Well, for a third time, I want
to focus your attention on the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem
following the Babylonian exile. And we find verses relevant to
it in the book of Zechariah, chapter 4. Zechariah, chapter
4. Zechariah, as you remember, is
the next to the last book of the Old Testament. They'd gone back at the end of
the exile at the behest of Cyrus, who God had foretold through
the prophet Isaiah 200 or more years before, he would raise
up Cyrus, this Persian emperor, and he would commission the building,
the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem. And a number of
them came back, And the work was started, and amongst them
was Zerubbabel, who was the rightful king, he was the descendant of
the last king of Judah, and a man called Joshua, who was the high
priest, he was in the line of the high priest, he was the rightful
high priest. They came back to Jerusalem with
a significant company, and they cleared the site, and they evicted
the vermin, and they got rid of the briars and the brambles,
and they dug down to a firm foundation, and they laid the foundation
stone, and did a bit of work, and then it stopped. And it stopped
for the best part of twenty years. Nothing happened until these
prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, were raised up to encourage the
work to continue. One thing that struck me when
we went to Spain a few weeks ago was the number of building
projects. You've probably heard about it
in the news, but the number of building projects that are abandoned. It really does look like a ghost
town in places. You'll remember the center of
Nerja, that beautiful center of Nerja, and just back from
there is what is a magnificent square of shops. that was clearly
started, they're all bricked up. They're just bricked up.
And it looks like they're never ever going to be completed. Because
do you know what's in the way of their completion? A mountain. What you say? A mountain? Yes,
there's a mountain in the way of their completion. It's a mountain
of debt. It's an absolute mountain of
debt. The debt, you think, realistically,
is it ever going to be cleared? This debt, to enable these projects
to continue. There's a mountain of debt in
the way of it being finished. And this temple, this temple
that we read about in Ezra, Ezra those early chapters of Ezra,
the first six chapters of Ezra, you read about this temple, the
work starting on it, and the foundation stone being laid,
and then it coming to an end, and it finished, it ceased, the
work ceased because of a mountain of opposition from those round
about. There was a mountain of opposition
in the way. Now you look at the true church
in our country today. Look at the true church. I'm
talking about the true church. I'm not talking about that which
calls itself Christian, or Calvinistic, or Reformed. You know, lots of
people can stick a label on themselves. I'm talking about the church
that believes God in the Scriptures concerning salvation. I'm talking
about the church that preaches election that preaches sovereign
grace, that preaches that Christ died for those that God ordained
before the beginning of time, that Christ redeemed his people. I'm talking about that church
that preaches that. I'm talking about the church
that preaches to all who will listen, but looks to the Holy
Spirit to do the work of making dead sinners, that which is dead,
alive. The true church today, you look
at it, And you'll see the site's cleared a bit, there's a foundation
stone in place, but does it look anything like a finished work? It looks like it's in ruins,
doesn't it? It looks like it's almost like a work that is abandoned. And we could be despondent. How
is this church ever going to get to glory? How is it ever
going to have the head, you know, the headstone being put on it
is what we read about in Revelation 21, you know, the new heaven
and the new earth, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, that's
it being finished. That's the church of God, that's
the redeemed of Christ. All of his children have followed
him into glory and he says, look at I and the children that the
father has given me. and he takes them into glory,
and the gates lift up their heads, because he is the Lord of hosts,
taking his people home to- is it ever going to be finished?
Look at it! It just looks- yes, we've got
a solid foundation in the gospel, and there's a bit of work being
done on the walls, but we seem an awful long way from having
the headstone put on it. We could be despondent. But God's
Word is for our teaching, for our learning, to teach us things. These things in the Old Testament
concerning the temple are for our learning, to teach us, to
encourage us. Look in verse 10 of Zechariah
chapter 4. For who hath despised the day
of small things? There's an encouragement not
to despise the day of small things. Is this what we're living in,
the day of small things? To us, it appears like the day
of small things. You would think that, wouldn't
you, with just a handful? I know about half our number
are away, but even so, when we're all here, compared with the population
of this area, it's tiny, the number that seem to want to be
interested. We don't know what God is doing
out there beyond our ability to see. But here, it looks like
a day of small things, doesn't it? Just keep the flame burning. Just keep the truth burning.
Let's read these verses from chapter 4, verse 6, down to verse
10. Because this is where I want
to focus again this morning. Then he answered and spake unto
me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel.
Remember, Zerubbabel is this rightful king of Judah, and he's
a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, king of kings, lord of lords,
king of his people, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by
my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great
mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt
become a plain, and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof,
with shoutings crying, Grace, grace, unto it. Moreover the
word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel
have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also finish
it, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me
unto you. For who hath despised the day
of small things? For they shall rejoice, and shall
see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. With those seven,
they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through
the whole earth. This is for our encouragement. This is to speak to us and encourage
us. The temple had started, mountainous
opposition stopped it, it was a seemingly hopeless situation,
but God raised up Zechariah and Haggai to encourage. He promises
that it will be finished. It looks like it's nowhere near.
If you were to go there at this time, it looks like it's nowhere
near. There's a foundation stone and a bit of wall that's been
built, but there's nothing. And how are they going to overcome
the mountains that stand in their way, the lack of resources, the
opposition from those around? How are they going to do it?
God promises that he will do it. This temple pictures Christ's
physical body. His physical body in which he
came to earth, in which he would complete the work of redemption,
for he must come in a real human body to shed human blood for
human sin, the sins of his people. and his spiritual body. It's
a picture of his spiritual body, the church, which is built of
living stones, as Ephesians tells us, as Peter tells us, of living
stones of his children, of his people, of his brethren, whom
he will surely succeed in bringing to eternal glory. That's what
the temple pictures. The temple pictures are saved
people. The temple finished with its
headstone in place, pictures, all the redeemed of God in glory. The picture that we see in Revelation,
at the end of Revelation, they're all there. A great army. You
know, Margaret was mentioning the Valley of the Dry Bones in
the car coming this morning, and you know, when the Spirit
of God breathed upon them, they stood upon their feet, a mighty
army. a mighty army. I keep telling
you, think of the Trooping of the Colour on Horse Guards Parade
once a year, and think of those ranks of soldiers. There is nothing
more blatantly obvious than one missing from the ranks. That's
why the picture is used. They will all be there. He will
bring all of them. Of all that the Father gave to
him, he shall lose nothing. Well then how does this encourage
us? I find great encouragement in this account of the temple,
I hope you do too. How will the temple ever be finished? How will the temple which is
the church, the true church of the living God, ever be finished
and brought to glory? How will it ever be finished? Well look at verse six. This
is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel saying, not by might,
nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. The
advancement of the church, the completion of the church, can
never be achieved by might. Might there means the collected
might of many men. The collected might of many men.
So it can never be completed by a nation deciding it's going
to build the church. You know, I think the Pilgrim
Fathers were well-intentioned in trying to get away from this
wicked country and go and set up a godly country in the Americas
and there establish Protestant good religion and freedom for
all. And you can see the benefits
of it in the United States of America in very large respect.
But you can also see the effects of sin because wherever man is,
there is sin and there is the corruption that comes with it.
And it's not by the establishment of a nation that God will build
his church. Not by might. Not by any government. You know, I... I get so frustrated
with these groups of so-called Christians in this country who
think that they have to protest about everything. You know, protest
about the Sunday trading laws and the abuse of the Sabbath
day as they see it. And that if we only get all of
those laws put right, then all of a sudden this nation will
become a godly nation and we'll once again all be flocking into
church. It's not true. It's not by might. It's not by
governments making laws or political bodies. It's not by denominations. People would say, well, what
denomination are you? It's not by might. It's not by
joining together in compromised ecumenical situations, which
all denominations are. They've got to be. They've got
to be by definition. It's not in theological seminaries.
There are some seminaries that do some good. It's good to learn. The Old Testament had the school
of the prophets. But it's not in theological seminaries. Not
by might that God will build his church. It's not in parachurch
publishing organisations either. I remember several years ago
there being a debate concerning Evangelical Times and whether
certain things should be printed in Evangelical Times. And there
was a step back from it because, oh, it would offend the Scottish
Presbyterians and they'd stop buying the paper and they'd make
it non-viable. Not by might. Not by organizations
that men put together. Not by mission boards. It isn't
by mission boards that God does his work of saving his elect. No. And neither is it by power. Not by power. This is what God
says here. This is the word of the Lord
unto Zerubbabel. It isn't by human power or human
might. It's not by man's intellect,
the power of man's intellect. It's not by, oh, if only we had
a preacher who could preach like Charles Spurgeon. Oh, wouldn't
we then have the churches absolutely crammed to the brim with people
flocking in. If only we had somebody to preach
like that. No, it's not by eloquence. In fact, if you read If you read the sermons
of George Whitfield, who has such a reputation for thousands
flocking to hear him, you don't see anything particularly special
in what's written on the printed page that would tell you that
thousands should come. It was in what God's Spirit did
under the hand of the preaching of that man, not by power of
eloquence, Not the power of rational reasoning. Not the power of money. Oh, if only we had somebody with
loads of money then we could have a really good building and
that would make all the difference. Not with other worldly resources.
Look at 1 Corinthians with me. Just turn over to 1 Corinthians
and the first chapter. Let me just remind you of some
well-known verses. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse
20. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world, not
by power, not by might? For after that in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by what
the world regards as stupid, the foolishness of preaching
to save them that believe. Look down to verse 26. For you
see your calling, brethren, how not many wise men after the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble are called. I remember somebody
saying that Queen Victoria was very pleased for the letter M
in the English language because it said not many. It didn't say
not any. It doesn't say not any mighty,
not any. It says not many, not many. and
she hoped to be counted amongst that number. You see your calling
brethren, not many, see God doesn't use power or might. Verse 27,
but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise. And God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things that are mighty, and
the base things of the world, and the things which are despised
hath God chosen, yea, and the things that are not, to bring
to naught the things that are, that no flesh should glory in
his presence, but of him are ye in Christ Jesus, etc. And
chapter 2, verses 1 to 5, look how Paul came. And I, brethren,
when I came to you, came not in power or in might, with excellency
of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
For I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. To the Jews a stumbling block,
to the Greeks foolishness that. I was with you not in power or
in might, in weakness and fear and in much trembling. And my
speech and my preaching eloquent, not with enticing words of men's
wisdom, but in the demonstration of the spirit and of power, that
your faith should not stand in the wisdom or the might or the
power of men, but in the power of God. God doing his work. God
does his work. You see, Human alliances never
advance Christ's temple building work. We must remember this. You know, all ecumenical associations,
I'm not talking Catholics and Protestants, I'm talking about
anything that calls itself a Christian church, a Protestant, or we must
associate with them. No, see what they're preaching,
judge very very strictly based on what they're preaching and
what is their message before you go around making associations
Those sorts of alliances never advance Christ's temple building
work. You know, we read in the Old
Testament, Israel often sought comfort in godless alliances. When they were faced with Assyria,
they sought comfort. We saw it in Isaiah, they sought
comfort in an alliance with who? Of all people, Egypt. which is
where they were brought out of, under the hand of Moses. They
sought alliances with Egypt, and God condemned them for it.
No, his work, his temple building, is never advanced, never brought
to completion by human alliances. No. People try to build God's
church by all these sorts of alliances. They necessarily compromise
the true gospel. And then they try and bring the
power of human reasoning. They appeal to the sinner's innate
ability to respond to what they call the free offer of the gospel.
But God says, by the foolishness of preaching. The foolishness
of the message preached. That's how it pleased God, to
save his people. He says, not by power, not by
might, not by power, but by my spirit, God builds his church.
We preach the truth that God has declared in his word concerning
effectual salvation of all of his elect, we preach it to all
without distinction who will listen. Whoever will listen.
The internet puts it out there. It's available. Anybody can find
it. It's there and available. We
preach it to anyone who will listen. And we trust the Holy
Spirit to make alive, to give hearing ears, to make willing
to trust Christ. So what are we to do with a ceased,
what looks like a ceased church building work? You know, like
the temple was, the work had ceased. What are we to do with
it? Answer? Trust the Spirit of God. Employ
the means he has ordained. What are those means? Preaching
the truth. Preach it, declare what God has
said. Oh, they'll run a mile, nobody
will come and listen to you if you preach that. That may be
so, but preach it. Because God will do his work. And what else? Pray. Pray the
Lord of the harvest. Pray the Lord of the harvest
that he will send labourers into the harvest. But don't we face
insurmountable obstacles? We do. We face mountains. Look
at verse 7. Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt
become a plain. This is God speaking by his prophet,
Zechariah. Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt
become a plain. Mountains must be removed. And these mountains, we're talking
big mountains. We're talking those that appear
to human ability as insurmountable obstacles. Growing up in the
Lake District and spending a lot of time there, you walk around
and you drive around and there's magnificent scenery and lovely
hills and apart from one or two places, very few, if you've got
a good pair of strong boots on and something to keep the rain
off you and a stick in your hand, you can get over them, you can
conquer them. You don't need much more than
that, apart from one or two extreme places. I remember the first
time driving through Switzerland in the Alps, and you're driving
along, and it's maybe a bit of fluffy cloud around, and you
wonder, what earth is that right up there? Because the mountains
are not like Lake District mountains, nice rounded hills near you.
They're towering peaks. They're the sort of thing that
you think, there's no way I could get over that. They're just great,
enormous, towering peaks. This is the mountains that have
been spoken of here. Insurmountable barriers. Who
are you, oh great insurmountable barrier, in the way? The foundation
stone of the temple has been laid, but how is Zerubbabel's
temple going to be finished? Mountains are in its way. Mountains
are blocking the way for the work to be finished. These mountains
must be removed. The opposition of those all around
in the land of Canaan, the lack of resources, they all must be
removed. How is God's church, which seemingly
in places looks like it's lying in unfinished ruin, maybe has
a foundation stone, how is it going to be completed and be
brought to eternal glory? Think of what the church consists
of. It's individuals. The church consists of individual
believers. Individual believers. And then
it consists of them together as a body to be brought to glory.
How is it going to be achieved? Mountains must be removed and
made plain. Before Zerubbabel, thou shalt
become a plain, says God. Before Zerubbabel, who is a picture
of our Lord Jesus Christ, these mountainous obstacles must be
made as flat as a plain, that you just walk straight over.
So Christ, our Zerubbabel, the Zerubbabel of his people, the
king of his people, the one who completes his temple, he removes
all the mountainous obstacles to heaven. He removes those obstacles
for individual believers and in the process for the body of
his church as a whole. Look at verse 9. the hands of
Zerubbabel have laid it, the foundation of the house, they've
started it, his hands also shall finish it. He will finish it. And as he finishes it, says Zechariah,
you'll know that the Lord of hosts has sent me, a preacher,
to proclaim this truth to you. You'll know that the words that
came from me, Zechariah, were the words of God to you, because
he will finish it. That was always the test of a
prophet. Did his words come true? That was what God said. This
is how to test. Did his words come true? He said, when he completes
it, you'll know that it was God that sent me to say these things,
to preach these things to you. He'll surely finish it, he says.
The one who started it will surely finish it. Our God who started
this temple in eternity, laying the foundation. In Christ, when
he came and a body was prepared and the eternal God became the
incarnate Son of God, God with us, God, the fullness of the
Godhead bodily. When He came, when the Holy Spirit
came and laid a foundation of grace in each individual heart,
He started it and He will surely finish it. He will surely bring
it all to glory. It says in verse seven, He shall
bring forth the headstone. Nothing's gonna get in the way.
Mountainous obstacles are not going to get in the way. He shall
bring forth the headstone. thereof with shoutings crying
grace, grace unto it. And that's what we'll see in
glory in heaven as pictured in Revelation. There are truly mountainous
obstacles facing Zerubbabel. But it's not by human might or
power, but by God's Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. And the true
church faces truly mountainous opposition. What sort of opposition
does it face? It faces the opposition caused
by false preachers, bringing a distorted gospel that looks
like the gospel, that sounds like the gospel, that they have
a reputation that they've preached the gospel, but you look deeply
into it. Does it accord with this word?
Do they speak according to this word? If not, there is no light
in them. No light. None whatsoever. False
preachers and error are mountainous opposition. Crooked alliances. You know in Ezra, in chapter
three, you read about Zerubbabel laying the temple foundation
stone. And then those who opposed all
around, you know they came with a very, very subtle ploy. Oh,
this is interesting, look at this work that you're doing.
Let us join with you. We're going to help you." And
they wisely said, no, you're not helping us, because they
knew what was truly in their hearts. What was truly in their
hearts was to fundamentally stop that work going ahead. And those
who say that we should join with all others to try and find a
common basis on which we can witness to the gospel of Christ,
They're not realizing that that will fundamentally dilute the
essence of the message. The true core of the message
will be fundamentally undermined by those crooked alliances. There
are all of these things in the way. The worldly powers are in
the way. The way our government in these days is formulating
the laws of this land and the things you're allowed to say
and the things you're not allowed to say. The days are coming,
I'm sure. when you'll be able to say all sorts of things, but
added to the list of things that are politically incorrect will
be the gospel of God's sovereign grace. They won't like it, they
won't tolerate it. You see, we seem so few and far
between in this country. Work seems to have started in
the past, but now, in some respects, it looks like it's ceased. but
God sends forth his prophets. Just as he did then, he sent
forth Haggai and Zechariah. They'd sat around for 20 years
doing nothing. He sends forth, he does, even
in these dark days, he sends forth his prophets, true preachers,
with the message that he has proclaimed. Verse nine, to preach
God's truth, then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent
me to you. To encourage his people, to exalt
the position of Christ, ours irrevocable. And so, by preaching,
in each individual, and remember, individuals together constitute
the Church of the Living God, mountains are removed. What are
some of the mountains that are removed by the preaching of the
followers of Haggai and Zerubbabel? Here's a mountain, Sinai's Law. the law of Moses, Sinai's law.
Paul says, Romans 7 verse 9, for I was alive without the law
once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. How am I going to get to heaven?
How can a man be just with God? How can I have holiness without
which no man shall see the Lord? There's a mountain of Sinai's
law in the way. It's an insurmountable mountain
of opposition in the way. Lots of people think that they
can try and climb over it and round it, but they're surely
going to fall and they'll fail because, by the deeds of the
law, no flesh shall be justified in his sight. But, before Christ,
who is ours a rubble, the mountain of Sinai is made a plain. How do I know that? The Word
of God tells me. Romans 10 verse 4. For Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness. He has fulfilled it. He is righteousness
itself. He has paid the penalty for all
of its transgression on the part of his people. Sinai's law, that
great mountainous obstacle in the way of the completion of
his church, he has removed it. He's taken it out of the way.
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. Who art thou,
O great mountain? Signe I. Before Christ thou shalt
become a plain. He's the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone who believes. What about unbelief? Is that
not a thing? Unbelief? Unbelief? That man
said in the Gospels, Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. And
the Spirit? That's a mountainous obstacle
in the way, unbelief that rises up in the flesh. But the Spirit
causes us to look to Christ. The Spirit gives faith, without
which it is impossible to please God. He gives that faith. It's
not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. It's not of flesh, it's
not of works. He removes the mountain of unbelief. You know, when Jesus was talking
to that young man, and the account finishes with, it's easier for
a rich man to go to heaven than for a camel to pass through the
eye of a needle. And the disciples were perplexed
because they thought you earned your way to heaven yourself.
And they said, this seems very, very harsh, Lord. Who then can
be saved? And you remember what Jesus said?
He said, with man, it's impossible. With man, it's impossible. How
are we going to deal with the mountain of unbelief in the way
of God's church being? Look at them, out there now,
a mountain of unbelief. How are we going to deal with
that? With man? With man's might? With man's power? It's impossible. But with God, all things are
possible. All things are possible with
God. What about sin? All this sin, your sins have
separated between you and me. Your sin is a huge mountain. How can a man be just with God?
How can I have the holiness without which no man shall see the Lord?
That sin, that mountain of sin, is an obstacle in the way. Ah,
before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain. Our Lord Jesus
Christ, Peter, tells us, who of his own self bore our sins
in his own body on the tree. He's dealt with that mountain
of sin that would keep the church from final glory, from the headstone
being brought forth. What about hard-heartedness?
that's in us, in the nature of the flesh, the softening grace
of God comes, as the Gospels preach in the believer's ear.
And you read about it in the Song of Solomon, talking about
the removal of the hardness of the heart, and giving a soft
heart, and Isaiah prays, Isaiah 64 verse 1, O that thou wouldst
rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down, that the mountains
of unbelief and hardness of heart might flow down at thy presence. That those mountains might be
made a plain. Those mountains blocking the
way to the completion of the temple of God in eternal glory
when the headstone is brought forth, He takes it all out of
the way. What about false churches? How
many people are in situations that are false churches? Again,
he comes with a call, the call of the preacher, preaching the
true gospel. And individuals heed the call,
and what's the call? Revelation 18 verse 4, I heard
another voice from heaven saying, come out of her, my people, that
ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her
plagues. And true preaching comes, and
who knows what God is doing in these days through things like
Free Grace Radio, I don't know of any other, but Just think
of where that's reaching with the truth of the Gospel of Grace,
reaching individuals to come out of those situations. He's
removing mountains. And the end of it, when it's
all taken out of the way, and he shall bring forth the headstone
thereof. The headstone is brought forth.
And so God, it's the top stone, it's when the whole thing is
completed. In old building techniques, it was the thing that tied it
all together. God completes the building of his spiritual temple. How do we know he's going to
complete it? Because Paul says to the Philippians, being confident
of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Zerubbabel laid
the foundation. Zerubbabel built the walls. Zerubbabel
brought forth the headstone and capped it off on the temple.
It was completed. Christ, our Zerubbabel, laid
the foundation of grace. God laid the foundation of grace
in eternity when the Father chose a people in Christ. The Lord
Jesus Christ laid the foundation of grace when He came as a man,
born as a baby, a body prepared in which he would pay redemption's
price, in which God the Father would say, I have found a ransom. Save him from going down into
the pit, I have found a ransom. The foundation was laid in each
individual, in you and me if we're believers, when the Holy
Spirit came, when we were children of wrath, even as others, and
laid a foundation of grace in our hearts. swept away the debris,
put a solid foundation in place, found a solid place which is
the law and justice of God, and on it put the foundation stone
of the gospel of grace in Christ, and built the walls of salvation.
The walls of the temple represent walls of salvation. And he will
lose nothing of all that the Father has given him. He will
complete it. He will bring forth the headstone.
And when it's finished, look at verse seven, He shall bring
forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace
unto it. Grace. Why is it repeated? I
don't know, maybe it's this. It's the fact that grace comes,
and there's that hymn that I always used to quote, praise the grace
whose fears alarmed me, roused me from my slothful ease. Grace
comes and causes us to fear, and then grace comes and shows
you not to fear. Looks in Christ. Causes us to
look to him, to see him. Grace, grace unto it. all of
grace from start to finish. The grace that showed me the
threat of condemnation and then the grace that showed me the
Savior who has saved me from that condemnation. It's all of
grace from start to finish and He will finish it. And so we
look at the situation we're in and we say, don't despair at
it at all. Be encouraged. Just as Zerubbabel
completed this temple So Christ will complete his temple. He
will bring it all to fruition. In Revelation 19, just turn there
now with me as we close, Revelation chapter 19, Revelation 19, we
see a great song of praise. The first few verses. After these
things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, much
people in heaven, saying, Alleluia, salvation and glory and honor
and power unto the Lord our God, for true and righteous are his
judgments, for he hath judged the great whore which did corrupt
the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of
his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia,
and her smoke rose up forever and ever. And the four and twenty
elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God, that
sat on the throne, saying, Amen, Alleluia. And a voice came out
of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants,
and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard, as it
were, the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters,
and the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord
God omnipotent reigneth. They're saying effectively, grace,
grace unto it, grace unto it. Will you be there? Crying grace,
grace unto it. Will you be there? Is that your
hope? Is that your aspiration? If not, it will be only you to
blame. Look across, just turn a page.
Look at chapter 22 and verse 17. I talk a lot about election. A lot of people think that bars
an awful lot of people from eternity. Look what God says just before
the Scriptures close in Revelation 22 verse 17. And the Spirit and
the bride say, come. And let him that heareth say,
come. And let him that is a thirst for eternal life for justification
before the law of God, for liberty. Let him that is a thirst come,
and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. What a glorious, blessed, open
invitation that there is there. None, none need ever say, I was
kept away.