But would you look with me, Ezra
chapter 8. Ezra chapter 8. As I mentioned, I thought we
were going to be in chapter 9 today. A dear, dear friend of mine asked
me some time ago, was I going to deal with chapter 9 and chapter
10 of the book of Ezra? And I said, yes. And then I read
it and I said, now I know why he asked. But we will be looking
at that, Lord willing, next Sunday. We'll look at that, start that.
But here in Chapter 8, just to review. Now, backing up just
a moment, while I was out in deer camp, I took my fire along
with me. I just love this. And I had taken
my notes with me on Friday. And I did a lot of work for last
Sunday. And then I forgot my notes in
my notebook. when I went back and I did a
lot of work for today and wrote it on an envelope. I know how brother Rupert was.
But now, do you think I can find that envelope? So, we'll do it. The book of Ezra, we need to
do just a little bit of review as we've closed out Chapter 7
and it dealt with the decree of Artaxerxes for those folks
to go back, and what was involved in that, and what place Ezra
was to play in that. And we notice several messages
dealt with Ezra as a type of Christ. Well, we dealt with chapter
8 before we went to chapter 7, or the bulk of it, but we left
off the bottom part. So that's what we'd like to deal
with today in chapter 8, beginning with verse 24. Chapter 8 and
verse 24, and I might just say, before we enter into this, that
the journey from Babylon to Jerusalem took four months. So the distance
is about 900 miles, and if you work that out, they traveled
about 7.5 miles a day for four months. Just hold your finger right here
in Ezra chapter 8 and back up to Ezra chapter 7 and verse 9. Ezra chapter 7 and verse 9, it
says, upon the first day of the first month, Ezra chapter 7 verse
9, upon the first day of the first month began he to go up
from Babylon and on the first day of the fifth month came he
to Jerusalem according to the good hand of his God upon him. So there was about four months
there. Now we get over to Ezra chapter
eight, we find out that he got ready and found out that there
was several folks that were not in the troop. And he waited a
short time to get them all gathered up. And I'm so thankful that
that speaks so highly that the Lord's return will not come until
he has all the troop gathered together, until he has all of
his elect saved out of every kindred nation, people, and tongue. And then it will be wrapped up.
So he points that out here. And it was on the 12th day of
the month. If you'll notice here in the
verse, chapter 8, I think it's verse 31. Chapter 8 and verse
31. Notice there with me. And on
the, verse 8. And he departed the river of
Ahava on the 12th day of the first month. So he's made preparation
on the first day. It took him 12 days to gather
together the folks that were not with him. and on the first
day of the month, and go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was upon
us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of
such as lay in wait by the way. So they have arrived at Jerusalem. They have made their journey
across the desert. They have traveled about 900
miles. They've traveled rather slowly.
But when you consider doing walking all the way, And then for a few
moments this morning, we want to look at what they carried
along with them. Much of this had been taken out
of the temple when Nebuchadnezzar overthrew Jerusalem over 70 years
prior to this. Many of the vessels that were
in the temple were taken out. And this was being carried back
with them to the temple, and they were going to put it back
in there like it originally was in the Temple of Solomon. If
you'll notice with me, In verse 33 of this verse of scripture,
back up to verse 32, and we'll just read that. It says, and
we came to Jerusalem and abode there three days. Now, I think
if I had traveled four months by foot, seven and a half miles
a day, I'd probably want to rest more than three days. But that's
apparently what they did, and things needed to move along.
And then it tells us there in that verse 33, it says, And now
on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels
weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meramoth the son
of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eliezer the son of Phinehas,
and with them was Jezebel the son of Jeshu, and Nodiah the
son of Bimeah, and Levites and by number and by weight of every
one of all the weight was written at that time Now when I read
that in preparation for this message, I wondered well, there's
got to be someplace Well, yes, there is right back here in verse
26. Would you look with me in verse
26? it tells me here and I even weighed unto their hands 650
talents of silver Now in today's language, someone
put it this way, 24 tons of silver taken from Babylon to Jerusalem,
7,500 pounds of silver articles, 7,500 pounds of gold, 20 gold
bolts equal value to 1,000 gold coins. two fine articles of polished
bronze as precious as gold. Now, that's another translation
that puts it into a language that I have a little bit more
knowledge of. Can you imagine for a moment
carrying all of that precious metal from Babylon back to Jerusalem? No wonder it took them four months,
and no wonder it took them seven and a half miles per day. Well, I'm just speculating there.
But the thing that I want us to notice is that when they left
Babylon, they had X amount. When they arrived in Jerusalem
and waited out, they had X amount. There was not the loss of one
gram of silver, gold, or bronze. Nobody that was carrying it stuck
it in the sand. Now, I remember my dad telling
me one time that his father asked him to plant a field of corn,
and he was not in the mood to plant a field of corn. So he
planted a couple of rows and put all the rest in one hill,
and left, and told his dad, I've planted that field of corn. Well,
it looked good until they all sprouted. Then his dad knew exactly
what he had done. Couple rows look good, and then
a pile growing in one place. Well, needless to say, it had
to be done over again. Well, we find out that here,
when these children of Israel left, that they all took what
was required, what was going back, and it all arrived back
to Jerusalem after 900 miles and four months. You know the
amount that God gives us in salvation never diminishes. We continue
on with what we are given. The progress that God gives us
in this life, we do not lose or use up any of the grace that
God gives us. Turn with me if you would over
to the book of 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1, There in verse 30 is such a blessed
passage of scripture, and it shares with us just a part of. what Christ is to every believer
and we are given this when God gives us the new birth and whether
we travel 10 years, 20 years, 50 years, 70 years after the
Lord saves us, we end up with the same amount. We don't wear
it out or waste it. Now, we would waste it on ourselves,
But God has a purpose in that when he saves us, that he would
give us Christ and he would never wear out of the redemptive value
that we have when we first believe. Notice here in 1 Corinthians
1 and verse 30. 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 30. The Lord is so gracious, it says,
but of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us. Now, just think of that silver
and gold and bronze that those folks were carrying across the
desert, and it was very valuable and they were very interested
in delivering it to Jerusalem. That's what belong there. Now
here, when the Lord saves his people, when he saves his sheep,
when he brings them to the knowledge of Christ, when he quickens them,
when he raises them from the dead, he blesses them with every
spiritual blessing. And in this verse of scripture,
it says, here's part of it. unto who is of God is made unto
us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. All the life that we have after
we've been born again, we don't lose a trifle of that. We never lose any of Christ's
righteousness and have to provide our own. We never lose any of
God's wisdom and have to get some of our own. We never lose
any of those things. that are found there in 1 Corinthians
1 and verse 30. We don't lose any of our sanctification
over time. We end up with what we were given
to begin with. We don't add to it, we can't
lose from it because it is a gift of God to everyone that he has
purpose to say before the foundation of the world. So God gives us
these rich and precious gifts as we leave Babylon, as we leave
bondage, a place of bondage, we're not rich there at all.
We may think we are, but it's not the right kind of riches.
The riches that we have are in Christ Jesus. We're poor, but
made rich. They were given these things.
They were taken them back to Jerusalem, and we find how precious
they are. How much we end up with life
is what we started with. Would you look with me over to
the book of Exodus for just a moment as I think about the manna that
was given. In the book of Exodus chapter
16, verses 15, 16, 17, and 18. Exodus chapter 16. We find here as the Lord provided
manna. Every day there was always enough. Every day. And those who attempted
to acquire more, had a mess on their hands. That's when we do
it. But when God does it, there is
no mess. It's always just right. Exodus
chapter 16, verse 15. The scriptures share this. Exodus
chapter 16, verse 15. And when the children of Israel
saw it, this manna, they said one to another, it is manna,
or what is it? That's what manna means. For
they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, this
is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. This is the
thing which the Lord hath commanded. Gather of it every man according
to his eating, and Omer for every man according to the number of
your persons. Take ye every man for them which
are in his tents. And the children of Israel did
so, and gathered some more and some less. And when they did
meet it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over,
and he that gathered little had no lack. They gathered every
man according to his eating. And it tells us there in Exodus
chapter 16 and verse 35, and the children of Israel did eat
manna 40 years until they came to the land inhabited. They did
eat manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan.
When they left Egypt, they left bondage, they came out of there.
There was a mixed multitude with them and there was a whole bunch
of people that didn't understand what it was to leave bondage
and they had a desire to go back and eat the fish and the leeks
and the melons and stuff. but there were some people that
were satisfied with the feast of the God Almighty. They ate
manna, they didn't have any rickets, they didn't lose any teeth, they
didn't wear out, they ended up at the end just like at the beginning,
and here they did, sustained by one thing, this manna. God also gave them some quails
to eat, some meat to eat, but for 40 years, Just as He gives
us Christ the moment, He gives us belief to trust Him as we've
been regenerated, that same is what we depend upon the very
last day we have breath. God's people are not depending
upon anything else. Even in the day of death, we're
dependent upon Christ Jesus to bring us safely across the river,
if you please. And so, our life is dependent
upon Him. Just as those people were carrying
that great load, we'd think it was a great load, probably dispersed
out, it didn't make that much to everybody, but it was a great
load when they got it there and put it into a pile and they weighed
it all out and Ezra could say, guess what, folks? Not one gram
was lost. Here it is. Look at it. Just
as we enter into this life through the spiritual birth, he gives
us every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus and that is ours
every day and when we end up this life, it's still ours. That's what we have in Christ
Jesus. Turn with me if you would to
Psalm 78. Psalm 78. As they brought that great pile
of gold and silver, I just, I cannot imagine 24 tons of silver. I
have a dozen or 15 silver dollars. I know why they got rid of those.
They pulled the seams out of the bottom of your pants pocket.
That's why we went to paper. Well, here's 70. 24 tons of silver,
7,500 pounds of silver articles, and 7,500 pounds of gold. They
carried it across just like we carry the most precious cargo
of all, the Lord Jesus Christ is given to us in our salvation. We have him just as much the
first day of our life in Christ as we do our last day. Nothing
is diminished, nothing is taken away, nothing is removed. We're
not criticized or put down by the God of heaven by what we
have done in our life because he has saved us from our sins
and given us the Lord Jesus Christ in fullness, in totality, in
wonderfulness that we get to enjoy every day of our life.
Well, here in the book of Psalm 78, and there in verse 24, Psalm 78 and verse 24, it gives
us these words about this very subject. Man did eat angels'
food. He sent them meat to the full,
angels' food, heavenly food. We get to enjoy the heavenly
food. We get to enjoy the kingdom of
heaven and the kingdom of God in the person Christ Jesus. Over
in the book of 2nd Corinthians 2nd Corinthians the chapter 12
and verse 9 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 9 I Cannot imagine
as even as I read the scriptures about the Apostle Paul's adventures
some of them He just he made a list one time how many times
he'd been beaten how many times he'd been left for dead how many
times he'd had shipwreck how many time I says my goodness
Every one of them, guess what? He still ended up with the same
that he had when he entered into those tests, trials. He ended
up with the very richest blessings of Christ Jesus. And here, one
of those times in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 9, he said
unto me, the Lord said unto me, my grace is sufficient, and that
means more than enough. My grace is sufficient. My grace is more than enough. It's full and running over. My
grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect
in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, then
Paul says, therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that
the power of Christ may rest in me. What a glorious thing
it was for these people as they got to Jerusalem and unloaded
their packs that Ezra could say, Everything's here. What you left with, you arrived
with. Even in packing, it didn't wear
out any of it. You didn't leave any behind.
The deliverance from bondage was so great. The glory that
they were given in their travels was so wonderful that when they
arrived, they still had the same amount. I'm thankful for the
salvation that God's people have in Christ Jesus, that every day
is not spent in wondering, have I done enough? Because we can
rest in the finished work of Christ. He's done enough. He satisfied God. And that's
what is necessary. Well, as we look through here,
we find in verse 35, going back to the book of Ezra chapter 8
and verse 35, We find here that these people that got back, they
did something. After they arrived, they had
all of this precious metal and they arrived with it complete,
just like every one of God's people will arrive in the presence
of the Lord Jesus Christ after they pass from this life into
the next life with everything that God gave them when he saved
them. They will still read down to
the glory of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit. They will still praise him with
their whole heart, more than we can with our heart here. The
only way we praise God here is that spirit that dwells within
us, praises him on our behalf, and we're thankful for that.
Well, after these folks got back there to Jerusalem, it tells
us that they did something. They came, it says there, In
verse 35, also the children of those that had been carried away
when they came out of captivity. Now, that's an interesting passage
of scripture right there. It says, also the children of
those that had been carried away. Now, to us, we were carried away
in our father, Adam. We were carried away and
we were carried into bondage. We weren't there in the Garden
of Eden physically, but all that has been imputed to us. And we're
carried away to bondage and we really don't even correspond
to the bondage that we're in until God saves us and we're
able to reflect on what we are by nature. What we were and are
in the fall. Then and then alone are we able
to say and understand what it is to be a sinner. And we don't
fight that at all, we know exactly what we are. And then it comes
here, it says in verse 35, which came out of captivity. Taken
into captivity by the fathers and brought out of captivity
by the Lord. Taken into captivity in the fall
and brought out of captivity by the salvation that we have
in Christ Jesus. And what did they do? When they
got back to Jerusalem, what did they do when they arrived here?
Just shortly after resting up after this long journey, it says
they offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel. Twelve
bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven
lambs, twelve he goats for offerings. All this a burnt offering unto
the Lord. What are they telling us? These folks, like the church
throughout all ages, are thankful for the salvation we have in
Christ. Thankful for the deliverance
that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now they did not offer
these offerings for their salvation. They offer these offerings to
give a picture or a representation of their salvation. For they
who truly knew know what we know. They know what is written in
the book of Hebrews because it is found throughout the Old Testament. It wasn't the offering of those
sacrifices that were so important, even though they were required
under the law. But it is, what was the spirit? What was the belief of the person
who offered them? If you came believing that these
are your salvation, that's all you have. But if you came knowing
that these are a representation, or a picture, or a type of shadow
of who saved you, then this is so important. It means you're
thankful for what Jesus Christ has done for you. If we take
and look at this in the same vein as we take the communion
service, and Lord willing, in the not too distant future, we
will. But if we have the same feeling there, I am so thankful
as the scriptures share with me what Jesus Christ did on my
behalf at the cross, that he allowed his body to be broken
and his blood to be shed on my behalf. I am not depending upon
this picture, but I'm depending upon the one this picture represents. I say that to share with you
a passage in the book of Hebrews. Would you turn with me to the
book of Hebrews? Hebrews chapter 10 Hebrews chapter 10 we have
so much and Old Testament Saints knew this in their heart We're
thankful. It's written down. We can make
reference to it now, but they knew this in their heart Nobody
that knew Christ Nobody that knew the Messiah in the Old Testament
depended upon those sacrifices for their salvation They were
like Abraham. They were like Moses. They were
like Abel by faith They did these things. And Abraham believed
God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. That's how
people were saved in the Old Testament, and it's just the
same as we find they're saved in the New Testament. They weren't
depending upon those things, but they were depending upon
the blood and righteousness of Christ, holy and completely for
all their salvation. Book of Hebrews chapter 10 and
verse 1, we have what is written here, it says, for the law having
a shadow of good things to come. A shadow of good things to come. and not the very image of the
things can never with those sacrifices which were offered year by year
continually. Now, they're going to continue
the animal sacrifices there in Jerusalem at the time of Ezra.
We have witnessed to it. That's what they're doing. But
they're doing it because they're thankful for the one it represents.
They're thankful for the blood and righteousness of their Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And he and he alone can completely
take care of the problem. Those sacrifices were mentioned
there in the book of Leviticus through the first seven chapters
and they are meaningful and pictorial of the Savior the Lord Jesus
Christ and all the needs and probably there were not very
many people that actually brought those voluntary offerings because
there was not very many that really were sinners. If they
were, they knew who saved them. And this is a picture and a type
and a shadow of that. Well, here we have this group
coming back from captivity. Their fathers took them into
captivity and they are released from that captivity by the person
Ezra as a picture of the type of Christ, picture of Christ
brought out of captivity. And notice as we looked at that,
he did not leave the place of captivity until all were taken
out. and then he went with them in
their journey across the desert. He walked the 900 miles too. He also camped with them. He
was among them. He was part of them. He was their
paraclete. He walked beside them. He understood
the sufferings that they were going through. He understood,
my feet hurt, but he was with them. And when
they got to Jerusalem, they said, let's be thankful. And let's
have these sacrifices that were prescribed in the book of Leviticus
and remember the one that brought us out. It goes on there, it says, those
sacrifices which were offered year by year continually make
the comers thereof perfect. They can never make the comers
perfect. Those sacrifices. We'll back
up just one chapter, the chapter 9 and verse 9, and it says here,
which was a figure for the time then present in which were offered
both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the
service perfect. Those people who knew something,
who had Christ revealed to them, understood this is not what is
making me acceptable in the presence of God. I'm doing what the law
says is required, but this is not making me acceptable before
God. I'm already accepted in the beloved. I'm already acceptable before
God in Christ Jesus. This didn't do a thing for it. But it goes on to say here, that could not make him that
did the service perfect as pertaining to conscience, which stood only
in meats and drinks and diverse washings and carnal ordinances
imposed on them until the time of reformation." Carnal ordinances,
only physical ordinances. When the Lord saves us, it's
spiritual. He brings us into the kingdom
of God. He brings us to Christ. He brings us to the kingdom of
heaven. He brings us to Christ. He brings us to the Savior. He
brings us to Christ. Verse 11, but Christ being come,
a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more
perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not
of this building. Neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. And then in
verse 23 of that chapter it says, it was therefore necessary that
the patterns of the things in heaven should be purified with
these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices
than these. The better sacrifice is the Savior,
is the Lord Jesus Christ at the appointed time. at the appointed
place, for the appointed reason, on the behalf of the appointed
people he sacrificed, he gave himself a ransom for many. Flooded these folks as they came
back to Jerusalem. They had been in bondage. They
had been down there in Babylon just as we find the folks leaving
Egypt these folks had been in Babylon They've been there an
assigned amount of time in the fullness of time though They
were released at the appointed time. They were released and
Known only to God and to his prophets is that and we have
the same promise today as the Apostle Paul wrote Concerning
himself when it pleased God That's when I was released from bondage,
when it pleased God. I could not do anything to leave
on my own. I could not pray enough. I could
not fast enough. I could not give enough. I could
not do all of the religious ordinances that were required under the
Mosaic law enough. But when it pleased God, who
revealed his son in me, that's when I became thankful and never
missed that again. This Thanksgiving that we have
mentioned here with regard to the children of Israel. Brother
Lauren read that 100 Psalm. The church does always offer
sacrifices, enter the gates with thanksgiving. That's where we
are. Enter the gates with thanksgiving. Would you go back there to the
Psalm again? Psalms 107. Psalm 107, as we find the allusion
to those offerings, those sacrifices that were made by those children
of Judah and Benjamin as they came back to Jerusalem after
being in bondage. Their fathers were taken into
bondage, they're born into bondage, and yet the Lord is pleased to
release them and bring them back to Jerusalem. to bring them back
into fellowship with the Father, and they are brought back by
Ezra, a type of Christ. Here in the Psalm, Psalm 107,
as we see the allusion to those sacrifices, here in Psalm 107
and verse 22, the Scriptures have this to give to us, how
to share with us, and let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving. That's what we get to offer,
the sacrifices of thanksgiving. and declare his works with rejoicing."
They can say, he brought us all the way. He brought us all the way and
walked with us. He brought us all the way and we had everything
that we left with. We didn't lose anything. We didn't
lose any righteousness. We didn't lose any sanctification.
We didn't lose any redemption. And we didn't lose any wisdom
because he is all and in all. Colossians, would you turn there
with me to the book of Colossians as we think about those folks
and how thankful they were as we commune around the table from
time to time. That's what it breaks forth,
thanksgiving to the Lord for his broken body and his shed
blood. Colossians chapter 3 verse 15,
Colossians chapter 3 and verse 15 it says, and let the peace
of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called
in one body, and be ye thankful. Oh, to be thankful before the
Lord. And yet, we find that that is just a natural occurrence
of a person who has been born again. So much of that is God in us,
being thankful. We just don't have enough in
us, but he does. And then finally, on this subject
of Thanksgiving, would you turn with me to 1 Thessalonians? You
want to know the will of God? Here's one passage of scripture
that plainly says, for this is the will of God concerning you.
Here in the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 18, it says,
in everything give thanks. We've got some nuts around us. In everything, give thanks. I'm not what I want to be. In
everything, give thanks. I'm not what I should be. In
everything, give thanks. But thanks be unto God, I'm not
what I used to be. In everything, give thanks. I
don't see the Lord as I should. Be thankful you got to see him
at all. I'm just not as thankful as I
should be. You're right. Everything give thanks. For this,
what's it going to say there? First Thessalonians chapter 5
and verse 18 goes on to say, for this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you. That's my privilege. It's not my job. It's my privilege. And I think about those folks
getting back to Jerusalem, and after just a very short time,
I says, you know, that was a hard trip. Took us 900 miles in four months,
almost four months. And our burdens were pretty heavy.
But we're here. I'm going to be thankful. And
they offered those sacrifices. And then finally, if you'll go
back to the book of Ezra chapter 8. One more verse in that chapter. One more verse in that chapter.
Ezra chapter 8, verse 36. The scripture reads, and they
delivered the king's commission unto the king's lieutenants and
to the governors on this side of the river. They furthered
the people and the house of God. They furthered. These folks furthered. There's that word furthered.
It means to lift up, to bear up, to support or sustain. They sustain, they lift it up,
the words of the king. Now the words of the king to
us, they lift us up. Boy, if you want to be lifted
up, just get in the word. You want to be lifted up, let's
assemble together. Because that's what the word
does for God's people. It lifts them up. It sustains
them. That's what the word of the king.
That decree that the king, Artaxerxes, sent back with Ezra to be read. This is the decree. And look
at that decree. God moved in Artaxerxes in every
step, in every way, that it would fall out just perfectly. according to the eternal purpose
of God. And that's what the word of God
does. Everything is falling out perfectly according to the eternal
purposes of God. Turn with me back to the book
of Genesis for just a moment and we find the same word. Genesis
chapter 7. Over here in the book of Ezra,
it's called furthered. Furthered, the people. Here in
the book of Genesis chapter 7, We have it is used in a different
way about a different object, but it gives us an idea of how
this word intends to be used in our lives. Genesis chapter
7, verse 17. Now, Noah has been told to build
an ark, and guess what? He did. By faith, he built an
ark. That's what it tells us in the book of Hebrews. He's
a preacher of righteousness, which it tells us in the New
Testament. He built an ark. He built it according to the
pattern given unto him, the dimensions given unto him. And then it tells
us here, and the floods were 40 days upon the earth, and the
waters increased, and bear up the ark. Now that's the same
word. Bear up is the same word we find
over there for furthered. That massive boat, how much it
weighed, we can only guess. But you know what? The waters
bear it up, lifted it up. It was not stuck in the mud.
It was not stuck in the world. It was not stuck here. It was
bared up by the word, by the waters of the living God. And
they were in safety. God's people are in safety. He
bears them up. He carries them. It may look
like a huge, massive boat out there that's been sitting there
for about 600 years in building, but it's going to be lifted up
by the waters of God. That's what he does. And then,
Isaiah 53. Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 12.
The same word is used over here, but it is used on our personal
benefit. Isaiah chapter 53 you know what
the 53rd chapter of the book of Isaiah is and in this chapter
this word is used just as there in the book of Ezra chapter 8
and verse 36 they didn't they the word furthered Jews lifted
them the word of the king as he brought it to the lieutenants
and to the governor's and to what they did to the people lifted
them up they were there by on purpose and they were building
the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem on purpose and they profited
in it Here in the book of Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 12, the
same word is used. Therefore will I divide a portion
with the great and shall divide the spoil with the strong because
he hath poured out his soul unto death. He was numbered with the
transgressors and he bear the sin of many. Guess what the word
is in that verse of scripture? B-A-R-E. He bear the sins of
many. What a statement. as God in his word bears us along. And in his word he says that
he bear our sins in his body. He bear our sins, he's numbered
with the transgressors and bear our, and he bear the sins of
many and made intercession for the transgressors. Look at Christ bearing the sins
of his people successfully, completely, totally, and able to say at the
end, my job is done. It is finished. I'm successful. I've put away the sins of all
the sins of all my people for all time. And so as the close
out of Ezra chapter 8, And they furthered the people
in the house of God. They bore them along. Though
delivered the king's commission. How blessed we are to have this
great promise carried out in our lives. It's not by striving
or struggling. It's just being the people of
God. To be carried along by the people
of God. Or with the people of God. In
this last chapter, we looked at how much did they carry out
and how much did they deliver? The same amount. Tons of precious
metals for the use in the temple. Tons of it. And yet, they got
there with every bit of it. that God's people are thankful.
They also offered sacrifices. They were delivered from the
works of their father. They were delivered from captivity,
brought into a place where they were free, and they thanked God
by these sacrifices that they offered. And then, we conclude
the chapter by saying, the King's word bore them along. The work of the Lord is beyond
our comprehension. The other day someone mentioned
that the gospel is so simple that it is absolutely profound,
not understood by natural man. And yet God's people say, my
goodness, there's no work in it. They delivered the king's commission
under the king's lieutenant and to the governors on this side
of the river, and they furthered the people and the house of God. Brother Mike, if you'll come
and bring a closing hymn, please.