Who are you listening to?
Zechariah 3
The work on rebuilding the Temple has stopped, it was hard to believe things would ever be like they once were.
Joshua is in rags symbolising the sorry state of the nation. They were not what they used to be.
Our accuser says: The desires of your heart will never come into fruition. You will never reach your potential in God because of who you have become and what you have done. The Temple will never be rebuilt.
Joshua is in new clothes symbolising the past can be removed and a new beginning can be made.
Our defender says: The task in restoring the Temple was not in vain; within its walls, true worship could once again be offered to God.
Zechariah saw what we can now know. He saw what Isaiah and Jeremiah had already seen, he saw the Branch, he saw the Stone- the Messiah to come!
This was and will always be our hope.
So will we listen to the accuser or our defender? I am reminded of the story of the Japanese soldier on Guam who stayed in hiding until 1972 because he could not believe the good news of peace. The war was over in 1945 but he could not believe Japan would have surrendered.
Who are you going to believe?
You will behave what you believe.
You will believe what you listen to the most.
The accuser is out to destroy you. He will remind you continuously of how disqualified you are.
But your defender who has given you new clothes says you are new. You have a new mind, you love people, you are anointed, you go the extra mile, patient, doesn’t fear, is pure, gentle, wise. This is me. This is you. Made like Jesus.
We are clothed with Christ (Gal 3:27).
With that in mind, I can build a Temple. Do you see it?
With that in mind, I can reach my potential.
So I choose to listen to the Defender not the Accuser.
Missions Paul 