Are you Serious?
Zechariah 8
January 7, 2024
I’m really excited about this sermon series I’m starting today. I’ve been wrestling with this topic, since I was asked a question a little over a month ago.
The bulletin cover isn’t your typical one, it isn’t colorful, it simply asks the question - - - -
Are you serious?
I don’t know about you, but I say that a lot! I say it when someone isn’t going fast enough on a 2 lane road. I say it when someone does something which I don’t think is overly intelligent. I also shorten it - - - - SERIOUSLY?
The great tennis player John McEnroe made the question famous when he questioned a call at Wimbledon.
VIDEO
That’s a great question to ask . . . ARE YOU SERIOUS? And that’s the basis of this series, and frankly, it’s going to be the basis of the entire year. This may be a 3 week series, but I tend to think it’s going to go on, but lots of different directions, with different themes which all surround the central idea which asks the question . . . . Are you serious?
Now, let me tell you where this is coming from. One day I received a telephone call from Zachary. He’s the deep thinker in the family. Not to take anything away from anyone, but that’s who he is. He works for the Air Force as a Jet Propulsion Engineer, developing new jet engines. (Quick joke about your brain!)
He called me and said “I’ve got a question for you” which is always scary!
His question was this . . . .
Why do we not take seriously the seriousness of God?
I was like . . . Huh? In other words, do we take God’s seriousness, seriously? Because if we were to be really honest, God is in the business of being serious. But it goes way deeper than that.
I thought he was going to ask me something different, I thought it would be why aren’t we serious about God’s joy? Which fits in the realm of this series as well. And is something we will talk about.
So, that’s the question we’re going to wrestle with. It’s a question which is going to drive my decisions as pastor. It’s a conversation we’re going to have tomorrow night at the organizational meeting.
Ultimately, it’s asking the question, and only you can answer it . . . .
Are you serious about God?
So, how does anyone know that, including God?
It means, are you giving God your best while at work?
Are you doing your best as a parent to honor God?
Are you loving your spouse in Christ?
Are you eating healthy is a reflection of your seriousness.
Are you serious about being a child to your parents, let alone a child to the Creator.
NOW, we can get a bit goofy on some of this, but I think you know what I mean. I can give exaggerated examples, called hyperboles, to drive home my points.
But everything we do should be a direct result of our relationship with God.
Does that mean I play pickleball to honor God? Absolutely!
Do I read the Bible and pray and give my money with seriousness? Absolutely!
Do I prepare my heart, spirit, mind and body for worship?
You see, it’s all tied together.
My problem for this series, and I’m being upfront and pretty vulnerable, is where to start. How to craft this series so that it makes sense - - - so that it goes in a cogent order, in a way which is understandable and effective and makes sense.
It seems like everything I read lately, has led me down this track. About the time Zachary asked me this question, I was reading from Zechariah. Zechariah is an OT prophetic book. It’s filled with futuristic, apocalyptic eschatology.
A lot of revelations about the end times. And in that book, God lays out this great chapter of hope for a people who were in exile. I want to base today specifically from Zechariah 8.
1 And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying,
2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath.
3 Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem,
and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain.
4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age.
5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.
6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days,
should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts?
7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country,
8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.” - Zechariah 8
That’s an amazing image! God wants to fill the streets with kids playing, with old folks sitting in the street talking. And I love the question God asked in verse 6 . . . If it’s marvelous in the sight of the people, shouldn’t it be marvelous in God’s sight as well?
So, God is going to save His people from the east country to the west country and everywhere inbetween. There will be no place where God has not left His imprint. So, the people will return from exile and God will be their God and they will live in faithfulness and righteousness.
So, what does that mean for us?
Well, God, the Lord of Hosts, the God of the heavenly armies, tells us in verse 2 - - - -
2 “I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath.”
For almost 70 years, the city of Jerusalem has been a ghost town, the Temple where God’s presence once dwelt was nothing but rubble. The Jews thought God’s presence was forever gone. The dream God had promised was over.
Can you hear the eager anticipation in God’s Words? This is what He longs for, what He can’t wait for. He is passionate about living in and among His people.
God has a great jealousy for His people. Not jealous in a bad way, but God loves us so much, that He wants our undivided, complete attention. He wants us to be so focused on experiencing His power and presence, His grace and love . . . . that we can’t think or want anything other than to be in a relationship with God. That ultimately is supposed to drive us and move us to be serious about God.
That means we cultivate that relationship. It means we do everything to ensure that we are hitting on all cylinders when it comes to God.
I mean, if I’m serious about loving Debbie, then I will do everything in my power to show her I love her. That means, I will seek to know her, to know her likes, dislikes, favorite foods, colors, everything I can so that I can experience her. I seek to serve her as best as I can.
If I don’t take it seriously, then I’m never going to be that close to her. I will never relate to her in a way which demonstrates that I’m really serious about her. So, as a husband I try to do that. I try to do that with Joshua and Zachary.
The more I know them, intimately, the more I can do to serve them, which ultimately honors God. On the same token, the better I know God, the better I can serve God in a way which honors and glorifies Him. I have the opportunity to know what God wants from me, and when I do that, I gain a sense of satisfaction, of worthiness which comes from God.
I don’t always do it well. I mess up, but that’s part of the beauty, because I’ve built up these relationships and because they’ve done that with me, I trust them and they trust me.
Even when we mess up, even when we cop an attitude, it’s really not done with malice, it’s done with ignorance and selfishness, which can be changed . . . . changed as we grow in Christ.
Imagine how encouraging these words were to the Jews working on the Temple. God hasn’t abandoned us! God really loves us! He really does want to live in us and among us!
God is passionate about living in us.
He is passionate about living in your life. God does not want a long-distance relationship with you — He wants to walk and talk with you moment by moment. God wants us to live in the very real awareness of His constant love and fellowship.
I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it this way . . . . but it excites God, I really believe He delights and celebrates our relationship with Him. He wants to live in and among His people. But we must allow Him in. It’s easy to build up walls and keep God out because we want to control each and every situation.
Just as God is passionate about us and living within us through the power of the Holy Spirit, the same question comes back to us . . . are we serious about God living in us?
Frank Laubach, was born in 1884, and was a missionary to the illiterate in the Philippines, teaching them to read so they could know the beauty of the Scriptures. He once wrote:
Can we have that contact with God all the time? All the time awake, fall asleep in His arms, and awaken in His presence? Can we attain that? Can we do His will all the time? Can we think His thoughts all the time? …
Can I bring the Lord back in my mind-flow every few seconds so that God shall always be in my mind? I choose to make the rest of my life an experiment in answering this question.
Laubach took God seriously. So much so, that he tried to make God part of every minute of his waking life.
You see, the point I believe Zechariah is making and one we often miss, is this - - - - God is serious about us. He’s so serious that He sent His Son to die for us. If that’s not serious, then help me to know what is.
So, if God is that serious about us, then will we be serious about Him, or will we diminish the meaning of the death of His Son. (You see, isn’t this fun?)
Zechariah then wrote - - - -
14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath,
15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not.
16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace;
17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”
So, God tells the people, just as I allowed disaster to come upon this land because of your sinfulness, I will now bring you a time of peace, so fear not!
But God tells the people this is what I’m expecting from you. I love that God lays out His expectations for us. We’re not left to wander, ‘hmm, I wonder, what God wants from me?’
We’re really bad at this, aren’t we? We often assume people know what our expectations are, and then we have conflicts because we’ve never articulated them.
But God is clear in His expectations. He’s serious about us, and doesn’t want us to mess up, so He lays it out for us.
He tells us . . . He told the Jews coming back to Jerusalem, if you want peace, if you want prosperity, then you need to get serious about our relationship.
Verses 16-17 is what God expects. It’s straight forward, be obedient to me! That’s it! It’s not much more than that. If you obey me, just as any parent lays down expectations for their kids, if you follow me, if you’re obedient, I will give you peace. You will be prosperous.
BUT - - - you’ve got to be serious about it!! You can’t fake it, you can’t pretend, and think you’re getting away with it.
God is passionate about our obedience because He loves us. Are we passionate about our obedience to Him? Do we obey Him from love, with energy and effort? This is the sure pathway to His blessing. You do this because of your love and faith and trust in God, not so you can earn some reward. And this passage also reminds us
God then tells the people to celebrate . . . .
18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,
19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the 4th month and the fast of the 5th and the fast of the 7th and the fast of the 10th
shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.
I love what’s happening here. The people are supposed to fast in 4 separate months — — and normally when you fast, it’s not necessarily fun. You’re denying yourself something, and that’s not always fun, but God is saying during these fasts, you’re to have seasons of joy and gladness and cheer.
And you’re to experience His love, truth and peace.
You see, joy isn’t optional in the life of a Christian: it is essential. God has no desire to see you and I, miserable. He gets no glory nor satisfaction from our gloom and despair. His plan and passion are all about maximizing our joy in Him
God is turning the tables on the people, as they were in mourning, and now God says there shall now be seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. In other words, their mourning, was turned into joy.
In Psalm 30, David wrote - - - -
11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever! - Psalm 30
Sometimes we suffer, but ultimately, God leads us to a place of joy and celebration.
Many of us have suffered, we’ve struggled, yet, even our attitude in the midst of struggle can show God’s glory. Our attitude is to be the same as that of Jesus, whom the writer of Hebrews said - - - -
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus saw the joy on the other side of the suffering. This kind of joy is NOT plastering a plastic smiley face on your frowns and pretending to be happy — it’s believing that no matter what our afflictions, our feelings, our persecutions, God’s joy is still always present.
On the night when Jesus was about to be crucified, when the disciple’s faith would fail, and their world would collapse, Jesus told them - - - -
11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be complete. - John 15:11
That is so much easier to preach than it is to put into practice. We would rather wallow in self-pity, take a detour to the “down in the dumps” side of town, or just give up. I’m sure the exiles Zechariah spoke to often felt the same way. What they needed to realize is what you and I need to realize:
God is passionate about our joy.
The last thing I want to say is one of the coolest verses at the end of this chapter - - - -
22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord.
People will come to seek God. They will come to seek His favor. Why? Because the people of God, took God seriously. They were obedient and they had His joy.
And when the people come this is what will happen - - - -
23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying,
‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”
Isn’t that a sight! People will grab hold of the believer. In this case, it’s the Jew, but for us today, I’d call it the Christ-follower. People will grab you, because they want what you have. They want the blessing and life you’re living, even in the midst of the struggles, because they see the power and presence of God at work.
But it only happens when you become serious about God. That’s our theme, it’s a daily question for you . . . .
Are you serious about God?
Today is the start and over the next weeks we’re going to continue to see how God calls us to be serious and is serious about us. Hopefully, we’ll get real practical and I can give you some steps to help you draw closer to God.
For now, wrestle with the question . . . . How serious are you about God?
