In order to attract unbelievers, a number of churches around the country have incorporated secular music into their worship services. Among their favorite tunes is the James Taylor classic “You’ve Got a Friend” which includes these lyrics:
When your down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, whoa nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest nights.
You just call out my name,
And you know wherever I am
I'll come running, oh yeah baby
To see you again.
Winter, spring , summer, or fall,
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You've got a friend.
If the sky above you
Should turn dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind should begin to blow
Keep your head together and call my name out loud
And soon I will be knocking upon your door.
You just call out my name and you know where ever I am
I'll come running to see you again.
It’s not hard to see why this would be such a popular choice. If we take and apply this song to God, then the implication is that if we are down and troubled, all we have to do is to call out God’s name and no matter where we are, He’ll come running to see us again. Unfortunately, there is just enough truth mixed into that philosophy to deceive us into buying into that idea.
It is true that the idea of calling on the name of the Lord is prevalent throughout the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. But perhaps the best overall treatment of that concept is found in the passage that we’ll look at this morning in Zechariah chapter 13. Go ahead and turn there in your Bibles and follow along as I read the entire chapter:
1 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.
2 “And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.
4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’ 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who stands next to me,”
declares the Lord of hosts.
“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land, declares the Lord,
two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one third shall be left alive.
9 And I will put this third into the fire,
and refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
Once again, this is a passage that applies specifically to Israel, which Zechariah refers to here as ‘the house of David”. This chapter continues the prophecy that began in chapter 12, which we examined a couple of weeks ago and which deals with the return of Jesus and the salvation of Israel when they look upon Jesus in faith. But just as we saw then, even though the prophecy deals primarily with Israel, there are principles that we can glean from this passage that we can apply to our lives as well.
In order for us to be able to do that, it is essential that we begin by identifying the key verse, or the “box art” for this passage. Only then will we be able to put the rest of the passage in its proper context. After reading through this passage several times, I’m convinced that we find that the key verse is the last part of verse 9.
Key Verse (v. 9)
They will call upon my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.
But what does it really mean to call on God’s name? Is it as simple as James Taylor’s song would indicate? When we get in trouble, can we just call out God’s name and He’ll come running? Or is there something more involved? Fortunately, our passage provides us with the answer to that question.
HOW TO CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD
This morning, let me share with you four essential aspects of calling on the name of the Lord that are revealed in this passage. To help you remember these four steps, I’m even going to do something that I haven’t done in quite a while and put these four steps in the form of an acronym that spells out the word “C.A.L.L.”
Comprehend God’s plan (v. 1, 7)
As we have seen consistently throughout the Old Testament prophets, the work of gathering, saving and restoring Israel is completely God’s work. You will notice in verse 1 that it is not the people of the house of David that will open the fountain that provides cleansing. Someone else will open the fountain for them. Obviously that person is none other than God Himself. And in this passage, He even reveals how He is going to do that. We find God’s plan described in verse 7:
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who stands next to me,”
declares the Lord of hosts.
“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
Remember that this is God speaking here. So who is the one identified as “my shepherd” here? We can answer that question with the clues we find right here in this verse. This shepherd is also identified here as ‘the man who stands next to me.” The Hebrew word for “man” used here is an uncommon word that means a “mighty man” or a “warrior”. And the phrase “who stands next to me” is from a single Hebrew word that is only used elsewhere in the Scriptures in the book of Leviticus to describe a neighbor, associate or an equal. Obviously that can only be Jesus. He is the only person who could possibly be described as the mighty man who is co-equal with God.
What is even more astonishing here is the fact that it is God who is wielding the sword against Jesus. Although there is a sense in which the Jews or the Romans or even our own sins are responsible for the death of Jesus, ultimately Jesus died on the cross because that was God’s will and desire. The words of the prophet Isaiah certainly confirm that fact:
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him…
Isaiah 53:10 (ESV)
You see, the idea of Jesus coming to earth, putting on a body of flesh, dying on the cross and coming back to life was not just an afterthought by God nor was it Plan B. It was God’s plan from the beginning of time, as Peter confirms for us:
knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you
1 Peter 1:18-20 (ESV)
In other words, God knew before he even created the world that one day He would wield the sword against his very own Son in order to provide a fountain of cleansing for His people. That is even hinted at here in Zechariah 13 in verse 1. Although we don’t see it in our English translations, the idea here is that the fountain has always existed, waiting for God to come along and open it up at the appropriate time.
I’m convinced that Jesus had verse 7 in mind when He spoke to His disciples shortly before his crucifixion with these words:
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep… For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
John 10:14, 15, 17, 18 (ESV)
In reality, no one took Jesus’ life. He, in His deity, actually struck Himself and took away His own life in order to open up the cleansing fountain and make it available to all.
The first step in being able to call on the name of the Lord is to comprehend His plan. That is why, as a nation, Israel has not yet come to the place where they can call on the name of the Lord. It is only when they look upon the one whom they have pierced and respond to Him in faith that they will be able to do that.
It is still true today that not everyone can call on the name of the Lord. Only those who comprehend God’s plan of providing a cleansing fountain through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus, can call on the name of God in the manner that is pictured in the Bible.
Approach God on His terms (v. 2)
In verse 2, God addresses the two recurring sins that continually beset Israel – idols and false prophets. Let’s focus for a moment on the first one – idols – and then we’ll move on to the false prophets in a moment.
Now as soon as I mention idols I know that a lot of you are going to be tempted to tune me out for a while because you don’t think that this topic applies to you. After all I doubt whether any of us here have any wood, stone or plastic images at home that we’re going to go home and bow down to or worship.
And we’ve probably all heard messages about all the things in our lives that we can make into idols – our possessions, our jobs, our status, other people, etc. And it is true that anything else that we place ahead of God in our lives can indeed become an idol and we need to guard against that. But there is an even more subtle type of idolatry that I want to address for a few moments this morning.
As you know, I rarely recommend books other than the Bible itself, but one of the books that would definitely be in my top ten is the book Knowing God by J.I. Packer. Although I don’t necessarily agree with everything that he writes in his book, this is a great tool to use in pursuing a intimate knowledge of God in our lives. In chapter four of that book, which is titled, “The Only True God”, Packer describes this subtle idolatry that I’ve referred to:
How often do we hear this sort of thing: “I like to think of God as the Great Architect (or Mathematician or Artist).” “I don’t think of God as a Judge; I like to think of him simply as a Father.” We know from experience how often remarks of this kind serve as the prelude to a denial of something that the Bible tells us about God. It needs to be said with the greatest possible emphasis that those who hold themselves free to think of God as they like are breaking the second commandment.
In his first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul warned about trying to know God through our own human wisdom:
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
1 Corinthians 1:20, 21 (ESV)
The fact is that it is impossible to know God through our own human wisdom. We are not free to pick and choose which of God’s attributes we like. Whenever we try to relegate God to what we think He is or ought to be, then we are guilty of idolatry.
The nation of Israel will not be ready to call on the name of the Lord until they first are willing to approach God on His terms. And the only way that they can do that is to recognize that God’s fullest revelation of Himself has been given through Jesus:
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Hebrews 1:1, 2 (ESV)
And just like Israel, we won’t be ready to call on the name of the Lord until we also see who God really is through the prism of His Son Jesus.
In his book, Packer goes on to give us a very practical test to know whether or not we are worshipping the one true God on His terms:
Well the test is this. The God of the Bible has spoken in his Son. The light of the knowledge of his glory is given to us in the face of Jesus Christ. Do I look habitually to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ as showing me the final truth about the nature and grace of God? Do I see all purposes of God as centering upon him?
If we have any doubts at all about the necessity of approaching God on His terms as a prerequisite for calling on the name of the Lord, then we need only listen to the words of Jesus Himself:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 7:21 (ESV)
It’s not enough to just call Jesus Lord. Our lives must also give evidence that He is indeed our Lord because we have chosen to approach Him on His terms and to live according to what he has revealed to us about Himself.
Love sound doctrine (vv. 2-6)
This brings us to the second prevalent sin of Israel – false prophecy. God actually deals with this second sin in much more detail here.
We know that in the days prior to the return of Jesus, false prophets will be plentiful. Jesus spoke about that in the Mt. Olivet discourse:
And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray…For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
Matthew 24:11, 24
But when Jesus returns, He is going to remove the false prophets and the spirit of uncleanness that motivates them. But apparently there will still be those who attempt to engage in false prophecy, and they will certainly do that at their own peril. In fact, they will even try to deny that they are spreading false prophecy. They won’t wear the hairy cloak that would identify them as a prophet. They will deny that they are a prophet and instead claim to be a farmer. And when they are confronted about their wounds, which would be consistent with the practices of the pagan prophets who would cut themselves (1 Kings 18:28), they will claim that they somehow got those wounds at their friend’s house. Some kind of friends! And if they are discovered by their parents, their own mom and dad will stab them to death. Obviously, God wants the people to understand the seriousness of false teaching and false prophecy.
But we now live in a culture where sound doctrine has taken a back seat to the desire to just get along. So we hear people say things like “doctrine doesn’t matter, love does.” We see ecumenical movements of all kinds where churches have partnered with a number of other religious groups who do not share even their most basic beliefs. That really shouldn’t catch us by surprise since that is exactly what Paul predicted would happen nearly 2,000 years ago:
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
2 Timothy 4:3, 4 (ESV)
But this passage in Zechariah, as well as the rest of the Bible, points out the importance of sound doctrine. In particular, as Paul encouraged preachers like Timothy and Titus, who would carry on his work, he confirmed the importance of sound doctrine:
Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching [doctrine]. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
1 Timothy 4:16 (ESV)
But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.
Titus 2:1 (ESV)
The ability to teach sound doctrine was also one of the most important qualifications for the elders in each local church:
He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
Titus 1:9 (ESV)
Just as Paul predicted, false teaching is rampant in our culture today and unfortunately has even infiltrated the church. Sometimes in an effort to reach unbelievers Biblical doctrine has been ignored, watered down, or even intentionally altered from the truth. And when the nature of God and His salvation are perverted in that way, the ability to call upon the name of the Lord is lost.
Look for God’s purposes in my trials (vv. 7-9)
At the end of verse 7, we find these words:
“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
As Jesus spent time with His disciples shortly before His crucifixion, He quoted Himself:
Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
Matthew 26:31 (ESV)
And that is exactly what occurred. There were really two phases to that scattering. First, very early on the disciples and the church were scattered due to persecution. But God actually used that scattering to multiply and spread the church. The second phase occurred in 70 AD when the Temple was destroyed and the Jews left Jerusalem and Israel and were scattered among the surrounding nations.
But in addition to that scattering, God also promised to turn His hand against the “little ones.” Given the context, the “little ones’ are almost certainly those followers of Jesus who had been scattered. But what does God mean when He says He will turn His hand against them? Every time that phrase is used elsewhere in the Scriptures, it is a picture of God’s discipline of His own people or judgment against His enemies. And that is exactly what God promises is going to happen at the return of Jesus. He is going to judge His enemies. But He is also going to discipline His own children through a period of tribulation.
During that period of tribulation two-thirds of the people of Israel will perish because they will refuse to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and look to Him in faith. And even the one third who survive are going to go through a period of testing for the purpose of being refined. Those whom God cleanses of sin through the fountain of Jesus are also purified through the fires of affliction.
So if we really want to be able to call upon the name of the Lord, when trials come, we need to quit wasting our time trying to remove ourselves from those trials and instead focus on what God is trying to do in my life through those trials. In the first chapter of the book of James, James is writing about trials and in the midst of that topic, he writes these words:
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
James 1:5 (ESV)
We often take that verse out of context and use it as a general admonition to pray to God for wisdom. That is certainly not a bad thing to do. But in context, what James is encouraging his readers to do is to seek wisdom, and not deliverance, in the midst of their trials.
Although I can’t even begin to list all the possible purposes of God in our trials, here are three that seem to be most prevalent in the Bible:
• To cleanse us
Even as Christ followers we are still human beings with a sin nature. And if we don’t deal with that sin through confession and repentance, God often uses trials in our lives to discipline us and move us to comply with this passage:
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
2 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV)
Let me share a word of caution here. We need to avoid doing what Job’s so-called “friends” did in assuming that the trials in someone else’s life are there as a result of some sin in that person’s life. That certainly wasn’t the case in Job’s life. So while this is something we need to be aware of as a possibility in our own lives, we need to guard against trying to apply it to the lives of others.
• To grow us
If you read the book of Job carefully, you’ll find that was God’s purpose in the trials that he allowed in Job’s life. At the beginning of the book, Job is a religious man who shows no evidence of a personal relationship with God. But after his trials and His encounter with God, there is a whole new level to his spiritual maturity as evidenced by these words:
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you
Job 42:5 (ESV)
Sometimes the trials in our lives are merely there because God wants to use them to help us to grow in our relationship with Him.
• To give glory to God
Peter may have very well had this passage in Zechariah in mind when he wrote these words:
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith – more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:6, 7 (ESV)
Sometimes, trials come to our lives so that when our faith is proved to be genuine God would receive glory from that. We find such an example in John 9:
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
John 9:1-3 (ESV)
If you think about it, that is exactly happened in Jesus’ life as well. He suffered the loss of everything – including His life – so that God might be glorified in His life.
When you’re down and troubled and you need a helping hand and nothing is going right, you do indeed need to call on the name of the Lord. But before you attempt to do that, make sure that you:
Comprehend God’s plan
Approach God on His terms
Love sound doctrine
Look for God’s purposes in my trials
