We're hearing a message out of the book of Ezekiel today about the I wills of God. Now later today, later this evening, my wife Nancy and I plan to take a trip to Orlando, Florida. We have a daughter and two grandsons down there and we plan to leave at nine o'clock tonight out of Portland and arrive in Orlando tomorrow about 10 o'clock. after we spend a layover in Denver.

Now, that is my hope that we get to do that. That's our plan to do that. We paid to do that. We hope the plane's on time, the pilot is in good shape, and all those things. But when we get to looking into the Bible, we find that God never runs on I hope. He never says, I hope they'll make it to Orlando. Now in his purpose, we either will or we won't. But he never has to say, I hope they make it.

Now that's not the God I want, is a God that hopes to get things done. The God of the Bible, the God that God has given me the privilege of worshiping, is a God that accomplishes his purpose. He has a purpose and he has the power to carry it out. And so when we look into the Bible, we find that he mentions a number of times, I will. And we wanna look at two or three of what he said he will do.

Now, everything that God said I will do, he's going to do. Never been a failure. never had to go home and hang his head down and say I'm ashamed I didn't quite get done what I hoped I could get done today. He always is able to delight in his own ability to accomplish what he wants to do.

So here in the book of Ezekiel chapter 36 we have some wonderful words recorded for our benefit. It is an encouragement to God's people to learn that they have a God that is not fickle, a God that is not is not affected by things. We're affected by things and people. He is not. He is as high above heaven as can possibly be in his glory.

Now here in the book of Ezekiel chapter 36 and in verse 22 it says, therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God. Now We have God speaking here and when I read these verses like this, I should take special note because it's God speaking. God is declaring his word right here. Now, I should have that feeling about all of God's word because it's all given by inspiration of God. But here we have, as he's writing here, as Ezekiel is writing, he says, thus saith the Lord God, I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy namesake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whether you went, and I will sanctify my great name.

Now he mentions a couple of things in there. He says, I have a great name. My name is above every name. There's no name greater than my name. The name of God Almighty is no greater. There's nothing that can be larger than that. And then he says, I'm going to sanctify my great name. And what does he mean by that? I'm going to reveal who I am to some people. And they're going to understand that I am great. that I'm not a weakling, that I'm not trying to accomplish anything, but I have accomplished what I purpose to do, and I will not let some people go by without recognizing that fact.

He goes on to say here, which ye have profaned in the midst of them, and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. Verse 24, for I will take you from among the heathen. Now, from a physical standpoint, Israel has been scattered and scattered terribly. But from a spiritual standpoint, spiritual Israel, the people that will be saved are scattered throughout the whole world. There is not a land, a people, a nation, a tongue, that doesn't have at some time or another one of God's lost sheep that he intends to save, and he will gather all of those out of every nation.

I am so encouraged when I read over the book of Revelation chapter five and verse nine, and they sung a new song. Now this is in glory, but you know what? Everybody that God ever saves gets to sing a new song. It's greater than any song we've ever sang. It has more power in it than any time we've ever thought to sing. Because when God saves his people, he gives us a new song about the glory and greatness of God.

He said there in Revelation chapter five and verse nine, and they sung a new song saying, thou art worthy. You know, before we're saved, we never are capable of saying that God's worthy to do anything. He is our servant. That's kind of the way we feel about it. You know, religion has God and man totally upside down. We have a God in religion that's trying to get things done, and we have men that can stop God's purpose. Now that's upside down. God has never been in a position where he cannot accomplish his purpose and mankind is going to be moved by this God. They're not gonna stop him.

Did you ever try to stop something your dad wanted you to do? My dad had a way of convincing me that I was gonna do what he had to do. Well, the father of in glory. has the ability to change our will and give us a will that will glorify Him, to raise us out of the dust, to raise us out of the pit, to raise us out of our own ideas and thoughts, and cause us to worship Him, the true and the living God.

Thou art worthy to take the book. Now this is about the Lord Jesus. and to open the seals thereof, for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood. He died on the cross, and by the shedding of his blood, he redeemed the people."

I really appreciate what the man who brought me the gospel had this to say about the Lord Jesus Christ. He is a redeemer that actually redeemed. Now, in religion, we think, I hope he redeemed. I would be pleased if he redeemed, made the payment, but it's all up to me whether he made the payment or not. That is so wishy-washy, that is so unscriptural, that is so God blaspheming. He said he redeemed, and that word redeemed means to purchase. He purchased us with his own blood. His blood was shed to pay the sin price of his people.

And it goes on to tell us here that has redeemed us to God by thy blood. And then here is where he redeems his people from. He says out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. You know, the church is going to be made up of people from all kinds of languages, all kinds of backgrounds, all kinds of social economic positions. God's going to save his people wherever they are in the right time at the right place and call them to be in his family. as he is purpose before the foundation of the world.

So he has going to call his people out of all the nations. Typically, it was to call his people Israel back out of all those places where they had been stuck. But spiritually, he said, I'm going to take the church They have been cast out, they've been scattered abroad, but I'm going to get the word to them, the gospel to them, and by that I will resurrect them from their dead in trespasses and sin nature and bring them together and they shall all sit at my feet and worship me. out of every kindred, nation, people, and tongue.

So he said, I will take you from among the heathen. I'll find you. I will do this. I just love a father that will find his children, don't you? He's just not, well, I hope I find them. I'm looking, but you know, there's so many distractions.

No, I will take you from among the heathen and gather you out of all countries and bring you into your own land. I'll bring you to me.

You know, it was written about Abraham. Abraham was promised some property. He never owned a foot of it. You know what it tells us in the New Testament about Abraham? He looked for a city whose builder and maker was God. He wasn't looking for a physical Jerusalem. He's looking for a spiritual Jerusalem. He wasn't looking for a physical land. He's looking for spiritual land. He wasn't looking for a physical God. He's looking for a spiritual God. He wasn't looking for natural life. He's looking for spiritual life. This is what Abraham was given when he was given faith to believe God.

God said I will Abraham was convinced he did and God gave him a blessing in the whole thing so here the the I wills of God and then they're going back to the book of Ezekiel. He says then will I Sprinkle clean water on you Well, he's not talking about any form of baptism He's talking symbolically about the Word of God and He is going to bring his precious word to his people. It is so precious to have that precious word brought to his people. The truth of the gospel. You know, that term is found about six times in the New Testament because the writer of the New Testament, God Almighty, wanted his people to know that there is other people that will say, well, this is the gospel, but he wanted us to know there's the truth of the gospel. the truth of the gospel. And so that's what we delight in is the truth of the gospel.

but I fear less by any means. Here in 2 Corinthians 11, three, as the serpent beguiled Eve through the subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. The apostle Paul was led by the Holy Spirit to write to some saints in Corinth and says, it looks like from where I stand, your minds have been corrupted from the simplicity. Can you imagine that there is a simplicity in Christ? You know what that means? There's no works attached. There's no law attached. There's no legalism attached. There's nothing attached. Christ and Christ alone. There is simplicity in Christ. Christ and Christ alone. Nothing added, nothing taken away. We don't have anything added. He's not asked us to do one other thing. In fact, he shares with us, I fulfilled everything else that was required. Everything that God required, Jesus Christ fulfilled. So there is a simplicity. I like a simple life, don't you? I like a simple Christian life. There's a simplicity that is in Christ. It doesn't matter what church I belong to. It doesn't matter all of the other things that are counted as important, there is a simplicity that is in Christ Jesus. And God's people will believe God. And God's people will believe that there is a simplicity about this. How simple it is.

God is in the cleaning business. Did you know that? I will sprinkle clean water. I'll clean you up. I admire a person that can spend all day long washing clothes. I'm just teasing. You know, I used to see my grandmother talk about using an old washboard cleaning clothes with an old washboard. Then she got a ringer washer, and then she got the agitating washer, and my mother had a wash machine. How simple it is today that we just throw clothes in, go off and do something else, and come back when it stops, and throw them in the dryer, and go off and do something else, and come back. Well, you know what? God is in the cleaning business. But his stains that he cleanses is sin stains. They can't be washed out with water. There's no machine to take care of this.

I will put clean water. I will sprinkle clean water. upon you and ye shall be clean. I'll wash you and you'll be clean. There's nothing left of the filth and dirt that we were born with when we came into the world. There's nothing between us, between us and God that would count because he's taken care of it.

I will sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean. From all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. One of the verses of scripture in the New Testament that I appreciate so much is found in the book of First Thessalonians, chapter one, verse nine, where it tells us there, and how you turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God.

You know what God does for us when we are saved? He turns us from our idols. The worst idol that we ever have worshiped, it hasn't been a stone god over here or a gold god, it's been self. Self is the worst God that we ever worshiped. Self is our God. And God said, I'll turn you from your God to the true and living God. That is clean. He has promised to clean his people.

So I will sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean. How wonderful is that? No spots left. From all your filthiness, from all your idols, will I cleanse you. And then a new heart also will I give you. A new heart.

Well, we're gonna stop here for today and we'll pick this up next time we get to meet when we look at the I wills of God. I will cleanse you. I will. And he says, I will save my people from their sins. I will do this. And I just want to leave this up. God never said, I wish I could. He always says, I will. And it's accomplished.

Okay, Mike, if you'll come again and