Pastor Jeon

Return to the Word of God!

Return to the Word of God! (Zech. 7:1-8)

In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. 2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord 3 by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

4 Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’”8 And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: 9 “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’

11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry.

13 “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty. 14 ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’”

Let’s pray. Lord, We thank you for your marvelous revelation before God. Lord, provide your grace to us to follow you and to obey your word in our school live. Open our eyes to see the way of wisdom glorify you. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Introduction:

  1. In thinking the book of Zechariah, now again we can find a wonderful truth in the text. It is the truth to return to the Word of God. Whenever we seek the new things, our Lord answer that you have to return to the word of God. As Bethel people asked to the Lord “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”(4), the Lord answered that you should return to the Word of God. “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’ ”

And also verse11 and verse13 says, “11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 13 “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty.

  1. Anytime, anyplace whenever we return to the Word of God, we can be restored and be revived in the heart. Although the Israelite listen to the wonderful message and see the wonderful visions, they should return to the Word of God actually. The text reveals the wonderful grace to them about two sound relationship to the Word of God in detail.

I. How should we proclaim the Word of God?

1) Here we observe how the revelation of God comes to us. (verse 1 “In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.”) In the Old Testament it had been come to us as the types of pictorial revelation, those are; dreams, visions, miracles, Urim and Dummim. 7 visions reveal the state of Israel’s mirable state of corruption, the cause of the corruption and the condemnation and the salvation. The symbolism, the metaphor and the picture provide the abundant revelation to us.

For example, the event of crossing the red sea means the baptism of church. Descending manna means the Christen spiritual daily food, Christ and His Words. So the Christians who receive the revelation can proclaim the will of God. (Act2:17“‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy,  your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.) God gave us the revelation by the prophets. “Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’ ” (7) But they did not obey them. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. (12)

(2) David was controlled by Gath and Nathan and Paul of New Testament was revealed obviously the word of God by Ananias and seven churches in the minor Asia received some revelation by the angels (pastors) of the churches. Then, the church was established on the prophets and the Apostles on the cornerstone, Christ Jesus. (Eph2:20) In such meaning, today pastors have the same authority as they stand on the revelation as the proclaimer of revelation.

3) And also the word of God is proclaimed by Holy Spirit. “They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. Moses’s law is the voice of Holy Spirit and the Scripture is the voice of Holy Spirit. Today the Holy Spirit says through the Scripture and in the Scripture. At the meaning the Scripture is divine and personal character. Really when we received the fullness of Holy Spirit we learn that it is the sword of the Spirit. Only this one is the true revelation that makes our lives to be abundantly.

2) Do you have know the word of God? As Herman Bavinck tells to the Scripture, whenever we read the passages we have to accept it as the Word of living God. As we eat the some food we have to eat and drink them in our heart. Actually we will check up that the Word of God is the life in our lives. Matthew 4:4 “ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” We believe that living God says his will through the Scripture. What is the view of the Scripture of reformed theology? It is very simple. It is that the Scripture is the word of God. How can we proclaim them ? The Word that was written by Holy Spirit should be proclaimed by Holy Spirit.

II. How do we return to the Word of God?

And again God teaches how we treat the Word of God in our situation.

  1. In one word, it is the absolute obedience. Why is the obedience to the Scripture so important? According to verses 10-14 by the disobedience the beautiful earth was changed into the wilderness. “ ‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty. “I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’ ” (14)

  2. What is the reason of Saul’s failure? After he overcome against Amalek in the battle, he could not control his covet. Because of his small disobedience he was fallen down into the miserable state that he should search for the psychian. (ISam 28:18Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today.) The destruction of Israel was brought up by the disobedience of God’s Word; their revival shall be made by the obedience. “When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’” In our school life we have to listen to the word of God any class, any situation. Do you listen to the Word of God? Listening the word of God is the most wonderful event in our lives.

  3. Therefore the returning movement to the Scripture should not be limited in Israel. And also we have to return to the Scripture and try to be examining by the mirror of the Scripture.

Conclusion:

  1. My beloved students, in this morning accept the invitation of Holy Spirit, “Return to the Scripture and obey the word of God.” It is the only living way of our contemporary day and the only powerful source of our lives. Do you believe in it?

Let’s pray.

Lord, Please open our eyes to know your wonderful truth. Make us to know the Scripture. Make us to entered into the Holy Spirit’s grace. I pray in the name of Jesus Amen.