What a prayer that is, that the
Lord would enable us to worship Him. For our Bible study, we're going
to be in the book of Ezra, 1 and 2 Chronicles. 1 and 2 Kings,
1 and 2 Chronicles, and then Ezra. Ezra. Ezra chapter 9. Good morning. Well, this Friday night, begins
the weekend that we've been so anticipating and praying for
and getting ready for. Thank you for all of you that
have worked to get the building and everything else in order. I know personally of about 50
or 60 people that are going to be here that aren't in our fellowship,
that aren't here this morning. Just treat them as if they were
in your home. Okay? If we're going to have
chairs out, if anybody needs to stand, I know you'll be the
one doing it. And just provide for everybody
that you see that's not normally here, just a warm welcome. These are your brethren that
are going to be here. Those are just the ones I know
about. There's no curb over here on Alabama. So if you come in
on Alabama, just turn right onto our property and park over here
on this side of the building so that the parking lot will
be open for our guests next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Okay? Talk to David and to Mike and
Todd, and they're very much looking forward to being here. Let's ask the Lord to bless this
hour. Let's pray together. Our Heavenly Father, we come
before Thy throne of grace in the name of Thy dear Son, thanking
Thee that we have not only acceptance before Thee, but that we come
before thee as children who are loved. And we ask, Lord, that
you would be pleased now to bless us with thy presence. We pray
that you would speak to our hearts. We pray that you would open your
word and enable us to look upon the Lord Jesus Christ, who is
seated at the right hand of the majesty on high. that we would
set our affections on things above where Christ is seated
at thy right hand. We pray, Lord, that you would
enable us to believe in what he accomplished in saving his
people from their sins. Lord, we come before you as sinners
in need of your mercy and in need of your grace. We ask that
you would bless us to that end. We pray, Father, that you would
prepare our hearts and the hearts of our brethren and those that
will be visiting with us next weekend. Pray for Mike and for
David and for Todd. We pray that you would just enable
us to worship you then in power and in truth. We pray it in Christ's
name. Amen. Life is filled with questions. Many of them are trivial. Some
are important. This morning I want to give you
the answers to seven questions that most folks aren't even asking. Answers that you must know. And they're all found in one
verse. So, you have your Bibles open to the book of Ezra. Answers, questions, you must
know the answers to. In verse 8 of Ezra chapter 9,
and now for a little space, A little time, just a moment, that's what
that word is, moment. Grace has been showed from the
Lord our God to leave us a remnant to escape and to give us a nail
in his holy place that our God might lighten our eyes and give
us a little reviving in our bondage. The first question is how long
do we have? How long do we have? And that
question is answered in this verse, a moment, a moment. We never preach the gospel to
men and say to them, you need to think about it. We never preach
the gospel to men and say, well, you know, just give it some time,
wait until, no. We preach the gospel to sinners
with urgency because we know that we have but a moment. Today is the day of salvation. Truly, truly, life is a vapor. It's just here for a moment,
and then it's gone. The Lord told the prophet Isaiah,
tell them their grass. Remind them of the importance
of numbering their days. Teach us, Lord, David said in
Psalm 90, to number our days that we might apply our hearts
to wisdom, that we might set our affections on things above. I said Wednesday night, how many
times have you heard someone in religion make this statement,
don't be so heavenly minded that you're no earthly good? I've
heard people say that. In fact, the only way to be of
any earthly good whatsoever is to be heavenly minded. And the Lord tells us where to
set our minds, where to set our thinking. Think on these things,
those things which are good and holy and lovely and are of good
report. Meditate. Think. Set your affections
on these things. Why? Because everything else
is temporal. Everything else is but for a
moment. Today is the day of salvation. This message of Christ is urgent. It's urgent. Oh, they tried to
shut blind Bartimaeus up, didn't they? Bartimaeus, he didn't want
anything to do with you. Oh no, I've heard that the Son
of David is passing by and the possibility of him passing my
way again is, I can't count on it. And he cried all the louder,
Son of David, have mercy upon me. This word that we have from
God concludes with this command. Come. The Spirit and the Bride
say come. Never does God say wait. Never does God say think about
it. Tell them that they have but
a moment. It's amazing how we get caught
up in this life, isn't it? It's amazing how easy it is for
us to think that we're just going to live forever. Young people
think it. Old people think it. Well, you
know, I've got plenty of time. No, you don't. No, you don't. You've got but a moment. You've
got but a moment when it comes to this life. And who knows? Who knows? when God might pass
by you again in His grace. Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
hear my humble cry, while on others Thou art calling, do not
pass me by, O Lord." How long do we have? How long do we have? But a moment. Now. Now is the day of salvation. Second question I find in this
verse is, what is it that we have but a moment for? Look,
and now for a little moment, that's what that word space is,
it's the word moment. Shortest period of time, now
for a little moment, grace hath been shown. Oh, it's all of grace. It's all of grace. Every bit
of it. For by grace are you saved through
faith and that not of yourselves. It is a gift. It's a gift of
God. The prophet said, grace, grace,
oh grace unto thee. Lord, if I'm going to be saved,
here's what grace means. If I'm going to be saved, you're
going to have to do it. You're going to have to do every
bit of it. You're going to have to put me in the covenant of
grace. You're going to have to elect me. You're going to have
to choose me. You're going to have to redeem me. You're going
to have to open the eyes of my understanding. You're going to
have to regenerate me. You're gonna have to give me
faith to believe. You're gonna have to keep me from falling
and present me faultless before thyself in glory. Lord, you're
gonna have to do it all. I can't do any of it. I am completely dependent upon
thy grace. Now, men talk about grace, but
they don't really mean grace, do they? They change the definition
of the word, which changes the meaning of it altogether. They
say, oh, I believe we're saved by grace, but I don't believe
in irresistible grace. I believe in a grace that is
offered to all men and that men ultimately have the choice about. I heard that this week from somebody
who would say, I believe in grace, but they said, I do not believe
that it's irresistible. If it's not irresistible, it's
not grace. It's not grace. If it's an offer,
if it's something that you can choose to believe or not believe,
if it requires some contribution on your part, it's not grace. That's why we have to say grace
is sovereign. That's the only kind of grace
there is, is sovereign grace. It belongs to the Lord. It's
His gift. It's His to give to whomsoever
He wills. He said, I'll have mercy upon
whom I will have mercy and whom I will harden. It's not of Him
that willeth. It is not of Him that runneth.
It's of God that showeth mercy. It's of grace. It's all of grace. And only when God convinces us
of that are we shut up. to trust Christ alone for our
salvation. Because anything else is Christ
plus. There's a covenant of grace and
there's a covenant of works. Adam was put under the covenant
of works. Adam was told, do this and you'll live. And you break
my commandment and you'll die. And Adam broke the commandment
of God, and every one of us were in the loins of Adam, and we
died in our federal head. We died in our father Adam, so
that we came into this world spiritually dead. And dead men
still put themselves back onto the covenant of works, thinking
that they can do something that Adam didn't do, not knowing that
they were born having violated the covenant of works. They come
into this world already having broken the covenant of works
and their father Adam. There's no hope of salvation
under the covenant of works. Then there's the covenant of
grace. David said, although my house
be not so with God, my home's not as it ought to be and neither
is yours and neither is mine. The tabernacle of this flesh
is not as it ought to be. David said, although he has made
with me an everlasting covenant. This is all my salvation. This
is all my desire. It's the only hope I have. Someone asked me recently, do
you believe in eternal justification? And I told them, I said, I believe
that everything that happens, happens in eternity first. Unto the King eternal, immortal,
invisible, the only wise God, everything that's ever happened
in time, happened first in eternity. And that's particularly true
of our salvation. That's particularly true of our
justification. That's particularly true of our
redemption. So what the Lord Jesus Christ
accomplished on Calvary's cross was already done in eternity
past. He's the Lamb that was slain
before the foundations of the world. God's never had a new
thought. He's never changed His mind.
He's never had a plan B. He's eternal. And everything that's ever happened,
happened first in eternity before it happened in time, right down,
right down to the events of your life and my life. Everything. And He is working all things
for good. for those who love Him and those
that are the called according to His purpose. How long do we have? But a little
moment. How do we receive it? By grace. All of grace. No other way. And the only kind of grace there
is, a sovereign grace, the only kind of grace there is, is free
grace. Those words are redundant. We
say free grace, well that's like saying grace, grace. But we have
to, because men say grace out of one side of their mouth and
they say works out the other. Third question, who is it from? Who is it from? It's all right
here in one verse. Look, and now for a little moment,
that's all we've got. Grace hath been showed from the
Lord our God. From the Lord our God. It's the
only help we have. When it comes to the salvation
of your soul, somebody may be able to help you. You may be
able to get a tutor, young people to help you through a subject
in school. You may be able to get an assistant at work to help
you on a job, and that's all great, that's all fine. We put
in many hands together here yesterday, you all did, and we helped one
another to get things ready for next weekend, and that's a good
thing. But when it comes to the salvation
of your soul, when it comes to the putting away of your sin,
nobody can help you. And you can help yourself. It's
from the Lord. You see that? Children of Israel were in conflict
with the Assyrians and they made a pact with the Egyptians. They
said, come on up and help us out in this battle. And the prophet
of God said, it's like leaning on a sharp stick. It's going
to pierce right through your hand. Leaning on the help of
man when it comes to the salvation of your soul is only going to
make things worse. It's from the Lord. It's from Him. It's of Him. It's from Him. It's to Him. It's for Him. It's by Him. Whatever preposition you want
to put in there, it's of the Lord. Salvation's of the Lord.
It's all from God. All from God. Fourth question. Who's it for? Who's it for? Now these are questions
that men aren't asking. They're just not asking these
questions. Who is this salvation of free grace for? You see it
right there. You see the answer, don't you?
Remnant. A remnant. A remnant's a little
piece, isn't it? It's just a little piece. It's
just a small portion of the whole. And there's a sea of humanity. And then there's a little piece.
There's a remnant. The scripture refers to them
as the elect of God. They're called the chosen ones.
They're called the few. Few are they that find it. Many are they that are on the
road to destruction. The remnant is the elect of God. Those are the ones that he has
chosen. The election according to grace might stand. The older shall serve the younger. Jacob I have loved and Esau I
have hated." God has chosen just a small piece. The world's impressed
with masses and they're impressed with the vote of the majority
and God says, no, this is for the remnant. And if you have
the grace given to you from God to believe this gospel, It's
going to put you at odds with the masses. It's going to put
you at odds. You're going to become a stranger
in this world. You're going to become a pilgrim.
You're going to become a sojourner. You're going to become a foreigner.
You're not going to fit in. Everything in this world is going
to be contrary to you if you're part of the remnant. But your salvation, how important
is that to you? Men sacrifice the salvation of
their souls in order to have peace with men. They do. You mean I can have peace with
God or peace with men? I'll take peace with men. You
can't have it both ways. The Lord Jesus Christ said, I
did not come into this world to bring peace. Now wait a minute,
I thought he was a prince of peace. He wasn't talking about
peace with God at this particular point. He is our only peace with
God. But he said, I did not come into
this world to bring you peace. I came into this world to bring
a sword. To divide brothers apart and
mothers and fathers and sisters and your enemies, the Lord said,
will be of your own household. This gospel will cause a division
for the remnant. The remnant's not connected to
the whole, is it? It's a separate little piece
stuck over in the corner of the warehouse somewhere. And to the
whole, the remnant's of little value. If you go buy a remnant
of something somewhere, you're going to find the price of it
a whole lot less than the big piece, isn't it? Why? Because that's just the cutoff.
Oh, I'm so glad we've been cut off. The Lord Jesus Christ was
cut off from among the living. And in so doing, His people,
those who were in Him, were cut off with Him. Who's it for? It's for the remnant. Do you
want to be a part of the remnant? Has God made you to be a part
of the remnant? And now for just a little while,
how long is it for? A moment. What is it? It's grace. Who's
it from? It's from the Lord. Who's it
for? It's for the remnant. for the remnant to escape." Oh, there's a way that seems
right unto man, but that way of that leads to death, doesn't
it? The Lord has given us a way of escape. He said, there's no
temptation taking you, no trials or troubles that come into your
life that aren't common to all men. Don't think, oh, you know,
nobody knows. I've got it worse than anybody
else. No, you don't. No, you don't. We're in this
thing together. God says, there hath no temptation
taken you, but such is as common to man. But God is faithful. God is faithful. And He will
not suffer you beyond what you are able. People take that verse and they
say, God won't put anything on you more than you can handle.
Don't you believe that for a minute? That's a lie from the pit of
hell. It's not true. If He never puts anything on
you beyond what you can handle, you'll never need Him. And I
promise you, if He puts your sin on you... Oh, people turn
to God when they get in trouble with their circumstances, and
then when the circumstances clear up, they're done with God. Isn't
that true? God puts your sin on you. You'll
know that's a problem you can't ever get away from. It's never
going to change. No, He puts more on His children
than they can bear. Come unto Me, all you that are
laboring and heavy burdened. I'll give you rest. Oh, my yoke
is easy. My burden is light. Come, learn
of me. Learn of me. How does the rest of that verse in
2 Corinthians 10, 13 say? But he has given us a way of
escape. That's what he's saying here, a way of escape. He will
not put more on you than what you are. There hath no temptation
taken you, but such as is common to men. God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able,
but will provide a way of escape." The Lord Jesus Christ said, I
am the way, the truth, and the life. He is that way of escape. Flee to Christ. Flee to Christ. It's who it's for. It's for the
remnant who need to escape the wrath that is to come, the judgment
of God. Don't think for a moment that's
not happening. It is. But not for the remnant. Not
for the remnant. There hath no temptation. I mean,
there is now therefore no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus.
All to be hid in Christ, to be found in Christ. Not having my
own righteousness, which is of the law, but that righteousness
which is by the faith of Jesus Christ. Who's it for? It's for the remnant,
it's for the elect, it's for the chosen, that they might find
a way of escape. And who is it about? Look at
the red, look, look. And to give us a nail in a holy
place. The Lord Jesus Christ is being
referred to as a nail. And we're going to look at that
a little bit more in a few moments in the book of Isaiah. But Zechariah
said, Out of him came forth a corner, and out of him the nail. The nail. Fastened, as Isaiah
said, in a sure place. Not like a nail you put in a
drywall that doesn't hold. But one you find the stud for,
and you put that nail in solid wood, and it's not going to move. It'll hold what you hang on it. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
referred to now as that nail, that nail that on which hangs
all the hopes of His people. The Lord Jesus Christ having
been nailed to the cross, Colossians 2.14, having been nailed to the cross.
And all of our hopes and all of our salvation was nailed there
with Him. We have a nail fastened in a
sure place. Isaiah 41 7, He fastened it with
nails so that it should not be moved. It should not be moved. He is that nail. We'll spend
some more time looking at that analogy of Christ in the second
hour. Let's move on to the sixth question. Where is this nail to be found? If the nail is the one who shows
grace to the remnant from God for a little moment, where is
he to be found? You see what the answer to that
question is? In a holy place. In a holy place. Now that word
holy means set apart. God's people refer to as being
holy. They've been set apart. And his
church is referred to as being holy. Being set apart. And the Lord Jesus Christ said,
where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I
am in the midst of them. That's where this nail is to
be found. This nail which is fastened in
a sure place, this nail which provides salvation for the remnant,
is to be found where the gospel of God's grace is preached. where
God's people are gathered together. He said, I walk among the candlesticks. I inhabit the praise of my people. He said, in Zion, that's where
I am to be found. And through the foolishness of
preaching, I'm pleased to save them which believe. This is,
right now, where you're sitting, this place where we are, is the
holy place where God has fastened the nail. Oh, hang all your hopes
on this nail, it won't move. It won't move. Remnant, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Rest in Him. rely upon Him for
all your salvation. It's all of grace. It's all by
Him. He's done it all. If you ever taste of the Lord's
grace, where the gospel of His free grace is preached, where
His people are come together, you're just going to want more
of that. You're going to want more of
that. I'm always fearful. I'm always
concerned for those who call themselves believers and have
a take-it-or-leave-it attitude about public worship. It just
doesn't make sense to me. It doesn't make sense. I don't
get it. Thomas wasn't there when the
Lord appeared. What did he miss out on? And
what was the result of Thomas' absence when the Lord Jesus Christ
appeared after his resurrection? What was the result of it? What
do we call Thomas? Doubting Thomas. What's your
problem? Your problem is doubt, isn't it? Your problem is unbelief. And where is the solution to
that problem? It's where the nail is fastened
in a holy place. Oh, what is the result? Here it is, look. That our God
may lighten our eyes. This is where He gives sight
to the blind. This is where the light of the
gospel in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ shines in our hearts. This is where the darkness disappears. Light pushes away darkness, doesn't
it? It just does. Darkness can never overcome light. Can never overcome light. I don't
care how dark the dark is and how small the light is, where
that light is, there's no dark. Light always pushes away darkness. Darkness never consumes light.
That I might lighten the eyes of your understanding. What is it that He causes us
to understand? He causes us to understand that
we're sinners. That we're sinners. That's a
work of grace. You find a sinner. I'm convinced of this more and
more the longer I live and the more people I talk to and the
more I know myself and the more I preach the gospel. To be made
a sinner. is a miracle of grace. I mean,
to really be made a sinner. That person I told you about
that said, well, I don't believe in irresistible grace. If they
were a sinner, they would. That's their problem. They've
not been made a sinner. You don't believe in limited
atonement? You don't believe in particular redemption? You
don't believe in unconditional election? You don't believe in
perseverance, preservation. No, your problem is you're not
a sinner. If you're a sinner, you glory
in those things. You rejoice in those truths. You know that's your only hope
if you're a sinner, if you have no righteousness. God makes His
people to be sinners. He lightens your eyes. He enables
you to see something. Oh, I gave lip service to being
a sinner, but now, now, what did Job say? Behold, oh, my eyes
have been lightened. I see something I never saw before. Behold, I am vile. God's made me a sinner. I need a Savior? He's the only
hope I've got. He lightens the eyes of our understanding. Ask God to make you a sinner.
I mean a bona fide biblical sinner. Ask Him. I dare you. I don't
know if that's a good thing to say, but just, no, I don't dare
you. I admonish you. Ask Him. Ask Him to make you
a sinner. Just ask Him. You'll find Christ to be your
only hope. Your only hope. The only way that you're going
to be made a sinner is if the Lord's pleased to show you the
Savior. When you see Christ in His perfection
and in His beauty, then you come to this conclusion, there's nothing
in me like Him. Nothing in me like Him. If that's
perfection, then everything in me falls short of His glory. Ask Him. Ask Him to show you
something of His perfection. Ask Him to make you a sinner.
And look what He says in the last part, and I finish. And
to give us a little reviving in our bondage. Well, I used to be a sinner,
but I'm not anymore. Now I'm saved. You know what a believer knows?
That he's just got a little reviving in his bondage. That that old
man is still there. That the only hope he has is
the hope of righteousness in the new man. And that he's more like he used
to be than he thinks he is, than he thought he might be. A little
reviving in his bondage. I never... Here's what the Lord
said in Colossians chapter 2. As you received Christ Jesus
the Lord, how did you receive Him? You received Him as a sinner
if you received Him. You received Him as one unable
to help themselves if you received Him. A dead dog, blind sinner. That's how you received Him.
What's the rest of that verse say? As you received Christ Jesus
the Lord, so walk ye in Him. It's just a little reviving,
isn't it? One day, one day, it does not
yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall
appear, we're going to see Him as He is and be made like Him. You know what a miracle of grace
is? for the Lord to take a man, a woman, a boy or girl who genuinely
was afraid to die and make them hope for it. Make them long for it. Make them excited about its possibility. Make them to be able to say,
To live is Christ, but truly to die is gain. Seven questions that men aren't
asking that we need to know the answers to. I pray the Lord will
teach them to our hearts. Let's take a break.