Zechariah Sermon Series: Sermon 27
2-23-25 – Jerry Mongello
Zechariah 10 Part 2
Prayer
Brutal Murder of Bibas Children
70 Christians in Congo Church Found Beheaded in Devastating Massacre by Islamic Terrorists
Over three in four U.S. teens (77%) say they are at least somewhat motivated (52% very, 25% somewhat) to continue learning about Jesus throughout the rest of their lives.
I will back it up, to cover it in more detail.
Zechariah 10:2 (NKJV)
“For the idols speak delusion; the diviners envision lies, and tell false dreams; they comfort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like sheep; they are in trouble because there is no shepherd.”
When the shepherds don’t feed the flock, it causes them to do what is right in their own eyes. It leads to apostasy—falling away from God, from Jesus, from righteousness, and living according to God’s will. People turn to their own will. The removal of God from schools and the teaching of evolution have led to an increase in child abuse, STD rates, divorce rates, unmarried childbirth, and abortions since government schools started teaching evolution.
Has Blindness Happened to the Church? (Harbinger Daily)
The word used for the phrase “they wend their way” is nāsa (to pull out, pull up, set out, journey, remove, set forward, depart by their own will).
(See Judges 21:25 and Judges 17:6 KJV)
Judges 17:6 (KJV):
“In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 (NKJV):
1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,
2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
This falling away (apostasy) happening now is not yet complete, but it has begun in churches, schools, governments, and the world, and it is growing rapidly. Jesus warned us!
John 5:42-47 (NKJV):
42 “But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. [Note that the Kingdom of God centers around love: love for the Father, love for the Son, love for the Word, and love for one another.]
43 “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.
44 “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?
45 “Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust.
46 “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.
47 “But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
Jesus is speaking to the Jewish leaders concerning their false religion, claiming to put their belief in the words God gave Moses without obeying God’s word. All this is caused by false shepherds who do not feed the flock. Note that false shepherds are not just religious leaders; they are political, civic, and community leaders. There is no difference between the falling away or apostasy today. The false shepherds are leading people away from God’s word.
Zechariah 10:3 (NKJV):
“My anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the goatherds. For the LORD of hosts will visit His flock, the house of Judah, and will make them as His royal horse in the battle.”
God’s anger is kindled against the shepherds who are not feeding the flock for three reasons:
- They fall into severe affliction.
- They face persecution, which continues through the centuries and is still happening today.
- Persecution will continue until Messiah’s second coming.
False prophets, religious leaders, and the nation’s leaders lord over the flock, just as is happening today in the world and in our own country. They seek to control us, dictating how we should live, what to wear, what to drive, and even how we should live our lives. They control us with fear and coercion, demanding compliance or imposing penalties. This leads people to depend on governments and powers, drawing them away from the Creator.
Revelation 6:9-11 (NKJV):
9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
11 Then a white robe was given to each of them, and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
Isaiah 24:18-23 (NKJV):
18 And it shall be that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit,
And he who comes up from the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare;
For the windows from on high are open,
And the foundations of the earth are shaken.
19 The earth is violently broken,
The earth is split open,
The earth is shaken exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard,
And shall totter like a hut;
Its transgression shall be heavy upon it,
And it will fall, and not rise again.
21 It shall come to pass in that day
That the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones,
And on the earth the kings of the earth.
22 They will be gathered together,
As prisoners are gathered in the pit,
And will be shut up in the prison;
After many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be disgraced
And the sun ashamed;
For the LORD of hosts will reign
On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
And before His elders, gloriously.
Zechariah 10:4 (NKJV):
“From Him comes the cornerstone, from Him the tent peg, from Him the battle bow, from Him every ruler together.”
This passage refers to Messiah. There are three phases in this verse:
- Messiah’s 1st Advent – He is the Cornerstone, which was rejected.
- Zechariah 3:8-10 NKJV speaks about the coming of the Branch (Messiah).
- Isaiah 28:16-18 NKJV speaks about the cornerstone being laid in Zion, a foundation for those who believe.
- Christ as the cornerstone became a stumbling stone for the Jews, as they did not seek it by faith but by the works of the law.
- Romans 9:32-33 NKJV explains how the Jews stumbled at the cornerstone, but those who believe will not be put to shame.
- Messiah’s second coming as the tent peg to rebuild the tabernacle of David.
- Amos 9:11-12 NKJV speaks of the raising up of the tabernacle of David, which will be rebuilt and gloriously supported in the millennial reign.
Revelation 7:9-17 (NKJV) speaks of the multitude from all nations who are before the throne of God, praising the Lamb.
Revelation 21:2-7 (NKJV) speaks of the new heaven, the New Jerusalem, where God will dwell with His people, wiping away every tear and making all things new.
