What a blessed day the Lord has
given us today. So good to gather together and
be with God's folks. Thank you for allowing me to
be here. Would you turn this morning in our study of the book
of Ezra to the first chapter of the book of Ezra. Ezra chapter
1. And we'd like to read the first
three or four verses there. Ezra chapter 1 verse 1. Now in
the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the
Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord
stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made
a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also
in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord
God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth. And
he hath charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is
in Judah. Who is there among you of all
his people? His God be with him, and let
him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build a house
of the Lord God of Israel. He is the God which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any
place where he sojourneth, let The men of his place helped him
with silver and with gold and with goods and with beasts beside
the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem. Then rose up the chief of the
fathers of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites
with all them whose spirit God had raised to go up to build
the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem." Another translation
has put this verse who among you there in verse three any
of you who are his people may go to jerusalem in judah to rebuild
this temple of the lord the god of israel who lives in jerusalem
how generous was the words of the king anybody who wants to
go back to the homeland and enjoy the place their father, their
mother, their grandfather and grandmother told them about. A land that flows with milk and
honey. Anybody can go back to Judah that wants to. No one will
restrain you. No one will let you go and then
try to recapture you. Anyone can go back to the place
written about in the Bible. Anyone can go back to that historical
place where so many have talked about. Stories that the parents
and the grandparents and the great-grandparents had talked
about. Anyone can go back to where God instructed the building
of a beautiful temple built under King Solomon. Go back, anyone,
to the place where not a hammer or a saw was heard in the building
of that temple. All the materials were prepared
beforehand and brought in. Now the command is, the permission
is, to go back and rebuild that temple that was destroyed when
Nebuchadnezzar came in and took the children of Judah and Benjamin
into captivity. The invitation was not only spoken
for those at the capital, but those messages were written and
sent out to all the realm. The news spread. You can go back
to Judah. You can return to Jerusalem.
What a pleasant sound. How encouraging. You can be free. The restraints are lifted. Yet,
we find in the scriptures, as it tells us there in verse three,
who is there among you of all his people that will go back?
And it says, verse four, and whosoever remaineth Now between
the declaration, the proclamation that Cyrus sent out, that he
spoke, then he sent out, there was no doubt a great deal of
comments made. And today I would like to look
at some of the comments that were made by those that remaineth. We find many of these comments
throughout the scriptures when there is the wonderful offering
statements made to come to come to a blessed feast to come to
a blessed time to come to a blessed Christ and Then we hear as the
scriptures record what is often said So we'd like to look this
morning at some of the excuses that no doubt were declared by
those who were of the tribe of Benjamin and those who were the
tribe of Judah that lived under Cyrus, king of the Persians,
who had been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. And when it's time to go back,
when the restraints are lifted, what was said? First of all,
would you turn with me to the book of Luke, chapter 14. Luke
chapter 14 we have the invitation sent out Luke chapter 14 and
there in verse 16 Luke chapter 14 in verse 16 the illustration
in these words were spoken by the Lord while he walked on the
face of the earth and he is declaring here a certain man made a great
supper and he invited many Luke chapter 14 verse 16, Then said
he, said Christ unto him, A certain man made a great supper and bade
many. And he sent his servant at suppertime
to say to them that were bidden, Come, for all things are now
ready. And they all with one consent
began to make excuse. A man, a certain man, a great
man, a wealthy man, a man of has the ability of preparing
a wonderful meal and he has sent out the invitations and now he
begins to hear those excuses made by those that were invited. They and they all with one consent
began to make excuse. Can you hear as those in Persia
under Cyrus king as the word gets to them that they are now
free to go back to Jerusalem to go back to Judah to go back
to their homeland that they have been taken out of 70 years prior
We have children and grandchildren and maybe great-grandchildren
that are related to those who were taken out And now we begin
to hear their excuses. The first said unto him, I have
bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it. I pray thee, have me excused. And another said, I have bought
five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them. I pray thee, have
me excused. And another said, I have married
a wife, and therefore I cannot come. When I was a young boy
visiting with my grandmother one time, she told me about a
preacher that they had that preached the message, two fools and a
henpecked husband. And the preacher preached from
this passage of scripture. Well, we'd think that a person
is a fool that has bought a piece of property that they've never
looked at, or they bought an oxen or an automobile that they've
never looked at, and yet we have it recorded here and these are
the excuses. Verse 21 of this passage in Luke
chapter 14, So that servant came and showed his lord these things.
Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant,
Go out quickly into the streets and the lanes of the city, and
bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and
the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it
is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the
Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges,
and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, that none
of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. The
excuses that were given no doubt reflect these that were given
to the Lord Jesus as he spoke concerning the kingdom. In Luke
chapter 18 we have another statement made about the same type of situation
Luke chapter 18 and verse 18. And a certain ruler asked him,
saying, Good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
And Jesus said unto them, Why callest thou me good? None is
good, save one, that is God. Thou knowest the commandments,
do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear
false witness, honour thy father and thy mother. And he said,
All these things have I done from my youth up. Now when Jesus
heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing,
sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and
thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me. And when
he heard this, he was sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when
Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they
that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. For it is easier
for a camel to go through the needle's eye than for a rich
man to enter into the kingdom of God. Here a man like those
who had built buildings, had businesses, they were doctors
and lawyers, they were professional people, they were cobblers, they
were auto mechanics, they were all sorts of folks that had built
their place there under the Persian Empire. First of all, the Babylonian
Empire, they become part of the place. They had their phone number
for such a long time, they couldn't leave it. They had their houses
for such a long time, they couldn't leave it. They had their business
for such a long time, they couldn't leave it. And so they were very
sorrowful. They were not going to go into
Judah. In Genesis chapter 19, there's
a great event going to take place. God's going to destroy Sodom
and Gomorrah. He's told Abraham this. Genesis
chapter 19. He's told Abraham. Abraham goes
through and says, For this many would you? And God says, No.
For this many would you? No. God says, No. But after it
all is said and done, Lot is warned by the messengers of God
that he's going to destroy this place. Now there's one thought
about Lot. Lot is called justified in the
New Testament. It's interesting that Satan himself
fell when he was in the very presence of God in heaven, the
most perfect place. He fell in that situation and
we find that Adam God's creation was beautiful. There was no imperfection
there. Everything was declared by God
to be very good. In that condition, Adam fell. And we read about Lot living
in some of the worst social conditions, moral conditions in the entire
world. So much so that it tells us that
God is going to destroy this place, and He does. And yet,
in that mess, There is a man that God calls justified, just
Lot. And so Lot is informed of the
pending punishment, the pending doom, the pending punishment
upon this cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And there is a concern
in Lot now. Genesis chapter 19 and verse
14, and Lot went out and spake unto his sons-in-law, which married
his daughters, and said, Up. get you out of this place for
the Lord will destroy this city." He understood that. Lot knew
what God said would come to pass. There was no question in his
mind. He was warned of God and God had always shared with Lot
the truth. When God came upon him after
he'd heard the gospel and gave him the new birth, there was
one thing that was placed inside of Lot, and that was to trust
God, to trust God. So he did. And he goes to his
sons-in-law that married his daughters and says, you've got
to get out of this place. The Lord will destroy this city.
But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law. A whole
bunch of folks would say, preachers in particular, would say that
Lott just wasn't a good witness. He shouldn't have been living
there. Well, where do we live? We live in places just as bad
as Sodom and Gomorrah, have the same moral conditions. Our cities are going to be destroyed
today, but one day this earth will be made afresh, made new
by God, by fire. So it goes out, and they'll say,
Lot just wasn't a good testimony. Lot didn't do what he should
have done. Well, the problem is, natural man's heart wouldn't
listen to any of the warnings that came along, even this final
warning. But they seemed as one that mocked
unto his sons-in-law. And when the morning arose, then
the angels hastened lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy
two daughters, which are there, lest thou be consumed in the
iniquity of the city." So here four folks get out of Sodom and
are ushered out by the angels, the messengers of God, and the
rest mocked him. Another incident, just like we
find here in the book of Ezra, chapter 1, the ability is granted,
you can leave this place, you can go, and all the excuses that
we're going to hear as family and friends are preparing to
leave, and their family and friends say, no, I have a piece of property
here, I've just got married here, I've just got a new car here,
a new yoke of oxen, I need to test them out, or I've done all
those things from my youth up, there's no need for me, this
is a good place, I'm happy here. And all the warnings, or all
the blessings, that were ever given to Israel never changed
one heart. In the book of 2nd Chronicles
there's an interesting passage of scripture when we find the
king 2nd Chronicles chapter 30 and verse 1, Hezekiah, how few kings Israel and Judah knew anything
about God and yet God protected them God watched over them and
here Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah to the ten tribes and
to the two tribes and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh
that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem
to keep the Passover and to the Lord God of Israel for the king
had taken counsel and his princes, and all the congregation of Jerusalem,
to keep the Passover in the second month. For they could not keep
it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves
sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together
to Jerusalem." Now, the Passover to them was the taking of a lamb,
setting it aside on the tenth day of the month, fourteenth
day of the month, they were to slaughter it, Blood was to be
applied and so forth. We read about it in the book
of Exodus. But as we look back on it, the
invitation has come here to the gospel. This whole sacrifice
that had been given the Passover was a declaration of the shed
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ on the behalf of his people.
And it was only for Israel. It was not for Egypt. It was
not for the Hivites or Jebusites. It was for Israel, God's chosen
people. Picture of the church. They were
to come come hear the gospel see the gospel We're going to
declare it down here in Jerusalem, and we are sending out invitations
We've missed it for a long time. We've haven't had it for a long
time. So we're going to have that so they could Verse three
they could not keep it at that time because the priest had not
sanctified themselves sufficiently Neither had the people gathered
themselves together to Jerusalem And the thing pleased the king
and all the congregation. So they established a decree
to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even
to Dan, that they should come and keep the Passover unto the
Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem. For they had not done it for
a long time in such sort as it was written. So the posts, the
mailmen, went with the letters from the king and his princes
throughout all Israel and Judah, According to the commandment
of the King saying ye children of Israel turn again unto the
Lord God of Abraham Isaac and Israel this covenant God turned
to the covenant God the Lord God Jehovah God and he will return
to the remnant of you that are escaped out of the hand of the
king of Assyria and Be not like ye not be ye and be not ye like
your fathers and like your brethren which trespassed against the
Lord God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation,
as ye see. Now be ye not stiff-necked, as
your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord, and
enter into a sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever,
and serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of his wrath
may turn away from you. For if ye turn again unto the
Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion
before them, that lead them captive, so that they shall come again
into this land. For the Lord your God is gracious
and merciful, and he will not turn away his face from you,
if ye return unto him." What gracious words these posts were
sharing with all the folks there in Israel and in Judah as the
word went out, come down to Jerusalem, hear the gospel. There's a wonderful
message to be declared here. So the invitation goes out, the
word goes out, the proclamation goes out. Verse 10, so the post
passed from city to city throughout the country of Ephraim and Manasseh,
even unto Zebulon. Now here's the results of that
wonderful message. Come hear the gospel. Come to
Christ. come to this one that can give
eternal life, come to this one who is the Son of God, come to
this one that has gone to the cross and gave his life a ransom
for many. And here's the result. But they
laughed them to scorn and mocked them. So the word goes out by
Cyrus King to all those that were taken captive they're under
Babylonian captivity and now under Persian captivity and Cyrus
is moved upon stirred up by God to let these people go just as
had been promised in the word by the Prophet Jeremiah after
70 years God will take you back and the the word is gone forth
out of the mouth of the king and the writings were made of
all this proclamation carried out and yet there's going to
be a hundreds of thousands that remaineth in the land and they
have all kinds of excuses to make why they're going to stay
there and This is another one. They mocked them. They laughed
at them. They laughed them to scorn and
mocked them and yet in verse 11 of this passage of scripture
we read some comforting words Nevertheless Now that's much
like we find in other places, but God. Nevertheless, there
are some, divers of Asher and Manasseh and Zebulon, humbled
themselves and came to Jerusalem. Now they didn't humble themselves
enough to come. God brought them to that place.
God is the author and finisher. God is the Alpha and Omega. He
is the reason that we bow. He is the reason that we come.
And so it was with these. They were just as stiff-necked
and hard-hearted as all the rest, until God had been gracious to
them and showed them grace. And they came to Jerusalem, and
they observed the Passover. Now, no doubt there are going
to be those in that time, and even today, that would say, do
you think that the failure to come was because the posts were
not genuine? They didn't have enough encouragement
in their voice. They traveled so far and were
tired and weary, and they just didn't put it in the right frame
of mind or in the right words. Or they didn't describe the situation
correctly. They maybe missed a word when
they read the proclamation. They were just human. They were
of the flesh, just like preachers are. Preachers of grace are today.
It's not our words. We make mistakes. We stutter.
We stammer. We put uh's in our preaching. We read the wrong passage. We
can't find the passage we're looking for. And so there are
those who are going to say that's the reason. Or they failed to
deliver as the king had directed. They'd lost the paper and so
they're just quoting from their head and they miss a few words.
My goodness, all of these things. Or they didn't define the words
correctly. The definition of the word predestination, the
definition of the word elect, the definition of the word redemption,
the definition of the word sanctification, the definition of the word of
blood sacrifice, manuel, all of these words, it isn't the
definition of the word. It's the hardness of the heart
that prevents people. We cannot define the words clear
enough for people to understand. God must give us the new birth
and then those words all fall into place. I remember many years
ago when a pastor came out to Oregon, where I was pretending
to be a pastor, and I had some difficult questions to ask him.
And I asked the first question, and they were the stupidest questions
you can imagine, in retrospect. But I asked him these questions,
and every time he answered me, he always said the same thing.
That's not the issue, Norm. I would say, what is the issue?
And he would respond, Christ is the issue. I couldn't see
it. Well, when the Lord saved me,
when the Lord gave me the new birth and I realized what this
pastor was saying was the absolute truth, when Christ became important
in my life, I called him up and I said, brother, I know exactly
what you mean. Christ is the issue. These things
are so contrary to the gospel, the questions that I had. So definition isn't the problem. Failure to deliver isn't the
problem. Failure to describe correctly
isn't the problem. Failure to come because the posts
were not genuine isn't the problem. The problem is the hardness of
the heart. Election is not based on foreseen
faith. Election is based on foreseen
unbelief. If God had not chosen a people
before the foundation of the world, none would come. It is absolutely essential that
He has taken care of all the work ahead of time. Just like
the building of that temple under Solomon, there was not the sound
of a saw or a hammer on sight. It had all been prepared ahead
of time. In the Psalm, Psalm 106, would
you turn there with me as we look at, again, the excuses that
people make, and as God's reflection upon these excuses, why they're
not going to go down to Judah, why they're not going to go down
to Jerusalem. In Psalm 106, Psalm 106, verse
23, Therefore he said that he would destroy them Had not Moses had his chosen
stood before him in the breach to turn away his wrath, lest
he should destroy them. Ye have despised the pleasant
land. They believe not his word, but
they murmured in their tents and hearken not unto the voice
of the Lord. They despise the pleasant land. They believe not his word. That's the problem. That's the
problem with these that remain in Persian. empire, they believed
not his word. We're not strong enough, we'll
not make it, there's just too many problems, or we have our
business here, or we're just too tired, or we're just not
interested enough to go. How many people would sit at
home and do nothing rather than go hear the gospel? In the book
of Proverbs chapter 1, Proverbs chapter 1, another word is given
here about the real problem. Proverbs chapter 1 and beginning
with verse 24. Proverbs chapter 1 verse 24,
Because I have called, and ye refused. I have stretched out
my hand, and no one regarded. But ye have set at nought all
my counsel, and would have none of my reproof." Nobody wants
to listen to God. We're enmity. We want to be religious,
but we don't want to listen to God's Word. How many opportunities
have you and I missed to hear God's Word, but we did not want
to hear it. And if it wasn't for the hand
of God, the act of God, the moving of God, the quickening of God,
we'd still be in that situation. So I have called and you refuse.
God has called the supreme of the universe, the creator of
heaven and earth, the Lord God Almighty. has called to finite
man to come, and yet no one comes." I was in a meeting one time,
even in my religion, and there was a preacher there from Texas,
and he was trying to illustrate how people are saved. And so
he pulled the dollar bill out of his wallet, and he was flapping
it in the air, and he said, this is how God saves his people.
He holds out a gift, salvation, And he says, come. And he says,
somebody come up here and get this dollar bill. Somebody come
up here and get this dollar bill. Well, nobody moved. And so he
called on my future, my brother-in-law. He knew him. He says, Peter,
come up here and get this dollar bill. Well, in my ignorance,
I didn't understand the gospel, but I did see as it was pointed
out to me later, that that was one of the best illustrations.
The general call, come and come to Christ. The effectual call,
a name. We're called out by Christ. We're called out through the
Spirit to come. And without that, we'll never
come. So Peter came up and got the dollar bill. Now probably
like most religionists, he asked for the dollar bill. back after
the service, but that was an illustration. In the book of
Acts chapter 2, we have another thought here with regard to this
very thing. Acts chapter 2, you remember
that's the day of Pentecost and the wonderful preaching that
was going on there. Acts chapter 2 and verse 13, They're not out in some pagan
land. This is going on in Jerusalem.
They're not out preaching to heathen. They're preaching to
Jews. They're not preaching to foreigners. They're preaching to probably
many of their own family. And it says here in Acts chapter
2 and verse 13 that the preaching was going on, and others mocking said, there's
only one reason these guys, Acts chapter 2 verse 13, others mocking
said, there's only one reason these guys are acting like this,
they've got up to the sauce before breakfast, or these men are full
of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the
eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of
Judea, and all ye that dwell in Jerusalem, be this known unto
you, and hearken to my words. For these are not drunken, as
ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But
this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. Peter understood
because God had given him understanding. Those who were there didn't understand
and their accusation is they're full of new wine. Can you imagine
those folks there that stayed in the Persian Empire telling
all the posts that came by? Only one problem with them, they
just don't have the message because they're drunk. Excuse me. In the book of Acts
chapter 18, Acts chapter 18, and there in verse 1, Acts chapter
18 and verse 1, it says, After these things Paul departed from
Athens and came to Corinth. And he found a certain Jew named
Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife
Priscilla, because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart
from Rome, and came unto them. And because he was of the same
craft, he abode with them, and wrought, for by their occupation
they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue
every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And
when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was
pressed in the spirit and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Messiah. Jesus was Christ. Jesus of Nazareth,
whom they had crucified. Jesus of Nazareth, who was born
of a virgin. Jesus of Nazareth. who dumbfounded
the doctors of the law there in Jerusalem. So many commentators
said that he was asking them questions and they were answering
it. It's the other way around. He was answering their questions,
and I can almost hear him say to every one of their stupid
questions, that's not the issue. And they'd say, what is the issue?
And he would say, Christ is the issue, the Messiah is the issue.
So he was testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. Now, the
result of that, this one that had come, Jesus of Nazareth,
was the Messiah. He is the Messiah, the promised
one. God had promised Recorded in Genesis chapter 3 and verse
15, he'd take care of the problem that had come about as Adam fell. And when they opposed themselves
and blasphemed, he shook his raiment and said unto them, Your
blood be upon your own heads. I am clean. From henceforth I
go to the Gentiles. When they opposed themselves,
they just were unable to believe what Paul was preaching, that
Christ is Messiah, Jesus is Messiah, and they oppose themselves and
blasphemed. We'll have none of this. That's
the problem among those who remained under Cyrus in Persia. We just
don't believe it. We're going to stay right here.
And maybe some of them said, as we find in Acts chapter 24,
Acts chapter 24, verse 25, it says, And as he reasoned of righteousness,
temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled and answered,
Go thy way, for this time Can you hear those people that remained
in the Persian Empire that were not going to go back? All sorts
of excuses were given, all reasonable excuses. They're just, we don't
have time. We're sick. We're old. We're
too young. We have bought property here.
We have a business here. successful here we're doing what
we want to do here and then finally you know when those folks go
back and we get word that they're successful then maybe we'll consider
going after all the work is done when i have a convenient season
i will call for thee what a statement about the irreverence of the
natural heart When I am ready, I will come. Well, left in that
state by Almighty God, we will never come. We're thankful for
sovereign grace. We're thankful for grace that
will move us from where we are, that will bring us from where
we are. The prophet Isaiah wrote about this. In Isaiah chapter
53, you know what I'm going to read here. Isaiah chapter 53
and verse 1. Isaiah was used by Almighty God
to write and he summed it up very well right here in Isaiah
chapter 53 in verse 1 Who hath believed our report? Can you
imagine those posts those delivering? fellows coming back to Babylon
there with this message and We did what we were told to do,
but only a handful are coming. The rest made all sorts of excuses,
and some of them even blamed us because we were not kind enough. We didn't lay it out kind enough. Well, when it comes to the gospel,
we just leave it as it is. We're not going to make it more
palatable. We're just going to declare it
as God has declared it. that he that hath the Son hath
life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life. That's just
as clear as it can be. Without Christ, we'll not see
God. With Christ, we shall see God.
And works are left out of it. We cannot come with our works
in our hand. We'll only come when God regenerates
us, gives us a new birth, quickens us, makes us alive. And then
we will come, and we'll be happy to come and go to Christ. So as the prophet Isaiah wrote
who hath believed our report and and to whom is the arm of
the Lord revealed That takes us way ahead in the New Testament
when Jesus was asking his disciples Who does the world say I am?
Who do you say I am and Peter answered thou art the Christ
of? Thou art the Messiah, the Son of God, Son of the Living
God. And Jesus answered quickly, filling
all the gaps for us, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, called
by name, first and last. Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona,
for flesh and blood did not reveal this unto you, but my Father
which is in heaven. Hath believed our report now
the rest of Isaiah chapter 53 shares with us the Messiah all
his work all of his activity All that he would do for the
elect all he'd do for the saved all he would do for those who
will return All those who will come to Christ. These are what
he had to say in He it blessed the Lord verse 10. He had it
pleased the Lord to bruise him He hath put on him to grief When
he shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his
soul, and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
What a glorious statement! Who hath believed our report?
No doubt that's what these messengers came back with. Who's believed
our report? There are just a few who said
they'd come. Well, going back to the book of Ezra, as we close
here, going back to the book of Ezra, we find there in Ezra
chapter 1 verse 5, Ezra chapter 1 verse 5, Then rose up the chief
of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin and the priests, and the Levites,
with all them whose spirit God had raised." What a statement. Right there is the gospel. God
had raised them. That's why they're going to go.
God had worked in them. That's why they're going to leave.
And as we've said in the past in these messages, that in the
second chapter of the book of Ezra, in verse 64, 42,360 went back to Jerusalem plus men
and women, singers and servants. To sum this all up, we read in
John chapter 5. John chapter 5. Would you turn
there with me? John chapter 5 and verse 37. John chapter 5 and verse 37.
And the Father himself which hath sent me hath borne witness
of me. Excuse me, John chapter 6. You
know, there can be those folks that say, well, Norm misled me
because he got into the wrong passage. We are frail as dust. I read my notes incorrectly.
So would you turn with me to John chapter 6 in verse 37. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. So if we look at this in a type
or a shadow, down there at Jerusalem, that's a picture of Christ. And
all those that the Father had given him, 42,360, leave Babylon, leave the Persian
Empire, as the Cyrus king of Persia gives the edict, gives
the permission to go back. Freedom is yours, go back. So
many stayed behind, but all that the Father giveth me, as Christ
said, shall come to me. Now, one more verse before we
close, and that again is back in the book of Ezra. Ezra chapter
3 and verse 8. Ezra chapter 3 and verse 8. Now,
in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem,
in the second month began Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua,
the son of Josedach, And the remnant of their brethren, and
the priests, and the Levites, and all they that were come out
of the captivity unto Jerusalem, and appointed the Levites from
twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the
house of the Lord. Did you notice that right in
the middle of that verse? And the remnant of their brethren,
that's who came. The remnant, according to the
election of grace. They came. They came gladly.
They didn't care what family and friends would say. That's
not even in the equation. When God comes down, when he
works a work of grace, when we hear the gospel by the purpose
of Almighty God, we either go someplace and God is preaching
the gospel or he'll send somebody who knows something about the
gospel to our place. But when that time comes, when
God saves his folk by the mercy and grace, gives peace, family
doesn't even enter into the equation. That's not the issue. It is follow
Christ. Christ is the issue. So they're
remnant according to the election of grace. They came. They didn't
worry about their jobs. They didn't worry about their
family. They didn't worry about their property. They didn't worry
about their husbands or their wives. They didn't worry about
their cars, their animals, as we read there about those. They
didn't worry about keeping the law. Those things have all passed
away. Pharisees those that were very
important in their own doing we've kept all these things those
who come knew they hadn't We haven't kept the law our righteousness
is Christ. We're depending holy and Completely
upon the blood and righteousness of Christ. So I encourage you. Where are you today? Are you
remaining or are you leaving? God bless you. May you have a
good week