The Road to Impact: Zechariah 3:1-10

All of us have boiled water for tea or pasta. You simply put water in a pot and turn up the heat. After a while, bubbles form and the water boils. The temperature at which a substance boils is dependent on atmospheric pressure. Atmospheric pressure is what is pushing down on the water, keeping it stable. For water to boil, it must rise in temperature so that the heat overcomes the pressure. Water boils because the heat has created instability. Our world happens to be in a similar situation. We have long since reached the boiling point. The heat and pressure of terrorism, socialism, and ethnic division has created an instability in our world that has never seen before.

In Zechariah's day, the world was in a similar shape. Z wrote this prophetic passage to the people who had returned to Jerusalem so that they could help in rebuilding the temple. The prophecy was really a warning for the people to remove their filthy garments, walk in God's way, and serve God and others, then God will give peace. Peace was a necessity in the rebuilding of the temple.

The Lord's Chosen Instrument

In Zechariah's day, the temple was not just a building in which to gather. It was the place of residence for the Spirit of God. Consequently, the rebuilding of the temple was urgent. Chapter three begins with Zechariah's vision where he sees Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing to the right accusing him. God rebukes Satan and says to Joshua, I've plucked my chosen remnant from the fire. The fire represents the adversity that God's people had suffered. By God's grace, not by anything the people did, God had chosen an instrument by which he will show his glory and share the message of his grace. That instrument, by which God would change the world, was the people of Jerusalem.

Today, God's chosen instrument, by which he will show his glory and share the message of his grace, is the church. Like the temple, today's church is not a building. The church is the people of God, a people saved by grace. Our mandate is to promote peace. What a dream come true would it be that the people of the world would be at peace! No government, no king, no queen can bring peace to the world. Only the church can change the world.

The Price for Impact

God has now asked Joshua to take off his filthy clothes. The filthy clothes represents an unclean life; a life less than holy. Such a life would not be able to change the world because it is less than righteous. God dresses Joshua in clean garments that represents holiness and righteousness. The clean clothes stand for moral purity, a pure heart that desires to see people changed and saved. It is now that God gives a conditional promise. God tells Joshua that if he walks in God's ways and performs God's service, then God will give him full access to the throne of God. This promise ensures the people of God that we can have full access to the throne of God. When we are forgiven, we are clean and able to draw near, with confidence, to the throne of God. (Hebrews 4)

The Power of Impact

With one event, in one day, God will send Jesus to return to earth. He will remove all iniquity of the world. He is able to do that because of what Jesus did on the cross two thousand years ago. His death on the cross made the way for our righteousness. Our belief and service allows us to impact the world to change the lives of the lost. In God's time, Jesus will return and peace will reign. Verse ten is evidence, "In that day, declares the Lord of Hosts, every one of you will invide his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree." Enemies and malice will be no more. Peace will reign. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

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