Word preached, please turn in your copy of God's Word to Romans chapter 8, standing for the reading of God's Word. Romans chapter 8, we'll begin reading in verse 31. In this passage, the Apostle Paul has set forth before us that golden chain of salvation. from foreknowledge, to predestination, to calling, to justification, all the way to glory. And now, in verse 31, he says these words, this is truly the word of the Lord. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for your sake we are killed all day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Now turning to our Old Testament reading, which will be our text this evening, Zechariah chapter three. Zechariah chapter three, and we'll be taking as our text the first seven verses, but for the sake of context, we will read the entire chapter. This is the word of the Lord. Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan, standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuke you, Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is this not a brand plucked from the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the angel. Then he answered and spoke to those who stood before him saying, take away the filthy garments from him. And to him he said, See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes. And I said, Let them put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the angel of the Lord stood by. Then the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, If you will walk in my ways and if you will keep my command, then you shall also judge my house and likewise have charge of my courts. I will give you places to walk among these who stand here. Here, oh Joshua, the high priest, you and your companions who sit before you, for they are a wondrous sign. For behold, I am bringing forth my servant, the branch. For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription, says the Lord of hosts, that I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day, says the Lord of hosts, everyone will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree. The grass withers, the flower fades, the word of our God shall stand forever. Before we turn to this passage of Scripture, let's briefly go to the Lord in prayer. O Father, we come to you through your Son, the Lord Jesus, and by the power of His Spirit, asking that as we look at this text, this text which speaks of Jesus loudly and clearly, we would be changed more and more into His image. We would have a sight afresh of the Son of God. We would leave this place changed and comforted, praying this for His sake alone. Amen. William Cooper was one of the greatest hymn writers of the 18th century. He wrote such hymns as There is a Fountain Filled with Bloods and God Moves in a Mysterious Way. What many people don't realize about Cooper is that he struggled intensely with anxiety, with depression, and even despair to the point that he even tried to take his own life. After one such failed suicide attempt, William Cooper, the hymn writer, wrote these words. Conviction of sin took place, especially of that just committed. The meanness of it, as well as its atrocity, were exhibited to me in colors so inconceivably strong that I despised myself with a contempt not to be imagined or expressed. A sense of God's wrath and a deep despair of escaping it instantly succeeded. This great hymn writer, and yet he's brought to this low point. Now, you might not have the exact same experience as William Cooper, but I think we all know what it's like to struggle with feelings of guilt, at times overwhelming. Now, sometimes it's good to feel guilty. If you're living in unconfessed, unrepentant sin, you should feel guilty. It's the Spirit's role to reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. The Spirit comes and he pricks the heart, he cuts the conscience, and he does this to lead you to repentance. Sometimes it's good to feel guilty. But there is such a thing as bad guilt, when it's not the Spirit leading you to repentance, but it's Satan tempting you to despair. Where Satan, as it were, comes to you in accusation with a long list of sins, and he points the finger at each and every one. He points the finger at sins that you've already confessed. that you've already forsaken, that God has already forgiven and he brings them right in your face. They're under the blood and yet the memory, the consequences of those sins continue to haunt and hunt you still. There is such a thing as bad guilt. Well, this was a problem shared by Zechariah's audience in Zechariah chapter three. He's speaking to the returned exiles, and presumably these are a group of people who've responded to that call of repentance in chapter one. They've forsaken their sins, they've come back to the land, God has restored them, and yet, Think about their situation. They're surrounded by enemies. Darius is king. Their temple is yet unfinished. Their priesthood is defiled, so they can't approach God properly in worship, and perhaps most importantly, they are painfully aware of those sins of their fathers that sent them into exile in the first place. They're very much vulnerable. to Satan's temptations to despair. They're vulnerable to the problem of bad guilt. And what does our Lord do? God in his mercy comes to this group of people with a series of eight night visions in chapters one to six. And here in chapter three, we see the fourth of those visions. And this evening we'll only be looking at the first seven verses, the first half of that fourth vision. But realize in the context and the flow of this prophecy, this is the central vision. It's the only vision in which Zechariah himself participates personally. It's the only vision where historical figures play a role. It's at the dead center of the night visions. It's at the heart of God's message of comfort to the exiles. It's at the heart of God's message of comfort to you. Congregation, the Lord Jesus Christ, the prophet's message to you is simply this. When Satan tempts you to despair, look to Christ for assurance. When Satan tempts you to despair, when he accuses you of sins, you've already confessed, you've already forsaken, God's already forgiven. When he tempts you to despair, look to Christ for assurance. Look and live. This evening, we're gonna be looking at three reasons that you must look to Jesus. First, in verses one and two, we'll see that Christ defends you against Satan. Second, in verses three to five, he has justified you before God. And finally, the final reason in verses six to seven, he commissions you for service. Three reasons. Christ defends. Christ justifies. Christ commissions. Let's look at the first reason that you must look to Jesus. And that is that Christ defends you against Satan. Christ defends you against Satan. He is your advocate. And we see this in verse one of our text. When he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. If you know anything about the way the legal system works, if you've seen 12 Angry Men or To Kill a Mockingbird, you realize that this is not just a temple scene. It's a courtroom scene. It's a trial bursting with dramatic tension. Think about the characters. You have Joshua, the high priest. He's the accused. He's standing trial. He represents the people of God. You have an accuser. You have Satan. standing at his right hand, pointing the finger of accusation, the accuser standing to accuse. And both of these parties are standing before one who is both judge and advocate, the angel of the Lord. On the surface of this scene, it's pretty clear that Joshua, the high priest, represents the people of God, that this accuser is Satan, that old serpent, but who is the judge? Who is the advocate? Who is the angel of the Lord? And as is clear in many places in the Old Testament, it's clear here as well that this figure is none other than the eternal Son of God. Look at verses one and two. In verse one, he's called the angel of the Lord. And then in verse two it says, and the Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuke you, Satan. Angel of the Lord, the Lord says. Third person, the Lord rebuke you. What's going on? We have a figure who mysteriously is identified with Yahweh, and yet he's distinguished from Yahweh. As John's gospel puts it, the word was with God, and the Word was God, the second person of the Trinity, the eternal Son of God, the one who would become the Christ. Let's put it all together. In this trial scene, we have the accused, Joshua, the accuser, Satan, Christ, standing in judgment and in mercy. Christ standing to defend. And he has two watertight arguments in his defense. They're simply these. His first argument is election from eternity. As Christ defends against Satan, his first argument is election from eternity, and we see this in verse two. And the Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuke you, Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. It's an argument. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Election is the perfect argument to muzzle Satan, to silence Satan. And if you look at this text, Satan's standing to accuse, but he never has an opportunity to even open his mouth. The angel of the Lord cuts him short with this rebuke. And election's the perfect argument for a couple reasons. First, election is unconditional. Election's unconditional, it's not conditioned on something in you. Think of that classic text, Romans 9, the children not yet being born nor having done anything good or evil that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works. But of him who calls, it was said to her, the older shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated. It's unconditional. More than that, it is based on love. In love, he predestined us. One of my favorite passages from Your Heart is Vos is where he comments on Jeremiah 31.3, that text which reads, yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. And here's what Vos says about that verse. The best proof that he will never cease to love us lies in that it never began. Let that sink in, that the best proof that he will never cease to love you lies in that that love never began. In other words, child of God, he will always love you because he always has. You see, some people stumble over this doctrine, this high mystery of providence and predestination, but realize that for God's covenant people, election is not some abstract puzzle that you need to solve. No, it is a truth to embrace and confirm and celebrate and use rightly. Think of Calvin's words when he says, to view your election in the mirror of Christ, you're chosen in him. Or think of Staupitz's words to Martin Luther who stumbled over this doctrine many times and he said, Luther, seek your predestination in the wounds of Christ. Secret things belong to the Lord, but that which is revealed belongs to us and to our children forever. We may keep all the words of this law. It's a perfect argument, because as Paul says in Romans 8, who shall bring a charge against God's elect? If you're chosen, Satan has no ground to accuse. That's his first argument, but the angel of the Lord has a second argument, and that is not simply election from eternity, but salvation in history. We see this again in verse two. He goes on, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is this not a brand plucked from the fire? Is this not a brand plucked from the fire? And this imagery, this language is suggestive of several things. On the one hand, when Zechariah's audience heard this, they probably would have thought of Deuteronomy 4. where God said that he delivered his people out of the fiery furnace, out of the house of bondage, out of Egypt. Is this not a brand plucked from the fire? This is the language of Exodus from Egypt. In the more immediate context, they may have also thought of Amos 4, which was not simply the Exodus from Egypt, but the return from exile. And of course, beyond these two things, the exodus, the return, surely this has something of the deliverance from the fires of hell, to be plucked from the fires of condemnation so that the Apostle Paul can say, now, no condemnation. No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. On that note, I would encourage you, if there's someone here tonight who is not receiving, not resting, not trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. You're not embracing and clinging to him alone for salvation. If you believe not, you're condemned already. And so I urge you, flee from the wrath to come. Flee from the fires of hell. Find refuge, sure, in the person of Christ. Embrace him as he's offered to you in the gospel. For God's people, What does this mean? It means that when Satan tempts you to despair, look to Christ who defends you against Satan. Don't talk back to Satan. Don't give Satan the time of day. Let the Lord rebuke him. But look to Jesus who defends you, that you're elect from eternity, that you're saved in history, that Jesus is your advocate. Because if you do not, if you do not look unto Jesus, you can fall into a really wretched cycle. Well, here's what happens. You sin, and in that sin, you despair. And in that despair, you sin again. And it becomes a catch-22, where you're lost, you're wallowing in morbid introspection, you can't get out of that cycle of despair and sin. And the answer, use the words of John Murray, is that faith looks extra-spectively. Faith looks outside yourself to trust in another. Look to Jesus. Preach the gospel to yourself. In that hour of temptation, preach the gospel. Remind yourself of God's covenant promises. Read the scriptures. Meditate upon them. What did our Lord do when Satan tempted him in the wilderness? It is written. It is written. Immerse yourself, marinate your soul in the truths of scripture so that when Satan comes to accuse, those words are a shield of faith, a sword of the spirit against him. Think of Martin Luther, who was often said to say he was harassed by the devil. And Luther in one of those moments says, Satan, I've sinned more times than you can imagine, even more times than you have on your little scroll, But I'm baptized, so get away from me. There's a holy boldness as God's people that we, as we improve our baptisms, as we remember our baptisms, as we think of what Jesus Christ is for us, the Lord rebukes him. We look to Jesus, he defends us. But I say all these things. Doesn't Satan have a point? Doesn't Satan have a point? Let's go back to the scene. Satan's standing in the posture of accusation, pointing the finger at Joshua, and look at Joshua. Look at him. He's covered. He's caked. He's clothed in filthy garments. The Hebrew here is often used of vomit or excrement. It's absolutely disgusting, filthy, wretched. This priest is defiled. Doesn't Satan have a point? Well, having defended against Satan, there's a second reason to look to Jesus. The angel of the Lord deals with the deeper problem, the problem of sin. That takes us to our second point. Not only does Christ defend you against Satan, but Christ has justified you before God. Christ has justified you before God. He is truly Yahweh Tzidkenu, the Lord our righteousness. If you look at this text, We'll find that the doctrine of justification has both a negative and a positive aspect. First, negatively, this means that he has removed your guilt. He's removed your guilt, your sins are forgiven in Christ. And we see this in verses three and four. Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the angel. And he answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, take away the filthy garments from him. And to him he said, see, I have removed your iniquity from you. Literally, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you. In the imagery of this scene, those filthy garments are representative of iniquity, of guilt. When that angel who stands in judgment says, take those garments off, remove them, he's saying, I have caused your iniquity, your guilt to pass from you. The Son of God forgives. How can he do that? How can God forgive and yet remain just? Well, in the context of the Old Testament, we have Leviticus 16, the day of atonement, where a goat was slaughtered and its blood was taken into the holy place, a picture of propitiation, appeasing the wrath of God. And a second goat had the sins of the people confessed over it, and it was driven into the wilderness. symbol of expiation, sins removed. But we know from the writer of the Hebrews that the blood of bulls and goats cannot ultimately deal with the sin problem. And that's why we have to look further. We get a hint of where to look in verse nine of our text. It's not part of our text, we read it earlier. Verse nine says, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. What day is that? It's the day that Pastor Peter has been describing and declaring even this morning. It's the day when Jesus went to the cross. Because at the cross, when he shed his blood, he appeased the wrath of God, propitiation. And he removed your guilt. Your guilt was reckoned, imputed to him, expiation. 2 Corinthians 5.21 puts it this way. For he has made him who knew no sin to be sin for us. So that at the cross, Psalm 103.12 becomes a reality. For as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. He has removed your guilt. That's the negative side. There's a positive side too. This means that positively, He has clothed you with righteousness. He has clothed you with righteousness. You are reckoned righteous in Him. Again, we see this as we continue to look at the passage in verse four. It says, see, I have removed your iniquity from you. and I will clothe you with rich robes. And I said, this is the prophet Zechariah kind of chiming in, piping up, let them put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head and they put the clothes on him and the angel of the Lord stood by. What does this clothing imagery mean? What are these rich robes? Well, if we look at the rest of Scripture, we have an indication. Isaiah 61.10 puts it this way. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God, for he has clothed me with garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness. And this connection between righteousness and the priesthood is picked up in Psalm 132, where it says, Arise, O Lord, to your resting place. You and the ark of your strength, let your priests be clothed with righteousness. These rich robes are robes of righteousness. To be clothed with rich robes is to have Christ's righteousness imputed to your account. Think of it this way, to have clothes, filthy garments removed, that means you're debt free. but to have clothes put on, you are rich beyond belief. The hymn writer Chris Anderson in his hymn says it in these words, his robes for mine, a wonderful exchange. Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered neath God's rage. Draped in his righteousness, I'm justified. In Christ I live, for in my place he died. You see, it's not simply your guilt reckoned to Christ, but it's Christ's righteousness reckoned to you. It's double imputation, what Luther called great exchange. And it isn't so perfectly captured in our shorter catechism, where it says that justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, that's the negative side, and positively, accepteth us as righteous, accepteth us as righteous in his sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. Now you might wonder, how is this possible? Isn't this just a legal fiction where God's just playing pretend? And honestly, that's what Roman Catholics think of our doctrine. of justification. But oh no, not at all. Remember, you are justified in Christ. The Spirit of God works faith in you, and that faith unites you to Jesus, and that means that you are in union with the righteous one. And in union with the righteous one, you are constituted righteous. And because you're constituted righteous, God in truth declares you righteous because in Jesus, you are. You are. Because of union with Christ, justification is never a legal fiction. No, people of God, it's a legal fact. It's a legal fact. That's why we must never separate the benefit of justification from the person of Jesus himself. See, you're not clothed. in something abstract, something impersonal, you're clothed in a person. You are clothed in Christ who is your righteousness. If you pick up the second half of 2 Corinthians 5, where he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become, be constituted, be declared the righteousness of God in him. So that Romans 8 comes to that wonderful climax. Who shall bring a charge against God's elects? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died and furthermore is also risen who is even at the right hand of God who also makes intercession for us. Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ. He died for you. He lived for you and he rose again for your justification. When Satan tempts you to despair, look to Christ who has justified you. Look to Christ who is your righteousness. Look to Christ who's pardoned your sins. Look to Christ whose righteousness is reckoned to your account. Look to Jesus. At this point, you might be thinking, I understand that Christ is my advocate, and I understand that he's my righteousness, but I have sinned so terribly that there is no way he can ever use me again. I have messed up. I have messed up, and maybe nobody even knows about this besides you sitting there in the pew, but I've messed up too many times, too grievously, too heinously. I've done this too long. Although I've confessed it, and I've forsaken it, and I've repented of it, there's no way he can use me again. There's no way. I may be elect, I may be saved, I may be forgiven, I may be accepted as righteous, but as far as the kingdom goes, I'm worthless, I'm useless, I'm damaged goods. That's how you feel this evening, child of God. I want to direct your attention to a third reason to look to Jesus. He doesn't just defend you against Satan. It's not that he just justified you before God, though he has, but third, he commissions you for service. He commissions you for service. He is your priest king. Now this recommission, this restoration at the end of this first part of the fourth vision has two elements, a condition and a promise. Note first the condition of service in verses six and seven. where the word of God says this, and the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua saying, thus says the Lord of hosts, if you will walk in my ways and if you will keep my command. Now this word if suggests a condition. And what is that condition? Condition is walking in God's ways, keeping his command. The condition is covenant faithfulness, trust. and obedience, love, and loyalty. Although faith alone justifies. The faith that justifies is never alone. Although we're declared righteous through the sole instrument of faith, the genuineness of that faith is demonstrated, is evidenced by spirit-enabled good works. Faith works by love. Faith, saving faith, lays hold of the whole Christ, not just for pardon, but for power. not just for justification, but for sanctification, not just for salvation, but for service. You lay hold of the whole Christ for everything, and he'll give it to you. If God didn't spare his own son, how much more will he not give you freely all things, everything you need for life and for godliness? Christian life's very simple. Trust and obey. This is the gracious condition of service, the way of life in God's covenant. As you hear that condition, think again and again of Augustine's prayer. Lord, command what you will, but also grant what you command. Spirit-enabling, spirit-wrought good works. That's the condition of service. Now we move to the promise of service that we see in verse seven. If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my command, then, hear this word of promise, you shall also judge my house, and likewise have charge of my courts, and I will give you places to walk among these who stand here. As you walk in God's ways, by his grace, and as you keep his command, he assures you of his promise, and his promise is really twofold. Status and access. Note first the promise of status. And really the status is that of a king and of a priest. That word judge, then you should also judge my house, is the language and the function of kingship. and likewise have charge of my courts. Having charge of God's courts is the language, the function of priesthood. In Christ, you are a kingdom of priests. You're a royal priesthood, commissioned for worship and for service. So that even right now, you can apply this text simply by participating in worship, by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, by fellowshipping with the saints, As soon as the sermon's over, you can respond immediately with worship, because you've been commissioned as kings and priests to do so. As you walk with the Lord and keep his command, he assures you of your special status, commissioned for worship. There's a second aspect to this promise, and that is access. Note the language at the end of that verse, I will give you places to walk among these who stand here. Those who stand here are probably a reference to the angels. I will give you places to walk, passageways, right of access. I will give you an entry point into the throne room of God. As you walk with God, As you walk in his ways, as you keep his command, he assures you of the promise of access, boldness, into his throne of grace, that the heavens are not brass to you. They are opened unto you. And is it not true that when Satan comes and harasses us with temptations, when he roams about like a roaring lion seeking to devour, use the weapon of prayer. Come to God through the Son. by the spirits, come boldly before the throne of grace, because as a good father, he is able and he is willing to help you. Come to him in prayer. There are times, even as we think of this wonderful commission to service, this condition, this promise, there are times when you get to a juncture in life, and maybe you're here tonight, there's a big decision you need to make. Maybe there's a big event and you're on the cusp of it, and you know you're in a place where you need to move forward. You need to take that next action step. But for whatever reason, you hold back. Maybe it's in false humility. A young man feels called to the ministry, and he says, who is sufficient for these things? And that's a good response, but he uses that to almost become a crowbar of false humility to meander and get himself to shirk back. Maybe it's not false humility, but it's self-pity. and you're just looking at yourself, navel-gazing, self-pity. Maybe just plain burnout. You're tired, you're weary, and you're worn, and you should move forward, but you stay back in the wings, you hold back, you're not moving forward. That's where you're at. I want to encourage you with some examples from scripture of people who felt that exact way. First, think of the prophet Jonah. Jonah was told by God very clearly to go to Nineveh, and he went the exact opposite direction. He totally failed and blew it, big time. And God, in his mercy and in his grace, comes to Jonah and chastens him, brings him to the belly of a whale, belly of a big fish. In that belly, Jonah cries out to the Lord in repentance. Then you come to the words of chapter three, verse one. And don't gloss over this. The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. Are those not words of pure, unadulterated, sheer grace? That our God comes and says, the word of the Lord a second time. And he goes and he preaches. Recommission, restoration, that's grace. Think also. Think also of Peter. The Apostle Peter denied our Lord three times, messed up, totally blew it. In John 21, our Savior comes to him and he says, Peter, do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? And there's a rebuke in this, because it mirrors the threefold denial, but is it also a gracious recommission and restoration where he can say to Peter, Peter, feed my sheep. recommissioned for worship and service. Or think of the prophet Elijah. In the book of Kings, he's done confrontation with the prophets of Baal, and after that episode, he runs ahead of the chariot of King Ahab, and he goes into the wilderness, and he comes to a point where he's totally burnt out. He's tired, he's weary, to the point where he says, I want God to take my life, I'm done. I'm done being a prophet. I'm done living. What's God do? Well, he does several things. He gives him physical rest. Sometimes it's good to take a nap. He gives him food and says to eat it. Sometimes you feel jittery, it's good to eat something. And then he comes to him and he says, I want you to go up to a high mountain. And on that mountain, God comes to him in a number of ways, but the final one is a still, small voice. And then he says, Elijah, I have more work for you to do. I want you to go anoint the king of Syria. I want you to anoint the king of Israel, and I want you to go and pass the baton to Elisha. Elijah, I've got more work for you to do. Commissioned for service. Christ defends you against Satan. He's justified you before God. He commissions you for service. In the context of Zechariah, to these exiles, return to the land. This would have been such a message of comfort. Such a message of hope. But congregation. It is even more significant for you today than it was for them. When you think about the flow of redemptive history, there is an image that comes up again and again and again. It's recapitulated, where you have an accused, you have an accuser, and you have an advocate. Think of the Garden of Eden, very beginning of redemptive history. You have an accused. It's Adam. You have an accuser, the serpent, and you have the angel of the Lord coming in the spirit of the day in judgment and mercy. Adam tries to justify himself. He covers himself with fig leaves. God says, that doesn't cut it. I'm going to cover you with animal skins. I'm going to cover you in righteousness. We get to the book of Job, and there we have an accused. Job, we have an accuser, Satan, coming on that day to accuse the brethren. And then we have God, the judge. And there are times in that narrative where Job tries to justify himself. God says, no, look to me, the judge of all the earth. I will justify my ways to man. When you get to Zechariah 3, this is really the high point, the crescendo. of this image in the shadow lands of the Old Testament. But when we come to the full light and glory of the new covenant, I tell you, things have changed for the better. Because in the New Covenant, here's what happens. This angel of the Lord who stands in judgment, this very person takes on flesh and dwells among us. And when he comes to earth, the son of God, he does battle with Satan. And he says a number of very remarkable things while he's on earth. In Matthew 12, he says, I have bound the strong man and I'm plundering him. In Luke 10, he says, I saw Satan fall like lightning. And then in John 12, he says, now will the ruler of this age be cast out. And then in a remarkable turn of events, something happens. This Jesus is put on trial. We're back in the courtroom. And this time he's on trial before Annas and Caiaphas and Herod and Pilate with a difference. Joshua the high priest was guilty. This high priest is perfectly innocent. Joshua the high priest was acquitted. He was reclothed, recommissioned, justified. This high priest is condemned at the hands of wicked men. In fact, he's nailed to a cross, a Roman form of execution, and he is murdered. But that's not the final sentence. Three days. three long days, he's under the power of death for a time, but on that third day, the Father, by the Spirit, knowing that the pangs of death could not hold him, raises him up. He's declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by his resurrection from the dead. And that same Jesus, now justified in the Spirit, ascended on the clouds of heaven, sat down, the right hand of the majesty on high, and there he intercedes for you. And there he prays for you. And because of his cross work, I tell you once again, something dramatic has happened. Something has changed. And we see that change in Revelation 12, which is really a commentary on the victory of Jesus. Revelation 12 verse seven, in war broke out in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out. That serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world. He was cast to the earth and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come for the accuser of our brethren. Who accused them before our God night and day has been cast down. With the work of Christ, Satan no longer has access to heaven to accuse the brethren. He has been cast down. If this message was encouraging to Zachariah's audience, how much more for us? Beginning of the message, I mentioned the sad case of William Cooper. Sad case of a man who was racked by depression, by despair, and by suicidal thoughts. But there's more to his story. God in his kind providence sent into William Cooper's life a man named John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace. Although Cooper continued to struggle with depression throughout his life, John Newton was always there pointing him again and again outside of himself to look to Jesus so that Cooper could say these words. Immediately I received the strength to believe it, and the full beams of the sun of righteousness shone upon me. I saw the sufficiency of the atonement he had made, my pardon sealed in his blood, and all the fullness and completeness of his justification. Unless the almighty arm had been under me, I think I should have died with gratitude and joy. Although he continued to struggle with depression, By God's grace, he learned to cling to Christ. Congregation, when Satan tempts you to despair, look to Christ for assurance. He defends you against Satan, he's justified you before God, he commissions you for service. Look to him and you will find that in this life, We are either in the place of Cooper or in the place of Newton. When Satan tempts you to despair, look to Jesus. When Satan tempts others to despair, maybe it's your children, maybe it's your spouse, maybe it's a friend, maybe it's a coworker, but God brings a bleeding, tearful, weeping, despairing soul into your life. When that person's tempted to despair, you point them to Jesus again and again and again. When Satan tempts to despair, look to Christ. Look and live. Let us pray. Father, We praise you for the person of your son, the Lord Jesus, that he is for us. He is our advocate. He is our righteousness. And he is a good king over us. Lord, we pray that you would thwart the intentions of the devil, even in this assembly. We thank you that you have silenced him. You have muzzled him. He has been cast down and has no place from which to accuse in heaven. We thank you that Jesus prays for us. Lord, we ask now that you would give us the grace to keep looking unto Jesus, to cling to Christ all the days of our lives until we see him face to face. and we are like him when we see him as he is. Pray this in Jesus' name and for his sake, amen.