Hello, here we are again with another broadcast. We are in Zechariah chapter seven. It has been about two years since Zacharias ate visions that he had in that one night, and the work on the rebuilding of the temple is coming along, and in two more years it will be completed. At this time, a delegation from the town of Bethel arrives to seek the favor of the Lord and to ask questions of the priests and the prophets that were at Jerusalem. Zechariah's message about this is recorded in chapter 7 and chapter 8. Their concern had to do with keeping the Jewish fasts. In chapter 7 and 3 they mention the fast of the fifth month. And then in seven and five, Zachariah also mentions the fast of the seventh month. In eight and 19, there's a mention of two additional fasts, one in the fourth month and one in the 10th month. All of these were related to the fall of Jerusalem. However, not all of these fasts were of God. They were something that they put in themselves as they went through their religious ceremonies. Now with the Temple going up and Jerusalem being rebuilt, this delegation wondered whether they should continue to observe these fasts. And in his answer, Zachariah addresses both this delegation and the whole nation. He points out that the Lord had scattered Babylon because of their rebellion, and the remnant that had returned from the captivity were showing symptoms of outward religion without an inward spiritual reality. And so we see here in chapter seven and verse number one, it came to pass, in the fourth year of King Darius, that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chislew, when they had sent unto the house of God, and they sent their men to pray before the Lord, and to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years? Well, they're saying, seeing the temple is being built, do we still have to pray and weep? Should I weep, he says, in verse number three and number two? Do we need to do these prayers? You see, they had been going through these rituals, and not of which all were ordained of God. Then came the word of the Lord, of hosts unto me, Zechariah said, saying, Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those 70 years did ye at all fast unto me, even to me? And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? Should ye not hear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her were men inhabited the south and the plain? And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassion every man to his brother, and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor, and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. But they refused to hearken. and pulled away their shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law. And the words of which the Lord of hosts had sent in his spirit by the former prophets, therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts. Therefore it has come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear, so They cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts. God went on to say, But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned, for they laid the pleasant land desolate. So the prophet's saying here, let's just get down where the shoe leather meets the pavement here, let's get some reality into this discussion. You did all your weeping, you did all your fasting, it was just an outward ritual. Your heart was not right, your heart was like your forefathers there in that They were hardened, and you pulled away the shoulder and stopped their ears, and they would not hear, God said. And so we read that the pleasant land became desolate, which was the opposite of verse number seven, wherein when they walked with God, they had prosperity. So basically what he's saying here is an inward reality is expressed by our relationships with other people. He said you've been going through the motions, you've been doing your fast, you've been doing all your praying, you've been doing this for 70 years. Now let's get it right. If your heart is right with the relationship concerning other people, he mentions here in verse number 10, the widows, the fatherless, the strangers, the poor, and the brother. He says your own brothers. How is your relationship? The relationship is the way in which two or more people or organizations regard and behave toward each other. Now, as we get down into chapter 8, we need to keep in mind that this is very Jewish. What we're talking about here has to do with the nation of Israel, and it says in verse 1, again, the word of the Lord of hosts came unto me, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. Thus saith the Lord, I am returned to Zion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain." Notice the focus is on Jerusalem, on Israel. You'll find the word Jerusalem in verse number four. God says, the old man and the young women are going to dwell in the streets of Jerusalem. The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. Verse six, thus saith the Lord of hosts, it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people, talking about Jerusalem in those days, Should it be marvelous in mine eyes saith the Lord of hosts thus saith the Lord of hosts verse 7 behold I will save my people The Lord said I will and you'll find that phrase. I will 37 times in Zechariah now again, he's speaking particularly about what he calls in verse 7 my people he's referring to Israel and And then in verse 8, I will bring them and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem and they shall be my people and I will be their God in truth and in righteousness. So he says as he preaches to these Israelites, thus saith the Lord of hosts, let your hands be strong. He goes on to say in verse 9 that the temple might be built. Now, as we go down through the chapter, you'll see in verse number 11, he uses the phrase, this people, he uses the phrase, this people, again in verse number 12, and then he says in verse 13, O house of Judah and house of Israel, he's referring to them, and he says, be strong, verse number 13. Again, in verse 15, you have the word Jerusalem, and in verse 16, these are the things that ye shall do. Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor. Execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates. Down in verse number 19, he says, therefore love the truth, and he focuses on these words, the truth. And so to these people in Israel at that time, in verse 9, he says, be strong that the temple might be built. Verse 9, hear ye in these days the word by the mouth of the prophets. Verse number 13, ye shall be a blessing. 16, these are the things that ye shall do. 16 again, speak every man the truth. 16, execute the judgment of truth. Verse 19, love the truth. Now, we want to look at this and say, well, that's a great history lesson about what happened to Israel, but that's not enough. These things are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come, the Bible says. These things happen unto them and are written for our admonition. So this is not just so we can get a history of what happened when Ezra went back there and and Nehemiah went back there, and Haggai, and Zechariah, and Malachi were there preaching. That's all nice, but what does that have to do with us? Well, let's take some applications. He says in verse 9, be strong that the temple might be built. Well, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6 and verse number 16, ye are the temple of the living God. In 1 Corinthians 3 16 Paul said to those Corinthians know you not that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? And so we have a temple to build. We're not going to be building a structure like they're building over there in Ezra's day, but we have the temple that needs to be built. Your body, the Bible says, we are the temple of God. Now concerning being strong, it said in verse 9, that the temple might be built, we read Abraham staggered not, staggered not at the promises of God, but was strong in faith. Romans 4 and 20. Concerning the Corinthians, he said, stand fast in the faith, be strong. 1 Corinthians 16, 13. In Ephesians, he said, finally, my brethren, be strong in the faith. Now that word faith means what you believe doesn't talk about trust here that a couple five times out of all the times you'll find the word faith it's talking about trust but all the rest of the time it's talking about what we believe and he's saying be strong in what you believe and you better believe sound doctrine and not false doctrine. Ephesians 3, 17 says that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, by faith. Faith is mentioned eight times in the book of Ephesians, by what we believe. It's getting the Bible doctrine, it's getting into that doctrine and letting that doctrine get into us, and that's how we're going to be strong that the temple might be built. To Timothy, he said, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Second Timothy 2.1, the grace, that is the desire and the ability to do God's will. He said, be strong in that. Ye are the temple. You are the temple of God. First John 2.14, he says, ye are strong and the word of God abideth in you and you can overcome the wicked one. We can't overcome the wicked one unless we have some strength. And so he says, be strong, build the temple. And then we saw in Zechariah, he said, hear the words of the prophet. Now, in Zechariah 1-4, they did not hearken. Zechariah 7-11, they refused to hearken and pulled away their shoulders and stopped their ears that they should not hear. In Zechariah 7 and 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, they would not hear. They cried, and I would not hear, God said. In Zechariah 8, verse 9, he said, Let your hands be strong, ye that hear, that the temple might be built. And then in 10 and 6, he said, I am the Lord their God, and will hear them. Well, he said back there, they would not hear, and I would not hear when they cried unto me. But he said, those that will be strong and build the temple, he said in chapter 10 and verse 6, I am the Lord their God, and will hear them. Zechariah 13, 9 says, they shall call on my name and I will hear them, those who will be strong. And Jesus said in Matthew 11 and verse 15, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew 13, 16, he said, blessed are your ears for they hear. And chapter 15 and verse 10 of Matthew says, they hear and they understand. Paul, speaking to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4.16, says, Hebrews 3.15 says, Hebrews 4.7 says again, Today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart. James 1 and 19 says, let every man be swift to hear. And so he says, be strong, build the temple. Number two, he said, hear the words of the prophets. And then number three, he said, these are the things that ye shall do. And he lists them for them back there, and God has listed them for us in our local church age. James 1 and 22 says, be ye doers of the word and not hearers only. Romans 2 13 says, not the hearers are just before God, but the doers. Now that word just has been translated right five times. Not the hearers are right before God, but the doers. And so these are the things that ye shall do. All right. Then number four, he says, speak, execute and love the truth. Now, Acts 26, 25 says, speak forth the words of truth. Ephesians 4, 25 says, speak every man truth. Ephesians 4, 15, speaking the truth in love. Speak the truth. Then he said, execute the truth. Carry out or put it into effect is what it means to execute. That word execute has been translated judge six times in the Old Testament. Psalm 96 13 says that God will judge the world with righteousness and the people with his truth. The world refers to the masses, the people brings it down to the individual. One day we are going to stand before God every single person in this world. It is appointed unto man once to die, but after that the judgment. He shall judge. It says 96 and 13 in the book of Psalms. it's every individual you're listening to my voice one of these days you will bow right before Jesus Christ and you will be judged and so will I according to the truth so he says love the truth love the truth Zechariah 8 and 9 love the truth Ephesians 4 and 15 speaking the truth in love 1st John 3 18 love indeed and And in truth, the Bible says in Proverbs 23 verse 23, buy the truth and sell it not.