A Little Space of Grace
Ezra 9:6-8
Sermon In One Sentence: The Grace that God has allowed us to have is a wonderful thing.
This book describes the time period in which God was showing his grace to his people by allowing them to make their way back to there proper place and position on earth. God had given them a land that He promised and so He was making sure they made their way back. At the same time there is much insight into what happened to them in connection to what God has planned for us. And when I say us I speak of those that are outside of God’s original covenant. We, us, we the outcast. We, us, were the heathen. We, us we those that refused to obey God so we had no inheritance in Him nor connection with Him because we chose a different way. We built our tower to babel and we worshipped our own gods. But the Lord was still working behind the scenes and that is what we are going to be hearing about today.
Ezr 9:6 And 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 trespass is grown up unto the heavens.
Ezr 9:7 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, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.
Ezr 9:8 And now for a little space grace hath been shewed 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.
Ezr 9:9 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, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
I. Sin was Present
A. The Initial Problem was that the people of God would not separate themselves from the heathens of the land.
1. They intermingled with the people and lived like they lived
2. They were continuing in the same pattern as there fathers dating all the way back to the book of Exodus
a. They allowed the traps that their parents and forefathers fell into to be the same traps they fell into
B. The Other Problem was that when sin is present plagues and captivity is present as well
1. When there is sin in your life you can’t prosper
2. When there is sin in your life you are in captivity
3. When there is sin in your life there definitely will be negative consequences that head your way
4. Humiliation will be present, and you can’t even lift up your head
5. There is no space for spiritual authority and advancement
So in this state we are being squeezed down, no wiggle room to grow. In this state we are bogged down without a glimmer of things changing. In this state there is no room for stretching, there is no room for advancement, there is no room for improvement. Sin is squeezing, deteriorating, and suffocating your life. Because of our iniquities we have been delivered up into someone else’s hand (delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.)
We find a man praying to His God that he trusted in for Salvation
1. He knew they were guilty
2. He knew this wasn’t the first time they had turned away from God
He prayed with humility yes, he prayed with repentance yes, but he included in his prayer something he understood about the CHARACTER OF GOD!
At the end of his prayer of repentance we find his faith in God be exposed! He said, “And now for a little space of grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God…
II. The Space of Grace- God says this is not acceptable and a prophetic word was given (a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God). It is there not to bring condemnation but to bring revival!
A. Space of Grace is that wiggle room, its that breathing room, is that room that allows a new opportunity to break forth. Is that is that amount of time that God is allowing for a change to be possible!
B. The Space of Grace that was present was not there to bring condemnation
1. The Grace that God gives brings freedom
2. He’s is saying in the time before I return I am allowing you to have freedom from the curses of sin
3. “ Leaves a remnant
a. He is saying during this time there are going to be some that take advantage of this time period
b. They are going to be those that operate in the blessings of God
4. “ Lighten your eyes
a. Suffering and affliction and hopeless causes one to have dim vision and understanding, but when you get a revelation that God has a special time for you to see things to be different and full of hope then your eyes become enlightened. Your strength is given back to you. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of your faith.
5. Give you reviving
a. Reviving has to happen after something has died, but there is a Word from God that says in this time period before I return there are some people that need some reviving
III. Current Grace
Eph 3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
Eph 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
Eph 3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
Eph 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
Eph 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
The mystery is that God has now allowed the Gentiles to have access to having God in their lives. He has created a season, a dispensation, a time period, a little space for grace in where we have the opportunity to have His authoritative power in our lives as well as salvation through the grace of God!
Daniel 70 weeks of Prophecy
69 weeks were all consecutive then there is a gap between that date and the last 7 years which is the great tribulation. That 483rd year was the year that our Savior was crucified and now the clock stopped!
We are in the last days, Jesus is coming back and there were still a people that did not have salvation!
Romans 11
A little space of grace has to be recognized as the church of the living God because if we do not recognize it we will lose our appreciation for it. We have to know we are right where we need to be to continue to say this will not be a time that I pass up. This will not be the time I do not recognize there is a God doing something in my life. He allowed us to be grafted in. He allowed us to have an opportunity of salvation. He allowed us to be apart of the commonwealth of Israel and be able to have the Word at our possession. Let’s take full advantage of it!
Just like you make space in your house for a guest
Just like you make space for dessert
Just like you make space for something new you want in your house
God wants us to know that during this time he is making a little space for grace for us
So in this continuum space of grace take full advantage of what God has to give to you
Seasoned saint you must not take this space for granted, you got to exercise the authority God has given to you
You need to be born again of the water and of the Spirit in this time to be able to take advantage of this space of Grace
