the book of Zechariah. It's next to the last book in the Old Testament, Zechariah, chapter 3. Zechariah chapter three. And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, the Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee. Is not this a bran plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, let them set a fair matra upon his head so they set a fair matra upon his head and clothed him with garments and the angel of the lord stood by and the angel of the lord protested unto joshua saying thus saith the lord of host If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee. For they are men wondered at. For behold, I will bring forth my servant, the branch. For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day, saith the Lord of Hosts, shall you call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree. The prophet Zechariah was contemporary with the prophet Haggai, the book that's just before this book. And both of these prophets prophesied to the nation of Israel after they had returned from 70 years captivity in Babylon. God raised up the nation of Babylon and then When they conquered Judah and carried, burned Jerusalem and carried the captives into Babylon, then God raised up the Medes and the Persians and they conquered Babylon. And then a king came to the throne, a king of Persia by the name of Cyrus. Heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord, the scripture tells us. As the water brooks, he turneth it whithersoever he will. And I would just remind all of us here today, not only is the heart of the king, the heart of the president, the heart of those in power in the hand of God, but every man's heart is in the hand of God. And he turned the heart of Cyrus, stirred up the heart of Cyrus, it says, so that he made a proclamation that all of those Jews that were in captivity that desired to return to Jerusalem, they were free to do so. And he made his proclamation that they should build the Lord a house. and they had come back and the work on the house, the temple of the Lord, was going very slowly. The number of people who had returned relatively was a small number compared to when Solomon built the temple, and they had several enemies. And it's amazing to me that in the book of Nehemiah, this is where you read about this in the book of Nehemiah and the book of Ezra, that they had three enemies that are named, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem. And isn't it amazing that as believers, as children of God, we too have three enemies. Every child of God, if you are son or daughter of God today, you have three enemies. The flesh, that is that old nature that is still part of you, and the world with all of its attraction to tempt you away from God, and Satan. our adversary. And much of the ministry of this man, Zechariah, was to encourage the people, to encourage the people to work in Haggai. This is the second temple that was built, and this is the temple to which the Lord Jesus Christ would come. And in the prophecy of Haggai, he said that the desire of all nations shall come to this temple. And you know who the desire of all nations is? It's the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember the promise to Abraham was, in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. In Christ, He's the Savior of the world. There's only one Savior. Only one Savior that God has provided. And in Him, all the nations of the earth are blessed. God has His people scattered all over the world. And in the book of Revelation, we read that they are redeemed out of every nation, every tribe, and every language, every tongue. And they all give glory unto the Lamb who was slain, and by His blood has redeemed them unto God. But Zechariah, his work mainly was to encourage the people to work. And in this, God gives him eight visions. This that we've just read here in chapter three was the third vision that God gave unto Zechariah. And it seems like they're one right after the other, that God gave these visions to his prophet. And they were a great encouragement as he spoke to them and delivered them to the people of Israel. But more importantly, to God's people in every age. In every age, God's people, we all have the same adversary. And that's my first point. God's people have a real enemy, Satan. Notice that in verse one, and he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. If you notice in the margin of your Bible, Satan there is defined as an adversary. And not only is he revealed in the scripture as an adversary, but as an accuser, an accuser. He accuses God to men, and he accuses men to God. You look when he came to tempt our mother Eve, He accused God to her. God's withholding something good from you. If you eat that fruit, your eyes are going to be open and then you will be as God. In other words, he accused God to Eve that he's withholding something that's good from you. And that's the way he comes to us, accusing God to us. And then before God, he accuses us to God. Yes. That's the reason we have an advocate, isn't it? An advocate who's always there at the father's right hand to make intercession. for us. The Apostle Peter, he knew something by experience about Satan. He really did. And Satan, our Lord told him, hath desired to have thee, that he might sift thee. And of course, Peter, being filled with pride and boastful, he just knew there was no way No way he was going to deny the Lord, but he did, didn't he? He did. But our Lord told him, I prayed for you. And thank the Lord we always have an advocate, an intercessor. When we are accused by Satan to the Father, we have one who intercedes for us. But Peter said this to believers, because we have such an adversary, You know, there's people today who, they really question if Satan is a real being. And sometimes you hear this even among the religious leaders, so-called religious leaders. Many of them do not believe that Satan is a real being. And of course they believe that because they don't believe the Bible. They don't believe the word of God. But yes, Satan is a real being and Peter recognized that and he said, be sober talking to believers. And Paul said, we're not ignorant of his devices. Satan has many devices that he uses to ensnare, to trip up God's children. Peter said, be sober, be vigilant. In other words, be on guard. Why? Because your adversary, the devil, goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And I like what one old English preacher said one time. He said, I much rather have a roaring lion than a sleeping lion. A roaring lion can give you warning, but a sleeping lion, maybe not so much warning. But yes, this is what we see here in the first verse. But it's interesting to me, as you read this chapter, that while he is called the accuser, he doesn't open his mouth. He doesn't speak a word here. The only two who speak in this vision is the angel of the Lord, who is the Lord, Jehovah, and this prophet. He's the only one. These two are the only ones who speak. Now in this vision, Zechariah saw Joshua, the high priest, and he's clothed with a filthy garment. Joshua here represents the people of God, and as a high priest, he represents the priest of God, the Israelite priest. And the filthy garments pictured their sin. The people and the priest as well were all, as we all are, guilty of sin. And this gives us a hint, I believe, as to how Satan tempted these people and discouraged them in the work. And that's one of Satan's devices, to discourage God's people, to discourage us. And the way he worked on these people, no doubt, was, what's the use? What's the use? God is such a holy God, and you folks are so sinful that even if you get this temple built, the priests, they're sinful. God's not going to accept worship from you. And, you know, I'm sure as a believer, as a child of God, we've all had thoughts come into our minds and Thoughts to discourage us, to say, well, it's useless. And just to give up. Discouragement is a weapon that Satan often uses to fight against the people of God. Do you ever have those suggestions or those thoughts? Are you ever so troubled because of your sins? The thought comes to your mind, how could you be a child of God? Doing what you just did, saying what you just said, having thoughts like you have, how in the world? What makes you think that you are a child of God? To discourage God's people, to cause us to want to give up and just say there's no use. Why is it, maybe you have this thought sometimes, why is it that you do not love the Lord Jesus Christ like you should? After he's done so much for you, after he gave himself for you, and you have so little love for him. He has those insinuations, those weapons that he uses to discourage the people of God. But I want us to look, and I hope you still have your Bibles open to this place, because I want us to say five things here to encourage, in this vision that Zacharias sees, to encourage the people of that day and to encourage us today. When thoughts come, And suggestions come into our minds to doubt God, to doubt His love, to doubt that we've experienced the grace of God, that here are five things to remind us and to encourage us not to give up, not to turn back, but to press on, to go on with the Lord. First of all, notice the first thing that we see here is that the angel of the Lord, and this is the Lord Jesus, you know he appeared many times in the Old Testament as the angel of the Lord. And verse one, he's called the angel of the Lord, but in verse two, it is the Lord, Jehovah, Jehovah. The Lord rebuked Satan. Notice that first of all, the Lord rebuked Satan. God's people, if you're one of his children today, you're not trusting in what you've done. You're not trusting in your decision. You know, people have grown up believing that you make a decision for the Lord. You decide for the Lord. Well, first of all, a dead man can't make a decision. And that's the way we all are, spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. Until he gives us life, we cannot look to Christ or come to Christ. But a believer, a child of God, is not trusting in his work, he's not trusting in his decision. And let me warn everyone here today, when you think about your relationship to God, I sure hope that none of us look back somewhere to something in the past. Maybe some decision, maybe some prayer, maybe walking down some church aisle, whatever it is. There's no salvation in those things. Salvation is in Christ and what Christ has done. The Lord rebuke thee, Satan. That's the word that we see first of all. When David went out to fight Goliath the giant, he came and he told Goliath, the battle is the Lord's. The battle is the Lord's. This whole matter of salvation is God's work. It's what God has done and what God does for us. It's not our decision or what we do for him. The first prophecy of Christ in the Bible is that he would be the seed of the woman. And in that prophecy, it was foretold That while Satan would bruise his feet, that the seed of the woman would bruise his head. And God's people, yes, we freely confess our filthiness in ourselves. It's not just our outer garments, like it says here that Joshua, he was clothed with filthy garments. It's not just our outer garments, not just our actions, our words, but our problem is our heart. The heart. That's where the Lord Jesus Christ said, but those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man. It's what comes out of the heart that defiles a man. And you know, religion, and I use that term as it's used today, religion always cleans out the outside of a person. It always tells you how to dress, where to go, what to do. It always works on the outside of a person. But the problem is the heart. Out of the heart proceed, our Lord said proceed, evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies. He said, these are the things that defile the man. It comes out of the heart. When the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross said, it is finished. What does that mean? What does that mean to you? When the Lord Jesus Christ said, it is finished. It means that just as his name declares, he, he, He shall save His people from their sins. He's the Savior. The Lord rebuke thee. And the first thing to fight this discouragement is to realize that salvation is of the Lord. It's what He has done. It's not what I've prayed, it's not what I've experienced or anything of that nature. It's Christ and Christ alone. He said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Salvation is in Christ alone. So that's the first thing we see here. The Lord rebuked Satan. And second, the Lord chose his people. Notice the Lord hath chosen Jerusalem. God chose his people in Christ from before the foundation of the world and made Christ their surety. What is a surety? What is a surety? In Hebrews, we read that he is a surety of a better covenant. What is a better covenant? It's a covenant of grace, isn't it? It's an everlasting covenant. It's better than that old covenant of works. Why? Because man cannot obey. He cannot love God with all his heart, all his mind, and all his soul. And he cannot love his neighbor as himself. But thank God, Christ has made a surety of a better covenant. The Lord has chosen Jerusalem. The Lord has chosen His people. And in that covenant of grace, the Lord Jesus Christ agreed to be the surety for His chosen people. Well, I ask the question, what is a surety? It's a guarantor. It's someone who guarantees for someone else. And as a surety of the everlasting covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ guaranteed the father that he would pay the sin debt of his people. One of my favorite parables that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke, and he used a lot of parables, didn't he? But one of my favorite parables is the one he spoke to Simon the Pharisee. Simon, there was a man who was a creditor, and he had two debtors. Two debtors. One owed him 50 pence, and the other one owed him 500 pence. And when they had nothing to pay, yes, one man's debt was much greater, 10 times as great, but they were both insolvent, neither could pay. When they had nothing to pay, he frankly, and that word frankly means freely, doesn't it? He freely forgave them all. They didn't earn it, they didn't deserve it, they didn't merit it in any way. That's what is called grace, right? For by grace are you saved. If you deserve it, it's not grace. No, grace is for the undeserving, the ill-deserving, the hell-deserving. Grace, God's unmerited favor. They had nothing to pay. And have you ever noticed our Lord's question to Simon after he told that parable? The man forgave them both, frankly forgave them all their debt. Which of them will love him most? Now he didn't ask which of them shall love him, did he? But which shall love him the most? Everyone that the Lord forgives loves Him. You cannot be forgiven and not love Him. God's people love their Lord. They love Him for who He is. for what he's done for them. Yes, he frankly forgave them both. And of course, Simon the Pharisee said, well, I suppose the man that was forgiven the most, both loved the Lord, both were forgiven, and both were frankly, freely forgiven. The third thing we see here, first of all, the Lord rebukes Satan. Salvation is of the Lord. Second, the Lord chose his people. He chose Jerusalem. And third, the Lord plucks brands out of the fire. It's not the burning brand. that plucks the hand. No, it's the hand that plucks the brand out of the fire. That word pluck, we don't use that word, do we? Very often, seldom if ever. You used to hear it when ladies used to go out and grab a chicken, wring its neck, pluck those feathers. Some of you maybe don't even remember that or never had that experience, but we don't use that word pluck much. But you know it's used in another way, too, in reference to chickens. We talk about the noise, the noise they make. Pluck, pluck, pluck. Pluck, pluck, pluck. And you see a hen, and she's got about eight or 10 little chicks out there, biddies they call them. And they're all scavenging for insects or worms or whatever it is, and they're just plucking. Pluck, pluck, pluck. Pluck, pluck, pluck. And then all of a sudden, I'll use John Bunyan's illustration, all of a sudden, she sees a chicken hawk. And she gives a pluck. Now it sounds the same to us. Sounds just like all the other plucks. But not to those chicks. Not to them. It's an effectual pluck. And they run and get under her wings and they're safe. And the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is preached and proclaimed freely. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And most people, they, oh, I've heard that before. I've heard that all my life. I've heard that. Doesn't mean, yeah. But then sometimes there's an effectual pluck. And someone hears not the preacher's voice, but he hears the voice of the shepherd. Our Lord said, my sheep hear my voice, and they follow me. And just like those little chicks, that's what we call irresistible grace, isn't it? Irresistible grace, yes. When the gospel is preached in the power demonstration of the Holy Spirit, and God does the work. He said, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will or shall in no wise cast out. The fourth thing we see here, first of all, the Lord rebuketh thee. Salvation, the work of salvation is of the Lord. The Lord shows his people. The Lord plucked the brand out of the burning. And fourthly, the Lord causes the iniquity to pass from his people. What does that mean? This is what he says here. Take away the filthy garments from him, and unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee. And verse four, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee. If you look over a few pages into chapter 13 of this prophecy, Zechariah chapter 13, In verse one, God speaks of a day that at that time was future. In that day, there shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. How does he cause the iniquity to pass from his people? He washes them in this fountain, this fountain that he opened. And I like to point out, you know, cities have fountains. I remember when we were in Guadalajara, Mexico years ago, coming from Houston, there were so many fountains there, plazas, fountains, and beautiful fountains. But you know, this fountain here, God said he's going to open up a fountain. It's not for show. No. He opened this fountain up for sin and for uncleanness. In other words, through the blood of Jesus Christ, He causes the iniquity of His people to pass. He cleanses us. We sang that hymn just a few minutes ago, there's power in the blood. Sin, sin cleansing power. I tell you what, they make a lot of detergents. I see them advertising stuff that do miracles. You have a spot on your rug, on your carpet, you just disappear. But I tell you one thing, there's only one agent that will cleanse away sin. And that's the blood of Jesus Christ. Yes, he causes our iniquity to pass from us. He cleanses us in a fountain filled with his blood. And then the fifth thing we see here, the Lord covers his people with a change of raiment. Take off those filthy clothes, those filthy garments, take them off. And he clothed them, clothed him rather with a change of raiment. You know what that change of raiment represents? It represents the righteousness of Christ, the righteousness of God, His perfect obedience. That's the best robe, isn't it? That's the robe the father said when the prodigal son came home, bring forth the best robe. The best robe. Every one of us here today who know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we're dressed today before God in the best robe. That is the righteousness of Christ. And in that robe, you can't be any more just than you are, not through his righteousness. Well, the third thing, the priest would serve in this temple. Zechariah explains to them, Zachariah, or Joshua, rather, he speaks and he says, put a matra upon his head. Now, you know, the priest had several vestments, but the last thing that he put on was that turban-like head covering, and on it was that plate of gold which said, holiness to the Lord. And what we see here is, yes, these priests, they were going to serve. In fact, we're told that they were as men wondered at, and they were men who were like an omen. Until they were typical, the priest in that old dispensation, a priest, the Levite priest, they were typical. And what Zechariah is telling them, the temple and the sacrifices and the priest will continue until Shiloh comes. The one that all of these sacrifices and the work of the priest and the tabernacle and the temple, they all pictured Christ. And until he comes, this is going to continue. And we know it did. But when the Lord Jesus Christ, I mentioned the fact when he cried, it is finished, what happened? That veil. a veil in the temple, which separated the holy place from the most holy place. Remember, it was wrapped from top to bottom. What did that signify? It signified that the way into the most holy place, the presence of God, was now open and opened unto us through the flesh, through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no more need for sacrifices, blood sacrifices today. Why? Because by his one sacrifice, the scripture says, he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Notice how this chapter ends and I'll close. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall you call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree. In that dispensation, for a person to be sitting under his vine and fig tree represented two things. First of all, peace. Man setting under his vine, he has peace. He's not afraid to battle. The warriors are coming, he's setting under his vine, his fig tree, enjoying life. Not only peace, but security. And in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have both. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God. And second, we have security. We're in his hand. And no man is able to pluck one of his sheep out of his hand. What was representative here of a man sitting under his vine and fig tree, we have in Christ. We have peace and we have security in him. I trust the Lord. these words to all of us here today.