Before we read Ezra chapter three,
let's pray together. Our Father, I pray that you be
with us in this time. Let us worship. We pray that
you send the Spirit and cause these dry bones to live. Father,
be with us. Bless your message. Send the
message from you as you see fit. Have it be glorifying to your
name edifying to the saints and draw sinners to repentance. Let this be a time of worship.
Be with those of our congregation who are undergoing trial, whatever
the trial may be, whatever that time is. Be with them through
the time causes to rejoice through it and pray this thankfully in
Christ's name for his sake. Ezra chapter three. Um, our text
today is actually in Psalm 118. Uh, but, but this relates to
our text. Uh, Psalm 118 22 says of our
Lord Jesus Christ calls him to the stone, which the builders
refused. The stone, which the builders refused is become the
headstone of the quarter, excuse me, of the corner. Listen to
the joy in Jerusalem, the joy in Jerusalem here in Ezra as
the foundation of the temple was laid Ezra chapter three,
starting in verse eight. Now, in the second year of their
coming under the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month
began Zerubbabel, the son of Sheol to L and Joshua, the son
of Zosadak and the remnant of their brethren, the priests and
the Levites, and all they that will come out of the captivity
unto Jerusalem appointed the Levites from 20 years old and
upward to set forward the work of the house of the Lord. Then
stood Joshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmel and his
sons, the sons of Judah, together to set forward the workmen in
the house of God, the sons of Hinnadad with their sons and
their brethren, the Levites. And when the builders laid the
foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in
their apparel with trumpets and the Levites, the son of Asaph
with cymbals to praise the Lord. after the ordinance of David,
king of Israel. And they saying together by course and praising
and giving thanks unto the Lord. Why? Because he is good. Thanks unto the Lord, because
he is good for his mercy endureth forever toward Israel. And all
the people shouted with a great shout and we praise the Lord
because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But
many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers who
are ancient men, that it seemed the first house, when the foundation
of this house was laid before their eyes, wept. They wept with
a loud voice, and many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people
could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise
of the weeping of the people. For the people shouted with a
loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off. Amen. So grab
your bulletins and stand. Mike will lead us in call to
worship. Wherewith shall we approach the
Lord, And bow before his throne, By trusting his unchanging word? and pleading Christ alone. This is the name the Father loves,
this is the name This is the name that heaven
approves, and blesses us indeed. Then let His name forever be
to us upbringing. His name our alma mater. For all our hope is there His
name, Lord Jesus, soothes him well His name is great indeed
He saves from sin and wrath and hail His name is all I need. Thank you, DC. Turn to number
16 in our great hymns of faith, number 16, The Lord is Truly
King. The Lord is King, lift up, lift
up thy voice, sing His praise, sing His praise. All heaven and
earth before Him now rejoice, sing His praise, sing His praise. From world to world the joy shall
ring, For He alone is God and King. From sky to sky His banners
fling, Sing His praise, sing His praise. The Lord is King,
let all His worth declare, Great is He, great is He! Bow to His will, and trust His
tender care, Great is He, great is He! Great is He! Nor murmur at His wise decrees,
Nor doubt His steadfast promises, In humble faith, all on Thy knees,
Great is He! Great is He! The Lord is King, and bow to
Him ye must God is great, God is good The judge of all, to
all is ever just God is great, God is good Holy and true are
all his ways, Let every creature shout his praise. The Lord of hosts, ancient of
days, God is great, God is good. throughout his vast domain. He is all, all in all, the Lord
Jehovah. He is all, all in all. O earth and heaven, one song
shall ring from grateful hearts this anthem's spring. Arise, ye saints, salute thy
King, all thy days This song's hard to beat. Hard to beat that song. 143. 143. There's one that may
though. Rejoice the Lord is King. Rejoice, the Lord is King, your
Lord and King adore. Rejoice, give thanks and sing,
and triumph evermore. Lift up your voice, rejoice again
I say, rejoice! Jesus the Savior reigns, the
God of truth. When He had purged our stains
and took His seat above. Lift up your heart, lift up your
voice, Rejoice again, I say rejoice! His kingdom cannot fail, He rules
over earth and heaven. The keys of death and hell Are
to our Jesus given. Lift up, you Lord, The pure hawk
voice, Rejoice! again I say, Rejoice! Rejoice in glorious hope, Our
Lord the Judge shall come, And take his servants up to their
eternal home. Lift up your heart, Lift up your
voice, Rejoice again, I say, Rejoice! Turn with me to Psalm 118. Psalm 118. The main focus today
is going to be on verse 24 as I'm Verse 24 said, this is the day,
this is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and
be glad in it. That's the, the main text we're
going to read through Psalm 118, but I wanted to give you that.
So you can listen because there's some questions to me in that
verse. This is the day the Lord has
made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. There's some questions
that I have that I want to answer, um, that I believe the text answers.
That puts it, the text answers, doesn't it? These four questions,
and listen for them as I read through Psalm 118. Who is the
Lord? Who is the Lord? What day hath
he made? Who is the Lord? What day hath
he made? Who is the we? That's important. It says we
will rejoice and be glad in it. I want to be part of that we.
Who is we? And what is it? What does it
mean? What is it to rejoice? So listen
for those as I read through Psalm 118. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord
for he is good because his mercy endureth forever. Let Israel
now say that his mercy endureth forever. Let the house of Aaron
now say that his mercy endureth forever. Let them now that fear
the Lord say that his mercy endureth forever. I called upon the Lord
in distress. The Lord answered me and set
me in a large place. The Lord is on my side. I will
not fear. What can man do unto me? The
Lord taketh my part with them that helped me. Therefore, shall
I see my desire upon them that hate me? It is better to trust
in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust
in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. All nations compassed
me about, but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them.
They compassed me about. Yea, they compassed me about.
but in the name of the Lord, I will destroy them. They compassed
me about like bees. They are quenched as the fire
of thorns for in the name of the Lord, I will destroy them.
That was thrust sore at me that I might fall, but the Lord helped
me. The Lord is my strength and song
and has become my salvation. The Joyce, excuse me, the voice
of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous.
The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. The right hand of
the Lord is exalted. The right hand of the Lord doeth
valiantly. I shall not die, but live and declare the works of
the Lord. The Lord has chastened me sore,
but he has not given me over unto death. Open to me the gates
of righteousness. I will go in, I will go in, go
into them and we'll praise the Lord. This gate of the Lord into
which the righteous shall enter. I will praise thee. for thou
hast hurt me, art become my salvation. The stone which the builders
refused has become the headstone of the corner. This is the Lord's
doing. It is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and
be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord.
O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he
that cometh in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you out
of the house of the Lord. God is the Lord, which has showed
us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords,
even unto the horns of the altar. Thou art my God, I will praise
thee. Thou art my God, I will exalt thee. Oh, give thanks unto
the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. I'll never get over this love. I'll never get over His love, how He cares. I have found the sweet rose of
Sharon, The pearl of great price. But what sets my heart to music
Is that in him I have lost I'll never get over his love
All my days I'll rejoice, I'll never get over His love. He loves me I love Him I'll never get over
His love He has freed me from all my sin. Life without Him is not worth
the living. There's no life's breath within. But in Christ there's a river
that flows to the end. I'll never get over this love. All my days I've Rejoice! I have found the sweet
rose of Sharon, the pearl of great price. But what sets my
heart to music is that So I'll never get over His love
All my days I'll rejoice Thank you. Open your Bibles with me again
to Psalm 118. By means of introduction, again,
I had mentioned our main focus is on verse 24. This is the day
the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in
it. Quite honestly, what kept bringing
me back to this scripture is the trouble I've had with it. Not because the verse is troublesome
because I'm troublesome because I've misunderstood it. My sinfulness
caused me trouble with this verse. I've heard it misused. I've misused
it myself. Um, and in this life, we're,
we're never rid of this flesh. We're just never rid of this
flesh. We, we see, we see through the glass darkly. We're never
rid of this flesh, our sinful flesh. We need to be aware of
this. Our sinful flesh will will continue
even with such a beautiful versus this to to bring us under burden
and obligation, sinfulness. But thankfully, the Lord draws
us out. He draws us out to the preaching
of his word. The Lord draws us out of that. We're no longer
under the law's dominion, neither for salvation nor in this life.
We're no longer under the law's dominion. Our sinful flesh keeps
trying to bring us back under it though. And the trouble I've
had with this verse comes from that, that sense of obligation
to try and get myself honestly in a better mood. Um, I haven't
been sleeping well for months and I have been waking up horribly. I wake up with a headache every
single day and this scripture comes in and this is, this is
what my flesh tells myself. Don't do this. This is what my
flesh tells myself. This is the day the Lord has
made rejoice and be glad in it. That's not the right attitude.
There can be all kinds of reasons that I don't feel like rejoicing,
right? Can't there be all kinds of reasons
you just don't feel like rejoicing? I've got a headache. I'm tired.
And much worse, much, much harder trials than that. I don't feel
like rejoicing. I'm broken. I don't feel like
rejoicing. I was watching a documentary
the other day leading up to, anyway, I was watching a documentary
on John McCain. Seven years, I believe it was
in captivity, four of them in a cage. In a cage is POW. Someone walked by depending on
the spirit and said to him, Hey, this is the day the Lord has
made rejoice and be glad in it. I mean, that could be delivered with
a very bad spirit, correct? Couldn't it? And it just lead
to bitterness on his behalf. This is the day the Lord has
made rejoice and be glad in it. But if I don't feel like rejoicing,
then One of two things has to be wrong. Either I don't understand
what this day is. Maybe I don't understand what
that means if this is the day. Or I don't understand what it
is to rejoice. And I think the scripture answers both those
questions. Again, usually when I hear other
people quote this scripture or when I'm talking to myself, when
I've quoted it to myself, what it's really meant is something
like this. The Lord has made this day. Whatever's going on,
it's his doing. Now be happy about it. And. And
is that true? It is true. It is true. The Lord has made this day, whatever
it is, be happy about it. That is true. The Lord is perfectly
sovereign. He's sovereign and good in everything
he does and everything he does. The Lord is sovereign and good.
And what he does is good. And what he does is for our good.
And what he does is for our glory. for His glory, I'm sorry, for
our good, for His glory. So this is the day the Lord has
made. Whatever happens, be glad in it. We should, we have every
reason to take complete comfort, complete assurance in that, in
that alone. We have every reason to, but
our sinful flesh, again, will take even that comforting truth
and turn it into an ugly, bitter attitude. I'm speaking of myself and I'm
trusting that somebody here has felt that same way. Well, this
is the Lord's doing. It must be good. It must be good. I know it is. I know, I know
it's good. I know it in my head and I know it in my heart. I
know it's good. So I'm just going to grit my
teeth and push through it. And is that, is that the right
attitude that we should have as children? Is that right? That's
not right. That's not the right attitude. You children in here, and we're
all children in here, but this is specifically young children
that are still living at home with your parents. When you hear
your parents tell you to do something, look at my kids. When I tell
you to do something, isn't it for your good? When you parents
tell your children something, isn't it for their good? Children,
when your parents tell you to do something, isn't it for your
good? It is for your good. Now you can do it, you can do
what they say, but is it honoring to your parents to hang your
head and stomp your feet and say, well, I guess I'm going
to do it because dad told me to do so. Is that honoring to
your parents? It's not honoring. Kids who are
old enough to have your own curfew, parents tell you to be home at
such and such a time, is it honoring to come home a minute before?
That's not early enough in my book. Honor your parents out
of love because they deserve it. Matt, Tessa, I mean, you
all provide everything for your children, right? Everything that
they have, the food they ate this morning, every stitch of
clothing that they're wearing from their shoes to their shirt
to the hair bow, everything, everything you've provided for
them. The roof over their head, they
depend on you for everything. And you don't deserve anything
less. You don't deserve anything less
than a grateful attitude from them in return. As loving parents,
you've earned. You deserve a grateful attitude
back from them. And even as sinful, imperfect
people, we fathers, I'll speak to fathers, Sean, we, we have
our children's best interest at heart, even as sinful men. How much more does our father
deserve? Thankful, rejoicing heart from
us. Look again at verse 24. Uh, this morning I'd mentioned
earlier, we're going to focus on four points. This is the day
the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in
it. Who is the Lord? What day hath he made? Who is
the we, we that we're talking about? Who are we? What is it
to rejoice? First of all, who is the Lord? David said, this is the day the
Lord hath made. So that begs two questions. Who
is the Lord? What day hath he made? Who is
the Lord? Verse one in Psalm 118. Verse
one says, Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for he is good for he
is good. The Lord is his capital. You
see at the capital L O R D the Lord, Lord of Jehovah and all
the names of Jehovah. The Lord is good. The Lord, my
banner, the Lord, my shepherd, the Lord that heals the Lord
is present. The Lord is there. The Lord,
our righteousness, the Lord who sanctifies you, the Lord will
provide the Lord, our peace, the Lord of hosts. He's good. And that's who David's talking
about. Who is the Lord? The Lord is good. Goodness is, is, is
his character. Uh, he, he does good and he is
good. He does good. And he is good.
He's described as abounding, overflowing in goodness and truth. And not because, not because
man has judged him to be so, not because we've declared him
to be good. We have no point of reference
for good. Mark 10, um, Dan, he, I believe
you looked at Matthew, the rich young ruler gives account of
the man that came running to Christ. And he said, good master. And Christ answered him. Why
call us thou me good? There is none good but one. There's
none good but one. That's God. Why do you call me
good? There's none good but one. That's
God. Christ was revealing himself to this man. Are you calling
me good because you judge that I'm good? Well, that's meaningless. We don't know what good is in
ourselves. We don't know good. There's no point of reference
there. How can we, being not good, judge what is good? There's
none good but one. That is God. Christ was revealing
that he is God. He is God and therefore goodness
is his nature. It's his character. It's his
being. Not because we judge him so, but because he is good because
he is. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord
for he is good. Nature declares his goodness,
right? Scripture says that nature, nature declares his goodness.
How, how in the world can we look at the planets and the stars
and the trees? How can we look at that and not
know God is good. That is good. And the angels
show forth his goodness. But the rest of verse one there
is reserved only for his children. His children know the Lord's
goodness more fully. The Lord is good. But what are
his children now? They know what creation and the
angels don't know. His children know mercy. Mercy. The Lord is
good and he's good to me because his mercy, his mercy endureth
forever. Is that the end of the verse?
He's good. His mercy endureth forever. Who
is the Lord? The Lord's good. His mercy endureth
forever, forever. Look over in, uh, in verse 19,
uh, same chapter, Psalm 118, verse 19, open to me the gates
of righteousness. I will go into them and I'll
praise the Lord, the gate of the Lord into which the righteous
shall enter. The Lord is the gate. The Lord
is the, who is the Lord. Lord is good. His mercy endureth
forever. The Lord is the, is the gate.
Now, the gate to the temple, the only people that could enter
into those gates were those who were ceremoniously clean. Only
those who were ceremoniously clean were permitted to enter
into the gate of the temple, not the uncircumcised, not strangers,
not anybody who was deemed unclean by the law. They couldn't come
in through the gate. Had to be clean to go in through the gate,
no one unclean. Now, how are we who are unclean,
how are we permitted? to enter into the gate of righteousness.
But that's what David said, right? I'll enter in. How are we who
are unclean permitted to enter into the gate of righteousness?
In Numbers, the law says that if a man touched a dead body,
or for that matter, was even in the tent where a dead body
was, if he touched a dead body, you were unclean for seven days.
Unclean for seven days. And if he didn't purify himself
correctly according to the law, then he would defile the tabernacle
of the Lord and that soul would be cut off from Israel. Is the
Lord going to allow his tabernacle to be defiled? Absolutely not.
Whoever comes in the gate of the tabernacle must be cleaned,
must be cleaned. So how can I, an unclean sinner,
come into the gate of righteousness? But that's what David says. How
can I come into the gate of righteousness? God told Adam when he ate the
fruit, thou shalt surely die, or dying thou shalt die. Dying
thou shalt die. We're touching dead bodies right
now. Just as in numbers, you couldn't even be in the tent
with a dead body, let alone touch one, or you're unclean. We are
dead bodies. That's what we are. We're touching
dead bodies right now. How shall we be clean? Even if
we were to somehow purify ourselves, even if we were to somehow purify
ourselves right now, an instant later, we'd just be unclean again. How shall we be made clean? How
can God be just in and justify an unclean center? Or as Paul
says in Romans, Oh, wretched man that I am who shall deliver
me from the body of this death death. How shall I be clean?
How shall I be clean? Yet David said, I'll go in. I
will. I will. I'll go in into them.
I'll praise the Lord. This gate of the Lord into which
the righteous shall enter. Who is the Lord? He's good. His
mercy endureth forever. He's the gate through which I
get this through which only the righteous shall enter. Only the
righteous shall enter and all the righteous shall enter. Only
the righteous and all of the righteous shall enter. The Lord
is the gate. He's the only gate. Um, turn
over to John with me. John chapter 14. Who is the Lord? He's good. His
mercy endureth forever. He's the gate of righteousness. Actually start up in verse one.
Christ says, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God,
believe also in me and my father's house or many mansions. If it
were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place
for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that
where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go, you know, and
the way you know. Thomas, Thomas said unto him,
Lord, we know not whither thou goest. How can we know the way?
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way. I am the way, the truth
and the life. No man cometh unto the father,
but by me. He is the gate. He's the gate
to the father and he's the only gate. He's the only gate. He's
the only door to the ark. He's the, he's the only way he
is the truth in the life. No man cometh to the father by
me. Christ is that gate of righteousness and Christ is our righteousness
itself. Christ is our righteousness. Someone told me years ago, righteousness
isn't a thing. Righteousness is Christ. Christ
is our righteousness. Christ is the gate, and David
entered because David was made righteous. David was made righteous.
For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Let me quote a
couple of scriptures for you. Galatians 3, verse 13. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. Galatians 4. But when the fullness of time
was come, God sent forth his son made of a woman made under
the law to redeem them that were under the law, that we might
receive the adoption of sons. And because you're sons, God
has sent forth, forth the spirit of his son into your hearts,
crying Abba father, wherefore there are thou art no more a
servant, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of
God through Christ. Mayor of God, son. Who is the
Lord? He's he's good. His mercy endureth
forever. He's the gate of righteousness.
He is our righteousness that we may enter in through the gate.
Those that entered in into the gate through the temple, they
were coming to offer sacrifices. He's our sacrifice. He's the
gate. He's a righteousness. He's the
sacrifice. Who is the Lord? The Lord is good. His mercy endureth
forever. He's our sacrifice. He's the
gate. He's the only gate. He's our righteousness. So that
there may be no doubt that the Lord is Jesus Christ himself.
Look at verse 22 says that the stone, which the builders refused
is become the headstone of the quarter of the corner. The Lord
Jesus Christ himself quoted this scripture. He's quoted this scripture. It's documented in Matthew, Mark,
and Luke in each case. When he quoted this scripture,
the Pharisees knew exactly what he was saying. They knew that
Christ was referring to himself as that chief cornerstone. They
knew exactly what he was saying and immediately sought to kill
him. Peter quotes this verse in Acts chapter four. Let's turn
over there. Acts chapter four, verses 10
through 12. They had healed a man. Of course,
the Pharisees put him in jail for it that night and asked him
because it was done on the Sabbath and said, what, what power do
you do this? And in verse 10, be it known
unto you all, to all the people of Israel, that by the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised
from the dead, even by him, that this man stand here before you
whole the lame man that they had healed by him. Does this
man stand here before you whole? This is the stone which was set
at Nod of you builders, which has become the head of the corner.
Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none
other name, none other name given under heaven, given among men
whereby you must be saved. Christ is that cornerstone referred
to here in Psalm 118. Who is the Lord? He's, he's good. His mercy into earth forever.
He's the gate of righteousness. He's our righteousness. He's
the sacrifice within the gate. He's the chief cornerstone rejected
by natural man, rejected by natural man, rejected by religion. But
to you who believe he is precious. That's what the scripture says,
right? Do you believe he is precious? What day have he made? This is
the day which the Lord has made. What day is being referred to
here? Is this a literal, is this the 24 hour day? June 9th, 2019. This is the day the Lord has
made. What day is being referred to here? The Lord hath made this
day, June 9th, 2019. And we do, we rejoice in it,
don't we? That's what we're doing right
now. We rejoice in it. The day is certainly right now. Whatever
right now is, it's this 24 hour period. Refers to the day of
Christ's crucifixion. when he, in time, finished the
work his father gave him. That wasn't man's doing. That
crucifixion, that wasn't man's doing. That was man's will left
to himself. That great injustice on man's behalf, that's how man
meant it. That was man left to his own
will. It was God's justice. Man was left to himself, but
the Lord made that day. The Lord made the day of crucifixion.
That was the Lord's doing. This is the day which the Lord
has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. We'll rejoice
in his crucifixion, his sacrifice. The fact that it is finished,
we'll rejoice in it. It's finished. We'll rejoice.
This is the day of the new covenant. Turn over to Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 10. This is the day of the new covenant. Hebrews 10, starting in verse
11. And every priest standeth daily
ministering and often offering, oftentimes the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified." It's this day. This day. Not a day of daily
sacrifice. Not the daily sacrifice. It's
this day. The forever day that is being
referred to there in Hebrews. Forever. By which Christ through
his sacrifice hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.
That's the day the Lord has made. The forever day that those are
made perfect, who are sanctified by the blood of Christ. That
forever day, we can rejoice and be glad in that, that day, that
day. It's the day of salvation. As long as the sun rises. Heard
Cody Gruber say this one time, and for whatever reason, I just
never thought of it before. Every day the sun rises. I know
the Lord's still working. He's still saving, calling and
saving rebel dead sinners. He's still breathing life into
dry bones. Every day that sun rises. I know
he's doing that because as soon as he's done, he's going to wrap
it up. So the sun rose today. So I know the Lord is showing
mercy. I know he's still calling sinners. I know he is. This is
the day. I can rejoice. I can rejoice
in that. When the last child is brought
to repentance, the Lord will end heaven and earth. Lord's
still showing mercy through Christ's blood today. Today. This afternoon, for the sake
of time, just this afternoon, read 2 Peter chapter 3 sometime. It just ties along so well with
this. I tried to pick a couple of verses out of it and I just
wanted to read the whole chapter. Read 2 Peter chapter 3 as it
just goes along so well with this text. Those heavens, they're kept in
store, reserved for fire. This is the day of salvation.
The Lord is seeking and saving his sheep even right now, even
today. This is the day the Lord has made. I'll rejoice and be
glad in it. Our circumstances can cause us to not have joy
for a time. And that's specified, for a time.
But they don't stop us from rejoicing in the Lord. no matter what the
time is today, it's still the day the Lord has made. Today. Today is constant. Time is specific. It has a beginning and an end.
Today does not. The Lord forever. We can't comprehend
forever. Forever ago. Forever ago. The Lord showed me mercy forever
ago. Yep. In Christ. The Lord accepted Christ's sacrifice
forever ago. In time, the sacrifice was accepted
in time. It is finished. Continue to show
mercy through Christ forever that way too. Forever. We can't
comprehend forever. That is today. Today is the day
the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in
it. The trials and circumstances that we have, those are for a
time, specified time. Eric read this in the study last
week and it was just Such a blessing, such a help to me here in Psalm
118. Turn over to Ecclesiastes. Let's
read this together. It's right after Proverbs. So I told you, we're practicing
for Bible school, sword girls. Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Remember,
as we read through this, no matter what the time is, it's still
today. All these are times, but today
is the day the Lord has made. We'll rejoice and be glad in
it. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under
heaven. Time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a
time to pluck up that which is planted, a time to kill, and
a time to heal, a time to break down, and a time to build up,
a time to weep, and a time to laugh, and a time to mourn, and
a time to dance. Now, if it's a time to weep,
if it's a time to mourn, and our text in Psalm 118 is offered
with that, called an obligatory spirit, Isn't that just wrong? If it's a time to weep, if it's
a time to mourn, and you're hearing that verse
in your head, or I hope no one's giving you that verse, trying
to be an encouragement somehow, using it in such a way as to
tell you it's not a time to weep or it's not a time to mourn,
that's being used wrong. It's being used incorrectly.
If we're burdening ourselves with that guilt, And that's what
it is, telling ourselves we ought to quit weeping and we ought
to rejoice. We're misusing that verse. There's a time to mourn.
There is a time to mourn. And it's right to do so. There's
a time to mourn. There's a time to weep. And that is still a
day to rejoice. Those don't, those aren't conflicting.
It's the same. You mourn, you weep and you rejoice. Is that possible? In Christ it
is. It is. If it's a time to mourn,
then we mourn. and we rejoice. For even when we mourn, the Lord's
goodness hasn't ceased. He hasn't ceased to be who he
is. Who's the Lord? He's good. His mercy endureth
forever. There's not a time of that. That's
forever. So even in our time of weep,
even in our time of mourn, the Lord is good. His mercy endureth
forever. That hasn't ceased. Today is still the day of salvation.
Therefore, we can weep and rejoice at the same time. A time to weep. A time to laugh. A time to mourn. A time to dance. A time to cast
away stones. A time to gather stones together.
A time to embrace. A time to refrain from embracing. A time to get. A time to lose.
A time to keep. A time to cast away. A time to
rend. A time to sow. A time to keep
silence. And a time to speak. A time to
love. And a time to hate. A time for. in a time of peace. There's a
time for everything. There's a time for everything,
and everything is for a time. There's a time for everything,
and everything is for a time, and the Lord doesn't change.
He's good, and his mercy endureth forever. He's good, and his mercy
endureth forever, even if I can't see his face. He hides his face
sometimes, and he's good, and his mercy endureth forever. When
I was saying that, I started to say, There's time for everything
and everything is time, but the Lord is good. But that's not
right. That's not the right way to say it. And the Lord is good. Those don't conflict. That's
at the same time. There's a time for everything.
And the Lord is good. His mercy endureth forever. The
Lord does not change. That day of salvation is constant. And that's the day the Lord has
made. We can rejoice and be glad in that. Third question is, who
is this we? Our text says, We will rejoice
in it. So, so I'm interested. Who is,
who is we back into our text and Psalm one 18, starting in
verse two, let Israel now say that his mercy endureth forever. Who is this? We let Israel say,
this is God's chosen people. This is natural Israel whom the
Lord delivered from Egypt. This is natural Israel, who he
delivered through the wilderness. This is also spiritually Israel,
who God has chosen. Who is this we? It's Israel.
Verse three says, let the house of Aaron now say that his mercy
endureth forever. This is God's priesthood. God's
priesthood. The Levites were responsible
for those daily sacrifices. That was their, their calling.
That was their purpose. That was their focus. These daily
sacrifice, the Levites first Peter two versus four and five
were priests as well to whom coming as unto a living stone
disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. Again, that's Christ, our chief
cornerstone. He also as, as lively stones are built up a spiritual
house and holy priesthood. to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Let chosen Israel, that royal
priesthood, those who love Christ's sacrifice and are consumed with
Christ's sacrifice just the way the Levites were consumed with
the sacrifice, let those say, let those who love Christ's sacrifice
say, this is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice.
We will rejoice together and be glad in it. Those who don't
love the sacrifice are not invited to rejoice. Let Israel now say,
let the house of Aaron now say. Verse four says, let them know,
let them that know the fear of the Lord say, let them now that
fear the Lord say that his mercy endureth forever. Now our previous
two verses speak of God's chosen people, Israel and the priesthood. But when we talk of election,
it's never an exclusion. We never speak of exclusion.
We never speak of election excluding people. Never, never. This verse
here, in verse four, invites anyone who fears the Lord and
wants to come worship, come. Let them now that fear the Lord
say, his mercy endureth forever. Anyone, anyone who will come
to Christ, may come to Christ. Anyone who will come to Christ
may come to Christ. And those who come, what does
the scripture say? He will in no wise cast out.
You think for a minute that I'm preaching free will? No. There's no such thing. Of course
not. There's no such thing among men as free will. Only the Lord's will is free.
It's our, in our fallen sinful flesh, our will, We'll never
choose Christ. We'll never choose Christ. He's
the stone that was rejected of men. We'll never choose Christ. Our will isn't free. Christ says
in John five, ye will not come to me that you might have life.
You will not. That's our will. Our will is
will not, will not. And we don't preach that man
doesn't have a will. We preach that man doesn't have a free
will. We have a will. That's our will is will not. We will
not come to Christ that we might have life. Our will isn't free. Hear these words of the Lord
in verse four. Never come to Christ before or
came to him a hundred years ago. This applies. Let them that fear
the Lord. Let them now that fear the Lord
say, His mercy endureth forever. His mercy endureth forever. This
is the day the Lord has made. We can rejoice and be glad in
it. So finally, what is it to rejoice? What is it to rejoice? It can't be described as only
in terms of a feeling, right? That's not doing it justice.
Feelings come and feelings go. Feelings are deceiving, right?
Looking for that feeling is deceiving. It's like, It's like trying to
describe love. When we look for the feelings
of love, we can easily be deceived. We can easily be disappointed
when we look for the feelings of love. I heard it quoted. I looked at Christ and the dove
of peace flew into my heart. I looked at the dove and it flew
away. I looked at Christ and the dove
of peace flew into my heart. I looked at the dove and the
dove flew away. I looked at Christ. It's Christ. So rather than the
feeling, rejoicing has to do with grabbing hold of the source,
grabbing hold of Christ, obtaining that object of your soul focus,
and just refusing to let go. Dan and Frank and I used to run
a lot. You can't tell now, but we used to run a lot. And we
got pretty into it, didn't we? We were running back up the hill
toward the Y. That's always where we finish. Slight uphill toward
the Y, and Frank was a little in front of me, and Dan was a
little behind me, and I was all in. All in on trying to catch
Frank. My sole focus. And Dan started
to pass me on the left, and the sidewalk was about this big.
I promise you, I didn't think this out. I didn't mean to do
it. You know what I did as Dan started to pass me? I did this.
And I pushed him down the hill. I'm sorry, Dan. That says a lot about me, but
it also says, oh, that soul focus. I was, oh, I just, I wanted to
catch Frank so bad, I'd push my friend over a hill. Right? That soul focus. Luke 15 recounts the parable
of the lost coin. One parable. Lost coin, lost
sheep, prodigal son. One parable. It's another good
text to read this afternoon or through the week as it relates
to our message here. Good text to read. In all three
examples, the one that was seeking what was lost was seeking diligently,
diligently for the lost coin, the lost sheet, watching diligently
for the prodigal son, diligently with their whole mind, their
whole heart, their whole focus. And in all three cases, when they
obtained what they were seeking, they rejoiced. They called their
friends and neighbors to rejoice with them. They rejoiced because
they obtained They weren't looking at the rejoicing. They were looking
at the focus of their love. Christ. Lay hold of Christ. That's
what we do. We rejoice. When we lay hold
of Christ, we will rejoice. Depending on the time that we're
in, whatever that time is described in Ecclesiastes, it might be
a time of mourning. You may not be able to see the
rejoicing on my face. Shame on me. But you may not
be able to see the rejoicing on our face. But if we're laying
hold of Christ, The gate, the sacrifice, it is
finished. If we lay hold of that, don't
we rejoice? Of course we do, we rejoice. You know who, actually
before I, Mike's prayer this morning, right? He prayed for
a heart that pants after thee. He prayed that for a heart that
pants after thee. Hmm, I want that. And a heart that pants after
him, We'll find him. He says that he'll reveal himself
to that heart that pants after him. He gives us the desire. He gives us the heart to pant.
And then he gives us the nature to pant after him. And then he
gives us himself. It's all of, it's all of Christ.
And then we rejoice focused on Christ, focused on Christ. You
know, who didn't rejoice in that parable. There was one that didn't
rejoice in that parable. That was the prodigal son's brother,
prodigal son. came back and his father killed
the fatted calf and they rejoiced together for the prodigal son
had returned. Prodigal son's brother didn't rejoice and he
didn't rejoice because he felt entitled. That's ugly. That's works. There's no rejoicing
in work salvation. There's no salvation in works.
Coming to Christ, coming to the father, coming through that gate
of righteousness, based on our works, on our deserving, on what
we're trying to add to Christ's sacrifice. It's nothing but entitlement,
and we'll be just like the prodigal son's brother, entitled, deserving
it. No rejoicing. No rejoicing. May
the Lord protect us from that dangerous attitude. We seek Christ. We come to Christ. We grab hold
of Christ, the sole focus of our chanting heart. our heart's desire, what we need.
We grab hold of Christ, only Christ, and no matter what else
is happening, even through tears, we rejoice. This is the day,
in conclusion, this is the day which the Lord has made. Who's
the Lord? He's good. He's good. He's always good.
He's Jehovah. His mercy endureth forever. He's
Christ Jesus. He's the chief cornerstone. He's
our sacrifice. He's the way. He's the only way.
His mercy endureth forever. And what is this day? It is today.
It's today. It's the day of Christ's finished
sacrifice. It's the day of salvation. We could rejoice and be glad
in that. Amen. Let's pray together. Our Father, use your message
for your intended good, for your glory. We pray that you do give
us a heart that pants after you. Father, be with us. Show us Christ
and that finished, absolutely acceptable sacrifice. That all are made righteous that
come to Christ. were adopted as sons in him,
made righteous in him. Father, thank you for Christ.
Thank you for the sacrifice. I pray that you allow us to see
him ever more clearly. Be with us this day. We pray
this in Christ's name and for his sake. Let's stand and sing 132, 132.
Lift this from our hearts. I serve a risen Savior, He's
in the world today. I know that He is living, whatever
men may say. I see His hand of mercy, I hear
His voice of cheer. And just the time I need Him,
He's always near. Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and He talks
with me along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation
today. Bless me, O, I know He lives,
He lives within my heart. In all the world around me, I
see His loving care. And though my heart grows weary,
I never will despair. I know that He is leading through
all the stormy blasts. The day of His appearing will
come at last. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus
lives today. and talks with me along life's
narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation
to impart. You ask me, oh, I know He lives,
He lives, in my heart. Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian,
lift up your voice and sing. Eternal alleluias to Jesus Christ
the King, the hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who
find. None other is so loving, so good
and kind. He lives, Christ Jesus lives
today. He walks with me and talks with
me along life's narrow way. His salvation to impart You ask
me how I know He lives He lives within my heart