The Layers of the Lord’s Love | Zechariah 13:1–9 | Pastor Ben Nistor | 02/16/2025

we are in Zechariah Chapter

Zechariah 13 · chapter mention

13 this

morning

life is filled with

layers I am really grateful that life is

filled with layers

otherwise life would be

boring life is layered because God is

loving he doesn't just give us one type

of life he doesn't

just pop us out like a factory and say

all of you are the same all of you have

the same temperament all of you have the

same looks the same hair the same

eyes he doesn't say all of you will be

born on this

continent he doesn't he doesn't give us

all the same desires the same

affinities we're all different in many

ways

because life is layered and that's how

God designed it I love looking at charts

like the one I'm about to show you of

the

atmosphere life is layered look at this

you can see the troposphere is the

nearest to our atmosphere to what we can

see and that's where planes fly and

that's where hot air balloons take

flight and that's where we see birds

flying clouds coming

and all the way to the exosphere where

we have rockets and spaceships and

everything in between life is

layered what if God just said ah we'll

just have one

atmosphere and that would be boring we

couldn't do certain things in certain

atmospheres and now we can because God

layers Our Lives I don't know about you

but I

have um it's called theosophia do you

know what that is theosophia is fear of

the

ocean now I'm not afraid of putting my

feet on the shore in the water on the

shore but I have gone many times out to

the ocean where it's dark blue and I've

jumped off a boat and I go under and I

just see dark blue

Darkness now I don't know about this I

don't know if you know this but even the

ocean is

layered whether you're talking about the

atmosphere or the layers of the ocean

and the deeper you go the heavier it

gets you see different creatures that

survive at different

levels but you can even see that life is

layered in the ocean and God is

loving for giving us an atmosphere and

an ocean that is layered well this might

not quell your fear of the ocean you may

never go in the ocean again

but now you know that there are layers

in the

ocean this is important because

everything in the world everything

that's Dynamic about life everything

that moves and has breath is created by

a God who is loving who gives us these

things to enjoy and listen to this there

are things in our atmosphere and things

deep in our ocean that God created

purely for his own pleasure and joy that

we will never see

things that are mysterious to us things

that are foreign to us and the fact that

we know that the fact that God creates

things that displays his mystery and

displays how separated he is from us as

God is also

loving because we too create things and

we too make things that only we uniquely

know and are familiar with we are like

our God in so many

ways look at your skin go ahead and

touch

your

skin your skin has

layers thankfully none of you are

transparent in your skin we would just

see your organs Through Your

Skin some of you have veins that are

closer to the surface of your skin they

push further

up some of you we can't see the veins at

all wonder do you even have

veins but look at the layers of even

this thin

skin layered life is

layered when I also think about layers I

think about

cake

now the Lord is good to give us cakes

that have more than one

layer this cake right before you is in

Romanian called

doos and it's a multi-layered cake I've

seen some of these with 20 layers

they're pretty amazing but you got to

get the sponge to Chocolate ratio right

for it to work and now this cake here

you can count the layers you can see

each of the sponges

layered and then chocolate is applied

but it's not just applied between the

layers it's applied on the outside

creating another external layer from the

high from the hidden

interior but not just that you put

almonds on it some people like almonds

on it that's another layer that offers

texture and crunch

and then you have dollops of

chocolate those Harden adding to the

delicate texture of this

cake well to top it off people like to

put hardened

caramel and they put the dollops they

put the the caramel such that the

dollops are hidden it's it's a joy to

discover the dollops of chocolate and

what's underneath and then when you take

a slice you can see the

multi-layered

bite layers are what make life worth

living now God is loving like I said to

give us

layers and I've gotten you now to think

about the outside the atmosphere the

ocean your own skin and close even to

your own heart chocolate

cake but I want you to take from this

object lesson the lesson that God layers

life to show his love this reality that

each of us is affected by which is our

hearts we each have layered Hearts our

hearts are layered by our

Wills our hearts are layered by our

emotions they're layered by our

Thoughts by our desires you and I we are

we are complex beings with layered lives

in each of these

layers we can sin we can do what's evil

and unrighteous adding further layers of

complexity to our

life in these layers of our lives in our

Wills in our thoughts in our actions in

our desires we can do what's righteous

and

good again adding further complexity to

life the Bible tells us that in sin our

life can be made more complicated but

the Bible also tells us when we pursue

God righteously that can also bring

hardships and complexity to

life life is

layered when you think about your own

life whatever you're you are in life

whether you're single or whether you're

married or whether you are married and

have children or whether you are married

divorced and have children or whether

you're married and don't have children

at all or whether whatever layer you are

in in your

life every th every time we add more and

more today you're wearing clothes you're

layered

thankfully if you're up north you wear

layers

you each have hair that is layered you

each have eyes that are layered your

skin is layered everything about you

speaks volumes to the loving God and how

he has layered your

life it is amazing to think that God

doesn't just layer us externally but as

the diagram shows you internally you are

layered and this shows too that God is

loving well the scriptures are no

exception to the layers that God wants

us to see in our lives and Zechariah 13

is filled with at least three layers and

I want to show you this I want to go

through the text first I'd like to read

it we'll look at the context and the

message of Zechariah and then we'll look

at the three layers of this book let's

read together Zechariah 13:

1-9 verse one on that day there shall be

be a fountain open for the House of

David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem

to cleanse them from sin and

uncleanness and on that day declares the

Lord of hosts I will cut off the names

of the idols from the land so that they

shall be remembered no more and also I

will remove from the land the prophets

and the spirit of uncleanness and if

anyone again prophesies his father and

mother Who Bore him will say to him you

shall not live for you speak lies in the

name of the Lord and his father and

mother Who Bore him shall pierce him

through when he prophesies verse four on

that day every Prophet shall be ashamed

by of his vision when he prophesies he

will not put on a hairy cloak in order

to deceive but he will say I am no

Prophet I am a worker of the soil for a

man sold me in my youth and if one asks

him what are these wounds on your back

he will say the wounds I received in the

house of my

friends verse

7 awake oh sword against my shepherd

against the man who stands next to me

declares the Lord of hosts strike the

shepherd and the Sheep will be scattered

I will turn my hand against the little

ones in the whole land declares the Lord

2/3 shall be cut off and perish and

oneir shall be left alive and I will put

this third Into the Fire and refine them

as one refined silver and test them as

gold is tested they will call upon my

name and I will answer them I will say

they are my people and they will say the

Lord is my God Amen let's pray father

thank you for the layers in this text as

we uncover these Lord I pray that even

the words I bring would be found faith

faithful to you help me to be faithful

to the scriptures and

help us have a heart of humility ready

to receive what you've given to us we

thank you in the name of Jesus Amen so

let's look at the context Pastor Andrew

has been leading us through the book of

Zechariah and one of the things that

I've just found fascinating about this

book is the levels in the prophecy of

Zechariah there's multi levels Pastor

Andrew talked about that um about the

prophecies being multi-layered well

number one the prophet Zechariah lived

and preached in Judah after Jews

returned to Jerusalem from Babylon this

is after the Exile of Israel there's a

lot of layers even there uh remember

with me that when Jerusalem was burned

and Israel the people were brought into

Exile the people remove were removed

from the promised land were removed from

the Covenant that's going to be

important in just a minute but it's when

they got to Babylon they became

integrated into society and which book

of the Bible do you remember is

recounting that

experience what book recounts that

experience

somebody said it Daniel The Book of

Daniel you can write off to the side

there Exile in Babylon Daniel shows us

what it was like to live in

Babylon well number two also Zechariah

preached God's message to Israel return

to me and I will return to you chapter

1:3 and do you realize how layered even

this statement is return to me this

implies a layer of of Abandonment that

is is abandoned the Lord and now he is

calling them to

return but it also shows us that God has

abandoned his people if you return to me

I will return to

you and we saw that the message of

Zechariah is one of repentance

repentance from sin from wickedness from

past failures and repentance to God

turning to him in faith well last week

Pastor Andrew uh showed us chapter 12

The Amazing Grace and judgment to come

and again this this showed us that there

will be great turmoil and pain in God's

Plan of Salvation but God will

powerfully act to bring Salvation there

we saw that The Shepherd of God the one

who is stricken this one who is lifted

High the shepherd the Messiah will come

and so we saw the Amazing Grace but also

the amazing Judgment of God to come well

today we're looking at the layers of the

Lord's love in Zariah CH 13 and today's

prophecy has at least three layers so

we're going to look at these layers one

by one in preparation for this message I

thought if we go verse by verse we'll

miss the layered approach to this text

so what we're going to do is cover those

three layers and I will show you how to

work through a passage like this to see

the layers that God wants us to see so

that we can be reminded again of his

love but before we do that I want to

give you the main point of Zechariah 13

the main point of this text is that the

Lord

lovingly shows us through three layers

of

interpretation that he will do two

things he will cleanse and purify his

people and He will do that by striking

the shepherd those two things in this

text from verse 1 to6 we see that God is

going to cleanse the people and it's not

just cleansing for cleansing sake

there's three layers cleansing them from

sin cleansing them from idolatry and

cleansing them from false teaching those

are three layers even in that in the

text and then he'll do it by verse 7 to9

by striking the shepherd striking the

shepherd and cleansing the people

refining them so those two parts in

verse 7 to9 so what is the first layer

of this text I want to show you the

first layer is the timeline or

historical layer of Zechariah 13: 1-9

that's what we're going to be focusing

on here and we're going to see even

within this timeline Four Points of

reference for time so look at the chart

in front of you I love charts it helps

me to figure out what the text is

actually doing and saying so as I was

studying this passage I saw clearly that

Zechariah is the one Speaking here he is

the one that the Lord is transmitting

his message you can see that in the text

so Zechariah is standing there and his

perspective of time is

there's four perspectives here that he

gives us so Zechariah looks to the past

to the Babylonian

exile in this text he's also looking to

the immediate future when the second

temple is reconstructed during his

lifetime you can see that in the second

temple there I'll show you how but then

the third level in this text is the

distant future Zechariah several hundred

years even removed from Jesus Christ so

the life death and resurrection of

Messiah is in the distant future from

Zechariah but that is here in this text

as well and then finally and I've Bolden

for you the phrase on that day on that

day the short hand for the Judgment Day

the day of the Lord which is the final

judgment and you can see there on this

little graph that zachari is also

talking about that day which is the end

of all time time you see those four

layers on that chart there well let's

look how they are fulfilled in this text

let's see how those are layered in this

text well look at number one there layer

one is the past and how does how does

Zechariah show us the past in this text

well God actually did do what he proph

what Zechariah prophesied here so how

did he do it well God cleansed Israel

from sin idolatry and false teaching

when

he sent Babylon to destroy the land and

Israel you'll remember with me in the

Exile when Babylon came it was as a

punishment for Israel's sin but

specifically their idolatry and their

false teaching so that Jeremiah 21:7

Jeremiah 21:7

tells us that the last king of Judah

zedekiah will be

struck by the sword

and Babylon will do it he's the only

king of Israel that we're told is struck

by a sword of an

enemy we're told that zedekiah in

Jeremiah 21:7 on account of the idolatry

Jeremiah 21:7

and the false teaching of the people God

had enough and he said I'm sending

Babylon to be my servant to destroy the

land so think let's think about this

logically if if God sent Babylon to

destroy the land and to deport the

people what is the land free of now sin

idolatry and false teaching so he did do

this already in the past so King

zedekiah struck Jerusalem Burns and what

do we remember about the Exile a Remnant

is preserved a Remnant goes to Babylon

that's Daniel and his friends but now

let's think even more critically about

this in verse 8 and9 of Zechariah 13

we're told in the whole land 2/3 shall

be cut off and perish and 1/3 shall be

Left Alive

a majority of people who did get

exported to Babylon did die in verse 9

listen to this carefully and I will put

this third this Remnant Into the Fire do

you remember what happened with Daniel

and his friends where were they put in a

fiery furnace

literally and so we're reminded that in

Exile the people of God were in a fiery

furnace spiritually but they were also

literally put in a fiery furnace and God

preserved the life of Dan and his

friends and he refines them as silver

and as gold and you remember the statue

that were told about in The Book of

Daniel the the statue of gold and all

the layers of that statue and how God

promises to destroy that statue and

eventually restore his people to refine

his people and so all of this language

reminds us that God has already done

this in the past well what does this

show us about God and his love it shows

us that God is lovingly reminding you

and me but specifically Israel In this

passage of their sinful past to

encourage their present faithfulness

friends that's why the Old Testament is

in our hands today we are told in 1

Corinthians 10 that everything that was

written in the Bible is for my benefit

and your benefit so that we would learn

to abstain from Evil and do what is

right we have object lessons in the

people of Israel to remember what do we

stay away from what pleases God and

certainly

idolatry and false teaching is something

we should stay clear of we're reminded

of that while the past goes on to the F

to the immediate future in Layer Two

there the immediate future we're told

that God will help Israel rebuild its

Temple So In this passage we're told

that there's going to be a day when

Israel can worship God again and the

temple the Covenant law will be

reestablished and the remaining Remnant

from Exile will worship again where am I

getting that from well look in chap 13:1

on on that day there shall be a fountain

open for the House of David and the

inhabitants of Jerusalem again this is

envisioning a picture where Jerusalem

will have the House of David again the

house the Dynasty and the temple will

pour out blessing and F and the Fountain

of cleansing but look further with me in

in verse 2 and three notice this that on

that day declares the Lord I will cut

off the names of the idols so that they

will be remembered no

more also I will move from the land of

prophets well how will he do this how

will God do this it's through the law

through the deuteronomic law Deuteronomy

13 you can write off to the side there

verse three if anyone again prophesies

his father and mother Who Bore him will

say to him you shall not live this is

the law the law is being reenacted again

and it will be in the immediate future

of Israel they will have the law again

they will have the temple they will have

the House of David reestablished so this

is a promise again of the immediate

future

look at the layers even of

that did you notice the layers of that

command the law tells us that a father

and a

mother put to death their false prophet

child can you imagine the layers of

complexity

there the the layers that God calls the

people of Israel to to obey him this is

complex the father and the mother Who

Bore him they say say to him you shall

not live for you speak lies in the name

of the Lord allegiance to the Lord is

the top

layer and allegiance to your children

comes underneath is what the law is

showing us what happens what what do the

father and mother do what are they

responsible for doing in verse three it

says it continues his father and mother

Who Bore him shall pierce

him through when he prophesies is there

any more interesting book uh in the

world

than a book that shows us the law of God

and how a father and mother will come

against their child in order to preserve

the top layer of their

lives this should make us feel squeamish

it should make us feel uncomfortable I

would never do that to my child how

could I ever put to death my

child well in the law God sees his

priority in your life what changes today

well the fact that we have God's grace

none of you have to go and put your

child to death

thankfully the law demands

Perfection so the law today reminds us

that only through Christ only through

his death and Resurrection can our

children prioritize God in their lives

it is not my faith that I transfer to my

children it is God working through them

and in faith to get their lives active

activated and saved before him pray for

your children's

salvation pray for them to know the Lord

that they would not become false

prophets that they not they would not

bear false witness against the Lord pray

for this but going back to this

immediate context the immediate future

God look there on the bullet point on

the bottom is lovingly proving his

promise to preserve and restore his

people God is so loving to do this

Jeremiah 29 we often quote it do you

know what this passage

says Jeremiah

29 tells us that after you come from

Babylon Israel I know the plans I have

for you declares the Lord plans to what

do you

remember plans to prosper you the Lord

ultimately wants to prosper Israel he

does not want to punish them he does not

want them to be judged on that day he

wants them to experience his grace his

beautiful blessing well there's a third

layer it's the distant future and we see

this also in the text God's plan to

rescue his people is fully activated

when the Lord Jesus is led to the Cross

now turn with me in your Bibles to

Matthew 26 I do not have this on the

screen so you're going to have to turn

it's just a couple of pages to the right

in your Bibles in the New Testament

Matthew 26

listen to verse 30 beginning in verse 30

Matthew

Matthew 26:30

26:30 when they had sung A Hymn they

went out to the Mount of Olives then

Jesus said to them you will all fall

away because of me this night

for I love it it is

written I will strike the shepherd and

the sheep of the flock will be scattered

but after I am raised up I will go

before you to Galilee do you see what he

just did there he quoted our passage

this morning Jesus himself viewed this

passage as applying to himself but

listen carefully to what he says listen

carefully to what he says

here after I am raised I will go before

you to Galilee Galilee Peter answered

him though they all fall away because of

you what does Peter say I will never

fall

away Jesus said to

him truly I say to you this very night

before the rooster crows you will deny

me three times Peter said to him even if

I must die with you I will not deny you

and all the disciples said the

same if you keep going on in this

encounter you remember that Jesus is

with his disciples in the garden picture

this and all of the sudden in the

distance there there's fire there's

shouting angry people and in verse 47

Matthew 26:47 we're told while he was

Matthew 26:47

still speaking

Judas came one of the 12 and with him a

great crowd with

swords this is a fulfillment of

Zechariah

Zechariah 13:7

13:7 when the Lord himself says sword

awake go find my

shepherd here Jesus historically is

showing us this was about

him and it was all part of the plan you

and I might think at this point in

Jesus's life oh no Jesus they're coming

run Jesus is not betrayed because he was

tricked Jesus was betrayed because it

was

planned remember

again ma Matthew 26 verse

Matthew 26:31

31 as it is

written remember as is as it was

written God promises to strike his

Shepherd as it was written so this is

fulfilled historically in the life of

Jesus strike the shepherd although Jesus

died on the cross that's a metaphor for

his death so what is God doing here

lovingly he is pointing Israel to a New

Covenant he is pointing them to a day

when his Shepherd will be struck The

Shepherd of the House of David and that

is through the blood of Jesus Christ I

love Hebrews 13 the reference is there

on your outline but Hebrews chap 13

tells us something remarkable about

Jesus Christ in verse 20 to 21 it says

may the God of Peace who brought again

from the dead our lord Jesus the great

Shepherd of the sheep who's Jesus to you

who is he to you historically speaking

did he die for you at a point in time

did he rise again at a point in time is

he your great Shepherd

today Hebrews chap 13 tells us that he

is the Great Shepherd and he is the

great Shepherd by the blood of the

Eternal

Covenant and may He equip you with every

good that you may do his will working in

us that which is pleasing in his sight

through Jesus Christ Jesus Christ is the

point of this text he is the future

fulfillment of this text well the final

day there uh final layer is the day of

judgment notice this with me that you

see the phrase on that day repeated

three times in the book of Zechariah and

in the entire book we'll see in a minute

that that phrase refers to the day of

judgment so what is God going to do on

the day of judgment God and His ultimate

plan is to cleanse his New Covenant

people entirely from their sins you and

me he wants to cleanse us from our sins

from our Idols from our false teaching

that we're susceptible to and he wants

to restore us as his people for all

eternity God Is So lovingly training You

and Me In this passage to do what to

think of what when you and I read on

that day on that day on that day what is

God lovingly training me and you to do

to think about

what his day his arrival his return he

is calling us to dream to Envision a day

when you and I don't sin anymore imagine

that he is calling you and me to imagine

a day where there is no

idolatry he is calling us to imagine a

day when false teachers as many as as

are present today would would be ashamed

of their false teaching so much so that

they would say I'm a farmer don't look

at me I'm not a false teacher I'm a

farmer did you notice that in Zechariah

13 the excuse that the false teacher

gives when he's confronted with false

teaching oh that all the false teachers

that we have today on YouTube All Around

the World in our so-called churches in

the United States would they wake up to

today go to their pulpits and say I'm

actually a farmer

I pray for that do you pray for false

teachers to

stop do you pray for false teaching to

be done away with in an embarrassing

fashion did you notice what else the

text says about the false teachers

they're

confronted it would be like uh wearing

this this garment here if you notice

that it says in verse 4 that they will

be they'll be ashamed to put on a a

hairy cloak that would be like the

equivalent of walking up to a Pulpit and

preaching in this day that's what

prophets wore that's how you could

distinguish what a prophet from the Lord

was they wore a cloak that was Heavy

John the Baptist wore this Elijah wore

this and so these false prophets they

they appear to be pastors or teachers

and they say when they're confronted I

am no prophet in verse 5 I am a worker

of the soil for a man sold me in my

youth in verse six if anyone asks him

what are these wounds on your back

presumably because false teachers got

punished they were whipped for speaking

lies imagine telling somebody after

teaching falsely and being punished for

it that oh oh These wounds are from my

friends who punishes their friend this

is absurd the false teacher cannot

Escape that's the point of this text on

the day of judgment a false teacher will

not be able to escape there will be no

excuse and there will be no Rel

relationship that can salvage the false

teacher lies friends this is a big uh

burden for us as pastors at Sheridan

Hills pray that we would be faithful

teachers of the scripture pray that we

would not be

susceptible uh to false teaching pray

that our lives would embody godliness

and a character that that shows the

truth of God's word not just in what we

teach but in our

lives pray that we would repent as

pastors

from our sins and pray that we would

live in a way that is worthy of the

Gospel this text is indict an indictment

against the false teaching but on that

day is not just an

indictment I I know we're tempted to

think that the final day of judgment is

a day where there will be weeping and

wailing and nashing of teeth but friends

in Zechariah that could be further from

the truth in the book of Zechariah on

that day refers to a day where God will

just open up the floodgates of his Mercy

to his people he will show you and me

Grace like he has never shown us before

in history in time as things unfold he

will show you and me things that our

minds cannot comprehend he will show us

all the behind the scenes of how he

preserved you and me from sinning and

from idolatry and false teaching he will

show us his Mercy once and for all and

it will be beautiful it'll be a fountain

it'll be a Wellspring you and I will sit

by rushing waters of God's mercy on that

day that's a big deal are you ready for

that does your timeline have the final

day of judgment in it here Zechariah in

his timeline had the final day in view

so God is lovingly training us to think

about that day what will it be like to

anticipate a final fulfillment of all of

God's promises Zechariah 13 tells us on

that day a fountain will be released on

that day there will be no more idolatry

on that day there will be nothing to

deceive you well that's the historical

timeline that's the layer okay the

second layer though is the storyline of

the Bible okay this is one of my

favorite favorite layers of this text

it's the storyline of the Bible or the

narrative and you can circle the word

narrative what does narrative mean

narrative is in the scriptures the big

story line of the Bible it is God's

unfolding story all the characters all

their flaws all the layers of the

complexity of the Society of the people

politically all of those things wrapped

into God's Plan of Salvation God uses

all of it don't you see he uses all of

those things the different cultures the

different nations the different peoples

from all the tribes and all the tongues

and all the nations he uses all of them

in his grand plan in his story line and

I want to just show you two examples of

this in the text there's many more but

I'll just show you two the first one is

that God shows his love by giving us a

direct connection to Jesus Christ in

this text we already read it in Matthew

26 but I want you to see something very

specific here Jesus applied these verses

to himself as we have said he is the

stricken

Shepherd but the text is calling you and

me to make this connection did you

notice that you and I are to make this

connection this is an application point

for you and me God is lovingly inviting

you to make the connection

from this text to the death and the

resurrection of Jesus

Christ but this text is also calling me

and you to do something really important

we have to call upon him saying what in

verse 9 chapter 13:9 the Lord is what

the Lord this stricken Shepherd is not

just a

teacher he's not just a philosopher of

morality

he's not just a Rabbi this Lord is my

God he's your God and he's my God how

loving for God to show us in the Old

Testament this connection to Christ and

to say when you see that that's your

God this Covenant reality this language

the Lord is my God is a promise in this

text did you notice that in verse 9 it

says I will say of them this is a

promise I will say they are my people

and what will we say in return what will

we say let's read it out loud

together the Lord is my god let's read

it out loud together the Lord is my

amen what will the Lord say to us this

is my people and what are

we the Lord is my God we will say the

Lord is my god do you realize how

beautiful this connection is to the New

Testament it's one of the few times in

the book of Zechariah that we have a

direct link to what Jesus says in the

New Covenant reality but not just

that this text also tells us that in

God's covenant love we are to expect

various

trials as God's process of refining us

God is Not Just loving because he makes

us a promise to be our God God is loving

because he's going to work on you and me

like we've never felt before there's

going to be Tri s of refinement did you

notice there in verse 8 and the whole

land declares the Lord 2/3 shall be cut

off and perish and 1/3 shall be left

alive I will put this third Into the

Fire that's the one he redeems he he

puts us through the fire he refines us

as silver he he wants you to be pure he

wants to take all the impurities out of

you and out of

me he wants to test you he wants to see

if you're in the faith I want to ask you

this question and really what I want you

to do is ask yourself this

question if I'm tested by the Lord will

I be found to be

faithful ask

yourself is my faith with able to

withstand the Flames of

refinement after this refinement we'll

be able to call upon the name of the

Lord it life is

layered with trials

life is

filled with small

trials with mediumsized trials with big

trials did you did you realize that the

older you get the things that you

thought were big trials become small and

the things that you thought were big be

when you were a child become pretty

small and the ones that were small

become big like our children don't ever

think about how do we even live in our

house but they're afraid of

spiders friends I don't care about

spiders

but I am afraid of whether I'll miss a

mortgage those things are switched and

life is layered with trials and the

smallest trial to the biggest trial God

is using in your life have you ever

wondered why are you

suffering why has something happened to

you that was out of your control or why

did these things happen as a domino

effect of the decisions you made why did

it pan out this way perhaps in your

marriage perhaps as a parent

perhaps in your education perhaps in

your

career Lord why did these things happen

this way did you know that the Lord is

refining you he wants to purify you

through these things he is so good to

give us these layers of Trials well the

other story line of the Bible part of

this text is the number two there that

God shows his Love To Us by giving us

repeated phrases

how in the world is that

loving well think about it this way I

know that when we were children we

didn't like to be told what to do

multiple times we we probably shook it

off as annoying and parents you

certainly don't like to repeat

yourselves but did you know the most

loving thing a parent can do for their

child is repeat repeat repeat repeat

like I'm doing now repeat repeat until

they get it you are loving your child

well when you repeat and similar God is

loving us by repeating a constant

refrain of on that day fill it in on

that day in verse one and verse two and

verse four on that day that phrase

appears 17 times in the book of

Zechariah that's more than once per

chapter it refers to the day of judgment

but pause and think about his promises

when you hear that phrase on that day

what does that mean on that day how does

that affect my life when I read that in

the text what does that mean for

me well look at the we're not going to

read all of these but look at these 17

references that are on your sheet there

look at the ones I've

underlined Zechariah 2:11 many nations

Zechariah 2:11

shall join themselves to the Lord in

that day and shall be my people and I

will dwell in your midst and you shall

know that the Lord of hosts has sent me

to you what a beautiful promise on that

day pause and think about that promise

promise the Nations will come to the

Lord Zechariah 9:16 look at the other

Zechariah 9:16

underlined passage there on that day the

Lord their God will save them Circle

that save

them as the flock of his

people for like the jewels of a crown

they shall shine on his land you and I

will be saved in such a

glamorous and beautiful and precious way

by the Lord he won't just do

it he won't just do it with one layer

we're told he will do it and we will

radiate like jewels in the

land look how loving he is to add

another layer there a layer of precious

metal a precious stone Zechariah 13:1 we

Zechariah 13:1

already saw it on that day there will be

a fountain open for me and for you on

the House of David and the inhabitants

of Jerusalem this is pointing to the New

Jerusalem

you and I will be presented to the Lord

in

Beauty will be perfect and complete

we'll have every blessing that he has

promised spiritually will come to

realization on that day Zechariah 14 8

to9 look at this on that day Living

Waters shall flow out from Jerusalem

half of them to the Eastern Sea and half

of them to the Western sea it'll cover

everything it shall continue in summer

as in winter and the Lord will be king

over all the Earth on that day the Lord

will be one and his name

one these things are promises for you

and for me these passages cause us to

pause and think what does that mean what

will the Lord do but also think about

not just the promises of God but pause

and think about your

place on that

day where do you envision yourself being

a better question is what confidence do

you have that God will save you on that

day when you read that phrase when you

hear the Lord repeat it do you just say

ah I don't want to hear about judgment

anymore I just want to hear about the

good stuff just give me the promises I

just want the

promises I don't want a layered life I

don't want a complex life I just want

the Lord to show up and that's it or

does it bring you Joy to know the Lord

will save you you and how he will save

you I invite you in your heart right

now if in your heart right now you are

not looking forward to the day of

Christ I invite you to

repent I invite you now to look to

Christ and to say Lord

Jesus give me the confidence to know you

on that

day friends without the Lord and his

promises of healing on the cross without

the promise of forgiveness none of us

can have confidence that we will see him

on that day but as we just sung before

and as we'll sing here at the end of

this message again that song on that

day I invite you to sing that with new

faith I invite you to sing that with

hope with joy knowing that God has

planned better things for us he has

planned to heal us of sin and idolatry

and false teaching and to cling to him

forever

amen do you have that hope do you have

that confidence well you can read the

rest of these passages and see what all

these uh verses show us about on that

day but that's the second layer the

story line of the Bible where does the

story of God end here in the Bible it

doesn't it it goes all the way to the

day of judgment when God Will Make A

people for himself once and for all and

forever but the third layer and the

final layer is that we're going to look

at is the who is God or the theological

layer of Zechariah 131 to9 look on your

last page there the who is God layer

this is the theological layer of this

text so so far we've looked at the

Historical we've looked at the narrative

how the story line of God unfolds but

then here in the end we're going to

think about God and reflect on who he is

and this text has much to say about God

there are nine things in particular but

we're going to go through them rather

quickly on the left side you have your

text and on the right side I have the

comments for each of those texts that

show us the God of this text this is a

good note to end on because we remember

that every text in scripture is about

God if you are reading the Bible to know

more about you oh you are missing

out oh you are missing the point of the

Bible if you are reading scripture to

see what you can get out of it instead

of seeing how you can be more amazed

with God you are missing the point of

the text the Bible this text is about

God once and for all look at this verse

one on that day there will be a fountain

open for the House of David and the

inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them

from sin and uncleanness well number one

notice there the Lord God himself is

that

Fountain he is the Fountain of Living

Waters Jeremiah 17:13 the Lord he is the

Jeremiah 17:13

Fountain of Living Water remember

Jesus's words to the woman at the well

he says to her woman you've come here

for water I'm offering you something

even greater I'm opening the Fountain of

Living Water to you receive

it she goes back in excitement and says

I just met a man who told me all about

my sexual past and I he's the Messiah

and she brings all this Entourage to

come see the Messiah the one who has

opened up the floodgates of the Living

Water in Ephesians 1:8 we're told that

Ephesians 1:8

God in Christ lavishes us what a

generous God you can write off there to

the side

generous come drink Isaiah

55 come by with no money it's free it is

lavishing it is beautiful and it is open

to all this is the Fountain of God so

gracious now look at verse two and on

that day declares the Lord of

hosts I will cut off he says I will

remove if anyone prophesies the parents

will follow the command in ver in in

verse 2 and three we see number two

there that the Lord has absolute power

he has

power how do we see this what what he

declares comes to pass he says it I will

I will these are statements of assertion

God is going to do this do not doubt he

will do it he has the power to do it did

you also notice this that what he

commands obeys his voice did you notice

that what he

commands the people he commands the

armies He commands they obey his

voice you can notice this in two ways

here the first way in verse two is this

that he is the Lord of

hosts now I don't know about you but but

no host of military personnel will

listen unless they see that person as

their

commander in fact they shouldn't but

here we're told this is the Lord of

hosts hosts listen to him he is their

Lord but we see it even more personally

that in verse three when the parents the

father and mother hear the command of

the Lord you speak for you shall not

speak lies in the name of the Lord they

also obey in verse um three there his

father and mother Who Bore him shall

pierce him we see The Obedience here

that Jesus has absolute power to command

and whatever he commands obeys his voice

you and I shouldn't be surprised by this

in the historical counts of the gospels

Jesus commands the

weather it listens to

him Jesus commands the

demons Jesus commands the person's

ailment he reverses

leprosy Jesus

commands even the Sinners to stop

sinning and they go away and they

obey who can do this it's God himself

the Lord my God Jesus Christ the lord

has absolute power but notice also that

the Lord hates idolatry did you notice

this in verse two I will cut off Circle

that cut

off how will he do it it's layered it's

layered did you notice that you're not

surprised I will cut off the names I

will cut them off and I I won't just cut

them

off so that you can remember them I will

cut them off in such a way where you

cannot remember them this is vital

toward idolatry God hates idolatry so a

key question in my life and your life is

this what Idols does God need to cut off

from your life so that you will remember

them no more just write it there to the

side Lord cut this off so I will

remember it no

more do you see the power that God has

to to do this in this text he can do it

he will do

it number four though in verse three

again is that the Lord is truthful in

all of his ways did you notice this in

the command you shall not live for in

verse three you speak lies in the name

of the Lord why why is this a command

why is it a command that we shall not

speak lies in the name of the Lord

because the Lord is truthful in him

there is no Darkness at all tells us 1

John 1

15 so a key question for you and for me

is do we seek the truth just like God

seeks the truth do we seek to tell the

truth like he

does Lord help us if we do not tell the

truth help us to be more like you and

less like us help us to speak the

truth number five there on your outline

is in Verses 4 to 6 the Lord will not be

put to shame did you notice this the

Lord will not be put to shame on that

day verse four every Prophet will be

ashamed of his vision when he prophesies

he will not put on a hairy cloak in

order to deceive but he will say I am no

Prophet I am worker of the soil for a

man sold me in my youth and if anyone

asks him what are these wounds on your

back he will say the wounds I received

in the house of my friends well look at

this the Lord will not be put to shame

but will put the false prophets to shame

he will bring them to shame how will he

do it he he'll do it by having their

friends so-called friends with

them he will have these prophets brought

to Shame by literally stripping them of

their Valor they will not wear a hairy

cloak again in order to

deceive they will even they will even

say of themselves in utter

embarrassment I'm just I'm just a farmer

I'm just a

slave I'm the lowest class of society is

what they would say in this

time they will be brought to shame

they'll be brought to

nothing and I love this that the false

prophets would no longer deceive

so a key question for you and for me is

are you and I susceptible to false

teaching can we spot it can you and I

spot false teaching do we know what it

looks like do we know what it smells

like do we know who it looks

like do we do we have a a nose for it

and can we see

it the Lord will not be put to shame

don't subject yourself to false teaching

subject yourself to the truth number six

there starts in verse 7 that the Lord

ordains his Plan of Salvation I love

this did you notice the split up here in

the first part from verse 1 to6 it's

what what do you notice about this in

your Bibles it's a block text right in

verse 7 to verse 9 do you notice that

indentation and then it's italicized

Inward and it's like a poetry so in the

pros part of this passage in the first

part verse 1 to

we're told these are the plans of the

Lord this is what he will do in verse 7

to9 we're told how he will do it so here

we see in verse 7 that the Lord is the

one who ordains his Plan of Salvation it

was God's will we see in verse 7 to

strike Jesus did you notice this awake o

sword against my

shepherd against the man who stands next

to me declares the Lord of host strike

the shepherd and the Sheep will be

scattered on the side there you can

write Isaiah 53 it was the Will's the

Lord's will to crush Jesus on the cross

this wasn't a mistake the Lord did this

to enact salvation and then notice there

as well that it was God's will to

scatter the disciples it was part of

God's will for the disciples to abandon

Jesus and Jesus was

alone he called out to the

father take this cup from me and the

father did not respond to him in that

moment of great Despair and great

loneliness Jesus Christ went to the

Cross

abandoned and that was all part of the

plan of

God so that you and I would not be

abandoned on that

day Jesus was abandoned so that you and

I would not ever be put to shame or

abandoned

do you

have trust that the Lord ordains your

life on there on your outline there the

Lord ordains his Plan of Salvation right

even

me even me the Lord even ordains my

life everybody in this room God is so

loving to ordain Our

Lives okay verse 8 and n briefly here in

verse 8 we're told in the whole land

declares the Lord 2/3 shall be cut off

and perish and one3 shall be Left Alive

what what does this reveal here this

verse reveals that the Lord is a just

judge he cuts off two3 and he preserves

oneir so many of us probably wonder from

this text why would he cut off the

majority of his people why would he

punish them why would he why would he

cut them off why would he um destroy

them why would he do that

I don't think that's the right

question I submit to you humbly I think

that the right question is why in the

world did he save the

one-third why would God save a people

that are in the midst of idolatry in the

midst of false teaching and who have

total uncleanness and sin in their lives

why would he save

anybody that's the key question why does

he preserve oneir and the answer is

because he's a just judge how does he do

it he does it through Christ he does it

through the sacrificial death of Christ

anybody who calls upon the name of the

Lord that is sufficient for you to be

saved many will not call upon the name

of the Lord but the remnant few the

people who do call upon him will be

saved and God will not let sin in his

presence so how does he do it he does it

through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus

Christ let Christ sacrifice cover you if

you think you're part of the 2/3 which

we all deserve to be how do you get to

the onethird you trust in Jesus Christ

that he can forgive your

sins okay well then what does he do with

us once he saves Us number eight there

the Lord is a refiner in verse 9 we see

this the Lord refines us once he saves

us he refines us he doesn't want you to

be more like you he wants you to be more

like

Christ God does not save you to make you

more like you he saves you to make you

more like him the Lord is a refiner

verse 9 you can guarantee this I will

put this third this one that is saved

Into the Fire and refine them as refi as

one refined silver and test them as gold

is tested what a promise that you and I

will be purified to be radiant gold and

silver and stones that are

precious the Lord will do it he's a

refiner and then finally the Lord is a

promisekeepers 9 did you catch this this

is all Covenant language this these last

four lines they will call upon my name

and I will answer them do you remember

this from Exodus when they called upon

the name of the Lord said redeem us we

are enslaved redeem us and the Lord

heard them because he kept his

Covenant friend you and I if we call

upon the name of the Lord today he will

answer us you and I can pray to God we

can enter into his presence because he

is a

they will call I will answer I will say

they will

say what will they

say the Lord is my God what will what

will God say they are my people so a key

question for you is this as we wrap up

here is the

Lord your

God friends this is where this text is

going this is where the Assurance of

faith comes in here these promises that

are reserved for that day on that day

when God is going to make all things new

will you call upon him as your God this

is where this text is going this is

where history is going this is where The

Narrative of scripture is going and this

is once and for all where God himself is

going he wants to be God of your life he

wants to be made much of every layer of

your life should be flavored by this

statement the Lord is my

God every layer of your life just like

every layer of the atmosphere just like

every layer of the ocean just like every

layer of your skin cries out that

there's a Creator God who is worthy of

praise and we would add there too every

layer of chocolate

cake the goodness the richness a flavor

that God gives us his loving kindness to

me and to you invites us to see that God

loves us because he gives us layered

lives how often do you think about God's

word work throughout history is that

part of your layer is that part of the

layer of your life what is God doing in

my life what did he do when I was born

what did he do in my childhood what did

he do in my adulthood what is he doing

now in my age my old age do you think

about God in your

timeline do you think about what will

happen to you on that day when Christ

returns where will you be standing what

will you be saying what will the Lord

find you doing do you think about that

on that day it'll come you won't realize

it it'll be too late unless you turn to

him and then finally do you ask who is

my

God who do I worship do I worship idols

and false teachers or do I worship the

one true God the god of

Truth The God Who is

real so let's pray and ask for God's

help in these things