Zechariah tells the tale of the nation's exile. The Lord reminds the prophet that He spoke
through the prophets of old and gave them commandments and they stopped their
ears and, like Pharaoh, hardened their hearts against Him. They were determined to do their own will
rather than His, and it didn't work out very well, the city was made a desolate
place with no one going about in her. The
reminder is that the people should always be willing to hear and their hearts
should be soft to receive the Lord's word and admonition. His promise is that the future glory of Zion
will surpass the former glory, no matter what it looks like at present. The city will be filled with people, young
and old, and it will be marvelous in His sight and their sight. He will gather His people from where they are
scattered and they will know Him. Can we
re-envision the church in the same way, filled with people both young and old
who know and love the Lord? Only if we
listen to Him will we see the church as glorious.
In the west we live in a ten talent environment concerning
the Word of God and the church. There is
nothing prohibiting us from sharing the Word in any way. We have great freedom to share our faith, to
praise the Lord and to serve Him. We can
protest injustice and oppression. We can
be secure against violence and persecution on most fronts. What are we doing with those great freedoms
we have been given? Are we taking
advantage of them in order to spread the Gospel or are we more interested in
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?
Would the Lord judge the church in America, our church, to be faithful
in what has been entrusted to us? Would he
find joy in the return we have provided to Him?
We have been given stewardship of the greatest treasure of our master
and yet we bury it in the ground and hide it away rather than investing
it. I don't think He is pleased at all
with us.
A lamb appears looking like it had been slain and when it
does all of heaven falls down before Him and acclaims Him as worthy to take the
scroll that none was found even in heaven itself to open. His worthiness is based on the work He has
done on our behalf. By His blood He has
ransomed people from all over the earth and has made them a kingdom and priests
to God. Not only is He worthy to receive
the scroll, He is worthy of the praise of heaven, the same praise that was, in
chapter four, directed to the One on the throne. If it is wrong, it is the height of
blasphemy. The reason they say that He
was crucified was that He claimed equality with God but here, in heaven, we see
that He is indeed equal with God, receiving the same praise. We are a kingdom and priests to the Lord,
whether we are ordained by man or not, we are all His servants whose job it is
to proclaim Him in word and deed. This is
the kingdom to which we belong, would anyone know it?
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