Good morning again. Before we get started, I want
to take this opportunity to welcome the Fendi family to our fellowship.
Jim and Callie and Gabe and Ava and Olivia moved here from Missouri
this weekend. And this is their first Sunday
with us. We're so happy to have you all here, Jim and Callie. Just so, for those of you that
don't know, Jim's father and Ruth Wachey are brother and sister.
So they're part of the clan. So be careful who you talk about
that may be a relative. We're very, very happy that they're
with us. I was just looking at a passage
of Scripture in Psalm 1 that I'd like to read to open our
service with. Blessed is the man You're blessed
of God. We used to read this and think,
well, if I just live a good life, then I'll be blessed. No. If you're able to not walk in
the counsel of the ungodly, or stand in the way of sinners,
or sit in the seat of the scornful, it's because you've been blessed
of God. But His delight is in the law
of the Lord. And in his law doth he meditate
day and night. Pray that the Lord will put in
our hearts a delight for his word, which is a delight for
Christ, and cause us to be able to rejoice and rest in him. Let's stand together, Brother
Tom. You're going to lead us in the hymn on the back of your
bulletin. so Great Father of glory, how rich
is Thy grace! What wonderful love is displayed
in Thy face! In Jesus Thy image with brightness
we view, and hope to be formed to that likeness anew. By favor adopted, thy sons we
appear, and led by thy spirit we boldly draw near. In Jesus beloved, washed in His
blood, With hope we adore at the footstool of God. ? The man who is blessed with
hope and the cross ? ? Is freed from the bondage of guilt and
the curse ? ? The blood of his surety by faith he reviews ?
? While hope in that fountain is still ? Spirit Renews The
world knows us not, but in this we rejoice. To God we're no strangers,
but objects of choice. His love from eternity gave us
a home where now we are hoping in safety to will come. Arrayed in obedience, all brought
by the Lamb, by Christ our Jehovah, the Ancient I Am. With boldness we journey, while
Christ leads us on, and hope, soon in glory, to praise the
three one. Please be seated. Joy, it is a great pleasure for
you in Delphi to be here. As the story said, you don't
miss things, you don't value things until you miss them and
then what they are. What a great blessing. Turn with
me, please, in God's Word to Ephesians chapter 1. And I hope that we can see this
morning, by the Spirit of God, a question that people have been
asking since Adam and Eve. What is our purpose here on this
earth? Why am I here? And the Lord answers that very
clearly, and I hope He gives us the faith to believe it. And the problem is not what he
says, it's just people don't want to bow down to it. Starting
with three. He said, blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. If I have any blessings there
in Christ. according as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself. And the reason He did it was
according to the good pleasure of His will, not because anything
in me or anything I had done. Now I want you to see there's
a phrase repeated three times in the verses we're going to
read. Why did He do this? To the praise of the glory of
His grace. When He hath made us accepted
in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. When
He hath abounded toward us all wisdom and prudence, having made
known unto us the mystery of his will according to his good
pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation
of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things
in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth,
even in him. in Christ, who we have obtained
an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him,
who hath worked with all things after the counsel of His own
will, that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first
trusted in Christ, in whom you also trusted after you heard
the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, I read this and we are blessed
people. What a blessing it is to be able
to come where the Gospel, the Gospel that saves is preached. That's a rare, rare, rare blessing. Whom also we believe we were
sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest
of our inheritance until the redemption of us the purchased
possession unto the praise of His glory. I am not on this earth for my
comfort. I am not on this earth for my
well-being. I am on this earth for the praise
of His glory. If you are a believer, you realize
that what I want, I want the Lord Jesus Christ to get all
the glory. And when He does, we praise Him
for that. We praise, we want Him to have
all the glory, because that's where it belongs. And whatever
happens to me, it happens because He's ordained
it. But in all things, whether it be good or bad in my sight,
it matters not. May the God give us the faith
with his spirit to praise him. And give him all. All the glory. That's what we want here this
morning. That's what we pray. Please join me. Lord, we know that you are present
with us right now. You who cannot lie have promised
that. Lord, please give us the ability this morning to praise
you. Oh, we desire that all glory
be yours. We pray for your brother, the
man, our brother, the man you've called out to preach to us and
your other gospel preachers and their wives and families that
you would encourage them and comfort them. Oh, put it in our
hearts to provide and pray for them. Give them freedom, Lord. Put your words into his heart
and his mouth that you would be glorified. Lord, as your people,
oh, we pray, Lord, save us Send your spirit to us and give us
the faith to believe what he declares and to glorify you for
it. We plead with you, Lord, for
those who are lost and do not know Christ. We pray that you
might be pleased to save them for you alone are able. And we
plead with you that you might be pleased today to reveal yourself
to one of your lost sheep. We ask it again for your glory. Amen. Number 12 in your gospel hymns
book. Number 12. Let's all stand once
again. So, Upon my great and sovereign God,
I cast my soul and rest. My Father's hand controls the
world, and what He does is best. So be still, my heart, and doubt
no more. Believe and find sweet rest. God's wisdom, love, and truth,
and power combine to make thee blessed. In raging storms and
fiery trials, He keeps me from all harm. He walks with me and
holds me in His everlasting arm. So be still, my heart, and doubt
no more. Believe and find sweet rest. God's wisdom, love, and truth,
and power combine to make thee blessed. My God with skill infallible
and great designs of grace, with power and love that never fail,
shall order all my ways. So be still, my heart, and doubt
no more. Believe and find sweet rest. God's wisdom, love, and truth,
and power combine to make thee blessed. My life's most minute
circumstance is ordered by my God, who promised that in all
things He will ever do me good. So be still, my heart, and doubt
no more. Believe and find sweet rest. God's wisdom, love, and truth,
and power combine to make thee blessed. Please be seated. Brie Wachey
is going to bring some special music now. I need Thee every hour, most
gracious Lord, No tender voice like Thine can peace afford. I need Thee, oh, I need Thee
Every hour I need Thee Oh, bless me now, my Savior I come to Thee I need Thee Thou nearby Temptations lose
their power When Thou art nigh I need Thee, oh, I need Thee
Every hour I need Thee Oh, bless me now, my Savior I come to Thee I need thee every hour, enjoy
your pain. Come quickly and abide, or life
is vain. I need thee, oh, I need thee
every hour. O bless me now, my Saviour, I
come to Thee I need Thee every hour, most
Holy One O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son Every hour I need thee Oh, bless
me now, my Savior I come to thee Thank you, Bree. Would you bow
with me for a word of prayer, please? Our merciful Heavenly Father, there truly is not an hour in
our week that we need you more desperately than we do right
now. Lord, I cannot speak with any
clarity, with any conviction. With any compassion. Unless you
enable me to speak. And we cannot hear. Your voice. Unless you open our ears. Calls
us Lord to be able to. To hear you speaking to our hearts.
Oh, how we need to know that the words that we've heard are
not the words of man, but that they are the very word of God. Lord, we need you. We pray you'd
bless us now for Christ's sake. Amen. Would you open your Bibles with
me to Isaiah chapter 25? I had someone tell me this week that no one can know for sure
if they're saved. They've been taught that by a
religious organization that wants them to work harder and give
more. So all their lives they were
told you can't ever really be sure Just do a little more Assurance of salvation is a sweet
sweet thing. I Wish I could live in it every
moment of my life, but I'm here to confess to you that I don't. It comes and it goes. But oh, how I pray that the Lord
would speak peace to my heart. How I pray that the Lord would
speak peace to your heart. I want you to be sure. I want
you to leave here this morning rejoicing in the assurance of
your salvation. Now for that to happen, God's
going to do a work of grace. You need him this hour to make
that happen in your heart. Not a false peace. Not a false
hope. Not based on a covenant that
you have made with God. That's a covenant of works. That's the whole thing of salvation
about just, you know, if I just do a little bit more, give a
little bit more, then I'll know. I'm talking about a firm assurance
of hope based on a work that's already been accomplished. A
work that God's pleased with. A work that God's satisfied with
and one that you're able to rejoice in. Now, by way of introduction,
I'd like to look at one verse quickly in chapter 24. We considered it Wednesday night
in detail, but just to briefly review this verse, Isaiah is
speaking in chapter 24 about the curse of God upon this world. Now, I don't want to be cursed
by God. And I don't want you to be cursed
by God. I want the curse that you and I deserve to have been
placed on the one who hangeth upon a tree. He took the curse
of God for us so that there's no curse, there's no wrath, there's
no judgment, there's nothing but peace, there's nothing but
hope, there's nothing but salvation, there's nothing but comfort. Verse 5 of chapter 24, the earth
also is defiled, and the whole earth is defiled. But here's
what the Lord said, You are in the world, but you are not of
the world. So what God's about to tell us
now in terms of the defilement of the earth is not true of the
church. It's not true of believers. The earth is defiled under the
inhabitants thereof because Number one, they have transgressed my
laws. They've broken the commandments
of God. Now, if I am found in Christ,
not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that
righteousness which is by the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus
Christ, then I can have confidence in knowing that I have never,
ever, ever, ever broken one of God's commandments. Never. I stand before God perfect. I stand before God in the person
of my substitute, never having broken the law of God, not in
thought, not in word, not in deed. Holy in His presence. The only way you're not going
to be defiled. They've changed the ordinance. Now the word ordinance there
is a reference to the word of God. So the second reason why
the earth is defiled and why the believer is not defiled is
because they've twisted the scriptures. They've made the Bible to say
something it doesn't say. They've taken a glorious revelation
of Christ that God has given to us in his word, and they've
turned it into a rule book for Christian living. God's people don't do that. God's
people don't twist the scriptures. They don't pick and choose what
they believe. Someone asked me one time, well, how much of God's
word do you have to believe to be a believer? Every word of
it. And God's people right now are
saying, amen, I believe every word of it. And I dare not add
to it or take away from it. This book concludes with this
warning. Anyone who adds to the words
of this prophecy, the curses of this book will be added unto
them. And anyone who takes away from the words of this prophecy,
they have no hope that their names will be found in the book
of life. So the world has defiled themselves
by breaking God's law. God's people haven't. Number
two, they've defiled themselves by changing God's word. And number
three, they've defiled themselves by breaking the everlasting covenant. The covenant of grace. The covenant
whereby God made a promise with God. That's what we're talking,
that's the everlasting covenant. This covenant didn't have anything
to do with you and me. It was when God the Son promised to
God the Father to lay down his life as a lamb slain for the
sins of the people that God chose in the covenant of grace before
the world began. That's the only covenant I'm
interested in. I'm not interested in a covenant
of works, and I would not change the everlasting covenant into
a temporal covenant of works that was determined by something.
You see, if you're a child of God, you know that in Christ
you've never broken God's commandment. If you're a child of God, you
know that you're not adding to or taking away from the Word
of God. And if you're a child of God, you love the everlasting
covenant. And you wouldn't change it? It's
the only hope you have. It's the only hope you have.
So the very reason why the world is defiled is the reason why
we're not. Where do you stand? Where do
you stand? In chapter 25, the Lord has given
us some precious promises that describe the believer and who
they are in Christ. The hope of our salvation comes
in short from believing what God has said. I love the way
John concludes his gospel account in John chapter 20 when he says,
many other signs did the Lord in the presence of his disciples,
which are not recorded in this book, but these are recorded
in order that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, and in believing, have salvation. So there's our
hope. There's our hope. We have salvation
through His name. These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may
know that you have eternal life. Now, Isaiah prophesied in the
6th century BC, 7th century BC actually. And in the 5th century
BC, Israel was taking captivity into Babylon. Historically, what
Isaiah is talking about is what's going to happen when Israel is
delivered from Babylon and brought back. But that's the historical
picture. The spiritual picture is what
happens when God is pleased to deliver a sinner from their sins
and bring them back into his presence. And that's what I'm
interested in. This prophecy will be fulfilled
as surely, spiritually speaking, as it was physically and historically
for Israel. In verse two, it says, for thou
hast made of a city a heap, of a defense city a ruin, a palace
of strangers to be no city, and it shall never be built. It shall never be built. In 200
BC, Babylon was abandoned. The ruins of it can be found
today, 50 miles south of Baghdad. The ruins of Babylon are still
there. It's never been rebuilt. And according to the word of
God, it's never going to be rebuilt. And the surety of this prophecy,
speaking of the destruction of Babylon, is just as sure when
it comes to the spiritual application of what these passages mean for
me and for you. I'm not interested in what's
going on in the Middle East right now. I'm interested in what does
God say to my heart about the destruction of Babylon and the
forgiveness of my sin for the assurance of my salvation. Look
what he says in verse one of chapter 25. Oh Lord, how do I
know this promise is for me? Oh Lord, thou art my God. I will exalt thee. I will praise
thy name for thou hast done wonderful things. Thy counsels of old are
faithfulness and truth. I am able to worship God from
the heart. Paul put it like this, we are
the true circumcision which worship God in the spirit and rejoice
in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Is your confidence,
is your confidence in your flesh? your works or lack thereof or
is all the hope of your salvation rejoicing in the accomplished
work of the Lord Jesus Christ that's gonna have everything
to do with the assurance of your salvation if your salvation is
determined in any way by anything that you do you're not going
to be sure you did enough Isaiah begins by saying, Oh Lord. That word's Jehovah, you know
that. Every time you see L-O-R-D, all in caps in the Old Testament,
it's the covenant name that God gave to Moses at the burning
bush when he said, tell them I am hath sent you. And that
name is a reference to the self-existent sovereignty of our God, who has
done all things according to His will and purpose. This is
the God who had the sovereign right to choose whomsoever he
wills before the world ever began. He did not look down through
the corridors of time and see what men would do and choose
them based on anything that they did. He chose them according
to his own will and purpose because he is the glorious I am. And no man can stay his hand
and no man can question him. And I know that this promise
is for me because that's the God I believe in. That's the
God I believe in and I wouldn't believe in Him if this promise
wasn't for me. I would believe in a God that
could be swayed by my works or by my will. That's the God the
rest of the world believes in. What does Isaiah say? Oh Lord, Oh, Jehovah, my God, my Elohim,
my Lord, my master, the one that I worship, the one that I fall
down before. Even when he says to me, as he
said to that Syro-Phoenician woman, that I'm a dog. How do
I respond to that? Truth, Lord, and I fall down
and worship him. The Father seeketh after them
who worship Him in spirit and in truth. This gospel is not
just something that we play with intellectually. It's a message
of hope. It's a message of salvation.
It tells us about who our God is. And we worship Him in spirit
from the heart. Are you able to worship Jehovah? Are you able to worship God?
Don't mistake sitting in church for worship. Worship is not something
you do in the outward appearances. And we have folks come here a
lot of times and they say, well, you know, you all are just so,
you're so unspiritual. You just seem so dead. You know,
we want something a little more exciting. We'd like to have,
you know, more drama and more participation on the part of
the audience and, you know, everybody. Worship is something done in
the heart. And only you know. I don't know
if you're worshipping God. You can pretend to be. That's
all that outward show that men do in religion is nothing more
than an attempt to impress somebody else that I'm worshipping God.
That's all it is. You're the only one that knows
if you're worshipping God. Nobody else knows. Nobody else
can know if you are worshipping God. But you know. You know if this is just a matter
of intellect, you know if this is a matter of just doing your duty, being in
church for whatever reason, or whether the Lord has spoken to
your heart and you are bowing before Him and worshiping Him
from your heart according to the truth of the gospel. By faith,
I am able to worship God with some understanding and with some
thanksgiving. Thou hast done all things wondrously
well. Look what he says. Oh Lord, Thou
art my God, I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name, for Thou
hast done wondrous things. Now we use that word wonderful
a lot, don't we? But we, but we use it very loosely. To wonder over something is to,
it means that it's beyond my comprehension to understand. I believe it, but I can't comprehend
it. I can't apprehend it. All I can do is just sit and
wonder at it. I just marvel at it. That's all
I can do. How can you understand the fact
that there was a time when there was no time? We can just marvel at that. We
wonder at it. This thing that we call time
and space, God created, but God exists in eternity. And before
time was ever made by God, he determined in eternity past to
choose a particular people and to write their names in the Lamb's
book of life. He established a covenant of
grace whereby the Lord Jesus Christ promised, once time is
created and once the world came into existence, I'll enter into
that world and I'll suffer the contradiction of sinners. And
I'll lay down my life for the sheep. And I'll satisfy all the
demands of God's holy law through my perfect obedience. I'll never
have anything but a holy thought towards God. I'll never do anything
but that which is perfect. I'll be born of a woman, born
under the law to redeem those who are cursed by the law. I'll
do that. How can we understand that? How
can we understand the incarnation? How can we understand that God
became man? And that He couldn't be physically
distinguished from anyone else in this world. And yet He was
holy and undefiled and separate from sinners. And yet men looked
at Him and they disdained Him. And they hated him? How can we
understand that at the end of his physical life that it pleased
God to bruise him? That he bore in his body all
the sins of all God's people and suffered the full wrath of
God's judgment in order to put away sin once and for all. How
can we understand that? You can't understand that. You can't comprehend it. But
by the grace of God, you'll hang all the hopes of your immortal
soul on it. You'll believe it with all your
heart. How do I know this is for me?
How do I know that I'm not being cursed with the rest of the world?
Because the only hope that I have to stand before a holy God and
to be found in him is to be without sin. Perfect. Perfect. He's done wondrous things. He took men just like me and
you. and spoke infallibly to them. And they sat down with pen and
paper and wrote the inerrant Word of God. How can you comprehend
that? This wasn't just a man writing
his opinions. God spoke. Wonderful. Marvelous. The Lord Jesus Christ rose victoriously
from the grave and ascended back up into glory. And as the word
of God, not returning void, he took with him the names of those
for whom he lived and died. And he ever lives to make intercession
for us before the throne of God, that all our acceptance before
God is in him. This is my hope. This is how. Thou, O Lord, art my God. Jehovah is my God, for he hath
done marvelous things, wondrous things. And they're done. Nothing left to be done. It's
already done. The atonement is done. Someone, I heard years ago, someone
said, well, I don't like that term limited atonement. Limited atonement. Let's call
it particular redemption or something else, but let's leave off the
word limited because that seems so negative. Everybody limits
the atonement. Everybody limits the atonement.
Some men limit it by the will of man and other men limit it
by the will of God Which camp do you fit into? If you're not going to believe
in limited atonement then you're gonna have to believe that that
that Adolf Hitler and Jeffrey Daimler are going to be standing
next to you in glory and that everybody that's ever been born
into this world is going to heaven and And if that be the fact,
then what are we doing? What difference does it make?
As one politician would say, what difference does it make?
You know, let's just eat, drink, and be merry. We're all going
to heaven. Universal atonement is the only thing that, if it's
not limited, it's universal. But God limited it. And the atonement
is a covering. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
our atonement before God. Oh, what a wonderful thing. Do
you wonder at that? Now, as wonderful as that is, here's
something more wonderful. Here's something that will cause
you to wonder even more than wondering over that. That everything
we just said was for you. Now see, I can believe in election
for you. Robert, I can believe God would
have chose you. Whole lot easier than I can believe he would have
chose me. Jerry, I can believe that Christ
died for you a whole lot easier than I can believe that He died
for me. See, I know me. You mean this is for me? That
He did this for me? Now that's when I really wonder,
how can it be? How marvelous is this gospel
that it would be for someone even like me? Does that make
you wonder? You see, what the rest of the
world thinks is that God owes them something. Why wouldn't God save everybody?
And the child of God is wondering, thinking, why would the Lord
Jehovah save anybody? And what makes me wonder the
most is why would He save me? Does that leave you in wonder? as to why God would have mercy
on you? If it does, if it does, you have
reason to believe that it was for you. You see, that's the hope of your
salvation. Otherwise, you're just becoming
presumptuous, and you're hanging your hopes on something false. Isn't that true? Oh, Lord, my God, Thou hast done
wondrous things according to Thy faithfulness. May I ask you a question? Is
the hope of your salvation in any way resting on your faithfulness. If it is, you've got no hope. Because I know you. You know
how I know you? Because I know me. And we're all the same. We're
not very faithful, are we? Oh, but he was. Perfectly faithful. That's where my hope is. His truth and his faithfulness
thou hast made of the city a heap, a defense city. It shall never
be built. Just like the ruins of Babylon
from 2,300 years ago are still there. And that city is never going
to be rebuilt. According to the word of God, it's never going
to be rebuilt. So Babylon has been destroyed
in my heart. That great whore that John speaks
of in Revelation has perverted the gospel. Babylon is a works
gospel. It's a works salvation. It's
what it is. It goes all the way back to the
Tower of Babel, making bricks and putting them together with
slime and trying to build a tower to God. It's man's attempt to
fashion with his own hands a works gospel that will enable him to
enter into the presence of God. The only way I can stand before
God is if He comes down to where I am. He's got to come all the
way down into the pit to get me. I can't get up to where He's
at. But that's all man-made religion
is. Man-made religion is man's attempt to work his way to heaven.
That's all it is. Verse three, therefore shall
the strong people gather thee, the city of the terrible nation
shall fear thee. Four, thou hast been a strength
to the poor. a strength to the needy in his
distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat when the
blast of the terrible one is as the storm against the wall.
Thou shalt bring down the noise of slaughter as the heat in a
dry place, even the heat with the shadow of a cloud, the branch
of the terrible one shall be brought low. How do I know this
promises for me? Christ the Lord is my strength
and my refuge. I've got no place else to go.
I'm poor and needy. Look at verse six. And in this
mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast
of fat things, a feast of wines on the leaves, of fat things
full of marrow, of wines on the leaves well refined. Now he's
describing this wonderful feast that God puts on for his children. And they're coming into the feast.
And there's someone at the door. What do you have to recommend
yourself to come into this feast? And one says, well, you know,
I, no, no, no. Any answer that you start out
with I, you're not qualified. Maybe I can wash dishes. Would
that qualify me? Maybe I can wait tables. Maybe
I can do something. Nope. Poor and needy. Pull out your pockets. You don't
have anything. Come buy bread and wine without money and without
price. Lord, I'm poor and needy. I don't
have anything to recommend me. That's who this feast is for.
Come in. And what's he do? He puts the
robe on you. Sit you down at his table. And
His body becomes your bread indeed. And His blood becomes your drink
indeed. And you cry every day. for your daily bread. Oh Lord,
send me manna. Reveal to me more of the glory
of thy dear son and show me that his life lived in the flesh is
my life before you. Show me that his death on Calvary's
cross is the only hope that I died in Christ. I was crucified with
Christ. Crucified with him. Turn to me over a page or two
to Isaiah chapter 32. Isaiah chapter 32. Verse 1. A king shall reign in righteousness,
and princes shall rule in judgment, and a man shall be as a hiding
place from the wind, a covert from the tempest, as the rivers
of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary
land. A man, that's what I need. I've got no place else to go. Will you leave me also? The Lord
asked his disciples. And what did Peter say? Lord,
where shall we go? You alone have the words of eternal
life. And we know and are sure that
thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. You've shut
us up to you. We've got no place else to go.
Oh, to be shut up to Christ. Shut up from your own righteousness.
Shut up from man-made religion delivered from Babylon. Your
idols have been killed. You're hanging all the hope of
your salvation on him. If that describes you, you've
got peace. You've got hope. Now if you say,
well, yeah, I know that's the truth, but don't I need to, don't
I need to do something in order to show that I really am doing
that? Go back with me to our text. Verse 7, and he will destroy
in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people
and the veil that is spread over the nations. Now, you remember
when Moses came down from the mountain, they had to put a veil
over him because they couldn't look upon the law. And Paul tells
us in 1 Corinthians that the veil is still over their face. But when the heart turns to Christ,
the veil is removed. So when we look to Christ, we
see that the law has been satisfied, for Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. And when the
Lord Jesus Christ bowed his head on Calvary's cross and cried,
it is finished, what happened in the temple? What happened
in the temple? The veil, the veil that separated
the holies of holies was rent from top to bottom miraculously. And no longer were the priests
stationed outside to warn the people to stay away. No longer
did the high priest have to go in with a cord wrapped around
his ankle in fear that he would be killed
in there. No, our high priest has gone
through the veil. That veil, the scripture says
in Hebrews chapter 10, is his flesh. And he's gone through
the veil. And he's put his blood on the
mercy seat. And now the veil has been ripped,
and God says, Come. And the spirit and the bride
say, Come. All things are made ready. The feast is prepared. Everything's
done. There's nothing for you to bring. Come, just like you are. But I'm poor. I'm needy. That's the qualification. I don't have anything. I got
to wait until I get something. I got to wait until I get this
part of my life cleaned up or this thing taken care of, or
I got to wait until I show some more evidence of being really
committed. No. Come by without money, without
price. Don't barter with God. Don't
bring anything. Don't put it. Don't have Lord.
That's who the feast is for. It's for the poor and for the
needy. Verse eight, he will swallow up death in victory. And the Lord will wipe away tears
from off all faces and the rebuke of his people shall be taken
away from off all the earth for the Lord hath spoken it. Sin is what causes you your problems,
isn't it? It's not somebody else. It's
not your circumstances. It's not the world that you live
in. People think, well, I'll just move to another area. I'll
get out in the woods. You shut yourself up in a closet
all by yourself and all you've done is taken your problems in
there with you. Sin's in your heart. You can't
get away from it. Except that the Lord Jesus Christ
has put it away. And faith, faith believes that
by the sacrifice of himself once and for all, he has put away
my sin. And I stand before God without
sin. Without sin. Perfect. Sinless. Never broken one of God's laws.
Kept all his word and hanging the hopes of my salvation
on the everlasting covenant. I want you and me to have assurance
of salvation. I want God to speak peace to
our hearts. Give us rest and hold. Freedom. Where the spirit of
God is, there's liberty. If you know the truth, truth
sets you free. Lord, give me hope in Christ.
God's got to do it for you. Can't do it for yourself. Lord, enable me to believe what
you've said. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father,
we're thankful for your word and all how we pray that you
would. Minister grace and speak peace
to the hearts of your children. Give us hope in Christ. Deliver
us from the curse of this world. For we ask it in Christ name.
Amen. Number 16, let's stand together,
number 16. And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Savior's blood? Died he for me, who caused his
pain? For me, who him to death pursued? Amazing love, how can it be that
thou ? That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me ? Amazing love, how
can it be ? That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me Tis mystery
all, the immortal dies Who can explore his strange design? In vain the firstborn seraph
tries To sound the depths of love divine. Tis mercy all, let earth adore. Let angel minds inquire no more. Tis mercy all, let earth adore. Let angel minds inquire no more. He left His Father's throne above
So free, so infinite His grace Emptied Himself of all but love
and bled for all his chosen race. Tis mercy all immense and free,
for O my God, it found out me. Tis mercy all, immense and free,
for, O my God, it found out me. Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night, Thine I defuse a quick I woke, the dungeon flamed with
light. My chains fell off, my heart
was free. I rose, went forth, and followed
Thee. My chains fell off, my heart
was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee. O condemnation now I dread, Jesus
and all in Him is mine. Alive in Him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine. Bold I approach the eternal
throne, And claim the crown through Christ my own. Be bold I approach the eternal
throne, And claim the crown through Christ my own. Thank you, Joy. I know that's
an ambitious symbol.