WEBVTT 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:06.959 Welcome to the MetaCurch Podcast. 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:08.080 My name's Clayton. 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:10.320 I'm the pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:17.920 And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you. 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:20.559 I hope that you enjoy today's message. 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:31.839 Well, I want to thank you so much for coming to service today, wherever you're at, if you're at our Holotus venue or online, I'm so glad that you joined us. 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:34.399 Um, we've got an important message to get to. 00:00:34.479 --> 00:00:36.399 If you're new with us, my name is Clayton. 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:38.719 I'm the lead pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:41.920 I think it is no accident uh that you have joined us today. 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:43.520 I've got a good message for you. 00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:47.200 We are going line by line through the gospel of Luke. 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:51.759 This first section of Luke, we have called the Chosen King. 00:00:52.159 --> 00:01:00.960 And in Zechariah's prophecy that we're gonna look at today, um the kingship of Jesus will really be made explicit and clear. 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:04.799 Now, before we get to that, uh, I want to address a few things. 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:09.599 Number one, um, we are like right next to Kirk County. 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:15.359 Um, you guys have seen in the lobby of both of our venues, we are collecting necessities. 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:18.959 We're working with Mission City Church, another great church here in San Antonio. 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:20.159 We're working together. 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:21.920 They have a distribution channel. 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:23.599 We're bringing in as much as we can. 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:26.319 That will be here until like 2 30 today. 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:30.159 And so if you didn't bring something, you know, go grab some stuff, bring it back. 00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:33.359 Um, you might not know this, but Katie is our missions director. 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:37.120 She also leads our first impression teams, uh, but her heart is really for missions. 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:40.400 And when all of this was happening, the Lord was just working in her. 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:45.920 On Saturday, she reached out to myself and the rest of the leadership team, just saying we really should do something about this. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:48.640 She had done the work, coordinating with Mission City. 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:51.359 Now, I'm just, I just I lead with vulnerability. 00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:52.640 It's the only way I know how to lead. 00:01:52.879 --> 00:02:04.799 We had a concern, and the concern is that today was also scheduled to be the first announcement about another drive that we're doing in two weeks on July 20th. 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:10.240 And that's a school supply drive for the South Texas Alliance for Orphans. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:13.520 Um, it is very, very difficult to be an orphan. 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:15.199 It's very difficult to be in foster care. 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:27.280 Uh, what we try to do is bring in new school supplies so that these kids who are living in difficult situations can show up to the first day of school and really have a sense of dignity and own their own things and have new school supplies. 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:29.680 And this is like this is my job, right? 00:02:29.759 --> 00:02:51.680 This is my job on our staff, is just to remind us that MetaCurch is not a normal church, that we do not have to worry about those kinds of things because we don't do this as a religious exercise, we don't do this to check a box, we are not concerned with meeting together, we meet together in order to move together. 00:02:51.840 --> 00:03:00.560 And so we could have a drive every week, and my belief is you would show up every week and fulfill your mandate to be the hands and feet of Jesus upon the earth. 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:10.879 So we've got a drive happening today, we've got a drive happening for a different purpose on July 20th, and we will continue doing whatever it takes to show people the love of Jesus. 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:12.560 If you agree with that, say amen. 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:13.280 Amen. 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:15.840 Uh, I'm very excited about the message today. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:19.759 Um, I do want you to know, like, my gifting is preaching. 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:25.520 And uh, you know, I don't know exactly how to define that, but basically it means I pace and I sweat and I scream. 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:28.879 Like that's kind of my my method for for getting the word out. 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:43.759 And uh I typically start really digging in to the text that I'm gonna preach on, um, usually like a month, you know, before I'm actually up here preaching and teaching, and so I start digging into it, and I try to just let the text inform, you know, the direction. 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:51.280 And as I was looking at what we're looking at today, um, this is called traditional traditionally the the Benedictus or the Benediction. 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:55.599 This is the prophetic praise of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. 00:03:55.759 --> 00:04:03.199 It became pretty apparent to me that for this passage, uh, instead of preaching it, uh, I really need to teach it. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:07.919 Now, I'm not gonna lie, I've already tried this once and I ended up doing a lot of preaching, right? 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:10.639 Uh, but I'm gonna try to really teach this. 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:25.920 And you're gonna get, honestly, kind of a crash course in the Old Testament and the synthesis of the Old Testament and New Testament that if you lean in and really pay attention, will actually put you ahead of most Christians in the West today. 00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:28.480 And so today, I am not Pastor Clayton today. 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:30.000 I am Professor Clayton. 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:30.720 That's right. 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:38.240 Uh, the guy who just barely graduated college with barely a 2.0 GPA has the audacity to call himself professor today. 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:38.720 You know what? 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:39.439 Let's move on past that. 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:40.800 I'll just be Pastor Clayton. 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:44.399 I am excited though, and uh I want to go through the whole text. 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:49.839 It's quite a few verses, but I want you to see it, and then we are gonna start breaking it down and trying to understand it. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:51.279 We're in Luke chapter one. 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:54.079 Uh we're becoming Bible scholars here at MetaCurch. 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:57.759 So hopefully you have your gospel of Luke where you can take notes and follow along. 00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:04.319 If you're new and you don't have one of the little blue gospel of Luke's that you see floating around in the seats, go to the connect area afterwards. 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:06.879 We will get you your own so you can be a Bible scholar with us. 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:10.079 We're in Luke chapter one, we're starting in verse 67. 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:16.160 It says, Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:22.480 Here's what he said Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and provided redemption for his people. 00:05:22.639 --> 00:05:34.160 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, just as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets in ancient times, salvation from our enemies and from the hand of those who hate us. 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:49.519 He has dealt mercifully with our ancestors and remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant that we, having been rescued from the hand of our enemies, would serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness, in his presence all our days. 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:59.199 And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:08.399 Because of our God's merciful compassion, the dawn from on high will visit us, to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:16.879 It ends like this the child grew up and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel. 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:22.079 Now, typically, when I'm preaching, I kind of go point by point, I'll go through a small passage and then I'll give you a point. 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:25.439 But today I'm not really preaching, I'm teaching, or at least I'm gonna try to. 00:06:25.519 --> 00:06:30.560 And so I want to kind of outline how this whole section works so we can begin breaking it down together. 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:46.720 We've prepared uh a graphic to kind of lay this out for you because what Zechariah uniquely is doing in this prophecy is he is going through the past, and then a couple verses on the present, and then he ends with the future. 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:49.519 It is a chronological proclamation. 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:54.240 He starts in the past, and even the verbs are past tense. 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:59.120 He has raised salvation from our enemies, he has dealt. 00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:02.399 The oath that he swore, past tense. 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:10.639 Then he goes into the present and he finally addresses his son, and you, child, my son, John the Baptist, sitting right here in front of me. 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:17.759 And then at the end, the last two verses, 78 and 79, he starts focusing on the future, even using future tense verse. 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:26.800 And one of the things that stands out right away is that Zechariah, who remember uh him and Elizabeth, his wife, they are very old, they are way past childbearing years. 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:31.439 Even when they were in their childbearing years, they were barren, unable to conceive. 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:34.399 Now God has miraculously given him a son. 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:37.920 He named his son John by writing the name on a tablet. 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:54.879 God loosed his tongue, he can speak for the very first time in nine months, and he immediately breaks out into this prophetic proclamation of praise, and he does not even mention his son for eight full verses. 00:07:55.600 --> 00:08:03.519 He starts not with his son, who will be the messenger, he starts with the Messiah, the chosen king. 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:12.399 The first eight verses are all about Jesus, who is still in Mary's womb for at least three more months. 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:15.680 And this is the template that we have seen over and over again. 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:19.920 Mary's magnificat, her praise started with God. 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:22.800 Zechariah starts with God. 00:08:23.279 --> 00:08:30.959 Ten chapters later, when they ask Jesus how we should pray, the model prayer, he starts with God, our Father, in heaven. 00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:36.559 We ground ourselves in the goodness of God, and you're gonna see Zechariah do that very thing. 00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:39.279 He starts in the past, and he goes to the present, the future. 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:50.720 The other thing you'll notice is that there are eight verses concerning the past, and then there are eight verses of both, only four verses rather, of both present and future. 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:57.759 The past section is twice as long as the other two sections combined, spends a long time focused on the past. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:07.919 Now I want you to realize that Zechariah not only is an older man, but he is a priest, which means he has studied the Jewish scriptures for his entire life. 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:12.720 He knows the Jewish scriptures backwards and forwards. 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:21.840 And that positions him to make an unbelievably compelling case about the goodness of God in this proclamation. 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:32.080 Today we're going to get this crash course on what Zechariah is pinpointing that is really difficult for us to see in our context, but he could not miss it. 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:39.279 Zechariah was pointing out that Jesus was coming as a fulfillment of the covenants. 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:51.600 Now, a covenant is a promise from God to his people, and specifically what we will look at today are the unconditional covenants that God made in the Old Testament. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:56.720 That means a covenant that is irrevocable, it is undeniable, it cannot be changed. 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:01.120 And here's the thing we know about God always keeps his promises. 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:04.720 If God makes a covenant, he does not break that covenant. 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:08.799 We break promises because we are sinful, God is perfect. 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:18.559 We break promises because we are finite, God is infinite, he does not break his promises, and it's worth paying attention to the promises that Zechariah is pointing at. 00:10:18.720 --> 00:10:32.799 So we're getting a little crash course here, digging into the Old Testament and seeing through Zechariah's eyes how good God actually is and what Jesus coming to the earth actually meant for the promises that God had made. 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:34.879 We're gonna look at these covenants. 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:36.799 We're gonna focus on three of them. 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:47.759 If you look back in Luke chapter 1, verse 68, Zechariah says this Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and provided redemption for his people. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:54.399 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. 00:10:54.639 --> 00:11:08.159 Now, we don't use this term, a horn of salvation, but this is a term that is all throughout the Old Testament, and it is pointing to a covenant that God made with King David. 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:09.440 I'll give you one example. 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:18.639 There are many examples in the Old Testament, but in Psalm 132, verse 17, it says, There I will make a horn grow for David. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:20.320 This is God speaking in the Psalms. 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:22.879 There I will make a horn grow for David. 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:25.440 I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one. 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:30.960 Zechariah said that now God is fulfilling this, this thing that was said all throughout the Old Testament. 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:41.759 He's now looking at Jesus in the womb and saying, God has raised up the promised horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:46.559 This is in reference to what is called the Davidic covenant. 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:49.600 If you're taking notes, the Davidic covenant. 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:57.360 This is the covenant between God and David, a king of Israel who is a man after God's own heart. 00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:00.879 We find the Davidic covenant in 2nd Samuel chapter 7. 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:02.399 If you're taking notes, that's an important one. 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:04.639 2 Samuel chapter 7. 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:07.360 This is what the Lord said through the prophet. 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:12.240 The Lord declares to you, the Lord Himself will make a house for you. 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:21.440 When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up after you your descendant who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:24.080 He is the one who will build a house for my name. 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:27.440 And I will establish the throne of his kingdom. 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:28.960 This is a covenant from God. 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:36.559 I will establish the throne of his kingdom, not for a lifetime, not for a century, not for a millennia. 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:40.320 He will sit on the throne forever. 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:42.399 This is a promise. 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:58.559 Now, because of this, the Jewish people were always waiting in anticipation of the chosen king who would come and sit on David's throne forever. 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:06.480 And honestly, some people thought it happened right away because part of the promise is they'll build a house for the Lord. 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:12.320 David's son, Solomon, first generation, builds the temple for the Lord. 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:14.000 And the whispers begin. 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:16.639 Is this the promised one who will sit on the throne forever? 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:19.679 Solomon is the wisest man to ever walk the earth. 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:24.000 However, just because you possess wisdom doesn't mean you always apply wisdom. 00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:31.919 As a matter of fact, Solomon begins to break the word of the Lord by marrying into women who believed in pagan false gods. 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:34.720 And he didn't marry by the tens or the twenties. 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:38.320 Solomon married these women by the hundreds. 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:45.360 And scripture says that the wives of Solomon turned his heart away from the Lord. 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:51.919 You see, the temple that Solomon built was eventually destroyed because of the rebellion of the people against God. 00:13:52.080 --> 00:14:02.639 By the time Jesus and John the Baptist came to earth, it's called Second Temple Judaism because they had built a second temple after the Babylonians released them from captivity. 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:06.960 You may not know this, but the second temple, the second temple is now built. 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:08.799 Everyone's wondering, is this now the king gonna come? 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:09.679 Is the Messiah gonna come? 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:10.559 Is this gonna be the one? 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:12.159 Every new king, is this gonna be the one? 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:13.120 Is this the promised one? 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:15.360 Is this the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant? 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:17.759 That temple no longer stands. 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:28.240 About 35 years after Jesus ascended back to heaven, Titus, the emperor of Rome, came into Jerusalem and tore that second temple down to its foundation. 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:39.519 The Davidic covenant has not yet been fulfilled, and yet Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesies that Jesus, still in the womb, about to come to earth, Yahweh. 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:43.600 Remember, we said last week we were talking about names, what's in a name? 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:47.360 Zechariah's name means Yahweh remembers. 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:50.399 The one true God remembers. 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:54.000 Zechariah is going, God has not forgotten us. 00:14:54.240 --> 00:15:02.159 He has not forgotten his covenant, and the chosen king is finally on his way, the one who will sit on the throne forever and ever. 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:03.360 It's very interesting. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:13.120 We know for a fact that Zechariah is not talking about his son, he's talking about Jesus because he says it's a horn of salvation for the house of David. 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:15.279 That is the tribe of Judah. 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:17.279 We've seen this all series long. 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:20.720 Zechariah and John are from the tribe of Levi. 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:30.799 He's not talking about John, he's talking about Jesus, and Jesus would come as the fulfillment to bring to fruition the covenant between God and David. 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:34.320 Now, the other two covenants we're gonna look at were not made to David. 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:38.320 They were chronologically actually made before David, long before David. 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:41.200 These were covenants made to Abraham. 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:46.159 Now, if you don't know who Abraham is, I'll give you a brief history. 00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:51.600 When God created the world, uh his worldwide plan was for all people in all places. 00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:57.679 But the heart of man is rebellious, and because God is love, he created out of love, God creates out of his nature. 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:00.879 Love requires freedom, so he made us with a free will. 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:09.519 In our free will, we constantly and cyclically rebel against God, bringing brokenness, death, and sin into the world. 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:17.279 And so eventually the heart of man became so evil and so opposed to the Lord that God said, I will choose one nation for myself. 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:21.679 All of the other nations have rebelled and disinherited themselves from God. 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:23.200 God said, I will choose one man. 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:25.519 Out of one man, I will make a great nation. 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:29.759 And out of that one nation, someday, the Savior of the world will come. 00:16:29.919 --> 00:16:36.000 And to that one man, Abraham, he made covenants that were unconditional. 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:37.360 Let's go back to Luke. 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:43.759 Zechariah says, in verse 68, Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and provided redemption for his people. 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:51.120 He's raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, just as he spoke through the mouth of the holy prophets in ancient times. 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:54.720 Salvation from our enemies and from the hands of those who hate us. 00:16:54.879 --> 00:16:56.240 Now we move on to Abraham. 00:16:56.480 --> 00:17:17.519 Verse 72, he has dealt mercifully with our ancestors, ancestors, and remembered his holy, say it with me, covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant that we, having been rescued from the hand of our enemies, would serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness in his presence all of our days. 00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:30.319 When he found him, his name was Abram. 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:33.839 We believe he was around 70 years old. 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:38.799 He was kind of doing the ancient version of still living in your parents' basement, you know. 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:40.880 His parents were extremely wealthy. 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:43.039 He lived a cushy lifestyle. 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:49.440 He was like a very well-taken care of, no need for ambition. 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:53.200 Mommy and daddy will pay my bills, kind of like that had been his life. 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:58.319 And God's like, I've got better plans, but it's gonna require an extreme act of faith. 00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:13.440 And so God comes to Abram in Genesis chapter 12, and he says, Go from your land, your relatives, and your father's house, in other words, leave everything that you know to the land that I will show you, and I will make you into a great nation. 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:17.440 I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:27.039 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:47.519 So God not only promises Abraham this incredible lineage, but the end goal of that great lineage is that someday God would open back up the door to all nations, all people in all places, an offer of salvation and a role in God's plan for the universe. 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:49.039 And that is fulfilled. 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:50.640 Zechariah can see it. 00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:53.200 That is fulfilled in Jesus. 00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:57.359 God makes this promise to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. 00:18:57.599 --> 00:19:04.079 Three chapters later, God shows up to Abraham in what's called a theophany. 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:08.559 This is like God showing himself on the earth. 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:14.079 And he comes and he sets up the process of covenant in the ancient times. 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:15.200 Now we don't have this. 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:18.000 Uh we don't make covenants, we make contracts. 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:28.000 And if you and I are gonna make a contract, you call your lawyer, I call my lawyer, we hammer out a negotiation, and then we sign, and then we both hold up our ends or we sue each other. 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:29.759 You know, like that's how it works today. 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:31.839 That is not how it worked in the ancient world. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:37.440 In the ancient world, to sign a covenant, you went through what was actually a brutal process. 00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:41.920 If you are like a card-carrying member of PETA, you may want to distract yourself for a second. 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:51.920 What they would do is they would take a series of animals, they would dig a trench, they would sacrifice the animals, and then cut the animals in half. 00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:58.480 They would lay the animals on either side of the trench and allow the blood to flow into that trench. 00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:07.359 As a sign of the covenant, you would come together, you would hold hands, and then together you would walk through the blood. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:14.640 And as you both walked through the blood, you were entering a covenant that says, If I do my part, you will do your part. 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:20.160 And if you do your part, I will do my part, and the covenant is now sealed by blood. 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:22.160 That's how it worked in the ancient world. 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:25.279 Here's what happens in Genesis 15. 00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:26.559 This is very important. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:35.200 As all the preparations are made, the trench is dug, the animals are slaughtered, the blood has filled the trench. 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:40.319 It says that Abraham is put into a state of a trance. 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:46.319 He can see what's going on, but he cannot move and he cannot speak. 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:50.240 And scripture says terror falls on Abraham. 00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:50.799 Why? 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:52.240 Why is he terrified? 00:20:52.640 --> 00:21:00.960 He's terrified because if he cannot move and he cannot speak, he cannot walk through the blood, which means he cannot enact the covenant. 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:05.039 All of these great promises that God has offered. 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:08.160 And then something miraculous happens. 00:21:08.640 --> 00:21:21.200 As Abraham watches, unable to participate, the theophany, the earthly visible rendering of God, walks through the blood alone. 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:24.799 Here's what this meant in the ancient world. 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:32.160 If you walked through the blood alone, it means the covenant now has no conditions. 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:36.559 This isn't an I will if you will. 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:40.960 This is now an I will no matter what. 00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:45.119 It is an unconditional covenant. 00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:52.079 Now we know the covenant of lineage, but here's also what God promised to Abraham towards the end of Genesis 15. 00:21:52.319 --> 00:22:07.039 On that day, the Lord made a say it with me, covenant with Abram, saying, I give this land, this land, To your offspring, from the brook of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River. 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:16.319 Here's where we're going to stick our toes in controversial waters today because this is where scripture has brought us. 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:24.799 God promised Abraham the land from the river to the sea. 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:30.319 We're gonna talk about what that actually means in the modern-day conflict for Israel in a little while. 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:31.440 Let's break this down. 00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:36.559 The three major covenants we're looking at today, number one, lineage, Abraham will become a great nation. 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:39.119 Number two, it is a covenant of land. 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:43.039 The nation will inherit the promised land of Canaan. 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:46.160 And number three, the covenant of legacy. 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:54.559 This is a promise that a Davidic heir, an heir of David, will sit on his throne eternally. 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:59.039 Zechariah's name means God remembers. 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:01.119 Yahweh remembers. 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:09.359 Zechariah in the first century is proclaiming that these ancient covenants, thousands of years in the making, have not been forgotten. 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:15.759 As a matter of fact, they are taking their first step of fulfillment in the coming of Jesus. 00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:23.920 We're gonna put our graphic uh back up because Zechariah wasn't just concerned with the past. 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:27.200 He also looked at the present and he moved on to the future. 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:32.400 And this really matters because you only ever live in the present. 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:37.839 And the difficulties that you face in life, they are present difficulties. 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:55.119 The pain, the suffering, the disappointment, the addictions, the confusion, the anger, the broken relationships, the stress, the career that won't work out, the weight you can't lose, the body image issues you have, all of that, that's present pain. 00:23:55.920 --> 00:23:59.039 But Zechariah is not just giving us a template for the present. 00:23:59.119 --> 00:24:02.319 He's going past, then present, then future. 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:10.240 And there is a powerful truth in here for how we exist in the present and live out our God-given purpose. 00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:11.920 Let's look at what he says about the present. 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:21.119 In Luke 1, 76, he finally, after praising God for bringing the Messiah, the chosen king, he turns his attention to his son John. 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:37.359 Verse 76 And you, child, my son John, you will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. 00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:43.359 All the way back in week one of Chosen King, we learned this incredible truth. 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:56.240 When you look at John the Baptist, part of what we see as the church, the movement of Jesus, is we see in John the embodiment of our calling as the church. 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:58.160 What does Zechariah say? 00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:07.680 You, my child, you will go before the Lord and you will make people aware the knowledge of salvation. 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:09.839 We call that the gospel. 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:11.599 That is our job. 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:13.279 Gospel proclamation. 00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:20.480 If you're a believer in Jesus, your job on the earth is gospel proclamation, knowledge of salvation. 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:34.240 Letting the world know you are looking for salvation in the things of this world, you are looking for significance in the things of this world, you're trying to find security in the things of this world, and it only leaves you more disappointed, more empty, more dissatisfied. 00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:37.039 You're looking for salvation in the wrong places. 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:44.240 Salvation comes through Jesus and Jesus Christ alone through the forgiveness of your sins. 00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:46.720 John's role is our role. 00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:48.319 That is our job. 00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:57.599 And what happened in the life of Jesus is that he lived in perfection, he died and paid the price for everything that separates us from God. 00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:03.839 He walked out of his own grave, and in that moment, Satan was defeated. 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:12.079 In that moment, Satan was, if you were gonna clap about something today, it would be this Satan was defeated. 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:21.599 Uh the last five days I've been at camp preaching to 800, 6th through 12th graders. 00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:25.200 Uh, this room smells much better than the room I've been preaching in. 00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:28.319 And uh man, I'm so proud of our youth. 00:26:28.480 --> 00:26:31.839 Uh, meta youth was there, had a bunch of kids and sponsors out there. 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:47.680 Uh, I mean, I just spent seven sermons just begging them uh to get a bigger vision for their life, to understand that God has given them a grand purpose to join with him and building his kingdom by gospel proclamation, following the role of John the Baptist and letting people know. 00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:50.880 I let them know uh Satan's already defeated. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:54.640 Which means Satan cannot defeat you. 00:26:54.799 --> 00:27:01.839 If you've put your faith in Jesus, Satan cannot defeat you, but he will settle to derail you. 00:27:03.920 --> 00:27:06.960 And so if he can't defeat you, he'll distract you. 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:35.920 And all he really has to do is make sure that you're so obsessed with the current culture, make sure that you are so saddened by the state of the world, make sure that you are so arrogant in your own knowledge and gifting, make sure that you are so competitive with people you're in relationship with, just make sure you are so addicted to the screens in front of us, just distract you enough so that you don't live out your purpose. 00:27:37.039 --> 00:27:46.000 Make sure there's enough pain in your life, make sure there's enough pressure in your life, make sure there's enough stress, anxiety, and depression in your life. 00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:50.160 He cannot defeat you, so he will settle to derail you. 00:27:50.400 --> 00:27:59.119 You already belong to God, but if he can keep you from bringing a hundred more people to the kingdom in your lifetime, then he'll call it a win. 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:05.839 Satan's already defeated, and so he has no say over your future. 00:28:06.160 --> 00:28:15.759 He has already lost as God has redeemed your past, so he's gonna sit in your present and be such a pain that you do not focus on your purpose. 00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:19.279 And so Zechariah is bringing it all together. 00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:26.720 He's looking at John, eight days old, going, You, my son, you've got a grand purpose. 00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:30.559 God has something on your life. 00:28:31.039 --> 00:28:33.359 I feel like that with my kids, you know. 00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:42.640 I look at them, I'm like, if my kids could see themselves just the way I see them, much less the way God sees them. 00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:44.720 God sees all of it, all of their purpose. 00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:46.079 I'm gonna be honest. 00:28:46.960 --> 00:28:51.359 It's how I feel when I stand up to preach for you guys. 00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:54.480 I just know. 00:28:55.359 --> 00:28:59.759 I know it, I know it like I know I'm breathing oxygen right now. 00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:02.880 That God's placed a purpose on your life. 00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:07.119 And it's grander than you could possibly imagine. 00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:17.359 And we allow a defeated enemy to distract and derail us away from the life of purpose and power and impact that we could be living. 00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:26.079 And so Zechariah is like, look, we're gonna look back because God has been moving and answering prayers, and God always keeps his promises. 00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:32.400 And we're gonna look right where we're at and remind ourselves of our purpose, and then we're gonna look to the future. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:44.880 Verse 78, he says, Because of our God's merciful compassion, the dawn from on high will visit us to shine on those who live in darkness in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. 00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:52.079 All of this matters because the coming of Jesus proved that God had not forgotten his covenants. 00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:59.279 However, even now, today, 2025, the covenants are not fully fulfilled. 00:30:00.880 --> 00:30:11.359 Zechariah was not just looking forward to the earthly ministry of Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophetically, he was looking forward to an eternal kingdom. 00:30:11.519 --> 00:30:25.359 And we say this all the time at MetaCurch, but if you are going to execute on the life that God has given you to live, you must develop what we call a pilgrim's perspective where you keep your eyes on Jesus and his kingdom and constantly realize this world is just not your home. 00:30:25.839 --> 00:30:28.000 This world just does not have the final say. 00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:32.240 I told the students this week, I said, Middle schoolers, I need you to know this. 00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:33.920 Middle school's not the end. 00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:38.000 High schoolers, you need to know this, high school is not the end. 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:46.640 I I told the high schoolers, I said, you know, you're like in 10th grade now, and and you look back, your mom pulls up a time hop of you from eighth grade, and you're like, yikes, bro. 00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:49.359 I thought, I thought I was so cool in middle school, you know? 00:30:49.519 --> 00:30:53.119 And you look back now and you're like, bro, I didn't know anything, you know. 00:30:53.359 --> 00:31:01.440 But what you can't see is now you're a 10th grader, and at 21 years old, you're gonna look back at this picture and you're gonna go, yikes. 00:31:01.759 --> 00:31:03.279 Man, I really thought I had it going on. 00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:04.880 I thought I was cool, I thought I knew everything. 00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:06.559 I didn't know anything. 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:18.799 Here's the reality when we don't live with a pilgrim's perspective, we miss the fact that we're 45 and we think we have it figured out, and we're gonna stand in eternity someday and look back and say, yikes. 00:31:20.640 --> 00:31:23.119 I couldn't see what life was actually about. 00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:28.240 And so Zechariah points us to a future reality. 00:31:28.640 --> 00:31:32.240 You need to know this because here at MetaCurch, we're becoming Bible scholars. 00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:38.240 There's a theological idea, and it's not just ethereal, it's practical. 00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:39.359 We live it right now. 00:31:39.519 --> 00:31:43.119 It's called now and not yet. 00:31:43.599 --> 00:31:45.680 Now and not yet. 00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:54.319 You, if you've put your faith in Jesus, you are saved right now, and you still live in a broken, sinful world where you suffer all the time. 00:31:54.480 --> 00:31:58.960 You're saved now, and someday you'll be in the presence of God, and so you'll be saved fully. 00:31:59.119 --> 00:32:01.680 You're saved now and not yet. 00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:13.119 When you put your faith in Jesus, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit, which means you are glorified right now, and also you will receive your full glory on the other side of this life now and not yet. 00:32:14.079 --> 00:32:25.119 You see, Jesus coming to earth, it was the beginning of the fulfillment of the covenants of the Old Testament right now and not yet. 00:32:26.559 --> 00:32:33.279 In Acts, Jesus gathered his followers on the Mount of Olives and he ascended back to heaven. 00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:43.119 And the angels came and instructed his followers and said, In the same way that he left, one day he will return. 00:32:43.839 --> 00:32:48.960 In Jeremiah, in the Old Testament, he prophesies that when the chosen king comes, he will land. 00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:51.680 This isn't a metaphor, this isn't an allegory. 00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:57.200 It says he will literally land on the Mount of Olives. 00:32:58.319 --> 00:33:01.759 He will literally bring the kingdom of God to earth. 00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:05.359 He will literally sit on the throne of David. 00:33:07.359 --> 00:33:17.680 The lineage and the land and the legacy are covenants from God without condition, and God doesn't break his covenants. 00:33:19.119 --> 00:33:23.920 And so we look at modern Israel and we don't know how to think about it. 00:33:24.160 --> 00:33:27.440 And there is a lot of controversy around it right now. 00:33:27.680 --> 00:33:31.119 The Palestinians, they want from the river to the sea. 00:33:31.279 --> 00:33:33.519 Many of them make that explicitly clear. 00:33:33.759 --> 00:33:36.799 Many Israelis also want from the river to the sea. 00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:51.279 You may not know this, but in the Bible, 3,500 years ago, this was written down that God promised that land to Abraham's descendants through Isaac, the true Jewish people. 00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:53.279 You may not know this. 00:33:53.759 --> 00:34:07.039 700 years after Christ, in the Quran, the Islamic holy book, it says that Allah promised that same land to Abraham through Ishmael, the Arab people. 00:34:08.480 --> 00:34:12.639 Both sides believing that their God promised them that land. 00:34:12.719 --> 00:34:14.639 This is bigger than politics. 00:34:16.800 --> 00:34:24.159 It's a very controversial subject, and some people wonder, can we criticize the current state of Israel? 00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:28.880 And if they're doing something, and on a political level, you have a criticism, you're welcome to make it. 00:34:29.119 --> 00:34:38.400 At the same time, scripture makes very clear that God chose the Jewish people, he made covenants to them, and you do need to know this: God always keeps his covenants. 00:34:38.800 --> 00:34:41.119 The church did not replace Israel. 00:34:41.280 --> 00:34:44.559 If you don't believe me, read Romans 11 in your free time. 00:34:44.719 --> 00:34:46.559 It could not be more clear. 00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:53.840 Romans 11 ends by saying, Hey, you church full of non-Jewish people, you're not Israel. 00:34:54.079 --> 00:34:56.159 That's how Romans 11 ends. 00:34:56.400 --> 00:34:58.079 It's not up for debate. 00:34:58.400 --> 00:35:01.920 The covenants made to Israel will come to pass. 00:35:02.159 --> 00:35:03.440 There are all kinds of debates. 00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:06.800 People debate who the true ethnic Jewish people are. 00:35:07.039 --> 00:35:08.800 Ethnic tracing is difficult. 00:35:08.960 --> 00:35:10.480 I'll tell you where I land. 00:35:11.280 --> 00:35:12.559 God knows. 00:35:12.880 --> 00:35:14.639 And that's good enough for me. 00:35:15.199 --> 00:35:24.880 And the modern state of Israel has gone through all kinds of different cycles and controversial situations around the land in the Middle East. 00:35:25.840 --> 00:35:29.280 Even the ancient nation of Israel. 00:35:29.760 --> 00:35:31.440 It would live under God's blessing. 00:35:31.599 --> 00:35:32.960 They would rebel against God. 00:35:33.119 --> 00:35:35.039 They were taken captive by the Assyrians. 00:35:35.199 --> 00:35:37.280 They were taken captive by the Babylonians. 00:35:37.440 --> 00:35:40.159 They were taken captive by the Romans. 00:35:40.400 --> 00:35:42.880 They have had their temple destroyed two different times. 00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:46.400 Even today, the temple does not stand, but one day one is coming. 00:35:46.960 --> 00:35:48.559 And Jesus will return. 00:35:48.800 --> 00:35:54.320 And the promise is that land belongs to him and he will take it. 00:35:54.559 --> 00:35:56.960 If you're uncomfortable with that, I understand. 00:35:57.119 --> 00:36:02.800 But what we do as followers of King Jesus is we don't try to make scripture fit our politics. 00:36:03.039 --> 00:36:05.360 We try to submit ourselves to scripture. 00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:07.519 Jesus will come and rebuild a temple. 00:36:09.039 --> 00:36:17.440 What scripture says is Jesus will come and he will take the land that God promised to his people, and that he will sit on the throne of King David forever. 00:36:17.679 --> 00:36:18.880 That's coming. 00:36:20.480 --> 00:36:33.760 And I say all of that because it's such a visceral in our culture right now, it is such a visceral understanding of now and not yet. 00:36:34.960 --> 00:36:37.920 Now there's just all kinds of controversy. 00:36:38.639 --> 00:36:41.599 And it is confusing and it is very complex. 00:36:41.679 --> 00:36:44.000 And you can make arguments on both sides. 00:36:44.880 --> 00:36:49.679 But we understand now through the lens of not yet. 00:36:49.840 --> 00:36:53.360 What does this mean for us and what actually matters for us as the church? 00:36:53.519 --> 00:36:55.440 What matters for us is we have a role to play. 00:36:55.519 --> 00:36:56.960