McGee and I could list others that land there.

\nIf you’re doing study on your own, you’ll encounter both interpretations. I try to be honest with you about that difference. Here’s what I want you to think about; I want you to go back to verse two. This is the thing when I am preaching this many verses; I can’t dig down very deep on each one, but I try to pull out that part that I feel like the Holy Spirit wants us to hear. Here’s the <\/i><\/span> thing I want you to hear; have you been washed in the blood? I don’t like that language. It’s because you don’t understand it. That\u2019s the only way to be cleansed of sin is to accept the sacrifice that Jesus died for us. So, we see that He’s offered His blood for us.

\nIt says in 1 John 1:6-7 (ESV) \u201cIf we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.\u201d

\nOh, it makes me want to sing, \u201cWhat can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other fountain I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.\u201d He’s opening a fountain on that day for the <\/i><\/span> Jews, but it’s already opened on this day for us. Have you had your sins washed away? I don’t like that language. You need to understand that language; that’s the cost. The wages of sin is death. He died in our place.

\nWell, we’ve got a few more verses to read and then we’ll talk about them. Verses seven through nine; we’ve switched from prose to poetry again. It’s such a beautiful passage. I think that the Holy Spirit inspired Zechariah to use more Hebrew poetic language.

\nZechariah 13:7-9 (ESV) 7 \u201cAwake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,\u201d declares the LORD of hosts. \u201cStrike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones. 8 In the whole land, declares the LORD, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. 9 And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon <\/i><\/span>my name, and I will answer them. I will say, \u2018They are my people\u2019; and they will say, \u2018The LORD is my God.\u2019\u201d

\nHere’s the fourth promise we see revealed in Zachary’s prophecy.\n4. He refines our character to make us truly His people.

\nYou can see it in verse nine,\u201d and refine them as one refines silver.\u201d He’s a refiner. He’s going to produce the character of Christ in us. Now, there’s a day coming when He’s going to do this for Israel, but He already makes it available for us today. He says, 7 \u201cAwake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,\u201d declares the LORD of hosts. \u201cStrike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.\u201d You know that sounds familiar, because on the night that Jesus was betrayed, the night that Judas betrayed Him and the night before His crucifixion, He quotes Zechariah.

\nImagine this 600 years before Jesus came, His spirit inspired Zechariah to write this down and He already knew when He was going to say it. He knew when that day was coming. It’s <\/i><\/span> recorded in Matthew 26:31-32 (ESV) Jesus said to them, \u201cYou will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, \u2018I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.\u2019 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.\u201d That’s the part in Zechariah that He told them. He told them that they would scatter; even burly Peter who said, \u201cI’ll die for you, Lord.\u201d Jesus tells him that he will deny me three times before the rooster crows. I’m going to go. I’m going to rise up and I’ll join you in Galilee.

\nI don’t know if they heard that last part, They certainly remember the first part. They all scattered and ran. We see it here in the scripture; He\u2019s going to test them on this future day. He’s going to test them; He’s going to refine them. We see here, in verse 8, that two thirds of them will still reject them. Even <\/i><\/span> in the future. Two thirds will reject Him but one third will believe. We see that a large remnant, a great revival will happen in the last days among the Jewish people; not all, but a large remnant. A third will be put through fire. That doesn’t sound pleasant. I want to follow Jesus, so my life will be easier. Well, it will be easier. But it won’t be without trouble. Jesus, in fact, promises us that, in this world, there will be trouble, but if you keep reading He says, \u201cyet I have overcome the world.\u201d He is with us, but there’s still trouble in this world. These go through the fire, but, as a result, they come out like gold, like silver. They come out calling to God and He answers them. He says, in verse 9, \u2018They are my people\u2019; and they will say, \u2018The LORD is my God.\u2019\u201d Those are My people. They have the character of My Son . <\/i><\/span>They’re saying that’s my God and they come out changed.

\nYou kind of think of these two chapters as going together. I wanted to try to preach just one of those chapters without the other, but they fit together like \u201chand in glove.\u201d There\u2019s salvation, repentance, cleansing of sin and then, character. You have a transformed life; you are one who calls the Lord God and God calls you His people. So you see that this all fits together. These four beautiful promises that belong to Israel in the future but belong to us already.

\nWe see that this day is coming when there will be a great revival among the people. It says in 1 Peter 1:6-7 (NIV) \u201cIn all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith\u2014of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refinedby <\/i><\/span> fire\u2014may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.\u201d

\nFriends, when you go through trials, you can either become bitter or better. You’ll become bitter if you try to get out of it on your own and you don’t give glory to God. You can become better if you go through trials by faith and you say, \u2018Lord, I don’t know why this has happened to me, but I know that it says in the book of Romans that You cause all things to work together for the good that love him and are called according to his purpose. I’m going to trust You with even that bad stuff that I did that was self-inflicted to my life. I’m going to trust You to bring it together for good.\u2019 We go through trials, but if we trust the Lord Jesus, we come out better and we’re more like Jesus. It’s like it \u201cburns off.\u201d Applying to myself, it’s like it burns off Gary and leaves nothing but Jesus behind <\/i><\/span>, which is what I want. I want less of me and a million more of Him. I’ve had enough of me. I want more of Him.

\nWe see that He refines Israel but we, also, see the picture that’s the character He wants to form in us. I want you to think about it today. Are you ready on that day? It’s surely coming. Are you ready? Have you got your bags packed? Are you ready? He’s coming soon. Are you ready? Have you been saved? Have you repented of your sins? Have you been washed in the blood of Jesus so that you’re born again, you’re cleansed of your sins and it’s the holy spirit at work in your life, transforming your life and making you more like Jesus? That’s how you get ready. Zechariah is telling us that a great day is coming to Israel, but it’s already available to us right now.

\nLet’s pray. Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your word. We thank You that 2600 years ago, You inspired the prophet Zechariah <\/i><\/span> to write this down. We’ve seen the fulfillment of Your first coming and now we see the prophecy saying you’re coming again. We believe it. I pray, right now, for that person that came in the door today that is far from You. They came in on a thin thread. They barely got here, but they’re here and they’ve heard You speak. Is it you my friend? Is the Holy Spirit stirring your heart right now? Is the spirit being poured out on you so that you have a heart for repentance, so that you’re ready to say, \u2018I’m sorry for my sin.I want to change but I can’t do it. \u2019 Would you pray right now? \u2018Dear Lord Jesus, I’m a sinner, but I believe You died on the cross for my sin, that You were raised from the grave and that You live today. Come and live in me. I invite You to be my Savior and my Lord. Transform my life. I don’t want to stay the same. I want to be a Christ <\/i><\/span> follower. I want to be a child of God and I want You as my Savior and Lord.\u2019 If you’re praying that prayer, believing, He will save you and He will change your life. You can start a new day today. Others are here today and you’ve received Jesus as Lord and Savior and you’re a follower, but there’s so many distractions. You’ve been distracted by so many cares and concerns. Right now, would you say, \u2018Lord forgive me. There are things that are out of order in my life right now that I would not want You to catch me doing. I know You’ve forgiven me Lord, but I haven’t been busy about Your work. Forgive me. I repent, Lord. Wash me afresh and make me new. Give me a new passion so that on that day, when You return, I’ll be doing Your work and busily waiting for You to return. Oh Lord, we love You. We prayed it all in Jesus’ name. Amen\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you ready for Christ\u2019s return? We\u2019ve learned how to get ready for other things. We had to learn how to get ready for school…how to get ready for work…how to get ready for a long trip… how to get ready to buy our first house. Everything has prerequisites and requirements. You can\u2019t just show up at the bank and hope they\u2019ll give you a loan. You can\u2019t just walk into a college classroom and call yourself a student. You have to get ready.<\/p>\n

But how do you get ready for the coming of King Jesus? How do you get ready to face Judgment Day and eternity? Well, that\u2019s the question that today\u2019s message from Zechariah answers. It was written to prepare God\u2019s people for Christ\u2019s second coming. In Zechariah 12-13, the prophet received a second oracle from the LORD revealing the promises that Jesus the Messiah would fulfill for Israel in the last days at His second coming. Jesus has already made these promises available to us today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":10309,"template":"","tags":[2019],"series":[2870],"scripture-book":[1305],"scripture-chapter":[1345,1346],"speaker":[2007],"class_list":["post-10457","message","type-message","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-exposition","series-repent-and-return","scripture-book-zechariah","scripture-chapter-1345","scripture-chapter-1346","speaker-gary-combs"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message\/10457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/message"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message\/10457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10457"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=10457"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-book?post=10457"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-chapter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-chapter?post=10457"},{"taxonomy":"speaker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/speaker?post=10457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}