If you have your Bibles tonight, turn to Ezra chapter number 9. Ezra chapter number 9 there in the Old Testament. Tonight I'd like to preach a message to you that I've entitled, Do You Care? And God willing, we'll be looking at chapter nine in its entirety as we come to this ninth chapter of Ezra. Let's pray and then we'll get started tonight. Heavenly Father, we do love you and we do thank you for the privilege it's been to be in your house today. And Father, I thank you for the tremendous service that we've had already tonight. God, I pray as we come to this part of our service where we open the Word of God, that you would speak to the hearts of thy people. Lord, I pray that you would remove all distractions from the room tonight, that the Holy Spirit of God may have free course. Lord, I pray that you would help me tonight, speak the things that would be pleasing unto thee, that you would withhold from my mouth all things that I should not say. Lord, we trust you tonight to speak to our hearts, and we ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. We come to Ezra, and this book of the Bible would be familiar to many in here tonight, but for others perhaps not as familiar. But as we come to Ezra, we find that God's people, after year and year and year of rebelling against God, judgment had fallen upon God's people. We know that God allowed the nation of Babylon to rise up in power, that they might come and take God's people captive, into a foreign country. Again, this was judgment. This was payment for the sin of the people. And now, after many, many years of being captive in a foreign country, having seen with their own eyes Jerusalem, their home, decimated, destroyed, they've been in captivity for many years. We come to the book of Ezra, and we see the mercy of God as He has allowed part of his people to return back to Jerusalem. We know that in the beginning of Ezra, we see Zerubbabel, who is leading the first of three returns of the children of Israel back from captivity. We see here as we come to chapter nine, Ezra is among the second of those three returns. And then we go to Nehemiah, we see the third return. But as we come, I want you to notice in chapter nine, We're going to notice some things that I pray will be a blessing and a help to you. Again, God is being merciful to his people. Yes, they have been judged for their sin. They have been in captivity for a number of years. Now God is allowing them to return once again to their homeland. And we see in chapter 8, we see many of the companions that Ezra had along the journey back. We also see the distinct care that the man of God took of all the treasures that were to be returned unto Israel, unto the house of God. We know that Ezra was a man of God. He was a man that loved the Lord. You can see that in chapter 8, just the care that he took to set everything up, to make sure that the treasures were well taken care of to be returned. And you would think, after all that they had gone through, all the years of captivity, all the years of being separated from their home in a foreign land under pagan religion, now God has been good to them. The good hand of God is upon them as they return back to their homeland. Worship is restored. The rebuilding has taken place. It's great time for the nation of Israel, great time for the people of God. You would think if ever there was a time that they would solely turn their hearts to God and worship God, it would be now when God has been so merciful and so long suffering to them. But I want you to notice what the Bible says in chapter nine and verse one. Now, when these things were done, talking about the treasure being returned, the people have made it back to Jerusalem. The princes came to me saying, The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands. Yea, the land of the princes and the rulers, the hand of the princes and the rulers have been chief in this trespass. Do you understand what's taking place here? God has been merciful to his people. He has allowed them to return unto their homeland, but rather than turning their hearts solely back to God, this chapter begins in verse one. The princes came to Ezra and they told Ezra, the people, the priests, the Levites still have not separated themselves from their sin. Can you imagine how heavy hearted Ezra must have been to hear this? The man of God, who's enjoying all the exciting things that are going on round about him to see the return home, to see the good hand of God upon them. You think about the journey back, just amazing that they made the journey all the way back to Jerusalem without any harm befalling them on the journey, on the road. God was good to them. They're back in their country. Worship is being restored. And yet, the Bible says they still have not separated themselves from their sin. We know that God had given His people a very clear command in Deuteronomy that they're not to intermarry with the people of the land because God knew that if they married into the people of pagan religion, that those people would turn the hearts of God's people away from God to worship a false God. And we saw it time and time again in Israel's history. And yet here, for all the great things that are going on, for what seems like a mighty revival going on, they've not separated from their sin. And I wonder tonight, how many in our churches, we come to church, faithful Christians, we're here when the doors are open and we enjoy the blessings of God. We enjoy the blessings of worshiping God freely and coming to church. But we know that in our own hearts, there's sin that we've refused to separate from. How about in our homes? How many Christians profess to have a Christian home, and they front as having a godly home, yet they know that inside of their home there is a particular sin that they have yet to separate themselves from? We think about our country, and we don't have to look very far to know that there's sin running amok in our country. a country that was founded on biblical principles, a country that was founded upon the Word of God, and yet we have not separated from our sin. I want you to notice tonight, how do you deal with the sin? When one of your brothers or your sisters in Christ, somebody that you care about here in this church, and you get word that they backslidden, that they've stepped off the course, how do you respond to that? When somebody in your family, you find out that there's sin in their life, how do you deal with it? What do you do about the sin in your church and in your country and in your home? How do you react? I want you to notice tonight three ways, three things that we see in the life of Ezra and how he dealt with the knowledge of the sin in his country. And may God help us to understand a biblical response to the sin that we see going on round about us. I want you to notice, first of all, when Ezra heard about the sin, when he was informed that not only was there sin, the people had not separated, but notice, that in the second verse it said, for they have taken their daughters for themselves and their sons, they've mingled so that the holy have mingled with the other people. Look at verse three. He said, when I heard this thing, I rent my garment, my mantle, I plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard and sat down astonished. I want you to notice, number one, how Ezra reacted. You know, it's important how you react to sin. And Ezra had an immediate reaction. Understand, when he heard about the sin in his country, it was not just a little thing. In the first four verses we read, the Bible said that the rulers and the princes were the chief among the sin. It wasn't just the lower people in Israel, it was the rulers, those that were in charge, those that had influence, that were the chief among the sin in the country. What do you do when those in the country that have authority are the chief of the sinners? How do you deal with that? But not only that, in verse 1, the Bible says that those that were among the sinners were the priests, the Levites. Those that were in charge of the spiritual well-being of the country, the spiritual leaders, were also involved in the sin, having not separated. What do you do when sin is running rampant in your family and in your church and in your country? Number one, Ezra had an immediate reaction. Again, in verse 5, and at the evening sacrifice, Excuse me, verse three. And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard and sat down astonished. Then were assembled unto me everyone that trembled at the words of the God of Israel because of the transgression of those that had been carried away. Listen to this. And I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice. Ezra had an immediate reaction. He heard about the sin. And as soon as he heard about the sin, the Bible says he was astonished. He sat astonished. He humbled himself. He plucked the hair of his head and of his beard. He rent his mantle and his garment. And the Bible said he sat astonished. You know what Ezra was doing? He was bothered by the sin of his country. It was a big deal to him. Obviously, Ezra cared about his people. And to hear that his people were in sin, it affected him on a deep level. It bothered him. Obviously, Ezra had a deep care for his people. You don't have a response or a reaction the way that Ezra reacted to sin unless you deeply care about the person to whom is committing the sin. And Ezra had a very immediate reaction. And I believe with all my heart that Ezra, as the man of God, was burdened for his people. He sat astonished. Not only do I think that Ezra cared about the people of his country, but obviously Ezra had a deep concern for his God. He knew who God was. He had a relationship with his God. And he knew that the sin of his people was a grievance. to the Holy Spirit of God. He knew that the sin of his people hurt the heart of God. And because Ezra was such a man of God and he cared about his God, what burdened the heart of God became his burden. What grieved the heart of God grieved his own heart. The Bible says he was astonished. He had this immediate reaction. And I wonder tonight, What is our reaction to sin? What is our reaction when we see our brothers and sisters in Christ backslidden? What's our reaction when somebody in our family falls into sin? We see Ezra's response. He was shocked. He was burdened. It bothered him. But I wonder tonight what our reaction is. So often I feel like Christians, those that should have a deep concern, those that sin should bother, oftentimes when we hear of somebody that struggles, our reaction is we feel good about it. Our pride swells up and we actually feel good by somebody else's sin. And we begin to think within our own hearts, hey, I'm better than they are. I haven't done that. I'm doing pretty good. I haven't committed that sin. Can you believe what that person did? Man, I'm doing all right. And we base our relationship with God off the lack of a relationship that another Christian has. That's not the standard. God is our standard. But how do you react when you see the sin? Does it make you feel good? Do you get excited and you get puffed up with pride when you see other people struggling because you realize that you're not struggling with the same thing? God forbid. God help us. Perhaps the greatest reaction that we should not have, the most devastating reaction that we have when it comes to sin is no reaction at all. Have we become so enamored, so used to sin being around us that we become numb to it? It no longer bothers us when somebody is struggling. It no longer bothers us or affects us emotionally when we see sin in our church and in our country. Have we become numb because sin is so much around our lives, it no longer affects us? So often, we hear things happen, just horrible things. We see Christians who once stood for God, who took a mighty stand, and now they've backslidden, and it doesn't even faze us. Have we become numb? The title of the message tonight is, Do You Care? And I believe we see from Ezra's reaction, he genuinely cared for his people. He genuinely, ultimately cared for his God to have the reaction that he had knowing that the sin was ultimately against God and it hurt the heart of his God. And God's burden became his burden. Listen, friend, how do you react? Does it devastate you to see the sin in our country? Does it bother you to see when a brother or sister falls into sin? Do you care or have you grown numb and calloused to the sin that goes on around us? The Bible says in verse four that he sat astonished until the evening sacrifice. But not only do we see Ezra's reaction, but notice with me number two, his response. In verse number five, the Bible says, and at the evening sacrifice, I arose up from my heaviness, having rent my garment and my mantle and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands. unto the Lord my God." Look right here. The Bible says in verse 5, Ezra had his immediate reaction. He was bothered. He was affected deeply by their sin. But in verse 5, we see his response. The Bible says that at the time of the evening sacrifice, I arose from my heaviness. Ezra had been sitting astonished. He's in this humble state. He's plucked out his hair of his head and his beard. He's rent his mantle. He's in a humble state. He's bothered emotionally by the sin. And the Bible said that he arose and gathered himself together. What he did is he stood up. He got his emotions under control, not so that he could run and tell the people, a little piece of his mind, though I'm sure he could, and I'm sure he felt like it. He didn't rise up and gather himself together so that he could go beat them over the head and tell them how terrible of a people they are. But notice what he did. The Bible says that he arose from his heaviness, having rent his garment and his mantle for the purpose of, I fell upon my knees and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God. Ezra gathered his emotions together, and rather than charging to the people and condemning them and telling them how wicked they are, he was driven to his knees, where he got on his knees before Almighty God, and he stretched out his hands, and he began to plead on their behalf. You see, Ezra, though he could have gotten in the flesh, and I'm sure he had a desire to go straighten them out and tell them exactly what was going on, he was more concerned with getting on his knees before the God of heaven who can do something about their sin. He was bothered by it. And that reaction, his care for the sin, his care for his people, his care for his God drove him to his knees where he prayed upon their behalf. Verse 6, he said, "'O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to Thee. My God, for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespasses grown up unto the heavens.'" Listen to the language he uses in verse 6. He says, "'O my God, I am ashamed and blush Listen to the language and how deeply he was affected by the sin of his country. Understand, Ezra was a good guy. Ezra was the man of God. Look at the care that Ezra took of the house of God and putting everything in order. Ezra was not on his knees because of what he had done. He was not on his knees ashamed and blushing for his sin. It was for the sin of his people. Now Ezra, no doubt, he was a man. He was not perfect by any means. But I believe he was not involved in the sin of the people that we refer to tonight. He was a pretty good guy. And yet the sin of his people, somebody else's sin, drove him to his knees. And he said, I'm ashamed and I blush because of the sin of my country, the sin of my people. I wonder tonight, when is the last time we were so bothered by somebody we care about and their sin and their backsliddenness that it drove us to our knees and we wept and we cried out to God on somebody else's spiritual condition? When's the last time we were so moved by the sin in our country that we begged God to help us? And it drove us to our knees where we spent time weeping on their behalf. Ezra had a great reaction, but he had a great response. He went straight to the God of heaven that could do something about their sins. He was concerned. He cared. He was ashamed. He blushed because of the sin of the people. And he began to pray out to God. Again, I asked what your reaction is, but secondly, what would your response be? When somebody comes into the church, some sin in their life becomes knowledgeable to you. What is your response? Like Ezra, are you driven to your knees because of your burden for them, your love and your compassion for them? Or do you have another response? Can I tell you what I see oftentimes? When sin is made knowledgeable in the church, one of the first things that so many Christians resort to, the way that we respond is we pull this guy out right here and we say, man, how many people can I text? How many people can I call? I'm going to let them know. Can you believe what this person did? And our response is to tell everybody and to gossip to everybody about the sin that we saw somebody else involved in. We want to go off and tell everybody about their sin and bring it to light. Can I ask you a question? Is that godly at all? No. Absolutely not. That's not pleasing to the Lord. But do you know why it happens? As long as we're pointing the finger at somebody else and as long as we're bringing attention to somebody else's sin, We're not bringing it to our sin. We're not pointing the finger back at us. And we think that if we can bring all the attention to somebody else's wickedness, ours will be covered. Listen, friend, it's not godly at all, but does it happen often in our churches? You better believe it. What's your response to sin? Do you resort to gossip and trying to find as many people as you can to expose the sin? Perhaps your response is, you know what? I'm going to go take care of this myself and I'm going to tell them what's right. I'm going to tell them what the business is. I'm going to tell them exactly what they need to do and how wrong they are. Can I tell you, friend, the Bible teaches there's a time that you approach your brother, and if you've won them, the Bible says you've won your brother, but you better not approach that brother having not spent much time in prayer first. Asking God to be with you, to go in the right attitude, in the right spirit, asking for God's grace. Perhaps your response tonight when you see the sin of our world, you see the sin in churches across the country, is there's no hope. The sin is so great, what can we do? And there's a lot of Christians that live a defeatist attitude. when my God is still on the throne. My God is still powerful, and He still has the ability through His Word and through the preaching of His Word to change lives. I ask you tonight, do you care about the sin that's going on in our country? Do you care about the sin of your brothers, your sisters in Christ when they step out of line in the church, when you have family members in your home and you realize they've not separated from their sin? Oh, we see Ezra's response and his reaction. Let's continue to read in verse 7 about this prayer that he had. Not only was he ashamed and did he blush because their iniquities, look at verse 7, "'Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day, and for our iniquities have we, our kings and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands. to the sword, to captivity, to a spoil, to confusion of face, as it is this day. And now, for a little space, grace hath been showed from the Lord our God to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in His holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen, yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken thy commandments." Can you hear the passion in Ezra's prayer? He's reminded of just how severe God's judgment was for their sin. He says in verse seven, we understand how severe the judgment was. Our kings were taken to the kings of foreign lands. We were under the sword. We were carried captive. We were a spoil, confusion of face. And he goes on and on about how severe the punishment of their sin was. just how much God had judged them for their sin. But then notice in verse 8, Ezra remembers how severe the judgment for his sin was, but then he says, through it all, God was still good. even in the judgment, even in a foreign country, even watching their homeland burned to the ground, God was good to them. And after all the severity of their sin, all the judgment of their sin, listen, we know that God judges sin. There are consequences to our sin. And as a child of God, you will not continue in your sin and get away with it. There's consequences. And judgment had fallen upon His people. And Ezra, as he prays, is reminded of the severity of the judgment. He's reminded now of the good hand of God that was with him through it all. God had been long-suffering and merciful, has brought them back once again. And then he comes to verse 10, and he says, "'Now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Thy commandments.'" Ezra's remembering, you know what? We sinned and we got what we deserved. We were judged. We were punished. And God has been merciful to us. We didn't deserve it, but God has brought us back into his homeland. And yet we still have not separated from our sin. Even though the good hand of God was upon us, the blessings of God are flowing. We still have not separated from our sin. God, what can we say? We've forsaken thy commandments. You know, I believe oftentimes we find ourselves like Ezra. He had no words. He said, what can we say? I believe a Christian full of compassion and a heart for God that cares about his people, that cares about his brothers and sisters, there's going to come a time you're so burdened, you're so bothered by the sin that when you get on your knees before God, there's no words. just crying out to God. And I believe that's what Ezra was doing here. He sat there for a long time in prayer. And he said, what can we say then? For we have trespassed against thy commandments. I believe Ezra wept bitterly before God. And there should be times in our lives when we're so moved, there are no words in our prayers. But you know, God doesn't only know our thoughts. He knows the intents of our hearts. And even if we have nothing to say, we're at a loss for words, and we're so burdened and consumed that all we do is get on our knees and lift up our hands and weep before God, He knows the intents of our hearts. And that's just as important as if we were speaking to Him ourselves in our prayer. He says, "'What shall we say? For we've forsaken thy commandments,' verse 11, "'which thou hast commanded by thy servants,' the prophet saying, The land into which we go to possess it is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which they have filled it with from one end to another with their uncleanness. Now, therefore, give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth forever. that ye may be strong and eat of the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever." You see, God had a plan. There's a reason God gives the commandments that He gives. He knew that if they intermarried with the pagan religions, they would have their hearts turned from God. We ought to obey God simply because it's God and He says so. But understand, God does nothing by accident. Every command of God is for a purpose and for a reason, and we need to heed God's Word. But we see here the people of God in this passage had not heeded. They had done exactly what God had clearly commanded that they not do. And as Ezra here is praying before God on their behalf, so burdened with his care for them. Notice what he says in verse 13. This is amazing. and after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds." Remember verse 7? Kings given unto other kings, the sword, the captivity, the spoil, the confusion of face. After all that's come upon us for our evil deeds, being carried captive, watching our nation, our homeland burn to the ground. After all that has happened for our evil deeds and for our great trespass, seeing that our God has punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and has given us such deliverance as this." Oh, Ezra's reminded the good hand of God. Even in the darkest of times, even in the judgment, God had been good and merciful unto him and his people. Do you understand tonight that the full weight, the full penalty for just one sin that you commit is eternal separation from God Almighty in a place called hell, where the fire is not quenched, the worm dieth not, weeping and gnashing of teeth in a place of outer darkness with no escape. That's the full payment for one sin. That's what we deserve for one sin, yet I stand before you tonight having committed thousands of sins, and I have not for one second experienced, nor will I ever experience the full wrath of God that my sin deserves because God has been good to me. I thank God that I received Him as my Lord and Savior. And if you're here tonight and you're a Christian, you've received Jesus Christ as your Savior, you've repented of your sins and by faith placed your trust in Him, you'll never experience the full wrath of God. He's been good to you. Though He does chasten His children and judgment comes when we sin, there's consequences. God has been good to you. But what's your reaction to the sin around about us? What's your response? Do you care enough about your brothers and sisters to be driven to your knees in prayer? Or does their sin make you feel good about yourself? Are you so used to sin that it doesn't bother you anymore and you've become numb? Ezra realized God's been good to him. He was bothered by the sin of His people. He cared about His people. Let's finish reading this chapter in verse 14. Ezra says, hey, I understand something. God's given us a deliverance. God's been good. We're back in our homeland. But this freedom that we so richly enjoy, if we don't separate from our sin, if we don't get right with God, that freedom is going to be short-lived. Because the chastening hand of God will be swiftly upon us once again. He said in verse 14, if we continue to break thy commandments, could God be angry with us till thou has consumed us? See, he understood a little something about God. Verse 15, O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous, for we remain yet escaped as it is this day. Behold, we are before thee in our trespass, for we cannot stand before thee because of this. Ezra said, God, you've been so good to us. You've allowed us to escape. We're enjoying the freedom and the blessings of God. Yet we haven't separated from our sin. You're righteous, and I'm wicked. How can we stand before a holy God?" Can you just sense the passion that Ezra had for his people? You know what our world needs more than anything? You know what I believe is lacking the most in our independent fundamental Baptist churches? Compassion. Now listen, I'm not preaching against what we have in our Sunday school campaign. It may seem that way, but listen, I believe in separation. I believe that as a child of God, I need to take a stand and I need to separate from those that do not preach wholesome doctrine. There are places that I will not go. There are people that I will not condone for what they believe because it is contrary to the Bible. But listen, the stand that I take, the separation that I make should not be through the neglect of fervent prayer on their behalf. that they get right with Almighty God. There's a man in the New Testament that had we lived in that day, we would have separated from and taken a full stand against him. His name is Saul of Tarshish. But oh, once he met the Lord Jesus Christ, when he became Paul, how quickly our opinion of him would have changed. Listen, we need to take a stand. We need to be separated from the world unto the Lord, but not to the neglect of praying for those that have fallen, that are backslidden, Because God can still save. God can restore. God can use them in a mighty way, as we saw it in Paul. We look at our churches, and so many times, it seems as though we're harsh. We take such a strong stand, we take such strong convictions, and we should, but we're so harsh. Can I tell you, Christianity ought not be a harsh religion. There ought to be a genuine compassion, not something we muster up, but because we love our God, we love His people whom He gave His life for. And do you know, there is never an excuse for me as a Christian to be harsh. Though I take a stand, though I'm a separatist, though I'm a biblicist, I should never be harsh. Do you realize that the Lord Jesus Christ, maybe when the world was at its peak hatred for Christianity, when the entire world was solely against God, in that exact moment at the pinnacle of their hatred, Jesus said on the cross, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. He wasn't harsh. He wasn't angry. He was disappointed and he was broken hearted. And he said, Father, forgive them. He had a compassion. Notice with me very quickly. And lastly, Ezra's reaction, his response. Now, what were the results? I want you to see the results of his reaction and his response. When he saw the sin, he reacted, he was devastated, he was bothered by it. His response, it drove him to his knees before Almighty God and he prayed and he wept on their behalf. But did it make a difference? Were there any results that came out of it? Look in verse 1 of chapter 10. Now when Ezra had prayed, when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children, for the people wept very sore. And Shekiniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God and have taken strange wives of the people of the land. Yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and such as are born of them according to the counsel of my Lord. and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God, let it be done according to the law. Arise, for this matter belongeth unto thee. We also will be with thee. Be of good courage, and do it." Look at verse 5. Then arose Ezra, made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel to swear that they should do according to his word, and they swear. What were the results? They got right. The Bible says that once they saw the compassion of Ezra, it was noticeable. The people could clearly see that he was bothered. They saw his humble state. They watched as he was on his knees weeping before God. In verse 10, look at it. Chapter 10, verse one. They watched, the Bible says, he prayed, he confessed, he wept, he cast himself down before God, not because of his sin, because of theirs. He was concerned about their spiritual condition. He was compassionate. He had a burden. And it affected them. And they got right. What I'm saying to you tonight, compassion goes a long way. Jude said, "...and of some having compassion, making a difference." You know, a true, genuine burden from God for people will make a big difference. I think so oftentimes we go soul winning. The reason there's no power in our soul winning is because as we're witnessing to somebody, as we're knocking a door and giving them the track, we're constantly looking at our watch. When is my hour of soul winning going to be done? And the person we're talking to knows we have no more concern for their spiritual well-being than we do the next person. They don't sense a true compassion, and thus there's no power in our witnessing. But can I tell you, if we as God's people will get so close to God that His heart becomes our heart, and His burden becomes our burden, and we truly care about the people of God, that the sin will bother us, that it'll drive us to our knees and they will see a burden in our hearts for them, that we pray for those that won't pray for themselves. We care for those that do not care about their own sin. Listen, it will make a difference. And I wonder what a difference this congregation, this church can make in Ocala if we'll have the reaction. We'll have the response that Ezra had. We'll love the people. Take a stand. Be separate from the sin. Don't condone it. Never do you see Ezra taking part in their sin, but we see his compassion on their behalf. What a difference it made. Do you care tonight? Have you become so used to the sin that it no longer bothers you? Maybe your reaction is quite different from Ezra's. Maybe your reaction is you do feel good. because you feel a little better than somebody else. Maybe your response is that you're quick to gossip. You're quick to point the finger to someone else so that it's not pointed at you. I don't know your heart. But I know we see clearly a reaction and a response that Ezra had that made an everlasting difference. They got right. What could this church do in Ocala, Florida, if every one of us had his burden and his compassion, and we were driven to our knees for our leaders, for our country, brothers and sisters in Christ that we know are struggling, people in our own family that have not separated from their sin. May God help us to have a compassion, to have the burden of Ezra. Father, we love you tonight. Lord, I thank you for the tremendous example that we see in Ezra's life. And Lord, to our shame, so often we react in a less pleasing way, and we respond in a way that's not godly whatsoever. Lord, I pray tonight that the Holy Spirit of God would do a work in the hearts of our people, that we may see a compassion and a burden. Lord, it's not something that we can muster up. It's not something we can work up for somebody else. The only way that we can have a compassion for souls is if we have a compassion for our God. and His heart becomes our hearts. Lord, I pray tonight Your hand of blessing would be upon this invitation that folks would respond according to how You've dealt in their hearts tonight. We ask this in Jesus' name.