THE BEST-DRESSED PERSON IN TOWN Zechariah 3:1-5

Introduction: Ill. The Context. Joshua the High Priest remains as a delegate of the organization and individuals of Israel. They are rebellious and grimy in seeing the Lord. Be that as it may, God is going to purify them and make a vessel of honor out of these unpredictable individuals. At the point when Joshua initially shows up in this part he is wearing dingy articles of clothing. God vows to change his attire and dress him in robes of wonder.

This entry talks about the change the Lord makes in each life that comes to Him by confidence. Today, I need to focus in on the last expression in section 4. God says, "I will dress you with change of garment." There is a well-known adage that goes, "The garments make the man." The thought here is that your articles of clothing say a great deal regarding you. Our reality puts a ton of accentuation on outside appearances. Indeed, consistently, certain gatherings accumulate to talk about who the best-dressed man and lady are. Last year, entertainer Catherine Zeta-Jones was named best-dressed lady and anchorperson Matt Lauer was named best-dressed man. The Senate has concluded that Hillary Rodham Clinton is the best-dressed individual from their number. While the world might worry about what a man wears outwardly, God is undeniably more worried about what an individual wears within, 1 Sam. 16:7. Profoundly talking, each individual is wearing one of three sorts of articles of clothing today. I need to talk about those sorts of pieces of clothing. As I do, I need you to look at yourself and see which type you are wearing. Assuming you see that you are wearing not as much as paradise's ideal, today is the day when you can go to the Lord for a difference in attire. Earlier today, I might want to lecture for some time regarding the matter: The Best-Dressed Person In Town. How about we investigate the Word of God together toward the beginning of today and find these sorts of otherworldly articles of clothing. I. v. 3 THE STAINED RAIMENT OF SIN A. This stanza reveals to us that Joshua the High Priest remained before the Lord in "squalid" articles of clothing. He was wearing messy, soiled clothes. He is an image of each individual who is lost in wrongdoing. The Bible discloses to us that our own decency, or the dress of our spirit maybe, is just the filthiest of clothes, Isa. 64:6. Truth be told, the clothes portrayed in this stanza are of such a dirty nature that their planned use ought not be examined in an assemblage like this. At the very least, the most grimy articles of clothing and clothes can be envisioned! B. This is a hard truth to hear, yet in our normal state, humankind is foul in seeing God. At the point when he takes a gander at the lost delinquent, God sees one who is ill suited, or incapable to remain within the sight of the Lord. He takes a gander at a debased, unclean and totally unable individual is contaminated, messy and absolutely incapable to move toward the Lord, Isa. 59:2. C. My companions, this is the distinct truth of transgression and how it deals with the heathen. It renders us ill suited to move toward the Lord. It contaminates us and makes us completely messy in His sight. Unfortunately, every individual naturally introduced to this world is in this condition. As I have imparted to you commonly, we are on the whole miscreants, Rom. 3:10, 23; Gal. 3:22. There isn't an individual naturally introduced to this world that is liberated from the stain and curse of transgression, Rom. 5:12. Indeed, even the littlest child is moved by the terrible stain of wrongdoing, Psa. 58:3. D. Before I abandon this subject, I need to show you from the Word of God exactly how sin deals with its casualties. · Renders the delinquent profoundly dead – Eph. 2:1; Pro. 21:16 · Separates from God – Isa. 59:2 · Prevents petition and love – Psalm 66:18 · Destines the delinquent to an existence of wretchedness – Pro. 13:15; Isa. 59:8 · Dooms the delinquent to an unending length of time in Hell – Psa. 9:17; 2 Thes. 1:8-9; Luke 16:19-31; Rev. 14:11. · Will make the delinquent hear the most over the top terrible words that will at any point fall upon the ears of any man, Matt. 7:23. · Ultimately sin will take the miscreant to the Lake of Fire – Rev. 20:10-15; Pro. 16:25. E. My companion, on the off chance that you have never gotten Jesus Christ as your own Savior, this is your life I am discussing today! On the off chance that you have never been saved and are wearing the articles of clothing of wrongdoing, kindly come to Him and be saved today! Try not to delay until a superior time! Try not to try and delay until the greeting. Get to Jesus while there is time! Come to Jesus while you can, Isa. 55:6. Get to Jesus while He is calling, John 6:44; Gen. 6:3; 2 Cor. 6:2! Escape the anger to come heathen! Escape to Jesus while the entryway is open! II. v. 4a THE STRANGE RAIMENT OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS A. The Lord provides an order for the foul articles of clothing to be eliminated from Joshua, and for new pieces of clothing to be set upon him. What we see here is a work of the Lord in this current man's life. It is a gift when the Lord eliminates our smudged, sin-smudged clothes and gives us another suit of garments. In any case, it is something else inside and out when we attempt to do it without anyone's help. B. Our reality is loaded up with billions of individuals who have attempted to deal with their grimy articles of clothing themselves. They have tried to exchange their grimy, soiled pieces of clothing for ones of their own plan. This is an issue that is pretty much as old as man. In the Garden of Eden when man carried sin into the world, Adam and Eve tried to cover their bareness through articles of clothing of their own effort. They made themselves articles of clothing out of fig leaves. Point of fact they glanced sufficient in their own eyes, however according to the Lord, they were really bare. C. I'm persuaded that a great many people realize they should live cleaner lives than they do. I'm similarly as persuaded that most men want to be involved with God. They have faith in Him and realize that some time or another they will confront Him in judgment. They have a void in their souls and they need it to be filled. Because of that want many individuals go to religion. That is, they will begin going to chapel. Others look for the personal development technique. They will make a fresh start. You know, they will quit drinking and cussing and going around. They will surrender all that stuff that delinquents do. At the end of the day, they will develop themselves a few pieces of clothing of fig leaves. Tragically, this won't ever work! Notwithstanding how a man deals with the outside, he can never show signs of change within! At the point when the Lord takes a gander at us He sees as we truly are. Not as think we are. Not as others might suspect we are. He sees reality with regards to us, Heb. 4:13. D. Since this is valid, the grandiose individual, the strict individual, the individual who carries on a great life and the individual who tidies up his life won't ever satisfy God and they are totally made a beeline for a similar Hell as the position delinquent! Companions, there is no contrast between the skeptic and the most strict individual on the planet, if that strict individual has never confided in Jesus! There is no contrast between the most exceedingly terrible chronic executioner the world has at any point seen and the best church part we have at any point seen, if that congregation part isn't saved. Do you comprehend that religion won't ever save you? Do you comprehend that your congregation enrollment won't ever save you? Do you comprehend that your benevolent acts won't ever save you? E. Here is the issue with religion, benevolent acts and starting over. The issue is that these just treat the manifestations and not the issue! The issue isn't what a man does! The issue is the thing that a man is! Man is a heathen, and no measure of tidying up the external will fix the issue in the delinquent's heart. Truth be told, Jesus demonstrated that there were issues that showed up with a man attempting to tidy up his own life, Matt. 12:43-45. It is absolutely impossible that the tissue can support clean living. Regardless of whether it could, it would never delete the stain of wrongdoing. There is just one cure and that is salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ, Titus 3:5; Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:9; John 3:16; John 14:6. The change won't ever be created from the inside, yet it should be delivered from a higher place, John 3:3, 7; Eph. 2:8-9. Notwithstanding, the individuals who come to God His way track down the purging their spirits so frantically need, Isa. 1:18. F. On the off chance that you have been attempting to be a decent individual to satisfy the Lord, you should stop attempting. You won't ever do it. Jesus Christ has effectively satisfied God for you, 1 John 2:2; Isa. 53:11. On the off chance that you will trust Him for your spirit's salvation, He will make you satisfying in seeing the Lord. It isn't in effect acceptable that gets an individual into Heaven. It is being saved! Is it true that you are strict, or have you been recovered? III. v. 4b-5 THE STUNNING RAIMENT OF SALVATION A. These stanzas reveal to us that the Lord removed Joshua's messy, unsanitary pieces of clothing and gave him a heavenly difference in garments. He gave him a suit of garments that would permit him to remain within the sight of the Lord. This is an image of how the Lord will help each individual who dismisses his wrongdoings, evades religion and comes to God based on confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. B. At the point when an old grimy miscreant comes to confidence in Christ, some exceptionally magnificent things take place. The Bible portrays this occasion as "another birth", John 3:3, 7. The devotee is supposed to be "another animal", 2 Cor. 5:17. There is such an extraordinary change which happens that the new Christian is known as a "renewed person", Col. 3:10. What happens is a profound secret, however God removes the old, messy, squalid pieces of clothing of our transgressions and He garments us the articles of clothing of the honorableness of Christ, Isa. 61:10; 2 Cor. 5:21. He removes our transgressions and gives us the honesty of His Son, the Lord Jesus. This was the situation with a man by the name of Abraham, Gen. 15:6. It is likewise the experience of each individual who puts their confidence in Jesus, Rom. 4:24. At the point when we trust Jesus