Zechariah 3:1-10 – A Dirty Christian – Bible study

Zechariah 3:1-10 A Dirty Christian Do you ever see yourself in the Bible? 1. Maybe as Peter who seemed to constantly be opening his mouth and putting his foot in it? 2. Or as Paul who did not recognize the high priest and rebuked him? 3. Or perhaps as Esther who had been given a great position but was hesitant to use it for God? If you have never seen yourself in the Bible before, maybe you will today. This is a story about a dirty Christian and what God wanted to do for him. Lets note some things. I. The main character here is Joshua, the High Priest of Israel. A. Typically, when we mention Joshua, especially in the Old Testament, we think of Joshua, the son of Nun, who followed Moses. B. This Joshua lived hundreds of years later; however, he was a great man in Gods eyes. 1. This is after Israel had been removed from the land by Babylon for the seventy years. 2. They are back in the land, rebuilding the temple, and Joshua is Israels high priest. 3. He is an extremely godly man whom the Lord pronounced several powerful blessings upon. (We dont have the time to get into those today, but it appears that God may not be finished with this man even today!) C. Over the years, I have told you that the High Priest had two important positions. 1. The High Priest represented God to the people. a. That is, when the people needed God or when God wanted to work with the people, He would go through the High Priest. b. This man would need to be pure and holy to adequately fulfill this role. 2. The High Priest represented the people to God. a. That is what Joshua is doing in this account. b. He is a picture of the entire nation of Israel standing before God. D. Notice how God viewed Israel. We can tell by how God viewed Joshua. 1. \#2\ God viewed Joshua as "a brand plucked out of the fire." a. Fire in the Bible is a picture of judgment. b. The fact that Joshua was a brand plucked out of the fire indicates that Israel had been in the fire of judgment but had been pulled out. c. That is, although Israel deserved Gods wrath, they have been rescued or saved from it. d. This is Gods way to telling us that the nation of Israel belonged to God. They were Gods people. (1) We need to understand that being Gods people on earth does not mean that each individual Jew had a ticket to heaven. (2) Israel was Gods people on earth and that did entitle them to many privileges. (a) They had Gods Word which meant they had access to knowledge that no other people had. (b) They had Gods priest to teach them. (c) If they obeyed Gods Word, they would have the best that God could give them in earthly blessings. (3) Even so, each individual Jew still had to have a personal, one-on-one relationship with God. (a) Each Jew had to understand His sin and believe by faith that Gods Lamb would remove it. (b) As a demonstration of that faith, they had to keep the covenant. Keeping the covenant did not save them but it did provide access to the blessings that God had offered. e. However, for all practical purposes, in this vision, Joshua represents the nation of Israel who represent the saved, the born-again. 2. \#1\ God viewed Joshua standing between Satan and the angel of the Lord (probably the Lord Jesus but that is a matter for another sermon). a. The High Priest represents Gods people. (1) Notice where Gods people stand. (2) Between the best God offers and the worst Satan offers. (3) Perhaps you have read a book or seen a movie which illustrates a person being tempted and pulled between the powers of right, normally represented as a little angel sitting on one shoulder, and the power of evil, normally pictures by a little demon sitting on the other. (4) That notion is a bit more Scriptural than you thought. b. Here are Gods people, being helped by the angel of the Lord while Satan does all that he can to trip them up. (1) Such is the way of life for the believer. (2) We must decide dozens of times every day which direction we will walk. (3) So Peter tells us. 1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 3. \#3\ God viewed Joshua has being "clothed with filthy garments." a. Clothing in the Bible is a picture of a persons righteousness. Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. b. Since Joshuas garments are dirty, God is seeing that Israel is again covered in sin. (1) We remember that Israel is a picture of the born again. (2) Israel is still Gods people still saved still plucked out of the fire. (3) But judging by their clothing, it appears that Satan has won a few battles. (4) As Jesus told Peter, walking in the world has dirtied the saints feet \#John 13:10\. (5) Israel, like us, had become dirty. II. So what does a dirty Christian need to do? A. Interestingly, the text does not tell us. It has another point in mind. B. However, the Bible tells us. 1. Christian, when you have dirtied yourself in sin, you should acknowledge and confess it. 1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. a. Agree with God that what you have done is wrong. b. Turn from it. c. Ask God to remove by putting it under the blood of Jesus. 2. Friend, understand, there is no other way to deal with sin in the Christians life. a. There is only one provision for sin after salvation just as there is only one provision for sin before salvation. b. It is humble agreement with God about your sin, repentance of sin, and asking God to remove that sin by cleansing power of the blood of Jesus! c. Things are not right in your life and they will never be right as long as you hold onto your sin! C. By the way, lost person, while the remedy sounds similar to what you need to do, the end is different. 1. Lost people do not just need cleansing. They need saving. 2. Christians dirty themselves with sin, that is true. a. Such sin robs us of fellowship with God and of His blessings. b. However, we are still His child. b. He may have to spank us (and God will), but it will be a loving discipline administered by a heavenly Father who cares for us. 3. Lost person, you stand in danger of the very wrath of God. a. He is not your Father. He is your Judge and Executioner. b. Beware that the wrath of God does not fall upon you with no warning and full of fury! c. You labor under a death and damnation penalty and God may choose to issue that penalty at any moment. 4. Sinner, I beg you today as well. a. Agree with God that you are a sinner and that Jesus died for your sins. b. Turn from your life of sin. c. Plead with Jesus to put you under the blood of Jesus and to cleanse you from sin! D. But Zechariahs point is to demonstrate what happens to the Christian when they do turn from their sin. 1. We left Joshua standing before God all dirty. 2. What will God do for a dirty people who will confess their sin and ask God to remove it? III. What will God do? A. \#4\ God will restore the dirty Christians righteousness. 1. Notice, God tells us that as the dirty clothes are removed, so is the sin! a. Some people like to think that God does not see their sin. b. Friend, you cant hide sin from God anymore than you can hide a ketchup stain the size of a football on the front of your shirt or blouse. c. God cant help but to notice a person as dirty as sin makes us! 2. I sometimes wonder if we as Christians have not begun to take for granted the great privileges we have. 3. One of the greatest privileges is to unburden ourselves of sin. a. Sin has like a great stone we must carry. b. Every new sin is another great stone. c. Our sin becomes a load that we cannot leave or remove. d. The more time that passes, the greater the load and the more it crushes us. B. \#5\ God will restore the dirty Christians position. 1. A mitre is another name for a special kind of head ware. a. It was the head ware of the High Priest. b. Just for simplicitys sake, lets call it a crown. c. God restored the crown to Joshuas head. d. What does that mean? God restored Joshuas position to him! 2. Friend, as a Christian, you are child of God. a. As a matter of fact, lets take that thought of the crown more literally. b. You are more than just a child of God. You are a PRINCE with God. c. That means that God has given you at least three things as His child. (1) He has given you purity. (2) He has given you privileges. (3) He has given you power. d. Sin cannot remove you salvation, but it can remove everything else! 3. God is telling us that He will restore all that sin has taken if you will just confess it and turn from it! C. \#6-7\ God will restore the dirty Christians service. 1. \#7\ Notice, that God is offering to let Joshua "judge his house" and keep Gods "courts." a. These are positions of exalted service. b. In the Old Testament, only a select few could come into the courts of God. (1) Typically, that was the priests. (2) In the Old Testament, the priests were about the only ones who had the privilege of serving God. c. But God is not only giving you the privilege to serve Him, but when you sin, God offers you the privilege to return to serving Him! 2. God even says you will judge His house! a. I wonder if this is what Paul was thinking when he wrote. 1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? b. God plans on us judging both the world and the fallen angels! c. Friend, God is offering you the privilege of the ages!! To be restored to serve Him! D. \#8\ God will restore the dirty Christians fellowship. 1. The BRANCH is in all capital letters. a. That means it is believed to be a name for God. b. More specifically, it is a name for Messiah or Christ. d. God is offering Joshua an opportunity to have fellowship with Christ! 2. This may be another of those privileges that we fail to relish as we should. a. You and I get to fellowship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit! b. E. \#10\ God will restore the dirty Christians blessings. 1. The vine and fig tree were fruit bearing. 2. This is how the people of Israel made their living. 3. If there is a people today who are tired of not having the blessings of God, it ought to be this generation. a. As it appears that we are about to enter into a double-dip recession. b. As unemployment in our state still hovers around 10%. c. As I read an article today that stated the price of houses is not expected to go up until at least 2020! There is a word that has come up over and over again. It is the word RESTORE. God is offering to restore you, your position, your service, your fellowship, and your blessings. How can you continue without these things? If you are a Christian, you cannot. Your soul must ache for God like a new born babe aches for its mother. Today, Christian, come home. Come home to your heavenly Father.