Well, it's a great pleasure to be back with you and to be bringing the message this morning. Uh, I'd say we're going to be looking at the book of Zachariah. Um, one of the dangers, if you're one that was around when I was around, uh, back, uh, some, uh, nearly, uh, 20 years ago now, not quite that long, but, uh, you may remember when I preached through Zachariah in 2007, Some of you older ones may remember what I preached to Zachariah in 1986. And I won't be saying anything new compared to those previous times, but it's a book that has great value for us and it points us to Christ. We're going to be reading in sort of a middle of eight visions that Zachariah receives, the fourth of the eight, and is often true in Hebrew literature, the most important idea is found in the middle. Often builds up to the idea and then sort of builds down. And I don't know if you saw that in Psalm 110. It has seven verses. Number one, talks about the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the reigning king. Verse two, the victorious king, Jesus Christ. Verse three, his ruling as king. Verse five, Jesus Christ as king. Six, Jesus Christ as king. Seven, Jesus Christ, the reigning, ruling, victorious king. And what's the four? Well, Philip mentioned it, his priesthood, his high priesthood. And so it stands out. It's sort of the highlight. You know, you have king, king, king, priest, king, king, king. Well, here we have the fourth and the fifth visions. The fourth talks about the high priest, the fifth, the earthly ruler, and they're at the center. And so the focal point of the visions, what God is going to do through the kingship and the high priesthood. And of course, as we read these and it talks about men who are living in Zechariah's day, it's looking forward to the fulfillment. in Jesus Christ, so we need to keep that in mind as we read here, Zechariah 3, it's the fourth vision. I'll be reading from the ESV. Then he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel 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 this not a brand pluck from the fire? Now Joshua stood standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, remove those 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 them 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'll 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. Here now, Joshua, the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are assigned. Behold, I will bring my servant the branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts. And I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree. I'm sure many of the parents know the frustration. You're trying to get ready for something special and you get your kids all dressed up. Maybe you're going to a wedding or something like that and you want them to stay clean. And so you say, you know, don't get dirty while you try to hurriedly get dressed. And as you do that, you find that your child has been in a mud puddle or maybe has gotten out the markers and now that beautiful garment has marker on it. We were in Pittsburgh for our granddaughter's baptism. And they had a beautiful gown for the baptism. They found it. And as they did that, I'm not one that notices such things, but I thought, that is really a nice gown. And we get to the church and her granddaughter is wearing something different. It seems that what small babies often do, she had messed up her clothes and they had to change to something different. Well, that's the situation here. You have the high priest, and he's standing, and he's in filthy rags. His clothing isn't appropriate to the situation. And later on, really what's going on is his clothing is his sins. His sins are defiling him. so that he could not stand blameless before God. And so we're gonna take a look at that. And there are five things that we're gonna see this morning. First is the ongoing spiritual need that Joshua has and that each one of us has for cleansing. There's a spiritual warfare going on and the devil accuses those who are servants of God of uncleanness, of sin? What's our answer? The second point is the answer is found in the Messiah. That we have to look beyond ourselves to Jesus Christ. Third, we could see the blessings that are a result of the work of the Messiah on our behalf. Fourth, there's a practical application and Joshua's lives and our lives as we maybe are faced with doubts and questions, maybe the devil wanting to plant it in our minds that you can't serve God. You're disqualified by what you've done in the past, what you're doing now. And then finally, the foundation for all this being true. And so the first point we need to see in this fourth vision is the need. Joshua is standing there, but there's something wrong. His garments are dirty. Now, Zachariah would have known the high priest personally, so he would recognize who it is in this vision. He would understand that the role that he has as a high priest of the nation, that role that he has to go in and represent the people before God. He would have understood that the elaborate rituals that would have been involved in that. how his clothing was to be a certain way, how he had to take the blood of an animal with him, how he had to perform sacrifices and all the rest. But there's something that matter. And notice he's standing, not before the Lord of hosts, as often talks about God throughout the book of Zechariah, but the angel of the Lord. And we've already seen that term in Zechariah, in chapter one, as a reference to Jesus Christ, that one who represents God, before he came in human flesh. And so he's standing before Jesus, and he's in filthy garments, and also standing before him as the devil. Literally, it's the adversary that's pointing really to what he's doing. He's accusing Joshua here, but we find in Revelation 12, he's always accusing all the brethren, all those who believe in Jesus Christ. They're doing wrong. Sometimes before God, sometimes it's the accusation in our own ears. as we maybe think, well, who am I to preach this week considering what I've done? Who am I to teach a Sunday school class as I look back on my life? Who am I to witness to somebody about the difference Christ makes in their life when you followed my thought life this week? how far I've been away from God. And literally, as it talks about those filthy garments, they have dung on them. Vile. We might be thinking about some of the things we've done. And how vile are those things? And the priest, especially, was to be holy. He had a turban and said, I'm not holy to the Lord. To remind of that whole holiness code that's in the book of Leviticus. How there's such a great concern to be holy. And day by day, what did the priest do? He would take and offer sacrifices for sin. He'd get done with one day, and he'd have to the next day offer more sacrifices. And one day a year, he'd go in the holy of holy places with blood. to, again, offer sacrifices for the people. And all that. And Zechariah's day is gone. The temple has been destroyed. It's not been rebuilt. They're starting to rebuild it. But there's no holy place. The Ark was carried off to Babylon and is no more. The priest garments, who knows what happened to them. And so he's standing there. And he's defiled. And verse four makes it clear that it's a sin that's the ultimate defilement. It isn't that he's standing in the open before the altar there and the sand and the dirt comes on his garments. It's the inner pollution of a sin that has to be dealt with. And notice, as the devil accuses him, he's silent. He has nothing to say. He can't say, you know, well, I tried hard, or I'm more pious than my grandparents were, or those previous generations that went into captivity because they were so bad. You know, I tried to live a good life, and just came a little short. And we might think about ourselves. What are we able to say when our sin is pointed out to us? Can't say, well, you know, my intentions were good. You know, I'm more, spiritually alert than others around me. I was placed in a bad situation and did the best I could. I just fell short. Which brings us then to the second point. For Joshua and for us, there's an advocate. The answer to Joshua's need as he stands there in his filthy garments is there in verse two. The angel Lord says, the Lord rebuke you, oh Satan. Joshua could not do anything for himself as he can't answer the charges against him. There's one who does. Jesus Christ. And as we look at our sin, we have that same advocate who silences the accusations of the evil one. And ultimately two things have to happen. The filthy garments have to be removed off of Joshua and they need to be replaced by pure garments. And that's what happens in this vision. And when did that happen? Well, it happened at the cross. When God placed our sins, Joshua's sins, on Jesus Christ and he bore every one of them on the cross. Dying so that our sins could be forgiven. and in his righteousness place to our account. It's what's called the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, dying in our place. And now we're clothed with his righteousness. Enduring the pain, enduring the suffering, enduring the punishment due to sin. and then clothing us, putting his righteousness to our accounts. And so in verse four, behold, behold, I have taken your iniquity away and I will clothe you with pure vestments. That's the essence of what Jesus Christ does for each one of us. If we're in him, He takes away our sin and closes us with his righteousness. And Zachariah calls for a clean turban to be put on Joshua's head. That turban that said, holy to the Lord. That was that final part of his clothing. that he would use to minister, to be a servant on behalf of the people. He wants that complete cleansing that enables Joshua to now serve in that role as high priest. And for us, it means that as we're cleansed and as we're clothed anew, we're able to be servants of Jesus Christ as well. Third point that we need to see in this vision is the results when these blessings are placed upon the people of God. First result you could look at is in verse eight. Here now, Joshua, high priest, you and your friends are assigned. Behold, I will bring my servant a branch. Now it's maybe a little bit confusing language, but what's going on here? It's essentially saying, Joshua, you and your friends, presumably the other priests who are around him or his advisors and helpers, you're a sign. Just as we might see a railroad sign. And it'd be an indication that you're coming up to a place where a railroad goes by. There's something important up ahead. Joshua is a high priest is saying there's something important coming to the high priesthood. There's going to be a high priest. That's going to be unique. And he's called my servant, the branch. And you could go and look at it and Isaiah and other play places. where the branch has the idea of growth, of new life, of new vitality. And there is going to be one who comes. A high priest is going to come. Who's going to do that? Who's going to give spiritual life to the people of God? He's going to be the fulfillment of all that the high priesthood represents. in terms of bringing peace with God. And of course, we know that it's with Jesus Christ is that one who does this. And we read in Hebrews, Philip read some of those verses that talk about that, what Jesus Christ did that all the other priests could not do. They're prevented by death from continuing on. And their giving of the blood of an animal couldn't really take away sin. But the branch, that great high priest who is to come, would take away sin once and for all, would establish peace with God. And then a second blessing is found there in verse 10. In that day, you know, The day that this great high priest is going to usher in declares the Lord of Hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree. It's a picture of really the abundant life. When can you have this? dare say it's in a time of great prosperity and peace. In Ukraine, I don't think you have people inviting their neighbors over for a picnic. But as we enjoy peace and prosperity, we can say, yeah, come on over. Let's force a lot of joy. Let's get together. Let's have a picnic. And so there has to be an absence of war. There has to be, you know, more than enough that you have something that you can share with others. And of course, the ultimate fulfillment of this, when there's no more war, when there's no more disease, when there's no more hunger or thirst, no more death, is in heaven. And so it's looking forward to the ultimate fulfillment in heaven. In verse seven, I would give the right of access to those standing here. Access to God, access to heaven. How do we receive entrance into heaven? It's through that Messiah, that one who comes as a high priest. And at first glance, it would seem to be conditioned upon Joshua and his friends' obedience. It says, if you walk in my ways and keep my charges, then. But what it's really talking about is after the work of the Messiah is done. how we receive in this life the fullness of that blessing. I'd compare it to a couple that adopts a child. Maybe from another country. And they're adopting that child, they're choosing that child, establishes that relationship. Now the child may disobey, but it doesn't undo the relationship. It just puts a strain on it. And so the encouragement is to walk in obedience. Don't put a strain on a relationship. But Jesus Christ has established that relationship through the branch, through his servant. And we're able to stand now before God unashamed, We're able to serve in this kingdom because of what Jesus Christ has done, because of his finished work. And so fourthly, we can see how this is a cure for any doubts that Joshua might have, any doubts that you or I might have, as we look at our lives that are contaminated by sin and may wonder, won't that stop? any productive labor in the kingdom of God. Doesn't it disqualify me from serving in God's kingdom? And so in verse nine it mentions, behold on that stone I've set before Joshua an inscription. Inscriptions can be very important when you think about the Statue of Liberty and the truth that it has. Well, the next line goes and tells us what that inscription is. What's so important that Joshua know and that we would know? It's, I will remove the iniquity of the land in a single day. I will remove the iniquity of the land in a single day. How crucial and how important that truth is. We read in Hebrews how Jesus was different. The high priest They had to do morning sacrifice. And then got done with that, they had an evening sacrifice. They got up the next day and they had another morning sacrifice, another evening sacrifice. They get to the day of Yom Kippur and they have a special sacrifice and a special day of fasting. And that went on year after year after year after year. And you'd have a sense that, yes, something was happening, something important, and yet it really wasn't taking care of the problem. And if you think about it, how does this death of this animal substitute for my sins? How could it ever be worse? what I've done. And so Jesus Christ offered himself once for all and did remove sin. And Joshua, and you and I are never to doubt that. When the devil would want to whisper in our ear and say, you can't serve me. You can't serve God. Your sin gets in the way? You're not worthy? Well, the answer is, yeah, I am not worthy. But Jesus died for me. Jesus has dealt with all my sins. They are no longer being held against me. And so I am part of God's family. I am useful in service in God's kingdom. And finally, our fifth point, why does God act in this way? Or he said, it's not because of who Joshua is, who we are. You know, this is because Joshua's much better than his forefathers, more saintly. You know, we have more spiritual insight than others around us. You know, look at our maybe unbelieving family members and say, yeah, I'm so much better than they are. You know, it comes down in verse two to God's choice. The Lord has chosen Jerusalem. God chooses a people for himself. And it's clear as you read the Old Testament, God chose the nation of Israel, not because they're mightier than other nations, not because they're more saintly than other nations. It was simply based on God's choice. This will be my people. because of God's election. The same idea is really found in the picture in verse two, a brand plucked from the fire. The image is you have this big fire, all sorts of branches and sticks in it. And maybe somebody is walking by and looks at this big fire. And he says, I like that stick. I think that one will make a good walking stick. And so what do they do? They grab before it can be all burned up and grab it and pull it out. Pluck it from the fire. Now that stick has no ability to move itself. It can get out of the way. It's all based on the choice. of the one who sees it and takes it out of the fire. And that's what God does when he takes us, not from a fire in this life, but from eternal fire, plucking us from hell and saving us graciously. And Joshua would have understood God's grace in this. Cause what's his family background? Well, you can find out about his grandfather. It was high priest. It was high priest when the land was conquered and you can read about it in second Kings 25 and Nebuchadnezzar orders the leaders to be taken out of the city, heading the way is his grandfather's Saria. and then the military leaders and the government leaders, and then 60 leading citizens of the city, all taken out of Jerusalem. And what happens to them? They're all executed in front of the king and in front of the Jews. No doubt, as a warning saying, if you rebel against me, this is what's going to happen to you. What his father's mentioned in First Chronicles 6-5. His life is spared, but he goes into captivity. And he dies in captivity. A slave. in an alien land. And Joshua would have been that one plucked by God, allowed to go back to the promised land. He was saved by grace, by the grace of Jesus Christ. And that's how we're all saved. is by the grace that's found in Jesus Christ. Well, as you think about application, first question is, have you escaped the fire? There is a coming day of judgment and it will not be pleasant for those who are not in Christ. And so day is a day of salvation. Day is the day to repent of your sin and to trust Jesus Christ, whether you're young or old. And if you have, implies certain things. First is thankfulness. If you understand what you've been saved from, how you've been plucked out of the fire, how thankful you should be, how you should be fervently coming to the worship. When the offering plate comes around, how you should cheerfully give. How you should sing heartily. Be thankful. also means being humble. If you're saved, it's nothing in you, nothing that you've done. It's nothing because you are smarter, more godly, but it's based on God's choice, his reaching down and pulling you out of the fire. And then third, you're saved to serve. That you have some role in the kingdom of God. This morning we talked really about mercy ministry. Maybe that's what some are called to do. Others are maybe here to teach or to witness. to be in the leadership in the church, to have a Bible study in your home. You've been saved in order to serve. For some, maybe at the age where the most basic thing you can do is pray. Be a prayer warrior. And don't let any doubts stop you or hinder you. Those filthy garments were taken away completely from Joshua, from you and from me. We don't need to worry about them. We need to trust Jesus, who has clothed us with his righteousness. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we give thanks for this marvelous passage of scripture, which some 500 years before it ever happened, points us to Good Friday, to the cross, to Jesus Christ dying that once raw death that did what the blood of bulls and goats and a heifer could not do. remove our sins completely. And that was only half of what was taking place, that we're also then clothed with his righteousness. So that when you look upon us, you see us, not out of sins, but in the righteousness that we have through Christ. Help us to be thankful, to show it, to show it in humility as we realize it's all a gift from you, and then realize that we're saved to serve in your kingdom. May we understand what role you have for us in that process. We pray these things in Christ's name, amen. Turn please to Psalm 85. I notice in the second stanza, forgiven have your people been, and you have covered all their sin. From us you've taken away all your wrath and turned your fierce anger's path. What a glorious truth, what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. Let's stand and sing the four stanzas, Psalm 85a.