Time Out with Pastor Ben Talley - Zechariah 3

Zechariah’s Vision of Joshua the High Priest and the Branch

Good morning y 'all. My name is pastor Benjamin Talley, I am the associate pastor from Whitman Memorial Baptist Church and This is another timeout for Wednesday. Our scripture will be coming from Zechariah chapter 3 verses 1 through 10.

This is a beautiful set of passages. So let's just dig in. So comes from the story of the vision of Joshua the high priest. It says then he showed me Joshua high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at the right hand to accuse him.

The Lord said to Satan Lord rebuke you of Satan. The Lord who had chosen Jerusalem rebuke you is not this the brand plucked from the fire now. Joshua was standing before the angel clothed with filthy garments.

And the angel said to those who were standing before him remove the filthy garments from him and to him. He said behold. I have taken your iniquity away from you. I will clothe you with pure Vestments and I said let them put a clean turban on his head so that they put a clean turban on his head and Clothed him with garments and the angel of the Lord was standing by and the angel of the Lord solemnly assured.

Joshua thus says the Lord of hosts if you will walk in my ways and keep my charge. Then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right Access among those who are standing here here now.

Oh Joshua the high priest and you and your friends who sit before you. For they are men who are assigned behold. I will bring my servant the branch. For behold on the stone that I've set before Joshua on a single stone was with seven eyes.

I will engrave its inscription. Declares the Lord of hosts and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day in that day declares the Lord of hosts everyone of You will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.

Joshua as a Representative of Israel Under Accusation

Let's just let's just recap. Okay, so Joshua the high priest is standing before the angel of The Lord and Satan is standing on his right hand and Satan is accusing him right. Satan is accusing him and the Lord said to Satan Lord rebuke you and the Lord the Lord Said the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you.

Morning angel. And he said the Lord who has chosen you rebuke you. Is not this a brand pluck from the fire now Joshua was standing before the angel clothed with filthy and filthy garments. Now Joshua stands as a representative For Israel, what's up, Lisa?

Teresa, how are y 'all doing? So Joshua stands as a representative for Israel, this is Zechariah chapter 3 verses 1 through 10 so Joshua is standing as a representative for Israel and Satan is accusing Joshua and all of Israel and so The angel said those who are standing before him remove the filthy garments.

Is what he said the Lord said and to him he said behold I have taken your iniquity away from you and I will clothe you with pure vestments. So this is what the Lord said and he said let them put a clean turban on his head.

And so they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments and the angel of the Lord was standing by in the angel the Lord solemnly assured Joshua. Thus says the Lord of hosts if you will walk in my ways and keep my charge.

Then you shall rule my house and have charge over my courts. I will give you the right of access Among those who are standing here so that's among all the all the priests and and everything and he says and and all the People standing there.

He says here now Oh Joshua the high priest you and your friends who sit before you for they are men who are a sign. So the priests were a sign of greater things to come. And he says this. He says behold, I will bring my servant the branch now the branch was a a Name, it was a messianic title for Jesus.

Then he says I will bring my servant the branch for behold on the stone I have set before Joshua on a single stone with seven eyes. I will engrave its inscription now seven eyes. That's kind of hard to picture.

But he says I will engrave its inscription declares the Lord of hosts. I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. Hmm. I Wonder what that is in a single day. He's gonna remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.

Sound interesting. Hmm in that day declares the Lord of hosts. Every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine. Whose vine the branch? Under his fig tree. That's Jesus Christ. So in a single day, he is going to rid the land of their sin, right?

He's gonna he's gonna make atonement for their sin. He's gonna remove the iniquity of their sin in a single day. And he's and they're all gonna be able to come under his vine under his Fig tree. So that is Jesus Christ guys.

That's who they're talking about the branch. The angel of the Lord that's that's who God is talking about here. So see the angels sit in the Satanist sitting there accusing Israel accusing Joshua and the Lord wraps him in his garments or wraps him in pure clean garments.

That's what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. That's what he's done for us. Wow, well Satan accuses us and he. You know, we feel unworthy we feel and when we are unworthy we feel worthless. Yeah, it's a Zechariah 3 1 through 10.

Zechariah chapter 3 1 through 10, so we feel unworthy because of the Because of the Accusations that are thrown against us, you know we feel Condemned and a lot of things but a lot of the things we do a lot of the ways we mess up, you know, but um.

But God has clothed us. And and set us apart in Christ he's done the same thing that he did with Joshua. Well, how do I know that? I know that from Scripture if you would. If you want to you know what?

2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21 says for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin. So that in him we might become the righteousness of God in him. That's 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21. So don't let your own insecurities get you down don't let The assault or the accusations of the enemy get you down.

Stand on the promises and The finished work of Jesus Christ. He has done great things for you. If you are in Christ. If you're in Christ, you have been atoned for you have been redeemed. You have been set apart on solid ground with a pure foundation.

Now your job is to build upon that foundation. Through reading other scriptures through studying other scriptures so Zechariah 3 1 through 10 and 2nd Corinthians 5 21. Read those study those today. If you don't know the Lord if you have never surrendered to his lordship and to his Authority then what you need to do is you need to repent.

That means you need to repent of sin once and for all. Forsake it in your life and surrender to His authority surrender to his plan and his purposes for your life. Forsake your sin surrender to his lordship and his and his gospel the fact that he died on the cross for your sins and And rose again from the grave conquering hell death in the grave.

He did it for all those who would believe and Place their faith and trust in him, but it is a good day to be alive in Jesus Christ. Claiming the promises and the finished work of Jesus Christ over your life.

Claim it and I know that's that sounds like a name it and claim it thing. But uh, it's really not if you believe the finished work of Christ you need to walk in that. Walk in the finished work of Christ so many Christians are not Believing what Jesus had done for them.

Accepting it and they're walking around Living defeated lives. They don't understand what Jesus had done. If you are a Christian you are justified you were atoned for you were redeemed. So let those who are redeemed in the Lord say so so It's a good day to be alive in Jesus, let me pray for you God I thank you for this day.

I pray Lord that those who are redeemed and who know you Let them say so today let them rejoice in that and let them claim the promises of the scriptures and let them walk in the finished work of Christ and Lord, I pray that you just remind them of the things you've done for them and help them rejoice in that Lord for those who don't know you Lord, I pray you convict them of their sin.

I pray that you bring them to the cross Lord and I bring them to repentance and help them know that you did die for them and you Did rise again Cochrane held death in the grave Lord, and then they need to walk the narrow path not the broad path God asked us in Jesus name.

Amen. Good day.