I take your Bibles and turn with
me to Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 33. The title of this message, the word of
God to, to and from the watchman. The word of God to the watchman
and the word of God from the Watchman. Now, in this passage
of Scripture, before we enter into it, I want us to remember
that this Word that God has given this prophet during his day,
this man Ezekiel, was sent of God to preach the Word to his
generation. And by the grace of God, by the
grace of God, he has written this down, not just for his generation,
but for our learning. I'm so thankful we have this
word here before us. You remember what the Apostle
Peter said, the Apostle Peter who was able to see the Lord
Jesus Christ, touch the Lord Jesus Christ, saw the Lord Jesus
Christ transfigured, heard the voice of God saying, this is
my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Yet in second Peter,
he tells us that this word that we have, is a more sure word
of prophecy. Where unto you do well to take
heed as unto a light that shineth in the dark place. This word
that we have before us, it is the word of God. It is the word
of God. And we would do well to be reminded
of this. And so as we see this word of
God tonight, I do pray that God would make it effectual to every
person. that God would teach us concerning
His gospel of Jesus Christ, and that's always my intention, is
to take these things, even in the Old Testament here, and especially
show you Christ in every part. Now, I've got four things in
this text that I want us to see this evening. First of all, I
want you to see the Word of God to the watchman. And by this
we are going to see in verses 1 through 9 the responsibility
of everyone who is called to preach the gospel. So first of
all, a word of God to the watchman. And secondly, verses 10 through
16, we are going to see the word of God from the watchman. The word of God is received by
the watchman, and then the watchman simply declares the word of God
to you. Thirdly, we're going to see the
answer of the natural man to this gospel. And fourthly, that's
verse 17, and then the answer of God to anyone's objection. The answer of God to the objection
of men. So first of all, the word of
God to the watchman. Now, the scripture here begins,
says, and again, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, saying to them,
When I bring the sword upon the land, if the people of the land
take a man of their coast and set him there for their watchman,
if when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet
and warn the people, Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet,
and taketh not warning, if the sword come and take him away,
his blood shall be upon his own head. That's very simple, isn't
it? They said a man, God did this often, didn't He? When they
sinned against the Lord, He would send the Philistines, He would
send the Assyrians, He would send the Babylonians in chastisement
of His people. And these people would set up
a watchman, and this watchman, he had one job. Look for the
sword. Watch for the enemy. And when
the judgment was coming, He was to make a distinct sound. And
He said if He made a sound and you didn't listen, that's on
you. That's on you. Verse 5, He heard the sound of
the trumpet and took not warning, His blood shall be upon Him.
But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. Verse 6, But
if the watchman see the sword come and blow not the trumpet,
and the people shall be warned, if the sword come and take the
person away from among them, he is taken away for his iniquity. Now listen, if that guy doesn't
blow the trumpet, even if the guy doesn't warn you, listen,
you're going to be killed because of your sin. So either way, if
you hear it and you don't take heed, you'll die because of your
sin. If the God doesn't even warn
you, you'll still die because of your sin. But there's a repercussion
here for the watchman. He said, but his blood will I
require at thine hand. So this thing here is very simple. Very simple idea concerning the
watchman. the job of the watchman. But
yet, who is the Lord talking about? What is the purpose of
him giving us this simple instruction? This is what happens. What is
the purpose? Because the watchman, who is
the watchman in this story? In this one, look at verse seven.
So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman under the
house of Israel. Therefore thou shalt hear the
word of my mouth and warn them from me." Now the prophet of
God, he was set up by God to warn the people. To warn them
he was given the word of warning. And so it is with every gospel
preacher. So it is with every man that
God has set up and ordained To preach the gospel, we are ordained
for this purpose, to receive the word of God and give it to
you. That is our purpose. To preach the word, over in 2
Timothy chapter 4, 2 Timothy chapter 4, the apostle is speaking
to this young pastor, Timothy, 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse
1 he says, I charge thee, I charge thee before God and
the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead
at his appearing. I charge you before the judge
of the whole earth to do one thing, preach the word. This is our charge. Preach the
Word. In what season should we preach
it? In season and out. When it is popular and when it
is not. When it is fashionable and when
it is not. When men will hear it and when
men will not hear it. Reprove, rebuke, exhort. How do we do that? Preach the
Word. If I'm going to rebuke you, all I have to do is preach
the Word. If I'm going to encourage you,
all I have to do is preach the Word. Why? Because this is what God uses
for both rebuke and encouragement, strength, comfort, conviction. And do it like this with all
long-suffering. Be long-suffering in this. All long-suffering in doctrine. And so just as the solemn duty
as the watchman was to stand his post and warn the people
faithfully, even so it is with God's men. We are sent to warn
the people. That's what a watchman does.
He warns them of coming judgment. And we warn you, not for our
own sakes, but in the stead of God. Son of man, I have set thee as
a watchman to the house of Israel. Therefore thou shalt hear the
word at my mouth and warn them from me. Friends, as a gospel preacher,
I am not sent to debate, but simply declare. I'm not going to debate with
you. I don't do that. I simply declare you this, God
is absolutely holy. We speak of judgment, the coming
judgment of God, we must understand that the God of judgment is holy. I don't debate this with people,
He is holy. Listen to this very simple statement, the soul that
sinneth, it shall die. That's a simple statement, isn't
it? The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. This is the word of a holy God. I tell you, according to the
plain word of God, that every man who has sinned against God
and broken His law must suffer an eternal wrath of God in hell. This is not popular, friends.
This message is not popular. The message of a watchman is
not a popular message. Listen, except you be as holy
as God, you shall never enter into heaven. Our Lord Jesus said
that, right? He said, except your righteousness
exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Now consider
the mindset of the people he said that to. They believed that
the most holy people were the scribes and Pharisees. And Jesus
said, what he said in that statement was, that's not enough. It says,
oh, I went to a Catholic and said, accept your righteousness,
exceed the righteousness of the Pope. You shall in no wise enter
the kingdom of heaven. And I want you to understand
this, if the wicked will not hear us, they will die. you will
not hear me you will die and it will be all your fault just as the watchman warned the
people and they paid no heed God said they will die and it
will be on their head you will not listen to this matter of
judgment it will be on your head But I want all of us who preach
the Word of God, who are called to preach the worship Word of
God, there is also in this a warning to us. There is a warning to
us that if we do not sound the warning, if we do not sound the
warning, if we for some sentimental reason, Listen, there are a multitude
of men today who profess to be called of God who are not sounding
the warning. They're doing it for whatever
reason, because they don't want to offend people. They don't want to lose people
from their congregation. They want to be liked. So for whatever reason, if we
do not warn them for whatever morbid and wicked and selfish
reason, we keep back the whole word of God from the wicked. God says, their blood will I
require at thine hand. Now what does this mean? Now
he says this, if we warn you and you don't turn, or if we
fail to warn you and you don't turn, you're going to go to hell
because of your sin. But there is a consequence for
God's men if we fail to warn you. God says, I will require
their blood at your hand. What is this? It is being counted
as a murderer. That's what it's being counted
as. Does it mean that they will lose their salvation? We know
that's not so. If the man is called of God to
preach the gospel, we fail all the time. If our soul was dependent
upon our success and our faithfulness, none of us would make it. But
the Lord knows this. This is not that he would lose
his soul, but rather he would be chastened of the Lord. I've
known men who have failed miserably in their calling to preach the
gospel, and many of them have been cast out by God from the
pulpits. Why, they've got on certain things.
I know a preacher, he was sincere as all get out, but he stopped
preaching the gospel, started preaching politics. Some started preaching science.
Some started preaching other things. And what does God do? He requires it at their hand.
He chastens them. One man said, if the Watchman
of the garrison of the city and the warning of the people entrusted
to him concerning the dangers of the body. How much more is
it for us warning men concerning their immortal souls? How big
is this responsibility that we have? How great is this responsibility
that we've been given? One man said, With what holy
fear and trembling If this assault were duly considered, would the
spiritual watchman of the Church of Jesus enter into this priesthood?
And how would all such cry and spare not in admonishing sinners
of their danger and holding up Christ as the only city of refuge? If we really understood that,
we would do that constantly. I remember hearing this one preacher
He was questioned by this woman who objected to the holy justice
of God against sinners. He was warning them. And she
objected. And she said, I can't follow
a God who would not give all men an equal chance, to be safe. Seeing there were many people
who would never hear of Christ, she said, I just can't, I can't
worship a God like that. That man, for some reason, began
to stammer and stutter and try to excuse God or explain God,
tried to make Him palatable to this woman. Instead, he should
have said, Thus saith the Lord. That's what you need. Regardless
of what men think or feel about this, a watchman, that's our
authority, isn't it? Thus saith the Lord. I'm not
trying to give you my opinion about God, I'm telling you who
God is, based on who God says He is. Watchman is not called to explain
God's eternal decrees. We are simply and plainly to
declare what God says about Himself. This is our responsibility. We
should preach. The preacher, this preacher should
have told her, thus saith the Lord, the soul that sinneth,
it shall die. I don't care if he hears the
gospel or he doesn't. You got that? I don't care if
he is in some dark corner in the jungle and has never heard
of the living God. If he dies and he dies in his
sin, he will suffer the eternal wrath of God. So it is with you, how much more
would those suffer who have heard the gospel and still not repent? He should have told her, we all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God, that you were
in the same condition as that person you were worried about.
Those people you were so concerned about. Those God-haters you were
so concerned about. You should have been concerned
about your own self. The sword of God's justice is
coming. Now you listen. The sword of
God's justice is coming. It's coming. If you are not as holy as God,
when that sword comes, you will not escape. Is that clear? I hope as a watchman, I'm clear
about that. Oh, that sinners would hear this
warning, that they would not mock it and plug their ears and
run in the other direction, but would come and ask if there's
any hope. This is our desire in preaching
this, is that people would come and say, is there any escape?
Is there any hope? Would to God that woman would
have stopped the pity of the God-haters and would have seen
her own condition. Then she would have asked, is
there any hope for me? She wouldn't be so concerned
about them. And so when God's warning comes,
when God's warning comes, this is why God sent His preachers,
to warn men. Now, what is the response of
God's people? Look at verse 10. Therefore,
O son of man, speak unto the house of Israel. If God the Holy
Spirit would ever take our warning and cause you to see His holiness
and your vile condition, I know this, you would cry for mercy. Why? That's what I did. That's
what I did. When I heard, the Lord spoke
to my heart concerning judgment and I cried for mercy. Now this
watchman, I want you to see this, that the watchman truly in this
text is giving out a general warning. We give out a warning
to everybody, to every soul. But I know this specifically
that only a certain group of people will hear it. Who? The house of Israel. Isn't that
what it says He was sent to? Look, in verse 1, look at this,
O son of man, speak to the children of thy people. See, generally,
that's what I want you to tell them, generally. But now, we're
going to get specific. Now look at verse 10. He says,
O thou Son of Man, speak unto the house of Israel. I know this, I give a warning
to all men, but I am sure of this, only the house of Israel
will hear it. You know, I give a general warning,
and this is the reason, because I don't know who the house of
Israel is. I don't know who God's elect are, do you? I've told
you that several times. A man said, well, told Spurgeon,
he said, well, if God's got an elect people, won't you just
preach to them? He said, sir, if you'd kindly point them out
to me, I will only preach to them. I don't know who they are,
so I warn everybody, but I know specifically that the watchman,
consider the grace of God in sending a watchman to his people. Sending a watchman to the elect,
we are sent And we do declare to all men that they are wicked,
and we must warn them of God's justice. But those who are not chosen
of God, they will continue in their wickedness, they will continue
to rebel against our word, and they will not heed our warning,
and they shall perish in their sins. God says, Thus ye speak, saying,
If our transgression and our sin be upon us, and we pine away
in them, how then shall we live? See, we give a message of warning.
But now the Lord is taking into account that some will hear it.
And what are they going to say? If our transgression and our
sin be upon us and we melt away, is there any hope? Is there any
hope? God's people, they hear this
warning and they mourn over their sin. They are made to feel the
leprosy of their sin. They pine away under the guilt
and corruption. And we say, how shall we live? How shall we escape the judgment
of God? And so now we've had the Word
of God to the watchman. It's a word of warning. And I'm
so thankful that there will be some who hear our warning. Now
then, the word of the watchman to the people. What is the word
that God has given us to those who heed our warning? To those
who pine away, to those who know their sin, what is the word of
the watchman to the people? It is even the gospel of Jesus
Christ. This is the gospel message that
every watchman's given. We're not only giving, thank
God, that isn't all we're giving is a warning, right? I can imagine
Jonah. Remember, that's all he was given.
He was, what was it, I think, a few days and then it was gonna
be destroyed. That's it, that's all he had.
Boy, that was a solemn gospel, wasn't it? That's not all we
have. We don't have just a warning.
We have a message of hope. There is a message of escape.
Look at verse 11, saying to them, this is what God says to those
who are convicted, to you who feel your sin and know your need. God says, As I live, saith the
Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but, here's
my pleasure, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. And
here he gives a compelling call, turn ye, turn ye from your wicked,
your evil ways. For why will you die, O house
of Israel? God comes to those convicted
and he says this, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. What
does that mean? I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Some
people will say, well see, God doesn't want anybody to go to
hell. He don't have any pleasure in sending people to hell. He's
conflicted within Himself. That's what they think God is.
They think God's mercy and His justice are in conflict with
one another. Why? Because they think God's
like themselves. Listen, God's not in conflict
with Himself. What He means by this is simply this, that no
amount of payment in hell is sufficient to satisfy His justice. That's why hell is eternal. That's
why when a man is suffering in hell because of his sins, he
will continually pay forever. Because God says, I have no pleasure
in their death. My justice will never be satisfied. Yet men wanna turn it around,
make God look like he's having conflict. Then they go over to,
look at 2 Peter, then they'll take you over here. This is where
they'll take you now. 2 Peter, and look at chapter three. They'll
take you right here, 2 Peter chapter three and verse nine. Apostles said the Lord is not
slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness.
What is this promise promise of judgment? The promise of his
coming in judgment God's not slack though. He delays. He's
not slack. He's going to judge all men But is Long-suffering to us for
not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance
see that and what they're gonna say is they see God doesn't want
anybody to perish and He desires with all of His heart that every
man comes to repentance. Read the text. But God is longsuffering
to who? Who? Us. Well, who? The world is us. Even to the ones He's writing
to, the elect, the redeemed, the called, Those are the ones
who are the us. God is long suffering to us,
his elect, us who he has redeemed, and he is not willing that any
of us should perish, but that all of us should come to repentance. Isn't that simple? You read the
text, it's simple. I'm so thankful that God has
willed that none of his people should die. And then God in mercy comes to
everyone he has purposed to save, and he says this to the sinner.
Why will you die? Why will you die? If you die in your sins, my justice
will never be satisfied. No pleasure in the death of the
wicked. This is my pleasure that you turn. Turn where? Turn from what and turn to whom? God says that the wicked should
turn from his ways, turn from his evil way. That's what he
says in Isaiah, isn't it? That let the wicked forsake his
way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. What was your way? Our way was works. Our way was trying to merit the
favor of God. God said turn from that. Let the wicked forsake his way,
the unrighteous man. I thought, you know I thought
that's how you should be saved. I thought that you should do
this and I thought you should do that. Well turn from that and return unto the Lord and
He will abundantly pardon you. See the goodness of God on full
display here. Why will you die? That's a good
question that we as watchmen should ask every sinner. Why
would you die? Why will you die? But to whom shall the sinner
turn? Does it mean that we need to
reform our life or start trying to obey the law of God? That's
not what we are to turn to, no. It simply means to turn by faith
to Jesus Christ. That's what it means, turn. Turn
to Christ by faith. He is the only way by which the
wicked may be made acceptable to God. God said, why will you die? seeing
I have provided a ransom. Why will you try to pay God when
God has already paid for himself? Christ is the only one who has
satisfied the justice of God and by Christ is the only means
that God will have mercy upon the sinner. So why will you die? For the
Son of God was ordained to be the Savior of Israel, to be the
Savior of His people, and He, by His obedience, has come in
the flesh and by His obedience has obtained the righteousness
of God that God demands. As a watchman, I told you, you
must be as holy as God, and yet here God says, why will you die?
I have provided righteousness. Why will you die? I have provided
an offering that I have accepted. It is the offering of Jesus Christ. And so Christ then has provided
all that the sinner needs, obedience and an offering. He satisfied
the law in obedience and he satisfied the justice of the law by his
death. So when Christ hung upon the
cross, All the iniquity of his people
was laid upon him, and God made him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin, in order that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. So behold the Lamb of God. Behold
how he bore the sins of his people and pleased God by his death,
and God raised him from the dead. For what? So that He should save
His people from their sins. In the very beginning, what's
the first prophecy when the angel came? The first prophecy of the
angel was, Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save,
who? His people from their sins. And so then the convicted sinner,
if this is true, if God has sent Christ to save His people, The
question of the sinner is then, who are these people? Am I one
of these people? Who are these vessels of mercy?
Look down in chapter, and back in your text, go back to your
text. Who are the people that God will save? Well, I want you
to know they are wicked people. This is the group of people that
God will save, the wicked, the wicked. Look at verse 12. Therefore, son of man, say to
the children of thy people. Now again, he's switching back
over. He's saying, say to those children of Adam. The righteousness
of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression. So then, he did not come to save
these people. Who? The righteous. Why? Because the righteousness
of the righteous cannot deliver him in the day he sins. I thought about this quite a
bit while I was going over this. And consider this, if there is
anybody who claims to be righteous, to be able to produce righteousness
by his works, I always want to ask, which one? Show me one.
Name it. And even if it were possible,
and it's not because the scriptures are clear, all our righteousness
is our as filthy rags, Isaiah tells us. But just say it's possible
that he can do one thing righteous. You know how much that's going
to count? It counts only until he sins. And when he sins, all
of his righteousness won't be remembered. Look at that. He
said, look in verse 13, When I say to the righteous that he
shall surely live, if he trusts to his own righteousness and
commit iniquity, all his righteousness shall not be remembered. You
got that? The minute you sin, all your
righteousness that you did is done. It doesn't even count.
So if you could do anything righteous and then you sin, that don't
count. So I want to tell you this, God
did not come to save the righteous. Isn't that what Christ said?
Jesus said, I came not to call the righteous. Can anyone claim their own righteousness? If you can, Christ didn't come
to save you. Because the minute you sin, all
your righteousness won't be remembered. So then who did he come to save?
Look at the text. He said, as for the wickedness,
verse 12, as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall
thereby. Wait a second, the wickedness
of the wicked, he's not gonna die? He's not gonna fall by that?
In the day that he turneth from his wicked. In the day he turns
at the reproof of God, all his wickedness will not be counted
against him. Look at that verse 13. I'm sorry, go back, let's
see. Look at verse 14, sorry. Again,
when I say unto the wicked, thou shalt surely die, if he turn
from his sin and do that which is lawful and right, if the wicked
restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the
statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live,
he shall not die. Now consider this. that my gospel is always to give
hope to the wicked, to the wicked who turn from their wickedness.
And notice he says these, he says, he's not going to die if
he turn from his sin and do that which is lawful. Now listen,
when have the wicked ever done that which is lawful and right?
Well never, because they're wicked. They could not do that which
is lawful and right. If the wicked restore the pledge
and give again that which he robbed. What did we rob? As wicked people, what did we
rob? We robbed God of His glory. That's what we robbed. How then
can we restore the glory of God? If we're wicked, we can't. Walk in the statues of life and
without committing iniquity. Wait a second. When have you
ever done that? Is that possible for you to do?
No. The only hope for the wicked
is that they are in Christ who has done all these things. It was Christ who did that which
was lawful and right. It was Christ who restored the
glory of God. By His obedience and by His death,
He restored the glory of God. He alone walked in the statues
of life without committing iniquity. How then can the wicked claim
to have those things? Only if you are in union with
Christ. Only if Christ is your representative.
This is astounding. You who believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, you have turned from your wickedness. Because that's
all you are. and you have turned to Christ
as all your righteousness. And so happy is the man who turns
from his way, his wickedness, and turns to Christ, because
all that Christ has earned is now ours. all he has earned, so happy is
the man, vile though he be, be as corrupt and full of sin, no
matter the greatness of the number or the number of his sins. God
says this, if he returns, if he turns to Christ, he shall
not die. The believer in Christ. turns
to Christ, he shall not die. Look at verse 16. And none of his sins that he
committed shall be mentioned unto him. Isn't this astounding? This is
what God said in the covenant, isn't it? I will remember their
sins and iniquities no more. what he said in Jeremiah chapter
50 in verse 20 he said in that day and that time shall the sins
of Israel be sought for and there shall be none none how then could God do that look
at that look at the next part he hath done that which is lawful
and right you know when the believer is
called before the judgment seat of God. And the Lord Jesus Christ speaks
to his people, and he said, Come, you blessed of my father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you, and for the foundation of the
world. When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was naked, you
clothed me. When I was sick and in prison, you visited me. And
what is the response of them? When have we ever done this for
you? Yet God says, you have done it. You have done it. You have done
it in Christ, your Savior. Now quickly, I want us to see
the response of the people. Now go back to verse 17. Yet
the children of thy people, again, see how he switches from the
children of Israel to the children of thy people. The children of
thy people shall say the way of the Lord is not equal. Well,
that's not fair. Well, that's not right. God's got to be unjust to save
one and not save the other. Lord, that's what that woman
was telling that preacher. She said, look, I won't serve
a God who saves one and and passes by the other. Rightly did Jesus say this, enter
ye the straight gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the
way that leads to destruction, and many be that enter in thereat. Religion's wide, isn't it? It's
just so wide. It just allows for everyone,
every opinion. No, there's only one way by which
a sinner can come to God and be accepted. It's very straight.
Jesus Christ and him crucified. Because straight is the gate
and narrow is the way that leads to life and few there be that
find it. And so when our gospel is preached,
the lost religious world, haters of God will declare to us the
way of the Lord is not equal. But we say God forbid that any
would bring false claims like this to God, that God is not
just. Why? Salvation belongs to God. Isn't this what he tells us in
Romans 9? He says, Before the children
being born, having done good or evil, that the purpose of
God according to election might stand. He said, For Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated. And what did Paul anticipate? He anticipated their objection.
Is there unrighteousness with God? Is God unequal? Is God unjust? God forbids you should say anything
like that. Why? Because God said this, I
will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. And I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then, here's the conclusion,
it is not of him that willeth or him that runneth, but God
that showeth mercy. See there's only one way of salvation,
mercy. not merit, mercy. Therefore, we praise God for
such a gospel. We praise God for His election.
We praise God for Christ's perfect redemption. We praise God for
His goodness to call us and effectually call us so that we should know
our sin and flee to Christ. And look at God's answer to them. He said, You say, yet you say
the way of the Lord is not equal. O you house of Israel, I will
judge everyone after his ways. God is just. Believer, are you going to skate
into heaven unjudged? No. My sins have already
been paid for. And God will take those who have
no payment for sin and charge them with it. God's answer to them is, I am
not unjust. In that same chapter in Romans
9 He said, Therefore he hath mercy on whom he will, and whom
he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say unto me, Why did
the yet find fault? For he hath resisted his will. That's what men say, well, if
God's determined one to be saved and He's determined the other
not to be saved, how then can He convict the man because he's
just doing the will of God, not believing? Well, as Paul would
say, who in the world are you? Put God under your microscope.
Who are you that reply against God? Shall the thing formed save
the end that formed it? Why hast thou made me thus? hath not the potter power of
the clay to have the same lump to make one vessel of honor and
another to dishonor. So then, instead of rebelling,
men should sue for what? Mercy. Mercy. They should sue for mercy and
come to Christ. Why? Because there is salvation
there. There is hope. There is escape from the judgment
of God. See, Christ has already extinguished the justice of God.
Come to Him. Come to Him and find peace with
God. But he that believeth not shall be damned. And he'll be damned not because
of election, not because of Christ's perfect redemption. Listen, if
you're going to be damned, you'll be damned because of your own
sin. because you're iniquity, and
you will suffer the just measure of God's damnation. But behold
the grace of God. If you will but see your sin, and if God would puradventure
and make you to know your need of life, turn to Christ. This is the word of God's watchman.
Turn to Christ. Look to Christ. Look unto me,
and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and
there is none else. Turn to Christ. Believe on Christ. His works, His obedience, His
offering. Not what you merited, but what
He has merited. And listen, this is the word
of God from the Watchman. And you will not die. You will not die. If the wicked
would turn to Christ, they will not die. They will not die. So the word of God to the watchman
is a word of judgment, and we preach that. And if God, peradventure,
give you an understanding of your need of life, we then preach
the word from God to you, and that is, believe on Jesus Christ. When should you believe? Right
now. Right now, this is an urgent matter, right now. Right now. And you that believe, when should
you believe? Right now. Right now. We don't ever stop believing.
We don't ever stop looking to Him. My only hope of escape of
God's judgment is Christ. That's it. Pray God will bless
this to you. Let's stand and be dismissed
in prayer. Our Father, be merciful, be gracious
to us. Pour out your spirit. Take the
things of thy word and apply them to the hearts of your people
and give us grace that we should witness of these things, testify
of these things. Father, you'd be gracious to
make us faithful stewards of the gospel. And Father, that
the word might go out in power and demonstration of your spirit
and save the law, save those you have purposed to save. And
I know this, you will save them. And those that you have saved,
I pray that you would comfort them with the message that you
will remember our sins and iniquities no more because of Christ. Help
us to praise him and give thanks. We ask this in his name, amen.