Well, yet again, we come back to the book of Zechariah and to the chapter that Peter read for us earlier, chapter 10, and we're working through these 14 chapters of this prophecy, the next to the last book of the Bible. The completed kingdom of God is the restoration of everything that the fall destroyed. The fall in the Garden of Eden when Satan came in and destroyed that paradise of God, which was the kingdom of God under the viceroy ship of Adam that was given by God to Adam. there in the Garden of Eden. And Satan came in and that was destroyed. In the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die, God had said to them. You can eat of every fruit of the Garden, but of this one thing. And it was symbolical of disobedience and rebellion against God and siding with Satan. The completed kingdom of God, the triumphant kingdom of God, is the restoration of everything that that fall destroyed. That's why we read in Revelation earlier on at the start, looking at that final preparation for that final battle, the final destruction of the kingdom of Satan. And what was going on two and a half thousand years ago in Jerusalem, in the days of Zerubbabel, and of Joshua the high priest, and Zechariah the prophet, and Haggai the prophet, and all of these others, what was going on was the restoration of the ruined temple in Jerusalem. Why? Because that temple was a picture of the kingdom of God, triumphant. That temple was symbolising, picturing everything about the triumphant kingdom of God in its sacrifices, in its priesthood. in its glorious appearance, in its stones in everyone in their place, living stones in the temple of God. For, as Paul says to the church, you, the church, believers today, are the temple of the living God. It is the completed kingdom of God which is the restoration of everything the fall destroyed. But more sure. Why? Because it will never, ever be threatened by a repeat fall. It cannot be threatened by a repeat fall, so it's more sure. Whereas Adam and Eve were on probation, as it were, in the Garden of Eden, the children of God in the Kingdom of God are not on probation. It cannot ever be subject to a fall again. The prophecy of Zechariah is giving encouragement to Zerubbabel, who was the rightful prince. He was the heir of the throne of Judah. And to Joshua, the high priest and the returned exiles. It was giving them encouragement to press on. Why? Because what they were doing was not just a picture, although it was a vivid picture, building this temple, putting these stones in place, and building it up right to the very headstone, when they cried, grace, grace unto it, when they put the headstone up. It wasn't just a picture, it was instrumental in the accomplishment of the triumph of the kingdom of God. Because why? God must come. as a man. God, the Messiah, the Christ, must come, and he must walk the courts of this temple, this building of stones. He must walk its courts, and he, the Lamb of God, must fulfill its pictures. He must fulfill the pictures that the priesthood portrayed of our great high priest after the order of Melchizedek. He must come as the king of his kingdom. Are you the king of the Jews, they asked him. Yes, he's the king of the Jews. He is the king of his people. He must come and fulfill it. He must come and fulfill the sacrifices, those animal sacrifices which were but pictures of what He, our God, would accomplish when He shed His own blood, when He came, and at the Passover, when the Passover lamb from the Exodus from Egypt was slain, He would be our Passover. So Paul says, Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. That was what was pictured there. He came to redeem God's elect. And their qualification in the time of Zechariah, two and a half thousand years, a bit more ago, their qualification for the kingdom of God, for these will be there, all the believers will be there, their qualification, our qualification, believers today, All depends on that temple being finished and that Messiah coming and walking those courts. It cannot fail. God has said it. He's spoken again and again already in the previous chapters. He's already spoken that he's provided all that is necessary. for the accomplishment of the success of his kingdom. His righteousness is upheld. The sin debt of his people is paid. God is glorified. And this chapter, Zechariah chapter 10, tells us how the restoration is accomplished and completed. It encouraged them, it encourages us believers today in this fallen, evil, God-rejecting world. It encourages us to rest happy in God's promise and in God's provision. God will save, has saved, all his people entirely by grace. And if it's of grace, and if free grace, what does that hymn say? We sing it occasionally. And if free grace, why not for me? Ask him. Believe him. Trust him. Ask him. Who says that you're to ask him? Look at the first verse of chapter 10. Chapter 10, verse 1. Ascii of the Lord. Ascii of the Lord. Rain in the time of the latter rain. So the Lord shall make bright clouds and give them showers of rain to every one grass in the field. Rain pictures grace from heaven. In this country on the on the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean, we tend usually to be complaining about how much rain we get. We get lots and lots of rain, but we've just had a spell of three or four weeks where barely a drop of rain has fallen. And everybody's starting to look at their gardens and think, oh, wouldn't it be nice to have a shower of rain? Wouldn't it be nice? Some people are shaking their heads, but no, you know, if you're a gardener, you want a little bit of rain. Rain pictures grace from heaven. And rain gives life. You sow seeds in dry ground and nothing's going to happen unless the rain falls on it. unless the rain causes it to germinate and to sprout and lead right the way through. The early rain and then the latter rain it talks about in the scriptures. The rain to swell the fruit in time for the harvest. It is entirely God's to give and to withhold. It is entirely the choice of God to give it and to withhold it, to give grace of which rain is a picture, to give grace or to withhold it. You cannot twist God's arm. You cannot do anything. It's God's to give and to withhold. But look what he says. Let me remind you of a verse that we look at occasionally, and it's a great principle in the scriptures, that God is absolutely sovereign and does exactly what he has determined from before the beginning of time he will do. But in verse 37 of Ezekiel chapter 36, thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them. God says, I've got a plan to do things for my people, but they're going to pray to me first for it. I will be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them, and then I will increase them. Seek, we're told, in the New Testament. Jesus said, seek, and you shall find. Seek, knock, knock, and it shall be opened to you. Well, what if the sovereignty of God's determined that he won't open to me? He says, knock and it shall be open to you. He says, ask and God will give. If a child asks a fish, will the father give him a scorpion instead? No, he says, if you know how to give good gifts to your children, doesn't your heavenly father know how to give good gifts to you? God gives when his children ask. I don't know if I'm one of his children, ask him. Ask him. You say, I don't know how to ask him. He says, I will be inquired of the house of Israel to do it for them. You say, I don't know how to ask. I know, I know. Those of us that have been believers for many, many years, it seems to come so naturally, the language of the courts of heaven. I know that, I know that, even in these sinful bodies. But nevertheless, you say, I don't know how to ask. Well, how about something like this? Lord God, I believe you exist. You know, it says in Hebrews that he that comes to God must believe that he is and that he's the rewarder of those that seek him. You must believe that there is a God. Lord, I believe that there is a God. And I believe that you hear your people's requests. And I don't know if I'm amongst them, but please be gracious to me. Be merciful to me, for I have nothing to recommend myself. Be merciful to me. I deserve nothing but condemnation in your sight, for I am sinful and you are holy. But please, Lord. Where I'm in darkness, shine spiritual light into my soul. Do that. Do that in the quietness of your heart. Ask Him. And why ask? Why ask? Why do you need to ask? Why does anyone in this world need to ask? Because look at verse two, for the idols. have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie and have told false dreams. They comfort in vain, therefore they went their way as a flock. They were troubled because there was no shepherd, and mine anger was kindled against them." Why? Because All of us, by nature, in this world, have been listening concerning the things of eternity and the things of divinity or the things of God. We've been listening to fallen guides. We've been listening to false prophets, to false preachers. We've been listening to diviners of superstitious customs in this world. It's all around us, isn't it? It's all around us, even people with the best of intentions, being friendly to one another. It's riddled, riddled with superstitious customs. We've got the season of Easter upon us, when the religious world goes mad and talks about the holiest day of the year. None of that is in the scriptures, none of it at all. It's just religious customs, superstitious customs, lies concerning God and the truth of God. and the world has been heeding their vain comforts. Look, they comfort in vain. They comfort in vain. They tell you, as it says in Isaiah, about the false prophets. What do they say? They say, peace, peace. You're all right, you'll be fine. Peace, peace, when there is no peace, for it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. There is no peace, but they say peace. You see, We're not just talking about false religious leaders, of which there are plenty, but we're talking about the whole culture of our godless, God-rejecting world. We're talking about TV dramas. I don't know if you find this, but I just can barely stand to watch any TV drama anymore. And the reason is this. that the people that write these things in these days are entirely bought in to the evil of this kingdom of Satan, of this godless world. And they're all written from that paradigm, from that basic philosophy of the godlessness of this world. And novels, how many novels can you read which are written without the corruption of that kingdom of this world, the kingdom of Satan, written by godless people, peddling the philosophy of Satan's kingdom, bowing down at the image of the beast. If you read Revelation 13, And verse 15, those dreadful beasts, which are the marks of the kingdom of Satan in which we live. And the words talk about an image of the beast being set up. And the second beast persuades, if I can use that term, the people to bow down to that image. This world is bowing down to the image of the beast. That's what they're doing. but they will come under the just judgment of God. Verse three, my anger was kindled against the shepherds, these false shepherds, and I punished the goats. Anger was kindled against the false shepherds, and God punished the goats. He left them under just judgment. In Hosea 4, verse 17, we read an interesting thing about how God's judgment manifests itself. In this world, it says, Ephraim, in Hosea 4 verse 17, Ephraim is joined to idols. Somebody who should have been one of the people of God is joined to idols. And what does God say to do with him? Let him alone. Let him alone. Just leave him to his own devices. And you say, what's going on in this world? This world of falsehood and idolatry. Idolatry is the worship of anything which is not the true God. This world, which rejects the truth of God, God says, let them alone. What forever? No, until the final judgment. God will judge. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay. But for now, let him alone. God says, these people that reject him, they've made their bed, they can lie on it. You know that expression? They've made their bed, they can lie on it. But God deals differently with his flock, with his sheep. Look there, for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock, the house of Judah, and hath made them as a goodly horse in the battle. He deals differently with his flock, with his sheep. He makes a difference between the goats and his flock. And so my next point is this, the house of Judah is visited. He visits his flock, the house of Judah. distinct from the rest of the world in general. The goats, as it says there in verse 3, distinct from that, God has his sheep. God has his flock. Jesus said, fear not, little flock. He calls his people his little flock. Fear not. He the Lord of hosts look there in verse three for the Lord of hosts has visited his flock the Lord of which host the Lord of hosts the Lord of a multitude of people what's it saying he the Lord of hosts His elect host. His elect host of souls that He loved before the beginning of time. His elect host of souls that He bound in union with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that they might be made the righteousness of God in Him as He punished their sin and took it out of the way. The Lord of hosts of His elect host of souls. He's looked on them from eternity with gracious intent. he loved them from before eternity and he will bring every last one of them finally to glory ask that he show you that you are among the flock that he has visited in grace the lord of hosts hath visited his flock the house of judah and why judah why judah Judah was one of the 12 sons of Jacob. You know, there was Abraham, Isaac, then Jacob, and he had 12 sons. And one of the 12 sons was Judah. In Genesis 49, Genesis 49 is when a very old Jacob is preparing to die, and he's prophesying concerning his 12 sons. And in verse 10, he says this of Judah, the scepter, do you know what a scepter is? It's a symbol of kingly power, the symbol of authority, the symbol of sovereignty. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, those that will come from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet. The rule shall be there until when? Until Shiloh come. Who's Shiloh? The word means peacemaker. Until the peacemaker come. Who is the one who makes peace? He makes peace through the blood of his cross. It's our Lord Jesus Christ. Until God come as man. Judah will be the one that will bear the rule. And unto him, Shiloh, the peacemaker, the Messiah, the Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ. Unto him shall the gathering of his people be. This is Christ. This is Shiloh, our peacemaker from the tribe of Judah, for he was of the tribe of Judah. The house of Judah symbolizes the church of Christ, the people of Christ, members by nature of this human race as wayward asses. I pointed out last week in Job chapter 11 and verse 12, where it says there, vain man born like a wild asses cult. And in identification with the people of God who are born like wild asses cults, Jesus rode into Jerusalem. He rode into Jerusalem on a foal, the cult of an ass. He identified with that fallen man. But in Christ, look what he makes them. He identifies with us in our fallen state like a wild Assis colt. But look what he does at the end of verse three. He made them as his goodly horse in the battle. We saw him sitting on that goodly horse, on that white stallion in Revelation 19. And all of his people on horses with him. He's made, Christ is made his goodly horse. Do you find this, absolutely enthralling. You know, if you're a child of God, your heart thrills at this. Isn't God's truth like a multi-faceted, multi-sided jewel? And you look at it one way, and you see glorious colours shining through, and you turn it slightly, and you see different perspectives of it, turning and catching the light. It's wonderful the way God opens this multi-faceted truth of his gospel of grace to us. Verse four, out of him, out of Judah, out of the tribe of Judah, out of the one who comes, Shiloh who comes, out of him came forth, what does it say? The corner, funny words. Out of him came the corner and the nail and the battle bow and every oppressor together. What do we make of that? Well, it must be talking about Christ. It must be talking of him. Out of him came forth the corner. Psalm 118. You know, you say, well, you only quoted this to us a couple of weeks ago. Well, I'm quoting it to you again, because the more we do that, the more it sticks in the mind, doesn't it? In verse 22 of Psalm 118, the stone which the builders refused has become the headstone of the corner. The cornerstone. He's the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing. It is marvellous in our eyes. He is the foundation of his temple of living stones, which is the temple of the living God. He is that foundation stone. Out of the tribe of Judah came the Messiah, who is the corner, the chief cornerstone of his people. And then out of him came the nail. Look at Isaiah chapter 22, if you can. Chapter 22 and verse 23. I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place, and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. The idea being that the nail is a solid, firm thing to hang things from. You can hang your soul's future off this nail, which is in a solid place. He is a nail. He is the nail in a solid place. Trust in Christ, nothing is going to move that nail. And three, he's the battle bow. The battle bow, look back a chapter, just probably on the same page. Verse 13 of chapter nine. When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece. This is, the battle by which the kingdom of God shall triumph. We saw it in Revelation 19 earlier on. This is speaking of the triumphant kingdom of God. God's kingdom will triumph. And then, look, even this. Out of him, every oppressor together, even the oppressors of God's kingdom, all accomplish God's purposes of grace. You would say, oh, if only we didn't have this oppression or that oppression or these oppressors. Oh, how much more triumphant the kingdom of God would be, but you know they're all in the eternal purposes of God. For, we glibly quote that verse of Romans 8, 28, but he does cause all things to work together for good for his people whom he loved before the beginning of time. Then in verses five to seven, in verses five to seven, he hears his people He says, they shall be as mighty men which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle, and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded. And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them, for I have mercy upon them. And they shall be as though I had not cast them off, for I am the Lord their God and will hear them. And they of Ephraim shall be like mighty men, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine, yea, their children shall see it and be glad. Their heart shall rejoice in the Lord. God hears his people. He says, I will hear them. God has a people, an elect multitude, the objects of his mercy from before the beginning of time. The fully restored kingdom of God to pre-fall perfection plus there not being any risk of another fall, his kingdom is going to triumph. And this is the people of their God. They're attentive, he's attentive to their cry. He says, I will hear them when they cry. I will have mercy upon them. And he's echoing verse 15 of the previous chapter. The Lord of hosts shall defend them and they shall devour and subdue with sling stones and they shall drink and make a noise as though through wine and they shall be filled like bowls and as the corners of the altar. This is a picture of joy and of rejoicing and of triumphant and victory over all the powers of Satan and hell. Why? Because God has mercy on them. There in verse 6 he says, for not I will have mercy upon them if they do, he says I have mercy upon them from before the beginning of time. God has been merciful to his people. I have mercy upon them, and they shall be as though I had not cast them off in the fall. Because he fully restores, he fully redeems, he fully recovers his people. God, the Lord, hears his people. He makes them to rejoice in his salvation. And then, verse eight, verse eight down to verse 12. They're scattered. Where are these people? They're scattered amongst the world in general, but they're summoned by God's call. Look what it says here. He says, I will hiss for them, or we would say whistle for them. I will whistle for them, and that's what I've called the message. I've called the message, let me see, what did? God whistles for his sheep. He says, I will whistle for them and gather them. Why? Why does God whistle for them? For I have redeemed them and they shall increase as they have increased. And I will sow them among the people and they shall remember me in far countries and they shall live with their children and turn again. I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, which symbolizes the world. and gather them out of Assyria, and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, and place shall not be found for them. There'll be so many of them, is what it's saying. And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, the sea of this world's people with affliction, and he shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up, and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart away, and I will strengthen them in the Lord. and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord. Where are God's elect before he calls them? Answer, verse 10, they're in Egypt, they're in Assyria, they're in the world, they're in every tribe and tongue and kindred. God has his people. In Ephesians chapter 2, which we read often, in the first three verses, Paul speaking to The Ephesians, the Ephesian believers, these Asian believers in Ephesus, they are Gentiles. They're Gentiles. They were heathens from a heathen culture. They were from a culture that worshipped the false god Diana. And he says to them, you he has made, God has made you alive spiritually. You were dead in trespasses and sins. wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, according to Satan and his spirits, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation. We just thought like them and we spoke like them and we acted like them in times past. in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as others. That's what we are by nature as sinners under the justice of God, but God who is rich in mercy. For his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us, made us alive together with him. For by grace, his grace, I say, So clearly there, God takes his people from the fallen kingdoms of this world, from the godless nations of this world, and he calls them. How does he get their attention? You see, by nature, the people of God are dead in trespasses and sins. They're death to the voice of God. Even this creation all around us, which screams out every day, the truth of God, which testifies to the truth of God, leaving everyone without excuse, and yet we don't hear it, we don't see it. We're blind by nature. Verse eight, what does he do? I will hiss for them. He whistles for them. As a shepherd whistles commands to his dog, you see the... The sheep trials, the sheepdog trials were to try and find the champion sheepdog that's the best one at rounding up the sheep. And the shepherd whistles commands to his dog. Well, in other cultures, the shepherd would play a pipe and the sheep would follow him. And the story is told. of a poor shepherd who fell on hard times, and he got down to his last two favourite sheep, probably ewes, they were the breeding ewes, and it was from where his lambs would come for the next season. But he got so poor that he had to sell his last two sheep, and off they went. And more or less straight away, he found the means to buy them back. More or less straight, I don't know what it was, this is just a story that's told, but he found the means to buy them back. And so he went to the market and there were thousands and thousands of sheep and he had the money and he went to the people in charge of the market and said, can I buy back my sheep? And they said to him, yeah, well, of course you can, but the problem is you've got to find them. Look, there are thousands of them, thousands of them here. So they accepted the money and they said, if you can find them, you can have them, your sheep. So he got out his shepherd's horn and he piped the tune that those two sheep knew. And those two sheep, out of the thousands that were there, came running towards his horn playing. And that's the same idea as we get in Isaiah chapter five. This same idea, chapter five, verse 25. If I read that to you, you'll think I'm reading the wrong verse, but no, bear with it. Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he has stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them, and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. This is the people of God, what we are by nature. rebels subject to the judgment of God, but his hand is stretched out still, and he will lift up an end sign to the nations from afar, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth, and behold, they shall come with speed swiftly. He'll lift up a sign, Jehovah-Nissi is the sign that he lifts up, God our banner, he lifts it up, and he whistles from the ends of the earth. You know where to go into all the world, said Jesus. Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. You can't make anybody believe, but make it widely known. Missionaries have gone. Today we have the amazing thing which is used for so much evil, but at the same time, The internet, which now, even now from this room, to anybody that finds it, can hear the word being preached. This is how God whistles for his people to come. By the foolishness of preaching, for it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. So that he fulfills what it says in Romans chapter 10. In Romans chapter 10, his preachers are sent. There's no point going unless God sends a preacher. His preachers are sent with gospel news to proclaim. And his people hear those preachers preach that gospel good news. And he makes his people, who are dead in trespasses and sins, but he by the Spirit quickening, makes them willing to believe in the day of his power. And believing, what do they do? They call on the name of the Lord, and whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's the text that's on our church sign. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. You say, you've been talking an awful lot about the election of God and about it being fixed before the beginning of time, but then you say this. Yes, it's amazing, isn't it? The word of God and the truth of God, and if he's electing grace, in no way says to any seeking sinner, you will not come. Jesus said, no man can come unless the Father draw him, but whosoever comes, I will in no wise cast out. And if free grace, why not for me? He gathers those he has redeemed. Only that multitude. You see, he says, I have redeemed them. These are the ones, verse eight. I will hiss for them and gather them, for I have redeemed them. Note there, clearly. When Christ came to die on the cross, he didn't do it to redeem the whole of mankind. There's music that I love, and I used to like the music of John Stainer in his piece, The Crucifixion. But do you know, it says, there's a line in there which means that I can't ever sing that again. I can't listen to it. with comfort, for it says, for sins of man since the world began, and they weren't, the only sins that were laid on the Lord Jesus Christ were the sins of that innumerable multitude that he loved in Christ from before the foundation of the world, I will hiss for them For I have redeemed them. He's redeemed his people from the curse of the law, and they shall increase. Only that multitude. He hasn't made it possible for all to be redeemed, if only they will believe. He doesn't make offers depending on a response from fallen, spiritually dead man. No, he calls by gospel preaching. by gospel preaching of the truth of God. And, as he calls, it says in Acts 13 and verse 48, that Paul and Barnabas went and they preached, the Jews rejected them, and they went and preached, they turned to the Gentiles. For so the Lord hath commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light to the Gentiles, quoting Isaiah 49, that you should be for the salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad. and glorified the word of the Lord, listen, and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Who believed? Those that were ordained in the sovereign purposes of God to eternal life. They believed. And it's an increasing number, it says there. I will increase them until the full number is made up. They're scattered throughout the world until the end of time. In verse nine, they're scattered throughout the world. But, in verse 10, they're brought out of conformity to this kingdom of Satan. They're brought out of that conformity into the conformity with the kingdom of God and the children of God, the people of God. God's people kept. through this world's trials and afflictions. It says there, he passed through the sea with affliction. I think that's a hint there of Revelation 17, 15, which says that the waters that you saw are the peoples of this world. The peoples of this world, in their fallen state, are alien to the things of God, but he will bring his people through all of that, and he will strengthen them in the Lord. Do you believe God? Do you rest in his accomplished redemption? I have redeemed them. I rest in the fact that when he died, he died for me. That when the justice of God demands that I die for my sin, that eternal death, and that my life is in the blood and that that be shed, for me, as his child, it was shed in him on that cross. I rest in accomplished redemption. I confidently hope in God's triumphant kingdom. When I leave this life, that is my eternal abode. But in the flesh, with the trials of life, you feel weak. So often, isn't it the case that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak? Well, hear his promise in verse 12. I will strengthen them in the Lord, and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord. Strengthen in the Lord, walk up and down in his name. Live in him looking unto Jesus. May God bless these gospel truths to our souls and strengthen us to keep us as we walk up and down in this world in his name. Amen.