Endure Unto The End – Page 3 – I'm Following Jesus

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Sunday, September 22, 2019
Chapters: Zechariah 10-14
Message: Endure Unto The End

Hello My Friend,

Sometimes the life of a Christian is not so easy, temptation comes at you in all forms as you seek to live your life the way God wants. Besides dealing with our own sin, we face all sorts of opposition because we choose Christ over the world, people get angry, personal, and proud as though it is an insult that you turned them down for Christ. Not only that, we have to deal with our own burdens too, just like they do, but not once do they even stop to think of the burden they put on us? With all that we deal with as Christians, why do we stay faithful? Because He is our God. We may get slack for our faith, but God knows who are His, and He will see us through every trial, every temptation, and every burden. “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” – Mark 13:13.

“but he that shall endure unto the end,” Those are some powerful words from Jesus, ones that many misinterpret. To endure means to continue in the same state without perishing. This passage means that once we receive Christ as our Saviour it is our faith that we live by, and it does not matter who hates us, we walk by faith in Christ, and we need to remain that way until our death, or Jesus comes and takes us out of here. Way too many people are Christians by affliction, meaning they live by faith when they are facing affliction, but once it is over they forget about Him. These are not people will not endure unto the end. I will tell you, that it does take affliction for us to come to know who Jesus truly is. When we have no one to turn to to help us, that is when we find Jesus, and truly understand that we are sinners, who need the Saviour from more than just hell. All will come to the knowledge of Christ one way or another, many will not see Him for who He is until they face Him upon their death, including many Jews. Through Zechariah, God foretells of the affliction Israel will face that will finally bring them to the knowledge that Christ is true.

“Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded. And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them. And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD. And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away. And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.” – Zechariah 10:4-7,11-12.

“And he shall pass through the sea with affliction,” God often sees people as sheep. Why? Sheep are absent minded creatures who need a shepherd to guide them or they tend to wander off into the world and get into trouble. As I said before, it often takes affliction for us to see Jesus for who He truly is. Once we do, and as we walk with Jesus, our Good Shepherd, will guide us in the way that we should go. Sadly, there are many shepherds out there who are not true, and that is why so many go astray, but God keeps count of all those shepherds who lead His people astray. Through Zechariah, God foretells of when He will place judgment upon the false shepherds, particularly one.

“Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter; Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not. And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.” – Zechariah 11:4-5,7,10,12-14,16.

“the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands;” Beauty, represents the privileges of the Jewish nation, in their national covenant, Bands, the harmony which united them as one flock of God. However, they chose to cleave to false teachers, which followed the breaking of the covenant between them and God. “Cast it unto the potter:” This prophecy was fulfilled when Judas Iscariot turned Jesus in for thirty pieces of silver. After they captured Jesus, Judas realized his mistake, went back to the chief priests and threw the money at their feet. They in turn bought a piece of land which is called the potters field (Matthew 27:3-10). “I will raise up a shepherd in the land,” This is not Jesus, he will be a false shepherd or prophet, one who will be the opposite of Jesus, he will not heal the broken, feed the sheep, visit or look for the lost. “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” – Matthew 24:24-27.

“they shall deceive the very elect.” It is not hard for Satan to deceive the elect into believing that the false prophets are true when they are not abiding in the true Christ. The day that the Jews realize who Jesus is it will be a day of mourning. Through Zechariah, God also foretells of this, a day also when all nations that rejected Jerusalem will be judged, and God will defend the remnant of those who do believe.

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” – Zechariah 12:2-3,7-10.

“the spirit of grace and of supplications:” Do you see how God proves that He is both the Father and the Son here? All who look to the One they pierced will be saved. The feeble, the weak, they are those who are destitute of much physical strength. Let me tell you, the burdens of life make us weak, they literally drain every bit of strength that is in us, but when we are weak, that is when Christ is strong in us (II Corinthians 10:12). I can complain to God all I want about my situation, but until I stop fighting my affliciton myself I will never be strong enough to win it. All the people and things that made us weak will be the ammunition God uses to not only fight them for us, but strengthen us. Through Zechariah, God speaks of the glorious day when Israel will finally recognize Christ as the Messiah.

“In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.” – Zechariah 13:1-2,6-9.

“In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David” The fountain that opened is the side of Jesus that was pierced. (John 19:34) We are all unclean from the sin that covers our body, but the fountain in which all believers plunge into by their faith, cleans us and makes us as though we never sin (I John 5:6,13). “Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.” This again, is not Jesus, but the false prophet, he will be called out by his parents, and the people will ask how he got his wounds, which in turn he will say he had gotten them from his friends. God is telling these Jews to wake up, and see that they have wounded and, in fact, killed His shepherd. Jesus Christ, His Son, truly was wounded by those who were called His friends, the Jews, who rejected Him, and thought of Him as being the false prophet (John 19:15). “and will try them as gold is tried:” Sometimes is seems like no matter what we do we are being chastened or punished by God. God uses affliction to refine us, to make us not only depend on Him for everything, but that through our affliction He shines. We can ask questions as to why God allows so many things, His own to live in poverty, to be abused, to be in pain, to be persecuted, but the real question is, why do we? We may not understand the purpose of God’s plan, but we can understand that all things work together for good when we love Him, even though we may be in the fire (Romans 8:28. One day all the suffering will be over and we will all unite as one nation with our King. Through Zechariah, God reveals the time that Israel will finally recognize Christ as their King and we will all join Him in Jerusalem.

“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.” – Zechariah 14:1-2,5,9,16,20.

“and to keep the feast of tabernacles” Gospel worship is represented by the keeping of the feast of tabernacles. Every day of a Christian’s life is a day to keep the feast of tabernacles. It is just for God to withhold the blessings of grace from those who do not attend the feast. In fact, it is a sin that is its own punishment for those who forsake the duty, forfeit the privilege of communion with God. But those who do come in and feast with Him will endure unto the end. Amen! “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” – Revelation 3:30-21.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.” – Zechariah 11:13.

Today’s Prayer: God, Saved or not, we all have burdens in life, but thankfully, we who know Your Son as our Saviour can overcome them through Him. He is not only the living water that sustains our soul, He is what gives us the strength to deal with every heartbreak. Lord, Help us not to resent the trials and afflictions of life or be fearful of their effects, but to be reminded that all things work for good to them who love Your Son. Only He can help us withstand the tribulations and trials of life that are certain to come our way. Fill us with Your power and grace, let it overflow us as a fountain, and cover us with Your protective wings so that we can endure all things through His strength. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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