Introduction

Good morning, everyone. We will be discussing the second chapter of Zechariah. In preparing this sermon, I gathered a lot of material, but I couldn't find anything satisfactory. At the time, I couldn't understand what this chapter was about. But now I have good news for you: I finally understand it.

Because there are several characters in this chapter, such as the "young man," who exactly is he? Sometimes it's "he," sometimes it's "I," and sometimes it's "you." Who are these people? Now I can finally explain it clearly.

After listening to my sermon, carefully consider what I have said about Zechariah, and you will find that Zechariah is actually referring to our generation! That is an exciting thing.

Zechariah looked out and saw a group of people in our generation building God's glorious church, and he also saw God's work among them. The theme of this chapter is "God wants to dwell among us." If you think this is good, be sure to give God a thumbs up!

Zechariah Was Actually Very Disappointed

Why was Zechariah disappointed? Because he was not only a prophet but also a priest. Priests also collect tithes and offerings. Other priests received offerings of hundreds of thousands or millions, but Zechariah received thirty-five cents or three dollars and fifty cents. He felt bad!

He thought: Can this build the temple and the church of God in Jerusalem? The Jerusalem he saw was full of old, dilapidated buildings, with a small population and very desolate! It didn't look like the holy city of a great king at all, and it was very upsetting to look at.

But Zechariah received God's comfort in this process: the future Jerusalem will be filled with many people and livestock, a very prosperous place! Not only that, but God's Spirit and God's glory will also dwell in it. This place is not built of stone walls, but of God's fire.

I think this not only gave Zechariah comfort but also gave our generation a very good revelation: if we want to build a church, we should build a church with God's presence! God's intention is to dwell among us. Can we build His glorious temple according to God's will? Let God's Spirit dwell among us, and let the fire of the Holy Spirit be our wall. This is a very, very great comfort!

At that time, Zechariah saw a man with a measuring line in his hand, and he asked: What are you going to do? The man said: I am going to measure Jerusalem to see how wide and long it is. At that time, Jerusalem was a very small and dilapidated city, like a small fourth- or fifth-tier county town today, but the angel was going to measure this city.

When the angel who was speaking with him left, another angel came and said to Zechariah: Run and tell that young man. In fact, this "young man" refers to Zechariah. How can we prove that Zechariah is a "young man"? Because his name is not directly mentioned, but it is said that he is the grandson of someone. His grandfather was still alive at that time, which means he was not old, so he was called a "young man."

"Say to him: 'Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it. And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within.’" (Zechariah 2:4-5)

The angel's words to Zechariah gave him great comfort, but he did not see this happen until he died, because it refers to the church after Jesus Christ. Only the church has fulfilled God's promise to dwell among us.

At that time, God always lived in the temple. People who went to see God needed to enter the Court of the Gentiles first, and then enter the Holy Place, but the Most Holy Place could not be entered! Only the high priest entered once a year to worship God, with a bell hanging on his body and a rope tied behind him, just like a diver tied a rope to go into the sea, to prevent him from dying below and not being able to come up.

In those days, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place were not accessible to ordinary people, so "God wants to dwell among us" refers to Jesus Christ dying for us on the cross. From then on, the Holy Spirit was poured out.

God Revealed His Plan to Zechariah

Although this chapter is short, God revealed His greatest plan through Zechariah, which includes "God wants to dwell among us." How can God dwell among us? How can we be one with God? This is God's plan, which can only be accomplished through the blood of Jesus Christ.

God Can Dwell Among Us After Glory Is Revealed

Did Zechariah understand what "after glory is revealed" means? He may not have known, but from the perspective of the New Testament, the original words are:

"For this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘After the glory has been revealed, he sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye— because I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them.’ Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me." (Zechariah 2:8-9)

I pondered this passage over and over again for many days and still couldn't figure out what it was saying. For example, when the Lord says "he sent me," is the Lord sending Himself? This is obviously illogical. In fact, our God is the God of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The "me" refers to Jesus Christ.

In the New Testament, "Jesus revealed His glory" refers to His resurrection from the dead, so this passage implies that Jesus was crucified for us, shed His precious blood, and then He rose from the dead, revealing God's glory.

This not only revealed that He is the Son of the living God through the power of resurrection but also revealed that the church is the body of Jesus Christ through His church; it also revealed that the church is one with God, the church is God's temple, and God dwells among us.

"After glory is revealed" is a simple statement, but it describes a very difficult process: how did the anointed Jesus, or the Savior Christ, come into the world as a man? How was He killed and buried? Then He rose from the dead on the third day, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, bringing us a glorious hope; through faith in Jesus Christ, we can inherit the blessing of Abraham.

After inheriting the blessing of Abraham, God will curse those who curse you! Give him a "big slap in the face." Can it work if you don't slap him until his "nose is bruised and his face is swollen"? God will raise His hand. That is this verse:

"I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them.’ Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me." (Zechariah 2:9)

"For this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘After the glory has been revealed, he sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye." (Zechariah 2:8)

This sentence is very clear: we are precious in God's eyes, just like Abraham was precious in God's eyes! Because we believe in Jesus Christ, the blessings that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob also come upon us Gentiles.

God's intention is really not just for the Jews; His intention is for all nations and peoples on earth. The Bible opens a great revelation in Genesis: all the families of the earth will be blessed through Abraham!

This is all exchanged for Jesus Christ being crucified for us. Everyone must cherish this grace and this position, which is obtained through faith in Jesus Christ! But this faith is not what ordinary people say, "I believe in Jesus Christ and have been saved," but it must be the faith of Abraham to be saved.

God's People Come Out of the World

"‘Come, everyone! Flee from the land of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven,’ declares the Lord. ‘Come, Zion! Escape, you who live in Daughter Babylon!’" (Zechariah 2:6-7)

This passage is saying that there is a lot of garbage and dust in the world, but there are many treasures hidden in it. These treasures are God's people! God's people are "淘" out of the world. Everyone must grasp this logic. Not everything is a treasure!

Just like someone goes to the mountain to dig for gems, it doesn't mean that the whole mountain is full of gems, but after digging around inside, they dig out a small piece of gem! It doesn't mean that the whole mountain is a gold mine, but what is淘 out is gold! If the whole mountain is gold, then it has no way to be the foundation of exchange currency, so gold is also very rare, so God's people must come out of the world.

Babylon is the Tower of Babel, which refers to the world. "Babylon" is a name we gave it; another name should be "Old Horse." Let me explain the meaning of "flee from the land of the north." What is the land of the north? There is a revelation in Isaiah that the devil Satan is a very bright star in the far north, also called the North Star, so the land of the north refers to Satan's kingdom. God's people must come out of Satan's kingdom and out of the world.

Don't think that everyone in the world is saved by God. Only the treasures in God's eyes are saved by God and are the "apple of His eye"! You can't touch them, because if you touch them, it's like touching God's eyeball, so can God not beat you?

So when we come to church, we must be treasures in God's eyes, we must come out of the world, completely eradicate the worldly logical system, and then restore the logical system of eternal life and restore God's logical system. This is very important.

God is with such people, and such people build God's glorious church together and build the body of Jesus Christ; such people can plunder the enemy and take the things of this world as spoils.

In Ephesians, Christ plundered all things in this life and the next, the rulers and the authorities, and put all things under His feet, making the church the head of all things. This is an amazing promise, and this is very interesting.

Many Nations Will Turn to the Lord

During the time of Zechariah in the Old Testament, the understanding of these prophets was only limited to the Jews, limited to them being God's chosen people, those chosen by God, but they did not understand that God's intention was for all nations and peoples. In Genesis, God promised Abraham one thing: all the families of the earth will be blessed through Abraham. This reveals that all those who have the same faith as Abraham can inherit Abraham's blessing.

So why are some people not blessed? Because they do not have the faith of Abraham and do not have the appearance of Abraham! In the next few years, our church will have to explore more on how to be more like Abraham? If you are not like Abraham, you are even less likely to be like Jesus Christ!

Zechariah received this: "Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you." (Zechariah 2:11)

The people on earth will turn to the Lord God. This is amazing. Through faith in Jesus Christ, God will dwell among them! Are we Chinese Jews? No, but we Chinese have inherited this. Because we must have the appearance of Abraham, choose to be God's people, and then He will dwell among us. This is the most exciting thing for us!

Although Zechariah said these things, he may not have understood them, but through the Book of Zechariah, we found that God revealed to the prophet more than two thousand years ago that in the last days, a group of Gentiles would rise up to build God's church.

Whether they are Europeans, Americans, Americans, or Asians, there are God's people. Does God dwell among them? I have to tell you that the most exciting thing for me is to discover that our church has God's presence, God dwells among us, and God prospers us!

Although the current economic environment is very bad, God blesses our brothers and sisters. Yesterday, a brother shared with me that he began to see the shadow of blessing. In such an economic environment, his boss actually gave him a raise of two thousand yuan, which made me very comforted.

There is also a sister who used to be full of diseases, but after she came to our church, through prayer, she was completely healed! At that time, she worked very slowly, and her boss hated her very much and was preparing to fire her.

However, an old sister who works as a cleaner in our church began to shepherd her. At the same time, this sister asked her boss to keep her, and she was also preparing to change herself. As a result, this sister not only got rid of all her diseases, but also changed her slow working habits, and found that she learned things quite quickly, so her salary also increased.

Our brothers and sisters must know that we Gentiles are all because Jesus Christ revealed His glory, and then we came out of the world and began to be His people, receiving God's grace, and He wants to be in our midst.

Because He Arose and Came Out of the Sanctuary

"Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling." (Zechariah 2:13)

In the time of Zechariah, God lived in the sanctuary. If He came out of the sanctuary, then these people would all die miserably. Because the high priest had to offer this blood and that blood, this sacrifice and that sacrifice every year, and then cleanse himself before he could enter the sanctuary to serve. Otherwise, you will die if you enter the sanctuary. Because only the holy high priest can enter the sanctuary once a year, and the rest of the people are not qualified to enter at all.

When Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross, the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and God came out of the sanctuary. It was because of the precious blood of Jesus Christ that God came out of the sanctuary, so all of us who are baptized into Jesus Christ are called "clothed with Jesus."

Only when the precious blood of Jesus Christ is on us can the Spirit of God descend on us and the Holy Spirit fill us, because Jesus has blotted out our transgressions, otherwise people will not be able to bear it and it will be very miserable. God came out of the sanctuary, and then Jesus Christ arose!

We must know what a blessing it is for us who believe in Jesus! It is because Jesus Christ was raised up, and then God came out of the sanctuary and dwelt among us. This is what I want to share with you.

A Church Without Walls, A Temple Without Walls

The earliest temples built were all four walls. If you wanted to enter the Holy Place from the Court of the Gentiles, you needed to pass through layers of walls, which was to frame God inside. This is not what God wanted. So God said: "What kind of temple will you build for me? I do not dwell in temples made by human hands."

Isn't the current physical church also a house surrounded by four walls? Many pastors' lifelong hope is to build a church with chairs inside, used once a week. This is a wonderful hope for them.

Someone spent 30 million to build a landmark church, which became a check-in point for married people; others spent 300 million to build a large church, which also became a check-in point, but he ran away because he was too much in debt! But is this what God wants? No!

Until now, many brothers and sisters are still living in confusion. They gather with us in the morning, and then they go to a physical church in the afternoon. Because she feels that it is not okay not to go to a physical church. This is not a church! This is a "嘎嘣" in the head.

In fact, the church is not like this! The church is a church without walls, the fire of the Lord God is our wall, a group of God-loving people gather together in the name of Jesus Christ, and then God dwells among us, and God's glory is in our midst. This is called the church.

If a group of people gather together, but there is no presence of God, but there is the presence of demons, wouldn't this be a tragedy? I tell you, if a church does not have the presence of God, there is 100% the presence of demons! Wherever God is not, demons will definitely fill that place, so our brothers and sisters must know that we are a church without walls.

I thank God! Many years ago, we began to build an online church. Some people think this is not good, but what is wrong with it? What is wrong with teaching and shepherding through the Internet? Is it better to listen to a sermon online? Or is it better to sit on a chair in a church and listen to something that doesn't hurt or itch? I think it might be better online!

The Bible cannot imagine this generation. Now, as long as there is internet, you can use a mobile phone to participate in gatherings, and you can teach and shepherd by making a phone call. Everyone must know that the connection between our church brothers and sisters far exceeds the superficial connection of physical churches.

Pastors have to "提溜" you several times every week, either by sending you some information, or by commenting on your notes, or by correcting your bad habits, so the connection between pastors and sheep is much better than in physical churches. People in physical churches meet and say: "Sister, peace" or "Brother, peace." If you are not at peace, who do you go to for settlement?

God wants to dwell among us. What a great comfort! "Jerusalem will be a city without walls," this Jerusalem refers to the New Jerusalem, which is the church of God. The angel said to Zechariah: "because of the great number of people and animals in it. And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within.’" Wow, it's really great!

"The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem." (Zechariah 2:12)

Everyone must not think that the Jerusalem here refers to that piece of land. In fact, it refers to the church of God. The church of God is Jerusalem and the temple of God. If you bless a circle outward from the temple of God, that is the whole land of Judah, and if you bless a circle outward again, from Jerusalem to the whole land of Judah, to the ends of the earth! It is the whole earth. God's people must gather together. This is God's promised land, God's Jerusalem, and the place where God dwells.

So in the time of Isaiah, Isaiah said: "What kind of temple will you build for me? The one I look upon is the humble and contrite in spirit." Do you understand? God does not dwell in temples made by human hands. We are made by God, and God will build the church on the rock of Jesus Christ. It is not we who build the church, but we who work with God, and we are built to be treasures in God's eyes.

Our brothers and sisters begin to recognize the church of God again. Remember, this relationship of loving each other is called the church. Chinese Mingding Doctrine is a shepherding theology, and the church it builds is a shepherding church, a church with God's presence, and a church that enables everyone to receive the blessing of Abraham. This is such an important grace!

Everyone should give our God a thumbs up, because we have clearly connected the second chapter of Zechariah with the relationship of our generation, and it is explained very clearly.

Thank God, we will share this here. May God bless everyone! Goodbye, brothers and sisters!

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