Let's gather together
in the Lord's earthly courts. May he be with us in spirit,
help us to worship him in spirit and in truth, and help his servant
Rowland Wheatley to set forth the precious gospel. We'll commence
by singing together. Hymn: 668 Tune: Eventide, 758. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God, from the prophecy of Daniel, Daniel chapter 9,
and we will read from verse 1 through to verse 19. Daniel chapter 9 from verse 1. In the first year of Darius the
son of Ahasuerus of the seed of the Medes, which was made
king over the realm of the Chaldeans, In the first year of his reign,
I, Daniel, understood by books the number of the years whereof
the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet that he
would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face unto the Lord
God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and
ashes. And I prayed unto the Lord my
God, and made my confession and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful
God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him,
and to them that keep His commandments. We have sinned and have committed
iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing
from Thy precepts and from Thy judgments. Neither have we hearkened
unto Thy servants the prophets, which spake in Thy name to our
kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the
land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth
unto Thee, but unto us confusion of faces as at this day. To the men of Judah and to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem and unto all Israel that are near
and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou
hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have
trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion
of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers,
because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong
mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against Him. Neither have we obeyed the voice
of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws which He set before
us by His servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed
thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice. Therefore the curse is poured
upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses,
the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. And
he hath confirmed his words which he spake against us, and against
our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil. For under the whole heaven hath
not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. As it is written
in the Law of Moses, All this evil is come upon us, yet made
we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn
from our iniquities and understand thy truth. Therefore hath the
Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us. For the Lord
our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth, for we
obeyed not his voice. And now, O Lord our God, that
hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with
a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renowned, as at this day
we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to
all Thy righteousness, I beseech Thee, let Thine anger and Thy
fury be turned away from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain,
because for our sins and for our iniquities of our fathers,
Jerusalem and Thy people are become a reproach to all that
are about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear
the prayer of Thy servant and his supplications, and cause
Thy face to shine upon Thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's
sake. O my God, incline thine ear and
hear, open thine eyes and behold our desolations, and the city
which is called by thy name. For we do not present our supplications
before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hearken and do! Defer not! For Thine own sake,
O my God, for Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name. Thus far, the reading of God's
holy word. May He bless it to us and help
us as we come before Him in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
we come before Thee through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We present our supplications
not in our own name, but in Thy name. And not because of our
righteousnesses, but because of thine. And, Lord, our expectation
is from thee, who are to God that doth hear and answer prayer. Lord, we do thank Thee, that
Thou art the same, that though we change, Thou changest not,
and though the world changes and one day will pass away, Thy
words do not pass away. And we thank Thee for our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, and today,
and forever. And we thank Thee that our salvation
is bound up in Thy immutability, Thy unchangeableness. I am the
Lord, I change not, wherefore ye sons of Jacob are not. consumed and oh lord we do thank
thee for that we would tremble also because we know that thy
judgment against sin will never change will never lend it must
be punished it must be dealt with but lord we do thank thee
for calvary we thank thee for the revelation to us through
thy word and what thou hast accomplished and done on this earth, in a
body like our own, yet sin accepted, God manifest in the flesh. We
thank thee, Lord, for that offering made to put away sin, and, Lord,
for all that is revealed to us in these gospel days. in the
Old Testament that shows us just how much sin is to be hated and
how much blood was shed in those sacrifices and yet could never
put away sin. that thy one sacrifice has. Lord, do grant that we might
be renewed, as we gather this afternoon in worship, in adoration
for the gift of thy beloved Son, for thy glorious and wonderful
plan of salvation, that which thou hast devised, whereby thou
canst save a sinner, and yet still be holy and just. that
thou wilt be pleased to deal in a way that doth magnify thy
great and holy name, and bring those that have trespassed against
thee to be with thee for ever cleansed, washed, renewed, and
made meet to be partakers with the saints in line, do grant
us, Lord, a right view of thy great salvation. We do seek thy
blessing upon the churches in Australia, the church at Melbourne
and Sydney, and Lord do bless our dear friends that join online
from Adelaide and Philippines and others that may join. We
seek thy blessing upon our gathering around thy word this afternoon. May thy blessing be upon it to
thine own honour. and glory. We pray, Lord, for
Thy people, that they might be given the bread of heaven, that
they might be nourished and strengthened in their most holy faith, that
they might be encouraged in the way to remember those that Thou
hast given assurance of, and do maintain that assurance, and
give them, Lord, that daily cause to raise fresh Ebenezers to thy
praise, and Lord, those evidences that thy Spirit remains among
them. to remember those that seek Thee,
those who have been quickened into life, who do feel their
need as sinners that do seek unto Thee. Lord, we thank Thee
for those who once were dead but now are alive, and Lord,
we do pray for them that they might be gently led into the
truths of the everlasting gospel that they might be given that
right knowledge of the Saviour, and that they would be brought
to sweet assurance of their interest in Him. Lord, do bless their
souls, grant them faith, Lord, they have been given it in the
new birth, but do grant, Lord, that that faith might lay hold
upon Thee, that through the word preached this afternoon, that
faith might come, be raised up, be strengthened to trust solely
in Thee. Lord, we do pray for them. We
know that where Thou hast begun a good work, that Thou wilt perfectly
perform it, that those quickened to see their sin will in Thy
time and way see the Saviour of sinners, see their own interest
in Thy precious blood, be raised up to a sweet hope, in thy mercy. And we pray for this, we ask
this on behalf of each that are troubled and mourning over their
sin, and seek, Lord, thy salvation. Lord, we do pray for those that
may be unconcerned. Lord, do be pleased to quicken
into life those that yet are dead. And Lord, do remember those
that have backslidden, and do renew again unto repentance. to grant, Lord, that we might
not be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. We do see that thou hast
sanctified the pathway. We go through many things that
at times we wonder why it has not had an effect upon us. We
remain hard, unmoved. We are not what we feel we should
be when these things happen to us or our loved ones or those
that and near and dear to us. O Lord, we know that it must
be Thy hand that does sanctify everything we pass through. And
Lord, we do pray that it might be so, that Thou hast made to
work for good according to Thy promise. We know that all things
work together for good, to them that love God, to them that are
the called, according to thy purpose. Let me do seek thee
for this. We pray, Lord, that Thou hast
helped us in our prayers and in our closet life with Thee. Lord, we know that there are
many things that can imitate a religious life, and the adversary
loves to entangle us with many things. Lord, today we have so
much that we can read or see, on the internet and it may be
religious and it may be good but it does not and must not
take the place of that closet work with thee and a close walk
with thee. Lord do hear intercession then
that each one of us gathered in this way. Lord gather this
afternoon that those grant us not just quick short times of
reading thy word the times that we might ponder in, have not
the clamor of worldly things upon us, but a hedged about time
to meditate upon thy word, to read in, to drink it in, to pray
over in, to profit from in, that we might have times at the throne
of grace, not a fleeting few seconds, few minutes, but that
we might have times of communion, times of wrestling prayer, times
when we have real times of devotion with Thee. O Lord, open the eyes
of each one where something else is taking the place of those
sacred times of fellowship with Thee. Lord, we know that our
hearts are deceitful and that the devil is very very active
and will try to substitute some supposed spiritual thing but
it shall not be that close communion and fellowship with thee we pray
then regarding this that is a very, very common thing amongst the
people of God, and a trial especially for our day, where access is
so easily had to that which is seen of a religious nature. O
leave us not to be deceived. Deliver us from many, many false
teachers. Lord, we feel for and pray for
those in our congregations who may not only be hearing the voice
of their minister, but are hearing the voice of all sorts of pastors
and teachers and those that come to them through the internet.
O Lord, do save from these many, many different leaders, many
that will send such contrary messages. Lord, do grant us that
wisdom, grace, and help to be delivered from the snares that
are laid for our feet. We do accept of our thanks for
healing mercies for those who have been unwell. We do pray
for those that are unwell at this time, that those be pleased
to heal, and not only that, but work through the affliction for
their soul's good. We do seek for a thankful heart,
day by day, to see Thy mercies, to see Thy goodness. We pray,
Lord, to be given a tender conscience, a teachable spirit, a love to
the brethren, a love to Thee, a love to Thy holy word, a love
to that which is good and pure, and a hatred to that which is
evil. To grant us a pure appetite,
may we really have an appetite and desire for the pure Word
of God. To wash and cleanse us from our
sin, and Thou who art exalted to give repentance and remission
of sins, Lord, do grant that blessing unto us. Remember, Lord, those that are
passing through great tribulation, who have many troubles and sorrows. Do grant that they might feel
and know that underneath are the everlasting arms. And, Lord,
do grant Thy Word often to be made a sweet relief, sent by
Thy Spirit right where the wound is and right where the need is,
that we might be able to say with the psalmist, My help cometh
from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. Be of thy dear age,
friends, and help them and those that, Lord, by reason of years,
come to the even tide of life. O Lord, prepare them, prepare
us each, to stand before thy face. Grant, Lord, those sweet
anticipations of a heavenly land, a haven that is to desired one,
and a desire for those things which are above. 3 O Lord, do
grant that our affections might be placed there, and that we
might run the race set before us, looking unto Jesus. 4 Blessed dear deacons, we pray
for help for them and in all their responsibilities. Hear
prayer, Lord, for Thy servants that minister, as we do online,
but do remember those that hope to come and visit in the future,
and give them health and strength and Thy blessing upon those arrangements. O Lord, we do seek that Thou
wouldst remember us, and pour out Thy Spirit, and revive our
churches, and do be pleased to get to Thyself honour and glory,
in bringing in those from without. Do bless those around about Thee,
chapels at Melbourne and Sydney, may there be those that come
in as strangers and brought to be, dear beloved brethren, and
hear prayer for our children and grandchildren and those who
have had thy word and heard it and gone away from it, Lord,
bring them back, send thy word after them, convert them, we
would not forget them, we would plead on their behalf, O Lord,
bring them to seek thee, to know thee, to be saved. Now, Lord,
forgive what we ask amiss and grant thy gracious help as we
continue in worship and come to thy sacred word. We ask this
blessing through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn: 263, Tune: Melcombe, 369. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to the prophecy of Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 9 and verse 4. Now text Ezekiel chapter 9 And verse 4, specifically part
of it. I'll read all of the verse fast. And the Lord said unto him, Go
through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem,
and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that
cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. specifically set a mark upon
the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry. I'll come in a
moment to the context here. But I want to immediately say
that God's dear people are not only known as being His people
by their faith in Christ, their love of God, or assurance in
Him, not just by their profession in a positive way, of the things
of God, but they are also known by how they view sin. and how they view it not just
intellectually in their head as what they feel they should
feel about sin because of what is written in the Word, but actually
feel it in their hearts. And the Word of God is very clear
on these two signs, and I feel It is something that is very
necessary to take note of because today is very easy, I suppose
really as in any generation, for there to be a continuing
in sin and in the ways of the world while at the same time
professing the name of Jesus and to have a hope of heaven. and you may be, we have all known
those sometimes even in church connection and in the house of
God that have been walking in ways of sin, ways contrary to
the Word of God and yet have maintained that they have no
doubt that they are God's people and that they will go to heaven
when they die. Our Lord was very clear ye cannot
serve God and mammon, you can't do both at the same time. In Hebrews chapter 11 where we
are given the type or the illustration of those that walk by faith We
are told that there are those that embrace the promises, they
saw them afar off, but they confess that they were strangers and
pilgrims on the earth, and that they that say such things declare
plainly that they seek a country that is a heavenly one. So you
have the two sides. There is a seeking a heavenly
country, a desiring of heaven, There's also the other side,
a confession of being strangers and pilgrims here, that this
is not our rest. And the Lord will work in both
ways. I felt it particularly so when
the Lord began with me. And on one hand, he brought me
to feel my sinnership, feel my ignorance of the things of God,
and to really give an appetite where there wasn't an appetite
before, a real seeking every opportunity to hear the Word
and to know the way of salvation. That was on one side. And on
the other side, which at the time I didn't connect the two
together, but can see clearly now, was that the Lord put a
blight on things. Some, they're not in themselves
sinful and wrong, but they're worthy things. And there was
a vanity and an emptiness stamped upon those things I was pursuing
in the world. I couldn't see the connection. I wondered what was wrong with
me. Why couldn't I enjoy what I once enjoyed before? Why couldn't
I go to concerts? Why couldn't I sing in the Welsh
Male Voice Choir? Why couldn't I enjoy those things? The company, the crowds that
I once joined with, but they were godless crowds. They weren't the assembly of
the people of God. And I see now the Lord working
on both sides. Where He prepares the people
for heaven, then He'll make that this is not their home. Where
He gives them the Pearl of Great Price, He'll give them to see
that other things are empty, they're vain, they're trifling,
they soon pass away. And it will also give them to
feel and see their sinnership and what they are in the sight
of a holy God. I see also sin in all of the
world. And so there are these two sides. There may be those of you that
are really seeking and desiring that the Lord would assure you
that you are His people and that He has suffered, bled and died
for you, that He has reserved a place in heaven for you. And
you might be looking in that way for some reassurance and
token that the Lord is your God. But I want to bring before you
this afternoon a very sure, a very clear token on the other side
of the matter, and that is what is set forth here of those that
sigh and cry on account of the abominations done in the land,
and not only in the land, but in their own hearts, their own
sins, and to see the connection to see what the Lord has pronounced,
and we've sung of that in our hymns, the Lord's blessing on
those that walk a path that is not walked by nature, it is not
the natural heart, it does not mourn, it does not feel sin,
it does not sigh and cry. So on to, and think of some of
the other places in the word, Psalm 97, you that love the Lord,
hate evil, and Paul's caution when he sets forth grace, by
grace ye are saved, he says, let us not sin that grace may
abound. And so there's many parts in
the world that, in the word of God, that set forth a a real
separation. It's not just casting in the
name of the Lord to our own worldly sinful life, but viewing the
world and viewing our heart as it really is, and going out unto
the Lord without the camp, bearing His reproach. And of course our
Lord was made sin for us. who knew no sin. We hope to speak
of that as viewing sin as based upon the Lord Jesus Christ. So I want to look first at the
vision that Ezekiel had and just establish what is the plain teaching
of the Word of God in the portion where the text is. And then secondly
applying to us and especially just viewing the world and the
church. And then lastly applying to us
in how we view our sin and from that leading to our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. Firstly, Ezekiel's vision. Now remember Ezekiel would have
been contemporary with Daniel in the captivity. Daniel, of
course, lived the whole of the period of captivity, whereas
Ezekiel, I'm not sure how much he lived, but certainly here
he is in the 25th year, 30th year, and the prophecy is made
there, and the visions, the river Kiba. And so he sees this vision,
and we've got to go back to the 8th chapter, and this is in the
6th year, in the 6th month, 5th day of the month, and he sees
this vision, and he's taken to Jerusalem and shown all manner
of evil that the elders of Israel were doing. And just when he
thought that, well, that was so evil, then we read again and
again that he was to turn again, turn thee yet again, and thou
shalt see greater abominations. And he saw more and more. And those that he saw were those
abominations that the elders were doing in secret, they were
doing in imagery, and though they were doing these things,
they were still worshipping outwardly the Lord, but then turning their
backs upon Him, worshipping the sun, worshipping idols, doing
all manner of evil. And so Ezekiel is showing this
vision, really how God is viewing those religious leaders, those
are the children of Israel. And what a reminder that God
does not see as man sees. We can be like the Scribes and
Pharisees. We can, for a pretence, make
long prayers or standing at the streets, the corners, or be like
the Scribes and Pharisees were, highly esteemed as religious
people in their day. And yet, secretly, our Lord says
that their hearts are full of all manner of uncleanness, abominations,
and they weren't walking according to the word of God at all. We read of Jehu that outwardly
he executed all the judgment of the Lord against the house
of Ahab, but he took no heed to follow the Lord with all his
heart. And it is in the heart, our Lord
says, that it precedes all manner of evils, and especially imaginations. And we can, though we wouldn't
do something outwardly, we can imagine all manner of evil. And if you don't know the power
of imagination, we think of what the Lord said at the days of
the flood, that men's wickedness was great, the imagination of
man's heart is only evil continually. The s�ma says that I hate vain
thoughts, but thy law do I love. And those thoughts, the imaginations
of the heart, they come out in so many ways. you've only got
a look at the libraries of the land and you see the fictional
section and you'll find many, many books and they're not about
reality at all, they've just come from the imagination of
the writer and we are like that and our hearts cast up that uncleanness
and by nature there is no restraint to it. We go after it, we nourish
it, we follow after the flesh, but when there is a call by grace
then we are mindful of those things that are being done in
the chambers of imagery. And this is what Ezekiel was
seeing with these religious people, the elders of Israel, in seeing
all what they were doing in imagery in their hearts. Then we have
chapter 9 where the Prophet sees a vision and he sees men with
slaughter weapons in their hands, six men, and one among them was
clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side. And we read
that they went in, they stood beside the brazen altar. And then he called to the man
clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side. And this is where our text then
comes in. The Lord said unto him, Go through
the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set
a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry for
all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. Now
when that was done, then there was another command to go after
him, to the others that had their swords. smite, let not your eyes
spare, neither have pity, slay utterly old and young, both maids
and little children and women, but come not near any man upon
whom is the mark, and begin at my sanctuary Then they began
at the ancient men which were before the house. We read in
another place that judgment shall begin at the house of God. And if it begin with us, where
shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? And this is what is pictured
here. It is beginning with those who
are outwardly making a profession. The difference that was made
was this mark, where that mark was. Now we're not told what
mark, what colour it was, we're not told what shape it was, but
it was a mark and it was a mark that was seen and we're told
why it was placed there was because they sighed and cried for the
abominations done in the midst of Jerusalem. He can't help but
thinking the idea, the same teaching with what was in the Passover
in Egypt, where the Lord was to pass over the destroying angel
to destroy all that did not have the blood. upon the doorpost
and upon the lintel. When I see the blood, I will
pass over you was the word there, and here it is when I see the
mark that the destroyers were to pass over. and that Mark was
indicating this abhorrence, sorrow, mourning, sighing and crying,
a real feeling for those abominations. And I would say this again, this
is not just reading about sin and thinking, well if I am the
Lord's people, then I should feel this about sin. No, it is
actually feeling it keenly in the heart. So this is the picture. And of course, Israel was already
under the judgment of God. They were already, for the most
part, carried out of their land and in captivity and was to be
so for 70 years. And so this is why we read the
portion in Daniel 9, because really Daniel is a real example
of one that is sighing and crying. Daniel himself was an upright
and godly man, but he views his people And as we read it, no
doubt, you notice the very clear confessions that he made. We have sinned, verse 5, and
have committed iniquities. In Daniel 9, we have sinned and
have committed iniquity, have done wickedly and have rebelled,
even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments. And all
the time he's making this confession, 8 O LORD, to us belongeth confusion
of face, to our kings, to our princes, to our fathers, because
we have sinned against thee. And he's numbering himself with
the people. He is part of the children of
Israel, and though he himself is a godly, upright man. He knows his own sin, but he's
mourning over the sin of the people. He's making intercession
for his people. Sin is a reproach to any people. Righteousness exalteth a nation. Now we know, of course, our nations
today, they're not like Israel that was under God. God was their king. They're obeying
his laws, walking in his laws. They're different. It was a covenantal
relationship. The Lord said with them, while
they walked in the right way, his ways, then he would bless
them. If they didn't, then he would
curse them. And we find that right through
the Old Testament. And the Lord's judgment really,
after he was crucified and Jerusalem was completely destroyed, they
were not under a covenant of grace. And yet having said that,
God's people amongst them, Daniel included, those that had faith,
those that viewed past the sacrifices, past the ceremonial law, they
saw, like Abraham did, he saw Christ's day and he rejoiced
at it. And every soul that is saved
is saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whether they lived
under the covenant of works as Israel or whether they were under
the gospel dispensation today. And so Daniel here, he is confessing
the sin of the nation, he's confessing that which he sees, he knows,
he knows is the cause and the reason for God's displeasure
and wrath to be upon them. Daniel is such a good one for
us to imitate in his constancy, in prayer, in his confession,
in his humility, in his seeking to the Lord continually. and
serving him continually even derives the God whom thou service
continually he is able to he will deliver thee so may we be
like Daniel and to have a pattern to follow like him So then we have this mark, which
was the difference between life and death. Just think of this.
Here is this mark of those that sigh and cry on account of the
abominations done in the land. And those that did that, they
were spared. Those that did not, they were
destroyed without distinction. Throughout the Word of God there's
this separation. When we think at the last, there
is heaven and hell. There's no in-between. There
are either those that were with Noah in the ark or those outside
the ark. There were those that fled from
Sodom and Gomorrah or those that remained in it and perished. And God's mercy to Lot in bringing
him out. We see when the world comes to
an end, God will send forth His angels, gather His elect from
the four corners of the earth. How do they know who are His
elect? The kingdom of God standeth sure,
having this seal. The Lord knoweth them that are
His. And in this text, and in this
context, He is saying, My people will be those that have this
mark, amongst other marks, that they sigh and cry on account
of the abominations done in the land, and we may add done in
their own heart as well. So this then is the This is one
of these portions where that which was written aforetime,
written for our learning, that we through faith and patience
may inherit the promises. We look at that written to Israel
and it has a message in applying to us in the day of grace. So I want to look then secondly
at how it does apply to us. I want to look then firstly at
how we are viewing things outside of ourselves. Sin has a very
hardening effect. Many of us can remember when
we first were told about something, perhaps a practice that some
people were doing, or told about some evil that was being done
in the world, And we recoiled against it. We didn't need to
be told that this is something that you should hate or feel
repulsed over and recoil from. We just did. But then if we were
to really think back and now compare today, those same things
that maybe years ago caused us such revulsion and to recoil
from them, now we hardly turn a hair. We just hear it. We hear
it in the news. We see it in the street. And
it doesn't register with us. We are slowly desensitized, slowly
becoming hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Sin has
that gradual, slow effect. And when you think the children
of Israel, they were God's people, they served the Lord, and yet
Gradually, over several years, they turned away from the Lord,
started worshipping Baal, started doing evil things, secretly first,
then openly, and more and more openly. And we see it in the
land. I mean, years ago, just in our
lifetime, the thought of all manner of wickedness, in the
homosexual line, or transgender, or the LGBT, those sort of things,
were not openly done at all. They were in existence, of course,
as in the days of Sodom. But today, it is blatant, it
is open. And in fact, those that don't
toe the line, they're taken out of their jobs, they are persecuted
for it. And we can be so used to hearing
and seeing these things that it ceases to really register
with us as that these are abominations, these are evils, these are things
for which God has destroyed nations, destroyed the world in the time
of Noah, and for which sake the wrath of God comes upon the children
of disobedience. And there's a reminder to us
that how much when we are in the world are we not of it? How much are we influenced by
the world? And it is hardening our hearts. And so this vision here, it is
pointing to the God's people. You can picture it in Israel.
that while they sought to serve the Lord, we think of Elijah
in his day saying, I only remain of those that serve the Lord.
The Lord said, I've reserved 7,000 that have not bowed the
knee to Baal. But Israel was in a very, very
low place. And the people of God ought to
remember the standard, the holiness, God's holy righteous law, And
when they view then the whole world just going against the
Lord, they only consult to cast Him down from His excellency. They take His name in vain. They
desecrate His day. They despise His word. They misuse the people of God. We think of so many things that
we see and hear, but Does it cause us really to sigh and cry? Do we really see these things
and it really pains us in our heart? And so this should also
concern us when we look in the Church of God as well. And when
we see things or hear things that are done, and not to just
cover it up but to really mourn that these things are done in
Zion and sometimes like with the children of Israel here the
most part it is done in secret or hidden or covered up and How
does it touch us? How does it feel? How do we view
it? Are we those that sigh and cry
for all the abominations that are done in the land? So we would apply it in a direct
way, as an outward way, viewing what we do view. We cannot help
viewing and help hearing every single day. May our prayer be,
Lord, leave me not just to be hardened, or to accept these
things, or to think, well, this is just how the world is. No,
this is how the world is, but it is right for judgment. It
is a reproach. Sin is a reproach unto us. These things are noticed and
heard by God, and rather than just going along with them, that
we should have this real feeling a sighing and a crying. On to
look then thirdly, applying to us in how we ourselves view sin. In one sense it may be a different
thing because we may be very troubled about our sin and yet
viewing the world, maybe our own sin so much eclipses that,
it's so much part of us. But it is a vital thing that
we do see sin as it really is. And it is only God, when He quickens
a soul that can really show us, make us to really take notice
of what sin is. All of God's people, for whom
Christ has died, will be brought to know their own sin and to
know what a bitter and evil thing it is. So I want to look at several
ways that sin is seen. The first one is in its consequences. We think of the fall, when the
Lord said to Adam and Eve, that in the day that thou eatest thereof,
the fruit of the tree of knowledge and of good and of evil, in the
day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. And when Adam and Eve ate of
that fruit, they did die. The consequence of that rebellion,
of that disobedience, was a two-fold death. One was a physical death,
and that in due time they would die. And if you read Genesis
5, and you read of nine generations from Adam, including Adam, You
see Enoch, he did not die. He walked with God. He was not. God took him. But all of the
others, they all died. And you read through that chapter,
and he died. And five of them lived over 900
years of age. And yet they all must at last
die, and you and I. We must die, and that is part
of the sentence God executed, said He would do, because of
sin. Sin entered into the world, and
death by sin. And so when we see death, then
we would realize this is a consequence of sin. Sin, defined in the word
of God, is the transgression of the law of God. David said,
when he had sinned in adultery and murder against Thee, Thee
only have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight. And though it did affect and
touch many others, the sin was against God, and of course with
David as well. Those consequences, the child
that Bathsheba bore died, and the sword was not to depart from
his house. All his days, all the trouble
that he had with his sons in his life, they all were the consequence
of his sin. Though his sin was forgiven,
the Lord hath also put away thy sin, thou shalt not die. He was
given repentance. Yet the consequences were a reminder
right through his life. We reap what we sow. We need to remember that. Though
we are told we shall have tribulation in the world, very often that
tribulation, part of it, is because of our own sins. know the Apostle
Paul, he was able, and the Lord used it for good, but when he
was so persecuted, when he was beaten those three times, forty
stripes save one, he suffered three nights a day in the deep
three times, and all manner of things, he always remembered
how he'd persecuted the house of the people of God, what he'd
done. And Ananias was told, when he
was told by the Lord to go to him, when he objected and said,
I've heard much of this man, what evil he hath done to thy
people in Jerusalem. And the Lord said to him, I will
show him what great things he shall suffer for my name's sake. And in one sense, it was a consequence
of his sin, but the Lord using it for good. And you see with
David as well, the mindfulness of his own sinnership. But then we don't only have natural
death that is a consequence of the Fall, but spiritual death,
that separation from God, an alienation from God, that inability
to know God. The natural man receiveth not
the things of God, neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned. And you see our Lord dealing
with this when He's speaking with Nicodemus in John 3. He must be born again. Nicodemus immediately thinks
of it in a natural way. No Nicodemus. This is a spiritual
birth. But Paul Nicodemus, at that point,
he can't grasp that. He's only thinking natural. In
John 4, we have the woman. And if thou knewest the gift
of God, and who says unto thee, give me to drink, thou wouldst
ask of him. He would have given thee living
water. She immediately thinks of it naturally. The well is
deep, there is nothing to draw with. Our Lord was speaking of
spiritual water, living waters, the Word of God. And then we
have in John 6, the miracle of the loaves and fishes. They followed
Him over the sea. The Lord said, You seek Me not
because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the
loaves and were filled. They could understand natural
food. And the Lord said, Labor not
for the meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth to
eternal life. Then the discourse, Except ye
eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, ye have no
life in you. They said, This isn't hard saying.
Who can hear it? They went back, walk no more
with him. because they were discerning
it naturally, thinking of it naturally. And all of those chapters,
they really reinforce natural man is spiritually dead. Though he is even told spiritual
things, he cannot comprehend them, he cannot understand them,
he cannot grasp them. They must be all the time understood
in a natural way. had some talks with the Jehovah's
Witnesses locally here, and their bitter hatred against the doctrine
of the Trinity. They said it doesn't make sense.
How can you have God talking to God? How can there be three
people and yet there be but one? And they all the time trying
to reason it through. Great though is the mystery of
Godliness, God manifest in the flesh. If you have seen me, you
have seen my Father also, and the many views that we have of
the Trinity, but they are spiritually discerned and understood and
natural man. He cannot comprehend it, and
that is the part of the spiritual death, so that he cannot find
out God, he cannot seek Him, except by the grace of God, except
the Lord give him eternal life. The Lord says, I give unto them
eternal life, they shall never perish. That is what is being
born again. It's being given life. I pass by thee when thou wast
in thy blood, and when thou wast in thy blood, I bid thee live. When we view round us, such an
alienation from God, a hatred to God, inability to see Him. I always remember being with
the brain surgeons, looking at scans of the brain when Hilary
was having treatment, and he was just saying how wonderful
the brain was. This is why he specialised in
that. And I said to him, cannot you
see the Lord's hand in this? This is God's creation. He has
made this. And it was just like this great
big wall came down and his face changed. He didn't want to know
or hear anything about that. And yet he was seeing, he was
saying what he was seeing. But to see God in it, without
the Spirit, without being quickened, he was seeing it but not seeing
it. And millions in this world, they see the creation, but they
do not see God. They are dead. They're spiritually
dead. And we will not then to be surprised
at their reaction. The devil will say, ah, yes,
but you're the odd one out. You're the queer ones. You're
the only ones that see things this way. Everyone else sees
it as it really is. But that's not true. The world
lies in wickedness. They are spiritually dead. And
if we do see the Lord, if we do see His hand, if we do see
sin, that is the greatest blessing that we can have, that the Lord
has given us spiritual life that is withheld from others. What
would we think in this chapter where our text is? Would you
rather be those with the mark or those without? Those with
the mark lived, those without they perished. The Lord says
when he comes again, shall he find faith on the earth? There
is a remnant according to the election of grace. You've only
got to get back to Noah and we find of all the world there's
eight souls. That's all. And this is the word
of God. It's such a blessing. if we are
brought out of spiritual death, but we see this is the consequences
of sin, the spiritual death that is in the world. We see it, and
may it be impressed upon us, it is sin that has brought this
deadness. Yes, it is the judgment of God
upon us. and not just an automatic consequence
of sin, like those that are in jail. It's not just automatically
a consequence because they have killed someone, they didn't automatically
quickly go to jail, they went before the judge. The judge sentences
them to jail and the authorities put them in prison. And so sin,
the consequences are the judgment of God. We see the judgment today
and what it is in the world. Well, the judgment to come will
be eternal fire and eternal banishment from God. So then we have eternal
death and that is the final consequence cast out into outer darkness. Then we see the consequence in
the world. In the world we see sorrow and
suffering and man fighting with man and hurting men. You've only
got to look at the news or hear the news and you see the misery
that is throughout this world and man can't turn around and
blame God, he is doing it to his fellow mortals. He is the
instigator of it. The Hitlers and all of those
that are such tyrants to their fellow mortals and those that
do terrible things to children or whatever it is. You see, this
is sin. This is fallen man that is just
left to his own corrupt, evil base heart. And then of course
it's seen. in a hatred to God, an enmity
to God, a bitterness against God, a defiance against God. But then as a quickened sinner,
as one that is made alive, there are some things that are made
even more clear, focused and felt, and one will be that separation
from God, that distance from the Lord. The work of grace,
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, is God and men reconciled. It is to bring together those
that were at enmity. I remember as a child questioning
my parents over Hymn 76. I thought the hymn writer had
got it wrong. At peace with hell, with God
at war, in sin's dark maze they wander far. And I said, that
should be at peace with God, with hell at war, surely. That
was when I was unconverted. When converted, then, I felt
my heart at enmity and hatred. to God. And that is how it is
by nature. And we all feel that. We say,
how can ever God dwell here? I feel myself a rebel, base and
vile. And that will be felt. And it
is the effect of grace, the effect of eyes opened. If we were in
a room that was all in darkness, And in that room there was all
manner of vile things, evil things, corruption. We couldn't see any
of it. But if someone brought a light
in or turned the light on, we'd suddenly see what is there. I
remember years ago, over in Tasmania, in the hills that are on the
coast where my father lived, and we found, as boys, a tunnel
going into the mountain, and we followed it along. It was
very, very dark, and we just felt our way along. and we come
to some bars and there was gaps between the bars but we thought
well we better not try and get through the bars we better go
and get a light first because we couldn't see anything all
we could do was to feel these bars so we went and got a light
well when we got the light and we saw that the other side of
the bars was a deep deep pit It made us go, Cole, what if
we'd have tried to just feel our way through, when we couldn't
see, we didn't know the danger, we didn't know what was there.
With the Light, we could see it, we could see the danger.
And so it is with our sinnership, until we have the Light of the
Word of God, Until we have the light of life, we do not see,
we do not know. But when the Lord brings it,
then we see the real true state of the condition of our own heart. And it's not a nice thing to
see, and to feel that we are not only separated, but also
against God, at enmity with God, and real sinner by practice in
feelings, affections, to feel the vileness, to be staggered
at some of the thoughts and affections and ways and things that would
go on in our heart that are cast up. Our Lord is very clear that
it is from the heart proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications,
all that wickedness. It flows up from a corrupt and
fallen heart. And God's children have that
heart. They have that. And in spite
of that, the Lord passes by, gives them life to see it, and
brings them, instead of to go along with it, to fight against
it. They feel also the deceitfulness
of it, and the strength of it, the strength of sin. But then
there's another aspect that would be for the people of God. They'll
be brought to view sin, in the light of Calvary. The Word says,
They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced. And to be
led then to view through the Word of God, through the preaching
of the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ made sin for us
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. He came into this world, made
like unto His brethren, yet sin accepted, a real man, and really
God. And we see Him in the Garden
of Gethsemane, with no man's hand upon Him at all, and the
disciples not able to stay with Him, and their eyes heavy with
sleep. And He says, Could not you watch
with Me one hour? No, they couldn't. But what was happening
to him, pressed down, so amazed, sweating great drops of bright
blood, he had laid on him the iniquity of us all. There is where God the Father
laid on His Beloved Son the sins of His people. He was to bear
them, He was to carry them, carry them to the judgment hall, carry
them to the cross, and there on the cross put away those sins
by the sacrifice of Himself. He Himself as the Lamb of God,
Abraham said to his son who asked, My father, where is the Lamb?
My son, God will provide Himself a Lamb for a burnt offering. This is why the Church of God,
in the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, is always to remember
the death the broken body, the shed blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ, to remind them it is for their sins He died, and that
it is the blood of Christ that cleanseth. Without the shedding
of blood there is no remission There is no other way that sin
could be put away but God's way, God's devising and making our
Lord to be sin for us. The sorrows and sufferings and
death of our Lord so beautifully set forth in Isaiah 53, that
chapter so blessed to the eunuch by the preaching of Philip, and
he was brought there to see the Lord Jesus Christ led as a lamb
to the slaughter, as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,
so He opened not His mouth. He made sin for us, He putting
away sin for us, and the rising from the dead of our Lord. Our
Lord is no longer suffering, He's no longer dead, He's living. He hath given assurance unto
all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead. This is the
comfort, this is the life of the people of God, He died for
me. He died for my sin. He rose again
for my justification. And it is the opened eyes of
enlightened sinner that sees their own sin and then sees what
their Lord, the spotless, innocent One, endured and what He bore
and then rose again. It is His intercession in heaven
that sends forth the Spirit, and the Spirit is sent into the
hearts of the people of God, that they be quickened, and that
they know and have some fellowship with the Lord in His sufferings
and in His death. And those that are brought to
experience that, to see their sins there, to feel their sins
and to see them laid upon the Lord, and to know and to feel
those sins put away, and peace and pardon flow into their souls,
they are the ones that as I sit at the Lord's table after passing
through baptism, they are the ones that can rightly show forth
His death, rightly discern it, and say it is for my sin that
He died. And sin I hate, sin I would mourn
over, sin I would ever be it aughts to, and that I might not
walk in it, but cry daily that the Lord deliver me, and give
me again a tender conscience, a teachable spirit, and to be
a mourner over my sins. and after Him. May the Lord grant
us to know, to have that mark, to have that token of the people
of God, to sigh and cry on account of our own sin and the abominations
done in the land, and to be led forth to see the Lord Jesus Christ
in our place. May the Lord add His blessing.
Amen. Let us conclude our service by
singing together. Hymn: 1116 Tune: Zundel, 664. Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
see him dying on the tree. Tis the Christ by man rejected. Yes, my soul, tis he, tis he. Tis the long-expected prophet,
David's son, yet David's Lord. Proofs I see sufficient of it,
tis a true and faithful word. Hymn 1116, the tune Zundel, 664. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all now and evermore. Amen.