ONCE MORE THROUGH THE WRINGER
I can still remember a little the old wringer type washing machine that my mother used to have when I was a child. I know, most of you would wonder how anyone could remember that far back. Wasn’t that before the days of radio? No, it wasn’t that far back, but it was before the days of 4 track and 8 track players, cassette, color TV (most couldn’t even afford a black and white TV), and long before the days of computers and the internet. It was during the early to mid-1950’s I suppose, when I remember seeing that old wringer washer sitting out on the back porch, which is now part of the kitchen since the first remodeling job on the house was done.
What a job washday must have been! I was too young to do much work but I do remember that mom would be worn out by the time the day had ended. I don’t know how much I helped but I’m certain that I was a drain on her energy level as she had to watch me also.
But there is one image about that old washing machine that is forever burned into my mind. That’s the image of those flat, pressed clothes as they came out of the wringer. In those days my thoughts were, I wonder if those clothes are in pain? I always was a little weird in my thinking, even as a little kid.
Now that I’ve grown much older, I still think of that wringer washer every once in a while and I often think of how much of our lives are spent going through that wringer, and I can definitely say that, yes, it does hurt when you’re going through.
It’s as though God has hold of the crank handle of your life and he is slowly, methodically, turning that crank and squeezing all the excess junk and sin out of your life. How many of you will agree with me that the wringing process is a really painful and dreaded process?
The problem is that if you didn’t send those clothes through the process of washing and wringing them out at regular intervals, then the clothes would become useless, or if you did wear them anyway, no one would want to be around you very much.
There used to be a commercial on the radio many years ago for a laundry detergent called Rinso. One of their favorite commercials began with a booming bass voice that simply said, “B-O”! That meant “body odor” and friend, nobody wants to have or be around anyone with “B-O”, so you had better get some Rinso, get out there and let that washing machine agitate the dirt out of your laundry and then run them through the wringer and hang them out to dry.
Now I don’t know about you, but I feel like my attitude and my spirit get to stinking every once in a while. I develop some “Stinkin’ Thinkin” and I need the proverbial ”Check Up From the Neck Up”. The effects of this sinful world that we live in will get all over you, grind it’s way into your life and sometimes even get down deep into your heart. That’s when you need to get washed out all over again.
So God takes you and plunges you into the hot water of life, agitates you with all sorts of problems, trials, tests and other means of scrubbing you down to get the filth out. Then he runs you through the wringer to squeeze the junk out of you and then you are left hanging in the “Son” to dry, all pure and white once again.
In the Old Testament book of the prophet, Zechariah 3:1-3 we read these words, "And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel."
At the end of the Babylonian captivity, Nehemiah and a number of Jews were released and sent back to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. Upon the completion of their work, one of the High Priests who ministered in that rebuilt temple was Joshua. This man, Joshua was typical of the priesthood and its condition in Israel at that time. He had little or no rule over his own house. His sons had married wives from Babylon and thus polluted the nation with idolatry. Because of Joshua’s own sin and the sin of his family, Zechariah was given a vision that spoke of Joshua’s life, but in a greater sense, that vision spoke of the condition of all of us.
Joshua may have worn the outward robes that signified righteousness and holiness, such as the ephod of the High Priest, the golden mitre upon his head with the words, “Holiness Unto the Lord” written on a gold band around it, and the robe that he wore under the outer garment that was made of pure, white Lenin, but Joshua’s life was far from the holiness that he tried to display.
God knew Joshua’s heart and so did Satan! Thus we see in Zechariah’s vision, that Joshua, Israel’s High Priest, is standing before the courts of Heaven; standing before the Angel of the Lord, which is no angel at all, but is one of the Old Testament names given for the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, the angel of God’s very presence.
Here is an unholy priest standing before a Holy God! Joshua stood there in pure guilt and shame for the sin in his life. His self-righteousness was shown for what it was now – pure filth.
Isaiah 64:6-8, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand."
But it wasn’t bad enough that Joshua stood there in sin and shame to face Almighty God, he had some company. Right beside Joshua, on his right hand, was the one that Revelation 12:10 calls “the accuser of the brethren” who is none other than that fallen archangel, Satan.
I don’t know about you but I don’t need the devil pointing out my sins to God. I do a good enough job on my own to condemn myself to everlasting punishment. Nonetheless, there he was, Satan, standing there pointing that accusing finger right in Joshua’s face, bringing to light every failure, every sin, every doubt, every fear and every disobedience before the bar. He was there for one purpose only.
Satan’s one purpose is that of stealing this soul from the hand of God, destroying any chance for not only the survival of Joshua as High Priest, but of Israel’s right to be a nation, free from the bonds of slavery in Babylon, once again. His purpose was to steal, to destroy and to kill Joshua and Israel in the eternal flames once and for all.
Satan had a good case. He had eye witness accounts, even though he didn’t need any because God already knew how sinful that Joshua was. As Joshua stood there that day, his filthy garments and the sin that was upon him was glaringly evident. There was no denying it. Satan was almost gleeful because he just knew that he could claim this soul and snatch Joshua right out of the presence of God.
That’s how we are in our own righteousness too. Right now, before the court of Heaven, the “accuser of the brethren” is standing there pointing a finger of accusation and making known every sin that you and I commit. He has the proof for we are dressed in old tattered, filthy garments of flesh, that stink with the odor of sin. Satan is still attempting to snatch us from the very presence of God.
What a terrible thought, to be so very close to God’s holiness and yet never to know the glories of Heaven; to be just one short step from eternal wonder and beauty and yet an eternity away from ever experiencing it. That’s what it will be like for those who face God on Judgment Day without Jesus in their heart. So close, and yet so far away! They will see Heaven but not touch it; hear it but not experience it; smell it but never taste it and they will leave the very gate of Heaven to instantly be cast into the Lake of Fire. God help us to rescue as many as we can while there is yet time.
The problem is that so many of those who call themselves Christians are depending only on the works of the flesh and their own self-righteousness. How do I know this? Just notice how they think about being holy and righteous!
Do you wrestle with sin? Do you wrestle with the accusing finger of the devil who says to you that you don’t pray enough, study enough, aren’t committed enough and that there is no way that you will ever be “good enough” to enter Heaven’s gates?
Welcome to the reality of living in this world of sin. The fact is that Satan’s accusations against you are right on and true. You can never be “good enough” or holy enough or righteous enough; at least not in your own power.
David wrote these words in Psalms 14:2-3, "The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
Paul said in Romans 3:10, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:"
But Pastor, is there any chance that we can be holy and righteous? Is there any way that our filthy garments of sin can be taken away and new clothes placed upon us that make us more presentable to our Holy God?
Yes, there certainly is, but it is not by any might or power of your own hand. Too many people keep trying to make themselves righteous and holy and all it does is backfire and prove them more sinful and unholy.
We will fall on our face and weep bitter tears of sorrow, but do we really repent? Most of the time we are sorry for being filthy but we refuse to allow the blood of Jesus to wash our sins away. Instead we try to find ways to sooth the pain that we feel. How do we try to do so?
Perhaps we will continue in our sin but we will try to spend more time in prayer. So, we get on the scrub board, turn on the agitator and bounce around for a while, hoping that somehow what we do will pay a part of our debt of sin.
Perhaps we will make a “New Year Resolution” to be more faithful to the House of God and more active in church; not because we really want to take time out of our busy lives, but because, just maybe that will buy me a little holiness when I stand before God.
Perhaps we will involve ourselves with all sorts of charitable works in the hope that we will accomplish a “novena” (in Roman Catholicism this is a recitation of prayers and devotions for a special purpose during nine consecutive days) for our sins if we just help enough people. Maybe we can receive “absolution” (the formal remission of sin imparted by a priest, as in the sacrament of penance) for just doing enough works of righteousness, after all, doesn’t the scripture say that we will know the true Christians because they have love one for another?
We can make fun of people of other religious faiths all we want to but there is very little difference between those who believe in novena’s and absolution, and those who believe that just going to church, or just working for the Lord, or just doing good works will be enough. We can cover the outside with good works all we want, but if Jesus isn’t in your heart, you are still clothed in “filthy rags” of self-righteousness and that’s how you will stand before God.
Every time we try these sequences of events, it’s like we throw ourselves into the washing machine, agitate around for a while and go through the wringer once more time and still come out as filthy, if not more so, than when we first went in.
I don’t know about you but don’t like going through God’s wringer. We should be tired of trying to be holy enough or righteous enough. We should be tired of God having to hang us out to dry with all the filth of the world still clinging to us. We should be tired of the downward spiral of living a life of self-righteousness and never coming clean, no matter how much God agitates us and wrings us out. I want to have true righteousness! I want to live in true Holiness before God! But how can I do that?
Let’s continue to read in Zechariah for we have the answer there if we want to hear it!
Zechariah 3:2-5, "And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by."
Joshua represented you and I as we stand before the Lord being accused by Satan, but I love the answer that God gives to Satan.
It’s as though God says to the devil, shut up! I am God! I am the one who has chosen this one who stands before me! (Put your name in the place of the word Jerusalem. The meaning is still the same.) I am God, and I have chosen this one who stands here, and I have plucked them out of the fire! God saved us! God chose us! God did the choosing and He won’t let go and no man can pluck us out of his hand!
Yes, Joshua had on his filthy garments! You and I have no righteousness within ourselves. We have no holiness within us. We have no power to deliver our soul from the grips of sin – but Jesus does!
God spoke out to the angels who stood around, listening and watching for His command – TAKE AWAY THE FILTHY GARMENTS! NOW GIVE HIM A NEW GARMENT AND A CHANGE OF HEART! CLOTHE HIM IN RIGHTEOUSNESS!
I know that Joshua didn’t deserve to be clothed in righteousness but neither are we. None of us will ever be worthy enough. It has nothing to do with worthiness but everything to do with choosing to follow Jesus and allowing him to give us his righteousness by his own choice.
God took away Joshua’s sin in this vision. Then gave him robes of righteousness. Then placed a pure mitre of white Lenin upon his head with the words, “Holiness unto the Lord” written across them. Jesus stood by as the work was finished because when he purchased our salvation upon the cross, his work was done. Now all he does is give out the blessings that he bought for us.
In other words, God takes away our sin, washes them away with the Blood of the Lamb, clothes us in his righteousness for his own name’s sake, then changes our way of life and of thinking and then writes his holiness upon our lives.
Zechariah 3:6-7 then says, "And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by."
Now it’s the Lord’s turn to speak to Joshua, and by proxy, to each of us. He has already given you robes of righteousness and one day you will finally shed this old garment of sinful flesh and put on that new body that is clothed in righteousness just as Jesus is. Jesus has already written Holiness Unto the Lord across your life and even though we struggle and strive to live a holy life before him, it is not our efforts that make us holy, but it is the Lord’s gift to those who will obey him and live for him and allow him to live inside of them.
If we will walk in the ways of the Lord, keep his commandments and obey his Word, judge righteous judgments and not judge one another, and keep close to Jesus then God promises that we would walk among those who stood by.
Who are those who stood by? They were the Holy Angels of Glory! We shall walk with them in Glory! We will be there, right along side of Michael and Gabriel, the archangels. We will walk and talk with Jesus and we will live eternally in the presence of our Holy God without filthy garments but clothed in pure righteousness and holiness.
One day, the “accuser of the brethren” will accuse no more for there will be no more sin and Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity.
Revelation 12:10 says, "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night."
How do we receive these robes of righteousness? How do we get a “fair mitre” upon our heads with the words “Holy Unto the Lord” written across them? How are our sins all washed away?
By accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord, Savior and sacrifice for your sin. By believing in his death, burial and resurrection. By believing that he is alive forevermore and by allowing him to rule and reign in your heart.
So the question becomes, are we willing to allow Jesus to come into our lives and give him control of our lives, or are we ready to go through the wringer one more time?
The choice is yours! What will it be?
Disclaimer:
Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording, including sermon titles, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these sermons. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and/or quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
