Our subject this morning is the
last statement of this seventh verse. And you shall know that
I am the Lord. Ye shall know. Things happen to us. In order that things might happen
in us. so that things can happen through
us. Now this is very plain and this
would be a good thought for you to take personal concern in your
life. In God's providence, things happen
to us so that by God's preparing work
things happen in us and move us toward God's purpose
for things to happen through us. When Joseph was sold into slavery
by his brethren at the age of 17, he was not qualified at that
time to rule over Egypt. He would be qualified some 22
years down the road at age 39, but not at age 17. So there's
a process. There's a whole lot of things
had to happen. The right kind of things. The
things that only God could bring about. Things that would involve more
pain than pleasure. But they were all necessary things
in Joseph's life. So I repeat, in God's providence,
things happen to us so that by God's preparation, things might
happen in us and move us toward God's purpose for things to happen
through us. A lot of things in this life
we say no to. I didn't ask for that. I didn't want that. I didn't
need that to happen. But it happens. It happens. Imagine the time in the lives
of a couple back in the book of Judges, the parents of Samson. Young man, he's been such a delight
to his parents. A Nazirite from his mother's
womb. Fine young man. He's never been drunk. He's never
done anything out of the way. And they're so proud of him. And one day he comes in and says,
I found a woman I want to marry. And she's a Philistine. It crushed them. His mother's
heart was crushed. I can imagine his dad hit the
ceiling. And regardless of whatever fit
they may have pitched about it, and of course any of us that
are parents have been there, regardless of whatever kind of
fit they pitched, the Bible says they knew not. that it was of
the Lord. Really kind of knocks us in the
head, don't it? But it tells us that God's not
going to do much that'll work out the way we think it ought
to. I'm finding that out more and
more and more. This business of following the
Lord It's not about you living good
enough to get God to do things the way you want Him to do them.
Or getting Him to do what you want Him to do. No. No. I'll
tell you what it is about. It's all about you and I learning
that God is God. And what He does is right, whether
we approve of it or not. And of course, anybody that's
not a liar would testify that he does a whole lot that we don't
approve of. Lord, I'd just rather it had
been the other way. We're in a part of the country
where we have a great deal of religion. There is the shallow
legalistic religious mindset around our part of the country.
And they would look at young Sampson and side with his parents. And they'd say, oh no, God's
not in that. You're getting tangled up with
a Philistine woman. Oh no. But the Bible says God was in
it. I try to avoid, folks, who are
so far along that can tell all about what God's in and what
He's not in. And I know some of them, and
you do too. Well, God's in this. God's not in that, you know. I mean, they can just look at
anything and everything and tell you if it has God's signature
or the devil's signature. You'd have to be as wise as God
is to know all that. But like Samson's parents, we
don't know all the time which things are good, you know. But God would have us know this.
I am the Lord. And that's what verse 7 says
in the latter part. And you shall know that I am the Lord. Verse 10, and they shall know
that I am the Lord. Verse 13, then shall you know
that I am the Lord. Then the last line in the chapter,
verse 14, and they shall know that I am the Lord. The Lord
is saying to Israel through Ezekiel, his prophet, this judgment is going to do
lots of things to you. But it's going to do one thing
in you. When I'm done, you're going to be fully convinced of
this, that I am the Lord. when tragedy strikes in our lives
or in our families, we, I don't know, we just seem shocked by
this profound truth as if we never knew it before, that I
really am not in control. God is. And of course, until
this happens until tragedy strikes, we walk around with the attitude,
well, I think I can handle just about anything that'll come up. But when it comes, and when enough
of it comes, we finally get it. I'm not in control of much of
anything. And God makes our lives thus.
on purpose. It's deliberate on God's part
that you may know that I am the Lord. This is a recurring statement
throughout the book of Ezekiel, occurring some 71 times in this
book of the Bible. You may know that I am the Lord. I want to show you just a few
of them this morning. I don't think we'll get to all
71 because I want some lunch and then supper. So, just a few
of them. First, in time of war and death. Now, I'm going to apologize.
I hope anybody's not dumb enough to call me right now, but it
just dawned on me I forgot to turn my phone off. If you don't turn yours off,
it's okay. We'll laugh when it rings. But I don't mind a ring. In time of war or death, and
that's the scene we've read about here in the early part of chapter
six, there's to be many casualties. And verse four, God said in your
alters shall be desolate. Your images shall be broken and
I will cast down your slain men before your idols. and I will
lay the dead carcasses of the children of Israel before their
idols, and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. Then verse 7, and the slain shall
fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. Death, whether death occurs in
war, as it is here, or by disease or by some fatal accident,
we'd call it, car wreck or whatever, when death occurs, especially
when it's somebody we know and love, there is the sobering reality
that God is God. And we think like Mary and Martha
did, you know, if I were God, my loved one wouldn't
have died. I'd have done differently from
what God did. Yes, but the Lord says, I do
what I do the way I do it when I do it. that you may know that I am the
Lord. The ball never was in your court.
I am the Lord. Of course, some people get bitter
and they ask why. A young man said to me some time
ago, I don't understand why God let my mother die. She was such
a good person. good mothers, bad mothers, good
dads, bad dads. We're all part of Adam's race. And how the blood of sinful Adam
run in our veins and the sinful nature of Adam is in us. That's why we die. And he went on to express doubts
about the goodness of God. and doubts about the Bible. I
just let him rattle on for a minute. That's all I could do. But I
tell you this, one thing he learned, whether he'll confess it or not,
God is God. It happened. It happened. But now God's children have such
a conviction that God is right, come what may. God does right. We can't get bitter regardless
of how much it hurts. We do grieve. And of course,
we may argue with the Lord a little bit about it. But at the same
time, we're grounded in this. This is what God's done for us
as his people, knowing in our hearts that God does right. And we're not going to change
him. He is the Lord. Look down at verse 15, excuse
me, 14. In time of desolation, the word
desolate occurs twice in this verse. So will I stretch out
my hand upon them and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate
than the wilderness. Toward Ziblatt. I used to like
to watch the old westerns and when I read that word desolate,
I think about a ghost town, you know. See those sometimes on
the old movies. Cowboy ride into a town where
there's buildings standing, just a lot of dust and nobody or nothing. It's a ghost town. The only difference
in that and this is Nebuchadnezzar had done come in and there wasn't
any buildings. He's gone. Desolate, desolate, desolate. The walls of protection are broken
down. Nebuchadnezzar is invaded, destroyed
the temple, burned the city. Good things are gone. And when that happens to us in
life, things change. We feel so many good things are
gone. I liked it the way it was. I didn't want it to change. Yeah, but the Lord says, I do
all this. I cause all this shake up in
your life that you may know that I am the Lord. That's the last
line in the verse. See now chapter seven, verse
23. I'm just going to run down to
a few of these this morning and we'll be finished. moral decline,
lawlessness in the land. Do we know anything about moral
decline in this land? Verse 23, make a chain for the
land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence. Wherefore, I will bring the worst
of the heathen. They shall possess their houses.
I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease, their holy
places shall be defiled. Destruction cometh and they shall
seek peace and there shall be none. Mischief shall come upon
mischief and rumor shall be upon rumor. Y'all don't know anything
about that, do you? Mischief, rumors and all that stuff. Then shall they seek a vision
of the prophet. But the law shall perish from
the priest, and counsel from the ancients. The king shall
mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and
the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled. I will
do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts
will I judge them. God says, I'll give exactly what
they deserve. Why? Why? Here it is in the last
line. And they shall know that I am
the Lord. Like the howling mob at the crucifixion. This world is going to shake
its fist in God's face until they perish in their sins and
drop off into hell and the generation we're in is no different. But God says my people are going
to know. They have to bow and they have
to acknowledge that I am the Lord. Next is a false security. Turn
all over to chapter 13. False security. And this is where
America is. You hear what the politicians
say. We're going to be all right. Democrats say, we're going to
fix what the Republicans have done and the mess they've made. And the Republicans say, we're
going to fix the mess the Democrats have made. And you know, we're.
It's going to be all right. We're going to figure it all
out. We're going to work it all out. Listen to what God says
here in chapter 13, verse 10, because even because they have
seduced my people saying peace, and there was no peace and one
built up a wall and others dubbed it with untempered mortar. That's a kind of funny analogy
there, those of you that know anything about building. One's
going to build up a wall, the other one's going to lay rock,
the other one's going to daub it with untempered mortar, which
won't hold, won't hold at all. It's just going to be patch,
patch, patch from now on. That's American politics. Not going to fix anything. Say
unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, tell them
it is going to fall, that it shall fall. There shall be an
overflowing shower, and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall, and a
stormy wind shall rend it. Lo, when the wall is fallen,
shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith
you have daubed it? I thought you all fixed that. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury, and
there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great
hailstones in my fury to consume it. So will I break down the
wall that ye have daubed with untempered mortar, and bring
it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall
be discovered, and it shall fall You shall be consumed in the
midst thereof. Your false security will fail
you while you're acting so surprised. Why is this happening to us?
We're good people. Can't believe this is happening
to us. God is saying it's happening to you for this reason. And for this cause, last line
of verse 15, you shall know or verse 14, you shall know that
I am the Lord false security, false security. I've heard people say, well,
I don't have a job now, so I'm really going to have to trust
the Lord. You better trust him. If you've got a job. Well, the doctors have done all
they can. We're really going to have to trust the Lord now.
You better be trusting him before you even think about a doctor.
See. Now, chapter 15. Chapter 15, this is this down
to earth practical stuff. And I know none of you have ever
experienced any of these kind of situations, but this is talking
about bad people like me. Chapter 15. This one is about
making bad decisions. Nobody here has ever made a bad
decision, have you? Well, let's look at it. Chapter
15. Verse 7. And I will set my face against
them. They shall go out from one fire
and another fire shall devour them." I guess that's where the
saying came from, out of the frying pan, into the fire. That's
what it's saying right here. They shall go out from one fire,
and another fire shall devour them. I wonder why that happens.
Why I can't get things right? and run my own life successfully? Well, once again, he gives us
the answer. And you shall know that I am
the Lord. Not you, but I. Now, chapter 17. Chapter 17. And this one is about,
I would say, divine reversals, when God turns things around. Chapter 17. In the days of the Roman Empire,
the vast majority of people were convinced that the empire will
never fall. It's just too strong. We are
under this oppression. We'll live here and we'll die
here. It's just too strong. Well, it fell. When I was young, I was really
brainwashed in believing that communism would take over the
world before I got grown. You know, it's what I heard in
school, church and everywhere else. And of course they'd close all
the churches and kill all the Christians and burn all the Bibles. I remember well-known and respected
preachers talking that way. If I called their names, some
of you would get mad at me from our part of the country. One very well-known would say
that the Communists are going to take over by 1972 without
firing a shot. You see, when you get out of
this book, you're messed up. You are messed up. When you swap
this book for the newspaper, you're headed down the wrong
road. God is the Lord. He can do anything He wants to
do. He can turn the world upside down. And He has, more than once,
turned my little world upside down. What about yours? He's still God. Look here at
chapter 17 and verse 22. Thus saith the Lord God, I will
also take up the highest branch of the high cedar and will set
it I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one. I'll cut the top out of that
tree. And will plant it upon a high
mountain and eminent. In the mountain of the height
of Israel will I plant it. It shall bring forth boughs and
bear fruit and be a goodly cedar. and under it shall dwell all
fowl of every wing, in the shadow of the branches thereof shall
they dwell, and all the trees of the field shall know that
I am the Lord. I the Lord have brought down
the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green
tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish. I the Lord have
spoken and have done it. I am the Lord." Divine reversals. Daniel 2.21,
and He changes the times and the seasons. He removeth kings
and setteth up kings. God reverses things when He's ready. We're so full
of unbelief, we say, It'll never change. It'll never be any different. It'll never be any better. Oh,
aren't we smart? Aren't we smart? Every four years
we have an election, just like we're running things, you know.
I remember a few more of you this old too. I can remember
when Ronald Reagan was running for president and some good people,
I mean, some good people said, ah, I don't think we need a movie
star for our president, you know, but he's the man took the bull
by the horns, looked the devil in the face and said, tear down
that wall. It was a movie star done. That
wasn't no politician. See, God is God. He'll do what
he wills, with whom he wills, when he wills. And he said, when
I get done, you're going to know that I am the Lord. See, if you think you've got
God figured out, you're really messed up. I mean, he can take
day before yesterday and make it day after tomorrow if he wants
to. He's God. He can empty hell. For the sake of his son, if he
wants to, what are you going to do about it? He's the Lord. All right. Chapter 22. In chastisement. In discipline. In correction. Chapter 22, verse 19. Therefore thus saith the Lord
God behold you're all become dross behold therefore I will
gather you into the midst of Jerusalem as They gather silver and brass
and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace and
Blow the fire upon it to melt it. So will I gather you in mine
anger and in my fury I will leave you there and melt
you. Yea, I will gather you and blow unto you in the fire of
my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst thereof. As silver
is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted
in the midst thereof. When I get done, you're going
to know it's me. And ye shall know that I, the
Lord, have poured out my fury upon you. Chapter 28. Epidemics. Diseases. Pestilence. I'm telling you, reading all
this will cause you to believe the book. It will cause you to
believe that God is God. Chapter 28. Verse 20. Again, the Word of the Lord came
unto me saying, Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy
against it. And say, Thus saith the Lord
God, Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon, and I will be glorified
in the midst of thee. And here it is. And they shall
know that I am the Lord when I shall have executed judgments
in her and shall be sanctified in her. For I will send into
her pestilence. and blood into her streets, and
the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword
upon her on every side. Here it is again. And they shall
know that I am the Lord. There shall be no more pricking
briar unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all
that are round about them that despise them. And they shall
know, here it is again, that I am the Lord. What do you reckon
is the one thing God is trying to get across? in this book of
the Bible. What do you reckon is the one
thing he would get across to us as a church and as individuals
with all that happens to you on a daily basis? What do you
reckon is God's trying to say? Well, here it is, that you may
know that I am the Lord. One more turn to chapter 34.
Chapter 34. Verse 11. 3411. For thus saith the Lord God. Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep and
seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his
flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered,
so will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all
places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And
I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the
countries, and will bring them to their own land and feed them
upon the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the
inhabited places of the country." Now remember Jesus said in John,
other sheep have I which are not of this fold. Talking about
Gentiles. So now this is not an old covenant
promise here. Israel, the 10 tribes, they never resurfaced after the
captivity. Judah did until Christ came,
until 70 AD. But this is a new covenant promise. New covenant promise. Look at
verse 23. And I will set up one shepherd
over them, talking about his sheep now, And I will set up
one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant
David." Hold it. David has been dead hundreds
of years when Ezekiel writes this. This is talking about true David,
the one after God's own heart. God's own heart, Christ Jesus
the Lord. I will set up one shepherd over
them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David. He shall
feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will
be their God, and my servant David a prince among them. I,
the Lord, have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant
of peace and will cause the evil beast to cease out of the land."
Well, honey, they ain't ceased out of this land, but they're
ceased out of the Lord's people. See? And they shall dwell safely in
the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them a
place round about my hill, a blessing. And I will cause the shower to
come down in this season. There shall be showers of blessing.
And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit. And the earth
shall increase, shall yield her increase. And they shall be safe
in their land. The Lord says, I'm going to do
all this from a people. And here it is, shall know that
I am the Lord. And I have broken the bands of
their yoke and delivered them out of the hand of those that
served themselves of them. Verse 30, thus shall they know
that I am the Lord their God and with them, and that they,
even the house of Israel are my people, saith the Lord. ye my flock, the flock of my
pasture are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God." On
and on we can go. Chapter 35, verse 4, and they shall know,
thou shalt know that I am the Lord. Verse 9, ye shall know
that I am the Lord. Verse 12, the beginning of the
verse, thou shalt know that I am the Lord. Verse 15, the end of
the verse, and they shall know that I am the Lord. The Lord
is gracious to his own. Things happen to us that things
might happen in us, that things might happen through us. Our Lord uses the prison house. He uses the lion's den. He uses the fiery furnace. He
uses the fish's belly. He uses the isle of Patmos. He
uses that hell that you're going through on the job or at the
house or with your family. A million
other things in your life and mine. And when he's through. We still may not know much. But
he said, you're going to know this when I get done. This is my whole purpose and
all. You shall know. That I'm the Lord. Young Samson, they thought was
an ordinary boy. But the Bible says the spirit
of the Lord began to move him at times. Old Jacob, sleeping
out under the stars in the middle of nowhere, woke up and said,
surely the Lord was in this place. And I didn't even know it. Roman centurion standing at the
cross was brought to testify of all people. Truly, this was
the Son of God. What about you? Has he ever showed
up in your heart in such a way as you know that he is the Lord? My prayer is that he'll put such
a desire, make that desire so great that you'll cry out to
him, Lord, reveal yourself to me. Make yourself known to me. I want to know, really know that
you are the Lord. I don't believe in luck. I don't believe in happenstance. You're the Lord, the Lord of
all the earth. He'd have us know that. Let's
stand together.