THE MESSAGE OF ZECHARIAH
Number 22
JOY IN THE LORD
Zechariah 8:18-19
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IN the last sermon we discussed together the nature of the good that God determined to do, and saw that this looked forward to the Gospel and the good that God has done and still does for his people through faith in Christ. In Christ God deals with us in grace, mercy and love, and knowing we are helpless to contribute anything to our salvation, and that none of our good works come up to his holy requirements, he has provided in Christ all that is necessary to meet his holy demands and restore us sinners to fellowship with himself, and to keep us in that fellowship. From this good God tells us we do not need to be afraid any more because Christ has purged our sins, and so God accounts us righteous in his sight for Christ's sake.

In these two verses before us for this sermon we are brought to the knowledge of the result of this good God has done for us in Christ, which is healing of soul so that we have joy and gladness of heart, and which is also finding healing from the hurts of the soul. These days there is a great concern for pastoral care, and various ministries for caring and healing are used, and the service of Holy Communion or the Eucharist, as it is more commonly called today, is used as a vehicle of such soul healing. This care for the pastoral needs is really good, but the seeking for healing from the hurt of the soul is turning to means rather than where true healing is to be found. Sickness of soul is revealed by a troubled spirit, and sadness of mind, and fear. Healing of the ills of our soul are found in Christ and in faith is Christ. True faith in Christ and so healing of the soul, and its ills, comes by knowledge of the truth. This is made clear by the apostle Paul in Romans 10:14ff where he says: "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? The emphasis seems to be today on healing ministry by means, not by expounding the truth from the Word of God. People are called to take part in some service or Eucharist or some ministry of prayer or laying on of hands, and then in an almost magical way divine healing is said to come. I am not in a position to doubt the results that are claimed, but I do have deep fears concerning this approach. I remember reading concerning the Revd Romaine, a preacher in London around 250 years ago, that when he was criticised for not giving time to deal with peoples problems in a one to one basis, and engage in pastoral healing, that his reply was that if they came to hear him preach they would hear all they needed for the healing of their soul, which truth they could receive by faith. It is my experience that it is by knowledge of the truth and the application of the truth understood by faith that the soul finds real and enduring healing, because it is based on trust in the greatness of Christ's work for us which the flaming arrows of the evil one can not penetrate. The armour of God for the soul which Paul speaks of in Ephesians 6:10ff is the application of the great saving truths in Christ.

It is my experience since I retired, and it may have been true before this because being active in my own church I was not in the position to hear sermons in other churches, is that in the multiplicity of excellent sermons I have heard, there has been a singular lack of sermons which expound the great work of Christ for us, and what this means for the health and security and joy of our souls. Indeed there seems to be little preaching on the great themes which we find occupied Paul in his epistles, specially Romans, Galatians and Ephesians. If this is the pattern more widely over Great Britain then it is not surprising that there is so much sickness of soul in the people of God, for they have not received the true balm for their souls.

What these two verses before us point us to is that when the good which God determined to do for us in Christ is truly made known, received and understood, then it removes the sadness and depression of soul, and is the answer to the many spiritual problems which afflict the people of God, and brings last healing. By the good God has done for us in Christ I do not simply mean what is often called the ABC of the Gospel, but the exposition of the greatness of the work God has done through Christ, and what it means in the life of the believer. Sermons on Justification, New Birth, Christ our righteousness, sanctification and redemption, what it means to die and rise with Christ, etc. and much more it is my experience are hardly heard in preaching today.

BACKGROUND.

These verses in their immediate application address the question the Jews, who had returned from exile, had asked Zechariah in chapter 7:2. During the exile in Babylon the faithful Jews mourned over their sad condition, and felt the absence of God from them in blessing. They acknowledged their sins, and no doubt felt many if not most of the spiritual ills which we hear of in the church today. In their need they turned to God in fasting. No doubt in this fasting, which had increased to being carried out in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth month of the year, they mourned over their sins before God and the sins of the nation and cried to God for his mercy. None of these fasts were ordained by God in the law of Moses. There was only one fast which was mentioned in the law of Moses and this was not mandatory. The fasting seems to have grown up from a troubled heart which sought to be humble before the Lord and show true sorrow for sin in this way, and no doubt by the supposed merit of fasting, gain the favour of God again. They asked whether they should continue this spiritual exercise, and the answer is no. This was not necessary in the context of the good that God was determined to do for them. Rather they should use these times of fasting instead as times of celebration and joy, for this good God determined to do brought healing to their souls, and brought them into fellowship with God and into the joy of the life God created us to enjoy.

JOY IN THE LORD.

We have already seen that the good God speaks of that he will do is pointing to the Gospel in Christ. So what we learn here is that the good news in Jesus Christ brings joy in the Lord, and that health of soul which is God's purpose in creation. So if we want health of soul, and the ability to grow in health and strength in the soul, it will be found in the Gospel.

The Gospel is a source of true joy that should always be expressed. It is the occupation of the saints in heaven that they praise and give thanks to God on the the throne and to the Lamb, Christ Jesus, who reigns on the throne. It is Christ, and all he has done for us and is to us, that is the source of joy and delight, and it is his work for us and faith in that work, that sustains us in joy. We have joy in the Lord.

When the the disciples were sad and depressed because they had the premonition of the fact that Jesus was going to leave them, the remedy for this sorrow of heart which Jesus pressed upon them was to believe on him and believe even more strongly on him. Jesus says to them - "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God (or you trust in God), trust also in me." Jesus points people to himself as the answer to the various ills and troubles of the mind and heart. If we are suffering from trouble of mind or heart then the place to find healing is in Jesus, in going to him, and in placing ourselves by faith into his care. Healing is found in spending time in the presence of Jesus, and doing what Mary, the sister of Lazaras did, which was to sit at Jesus' feet and listen to him in all that he is in his Saviourhood.  It is no surprise therefore that, when we read on from the opening of chapter 14 of John, we find Christ in chapters 14 to 17 speaking of himself and teaching the disciples of what he will be for them and to them. He tells them to believe in him, and then tells them what that means and what they are to believe.

When the disciples were cast down over the death of Jesus and the loss that this meant to them, and were commiserating together as they journeyed back to their village, Emmaus, when Jesus drew near and walked with them, what was the remedy he applied to their sickness of heart. It was the remedy of all that he was to them and for them. Jesus said to them, '"How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory". And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.'

It is plain from the words of Jesus here that if these disciples had really searched the Scriptures and taken to heart all that they said about the Christ, and believed it, then they would not have been so sad and troubled in Spirit. The answer which Jesus gave to their sickness of soul, was not to place his hands on them, or conduct some ceremony, but he preached to them the truths revealed about him in the Old Testament.

We will only be strong in the Lord and the power of his might if we put on all the armour of God, which is the truths concerning Christ understood and believed. What is needed for lasting spiritual health, and joy, is not so much ministry in the use of means, but in more and consistent preaching of Christ and all that the Bible reveals of what God has done for us in Christ. To this end it behoves all Christian minister and presbyters to sit at Jesus' feet in his Word, and have their minds filled with the knowledge of the truth, and their souls blessed with the application of this soul medicine, which is Jesus and him crucified.

From this we can see that the the good God has done for us in Christ is the subject of praise, which is an expression of the joy this good received by faith brings to the soul. For myself when I am depressed and troubled in soul, the way I seek to deal with this is to seek the Lord in his Word. I am never more filled with peace and joy in my heart and soul than when Christ is made known to me in his word and by his Spirit. It is a constant joy to me that I have this privilege in my retirement to dwell in the Scriptures, and I am lifted up heavenward when in the writing of a sermon I find the Lord opening my heart to his truth, and healing my soul sickness by this means. I have to confess that I am one of the people who suffer from large swings of mood and can be rejoicing at 9 a.m. and down in the dumps at 10 a.m. However when I dwell with Christ in his word then my soul is at rest and his peace and joy fill my heart. The Eucharist was given to us by Christ as a remembrance of him, and specifically, by the very acts which Christ gave us to do in the Holy Communion, as a remembrance of his death for us. The healing which the Holy Communion service brings is as we are enabled to lay hold of the benefits and blessings won for us in the cross and apply them to our souls. I believe we do not need some special Eucharist for this, but as we come to the Lord's Table Sunday by Sunday seeking the Lord's healing, Christ present at the giving of the bread and wine brings to our souls that truth concerning himself that is particularly relevant to our present need. It is because the preaching of Christ is so lacking in the church today that when people come to Communion there is not the knowledge and understanding which the Spirit of Christ can apply to the soul. In heaven what fills the hearts of the saints is the wonder of the Lamb who was slain for them, and their joy is full and expressed in glorious praise "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open the seals, because you were slain and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." (Revelation 5:9,10). And again "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise." (Revelation 5:12). Notice that it is the Lamb that is slain, Jesus crucified, which is the core of this praise. (The scrolls represent all God's purposes of salvation for sinners, of which Christ is worthy now to break the seals, so that this salvation may be made known and poured out on sinners by Christ because he has won this salvation for us).

LOVING TRUTH AND PEACE.

Having invited his people to celebrate in joy and praise the good he has determined to do in Christ, God, through Zechariah, exhorts us to love truth and peace. This is nothing less than an exhortation to love the truth of the Gospel revealed to us in the Bible and love the peace of soul, healing of soul, that it brings. It is the direction that true soul health, and joy, are found in the knowledge of the truth and the application of this truth to our lives, to our hearts and minds, as the Spirit opens our understanding and gives us the grace to believe it and rest our souls upon it

Every time we come to church we have every right to expect that not only in the conduct of the worship, but much more in the preaching of the good that God has done for us in Christ, we receive this ministry of healing. Every one called and ordained of God to be presbyter and minster and having charge of a church should make it their chief concern that they have applied the soul healing of the truth in Christ to their own souls, and come with the depth of this soul healing to teach the people they have been sent to minister to. 

Let us take this to heart for our own souls health and joy, and let us pray and work to the end that this true remedy for the soul sickness may return to the church, as those ordained to minister may become those who know this healing deeply in the knowledge of Christ, and in such knowledge preach Christ in all his saving riches to God's people.