Zechariah 7:1-13, NIV
Obs & Hg:
The Lord’s heart vs 3-10.
3. by asking the priests of the house of the LORD Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”
4. Then the word of the LORD Almighty came to me:
5. “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? God searches the motive behind every act of men.
6. And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?
7. Are these not the words the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?'”
Disobedience Resulted in Captivity
8. And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah:
9. “This is what the LORD Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.
10. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’
Th: many refugees and/or aliens are badly treated.
Importance of listening to God
Consequences of not listening and disobedience: scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations. strangers. land was left desolate…vs 14
Vs 11-14
13. “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the LORD Almighty.
14. ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.'”
Luke 9:51-62, NIV
Hg:
Samaritan village did not welcome Jesus and his disciples.
Cost of following Jesus…”Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” vs 58.
Th on cost of following Jesus: your life with single dedication and focus; not weigh down by any distractions in life-very few can have such dedication.
Benefits: Love Christ. Receive Christ’s forgiveness.Get to be with the trinity in the heavens and enjoy heavenly joy, peace; invite to the heavenly banquet and stay in heavenly mansion; praising God’s goodness etc.
” …Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” vs 60.
Th: Jesus so laser focus in his mission on earth. Gave up his glory and riches in heaven for us.
” No-one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” vs 62