Sin, Grace, Jesus and the Gospel
Zechariah • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 12 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
We are back in the book of Zechariah Today…
If you have your Bible open to Zechariah Chapter 3...
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
1 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. 2 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?” 3 Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. 4 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.” 5 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. 6 And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, 7 “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. 8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. 9 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. 10 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.”
The Book of Zechariah was written to the people who were coming back to Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile…
The Babylonian Exile was a 70 year period of time when the people of Judah were held captive in by King Nebucandezzer. After that 70 year period God called His people back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and to reestablish the Jewish community of faith.
So Zechariah was written to those who are returning from Babylon but it is also written for us…
The Vision in Zechariah Chapter 3 is centered around this guy named Joshua. Joshua was the first High Priest in the New Temple!
I think it is important that we know a little bit about Joshua:
The Joshua mentioned in is not Joshua who lead Israel across the Jordan River and led their conquest of the Promised Land in 1400 B.C. This is a diffrent Joshua not the one the the Book of Joshua is named after.
The Joshua of was a Levite and descendant of the first High Priest Aaron.
The Joshua of was a Levite and descendant of Aaron in post-exilic Jerusalem in approximately 538 B.C. Joshua’s name also appears as “Jeshua” and is listed as one of the first of those returning from Babylon in : “They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah. . . .”
Joshua’s name also appears as “Jeshua” Joshua and Jeshua are the same guy!
Joshua was one of the first to return from Babylon in
The Joshua of was a Levite and descendant of Aaron. Joshua’s name also appears as “Jeshua” and is listed as one of the first of those returning from Babylon in
7 They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:
So Joshua responded to the call of God to come out of Babylon and return to Jerusalem! He was will to uproot and follow God!
Joshua is also mentioned in:
1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest:
Joshua became and important figure and leader during this time! He was the priest who helped to rebuild the temple!
Joshua is the priest who helped to rebuild the temple!
1 Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
We don’t know much else about him… other than he played a significant roll in building the temple.
It is important to point out that the name “Joshua” is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek name “Jesus.”
Joshua would soon help rebuild the temple (). God used the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to communicate His command to rebuild the temple and encourage the people in their work. Joshua served as the spiritual leader and high priest who supported the effort, and Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah, also involved in the work.
Latter in the Book of Zechariah (Chapter 6) Joshua receives a crown…
As the first high priest in the rebuilt Jerusalem, Joshua played a significant historical role and was a precursor to Ezra, who came to Jerusalem during the second wave of returning exiles.
During this period, after the exile, the Jewish People didn’t have a king, they were under the rule of the Persians… So the high priest took on the roll of King as well… So Joshua became the first Priest-King...
Thus, the priest-king Joshua was a foreshadowing of the coming of Jesus, who is both our High Priest and King!
Significantly, the name “Joshua” is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek name “Jesus.” Thus, the priest-king Joshua was a foreshadowing of the coming Messiah, and the similarity extended even to his name.
The coming of Jesus is prophesied here in chapter 3… Jesus is the Branch that is mentioned in verse 8…
OKAY ENOUGH ABOUT JOSHUA… LET’S LOOK AT OUR TEXT!
1 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. 2 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?”
1 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.
Sermon Ideas and Talking Points:
In Chapter 3 Zechariah is having another Vision… The Lord is revealing to him a spirtual scene… it is as if God rolled back the curtain that separates the spiritual realm from the physical realm so Zechariah could see what was taking place.
In Chapter 3 Zechariah is having another Vision… The Lord is revealing to him a spirtual scene… it is as if God rolled back the curtain that separates the spiritual realm from the physical realm so Zechariah could see what was taking place.
AND WHAT HE SEES IS SATAN STANDING BEFORE THE ANGLE OF THE LORD ACCUSING JOSHUA OF HIS SIN…
I think it is important for us to remember that Satan and Hell are not just symbols of evil or symbols of the dark side of humanity…
Satan and Hell are real. There is a real spiritual realm.
There was a poll done in 2011 that found that 88% of Americans believe in Angles… ‘
We can’t believe in heaven and angles, with out believing in hell and demons…
The Bible teaches that there is a real spirtual realm!
We don’t need to be obsessed with Satan and spiritual warfare, but we also can’t dismiss it either!
11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
).
We don’t need to be obsessed with Satan and spiritual warfare, but Paul does make it clear that we must not be ignorant of Satan’s schemes in order that he won’t take advantage of us ().
If we are ignorant of the reality that Satan is real, we have already been outwitted by HIM! So we need to understand that spirtual warfare is a real thing… that we have a real enemy… and his plan is to condem us!
In Hebrew, “satan” literally means “accuser.”
Satan is the one who stands before God and accuses us of breaking the Law… Satan is the one who wants us condemned for our sin!
For those of you who were with us for our Revelation series it is the same thing we saw in Revelation 12
10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
.
THAT IS WHAT SATAN DOES… HE PLAYS THE ROLL OF PROSECUTTER BEFORE GOD! WE ARE ALL GUILTY OF SIN! SO WE MAKE HIS JOB EASY!
BUT! I want you to hear this, CONDIMNATION DOES NOT COME FROM GOD!
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
God will convict us of sin… so we can repent of it! But God does not condem us!
There is a story of women caught in adultery… In Jesus day that was a death sentence… the story is found in …
This is how the story ends...
11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
John 8:
Even when we are guilty, Jesus doesn’t condem us!
Satan is our advisary and accuser… Jesus offers us grace and forgiveness!
That is why the Bible says:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Words of condemnation are always from SATAN!!!! He is our accuser!!!!
When Jesus saves us by grace… He takes our sin and gives us His righteousness… I THINK SOMETIME WE FORGET THAT!
We don’t need a savior because we are innocent… we need a savior because we are guilty!
Let’s look back at our passage:
3 Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. 4 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.” 5 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.
Remember Joshua was the High Priest! He was the most righteous that Israelites had to offer! He was one of the first to respond to the call of God to come back from Babylon!
Yet he was standing before God in filthy garments...
This is a prophetic vision…
He wasn’t literally standing before God in dirty clothes… He was standing before God in the filth of his sin… and as a priest he represented all the Jewish people.
So the vision is that even the most righteous stand before God filthy because of sin...
The word that is translated filthy, literally means excrement. POOP!
So what is being said here is that most righteous among us, stand before God covered in their own poop… It is pretty graphic!
Our sin stinks before God, we can’t cover it up with the perfume of religion.... We can’t fix it!
We can try to cover up sin but you can’t get the stink out!
I grew up on a farm… there is smell that gets into your skin… you can’t get rid of it… You can shower and scrub your hands but it lingers!
There is another verse that talks about this!
6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
The word translated polluted garment or filthy rags is the Hebrew term for menstural rags… The Bible is pretty clear… in and of ourselves we can’t clean our selves up enough do get rid of the stain that sin has left on our lives!
The Bible paints a pretty vivid picture of what trying to earn our salvation looks like to God… There is no one who is good enough to stand before God on their own merrits… Not Joshua, not you, not me…
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
So notice what happens in this vision...
Satan is standing before the Lord with Joshua… Joshua’s sins and the sins of the Jewish people are visible… they are filthy… they have just come out of Babylon… AND SATAN IS ACCUSING THEM… SATAN IS REMINDING GOD OF HIS LAW… AND DEMANDING THAT JUSTICE BE SERVED...
BUT WHAT DOES GOD DO?
4 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
4 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.” 5 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.
Zech 3:
God takes our sin… He cloths us in a new garment…
3. "There also seems to be a picture here of the negative aspect of what God does when he saves a person. Negatively, he takes away sin. Positively, he adds or imputes to the sinner saved by grace his own divine righteousness (cf. v. 5)," (Kenneth L. Barker, "Zechariah," The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Vol 7., 624).
That is what Jesus did for us on the cross… Jesus took our sin and then Jesus paid for our sin with his blood… So that we can be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. It was the shedding of Jesus blood on the cross that makes us righteous before God!
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
When God forgives us, He forgives us completely and “cleanses us from all unrighteousness”
The accuser, SATAN, would like to keep reminding us of our past failures, the accuser reminds us our sin, the accuser tells us we are worthless, the accuser says God could never forgive us but God makes us new and treats us as if we had never sinned.
THAT IS THE AMAZING GRACE OF GOD… THAT IS THE GRACE WE SING ABOUT!
When God forgives us, He does so completely and “cleanses us from all unrighteousness” The accuser would like to keep reminding us of our past failures, but God makes us new and treats us as if the sin hadn’t existed.
4. When God forgives us, He does so completely and “cleanses us from all unrighteousness” (). The accuser would like to keep reminding us of our past failures, but God makes us new and treats us as if the sin hadn’t existed.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
I don’t know what you have done, I don’t know the weight of your sin… but what I do know is that God Grace is Greater than Your SIN!
God replaces our filthy garment with a new one! He forgives us completely...
HE CLEANSES US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS....
DO NOT LISTEN TO THE ACCUSER… JESUS LOVES YOU AND HAS FORGIVEN YOU! ALL THAT IS REQUIRES IS THAT WE BELIEVE!
So what ever you issues are, whatever you have hidden in the closest of your soul, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT IF YOU HAVE PUT YOUR FAITH IN JESUS, YOU ARE FORGIVEN!
Notice in this passage, grace comes before the call to obedience.
In other words, grace empowers works, works never empower grace.
6. Notice in this passage, grace comes before the call to obedience. In other words, grace empowers works, works don’t empower grace.
This is really important…
Religion teaches that if you do enough good works, if you are obedient enough, than God might forgive you!
Religion teaches that we have to clean the poop off our garment before God will love us!
But God offers us grace… Grace is the difference between following Jesus and all other religions…
But God offers us grace… Grace is the difference between following Jesus and all other religions…
It is God’s grace that saves and it is only by His grace that we can be obedient to JESUS!
You see following God has always been about Grace…
Faith and Religion often look the same… but the heart is diffrent!
Doing good works won’t earn you grace with God…
God’s grace and salvation are a free gift. So someone can do good stuff and not know the grace of God… but you can’t know the grace of God and not have lead to good works.
THE TAKE AWAY TRUTH IS SIMPLE:
God's grace should not be used to continue in our sin.. God wants us to to do good things and no bad things…
To the women at the well Jesus said “I don’t condem you… GO AND SIN NO MORE!”
Jesus didn’t offer her grace based upon her works… She was guilty… But he did ask that because of the grace given to her that she change her actions!
The same was true for Joshua!
6 And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, 7 “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.
Verse 7 includes two phrases that are tied to the promise: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge!
“walk in my ways” is a reference to how one lives their life… it is reference to living ones life according to the decrees of God…
It means to to live a righteous life! To obey God’s law! To avoid sin!
It is what Jesus said to the women at the well! GO AND SIN NO MORE!
Jesus didn’t die on a cross to give us a free pass to sin all we want and claim grace!
The Second phrase is id “Keep My Charge”
That means to fulfill the duties God has called you to!
I think most people who have given their lives to Jesus understand that sin is bad and that we should not sin! BUT statistics tell us that most christians don’t understand what it means to do what God has called them to do!
We spend way to much time talking about Sin management and not enough time talking about DOING WHAT GOD HAS CALLED US TO DO!
8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. 9 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.
8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. 9 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. 10 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.”
The Prophecy given to Joshua was that one day Jesus would come in a single day Jesus would do for the world what God had already done for him… Jesus would remove sin… Jesus is the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy!
1 And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.” 9 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.” 14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.” 18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace. 20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord. 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ ” 1 The oracle of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach and Damascus is its resting place. For the Lord has an eye on mankind and on all the tribes of Israel, 2 and on Hamath also, which borders on it, Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise. 3 Tyre has built herself a rampart and heaped up silver like dust, and fine gold like the mud of the streets. 4 But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions and strike down her power on the sea, and she shall be devoured by fire. 5 Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid; Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish; Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded. The king shall perish from Gaza; Ashkelon shall be uninhabited; 6 a mixed people shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of Philistia. 7 I will take away its blood from its mouth, and its abominations from between its teeth; it too shall be a remnant for our God; it shall be like a clan in Judah, and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites. 8 Then I will encamp at my house as a guard, so that none shall march to and fro; no oppressor shall again march over them, for now I see with my own eyes. 9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. 11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. 12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double. 13 For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior’s sword. 14 Then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; the Lord God will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south. 15 The Lord of hosts will protect them, and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones, and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine, and be full like a bowl, drenched like the corners of the altar. 16 On that day the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land. 17 For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women. 1 Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field. 2 For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3 “My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like his majestic steed in battle. 4 From him shall come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler—all of them together. 5 They shall be like mighty men in battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets; they shall fight because the Lord is with them, and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them. 7 Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior, and their hearts shall be glad as with wine. Their children shall see it and be glad; their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord. 8 “I will whistle for them and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as they were before. 9 Though I scattered them among the nations, yet in far countries they shall remember me, and with their children they shall live and return. 10 I will bring them home from the land of Egypt, and gather them from Assyria, and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon, till there is no room for them. 11 He shall pass through the sea of troubles and strike down the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up. The pride of Assyria shall be laid low, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart. 12 I will make them strong in the Lord, and they shall walk in his name,” declares the Lord.
The Prophecy given to Joshua was that one day Jesus would come in a single day Jesus would do for the world what God had already done for him… Jesus would remove sin… Jesus is the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy!
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
This vision or prophecy ends with these words:
10 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.”
That is our charge… Our charge is to invite our neighbors to come to Jesus!
It is the charge to every one of us!
10 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.”