May 7, 2023 - Sunday Service

Ascension Presbyterian Church Longwood iconAscension Presbyterian Church Longwood

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Good morning my brothers and sisters in Christ. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the
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Lord Jesus Christ. Please stand. This is the day that the
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Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Here the Lord call you to his worship through his word.
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After these things I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven and the first voice which
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I heard was like a trumpet speaking to me saying come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this.
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Immediately I was in the spirit behold a throne set in heaven and one sat on the throne and he who sat there was like a jasper and a stardust stone in appearance and there was a rainbow around the throne in appearance like an emerald.
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Around the throne were 24 thrones and on the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting clothed in white robes and they had crowns of gold on their heads and from the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices.
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Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne which are the seven spirits of God.
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Before the throne was a sea of glass like crystal and in the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes the first living creature was like a lion the second living creature like a cat the third living creature like the face had a face like a man and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle and the four living creatures each having six wings were full of eyes around and within and they did not rest day and night saying holy holy holy
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Lord God almighty who was and is and is to come and whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne who lives forever and ever the 24 elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne saying you are worthy
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Oh Lord to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things and by you by your will they exist and were created let us pray
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Oh Lord our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth you made the heavens and earth by your great power and your outstretched arm your invisible attributes your eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen through what you have made the heavens declare your glory we praise you for your righteousness you are the governor and sustainer of all things in you all things hold together in you we live and move and have our being you give to all life and breath and and all things you work all things after the counsel of your own will you have numbered even the hairs upon our heads not even a sparrow falls from a tree apart from your will we praise you our
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God for these great works of creation and Providence above all we praise you for redemption there is no other
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God besides you no other Savior no other rock to whom the ends of the earth may turn and be saved we rejoice that you so love the world that you gave your only begotten
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Son the Lord Jesus Christ to be the Savior of the world and gave your spirit to abide with us and in us and teach us all things
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Oh Lord God we pray that you would be with us in our worship today that we may have fellowship with you
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Father Son and Holy Spirit and we ask for all these things in the name of that Savior our
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Lord Jesus Christ amen please kneel as you are able for the corporate confession let us join together in confessing our sins
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Almighty please stand for the assurance of pardon he who conceals his transgressions will not prosper but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion for if we confess our sins he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness my brothers and sisters in Christ if you be in Christ rejoice for your sins are forgiven they have been removed from you as far as the
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East is from the West amen please take up the Trinity hymnal and turn to him 164 this is a great day for me because two of my favorite hymns are the two we're singing today
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Oh for a thousand tongues to sing is by far my favorite that's him 164
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Oh for a thousand tongues to sing our psalm of the week the
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Lord Psalm 20 I'm going to ask Alyssa to play through at one time and then we will join in chapter 6
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Hebrews chapter 6 therefore leaving the elementary teaching about Christ let us press on to maturity not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God of instruction about washings and laying on of hands and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment and this we will do if God permits for in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the
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Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come and have fallen away it is impossible to renew them again to repentance since they again crucified to themselves the
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Son of God and put him to open shame for ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled receives a blessing from God but if it yields thorns and thistles it is worthless and close to being cursed and it ends up being burned but beloved we are convinced of better things concerning you and things that accompany salvation though we are speaking in this way for God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love you have shown toward his name and having ministered and instill ministering to the state since and we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end so that you will not be sluggish but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises for when
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God made the promise to Abraham since he could swear by no one greater he swore by himself saying
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I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you and so having patiently waited he obtained the promise for men swear by one greater than themselves and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute in the same way
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God desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his purpose interposed with an oath so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us this hope we have as an anchor of the soul a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us having having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek this is the word of the
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Lord let us now join our voices together confessing our ancient
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Christian faith in the singing of the Apostles Creed to him 455 and can it be 455 after this manner therefore pray ye our
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Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come
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I will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power pray that we may glorify
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God in all that we do as we live and work in the creation that displays his power and he is even be pleased to dispose all things to his own glory pray that Satan's kingdom may be destroyed and that the kingdom of grace may be may be advanced ourselves and others brought into it and kept in it and the kingdom of glory hasten pray that God for Christ's sake would freely pardon all our sins and we are encouraged to ask this because by his grace we are able from the heart pray that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin or support and deliver us when we are tempted
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God I pray that we would store up your word in our hearts that we may not sin against you that when we're alone in secret we would do that which is right before you we're in public we would do that which is right for you and that you would open our eyes where they've been blinded to find the way out and we're being tempted to sin whether it's anger or envy or gossip or whatever it is we pray
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Lord that you would show us and soften our hearts we may find a way out and we ask this in Jesus name our father taking an encouragement and prayer from you alone in our prayers we praise you ascribing kingdom power and glory to you and to testify of our desire and assurance to be heard we say together please stand and take up the insert once again on the 21st of this month is
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Ascension Sunday in a very real way this is Ascension month and our church as you know takes its name from the
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Ascension and this song that we sing for the song of the month song 24 is a great
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Ascension song and as we sing this we should not only remember the event of the
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Ascension but also its impact on us which is great this tune is familiar to us it is the tune of immortal invisible
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God only wise and so let us sing for the first time this month Psalm 24 the earth in its riches the night of the
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Jordan is in ruins thus says the Lord my God feed the flock for slaughter whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt those who sell them say blessed be the
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Lord for I am rich and their shepherds do not pity them for I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land says the
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Lord but indeed I will give everyone into his neighbors hand and into the hand of his king they shall attack the land and I will not deliver them from their hand so I fed the flock for slaughter in particular the poor of the flock
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I took for myself two staffs the one I called beauty and the other I called bonds and I fed the flock
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I dismissed the three shepherds in one month my soul loathed them and their soul also poured me then
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I said I will not feed you let what is dying die and what is perishing perish but those that are left eat each other's flesh and I took my staff beauty and cut it in two that I might break the covenant which
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I had made with all the people's so it was broken on that day thus the poor of the flock who are watching me knew that it was the word of the
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Lord and I said to them if it is agreeable to you give me my wages and if not refrain so they wait out and the
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Lord said to me throw it to the potter that princely price they said so I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw them into the house for the potter and I cut into my other staff bonds that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel the
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Lord said to me next take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd for indeed
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I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off nor seek the young nor heal those who are broken nor feed those that still stand but he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves and pieces woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock a sword shall be against his arm and against his right eye his arm shall completely wither and his right eye shall be totally blinded may the
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Lord be pleased with our study and consideration his most holy word and ask you to pray with me
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Oh Lord I pray that you would in the power of your Holy Spirit illumine our understanding of this treasure of your scripture the
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Lord I pray that you would strengthen my feeble mind and stammering tongue that I might proclaim the excellencies and the glories of Christ and that your people be encouraged built up and strengthen and leave with hearts filled with thanksgiving and rejoicing we ask these things in Jesus name
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Amen please be seated when you read chapter 11 you have many questions it is as I've already mentioned arguably and not many fine men better than me have said that it is among the hardest of chapters in all of Scripture to interpret and I think at the outset
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I want to offer an encouragement to you in your own devotional life and Bible reading that the the
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Word of God often yields its treasures after heavy labors and mining we read our text of Scripture we don't understand it we move on this requires us to have a greater degree of meditation and attention and concentration and focus and to come back maybe time and again that we might understand it better I don't want to add confusion to the interpretation
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I actually am striving for simplicity and the proclamation of this text and the dire darkness of this text is eclipsed by the bright shining hope of Christ and it's in this text that is so bleak and dark
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I hope to reveal that to you in the power of the Spirit first if you're taking notes the flock is prepared for slaughter number one the flock is prepared for slaughter second the title of a message to staffs to staffs third thirty shekels of silver thirty pieces
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I should say of silver and fourth the
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Good Shepherd would say that one more time I think you'll see how each of these pieces fits under those headings first the flock is prepared for slaughter second two staffs three thirty pieces of silver and for the
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Good Shepherd last week
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Zechariah in verses 1 through 3 offered us a prophetic and poetic lament and he called the wicked shepherds to sing a song of lament
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Zechariah is singing it and he calls the wicked shepherds to sing their own funeral song he says judgment is coming it's coming swiftly come sing with me of your destruction the raging fire of God's wrath is upon the wicked shepherds the future desolation of Israel is assured because we learned last week they have always persisted in rejecting
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God as their shepherd and when the Good Shepherd the Lord Jesus Christ himself came they rejected him too therefore their condemnation their guilt their punishment is due and deserved
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Israel is going to be desolated national
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Israel as they know it will be decimated but God is merciful to sinners and there is always a remnant who are protected
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Zechariah himself we learned last week will be rejected and killed he is the last of the
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Old Covenant martyrs we argued last time and we saw how in all of these things these build up in their tension starting back in chapter 9 with the promise of Jesus coming and the triumphal entry all of these things speak about Christ Zechariah 11 is all about Christ now you're reading it how can it be it doesn't say
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Christ but what's going on how can Zechariah 11 be about Christ well
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I think the Lord's going to show us first the flock is prepared for slaughter we're considering verses 4 through 14 today thus says the
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Lord my God the prophetic word this is the word from on high this is the Word of God through the mouth of the
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Prophet to the people this is what he says feed the flock for slaughter whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt feed the flock for slaughter the people of his pasture the sheep of his hand the wicked shepherds look upon the sheep of God's people as mere articles of commerce they're not looking them with the love and affection that a shepherd should have for his people his flock they they see in them wealth and they see for themselves riches and gain and this theme is replayed throughout the scriptures and it should be noted today the church is full of false shepherds who fleece the sheep for their own good what a terrible sin it is to use this office the pastoral office or to use the civil magistrate another form of being a shepherd to use it to fleece the people of God these owners slaughter them and feel no guilt those who sell them say blessed be the
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Lord for I am rich they invoke the holy name of God in their iniquity the grossest violation of the third commandment they they said the
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Lord has blessed us look how rich we are we have made our money on the backs of his people their shepherds do not pity them in verse 6 it says for I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land they bless the
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Lord's name they perform this great wickedness under the guise of righteousness we begin here to see and we clued into this last week the the necessity of God's judgment on the shepherds but now we have to be confronted with the shocking reality that the people themselves need to experience
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God's judgment the people were also wicked they too have rejected the
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Good Shepherd God has been their shepherd but they reject him Christ would come and he would be rejected by those he came to say so the people are worthy of God's condemnation and judgment one of the hard things for us when we look upon a loss in unbelieving and dying world we should be moved with compassion we should desire to preach
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Christ that they would know the Good Shepherd they would be brought into the fold but we also have to see the rightness and the justice of God in condemning sinners who reject
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Christ we have to love God's justice just like we do love his mercy it is good for the wicked to perish in their sins because they reject
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Christ in his salvation the people of God historically have struggled to relinquish control of themselves and their feelings their thoughts their allegiances their trust to have
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God be their shepherd it would like to go their own way and you and I have to purge every impulse to go it alone we need the
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Lord we desperately need to be under the care of the
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Good Shepherd it's a very bleak picture what it says in verse 6 we're going to find out in our text is there is not only a promise of outside oppression which is going to be ultimately realized in the
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Roman conquest but also there's a strife within I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land says the
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Lord but I will give everyone into his neighbors hand into the hand of his
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King their own neighbors those lands that have already been articulated in these recent sections those those people who live on the outskirts of Israel they're going to be attacking them their own neighbors are going to be at war with one another can you imagine on your own street having to fear your neighbor and his bow and his spear and his sword they're going to be given into the hand of a foreign and wicked
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King they shall attack the land it says in verse 6 and I will not deliver them from their hand here's the picture when
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Israel and even in the divided kingdom to some extent if you want to describe it this way when they had their allegiance to God the covenant he makes with the nation's as you can't touch a hair on their head but when they refrain and they pull back from God he pulls back his restraint from them and the nation's come in this been the recent experience of Israel and Babylonian captivity even now they're under the the weight of Persian reign and rule in some sense so God has delivered them and he's brought them back they still have an impulse they still have a feeling of their oppression and if they will turn from him as their
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Good Shepherd and there must have been some turning away which is crazy in light of all of the things that have happened in Zechariah's prophecy of being brought into the land the rebuilding of the temple is refining of the priesthood giving them a hope in a future their hearts have been far from God and they've turned away he says
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I will not deliver them from their hand and now
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Zechariah in verse 7 takes on the drama and it works itself out in this illustration some things are happening in Zechariah's time and it's also very picturesque of our
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Lord Jesus Christ it says so I fed the flock for slaughter in particular the poor of the flock it's hard to read it's painful to consider
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I took for myself two staffs the one
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I called beauty may say favor in your Bible and the other I called bonds it might say
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Union in your Bible and I fed the flock the shepherd has two staffs and in Ezekiel the two staffs represented
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Judah and Israel and Ephraim here there are two staffs and they represent this if you're taking notes very important the first beauty or favor refers to God's relationship to them his provision his salvation his grace his mercy his favor so this vertical dimension of the people of God entrusted with the oracles of God and covenant community with God God dealing benevolently with them that's what beauty represents here that's what favor represents and the other is called bonds or Union the second staff refers to God's fraternal relationship he put with his people the promise we've already learned about was a promise of a possibility of the reunification of David's kingdom a glorious prospect surely when the long -promised
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Davidic King would come that that Ephraim in the north and Judah in the south would be united as one body under their glorious head which we know would be the person of Christ but that's not what happens in verse 8 it says
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I dismiss the three shepherds in one month I should point out to you that the identity of the three shepherds is unknown
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I have a working theory and I found some surprising support with this from voice
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I think ultimately the three shepherds represent the three offices of the prophet priest and king
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I believe in the time of Zechariah false prophets were rising up and I believe that Zechariah and his office as a prophet in the church as a priest that he would purge out the leaven from the people of God and he exercised what we would know is something like church discipline upon them
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I believe there are also priests who were failing to perform their duties they were wicked shepherds they they had that office which communicated
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God to the people and represented the people to God and they were corrupt it's certainly true in the time of Jesus and there were kings they were magistrates many of them probably lesser magistrates but they too were violating the very law and covenant of God so Zechariah kicks them out
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I understand now how Zechariah could be a target for martyrdom he's expelling wicked men from their offices he says
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I dismissed the three shepherds in one month my soul loathed them and their soul also poured me
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I should point out to you that in James chapter 3 it says let not many of you become teachers knowing that you're going to incur a stricter judgment it's a terrifying thing to be reminded for Mark and myself some of you aspire to the office of an elder possibly that there's going to be a stricter judgment for us because we have the capacity to use the things of God in an improper way and lead the people astray which is a mighty wicked thing we have to take heed to ourselves and our doctrine brother and every minister everywhere has to to look at his life and make sure he's doing all these things for the right reasons and an allegiance singularly to Christ in him alone
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Zechariah taking on the mantle of a good shepherd a type of Christ unquestionably he purges the church of these three shepherds in one month he he describes his soul as loathing them and their soul also appalling him he said
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I will not feed you there's something else I'd like to make a connection with in relation to this
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I believe that there were prophets priests and kings in the time of Jesus and they were wicked and they had to be purged in order for the world to see the true prophet priest and the scribes and the
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Pharisees were the prophets of the time of Jesus the chief priest you remember
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Annas and Caiaphas and how they conducted themselves they took the glorious temple of God and made it a den of merchandise they profited on the sale of approved animals to be slaughtered they profited on the changing of the money the people had the right had the right coin to put in the temple coffers and they they made money on the transfer of that wealth and there were kings there was the
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Sanhedrin the Jewish Ruling Council those of you were that trial 70 they they had a trial for Jesus and they put him to death there was figures like Herod Agrippa and Pontius Pilate representing
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Caesar the scribes and the Pharisees were described we read it last week as a brood of vipers the chief priests were unfit for their offices the
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Kings and Jesus time like the time of Zechariah were wicked the Sanhedrin is condemned
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Herod Agrippa is condemned Pontius Pilate is condemned all because they fail to recognize the
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Good Shepherd this Jewish contingent their successors will be utterly desolated the other
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Kings condemned in judgment can you imagine the Sanhedrin's horror in 8070 when they had put themselves in allegiance with Caesar and his troops and his army to find that that allegiance was very very very thin they themselves would be slaughtered in the streets their allegiance not recognized they would be killed their blood would flow down the roads of Jerusalem because they put their confidence and hope in another shepherd another leader another king not
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Jesus well the two staffs represented here are going to play a more important role here let's continue he says
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I'm not going to feed you and let what is dying die and what is perishing perish and here's the most horrifying of it all let those that are left eat each other's flesh last week
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I told you at the final siege of Jerusalem they opened the temple doors where people in the gate of the city and they opened it up and the army rushed in and the reason they finally opened up the doors as the
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Jewish people of God committed to ritual sanctification and holiness were eating one another as cannibals oh far how far had they fallen they're not gonna touch a dead thing they're gonna be very careful with blood they're never going to consider being a cannibal but now because God's restraining love has been pulled back the nation swarm them and they come in and they're eating one another what a terrible judgment to fall on the people who have called themselves
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God's own covenant people Israel now the striking and fearful part
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I took my staff beauty favor and I cut it in two that I might break the covenant which
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I had made with all the people's this is going to happen 500 plus years later but it's a sober warning to the
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Jewish people then into people in the church now the Lord tarries and he tarries a long time but eventually his justice will be served
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Israel had rejected God how many times in the Old Testament and now their rejection is so severe that vertical relationship that goes from God down to the people that favor that rested upon the people is now severed he breaks covenant with national
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Israel he tells the peoples of the nations to go ahead and swarm in and take the plunder of Israel it says in verse 11 so it was broken on that day but there is one glimmer of hope here it says that the second part of verse 11 thus the poor of the flock who are watching me knew that it was the word of the
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Lord there are people there there's a believing remnant who are hearing Zechariah and they discern and they acknowledge and they see their need of repentance and they repent he turns to the nation and here's where it gets interesting for us he says
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I said to them if it is agreeable to you give me my wages and if not refrain so they wait out for my wages 30 pieces of silver now you're going to hear some language that sarcastic from Zechariah because this is not a lot of money those of you who are interested in economics it's very interesting that the value of gold and silver doesn't change for a very long time in the
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Bible it's very interesting your dollar isn't worth what it was yesterday 30 shekels 30 pieces of silver was what you would have to pay if you're gore if your ox gored another person's slave they didn't prize slaves very highly so this 30 pieces of silver is an outrageously paltry sum for the
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Prophet of God to receive so Zechariah takes it the
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Lord tells him throw it to the Potter that princely price they set on me it's not a kingly ransom this is a mocking of the amount that he has been given as the
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Prophet of God so I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw him to the house of the
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Lord for the Potter now immediately your mind has to be racing
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I'd like you to turn with me to the book of Matthew in chapter 27 how could
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God break covenant with Israel how could he give her a certificate of divorce because her of her repeated adulteries turn to chapter 27
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I'm going to read the first instance of this language of 30 pieces of silver Matthew 26 beginning at verse 14 then one of the 12 called
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Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and said what are you willing to give me if I deliver him to you
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I want to pause here Judah Judas is a shepherd of a high order he's one of the
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Apostles he's a worthless shepherd he's a wicked shepherd he's going to hand over the
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Lord Jesus he he sees the political maneuverings he knows that Jesus's days are numbered and he figures
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I might as well profit a little bit from his betrayal from his being handed over what are you willing to give me if I deliver him to you how crazy is the language of Zechariah 11 and then this and they counted out to him 30 pieces of silver so from that time he sought opportunity to betray him so within one week of this basically they're coming for the
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Feast of Unleavened Bread Passover's at hand about a week Judas is gonna hand over Jesus for 30 pieces of silver
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I turn over to Matthew 27 you should still be there beginning at verse 1 when morning came all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put him to death when they bound him they led him away and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor don't you listen carefully then
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Judas his betrayer seeing that he had been condemned was remorseful and brought back the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders saying
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I have sinned by betraying innocent blood then he said what is that to us you see to it
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Zechariah is a picture of Jesus the
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Good Shepherd and in this moment he's a picture of Judas verse 5 he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple the same language of our text in Zechariah 11 and departed and went and hanged himself but the chief priests took the silver pieces and said it's not lawful to put them into the treasury because they are the price of blood and they consulted together and bought them with them the potter's field to bury strangers in therefore that field has been called the field of blood to this day then was fulfilled what the
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Prophet was spoken by Jeremiah the Prophet saying and they took 30 pieces of silver the value of him who was priced whom they of the children of Israel priced and gave them for the potter's field as the
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Lord directed me I want to give you another little lesson a side note lesson on the authority of Scripture the critics and the liberals struggle you guys know where I'm going with this on this idea of Jeremiah the
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Prophet because he's quoting Zechariah 11 certainly this is a scribal error they might say and maybe our confidence in this prophecy should be unraveled because of this inconsistency maybe it's just a copyist error they'd say well
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I feel better about that well when you dig into this more deeply you realize that the
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Zechariah writings are found in the Jeremiah scroll the scrolls that that they use had
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Jeremiah and other prophets including Zechariah in that scroll so when he says the
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Prophet Jeremiah the people of God understood and they understood that this was the scroll that was
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Zechariah was found and there is no controversy here this isn't a scribal error our
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God is able to preserve every jot and tittle of his word we have absolute confidence don't be an egghead and think yourself spiritual and scholarly when you call into question the validity of God's Word every breathing mark every horn is true because God is able to preserve his word for us his people the prophecy quoted in Matthew 27 is found in Zechariah 11 and that scroll that writing is found in the scroll of Jeremiah that's not all sidebar finished they took the 30 pieces of silver they gave them for the potter's field as the
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Lord directed me what about the providence of God the language is weird in Zechariah what's the potter doing in the temple why do they decide to to buy the potter's field well can you imagine what's in the potter's field the potter's field was the least valuable property in Jerusalem in the surrounding area because every time he attempted to make a piece of pottery he would have some breaks he would take those broken pieces this land is utterly worthless so they take the money the paltry sum the betrayal of Jesus Christ the king of glory he sold over and betrayed for 30 pieces of silver to buy a worthless piece of land
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Judas is the embodiment of apostate Israel of the wicked shepherds he himself how close was
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Judas Iscariot to the king of glory he saw all the miracles he saw his sinless perfection he heard all of the messages all the sermons he saw his compassion on the sinners and the sick and the blind and the lame the deaf how hard was his heart to reject the king of glory but I'd like to draw another analogy and this is my own isn't it ironic and beautiful and who can plumb the depths of this at the price of our redemption the precious blood of Christ was sold by wicked men for 30 pieces of silver the price of restitution if your ox gored a slave there's another thing
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I'd like us to consider we were broken pieces in the potter's field you and I and our sin and our corruption we were we were utterly worthless but he is the potter and we are the clay and he has taken our brokenness and has fashioned in us something that is now used for noble rather than ignoble purposes the glory of Christ shines in Zechariah 11 the hope of a future looks very bleak the second staff to be broken
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I want to ask you to turn back there to Zechariah 11 the second staff to be broken is the one of union or bonds look at verse 14
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I cut into my other staff bonds that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel so here's the picture
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God's emblems of being the shepherd of his people he places into the hands of his servant
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Zechariah one of them represents his covenant dealings with them on that vertical plane and and the other one is shown to represent be an emblem of the horizontal and their fellowship with one another he even breaks the bond of their brotherhood their fellowship fraternally as Judah and Israel I should point out that these two elements are the hallmarks of effective shepherding pastoral ministry the first the first is to preach and proclaim
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God's covenant dealings with man and also to preach and proclaim and model an example how we are to love one another in perfect unity and allegiance to our living head so we have here a picture of the utter rejection of wicked shepherds but we also have here a picture of the glorious shepherd the
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Good Shepherd the Lord Jesus Christ I broke my other staff bonds that I might break might cut off the brotherhood between Judah and Israel I like us to turn one other place like us to turn to John chapter 10 please turn in your
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Bibles to John chapter 10 this dark chapter all of this grief all of this warning of calamity to fall upon the nation's brethren
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I'm here today to tell you will never fall upon you it's impossible because the gracious working of God has in your heart and life and the power of the
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Holy Spirit he has quickened you alive in Christ and he has so united you to Christ that that bond could never be broken his favor the beauty of his love for you could never be broken because we have a faithful shepherd there's a warning here we should never deviate away from our shepherd because of that danger that lurks there but but what joy is there for us to be in Christ today we have a high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses we have a warrior
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King who goes out in front and lives and dies for us the flock are prepared for slaughter but instead our warrior
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King Savior Jesus goes and slaughtered for us
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John chapter 10 this is what a good shepherd looks like most assuredly
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I say to you he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs up some other way the same as a thief and a robber but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep to him the doorkeeper opens and the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out and when he brings out his own sheep he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice yet they will by no means follow a stranger but will flee from him for they do not know the voice of strangers
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Jesus used this illustration but they did not understand the things which he spoke to them then
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Jesus said to them again most assuredly I say to you I am the door of the sheep all whoever came before me are thieves and robbers but the sheep did not hear them
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I am the door if anyone enters by me he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture the thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy
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I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly and here it is
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I am the good shepherd the good shepherd gives his life to the sheep but a hireling who we've been describing in Zechariah 11 who is not the shepherd one who does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees and the catches the sheep and scatters them the hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep
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I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and I am known by my own as the father knows me even so I know the father and I lay down my life for the sheep very important for us in verse 16 and other sheep
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I have which are not of this fold them also I must bring and they will hear my voice and there will be one flock shepherd brethren
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I want you to think about this for a moment with me the wretched sin of Judas Iscariot is a means of our redemption the rejection of Israel rejecting her
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Messiah is the open door for the Gentiles to come in it's an amazing irony isn't there and the promises of Zechariah 11 tells us that God is pleased to save a remnant even of unbelieving
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Israel and so Romans 9 through 11 so the occasion of Israel's rejection and their decimation means that the
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Messiah of Israel becomes the Messiah as he always intended to be the Messiah of the world their rejection allows us to come in how much will their inclusion mean in their fullness and their return to him many
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Jews have come and will come you and I don't have to sing our own funeral dirge with the wailing shepherds because we have the the staff of beauty and bonds were broken the
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Covenant was severed between God and that people because of their unbelief but today the
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Good Shepherd holds up the two staffs and he says my favor my grace rests upon you my people in my peace and my unity and my purity
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I will secure that as well this will never be broken other shepherds have held the staffs but not like this one no one's held it like this one so let us come to the table rejoicing in favor and union and beauty and bonds because our shepherd has so secured our salvation quick word of application will close here brethren follow the
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Good Shepherd give the entirety of your life to him and service to him hold nothing back in reserve he is the perfect safety and the only safety for you the people who attend the church come into the church who are not hearing
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God's voice you're not a believer in the Lord Jesus I urge you today to repent and believe in the
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Lord Jesus Christ and be saved if you will not follow the Good Shepherd you will be led by another worthless shepherd and you will be led to the slaughter and your slaughter will be deserved second we need to call everyone we come in contact with to faith in Christ we have a promise we just learned about in John 10 that he has many of his flock outside the fold today and he must bring them in it's our job to go tell them to come into the fold and finally
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I want to leave you with rejoicing Oh people of God rejoice today give thanks his divine favor his divine union rests upon you he has united you to himself and to all of the people of God to one another let us now renew covenant with him and one another and keep the feast amen let's pray together
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Lord we thank you for treasure of your word we thank you so much for your servant
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Zechariah who partakes in a redemptive drama shows show us the failings of the wicked shepherds but also to point us to you
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Oh Lord I ask that your people would be encouraged today knowing that the calamity of Zechariah 11 is not for them because they have
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Jesus Oh Lord I pray that we would with great eagerness and zeal and joy come to your table and partake knowing that we've been united to Christ and we have security there and that we are united to one another in him
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I ask these things in Jesus name amen let us continue our worship through the presentation of tithes and offerings please stand let's pray together
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Oh Lord Jesus we considered a privilege and an honor to return back a portion of which you already own as our stewardship we pray that these tithes and offerings will be used for the advance of your kingdom for the bold proclamation of your gospel for the meeting of the needs of the widow and the orphan
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Oh Lord we pray that you would prosper our church in service to you we ask these things in Jesus name there's been a lot of bleakness and terror hopefully in Zechariah 11 but let us respond with a pure doxology to give glory to God in the singing of the
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Gloria Patria with greater weightiness the words that you're about to hear the
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Lord be with you lift up your hearts let us give thanks to the
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Lord it is right and a good and joyful thing that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to you
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Oh Holy Lord Father Almighty everlasting God because you sent your beloved son to redeem us from sin and death and to make us heirs in him of everlasting life that when he shall come again in power and great triumph to judge the world we may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing therefore with angels and archangels with all the company of heaven we praise and magnify your glorious name evermore praising you and singing pray with me
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Oh Lord you have made from one blood all the people of the earth and by your one blood you have brought salvation to all of your people we ask that you would now for our benefit consecrate and communicate to us these creatures of bread and wine that we might receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ crucified for us and that we may see with greater clarity our glorious union with you
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Oh Christ and take comfort in heart from the union we have from one another with one another we ask these things in Jesus name our
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Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to his disciples saying take eat this is my body likewise he took the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood drink from it all of you for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the there's an appropriate humility that we come to the table let's pray together the prayer of approach we do not presume to come to this your table
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Oh merciful Lord trusting in our own righteousness but in your manifold and great mercies we are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table but you are the same
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Lord who always shows mercy grant us therefore gracious Lord so to eat the flesh of your dear son
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Jesus Christ and to drink of his blood that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body and our souls wash through his most precious blood and that we may evermore dwell in him and he and us amen
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Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us the gifts of God for the people of God it's appropriate for us now having enjoyed communion together to make this commitment
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Almighty and ever -living God we thank you for feeding us with the most precious body and blood of your son our
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Savior Jesus Christ and for assuring us in these holy mysteries that we are living members of the body of your son and heirs of your eternal kingdom and the
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Lord grant us this other benefit that you will never allow us to forget these things but having them imprinted on our hearts may we grow and increase daily faith which is at work in every good deed and now father send us out to do the work you have given us to do to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of to him to you and to the
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Holy Spirit the honor and glory now and forever please stand
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Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the