Zechariah 3

 

"...So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."

Hebrews 9:28 (NIV)    

 

Zechariah saw a vision of what every human will face; we will be standing before the angel of the LORD, (could this be Christ Jesus our Lord?) wearing our sin (dirty clothes) with Satan standing beside me accusing me of all of the evil I have done. I won’t be able to argue; I will have nothing to say, for Satan is right in all of his accusation. Yet, the angel of the LORD says something; my Lord Jesus Christ says: “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.”. 

Who will speak up for you my friend? If Jesus Christ has not taken your sins away, who will? Do we think that we will have some fine arguments to give the LORD? Are we counting on being able to explain the extenuating circumstances that led to our sin? Friend, if you have not placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ here on this earth in your life, He will not speak up for you when you stand before the judgement seat of God. There is no other person who God will listen to; no other person who has the authority to rebuke Satan, and turn my sin into righteousness. Not only my clothes, but my turban as well. I will have a turban that says holy to the LORD on it (Ex 28:36).

Jesus the Christ died once, so that we could be forgiven through faith, and He will come again to bring salvation to all who trust in Him. This is a matter of life and death - eternal life and eternal death. Act now!

"The Good-O-Meter", via YouTube

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Isaiah 28:14-22

^"Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment..."

Hebrews 9:27 (NIV)

What are you going to do tomorrow? What are you going to do next week? What are you going to do next month? What are you going to do next year? What are you going to do ten years from now? Twenty years from now? Thirty years from now? Forty years from now? Hopefully you have answers for each one of those questions. I trust that you have some exciting plans in process; perhaps family times, perhaps fun times. Maybe vacations, maybe even dreams of achievement - some goals of some kind. 

Bill Gates has a bucket list (things to do before he dies) and it is reported that on that bucket list is “find the cure for death”. If this report is true, then our esteemed Bill Gates, whose inventions and company have done so much for so many of us, will have joined a group of people that God addressed through Isaiah 3,000 years ago. They thought they had the cure; they had reached a covenant with death, and believed that they were beyond its reach, and yet the Sovereign LORD warns them that they cannot escape death. He says: “As often as it comes it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through. The understanding of this message will bring sheer terror.” (Isa 28:19) 

As often as it comes...oh friend, it comes often and it seems to take in groups. Morning, day or night, when death comes, you will go. I wonder, does the understanding that you will die bring sheer terror to your soul? O friend, our Lord Jesus came tasted death and defeated it so that we could be free from the fear of death.(Heb 2:15) Trust Him with your life today, rely on Him, look to Him in faith today, and death can be faced with peace, the peace that passes understanding. I love what Charles Swindol says: “A Christian isn’t afraid of death, we just don’t want to be there when it happens.” Well, we will be there - we can’t get out of it, but the Lord will be there with us.

I can’t get you a Youtube link, but there is a movie on Netflix called “The book thief” that is narrated by Death. Well worth the watch just for the perspective on death- it is a good movie too, Wanda encouraged me to watch it with her, and it was time well spent.

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Luke 5:12-14; Leviticus 14:1-31

"Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp."

Leviticus 13:45,46 (NIV) 

Outside the camp! Unclean! Unclean!

It is hard for us to imagine this situation, for we live in a country and a culture that works so hard at including all people, that we refuse to separate or quarantine almost anyone. We may wonder why a gracious God would make a Law like this, and yet if we just stop and consider their limited medical abilities and their campground existence, you can quickly realize that this Law is wise and gracious to the larger community.

The NIV 2011 uses the words “defiling skin diseases” instead of leprosy, although leprosy is the worst of the skin diseases. A person who gets this disease is excluded from the camp (that is the community of the people) in the wilderness, and therefore excluded from the temple, which is the very Presence of God and the place to which you must go in order to obtain forgiveness from God through the offering of sacrifices. The instructions for bringing this person who was previously “unclean” show the importance of a person receiving forgiveness through the shedding of the blood of an animal or bird.

Our Lord heals this man in Luke and tells him to present himself to the priest, and offer the sacrifices, as a testimony to them. The most amazing part of this healing is that the Lord touched him. Leviticus 7:21 states that if anyone touches an unclean person they must be “cut off from the LORD” .

O friend, what a Saviour! He is willing to be cut off for this man, and He is willing to be cut off for you and me. He came to earth to walk amongst a group of unclean humans, whose righteousness is as filthy rags. He came to touch us, to heal us, to die for us, to forgive us, to rise for us and to ascend for us, and He will come again to bring us to be with Him! O friend, what a Savior! When was the last time you went to Him on your knees? Have you ever approached Him on your knees? Do you remember what his touch was like? The touch of a gentle Saviour, the touch of the Son of God!

Shackled by a heavy burden,
'Neath a load of guilt and shame.
Then the hand of Jesus touched me,
And now I am no longer the same.

He touched me, Oh He touched me,
And oh the joy that floods my soul!
Something happened and now I know,
He touched me and made me whole.

Since I met this blessed Savior,
Since He cleansed and made me whole,
I will never cease to praise Him,
I'll shout it while eternity rolls.

He touched me, Oh He touched me,
And oh the joy that floods my soul!
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole.

"He Touched Me", Bill Gather, 1963

Click here to read Luke 5:12-14 and Leviticus 14:1-31

Numbers 12

"Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with its flesh half eaten away." So Moses cried out to the LORD, "Please, God, heal her!" 

Numbers 12:12,13 (NIV) 

There are many things that separate the Bible from other books of religion, but one of the most surprising differences is how the Bible reveals the fallen nature of all humans. No other book of religion is as candid in its treatment of its heroes as the Bible is. Numbers 12 is an interesting passage in this regard, for it exposes racism and sibling rivalry and also exposes the graciousness of our LORD.

The LORD took upon Himself the offense caused to Moses by Aaron and Miriam. He personally summoned them and appeared before them and in an audible voice explained why they had offended Him. He “burned with anger”; literally, “His nostrils burned” and when He removed His presence, Miriam had leprosy. The text note in the NIV reads: “the Hebrew for leprous was used for various diseases affecting the skin.” Yet, Aaron’s prognosis of Miriam’s condition closely matches the effects of leprosy. What a terrible disease this is, and the worst part of it for an Israelite was that they were separated from the people of God and the Presence of God. This terrible punishment dismayed both Aaron and Moses, and it reveals how seriously God took their muttering against Moses.

You might have wondered why I used the word graciousness, when the passage speaks of God’s anger and punishment, and yet the fact that the LORD took offense on behalf of Moses, is gracious of Him. The fact that He took the time, and stooped to our level to explain the sin that they had committed, was gracious of Him. The fact that He didn’t kill them in His anger was merciful, but the fact that He allowed them to continue as leaders was gracious. The fact that he heard Moses’ prayer and healed Miriam was gracious and to allow her to come back into the camp after only seven days was amazing grace. He truly is their gracious Father! I am so glad that He is my gracious Father too. Is He yours?

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Isaiah 59

He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.

Isaiah 59:16 (NIV) 

 
Humans are amazing! We celebrate ourselves, and our achievements. We look at little children and wonder which one of them will take us to new heights in medicine and science. To our children, we are fond of saying that there is no limit to what you can do, except the limit you place on yourself.

Really, who would have thought 50 years ago, the amazing developments in every area of human endeavour! YET we still cannot accomplish righteousness and justice! Even in our modern society where “fairness” and “equality” are held high, and tremendous amounts of energy and resources are poured into their pursuit, justice and righteousness are far from us. You don’t have to be a philosopher to recognize these things, just listen to the people around you when they say: “That’s not right.” What they are saying is that righteousness and justice are far from us.

The Bible is quite clear about the underlying issue; the issue is the human heart. Not just other people’s hearts, but our hearts also. The LORD looked and looked and looked, across the world, and across time and could find NO ONE who could bring justice and righteousness to us. So He did it Himself. The power of the most High God formed Jesus in the womb of Mary, and from this lady came the only Person who could save us from ourselves.

Oh friend, don’t trust yourself today. Don’t trust your own heart.

Trust Jesus, live your life through faith in Him and see justice and righteousness flood into your life.

 

Trust in Jesus, Third Day, via YouTube

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Luke 4:41; Luke 11:27-32; Luke 16:16; Luke 24:46-48

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?"

Romans 10:14 (NIV) 

Many people walk into a model suite, enjoy it, experience the newness of it, etc, and then walk out again and never own a piece of the building. A person desiring to own and to live in the finished structure, would have to sign a purchase agreement and make a deposit, and then wait for the contractor to demolish the site and construct the building and then move in at some future date. In the same way, many people hear about the Lord Jesus, come to church, enjoy fellowship, etc, and yet never own a part of the kingdom of God. In contrast, entrance to the kingdom of God comes about not through a contract that obligates both sides but by grace through faith (Eph 2:8).

We hear (or in the case of those alive during our Lord and apostles’ ministries, hear and see) the good news of the kingdom. We believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ- the Son of God, and we repent of our sin and surrender our lives to Him. We make no deposit nor do we guarantee anything, on the contrary it is God who makes the deposit for He deposits His Spirit into us (Eph 1:14) and it is the Presence of the Holy Spirit in us that guarantees our entrance into the completed (realized is the theological term) kingdom. Paul followed the Lord’s example of ministry by going to the synagogue and preaching the gospel in every town he entered. The apostles all followed the Lord’s example and command for they knew the truth of this verse. No one can enter the kingdom of heaven unless they call on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. No one can call unless they have heard the gospel, and no one can hear unless someone speaks.

Our Lord ministered and spoke for three plus years and yet there were only 120 believers when He left earth for heaven (Acts 1:15). We will be judged on whether or not we preach the gospel, not on whether or not people come into the kingdom. Bringing them in is our Lord’s mysterious work, preaching is our known simple work.

Click here to read Luke 4:41 // Luke 11:27-32 // Luke 16:16 // Luke 24:46-48

Luke 4:31-41

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb  down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse."

Revelation 22:1-3a (NIV)

One of the last millwork jobs I was involved with, before I became a pastor, was a condo project at Bloor and Jarvis. We supplied the cabinet work for the model that was built inside an old abandoned building on the site. They had built an exact replica of a future condo unit on the 27th floor. When you pulled back the drapes you could see the night view looking south toward the CN tower. They had taken a picture at night at the height of the 27th floor and blown it up and mounted it behind the window so you felt like you were in the actual unit. Several months later, I drove by the site and all that was there was a deep hole in the ground; the model was destroyed and it took almost two years for the building to be completed.

Our Lord’s ministry on earth is very similar to that model built in an abandoned building. It is real, but it was for a time and a purpose and we are now in the building stage of the kingdom of God. Revelation 21 and 22 describe the finished city of God coming down to earth and the wonderful state of the people who have entered the kingdom of God. No more curse, no more death, no more disease, and no more evil!

Our Lord’s ministry of healing and driving out demons, was continued by the apostles with great power, but has since become isolated instances. His purpose was to show us a picture of what the consummated kingdom would be like, and to invite us to enter that kingdom through faith. May I remind us that all of the people that our Lord and His apostles healed, ended up dead? Even Lazarus died twice and John 12:10 tells us that it was likely that his second death was a violent one. There will be a finished kingdom. We don’t have to trust the word and finances of a human contractor - NO! We have the Word of the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He will come again, He will rid the earth of all evil, He will establish a kingdom, where there is no death, no sickness, no curse. And so we say: “Come, Lord Jesus, Come!”

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