The Promised Comfort

The Promised Comfort (Zechariah 1:12-17)

12 Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?” 13 So the Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.

14 Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, 15 and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.’

16 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty.

17 “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’”

Telos:

Intoduction:

1) Now, we see some action that happens in the first vision of Zechariah. This is some activities shared between the Angel of Jehovah and the other angels(several riders on the red, brown and white horses). Verse14 says “ Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, 15 and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.’”

At the last part what did he response? Verse 17 says “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’”

There are the wonderful comfort. There will be much comfort.

2)Comfort means the love and the salvation. Today we need the Zion(the presence of God, Jesus) comfort in our lives. What is the only comfort in my life and in my death? Heidelberg catechism, one of the reformed theological confession said, “ It is the trinity God.” Actually the comfort means the salvation , the redemption.

Do you have know the wonderful comfort in your life? When we know the comfort, we can work our mission in actual life because the heavenly comfort is the foundation of our ministry.

= In the vision, God was very angry but willcure them and will pour outthe comfort to them. This is very wonderful promise. In this time we think that the reason of God’s angry, His healing method and the abundant state of his comfort.

  1. God’s Angry

1)Verse 12 reveals that for 70 years God’s angry influences on the Israel.

12 Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?”

Why was He angry to Israel? The reason was their rebellion to God and his word.

How did the angry reveal to them? The results were revealed the warfare, the plague, the corruption, the demolishment and the captive of Babylon.

What do you think about that? Cambodia spiritual state has many proofs

that God is angry to them. To keep the Phusum Bun is one of them. So we have to feel the emotion of the Apostle Paul at the situation. According to …. he had felt ve strongly at many idols in the Corinthian church. Why? Because he saw the result of their future that shall receive the curse of God. The Scriptures reveals obviously that the idolatry people nation and family shall be perished absolutely. Do you believe in it? We have to think that it is very severe situation. We have to see the angry fire that come out of the heaven.

And we read that serious state that God prohibited to give rain to the Israelite of David. Why? Their sin was offered to God. “ “

After David solved that issue through the great sacrifice God finally God permitted the rain to them.

Especially we see the one of the great angry of God to Israel’s a Benjamin tribe. Their seed we demolished by their murder and the adultery. According to the book of judge chapter .

In the contemporary day we have to observe the angry of God and to bear the burden before God.

According to his merit our humble heart should be offered to God by repentance and faith for this nation.

My beloved student, we have to God’s angry to this field. 170 millions people were died. So they called for one of the killing field in Cambodia. We live in it. Why do we live here in that day? I assure that we have to change this killing field into the living field by the gospel. His is our mission that god gave us. Finally we have to see the smile of God on the country.

II. God’s Healing

Although God was very angry to Israel, God wanted to heal the destroyed nation for himself not by the human curing but by the divine healing. Verse 16 says “16 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty.

Here we can observe the method of God’s healing. What are they?

  1. First, For compete cure, God should come back to them. It is the presence of God. he deep valley shall be changed by the beauty of the myrtle tree, the presence of God. o we have to pray that the kingdom come on me, my family and my country, my village. Today we have to ask thy kingdom come to my school life.
  2. Second, God will restore God’s house. What is his house? It is the temple. Why did God reconstructed the temple? Because He wanted to receive the true worship out of his people. Today Cambodia worships many idols asthe Baal and the Assera. Actually the Baaal Assera points the human sinful desire. Look at the center of all Cambodia budist ceremony, we will find the center oftheir ceremony is his sinful desire. So the cripture pointes that the covet is the idolatry. ( collosians3:5 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ) The idols is the expression of his desire(money, honor, prosperity, please and healthy and well being).

God’s healing starts at the restoration of the true worship. So we have to big jon to change the false worship into the true worship that offered in the truth and in the spirit. This curing principle is ours. We have to long to the kingdom of God and the restoration of true worship.

Now in the gospel we received the wonderful healing promise in the Lord. When the the primitive church cried , “What shall I do?” Peter said “38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”(Act2:38-39)

After praying, admit the grace and give thanksgiving to the Lord. And check up them. Search for small grace in your life. Continuously pray to God until you experienced the grace. You shall experience the grace.

III. the Abundant Comfort

  1. Verse 17 reveals that God will make Jerusalem flown the prosperity and– make our heart restored by the truth and grace. This is abundant comfort. When they know the truth they shall know the comfort.
  2. Absala dancing in Cambodia has 3000 motions. Their thought is bountiful. But the center was empty place, human theory, false thought was seat down on it. We have to change them in our ministry.
  3. God will pour out the comfort to them. What is true comfort.? The comforter is the Holy Spirit.Holy Spirit should pour down on them.

Verse 17 say “and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’” It is not man’s will but God’s will. Just like Gen3:15(And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;he will crush your head,  and you will strike his heel.”) God Himself shall accomplished by his own power for the salvation of his own people. In other words God prepared all things. (Jn14:1-2“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3) (Philip 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.) (Mt6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.)

Do you believe in it? In our school life we meet lots of anxiety in our heart. Actually we can not control our thinking in our future. At that time we have to cast our all burdens to Christ who can bear our all problems. Then we can know his wonderful comfort, the life of his people.

  1. We believe that Holy Spirit works in our heart in the miserable state.

God’s choosing and God’s comfort is our ideal of covenant relationship between God and I. And also the Intimacy with living God is our power in our lives. So we can always expect his abundant comfort.

Conclusion:

  1. In our school life we need the abundant comfort that the angel of Jehovah promised. It is the grace of the Holy Spirit. Hold this wonderful promise.
  2. Whenever our heart are shaking in our school life, we have to stand firm on the strong place, the rock Ps 42:1-2 I waited patiently for the Lord;
        he turned to me and heard my cry.2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

The promise of this abundant comfort is ours. Acts 3:19 said “19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,”

Today we think that God promised the abundant comfort to us in order to restore God’s wonderful grace. Zechariah ‘s vision was accomplished to us in Christ. Today we have to enjoy the comfort by living before God in our school life.

Let’s pray.