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Zechariah chapter 10. As we've 
noted, Zechariah 9-14 are prophetic statements or prophetic pronouncements 
or burdens or oracles made by Zechariah. And these things, 
this latter half of the book, was written much later than the 
first part. Remember, we were able to date 
within the day the various prophecies that we followed beforehand. 
He says in chapter 1, verse 1, in the eighth month of the second 
year of Darius. This would have been October 
or November in 520 B.C. And then it was in February of 
519 that he had these night visions. And so he wrote those things 
at the early part of his prophetic career But the latter chapters, 
chapters 9-14, could have been as late as 480-470 B.C. So, quite some time later. You need to understand that, 
because as we read here in chapter 10, we see that the people are 
given to idolatry. Or God, through the prophet, 
is condemning idolatry. And we wonder, how in the world 
could it have happened so quickly? Well, it did happen quickly, 
but it wasn't overnight. So, I'll just begin reading in 
Zechariah chapter 10 at verse 1. Ask the Lord for rain. In the time of the latter rain, 
the Lord will make flashing clouds. He will give them showers of 
rain, grass in the field for everyone. For the idols speak 
delusion. The diviners envision lies and 
tell false dreams. They comfort in vain. Therefore, 
the people wend their way like sheep. They are in trouble because 
there is no shepherd. My anger is kindled against the 
shepherds, and I will punish the goat herds. For the Lord 
of hosts will visit His flock, the house of Judah, and will 
make them as His royal horse in the battle. From Him comes 
the cornerstone. From Him, the tempeh. From Him, 
the battle bow. From Him, every ruler together. 
They shall be like mighty men who tread down their enemies 
in the mire of the streets in the battle. They shall fight 
because the Lord is with them. and the riders on horses shall 
be put to shame. I will strengthen the house of 
Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them 
back, because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though 
I had not cast them aside, for I am the Lord their God, and 
I will hear them. Those of Ephraim shall be like 
a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as if with wine. Yes, their children shall see 
it and be glad. Their hearts shall rejoice in 
the Lord. I will whistle for them and gather 
them, for I will redeem them. And they shall increase as they 
once increased. I will sow them among the peoples, 
and they shall remember Me in far countries. They shall live 
together with their children, and they shall return. I will 
also bring them back from the land of Egypt and gather them 
from Assyria. I will bring them into the land 
of Gilead in Lebanon until no more room is found for them. 
He shall pass through the sea with affliction and strike the 
waves of the sea. All the depths of the river shall 
dry up. Then the pride of Assyria shall 
be brought down and the scepter of Egypt shall depart. So I will 
strengthen them in the Lord and they shall walk up and down in 
His name, says the Lord. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we come now to this prophecy and we ask for the ministry of 
Your Spirit. We pray that You would help us 
to learn the valuable lessons applicable not only to Zechariah's 
day, but our own day. God, we confess our hearts are 
prone to wander and prone to leave the God that we love. And 
we would pray and ask that You would guard us from idolatry, 
guard us from seeking out those things which are vanity. We ask 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, as one commentator 
said, we know that this is later because he reports, gone are 
the pleas to work on the Lord's house. That had already been 
completed. The people's rejection of Jehovah 
seems ultimate and their hope is thrust into the distant future. That's why the prophet comes 
now with prophecy specifically. Prophecy doesn't always mean 
a foretelling of the future. It primarily means a foretelling 
of the Word of God. But there is that predictive 
element within the prophets and that's what's going on in chapters 
9-14. He is pointing to a time when 
God will gather up His people, when God will bless them, when 
God will be in their midst. Essentially, what Zechariah is 
doing is he's preaching Jesus Christ. He's pointing forward. 
To the New Covenant, he's pointing forward to that time when the 
Lord of Glory would come to bless and to redeem His people. He 
goes on to say, Makonsky says, the plea to seek Jehovah's help 
is sincere, but the prophet knows that it will go largely unheeded 
until the Lord sovereignly intervenes to come to the aid of His people. I think all of this was by design. If the returnees of the post-exilic 
community would have come back to their land and everything 
would have been perfect and peachy, they would have had no more anticipation, 
no more desire. And I think that the Lord does 
these things so that we will be wanting, anticipating, desiring, 
and looking for the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 
Well, there's three things going on in this chapter. The first 
is the provision for God's people in verses 1 and 2. Secondly, 
the empowerment of God's people, verses 3 to 7. And then thirdly, 
the restoration of God's people in verses 8 to 12. One of the 
reasons we know that he is looking forward to the future is because 
this was a restorative prophet. This was the restoration after 
Babylon. But something was more in their 
horizon. Something more grand and glorious 
that would come under the Lord Jesus Christ. But notice first 
of all in verse 1. He calls on the people to pray. 
Very often in the prophetic literature, very often in the apostolic documents, 
the people of God are called upon to pray. We are to seek 
the Lord. Ask the Lord for rain in the 
time of the latter rain. The Lord will make flashing clouds. 
He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for 
everyone. We are to seek our blessing at 
the hand of God. In an agrarian society, in a 
place that was sustained by crops and cattle, rain was essential 
for their well-being. Rain was essential for their 
sustenance. Rain was essential for their 
security and well-being within the land. And so the prophet 
says, ask God for it. Seek the Lord. Do not just carry 
on in sort of this atheistic mindset. Realize that the God 
of heaven and earth is in fact the God of heaven and earth. 
That He controls the rain. That He controls the sun. That 
He is the One that smiles upon you and grants your increase. So you are to ask Him for rain. You are to ask Him and He will 
make flashing clouds. He will give them showers of 
rain. He will cause grass in the field 
for everyone. Again, we need to learn the lesson 
from this passage. It is a bit different for us 
now. We don't all depend on our own field. In fact, some of us 
don't ever even think about field or farming or anything like that. 
We go to Walmart or Costco or Superstore or Pricemart, we pay 
our money and we get our stuff. We just assume that it has always 
been there and we assume that it will always be there. But 
that's not the case. God is a sovereign God. God is 
in charge. God is in control. And as much 
as a Haitian is dependent upon the Lord God for a glass of water 
or a cup full of rice, So are we dependent on that same God 
for the bounty and the increase that He gives to each of us. 
We need to guard against, as we saw last week, sort of this 
practical atheism. On the one hand, acknowledging 
God. On the one hand, professing to be theists, or those who believe 
in the one true God. And yet living as if there is 
no God. Not praying. Not making the Lord's 
Prayer real in our daily lives. Lord, give us each day our daily 
bread. Asking the Lord for sustenance. 
Asking the Lord for provision. We need to learn this from the 
prophets, and we need to learn this from the apostles, and we 
need to learn this from the model prayer that Jesus Christ taught 
us to pray. We do not live in a world governed 
by chance or by fate. We live in a world governed by 
a sovereign and a glorious God. And the prophets bid us to pray. Notice, secondly, with reference 
to the provision for God's people, he highlights the futility of 
idolatry. The people had degenerated. The people were seeking blessing 
in magic. They were seeking blessing in 
the temporal. He says, the idols speak delusion. The diviners envision lies. The 
connection is clear. Call upon the Lord. Ask Him for 
rain. Because when you pray to the 
Teraphim, when you pray to the various gods in competition with 
Jehovah, you only get lies. You only get deception. You only 
get frustration. Idolatry never promotes good 
things. Idolatry never answers man's 
longings or needs. And this is what he points out. 
The idols speak delusion. The diviners envision lies. They 
tell false dreams. They comfort in vain. You may 
pay money. You may seek out a fortune teller. 
You may seek out whatever it may be. They may comfort you. 
They may encourage you. They may tell you all sorts of 
good things, but they cannot deliver the goods. The Bible 
oftentimes pokes fun at or highlights the folly involved in idolatry. Turn for just one moment to Isaiah 
44. God has a lot to say about idolatry 
and He has a lot to say about idolaters. And already, in this 
restoration period, Though there was preaching from Zechariah 
and Haggai, though there seemed to be some good things in place, 
the leaders had already plunged the nation back into idolatry. And so God is pointing out the 
futility in it. Call upon the Lord, because the 
idols cannot deliver. Call upon the Lord, because the 
diviners tell lies. Call upon the Lord, because He 
alone governs the creation. He alone can cause the rain to 
fall. But notice in Isaiah 44, verse 
9, it says, those who make an image, all of them are useless 
and their precious things shall not profit. They are their own 
witnesses. They neither seen or know that 
they may be ashamed. I want you to follow along here, 
because if you're not a Christian tonight, you're probably thinking 
an idolater is someone who makes a big pole or a big stick. Or 
they build a golden calf or some other statue. An idolater is 
like Nebuchadnezzar. Remember when Nebuchadnezzar 
had that big image built and it was on the plains of Dura 
and he called everybody to bow down to it? Who do you think 
that image looked like? It was an image of Nebuchadnezzar. 
He wanted people to worship him. He wanted people to bow down 
to him. Very often in our so-called modern era, People associate 
idolatry only with sort of the third world and the backward 
Bushmen. But each and every person who 
does not believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is an idolater. Generally speaking, the idol 
they are most committed to, the idol they are most attached to, 
are themselves. They worship themselves. They 
bow before themselves. They seek sustenance at their 
own hand. They think they're the master 
and commander of their own fate. They think that the world revolves 
around them. Now notice how God shows the 
folly of idolatry. Notice in verse 10. It says, 
Who would form a god or mold an image that profits in nothing? Surely all his companions would 
be ashamed. and the workmen, they are mere 
men. Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up, 
yet they shall fear, they shall be ashamed together. The blacksmith 
with the tongs works one in the coals, fashions it with hammers, 
and works it with the strength of his arms. Even so, he is hungry 
and his strength fails. He drinks no water and is faint. 
The craftsman stretches out his rule. He marks one out with chalk. He fashions it with a plane. 
He marks it out with a compass and makes it like the figure 
of a man, according to the beauty of a man, that it may remain 
in the house. He cuts down cedars for himself 
and takes the cypress and the oak. He secures it for himself 
among the trees of the forest. He plants a pine and the rain 
nourishes it. Then it shall be for a man to 
burn, for he will take some of it and warm himself. Yes, he 
kindles it and bakes bread. Indeed, he makes a god and worships 
it. He makes it a carved image and falls down to it. He burns 
half of it in the fire. With his half, he eats meat. 
He roasts a roast and is satisfied. He even warms himself and says, 
I am warm. I have seen the fire. And the 
rest of it he makes into a god, his carved image. He falls down 
before it and worships it, prays to it and says, deliver me, for 
you are my god. That's absolutely ludicrous. Man cuts down a tree. He uses 
some of that wood to make a fire. He takes the fire and he warms 
himself and he cooks his meat. And then with the remainder of 
the tree, he bows down to it and confesses that it is his 
God. It's folly. It's crazy. It's 
ridiculous. Notice what he says in verse 
18. They do not know nor understand, for God has shut their eyes so 
that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot understand. 
And no one considers in his heart, nor is there knowledge nor understanding 
to say, I have burned half of it in the fire. Yes, I have also 
baked bread on its coals. I have roasted meat and eaten 
it. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I 
fall down before a block of wood? He feeds on ashes. A deceived 
heart has turned Him aside. And He cannot deliver His soul, 
nor say, Is there not a lie in My right hand? So, going back 
to Zechariah 10, one of the problems When idolatry affects a people 
is that they are living a lie. They are deluded. They don't 
see it. They don't recognize it. They 
don't see the folly involved in their wickedness and abominable 
practice. And that is true of you tonight 
if you are here and you have not made peace with God through 
our Lord Jesus. The rest of us can see the folly. We won't tell you because generally 
we try to be nice, but we see it. Others see it. God ultimately 
sees it. Anything that you spend your 
money on or your time on the most is generally that which 
you are most committed to. And God says, forsake it, because 
the idols speak delusion. The diviners envision lies. Consider in chapter 10, verse 
1, He's calling on them to pray for the latter rain. Imagine 
the issue of salvation. You're going to seek safety? 
You're going to seek deliverance? You're going to seek heaven in 
something as useless as a block of wood? You're going to seek 
salvation in your own heart, in your own works, in your own 
performance, in your own ability? That is absolutely mad before 
the Lord God. That is madness, as Solomon tells 
us, the hearts of men are full of. So he is telling them to 
guard against this. Not to be involved in this. Call 
upon the living and the true God. T.V. Moore said, it is a 
mournful proof of man's depravity that he will believe anyone sooner 
than God. This was the covenant community. 
This was the people of Yahweh. This was the people who had the 
Law and the Prophets. And what are they doing? Are 
they seeking this God? Are they looking for this God? 
We might say they had a catechetical knowledge of God, but they didn't 
have an experiential knowledge. They knew who Yahweh was, but 
they didn't seek Him out. They didn't ask Him for the latter 
rain. They weren't looking for sustenance at His hand. No, they 
went to the idols. They went to the diviners. He 
says, it is a mournful proof of man's depravity that he will 
believe anyone sooner than God and seek comfort anywhere rather 
than heaven. But when men resort to their 
earthly teraphim, they find at last that they have been deceived 
and are left in loneliness and sorrow. That's something to consider. I know sometimes with the younger 
people, you're brought up in the church, you hear these things 
each and every Sunday, but perhaps your knowledge is simply catechetical. You know Westminster Shorter 
Catechism number 33, and you believe that it's accurate. But 
is your knowledge experiential? Have you believed the Gospel? 
Do you know what it is to be called out of darkness into marvelous 
light? Do you know what it is to have 
Jesus as Lord and Savior? If not, you are living a lie. 
You are living a delusion. You are living and ultimately 
will die and be cast off forever. So, Zechariah calls upon the 
people here. And notice what these idols and 
diviners bring. Verse 2, the idols speak delusion, 
diviners envision lies, they tell false dreams, they comfort 
in vain. Therefore, the people when their 
way like sheep, they are afflicted or in trouble because there is 
no shepherd. And I think shepherd here refers 
to the political authorities. As bad authorities went in Israel, 
so the people went. If the king was ungodly, or the 
governor was ungodly, or the person in charge was ungodly, 
he didn't shepherd the people properly. He would give them 
idols. He would give them diviners. 
And as a result, the people went their way like sheep. And they 
are in trouble because there is no shepherd. And notice, secondly, 
God says that He will correct this problem. He empowers His 
people. Verses 3-7. I always get a little 
shaky about that word empowerment because it's often connected 
with sort of new age approaches to life or a mystical approach, 
but it is a legitimate function of God Most High to empower His 
people. Notice verse 3. He says, My anger 
is kindled against the shepherds and I will punish the goat herds. As Israel's leaders forsook Jehovah 
to gain guidance in the occult, God holds them accountable first. As T.V. Moore says, They who 
are first in crime will be first in punishment. So His anger is 
kindled against these shepherds and He will punish the goat herds. 
He says, for the Lord of hosts will visit His flock, the house 
of Judah, and will make them as His royal horse in the battle. God has not forgotten His people. 
God has not cast His people off. Even though they went through 
this period of sin, even though they go through a period of rebellion, 
the Lord is faithful. He will keep them together. He 
will send Messiah to deliver them from their sins. He will 
visit His flock. He will bless them and exalt 
them. Verse 4 indicates that He will 
raise up a ruler, and that ruler will be responsible for bringing 
the cornerstone, the tent peg, the battle bow. The sense is 
that God is going to bless in such a way that He'll put a leader 
in charge of His people that will bless and prosper them. 
He goes on to say that God will be with them. Notice in verse 
5, they shall be like mighty men who tread down their enemies 
in the mire of the streets in the battle. They shall fight 
because the Lord is with them. Isn't that a beautiful statement? 
They shall fight because the Lord is with them. If you seek 
an idol, you get affliction. If you seek the Lord God Most 
High, you get victory. You get provision. You get blessing. Why would anyone here choose 
to follow the idols? Why would anyone here choose 
the teraphim? Teraphim is simply a plural form 
of idols. Household idols. Why would you 
spend your money on that which does not satisfy? That's what 
the prophet Isaiah asked way back in Isaiah 55. Why do you 
take your money and you spend it on those things which do not 
satisfy? He says, come, buy and eat from 
me. He says, I will give you things 
for abundance. Why is it that men would rather 
choose idols, sin, depravity and wickedness than the true 
and the living God? Well, the Bible tells us why. 
And we need to pray to God that the power of His Spirit will 
break in the men's hearts and turn them around. Or they shall 
be like mighty men who tread down their enemies. They shall 
fight because the Lord is with them." It's a beautiful statement. T.V. Moore says, verse 5, predicts 
the conquest of the chosen people. That they will trample down their 
enemies as mire in the streets and overcome cavalry. So formidable usually to the 
infantry of the Jews. The cavalry of Antiochus. Antiochus 
Epiphanes was a man that was quite heinous. He persecuted 
the Jews. There was a group of people called 
the Maccabeans that led a revolt against Antiochus and they had 
some peace for a time. This is what he's referring to. 
He says, the cavalry of Antiochus was thus trampled down by the 
resistless ranks of the Maccabean armies. But as in previous cases, 
these temporal blessings of the theocracy symbolize the higher 
blessings of the Church, whose triumphs are bloodless and tearless, 
and whose strength is that of the Spirit, mighty to the pulling 
down of strongholds and the subduing of principalities and powers. 
So while the prophet has an eye on their immediate future, he 
is looking forward to the reign of that king-priest. He is looking 
forward to the exaltation of Jesus Christ to the right hand 
of God Most High where He sends the Spirit, He empowers His church, 
He is with His church so that they may engage in mighty exploits 
for the Lord God. Most High. It ought not surprise 
us that they shall fight because the Lord is with them. What does 
Jesus use as an encouragement for the people of God in the 
Great Commission? And, lo, I am with you always, 
even to the end of the age. Go in this disciple-making venture. Baptize the disciples that you 
make. Teach them to observe all that 
I have commanded you. Why, Jesus? Because I am with 
you, even to the end of the age. That Immanuel principle, God 
with us, is the very lifeblood of the church of Jesus Christ. 
We engage because He's with us. We do because He's with us. We 
pray, we live, we move, we have our being because He is with 
us. That is what the prophet Zechariah is telling them to 
do. And then he says, God delivers. 
God delivers. Verse 6, I will strengthen the 
house of Judah and I will save the house of Joseph. Joseph refers 
to the northern tribes. Ephraim was the largest and most 
influential of the northern tribes. So Joseph is another title that 
is given to those northern tribes. Remember on Wednesday night we 
saw that the prophets envisioned a reunification of the house 
of Israel and the house of Judah. We see this made good in the 
church of Jesus Christ. All those who believe the gospel 
are sons of Abraham. We are this reunification. We are the house of Judah and 
Israel brought together by the grace of God, by the Lord Jesus 
Christ. The Lord brings them back, He 
says, because I have mercy on them. Isn't that a beautiful 
statement concerning our God? This is what mercy is all about. 
This is what mercy is all about. You seek out idols, God visits 
you with mercy. You seek out vanity, God meets 
you with mercy. You're prone to wander, prone 
to leave the God that you love, and you do a thousand times and 
our God seeks you out. That's what He says here, brethren. 
We need to see Jesus Christ in Zechariah chapter 10. This is 
a description of life in the New Covenant. This is a description 
of what we currently enjoy in the church. This is a description 
of how our God deals with us. I will bring them back because 
I have mercy on them. He doesn't bring them back because 
they've performed well. He doesn't bring them back because 
they've been covenantally faithful. No, they've been just the opposite. 
They have been covenantally faithless. They have sought out vanity. 
They have sought out idols. They have given their hearts 
to that which is not God. And God says, I will bring them 
back for I will be merciful to them." What a great and glorious 
God. And if you do not know Jesus 
Christ tonight, He is a God of great mercy. He is a God of great 
grace. You come to Him and He will in 
no wise cast you out. Jesus makes that promise in John 
6 and verse 37. All that the Father gives me 
will come to me. He says, in the one who comes 
to me, I will certainly not cast out. You come to Christ and He 
will receive you. You come to Christ and you will 
know mercy. You come to Christ and you will 
understand what grace is all about. God delivers. He then 
says in verse 6, I am the Lord their God and I will hear them. And then notice thirdly and finally, 
the restoration of God's people. Verses 8 to 12, the Lord gathers 
them together. Verse 8, I will whistle for them 
and gather them. Isn't that a beautiful image? 
He's indicted the shepherds of Israel. He said, they're bad. 
I'm going to punish them. And now God, the great shepherd, 
whistles. Isn't that what the shepherd 
does to collect his sheep? Just gives them a whatever. I 
can't whistle right now, but a big blast of the whistle. I 
heard that Pastor Cam at the youth night was in his element. 
He had a whistle when they were playing sports, blowing that 
whistle to get the flock all in one place. That's the imagery. I will whistle for them and gather 
them. I will redeem them. The earthly 
shepherds have failed them. The earthly shepherds led them 
to the idols. Not so with God. God is a great 
shepherd. The Lord Jesus is our shepherd. 
We shall not want. He blows that whistle and He 
gathers us together. He says in John 10, My sheep 
know My voice. They respond to Me. They hear 
Me. It was common in those days, 
at the time of Christ, with the shepherds. A shepherd would have 
a great flock, and there would be several shepherds, and they 
would make that sound, and their flock alone would respond. The 
others wouldn't. Because the flock knew the shepherd's 
voice. In this instance, our Shepherd 
whistles and He gathers us and He redeems us. And then He speaks 
of population growth or increases their number. He says, "...and 
they shall increase as they once increased." God is going to bless 
His church. While it may appear to be small, 
we ought not to despise the day of small things. We've learned 
that from the prophet Zechariah previously. We need to walk by 
faith. We need to understand God is 
in control, that Jesus is building His church, and that men from 
every tribe and tongue and people and nation are going to make 
up the church triumphant in the New Jerusalem. They shall increase 
as they once increased. When we read promises of great 
repopulation, we must not fail to see the church For the promise 
to Abraham of great posterity includes redeemed Gentiles. The people return to the Lord. 
Verse 9, I will sow them among the peoples and they shall remember 
me in far countries. They shall live together with 
their children and they shall return. The blessed grace that 
God gives puts it in our hearts to return unto Him. If God does 
not move us, if God does not give us those twin graces of 
faith and repentance, we will never come to Him. That's why 
on Sunday or Saturday night, I hope that you pray that God 
the Lord would give the graces of faith and repentance so that 
sinners can come, sinners believe, sinners know the joy of everlasting 
life. We look to a sovereign and powerful 
God to change the hearts of men. So the Lord or the people return 
to the Lord. Notice in verse 10, their arch 
enemies are no longer a threat. I will also bring them back from 
the land of Egypt and gather them from Assyria. At this time, 
Egypt and Assyria weren't world powers anymore. They weren't 
world empires. What he is saying is that at 
one time, Egypt oppressed the people of God. At another time, 
Assyria oppressed the people of God. So they become shorthand 
or titles for oppressors of the people of God. And what the prophet 
is saying is that the Lord will take the power away from those 
men. They will not be able to cast 
the people of God down. They will not be able to subdue 
her and subject her. He speaks of great blessing. 
I will bring them into the land of Gilead in Lebanon until no 
more room is found for them. He is speaking of repopulation 
and blessing and landedness. And then He speaks of taking 
their affliction. Not that He Himself is afflicted. Not that He Himself is hurt. 
But what it means is that He bears the affliction of the afflicted. He shall pass through the sea 
with affliction and strike the waves of the sea. All the depths 
of the river shall dry up. Then the pride of Assyria shall 
be brought down and the scepter of Egypt shall depart. The imagery 
is that of our champion, our victor, our protector, taking 
the fangs out of all of the enemies. We see this vividly displayed 
in our Lord Jesus Christ, going to the cross on our behalf, dying 
in our stead, taking the fangs out of death and hell and damnation. Taking away the sting out of 
the grave itself. Taking victory out of death. 
That's what our Lord Jesus. He bore our affliction. He took 
our punishment. He went in our place so that 
we might have peace. So that we might have everlasting 
life. And so that we might ultimately have that strength promised in 
verse 12. And it's on this note that He 
ends. I will strengthen them in the Lord, and they shall walk 
up and down in His name, says the Lord." What a blessed statement 
of New Covenant blessing that God has promised to His people. 
One, there are promises that we have experienced. We know 
His empowerment. We know His accompaniment in 
our lives. We know His deliverance. We know 
all of these things. by virtue of God's grace to us 
in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, in summary or in conclusion, 
we need to remember to pray. Zechariah 10.1 says, Ask the 
Lord for rain. Brethren, we cannot be effective 
as individual Christians or as churches in a prayerless state. We must pray. In Isaiah 62, there 
is a call to prayer in that particular chapter. And God, through the 
prophet, laments that no one stirs himself up to pray. We read in Isaiah 62, verse 6, 
I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem. They shall never 
hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, 
do not keep silent and give Him no rest. Give Him no rest until 
He establishes, until He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Does that describe your prayer 
life? Are you one who gives God no rest? Are you like that importunate 
widow who continues to come to the Lord and says, render the 
verdict for me. I am not going to let you go 
unless you bless me. I've always thought, and I've 
heard it said, that if you want to humble a Christian, ask him 
or her about his prayer life. We need to pray more. We live 
in a day and age in which prayer is most crucial. We look at it 
as a last thing. We look at it as, well, all we 
can do now is pray. No, that ought to be our first 
resort. It ought to be our middle resort. It ought to be our last 
resort. The church of Jesus Christ must 
pray. Secondly, we need to identify 
idols in our lives. It's no accident that the New 
Testament picks up this theme as well. Specifically, John the 
Apostle. He ends his first letter this 
way. Little children, keep yourself 
from idols. Isn't that amazing? He's written 
about what it is to love God, what it is to walk in righteousness, 
what it is to know the joy of everlasting life. And he ends 
his first letter with that admonition. Little children, keep yourselves 
from idols. Why? Because we're so prone. We're so open to it. If it's 
not a stick, if it's not a pole, if it's not a rock, if it's not 
ourself, it'll be sex. It'll be drugs. It'll be rock 
and roll. It'll be hockey. It'll be whatever 
it is that demands our attention and we readily give it over. It could be family. It could 
be loved ones. We need to seek First, the kingdom 
of God and His righteousness. That's the pecking order in this 
world. God comes first, each and every 
moment of each and every day. When we seek God first, then 
everything else will be added unto us. The best service we 
can give our wives or our husbands is to put God before them. The 
best service we can do for our children is to put God first. As children, the best thing you 
can do for your parents in terms of honoring and obeying them 
is putting God first. Because when we put God first, 
all the other priorities fall into place. But when we turn 
things around and we put a creature up there and God down here or 
God not on the list at all, then everything is a mess and it is 
up evil. Makonsky says, today the church 
must seek its blessings and power from the Lord, just as Zechariah 
urged his people to do. Blinded by middle class values, 
the people of God may seek their direction in methods that successfully 
build corporations, but that may neglect biblical principles 
and fail to reflect the Spirit of Christ. I wonder if some of 
our church growth methodologies and strategies In some of our 
attempts to reach sinners, we have compromised and become idolaters. We've taken a worldly model and 
imposed it on the church. We've looked for strength and 
power in a strategy that God Himself has never given. Our 
methodology must be biblical. Our principles must be scriptural. 
It's not by might nor by power, says the Lord, but by my Spirit. That's what we learned from the 
prophet Zechariah. The church today needs to be 
faithful, preaching and teaching the Word of God, praying to our 
Lord, gathering together for the sacraments, exercising proper 
church discipline, loving the church, not discounting her, 
not making fun of her. There's such a movement today 
away from the churches. People want to seek God on the 
golf course. People want to seek God on the 
mountaintop. Well, God has said to seek Him in His church. The 
church is the pillar and the ground of the truth. The church 
is where God gathers His people together so that they may corporately 
approach Him and may worship Him. It doesn't mean you can't 
have an experience with God on the mountaintop or on the golf 
course. But do not neglect the means that the Lord has instituted. We often think we're wiser than 
God. We're smarter than God. We have 
figured it out better than God. I just read a little book recently, 
and I highly recommend it. It's called, Why We Love the 
Church. Why We Love the Church. And one 
of the things that the two authors point out is this very thing. It is very much in vogue. It 
is very popular today to take shots at the church. The church 
does it. The church can't. The church fails. The church 
did. You know what? The church is a blessed institution 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And with all our warts, and with 
all our failings, and with all our foibles, and all our issues, 
there's no better place to be, brethren, than in the church 
of Jesus Christ. When you're hurting, you're down, 
you've got issues, you've got a church praying for you. We 
are not smarter than God. We cannot do church. We cannot 
do the Christian life by being idolaters. And then finally, 
we need to see in all of this, as I mentioned, Jesus Christ. 
Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. He is 
the one to whom the prophet Zechariah is pointing. And by God's grace 
and for His glory, He has given us a saving interest in this 
blessed Shepherd. And if you don't know Him tonight, 
I bid you to believe the Gospel, to believe in the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and you will be saved. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank You for Your Word and we ask now that You would go with 
us in this coming week, that You would watch over us and guard 
us and protect us from engaging in those things which are a disgrace, 
which are sinful. Help us not to seek our aid or 
our comfort in idols. Help us not to lean upon our 
own resources, but to lean upon our sovereign God, to seek the 
Lord, to honor the Lord, to search the Scriptures. And we pray now 
that You would go with us and we ask through Jesus Christ, 
Amen.