While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the host of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him out of Israel. For the people wept bitterly. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra, We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land. But even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. Therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and their children according to the counsel of my Lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God. And let it be done according to the Torah, to the law. Arise, for it is your task and we are with you. Be strong and do it. So Ezra rose and made the leading priests and Levites, and all Israel take oath that they would do as has been said. So they took the oath. Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehonanan, the son of Eliashia, where he spent the night, neither eating bread nor drinking water, for he was mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles. And a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles that they should assemble at Jerusalem. And that if anyone did not come within three days by order of the officials and the elders, all his property should be forfeited. And he himself banned from the assembly, the congregation of the exiles. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month on the 20th day of the month. And all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain. And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, you have broken faith by marrying foreign women, and have so increased the guilt of Israel. Now then, make confession to Yahweh, the God of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from foreign wives. Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice. It is so. We must do as you have said. But the people are many, and it is a time of heavy rain. We cannot stand in the open. Nor is this a task for one day or for two, for we have greatly transgressed in this matter. Let all officials stand for the whole assembly. Let all in our cities who have taken foreign wives come at appointed times, and with them the elders and judges of every city. until the fierce wrath of our God over this matter is turned away from us. Only Jonathan, the son of Asahel, and Jaziah, the son of Tikva, opposed this, and Meshulam, and Shabbatai, the Levites, supported them. Then the returned exiles did so, as were the pre-selected men, heads of the fathers' houses, according to their fathers' houses, each of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month, they sat down to examine the matter. And by the first day of the first month, they had come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women. Now there were some found of the sons of the priests who had married foreign women, Masiah, Eleazar, Jerob, and Gedaliah, some of the sons of Jeshua, the son of Josedach, and his brothers. They pledged themselves to put away their wives, and their guild offering was a ram of the flock for their guilds. Of the sons of Emer, Hanani, and Zebediah. Of the sons of Harim, Maaseah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah. Of the sons of Paschur, Eleonai, Maaseah, Ishmael, Nethianel, Jezebed, and Alasa. Of the Levites, Jezebed, Shimei, Keleah, that is Kalita, Petahiah, Judah, and Eleazar, of the singers, Eliashim, of the gatekeepers, Shalom, Telam, and Uri, and of Israel, of the sons of Perosh, Ramya, Izia, Malkijah, Majah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Hashabiah, and Benaiah. Of the sons of Elam, Mataniah, Zechariah, Jehio, Abdi, Jehemoth, and Elijah. Of the sons of Zatu, Eleonai, Eliashib, Mataniah, Jeremoth, Zebad, and Aziza. Of the sons of Bibai, Jehonanan, Hananiah, Zabai, and Atli. Of the sons of Bani were Meshulam, Maluk, Adiyah, Jashub, Chiyal, and Jeremot. Of the sons of Pahat, Moab, Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maasiah, Mataniah, Bezalel, Binuy, and Manasseh. Of the sons of Harim, Eliezer, Ishaijah, Melkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, Benjamin, Maluk, and Shemariah. Of the sons of Hashem, Matanah, Ai, Jeremiah, Manasseh, and Shimei. Of the sons of Thani, Maadai, Amram, Yual, Benaiah, Bediah, Keluhi, Zaniah, Miramont, Eliashib, Matanai, Matanai, Jasu. Of the sons of Benue, Shimei, Shalamiah, Nathan, Adaiah, Maknadabai, Shashai, Shari, Azrael, Shalamiah, Shemariah, Shalun, Amariah, and Joseph, of the sons of Nebo, Jeal, Macithiah, Zebad, Zebina, Jedi, Zoal, and Benaiah. All these had married foreign women, and some of the women had even born children. That's why I get paid the big bucks. I have to read those. That was harder than Ezra chapter 2. If you've read the Bible, you've understood that these great lists, these genealogies, they meant a lot to the Jews. Don't really mean as much to us, so far removed, but remember in Genesis that God promised a Savior through a Zerah, through a seed, and therefore the seed principle, the genealogy principle meant everything to the Jew. They're all longing to have a male child. Why? Because that is the seed, the promised deliverer. And so, all these in here, it's very important because if you're tied into the covenant people, into the elect people of Israel, you belong to God. And the New Testament makes it very easy for us. I'm in Christ. Nice? Yeah, nice genealogy. I'm in Christ. So, all those names, lots of fun, I'll make it simple for you. Are you in Christ by faith? Because Christ fulfills all those genealogies. All those genealogies are pointing forward to Matthew and Luke, where they give those grand genealogies, basically say, Jesus is the one we've been waiting for since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden. The one who would restore God's people back into Paradise, who would undo sin, who would redeem His people, bring in the new creation, ultimately through his life, his death, and his resurrection from the dead. So, lots of theology in those genealogies. Harry has resources for you, I know, and good websites. It's boring to us. I could see some heads doing some seriously bobbing there as I was reading, until I started stuttering, then you're like, uh-oh. Anyways, let's pray. You're thinking, where's he gonna get sermon from this? You're just hoping that I'll let you go in ten minutes. Oh, it's not that easy. Let's pray. Father, I thank you that every word that you give us is inspired by the Spirit. Every word points to Christ. And Lord, help us to see that this genealogy, it fell flat. There's no Messiah. There's no Christ. There's no Redeemer. There's no hope. These are sinners. We thank you, Lord, that in your sovereign grace you did bring about that seed, Jesus Christ, who is not a sinner, but a Savior of sinners. Father, we just pray now that you would send your Spirit, that you would open up this text to our minds and to our hearts, and ultimately, even as Nathan has asked, that we would focus on Christ. Our Lord, just draw our gaze and our attention and our affections, everything within us. Our Lord, show us your grandeur and your majesty. your beauty. Show us your holiness. Show us our sinfulness and our need for a Savior who died for sinners. In Jesus' name, Amen. Four points. I don't have a long introduction. I don't feel good, so you're getting cool notes. Four points. Holiness is contagious. Holiness is costly. Unholiness is contagious. Unholiness is costly. Nice and simple. See? I know you guys are really tired. You didn't get a long enough nap. You got the four points? Holiness is contagious, holiness is costly. Unholiness, it's not a word, it's always underlined in your computer, but I'm using it anyways. Unholiness is contagious, unholiness is costly. And I'll show you from the text where I get that, and if I can get time for the addendum, how do we fit the sin to Jesus' command and Paul's command under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? No divorce, right? They're divorcing here. How do we reconcile that with the New Testament? I'll show you if the Lord grants. I should drink a little wine this afternoon, hey? That's what Paul commanded Timothy for his rotten guts. First, holiness is contagious. Look at the first verse. chapter 10. While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the host of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly. Okay, so you remember in Psalm 84, I think Nathan read it a couple weeks ago, remember they're going through the valley of 3 times this is used in chapter 10 verse 1. Holiness is contagious. Last week, for the last two weeks, I ripped through Ezra 9. Ezra is longing for ethnic purity. Ezra is longing for holiness. He's weeping over the sins of unfaithful Israel. Sin has crept into the camp. First thing he does, he starts pulling out any amount of hair on his body he can. He gets on his face and he starts weeping. You can listen to last week's sermon if you want. I'm not going to repeat it, but holiness is contagious, right? So Ezra's been weeping, he's been fasting, he's been ripping his garments, his beard. And what happens in the first verse? The Spirit moves other people. That's just how the Spirit works. If you read about all the revivals in the Bible, as well as in church history, it often begins with a couple of guys who are just broken over sin. Who are longing for holiness. And if you're a Christian, you're longing for that too. So say Anthony comes in one night, and he's just broken over some minor sin. You know what that does? The Spirit inside me says, I want that! I want holiness! Why? Because He who called me is holy. And He who called me who is holy has called me to be holy. And so holiness is contagious. I just want you to get that. Now I'm not saying let's put on fake holiness masks. This comes from the Holy Spirit. It's sovereign. And at the same time, we need to do something about those convictions. Ezra felt the conviction, the Spirit comes on him, said sin is not good, it's destroying the camp. Sin could send you back into exile. Sin could destroy all the promises, all that God has done. Rebuilding of the altar, rebuilding of the temple, the two exoduses back into the land. Sin can undo that! And Ezra gets on his face. And that's what the call is for us. That's what I'm longing for in our church. Not plain church, and I talked about this morning. I want the kids to see that we long for holiness. I wish they did all the time, but there's a real part of me that longs to be holy like Jesus Christ. A large assembly, actually a very large assembly, is broken over the unfaithfulness of a few. If you were to read and count all those names, there's about 107 to 110, depends how you translate the Hebrew. And there's 40,000 to 50,000 people, so that's a small proportion. And you have one man weeping over the sin of 100 people, and all of a sudden a great assembly of men, women, children, they catch it. That's what revival looks like. A lot of people think revival is just a whole bunch of people coming forth at an altar call. That's not revival. Revival is the Holy Spirit coming upon His people and they're broken over even the smallest of sins. This is more than crocodile tears. Literally in the Hebrew, with much weeping they wept. They just repeat the same thing. Weeping they wept. And so when I say holiness, I'm not just saying, oh man, I really... I'm talking about a massive conviction over sin. And if the Spirit brings that in one of your lives, man, I long for the day. You know, that's the danger of reading lots of books. You always read about all these revivals. And I read about one in Korea a hundred years ago. And people just started weeping. Just weeping over the smallest sins. And as one man started weeping, they all started weeping. Ten thousand of them. So, I know I'm talking and verbose on that, but I just want to get that concrete in your mind. It's contagious. So let's be holy. I'm glad Ezra didn't care what others thought. You know what sometimes I think? We're Baptists, and so therefore we have to conceal as much emotions as possible. Don't smile too much. Don't even... Anthony, you're almost lifting your hands. You know what the danger in our circles is? Is we care that people are going to think I'm trying to be false pious. That if I lift my hands while I'm praising the glorious name of Jesus Christ, you know what I'm thinking? Mark's going to think I'm faking it. I'm so thankful Ezra doesn't get a rip about what others think. There's probably people thinking, yeah, he's a sulfur, he's the priest, he has to do that. If the Spirit comes upon you and you have a great brokenness over sin, shut me up and start weeping. Who cares if someone's going to say, oh Bernadette's just faking it. She's just looking for a show. She just wants us to think she's holy. Esther couldn't care. Audience of one. We're sinners in the sight of a holy God. I'm on my face and tears are gushing forth. I'm doing whatever it takes. We don't want God's wrath or His displeasure upon us. I couldn't care less what others think. That is sweet. That's what I hope is infectious in us. That you don't care what I think. That you care only what the Lord Jesus Christ thinks. Right? Audience of one. Yeah, I know we have to worry not to be sinful instead of others. But ultimately, it's all about what does God think? And if God says, Mark, get your hands up. When we're reading a psalm and I lift my hands like David commands, who cares what I think, right? So, I'm not trying to, the power of suggestion, I'm not saying we need to get all up, but I do encourage that. You know, if there's an Amen welling up in you, let it rip! Holiness is contagious. And by the time we get to the fourth point, it's a nice chiasm, unholiness is contagious. You start repressing, suppressing, grieving, The Spirit, that's contagious too. Trust me, I fight it. I work with unregenerate people, and I listen to unregenerate music all week. And I need to come into the assembly of brothers and sisters who love Christ, who love holiness. I need that from you. I do. I need to come in, and I need to be, as I'm talking with Daryl, not to be talking about, you know, superfluous, vain things that are just light I want you guys to give in to the Spirit. He's called the Spirit of Holiness. And that we would walk in step with this Holy Spirit. Because I guarantee, if you're following that leading, I'm going to love it. And by God's grace, I'm going to follow that. So there's my first massive point. Parents, holiness is contagious. Husbands, holiness is contagious. You think about getting married? Holiness is contagious. Okay? Let's lead our wives and families well, men. 2. Holiness is costly. I'm not going to read verses 2 to 17, but it's costly. Or let me say, Reformation or Sanctification. I remember in seminary, my New Testament prof, the one with the French accent, who is always nitty-picky, I'll never forget, we used to have small groups, and he said this to me. He grew up under the pastoring of a man named Tom Carson. It's a good book, you should read it. It's called Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor. Anyways, he said to us, Christianity, that costs nothing, is worth nothing. I'll never forget that. My soul, that must have been real heavy. You want holiness? It's going to cost you. You're going to have to deny yourself. You're going to have to pick up your cross, and you're going to have to follow after Jesus Christ. Good news, what God commands, He enables. We love sovereign grace. I'm not saying, okay, it's costly. do it in your own strength. It's costly. Christ has given you everything you need for godliness. Read the, is it 1st Peter 1 or 2nd Peter 1? He's giving you all you need for godliness in Christ Jesus. But it's costly. You want holiness? You're gonna have to turn off the internet sometimes when you're tempted. You want holiness? When the lady's crossing the street, you gotta put your head down. You want holiness? Maybe listen to scripture on the way to work instead of talk radio. I love talk radio. But I love holiness more. And I'm not saying, hey, look at me, I'm the holiest guy in the world. I'm not. Ask my wife. I was praying in the washroom that I really didn't want to be here. I was asking God for strength to get through this hour. But it's costly. Using your money, not on yourself, using it for the glory of God, to advance holiness. Maybe instead of buying foolish things, buying a good Christian book that will maybe produce sanctity in your life. Holiness, reformation is costly. Reformation is more than mere talk. And holiness requires sacrifice. So let's not just be a church that all we do is talk about holiness, but never do anything about it. God really couldn't care less about our talk. He searches the inward man. He tests our actions. As with Ezra, the people they come, Ezra's freaking out over sin, and I love saying that, he's freaking out in a good way. They start freaking out. They start freaking out, and they take personal responsibility. You remember Ezra's confessional prayer? He doesn't try to say, well, it's our father's fault. They kind of left us in a nasty situation, or we were forced to. We have sinned! We deserve judgment! We need to do something! It costs a lot. Shekeniah. Look in verse 2, the son of Jehiel. I would have never known this unless I had read a commentary, or two, or four. Jehiel is one of the men mentioned in that list who had married a foreign wife. And so we have the son of one who is committing the very sin that perhaps could kick them out of the land. saying we need to put away our wives. That's costly. Here, it's almost like the son is ratting out the dad. Dad, I know you're married to a fallen wife who's an idolater. Ezra, let's put away their wives. Oh, it's costly. Holiness is more important to Shekinah than even his family. You want holiness, right? This is what it costs. It's costly. Imagine sitting at the dinner table, Shek and I and Jehiel there, right after that, Hey Ezra, maybe we should put away the foreign wife so that God's wrath may be averted. Oh, Thanksgiving? Okay dad, I'll see you. Could you imagine what the conversation would be like? Paul says Galatians 1.10, I know that now because Andrew asked me what verse that was and I thought it was verse 9. It says, now do we seek to please man or God? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a slave of Christ. So you want holiness, what is it costing you? But you know what the glory is? It sounds so solemn, right? Just so negative. But you get everything! You want to be happy? I guarantee, if Christ works holiness into your life, you will be the most blessed, happy person in the world. You'll say, twice nothing! All those things were weights and burdens! Holiness is freedom! The pastor's not on crack, he's not crazy! Holiness is sweet and liberating and freedom! Oh, that we might taste it. Right? It's like kids who love hot dogs. It's like, have you ever tasted a ribeye? Oh, that we might taste that filet mignon. I love steaks though. Of holiness. Shekinah puts God before his family. Let me expand. We need to put God before everything. Christ is our all in all. He's more than our job. He's more than our friends. He's more than our popularity. Suzanne, he's more than your university degree. I'm not saying drop out, but I'm just saying. It's going to cost you something. Deny yourselves if you want to follow Jesus. But why is it worth it? Okay, so we're still with Sheck and I, the son of Jehoiachin. He comes. We've broken faith. We've been faithless with our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples of the land. But even now there is hope in spite of this. This is why he can be so brave. If I had no hope of God's grace to make me like Christ, I would just live like the devil. I'll be perfectly honest. But there's hope. Jack and I sees that God is gracious. Yes, we've screwed up. Yes, we're sinners who fall short of God's glory every day. But repentance is worth it because God is gracious and He never rejects a broken and a contrite spirit. He loves it. He loves repenting hearts. Let's repent! Let's long for holiness. Why? Because God will work that in our lives. There's hope even though we've messed up. There should be some amens ringing in hearts right now if you're half the sinner I am. There's hope. God is gracious. Because God is gracious, they can act now. So I'm just following through the verses. I promise they'll get faster once we get to the names. But I just, I just want you to take sort of meditate on this. It costs lots, but God gives you everything. He supplies the cost. And the reward is so much sweeter. Right? Maybe I'm reading into it. Who knows? Maybe Jehiel said to his son Jack and I after, Son, I'm so thankful. I'm thankful you love God more than me. Right? I think of the John Piper poem when we were working through that book. Love her more by loving her Remember that poem? Church, love me more by loving me less. What does that mean? Love me more by loving God before me. Because if you love God more than me, you will rebuke me when I'm living in sin. And if I love God more than you, though I love you, I'll call you guys on sin because I care more about God's name and His glory and His fame and your sanctification than your Pleasure. Heavy stuff, I know. It's solemn, or maybe everyone had the turkey one day early, and the tryptophan is starting to lull you to sleep. But these last four weeks, I've really been cherishing, because you don't hear it preached often. God hates sin. He loves holiness. He equips us to mortify sin by the Spirit. He gives us everything we need to be made into the image of Christ. That's why He predestined us Romans 8-29, right? If He predestined to make me into the image of the Son, that Christ might be the firstborn among many brethren. He will give me everything I need to become like Christ. Therefore they cut a covenant or enact a covenant. This is the reason why you can say, I am going to turn from my sin. I'm going to make a covenant with God. A lot of people think, oh be careful. People are always making covenants with God. It's great. Job made a covenant with His eyes, not to look at His maidservant. Though I'm a whore and though I often break it, I still say, Lord, I'm going to promise by Your goodness and Your grace, I'm not going to do this today. I fall short, but I still make those covenants. They're good, it shows that I actually care. Because there's hope, because God is merciful, because He's gracious, let's make a covenant with this good God. It's like there's a very good prospect for a wife. She's full of mercy and grace and everything you could want. You better seal the deal quick. Make the covenant, man. That's what they're doing. Right? God's gracious. Let's do it now. Let's get rid of the sin. Let's get it out of account. Because God has sovereign purposes through us to reach the world. And I'll get into that. There's a big picture going on that I think Ezra sees that most Christians don't. God has elected Israel to be a light to the nations. Exodus 96, God has called Israel out of Egypt to be a kingdom of priests. What do priests do? They draw people into a relationship with God. Israel, Deuteronomy 7, 8, 9, not because there's anything special in you, but because I love the world, I'm electing you, I'm drawing you to myself, that you might represent me to the nations by your holiness. That you might be peculiar, or however you pronounce it. You might be different. That my law might make a demarcation between holiness and unholiness. And Ezra saw that. We're in great danger, in the language of Revelation, of having our lamp snuffed out. If we don't repent, we're going to make no difference in this world. Salt that loses its saltiness is worth nothing. All it's good for is dancing on. I almost started dancing. I must be getting really sick. I've got a fever. Disco fever. I don't know where that came from. My boss was really sick this week, so I don't know if I'm getting it. Therefore, they cut a covenant, and Ezra's thinking, sweet. They finally got it. Ezra's been preaching for how many months? 4. He preaches the Word, the Spirit grabs their heart by the Word, they repent of their sin, there's still hope by the end of Ezra. Though at the end of Ezra you're like, what? What's the deal? God is still reviving His people and He's not cast them off entirely. He's kept this remnant. And Ezra, chronologically, Nehemiah are the last books. before we get to Christ. And so God is serving for Himself a people who are repenting, who are seeking holiness. Though the promises are not yet fulfilled, God has not forsaken His people Israel. Read Romans 9-11. First, holiness is contagious. Second, holiness is costly. Okay? You might at school kids, university, You want to be holy? I'm just going to be frank with you. You're going to be a loser. I said this once, I'll say it a million times. You want to be cool? Do not become a Christian. I'm not cool. I used to think I was, but I'm not. I cannot be cool in this world. If I seek for holiness, I'm not going to be cool in the estimation of the world. I'm sorry. If you're looking for coolness, Go find it in Hinduism, Shaoism, or whatever all those isms. You can be cool and be a hippie, and you can sit cross-legged and be really deep with people and be cool in the eyes of the world. Christ doesn't call us to be cool. Christ calls us to be different. I don't care what any emergent shirt says. We're called to be holy. That's how we represent God to the world. We're different. Even if we're losers, we're still different. Holiness is costly. You want to be holy next? You're probably not going to be prom queen at your school, unless you go to a Christian school. But a Christian school wouldn't have a prom queen. That wasn't in my notes, I promise. I'm skipping over a whole bunch of notes. Maybe I'll get back into it after to get to my third point. Unholiness is contagious. I'm going to trust the Spirit that I'm going to skip a whole bunch of exegetical notes. You can look at my notes after if you want, if you're a nerd like me. Holiness is contagious, but so is unholiness. There's about 107 to 110 lawbreakers here. Read Deuteronomy 7. Don't marry foreign wives. Why? Because God doesn't like people who aren't Jews? No! God wants to save people who aren't Jews! Don't marry idolaters! That's my paraphrase. Don't marry people who don't love God! Don't marry people who sacrifice their kids to Bill! Why? Because a little leaven, finish it off. Leavens the whole lump. That's why we do church discipline. Right? You don't come to Jerusalem in three days, you're cut off! It's a big word for a Hebrew. Unfortunately, most people think that's cool to be cut off from a church today. You know, you're like a martyr or something like that. To be cut off from the land of the living meant death. You're in the land of dying. To be cut off from the church, from the assembly, that was the greatest shame in the world. I wish we've lost that. You know that? The last 50 years we've lost that in the church. Everyone's trashing the church. The church sucks. The church is so old school. The church is a bunch of losers. The church is all these orthodox, maustric, blah blah blah. The church is glorious. Christ died for the church. I fight for the church. Oh no! It's the pride of Christ! Well, I love Jesus, but I don't love the church. This is a rant that's not in my notes. That makes me sick. How can you love Jesus and not love what He loves? Anyways, we're getting into that in a couple of weeks. I'm going to do Ecclesiology. That's doctrine of the church. And I hope that you're going to love the church by the time we're done with it. I'm going to work through Total Church and maybe some other books. Anyways, unholiness is contagious. Get them out. Shekinahiah, you got it. The law is right. Right? Achan, get him out of the camp. Why? Because he's screwing it over for everyone else. Yes, God is harsh! Because God loves His people! That's why we do church discipline. Because I love it? Absolutely not! That's why we discipline our children. Because we love them. We care about a greater good. Only a hundred men are named. That's very few in the mix of the whole. Oh, no big deal, it's just a couple. It's like in our church, our size. One or two people living in open, flagrant sin. No big deal. Oh, it'll permeate. Right? A hundred people living in sin. Don't think their kids are watching, their neighbors are watching, their friends are watching, their co-workers are watching. Oh, it'll spread real quick. Nip it in the bud, because unholiness is contagious. Last week, who are you hanging with? I'm not saying go over the world. Paul says don't go over the world. But who are your best friends? I know it sounds like I'm a legalist. Your best friends, if you're Christians, should be Christians. Even if they're not cool. You've got a choice. Cool non-Christian, loser Christian. The text says that unholiness is contagious. Choose ye this day which ye will choose, life or death. Fourthly, unholiness is costly. Just as holiness is costly, so is unholiness. It's a lot more costly in the long run. In the grand scheme of things, the short-lived sin, the pleasures of this world fleeting Christians, I'm talking to you too. Don't just think I'm talking about unbelievers. I'm talking to you too, Christians. Be like Moses. Right? He had all these pleasures that were trying to entice him. He fled them. Why? Because they're a vapor. So in verse 8, I read here that they say, if you don't smarten up, you're cut off. You know what? God says it all the way throughout the Bible. If you do not pursue holiness, you will not see God. Pastor, don't say those verses! If the Holy Spirit is within you, you love those verses. I fight sin just as much as you. I hate and love those verses just as much as you, and I need to say them. The author of Hebrews says, Pursue this holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. How costly unholiness is? Am I saying you can lose your salvation? Absolutely not, but if you're not pursuing holiness, have you been saved? Check yourselves. 2 Corinthians 13, lest ye be reprobate. So, he says, if you don't come, you're going to be cut off. You're going to forfeit your substance. That meant to be disinherited. Remember, the Jews, land was everything to them. Land means nothing to me. I still don't know why they're charging $110,000 for a small lot in the South End. I really don't know why. Land means nothing to me. But to the Jew, the land meant everything. You're not pursuing holiness? You're out of the land. What did that mean? To be kicked out of the land meant to be what? Cut off from God's blessing presence. That's the cost of unholiness. I want God's blessing and yet I love sin. Sorry, can't have your cake and eat it too. I don't relish in preaching these hard messages. Please don't think I'm like doing backflips inside and like, yes, I smoked him tonight. You know, I'm really slapping him around. I really don't. But I'm longing for this too. And there's the good messages. I'm preaching through the entire Bible. We'll get to them. But let's not leapfrog over the hard passages and the ones that make us feel a little bit squirmy. Because if the Spirit grabs us, those will be the most glorious passages. Like, oh praise God, that Ryan Lake Ezra didn't give a rip what anyone thought. Remember, I made the covenant in front of you that Jesus didn't look into the face of anybody? I hope I won't look into your face when I'm preaching and thinking, oh wow, someone's... I stand before God, I'm not you. And you're going to stand before God and not me. And I'm going to tell you that unholiness is costly. Israel's election was not merely for her own comfort, I'm getting this from Williamson, but Israel's election was that she might shine as a witness to the nations for God and His standards. This could not be achieved without the maintenance of her self-identity, which was threatened by the issue of mixed marriages. Okay? there to be separate in their religion. I'm not talking ethnically. God is not a racist. Do not read that in like the liberals. Do not read that in. Rahab, Harlot, Pagan. Come on in. Ruth, she from Israel? Nope, rousomolobitis, enemy of Israel. She marries Boaz and she's in the very genealogy of Jesus Christ. Don't for a moment think God is a racist and he loves Israel more than anyone else. He's saying, don't be infected. Unholiness will cost you everything. Hang out with unholy friends? It's gonna cost you, I guarantee it. You see how your standards start to slip. I've seen it in my life. When I first was saved, I didn't cut off I'm not saying cut off all your un-Christian acquaintances, but my best friends were still non-Christians, and I still remember to this day the moment I got stoned with them. Never forget it. I hope you never feel how sick and gross I felt that night. Cut them off. It's been glorious since. Do I still talk to them? Yes! I'm not a Christian snob in my Christian bubble. But they were still my best friends. And I'd rather hang out with a 40-year-old balding Christian than my bandmates. No, I'm serious. That's the only thing you're going to remember from the sermon. But it's true. God's chosen Israel. God's chosen the church. But in Revelation, He says, be smart, church, and lose your first love. Don't mix, otherwise you'll be snuffed out and you're useless. Christians are called to be the salt and the light of the earth. I want you to be salt and light so that people might see God and they might glorify our Father who's in heaven. Just at your jobs, think about stuff like this. Take a stand for Jesus. Right? Our construction, macho, though I'm not macho, Yeah, I'm the dweeb. But if I'm not a dweeb for Christ, how are they ever going to hear the Gospel? Right? That's why God saved me, that I might be a light to the nations. So here's my application. Just trust me, we'll get into it next week. I'll get into all the Hebrew words, if you want me to allow you. We're going to tie this in with the divorce here in Ezra 10 and Nehemiah in the New Covenant. But let's wait till next week. Just trust me. I'm not skirting the issue. I'm not trying to, you know, do my little hula dance around it. I will get to it. I love Scripture that much. I don't need to defend it. It defends itself. But just, I don't want to change the subject. Here's my application. And we'll close. How we live affects others and how others live affects us. Will you, will I make a covenant? Will we literally cut a covenant? to be holy. God's giving us all the grace. I'm not saying let's pull up our pants and do it in our strength. But I am saying we do need to make the covenant. Are you willing to say, I forsake this world. I want more of Christ. At any cost, give me more of Jesus. Holiness, contagious. Christians, when you get together, I don't just say it because I'm the pastor. Please talk about Jesus. Talk about things that matter. I'm not saying that, you know, you need to open up your systematic theology book and then start, you know, parsing Greek verbs and stuff. But please just talk about how good Jesus is, or make sure when you're at someone's house, read a scripture with them. Pray with them. It's contagious. And it's costly. Right? Coming to an evening service takes out three hours of your night. It does. But you're getting fed the Word of God. Waking up early for Sunday school? Yeah, I love sleeping in. You don't think I'm made of the same clay that you are? It costs something, right? It's a sacrifice. I'm not trying to guilt you into coming to Sunday school, or prayer meeting, or women's study. But I am saying, if you want holiness, you're going to have to wake up early, get into the Word, you're going to have to pray. It's going to cost something. It's more than just lip service. And then conversely, unholiness is contagious. And I quoted Haggai chapter 2 last week. Remember the priests with the meat? They're carrying their rib-eyes. And God says to Haggai, hey ask the priest a question. That rib-eye you're carrying, it's consecrated. Does the rib-eye make you holy? It makes me happy, but it does not make me holy. And then he says, now if the priest as a sinner, touches that Rabbi which is holy, does it taint it? Yes, and the whole lesson is Israel. You're being tainted at holy things. God has set you apart to be holy. Don't be tainted by those things. It will cost you everything. That's why you were kicked out of the land. Right? The land signifies God's blessing. Holiness costs a lot. Unholiness costs so much more. I really don't know how else to close. I hope I'm not guilting you, making you feel really small. That's not my joy, but I'm hoping that maybe the Spirit is working on our hearts. How we live affects others. Will we make a covenant to be holy? This is what true revival and reformation really looks and sounds like. You know, we talk about revival all the time. Revival is going to cost us everything. Right? Whether you're on the mission field, or in Hicktown, Lethbridge, we want revival, we want revival, we want to see our kids saved. It's going to cost us a lot. Right? Dads, you're going to have to spend time praying with them, reading scripture to them at night. Spend time praying for your co-workers. You're going to have to spend time praying for your friends. You're going to have to spend time witnessing to them. You're going to have to spend time praying that God will keep you holy, that God will continually keep you from evil. It's going to cost a lot, but oh, it's so worth it. Well done thou good and faithful servant. I promise you, I promise you from Scripture that it is worth it. Pursue that holiness, because those who pursue that holiness will see God. If you're not saved, You need to be saved. You need to take that first step in holiness. Right? Trust in Jesus. He'll make you holy. He's promised you. He died you. He rose again to make you holy. Just embrace Him as Lord and Savior. It costs a lot to be holy. Jesus will be your Lord. You won't be your own Lord. And every Christian in the world, if they're a Christian, will say, it's worth it. It's worth it. Jesus being Lord, He's so much better at King than me and you. Let's close. Father, I thank You for Your goodness and Your grace. Lord, even my guts feel better. And I thank You, Lord, that You give us these hard passages to remind us that we're not to toy around with sin. Lord, help us to be aggressive with it. Help us to see sin for as sinful and wicked and deceptive and ugly as it really is. And let us not play games with sin. Father, please make us holy. You've saved us to make us holy. You've sent Your Spirit of holiness to make us holy. Lord, give us grace to pursue holiness, to long for it, to sacrifice for it. Oh Lord, that we might be the salt of the earth. Oh, that this small little group of nobodies, losers, might become the sweet savor of Christ in God to the world. And it might be the savor of life that brings life. I don't know what else to pray, Father, other than that You would make this real. I just know in my own heart and how prone I am just to talk. But Spirit, You can overcome. the hypocrisy in my heart and everyone's heart. Father, please take us up on this covenant, make us holy. For those who are struggling, oh give them grace right now to tip the scale that they might make a covenant, they might long for holiness, that they might this day say, Lord, I want to be holy. Lord, that you might save someone, even this night. That they might see how beautiful Christ is and your great plan to save the world and to save people from every race and nation and from every country and language and tongue. but you'll save them through the witness of your holy church. I don't know, Father, I just pray that you would bring revival in my sinful heart and in every heart here. Please, Father, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.