Dr. Tony Evans emphasizes how God created and redeemed us with a specific purpose in mind, and how our enemy’s goal is to prevent us from fulfilling that purpose. However, we have an advocate in Jesus Christ who testifies on our behalf and cleanses us from sin. When we confess and repent, God grants us access to His blessings and helps us fulfill our intended purpose. SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/drtonyev… If you would like to download two encouraging, FREE full-length MP3s of Tony’s popular sermons: “The Sovereignty of God” and “How to Handle a Crisis,” you can do so by clicking on this link: https://share.hsforms.com/1atT9MJvXQN…

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Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he has been named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. Dr. Evans holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on over 1,400 radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Dr. Evans’ sermons are also streamed and downloaded over 20,000,000 times annually. #tonyevans #tonyevanssermon #Purpose

there is a purpose that God has for you

it is a Kingdom Purpose that’s bigger

than you it’s not just about you and you

are designed to fulfill a kingdom

responsibility for the benefit of

something bigger than you in your case

it is to impact something of someone in

the Spheres of the influence God has

given you

[Music]

[Applause]

thank you

God created you and redeemed you with a

purpose in mind

it is your spiritual enemy’s job and

goal to cause the purpose of your life

to break down

and to not be realized

as I stated earlier

he comes to

destroy

he comes to destroy dreams hopes

destinies

purposes and ultimately to take your

life before it’s time

many of the things that you see

happening are people dying before their

time now there is a time the Bible says

it’s appointed unto man wants to die and

after that the Judgment so there is a

date

but you don’t want to leave here before

the date

but that’s his goal

but even prior to that his goal is that

you do not realize the appliance purpose

the the created purpose and you have a

book every Christian has a book

we saw that in Psalm 139 verse 16.

and that book lays out what God’s

design is his Kingdom Purpose

is divinely ordained reason for being

so for those who who want to reclaim

what you have been illegitimately taken

through sin or circumstances sometimes

outside of your control

you need to take the devil to court

you need to take him to court now

a lot of us are trying to fight the

devil outside of court

which means it’s not legal

you you have to fight him legally

that’s why the book is full the Bible is

full of

legalese it’s full of statements related

to judges and laws and statutes and

covenants all of those are legal

documentations or positions because

there is a legislative

tie to a spiritual reality what you see

legislated in the physical was always

preempted by a legislation that occurs

in the spiritual

so why don’t we go to a court scene

today

so that we can learn some principles

about getting back whatever he has

stolen from you or whatever life has

left for you

so that

he doesn’t keep

being a grifter in your life

Zechariah Chapter 3.

we’re actually in the courtroom

in the book of Zechariah

we have a judge we have a prosecuting

attorney

we have a defense attorney

we’ve got a client

and they’re all in the court in

Zechariah 3.

then he showed me Joshua the high priest

standing before the angel of the Lord

and Satan’s standing at his right hand

to accuse him

you remember last time we saw that he is

an accuser of the brethren

the word to accuse means to bring legal

accusation against

so this is an attempt to bring legal

accusation against Joshua the high

priest

why does he want to bring legal

accusation against Joshua

look at verse

2 the Lord said to Satan the Lord

rebuked you Satan we’ll pick that up

later indeed the Lord who has chosen

Jerusalem rebuke you is this not a brand

plucked from the fire

a little history

because of Israel’s Rebellion the

southern Kingdom’s Rebellion against God

they were judged by being taken to

Babylon

after 70 years in Babylon

and under judgment they were being

restored to Jerusalem

Joshua was one of the priests part of

this restoration process of uh getting

Jerusalem back online getting him back

in sync because of their Rebellion

Joshua is called he is called a brand

plucked from the fire

Joshua is a high priest

he is to lead the spiritual direction

for the people

he has a Divine Purpose that’s why we’re

told what his job was he’s a high priest

he’s got something God wants him to do

for Jerusalem

so the reason he is a brand plucked out

of the fire

is because Satan wants to get rid of him

and he wants to get rid of him because

he doesn’t want him to leverage Kingdom

influence for the benefit of God’s

bigger purpose which is the restoration

of Jerusalem

so he wants to get rid of Joshua so that

there is not support for the salvific

Deliverance of Jerusalem in other words

he wants to throw Ward his Kingdom

Purpose

there is a purpose that God has for you

it is a Kingdom Purpose that’s bigger

than you and you are designed to fulfill

a kingdom responsibility for the benefit

of something bigger than you so if it’s

only about you Satan got you there is a

purpose

and he wants to thwart it

he wants to keep Jerusalem from being

restored

he wants to keep our communities from

being restored he wants to keep our

families from being restored he wants to

keep our culture from being restored

and how is he doing that he’s getting us

engulfed in the fire

you got you got Christians running

around here

adopting the culture rather than

representing the king and his kingdom

[Applause]

now what was what was giving Satan some

cred here what was giving him some juice

well

verse 3 now Joshua was closed with

filthy garments

and standing before the angel

so he was dressed in unrighteousness

let’s look at something else

we told

in verse 4.

he says

see I have taken away your iniquity

so he he’s got filthy garments and

iniquity

the iniquity goes a little further

because the garments are on the outside

the iniquity is on the inside

so there was dirt in and there was dirt

out

not only that

verse 5.

put a clean turban on his head

that means the one he was wearing wasn’t

clean

he had a dirty mind

what we have to understand

is that sin gives Satan legal rights

it gives him he can he can now take you

to court he can he can take you to court

because he got it on you

me and us

and he can take us to court to thwart

God’s purpose in our lives because he

knows something that either we don’t

know or we’ve forgotten and that is the

Holiness of God

the righteousness of God the standards

of God

and because he knows that we forget that

or don’t take it as seriously as we

ought to he uses that

in order for to break you’ll see that in

a moment to break fellowship with God in

order that

purpose cannot be realized

so

Joshua has some issues

we are

told in Proverbs 26 verse 2 that a curse

flutters like a bird

in order to find cause

and that the cause the word there means

legal accusation

so it’s demons fluttering in order to

look for a Cause

a cause that can be taken legislatively

before heaven to break fellowship and

block purpose

so that’s our problem

but we find him standing we’re told

before

the angel of the Lord verse 1.

verse 3

standing before the angel

which is the Angel of the Lord

it’s not an angel of the Lord

it’s the angel of the Lord

this is Jesus pre-incarnate

Jesus existed before his physical birth

as the second person of the Trinity he

operates in the Old Testament as the

angel of the Lord

Dr Evans will be right back after this

important announcement

[Applause]

[Music]

foreign

[Music]

to the Incarnation the angel of the Lord

is the second member of the Trinity it

is Jesus the Christ

Because unless you understand this

then you will not fully grasp

why this defense attorney is so critical

first John chapter 2 verses 1 and 2. let

me read it to you

in first John 2 1-2 it says

my little children Christians I am

writing to you these things to you so

that you may not sin if anyone sins we

have an advocate with the father Jesus

Christ the righteous an advocate is a

lawyer because we’re in a courtroom

you have a lawyer

before the Father the judge

Jesus Christ the righteous

he is a defense attorney for my little

children

believers

it is the job of Jesus currently

this is his post-ascension job

to represent you in the court of heaven

when accusation is registered against

you

when Satan comes to legislate

breaking a fellowship in order that he

might block purpose

you don’t go to court and represent

yourself

we have an advocate with the father

the death of Jesus Christ

created imputed righteousness

imputed righteousness to impute means to

credit something

to do a credit is to impute

second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21.

he who knew no sin became sin for us

that we might become the righteousness

of God in him in verse 13 of Galatians 3

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the

Lord

okay law remember Lord we’re dealing

with legalese now the curse of the law

having become a curse for us

for it is written cursed is everyone who

hangs on a tree

the cross

so the curse the Judgment that is

against you

has been handled by the sacrifice of

Christ

which first John 2 calls the

propitiation

that is the satisfaction God is

satisfied with your lawyer

let me tell you how satisfied God is

with your lawyer Revelation Chapter 19

Verse 10 Revelation Chapter 19 Verse 10

says that Jesus is the key based on the

testimony of Jesus

well you give testimony in a court

so this thing gets sweeter not only is

Jesus your lawyer he gets to testify on

your behalf

so he gives testimony

we’ll see that next week but he gives

testimony on your case and here the deal

is the case is legitimate because Joshua

has dirty clothes he has a dirty turbine

he has iniquity so it’s not Satan

doesn’t have to make up stuff we give

him enough stuff to use

we give him plenty tell the truth and

shame the devil

if that is not you I don’t even know why

you here

so he has taken him to court

but he’s standing before

the angel of the Lord who is his lawyer

his advocate

and when standing before the angel of

the Lord

the principle here is the key the key is

he’s got an accuser Satan accusing him

he’s got a judge that has to make a

judgment the goal is to remove

Fellowship in order to block purpose

but he’s standing

not before

the judge he’s standing before the angel

of the Lord

let me take you back to First John

briefly

because this is so this is the New

Testament version of this Old Testament

story that I’m going over today

in chapter one of First John it says

this is the message we have heard from

him and announced to you that God is

light and in him there is no Darkness at

all

if we say we have fellowship with him

and yet walk in darkness we lie and do

not practice the truth

so you can’t be talking about I’m close

to God while living in sin

but if we walk in the light here it is

as he himself is in the light we have

fellowship with one another and the

blood of Jesus the son cleanses us from

all sin

well wait a minute now wait a minute

watch this watch this watch this when is

the blood cleansing you

when you’re in the light but wait a

minute wait a minute I’m confused I

thought if I was in the light

I’m not sitting

that’s not what it says

it says if we walk in the light like he

is in the light the blood of Jesus

Christ cleanses us why because the light

shows your sin

walking in the light means living in his

presence it means operating with his

consciousness

it is honest exposure before holy God

he’s standing before the angel of the

Lord like we are standing in the

presence of God so the blood can do its

work

Isaiah 43 says this in verse

25. I even I I am the one who wiped out

your transgressions for my own sake

I will not remember your sins anybody

have some sins you want God to forgive I

will not remember your sins okay

put me in remembrance whoa whoa God says

tell me all about it

put me in remembrance tell me all about

it let us argue our case together oh we

got a case we’re in court

State your calls

so now you’re on the witness stand

your cause that you may be proved right

he said don’t hide it state it

I’m putting you on the stand and I want

you to tell the truth the whole truth

and nothing but the truth so help you

God I want you to lay it out there

talk to me

[Applause]

State your case

confession

the Greek word means to say the same

thing

it means to come in agreement with you

must say what God is saying not what

your neighbor is saying your Posse

saying your people saying or what you

think he says You must say what I say

about it

you must talk my talk the word of the

testimony must be in agreement with me

I love second Timothy chapter 2 verse 25

and 26.

he says this in second Timothy

2 25 and 26 he says

with gentleness concerning those who are

in opposition how to relate to people if

perhaps God May grant them repentance

leading to the knowledge of the truth

and they may come to their senses and

Escape The Snare of the devil having

been held captive by him to do his will

do you know one of our problems Satan is

holding us hostage

repentant confession is agreeing with

so the moment that you know you have

sinned and you agree with God the blood

of Jesus Christ covers it

that moment that moment

repentance is more than that

repentance is related to a Direction

everybody goes the wrong way sometimes

one wrong way

that’s one option you just keep going

another option is

you don’t care I mean it’s

I’m only human

so I’m just going the wrong way or

you could say the longer I’m on this

road the further I’m going to get from

where I should be yes

because this is not where I want to go

this is not this is not the direction I

want to go in this is not the the

location I want to get to

what that means there must be a decision

to exit

we’ll call that

confession off ramp

okay so so you come to the exit and now

you get off on confession off ramp

but now you got to go over and overpass

to get to the other side of the highway

we’ll call that Grace overpass

because there’s a bridge that’s been

built to take you from the off ramp

over to the other side

so you get off confession off ramp you

get on Grace overpass but now there’s

another ramp

we’ll call that restoration on RAM

so you get off confession off ramp you

cross over Graves overpass you get on

restoration on ramp and guess what you

are now headed in the right direction

you are now

and the beautiful thing is you don’t

have to build a ramp the ramp has

already been built

[Applause]

confession is agreement when you do

something in bang repentance is turning

from a different direction

standing before the Lord

his guilt is visible he’s not hiding

anything his turban is dirty his clothes

are dirty and

he’s standing there

when he is repentant

something happens

the Lord said to Satan now the judge

steps in because we have the angel of

the Lord but now we have the Lord

himself the Lord said to Satan

the Lord rebuke you

it says the Lord said to the devil

I have chosen Jerusalem my purpose I

have plucked this brand from the fire

I have changed

his trajectory

did you know you don’t have to quit you

don’t have to throw in the towel you

don’t have to give up on life because if

you get your case

handled by the judge because the lawyer

who represents you also gives testimony

for you and is the son of the judge

what happened with Joshua says put clean

clothes on it

remove the filthy governments verse 4

Change is close and he says

change is turbine

on his head

I love this in the verse 5 while the

angel of the Lord was standing by Ah

that’s sweet

you take over Daddy I’m just gonna watch

this and here’s what the angel of the

Lord says in verse 8 and set six and

seven

the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua

saying thus saith the Lord of hosts let

me tell you about my dad he want to tell

you something if you were walking my

ways perform my service

then you will also govern my house and

also have charge of my courts I will

grant you free access among those who

are standing here

oh there’s so much in there

okay wait a minute let’s let’s back up

Joshua is the high priest

he’s already got a post

but he wasn’t doing the post well but

but now he gets a

recall

he says

if you’ll now line up with me I’ll

recall you to your post but watch this

I’ll also promote you

you’re going to see that next week but

but I also want you because you will not

only govern my house you will have

charge of my course and I will grant you

access to my environment

imma give you stuff you didn’t even

start with

the devil is coming against you but God

has given you a jacket to put on

he wants you to put on the righteousness

of Christ he wants you to put on the

confession and repentance of sin so that

he can give you back your dignity give

you back your hope give you back your

dreams give you back your purpose give

you back your legitimate Prosperity give

you back the time you have left on this

life don’t let him take off your jacket

because when you take off your jacket

you lose the power when you take off

your jacket you lose the ability when

you take off your jacket but when you

put your jacket back on when you put

your jacket back on when you’re button

it up and tuck it up then all of a

sudden when it comes at you he has no

Authority because you’re wearing Jesus

Christ you put on the power and

authority of the crucified twice who is

risen from the dead don’t leave home

without it keep on your jacket

thank you

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

thank you