Teacher: Pastor Chet Lowe

Main Scriptures: Haggai 2, Zechariah 7, Mark 12

Date of Teaching: December 8, 2022

• Review
  • God used the prophet Haggai to challenge those who returned to build the temple
    • They delayed 16 years, and God withheld His blessing because they withheld their service
  • God gave night visions to Zechariah to encourage them
• Zechariah 7
  • This vision occurred two years after the first set
    • They’re halfway to finishing the building of the temple at this point (Ezra 6:15)
    • The people are discouraged and surrounded by enemies but they continue to build (Haggai 2:18)
  • The people went to God to find favor with Him
    • They (not God) had added two fasts to their traditional fasts during their 70 years of captivity. They did this to save face as “spiritual” people while in captivity in Babylon
      • Their real question is “Can’t You see we’re still fasting?! When are You going to act?!” They feel entitled to God’s blessing because of their religious ritual
        • God is going to address the false motives in their questions because He wants to minister to them. They need to understand that obedience is better than sacrifice—it is the expression of our love relationship (John 14:15)
          • God says to them
            • v. 8-14 “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18, Isaiah 1:16-17)
              • It’s easier to fast for a day or do a religious routine than to love someone unconditionally and sacrificially for a lifetime
              • God takes loving your neighbor seriously (Mark 12:29-31)
                • We do not love God if we don’t love our neighbor (1 John 4:20-21)
            • Zechariah 8:1-2 “I passionately love you”
              • We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19)
                • He doesn’t love us because we have anything to offer or because we deserve it. His love is not dependent on what we do or don’t do
              • We don’t have to work for or earn His promises. We just have to trust and wait for Him to fulfill them
            • v. 3-9 “I will be faithful to My Word”
              • The promises of God are “yes” and “amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20)
                • He is being faithful to them
                  • We don’t typically like His timing
                  • Our job is to be faithful to Him, not try to manipulate Him to work on our timeline
                    • Our faithfulness (not usefulness, success, etc) is what He desires
            • v. 10-15 “I will bless you”
              • They weren’t perfect, but started to do what God asked them to do
                • For one step of obedience, God blessed them (Philippians 3:16)
            • v. 16-17 “So love your neighbor as yourself”
              • Love is truthful (Ephesians 4:15) and sets people free (John 8:31-32)
                • Jesus full represented this (John 1:17)
          • v. 18-19 He answers their question after He has shared His heart with them
            • He tells them He no longer wants their fasts, but their feasting—He wants relationship with them