Years ago, when I was still in
college, I heard a tape from my brother, Rolf Barnard. And
Rolf had a way of setting you on your ears. Someone came up
to him and asked him, he said, Brother Barnard, do you believe
the whole Bible? He said, I don't know. I haven't
experienced it all yet. And I thought, what? And I listened
again. It took me a while for it to
sink in. I'm kind of that way. The fact
is, everything is just theory until you experience it. It's just theory. It's impossible
to believe what you haven't experienced. Religion, for the most part,
is all experience with no foundation. Some folks spend all the time
talking about the foundation and never get to experience.
But religion, true religion, faith in Christ, what we call
salvation, is something a man or woman experiences in his soul. And it can't be faked. Not really. Not really. I'm going to be working my way
to Leviticus chapter 22 again this morning. But I'm going to
begin in the 8th chapter of Romans. In the 8th chapter of Romans,
the Apostle Paul reveals to us the wondrous mystery of God's
providence. He sets forth the purpose of
God in grace, showing us that the purpose of God, the purpose
of God, is the salvation of His people. The folks all the time
talk and debate and yik-yak. Is this or is this not the will
of God? The will of God is what is, what has been, and what shall
be. And that which comes to pass
according to the will of God comes to pass according to divine
purpose for the accomplishment of the salvation of His people
for the glory of His Son. Now that's the wonder of providence.
That's what Romans chapter 8 verse 28 teaches. We know. We know. We know. This is something we've experienced. This is something inscribed on
our hearts by the finger of God. We've seen it. We've tasted it.
We've experienced it. We know because it's written
in His Word, but we know because God's taught us. We know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called, according to his purpose. Now, when David
thought on this great, glorious, soul-cheering fact, the fact
that our God rules the universe in absolute sovereignty for the
salvation of his people, this is what he said. Oh, God, my
soul trusteth in thee. Yea, in the shadow of thy wings
will I make my refuge. I will cry unto God most high,
unto God that performeth all things for me. He shall send
from heaven and save me. A right understanding of God's
sovereign providence will give you the same blessed confidence.
Paul sets before us then the mystery of providence in verse
28. And then in verses 29 and 30, he shows us how God accomplishes
his great purpose in the saving of his people. And say, well,
I know God has purpose to save somebody. I know that God's will
is the salvation of his elect. I know God's chosen some to salvation. But how's he going to do this?
How's he going to accomplish this? Paul tells us in verses
29 and 30. For whom he did foreknow, them he also did predestinate,
to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he, his Son,
might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called,
them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
And we have the grace of God set before us here in five great
works. These works all run to the same
people. Those and those only who were
foreknown of God were predestined by God unto eternal salvation. Those and those only who were
foreknown by God from old eternity and predestined by God before
the world began unto salvation are those who are called. There comes a time when God Almighty
calls His elect, and by calling them effectually, by the irresistible,
omnipotent power of His mercy and grace, He causes them to
come to Him. Those and those only who are
foreknown of God, predestined by God, called by grace, are
those who are justified. Not justified because they have
been called, but called because they've been justified. They
have been justified by the shed blood of Jesus Christ at Calvary,
and He, by His death, justified us, and we come to know it when
He calls us. And those and those only who
have been foreknown of God, and predestined of God, and called
of God, and justified by God, those also are glorified by Him. In other words, when God gets
done and He counts up the whole host of His people, called in
the book of Revelation 144,000. That is a complete people, a
people chosen of Him out of every nation, tribe, and tongue, represented
in the 12 tribes of Israel. A city four square, it is described,
the heavenly Jerusalem. These people, a great innumerable
company which no man can number, but a number that God has numbered
before the world began, there shall be not one less and not
one more than that which God Almighty had arranged before
the world began. Those whose names were written
in the Lamb's Book of Life from the foundation of the world,
they shall be written in the Lamb's Book of Life unto all
eternity. None shall be taken away. Now,
when Matthew Henry comments on this 29th and 30th verses of
Romans 8, he says, we have here a golden chain of grace with
five unbreakable links in it. It is a chain, Mr. Henry said,
which reaches from eternity past to eternity future and encompasses
everything in between. It is a chain which reaches from
everlasting past to everlasting yet to come. And it is unbreakable
so that every link fits together. And what a golden chain it is.
And the five links are just this for knowledge. That word means
love. It is God loving you with an
everlasting love. Loving you before you had any
being. It is the experience of love
that God Almighty in covenant mercy, or by which God Almighty
in covenant mercy secured your everlasting welfare. The second
leak is predestination. All who are foreknown of God,
predestined of God, are predestinated to be conformed to the image
of Christ. People argue and fuss about predestination. What does all that mean? It says
whom he did predestinate. God Almighty, before the world
began, loved Bob Duff, predestined a time and a place at which he
would meet you in mercy and call you to life everlasting and bring
you at last to heavenly glory and resurrection glory made just
like his son. That's what predestination means.
Now, if that upsets you, that's because you don't know anything
about it. You've never entered into it. Predestination is God
Almighty determining the everlasting salvation of His people for the
glory of His Son because He loved us with an everlasting love.
In providence, he arranges and brings to pass all things to
accomplish his eternal purpose of predestination. But predestination
is God's gracious work whereby he secures the salvation of his
people. Somebody said, well, that limits
God. No, that limits you. That shuts
the doors of heaven. No, no, no, no, no. No, it opens
the doors. You wouldn't get in. Nobody would
get in if God hadn't determined to bring somebody in. And the
only way anybody can come into heaven's glory is by God's purpose
and by God's grace. And then the third link is calling. They may also call. Verse 28 says, all things work
together for good to them who love God to them who are, look
at it, thee called. Thee called. That means that
some folks called, some folks aren't. Now it's not talking
about the preaching of the gospel merely. It's not talking about
you merely hearing me preach. I preach to you and call you
to faith in Christ. I've had folks tell me, like
Mr. Spurgeon once said, if I believe
what you do, I just preach the gospel to the elect. He said,
if you'll tell me who they are, I will too. But the fact is,
we don't know who God's elect are. So we preach the gospel
to all men according to the commandment of God. And we declare to all
men the way of life and faith in Christ Jesus, and call on
all men to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing
that somewhere along the way, God's going to speak to somebody.
And when God speaks, you come. When God comes calling, you come
willing. It's just that simple. Oh, blessed
is the man whom thou choosest and callsest to approach unto
thee. Now, look at the third link.
Justification. Whom he called, our fourth link
rather, whom he called, then he also justified. Now, wait a minute. Why does
Paul speak of calling, then of justification, when justification
was done before calling? Because Paul is talking to us
not about things in the order of accomplishment, but he's talking
to us about things in the eternal purpose of God. and is talking
to us and speaking of these things in the order in which you and
I are made to experience them. God's predestination and God's
everlasting love are made known to us when God calls us by His
grace. And when God calls us by His
grace, we are made to enter into the blessed experience of justification. But you hear me and hear me well.
Your believing on Christ because you have been called does not
in any way contribute anything to justification. Justification
is something that Jesus Christ has done for us at Calvary, something
God did for us from old eternity. He speaks here of those who are
the justified. Then we also justify. Not shall
justify. Not is justified. They are already
justified. Justified before they're ever
called. But the fact is we receive this
justification. We receive the atonement which
Christ accomplished at Calvary when we are called by grace. We receive his grace when we
are called by his grace. Here's the fifth thing. whom
He called, whom He also glorified." It looks to me like this is what the Holy Spirit
is teaching us. There is a people in this world
loved of God with an everlasting love, known to God from old eternity. I don't mean just known as the
omniscient God. I mean known to God their Father
from old eternity. Who shall at last. Because God
Almighty loved them and chose them and predestined them and
called them and justified them. They shall at last Stand before
God Almighty, conformed to the image of God's darling Son, and
Christ will be praised for it. He'll be the firstborn among
many brethren. Now, in response to this great
revelation of God's sovereign purpose, of God's saving grace
in Christ, because he believed what God had revealed. The Apostle
Paul lifts his eyes to heaven, and he scans all the experiences
of time, and peers into the depths of hell, and looks over Satan
and the demons of hell and the influences of evil, and he raises
five bold, confident challenges of faith. If this is the case, if all things
work together for good to them that love God, if there are people
known of God, predestined of God, called of God, justified
of God, who shall be glorified, who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? He says in verse 29, I'm sorry, verse
31, what shall we say then to these things? If God be for us,
who can be against us? Looks to me like everything's
alright. God performs all things for me. If God be for us, who
can be against us? Now that doesn't mean since God's
for me, everybody else is for me. No, no, no. That means since
God's for me, it don't matter whether you're for me or not.
That means since God's for me, it doesn't matter who's against
me. It means since God's for me, not even a dog shall bark
against me. It means if God's for me, not
even the powers of hell shall be against me. But God Almighty
will overrule evil for good, for me, all the days of my life
and for all eternity. If God be for us, who can be
against us? And then he says, he says, since God's justified
us, he that spared not his own son, but delivered Him up for
us all. How shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things? What absurd unbelief and folly! For you and I, who are called
of God, born of His Spirit, who have been redeemed by the blood
of His Son, What absurd unbelief and folly for us ever to call
into question whether or not God Almighty will give us what
we need forever. Today or tomorrow or forever. To question whether or not our
Heavenly Father will withhold some good thing from us. He gave us His Son. He gave us
His Son. I reckon that means that everything in the infinite
boundless storehouse of God's goodness and God's mercy and
God's grace And God's love and God's glory is mine forever. I reckon that's what that means.
Look up. Well, if that's the case, who
shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Who's going to
charge me with sin? I'm talking about before God.
I'm talking about before God. Lots of folks can charge me with
lots of evil and do so justly. They sure can. You think of it,
I'm guilty. I'm guilty. You can charge me
justly, either in actual performance of the deed or in that which
is in my heart by nature, because I'm just like you. You can charge
me with anything you want to, I'm guilty. You too. You too. But not before God. Not before
God. You can lay any accusation you
want to, not before God. You can say, well, put this down
to Don's account. Oh, no. No, no. God put something
else down to Don's account. God justified me. God took my
sins. and made them to be placed on
the account of His Son. And His Son put away my sins
by the sacrifice of Himself, and God Almighty has put down
His righteous obedience on my account, and now declares me
to be the righteousness of God in Him. So hang on whatever you
ought to. It ain't going to stand before
God. Fourthly, since nobody can lay anything to my charge, There's
nobody, nobody, shall lay anything to my charge. Who is he that
condemneth? There's therefore now no condemnation
to live there in Christ Jesus. Who's going to condemn? It's
Christ that died. Yea, rather, that is risen from
the dead. Not only did he pay for our sins,
but he arose from the dead and God said, look here, sin's gone. I've raised up him who was made
to be sin. Not only that, but he also is
at the right hand of God. He's set and accepted as our
substitute on the right hand of the majesty on high, who also
maketh intercession for us. He's pleading with God on our
behalf, David, constantly. Oh, well. That makes this last
challenge, this last great challenge of faith, almost seem not so
bold after all. If God is for us and nobody can
be against us, if God gave His Son and will not fail to give
us any good thing, if God Almighty will allow none to lay anything
to the charge of His people, if there is no possibility of
condemnation, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? He's not willing that it be done. And nobody is capable of separating
us. Nothing. Once in Christ, in Christ
forever, from His hands No power can sever where He is, where
He is, where He is forever. Oh, pastor, I'd give anything
if I could have such confidence in God's grace and purpose. Well, let's turn back to Leviticus
chapter 22. Leviticus 22. In Romans 8, Paul speaks to us
about the purpose of grace, mystery of providence, that there's something else just
as important as God's purpose. I want that to sink in. There's
something else just as important as predestination. There's something
else just as important as blood atonement. There's something
else just as important, just as important as effectual calling. Something else just as important,
just as important as everlasting perseverance and preservation.
What on earth can that be? Something else just as necessary. You will never be saved. You
will never be saved. Listen to me now. You will never
be saved apart from the experience of grace. Ain't going to happen. Ain't
going to happen. And I want to talk to you today about this
experience of grace just briefly. Many know the truth. Few love it. Many know all about
Christ. Few love it. Doctrine is great
and glorious and delightful, but it is great, glorious, and
delightful only when you experience it. Here in Leviticus 22 verse 31,
the Lord says, therefore shall, underscore that, Shall. He didn't say, I'm recommending
this. He didn't say, I'm suggesting that this be true. He didn't
say, this is what I want you to do. Now, if you will, it will
come to pass. He says, therefore, shall. Therefore, shall ye keep
my commandments and do them. And then he tells us what he's
talking about when he says, therefore, I am the Lord. Neither shall
you profane my holy name, but I will be hallowed among the
children of Israel. I am the Lord which hallowed
you, that brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your
God. I am the Lord. Now here's a picture
of grace and experience, a picture of that which every believer,
every chosen sinner experiences when he is made to be a partaker
of God's free grace experimentally. As we look at these three verses
together, I'm going to show you seven things every saved sinner
has experienced, every one of them. If you're here today and
God has saved you by his grace, you have experienced these seven
things. If you haven't experienced them, God hasn't saved you by
his grace. I'm not suggesting seven things
in sequential order. I wouldn't dare presume to do
so. But I am saying that there are
certain things that every sane sinner experiences when God stretches
out his omnipotent arm of mercy. And here they are. Mr. Henry called Romans 8, 29, and
30 a golden chain of grace with five links. Well, here are seven
links to the chain of grace. If you want to, we'll call this
the silver chain of grace. But seven links in this chain
of grace, and they are unbreakable, and they form one. Number one,
revelation. Revelation. God says in verse 31, I am the
Lord. Now God's purpose of grace is
a theme of worship and praise. But God's purpose of grace never
motivates anyone to anything. In these three verses, the Lord
God uses the experience of grace to motivate us in worshiping
Him and praising Him with regard to His purpose. And the experience
of grace begins with God revealing Himself. Salvation. Oh, I don't know how
to say this, make folks hear it and understand it. Salvation
is not agreeing with certain facts and propositions. Salvation
is not accepting good religious advice. Salvation is not deciding
to turn over a new leaf, join the church, and quit living like
hell. Salvation is knowing God. Not knowing about Him, knowing
Him. Knowing Him. Well, preacher, where do you
get that? John 17 3. This is life eternal. that they might
know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent. The only way a sinner can ever
be saved is to know God, as he's revealed himself in Christ Jesus.
And the only way any man or woman will ever come to know God is
if God is pleased to make himself known. I'm trying my best to be honest
with your souls. I try my best to be honest with
men wherever I go preaching the gospel. I'm not interested in talking
you into a profession of faith. I'm not interested in that. I'm
not interested... I'm not interested just in getting
you to reform your life. I'm just... I'll leave that,
I'll call it synonymous. I'm not interested in that. I'm
not interested in that. I'm interested in you knowing
God. Knowing God. Knowing God. And that's something I can't
do for you. Only God Almighty can stick His
hand into your dark soul and pour in the light of His grace
and make Himself known to you. Brother Don, how on earth does
God make Himself known to a man? He spoke to Moses out of the
bush and said, I am the Lord. I am that I am. I am Jehovah. I am the almighty, self-existent,
saving God. I've come to deliver my people.
God came to Abraham, made himself known to him, made himself known
to Isaac and Jacob. How does God make himself known
to men? Now, we recognize that God sort of makes himself known
lots of ways. Any man ever been born, Now listen
to me, read the first chapter of Romans, it's as plain as the
nose on your face. Any man ever been born that has
half good sense, I mean he's not plumbing insane. Any man
that's ever been born knows that God is. He may scream and holler,
I don't believe in God. He may scream and holler, I'm
an atheist. He may scream and holler, oh, religion is just
a fairytale. All he's doing is holding down
what he knows inside his soul, trying his best to shut his conscience
up, but it don't work. It don't work. And if you're
sitting here today, I don't care who you are, I don't care where
you've been educated, I don't care how brilliant you are. Man
says, well, I don't believe in God. You're a liar. You're a
liar. You're just a flat, bald-faced
liar. It ain't so. You know that God
is. He stamped His image on your
heart, and you can't get away from it. You look into heaven, boy, isn't this a wonderful cosmic
explosion of ooze that has developed out here into this starry universe? You don't believe any such nonsense
as that. You know better than that. Now,
I won't begin to try to argue and debate with folks about creation,
but I would... I'm looking at this clock here.
I'd come near believing that clock just kind of popped up
out of that desk, and I would believe in this world evolved
out of nothing. That's nonsense. That's nonsense.
Order demands someone who orders. It demands someone who orders.
Things are in order they are because God ordered it that way.
That which is has been made. God's the creator. You know that.
God reveals himself in his law. The law stamped on your conscience
by nature. The law given at Sinai in some
measure so that men are guilty. God reveals Himself to you who've
heard the Word. The Gospel is preached to you,
you hear it, God makes Himself known. He makes Himself known
in providence, in judgment, lots of ways. But all those revelations of
God, Bobby, just leave men without excuse. That's all. You see, a man who
has some light and says, I won't follow God, has some light and
says, I won't bow to Him, Has some light, rejects the light
God's given him? He's without excuse. But God savingly reveals
himself in three ways. In three ways. Turn to John chapter
1. John chapter 1. God Almighty, in the fullness
of time, The infinite, eternal God stooped
down here and took on Himself our nature. And God the Son became
the Son of Man. And God Almighty came down here,
took on Himself our nature, And by the obedience of the Lord
Jesus Christ, in righteousness unto death, to the satisfying
of divine justice, He came here made known who God is. Look here, John chapter 1 verse
14. The Word, the eternal Word, Jesus Christ the Lord, the Word
who is God. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth." Verse 18, no man
has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. He's declared
Him. He took all that God is. and walked into time in a body,
and opened his mouth, and by the work of his hands, said,
look here! This is God. This is God. He said, I am Father One. He
said, I'm going to the Father. Philip looked at him, and he
said, Lord, show us the Father. That'll be enough. And Jesus
said to him, have I been so long time with you, Philip? And yet
hast thou not known me? Look here. Look here, Philip.
Look here, Philip. Try to picture the Lord Jesus
sitting right in front of him, standing right before him. He
said, look here, buddy. Look here. Look into my face.
He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. In him dwelleth all
the fullness of the Godhead bodily. But there's more that's necessary.
Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. The Lord God reveals himself
to men and women by the preaching of the gospel. It takes more
than hearing me or another man preach the gospel. I don't mean
to suggest that. It takes more than you hearing
my voice. The Apostle Paul said, Our gospel
came to you, not in word only, but in power and in much assurance. Our demonstration in power and
much assurance and in the Holy Ghost. But if God Almighty is
pleased to make Himself known to you, He'll do it through the
lips of a man preaching the gospel of His grace in the power of
His Spirit. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter
4. If our gospel be hid, I know preachers who hide it.
And they say, you know, they'll talk to you about the gospel
of God's grace in the coffee shop, and they'll write books
about it, but they wouldn't think about getting in the pulpit and
preaching it. They hide it. Can't do that. And I know why
they hide it. Where's mine? That's why. That ain't no other
reason, just that. Well, Preacher, you mean they're
all hirelings? You got it. You got it. If our gospel's here, it ain't
because we hear it. Mm-mm. We preach it everywhere.
I had a preacher ask me one time. I was preaching down in Florida.
He said, if you were there, I'd preach down in Florida. He said,
would you preach that message first back at the church here?
I said, you get the appointment, and I'll fly down here at my
own expense, and they don't have to worry about it. I'll preach it exactly
like you just heard it. Preaching the Vatican. Anyway, he's not
putting it out here because we had it. Oh no, not God's servants. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 3, If
our gospel be hid, it's hid to them that are lost, in whom the
God of this world hath put blinders on their minds, who hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, lest the light of the glory of God in Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach
not ourselves, we don't preach about ourselves or for ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves, your servants for
Jesus' sake. For God, now watch it, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness. Where did the light come from?
Where did it come from? Oh, the darkness decided it wanted
some light. The darkness went and made some candles and took
a match and lit the candles. No! God said that there'd be
lights. And what does the book say? There was lights. When God saves a sinner, this
is what it does, Bill Rowley. All of a sudden, he's sitting
there just like you're sitting there looking at me, listening
intently. Soul by soul, I see. Now I see! God turned the lights
on. God commanded the light to shine
out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, watch it now, to
give light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. But it'll take, as I said, more
than just hearing my voice. Thirdly, if ever you're saved,
if ever you come to know God, If ever you come to see the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ, it will take God Almighty revealing
His Son in you. Paul said, when it pleased God
who separated me from my mother's son, called me by His grace to
reveal His Son, Shelby teaches those young children
downstairs. Memorize the verses. Faith was
a child. I taught her catechism, instructed
things, teach all the grace and will, best we can, you know.
Learn facts. Learn facts. And I can reveal a whole lot
to you. But I can't reveal anything in
you. That takes a supernatural work
of almighty, sovereign, irresistible grace. And this is what eternal
life is. Christ in you. Christ in you. All right, back to Leviticus
22. I've got to hurry. I've really got to hurry. But I'm going to
hurry. The Lord God speaks here in verse
32 and says, Neither shall ye profane my holy name. So the
second link in this chain of grace is reverence. Wherever
there is the revelation of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ, many women reverence God. They no longer profane his holy
name. This has something to do with
what the scriptures talk about, about the fear of God. The fear of God. To this man
will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit,
and trembleth at my word. It's talking about a man or a
woman who's been made to know himself a sinner before a holy
God. What Isaiah experienced when
he cried, oh, woe is me, for I'm undone. I'm undone. It's exactly what the Apostle
Paul experienced on the Damascus Road. He was a good man. He was a good, good man. Good. Went to church every Sunday
since he was a... They enrolled him in the cradle
row before he was ever born. Been in church all his life.
Memorize the Bible cover to cover, verse after verse after verse.
Have a sword drill, he'd stand up and find the passage first.
All his life long, good man, good man. Tithed, prayed, fasted,
kept the law, kept Sabbath days. Always a good man in his own eyes. And then one day, God Almighty
shined out of the glory of heaven into his heart, threw him off
his high horse, down on his back, and made him to know he was utterly
blind and nothing but sin. And he cried out, Lord, what will you have me to do?
He said, I was alive without the law. But then the law came. Turn to Daniel chapter 10. Let
me show you this. Daniel chapter 10. This is what all believers
experience in grace. They are made to find themselves
utterly, utterly withered before God, reverencing Him. Ezekiel
said, I saw the appearance like the glory of the Lord, and when
I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of him that
spake. John said, when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. Now look here at Daniel chapter
10. Daniel 10 chapter verse 8. Therefore I was left alone. Preachers and religious hucksters
are scared to death to leave sinners alone with God. And that's
exactly what we ought to do with them. Preach to them, leave them
alone with God. When you men and women call me
and want to discuss things concerning this business of salvation and
grace, I'll give all the help I can possibly give. But when
all is said and done, I want to leave you alone with God.
Look at Daniel. Verse 8, Therefore I was left
alone and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength
in me. Oh, now he's about to get strong.
There remained no strength in me, for my comeliness was turned
in me into corruption. Now, now, something's happening
inside the fellow, and I retain no strength. Yet heard I the
voice of His words. Oh, thank God, now I've heard
the voice of His words. God speaketh to me. Then was I in a deep sleep. on my face. And my face was toward the ground.
Now watch this. And behold, a hand touched me which set me
on my knees and upon the palms of my hands. What happens when God saves a
sinner? He makes Himself known to him. And He takes the starch out of
you and puts you on your face and on your knees and on the
palms of your hands, in the dust before Him, and you're glad to
take your place there. No strength, no comeliness, just
corruption. And here's the third link in
this great chain of grace. Back in Leviticus 20. No strength, no comeliness, just
corruption. And here's the third link. in
this great chain of grace. That's in Leviticus 22. The third thing involved in the
experience of grace is worship. And the Lord God declares, I
will be hallowed among the children of Israel. That is, I'll be reverenced. When God makes Himself known, He causes you to wither before
Him and reverence Him. Fall on your face before Him.
You'll come to Him like that leper. Lord, if You will, You can make me clean. If You
will. And you know what? He always
says, I will. You're clean. When a sinner is
brought on his face before Him. And then fourth thing, in this blessed experience of
grace and sanctification, God says, I am the Lord which hallowed
you. He says, It's done. It's done. Oh, God, will you have mercy
on me? Oh, yeah, it's done. Oh, Lord, will you accept me? Oh, yeah, it's done. It's done.
You mean already? Oh, yeah, it's done. I did it. That's the reason you're down
here. I did it. I've set you apart
from all men in covenant mercy and everlasting love and redeeming
grace in the calling of my spirit. It's done! I, the Lord, sanctify
you. And then, now watch this, he
speaks deliverance. Put the last part of verse 32
and the first part of verse 33 together. I am the Lord which
hallowed you, which sanctified you, which set you apart, that
brought you out of the land of Egypt." Don't you remember this
morning? You were in darkness, groveling,
servile, terrified. fearful slave in a land of cursedness
and darkness and death and imprisonment. But here you are! I brought you
out. I brought you out of Egypt by
the merit and virtue and efficacy of blood atonement, the blood
of the Lamb of God. I brought you out by the power
of my grace. I've delivered you. And no sooner
is it that God Almighty brings the sinner cringing before His
throne, trembling before Him, then He says, I've redeemed you. He speaks peace to every believing
heart, and He's the only one who can. He's the only one who
can. When Pilgrim went up to Mount
Calvary, he had been everywhere he could go with that heavy burden
on his back. And he went up to Mount Calvary
and he saw one suffering the wrath of God
in his room instead, who is himself God Almighty in human flesh.
And he heard him cry, it's finished. And he said, when I looked, the
burden fell off my back and rolled down the hill. into the abyss
of God's forgetfulness, into the depths of the sea. And I
carry my burden no more." I'm the Lord that brought you out
of the land of Egypt. I'm the Lord that delivered you.
And then the sixth thing is conversion. Is I brought you out to be your
God. I didn't bring you out for nothing.
I brought you out to be your God, to turn your hearts from
idols to serve Me, not only to make you My people so that when
a word is raised, who is on the Lord's side, you gladly take
your place with Me. But I brought you out to be a
God to you. He saved you to be a God to you. Go back to verse 31. Here it
is. He says, therefore shall you
keep my commandments and do them. How come? Because what I've done
for you. The seventh link in the chain
is consecration. most reasonable thing on this
earth. You're not your own. You've been bought with a price.
So glorify God in your body and in your spirits, which are God's. Amen.