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