God's Good News!

Today there is such a great need for people to hear a message that brings them good news and hope! In the face of a world that is often plagued by natural disasters, famine, violence, economic downturns, terrorism, and so on, the question often comes, “Is there any hope?” For the believer in Jesus Christ the answer is a big YES, for God has absolutely “everything under control despite what our natural eyes see” (Keri Jones). We clearly see this in the events that have brought about great revival in China. In his recent book entitled Living Water, Brother Yun (the Heavenly Man) writes about what God has done in his homeland:

“After the Revolution in 1949, the Christians in my country were persecuted. Churches were destroyed or turned into…government offices. All of the foreign missionaries were expelled and sent back to their home countries…Thousands of pastors and church leaders were executed or thrown into prison for many years. Hundreds spent more than two decades performing hard labor in dire prison camps for no other reason except that they loved Jesus Christ…To anyone on the outside looking in, it appeared there was no church left in China.

Then in the 1970s, God started to do something. At first, just a little seed appeared…By the early 1980s, thousands of trees (believers) had emerged throughout China, and they, in turn, produced many seeds that were blown far and wide by the wind of the Holy Spirit. Thousands of believers turned into millions as revival swept our nation, and millions turned into tens of millions, and now even 100,000,000!”

Zechariah 3:1-9 presents to us a compelling picture of the victorious people of God as represented by Joshua the High Priest. From this passage we discover that:

1. The good news is that the Lord has snatched us from the fires of accusation and guilt (see Zech. 3:1,2).

2. The good news is that the Lord has taken away all of our sins (Zech. 3:3-5).

3. The good news is that the Lord can set us free in a single day (Zech. 3:9).

Not too long ago, my son, Matthew, and I crawled through the Warsaw Caves (just outside Peterborough), only to emerge completely filthy from head to toe. It was not a pretty picture, especially since we were covered in wet cave dirt and grime. Verse 3 of Zechariah likens sin to the “filthy clothes” that Joshua was wearing (just like our cave clothes). But to Joshua the angel of the Lord said, “Take off his filthy clothes” (v. 4, NIV). Aren’t you glad the Lord said this to you! The Lord says, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you” (v. 4, NIV). The good news is that we are completely free from all sin!