Have you ever felt like you’re a bad Christian? You look at your life and you see all the sins that are still there. Then you start comparing yourself with the other Christians around you. And you start to think, “Am I really saved? Because I sure don’t feel saved.”
I can’t tell you how many times I prayed to become a Christian when I was young. I first prayed to become a Christian when I was about 7 or 8. And the strange thing about it is, to this day, I do not know the name of the person that led me to Christ. I can’t even tell you what she looks like.
I was going to a Bible club for kids, and at this club, they gave us these little cards with a telephone number on it, and if you called it you could hear a free Bible story. At the end of the story, they would always say, if you want to pray to receive Jesus as your Savior, call the story lady at such and such a number.
So one day I called that number, and this lady after talking with me a bit and sharing Jesus with me, led me in a prayer to receive him. But to this day, I don’t know who she is.
But for a long time after that, I didn’t feel like a Christian. Some people after they pray to receive Jesus feel really happy. For me, I just felt the same. And while I grew in my knowledge of the Bible and Jesus, I could still see sin in my life. So I started to wonder, am I really a Christian? So again and again, I prayed to become a Christian. And yet I still sinned. So I kept thinking, “I’m not really a Christian am I?”
Because of that, it made it very difficult for me to share my faith with my friends. I remember one time in junior high school, a guy asked a bunch of us, “Do any of you believe in Jesus? I think this Christianity stuff is so stupid.” And I couldn’t say a word.
Another time, in high school, out of the blue, a friend asked, “Hey Bruce, are you a Christian?” And again, I couldn’t say yes. I didn’t say no. But basically I avoided the question. Why? Because I didn’t feel like a Christian.
And that’s what Satan will do to us. He’ll point to all of our sins and say, “You’re not really a Christian are you? Look at all this stuff you’re still doing. How can a person like you claim to be a Christian? If you are a Christian, you certainly aren’t a good one. How can God possibly use you?”
Why does he do that? He does it because if he can’t stop you from becoming a Christian, he will do anything he can to stop you from making any impact on the people around you.
We’re continuing our series on the Lion and the Lamb today. And Fumi talked last week about how we are called by God to be his priests. We are to take part in the ministry of the Lamb. What is that? It’s to bring people into a relationship with God. To tell them that Jesus has come to restore our relationship with God through his work on the cross.
The first time anyone pointed to Jesus to tell the people who he was, he said,
Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)
Before Jesus came, when people wanted to approach God, they had to make a sacrifice for their sins. And it had to be a perfect sacrifice, a lamb without spot or blemish. But in reality that lamb could not truly take away a person’s sin. It was merely a picture of what God would do later. That God would send his only perfect Son Jesus to this earth to die on a cross to take the punishment for our sins. And because of what Jesus has done, we can now have eternal life. Not just life in heaven someday, although that’s true too. But a life here on earth that’s worth living. That’s the message that we as God’s priests are to take into this world. We are to bring to this world this message of hope.
But so often we don’t. Why not? Because we don’t feel good enough. We don’t feel worthy to be God’s priests. But what does God say about you? Let’s take a look at Zechariah chapter 3.
Zechariah is the second to last book in the Old Testament. So if you go back two books from Matthew, you will hit Zechariah.
Who was Zechariah? He was both a priest and a prophet. He lived about 500 years before Christ was born. And he lived in a very difficult time in Israel’s history. Israel had just come out of captivity in Babylon after 70 years there. God had allowed them to be conquered by the Babylonians because they had turned their backs on him and started serving other “gods.” But now, Persia had taken over and had allowed the Jews to return to their own land. You can read the story in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
But even though they had returned, it was a discouraging time. They tried to rebuild their temple, but then they faced opposition and were forced to stop for 16 years. And so many people just started to live their lives, and maybe they hadn’t turned their backs on God completely, but they weren’t pursuing him either. Instead, they were simply focusing on themselves and trying to rebuild their lives in Israel. And so God sent Zechariah and another prophet named Haggai to rebuke them and encourage them to start rebuilding the temple again. To make God the center of their lives.
And here in this passage, we see God encouraging the high priest in Israel. His name was Joshua. This is not the same Joshua that you read about in the book of Joshua. This happened hundreds of years later. (I really wish sometimes that the Jews had been more creative with their names. It can get really confusing sometimes). Anyway, as I read this, I wonder if Joshua was feeling discouraged. The people still weren’t really following God. And perhaps he was feeling inadequate. Maybe he looked at himself and his own sin and wondered, “How can God use me? I’m just as bad as the people. I’m sinful too. What gives me the right to minister to them?”
But then God gave Zechariah this vision. Let’s take a look at verse 1.
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him.
Here we see something like a courtroom situation. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy courtroom dramas. And here we see Joshua as the defendant. The judge was this Angel of the Lord. Who was this angel? The word angel actually “messenger.” Many times it refers to these beings that God created to serve him. But sometimes, it refers to someone else. And many Bible scholars believe that this angel of the Lord here was really Jesus. If you look at the Old Testament, you can see time and again hints of Jesus coming to earth even before he was born in Bethlehem as a baby. But anyway, the person accusing Joshua was Satan. Did you know the word Satan means “Adversary.” He is against us, and he is always accusing us. And that’s what he was doing with Joshua.
Do you want to know the truth about Joshua? He deserved every word that Satan said about him. It says in verse 3 that Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes. Do you know what that means? Have you stepped on dog droppings before? Disgusting, right? Now imagine the dog droppings all over your clothes. Then imagine that it’s not dog droppings, it’s human excrement. That’s the picture that we see here in Zechariah. Joshua was totally stained with sin. And so what Satan was saying was, “Look at him, God. He’s dirty. He’s filthy. How can you use someone like him?”
How do you think Joshua felt? Awful. Dirty. Unworthy. Unworthy to be a priest. Unworthy to do God’s ministry. Unworthy, to even stand in God’s presence. Do you ever feel that way?
But what does Jesus say?
The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” (2)
Jesus defends Joshua. And I think when he says “The Lord rebuke you,” he’s saying, “The Father rebukes you.” So here we have Jesus defending Joshua. And we have God the Father defending him too. God the Father is not rebuking Joshua for his sin. He’s rebuking Satan. And he says, “I have rescued Joshua from destruction. What right do you have, Satan, to accuse him?”
Then what does Jesus do?
Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.” Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the LORD stood by. (3-5)
Jesus has all the filthy garments taken off of Joshua. He takes away his sin. And he puts new clothes on Joshua. A clean turban was then put on Joshua’s head. Do you know that there was something that was always written on a high priest’s turban? On the turban there was a gold plate and on it was written, “Holy to the Lord.” (Exodus 28:36) In other words, God said of the priest, “I have set you apart for me. I have set you apart to do my work.”
That’s what he said to Joshua.
“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.” (7)
In short, “I have cleaned you up. I have you set apart for myself. Now start living for me. And if you do, then you will be my minister. And someday you will stand here before me in heaven with these others who serve me.”
Now think about this for a minute. How could God do this? God is just. God hates sin. How could he just overlook the sins of Joshua and say “You’ll be my priest?” He tells us in verses 8-9.
“‘Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.‘” (8-9)
God tells Joshua, “You are my priest. But you and the other priests are just a symbol of another person that’s going to come. He’s my servant, the Branch.”
Circle that word Branch and draw a line and write Jesus. Whenever you see the phrase “the Branch of the Lord” in the Old Testament prophets, it refers to Jesus.
God then compares Jesus to a stone with seven eyes. The seven eyes is a symbol of someone who sees and knows all things. And it says that God would engrave an inscription on this stone. What does that inscription say? We don’t know. But how do you engrave something into a rock. You have to cut into it. And Jesus was cut into and bloodied on the cross. And by his death on that one single day, God removed all of our sins. The reason God could forgive Joshua’s sins was because of what Jesus would do hundreds of years later on the cross. The reason God can forgive your sins today is because of what Jesus did on that cross 2000 years ago. The believers of the Old Testament and all of us who believe in Jesus today are saved because of that one act of Christ.
What does this mean for all of us?
All of us are like Joshua. We are all stained by our sin. Accused by Satan before God. And we deserve every accusation Satan throws at us. But if we will come to Jesus in faith, and say, “Jesus forgive my sins. I believe that you died on the cross for my sins. Now make me clean. I want to follow you,” he will remove your clothes stained by sin, and give you new clothes.
That’s the next point: if you put your faith in Jesus, he will make you clean. Notice that Joshua did nothing to remove the dirty clothes. He didn’t make himself clean. God cleaned him up. In the same way, you can do nothing to clean yourself up or make yourself right before God. Only Jesus can do that.
And just as God called Joshua to follow him and be his priest, God calls you to follow him and be his priest. He doesn’t want you to live for yourself anymore. He wants you to live for him. And he wants you to join in the ministry of the Lamb that your friends, your family, your coworkers may find the joy of life that he has given you.
But some of you may be Christians and you’re still lacking that joy. You feel like Joshua. Dirty. Unworthy to be his priest. Unworthy to even be a Christian. But let’s look at what God says about us as Christians. Take a look at Romans 8:28. One of the early church leaders, a man named Paul wrote this.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
A lot of people when they read this verse focus on the first part, that God works for the good of those who love him. But I want you to look at that last part first. “Those who have been called according to his purpose.”
Paul’s telling us that God has called us with a special purpose in mind. So when you’re feeling unworthy, remember: God has a plan for you. Nothing happens by accident. He has a plan. That’s the reason we can know God works for our good. What’s God’s plan? What’s his purpose for us?
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30)
God’s purpose for us is that we become more like Jesus. That we would become perfect reflections of him. This is not to say that we’ll all become carbon copy Christians. But in the end, each of us in our own way will reflect Jesus. We’ll reflect his beauty, his grace, his goodness, his love, everything that Jesus is will be reflected in our lives. That’s God’s purpose for us.
It says here that God foreknew us. He knew us before we were born. Before this world was created. He knew your sins. He knew your weaknesses. He knew your failures. And he still chose you. God doesn’t look at you now and say, “Oops. I made a bad choice. Look at all the things he’s doing. Look how bad she is.” No, he knew everything about you. And yet he chose you. He called you. He called you as you read or heard his word. He may have called you through a friend sharing Jesus with you. He may have called you through a Crossroad podcast that you heard. But he called you and you came to him.
He then justified you. Like Jesus did with Joshua, he looks at us and says, “I proclaim you not guilty. Your sins have been removed.” And someday, he will glorify you. Not with new clothes that will perish. But with new bodies that will never perish. That will never get sick. That will never sin. That’s his purpose for you. No matter how dirty you think you are, that’s what will be accomplished in your life. Because God is faithful and he will always keep his promises.
So Paul says,
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? (31)
Answer: No one. No one can be against us. He says,
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (32)
If God gave Jesus for us to die on a cross, won’t he do everything else necessary to fulfill his purpose in our lives? Won’t he give us everything we need to have a full life? Of course he will.
Paul then asks,
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. (33)
In other words, “Is God going to accuse us?” No. He’s the one who declares us “Not guilty.”
Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. (34)
Is Jesus going to condemn us? No, like he did with Joshua, he will defend us.
So what am I saying? If you have put your faith in Jesus, don’t let Satan accuse you. He has no right. You are loved by God. He has a plan for you. And he will fulfill his plan in you no matter how bad a Christian you may think you are right now. Paul wrote this:
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
What God started in you from the day he chose you, he will complete. So let’s not be discouraged. Let’s not hang our heads.
I challenged you last time I spoke to memorize this passage from Romans. If you haven’t yet, I really encourage you to do so. And as you do, pray, “Lord Jesus, make these words real to me. Help me to know I am not condemned. Help me to know you truly love me. Fill me with your Holy Spirit now so that I can know your glorious and inexpressible joy in my life.” (I Peter 1:8)
And as God fills you with his Spirit and his love, let us start living as his priests. And let us take up this ministry of the Lamb that others may know him too.
Sunday Messages 