In his sermon 'A Brand Plucked Out of the Fire', James Hobbs discusses the transformative power of divine grace using the metaphor of Joshua the High Priest from Zechariah 3:1-9. The sermon highlights humanity's sinful nature, represented by 'filthy garments', and the inability to achieve goodness or salvation through one's own efforts. Hobbs emphasizes the role of God's grace in salvation, describing believers as 'brands plucked out of the fire', saved from the path to hell. The sermon stresses that it is God who removes iniquity and clothes believers in righteousness. After receiving salvation, believers are called to walk in God's ways, not to earn salvation, but as a response to the grace received. Hobbs encourages believers to live as witnesses to their faith, recognizing their transformation and the importance of reflecting God's love in their actions.

Are here for each course and you know through the years he's hosted these conferences and usually doesn't get the opportunity to preach and I know that there's a lot of people here myself included that that he's touched in some way or another and we'd like to hear and preach and I'm excited that he's on the program so brother James Hobbs pastor of Kings Edition well what can I say I forgot song service Now I could say I was really anxious to preach? Or I could say I was nervous I didn't know what I was doing and which one do you think would be right I know all right The question came to me a while ago, who's going to take Brother Kiger's place? He was on his way here. I've had people cancel from conferences before, but he was on his way here when he got sick and had to turn around go back home. And so we came here and everybody said what are you gonna do, who's gonna take his place.

I thought around, There's probably a whole bunch of preachers that's on the program that would say yes if I say, you know, would you mind preaching another sermon? But what right would I have to choose out of all and say this one oh I'm not a bit nervous and say this one I'll have to preach twice and I thought well I wonder who would be here that would have a message and I looked at the mirror and I saw no I really didn't don't didn't have a message prepared, but we'll see what we can do. All right. Open your Bibles to the book of Zechariah, Zechariah chapter 3, and we'll read verses 1 through 9. And we will read verses 1-9.

And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. Now this first verse is a real good text for a message. That's not my message tonight. 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, and the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, if thou wilt walk in my ways, 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. Here now, O Joshua, the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for they are men wondered at.

For behold, I will bring forth my servant the branch. For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof saith the Lord of hosts and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day." Some very interesting thoughts here. Several sermons that could be preached out of this passage alone. My subject is taken from verse 2, the last phrase of that verse, Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

He was talking about Joshua. A brand plucked out of the fire. Everyone that is here that's not been saved is on the road to hell. Just as we were before we were plucked out of the fire. Before we were saved, safe from the fire, we were on that journey.

We studied a lot about hell in our lifetime. In our lifetime. But we want to think about what has happened to those of us who have been saved by the grace of God. I want to remind you first of all, it tells us in verse 3, Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the angel. Can you remember your life?

Can you remember before you were saved and the day you were saved and you realized what had happened? You like Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, dressed in the garments of sin, garments of iniquity. Garments of iniquity. We don't deserve what we have. Dressed in filthy garments completely, not partially.

You know somebody said years ago when I was young, everybody has a little bit of good in them. I'd heard that a lot of times. And then as I began studying the Bible and especially after I was called to preach and the more I studied the more I realized That was not a true statement. I did not have one ounce of goodness in me. There was nothing within me that would make me worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Nothing whatsoever. Jeremiah says in the book of Jeremiah in the 17th chapter, Jeremiah chapter 17 and verse 9 Said the heart is deceitful above all things and Desperately wicked who can know it Search your heart and believe in Jesus. It's what everybody said. I heard that many, many times as a child. People say, there's a little bit of goodness there somewhere, dig it out!

There is not one ounce of goodness in me, not one ounce of goodness in any of us, that we could dig out so that we could come before the Lord with heart desperately wicked. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Titus said in the first chapter, in the book of Titus in chapter 1, He said in verse 15, Under the pure, all things are pure, but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure. But even their mind and conscience is defiled. I've heard people say, let your conscience be your guide.

No. The conscience is even defiled. The mind is defiled. There's nothing pure, nothing whatsoever. As Paul said to the people in Rome, in Romans chapter 3 and verse 9, he said this, What then?

Are we better than they? No, in no wise, for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin. As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one. None righteous, no not one. Completely and totally under sin.

Dressed in the filthy garments of sin. Romans chapter 5 and verse 12 he said this, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Colossians chapter 2 and verse 13. Verse 13, And you, being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses. Who did it? He did.

Not me, not you, not anybody else. When I was a young creature I went out one time held my first revival meeting came home and someone said how many people did you get saved do you ever hear anybody say that most preachers have probably how many did you get saved I said none I said the Lord saved some while I was preaching but I didn't save anybody Thank God if I had saved anybody, they'd have been lost again. I couldn't even save myself. How could I save somebody else? Spiritually dead.

Spiritually dead. Spiritually dead, spiritually dead. And Jeremiah chapter 13, back in Jeremiah chapter 13, and verse 23, can the Ethiopian change his skin Or the leopard his spots? Is it possible for an Ethiopian to change the color of his skin? Or a leopard to remove his spots?

Is it possible? No. Then may ye also do good that are custom to do evil just as they can't change themselves nor can we nor can we. Job chapter 14 and verse 4. Job chapter 14 and verse 4.

Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one. Not one. Not you, not me. Nobody.

We, before we were saved by the grace of God. We were totally, completely sinful, totally, completely deserving hell and we could not change our path. We could not. We path. We could not.

We could not remove our sin. We were a brand were a brand deserving hell. On the road to hell. As far as our road was concerned, We couldn't go anywhere except directly to hell. But God in His mercy and grace changed that.

But I couldn't change. What happened? What happened? Well, back in Zechariah chapter 3 and verse 4, it says, 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.

Who said that? Well verse one said or verse two says, and the Lord said unto Satan, the Lord rebuked the old Satan even the Lord that has chosen Jerusalem rebuked the, is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the angel. He answered and said unto them, take away the filthy garments from him. Did he say Joshua if you'll take off those filthy garments I'll save you?

He didn't say that did he? How many times did someone tell you clean up your life and you'll be alright? How many times have preachers said similar things, so-called preachers said similar things? A true godly preacher will never tell a sinner, all you have to do is clean up your life. Because that wouldn't work.

He couldn't. Just as I couldn't, just as you couldn't. But this passage says here in verse 4, he said, take away the filthy garments from him. Take away the filthy garments from him Ephesians chapter 1 Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 7 in whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. According to the riches of His grace.

Colossians 1, verses 12-14. Colossians 1, verses 12-14. Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet, or worthy, to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in life. Who made us worthy? He, giving thanks unto the Father, God the Father, which hath made us worthy to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in life.

Every child of God that's here tonight, Every child of God that's listening in on the internet, if you've been saved by the grace of God, you did not remove your iniquities, but God has taken them away. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit has taken our iniquities away. Revelation 1 and verse 5 tells us this. And from Jesus Christ, who is a faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. Did I go and get His blood and wash me?

No. But He shed His blood for me. That day that He died on the cross of Calvary, when Jesus my Savior died on the cross of Calvary, my sins were on his shoulders. My sins. The sins of all his people were on his shoulders.

They couldn't have killed him. He had no sin. But he took my sins he took your sins and he was killed because of me and you Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 22. Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water, washed in the blood of Christ, washed clean, made pure in the eyes of God.

Do you realize that every time you pray, whether it's in public or whether it's in your mind while you're driving, you know, someone said, The Bible says we should pray at all times. We can pray while we're driving in our hearts. And we should. But every time we pray, we come before whom? Our Heavenly Father, our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

We come to Almighty God, who is perfectly pure, who cannot look at sin except in judgment. And when He sees us coming before Him in prayer, He sees us in the blood of Jesus. And he hears our prayers, not because we deserve it, but because he made us worthy. And he hears us. He sees us and he hears us in the blood of Jesus Christ, clothed in a change of garment.

Isaiah 61, verse 10. Isaiah 61, verse 10. I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God. For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation. He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels They dress in the best to get married don't they he dresses us in the best he Clothes us he dresses us I'm safe and secure because He loved me.

I didn't love I didn't love him. I do now. I didn't think. I didn't know. I was dead.

But I was made alive by the grace of God. By the grace of God. Back in Zechariah chapter 3, let's go back. Back in Zechariah chapter 3. I'll get there in just a minute, I'm nervous.

Zechariah chapter I'm nervous. Zechariah chapter 3. And look at what it says in verses 6 and 7. And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, thus saith the Lord of hosts, If thou wilt walk in my ways, if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt judge also that my house shall also keep my courts, and I will give thee Places to walk among these that stand by Here now Oh Joshua the high priest thou and my fellows that sit before me for they are men wondered at for behold I will bring forth my servant the branch What's our responsibility after the Lord has taken the garments, the filthy garments, off of us? Walk in His ways.

Not to get saved nor to keep saved, but because we are saved. Walk in His ways. Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2 and verse 6. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.

We have been saved by the grace of God. Our duty as a child of God is to walk a different path. Before we were saved, our journey was directed toward hell. Now we have a different direction. Not because we deserved it, not because we earned it, but by the grace of God we were given a new path.

Walk in that path. Ephesians chapter 5 and verses 1 and 2. Be therefore followers of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also hath loved us, hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. Verse 8, for ye were sometimes darkness or before times darkness but now are ye light in the Lord walk as children of light. Have you stopped in the evening for your evening prayers before God, your little personal in-your-closet prayers?

Have you, when you prayed, thought, Lord I have failed you today. I've not lived like I should have lived. I didn't witness like I should have witnessed. If you're honest you'll say many times we have not been what we ought to be Because sometimes we forget that we were a brand plucked out of the fire. We forget that people don't just listen to what we say, they look at what we do.

And as one man said, I can't hear what you're saying because I see what you're doing. How important is it to witness to someone? The Bible tells us to witness all the time. As a child of God we are to witness before Him. What kind of a witness have we been today?

What kind of a witness have we been as we've been around others or around our family or at home? We're a brand plucked out of the fire by God's grace live as a child of God Jim save a song Let's have a song.