November 21, 2025 • 41 mins
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Satan is angry. We participated in the fall, just like he did. But through Christ, we are now exempt from God’s wrath—the wrath that Satan will forever endure. And when the opportunity presents itself, Satan stands before God and accuses us. Other times, he makes us feel guilty for things that God has already forgiven.
We are the object of attention in the Lord’s courtroom—Satan on one side, Jesus on the other. Christians can take heart because Jesus has already won the victory.
Each month, Elder Tolliver offers a spiritually encouraging book to help you in your walk with Christ for any size donation. Please go to biblicaltalks.com website to take advantage of this opportunity.
Have a blessed day, and thanks for listening! Visit my website to learn more at https://www.biblicaltalks.com
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Speaker 1 (00:19):
Welcome to Biblical Talks.
Sermon of the Week Beloved.
I want you to listen to UrbanLutzer's sermon.
It's just a great sermon he'stalking about with the title of
the sermon Jesus the Devil andyou the Invisible World.
This was a great sermon.
Here's Pastor Lutzer.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
We're coming near the end of our series of messages
on the invisible world.
We've learned that it is in theinvisible world that God exists
angels, demons, heaven, helland of course, we are there as
well, because our minds actuallyexist also in the invisible
(01:03):
world.
Today, we're going to bestudying the invisible world and
our role in it, particularly asit has to do with Satan and
Jesus, and the dispute happensto be over us.
What we're going to learn isthat, as a result of this
message, we should be able tosleep better than we normally do
(01:26):
, we should deal with issuesregarding our consciences,
regarding guilt, and it's allhere in God's holy word for us.
I think you'll discover thatevery one of us needs this
message.
I need it, you need it and, ofcourse, as you listen, you'll
also be thinking of other peoplewho also need it, so that I
(01:53):
hope that this message has awide distribution for the glory
of God, the honor of Jesus andthe proclamation of his great
gospel.
Our text actually takes placein the third chapter of
Zechariah.
I wonder if you can find thatin your Bibles.
I hope so.
If you have some trouble, youmight want to look at the table
of contents and if you're usingthe Bible that is before you
(02:16):
there in the seats I think it'spage 794.
794.
794.
If not, you go to the NewTestament, old Testament, break
and then move backwards.
Pretty soon you get to theprophet Zechariah, whose
prophecy is filled with visionsand all kinds of interesting
(02:39):
predictions about Jesus Christ.
The context is this youremember that in 586 BC the
Babylonians came and theycaptured the Israelites.
They destroyed Jerusalem andthen Israel was in Babylon for
70 long years and when they cameback they rebuilt the temple
(03:05):
long years.
And when they came back theyrebuilt the temple.
But it was also a time of greatdiscouragement because of
opposition.
The temple was so small incomparison to Solomon's temple
that many of the old peopleremembered, and it is in that
context that Zechariah gave hisprophecy, gave his prophecy.
(03:28):
What we have in chapter 3 is avision that he had and he
inserts himself into this vision, as we shall see in a few
moments.
I want to paint the scene foryou.
It is a court scene.
You've all been in a courtroom.
There is the presiding judge.
It is the Lord, the angel ofthe Lord.
Your Bibles are open.
Then he showed me Joshua, thehigh priest, standing before the
(03:49):
angel of the Lord.
In the Old Testament, when youhave the phrase the angel of the
Lord, it's a reference to Jesus.
We know this because the angelof the Lord is spoken of as
Jehovah even in this passage.
But he is also distinct fromJehovah.
Who else would be God, and yetdistinct from God but Jesus
(04:14):
Christ.
So in the Old Testament we evenhave here a reference to the
Trinity.
When you have an angel of theLord, that's some individual
angel like Michael or Gabriel,but when you have the angel of
the Lord, it's a specialdesignation for Jesus Christ.
(04:35):
So Jesus is really thepresiding judge, and what I'd
like us to do is to look at thevarious personalities that are
involved in this, and we'll seeourselves in a moment and we'll
understand why God's Word shouldbe transforming and will be
transforming in our lives aswell as we take it in.
(04:59):
The first person I want to talkabout is Joshua.
When you read Joshua the priest, he's standing there.
Don't think that this is theJoshua of the one who fit the
battle of Jericho.
That's a different Joshua.
That's Joshua the greatmilitary leader.
This is Joshua the high priest.
(05:22):
He led the children of Israel,those who came back from that
captivity in Babylon.
He was one of the leaders, hewas the one who helped guide the
building of the temple.
And now he is standing beforethe Lord, before the angel of
the Lord, and let's look at howhe is dressed, you'll notice.
(05:44):
It says in verse three now,joshua was standing before the
angel clothed with filthygarments.
Wow, he's actually representing.
His clothes represent the sinsof Israel.
And what are those sins?
(06:06):
Those sins were a sense ofsyncretism, that is to say, the
worship of idols along withJehovah.
No doubt some people thoughtthat that was a form of
advancement and success, theamalgamation of other religions
into the true religion of God.
But God saw it as filthy.
(06:27):
There was immorality, there wasthe exploitation of the poor,
all the things that the prophets, such as Jeremiah and Isaiah,
had spoken about.
And now Joshua is standing inthe presence of a holy God
filthy garments.
We sometimes don't appreciatethis because we forget that in
(06:50):
the Old Testament there werespecific rules as to how a
priest should be dressed, and italways talked about being
clothed in fine linen, linenthat was clean, and if the
priest personally even was inany way unclean, he had to bathe
(07:11):
himself After all.
Standing filthy.
Imagine how he felt.
I remember being invited to anevent one time and I went in
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ordinary daytime clothes, maybethrew on a suit coat.
Everybody else was dressed soformally.
I remember how I felt, so outof place.
I felt something like acounterfeit coin on an offering
plate.
I mean, somehow there wassomething here that says I don't
belong here.
(07:54):
Imagine you're standing in thepresence of God.
Joshua is burning with a senseof shame in God's holy presence,
clothed in filthy garments.
Really abhorrent, just as oursin is to God abhorrent.
(08:19):
Well, that's Joshua.
Now let's look at Satan.
What is he doing?
Well, you'll notice, it says inverse 2,.
Well, it's still in verse 1,he's standing before the angel
of the Lord, satan, standing athis right hand to accuse him.
Satan is there to accuse Joshua.
(08:40):
Satan, the fallen angel, whohimself cannot be redeemed
because he was not included inthe death of Jesus Christ, the
one who evidently, at one timegave praise to God and was
responsible for the choir inheaven, and yet he began to take
glory for himself and he wascast down out of heaven, at
(09:05):
least cast down out of hisposition, though apparently he
still has some access to heaventoday, but he is now
irredeemably evil and he standsthere to accuse Joshua.
And what is he accusing him of?
What is Satan saying?
Well, we're not told in thetext, but of course we can guess
(09:25):
.
Biblically, we can guess.
What he's saying is this Joshua, you have no right to stand in
God's presence.
For you to be here is an insultto God and it is a compromise
of God's holiness.
Now notice this in a sense.
In a sense, satan is right inwhat he says.
(09:49):
Why is he then rebuked?
As we shall see in a moment,he's rebuked for the simple
reason that he is doing it withthe wrong attitude.
Satan is angry with us as God'speople, very angry, is angry
(10:11):
with us as God's people, veryangry.
What makes him angry is that weparticipated in the fall just
like he did.
We deserve hell, just like hedoes, but we don't get hell, we
get heaven.
And this makes him so angry tothink that human beings who are
in the same predicament as he is, they are exempt from God's
wrath and anger and he has toendure it forever.
(10:31):
So what he is doing is he isaccusing Joshua, reminding God
that if you accept Joshua, thecourts of heaven are going to be
defiled Satan is there toaccuse.
Well, there's a thirdpersonality in all this, and
that is the Lord himself, whomwe have already met in the
(10:53):
introduction.
You'll notice what happens inthe text.
And the angel verse 4, said tothose who were standing before
him remove the filthy garmentsfrom him.
And to him he said behold, I'vetaken your iniquity away from
you and I will clothe you withpure vestments.
(11:14):
Wow, take off his filthyclothes, get rid of them, and I
am giving you garments that arenot only pure, but what the
Hebrew text really means isgarments of royalty, garments of
beauty, garments that signifyacceptance and prominence and
(11:38):
importance.
That's actually embedded herein the text.
And so Joshua's clothes, hisfilthy garments, are taken from
him and he is clothed in puregarments, special garments that
give him accessibility to God.
(11:59):
Now, just keep in mind thatJoshua here is representing us
also, isn't he?
You know, there are many peoplewho think that salvation is
forgiveness, and sometimes wepreach the gospel that way.
We say come to Jesus and beforgiven and thank God.
That is true, but if that isyour gospel, it is only half a
(12:24):
gospel.
It's not the full gospel,because it is not just that God
forgives us and then allows usto be standing there naked, as
if the garments of Joshua weretaken away and nothing were
given him in exchange.
But God says I give you agarment of righteousness.
He says I give you a garment ofhonor.
(12:46):
I give you a garment that meansthat you are acceptable to me,
a garment of beauty and agarment of royalty.
You are very special to me, youare welcomed and you are
received.
Now, in the midst of this,zechariah inserts himself into
(13:07):
the vision.
You'll notice.
It says in verse 5, and I saidLet them put a clean turban on
his head.
So they put a clean turban onhis head and clothed him with
garments, and the angel of theLord was standing by.
Then notice what the angel saidto Joshua, verse 6,.
(13:29):
The angel of the Lord solemnlyassured Joshua.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, ifyou will walk in my ways and
keep my charge, then you shallrule my house and have charge
over my courts and I will giveyou the right of access among
those who are standing herecourts.
And I will give you the rightof access among those who are
standing here.
God is saying is this you and Iare not redeemed just to enjoy
(13:51):
our redemption.
We are redeemed that we mightserve, not that we might just
commit the same sins again anddepend upon the mercy of God,
but that we might walk in thesalvation that he has given us
and walking in that salvation toserve him with acceptability
(14:14):
and impact.
And here at the church, as youknow, this fall we are
emphasizing the gospel lived outin service in so many different
ways, and God gives Joshua thisassignment.
Well, I've told you basicallythe story of the text, but how
does this apply to us today?
(14:36):
How does it come through thecenturies?
So that you and I not onlybenefit, but that we understand
our own predicament and God'ssalvation much better.
So what I'd like to do is togive you today three
transforming truths, threetransforming truths that I hope
(14:57):
the Holy Spirit will use toliberate some of you from your
guilt, from your shame, fromyour past, that you might be
able to walk in God's courtswith a sense of confidence and
joy.
Number one remember this thatSatan still accuses us.
(15:19):
He still accuses us.
Don't ask me exactly where thistakes place, because I don't
know, but somewhere in thestratosphere, somewhere in the
invisible world, satan is stillable to bring us up into God's
face and to keep accusing God ofinjustice by accepting sinners
(15:43):
whom Satan would love to see inhell along with him.
We find this, for example, inthe twelfth chapter of the book
of Revelation, revelationchapter 12,.
Many of us believe that this isactually fulfilled during the
tribulation period, probably themiddle of the tribulation
period.
(16:04):
Satan is at war in heaven.
Michael and his angels verse 7,fighting against the dragon.
I love this passage.
And the great dragon was throwndown, that ancient serpent
who's called the devil, andSatan, the deceiver of the whole
world.
He was thrown to earth and hisangels were thrown down with him
(16:25):
.
And I heard a loud voice inheaven saying now the salvation
and the power and the kingdom ofour God and the authority of
his Christ has come, for theaccuser of our brothers has been
thrown down.
Who accuses them day and nightbefore God?
Wow, and they have conqueredhim by the blood of the Lamb and
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by the word of his testimony.
Satan's still bringingaccusation against us, first of
all before God, reminding God,as I've already mentioned, that
we should be in hell along withhim, angry and envious.
Some Christians don't thinkenvy is a great sin because it's
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sort of a secret sin, but envybefore God.
Satan is envious that we whosinned just as he did,
ultimately that we are going tobe exalted above the angelic
realm someday.
You know that.
I've mentioned that many timesin messages that we will be
(17:30):
above the angels, because angelscannot become heirs of God and
joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
And so Satan is therecontinually reminding God that
you are unjust to do what youhave done.
But of course we know thatGod's justice has been
meticulously satisfied by Jesus,and so that is the accusation
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of Satan before God.
But Satan also accuses us.
In our scripture reading thismorning we read the text that
says that he goes about seekingthose whom he may devour.
He has two different strategiesOne is to lead us into sin, and
then the other is, after he hasled us into sin, to tell us
(18:19):
that God is mad at us, that weare no longer received.
Who are you, you hypocrite, tosing songs in church?
If people knew about your past,you wouldn't be up there
singing in the choir.
You are unworthy to come intoGod's presence, and so what
(18:39):
happens is we succumb to guilt.
I wish I had more time for this.
I'm actually thinking ofbeginning a series of messages
sometime in the future and Idon't know when on the
conscience and the clearing ofthe conscience, because there is
the necessity to clear itvertically in our relationship
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with God, but also ourrelationship with others.
And that's a much longer story,but let me introduce it to you
today.
There is such a thing as realguilt.
Real guilt is when we feelguilty over things that we
should feel guilty about, and ifyou don't know how to handle
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that guilt, you're going to dothings that will only increase
it.
It's a terrible predicament.
William Justice in his booktalks about visiting a young man
who was in the hospital and hesays why are you blowing your
mind on drugs?
And the boy said to him youshould know the answer to that
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question without me telling you.
He said I feel so terribleabout things that I've done.
He said I take drugs because Idon't have the ability to shoot
myself, to take my own life, andI'm doing it the slow way,
using drugs.
And justice points out thatwhen you are dealing with guilt
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and you deal with it in thewrong way, you do things that
only increase your guilt.
What a terrible predicament,your guilt over things that you
have done, that you've not dealtwith is a gift of God, but you
must respond to it correctly.
So there's such a thing as realguilt, but today I want to
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introduce you to false guilt.
Many people are bound by falseguilt decisions that they made
that had terrible consequences,but they were made with good
intentions.
A mother says to her littledaughter as she looks up and
says Mommy, can I cross thestreet?
And the mother says yes, and acar hits the child me, can I
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cross the street?
And the mother says yes, and acar hits the child.
For years the mother not onlyfelt regret, but deep, deep
guilt that hampered herrelationship with God.
You have to understand that ashuman beings we sometimes make
bad judgments and, though wefeel terrible about them and
never quote forgive ourselves,let it never be said that that
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kind of guilt hinders our walkwith God.
But there's another kind, andthat is and this is what Satan
loves to use I would think thatthis would be his preference To
accuse us of things for which wehave already been forgiven,
things that we have alreadyconfessed, that are already
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under the blood of Christ, andhe keeps bringing those things
up to drag us down so that everystep we make of progress in the
Christian life is impededbecause of this nagging guilt.
Now, sometimes it has to do withvertical guilt and sometimes
with horizontal guilt.
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Today I'm talking only aboutthe vertical our relationship
with God.
I think, for example, of awoman who told me that after an
abortion, she said whenever Isaw a child in a supermarket or
wherever that would be about thesame age as the child that I
aborted, she said I just had torun away and cry and all the
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guilt of the past came washingback.
Have you confessed your sin?
Yes, she said a thousand times,but the guilt will not go away.
Will not go away Now, friends,1 John 1.9,.
(22:32):
If we confess our sins, he isfaithful and he is just to
forgive us our sins and tocleanse us from every single
individual unrighteousness, nomatter the past, once it has
been confessed under the bloodof Christ.
What you need to do in thosemoments when it all comes back
is to affirm the fact that Jesuspaid it all and you are
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forgiven.
You are forgiven and you don'tlet the past weigh down on your
(23:34):
future.
Now the question of whether ornot her husband knows, and all
that has to do with thehorizontal issues that I'm not
talking about today, but may ata later time.
So it's Satan who says oh soyou're a Christian, huh, look at
what you've done, and you'regoing to go to Moody Church and
you're going to sing those songs, aren't you?
(23:55):
You hypocrite?
Who are you?
Even over sins that have beenforgiven, confessed and over
which we have received cleansing, satan still harasses us.
Satan still harasses us, andthat's where he is accusing us
(24:21):
before God and using guilt to doit for us.
That's the first statement Iwant you to have.
There's a second, and that isthat God continues.
God continues to give us hisrighteousness and his righteous
robes In the story that we havebefore us.
In this vision, the filthygarments are taken away, and, by
(24:41):
the way, they were filthy.
Won't go into detail, but justassume the fact that the Hebrew
text is very vivid here.
These were very filthy garmentsand what happens is they are
taken away and he is given purerobes.
Pure robes so that he might beable to stand in God's court, so
(25:05):
that he might be able to singthe songs of Zion, so that he
might be able to give worshipand praise to Almighty God and
to know that he's acceptedbefore God.
This has to do, in the NewTestament, of course, with the
righteousness of Jesus Christ,and even the Old Testament
saints.
The righteousness of Christthat he would provide was
(25:28):
provided for them in advance.
They were saved on credit, therighteousness of Christ.
But he made him that is, jesusto be sin for us, the one who
knew no sin, that we might bemade the righteousness of God in
Christ.
(25:49):
God says you come to Jesus and Ihave some new garments for you.
He says, first of all, it is acostly garment.
The garments have been boughtby the precious blood of Jesus.
Costly garment, it is a puregarment.
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It is a garment as pure as God,as pure as God, and that's why
it is when we die for those whohave trusted Christ as Savior
you've heard me say it manytimes they will be welcomed into
heaven as if they are Jesus,because they are clothed in his
(26:33):
righteousness alone, faultless,to stand before the throne.
So we have here a costlygarment, a pure garment.
We have also a garment that isa complete garment, takes care
of all sin, both past, presentand future.
(26:54):
All of your sins were futurewhen Jesus died on the cross and
those sins were alreadygathered up.
If I might speak somewhatimprecisely but, I think,
helpfully.
Those sins were gathered up andJesus Christ paid for them.
That's why we sing.
(27:15):
Jesus paid it all.
All to him I owe.
Now that doesn't mean that weshouldn't confess our sins.
Confession maintains ourfellowship with God, but our
status as sons and daughtersremains secure because that
(27:38):
garment of righteousness keepscovering us and is ours until
the day we die and we can standwith confidence before God.
We can sing with confidence, wecan come out of our shame and
that's another kind of guilt, bythe way, and that is the shame
(28:02):
that your family or others haveimposed upon you, that some of
you carry.
You can get rid of that shameby reminding yourself that you
have a new garment.
The filthy garment has been setaside.
The robe that Jesus gives youis one of dignity and acceptance
(28:25):
and worthiness in the presenceof Almighty God.
And so Jesus has a new robe forus and it is given to those who
believe, and that's why thereis no other way to heaven.
There's no other guru orteacher that can possibly do
(28:48):
that.
You need God to do the saving.
It is God who takes away thesin and gives you a new robe, a
robe of righteousness andtruthfulness and acceptance.
The third fact, by the wayremember years ago I mentioned
(29:11):
to you I was to speak somewhereand just overcome with a sense
of frustration and anger, I wasparking the car and I thought to
myself you know, I have topreach in a half an hour.
How do I preach when all thisis going on in my soul, with all
of this stirring all this guilt?
And I was reminded of Romans,chapter 8, and I said it out
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loud in the car.
Now, normally don't say thisunless you are alone, or else
someone might think that youshould just keep on driving to
the local hospital.
But in the car, by myself, Ishouted Be gone, satan.
For it is written who shall layanything to the charge of God's
elect?
It is God who justifies.
Who is he that condemns?
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It is Christ that died, yea,rather, that is risen again and
is even now at the right hand ofthe throne of God, who also
maketh intercession for us.
Calmness came to my soul and Iremember preaching on the great
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doctrine of the faith ofjustification, even as I preach
it now.
But there's a third fact, andthat is that we're caught in the
middle in all this, you'llnotice that the title is when
Battles Are Lost or Won.
We're the big object ofattention.
And we're the object ofattention because there you have
God saying I've received themon the basis of Christ and there
(30:45):
you have Satan say they'reunworthy, they shouldn't be able
to enter into the courts ofheaven.
They are sinners just like I am, and he's heaping guilt on us.
And he is also accusing God ofinjustice and he's angry.
Thank God he was thrown out ofheaven.
And in the midst of this westruggle with our past.
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He's there to remind us of ourpast.
He's there to remind us of ourfuture and how different the two
really are.
I'd like to read a story thatoccurs in Joshua Harris's book,
one of the books by JoshuaHarris.
Listen carefully.
(31:28):
In that place betweenwakefulness and dreams, I found
myself in the room.
And dreams I found myself inthe room.
There were no distinguishingfeatures at all, covered with
small index card files.
They were like the ones inlibraries, by author or subject,
in alphabetical order.
But these files, whichstretched from floor to ceiling
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and seemingly endlessly ineither direction, had very
different headings.
I knew exactly where I was thislifeless room with its small
files, was a crude catalogsystem for my life.
Here were written the actionsof my every moment, big and
small, in a detail my memorycouldn't match.
(32:15):
A sense of wonder and curiositycoupled with horror stirred
within me as I began randomlyopening the files and exploring
their contents.
Some brought joy and sweetmemories, others a sense of
shame and regret so intense thatI would look over my shoulder
to see if anyone was watchingthat.
I would look over my shoulderto see if anyone was watching.
(32:36):
The titles ranged from themundane to the outright weird.
Books I've read, lies I've told, comfort I have given.
Jokes I've laughed at.
Some were almost hilarious intheir exactness.
Things I'd yelled at mybrothers, others I couldn't
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laugh at.
Things I have done in anger,things I have muttered under my
breath at my parents.
Each was written in my ownhandwriting, each signed with my
signature.
When I pulled out thefile-marked songs I've listened
to, I pulled out the file markedsongs I've listened to, I shut
it, slammed not so much by thequality of the music but much
more by the vast amount of timeI knew that file represented.
(33:24):
When I came to a file markedlustful thoughts, I felt a chill
run through my body.
I pulled the file out only aninch, not willing to test its
size, and drew out a card.
I felt sick to think that sucha moment had been recorded.
Suddenly, I felt almost ananimal rage.
(33:45):
One thought dominated my mindno one must ever see these cards
.
I have to destroy them.
In an insane frenzy, I yankedthe file out.
I had to empty it and burn thecards, but as I took the file at
(34:06):
one end and began pounding iton the floor, I couldn't
dislodge a single card.
I became desperate and pulledout a card, only to find it so
strong, as strong as steel, whenI tried to tear it.
Defeated and utterly helpless.
I let out a long, self-pityingsigh.
And then I saw it.
The title bore People I haveShared the Gospel With.
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The handle was brighter thanthose around it, newer, almost
unused.
I pulled on its handle, and asmall box not more than three
inches it newer, almost unused.
I pulled on its handle, and asmall box not more than three
inches long fell into my hands.
I could count the cards itcontained.
On one hand, I began to weep,sob so deep that the hurt
(34:49):
started in my stomach and shookthrough me.
I fell on my knees and cried.
I cried out of shame, from theoverwhelming shame of it all.
The rows of file shelvesswirled in my tear-filled eyes.
No one must ever, ever, everknow of this room.
I must lock it up and hide thekey.
(35:11):
But then, as I pushed away thetears and hide the key, but then
, as I pushed away the tears, Isaw him.
No, please, not him, not here,anyone but Jesus.
I watched helplessly as he beganto open the files and read the
(35:33):
cards.
I couldn't bear to watch hisresponse and in the moments I
could bring myself to look athis face, I saw a sorrow deeper
than my own.
Finally, he turned and lookedat me from across the room.
He looked at me with a pity inhis eyes.
I dropped my head, covered myface with my hands and I began
(35:55):
to cry again.
He walked over and put his armaround me.
He could have said many things,but he didn't say a word.
He just cried with me.
Then he got up and walked backto the wall of files, starting
at one end of the room.
He took out a file one by one,began to sign his name over mine
(36:19):
on each card.
No, I shouted.
I rushed to him.
All I could say is no, no.
I pulled the card from him.
His name shouldn't be on thesecards, but there it was written
in red, so rich, so dark, soalive.
The name of Jesus covered mine.
(36:40):
It was written with his blood.
He gently took the card back.
He smiled a sad smile andcontinued to sign the cards.
I don't think I'll everunderstand how he did it so
quickly.
But the next instant it seemedthat I heard him close the last
(37:00):
file and he walked back to myside.
He placed his hand on hisshoulder and said it is finished
.
I stood up and he led me out ofthe room.
There was no lock on the door.
There were still cards to bewritten.
(37:23):
The Bible says in the 12thchapter of Revelation, regarding
Satan the accuser they overcamehim by the blood of the lamb
and by the word of theirtestimony, because Jesus paid it
all and only his blood cancleanse us.
In the presence of God and anaccusing devil, can we pray
(38:02):
together?
There are some of you here whohave never trusted Jesus as your
Savior.
You must do that.
I urge you to, even as we pray,you pray and say Jesus, today I
receive you as mine.
Take all my cards signed withyour blood that you became
(38:22):
guilty of when you became sinfor me.
Some of you are here and yourpast continues to haunt you.
Jesus is the one who says toyou and to me today, as he puts
his arms around us it isfinished, the past is gone, the
(38:45):
new has come.
Father, we thank you today forthis marvelous account of Joshua
.
We thank you so much that, inyour grace, you took away the
filthy garments and gave himrich garments of grace and power
.
We ask today, lord, that wewill depend upon the
(39:07):
righteousness of Jesus, and maywe depend upon him with
confidence that he paid it alland that his blood washes from
every sin.
We pray for all those today,father, bound by their past,
bound by guilt and shame.
(39:27):
Liberate them.
Today.
We ask, in the presence of thedevil and in the presence of
Jesus, the righteous judge, inwhose name we pray, amen.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
Hello, my name is Michelle Tolliver and Biblical
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Thank you for listening tobiblical talks.
Welcome to Biblical Talks.
Sermon of the Week Beloved.
I want you to listen to UrbanLutzer's sermon.
It's just a great sermon he'stalking about with the title of
the sermon Jesus the Devil andyou the Invisible World.
This was a great sermon.
Here's Pastor Lutzer.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
We're coming near the end of our series of messages
on the invisible world.
We've learned that it is in theinvisible world that God exists
angels, demons, heaven, helland of course, we are there as
well, because our minds actuallyexist also in the invisible
(01:03):
world.
Today, we're going to bestudying the invisible world and
our role in it, particularly asit has to do with Satan and
Jesus, and the dispute happensto be over us.
What we're going to learn isthat, as a result of this
message, we should be able tosleep better than we normally do
(01:26):
, we should deal with issuesregarding our consciences,
regarding guilt, and it's allhere in God's holy word for us.
I think you'll discover thatevery one of us needs this
message.
I need it, you need it and, ofcourse, as you listen, you'll
also be thinking of other peoplewho also need it, so that I
(01:53):
hope that this message has awide distribution for the glory
of God, the honor of Jesus andthe proclamation of his great
gospel.
Our text actually takes placein the third chapter of
Zechariah.
I wonder if you can find thatin your Bibles.
I hope so.
If you have some trouble, youmight want to look at the table
of contents and if you're usingthe Bible that is before you
(02:16):
there in the seats I think it'spage 794.
794.
794.
If not, you go to the NewTestament, old Testament, break
and then move backwards.
Pretty soon you get to theprophet Zechariah, whose
prophecy is filled with visionsand all kinds of interesting
(02:39):
predictions about Jesus Christ.
The context is this youremember that in 586 BC the
Babylonians came and theycaptured the Israelites.
They destroyed Jerusalem andthen Israel was in Babylon for
70 long years and when they cameback they rebuilt the temple
(03:05):
long years.
And when they came back theyrebuilt the temple.
But it was also a time of greatdiscouragement because of
opposition.
The temple was so small incomparison to Solomon's temple
that many of the old peopleremembered, and it is in that
context that Zechariah gave hisprophecy, gave his prophecy.
(03:28):
What we have in chapter 3 is avision that he had and he
inserts himself into this vision, as we shall see in a few
moments.
I want to paint the scene foryou.
It is a court scene.
You've all been in a courtroom.
There is the presiding judge.
It is the Lord, the angel ofthe Lord.
Your Bibles are open.
Then he showed me Joshua, thehigh priest, standing before the
(03:49):
angel of the Lord.
In the Old Testament, when youhave the phrase the angel of the
Lord, it's a reference to Jesus.
We know this because the angelof the Lord is spoken of as
Jehovah even in this passage.
But he is also distinct fromJehovah.
Who else would be God, and yetdistinct from God but Jesus
(04:14):
Christ.
So in the Old Testament we evenhave here a reference to the
Trinity.
When you have an angel of theLord, that's some individual
angel like Michael or Gabriel,but when you have the angel of
the Lord, it's a specialdesignation for Jesus Christ.
(04:35):
So Jesus is really thepresiding judge, and what I'd
like us to do is to look at thevarious personalities that are
involved in this, and we'll seeourselves in a moment and we'll
understand why God's Word shouldbe transforming and will be
transforming in our lives aswell as we take it in.
(04:59):
The first person I want to talkabout is Joshua.
When you read Joshua the priest, he's standing there.
Don't think that this is theJoshua of the one who fit the
battle of Jericho.
That's a different Joshua.
That's Joshua the greatmilitary leader.
This is Joshua the high priest.
(05:22):
He led the children of Israel,those who came back from that
captivity in Babylon.
He was one of the leaders, hewas the one who helped guide the
building of the temple.
And now he is standing beforethe Lord, before the angel of
the Lord, and let's look at howhe is dressed, you'll notice.
(05:44):
It says in verse three now,joshua was standing before the
angel clothed with filthygarments.
Wow, he's actually representing.
His clothes represent the sinsof Israel.
And what are those sins?
(06:06):
Those sins were a sense ofsyncretism, that is to say, the
worship of idols along withJehovah.
No doubt some people thoughtthat that was a form of
advancement and success, theamalgamation of other religions
into the true religion of God.
But God saw it as filthy.
(06:27):
There was immorality, there wasthe exploitation of the poor,
all the things that the prophets, such as Jeremiah and Isaiah,
had spoken about.
And now Joshua is standing inthe presence of a holy God
filthy garments.
We sometimes don't appreciatethis because we forget that in
(06:50):
the Old Testament there werespecific rules as to how a
priest should be dressed, and italways talked about being
clothed in fine linen, linenthat was clean, and if the
priest personally even was inany way unclean, he had to bathe
(07:11):
himself After all.
Standing filthy.
Imagine how he felt.
I remember being invited to anevent one time and I went in
(07:34):
ordinary daytime clothes, maybethrew on a suit coat.
Everybody else was dressed soformally.
I remember how I felt, so outof place.
I felt something like acounterfeit coin on an offering
plate.
I mean, somehow there wassomething here that says I don't
belong here.
(07:54):
Imagine you're standing in thepresence of God.
Joshua is burning with a senseof shame in God's holy presence,
clothed in filthy garments.
Really abhorrent, just as oursin is to God abhorrent.
(08:19):
Well, that's Joshua.
Now let's look at Satan.
What is he doing?
Well, you'll notice, it says inverse 2,.
Well, it's still in verse 1,he's standing before the angel
of the Lord, satan, standing athis right hand to accuse him.
Satan is there to accuse Joshua.
(08:40):
Satan, the fallen angel, whohimself cannot be redeemed
because he was not included inthe death of Jesus Christ, the
one who evidently, at one timegave praise to God and was
responsible for the choir inheaven, and yet he began to take
glory for himself and he wascast down out of heaven, at
(09:05):
least cast down out of hisposition, though apparently he
still has some access to heaventoday, but he is now
irredeemably evil and he standsthere to accuse Joshua.
And what is he accusing him of?
What is Satan saying?
Well, we're not told in thetext, but of course we can guess
(09:25):
.
Biblically, we can guess.
What he's saying is this Joshua, you have no right to stand in
God's presence.
For you to be here is an insultto God and it is a compromise
of God's holiness.
Now notice this in a sense.
In a sense, satan is right inwhat he says.
(09:49):
Why is he then rebuked?
As we shall see in a moment,he's rebuked for the simple
reason that he is doing it withthe wrong attitude.
Satan is angry with us as God'speople, very angry, is angry
(10:11):
with us as God's people, veryangry.
What makes him angry is that weparticipated in the fall just
like he did.
We deserve hell, just like hedoes, but we don't get hell, we
get heaven.
And this makes him so angry tothink that human beings who are
in the same predicament as he is, they are exempt from God's
wrath and anger and he has toendure it forever.
(10:31):
So what he is doing is he isaccusing Joshua, reminding God
that if you accept Joshua, thecourts of heaven are going to be
defiled Satan is there toaccuse.
Well, there's a thirdpersonality in all this, and
that is the Lord himself, whomwe have already met in the
(10:53):
introduction.
You'll notice what happens inthe text.
And the angel verse 4, said tothose who were standing before
him remove the filthy garmentsfrom him.
And to him he said behold, I'vetaken your iniquity away from
you and I will clothe you withpure vestments.
(11:14):
Wow, take off his filthyclothes, get rid of them, and I
am giving you garments that arenot only pure, but what the
Hebrew text really means isgarments of royalty, garments of
beauty, garments that signifyacceptance and prominence and
(11:38):
importance.
That's actually embedded herein the text.
And so Joshua's clothes, hisfilthy garments, are taken from
him and he is clothed in puregarments, special garments that
give him accessibility to God.
(11:59):
Now, just keep in mind thatJoshua here is representing us
also, isn't he?
You know, there are many peoplewho think that salvation is
forgiveness, and sometimes wepreach the gospel that way.
We say come to Jesus and beforgiven and thank God.
That is true, but if that isyour gospel, it is only half a
(12:24):
gospel.
It's not the full gospel,because it is not just that God
forgives us and then allows usto be standing there naked, as
if the garments of Joshua weretaken away and nothing were
given him in exchange.
But God says I give you agarment of righteousness.
He says I give you a garment ofhonor.
(12:46):
I give you a garment that meansthat you are acceptable to me,
a garment of beauty and agarment of royalty.
You are very special to me, youare welcomed and you are
received.
Now, in the midst of this,zechariah inserts himself into
(13:07):
the vision.
You'll notice.
It says in verse 5, and I saidLet them put a clean turban on
his head.
So they put a clean turban onhis head and clothed him with
garments, and the angel of theLord was standing by.
Then notice what the angel saidto Joshua, verse 6,.
(13:29):
The angel of the Lord solemnlyassured Joshua.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, ifyou will walk in my ways and
keep my charge, then you shallrule my house and have charge
over my courts and I will giveyou the right of access among
those who are standing herecourts.
And I will give you the rightof access among those who are
standing here.
God is saying is this you and Iare not redeemed just to enjoy
(13:51):
our redemption.
We are redeemed that we mightserve, not that we might just
commit the same sins again anddepend upon the mercy of God,
but that we might walk in thesalvation that he has given us
and walking in that salvation toserve him with acceptability
(14:14):
and impact.
And here at the church, as youknow, this fall we are
emphasizing the gospel lived outin service in so many different
ways, and God gives Joshua thisassignment.
Well, I've told you basicallythe story of the text, but how
does this apply to us today?
(14:36):
How does it come through thecenturies?
So that you and I not onlybenefit, but that we understand
our own predicament and God'ssalvation much better.
So what I'd like to do is togive you today three
transforming truths, threetransforming truths that I hope
(14:57):
the Holy Spirit will use toliberate some of you from your
guilt, from your shame, fromyour past, that you might be
able to walk in God's courtswith a sense of confidence and
joy.
Number one remember this thatSatan still accuses us.
(15:19):
He still accuses us.
Don't ask me exactly where thistakes place, because I don't
know, but somewhere in thestratosphere, somewhere in the
invisible world, satan is stillable to bring us up into God's
face and to keep accusing God ofinjustice by accepting sinners
(15:43):
whom Satan would love to see inhell along with him.
We find this, for example, inthe twelfth chapter of the book
of Revelation, revelationchapter 12,.
Many of us believe that this isactually fulfilled during the
tribulation period, probably themiddle of the tribulation
period.
(16:04):
Satan is at war in heaven.
Michael and his angels verse 7,fighting against the dragon.
I love this passage.
And the great dragon was throwndown, that ancient serpent
who's called the devil, andSatan, the deceiver of the whole
world.
He was thrown to earth and hisangels were thrown down with him
(16:25):
.
And I heard a loud voice inheaven saying now the salvation
and the power and the kingdom ofour God and the authority of
his Christ has come, for theaccuser of our brothers has been
thrown down.
Who accuses them day and nightbefore God?
Wow, and they have conqueredhim by the blood of the Lamb and
(16:47):
by the word of his testimony.
Satan's still bringingaccusation against us, first of
all before God, reminding God,as I've already mentioned, that
we should be in hell along withhim, angry and envious.
Some Christians don't thinkenvy is a great sin because it's
(17:07):
sort of a secret sin, but envybefore God.
Satan is envious that we whosinned just as he did,
ultimately that we are going tobe exalted above the angelic
realm someday.
You know that.
I've mentioned that many timesin messages that we will be
(17:30):
above the angels, because angelscannot become heirs of God and
joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
And so Satan is therecontinually reminding God that
you are unjust to do what youhave done.
But of course we know thatGod's justice has been
meticulously satisfied by Jesus,and so that is the accusation
(17:55):
of Satan before God.
But Satan also accuses us.
In our scripture reading thismorning we read the text that
says that he goes about seekingthose whom he may devour.
He has two different strategiesOne is to lead us into sin, and
then the other is, after he hasled us into sin, to tell us
(18:19):
that God is mad at us, that weare no longer received.
Who are you, you hypocrite, tosing songs in church?
If people knew about your past,you wouldn't be up there
singing in the choir.
You are unworthy to come intoGod's presence, and so what
(18:39):
happens is we succumb to guilt.
I wish I had more time for this.
I'm actually thinking ofbeginning a series of messages
sometime in the future and Idon't know when on the
conscience and the clearing ofthe conscience, because there is
the necessity to clear itvertically in our relationship
(18:59):
with God, but also ourrelationship with others.
And that's a much longer story,but let me introduce it to you
today.
There is such a thing as realguilt.
Real guilt is when we feelguilty over things that we
should feel guilty about, and ifyou don't know how to handle
(19:20):
that guilt, you're going to dothings that will only increase
it.
It's a terrible predicament.
William Justice in his booktalks about visiting a young man
who was in the hospital and hesays why are you blowing your
mind on drugs?
And the boy said to him youshould know the answer to that
(19:41):
question without me telling you.
He said I feel so terribleabout things that I've done.
He said I take drugs because Idon't have the ability to shoot
myself, to take my own life, andI'm doing it the slow way,
using drugs.
And justice points out thatwhen you are dealing with guilt
(20:02):
and you deal with it in thewrong way, you do things that
only increase your guilt.
What a terrible predicament,your guilt over things that you
have done, that you've not dealtwith is a gift of God, but you
must respond to it correctly.
So there's such a thing as realguilt, but today I want to
(20:25):
introduce you to false guilt.
Many people are bound by falseguilt decisions that they made
that had terrible consequences,but they were made with good
intentions.
A mother says to her littledaughter as she looks up and
says Mommy, can I cross thestreet?
And the mother says yes, and acar hits the child me, can I
(20:47):
cross the street?
And the mother says yes, and acar hits the child.
For years the mother not onlyfelt regret, but deep, deep
guilt that hampered herrelationship with God.
You have to understand that ashuman beings we sometimes make
bad judgments and, though wefeel terrible about them and
never quote forgive ourselves,let it never be said that that
(21:08):
kind of guilt hinders our walkwith God.
But there's another kind, andthat is and this is what Satan
loves to use I would think thatthis would be his preference To
accuse us of things for which wehave already been forgiven,
things that we have alreadyconfessed, that are already
(21:29):
under the blood of Christ, andhe keeps bringing those things
up to drag us down so that everystep we make of progress in the
Christian life is impededbecause of this nagging guilt.
Now, sometimes it has to do withvertical guilt and sometimes
with horizontal guilt.
(21:49):
Today I'm talking only aboutthe vertical our relationship
with God.
I think, for example, of awoman who told me that after an
abortion, she said whenever Isaw a child in a supermarket or
wherever that would be about thesame age as the child that I
aborted, she said I just had torun away and cry and all the
(22:11):
guilt of the past came washingback.
Have you confessed your sin?
Yes, she said a thousand times,but the guilt will not go away.
Will not go away Now, friends,1 John 1.9,.
(22:32):
If we confess our sins, he isfaithful and he is just to
forgive us our sins and tocleanse us from every single
individual unrighteousness, nomatter the past, once it has
been confessed under the bloodof Christ.
What you need to do in thosemoments when it all comes back
is to affirm the fact that Jesuspaid it all and you are
(22:56):
forgiven.
You are forgiven and you don'tlet the past weigh down on your
(23:34):
future.
Now the question of whether ornot her husband knows, and all
that has to do with thehorizontal issues that I'm not
talking about today, but may ata later time.
So it's Satan who says oh soyou're a Christian, huh, look at
what you've done, and you'regoing to go to Moody Church and
you're going to sing those songs, aren't you?
(23:55):
You hypocrite?
Who are you?
Even over sins that have beenforgiven, confessed and over
which we have received cleansing, satan still harasses us.
Satan still harasses us, andthat's where he is accusing us
(24:21):
before God and using guilt to doit for us.
That's the first statement Iwant you to have.
There's a second, and that isthat God continues.
God continues to give us hisrighteousness and his righteous
robes In the story that we havebefore us.
In this vision, the filthygarments are taken away, and, by
(24:41):
the way, they were filthy.
Won't go into detail, but justassume the fact that the Hebrew
text is very vivid here.
These were very filthy garmentsand what happens is they are
taken away and he is given purerobes.
Pure robes so that he might beable to stand in God's court, so
(25:05):
that he might be able to singthe songs of Zion, so that he
might be able to give worshipand praise to Almighty God and
to know that he's acceptedbefore God.
This has to do, in the NewTestament, of course, with the
righteousness of Jesus Christ,and even the Old Testament
saints.
The righteousness of Christthat he would provide was
(25:28):
provided for them in advance.
They were saved on credit, therighteousness of Christ.
But he made him that is, jesusto be sin for us, the one who
knew no sin, that we might bemade the righteousness of God in
Christ.
(25:49):
God says you come to Jesus and Ihave some new garments for you.
He says, first of all, it is acostly garment.
The garments have been boughtby the precious blood of Jesus.
Costly garment, it is a puregarment.
(26:09):
It is a garment as pure as God,as pure as God, and that's why
it is when we die for those whohave trusted Christ as Savior
you've heard me say it manytimes they will be welcomed into
heaven as if they are Jesus,because they are clothed in his
(26:33):
righteousness alone, faultless,to stand before the throne.
So we have here a costlygarment, a pure garment.
We have also a garment that isa complete garment, takes care
of all sin, both past, presentand future.
(26:54):
All of your sins were futurewhen Jesus died on the cross and
those sins were alreadygathered up.
If I might speak somewhatimprecisely but, I think,
helpfully.
Those sins were gathered up andJesus Christ paid for them.
That's why we sing.
(27:15):
Jesus paid it all.
All to him I owe.
Now that doesn't mean that weshouldn't confess our sins.
Confession maintains ourfellowship with God, but our
status as sons and daughtersremains secure because that
(27:38):
garment of righteousness keepscovering us and is ours until
the day we die and we can standwith confidence before God.
We can sing with confidence, wecan come out of our shame and
that's another kind of guilt, bythe way, and that is the shame
(28:02):
that your family or others haveimposed upon you, that some of
you carry.
You can get rid of that shameby reminding yourself that you
have a new garment.
The filthy garment has been setaside.
The robe that Jesus gives youis one of dignity and acceptance
(28:25):
and worthiness in the presenceof Almighty God.
And so Jesus has a new robe forus and it is given to those who
believe, and that's why thereis no other way to heaven.
There's no other guru orteacher that can possibly do
(28:48):
that.
You need God to do the saving.
It is God who takes away thesin and gives you a new robe, a
robe of righteousness andtruthfulness and acceptance.
The third fact, by the wayremember years ago I mentioned
(29:11):
to you I was to speak somewhereand just overcome with a sense
of frustration and anger, I wasparking the car and I thought to
myself you know, I have topreach in a half an hour.
How do I preach when all thisis going on in my soul, with all
of this stirring all this guilt?
And I was reminded of Romans,chapter 8, and I said it out
(29:33):
loud in the car.
Now, normally don't say thisunless you are alone, or else
someone might think that youshould just keep on driving to
the local hospital.
But in the car, by myself, Ishouted Be gone, satan.
For it is written who shall layanything to the charge of God's
elect?
It is God who justifies.
Who is he that condemns?
(29:55):
It is Christ that died, yea,rather, that is risen again and
is even now at the right hand ofthe throne of God, who also
maketh intercession for us.
Calmness came to my soul and Iremember preaching on the great
(30:24):
doctrine of the faith ofjustification, even as I preach
it now.
But there's a third fact, andthat is that we're caught in the
middle in all this, you'llnotice that the title is when
Battles Are Lost or Won.
We're the big object ofattention.
And we're the object ofattention because there you have
God saying I've received themon the basis of Christ and there
(30:45):
you have Satan say they'reunworthy, they shouldn't be able
to enter into the courts ofheaven.
They are sinners just like I am, and he's heaping guilt on us.
And he is also accusing God ofinjustice and he's angry.
Thank God he was thrown out ofheaven.
And in the midst of this westruggle with our past.
(31:07):
He's there to remind us of ourpast.
He's there to remind us of ourfuture and how different the two
really are.
I'd like to read a story thatoccurs in Joshua Harris's book,
one of the books by JoshuaHarris.
Listen carefully.
(31:28):
In that place betweenwakefulness and dreams, I found
myself in the room.
And dreams I found myself inthe room.
There were no distinguishingfeatures at all, covered with
small index card files.
They were like the ones inlibraries, by author or subject,
in alphabetical order.
But these files, whichstretched from floor to ceiling
(31:51):
and seemingly endlessly ineither direction, had very
different headings.
I knew exactly where I was thislifeless room with its small
files, was a crude catalogsystem for my life.
Here were written the actionsof my every moment, big and
small, in a detail my memorycouldn't match.
(32:15):
A sense of wonder and curiositycoupled with horror stirred
within me as I began randomlyopening the files and exploring
their contents.
Some brought joy and sweetmemories, others a sense of
shame and regret so intense thatI would look over my shoulder
to see if anyone was watchingthat.
I would look over my shoulderto see if anyone was watching.
(32:36):
The titles ranged from themundane to the outright weird.
Books I've read, lies I've told, comfort I have given.
Jokes I've laughed at.
Some were almost hilarious intheir exactness.
Things I'd yelled at mybrothers, others I couldn't
(32:59):
laugh at.
Things I have done in anger,things I have muttered under my
breath at my parents.
Each was written in my ownhandwriting, each signed with my
signature.
When I pulled out thefile-marked songs I've listened
to, I pulled out the file markedsongs I've listened to, I shut
it, slammed not so much by thequality of the music but much
more by the vast amount of timeI knew that file represented.
(33:24):
When I came to a file markedlustful thoughts, I felt a chill
run through my body.
I pulled the file out only aninch, not willing to test its
size, and drew out a card.
I felt sick to think that sucha moment had been recorded.
Suddenly, I felt almost ananimal rage.
(33:45):
One thought dominated my mindno one must ever see these cards
.
I have to destroy them.
In an insane frenzy, I yankedthe file out.
I had to empty it and burn thecards, but as I took the file at
(34:06):
one end and began pounding iton the floor, I couldn't
dislodge a single card.
I became desperate and pulledout a card, only to find it so
strong, as strong as steel, whenI tried to tear it.
Defeated and utterly helpless.
I let out a long, self-pityingsigh.
And then I saw it.
The title bore People I haveShared the Gospel With.
(34:28):
The handle was brighter thanthose around it, newer, almost
unused.
I pulled on its handle, and asmall box not more than three
inches it newer, almost unused.
I pulled on its handle, and asmall box not more than three
inches long fell into my hands.
I could count the cards itcontained.
On one hand, I began to weep,sob so deep that the hurt
(34:49):
started in my stomach and shookthrough me.
I fell on my knees and cried.
I cried out of shame, from theoverwhelming shame of it all.
The rows of file shelvesswirled in my tear-filled eyes.
No one must ever, ever, everknow of this room.
I must lock it up and hide thekey.
(35:11):
But then, as I pushed away thetears and hide the key, but then
, as I pushed away the tears, Isaw him.
No, please, not him, not here,anyone but Jesus.
I watched helplessly as he beganto open the files and read the
(35:33):
cards.
I couldn't bear to watch hisresponse and in the moments I
could bring myself to look athis face, I saw a sorrow deeper
than my own.
Finally, he turned and lookedat me from across the room.
He looked at me with a pity inhis eyes.
I dropped my head, covered myface with my hands and I began
(35:55):
to cry again.
He walked over and put his armaround me.
He could have said many things,but he didn't say a word.
He just cried with me.
Then he got up and walked backto the wall of files, starting
at one end of the room.
He took out a file one by one,began to sign his name over mine
(36:19):
on each card.
No, I shouted.
I rushed to him.
All I could say is no, no.
I pulled the card from him.
His name shouldn't be on thesecards, but there it was written
in red, so rich, so dark, soalive.
The name of Jesus covered mine.
(36:40):
It was written with his blood.
He gently took the card back.
He smiled a sad smile andcontinued to sign the cards.
I don't think I'll everunderstand how he did it so
quickly.
But the next instant it seemedthat I heard him close the last
(37:00):
file and he walked back to myside.
He placed his hand on hisshoulder and said it is finished
.
I stood up and he led me out ofthe room.
There was no lock on the door.
There were still cards to bewritten.
(37:23):
The Bible says in the 12thchapter of Revelation, regarding
Satan the accuser they overcamehim by the blood of the lamb
and by the word of theirtestimony, because Jesus paid it
all and only his blood cancleanse us.
In the presence of God and anaccusing devil, can we pray
(38:02):
together?
There are some of you here whohave never trusted Jesus as your
Savior.
You must do that.
I urge you to, even as we pray,you pray and say Jesus, today I
receive you as mine.
Take all my cards signed withyour blood that you became
(38:22):
guilty of when you became sinfor me.
Some of you are here and yourpast continues to haunt you.
Jesus is the one who says toyou and to me today, as he puts
his arms around us it isfinished, the past is gone, the
(38:45):
new has come.
Father, we thank you today forthis marvelous account of Joshua
.
We thank you so much that, inyour grace, you took away the
filthy garments and gave himrich garments of grace and power
.
We ask today, lord, that wewill depend upon the
(39:07):
righteousness of Jesus, and maywe depend upon him with
confidence that he paid it alland that his blood washes from
every sin.
We pray for all those today,father, bound by their past,
bound by guilt and shame.
(39:27):
Liberate them.
Today.
We ask, in the presence of thedevil and in the presence of
Jesus, the righteous judge, inwhose name we pray, amen.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
Hello, my name is Michelle Tolliver and Biblical
Talk's book offer for the monthof November is Fox's Book of
Martyrs by John Fox.
In 1563, john Fox published anaccount of the life of Christian
martyrs, beginning with Stephen, the first to die for the cause
of Christ, and ending with themost recent martyrs of his day,
protestants killed during BloodyMary's reign.
(40:03):
He knew that dangers lay inforgetting the martyrs and being
insensitive to their struggles.
They faced torture and death intheir fight of faith, willing
to stand for their beliefs andthe word of God regardless of
the price.
The faithfulness of suchhistorical figures as John
Wycliffe, john Huss, martinLuther, william Tyndale and so
(40:24):
many others has given our richChristian heritage.
Their courage and dedicationinspire us to live for Christ
today.
A good Christian is bound torelinquish not only goods and
children, but life itself forthe glory of his Redeemer.
Therefore, I am resolved tosacrifice everything in this
transitioning world for the sakeof salvation in a world that
(40:47):
will last to eternity.
For any amount of donation toBiblical Talks, we will send you
this book.
Please go to BiblicalTalkscomand click the donate here tab.
Thank you for listening tobiblical talks.
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