Pastor Podcast - Zechariah 1:1-6 - Return to Me

We're excited to add to our podcast lineup and content by adding our weekly discussions with our Lead Pastor Mark Lashey!  Each week Pastor Mark takes time to go deeper and talk about the week's message!  If you have questions you'd like him to answer or hear more about please send those in by texting us at the link in the show notes!

Zechariah 1:1-6 - Return to Me!

Start a new year with a better story than resolutions. We’re opening Zechariah and finding a God who remembers, a people who drift, and a hopeful call that cuts through excuses: return to Me, and I will return to you. From the ruins of exile to the slow creep of apathy, we trace how Judah started strong, stalled amid opposition and distraction, and heard a gracious summons back to the center. That ancient tension sounds modern—being in the right place on the outside while our hearts wander on the inside.

We unpack the history that grounds the message: seventy years in Babylon, a miraculous return under Persia, and a community wrestling with poverty, fear, and fatigue. Then we bring it home. Repentance isn’t just stopping bad behavior; it’s moving toward Someone—running back to the Lord who remembers, blesses, and acts in His time. We talk about the sober law of sowing and reaping, how consequences ripen slowly, and why delayed fallout can fool us into complacency. And we name the lifelines God still gives: Scripture that warns and guides, the Holy Spirit who convicts and comforts, and a church family that practices loving accountability.

Along the way, we keep the tone humble about spiritual language—when to say “God told me,” how to anchor counsel in the Bible, and why clarity comes from the text, not our hunches. If you’ve felt stuck between good intentions and old habits, this conversation offers clarity, conviction, and real hope. Draw near today, not tomorrow. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a fresh start, and leave a review to help more people find their way back to the God who never forgets His people.

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Transcript

New Year And New Platform

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Hey Lifehouse family, welcome to 2026. It is happy new year. We are coming back from the holidays, and we missed you guys. I know we took a few weeks off just for Pastor Mark to rest and recoup. And not just me, everything. I was gonna say, you know, I I enjoyed a little downtime with the family too. But good holiday. I know you got lost in DC, apparently. Yeah, we did.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

Got off track. We were not, we we were in the right place according to the GPS, but in the wrong place, you know. Uh but yeah, I I'm I'm glad to be back. Like I I I definitely work better with a routine, and so I'm looking forward to be back into the routine and to just uh I can't wait to see what God's gonna do in this next year. I always have said at the end of every year, I always think back and think about all the things that were not on my radar that happened, and I fully expect that those things that we'll have some of those things happen this year. Good things, bad things, challenging things, but God will be faithful through it all. So uh that's my expectations in this next year.

Why Zechariah Matters Now

SPEAKER_01 1:14

So also excited. Hopefully, some of you are maybe checking this out on our podcast platform. So we are uh just in a new year looking to expand and provide uh this content, these conversations to more people. So we'll be posting this to uh whether it's Apple, Spotify, wherever you uh get your podcast content. Uh, we're excited to be getting that to you. Encourage you to also listen to our Monday episodes there where we uh continue to talk more scripture, have a good team, uh talking through the book of Luke. But today we want to talk about Zechariah, not Zechariah over time. Zechariah.

SPEAKER_00 1:46

That's a common, you know, it's uh I don't know if you ever always catch it, uh, but even just some people say uh Psalms 23. It's Psalm 23. And another common mistake that people just through a conversation they'll say, Zechariah, but it's Zechariah. So just yeah. Now I'm probably gonna like say it next Sunday when I'm preaching. It's Zechariah.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

It reminds me of uh in officiating, a lot of people say offsides. Well, you can only be on one side at a time, so it's actually off side, but everybody always says off sides. Yeah, right. Funny thing. But getting started in this new book. So just talk about heart, context.

From Exile To Apathy

Yahweh Remembers: Names And Meaning

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Yeah, so I'm just I I'm thrilled. I mean, I I you know, as I study and prepare, you know, I'm preaching to myself. I'm learning so much and gleaning, and this is such an encouraging letter. Old Testament book, last or second to last book in the Old Testament. And uh interestingly enough, there are, I mean, Jesus Christ is front and center throughout the book of Zechariah. So that's one of the things I'm most excited about. From what I understand, uh, that Zechariah is the most quoted Old Testament book in the gospel. So Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. You know, there's so many prophecies that are fulfilled in the earthly life and ministry of Jesus Christ. And so that in and of itself is fascinating because when Jesus is lifted up, God will draw all people into himself, like he says in John 12, 32. So I'm looking forward to that taking place as we preach through the book of Zechariah. Um, but it's also fascinating to me to just realize some of the context. So uh the Jews had returned from Babylonian captivity. They were there for 70 years as a result of their own disobedience, unfaithfulness, despite God's warnings to them through many prophets that he sent to them. They were bent on sin and sinfulness, unfaithfulness. And so eventually God said, Look, if you don't change your ways, like I'm gonna send you into exile. And that's exactly what happened, 70 years, just like God told them. But they had been back, and that was a miracle in and of itself. Uh often what took place when uh countries and nations were captured or uh conquered by the Babylonian Empire, is those people groups simply assimilated into the nation of Babylon. Well, that didn't take place with the Jewish nation. They remained a people, an identifiable people. And so that was miraculous in and of itself. 70 years they were there, they returned home. And the way they returned home, it was miraculous. I mean, basically, uh the Persians overtook Babylon and God essentially funded their return, even the rebuilding of their temple and the wall. Uh, so so much that can be said about that. But they started strong, they built the wall, like that's what the book of Nehemiah is all about. They built the foundation for the temple. Uh so for four years they they started, but then their work waned and their faithfulness waned and they got apathetic. And I think some reasons were that there was opposition. Like it wasn't easy for them. Uh there were opposition, they didn't have a lot of uh they were trying to establish their own lives too, so they got distracted. So a lot of reasons, but not valid excuses. God doesn't ever want us to make excuses, he just wants us to remain faithful. And so after these four years, you know, they just stopped. And so that's what the book of Zechariah is about. And and I think that people were struggling, remembering hearing the stories about stories about how strong they had been as a nation, how wonderful the temple was. And right now they didn't even have a temple. They weren't strong as a nation, they were still poor. And so they wondered: has God forsaken us? Has God forgotten us? Are the promises that he made to our forefathers still in effect? Zechariah is all about the Lord telling his people, Yes, I've not forgotten you. In fact, the name Zechariah literally means Yahweh remembers. The Lord remembers. And it's twice said in the first chapter, as Zechariah is introduced, it's not just Zechariah, but Zechariah the prophet, son of Barekiah, son of Ido. Zechariah means Yahweh remembers, Barekiah means Yahweh blesses, and Ito means in his time. And so that's not a mistake, right? Like very uh that's essentially the message of Zechariah. Uh this week we looked at the introduction of the book, the first six verses, which essentially was God saying, Look, I want to bless you, but I'm not just gonna bless you for the sake of blessing you. Like, you need to put into order what's out of order. Like you need to repent of your sin, return to me, and I will return to you. Like, let's get that stress out of the way. And essentially that was the message of these first six verses.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

So as you were talking, I'm like, that doesn't sound like anything we deal like deal with today, does it? Not at all. I say that tongue in cheek, because so much application that I think we can get into, and obviously journeying through the book, but I think we could honestly look around at our society today and see a lot of these things and and really apply a lot of that to our lives and those.

Return To Me: The Call To Repent

SPEAKER_00 6:50

So absolutely, it's so relevant today because I do. I meet with people, couples, individuals, week in and week out, who are going through hard times, trials and tribulations, and I don't want to minimize what anyone's going through. But oftentimes when things aren't going well, so to speak, we question God's goodness and his faithfulness. And we shake sometimes even people shake their fist at God, essentially, and they're angry at God and they blame God for the situation that they're in. And instead of remembering that God is good and that all things work together for good, and that God is faithful, and so that he hasn't forsaken them and he hasn't forgotten them. And so essentially, even though it's a completely different context, like our God is their God, and he's the same yesterday, today, and forever. And we see his character on display, and we can apply that to our situations and remember God, no, God never forgets. He is always faithful, his steadfast love endures forever, his promises are true. And so we can count on that and be encouraged in the same way that they were encouraged when Zechariah spoke the word of the Lord. And again, that's a kind of an important point, is so often you people throw that phrase out there. Like, God, though, this is, you know, they won't say this is the word of the Lord, but they'll say, God told me, essentially to tell you. You know, those are weighty words, right? I think even more so, I think there was a deeper reverence for the Lord in this context uh in ancient Israel. Uh, but Zechariah made it clear, like this is a word from the Lord, from Yahweh. I think we need to be careful about when other brothers and sisters in Christ speak when we speak. Like we need to make sure, like if we're speaking to clarify, this is me. You know, if it's from God's word, then it's the word of the Lord. But if it's just, hey, you know, I'm kind of feeling like I need to tell you, like, I think we need to be very uh reverent. I'm not saying that God will never lead someone to speak truth or to say something to someone, but I think we just need to be humble as we put that phrase out there, like this is the word of God, or this is the word of the Lord, or God told me, or God spoke this.

SPEAKER_01 9:05

Like those are weighty words. I think you use the right word. Stay humble in that. And if it is from God, then it'll resonate with who you're talking to. Absolutely. Like he will use that in a very way. And I can say a lot of people have done that, you know, in the sense of we're open and honest, and God used it, but they didn't come to be like, well, God said, and so you better listen to me. Yeah. You know, like I agree with you a hundred percent, and staying humble in that and being faithful, you know, if God puts it on your heart to share something, and then hey, you know, if God confirms, he'll confirm. The Holy Spirit will do that.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

So yeah, I think walking through the points, you know, start off with, you know, God really reminds them, you know, we can have short memories of the wrath that was generational that the fathers experienced because of their sin. Like we have to remember that this is truth. You know, they had to go into exile. They're coming back, God's restoring. But don't forget why your fathers had to go into exile. Just, you know, we see this throughout scripture of, you know, the wilderness and the exile in Egypt and slavery. And I think it was something I heard recently. You know, a lot of people think of, you know, kind of rise, fall, death. But for God's people, it's usually like exile and return is the more common theme throughout the Bible. Of we kind of, like the sheep that Herb talked about last week, we kind of run off and then God has to bring us back because we can get forgetful.

Wrestling With God’s Faithfulness In Trials

SPEAKER_00 10:26

Yeah. Yeah. And yeah, to the message essentially of these first six verses is returned to me. These people were not in the right place because they were struggling, you know. And and yeah, as you pointed out, like he reminds them of their fathers and how he was very angry, angry, angry with anger, like the wrath of God was poured out upon their fathers because of their sin and sinfulness and unfaithfulness. And yeah, what we see, one one thing to consider is how, you know, as fathers, as husbands, as a grandfather, as a pastor, like I need to know and understand that there are consequences to my actions, to my sin and sinfulness that is not contained to me. You know, I think about often I quote Galatians 6, 7, and 8, where it says that, you know, God will not be mocked, whoever sows seeds to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. That corruption is not contained to the person who sows the seeds to the flesh. And so we definitely see this as a nation, like the sins of the fathers, you know, they were taken into captivity. The children were taken into captivity with them. And even though they had returned, like they they were still like reaping the negative consequences of the sin and sinfulness and the unfaithfulness demonstrated by their fathers. And so that's kind of a sobering uh thing to consider as a father, as a pastor, shepherd, uh, you know, as a man, like to just be thinking about like what I do, you know, has consequences. I think if I follow Jesus, like that's good. Like I can leave a legacy of faith that can impact future generations. But I, yeah, I don't want to lead my kids astray. I don't want to lead anyone astray. Um, I don't want to cause anyone to stumble. Jesus had very strong words to say about causing one of the least of these to stumble, right? It'd be better for him that a millstone be tied around his neck and to be thrown into the depths of the sea. I don't want that to that to happen. That's what sharks, that's a shark's house down there. So anyway, uh yeah, like yeah, they it did not go well for them as a people. And I I I want to leave in the other direction. I I want to be in the right place at in the right place at the same time. We talked about that. Like these people at this time were in the right place, but in the wrong place. Like they were physically in Jerusalem where God had sent them, but their hearts were not in the right place. They were questioning God's goodness, they weren't living in faithfulness to God. And so God tells them, Listen, return to me, and I will return to you. So let's talk about that for a moment. Just the idea of repentance and how beautiful of an opportunity it is. So often we focus on the one side, like you need to stop doing that, like stop sinning, stop, you know, uh experiencing the consequences of sin, but it's two-sided, and we often forget to focus on really what I think is the greater aspect of repentance, is that it's not just turning from something into arbitrary, you know-ness, but to to Jesus, to life, to hope, to be, to the Lord. Like we can come to Him and run, like we have a place to go. We're not just leaving something, we're going to someone, to something. So, really, I think that's a good question or thing to assess in our hearts today, like thinking about their testimony. They were in the right place but the wrong place. Are we in the right place spiritually? Like, is there anything in our lives that are hindering our right relationship with God, our worship of God, our service for God? Like what what sin might be hindering? What do we need to cast aside? Like what distraction in my life needs to be removed so that I can be in a right relationship in the right place spiritually and experience the blessing of that.

Humility With “God Told Me”

SPEAKER_01 14:18

Yeah, I think that's so good. Repentance is key in coming to faith, a salvation, but then it's that life of repentance. Yeah. I think we see throughout the Bible as well, you know, we are justified, and using terms, you know, justified just means we're forgiven of that eternal wrath, but then we're being sanctified. We are in this process of God rooting out, you know, a lot of that darkness sin. And so we have to, as those things are revealed. And I think that's shown in God's wrath. You know, like, yes, we are spared from the eternal wrath, thank God. But as we live here in this time, you know, God's not going to allow his name to be mocked, like you said, as we look at generations. You know, we live in such a generational time. There's boomers and Gen X and millennials and Gen Z and Alpha. So you, you know, you and everybody likes to characterize. And so we're seeing, you know, like these generational things can carry down. And sometimes we rebel against our fathers, sometimes we carry on the sins of our fathers. There's so much of this generational aspect. But God is saying, like, no, focus on me, return to me, repent of those things. A lot of times we get them from our parents, but will we just carry that on, or will we turn and be faithful and learn from their mistakes, right?

SPEAKER_00 15:32

You know, or for others. It doesn't have to be our parents, but just others. I mean, the people around us. Uh let's let's talk about this. So, one of the things that uh Zechariah communicates is that their fathers rejected the warnings. Like God sent prophets to them in the same way he was sending Zechariah to this people at this time. He had sent prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Habakkuk. I mean, we could go on and on, who made very explicit warnings, you know, like, you know, turn to me, I'll show you mercy, I'll forgive you, you know. But they did not, we're told uh specifically in verse four, you know, they did not hear or pay attention to me as I spoke through them. You know, uh, we don't have prophets in the say or in the way that they had prophets. What do we have? You know, like what do we have? Like, because the Lord still speaks today, I would say that there are warnings available to us today. Like, where let's talk about that for a moment. Like, where might we be warned or how might we be warned today?

Generational Consequences And Legacy

SPEAKER_01 16:36

Yeah, I shared my experience. Uh, many might know I was a traffic engineer for a long time, and so dealt with drivers and driver behavior. And if you just drive, I would encourage any of you to drive. Maybe you're listening to this, just take notice of the warning signs on the road. You will be amazed about warnings for speed limits, warning for curves, warning for intersections, warning for signals. And most crashes in my experience, you know, people screwed up, wrecked their car. There was probably a warning sign, or two or three, or ten sometimes along the way. And God's word is no different. You know, like you said, we have God's word, and so much of the Old Testament is really warning us.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

Absolutely. We have God's word, we have the Holy Spirit, you know, that we feel conviction, right, for a reason, like warning, danger, flashing light, you know, like don't go in that direction. But often we can grieve the spirit or quench the spirit, I believe, uh, and instead listen to the flesh that's in opposition to the spirit. We saw that a couple weeks ago in Galatians. Um, we have the Spirit of God. We have brothers and sisters in Christ who I think that we need to submit to accountability. It's a blessing, like, you know, brotherhood and fellowship. And if I see my brother going astray, I have a responsibility to them to warn them. Like, you know, to not just mind my own business. That's not what family does. Like, you know, God loves us, and we're in people's lives for a reason. We need to hold one another accountable. Like, I need accountability, you know. And so, yeah, I might be oblivious to something that you see clear, like, you know, and so we have family, the church, you know, is another opportunity and a blessing by which we can be warned. And so we need to take advantage and pay attention and not be like those who stop their ears, close their eyes, like the Pharisees and the Sadducees did when Jesus was ministering. Like they would not, they refuse to hear. And we do the same today.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

Absolutely, you know, uh, unfortunately, and it doesn't go well, you know, you're usually without not usually you always are, but you're without excuse, you know, like the Bible tells us, like you knew, yeah, and a lot of times our sin, you know, whether it's God's word, which I know is the last point of, you know, if you want to know, you know, like don't, you know, listen to what's faithful about the previous generation. There's always usually some threads, but why we have the Bible? Because it stands the test of time. Right. It's going to be what we can go to, where we get the the warnings and God will work in many ways. But if you need warnings, just read God's word. Like you will be warned if you're not going to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_00 19:16

His word is true. And yeah, the last point here says that, you know, my words and my statutes essentially, you know, they overtake took your father's. Like uh, and that's what happens. I think about that Galatians 7, 6, 7, and 8 passage where it talks about sowing seeds to the flesh and bearing the fruit of corruption. So there's a process with that. Like that's an agricultural illustration to where you know you plant a seed, you don't get the fruit right away. Like it takes time, but that's what happens, right? It's a it's a process. And eventually that seed, that corruption bears fruit, right? And and the people experience the fruit of corruption's not a good thing. And so it takes time. And that's essentially what's saying. Like, you may not experience the consequences of your sin right then and there. And I think that that's kind of the danger because people think, oh man, you know, like I'm good, like I'm doing this thing, and there's no consequences. But eventually, like the consequences will catch up to you. I think about, you know, you play with fire, you will get burned. That's not a that's not a scripture, but that's a truth, a principle. Like eventually, like you're gonna get burned. Um, and so yeah.

Right Place, Wrong Heart

SPEAKER_01 20:31

Don't play with fire. That's right. But even the book of James talks about sin starts in the mind, and we know Jesus up the bar from you know, not just the actions, but what's in your heart and your mind. And that's where sin starts, is you start thinking about it, and you start looking or you start considering. And then because you don't take those thoughts captive, you don't heed the warnings, you know, from God's word, then the opportunity comes and temptation comes along, and you haven't been fighting the good fight all along. And yeah, then we wonder why things happen, and then that plays out over time, unfortunately. So but God's word's where we can go.

SPEAKER_00 21:05

Yeah, but but just to kind of wrap it all up. But it's interesting to get into a new book. Yeah, it's all about being in right relationship. Like return to me, and I'll return to you. This is the message in the New Testament. Draw near to God, he will draw near to you, but cleanse your hands, all you sinners. Like, in other words, get rid of your sin, repent of your sin, and run to Jesus. Like, what get your sins washed away. I think of John 14, 6, where Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes unto the Father except through me. Jesus made a way for us to be in a right relationship with the Father, a holy, righteous God. This is an incredible opportunity. Like, why would we not take advantage of it? Like, let's listen to the invitation, respond to the invitation, not tomorrow, but today. Today's the day of salvation. Tomorrow may not be. Let's take advantage of it and be faithful to the God who has been faithful to us.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Absolutely. Well, Lifehouse family, thanks for joining us. We are super excited for a new year, new book, journeying through. So we would encourage you, you know, examine. Many people may be doing resolutions. You know, where do you need to return to the Lord? Maybe in your disciplines, you know, some sin or things you're dealing with. It's that constant repentance. So examine yourselves. We're here to walk with you. Look forward to journeying through another year, but thanks for taking the time. Pastor, appreciate you joining us for another year. And we will look forward to seeing you right here next week. Thanks for joining us.