Announcements
1. Prayer & Praise: Wed, 8pm, Chapel.
2. Gospel Service: Sun, 25 Oct, 9:30am, Sanctuary. Speaker: Rev. Neville Tan
3. Water Baptism Service: Sun, 25 Oct, 4 pm, Chapel. Speaker: Elder Leong Sow Hoe
Word Released: "Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!" Psalm 105:4
Word Edification: The Measure of a Church Speaker: Elder Leong Sow Hoe
Scripture: Zechariah 2:1-5
1. Zechariah and Haggai were contemporaries during the time when the Jews were returning from exile after seventy years. Zechariah, who was the younger of the two prophets, teamed up with Haggai to rally the people to rebuild the Temple (1:16). Eighteen years ago, there had been an earlier attempt to rebuild the Temple but it was stalled by their enemies.
Through the efforts of Zechariah and Haggai, this work was resumed.
2. It was in the time of great discouragement and despair that God sent Zechariah with a message of comfort and encouragement to His people. The people came back from exile and were very discouraged by the ruins that they saw.
3. The main thrust of Zechariah ’s third vision (Zech 2:1-5) can be summarized as follows: a) The Situation
Before the exile, the city of Jerusalem was inhabited by millions of Jews, but now it lay desolate. The returning Jews were only about 42000 in number, very few in comparison with situation before the exile. They felt that God had forsaken them. However,
Zechariah said that God would again choose Jerusalem and He would not forsake it
(1:17).
In the vision, Zechariah saw the pre-incarnate Christ holding a builder’s surveying instrument. He used the instrument to measure the city of Jerusalem. Apparently this was in preparation of a plan that God had in store for the city
’s future. God is our builder and He has great plans prepared for our future (Jn 14:3 cf. Heb 3:4-6).
Isaiah says that God makes righteousness as the measuring line and justice as the plumb-line. (Isa 28:17). This is true both for the Jews, and also for the Church. When the judgement of God comes, all unrighteousness and falsehood shall be swept away.
Only the works that are approved by God will remain.
Before we can effectively carry out our activities and outreaches, we must take heed to establish first righteousness and justice in the church. The Lord will check us for righteousness and justice both individually as well as collectively as a church. b) The Task
After Zechariah received the message from God, he could have kept it to himself.
However, he took effort to record it down and then told the Jews what God said.
God has given us an important message to tell those unsaved people around us. We must share the Good News with them. There are many new residents who are coming to Chai Chee, so we must reach out to them and invite them to come into the church.

c) The Promises i) Promise of Divine Blessings.
In the vision, God said He was going to multiply the people and the livestock (Zech. 2:4-
5).
It will be such a tremendous blessing that the walls of Jerusalem need to come down in order to contain all of God’s blessings.
What a contrast it would be compared to the reality at the time of Zechariah! Similarly, we believe that by the divine act of God (Zech
4:6 “Not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of God.”), God will also bless our efforts in reaching out to the lost and our church will grow to seven thousand strong. ii) Promise of Divine Protection
T he towns in the olden days must have walls to protect them. But God said to Zechariah that the towns will be un-walled. They did not have to fear because God Himself would be a wall of fire around them.
Our church has also experienced the divine protection of the Lord. The Psalmist says, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear the
Lord to protect them
” (Ps 34:7). iii) Promise of Divine Presence
Zechariah was eager to spur his people to rebuild the temple. He knew that God promised that His divine presence would be with them (Zech. 2:4-5) when they built the
Temple. This presence would be like the time of Moses, when the glory of God came in such an intensity that no one could enter into the Tent of Meeting (Exo 40:34-35; cf. 2
Chron 5:13-14). John tells us that one day, God will dwell in our midst (Rev 21: 22-23).
There will be no need for the sun because His glory shall be our light.
4. In conclusion, God want us to check ourselves that we have righteousness and justice in our lives. There is a task set before us to do, we must go out and tell others of the
Good News. Finally, we can be confident that God’s blessings are upon us and He will multiply the fruits of our labor. We shall see the blessing of growth in our church, experience his protection and His divine presence shall dwell with us.
Application
1. God wants us to live a life of justice and righteousness. How can we build these attributes in our lives?
2. The task before us is to grow the church. How can we all be involved in this task?
3. God's promise of divine blessings, divine protection and divine presence are given to us.
How can we ensure that we are continually living in these blessings?