The King is coming

Nikolle Bauder • March 2, 2022

Notes from Pastor Lance Shumake's message on Zechariah 9:


The book of Zechariah has long been divided into two parts: the first half of the book (chapters 1-8) that focuses on visions and a specific answer to a question; in the second half of the book (chapters 9-14), Zechariah answers another question that hasn't been directly stated... now that the temple is being rebuilt, what is God going to do?


To note: when reading prophecy in the Bible, the timeline of events presented is unimportant. Instead, one must look for overarching themes in order to not get lost in the when and how.


In chapter 9, a major theme is God’s sovereignty over all the earth.


God being sovereign means that He is always in control. Everything that has happened, is happening, or will happen is all according to God’s plan and purpose.


Part of Zechariah’s prophecy in chapter 9 foretells a path of destruction on Israel’s enemies. What’s remarkable is that nearly two centuries later, the conqueror Alexander the Great fulfilled this prophecy exactly. Alexander and his army went down the same path written and wiped out the cities mentioned.


A couple points in chapter 9 that reiterate the theme of God’s sovereignty…


(1) God will judge and punish the wicked.


(2) God will defend his people.


Another remarkable thing about Alexander the Great was that he never attacked Jerusalem. He went past it once, turned around, and went past it again.


Why didn’t he attack? God was guarding His people.


Another theme is chapter 9 is that God will send His King to His people.


There’s a transition in the text between verses 1-8 and the rest of the chapter where God goes from saying, “I will do this…” to “He will do this”. He goes from saying what He’s going to do (send a King); to what the King is going to do. 


The King mentioned here is clearly a person (riding on a donkey, coming into the city) who is closely associated with God. He’s fortelling a God-man coming as King; the long-awaited Messiah coming to rescue His people.


(Spoiler alert: the coming King is Jesus)


This passage tells us several things about the coming King in verse 9, 


“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you;

righteous and having salvation is he,

humble and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”


The coming King is righteous


The King IS righteousness; the very personification of it.


Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life in complete obedience to God the Father. He was (and is) fully righteous; set apart from every person on earth.


In exchange for our sin, Jesus (*fully righteous*) took the punishment we should have taken and GIVES US his righteousness. When we put our faith and trust in Jesus, it’s like we’ve never sinned. When we are clothed in Jesus’ righteousness, God sees us as if we’ve always obeyed.


The coming King brings salvation


Jesus came because we needed saving. He came to accomplish our salvation by living a perfect life, dying on a cross, being buried in a grave, and—on the third day—coming out of that grave, conquering sin and death forever.


We have no salvation apart from Jesus.


The coming King is humble


Most people thought that the Messiah would come on a war horse as a conqueror. But Jesus came on a humble donkey.


Jesus came to us “not to be served but to serve.” In greatest humility, the Creator of our world accomplished the work of our salvation (death on a cross) with joy.


Author Arthur Pink says of Jesus, “Notice it in the men selected by Him to be His ambassadors: He chose not the wise, the learned, the great, the noble, but poor fishermen for the most part. Witness it in the company He kept: He sought not the rich and renowned, but was “the Friend of publicans and sinners.” See it in the miracles He performed: again and again He enjoined the healed to go and tell no man what had been done for them. Behold it in the unobtrusiveness of His service: unlike the hypocrites who sounded a trumpet before them, He sought not the limelight, shunned advertising, and disdained popularity. . . . When He, in fulfillment of prophecy, presented Himself to Israel as their King, He entered Jerusalem “lowly, and riding upon a donkey.”


Because Jesus is a servant King, kingdom work for us looks like serving.


The coming King proclaims peace


Jesus came in on a donkey because He didn’t come to conquer, He came to bring peace. His peace is one extended to all the nations— all welcome and invited in.


The peace Jesus brings is a peace between us and God. Before Jesus, we were God’s enemies. We fired the first shot and turned our backs on Him. Because He is a just God, He punishes His enemies. But the King comes to intervene and establish peace. He doesn’t seek revenge, He seeks relationship.



The coming King reigns forever


...and we get to reign with Him, if we put our faith and trust in Him!



So what do we do with this?


- Don't reject Him.


- Build His Kingdom and serve others!


- REJOICE! Rejoice with shouting, with worship, with all of our lives -- Rejoice!



500 years after Zechariah said all this, Jesus rode into town on a donkey.


Luke 19:27-28 tells us, "As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, [38] saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 


Rejoice in who He is and what He has done! Let that be the refrain of our lives.

Freed to Serve

April 28, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:11-17 This is the beginning of a section addressing how God's people now function in this world. It begins with aliens and exiles and continues with servants, wives, husbands, and finally, all of you. 1.) Our identity defines our actions. We are sojourners and exiles (temporary, passing through, not at home) We have a heavenly citizenship Actions We abstain from the passions of the flesh Keep conduct among the Gentiles honorable (our conduct is for the benefit of other people) Honorable conduct wins souls… sojourners, exiles, and soul winners “Peter’s point is that believers’ behavior creates a context in which people will listen to God’s word. He is not teaching that ‘good deeds’ in themselves convert unbelievers, but they establish an environment for the Gospel-word to do so.” -Barnett 2.) Our identity defines our expectations (Unbelievers will respond to honorable conduct in 1 of 2 ways) Some will speak evil against us as though we are evildoers Some will see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation 3.) Our identity defines our view of authority (Does anyone here ever just want to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it? That’s why laws exist) Be subject to every human institution (for the Lord's sake) This includes governors and emperors (no distinction between good/bad) The will of God... by doing good, we silence the ignorance of foolish people 4.) Our identity defines our view of freedom Don't use freedom as a cover-up for evil We are freed to serve God Honor, Love, and Fear Discipleship Questions: 1.)Why is it so important to understand our identity before talking about our behavior? 2.) How might this reality impact your parenting? For real, what are 3 ways that you can apply that this week? 3.) How is good conduct a form of evangelism? 4.) What do these verses say that we can expect from others? 5.) How can we honor a government that isn't always honorable? Seriously, what are 5 things we should immediately stop doing and 5 things we should immediately start doing? 6.) What are some tangible ways to honor others? Love the brotherhood? Fear God? Honor the Emperor? 7.) Should we fear the Emperor?

Cornerstone

April 22, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, April 20, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:4-10 Everyone must accept or reject Jesus. He is the cornerstone. We choose to accept Him as the foundation of our lives or toss the truth aside. When we come to Jesus… We become part of His People 1 Pe 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The cornerstone is The New Temple. From this we learn that following Christ entails joining his community, the church…The freelance Christian, who follows Jesus but is too good, too busy, or too self-sufficient for the church, is a walking contradiction. -Daniel M. Doriani We join a royal, holy, priesthood 1 Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Because of who Jesus makes us. We receive God’s mercy Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms….Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means undergoing a kind of death. Acts 17:30-31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Discipleship Questions: Why is it impossible to be neutral about Jesus? Why do you believe that Jesus truly is the Son of God? Do you ever have doubts about this? If yes, what are they? According to 1 Peter 2:9, who are we after we come to Christ? Why does Paul say (in 1 Corinthians) that if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain?

Born Again

April 16, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:2-3 Why do our souls ache for certainty? We are so eager for certainty that we will look for it in all the wrong places. - Certainty in our Finances [show slide from news] - Certainty in our Jobs [Acts 17:24-27] - Certainty in our Health [Covid] - Certainty in our Abilities [Ecclesiastes 3:11 “God has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”] “Things that have never happened before are happening every day.” -Morgan Housel In these verses, God gives us what our souls ache for! 1.) You must be born again of imperishable seed - We have all been born of perishable seed o Impure souls o Disobedient to truth o Unloving insincerity toward others o Lack of loving effort o Impure hearts - We are withering grass and falling flowers - The imperishable seed is the living and abiding Word of God o Does not wither o Does not fall o Does not let us down o It remains forever o It MUST BE PREACHED! But still, how can we be certain that we have been born again? 2.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your relationships When your relationship with God changes, God changes your relationships! - Sincere brotherly love - Love earnestly - Put away… o Malice o Deceit o Hypocrisy o Envy o All Slander 3.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your appetite for God’s Word - Like newborn infants - Long for the pure spiritual milk Discipleship Questions: 1.) Where are some unhealthy places where you look for certainty? 2.) Why do you do that? 3.) What were some evidences of your perishable seed before you came to Christ? Any of that still lingering that needs to be repented from? 4.) Why does Peter call the Word of God the imperishable seed? 5.) In light of the text, how would you describe being "born again" to a 5-year-old? 6.) How has imperishable hope proven itself in your relationships? OR How might it if you lean into loving others earnestly? 7.) Why does Peter tell us that hope will be seen in our appetite for God's Word?
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