Turn with me again to Ezra chapter
3. Ezra, while you're turning there,
I am very happy to say that I've just received a phone call just
a moment ago, just before the services started, and Glenda
said the doctor is going to release her today and let her go home.
So I'm very thankful for that, and I'm thankful for your prayers
calls and thoughts. She's on the mend, so I've just got to go home and
clean up the house. Ezra chapter 3. I'd like to actually look at
verses 5 to 8 And before I actually get into
those verses, we remember that obediently, all who were raised
by the Spirit of the Lord who had been given a heart to leave
Babylon. Remember, the children of Israel
were in Babylon 70 years that they were there They were given
by the king, by Cyrus, they were given an order, a word that they
could go back to Jerusalem for the rebuilding of the temple.
And the Scripture says that they kept the Feast of Tabernacles
and they offered by number the daily burnt offerings according
to the custom. And as we looked last time, we
realized that this was a reminder of that which the Lord had done
for them in the Feast of the Tabernacles, the remembrance.
I brought you out of this city of captivity, out of Egypt and
set forth the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the Scripture
says, back in the fourth verse that we looked at last time,
it says when they kept the Feast of the Tabernacles as it was
written, and they offered the daily burnt offerings by number. You remember we looked at the
decreasing number according to the custom. And then it says
in that last part of the fourth verse, it says, as the duty of
every day required. And that's what I'd title this.
If I was going to title this, I'd say, The Duty of Every Day. They did this according to the
custom as the duty of every day required. Now, it says in verse
5, afterward they offered the continual burnt offering. It was required that they would
have a burnt offering, morning and evening, every day. That was the law of the Lord.
Truly, here was a picture of the everlasting satisfaction
of the Father with the obedient sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was required. Now turn back
with me to Exodus chapter 29. I want to show you What God required,
what God demanded, Exodus 29, verse 38. Let's look at that. The Lord said in Exodus 29, 38,
Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar, two lambs
of the first year, day by day, continually. Look down in verse
42. He says, This shall be a continual
burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord. Now that tabernacle
of the congregation, just so you'll remember, there was an
outer court surrounded, large outer court. Within that court,
that large outer court, there was the tabernacle. And it was
divided into two sections. The front section was called
the tabernacle of the congregation. That doesn't mean everybody in
Israel. Not that. But the congregation
of the priest is what it was. The different priests could go
in that outer tabernacle. But then there was the inner
tabernacle of holiness. There was a holy place where
the show bread and the candlestick. congregations or the congregation
of the priest. But only the high priest could
go in that holy place, the holy of holies. And so the door of
that tabernacle of the congregation was actually that outside section
of that holy place where He says that, verse 30, there will be
a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door
of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord where I will
meet you speak there unto you." Now, this burnt offering was
first mentioned. The Lord was very specific. And
I know we've been looking at these offerings, and it's well
for us to look exactly what was He saying. You know, we're all
like this. We read something, just kind of skimmed over it
real fast, and we didn't. We didn't look, but the way in
which the Lord set forth exactly how these things were to be done,
that the burnt offering was first mentioned. And we won't turn
there, but I'll just tell you, you'll recognize the passage.
It was first mentioned in Genesis 22, where Abraham was told by
the Lord, you take Isaac, you take your son, your only son,
the one the Lord gave him. and you take Him up on this mountain
and you offer Him there to me," he said, for a burnt offering.
Now, here we see in this burnt offering, I mean, the pictures
in that, I mean, you see substitution, you see the obedience of Abraham
to offer. I mean, there's so much in that. But the one thing when he said,
you offer Him there for a burnt offering, you remember, that
the burnt offering was the offering that set forth the willingness
of the Lord Jesus Christ to lay down His life as the substitute
before the Father for all of the sheep. The willingness. And
it was a sweet savor, the burnt offering. Sweet savor. Here we
see the willingness, listen, of Isaac to conform to his Father's
will Isaac said, ìHereís the wood, hereís the fire, whereís
the lamb?î And you remember Abraham said, ìMy son God will provide
himself a lamb.î And we see when that time came that Isaac, no
mention of struggle, no mention of rebellion, he himself was
placed upon that altar. We see as a burnt offering. the
willingness of Isaac to conform to Abraham's word and demands. That's what Abraham said. He said, My son, you're the sacrifice. And Isaac laid the picture of
the Lord. But then you know, you see substitution
there. So there's no type, there's no
picture that's perfect. Only the Lord Jesus Christ. But
these types, they set forth. And the central thought of this
offering is the devotedness of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word actually means the going
up or the ascending offering. So, they were told, this is the
duty that the day requires, the burnt offering. Here, God would
continually, it was a continual, Day in, day out, every day, every
day, don't stop, never stop, continual. The Lord would keep
a continual reminder of the devotedness of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Lamb, the devoted Lamb, the gentle Lamb. He laid down His life.
No man takes My life from Me. They didn't take Him and bring
Him to the cross kicking and screaming. He said, I laid down
My life for the sheep in obedience. He did always only those things
that pleased the Father. Hebrews 13, 15 says, By Him,
that is, by the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice
of praise, of thanksgiving continually, that is, the fruit of our lips
giving thanks unto His name. So it was required, the day required,
there's a continual burnt offering. My Son will continually be set
forth as the obedient Son. You will never have a day that
you don't remember that. That's what we do. We set forth
the devotedness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then back in Ezra
chapter 3, it says, of every day required. And afterward they
offered the continual burnt offering both of the new moons and of
the set priests of the Lord that were consecrated." They offered
an offering of the new moons. It's the duty of every day to
remember that this life is but a vapor. The setting forth of
these feasts of the new moons. every time they offered a burnt
offering of the new moons, the Lord God Himself in type was
saying, today is the day of salvation. Harden not your heart. Behold
now a new moon. That which is past is gone. It
is over. This life is fleeting. This is
not going to continue. There was a new moon. Solomon
in Ecclesiastes 7, 14-15 says, In the day of prosperity, be
joyful. But in the day of adversity,
you consider that God also hath set, or made, the one against
the other. Whatever this day holds, whatever
happens, this is the day the Lord has made. Rejoice. Be glad
in it. He says, To the end that man
should find nothing after Him. All things. Solomon says, Have
I seen in the days of my vanity there is a just man that perisheth
in his righteousness? There is a wicked man that prolongeth
his life in his wickedness. Solomon says, I see where the
righteous suffer and their life is cut off. And he says, I see
the wicked, and it looks like they just go on and on and on.
It's the day that the Lord... It's the day of the new moon.
It's the day that is fleeting. may bring prosperity, rejoice. You got up this morning and you
got a mind to think. You had a mind that you could
cook something, eat something, you could say something to somebody,
you'd be thankful. This day, this day of fleetingness,
nothingness, a day may bring adversity. And you consider then
that the Lord has made this day to remind me of the presence
of sin, the fountain of every bitter stream of rebellion against
Him. You consider that in the day of merciful adversity, I
need Him. In spite of myself, Psalm 50,
verse 15 says, Call upon Me in the day of trouble, I will deliver
you, and thou shalt glorify Me. It was required, the duty of
the day was required that they have an offering, the of the
new moons for the believer. Some he delivers temporarily
in this life in adversity. Some he sees fit to give them a few
more days. He delivers temporarily. Some he delivers everlastingly
out of this life, but all to his glory. whatever the Lord
has seen fit to send forth for this day. Be thankful. But of all of the things that
can be said of our duty, and I do know that we have a duty,
we dutifully remember that today is the day that the Lord has
made. They all pale in mere shadows of the duty that His day required. There was a day appointed for
Him to die. He was the Passover. Scripture
says that Mary at Lazarus' house anointed His feet and wiped with
her hair against the day of His burial. His day required. The third day after His crucifixion,
He was to arise. There's a day in which judgment's
coming. There's a day that's called the
Lord's Day. We're here today in remembrance
of His resurrection. This is the day. in praise to
Him who is the day Himself, the day star. It is our duty. We remember that you may not
live till tomorrow. Someone in this congregation
right here this morning is closer to seeing eternity, beholding
eternity than anybody else. Somebody in here, unless the
Lord returns today and His people are brought out of this world,
Somebody's going to die or somebody else. I don't know who it is.
But today is the day of salvation. You may not live till tomorrow. We know not what a day may bring
forth. This may be the last message
that I ever preach. I may have a heart attack before
this message is over. You don't know. We're just so
frivolous when we consider... The Scripture says as the duty
of every day requires, remember, every day shall have its own
providential engagement. Sufficient, the Scripture says,
unto the day is the evil thereof. As Christ did always only those
things that pleased the Father, the Scripture says, whatsoever
thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. The duty
of every day. And then it says, both of the
new moons All the set feasts, those feasts that were set certain
times by the Lord Himself that were consecrated, and everyone
that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the Lord. Now,
this offering, it was called a freewill offering. Freewill. Everyone that offered
a freewill. Now, turn back with me, and I
read that, and I thought, I want to know, what is that talking
about? You know, you read it here again. I'm like you. I read something and I think,
OK, I've heard that. I've heard free will offering.
What is it? Turn with me to Exodus, not Exodus, Leviticus. Leviticus
chapter 22. Leviticus 22. Starting in, let's
look at verse 18. unto Aaron and to his sons, unto
all the children of Israel, and say unto them, Whatsoever he
be of the house of Israel, or of the stranger of Israel, that
will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill
offerings, which they will offer unto the Lord for a burnt offering,
ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish of the
beads of the sheep or of the goats. But whatsoever hath a
blemish, that shall ye not offer, for it shall not be acceptable
for you." All right. When it came to this freewill
offering, the first thing that we realized, and the law demanded
the giving of the tithes. This was not that. This was something
that was given other than that. It was actually a spontaneous. I looked up the word free will
offering there, and that's one word, free will offering. It
means spontaneous or voluntary. You say, well, that makes sense.
But here was the rules or the law concerning the free will
offering. Number one, it was expected by
the Lord. It wasn't according to the law. It was a free will offering. The Lord said, you speak unto
Aaron and to his sons and to all the children, and say unto
them, whatsoever he be of the house, the strangers, that will
offer his oblation for all his vows. It was a gift that was
given. The saints of God, being saved
by grace, express their new hearts spontaneously. That's just the
way it is. It's not a rule. You don't set
forth a rule to somebody and say, OK, now I'm going to tell
you something. You're going to be gracious. I mean it. That's like a man taking the
Word of God and telling a man, now this is the law. This is
the way it is. Husbands, love your wife. And I mean it. Somebody called
me the other day, not from this church, from another church.
and was telling me that the problem was, this was their problem.
He said, I'll tell you what, I've got a problem. My wife is
not submitting herself to me. And I told her, I told you to
submit. I said, well, let me tell you
something. I said, I already hear the problem. I said, the Scripture
says, Husbands, you love your wife as Christ loved the church
and gave Himself for it. I said, a man that loves his
wife. I said, respects her, looks out
for her, treats her first, takes her side against all others.
I said, does for her, loves her. I said, that woman will submit
or adapt herself. That's what it means. Adapt yourself.
I said, the responsibility, I said, falls, I said, on men. Ninety-nine
percent. Somebody said, I don't know about
those numbers. I said, well, I think the vast majority of
all the problems are the men's fault. They love their wives. Respect them. Treat them with
respect. I said, you don't have that problem.
I said, so maybe we ought to back up just a little bit. It
says, the saints are not set by law. to be gracious. 2 Corinthians 9, 7, Every man
according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not
grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver. Not that the Lord loves a man
because he's a cheerful giver. No, here's the evidence. The
evidence that God has set His affection and love on a man is
that that man freely gives. And I'm not talking about just
money, but I do talk about money. I'm talking about attitude and
graciousness, time and consistency. Gracious, gracious. Secondly,
not only was these freewill offerings set forth that God says they
will be, but secondly, these freewill offerings must be laid,
the Scripture says in Leviticus 22, on the altar. Being a burnt,
And that's what they were, the freewill offerings were a burnt
offering, willing, willing. They were put on the brazen altar
outside the holy place. Now you know that this altar
speaks of the cross of our Lord Jesus by which our offerings
are made acceptable unto God. No offering is pleasing to the
Father apart from the work. of the Lord Jesus Christ. So
therefore, when these freewill offerings..." It was an offering
that was given. Whatever was given. That lamb, that offering. It was given freely. Thirdly,
it says, he said, "...speak unto Aaron and to his sons and to
all the children of Israel." Here's the third thing about
a freewill offering. A man had to be numbered with
the people of God before a freewill offering was accepted. He said,
well, what does that mean? I mean this. Number one, no one
has a free will as far as anything toward Almighty God until by
redeeming grace, he comes to Christ by the power of the Spirit
of God. Before sin has dominion over
that whole nature, and it doesn't matter what it is, you start
with thoughts, thoughts of thanksgiving, time, money, worship, all of
that of the ungodly, no matter what it's done or what it appears
to be, it cannot be said to be laid upon the altar by faith.
There's nothing concerning freewill offerings toward men, to be seen
of men. The Pharisees did much. They
appeared to be much. They'd stand on the corner. And
they would give these great shows of affection. They would show
up and all of their prayers that they would take and roll up and
stick inside and all of their phylacteries and all of their
robes. They looked so good. My, what
holy people! There is nothing that is accepted
before Almighty God apart from the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the altar Himself. It says it must be made willingly,
verse 19. That's what it says. You shall
offer at your own will a male without blemish. Something cannot
be a freewill gift unless it's given willingly. When the Father
sent the Son, He did so willingly. When the Lord Jesus Christ laid
down His life, He did so willingly. When the Spirit of God effectually
calls out God's elect, He does so willingly. It wasn't grudgingly. You think about what Almighty
God did. At no point do you ever detect
anything grudgingly done on the part of Almighty God. Nothing
is ever appreciated done grudgingly. I'd rather not. Would you like
to go over here? Anything that someone does begrudgingly,
it's not appreciated. Believe me, it's not done out
of love. It's not accepted. It's just done willingly. Let
me do that. Let me do that for a while. I
love you. I want to. Why do you do what you do for
your husband and wife? Why? Because I love you. It's willing. I do it out of
a heart because I'm thankful. I'm thankful for what you've
done. Thank you. That's a nice meal. I appreciate that. Oh, that's
so kind of you. You know I like that. That's
so sweet. I just appreciate it. Whatever,
Colossians 3.23, whatever you do, do it heartily, out of a
heart, as to the Lord. Not unto men, as to the Lord.
And then fifthly, this freewill offering, the Scripture says,
it must be without blemish. But whatsoever verse 20 hath
a blemish, that shall not be offered, for it shall not be
acceptable for you. Verse 22 says, blind, or broken,
or maimed, or having a win, or scurvy, scabbed, you shall not
offer these unto the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them
unto the altar unto the Lord. You know, many think, all think,
let's just go ahead and just sum it up. We all think like
this. That we can, and there's not a person in this room, starting
especially in this pulpit, that is without guilt. We're all guilty. But we think that we can offer
unto God that which men would never be satisfied with. Scraps. Culls. spare moments, bad attitude. Oh, how this reveals the small
place that the Lord has within our heart, and you know it so.
We are guilty, guilty, free will. I mean, just out of our heart,
just, you know. The Scripture says, Thy people
shall be willing. There is a willingness to give
unto Him that which is due. And there's a war within that
strives against us and says, I will not be honorable. I won't be honorable. I will
be dishonorable. I'm going to rebel against God.
This is the right thing to do, and I'm not going to do it. That's
just the way it is. The Lord says, if you bring something
to me that's blind or broken or maimed or something like that,
what gift would be appreciated? Somebody's going to give you
something right here. I got you this old dress right
here. Wore out. Wrapped it up. Pretty. It's a
gift. Or it's stained. Got a lot of
ketchup on it and stuff like that. But, you know, I'm just
giving. I just want you to have it. You look at it and say, I
don't want it. Free will. God's people, they're free-hearted
people. A believer does not give. in order to get. I hear these
folks on television and they say, you give unto the Lord and
He will give back to you. Well, I'll tell you this. Believe
me when I tell you that the proportion of blessing from Almighty God
is in direct proportion to a man's generosity in his heart and willingness. That's so. God's promised that.
But a believer does not give in order to get. He gives because
he's gotten. It's what he's done for me. In
verses 6 and 7, back in Ezra, I'll hurry, it's about time. Worship was truly established
in the case of these people. Verse 6 and 7 says, From the
first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings
unto the Lord. But the foundation of the temple
of the Lord was not yet laid. the foundation of the temple
of the Lord. Now here we observe the divinely
ordered means concerning worship. Number one, the Scripture says
there was an altar. There was an altar there, but
the foundation of the temple was not yet laid. It wasn't built. The Lord was honored and worshiped. only on the merit of the sacrifice
and the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no question
concerning how God is going to be worshipped. There was an altar.
The Lord will be approached only in a sacrifice. The Lord will
be approached only in our substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. Man may
connive and think that he can approach God in some way, but
the altar the sacrifice, the shed blood. That was the only
way in which God was going to be approached. There was an altar.
They worshiped no other way but Him. No other access but by the
Son. I'm the way, the truth, and the
life. No man comes to the Father without an altar. We have nothing
without Him. We're hopelessly lost. But the
temple was not yet built. It was not rebuilt. It showed
here. the saints' journey, and I'll
show you this. It showed with that temple not
yet being completely there. The altar was there, worship
was there, but the temple was not yet built. The foundations,
the building up of it, it shows the pilgrimage of the saints
in this world that would be evidenced by their struggles. The altar
was there, but the temple, the foundations of the temple, was
not yet there. The man, King David, loved by
God, the Scripture says, chosen and blessed by Him, he went through
this life with the sword always within his family. You know the
story of King David. Paul the Apostle, Scripture says,
here's a man that wrote a major portion of the New Testament
Scriptures. Scripture says that he was caught
up to the third heaven and received an abundance of revelations that
was taught him. But that man was given a thorn
in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to buffet him. Why? Lest he should be exalted above
measure because of the revelations. Let me tell you something. In
ourselves, we are not worth anything. We are worthless. an unbeliever,
one outside of Christ. I will tell you, a slug that
crawls along the concrete and leaves that slimy trail behind
him is more obedient and serves his purpose in this world, in
this creation. That slug is serving Almighty
God exactly where God put him to be, doing exactly what God
called him to be. An unbeliever, one outside of
Christ, is not doing it. Rebellious. That's all he is.
Outside of Him. Paul said, because of the abundance
of the revelations it was given me, lest I should be exalted
above measure. Lest I should know something.
Lest I think I've looked into these Scriptures and found something.
Some knowledge. Lest I should be exalted above
measure. God gave him a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of
Satan to buffet him, to keep and remind him, without me, you're
nothing. Nothing. This temple was not
yet built. The altar was there. The incompleteness
of our eternal joy is set forth in wise design when that temple
was not yet built. God was teaching of something.
This life, the irregular changes that we see in this life, are
divinely ordered by Almighty God. Nothing takes God by surprise.
He orders the steps, but this world is not our rest. In the foundation of that temple,
not yet laid, we behold the glorious work of the Lord Jesus Christ
in the confirming of His people. Let me show you what I'm talking
about. In 1 Corinthians 6, verse 19,
it says, What? Know ye not that your body is
the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have
of God, and ye are not your own? To the people of God, the believers.
Your body. You're the temple, the Scripture
says, of the Holy Ghost. Now, turn over to 1 Peter 2. And I'll try to wrap this up,
but I want to make, Lord willing, some sense out of what I'm trying
to set forth here. 1 Peter 2, verse 1 through 5. Verse Peter 2, Wherefore, laying
aside all malice, all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies,
and all evil speaking, as newborn babes Desire the sincere milk
of the Word, that ye may grow thereby. If so be that ye have
tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming? Now I want you
to notice. You see where it says as newborn
babes, that ye may grow thereby? Look at verse 4. To whom coming?
Believers are coming. They're coming. They've come
and they're coming. They continue to come. He says,
but to whom coming, verse 4, as unto a living stone disallowed
indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious, ye also as
lively stones are built up, or that is being built up, a spiritual
house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. The foundation of our hope is
shown in the sacrifice that's on the altar. The altar was there.
But this temple is being built. Our hope is in Christ, without
a doubt. We are in Him, complete in Him. This is a great paradox here. Here we are fully established
in the Lord Jesus Christ, no doubt about it. We're in Him,
by Him, for Him, through Him. In Him, you're complete. Christ
is all in all, complete. And we're being built up in this
life, growing in grace. The Lord in His infinite wisdom
and mercy is doing that within His people that they could never
do for themselves. Here we are, living stones being
built up, a spiritual house in being built. The Scripture says
there is a laying aside of all malice, or that is, trouble,
guile, or craftiness, hypocrisies, which is deceit, and envies,
which is ill will, and evil speakings, which is backbiting, which was
dominant in our unregenerate state. We're being built. We're
being taught. Hopefully, as the Lord grows
us in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, we've
learned some things. Hopefully we learn from the instruction
of the Word. This Word is profitable for instruction,
for reproof, for rebuke. There are holy desires after
Christ, he says, as babes growing in grace in the knowledge of
the Lord Jesus, hungering and thirsting after Him, longing
for more of Him. There are desires that are exhibited
in a continual action He says, To whom coming? There are some
here that have believed by God's determinate will and decree before
others did. There are some that have been
sitting and hearing unto the Word of God for years and years
and years. And to the youngest believer,
to the older believer, they are coming. They are always coming.
They continually come. They wake up every day by God's
grace coming. To whom coming? always coming,
continually under a consciousness of need of Him. John 1.16 says
we receive grace for grace. It is by the grace of God that
God has kept us by His grace. We receive grace for grace. That
is to say, it requires God's grace for us to perceive in grace.
We are kept by the power of God. What a privilege it is when the
Spirit of God makes a sinner know his poverty and his need
of the Lord Jesus. We are lively stones being built
upon the living stone of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the
rock of ages, the eternal God, our life. From Him, the Scripture
says, because I live, you shall also live. We are being fashioned,
predestinated, Romans 8.29 says, to be conformed to the image
of the Son. And this is a thought. of divine
revelation to be approached with reverence and respect. I mean,
even right now as we sit and just the words that we read,
the altar was there, but the temple, the foundation of the
temple, it was being built. How we ought to think upon that
with godly fear and respect. Turn with me to Ephesians 2,
and then I'm going to stop. Ephesians 2. Let me just show
you this and one other scripture as a confirmation. Ephesians
2, verse 19 to 22. Paul says to the church at Ephesus,
Now therefore, you are no more strangers and foreigners, but
fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God.
You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all
the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in
the Lord, in whom ye also are built together for a habitation
of God through the Spirit." We are being built together, the
Scripture says, we just read, as a habitation of God, If we
were to realize the implication of that thought being built,
fashioned, how we would look more to Him and the means of
His instruction. Lord, teach me. Instruct me. Lord, reveal to me. Show me myself. Lord, as You are building, You
have graciously called me to be Your own. Lord, You love me
with an everlasting love. You didn't leave me to myself
to just go through this life ignorantly in rebellion. It is Christ, our great Joshua
from chapter 2, by the Spirit of God which carries on this
continual work in the building of His temple, elected us, redeemed
us, regenerated us, taught us, kept us, till we shall finally
receive from Him, His presence. The altar was there, the temple
was being built, and the duty of every day was the setting
forth of the remembrance of Christ. I were burnt off day and night,
night and day, on and on. Free will, free will offerings,
giving unto Him continually praise and thanksgiving. Thanks be unto
God that Almighty God has established Christ, our altar, as He builds
us, His people, unto Himself in habitation of the Spirit of
God.