ZECHARIAH 4:10 - Great Things Come in Very Small Packages!

TOPIC: Christmas; Attributes (of God), Nature (of God), Temple (construction)

TITLE: GREAT THINGS COME IN VERY SMALL PACKAGES - The Great Temple of God Began with a Baby! [Adapted from Chas. Haddon Spurgeon’s Morning & Evening Devotional; November 26, “Evening”]
TEXT: Zechariah 4:10 (8-10) [Companion reading Isaiah 9:6]

“For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet, in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.” [KJV]

"For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumbline in the hand of Zerubbabel – these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth." [NAS]

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What do we find for ourselves in our verse?
CONCISE OUTLINE:

I. WE FIND THERE IS COMFORT AND HOPE HERE
II. WE FIND THERE IS CERTAINTY AND SECURITY HERE
III. WE FIND THERE IS PATIENCE AND PERFECTION HERE

TRUTH/CONTEXT: Small progress marked the beginning of the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem by the hand of Zerubbabel; but none should despise it then or now, for God had raised up and will raise up one who will persevere until the headstone is brought forth with shouting. The plumbline was in good hands.

“'For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,' declares the LORD of hosts, 'and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.'”

Zechariah 3:9

So different are men and Jehovah: God regards highly the inicio pequeño (Sp. small beginnings) of His work (Ezra 3:12 priests and Levites wept at the start of the new temple; Haggai 2:3, Haggai condemns those who compare the new temple to the old); men impatiently covet the turnkey, and despise the early work. God, it says in the Hebrew, “rejoicingly” regards it, and shall continue to do so to the end.

Wasn’t the work begun in you a small thing for God to begin?

For man the issue is significance … so often we only see what is big in our eyes. Why do so many clamor for entertainment and community rather than worship and relationship?

Significance is the answer! Some see Christianity as significant only to the extent it is a means to a temporal and social end; she is, however, significant only as a means to an eternal end.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What do we find for ourselves in our verse?
EXPANDED OUTLINE:

I. WE FIND THERE IS COMFORT AND HOPE US HERE

A. Here is every believer’s comfort … rejoice that His work of grace (be it oh so small at first) was begun at all.

B. Isn't the plumbline held by the very best hand? The hand of The Master Builder? Will you not be plumb and square when His is finished with you?

C. One greater than Solomon has taken up the building of His eternal temple, and He shall won't fail nor be discouraged until the last living stone is set in the wall.

"And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

1 Peter 2:4-5

[CHEOPS] It is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World still standing today. It has four anchoring cornerstones and a chief cornerstone at its peak.

Is God’s eternal temple not greater than the Great Pyramid of Khufu. Is Christ Himself not the Chief Cornerstone?

II. WE FIND THERE IS CERTAINTY AND SECURITY FOR US HERE

A. If the plumb were in the hand of any human, we might be justified in fearing for God’s Temple. But the eternal work of the Christ prospers in His hand.

"Thus He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. The LORD said to me, 'What do you see, Amos?' And I said, 'A plumb line.' Then the Lord said, 'Behold I am about to put a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel. I will spare them no longer.'”

Amos 7:7-8

B. His work didn't and doesn't proceed irregularly, or without skill. Because the Master's hand wields a divine instrument, an eternal blueprint was laid out, and the work will continue to the end. And, it is a step-by-step, patient effort, for …

"We’re His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so we’d walk in them."

Ephesians 2:10

C. If walls were run up without professional oversight, we might expect them to be out of plumb; but this plumbline was dropped from heaven above, there is no truer plumb than the one in Father’s hand.

[FREE HOUSE] Would you like a contractor to tell you he’ll build you a new home free of charge? The only catch is you must live in it for all eternity. Would you trust it or him?

D. Jesus oversees the construction of His spiritual temple so that it is built securely, well, and forever! His eyes are on it.

III. WE FIND THERE IS PATIENCE AND PERFECTION FOR US HERE

A. Man rushes about and seeks profit in all his labors; Jesus is patient and equitable. He will use His plumbline on us; that which is found out of plumb will be torn down, every stone of it.

B. Thus the failure of so many flattering works and the uprooting of so many glamorous enterprises and organizations. Likewise the lives of so many skilled and gifted men and women.

C. It isn’t our job to judge the Lord's church, since Jesus has a steady hand, and a true eye, and can use the plumbline perfectly. Shouldn’t we rejoice to see judgment left to him?

D. The plumbline is in active use in our passage - it was in the builder's hand; a sure indication he intends to push forward to completion.

E. Consider this …

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."

Philippians 1:6

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: Oh Jesus, how blessed we would be if we could just get a vision of You at Your great work each and every Christmas and not get lost in the things of Christmas.

Oh Jerusalem, that beautiful city of God, her walls remain in ruin! Rise up, oh rise up, You King of kings and Lord of lords, Oh Glorious Builder, and build Your Bride, a small thing in our sight, but a great thing in Yours ... Oh the rejoicing at Your coming.

Oh sheep of His pasture, see with eyes that see, the day of the small things is not just rebuilding the earthly temple, it is the continued building of God’s heavenly Temple. It was begun by a baby but it was finished by the God-man Jesus Christ. [John 19:30]

• God is the one who began all creation with a small word, “Let there be!” [one word in Hebrew]
  
• It is He who made the human race from dust; then began over with eight people
• He who began the languages of the earth with a single tongue
• He who slew Goliath with a single stone
• Who raised Joseph from his prison, David from the sheepfold, Daniel and Jeremiah from their pits
• Who stopped Balaam with a lowly ass
• Who raised up “the greatest born of a woman” as His forerunner
• Who turned the world upside down with fishermen, a tax collector, sinners, and a Sadducee-tentmaker
• Who Himself was first a carpenter
  
• Who asked us, “Would you be great? Then become least.”

Doesn't it make perfect sense that the God of the heavenly Temple would use a small thing (such as the baby Jesus) to save the world from its sins?

Christianity, Christmas, Expository,
Homiletics, Outlines, Preaching,
Sermons, Spurgeon, Zechariah

1 Peter 2:24 The Tapestry of Atonement

...and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

TOPIC: Atonement [Easter, Guilt, Imputation, Justice, Nature (of God), Propitiation, Reconciliation, Redemption, Retribution, Sacrifice, Substitution]

TITLE: THE TAPESTRY OF ATONEMENT - What it means to us!

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What is our condition that it decrees such an atonement?
CONCISE OUTLINE

I. We are dead in our trespasses and sins! [Ephesians 2:1]
II. We are by nature and practice the children of wrath! [v. 3]
III. We are found without hope and without God in the world! [v. 12]
IV. We are strangers and foreigners to the household of God! [v. 19]

SERIES: This is the 3rd in a four-part series paving the way for our Easter Sunday service; two weeks ago we took a hard look at sin "the gravity of depravity" ... its blackness, its pollution ... in "The Pollution Solution."

Last week we gave careful thought to what Christ suffered on the Cross ... in our place ... "Three Hours One Friday," as the Son was separated from the Father.

Last week the agony, this week the ecstasy ... last week the crucifixion, this week the atonement ... last week the work of art, this week the beautiful frame.

TRUTH/CONTEXT: Our text says we were healed. When you accepted the Lord, were you sick? Disabled? Diseased? Injured? Healed of what then? when? Of the debilitating effects of sin!

The sins of man must be atoned for ... God's nature demands it ... perfect justice is required by a perfect God ... holy through and through ... every wrong dealt with! Not even an imperfect yet compassionate human judge would fellowship with criminals who denied their crimes and continued to practice them.

The atonement of sinful man by a merciful God is woven throughout Scripture like a scarlet thread in a brilliant tapestry of the middle ages ... from Genesis to Revelation.

In the Old it's seen in the "bruised heel" of Genesis 3:15; in the offerings of Abel, Noah, Abraham, and Joshua; in the Passover; in the offerings of Leviticus and Numbers. And so on, till we reach the prophetic words of the psalmists and prophets.

In the New it's fulfilled in Christ, "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," as viewed in the Gospels. Doctrinally it's explained and applied in many of the Epistles. It's proclaimed in the manifestation of the slain Lamb of Revelation.

And finally - acknowledged as the right and experience of the Apostle's confession of faith: "We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." [or "reconciliation"; Romans 5:11 ASV]

Peter's words set the stage for the body of this message which comes from the second chapter of Ephesians [1-22].

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What is our condition that it decrees such an atonement?
EXPANDED OUTLINE

I. We are dead in our trespasses and sins! [v.1]

Before Christ we "... were dead in [our] trespasses and sins," the Apostle says.

II. We are by nature and practice the children of wrath! [3]

He adds, "... we too ... lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath."

Notice immorality is not the sole domain of the flesh; the mind is involved as well. Let those with a lust for pornographic materials take note.

III. We are found without hope and without God in the world! [12]

Paul reminds us we "... were at that time separate from Christ ... having no hope and without God in the world."

IV. We are strangers and foreigners to the household of God! [19]

Though not specifically stated, it is implied in the condition which existed before we were " ... no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household."

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: You can see man's plight ... what if God had said, "No! I will not send my Son as a propitiation for their sins"?

Or what if the Father said, "Go!" but the Son said, "No! I won't go!"?

Where would we be ... still dead in our trespasses and sins, still separated from the love of God, still outside the household of God!

But praise be to God we ... "are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household."

I didn't seek a substitute, rather God offered one!

[SURROGATES] During the Revolutionary and Civil Wars wealthy and powerful men purchased substitutes to fight in their stead or for their sons.

In this Spiritual War no treasury outside of heaven is rich enough to buy a substitute for judgment. Yet, God didn't buy one, He gave one! While we were yet sinners Christ died in our place.

Were it not for the substitutionary atonement of Christ for my sins, they would continue to be an insurmountable barrier for me in the face of a holy and righteous God ... preventing for all time fellowship with Him ... no matter how hard no matter how long I tried to make things right!

The embarrassing biblical ignorance of our people today requires another question be asked and answered: knowledge of which elements of the doctrine of atonement are essential to the believer?

I. THE REASON (for the Doctrine of Atonement) - Sin!

Your Iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you. [Isaiah 69:2]

A. Sin is not bad luck, disease of mind, evil bias, a mistake, result of heredity or environment. Sin is the willful, rebellious breaking of the divine law.

Where no law is, there is no transgression. [Romans 4:15]

Sin is the transgression of The Law. [1 John 3:4]

B. Nor is sin just an offense against man; it is an offense against God:

Joseph said: "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God." [Genesis 39:9]

David said: "Against Thee have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight." [Psalm 51:4]

C. We must each humbly face the serious subjects of law, guilt, retribution, before the tender meanings of love, grace, redemption, are realized. So sin, which is a manifestly horrible thing, needs to be done away with ... and so -

2. THE MEANING - Covering!

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. [Psalm 32: 1]

Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, Thou shalt purge them away. [Psalm 65:3]

A. Atonement is a "shelter by means of representation." [Girdlestone, Robert Baker, Synonyms of the Old Testament; Eerdmans [Grand Rapids], 1948, p.127.]

He who knew no sin was made sin for you and for me!

B. The very holiness of God demanded He turn His face from our dying Savior at the
moment of His sin-bearing.

"My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" [Mark 15:34]

3. THE SOURCE - Christ Jesus (God)!

"Surely He (Jesus) has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. ... All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord (Jehovah) has laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all. ... Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him: He has put Him to grief." [Isaiah 53:4, 6, 10]

"Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." [Acts 2:23]

"God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself." [2 Corinthians 5:19]

Thus the very God, whose law man has broken, and against whom he has sinned, Himself provides the Atonement.

4. THE FOUNDATION - Love!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. [John 3:16]

Christ also has loved us, and has given Himself for us ... [He] also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it. [Ephesians 5:2, 25]

Herein Is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation [substitute] for our sins. [1 John 4:10]

God demonstrates His Love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. [Romans 5:8]

5. THE METHOD - Blood!

It is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. [Leviticus 17:11]

Without shedding of blood there is no remission. [Hebrews 9:22]

6. THE RESULT - Forgiveness (Salvation)!

A. The Immediate Result -

1. Healing of sin's disease.

He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. [Isaiah 53:5]

2. Deliverance from sin's power of attraction.

Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world. [Galatians 1: 4]

3. New Life for holiness and service.

Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness. [1 Peter 2:24]

B. Future Result

1. Gain of eternal inheritance.

He is the Mediator ... that they which are called might receive the promise of Eternal Inheritance. [Hebrews 9:15]

2. Glory of the Divine presence.

Unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His Glory with exceeding joy. [Jude 24]

The Atonement is the only means by which God could pardon transgressors of the Divine Law; the INSATIABLE NEED of man met by the INFINITE PROVISION of God.

Theological and biblical considerations were culled from George E. Morgan's "Atonement," in The King's Business, a now defunct monthly periodical of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (BIOLA); (July 1922) Vol. 13, No. 7, 701-02. Thanks also to Dr. J. Richard Chase; ibid., nd, 11-13, for suggesting the outline to the Ephesians content.

Atonement, Easter, Guilt, Imputation, Justice,
Nature, Outlines, Propitiation, Reconciliation, Redemption,
Retribution, Sacrifice, Sermons, Substitution