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Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right, everyone. Welcome to Shield of Faith Baptist Church this Wednesday evening. I'm going to ask everyone to turn to song number 64 right near the front of the hymnal. Song number 64, Shall We Gather at the River. On the first. Shall we gather at the river Where bright angels feed and trod With its crystal tide forever Flowing by the throne of God Yes, we'll gather at the river The beautiful, the beautiful river Gather with the saints at the river That flows by the throne of God On the bosom of the river Where the Savior king we own We shall meet in sorrow never The glory of the throne Yes, we'll gather at the river The beautiful, the beautiful river Gather with the saints at the river That flows by the throne of God On the third There we reach the shining river Lay weaved every burden down Grace our spirits will deliver And provide a robe and crown Yes, we'll gather at the river The beautiful, the beautiful river Gather with the saints at the river That flows by the throne of God On the last Soon we'll reach the shining river Soon our pilgrimage will cease Soon our happy hearts will quiver With the melody of peace Yes, we'll gather at the river The beautiful, the beautiful river Gather with the saints at the river That flows by the throne of God All right, at this time we will have the announcements. All right, well good evening. Welcome to Shield of Faith Baptist Church. Go through these announcements here real quick. Let's see here, weekly church service times are Sundays at Sunday mornings at 1030. Sunday evenings are at 6 and Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Underneath there is a list of soul wanting times and of course we're doing a soul wanting challenge this month called March Madness and so soul wanting is every single day. If you have questions, 208-391-5323, that's the number to call. Next page under announcements. This Sunday we have Brother Corbin Russell from Faithful Word Tucson. He is the deacon there and also the beacon of Tucson. He'll be here preaching for us this Sunday so I'm excited about that. And today is Kinley's birthday. Get up. No. Get up. All right. No, that's not going to happen. The beating will commence after the service in the break room then. All right. Verse of the week is Matthew 16-15 which says, He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And of course we talked about that last Sunday morning. We are a family integrated church and so what that means is we don't separate children from their parents for any reason. Three-quarters of the mother-baby room is still right here. The rest of it will be in the other room by the end of the week. I guarantee it. We're almost done. We just have to move a few other things and cover some stuff up on the wall in there. And that will be good to go. Let's see here. Don't forget to turn your phones off and place them on silent so they're not a distraction. And with that being said, we're going to have one more song before we go through the prayer and praise list. All right. For our second song, we'll be turning to song number 81. Song number 81, When We See Christ. On the first of times the day seems all, Our trials hard to bear, We're tempted to complain, To murmur and despair, But Christ will soon appear. To catch his bright away, All tears forever hold her, In God's eternal day, It will be worth. When we see Jesus, Life's trials will seem so small, When we see Christ, One glimpse of his dear face, All sorrow will he raise, So bravely rise. Till we see Christ. On the second. Sometimes the sky looks dark, With not a ray of light, We're tossed and driven on. No human help in sight, But there is one in heaven, Who knows our deepest care. Let Jesus solve your problem, Just go to him in prayer, It will be worth it all. When we see Jesus, Life's trials will seem so small, When we see Christ, One glimpse of his dear face, All sorrow will he raise, So bravely rise. Till we see Christ. On the last. Life's day will soon be o'er, All storms forever pass, We'll cross the great divide, To glory safe at last. We'll share the joys of death, The harp, the home, the crown, The tempter will be banished, We'll lay our burden down. It will be worth it all, When we see Jesus, Life's trials will seem so small, When we see Christ, One glimpse of his dear face, All sorrow will he raise, So bravely run the race, Till we see Christ. Okay. So at this time, we're going to go through our prayer and praise list. And then again, if you have any prayers, praises, you can text, email, leave a card in that box right at the back of the building over there, and eventually it will make its way on to the list. So with that being said, let's go through this prayer list together. Inspire our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you again so much, Lord, for allowing us to be able to meet here in this building and be able to sing praises to you and to be able to learn from your word and edify one another. We just want to continue to pray for the softening of the hearts of those out in the community, Lord. We also want to pray that more people in our community would desire to grow as a disciple. And thank you for those who have come in here recently that have that desire. We thank you so much for them, Lord. And we want to pray for the continued safety and health and understanding and wisdom for our children as they continue to grow up in this world. We want to pray for our like-minded churches that are our friends to continue to grow and be protected from those who wish us all evil. We want to pray for a continued exposing of wicked leaders in our local, state, and federal governments. We pray that these people would be exposed continually, Lord. We know that you're coming back. In the meantime, we also want to pray that you provide us comfort and wisdom and discretion on how to live in these uncertain times. We also want to pray for Brother Corbin and his family as they travel here this weekend. We pray for travel mercies for them. And we also have several online prayer requests. We'd like to pray for Brother Joe Maples and his family and for continued health and well-being. We have Brother John in Caldwell that has an unspoken prayer request. Lord, we just pray that you would meet his needs and work those things out according to your will. We want to pray for Brother Evan's family as they travel abroad and as they relocate, Lord. And we want to pray for Miss Theresa to be protected from toxic people and policies at her workplace and that she would be able to finish out her career with the least amount of resistance from the wicked ones. We want to pray for Miss Michelle Arrowwood to continue to have mercies to grow spiritually, but also to have comfort and physical healing and also for an unspoken request. Lord, we know that you understand all those things, of course, and we're thankful for that. We just pray that you would work all of those out according to your will as well. And we ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. Well, for the praise this week, we have a praise for the youth rally. All the teens that went to the youth rally from a church had a great time and are thankful that they were able to go. And we're thankful for Verity Baptist Church. They were able to put on such a wonderful event. So praise God for all of that. So with that being said, we're going to have the Bible reading. Good evening, everybody. Turn to Zechariah chapter three. Zechariah chapter three. Zechariah chapter three, starting in verse one. And he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan. Even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee. Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused an inequity to pass from thee and I'll clothe thee with a change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head so that they set a fair mitre upon his head and clothe them with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by, and the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, If thou wilt walk in my ways and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house and shalt also keep my courts and will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. Here now, O Joshua, is a high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for they are men wandered at. For behold, I'll bring forth my servant the branch. For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the graven engraving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the inequity of that land in one day. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall he call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree. The Lord, I pray that you just bless Pastor Jones. He's going to preach through the Book of Zechariah and give us all ears to hear and let us learn from the Minor Prophets. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. All right. Amen. Well, we're in part number 11 of our series going through the Minor Prophets, which series is called Minor Prophets, Major Problems. And of course, again, these aren't Minor Prophets because they're less significant than the Major Prophets, but typically because their writings were shorter. Now, there is an exception to that, and that exception is tonight with the Book of Zechariah. Zechariah is actually a longer book at 14 chapters, and so it kind of makes you wonder why Daniel's considered a major prophet, whereas Zechariah is considered a minor because the Book of Zechariah is longer. So with that being said, there's no way we're going to be able to run through this like we have been the other books, but we're going to be able to extract an awful lot out of this today that I think is going to be a huge blessing to you. And nonetheless, you will definitely be familiar with this book and what it's about by the time this service is over. A lot of good information on defending the faith, defending the Bible, things of that nature are going to come out of this tonight. Now, I warn you, right off the bat, there is going to be a lot of flipping back and forth, a lot of flipping. It's not going to be a terribly long sermon, but there will be a lot of flipping. I'll try to be slow, take some time so that you have time to get to the verses yourselves. Now, the title of the sermon this evening is titled Supernatural Authorship. Supernatural Authorship. And it's really because of what we're about to study. In this book here, there are probably, I mean, really the only book in the Old Testament that prophesies about Christ more is the prophet Isaiah. And of course, you know, that's well over 60 chapters, 65 chapters there in the Old Testament. But I mean, Zechariah definitely has a lot in it about the Messiah. And you're going to see that these things here are all fulfilled. Well, a lot of these things are fulfilled in the New Testament. So what we're going to do this evening is we're going to take a look at some of the things that Zechariah prophesied about Christ and how they were fulfilled in the New Testament. And what you're going to find is that proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that this is supernatural authorship. God preserved the Bible. And this is just such a great thing. I'm definitely very excited about tonight's sermon. Now, before we get started in that, if you're looking for a verse maybe that could just pack a huge punch for the entire book and really what everything boils down to, go to Zechariah chapter number 14 and look at verse number nine. Zechariah 14. Look at verse number nine. The Bible says, And the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In that day shall there be one Lord and his name one. Now, I would say that is definitely the objective there. That is the conclusion that every living being who has ever lived or ever will live will come to. Every knee shall bow, the Bible says. Everyone, whether they reject it now or reject it later, at some point in time, whether it's here or in eternity, they will come to this conclusion because this is what everything is pointing to when the Lord will be known throughout all the earth. Now, as far as Zechariah the prophet, this is basically the same time frame in which we talked about last week with the prophet Haggai. So Zechariah, like Haggai, was there with Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and Joshua, the high priest. And Zechariah had the same mission. He is there to encourage the rebuilding of the temple. If you remember last week, we talked about that 15-year gap between where they were able to start under the permission of Cyrus, king of Persia. Remember, they were able to start the building process, and then, of course, the opposition came in. They sent the building code managers and basically started harassing the children of Judah, and they stopped the building. Remember how God rebuked them and said, you know, there's more that you could have done. They didn't just have to stop because people said no soliciting, no this, no that. There's other ways to get the mission to go forward. Zechariah is right along in that same time frame. He's there through Darius. When Darius came out and said, okay, we're going to go ahead and allow this project to continue, it should never have been stopped in the first place. So if you're looking for context, there it is. So again, Ezra, you read through the book of Ezra, Nehemiah, Zechariah, Haggai, these guys are all in that same time frame. He is a post-exilic prophet. Okay, so the exile has already happened. It's been the 70 years, and the Jews are migrating back to the land, and God wants the temple built. So with that being said, we're going to go through about seven or eight different prophecies in the book of Zechariah. And like I said, we're going to go back and forth. Zechariah, Matthew, Mark, John, just back and forth, back and forth. And then what we're going to do is we're going to go through chapter three of Zechariah. It's only 10 verses, and then we will be done. So let's start this off here. Right away, Zechariah, go over to chapter number three. Go over to Zechariah chapter number three. And we'll look at this first prophecy, and this first prophecy is obviously about Christ. It's about the coming Messiah, who is called or referred to as the branch. Okay, let's take a look at this here, Zechariah chapter three. Look at verse number eight. The Bible says, Now, we didn't read chapter number two. We picked up in chapter number three. So let me just give you the context here. Zechariah is receiving several visions from the Lord through an angel, through a messenger. Okay, and so this messenger is relaying, obviously, the word of God to Zechariah. And he is seeing visions here. And in this particular vision, he uses Joshua. Remember, Joshua was the high priest who was there with Zerubbabel. And of course, the idea here is to encourage them to go forth, rebuild the temple, get everybody back on track. But notice what it says in verse number eight. And obviously, what does a branch do? A branch extends, a branch reaches out. And of course, that's what Christ does. That's what the Savior is doing right now. He's reaching out and offering something to the world. But it's the world's responsibility to accept that gift and what that branch offers, which we know is salvation, eternal life. Look at verse number nine. It says this, And notice this here, in one day. In one day. So who is it? And you're gonna hear me say this over and over again tonight. Who is it that's removing the iniquity? Is it the children of Israel or is it the Lord God? Well, it's the Lord God. Look at the end of the verse there. So what you have to remember, especially as you're reading through the Old Testament, especially when you're in the post-exile times, is that God said 70 years and you're coming back. God did not say, in 70 years I will do an audit. And if you're found to be living the right way and you've done everything perfectly and you've turned from all your sins, then I'll bring you back. Okay, no. He's bringing them back. And what do we find when we read through Ezra, when we read through Nehemiah? Well, they're marrying foreigners. They're lazy. They've got problems. There's just apathy. There's all sorts of issues. Okay? But God is still abundant in his mercies and is still reaching out and is still the one who takes away the iniquity. He still brings them back anyways. But the key point that I want you to understand is the end of that verse where he says, I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. Well, there's only one person in history who's done that and that's obviously the branch or Jesus Christ. Go over, if you would, to Zechariah chapter number six real quick. Zechariah chapter number six. Look at verse number 12. So he says here, it says, And speak unto them, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold, the man whose name is the branch. All caps. Okay? And he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. What does all of this mean? Well, let's take a look here. Keep your place there in Zechariah and go to Mark chapter number 10 real quick. Mark chapter number 10. Go deep into Mark chapter 10. We're going to look at verse number 45. Mark chapter number 10. So Zechariah chapter number three. He is told that there is a branch coming. He is told that there is a savior coming who will remove the iniquity of the land in one day. Mark chapter number 10. Look at verse 45. The Bible says this, For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. And of course, we know that happened. That is the Lord who gave his life for ransom for many. That is a fulfillment of Zechariah chapter three. And obviously, there's tons of verses. When you start studying this out, I mean, you could spend almost an entire sermon on just that alone. But for sake of time, let's go one book back here real quick. Matthew chapter number 16. Matthew chapter number 16. And let's take a look at the branch here and another fulfillment. So we read Zechariah chapter six and verse 12. So you're turning to Matthew 16. I'm going to reread Zechariah six, 12, which says, And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold, the man whose name is the branch, and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. Matthew chapter 16. Look at verse number 18. So we're actually in Matthew 16 on Sundays. But look at verse 18. Jesus says this to Peter. He says, And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Now go over to John chapter number two. So again, look, as we're going through these, okay, remember, Zechariah was written, what, almost 500 years, half a millennium before these things were fulfilled. Okay? No other book comes close to that. No other book. No other book in the world. There's no way that God did not write nor preserve the Bible. And it's kind of funny, you know, because you'll hear Christian apologetics. They'll bring things like this up, right? They'll bring stuff like this up to try to prove to the world that the Bible is supernatural. And it is, but out of the next breath, they'll say things like, well, that's an error. You know, in the Greek it says something different. You see what I mean? It's like, which is it? Did God preserve the word? Is it supernatural or is it not? Okay? And all I'm saying is we need to get on one side or the other, okay? This middle of the road stuff does nothing for the faith whatsoever. It's high time that we tell people the truth. We stop being ashamed of Bible preservation and we're actually armed with this type of knowledge so that we can talk some sense into people because we need the help out there. Where did I have you turn? John chapter 2. John chapter 2. Look at verse number 19. So John chapter 2, verse number 19. Look at what this says. Jesus answered and said unto them, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. And of course we know that he was mocked for that statement while he was on the cross, but we also know there was no mocking after he rose from the dead. And actually there was, but you get the point. Now go back to Zechariah. I'm going to have you go to Zechariah chapter number nine. Zechariah chapter number nine. So number one, we see the prophecy of Christ, of Messiah, referred to as the branch, okay? And there's obviously several verses you could go to to prove that in the New Testament, but Matthew 16, 18, definitely a good one for Zechariah 6 where Christ said, I will build my church. And of course we know that he uses the prophets, the apostles, the Bible to build his church, meaning his entire kingdom, okay? Because that word church there in that instance is singular, okay? It is God who builds the church. It is ultimately God who does that. So we see that fulfilled there in the New Testament. Let's look at number two here. The second one, which is going to be Zechariah chapter number nine. Let's look at verse number nine. Look at what this here says. Zechariah 9, 9 says, rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold, thy king cometh unto thee. He is just, and having salvation. Again, as opposed to what? Probation. He has salvation lowly, and here it is, riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. Did you know that that was fulfilled in the New Testament? Many of you did, but I guess a better question is did you know that that was a prophecy? Let's take a look at it here real quick. Keep your finger right there. We're going to come right back to this chapter. But go to Matthew chapter 21. Matthew chapter number 21. Let's take a look at the fulfillment of this here. Matthew chapter number 21. And let's see here. Look at verse number two. The Bible says this, sing unto them, go in to the village over against you, and straightway you shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, you shall say the Lord hath need of them, and straightway he will send them. Verse four, all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. Well, now you know that that prophet is Zechariah. Verse five, tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold thy king cometh unto thee meek, and sitting upon an ass and a colt the full of an ass. Verse six, and the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them, and brought the ass and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. So very interesting. Go back to Zechariah chapter number nine. So again, once again, I'm going to keep saying this, at least 500 years, at least half a millennium, and that prophecy was fulfilled to a T. Supernatural authorship. The Bible is unlike any other book in the world. Nothing can come close. AI couldn't put something together this good. It's impossible. It is not going to happen. So let's take a look now at verse number 10. Verse number 10 says this, and I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace unto the heathen, and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. Now, when I was coming up in the church circuit, and I would hear, and I have heard sermons, there are churches out there that are liberal that will go through these books. It's just a fact, and I'm not saying that every single thing that they say is wrong, but one of the things that I distinctly remember is when they teach through this here, they just exclusively say, this is talking about the millennium, and then they just go on from there. That is not entirely true. Look at the verse again. Look at the first half, verse 10. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace unto the heathen, and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. Now, turn, if you would, to Matthew chapter 21 again. Matthew chapter 21. And I'm gonna show you that this really is being fulfilled as we speak right now, and let me show you exactly how that is because you're probably thinking, well, that doesn't seem right. Let's take a look at it. Matthew 21 and verse number 43. So this is what Jesus is saying here to those who are opposing him, to the Jews that are not happy with his teachings. He says this, Matthew 21, 43. Therefore, say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you. Who was that you there? That it was, that you was the southern kingdom of Judah. That was the leadership. That was the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the so-called rulers in Egypt, or the rulers in Israel who had the oracles of God. What God is saying, what Jesus is saying here is I'm taking that from you. Look at the rest of the verse. And given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And of course, we know that that is the real kingdom, the Israel of God. So go back to Zechariah chapter number nine. So really verse 10 is a picture of what you have today. In the Old Testament, we've been going over this nonstop. The battle was carnal. The battle was physical. And what the Bible is saying here, chronologically, after the whole situation here with the full of an ass, with the Lord riding on that, and basically going down to be sacrificed to become a ransom for many, what happens after that? Boom, the veil in the temple is rent and twain, rendering that building just what it is, just a building, no longer a temple of God. Therefore, that is all transferred now to the kingdom of God, which was taken from that nation, that physical nation, and placed spiritually on every believer in the world. And that explains the last half of this verse. That's what it's saying here. And he shall speak peace unto the heathen, okay? Every heathen, every person who hears the word of God, believes and is saved, is now in that kingdom. And he has dominion over them. And of course, in the millennium, this is obviously true. He will rule the earth with a rod of iron, and we get that and we understand that. So there's three, okay? We've got the branch, okay? Zechariah chapter three, Zechariah chapter six. We've got the prophecy of Jesus riding on the ass, meek and humble, you know? And why is that meek and humble? Well, we're studying through the kings on Sundays, right? How many kings have done that? No, they don't do that, do they? Every time you see the king making a triumphant, you know, entry somewhere, it's always with the chariots. It's always with the pomp and the robes and the armies and such, okay? Whereas Jesus took a different approach. But of course, the second coming, entirely different. Entirely different story. And then the third prophecy here is the transfer of the oracles of God or the kingdom of God from the physical nation or what's left of it to the church, to the real Israel, the Israel of God. Let's look at number four here. Go to Zechariah chapter number 12. Zechariah chapter number 12. Let's look here in verse number 10. And this is a banger here, okay? This is one you ought to write down. This is one, especially if you're defending the faith, you're soul winning, write this down. Zechariah chapter 12, look in verse number 10. So the Bible says this. This is God speaking through the angel to Zechariah. Verse 10. And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications and they shall look upon me. Notice that word there, me. Whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for, don't miss this word, him, as one mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. Notice that difference there, me and him. We're gonna talk about it in a second, but first let me just show you the New Testament fulfillment. Go over to John chapter 19 real quick. John chapter number 19. John chapter 19 and let's look at verse number 37. John 19 verse number 37. This is the fulfillment here. John 19, 37. The Bible says, and again another scripture saith, they shall look on him whom they have pierced. Again, half a millennium, half a millennium fulfilled to a T. Now let's go back and break this down here. Zechariah chapter 12 verse number 10. Oneness Pentecostals, your JDubs, anybody out there who wants to debate the Trinity, who wants to deny the Godhead, or who is confused in any way, you can bring them here and also write this down. We're not gonna go there for sake of time, but Revelation 1.6. In your own time, study Revelation 1.6, Zechariah chapter 12 verse 10. But let's go through this here. So this is God saying this here. And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication, and they shall look upon me. This is God speaking here, God the Father. God speaking saying that they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. So when someone denies that, you make them say, who is the me there? They're gonna have to tell you it's God. There's no one else, it's God. And they'll say that. You say, okay, let's keep reading. Whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him. Who's the him? Why is the guy that's saying me talking about a him? Because there are three that bear record in heaven. Okay, that is why. The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. These three agree in one, okay? And you get to that point that you ask them, who is the him? And just watch the wheels start to spin. They'll change the subject, and if they change the subject and wanna deny, as far as I'm concerned, you do what you want, I'm out. If you deny the Godhead, like vehemently, you're like, I don't believe that, I'm gone. Okay, and again, look, I'm not trying to sound arrogant. I'm just sick and tired of seeing people waste so much time trying to argue with somebody who already has their mind made up. Okay, look, I'm all about defending the faith. And look, there are plenty of people out there that will listen, that are mixed up, that are confused, and I'm not saying don't try. Okay, but I'm saying, look, let's not waste an hour on somebody, or God forbid, two hours, okay? That's unprofitable, it's not okay. You need to hit them with this. Now, if they're still confused, you go to Revelation 1, you go to 1 John 5, 7, you know, you go back and get some verses about the Trinity, that's not what this sermon's about. This here is just a good nugget to bring up to somebody who may be confused, or just to kind of figure where someone's at. Because if they deny this, I mean, you're really done. They're like, well, no, that's a misprint, or that's an error. Okay, then you know where you stand, and you can hopefully use that discretion to go on and find somebody who will receive the truth. Find somebody that doesn't have a devil next to them snatching the word of God out of their heart as you're giving it to them, okay? So again, write that one down, and understand the difference there between the me and him, okay? There's a difference there. It's explaining the Trinity, definitely a good one to use on Jehovah Witnesses. Whenever this is fresh in my mind, this'll probably happen this week or next week, I'll bring this up to somebody who wants a challenge, and it's great and it works. And then I forget after a while. So write it down, use it, it's there for you. Let's move on, though, to number five, which is the betrayal. So let's go back in Zechariah. Let's go to Zechariah chapter 11 real quick. Look at verse number 12. Zechariah chapter number 11, verse number 12. Look what this says here. And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price, and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. Verse 13. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it into the potter a goodly price, a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. Let's take a look at the fulfillment real quick. Matthew chapter number 26. Matthew chapter number 26. And we're gonna look at verse 15 here real quick. Matthew 26, verse 15. Let's take a look at this here. Verse 15 says, well, let's back up to verse 14. Then one of the twelve called Judas Iscariot went unto the chief priests, verse 15, and said unto them, What will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. Verse 16. And from that time he sought an opportunity to betray him. And of course, go over to chapter 27 real quick. And let's look at verses three through five. Matthew 27, verse three says this. Then Judas, which had betrayed him when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. Again, always like to mention this when I cover this portion of scripture here. Notice that Judas is not saved. He's a devil. Jesus said so. He was a devil from the beginning. But here he is repenting of what he has done and it didn't save him. Okay, just a quick commercial break. Verse four, saying, I have sinned and that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See thou to that. And that's what the world does to each other. Okay, and that is what the world makes promises. The devil makes promises. And when it comes time for a cash out or a big payout, you know what, the lenders are nowhere to be found. It's just the way that it is. Verse five, and he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed and went and hanged himself. So let's go back to Zechariah chapter number 11. Again, half a millennium. At least 500 years this was written down, this was prophesied, this was taught, and this was fulfilled. Okay, there is no way that this book is not supernaturally inspired. Now just for an extra bit of study, go to the beginning of the Bible. Go to Exodus chapter 21 real quick. Exodus chapter 21. And we're gonna look at verse 32. Exodus chapter 21. Let's talk about these 30 pieces of silver here real quick and what an insult that this really is here. Exodus chapter 21, look at verse number 32. So the law, the Bible says this, verse 32, Exodus 21. If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant, he shall give unto their master, here it is, 30 shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. And I'll go back to Zechariah here. And so I just wanted to throw that out there because it kind of helps shed some light on verse 13 and 14. Let's look at it again. And the Lord said unto me, cast it unto the potter. And look at this here, a goodly price that I was prized at of them. He's being sarcastic here. Okay, does anybody think it's a good thing or there's a good price to sacrifice innocent blood, to sacrifice the Son of God? Of course not, okay. So what God is saying here is that hopefully you understand the context, hopefully you understand the severity and what an insult those 30 pieces of silver really are. So we've got so far talked about the branch, the prophecy of the Messiah, just basically coming into the world that he would build his temple, build his church. We talked about the prophecy of him riding on the ass. Let's see here. We also talked about the transfer of the nation of Israel and the kingdom of God, the oracles from the physical to the spiritual, all prophesied. The fact that Christ would be pierced, Zechariah chapter 12, verse 10. And of course it's got some great nuggets of wisdom in there to hopefully teach those who are confused with the Trinity doctrine. Let's go on here. We got just a couple more. Let's go to Zechariah 13 and take a look at the prophecy of him being forsaken. Zechariah chapter 13, look at verse number seven. So verse number seven says, Awake, O sword, against my shepherd and against the man, and here it is, that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts. Smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. So of course they're talking about his fellow, his companions, those who were with him. And of course the Bible also says that Judas was called a friend. Let's go real quickly one more time to the New Testament, Matthew 26. Matthew chapter 26 and let's look at verse 31. Matthew 26 verse 31. Here it is, the betrayal. Here's the fulfillment right here. Matthew 26, 31, which says this, Then saith Jesus unto them, all ye shall be offended because of me this night. For it is written, I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. And obviously you can always use that one because a lot of times we knock on people's doors and they'll say, oh, I know I'm a works person. This was someone told Skolk not too long ago, I'm a works person. I believe in works. And this has really sprung up a lot. I've been going soul winning every day and I'm just telling you, I am running into a lot of people that are talking about works. I think it was Kinley and I on Tuesday. Was that Tuesday or Monday that lady said I thought I was saved till I started going to church. This is no joke. We knock on this lady's door and you know, she's like, I thought it was pretty good. I mean, she's like, I thought, I mean, I was comfortable. I believed I would go to heaven until I started going to Calvary Church. You know, and she's like, now I know I need to be working on it. And of course she didn't have time to listen to us. We desperately tried to get her to listen. But I mean, look, that's why we're doing this, you know, because that is the prevailing thought, the prevailing doctrine that's being taught to people that you have to keep following. And if you're offended and you fall away in any capacity, you stop going to church and you backslide at all, you're not saved. Well, these guys all forsook Christ. Okay. After the resurrection, did Jesus go around and say, okay, you guys were all offended. You need to get resaved, get born again, again. Did he do that? No, he didn't. Okay. And we're going to take a look at this in a couple of weeks. Peter denied him three times. Okay. And Jesus just said, hey, come on, man. Do you love me? And just kept asking him. He's like, you know I do. He's like, get to work. That's it. You know, not, okay. You need to come down to the altar and rededicate your life and be serious this time. Get your salvation back. I mean your probation back. No. Okay. The Bible doesn't say any of that. And we know that. So the prophecy of him being forsaken, Zechariah 13, verse seven, fulfillment, Matthew 26, verse 31. And let's go ahead and go back to Zechariah one more time. Let's take a look at chapter 14. And of course, this is the prophecy that he is king, king of kings, Zechariah 14. Let's look at verse number five. This is the last one that we're going to go over to chapter number three, and then we will be done. Zechariah 14, look at verse number five. The Bible says, and ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Israel. Yea, ye shall flee like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. Verse six, and it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall not be clear nor dark. Verse seven, but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day nor night, but it shall come to pass that evening time, it shall be light. Verse eight, and it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the former sea and half of them toward the hinders sea. In summer and in winter shall it be. And where we first started, verse nine, look what it says, and the Lord shall be king over all the earth in that day. Shall there be one Lord, and his name one. And of course, we're going to leave it right there. I'm just going to mention these. John chapter 10, verse 16, Revelation 11, verse one, Revelation 21, 27, all could fit in that category. There's tons of verses talking about Christ being king. And of course, we know that that is fulfilled. So let's go through chapter number three of the book of Zechariah. Zechariah chapter three. Now, obviously every, this is a book that we would have to spend several weeks breaking down and God willing someday we will do that. But if I had to pick one chapter to give you before we leave, it's chapter number three. Chapter number three is just loaded with New Testament doctrine and it's just absolutely outstanding. So let's get this going here. All right, let's look at this here. Zechariah three, look at verse number one. So again, remember the context here. Zechariah is getting these visions. He's saying that an angel is speaking unto him, giving him these things. Zechariah three, one says, and he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. And here it is. And Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. Well, Joshua here pictures the believer. He pictures us. He pictures those of us that are here on earth trying to rebuild, trying to work, trying to add into the kingdom of God. And who do we find standing ready to resist? Who is the accuser of the brethren? Well, we know that to be Satan. We know that to be the devil. And this is something that we have to have a thorough understanding of. This is why I am very big on not wasting time at doors because a lot of times when you get a time waster, there is someone a few doors down that is ready, willing, and able to be saved. And you see, we don't know that. But in the spiritual side of things, the spiritual world, they know that, okay? The angels that minister unto us, they know that. The demons that are trying to resist, they know that. And so what do the demons do? They will often stir someone up. They will get someone to come at you and give you a little bit of line, take it back, give you a little bit of line, take it back. And if you fall for the bait, you waste time. You miss that opportunity. That is why I am big on not wasting time at the door. Look at this here in verse number two. The Bible says this, and this is gonna be a picture of something here, okay? Look at this. And the Lord said unto Satan, the Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee. Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now, initial context here, the devil through the heathen is trying to stop the rebuilding process. Why? Because it was written down. Why? Because it was prophesied that it would happen. So of course, the devil wants to thwart that to cast a negative light on the Bible, on the word of God. But look, I mean, really what you have here, what this is is a picture of grace. Because look at what God says here. Hey, grace is what we don't deserve. He says, is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? So in other words, Joshua didn't pluck himself. God had plucked him out of the fire, okay? That is a picture of grace. And what does grace mean? It is what we do not deserve, okay? It is God's mercy that we don't deserve. Look at verse number three here. And this further pictures grace. It says this, now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the angel. Understand this is a vision. Keep your place here real quick. Go to Isaiah chapter number 64. Isaiah chapter number 64. 66 books or chapters in Isaiah. Isaiah chapter number 64. Look at verse number six. But we are all as unclean, as an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Further evidence, further reason why we cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven based off of our merit, based off of turning from sins because all of our efforts, all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. And we all do fade as a leaf and our iniquities like the wind and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away. Okay? For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That is another way to sum that verse up. So back to Zechariah chapter three in verse number three. Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments. Okay? What does this represent? Remember this is a vision. This represents sin, the unsaved man. So he's picturing somebody here in the unsaved state and stood before the angel. We'll look at verse four. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him saying, take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee and I will clothe thee with a change of raiment. What is this a picture of here? This is a picture of grace. This is a picture of God's sacrifice. This is a picture here of what God has done for us, what God is doing for us. Okay? Think about it. Look at the verse again. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him. Okay? And all of these people have what? Filthy garments. Saying, take away the filthy garments from him. Okay? So these guys aren't even exchanging their own garments. Okay? It is God taking away. God is giving the order to take away those filthy garments. What is the world today telling you? Seriously, at least, I don't know, six, seven doors out of ten. Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure I'll make it. I'm trying my best. Doing my best. Thought I was saved until I started going to that Calvary church. You have a world today full of people who have been tricked into thinking that they can clean their own garments. That is not what this says. And unto him, again verse four, he said, behold I, who's the I? It is God. I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee. Tell me that's not New Testament doctrine. It is God who takes away the iniquity, not man. I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee and I will what? Clothe thee with a change of raiment. All glory goes back to God. He is the one who provided the sacrifice. It is him who took away the sin of the world, not man. Okay? This is what we are fighting for. And of course, this is a picture of justification. We are justified because he did that for us. Because we are in him. Okay? So I mean literally verse two is a picture of grace. You could say verse four is a picture of justification. Okay? Definitely all found throughout the entire Bible but mainly in the New Testament. Let's look at verse number five. And I said, let them set a fair mitre upon his head so they set a fair mitre upon his head and clothed him with garments and the angel of the Lord stood by. Notice that the devil cannot do anything in this situation. What is he doing? Trying to resist. What happens? God rebukes. Why? Because the devil has no power over the children of God. He has power over his own children for the time being but not over the children of God when it comes to this. Look at verse number six. And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua saying, verse number seven, thus saith the Lord of hosts. And here's another doctrine. This is another picture of doctrine. Okay? Remember, we already saw the salvation. Okay? It is God who took away the iniquity. God who provided the clean garments. Okay? Now after salvation, after justification comes what? Sanctification. Okay? Notice the language here. Verse seven. If, okay, and there it is. What does that mean? What is God saying here? Now that you're saved, now that you have the capability to work for the Lord, if you walk in his ways and do what he says, guess what? You're going to prosper. You're going to prosper in the things of God. You're going to have discipline. You're going to have these avenues. You're going to be able to go out and provide that edification and that evangelism that we desperately need in this world. But notice he doesn't say, well, I'm going to snatch your garments back, does he? No, he doesn't say that. This is a picture of sanctification. Sanctification is separation from the world. We should live separately from the world, which is obviously why you're here tonight, which is why we read the Bible, why we have certain standards and all of that sort of stuff. Okay? It is not to maintain salvation. It's not to earn it or to keep earning it. No, it's so that we can fulfill this so that we can further the mission of God. But notice that language there. If thou, if thou. You find that twice in verse number seven because it is a choice, okay? It is a choice. Let's take a look here at verse number eight. And again, we're almost done here. He says, here now, O Joshua, the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for they are men wondered at. For behold, I will bring forth my servant, the branch. So there you have it, okay? You have a picture of God's grace. You have a picture of salvation, justification, and then you have a picture of sanctification and then a mention of the branch, a mention of the coming Messiah. Verse number nine, for behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua. Upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. And of course, we already took a look at that. That is a picture of glorification being complete. Verse number 10, last verse, he says this. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man, his neighbor, under the vine and under the fig tree. Okay, and so what does that mean? Well, that's a picture of us calling our neighbor, our believers, our fellow Christians, and saying, hey, get in the fold, get under the vine. Let's learn together, let's edify one another and go forth and grab more people and bring them under the fig tree. Let's feed them with the word of God. Let's get this mission going. So that is a picture of the great commission at the very end of that chapter there. And so we're gonna leave it right there. And like I said, a lot of stuff in this book. But if you don't remember anything else I said, remember this, supernatural authorship. We went through what, maybe eight examples of prophecies that were written down in the book of Zechariah? 500 years, half a millennium, before they were fulfilled to a T. No other book has ever done something like that. No other book ever will do something like that. And that is an encouraging thing to know, okay? Because sometimes people that are even saved can get doubts, okay? They can get mixed up, they can hear something that kind of sounds rough. And again, you have the knowledge. If you have the understanding, you now can edify that person. You now can take care of that person, get them right, get them back in the fight. And you know what? That is a glorious thing. And that is a skill that is being lost by the second in today's day and age. So let's remember these things. Let's bow our head and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much, Lord, for these awesome proofs and these truths in your word. I just pray you bless the fellowship after the service and pray you bring us back safely again this weekend. And please bless the soul innings going on this week. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. All right everyone, for our final song this evening, we will be turning to song number 82, When He Cometh. Song number 82. On the first. When he cometh, when he cometh, to make up his jewels, all his jewels, precious jewels, his love and his home. Like the stars of the morning, his bright crown adorning, they shall shine in their beauty, bright gems for his crown. He will gather, he will gather, the gems for his kingdom. The pure ones, all the bright ones, his love and his home. Like the stars of the morning, his bright crown adorning, they shall shine in their beauty, bright gems for his crown. Alas, little children, little children, who love their redeemer, are the jewels, precious jewels, his love and his home. The stars of the morning, his bright crown adorning, they shall shine in their beauty, bright gems for his crown. All right, let's bow our heads in a word of prayer. Dear Lord, thank you for this time we had to hear your word be preached. I ask that you please bless the fellowship after the service and everyone's travels home. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen.