Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour
of prayer That calls me from a world of care And bids me at
my Father's throne Make all my wants and wishes known In seasons
of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief. And oft escape the tempter's
stare by thy return, sweet hour of prayer. Sweet hour of prayer,
sweet hour of prayer, Thy wings shall my petition bear, To Him
whose truth and faithfulness Engage the waiting soul to bless. his face, believe his word, and
trust his grace. Cast on him my every care, and
wait for the sweet hour of prayer. Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour
of prayer, May I thy consolation share, Till from Mount Pisgah's
lofty height I view my home and take my flight. I shall drop and rise to seize
the everlasting prize and shout while passing through the air,
farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer. Thank you. Turn with me to Proverbs 29. Proverbs 29. He, that being often reproved,
hardneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without
remedy. When the righteous are in authority,
the people rejoice, but when the wicked beareth rule, the
people mourn. Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth
his father, but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth
his substance. The king, by judgment, established
the land, but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth. A man that
flattereth his neighbor spreadeth a net for his feet. In the transgression
of an evil man there is a snare, but the righteous doth sing and
rejoice. The righteous considereth the cause of the poor, but the
wicked regardeth not to know it. Scornful men bring a city
into a snare, but wise men turn away wrath. If a wise man contends
with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.
The bloodthirsty hate the upright, but the just seek his soul. A
fool uttereth all his mind, but a wise man keepeth it in till
afterwards. If a ruler hearken, to lies,
all his servants are wicked. The poor and the deceitful man
meet together. The Lord lightened both their
eyes. The king that faithfully judges the poor, his throne shall
be established forever. The rod and reproof give wisdom,
but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. When the
wicked are multiplied, transgression increases, but the righteous
shall see their fall. Correct thy son, and he shall
give thee rest. Yea, he shall give delight unto
thy soul. Where there is no vision, the
people perish. But he that keepeth the law,
happy is he. A servant will not be corrected
by words, for though he understandeth, he will not answer. Seest thou
a man that is hasty in his words, there is more hope of a fool
than of him. He that delicately bringeth up his servant from
a child shall have him because his son is at the length. An angry man stirreth up strife,
and a furious man aboundeth in transgression. A man's pride
shall bring him low, but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit. Whoso is partner with a thief,
hateth his own soul. He heareth cursing, and bereath
it not. The fear of man bringeth a snare,
but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. Many
seek the ruler's favor, but every man's judgment cometh from the
Lord. An unjust man is an abomination to the just, and he that is upright
in the way is an abomination to the wicked. Let's pray. Father, we come to you this morning
so very thankful for our time together and for the first message
that you brought us. Father, we're thankful that you
sent your Son to be that one that can take the place and do
all the things that we cannot accomplish, be the righteousness
that we cannot accomplish. Father, we're thankful that you've
given us a place to be. Father, we're thankful for the
pastor that you've given us. Father, we ask that you raise
this congregation up as you see fit. Lord, we ask that you watch
over everywhere else that the gospel is being preached this
morning. Father, we ask that you're with those pastors as
they bring the message and you open our hearts and the other
folks' hearts and eyes and ears to hear the gospel that you would
have us to hear. Father, we ask that you just
continue to watch over and care for us in Christ's name. Our second hymn will be 255,
Blessed Assurance, 255. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory
divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of
God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story,
this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my
song, praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission,
perfect delight. Visions of rapture now burst
on my sight. Angels descending rang from above. Echoes of mercy, whispers of
love. This is my story, this is my
song. Praising my Savior all the day
long. This is my story, this is my
song. Praising my Savior all the day
long. Perfect submission, all is at
rest. I in my Savior, in happy and
blessed Watching and waiting, looking above Filled with His
goodness, lost in His love This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this
is my song. Praising my Savior all the day
long. Thank you. Good morning. Let's go to Genesis
chapter 8. Genesis 8. In this chapter there's many
beautiful pictures of Christ our Savior. And we see here the
blessings of our God for His children, His people in the Lord
Jesus Christ. A few takeaways that you'll see
as we go through here is that every word testifies of Christ. That's what I believe, that you
that love Christ, that you see that as we go through Genesis,
every word testifies to us of the Lord Jesus Christ. And they show us what He has
done as our Redeemer, as our God, as our Savior. as our husband,
our friend, what he does for his beloved child. He said to the Jews, search the
scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life. It's good. Go to the word. This is the inspired
word of God. Search it. And you go here expecting
to hear from the Lord, how can a man be justified with God?
Well, Christ tells us. They are they which testify of
me, of me. So every word is speaking of
Christ. It's to direct our eye away from
self to behold the servant of God, him who gave his life to
save his people from their sins. Now you'll recall that the Ark
is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we'll see also that
Noah is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in these pictures
and types we see the infinite and inexhaustible riches of our
God given for provision to the people, all the spiritual blessings
of God in Christ. Very nicely, this chapter eight
is ordered in such a way that we see three blessings of our
God in Christ. The first section that we'll
see is we see the foundation laid so that upon the Lord Jesus
Christ, by Christ, because of Christ, God blesses his people. He gives us full provision in
Christ. Second, we see the witness of
Christ brought in his people, such that faith is given to us
and exercised by the Lord, proving that blessed gift which he's
given to his child, not to prove anything to God, but to show
us what he has done for us. It's to prove to us that he has
delivered us from death and given us life and hope in Christ. And third, the third section,
we see the assurance which he gives to his child in Christ. It's founded in Christ. I've titled this message, When
the Waters of Judgment Ceased. And that's where we begin, our
deliverance from judgment. Let's pick up in verse one. And
God remembered Noah and every living thing. and all the cattle
that was with him in the ark, and God made a wind to pass over
the earth, and the waters assuaged." Now, in this verse right here,
we're given a beautiful summary of what Christ has secured for
His redeemed children, what He has gained for us by His redeeming
blood. He established for us by His
death, by His sacrifice to the Father, He established for us
the covenant of grace so that in Christ God may be gracious
and merciful justly. He may be gracious and merciful
to His child and that justly. And so, because of Christ, the
children of God are always in view. His angels are always before,
our angels are always before His face. He sees His people. He loves His people. He cares
for you. He knows your broken heart. He
knows your poverty. He knows that you are bankrupt
and have nothing to give to Him. Yet in Christ, He loves you. He loves His child and draws
you to Himself in this covenant of grace and mercy, peace and
rest for your souls." We even see in this verse the sending
forth of the Holy Ghost from the Father and the Son, testifying
in the blowing of the wind across the earth, so that the Spirit
goes out in search of the lost sheep for whom Christ gave His
life, and He removes the judgment of God that rests
on their hearts and minds. And he takes that away as one
removes grave clothes from a man made alive by the Lord. And he
removes that stain of sin and he regenerates the spirit in
man, making him a new creature, making him a new creature. And
this he does all across the earth. So let's look at this verse here
a little more closely. First, God remembered Noah, Noah
here being a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the head
of the body. He is the one who came and accomplished
all things. to fulfill the will of God, His
Father, who sent Him for the people. And God remembered His
Son. He looks to His Son, and it says,
every living thing. That, brethren, is you who believe
Christ. You are the body of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He remembers Christ, and He remembers
every living thing. that is brought in and drawn
and blessed of the Lord Jesus Christ. He remembers you. and
all the cattle that was with him in the ark, tells us that
every provision that you want and need, everything that you
could want for, God has given it to you freely and abundantly
in the riches given to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Savior has secured every
spiritual blessing of God for his people. Ephesians 1 verse
3 says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ. And I love that. I know I've
said this to you before many times, but I love this. In heavenly
places harkens back to day two of creation. when God made a
firmament, a covering in which living things dwell, so that
we even see in that firmament, it speaks of the waters. Now
here in this chapter, the waters speak of the judgment of God,
but also in Revelation 17, waters describe peoples and nations
and tribes and tongues, so that that firmament divided the waters. And there were waters under the
firmament, under the covering, and waters above. So that it
shows us the particular redemption of Christ our Savior, who shed
his blood for his people, and they are blessed with all spiritual
blessings in Christ. That's the heavenly places. The
firmament is called the heaven. heaven and heavenly places in
Christ. So understand. that when our Lord offered Himself
to the Father, the Father's wrath was propitiated, which rested
on us, is now taken off of us, because it was put on Christ
to deliver you from the wrath of God, so that God is not angry
with you, He's at peace with you. He's satisfied, because
Christ our Substitute laid down His life, bearing our just punishment
to deliver us from death and ruin because of our own sin. Our sin is put away. Just as
this ark bore the judgment waters, So Christ bore the judgment of
his people. The fountains of the deep broke
open and lifted that ark, and the rains above fell upon that
ark, so that he was immersed in the judgment of God. That
ark was immersed in the judgment of God upon the earth. So Christ
was immersed in the judgment of God, and all who were in that
ark went through that judgment being untouched, born safely
through to the other side. So it is for all you who hope
in Christ and come to the Lord in Christ you are brought through
that fiery judgment which we cannot endure and are delivered
for Christ's sake safe and sound into his inheritance on the other
side of the judgment. Every living thing in that ark
was untouched. Untouched, not a single drop
of wrath fell upon it. It was borne by the ark. And
so it is with Christ. He bore the wrath of God for
his people. Turn over to Romans 3. Let's
go to Romans 3 and let's look at verse 24 through 26. Paul tells us that we are justified
freely by the grace of God through the redemption, that blood redemption
that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation,
a turning away of his wrath from us to Christ through faith in
his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission, the forgiveness
of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God, to declare,
I say at this time, his righteousness, that he might be just in the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. And so because of this
great salvation, we're told of the blessing of the Holy Ghost
which is poured out upon us. God made a wind to pass over
the earth and the waters assuaged. This, brethren, is the gospel
blessing of the Spirit. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
where it wants to, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst
not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. So is every
one that is born of the Spirit. born of the Spirit. The Spirit
comes and applies the blood of Jesus Christ to the soul of every
lost sheep found by the Spirit, searching them out, calling them
by the gospel, drawing them out of death and darkness, giving
them life by regeneration. A new heart, a new man is created
by the seed, the righteous seed of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
he reveals and manifests fruits of righteousness in the planting
of the Lord, such as faith, whereby the child of God, that sinner,
cries to God, believing Christ, calling out for his grace and
mercy. The waters, which were the judgment
of God, are assuaged, and that means They're at peace. They've
ceased. They've ceased. Judgment has
ceased against you who hope, who believe the Lord Jesus Christ. You shall not be ashamed. You
shall not come short of that which you seek. Justification
with God, for Christ has put away your sins and made you righteous
in himself. So for Christ's sake, our sin
is remembered no more, and we are adopted into the family of
God. Now, with that understanding,
from verse one, let's read verses two through five. Seeing these
things, the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven
were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. There's no more judgment hanging
over your head, brethren. That which is coming upon the
inhabitants of the earth is not your inheritance. It's those
in Adam who stand in Adam in their own works. You stand in
the inheritance of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the waters returned
from off the earth continually. And after the end of the hundred
and fifty days the waters were abated. They were lacking. It's
no longer there. The judgment is dried up against
you. Christ has bore it all and put
it away for his people. And it says, the ark rested in
the seventh month on the 17th day of the month upon the mountains
of Ararat. We see there a glorious picture
of what Christ our Savior has accomplished for us. having put
away our sin by the death of himself, he rose again and is
ascended to the right hand of the throne of God, where he rests
till his enemies be made his footstool. In fact, it says in
verse five, the waters decreased continually until the 10th month. In the 10th month, on the first
day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. Now, I
don't know, but I find it rather interesting knowing that Christ
was upon the earth 40 days from his resurrection. And then Pentecost
was 10 days later. 10 days later was Pentecost when
the Spirit was poured out upon the church, and that's when the
mountaintops were seen on the earth for the first time. We
saw the kingdom of God established in his people on the earth. I don't know, it says the 10th
month. I don't know, but it's a beautiful
picture of what Christ our Savior has accomplished and wrought
for us. And so in these first five verses,
we see the deliverance that the church is given, the bride of
Christ is given from her Savior, what He accomplished for us.
This is the covenant of grace which is established for you,
brethren. and blesses our hearts and rejoices us because we are
delivered from wrath and we now have life and understanding and
light in Him who is the very light of the world, the Lord
Jesus Christ, that we know the true and living God and have
forsaken those vain, wicked works that we trusted Him and now come
hoping, believing the Lord Jesus Christ. Next, we see faith exercised
from verses 6 through 13. Here, the chosen child of God,
having been redeemed by Christ, regenerated by the Holy Spirit,
now begins to be exercised by our Lord, who proves that gracious
work in his people, not to prove it to himself, but to show you
what blessed things your God has done for you in Christ. When we read of Noah here, in
verse 6, think of what our Ascended Lord does for those who are his
workmanship, his children. Verse 6, and here again we see
this, when he ascended, this is what he accomplished for us,
and it came to pass at the end of forty days. upon the earth
40 days. It came to pass at the end that
Noah, a picture, a type of Christ, opened the window of the ark
which he had made." What a beautiful sight. When our Savior ascended
to the throne of God and the Father received him having accomplished
all this, the redemption of his people, As the Lamb of God having
accomplished that, He now opens heaven and pours out His blessings
upon us. As the Apostle John said, I looked
and a door opened in heaven. Christ Jesus opened the door
to heaven. We could never come to the throne
of God by our works It was shut. We couldn't come to God in our
own dead, corrupt nature. Heaven was shut. But Christ has
opened the door and made a way, the way, the truth, the life
in Himself. He is the way to the throne of
God. He is why we stand before the
throne of God faultless. and are received of the Father,
Holy God, who knows all things and sees all things, you stand
faultless before the throne of God. Without wrinkle, without
spot, without a hair out of place, you are perfect in the Lord Jesus
Christ." Now, there's two birds described here. that define the
two natures, what we see the two natures of the believer,
one being the old man of flesh, the other the new man of faith. It says in verses 7 through 9,
and he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro until the
waters were dried up from off the earth. And he sent forth
a dove from him to see if the waters were abated from off the
face of the ground. But the dove found no rest for
the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark,
for the waters were on the face of the whole earth, Then he put
forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into
the ark. So when Noah sent out the raven,
it never returned to the ark. Why? It found what it needed
to survive. It fed on dead things. The carcasses floating in the
waters of judgment, it fed on those things. It could just hop
and fly from place to place and was satisfied with dead things. But the dove, that which is the
creation of Christ, that new creation, that new man, that
dove didn't feed on the dead carcasses floating in the judgment
wrath of God. It found no rest for the soul
of her feet. He isn't contented with the things
of the world. The raven, the old man of flesh,
is fine with the dead things of this world. The raven has
no problems with this world and its corruption. But that which
is the new man, which sinneth not and cannot sin, He finds
no rest in the dead things of this world. He finds no happiness,
no joy, no satisfaction, no nourishment, no strength from the dead things
of this world. Our nourishment, that new man
of faith receives all its blessings, all its provision from Christ. He is the bread of heaven. He's
our light. He's our salvation. He's our
savior. That which is born of grace cannot
feed on dead things. so it returns to the Ark, to
Christ the Ark in whom we find rest for our souls. Our Lord
said in Matthew 11, all things are delivered unto me of my father
and no man knoweth the Son but the Father neither knoweth any
man the Father save the Son and he to whomsoever the Lord will
reveal him. He said come and unto me all
ye that labor and are heavy laden and i will give you rest take
my yoke upon you and learn of me for i am meek and lowly in
heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls rest for your
souls So to all that are burdened and troubled with sin, to you
who know your sin and see what you are by nature, he says, come
to me. Come to me. I'm the Savior. I'll put you at rest and at ease. I will comfort you. I will bless
you and show you my righteousness and what I have done for you,
the redemption I've accomplished for you. All who come seeking
peace and forgiveness for their sins, Christ shall never turn
you away. He is a merciful and gracious
Savior. He receives all who come to Him,
who have nothing to pay Him, nothing to give to Him, nothing
to trust in, who come empty-handed, bankrupt sinners in poverty. Christ says, come to Me, buy
and eat. You shall find bread that satisfies,
because it is the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what we see
when that dove came back, he put forth his hand and he took
her and brought her into the ark to be with himself. That's
what the Lord Jesus Christ does for us, for his child. He receives
us. He takes us in. He brings us
into his arms. And he blesses us and speaks
comfortably to us and assures us that he has taken care of
everything and put away all our debts, satisfied our debts, and
has made us righteous in his own righteousness. We stand in
his beautiful righteous room. Now, Up to this point, we've
seen Noah as a picture of Christ, but Christ dwells in the hearts
of his people by faith. Ephesians 3.17, he dwells in
our hearts by faith. And so we see here his grace
working in his child here in these next verses with Noah. These next four verses, they
speak of the lively exercises of grace and faith in the child
of God. Let's look at verse 10. And he
stayed, speaking of Noah, he stayed yet other seven days,
and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. Now these seven
days, it's speaking of our rest in Christ, who is our Sabbath
rest. That's what's being pointed out
here. Christ is our Sabbath rest, and in Him we do send up inquiries
to God. The prayers of the saints rise
up to the throne of God with the incense, that sweet savor
of the Lord Jesus Christ, whereby your prayers are heard and received
of holy God by the sacrifice of Christ. And the dove, verse
11, came into him in the evening, and low in her mouth was an olive
leaf plucked off. So Noah knew that the waters
were abated from off the earth. That's a picture how the Lord
does testify to us. You that are troubled with your
sin and you cry out to the Lord, save me Lord, help me, have mercy
on me. He gives to your soul, to your
heart, your understanding, peace. Peace, I've put away your sins.
I've washed you in the blood of Christ. Be at peace. And we
have fellowship with holy God for Christ's sake, Christ's sake. He comes with that olive leaf
plucked. Verse 12, and he stayed yet other
seven days and sent forth the dove, which returned not again
unto him any more. What it's saying there is child
of God, you that have begged God for mercy and peace, and
he's shown you Christ, what more do you need? You've been shown
the peace, the grace, the mercy of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is no other salvation. There is no other way to God.
There's nothing more to say. The matter is settled in the
Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Savior whom the Father
has sent to save His people from their sins. Rest in Him. Believe Him. He's given this
word to you to assure your troubled hearts that he has put away your
sins. Believe him, trust in him, rest
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 13. And it came to pass
in the 600th and first year, in the first month, the first
day of the month. You know, I didn't even notice
it, but that's New Year's Day. That's New Year's Day. And that's
what Christ has done for his child. He has made us new creatures. In the Lord Jesus Christ, behold,
all that was old is put away. Behold, all things are become
new in Christ. We know that it's not our works.
We know our sin and we don't try to walk in it. We don't want
to do those things. We want to be pleasing to the
Lord. But we know that our hope, our pleasing, our comfort, our
joy is the Lord Jesus Christ. The waters, it says, were dried
up from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering
of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. You that are in Christ, you that
believe him, look, look to him. The waters are dried up. The
judgment of God is dried up. You have no more sin. It's put
away in Christ. The judgment is gone. He bore
it all and carried it away so that you are righteous, received,
adopted into the family of God. So that's the second thing, those
lively exercises. Third now, we see the assurance
which God gives to his child in Christ. What our Lord is doing
through these exercises of faith is revealing to us the promises
that God has given to us and fulfilled for us in Christ. So that by faith, He assures
us, He shows us Christ again and again, settling the matter
that it's in Christ. Let's read verses 14 through
19. And in the second month, on the
seventh and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.
And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou and
thy wife, and thy sons and thy sons' wives with thee. Bring
forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all
flesh, both of fowl and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth. that they may breed abundantly
in the earth and be fruitful and multiply upon the earth.
And Noah went forth in his sons and his wife and his sons' wives
with him. Every beast, every creeping thing,
and every fowl and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth after
their kinds went forth out of the ark." One thing that we see
in this is, did anything die? Did anything that was in the
ark fail to come out of that ark? No. It all was delivered
safe through. That is what Christ has done.
All in Christ are delivered from the wrath and judgment of God.
And out of this ark comes every provision. Everything you need
and want has been given to you freely, abundantly, out of the
riches, according to the riches, it says. of our God in the Lord
Jesus Christ, meaning it never diminishes and never comes short.
It's never lacking. Everything the child of God needs
is given fully, freely, abundantly in Christ our Savior. Verse 20,
And Noah built an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean
beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on
the altar. That's why there were seven of
every clean thing, so that there would be three pairs of the clean
animals, and he just took one and he offered each one of the
clean animals to the Lord. But it's a picture of Christ,
who is our high priest, who is our altar, who is our sacrifice. He did the whole work to the
Father. In Ephesians 5.2 it says, Christ
also hath loved us. and hath given himself for us
an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor."
And so we see in the next verse how that for Christ's sake we
are blessed of God. Verse 21, and the Lord smelled
a sweet savor. He smelled the savor of his Son. And the Lord said in his heart,
I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, For
the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither
will I again smite any more every thing living as I have done. And so it is, we know, we see.
This flesh is still corrupt, it's still vile. It's not reformed,
it's not improved, it's not gotten any better. I'm still a vile,
wretched sinner in this flesh. But for Christ's sake, he will
not curse you. you that hope in him you shall
not be cursed he will not turn again and and bring judgment
to destroy you and cast you into hell to you that are partakers
of the first resurrection been given the holy spirit and regenerated
born again in christ the second death hath no more power over
you you're delivered from the wrath and judgment of god which
is coming upon the inhabitants of the earth And so these blessings
are given to us of the Lord. Now how did Noah know what was
in the heart of the Lord? Because God has revealed it to
Noah. He made Noah's heart to know
what was in his heart. And the picture there is what
our God shows you in the Lord Jesus Christ. You that look to
Him see and know and understand the full thought of God. You know the mystery of God revealed
in the face of Jesus Christ. You know God's will and purpose
to be gracious to whom He will be gracious in the Lord Jesus
Christ. There's nothing more for you
to figure out. There's no hidden mysteries. There's nothing outside
of Christ that you need to know. Everything you need to know is
found right in the Lord Jesus Christ. and he's given you his
spirit, which beareth witness with our spirit that we are the
children of God." It's all revealed in Christ. It's all made known
to us in Christ. We don't have to go searching
and go on treks and voyages and pilgrimages and trying to do
this thing or that. It's all revealed and made known
in Christ. perfectly, plainly, completely. And you know all things. You know all things. Everything
that needs to be known, you know it all. And so in Christ we see
the heart of God revealed. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish but have everlasting You know the heart of God. It's
Christ. It's revealed in Christ. and
whom He loves, He manifests this grace to them, which looks away
from self, which looks away from dead, filthy works, and we look
to Christ. We look to Him. For God, who
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined
in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Our Savior bore the curse of
the law for His people. so that he died the death that
his people were to die. And he assures us now that that
curse is put away so that we would cease from wicked works,
cease trying to make a righteousness for ourselves, cease trying to
come to God thinking that because I did this, X, Y, and Z, or did
that, God has received me. No, we come to God knowing Christ
has done everything. He did it all while I was yet
an enemy of God, while I was yet in enmity and and yet corrupted
my sins, Christ gave his life to put away the sins of his people,
though they knew nothing and were in complete darkness and
ignorant of the things of God. Christ did it all. Now he says,
while the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat,
and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease, so
that Christ Jesus is the Savior to the ends of the earth and
to the end of the age. It is only Christ. It's only
ever been the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the salvation whom God
has provided. Believe Him. All who flee to
Christ will find Him a gracious Savior, and He reveals Himself
to your heart, giving you assurance that in Him you are forgiven
and received of the Father. I pray the Lord bless that word
to your hearts, thanking God for what He's done and given
to us in the Lord Jesus Christ, its full, complete, forever salvation
in Christ. Amen. Let's pray. Our gracious Lord, we thank you
for your grace and mercy. We thank you, Lord, for this
wondrous salvation that you've revealed the mystery of our God
hid in ages past, but now made known, made plain, opened up
in the Lord Jesus Christ, who has put away all our sin and
opened the door of heaven and brought us in. with him lord
and we are received of you we thank you for this grace we thank
you for this mercy we thank you lord for this joy that we have
in hearing your word your gospel word which feeds and nourishes
our souls bless your people don't let this word be taken and stolen
from the heart Lord, let us not be offended by persecution and
the troubles and difficulties. Let us not grow weary and choked
out by the cares of this life. But Lord, we pray that you will
put down this seed in good, well-prepared ground by your doing, by your
work, And Lord, we pray that it would bring forth fruit, some
100, some 60, some 30-fold, as it pleases you. It's in Christ's
name we pray and give thanks, Lord. Bless your people. Amen. All right, Brother Joe, close
us in a hymn. Let's all stand and sing a closing
hymn, 514, Marching to Zion. 514. Come, we that love the Lord, and let
our joys be known. Join in a song with sweet accord,
join in a song with sweet accord, and thus surround the throne,
and thus surround the throne. We're marching to Zion, the beautiful,
beautiful Zion. We're marching upward to Zion,
the beautiful city of God. Let those refuse to sing who
never knew our God. But children of the heavenly
King, May speak their joys abroad, May speak their joys abroad. We're marching to Zion, Beautiful,
beautiful Zion, We're marching upward to Zion, The beautiful
city of God. The hill of Zion yields a thousand
sacred streets Before we reach the heavenly fields Before we
reach the heavenly fields Or walk the golden streets Or walk
the golden streets We're marching to Zion Beautiful, beautiful
Zion We're marching upward to Zion The beautiful city of God Let our songs abound and every
tear be dry, We're marching through Emmanuel's ground, We're marching
through Emmanuel's ground, To fairer worlds on high, To fairer
worlds on high. We're marching to Zion Beautiful,
beautiful Zion We're marching upward to Zion The beautiful
city of God Thank you.