A day is coming….and can come into our lives every single day in oh so many ways…
A day is coming…
The day of the Lord is coming…
More suffering is on its way for the city of Jerusalem and its people. But on that day that is coming, God will stand against the enemies of His people. Zechariah describes the scene in vivid images in the last chapter of Zechariah –
On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. Zechariah 14:4
This new valley will provide the way of escape for God’s people. He will be the way to freedom and deliverance from oppression.
I am the way and the truth and the life. John 14:6
On that day, the Lord my God will come.
On that day, there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness.
That day will be a unique day.
On that day, there will be no distinction between day and night.
On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter. Zechariah 14: 5-8
Streams of living water flowing out from the source.
Streams of living water flowing out in all directions.
Streams of living water for all people everywhere.
I am the way and the truth and the life. John 14:6
On that day, the Lord will be king over the whole earth.
On that day there will be one Lord.
On that day, his name will be the only name. Zechariah 14:9
I am the way and the truth and the life. John 14:6
On that day, those who have attacked God’s people will suffer and rot: them and all their animals. Their great wealth will count for nothing. And those that have survived will never forget who God is and what God has done. They will hold His power in fear and respect. They will recognise that He is the one true God, the one who provides for and protects those who trust Him and obey Him.
On that day, everything will become holy – from the bells on the horses to the cooking pots. Everything will be sacred. Everything will be spiritual. God will be found in all things everywhere.
This day is what God promised to His people time and time again through His prophets. We’ve seen it as we’ve journeyed through these books of the prophets in the last year. Each description is always a little different, always adds a few new details here and there, always provides a fresh insight. Each prophecy stokes up the fire of anticipation in God’s people. It’s easy to see why when Jesus came, there was all this talk about whether he was the promised Messiah or not. They’d been waiting so long. They’d been suffering so much.
The people all expected this promised victory in a physical sense: a physical victory, a physical kingdom. That’s why the Jewish people are still waiting to this day for the promised Messiah. But there were those who knew Jesus and saw what he said and did who believed he was the promised Messiah. That’s how the Christian movement was born. They believed that the kingdom he established was not a physical kingdom but a spiritual one. He described himself as the way, the truth and the life; the living waters; the bread of life; the light of the world; the resurrection and the life.
For Christians, this day has come. This day is everyday. God has provided a way of escape from anything that is oppressing us or ensnaring us. God has made His light and life, His protection and provision, available to all people. There’s a place and a role in God’s kingdom for everyone. God’s kingdom can burst through into our daily lives at any time.
Your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven. The Lord’s Prayer
Jesus brought the spiritual into the everyday in a way no one has ever done before. Now every thing, every person, every act or word is imbued with spiritual significance. God is everywhere. His kingdom is everywhere.
Imagine learning to live in the light of this every single day. Maybe we already are. It’s all about practising the presence of God at all times, in all things. Practising is the key word here. It takes practice to lift our eyes from the mundane….
Your kingdom come…..your kingdom come….your kingdom come….
It has. It came in Jesus. It is available to us right now.
Let us do all that we can to let the way, the truth and the life; the living waters; the bread of life; the light of the world; the resurrection and the life break through into our lives today.
