the message of the book of Ezekiel,
I know that there are some things hard to be understood. But I do know this, considering
the faith of Ezekiel or Jeremiah or Daniel or any of the others,
I know that the object of this book is the glory of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And so we take this book The
book of Ezekiel with all of the chapters and trying to reduce
it down to one message is a great challenge. But I pray that the
Lord might be pleased to cause us to hear and to see the heart,
the spirit of this blessed book. So I want us to look first of
all at the call of Ezekiel. Ezekiel 1, verses 1 to 3, the
scripture says, Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in
the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among
the captives by the river of Kibar, that the heavens were
opened, and I saw visions of God. In the fifth day of the
month, which was the fifth year of King Jehoiakim's captivity. The word of the Lord came expressly
unto Ezekiel, the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the
Chaldeans by the river Kibar. And the hand of the Lord was
there upon him. Now, here's the thing I see in
this. Ezekiel was not looking for God. He was one of the captives that
had been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar. Now this was, if you remember,
Jeremiah prophesied that it was going to happen. Isaiah, I'm
sorry, Isaiah. And then Jeremiah set forth. This happened. Submit to it. This is happening right here.
Ezekiel was in that captivity, prophesying during that same
period of time that these other prophets had been prophesying. And here he was. He was by this
river, Kibar. And here is the Lord of glory
calling out A pastor calling a man, Ezekiel, according to
God's heart, call this man, while this man was, for all practical
purposes, imprisoned in this foreign nation. But here's a
wonderful reminder. Though God's elect are found
among a people captured in the bondage of corruption, the Lord's
hand is not sure that God can't save. God Almighty is not bound
in His power and ability to call His people out of darkness. You
know, remember when we were going through the book of Revelation
and it was talking about Satan being bound for a thousand years. Now, just for a quick reminder,
When it says he was bound for a thousand years, if you look
at that word, go back and look at it, the word is plural. He
was bound for a thousands of years. It's a number that's not
disclosed. And Satan is as a roaring lion. going about in this earth, seeking
whom he may devour. But this is what Satan is bound
for a thousands years. And the thousands years, I'm
convinced, it's from the time that man was put in the garden
until the second coming of Christ. That's when Satan is bound. But
bound to what? He's bound in his ability to
stop God from calling God's people out of darkness. Satan cannot
do that. He can't stop God. And here's
Ezekiel. He's in the captivity. We're
in the captivity. Born into this world. Captive. and sin, blindness, captivity,
and the bonds of iniquity. But when Almighty God is pleased,
He speaks in power. In the day of His power, when
it pleased God to call His people out of darkness, God calls and
they hear. The Lord Jesus says, My sheep
hear My voice. They follow Me. I know them.
So here's Ezekiel. A servant of God. A servant of
the Lord. Made to be a preacher. Called
as a priest. Israel was in captivity because
of her rebellion against God. We are too. We are too. That's why men are born in the
captivity of sin. But here's Israel, a spiritual
picture of God's true Israel. And here they are in captivity
as we. And now the Lord calls out this
man, Ezekiel, on purpose. He talked to Ezekiel. I was there. He says, the heavens were opened.
I saw the visions of God. Verse 3, the Word of the Lord
came expressly to Ezekiel. The priest spoke to him. God was not looking for a priest. God was looking for Ezekiel. God knew where Ezekiel was. God
put him there. And so here the Lord calls this
man out of darkness, as the Lord does His blessed bride. Now, the people of Israel, what
they had done is they had committed whoredoms The Scripture says,
"...against the God of her hope." The Lord who hates putting away
for His namesake, He was not going to forsake those that He
had everlastingly loved and leave her without a witness of Himself.
Now you know this. Almighty God has expressly set
forth that He has a people. God has a people. The Lord Jesus
Christ is the husband of the bride, betrothed to her eternally,
everlastingly loved her. And Almighty God recognizes one
husband that he has ordained, accepted, chosen, called, His
husband, the Lord Jesus Christ. There's one husband. One husband. Therefore, anything that is unfaithful
to that one husband is adultery. Any unfaithfulness to the one
husband The Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, is spiritual
adultery. Now, we recognize that this spiritual
adultery manifests itself this way. Anything that sets forth
salvation to be any other way than by grace alone. in Christ
alone, through faith alone in Him. That's spiritual adultery. Anything that gives man or steals
the honor away from unfaithfulness to Him is the whoredoms. that's spoken of in the Old Testament. So when you see, you know, my
people have committed whoredoms, my people have been unfaithful,
my people are rebellious, that's what it's talking about. Anything,
anything that is not absolutely sovereign grace is spiritual
whoredoms, rebellion against Almighty God. Now, Ezekiel called
out While he was in the captivity by that river Tebar, he was taught
something that every believer knows. Taught by the grace of
God. Ezekiel was taught that when
God speaks, God Almighty speaks to men through the mediator The
Lord Jesus Christ. That is the only way that God
speaks. He does not speak any other way
except through the Word Himself. God, who at sundry times and
in diverse manners spoke unto us by the prophets, hath in these
last days spoken unto us by Son. Before, the Son spoke through
the prophets. He spoke through the law. He
came into this world and spoke Himself. The Mediator, the Lord
Jesus Christ, is the Word of God. That is God's Mediator between
Himself and men. So now, knowing that the Lord
Jesus Christ is the only way that God speaks, let's look at
verse 4 and 5. And behold, a whirlwind came
out of the north, a great cloud and a fire enfolding itself. And a brightness was about it,
and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber, out of
the midst of the fire, and also out of the midst thereof came
the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance.
They had the likeness of a man. Four living creatures. These four living creatures set
forth none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And they are, as
far as their description I can tell, they are the same as the
four beasts that's referred to in Revelation 4, having the likeness
of a man. Now, when it says the likeness
of a man, the description that we're getting ready to read of
these four living creatures, they had the appearance, obviously,
as a man in many aspects. It was a man. But the Scripture
sets forth that these four living creatures, they had something
about them that was distinctly different in the manifestation
of who they were. And I'll tell you, we're going
to read the description of these creatures. And here's who I believe
these creatures are. I believe that these creatures
set forth and describe the character of our blessed Savior in His
mediatorial glory as the incarnate Son of God. These four creatures
set forth who the Lord Jesus Christ is, as He is God's Savior
in this world. When He came into this world,
these creatures set forth who He is. Now, here's what the Scripture
sets forth. In verse 6, everyone had four
faces and everyone had four wings. Each creature, four faces and
four wings. I'm going to come back and read
the next couple of verses in a minute, but look at verse 10.
As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face
of a man, and the face of a lion on the
right side, and they four had the face of an ox on the left
side, and they four also had the face of an eagle Now, as
a man, these four creatures, and every creature had four faces. And if you look at it, when it
says their likeness, they had the face of a man, the face of
a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side,
the face of an eagle. The way in which these faces
were placed on each creature was the same. Face of a man,
face of a lion, face of an ox, face of an eagle. Okay? Each
one of them exactly the same way. That's very significant.
Now, as a man, here is the glory and the manifestation of the
Lord Jesus Christ. God was made flesh. He tabernacled
amongst us. He came unto His own. He was
made in the form of sinful flesh, the likeness of sinful flesh,
true flesh. A body prepared Him that He might
die. That's one of the faces of these
living creatures. Secondly, the face of a lion,
setting forth the dignity and the power of Him who is the Lion
of the tribe of Judah from the kingly tribe. An ox. The sacrifice of God's provision. Where is the Lamb? Isaac asked
Abraham. God will provide Himself a Lamb. So, so far we see Christ made
flesh. Christ, the power of God. Christ,
God's sacrifice. Then an eagle sets forth Him
who watches over His people, taking and bearing them up according
to His good pleasure to show mercy and compassion. So here's
four creatures. Ezekiel was by the river Kebar. The Lord God called him out of
darkness, called him to be a prophet, called him to come to the Lord
Himself. And he said, I saw these four
creatures, four faces on each creature, and the order of their
faces set forth. And the Scripture says back in
verse 9, It says, their wings were joined one to another, and
they turned not when they went. They went every one straight
forward. Now, let me tell you what I have
tried to do. I pray the Lord forgive me if
I state anything wrongly. I pray not, I pray if I err,
that I err with the Lord's forgiveness. But I'm looking at the description
of these creatures. And the scripture sets forth,
each one of them had a perfect pattern to the way that they
were the faces were placed. A man, a lion, an ox, an eagle. Every one of them was like that.
But it sets forth that their wings joined one another. Now, whether or not it means
that when their wings joined that this right wing was touching
this other one's left wing, or whether they were all going back
and touching together, I don't know. I know it sets forth the
unity. of these creatures. They were one. They were in unity.
They were touching. They were together. But the thing
is, their wings were joined one to another, and they turned not
when they went. And they went, every one, straight
forward. So it was as if their backs are
to each other. Now whether or not they're surrounding
Ezekiel, I don't know. But Ezekiel saw them, and their
wings were touching each other, and every one of them was going
straight forward from where he was. Just like this. Alright? So they're in unity, and with
them all being together, and every one of the patterns of
the faces being the same every time, what Ezekiel was able to
see was every face at all times. Because they were in four corners,
he saw the man, he could see the lion, he could see the eagle,
he could see the ox. So at no time were any of the
manifestations or the characteristics of the Lord Jesus Christ not
visible to Ezekiel. So he could see all of the manifestation
of our blessed Savior at once. And the scripture says, they
turned not when they went. They went, every one of them,
straight forward. That is to say, the wording seems
to indicate, like I said, that a circle was formed. And Ezekiel could see All at
once. Every face. There was no face
hid from him at any time. Then, not only was Ezekiel taught
the character of Christ, in the redemption of his people through
these four creatures. He saw, there's God made flesh,
powerful, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the eagle that bears
up his people. There's the sacrifice of God.
Everything that God manifested of himself in the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ, Ezekiel saw in those four creatures. But
then also, The Scripture sets forth that there was something
else that God taught Ezekiel concerning God Almighty's rule
in this earth. The rule of God's providence
in the redemption of His elect through the vision of these four
creatures. Turn over to Ezekiel 10. Now,
these wheels are some wheels, and they're mentioned in chapter
1, But there's something that is described of them in chapter
10. And I want to go over there,
Lord willing, maybe one of these days we can take Ezekiel and
go verse by verse. But for the sake of time, Ezekiel
10. Starting in verse 9, it says,
well, let's just start in verse 8. Ezekiel 10, verse 8, "...there
appeared in the cherubims the form of a man's hand under their
wings." And when I looked, behold, the four wheels by the cherubim."
One wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub.
And the appearance of the wheels was as the color of a barrel
stone. And as for their appearances,
the four, that is the wheels. Let me tell you what's happening
right here. He saw four living creatures, four faces. that he
could see all the faces at one time. And in front of every cherubim,
there was a wheel. Alright? Verse 10, As for their
appearances, they four had one likeness. Every one of them was
the same, what he's saying. As if a wheel had been in the
midst of a wheel. Here's what it's saying. I had
to look at it and read it and try to understand it. Imagine
a wheel right here standing up this way. Then there's another
wheel inside it going this way. Almost like if you would look
at a compass, a gyroscope. That's what I'm talking about.
A wheel going this way and a wheel going this way. inside each other,
like this. Okay, verse 10. As for their
appearance, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been
in the midst of a wheel. And when they went, they went
upon their four sides. They turned not as they went,
but to the place where the head looked, They followed it. They
turned not as they went. Their whole body, and their backs,
and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes,
round about, even the wheels that they forehad. As for the wheels, it was cried
unto them in my hearing, O wheel! And everyone had four faces. The first face, now this is in
the wheel now. This is in the wheel. Everyone
had four faces. The first face was the face of
a cherub. The second face was the face
of a man. The third, the face of a lion.
The fourth, the face of an eagle. So now here's what's happening.
Ezekiel has seen these four living creatures. Every one of them
touching their wings to each other. in perfect unity. Every
one of them looking straight forward. Every one of them going
that way. They don't turn. They go in that
direction. There's a wheel. A wheel that
sets forth the glorious providence of Almighty God. And the Scripture
sets forth back in Ezekiel 1. Now that wheel, it is setting
forth the wheel of God's providence. And here's what the scripture
says in chapter 1 in verse 20. It says, Whether so ever the
spirit was to go, they went. Feather was their spirit to go,
and the wheels were lifted up over against them, for the spirit
of the living creatures was in the wheels. Whatever the cherubim
set forth, looked at, did, That's what the wheels did. Wherever
they went, they moved in that direction. So the spirit of the
cherubim were in the wheels, the workings of God's providence. And then Ezekiel said something
amazing in verse 14 of chapter 1. It says, and the living creatures
ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. He said,
here's these four creatures. And he said, all of them, I could
see all four faces at one time as they were turned with their
backs, their wings touching each other, and the wheels in front
of them, and whatever the Spirit did of that particular cherub,
the wheels did. And it says, and they move like
lightning if they go right, left, back, forward, up, down. It says
in here, if the cherub went up, the wheels went up. The cherub
came down, the wheels came down. And they move like lightning.
And it was just... Just the providence of God. in
all the characteristics set forth in these four living creatures
of the Lord Jesus Christ, working in perfect harmony. No matter
what's happening, whether it's right here in Katy, West Virginia,
or whether it's in any other place in the world, all the manifestations
of the Lord Jesus Christ and the working of God's providence
is working in perfect harmony and unity, moving just like this. God Almighty ordering everything. in this world according to His
honor and glory in the redemption of His people. Now, based upon
the wording of the Holy Scriptures, I believe that these glorious
cherubim setting forth the Lord Jesus Christ is saying this one
thing, Almighty God does as He will in the army of heaven and
among the inhabitants of the earth No man stays his hand. All power is given unto the Son. Why? That He should give eternal
life to as many as the Father had given Him. That's John 17. So here by faith, Ezekiel beheld
Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ set forth
in those glorious living creature. Who, according to God's predestinating
grace, worketh all things after his own good pleasure. Now, secondly,
the commission and the ordination of Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 2,
verses 1 and 2. And he said unto me, Son of man,
stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee in the Spirit,
the Holy Spirit. entered into me when he spake
unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto
me." The Lord's people hears His voice. When God speaks, they
hear. And the Lord gives the Spirit.
By Him, the Spirit is understanding. The Comforter. He shall bring
unto you all things." He will remind you, bring back to your
memory, all things that I told you. So Ezekiel had his mind
prepared by God through this solemn vision that he had witnessed. Now the Holy Spirit qualifies
him for the ministry. And he does this, that Ezekiel,
might in boldness, had struck God's people with a true heart. Verses 3-5 in chapter 2. And he said unto me, Son of man,
I send thee to the children of Israel, a rebellious nation. They have rebelled against me.
They and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very
day. For they are impotent children, stiff-hearted. I do send thee
unto them, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord
God. And they, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear,
for they are a rebellious house, yet shall know that there has
been a prophet among them." Now, I want you to recognize two things. Almighty God is going to chase
in His people. Here's the miracle of God's grace. God sent a prophet
to them. God wasn't silent. All of the
world. Absolute silence. God doesn't
speak. But to the nation of Israel,
and this is a picture of spiritual Israel, God is going to speak
to His people. God is going to deal with His
people. Now here they are. The Lord described
them like this. It says, to the children of Israel. Now here's an amazing thing. Verse 3, He said unto me, Son
of man, I send thee to the children of Israel. The amazing thing
about that precious description, that was the name of covenant. What's your name? Jacob? Not
anymore. Not anymore. You're a prince
with God. Your name is Israel. Abraham,
Isaac, Israel. I want you to go to the children
of Israel, a rebellious nation, but they're my nation. They're
mine. Impudent children, hard to face,
a rebellious house. That word house means family.
But here's the thing. He was still talking to his kids.
He was still dealing with his children. When Gabe or Sarah
or Hannah and Becca had to be dealt with, I dealt with them.
But you know what? They were still my kids. I still
loved them. And the reason I chastened them
is because I loved them. I told them that. People of God's
family. God's covenant. Rebellious children. But still children. God has a
people that He is not going to forsake. that He would send Ezekiel,
that He would send Jeremiah, that He would send any preacher,
that He would send His Word as an act of God's grace and mercy
to chasten them. Psalm 117, 1 and 2. Oh, praise
the Lord, all you nations. Praise Him, all you people, for
His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the
Lord endureth forever. Praise ye the Lord. Now, I want
you to look at chapter 2, verse 8, through chapter 3, verse 2. But thou, son of man, hear what
I say unto thee. Be not thou rebellious like that
rebellious house. Open thy mouth and eat what I
give thee. And when I looked, behold, and
hand was sent unto me in love, a roll of a book was therein. He spread it before me. And it
was written there on lamentations and mourning and woe. Moreover,
he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest. Eat this
roll. Go speak to the house of Israel.
So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. God Almighty gave him the message.
He said, this is what I want you to go say to my people. There's going to be lamentations,
there's going to be wailing and mourning, rumblings and growlings,
and woe, mournful songs. But you go talk to my people,
and you tell my people what I have to say. God is going to correct
them. To God's people, the Word is
to be eaten by faith, It's lived upon, it's heard, it's mused
over, it's prayed over. And His Word is going to be as
a fire. Man by nature, I know he doesn't
want to hear what God has to say. Goes against his own will
and his own pleasure. But God Almighty is going to
keep His people. He's not going to leave them
alone. Look at Ezekiel 3 verse 17. The Scripture says, Son of
man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel. Therefore,
hear the word at my mouth and give them warning. For me, it's
the mercy of God that God warns a man, warns a woman, and doesn't
leave them alone. If you want to know if God Almighty
has left a man to himself, what does the man die doing? If Almighty
God is not purposed to leave a man to himself, He's going
to warn him. He's going to give him a heart.
Now, let's look thirdly at God's chastisement because of idolatry. Now, the Lord had continued to
warn His people, this rebellious nation, because of their disregard
of His Word and His honor in chapters 4 to 6. relates and
declares that God must and shall punish sin. Either in the sinner or in the
substitute. One or the other, God's going
to deal with it. But in Ezekiel 6, verses 6 to 8, the Lord reveals,
in wrath, in judgment, not eternal wrath
in chastisement. He remembers mercy. 6, verses
6 to 8, in all your dwelling places, the cities shall be laid
waste, the high places shall be desolate. Your altars may
be laid waste and made desolate. Your aisles may be broken and
ceased, and your images may be cut down. Your works may be abolished,
and the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and you shall know
that I am the Lord yet. Yet, oh, what a blessed word. Yet, will I leave a remnant that
ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations when
ye shall be scattered through the countries. Oh, what a blessed
word. Almighty God says, I'm going
to deal with you. In that nation, there were people
that truly died. They truly died under the wrath
of God because of their rebellion, but yet, he said, I will have
a remnant. I'm going to leave some. A remnant shall escape, and they
shall remember, verse 9 says, that escape of you shall remember
Me among the nations, whether they shall be carried captives,
because I am broken with their whorish heart which hath departed
from Me, and with their eyes which go a-whoring after their
idols, and they shall loathe themselves for the evils which
they have committed in all their abominations, Almighty God will
save His people. They shall know that Almighty
God has set them apart in electing grace according to His indescribable
mercy. Now I want you to look at Ezekiel
11, verses 17 to 20. He said, I'm going to have a
people. I'm going to have a remnant.
Look at 11, 17. 11, 17 to 20. Therefore, save us. Now here's the Lord. He's revealed
the character of Christ to him. He's told him this is how God
works in providence. This is what happens. Now, I've
ordained you a preacher. Now, here's the message. Now,
you take this book written within, without, complete, written all
together before the foundation of the world established God's
Word, and he says, now, here's what I want you to say. Chapter
11, verses 17 to 20. Therefore say, thus saith the
Lord, I will even gather you from the people and assemble
you out of the countries where you have been scattered. I will
give you the land of Israel. They shall come thither. They
shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations
thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart. I will put a new spirit within
you. I will take the stony heart out
of their flesh and will give them a heart of flesh that they
may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. And
they shall be My people and I will be their God." Absolutely, this
is the way it's going to be. I will save a remnant. I will give you a new heart. You will come to Me. I will keep you. Fourth thing,
God's mercy in the calling out of His sheep. Turn with me to
Ezekiel 36, verse 21. Ezekiel 36, 21. Ezekiel 36, verse 21, all the
rebellions and rebellions and rebellions. And he says in verse
21, Ezekiel 36, But I had pity for mine holy name, which the
house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whether they
went. Therefore say unto the house
of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, I do not this for your sakes,
O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have
profaned among the heathen, whether ye went. And I will sanctify
my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, 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. For I will take you from among
the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring
you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water
upon you. I'm going to apply the blood
of Christ to you. You shall be clean, and all your filthiness
from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I
give you. I'm going to rebirth you. You're
going to be born again. A new spirit will I put within
you. I will take away that stony heart
out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh, and
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statues.
And you shall keep My judgments and do them, and you shall dwell
in the land that I gave your fathers, and you shall be My
people. I will be your God. Never does it cease to amaze
me of the indescribable mercy What did these people do, Mitch,
that was any different than the heathen lands that they were
in? Nothing. What did they do differently?
Nothing. They were joining in with them. And the Lord said,
I'm not doing this for your sake. I'm doing this for my sake. I
have established an everlasting covenant. David said, this is
all my salvation right here. He hath made with me an everlasting
covenant. Almighty God says, I'm doing
this for My sake. I am a merciful God. And I'm
going to give you a new heart. And you're going to know that
you were wrong. And you're going to call upon Me. And you're going
to come. When I call, you'll come. In
the day of My power, you're going to come. And I'm going to give
you a new heart. One that loves Me. And you're
going to know that I'm your God. And you're going to know that
you're My people. That's grace. That's mercy. Well, Almighty
God sets forth in closing, here is the message of Ezekiel's faith. Here's his message. We've looked
at the calling, the commission, the setting forth, the establishing.
What is the message of Ezekiel's faith? Look at chapter 37. Here is the consummation. of what God Almighty does for
His people. The hand of the Lord, verse 1,
was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and
set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones,
and caused me to pass by them round about. And behold, there
were very many in the open valley, and lo, they were very dry."
They were dead. Brother Scott used to say they
were graveyard dead. This vision right here is the
totality of those that God is going to show mercy to. From
every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue. The whole house of
spiritual Israel. Here is God Almighty putting
this preacher in the midst of a valley of dry bones. This is what they are by nature. This is what comes to man's rebellion
right here. And the Lord sets forth in verse
3, asks this question, He said unto me, Son of man, can these
bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou
knowest. That question was not for the
Lord's information. It was for Ezekiel's information.
It was for Ezekiel to know, humanly speaking, could those bones live? No. They're dead. They're dry. They're bones. All the life is
gone out of them. With man, impossible. But with God, all things are
possible. Verse 4, again, He said unto
me, Prophesy unto these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones,
hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto
these bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you. And
you shall live, and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring
up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath
in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the
Lord." Now, can these bones live? Lord, you know. What are you
to do? This is what I do. This is what
every preacher of the gospel does. He preaches to dead bones. Dry bones. And he says to those
dry bones, Oh ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. The world
says that's foolishness. Dead bones can't hear. No, and
dead sinners can't either. They're dead. They're dead. They're dead. But this is the
way of God Almighty. This is God's means of calling
out His elect through the preaching of the glorious gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, ye dry bones, hear the Word
of the Lord. He said, Ezekiel, you preach
to these dry bones and I will put breath in them. I will cause them to live. Notice how emphatic. And Ezekiel
preached just exactly what God told him to preach. Verse 7 and
8, So I prophesied as I was commanded. As I prophesied, there was a
noise, and behold, a shaking, and the bones came together,
bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews
and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above,
but there was no breath in them. No breath. It looked like they were alive.
They were sinews, they were skin, they stood up. There was a great shaking and
bones coming to bone and sinews and skin, but there was no life
in them. Man may preach the gospel. Maybe even have a spirit of reformation
appear. Man can preach the gospel. The
seed can be sown. A sower went forth to sow. Some
of it fell by the wayside and the ravens came and took it. Some of it fell on stony ground. And it was received with eagerness
for a while. It sprang up quickly. But as
soon as the persecution for the gospel came, it withered. Because
there was no life. There was no ground. There was
no foundation there. It looked like they were alive
for a while. There was some thorny ground
here and they did well and it looked like it fared. But in
time, the care of this world stole their heart away. Man has the ability. He can pump up and prop up and
encourage. And he can make somebody that
looks like a believer. They can learn the talk. Learn
all five points of Calvinism. Tulip. That's what I believe.
I know that total depravity, unconditional election, limited
atonement, or particular redemption, irresistible grace, preservation
of the saints. No eye point and no life be there.
There was no life in them. And what he said, Then said He,
verse 9, He unto me, prophesy unto the wind, to the breath,
prophesy, Son of Man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord
God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these
slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded
me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood
up upon their feet, an exceeding great army." Now let me tell
you two great things in closing here. We believe that the gospel
of God's grace, the preaching of the gospel, is the power of
God and salvation. But Almighty God sets forth here,
you do not accomplish this in your power. You ask. Ezekiel 36 sets forth. God says, I'm going to do this
and this and this and this. Yet, for all these things will
I be inquired of. We ask and knock and seek and
pray Man may think that he has the power, that because I'm able
to preach the gospel, I guarantee there's going to be success.
No, no you don't. No, you're not. His Word is not going to
return void, but God Almighty is going to get the honor. We
ought to preach the gospel and prepare to proclaim God's Word
and ever asking, asking, seeking, knocking, You prophesy to the
wind. What he's saying is we don't
dictate to God what God does, but we pray and we ask. We call upon the Lord, prophesying. Only God can give life. The difference between those
that had the appearance of life and those that had life was that
Almighty God caused them to live. Before, they had all the outward
manifestation, but there was no breath in them. And then God
said, you prophesy to the wind. You pray and ask the Lord. Now,
the Lord's going to do what God's purposed to do. God's going to
do that. But I'll tell you this, we continue
to ask. I ask, as God Almighty brings
to my memory people in this congregation, I ask. I don't know what the
Lord's going to do. I don't know what He's going
to do. But I can ask. I can pray. I can pray and ask
the Lord to have mercy. I pray God save me.