WEBVTT 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:12.820 Zechariah 3 verse 1 to 5 Then he showed me Joshua 00:00:12.820 --> 00:00:15.160 the high priest standing before the angel of 00:00:15.160 --> 00:00:18.500 the Lord and Satan standing at his right side 00:00:18.500 --> 00:00:23.219 to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan the Lord 00:00:23.219 --> 00:00:27.199 rebuke you Satan the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:31.989 rebuke you. Is not this man a burning stick snatched 00:00:31.989 --> 00:00:36.030 from the fire? Now Joshua was dressed in filthy 00:00:36.030 --> 00:00:39.909 clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel 00:00:39.909 --> 00:00:42.990 said to those who were standing before him, take 00:00:42.990 --> 00:00:46.890 off his filthy clothes. Then he said to Joshua, 00:00:47.850 --> 00:00:51.630 see I have taken away your sin and I will put 00:00:51.630 --> 00:00:56.490 fine garments on you. Then I said put a clean 00:00:56.490 --> 00:00:59.920 turban on his head. So they put a clean turban 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:02.799 on his head and clothed him while the angel of 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:19.700 the Lord stood by. Well good morning everyone. 00:01:22.829 --> 00:01:25.450 It's great to be with you this morning. Those 00:01:25.450 --> 00:01:28.030 of you who are regular at Grace can see I'm not 00:01:28.030 --> 00:01:31.170 Michael. Michael has a much cooler beard than 00:01:31.170 --> 00:01:35.090 I do. But my name is Tim. I'm one of the pastors 00:01:35.090 --> 00:01:38.230 at All Nations, and it is great to be with you 00:01:38.230 --> 00:01:40.290 this morning. If you have your Bibles, please 00:01:40.290 --> 00:01:43.590 keep them open to Zechariah chapter 3 as we hear 00:01:43.590 --> 00:01:47.590 from this somewhat unusual passage together. 00:01:47.909 --> 00:01:50.370 But before we do, let's pray and ask for God's 00:01:50.370 --> 00:01:59.189 help. Heavenly Father, you tell us that the preaching 00:01:59.189 --> 00:02:04.430 of your word is the smell of death to those who 00:02:04.430 --> 00:02:09.689 are perishing, but it is the smell of life to 00:02:09.689 --> 00:02:13.889 us who are being saved. So we simply ask that 00:02:13.889 --> 00:02:18.310 by the power of your Holy Spirit, many here this 00:02:18.310 --> 00:02:22.789 morning might find it the smell of life, some 00:02:22.789 --> 00:02:27.139 even for the very first time, because we ask 00:02:27.139 --> 00:02:34.219 it in Jesus' name, amen. In the 1800s, there 00:02:34.219 --> 00:02:37.460 were a series of books written, and these books 00:02:37.460 --> 00:02:42.120 were called rags to riches stories. You might 00:02:42.120 --> 00:02:44.580 have read some of them, but the basic plot of 00:02:44.580 --> 00:02:48.759 all of these stories is the same. A boy or a 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:53.139 girl is born very poor and then they grow up 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:56.840 to be rich and famous. They're born as an orphan, 00:02:56.919 --> 00:03:00.319 as an outcast. They're born with absolutely no 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:03.919 money to their name, but then they grow up through 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:07.300 hard work and a little bit of luck to be rich 00:03:07.300 --> 00:03:11.039 and powerful and famous. In fact, if you think 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:13.439 about it, that's pretty much the story of every 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:17.479 single Disney movie ever made. Kids, just think 00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:21.669 about the story of Cinderella. Cinderella is 00:03:21.669 --> 00:03:25.610 born as this poor, neglected, forgotten sister. 00:03:25.949 --> 00:03:28.849 Cinderella is a girl whose life is filled with 00:03:28.849 --> 00:03:33.610 dirt and rags. Until finally, Cinderella is loved 00:03:33.610 --> 00:03:37.129 by Prince Charming, and in the end, she becomes 00:03:37.129 --> 00:03:41.110 a beautiful princess. The whole story of Cinderella 00:03:41.110 --> 00:03:46.180 is rags to riches. And friends, the passage in 00:03:46.180 --> 00:03:49.520 front of us today in Zechariah chapter three 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:54.360 is the greatest rags to riches story ever told. 00:03:54.979 --> 00:03:59.300 And even better than that, this story is not 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:03.639 a fairy tale. Because behind all of the strange 00:04:03.639 --> 00:04:07.840 symbolism in Zechariah chapter three is a true 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:12.319 story. A true story of how guilty sinners like 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:16.779 us are loved by the king of this universe. A 00:04:16.779 --> 00:04:20.899 true story of how guilty sinners like us are 00:04:20.899 --> 00:04:24.459 snatched from the fires of hell that we deserve. 00:04:24.660 --> 00:04:28.620 A true story of how dirty, guilty, rotten sinners 00:04:28.620 --> 00:04:33.480 like us are given the most glorious riches. that 00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:37.480 we can imagine. Our passage this morning is a 00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:43.959 true story of rags to riches. This passage comes 00:04:43.959 --> 00:04:47.740 in the book of Zechariah. And Zechariah was a 00:04:47.740 --> 00:04:51.500 prophet after the exile. Some of you may know 00:04:51.500 --> 00:04:54.540 the history, but the nation of Judah was sent 00:04:54.540 --> 00:04:58.220 into exile for their sins. They were sent away 00:04:58.220 --> 00:05:01.180 from the promised land to the country of Babylon. 00:05:01.550 --> 00:05:05.970 And now 70 years later, God is bringing his people 00:05:05.970 --> 00:05:08.990 back to the promised land. That's where the book 00:05:08.990 --> 00:05:12.350 of Zechariah starts. But even though the people 00:05:12.350 --> 00:05:15.089 are back in the promised land, things are not 00:05:15.089 --> 00:05:19.639 going well at all. Judah is still... a weak nation. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:22.939 They're living in the ruined city of Jerusalem. 00:05:23.240 --> 00:05:27.160 The temple is still lying in ruins and the people 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:30.579 feel small and powerless. They're surrounded 00:05:30.579 --> 00:05:33.819 by these mighty nations and mighty armies and 00:05:33.819 --> 00:05:36.579 they're starting to feel a little bit discouraged. 00:05:37.180 --> 00:05:39.560 In fact, the people in this book feel like some 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:43.220 of us might feel this morning. Because sometimes 00:05:43.220 --> 00:05:47.019 as Christians or even just people living in this 00:05:47.019 --> 00:05:51.060 world we feel the pressures building up on us. 00:05:51.060 --> 00:05:56.240 We see the culture changing out there. We see 00:05:56.240 --> 00:05:59.240 the conflict and the fights that happen in our 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:02.540 churches or our families. We look in the mirror 00:06:02.540 --> 00:06:06.019 and we see the sin in our own hearts and we start 00:06:06.019 --> 00:06:10.139 to feel outnumbered and discouraged. But friends 00:06:10.139 --> 00:06:14.250 it's into this kind of setting, it's to discouraged, 00:06:14.610 --> 00:06:18.209 weak, sometimes outnumbered people like us that 00:06:18.209 --> 00:06:22.490 God sends the prophet Zechariah. And Zechariah 00:06:22.490 --> 00:06:26.790 brings these ancient people, he brings us this 00:06:26.790 --> 00:06:32.149 morning a message of incredible hope. The greatest 00:06:32.149 --> 00:06:37.730 rags to riches story ever told. So let's try 00:06:37.730 --> 00:06:41.329 to understand this strange passage in three points 00:06:41.329 --> 00:06:46.689 this morning. First, dirty rags, dirty rags versus 00:06:46.689 --> 00:06:50.790 one and three. I don't really know whether they're 00:06:50.790 --> 00:06:54.009 popular, but back where I come from in America, 00:06:54.370 --> 00:06:58.889 we have all kinds of courtroom dramas on television. 00:06:59.310 --> 00:07:01.649 And if you've ever seen one of those courtroom 00:07:01.649 --> 00:07:06.310 dramas, you know that sooner or later, the guilty 00:07:06.310 --> 00:07:09.529 person is sitting on the witness stand, and the 00:07:09.529 --> 00:07:12.230 lawyer, the prosecuting attorney, is questioning 00:07:12.230 --> 00:07:14.949 them, the tension is building, and the lawyer 00:07:14.949 --> 00:07:18.649 is getting ready to prove to everyone their guilt. 00:07:19.149 --> 00:07:21.730 And you know, that's the picture in Zechariah 00:07:21.730 --> 00:07:24.769 chapter 3. That's the picture in verse 1. If 00:07:24.769 --> 00:07:27.029 you have your Bibles open, look with me at verse 00:07:27.029 --> 00:07:31.379 1 again. Verse one, then he showed me Joshua 00:07:31.379 --> 00:07:34.680 the high priest standing before the angel of 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:37.860 the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand 00:07:37.860 --> 00:07:41.540 to accuse him. Like all of those courtroom dramas 00:07:41.540 --> 00:07:45.600 on television in verse one, Zechariah sees a 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:49.660 court scene. Only Zechariah here is seeing the 00:07:49.660 --> 00:07:52.980 heavenly courtroom. And in this heavenly courtroom, 00:07:53.319 --> 00:07:57.420 Joshua is standing trial. Joshua, the high priest, 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:01.379 is on the witness stand. And the tension is building. 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:05.480 The drama is building because the lawyer accusing 00:08:05.480 --> 00:08:10.040 Joshua is Satan. Satan, the great enemy of God's 00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:12.800 people. Satan, the great adversary, the great 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:16.720 accuser of God's people, is bringing charge after 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:20.220 charge after charge against Joshua. And what 00:08:20.220 --> 00:08:22.819 are the charges against Joshua? Well, look at 00:08:22.819 --> 00:08:25.079 your Bibles. Look at verse three. The charges 00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:28.240 are right there in verse three. Verse three, 00:08:28.420 --> 00:08:32.559 now, Joshua was standing before the angel clothed 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:36.100 with filthy garments. Joshua was standing in 00:08:36.100 --> 00:08:40.519 the heavenly courtroom of God clothed with dirty 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:45.860 rags. Most of you don't know me very well, but 00:08:45.860 --> 00:08:49.029 I'll tell you a fun fact. about myself. Maybe 00:08:49.029 --> 00:08:51.529 it's not really fun, but here's a fact about 00:08:51.529 --> 00:08:56.169 myself. I'm not great with fashion. In fact, 00:08:56.269 --> 00:08:59.850 I don't know anything at all about fashion. I 00:08:59.850 --> 00:09:03.389 have absolutely no idea what is in or what is 00:09:03.389 --> 00:09:06.070 out. Maybe some of you are right there with me. 00:09:06.699 --> 00:09:09.820 And especially when I first got married, sometimes 00:09:09.820 --> 00:09:12.299 what would happen is I'd put on some clothes 00:09:12.299 --> 00:09:15.600 and I'd get ready to leave the house. But before 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:18.659 I made it out the front door, my wife would see 00:09:18.659 --> 00:09:22.259 me and she'd kind of have this patient, sympathetic, 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:25.820 understanding smile on her face. And she would 00:09:25.820 --> 00:09:29.039 just say to me, Tim, you're not really going 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:31.899 to wear that, are you? Tim, you're not really 00:09:31.899 --> 00:09:35.889 planning to wear that in public, right? Guys, 00:09:35.909 --> 00:09:37.809 if you haven't figured this out, let me give 00:09:37.809 --> 00:09:40.450 you a free hint. If your wife ever says that 00:09:40.450 --> 00:09:43.330 to you, the best thing you can do is just go 00:09:43.330 --> 00:09:46.590 and get changed. And at first, we might kind 00:09:46.590 --> 00:09:49.789 of think that's what's going on in verse three. 00:09:50.009 --> 00:09:53.370 At first, we might just imagine Joshua is really 00:09:53.370 --> 00:09:56.230 bad with fashion. Maybe he just forgot to do 00:09:56.230 --> 00:10:00.279 his laundry. But you know, the problem here in 00:10:00.279 --> 00:10:03.960 verse three is actually so much bigger than bad 00:10:03.960 --> 00:10:07.960 fashion. The problem is so much bigger than overdue 00:10:07.960 --> 00:10:11.340 laundry, because remember who Joshua is. Verse 00:10:11.340 --> 00:10:15.620 one says Joshua is the high priest. And all the 00:10:15.620 --> 00:10:21.000 way back in Exodus chapter 28, God gave really 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:24.179 specific instructions about the high priest's 00:10:24.179 --> 00:10:27.620 clothing. God gave really specific rules about 00:10:27.620 --> 00:10:30.419 the clothes that the high priest had to wear. 00:10:30.580 --> 00:10:34.460 God gave a really strict dress code for the high 00:10:34.460 --> 00:10:38.940 priest. And basically God said the priest clothes 00:10:38.940 --> 00:10:42.620 had to be completely pure. The priest clothes 00:10:42.620 --> 00:10:45.899 had to be completely spotless. The priest clothes 00:10:45.899 --> 00:10:50.250 had to be completely clean. And God wasn't concerned 00:10:50.250 --> 00:10:54.210 about fashion. God wasn't concerned about overdue 00:10:54.210 --> 00:10:57.850 laundry. God was making a theological point. 00:10:57.990 --> 00:11:01.409 God was trying to teach us something about our 00:11:01.409 --> 00:11:05.110 own hearts. Because the priest's spotless robes 00:11:05.110 --> 00:11:09.490 were meant to show us that we need... to be spotless. 00:11:09.649 --> 00:11:13.509 We need to be pure. We need to be holy. We need 00:11:13.509 --> 00:11:17.610 to be absolutely perfect in order to stand in 00:11:17.610 --> 00:11:21.389 the presence of a holy God. But the problem here 00:11:21.389 --> 00:11:25.470 is Joshua's clothes are not clean. Joshua's clothes 00:11:25.470 --> 00:11:29.009 are not spotless. Joshua's clothes are filthy 00:11:29.009 --> 00:11:33.110 garments and dirty rags. Satan's accusations 00:11:33.110 --> 00:11:38.070 are completely right. Joshua is dressed in dirty 00:11:38.070 --> 00:11:43.490 rags, so Joshua cannot stand before Holy God. 00:11:45.129 --> 00:11:48.850 To help us get this, let me kind of adapt a children's 00:11:48.850 --> 00:11:53.600 story. from RC scroll. When I was young, actually 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:56.659 I still do, I have three older brothers. I'm 00:11:56.659 --> 00:12:00.399 the youngest of four boys. And sometimes when 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:03.659 we were young, we'd go outside and we'd play 00:12:03.659 --> 00:12:06.559 in the mud. Do any of you do that kids? When 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:09.539 it's raining, you go outside and you play in 00:12:09.539 --> 00:12:12.740 the mud. Well, sometimes we went outside, we 00:12:12.740 --> 00:12:15.460 rolled around, we jumped in the muddy puddles 00:12:15.460 --> 00:12:19.779 and we got covered in mud from head to toe. And 00:12:19.779 --> 00:12:21.840 kids, I don't know about your parents, but when 00:12:21.840 --> 00:12:24.519 my brothers and I did that, my parents wouldn't 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:28.419 even let us in the front door. When we got covered 00:12:28.419 --> 00:12:31.340 in mud, they'd take us out to the back. They'd 00:12:31.340 --> 00:12:34.700 hose us off. They'd make us take off all those 00:12:34.700 --> 00:12:37.519 dirty, muddy clothes before they even let us 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:40.039 in the house. My parents wouldn't even let us 00:12:40.039 --> 00:12:43.860 in the front door with dirty clothes on. Or maybe 00:12:43.860 --> 00:12:47.000 you can think about going to Buckingham Palace 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:50.639 covered in filthy rags. The guards at the front 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:53.519 gate of the palace won't even let you in the 00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:56.480 front door. Because you see when we're covered 00:12:56.480 --> 00:13:00.840 with mud we cannot stand on the clean white carpet 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:04.460 in our house When we're clothed in dirty rags, 00:13:04.460 --> 00:13:07.600 we can't just walk in to see the King of England 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:10.360 Do you see it? Do you get it? That's what's going 00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:14.620 on in Zechariah chapter 3 Joshua is completely 00:13:14.620 --> 00:13:18.799 filthy in the heavenly courtroom Satan's Accusations 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:23.120 are right Joshua is wearing dirty rags Joshua's 00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:28.029 heart is dirt with sin Joshua is a dirty muddy 00:13:28.029 --> 00:13:32.190 mess and he cannot stand in the presence of the 00:13:32.190 --> 00:13:36.090 King of Kings and dear friends the message we 00:13:36.090 --> 00:13:39.970 need to get this morning is we have the same 00:13:39.970 --> 00:13:45.809 problem as Joshua on our own we are just as dirty 00:13:45.809 --> 00:13:50.970 as Joshua on our own we are guilty sinners look 00:13:50.970 --> 00:13:54.899 all of you look like you have nice clean ironed 00:13:54.899 --> 00:13:58.720 shirts on today. But the truth is under those 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:02.860 clean clothes our hearts are covered with dirty 00:14:02.860 --> 00:14:08.399 rags. We may look good to everyone else but left 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:12.720 to ourselves our hearts are a muddy dirty sinful 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:17.080 mess. Because in our hearts, all of us are guilty 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:21.279 of lying. We are guilty of lusting. We are guilty 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:25.039 of cheating. We are guilty of getting angry and 00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:28.600 screaming at the people we love. We are guilty 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:33.059 of pride and greed, of worry and of envy. And 00:14:33.059 --> 00:14:36.779 listen, we are even guilty of doing good things 00:14:36.779 --> 00:14:40.139 for the wrong reasons. We are guilty of serving 00:14:40.139 --> 00:14:43.679 other people and then posting about it all over 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:46.500 Facebook so everybody can see what a good job 00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:50.509 we've done. We are guilty of serving other people 00:14:50.509 --> 00:14:54.309 at church just so everyone applauds us and pats 00:14:54.309 --> 00:14:57.710 us on the back. We are guilty of sinning in a 00:14:57.710 --> 00:15:01.549 thousand different ways and our hearts are dirty. 00:15:01.830 --> 00:15:05.809 Dear friends, the bad news for us this morning 00:15:05.809 --> 00:15:09.389 is that Satan's accusations are right. The bad 00:15:09.389 --> 00:15:13.730 news for us today is that in the heavenly courtroom, 00:15:13.970 --> 00:15:19.169 you and I are sinners. On our own, we are dressed 00:15:19.169 --> 00:15:24.809 in dirty rags. And on our own, we can never dare 00:15:24.809 --> 00:15:30.210 to approach the King of Kings. And if that's 00:15:30.210 --> 00:15:35.389 the bad news, what can we do? What can we do 00:15:35.389 --> 00:15:38.429 with our sin and our guilt and our shame? Is 00:15:38.429 --> 00:15:42.090 there any way for us to get rid of these dirty, 00:15:42.389 --> 00:15:46.370 filthy, muddy rags? It's the second part of our 00:15:46.370 --> 00:15:49.690 passage, our second point today. First, our dirty 00:15:49.690 --> 00:15:54.629 rags, but second, divine grace, divine grace. 00:15:55.730 --> 00:15:58.830 Look at your Bibles again with me and look at 00:15:58.830 --> 00:16:03.850 verse two. The Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuke 00:16:03.850 --> 00:16:07.750 you, O Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem 00:16:07.750 --> 00:16:11.330 rebuke you. Is this not a brand? Is this not 00:16:11.330 --> 00:16:14.970 a burning stick plucked out of the fire? You 00:16:14.970 --> 00:16:19.169 see, Joshua is a sinner. You and I are clothed 00:16:19.169 --> 00:16:22.669 in dirty rags. But look at verse two. Look at 00:16:22.669 --> 00:16:27.809 the beauty of verse two. The Lord God Almighty 00:16:27.809 --> 00:16:32.870 throws out the charges against us. And two different 00:16:32.870 --> 00:16:36.789 times the Lord rebuked Satan. And notice why 00:16:36.789 --> 00:16:40.769 the Lord rebuked Satan. Verse two, the Lord who 00:16:40.769 --> 00:16:45.070 has chosen Jerusalem rebuked you. And at first, 00:16:45.149 --> 00:16:48.049 that might seem really strange. The first few 00:16:48.049 --> 00:16:50.549 times I read that, I wondered what in the world 00:16:50.549 --> 00:16:53.129 is going on here? I thought we were talking about 00:16:53.129 --> 00:16:56.610 Joshua and his dirty rags. What does God's choice 00:16:56.610 --> 00:16:59.610 of Jerusalem have to do with anything? At first, 00:16:59.669 --> 00:17:04.509 it doesn't make much sense at all. Until we realize... 00:17:04.380 --> 00:17:08.960 God's choice of Jerusalem is a sign of God's 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:12.940 grace. God's choice of Jerusalem is a reminder 00:17:12.940 --> 00:17:17.799 that God chooses the undeserving. You see, God 00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:21.099 didn't choose Jerusalem because it was a strong 00:17:21.099 --> 00:17:24.519 and mighty and powerful city. At the time that 00:17:24.519 --> 00:17:28.059 Zechariah was written, Jerusalem was a ruined, 00:17:28.220 --> 00:17:32.349 deserted city with a broken down wall. I don't 00:17:32.349 --> 00:17:34.869 know if you ever read the newspapers, sometimes 00:17:34.869 --> 00:17:39.210 they publish the list of the top undesirable 00:17:39.210 --> 00:17:42.269 suburbs. They publish the list of the suburbs 00:17:42.269 --> 00:17:45.369 with the highest crime rate or the highest unemployment 00:17:45.369 --> 00:17:49.130 or however they think the right measure is. And 00:17:49.130 --> 00:17:51.450 you know, if there was an ancient version of 00:17:51.450 --> 00:17:55.829 the top undesirable suburbs at the time of Zechariah, 00:17:56.029 --> 00:17:59.029 Jerusalem might have just made the list. Because 00:17:59.029 --> 00:18:03.750 even after the exile, most of the Jews stayed 00:18:03.750 --> 00:18:07.200 in Babylon. rather than come back to Jerusalem. 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:11.259 Most of the Jews stayed in Babylon, they chose 00:18:11.259 --> 00:18:15.519 Babylon over Jerusalem, but friends, verse two 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:20.920 says the Lord chose Jerusalem. God chose this 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:25.019 broken, ruined, forgotten city as a sign and 00:18:25.019 --> 00:18:29.579 a reminder of his grace. God chose broken, ruined, 00:18:29.740 --> 00:18:34.119 forgotten Jerusalem as a reminder that God does 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:36.640 not choose God does not choose the strong. God 00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:40.960 does not choose the wise. God does not choose 00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:44.579 the mighty. God chooses the weak. God chooses 00:18:44.579 --> 00:18:49.119 the foolish and the undeserving. God shows love 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:53.819 and compassion and grace to undeserving forgotten 00:18:53.819 --> 00:18:58.660 cities like Jerusalem. And brothers and sisters, 00:18:58.839 --> 00:19:04.230 God shows love and compassion and grace to. undeserving 00:19:04.230 --> 00:19:09.910 sinners like Joshua and like you and me. That's 00:19:09.910 --> 00:19:14.980 the message Joshua needed to hear. Joshua on 00:19:14.980 --> 00:19:18.960 his own was a dirty sinner. He was a dirty sinner 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:22.720 who was like a burning stick about to be burned 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:27.720 up in the fires of God's wrath. But even though 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:30.660 the city of Jerusalem didn't deserve it, even 00:19:30.660 --> 00:19:34.839 though Joshua didn't deserve it, verse two reminds 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:39.640 us God in his grace chose to save them. God in 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:43.670 his grace chose to snatch this ruin city and 00:19:43.670 --> 00:19:47.450 this guilty sinner out of the fire. And dear 00:19:47.450 --> 00:19:51.829 friends, what a message of hope for us this morning. 00:19:52.289 --> 00:19:56.630 Because the truth is we are just as dirty as 00:19:56.630 --> 00:20:01.230 Joshua. We are just as broken as Jerusalem. We 00:20:01.230 --> 00:20:04.910 are just as undeserving as they were. So what 00:20:04.910 --> 00:20:09.029 hope do we have? Friends, our only hope is in 00:20:09.029 --> 00:20:13.430 God's divine grace. You see, the beauty of the 00:20:13.430 --> 00:20:17.630 gospel is not that God saves people who deserve 00:20:17.630 --> 00:20:21.410 it. The beauty of the gospel is not that God 00:20:21.410 --> 00:20:25.930 saves people who earn it. The beauty of the gospel, 00:20:26.089 --> 00:20:30.710 the hope of Christianity is that while we were 00:20:30.710 --> 00:20:35.630 still sinners, Jesus Christ died for us. The 00:20:35.630 --> 00:20:41.430 beauty of the gospel is that God saves us. by 00:20:41.430 --> 00:20:48.750 grace alone. Let me take another illustration 00:20:48.750 --> 00:20:53.630 from someone else and change it again. Kids, 00:20:53.750 --> 00:20:57.349 think back to those Disney fairy tales. Think 00:20:57.349 --> 00:21:01.990 back to the story of Cinderella. In all of the 00:21:01.990 --> 00:21:05.190 fairy tales I know, basically what happens is 00:21:05.190 --> 00:21:08.450 Prince Charming sees the beautiful princess. 00:21:08.920 --> 00:21:12.240 and he falls in love. And let me ask you, what 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:16.579 makes the prince love the princess? In all the 00:21:16.579 --> 00:21:19.980 fairy tales I know, the prince loves the princess 00:21:19.980 --> 00:21:23.579 because of how beautiful she is. Prince Charming 00:21:23.579 --> 00:21:27.059 falls in love with Cinderella because of how 00:21:27.059 --> 00:21:30.299 pretty she is, how smart she is, how funny and 00:21:30.299 --> 00:21:34.000 hardworking and kind and lovely she is. Prince 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:37.480 Charming looks at Cinderella and he falls in 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:40.630 love with her. because she is just so lovely. 00:21:42.329 --> 00:21:46.089 But dear friends, do you know what? When God 00:21:46.089 --> 00:21:50.210 sees us, God doesn't say, look at how great they 00:21:50.210 --> 00:21:54.549 are. When God sees us, God doesn't say, look 00:21:54.549 --> 00:21:58.210 at how clever they are. When God sees us, God 00:21:58.210 --> 00:22:02.210 doesn't say, look at how good and put together 00:22:02.210 --> 00:22:06.750 and deserving they are. No, when God sees us, 00:22:06.750 --> 00:22:11.059 God knows. all our worst qualities. God knows 00:22:11.059 --> 00:22:15.680 our porn and our pride. God knows our greed and 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:19.660 our gossip. God knows our self -righteousness. 00:22:19.720 --> 00:22:23.299 God knows all of those secret sins, all of those 00:22:23.299 --> 00:22:26.940 secret sins that we've managed to hide from everybody 00:22:26.940 --> 00:22:30.329 else. God knows them all. But Christians, God 00:22:30.329 --> 00:22:34.789 says, I love you in spite of all of your sin. 00:22:35.069 --> 00:22:39.589 I know how sinful you are, but I've chosen to 00:22:39.589 --> 00:22:42.470 save you anyway, not because of how great you 00:22:42.470 --> 00:22:45.349 are, not because you deserve it or you've earned 00:22:45.349 --> 00:22:49.829 it. Christians, God says, I've chosen to save 00:22:49.829 --> 00:22:53.829 you simply because of who our God is, simply 00:22:53.829 --> 00:22:58.890 because of God's amazing grace simply because 00:22:58.890 --> 00:23:05.029 God sets his love on us in and through Jesus 00:23:05.029 --> 00:23:09.990 Christ. Friends, that is so much better than 00:23:09.990 --> 00:23:14.130 a fairy tale. That's the message of verse two. 00:23:14.210 --> 00:23:20.819 That's the beauty of divine grace. We were undeserving 00:23:20.819 --> 00:23:25.759 sinners heading for the fires of hell, but God 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:32.180 saved us simply because of his own love and his 00:23:32.180 --> 00:23:37.819 own grace. But how is that possible? How can 00:23:37.819 --> 00:23:42.869 a just God legally dismiss the charges? against 00:23:42.869 --> 00:23:49.190 us. How can God be loving and holy, loving and 00:23:49.190 --> 00:23:53.970 just at the same time? As our final point, it's 00:23:53.970 --> 00:23:57.369 the last part of our passage today, dirty rags, 00:23:57.670 --> 00:24:02.150 divine grace, and now finally, dazzling riches, 00:24:02.329 --> 00:24:07.809 dazzling riches, verses four and five. You know, 00:24:07.829 --> 00:24:11.289 sometimes when my clothes get dirty, I try really 00:24:11.289 --> 00:24:15.170 hard to clean them myself. I try really hard 00:24:15.170 --> 00:24:18.869 to wash the dirt and the mud and the sweat away. 00:24:19.450 --> 00:24:22.630 But as my wife can tell you, I'm really bad at 00:24:22.630 --> 00:24:25.710 it. Sometimes I try to clean my shirt, but I 00:24:25.710 --> 00:24:28.829 just make it worse. Instead of the dirt disappearing, 00:24:28.930 --> 00:24:32.390 the dirt somehow manages to spread all over the 00:24:32.390 --> 00:24:36.829 whole shirt. And you know, so often that's what 00:24:36.829 --> 00:24:41.240 you and I do with our sin. So often we try to 00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:46.059 scrub and clean our dirty sinful hearts by ourselves, 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:49.720 but the problem is we only make it worse because 00:24:49.720 --> 00:24:54.240 we can't wash our hearts clean on our own. But 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:59.259 verse four says God can wash us clean. Verse 00:24:59.259 --> 00:25:03.240 four says the God who has chosen us in Jesus 00:25:03.240 --> 00:25:06.420 Christ can wash us clean. Look at your Bibles 00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:10.380 again and look at verse four. And the angel said 00:25:10.380 --> 00:25:13.940 to those who were standing before him, remove 00:25:13.940 --> 00:25:17.140 the filthy garments from Joshua. And to Joshua 00:25:17.140 --> 00:25:20.579 he said, behold, I have taken your iniquity away 00:25:20.579 --> 00:25:23.440 from you. Behold, I have taken your sin away. 00:25:23.849 --> 00:25:27.390 You see, on our own, we were wearing dirty rags. 00:25:27.549 --> 00:25:31.029 On our own, we could never stand before a holy 00:25:31.029 --> 00:25:35.170 God. On our own, we can never wash our sinful 00:25:35.170 --> 00:25:38.990 hearts clean. But brothers and sisters, praise 00:25:38.990 --> 00:25:43.170 the Lord. Praise the Lord because God can and 00:25:43.170 --> 00:25:47.910 does wash us clean in Jesus Christ. In Jesus 00:25:47.910 --> 00:25:51.809 Christ, God takes away our dirty rags forever. 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:56.140 You see, the good news for us today, the good 00:25:56.140 --> 00:25:59.380 news that we're celebrating on Good Friday and 00:25:59.380 --> 00:26:03.839 Easter Sunday, the very best news you can ever 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:09.539 hear is simply this. In Jesus Christ, God removes 00:26:09.539 --> 00:26:14.660 our filthy garments. In Jesus Christ, God forgives 00:26:14.660 --> 00:26:19.039 our sins. God washes our hearts completely clean 00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:22.779 and all because of what Jesus Christ has done. 00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:27.579 You see, Jesus Christ came into this world. Jesus 00:26:27.579 --> 00:26:32.200 Christ lived a life of perfect obedience to his 00:26:32.200 --> 00:26:36.680 father. Jesus Christ is the only person in all 00:26:36.680 --> 00:26:40.099 of human history who never sinned. He never got 00:26:40.099 --> 00:26:44.519 the clothes of his heart dirty with sin. Jesus 00:26:44.519 --> 00:26:49.000 Christ is the only one wearing perfect, spotless, 00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:54.619 righteous robes of his own obedience. But Christians, 00:26:54.920 --> 00:27:00.069 the wonder and glory and comfort of the gospel 00:27:00.069 --> 00:27:05.750 is that at the cross on Good Friday, Jesus Christ 00:27:05.750 --> 00:27:12.970 wore our dirty rags. Jesus Christ had no sin 00:27:12.970 --> 00:27:18.609 of his own, but at the cross, God took the dirty 00:27:18.609 --> 00:27:24.170 rags of our sin off of us and God put them on 00:27:24.170 --> 00:27:28.880 Jesus Christ his son. And then as Jesus Christ 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:34.660 died, God judged Jesus for our sin. God made 00:27:34.660 --> 00:27:39.720 Jesus Christ who knew no sin to be sin for us 00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:44.460 so that in Jesus Christ our dirty rags would 00:27:44.460 --> 00:27:49.400 be removed forever and our iniquity would be 00:27:49.400 --> 00:27:55.849 fully paid for. And Christians now in the heavenly 00:27:55.849 --> 00:28:00.329 courtroom, God the judge bangs his gavel and 00:28:00.329 --> 00:28:05.470 he says, not guilty. God the judge bangs his 00:28:05.470 --> 00:28:09.890 gavel and he says, believer in Jesus Christ, 00:28:10.190 --> 00:28:13.990 you are not guilty. Believer in Jesus Christ, 00:28:14.029 --> 00:28:17.809 I have taken your iniquity away from you because 00:28:17.809 --> 00:28:22.869 Jesus Christ has worn your dirty rags and Jesus 00:28:22.869 --> 00:28:31.069 Christ has paid for all of your sins. Some of 00:28:31.069 --> 00:28:34.960 you may know the name Martin Luther. Martin Luther 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:38.799 was a German monk who lived about 500 years ago. 00:28:39.720 --> 00:28:42.940 And like many of us, Luther was a man who really 00:28:42.940 --> 00:28:46.279 struggled with the guilt of his sin. He was a 00:28:46.279 --> 00:28:50.579 man who knew very well he was wearing dirty rags 00:28:50.579 --> 00:28:54.319 before a holy judge. And Luther tried everything 00:28:54.319 --> 00:28:57.609 he could think of to get rid of his guilt. But 00:28:57.609 --> 00:29:02.009 no matter how hard he tried, no matter how much 00:29:02.009 --> 00:29:05.230 he worked, he didn't have any peace. He knew 00:29:05.230 --> 00:29:08.470 none of his efforts could make him right with 00:29:08.470 --> 00:29:12.990 a holy God. Until finally Luther discovered the 00:29:12.990 --> 00:29:16.890 wonder of God's divine grace. Luther discovered 00:29:16.890 --> 00:29:20.829 the glory of the promise of verse four. He discovered 00:29:20.829 --> 00:29:25.009 the forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ. But 00:29:25.009 --> 00:29:29.029 you know, like so many of us, even after he became 00:29:29.029 --> 00:29:32.210 a Christian, Luther still struggled with guilt. 00:29:32.490 --> 00:29:36.009 Even after he became a Christian, he still felt 00:29:36.009 --> 00:29:40.710 the accusations of Satan. And when Satan listed 00:29:40.710 --> 00:29:45.329 all of Luther's sins, the guilt of it began to 00:29:45.329 --> 00:29:48.250 weigh him down. The guilt of it nearly crushed 00:29:48.250 --> 00:29:50.670 him. But do you know what Luther did? Do you 00:29:50.670 --> 00:29:55.420 know what he said? Luther said, Satan, it's all 00:29:55.420 --> 00:30:00.079 true. I'm guilty of all the things you're listing 00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:04.619 and even more. But then he said, you can write 00:30:04.619 --> 00:30:09.140 this at the bottom of your list. The blood of 00:30:09.140 --> 00:30:14.579 Jesus Christ cleanses us from all our sins. Dear 00:30:14.579 --> 00:30:19.019 friends, that is the message of verse four. That 00:30:19.019 --> 00:30:23.380 is the dazzling riches that Jesus Christ gives 00:30:23.380 --> 00:30:27.380 to everyone who believes. Look, some days we 00:30:27.380 --> 00:30:30.500 look back at our lives. Some days we just look 00:30:30.500 --> 00:30:34.380 back at the past eight hours of our lives and 00:30:34.380 --> 00:30:38.279 the guilt of our sin comes crushing down on us. 00:30:38.619 --> 00:30:42.200 But brothers and sisters, if that is you this 00:30:42.200 --> 00:30:45.519 morning, then you can say with Martin Luther, 00:30:45.859 --> 00:30:50.440 it is all true. It's all true. I am a guilty 00:30:50.440 --> 00:30:56.059 sinner. I am guilty of lying. I am guilty of 00:30:56.059 --> 00:31:01.319 anger. I am guilty of substance abuse. I am guilty 00:31:01.319 --> 00:31:07.099 of so many things besides, but I trust in Jesus 00:31:07.099 --> 00:31:12.059 Christ and he has taken away the guilt of my 00:31:12.059 --> 00:31:18.359 sin forever. I trust in Jesus Christ and he has 00:31:18.359 --> 00:31:24.240 worn my dirty rags at the cross. I trust in Jesus 00:31:24.240 --> 00:31:29.000 Christ and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses 00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:34.859 me from all my sin. Brothers and sisters, that's 00:31:34.859 --> 00:31:41.710 the dazzling riches of divine grace. But as amazing 00:31:41.710 --> 00:31:44.410 as that is, there's still just a little more 00:31:44.410 --> 00:31:48.210 to this story. Look back at your Bibles and look 00:31:48.210 --> 00:31:52.569 at verse four again. Behold, I've taken your 00:31:52.569 --> 00:31:55.170 iniquity away from you, and then look at this, 00:31:55.509 --> 00:31:59.369 and I will clothe you with pure garments. Verse 00:31:59.369 --> 00:32:01.769 five, and I said, let them put a clean turban 00:32:01.769 --> 00:32:04.930 on his head. So they put a clean turban on his 00:32:04.930 --> 00:32:09.539 head and clothed him in garments. That is. rags 00:32:09.539 --> 00:32:13.859 to riches. Now Joshua isn't wearing these dirty 00:32:13.859 --> 00:32:17.500 clothes anymore. Now Joshua is actually wearing 00:32:17.500 --> 00:32:21.259 these beautiful spotless garments from head to 00:32:21.259 --> 00:32:24.740 toe. And the picture here is of the high priest 00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:28.500 decked out in all of his glory. The picture here 00:32:28.500 --> 00:32:32.680 is of a beautiful bride radiant on her wedding 00:32:32.680 --> 00:32:36.420 day. The picture here is of these dazzling riches. 00:32:36.809 --> 00:32:39.710 that Jesus Christ gives us. Maybe you can think 00:32:39.710 --> 00:32:43.109 about Cinderella just one more time. Because 00:32:43.109 --> 00:32:46.670 when Cinderella goes to the ball, she doesn't 00:32:46.670 --> 00:32:49.450 just take off her dirty rags. She doesn't just 00:32:49.450 --> 00:32:53.210 throw her old ratty clothes in the trash and 00:32:53.210 --> 00:32:56.559 then go to the ball. No, she takes off her dirty 00:32:56.559 --> 00:33:00.220 rags and then she actually puts on a beautiful 00:33:00.220 --> 00:33:04.200 new dress in their place. She puts on a beautiful 00:33:04.200 --> 00:33:07.900 new robe and she goes to the ball decked out 00:33:07.900 --> 00:33:12.259 in this gorgeous clothing. And friends, the same 00:33:12.259 --> 00:33:17.339 thing is true for every believer in Jesus Christ. 00:33:17.799 --> 00:33:21.880 Because we don't just need our sins paid for. 00:33:22.140 --> 00:33:26.079 We don't just need our dirty rags thrown out. 00:33:26.339 --> 00:33:29.980 We actually need new clothes in their place. 00:33:30.119 --> 00:33:34.000 We need positive righteousness in their place. 00:33:34.180 --> 00:33:38.500 We need perfect obedience to God's law. We need 00:33:38.500 --> 00:33:42.519 spotless, royal, righteous robes to stand before 00:33:42.519 --> 00:33:46.289 holy God. And that's what Jesus Christ gives 00:33:46.289 --> 00:33:50.329 to us. Jesus Christ has taken away our dirty 00:33:50.329 --> 00:33:55.089 rags, but Jesus has not left us naked. Jesus 00:33:55.089 --> 00:33:58.269 has clothed us in his perfect righteousness. 00:33:58.670 --> 00:34:03.509 Jesus has clothed us in his life of perfect obedience. 00:34:03.930 --> 00:34:08.250 You see, God takes off our sins and he puts them 00:34:08.250 --> 00:34:13.190 on Jesus Christ and then God takes Jesus' life 00:34:13.190 --> 00:34:17.260 of perfect obedience. and God credits it to our 00:34:17.260 --> 00:34:23.219 account. So believers in Jesus Christ now, when 00:34:23.219 --> 00:34:29.559 we stand before God, we are as righteous as Jesus 00:34:29.559 --> 00:34:34.039 Christ himself, because we are covered in the 00:34:34.039 --> 00:34:39.590 righteousness of Jesus Christ. Our dirty rags 00:34:39.590 --> 00:34:44.250 are gone forever, and because of God's divine 00:34:44.250 --> 00:34:48.510 grace, we are covered in these spotless robes, 00:34:48.530 --> 00:34:56.130 these dazzling riches that Jesus gives. About 00:34:56.130 --> 00:34:59.369 80 years ago now, the pastor Martin Lloyd Jones 00:34:59.369 --> 00:35:03.210 preached a sermon on these new robes that Jesus 00:35:03.210 --> 00:35:06.809 gives us. And after the worship service was over, 00:35:07.110 --> 00:35:09.650 one woman in the congregation stopped at the 00:35:09.650 --> 00:35:13.650 door and spoke to Martin Lloyd Jones. And after 00:35:13.650 --> 00:35:16.610 she was done speaking to him, as she was starting 00:35:16.610 --> 00:35:19.789 to walk away, she kind of shyly turned around 00:35:19.789 --> 00:35:23.670 and she said to the pastor, she said, Pastor, 00:35:23.909 --> 00:35:28.510 I'm so glad I have those spotless robes that 00:35:28.510 --> 00:35:32.300 you were talking about. I'm so glad that I'm 00:35:32.300 --> 00:35:36.519 covered in the perfect righteousness of Jesus 00:35:36.519 --> 00:35:41.519 Christ. And then she went home. And that very 00:35:41.519 --> 00:35:46.260 night, she died. She died when the Nazis dropped 00:35:46.260 --> 00:35:50.679 a bomb on her house, but she died dressed in 00:35:50.679 --> 00:35:56.360 the dazzling riches of Jesus Christ. And friends, 00:35:56.380 --> 00:36:00.630 I don't know all of you here this morning. But 00:36:00.630 --> 00:36:03.610 I suspect there are at least a few of you here 00:36:03.610 --> 00:36:07.530 today who are not Christians. I suspect there 00:36:07.530 --> 00:36:10.449 are at least a few of you here today who are 00:36:10.449 --> 00:36:14.429 still trying to cover yourselves in fig leaves 00:36:14.429 --> 00:36:19.250 and in dirty rags. But dear friends, when you 00:36:19.250 --> 00:36:23.190 stand in the heavenly courtroom of God, that 00:36:23.190 --> 00:36:26.929 will never work. When you stand in the heavenly 00:36:26.929 --> 00:36:31.530 courtroom of God, dressed in your own dirty rags, 00:36:31.690 --> 00:36:35.150 there is only one judgment that you deserve, 00:36:35.550 --> 00:36:40.230 and that is guilty. But dear friends, if you 00:36:40.230 --> 00:36:45.849 come in faith to Jesus Christ, If you plead not 00:36:45.849 --> 00:36:50.150 your own works, but the perfect work of Jesus 00:36:50.150 --> 00:36:55.250 Christ, then God promises he will forgive all 00:36:55.250 --> 00:37:00.090 of your sins, all of your sins. And God promises 00:37:00.090 --> 00:37:05.829 he will clothe you in the spotless robes of Jesus 00:37:05.829 --> 00:37:10.349 Christ the Savior. So friends, what are you waiting 00:37:10.349 --> 00:37:17.369 for? Come to Jesus Christ today, put your trust 00:37:17.369 --> 00:37:23.070 in him and receive the dazzling riches that he 00:37:23.070 --> 00:37:26.969 alone can give. Because it's not just a fairy 00:37:26.969 --> 00:37:32.929 tale. It's a true story that gives us hope and 00:37:32.929 --> 00:37:36.710 confidence for this life and the next. It's the 00:37:36.710 --> 00:37:40.510 true story that will change eternal destinies 00:37:40.510 --> 00:37:44.210 forever. It's the true story that we're celebrating 00:37:44.210 --> 00:37:48.750 this Easter week. It's the true, the glorious, 00:37:48.750 --> 00:37:53.610 the life -changing story that in Jesus Christ, 00:37:53.889 --> 00:37:59.789 God changes our dirty rags into dazzling riches. 00:38:01.170 --> 00:38:12.110 Praise the Lord. Heavenly Father, thank you for 00:38:12.110 --> 00:38:17.789 your great love for sinners like us. Thank you 00:38:17.789 --> 00:38:22.329 for Jesus Christ, our perfect Savior. And thank 00:38:22.329 --> 00:38:25.329 you for your Holy Spirit who brings these truths 00:38:25.329 --> 00:38:29.610 home to our hearts. And now we simply ask that 00:38:29.610 --> 00:38:33.110 by the power of your Spirit that you would stamp 00:38:33.110 --> 00:38:37.159 these truths on our hearts. that we may go from 00:38:37.159 --> 00:38:41.199 here rejoicing in all that you have done and 00:38:41.199 --> 00:38:45.800 eager to share this good news with those around 00:38:45.800 --> 00:38:49.099 us. Because we ask it in Jesus' name.