Hello and welcome to our program today. We're in Zechariah chapter 8. Have your Bible ready if you can. We've been involved here in a quick overview of the book of Zechariah. We're not going through it verse by verse, but looking at what the Lord may have for us today. When you study a portion of scripture, we would be wise first to look at it in an area of observation, just what does it say, let's read it. And then interpretation, what does it mean, what is the context, where does it fit in? And then application, these things are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come, and so we need to make the applications for us today. We're going to do that in this broadcast. We're looking in Jeremiah chapter 8. There's some interesting verses here. Verse number 9, we see the words, be strong, be strong. And then also in verse number 9, we have the word hear. And then in verse number 13, ye shall be a blessing. Also in verse 13, fear not. Verse 16, the things that ye shall do Then again in verse 16, speak ye every man the truth. Again in verse 16, execute the judgment of truth. And then in verse number 19, love the truth. Some interesting things that God's prophet was saying to the people. in Zechariah's day. In our previous study in the book of Nehemiah, we became concerned about who were the prophets, who was doing all the preaching when Nehemiah and those people were building the walls. If you look at it, you will see that Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi were prophets at that time. So, we've been looking this particular time in the book of Zechariah, we've already looked at Haggai and we will look at Malachi next. Now in these areas here where he says be strong, hear what the prophets have to say, be a blessing, here are the things that you shall do, speak every man the truth, execute the truth and love the truth. We are looking, as we said, at observation, interpretation. The interpretation of this portion of Scripture has to do with Israel. However, the applications we need to make for us today, and that's what we're going to do on this broadcast. Now, he said, first of all, be strong. Be strong, verse 9. Be strong that the temple might be built. Now, the thing is, when we talk about the temple, we're not going to build a building like they were building a physical temple, but a spiritual temple. The Bible says, what know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? And so what we need to do is to be strong in that sense. Now, when someone gives us a command to be strong, can we do it because we're commanded to be strong? Can a doctor go into his patient and stand beside the bed and say, listen, I'm giving you a command, be strong. Is he going to get up and walk away? No, he's going to have to have a formula. He's going to have to have a prescription. The doctor's going to tell him how he can be strong. And so we read about Abraham, and it says in Romans 4, in verse number 20, that Abraham staggered not because he was strong in the faith. Concerning the Corinthians, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 16, verse number 13, stand fast in the faith, be strong. And then in Ephesians 6 and 10, he said, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, strong in the Lord. He said in Ephesians 3 and 17, that Christ may dwell in your hearts, by faith. That word faith is found eight times in the book of Ephesians. So how we're going to be strong, it is a byproduct of being in what the Bible calls here the faith. The faith, it's referring to doctrine. Be strong in the faith. 2 Timothy 2 15 Paul said study to show yourself approved unto God workmen that need not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth now there that's going to demand some effort that's going to demand some time and like the doctor who would say to his patient no this is what you got to do and this is how you have to do it over the next few months then the same exact thing is true spiritually and If we don't have food in a physical sense, we don't have strength. If we don't feed on the Word of God in a spiritual sense, we will not have any strength. Timothy was told in 2 Timothy 2.1, Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Be strong in the grace. Now the simple definition of that word grace is the desire and the ability to do God's will. Well, 1 John 2.14 says, Ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and you can overcome the wicked one that way. Now, if you're going to be overcoming the wicked one, we are going to have to have some strength to do that. Now, back in Zechariah chapter 8 and verse 9 again, it says, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets and so the second thing he says is you're going to have to hear what God is saying through his preachers. In Matthew chapter 13 and verse number 16, Jesus said, blessed are your ears for they hear. He said in Matthew 15 and 10, hear and understand. First Timothy 4, 16, Paul said, take heed unto the doctrine, continue in them, for in doing this shalt thou both save thyself and them that hear thee." Well, is he talking to a pastor that wasn't saved? Save thyself? No, what it's referring to here is he would save himself from the apostasy of that hour, and he would help the people that hear him. Not that everybody's really listening. Some pretend they're listening. They sit in church and act like they're listening, go home and forget everything he said. But that's not what he's talking about here. He said, Also in Hebrews 3.15, the Bible says today, if ye will hear his voice, heart and not your heart again in Hebrews 4 7 he said again he limiteth a certain day he said today if you will hear his voice heart and not your heart he limiteth a certain day what a tremendous privilege we have to have the strength of God and he said I'm limiting this my spirit shall not always strive with man James 1 19 says let every man be swift to hear And so, he says here in verse number 9, be strong. He says here in verse number 9 in Zechariah chapter 8, hear what the prophet has to say. And so, as a byproduct of being strong, and that the temple might be built, and to be strong, we said we've got to get the Word of God, get into it, let it get into us. As a byproduct of hearing what Zechariah had to say, he said unto them, verse number 13, they would be a blessing, and they would fear not. That's a byproduct of the first two things. And then we get down into verse number 16, and he said, these are the things that ye shall do. These are the things that ye shall do. James 1 and 22 says, be ye doers of the word and not hearers only. And so, Zacharias said to those who are listening to him, be strong, verse number 9, chapter 8, Then he said, hear what I'm telling you, hear what I have to say. He says that, you know, thus saith the Lord, verse 8. This wasn't coming from something he just dreamt up the night before. He's talking for the Lord, and he says you need to be strong, get into the Word, Let the word into you, hear what I have to say. And he says in verse 13, ye shall be a blessing and you'll fear not. Well, then we see in next thing he says are the things that ye shall do. Now he's talking about doing stuff. In James chapter one and verse number 22, the Bible says be ye doers of the word and not hearers only. Paul said in Romans 2 and 13, not the hearers are just before God, but the doers. Now that word, word just, has been translated right five times. Not the hearers, it's the doers, the doers. So he says, be strong, build a temple, hear the word of God, and Jeremiah tells them that they had ended up in bondage because they would not hear. Zechariah 1.4 says they did not hear nor hearken. Zechariah 7.11 says they refused to hearken and pulled away the shoulder and stopped their ears that they should not hear. And Zechariah 7.12, they made their hearts as adamant as stone lest they should hear the law and the words of the Lord. In Zechariah 7 and 13, we read, they would not hear. And then God said, they cried and I would not hear. They're not gonna listen to the prophets that he sends. Don't cry out to God, he's not gonna listen to you. Zechariah 8, 9, let your hands be strong, ye that hear, that the temple might be built. And then he said in Zechariah 10, 6, I am the Lord their God and will hear them. Who will he hear? Those who will let their hands be strong because they hear what God has to say. That is, they've been in the Word of God, and they've let the Word of God get into them. God said, I will hear them. Zechariah 13, 4, they shall call on my name, and I will hear them. Well, Jesus said in Matthew 10 and verse 14, if they will not hear your words, he said to his disciples that he sent out, when you depart from that house or city, shake the dust off your feet. Matthew 11, 15, he says, him that hath an ear, let him hear. If they don't want to hear, all right, they don't want to hear. That's their choice. Shake the dust off your feet. Well, he says, be strong, build a temple. hear the word, be doers of the word, but then he says here, speak the word. Verse number 16, speak ye every man the truth, the truth. It says in Acts 26 and 25, speak forth the words of truth. Ephesians 4, 25, speak every man truth. Ephesians 4, 15, speaking the truth in love. And then Zechariah also said in verse number 16, you need to execute the judgment of truth, to execute the truth. To execute something, you should carry it out and to put it into effect. And so we can observe what it says, the interpretation of what it's saying here. Basically, this has to do with Israel and their Messiah and the kingdom that is coming. There's not much in this book about that. But the application for us today, we need to ask ourselves these questions. Number one, am I strong? It says be strong. And strength depends on how much of 2 Timothy 2.15 is a reality in our lives. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. That's going to take time, it's going to take effort. Am I doing that? Ask yourself, how much time have I spent studying the word of God, rightly dividing the word of truth, in the last seven days. Maybe you might say the last seven months and say nothing, then you're weak. Then he says, number three, he talks about hearing. Hearing, let them hear, he says, but then he says, be doers, not hearers only. He talks about the things that we should do. Of course, that has to do with prayer, has to do with being in the Word of God. And then he said, speak the truth, be a witness. When is the last time that you witnessed about what the Lord has done for you to somebody? And then he says, execute the truth. That is to carry it out, to put it into effect. The things that are acceptable under the Lord, that's what we need to be proving, and that's what we need to be doing. you