Good evening. If you have your Bible, we’re going to be in Zechariah chapter 3. It’s going to be the second to last book in the Old Testament. Zechariah chapter 3.

Here’s what the Lord said through the prophet. Then he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, The Lord rebuke you, O Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is not this a brand plucked from the fire? Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, Remove the filthy garments from him. And to him he said, Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments. And I said, Let them put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, and the angel of the Lord was standing by. And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, Thus says the Lord of hosts, If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts. And I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.

Zechariah is prophesying to the kingdom of Jerusalem. Judah returning from exile in Babylon. The northern kingdom of Israel had fallen in 722 to the Assyrians. And as prophesied through the prophet Jeremiah, God over and again warned the people, Repent, turn back to me. Come back from serving false gods. Repent, come back to me. I’m going to deliver you into the hands of the Babylonians. And you’re going to be there for 70 years. They wouldn’t repent. And just as the Lord said, King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. conquered Jerusalem, tore down the altar, destroyed the temple, took captives. And there they were in captivity as exiles for 70 years. Because we know then, in 538, Cyrus, the king of Persia, he signed a decree saying, and they could all return back to their homelands. And then here, Jeremiah lets us know when he was prophesying. And it puts him right around 520 when he started to preach. And then just a few years later, after he starts preaching, the temple is rebuilt in 515 B.C. And if you do the math on that, it’s 70 years. Just as the Lord has said. So, what is Zechariah saying? So, his message begins with repent. Repentance is the central theme whenever he comes on the scene. And he’s preaching along with Haggai and Malachi as well. And so there’s this band of prophets preaching and encouraging the people of God. Haggai really is encouraging them to take up the work and rebuilding. The temple. Because the Lord wanted them to do it. And Zechariah is more encouraging them to repent and be restored spiritually. To offer service to God. And they were really beaten down. They’re coming out of exile. And there’s really only a remnant there that has returned to Jerusalem. They’re being afflicted. They sort of want to build back the temple. But they’re being afflicted from neighboring nations. And they’re having a tough time. They’re being lazy. I don’t think they had much hope. I don’t think they saw what the point was. They had sort of surrendered and given up. So, Zechariah is preaching a message of repentance. But he’s saying, if you will repent and come back, there’s great encouragement. Because the Lord will be with you. If you will return to the Lord, the Lord will come to you. And so, here specifically in the fourth vision, Zechariah receives. He sees Joshua the high priest. Now, I think a lot of times, due to sensationalism and other things, we have a tendency to take passages. And we will read ourselves into them unfittingly. Like David and Goliath. Go and slay all your giants. I want to reserve that image to Jesus slaying all the giants. But I think I’m safe here in saying that there is a way that we can identify with Joshua as a priest. And I find my warrant in the New Testament for that. I also think that this is a. A typification. And it’s a shadow of the ultimate high priest in Jesus. And we’re going to explore that a little bit more. But just so that. I want you to see yourself in this story. Because Joshua, as the high priest, represents the people of God. Joshua represents Israel. So, if Joshua represents the people of God. Joshua represents you. At the same time. In 1st Peter. Chapter 2. Verse 5. Says 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. And so. I think I have warrant to say. That we can identify here with Joshua. On those two levels. So then. What is going on in this vision? Joshua. The high priest is standing before. The angel of the Lord. I’m going to say that the angel of the Lord here is Jesus. And contextually. I think I have warrant for that as well. So you have Joshua the high priest. Standing before. Jesus. And it says. On his right hand. Was Satan. Standing to accuse him. The first thing. I want you to know. That I’m trying to convey to you. This is sort of the main point. Servants of God. You priests. Servants of God. Repent. Of your fear. And your laziness. And be encouraged. Here’s my first reason why. I want you to be encouraged. Because Christ. Champions us. You’re standing before the enemy. Before the angel of the Lord. Forgive me. Jesus. On your right hand is Satan. Standing to accuse you. You should know that we have an enemy. You should know that we have an enemy. That employs other enemies. And he would love nothing more. Than to destroy you. He wants to destroy your faith. He wants to wreck. Different aspects of your life. To cause you to fear. And worry. And doubt. He wants nothing more. Than at the end of it all. For you to be condemned. For the label of guilty. To be hung above your head. Satan’s standing there. Pointing at Joshua. Don’t you know Jesus? Joshua is. Filthy. And defiled. He still reeks of Babylon. The priesthood is. Is all but destroyed at this point. The priests. The people of God are offering up. Incense to bail. On their rooftops. They’re offering up their first born children. To Moloch. They’re burning them in brazen furnaces. They’re marrying foreign women. That God commanded them not to. They don’t deal justly with the people of God. God. They don’t worship according to the way He has commanded them. The priesthood has been defiled. And Satan loves to point it out. How can this man stand before you and represent the people of God? He’s filthy, and His people are filthy. Christ champions us. What does He say? He says, the Lord rebuke you, Satan. Shut your mouth. Sit down. Put your hands in your pockets. I see the imagery of Jesus in the boat, and the storm’s raging, and everybody’s freaking out, and He rebukes. He rebukes the storm. And what does it do? It’s leveled. It ceases. It’s quieted. Jesus is a champion in the sense that He is unrivaled against anyone who would come against the church, anyone who would come against Him. The Lord rebuke you, Satan. Why? Because He says, why would Christ all of a sudden take up defense for Joshua, the high priest? Is He worthy? I don’t think so. He says, a second time, the Lord rebuke you, Satan. Is this not Jerusalem, whom I’ve chosen? We should find no other cause, no other reason, no other reason that Jesus would defend Joshua other than He loved him, and He chose him, and He called him. That’s it. And so, when we find ourselves as the priesthood of God, and we find ourselves being represented here by Joshua, we should marvel in the fact that God would choose us, and love us, and defend us.

He says, is this not a burnt branch pulled out of the fire? Why would I go through the trouble of pulling a branch out of the fire that was going to be consumed, only to let it be thrown back into the fire? That doesn’t make any sense. The Lord says, I snatched this stick out of the fire for a reason. Though it may still smell like smoke, they admit, though it may be scorched and burnt, it’s my stick.

Hebrews 12 says, the Lord disciplines those whom He loves. And so, maybe it was the Lord that stuck us in the fire for a minute, to purge away those things that we loved, to remove Babylon from us. But He pulled us back out, because He loves us. The Lord, the Lord disciplines us. And discipline always has a goal in mind. The Lord had a goal in mind in afflicting us. It’s to bring us back. For His holiness sake, He did it. Punishment is altogether different. The Lord disciplines those whom He loves. What else does it say? It says that Joshua, after Satan had been silenced, it says that now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed in filthy garments. Everything that Satan said about you, everything that Satan charged you with, everything that Satan was pointing out wrong with Joshua, he was right. Joshua was rightly accused. He was filthy. Inside and out. Unfit to offer anything to the Lord, much less represent the whole people of God.

Joshua was filthy, it says.

But I want you to be encouraged, because Christ cleanses us.

Nothing. Nothing was said to Joshua. After it was pointed out that he was standing there filthy. He was standing there with his mouth closed silent before Christ. And what happens? What happens? He didn’t tell Joshua to go and find a tub and wash his robe and jump jump through these hoops and do this stuff, Christ commands His servants, those who are standing before Him, to remove the filthy garments from Him. And He says, behold, I’ve taken your iniquity away from you.

Christ cleanses us. He takes those things that are offensive to Him, all of those iniquities, those things that we have defiled ourselves with, the things that we stand by and watch the church defile itself with, the things that we bring into our homes for our families to be defiled with, the things that we love and take pleasure in that defile us. He removes them. He cleanses them. But Christ wouldn’t just have Joshua to stand there naked, or to go and find some garments for himself, or, hey, here’s another set, try again.

Christ clothes us. He covers us in garments that are fit to serve God. It says here that He says, I’ll clothe you with pure vestments, unstained, undefiled. I personally think that some commentators would say this is a white garment, maybe. I personally think this would be the garment that Zechariah… Zechariah would have seen that they had in mind the garment that the high priest would have worn once a year on the holy day to go in and atone for the sins of Israel. Very, very colorful. Very, very elaborate.

It was a garment that was reserved for something. It was set apart. It wasn’t a common garment. It wasn’t a garment like you had before. It’s a pure robe. The NSB says a festal robe. It’s a robe reserved for those special days. That’s what Jesus clothes us with. And I hope you know that the picture there is not a fabric, not something that can be found here. It’s something woven with a handkerchief. It’s something woven with a hand that isn’t human. It’s something adorned with jewels that can’t be found here. The robe has fruit on it that can’t be produced by common trees.

It’s the robe of the righteousness of Christ. It’s the robe of the righteousness of Christ. It’s the robe of the righteousness of Christ. What other robe would be fit for the priest to go in and intercede on behalf of God’s people?

It’s only the righteousness of Christ to be clothed in the spotless, stainless, without blemish, wonderful blood that makes me fit to stand before God. And serve as a priest.

So, servants of God, repent of your fear and your laziness. Take heart, be encouraged, because Jesus has established us to offer our sacrifices to him. Notice that Joshua has done nothing except stand there condemned. And then he’s had his iniquity stripped away from him. And he’s been clothed with the righteousness of Christ.

Jesus establishes us so that we could offer sacrifices to God.

So, I’m thinking about that hymn. Though Satan should buffet and no trials should come, let this blessed assurance control that Christ has regarded my helpless estate in what? He shed his own blood. For my soul. We have an enemy. We would do well to recognize him. And not deny it. But don’t cower in fear. Don’t run afraid.

We’re sinners. We’re filthy. Don’t despair. We have a great hope. Because Jesus has done something. He’s done something wonderful here. Jesus has removed our iniquity as far as the east is from the west. He remembers them no more. And he’s offered us his own righteousness. His own record.

So, if you have been established in that way to serve God, take care to keep a holy heart. And clean hands. For only then will we have the approval and favor of the Lord. To serve in and to keep his house. In verse 6 it says, And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, thus says the Lord of hosts, if, it’s a conditional statement, if you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts. If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then I’ll give you the right of access among those who are standing here. It’s conditional. If you will keep yourself. If you will follow my law. If you will not be stained by the world. If you will not go your own way.

Then you’ll have my approval, my favor, my blessing. You’ll have access to me. We cannot offer holy sacrifices with impure hearts. To keep the Lord’s way in the internal sense. My attitude. My desires. My motives. Are they according to the will and the way of God? Because he will have it no other way. Your sacrifices are a stench. If you offer up something to someone for something other than to glorify God, it’s unacceptable. If you want something in return or if you want to be praised, it’s unacceptable. It’s unacceptable. What is your attitude? Do you come in here on Sundays and it’s your day to make coffee and you just couldn’t think of anything worse to do? Such an inconvenience. Got to be here early. Three pots. Is it done brewing yet? God doesn’t want you to make coffee. Somebody else will do it.

Do you, from a renewed and a pure heart, love to serve God? Or is it an obligation?

We cannot handle holy matters with unclean hands. Your actions, not only your attitude, your dispositions, but your actions, they matter.

You can’t use these hands to go and serve the lusts of the flesh and then on Sunday afternoon come and strum the guitar, Chase.

Somebody else will play. God doesn’t want it. It’s an abomination. You can’t handle holy things with unclean hands. How, if I can’t even govern and guard and take care of my own actions, how then would I, as a priest of God, be able to make right judgments and settle disputes among you guys? How can you do that? If you can’t even keep yourself clean. You can’t think right. You don’t know what’s right. God, I don’t believe that God is going to give you the discernment and the wisdom and the wisdom and the wisdom and the wisdom and the knowledge to perform that task if you’re not keeping your heart and your hands clean.

We can’t offer the sacrifices according to our own way. We make up all sorts of things to do in the church today. All sorts of new modes of worship and new shiny things to do and ways to go about it. And while I think that God would be glad if I… God has prescribed a certain way to be worshipped. I think there is some freedom in that.

But we should at least check it and weigh it against the way of the Lord, right? He says, if you will walk in my ways, not your own. I can’t walk in my way and call it His way and expect to be shown favor by.

And in the same way, I must defend that way. I have to defend the right way. And a lot of times I think we’ll be labeled as fuddy-duddies and just old, crusty Christians and whatever it may… Call me what you want. But you’re not the one that’s going to provide me a house to live in. A house to serve and to keep. And you’re not going to provide me access among the angels of the Lord. The Lord does. Are you seeking man’s approval or His? Take care to guard the faith. Take care to guard the way that we’re commanded to live and serve. Take care to guard the way that we’re commanded to live Take care to guard the way that we’re commanded to live Take care to guard the way that we’re commanded to live Take care to guard the way that we’re commanded to live

I’m a new man. I’m a new creature. I’ve been clothed with Christ. And now I’ve got to go and walk in the ways. That sounds daunting. And it is. It’s impossible. So how are you going to do it? How are you going to keep your way so that you could be an effective servant in the church? Won’t we just fall back to where we were? Garments will be stained. Being condemned. Rightly so. Paul says this in the letter to the Galatians. Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

I made my beginning into this restored, renewed, regenerated state with this wonderful garment on to serve God. To serve God. And to be pleasing to Him. And be accepted. And that’s a work of the Spirit. That Spirit wrought.

So we have to continue in the same Spirit. We weren’t renewed, regenerated, restored by the Spirit and then finish it in the flesh. In our own power. It’s by the power of God. It’s by the power of the Spirit that I’m going to walk in His ways. And guard His charge. Hear what He says to the Hebrews.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. With our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. And this is where Joshua here is just a type and a shadow of the ultimate high priest, Jesus, who entered into the holy place through His flesh and offered His own blood to cleanse us. And Jesus represents the people of God. And it’s in Jesus’ flesh that we are cleansed. It’s in Jesus that I can enter into the holy place. And it’s in Jesus that I can offer sacrifices that are acceptable to God. Not by my own keeping of the way. It’s in Jesus that I find the strength to obey and the desire to want to obey. It’s in Jesus. We’ll go back to Peter. In 1 Peter, we’re being built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. To offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. It’s through Jesus Christ that I’m accepted. It’s through Jesus Christ that I’m pleasing. It’s through Jesus Christ that I have the strength to resist my sin. It’s through Jesus Christ that when I do fall, I have an advocate who’s interceding for me and pleading for me. I have an advocate who defends me in the face of the enemy and in the presence of a holy God. It’s through Jesus. So don’t do like I have a tendency to do. Wrestle with it and work through it. When you see this, you must walk in the way. Don’t confuse what I’m saying. You must be blameless. You must be. God will not lower His standard for you. But the way for you to achieve the standard is through Jesus. So every morning, every morning when you wake up and you’re just like the remnant here and you’re discouraged, what’s the point? We’re in bad shape. I’m a sinner. How many times have I fallen? How many times have I fallen this week, Lord? I’m not worthy to serve You. I’m not worthy to get up here and preach this Word. I’m not worthy to make coffee in Your church. I’m not worthy to hold the doors open. I’m not worthy to have a Bible study with my family. You remind yourself that even though you’re not worthy, Jesus is. And it’s in Jesus that you will find your worth. And your acceptance.

You preach that gospel to yourself. Because believe me, Satan, Satan will do everything he can day in and day out to make you doubt that. To make you ineffective. And if he could, if it were possible, to make you leave the faith altogether. Like the writer of the Hebrews says, for you, I’m sure better things. I’m sure that you are going to wake up in the morning and you’re going to preach that gospel to yourself. That in Christ I’m accepted. Because I’m clothed in these wonderful garments.

If we’re a royal priesthood, we must make sure that we’re in service of the church. It’s what we do. It’s what the priesthood does. It’s the duty of the priest to serve. We offer sacrifices and yes, spiritual sacrifices in the new covenant. But we must serve all of us. He says we are a priesthood. I’m not the only priest. Pastor Chad’s not the only priest. Elder Chris is not the only priest. You men are not the only priest. We’re all being built up into a priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices through Jesus. Jesus. So let us be what we were called out of darkness to be. What we were restored from this filthy, abominable state to be. Work hard. And just have these handful of areas in our life and we’ll be done. We’re a priesthood. We should offer sacrifices for the church universal. And I think the best way way that we could do that is to pray. I think we should pray hard for the church universal. People in the Middle East, in Eurasian countries, and even here in America, we’re in bad shape. I think we can see a pretty good similarity to the state that Judah’s in here. It’s pretty bleak. If you didn’t have this hopeful vision in mind, you might be tempted to give up, but we’re sure of better things. And so we pray hard. We pray faithfully without ceasing. Pray for the evangelical church in America. We will compromise on everything. Every corner that there is, for the sake of numbers, for the sake of, what a name it, we will change whatever you want us to change, as long as you’ll come and sit and like us. Pray for that.

Brothers, as pastors and elders, I think we have a special, unique calling, not in any value or worth, but just as a calling. Just to serve more. To offer more. And we, we, above all, better make sure our hearts and our hands are clean before we come in here and offer up anything.

Us as a local church,

let us be a people who give thanks. We have much to be thankful for. God has blessed our church. So many ways. We have individual stories of thanksgiving. We have, we have, we have stories that we can all corporately give thanks for, hope, allowing us to meet here. And it’s, it’s a financial blessing to us. We have ministries that we can partake in. We have much to be thankful for. And thanksgiving is specifically mentioned as a sacrifice, a sacrifice of prayer. Praise. Thank you, Lord, for what you’ve done. Thank you, Lord, for the families that are here. Thank you, Lord, for this army of children that we have. Thank you.

He also, he also says that a, a worthy sacrifice

is to share what you have. Don’t neglect to do good to one another and to share what you have. Let us be a people who offer sacrifices and meet the needs of one another with our time, our talents, our resources. Tithes are mentioned as a worthy sacrifice. When Epaphras brings this, this financial gift, it’s a worthy sacrifice. It’s a worthy sacrifice. It’s a worthy sacrifice. It’s a worthy sacrifice. It was a sacrifice pleasing to God. It smells wonderful when you would give your precious hard-earned money to God at the local church. He is pleased with that. Not begrudgingly. God doesn’t want it if you’re, if you’re going to do it begrudgingly. Keep it. I think you’ll provide in another way. And I don’t say that arrogantly, but if you, if you’re, if you’re going to give, don’t give out of, out of, obligation. Sure, it would benefit us, but I don’t think it does much good in the sight of God for you. God loves a cheerful giver. Let us coach ourselves on how to be cheerful, sacrificial givers. Dads, parents, but dads and moms too.

Be a priest over your house. Serve your house well. Show them what it looks like to properly offer up worship to God.

Pray for it relentlessly. Keep it in order. No, search the words, search the scriptures so that you can know how to properly, you’ll have wisdom and discernment in how to deal with just the daily decisions in life. You’re responsible. That was a responsibility of the priest. If, if, if you and I were having a quarrel and we couldn’t settle it, we would go to the priest. What do you think about this? If you will be, if you will be in Christ and walk in his ways and, and, and keep charge over that in your own life, I believe that God will show favor on you and, and, and help you to do that in the life of your family and your friendships and your, and your relationships at work. Manage your household as a priest. Manage your household as a priest. Manage your household as a priest. of God. Bring them in, bring them in by the blood of Christ into the holy place and, and take them into the presence of God to give thanks and make requests. To plead for the salvation of your uncles and your neighbors. And kids, this is the last one. This one’s for you. The best for last. Listen to me, kids. I, I think that, that you can do something that is super extraordinarily pleasing to the Lord. Here it is. Obey your parents. Honor your parents. God says that if you will honor and obey your parents, things will go well for you. You have God’s approval when you do that. Do you know that your parents love you more than you could ever imagine? I don’t even understand how much I love my own kids. And God, God loves them far more than that. God loves you far more than that. Obey your parents. Help your parents. Offer up sacrifices to your parents. If you see a dirty dish on the table, don’t just look at it and then go and play with your toy. That’s a sacrifice that, that you could offer up, not only to your parents, but to God. And it’d be pleasing to him. Pick it up. Scrape it off in the trash. Put it in the sink.

If you have some dirty socks and underwears on the floor, put it in the laundry basket. When your parents tell you to do something, don’t say, yeah, but I’m gonna do this first. Obey the first time. And God will bless you. That’s a promise from the Lord. The word of God. He will bless you if you obey and honor your parents.

I want to take you back to this, this, this verse here. Zechariah makes a plea to Jesus. He says, let them put a clean turban on his head. So Jesus says, I’m going to clothe you with these festal robes. And Zechariah’s like, put the turban on too. Put the turban on too. The high priest wear this turban and it had a gold crown on the front. And on it, it said, holy to the Lord.

Zechariah’s, please complete this outfit. Complete this symbol. Make, make this, make this man completely and altogether set apart for God.

And so in Christ, the high priest who wears the crown and the robe and who clothes us with those same garments were holy to the Lord. Live like it. In closing, I want to read to you. The benediction from Hebrews.

Hebrews 13. Now, may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ. To whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Lord.

To you be glory. To you be honor. To you be thanksgiving. Forever. Because you alone are the great high priest of the house of God. And in you alone, I’m cleansed. And in you alone, I have access. To the heavenly places, the holiest of places. In you alone, can I serve? Can it be acceptable? In you alone, can I find the strength to obey and walk in your ways? In you alone, am I gifted with knowledge and wisdom and the how to navigate everyday life? In you alone, am I gifted? In you alone, am I gifted with gifts that serve and build up the church? In you alone, am I kept? Because you’re the great shepherd. In you alone is my joy. In you alone is my happiness. It’s you alone, Lord. So I pray that this truth, I pray that this reality would be rooted deep in our hearts, Lord. And that we would make every attempt to preach it to ourselves and believe it without wavering. And Lord, I just ask that you would keep us. And use us. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.