“Zechariah’s Visions” # 2 Zechariah 1:7-21

TRANSCRIPT

Date: December 17, 2023 Author: Wayne J. Edwards

There are many things in this life about which we can be indifferent, and well we should, for as Ignatius said, “Christians should detach themselves from all things that do not help us to praise, reverence, and serve God.” In other words, we need to let go of anything that doesn’t help us to love God or others, so we can stay engaged with what does. However, there are a few things in life about which we must not be indifferent, beginning with the voice of the Holy Spirit, whether He is appealing for us to draw closer to the Lord, convicting us of our sins, or calling us to that specific ministry for which He equipped us. At first, those calls get louder and louder, but seeing that we are too focused on our own interests to hear Him, the calls get weaker and weaker. In fact, we can become so insensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, we cannot hear His voice at all. What a dangerous situation to live in!! Unless that is corrected through confession and repentance, we can become indifferent to the pain and suffering around us. In fact, we deliberately avoid it because we don’t want the cries of those who are suffering to rob us of the joys of our personal happiness. Not that we don’t “care,” but we are just too busy with our own needs that we cannot take time to help others in their time of need. Beloved, while Christians are not required to celebrate the birth of Christ, much less “observe” the Christmas traditions, this does seem to be one of those times when WE can become so focused on our own plans and agendas that we don’t hear the cries of the needy. Please ask the Holy Spirit to give you sensitive ears, so you can hear what the Spirit is saying. In our text for this next sermon from Zechariah, God referred to that as spiritual indifference, for rather than helping the Israelites with their task of repairing their homes, restoring the walls around the City of Jerusalem, and rebuilding the Temple, Israel’s neighboring nations were doing all they could to keep them from succeeding. In a very dramatic way, God assured His people of their victory, and their insensitive neighbors of their defeat.

There are many things in this life about which we can be indifferent, and well we should, for as Ignatius said, “Christians should detach themselves from all things that do not help us to praise, reverence, and serve God.” In other words, we need to let go of anything that doesn’t help us to love God or others, so we can stay engaged with what does.

However, there are a few things in life about which we must not be indifferent, beginning with the voice of the Holy Spirit, whether He is appealing for us to draw closer to the Lord, convicting us of our sins, or calling us to that specific ministry for which He equipped us. At first, those calls get louder and louder, but seeing that we are too focused on our own interests to hear Him, the calls get weaker and weaker. In fact, we can become so insensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, we cannot hear His voice at all. What a dangerous situation to live in!!

Unless that is corrected through confession and repentance, we can become indifferent to the pain and suffering around us. In fact, we deliberately avoid it because we don’t want the cries of those who are suffering to rob us of the joys of our personal happiness. Not that we don’t “care,” but we are just too busy with our own needs that we cannot take time to help others in their time of need.

Beloved, while Christians are not required to celebrate the birth of Christ, much less “observe” the Christmas traditions, this does seem to be one of those times when WE can become so focused on our own plans and agendas that we don’t hear the cries of the needy. Please ask the Holy Spirit to give you sensitive ears, so you can hear what the Spirit is saying.

In our text for this next sermon from Zechariah, God referred to that as spiritual indifference, for rather than helping the Israelites with their task of repairing their homes, restoring the walls around the City of Jerusalem, and rebuilding the Temple, Israel’s neighboring nations were doing all they could to keep them from succeeding. In a very dramatic way, God assured His people of their victory, and their insensitive neighbors of their defeat.

Download the following translated Sermon guides:

In Romans 15:4, the Apostle Paul said, “Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we, through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope.”

Our God is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is the only One who can stand at the very beginning of time and declare what shall be at the end of the age. (Isaiah 49:9-10)

This was the message God gave His people through the voice of His prophet, Zechariah 2600 years ago.

God’s message of encouragement for His people in that day, as well as for His people in our day, is found in the eight visions of the future that God gave to Zechariah, beginning with the Man who sat upon a red horse, among the myrtle trees in the hollow, with several other horses behind Him.

Why God chose the nation of Israel as His people.

In many ways, the nation of Israel is down in that hollow again.

The nation of Israel is still the channel through which God is bringing this age to an end, and will usher in the Millennial Kingdom. The Bible says:

In many ways, the Church is down in that hollow, looking up and wondering if our day of deliverance will ever come.

One day soon, those of us who received Jesus Christ as their Savior during the Church age, and those who will receive Christ as their Savior and Lord during the Tribulation, and those Jews that will be redeemed in Petra will gather together at Jesus’ feet, and we will reign with Him on this earth for 1,000 years, and in the new heaven and new earth forever, world without end.

Subscribe to our Weekly Pastors Word and never miss the latest Post