Ezekiel chapter 33. I've entitled this message, God's
Watchman. God's Watchman. Now, if you're going to see this,
I might as well give it to you up front. I've got the four things
that we want to see in these first 19 verses here. The first thing we're going to
see is the Word to the Watchman. to God's watchman. The second
thing is the Word of God from the watchman. What is God's Word
from the watchman? The Gospel. This is the Word. And thirdly, I want you to see
the answer of those who are outside of Christ, those of this world. What is the answer of lost men
to this Gospel? And then lastly, the answer of
God to the people, the answer of God to them is found in verse
17 and 19. So verse 1 through 9 is the watchman,
verses 10 through 16 is God's word from the watchman, verse
17 is the answer of the people, and verse 17 to 18 is God's answer
to them. Now, the prophet of God here
was given the word of God to speak. He was to speak to the
nation of Israel, to the generation of His people. And this man Ezekiel
was a very faithful prophet. He was a man hated. He was a
man despised. But he was a man of God who was
faithful in his work. He was a faithful preacher of
God's Gospel. And as such, as he preached so
faithfully God's Word, the Spirit also instructed that this Word
be inscribed in pages of Holy Scripture, not just for the benefit
of those people, but for our benefit tonight. This passage
of Scripture is not a history lesson, it is a gospel message
intended for the saints of God in every generation. 2 Timothy
3 says, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction of righteousness. This Word is no different. You
remember the Apostle Peter had walked with our Lord. He had
heard Him preach. He had seen the miracles. Or
the Apostle Peter saw Him crucified. The Apostle Peter saw Him raised
from the dead. And on that Mount of Transfiguration,
you remember, he saw the unveiled glory of Jesus Christ. And he
heard the voice of God from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased. He heard all of these things.
And yet, this is what Peter said about Scripture. He says, we
have a more sure word of prophecy. I've got a more sure word of
prophecy than just what I saw and what I experienced. And He said, you do well to take
heed as a light that shineth in a dark place until the day
dawn and the day star arise in your heart, knowing this, that
no prophecy of scriptures of any private interpretation. In other words, it didn't just
belong to them. It wasn't just privately intended
for that one generation. It was intended for all the saints
of God in every generation. In every generation. Now we have
before us a more sure word of prophecy than men's feelings,
experiences, visions, dreams, all of that garbage. Throw it
away. Throw it away. We have a more sure word of prophecy.
Don't trust how you feel or what you think. Our trust is in this. Thus saith the Lord, nothing
else. Word of God. And now these four
things. First of all, I want you to see
this. The Word of God to the watchman in verses 1 through
9. Verses 1 through 9 here. Now God says this at the very
beginning. He said, again, the word of the
Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children
of thy people and say unto them, listen, when I bring the sword
upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their
coast and set him up for a watchman, if when he seeth the sword come
upon the land and blow the trumpet and warn the people, and whosoever
heareth the sound of the trumpet and taketh warning, if the sword
come, and take him away, his blood is on his own hand." Now,
when God's judgment came upon the nation of Israel, He used
many different nations to do this. He used the Assyrians,
He used the Babylonians, the Philistines. And what would happen
is God is telling them, when I do this, when I send the sword,
this is what you do. And it's right. You take a watchman
of your own people, and you set him on the top of the wall. And
what his one purpose is, one mission, is to watch for the
sword. And when it's coming, he's to
warn you. That's the purpose of a watchman. Now, if a watchman, if he does
his duty, and he warns the people and they don't listen. They don't
listen. They hear his trumpet, but they
ignore it. and they do not flee for their
lives, God will not blame the watchman. He says, there's no
blame in the watchman, is there? He did his job. But the blame
belongs to the people who would not listen. But on the other hand, God continues
this and He says, but in verse 6, if the watchman see the sword
and blow not the trumpet, the sword come and they take
any person among them listen now this is important the watchman
though he blow not the trumpet if they come and kill any person
in the city god says i want you to know this it wasn't his fault
it was your fault the reason this sword is coming is because
of your iniquity He said, you're going to perish
if He doesn't blow the trumpet. You're going to perish in your
iniquity because of your sin. But God says, I'm not going to
let the watchman off. He has some in this. He said, God will not permit
the unfaithful watchman to go unblamed. God says this in verse 6 at the bottom, He
says, but His blood will I require at the watchman's hand. In other words, if that man doesn't
blow the trumpet, he is guilty of murdering these people. Now
they're going to die because of their iniquity, but he himself
is counted as a murderer for not warning them. Now the question
of this parable, that's an easy story, I think we can all understand
that. Watchman, put on a heel, God's going to send a sword,
He blows the trumpet, they don't listen, they die, it's their
fault. If they escape, glory, they'll be happy, right? Don't
you think if you escaped, you'd say, well, man, thank you, watchman.
I appreciate you blowing that trumpet, giving me a warning. But if He doesn't blow the trumpet,
we know this, that they're going to die because of their sin,
but the watchman will also bear the blame. Now, who is the watchman?
Why this parable? Look at verse 7 and see the answer.
He says, So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto
the house of Israel. Therefore thou shalt hear the
word of my mouth and warn them from me. The watchman. The watchman is the prophet,
God's man. And he was simply to do one thing. He was to warn, hear the word
of God and warn them of God's judgment. He was to warn them
of God's coming judgment. Thou shalt hear my word and warn
them from me. Even so, listen, as I said, Scripture
is not of any private interpretation. It's not just given for this
particular people. It's given for us. So it is.
Every preacher, every true gospel preacher is set up by God as
a watchman. As a watchman under the house
of Israel. We are ordained of God for one
purpose. We are ordained of God for one
end, one aim, one means, and that is to preach the Word of
God. That is our sole purpose and
existence in this world. We are to declare the Word of
God. We are to declare the Word. That's
what Paul said to Timothy. He said, I charge you. I charge
you before God. And the Lord Jesus Christ preached
the Word, preached the Word, the instant, ready, in season,
out of season, reprove, exhort, rebuke with all longsuffering
and doctrine. It was a solemn duty for any
physical watchman, wasn't it? It is a solemn duty that this
nation would set up one man to warn them. That was a solemn
position. It was a very serious and sober
position. How much more is the responsibility
of everyone who is called to preach the Word of God? We are to warn men of God's coming
judgment. This is not a popular message. This is not a message men love
to hear. But it is one that is serious
and sobering. We warn men of God's justice.
We must warn them in God's stead. Sinner, flee from the wrath to
come. Flee from the wrath to come. I am not sent to debate the holiness
of God. I am not here to debate the holiness
of God with you. I am not here to debate it, but
simply to declare the absolute holiness of God and the demand
of God upon the souls of men. Listen, Ezekiel chapter 18 says
this, the soul that sinneth, the soul that sinneth, it shall
surely, without doubt, it shall surely die. That's the message. This is the warning. According
to the Word of God, I want to be so plain. I want to be so
clear. Except you be as holy as God,
you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I don't care who you
are. I don't care what you've done. If it's not as holy as
God Himself, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus
Himself said this, except your righteousness exceed the righteousness
of the scribes and Pharisees. Now listen, in that day, we look
down at the scribes and we look down at the Pharisees because
they crucified our Lord. But in that day, they were the
most religious and righteous men ever existed. There was a saying at that time
that if two men were to enter heaven, one would be a Pharisee
and the other would be a Sadducee. And Jesus said, no, you got to
be better than that. Accept your righteousness. Exceed
that righteousness. Accept your righteousness. Be
as righteous as God Himself. You will in no wise, in no case,
enter into the kingdom of heaven. If anyone has broken the holy
law of God in any measure, he shall perish under the wrath
of God. If you die, if I were to die,
and there be one sin found in us, we would justly deserve the
eternal wrath of God forever. Now, if the wicked will hear
this, if they will not hear this, if you will not hear this and
you die, listen, it will be your own fault. Have I not warned
you? Have I not told you? If you die
in your sins, it will be your own fault. I know that God is absolutely
sovereign in salvation, but you mark this down. You are absolutely
responsible. Reconcile it. I don't have to.
I don't have to. God said it. When they die, it
will be on their head. It will be because of their iniquity. Because of their iniquity. Now, we do not warn men. If for
some reason, for some sentimental reason, some desire not to offend men. I know this is true. Some people,
some preachers, they don't want to offend you. They don't want
to offend people. They have some kind of greed
in trying to keep people, then they leave these things out.
They kind of shave off these rough edges of the gospel. They try to make it palatable
to men. I'm not here to make this palatable
to you. I'm just here to tell you what
God said. That's what a watchman is to
do, and I must be faithful to it. I must be faithful. But if for some morbid reason,
some wicked and selfish reason, these watchmen were to keep back
the Word of God, then God says this, Their blood will I require
at thy hand. Now, what does this mean? What
does this mean? When God says, I will require
their blood at the watchman's hand. If one is saved and called
of God to preach the Gospel and yet fails, in his duty, fail
in his responsibility. Does this mean that he would
suffer in hell with the wicked? We know that's not true. For
all who are called of God, all who are called of God, even
preachers, who even bear the greater responsibility of being
the watchman, we are all washed in the blood of Christ. We, like all men, are prone to
sin, and we often fail in this work. I tell you this, I know
my failures more than you do. I have many failures, many times
I regret not sounding the alarm when I should have. We fail in
this office at times, but our hope is not in our preaching,
but in the blood of Christ that cleanseth us from all sin. And
yet God says this, I don't want you to view this sin lightly. Just because a preacher is saved
by the grace of God, yet if he fails in this duty of a watchman,
this is not something that God holds lightly, but yet he will
chasten his ministers. He will chasten us if we fail
in this ministry. One commentator wrote this, he
said, God here admonishes us of the great responsibility and
charge He has given us as preachers. And as the blood of souls becomes
infinitely more important than warning men of the danger
of their bodies. You see, we are dealing with
something greater than just warning men of a physical assault. We are dealing with the souls
of men, eternal matters, therefore with holy fear and trembling. If this thought were duly considered,
we would, as spiritual watchmen in the Church of Jesus Christ,
enter into it with fear and trembling? And how would all such cry aloud
and spare naught in admonishing sinners of their dangers and
upholding Christ as the only city of refuge? This is our zeal. This is our lot. This is our
purpose, to warn sinners and uphold Christ. to set Christ
before you as the only refuge, and we are never to hold back
what God says to man. I was reminded of a time that
I'd heard this preacher, street preacher, and he was preaching
on God's justice, God's holy justice upon all sinners. And this woman came up and she
exclaimed to him that she could never She could never follow
a God that did not give men an equal chance, an equal chance
to be saved. She said, well, there are many
people who have never heard of this gospel. That's just not
fair. That's just not fair. And you
know what? This preacher, he began to wobble. mealy mouth about. He was trying
to explain God's position. He was using human wisdom and
human logic and trying to reason with this woman. Surely he had
a sincerity about him. He was sincere. He was trying
to win this woman over to his argument. That's not what a watchman
does. I'm not here to win you over
to my argument. I'm here to declare the sword
of God's justice is coming and Christ is the only hope. That's what I'm here to do. As
a watchman, we are not called to explain God's eternal decrees. We're not called to reason with
others, try to make Him palatable to the minds and hearts of men.
We are simply and plainly to declare, thus saith the Lord. That preacher should have told
her exactly what the Word of God says. The soul that sinneth,
it shall surely die. I don't care if you've heard
it or you haven't. The soul that sinneth, it shall
surely die. I don't care if you like it or
not. Thus saith the Lord. We all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. The sword of God's justice is
looming over sinners. And the Word of God is plain.
All men are without excuse. You got that? All men are without
excuse. If you're not as holy as God,
you shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven, but you will be cast out into
eternal darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth." What did God that sinners would
hear this warning, this solemn warning? that they would not
mock the warning or plug their ears, but that they would ask
of them, is there hope? That's what every watchman desires
to hear. When I warn you of God's judgment,
what I long to hear is you to ask the question, is there hope?
Is there a way of escape? There's a good answer to that.
I've got a good answer for that one. You know, would to God that
woman would have considered herself instead of those aborigines that
never heard the gospel. If she would have considered
herself to be vile and have need. No, she was so concerned about
somebody else. She wasn't concerned about her
own soul. Would to God she had asked that
preacher, is there any hope for me? If God is just and I'm a
sinner, is there any hope? what he would ask, what the elect
of Israel would ask. Look at verse 10. Therefore,
O thou Son of man, speak to the house of Israel. Speak to the house of Israel.
Now God is going to tell the watchman what he is to speak. Now we know this, that the watchman
is exhorted to warn the people. And God here is going to give
him the gospel now, to Israel. He says, Therefore, thou son
of man, speak to the house of Israel. If God the Holy Spirit
should ever make this warning effectual, if God were to ever
make this warning effectual and cause the holiness of God to
be revealed in the vileness of our rebellion and the just reward,
then men would cry out, Is there hope? Listen. Therefore, thou
son of man, speak to the house of Israel. Thus you speak, saying,
here's the question. Here's the question that everyone
who's heard this warning is going to ask. If our transgression
and our sin be upon us and we pine away in them, how should
we then live? Is there any hope to live? Is there any way of escape? The watchman is called to warn
all men. In a general call, we do this.
Now, I've generally said it. Everybody generally heard it,
right? Nobody generally missed it. I
hope my voice carried enough so everybody could hear. I know that these warnings go
out, but I'm here to tell you, I'm really sent to the house
of Israel. These watchmen are not sent to
the others. I mean, Ezekiel was not the prophet
of the Babylonians or the Assyrians or the Philistines. He was a
prophet to Israel. And we are watchmen for Israel. And so as we warn Israel, guess
who hears the warning? Israel hears the warning. God's
people alone will hear the warning. The elect alone will hear. And
they will ask this question, What shall we do that we may
live? Well, this is the gospel. The
gospel is sent to those We know that those who are not chosen
of God, they will continue in their wickedness, continue not
to listen to the watchman. They will not heed our warning. But Israel, God's elect, all
of them will hear it and they shall ask, how should we then
live? God's people who hear this warning
will mourn their sins. See, God's people are made to
feel the leprosy of their own nature. They pine away. Listen to that. If our transgression,
our sin be upon us and we pine away in them. We mourn over them. We lament over our corruption
with no hope and no life. We ask then, is there any hope? That's the question. that we
asked the watchman when they came to us, wasn't it? When God's
word came effectual to you and you knew your sin and the need
of holiness, you said, is there any hope? Is there any hope? Every watchman must then not
only declare the warning, but we must declare the gospel to
the guilty. Our message is to the guilty. Our message is to those in need. To anyone who hears the warnings
of God's justice and feels hopeless condition, to all who feel and
pine away of their need of life, God sends this gospel. Look at
verse 11. Say unto them, as I live, say
unto the Lord. Now this is the gospel. Listen
to this. Listen how beautiful this sounds. God says, when they
ask that question, this is what I want you to say. I want you
to say this. Thus saith the Lord, as I live,
I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from
his way and live. And then He exclaims, Turn ye,
turn ye from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house
of Israel? Hear this, sinners, what God
says. I have no pleasure in the death
of the wicked. Now, that is this, that the death
of the wicked, the death of the wicked cannot and does not ever
please or satisfy the justice of God. That's what it means.
If God were to justly kill the sinner for eternity, He said,
I will have no pleasure in his death. His death will never pay
for sin, ever. That's why there's no pleasure
in it. There's no satisfaction in the death of the wicked. What I have pleasure in is this,
that the wicked turn, that the wicked repent, that the wicked
should come to Christ. Make no mistake, God is not in
any way a conflict with Himself. God is not in conflict with Himself. So many will take this text and
they'll try to prove that God's not wanting anybody anywhere
to perish. That's what they're going to
take this text and say, look, see, God doesn't have pleasure in
the wicked, so He really don't want any man to go to hell. That's
not what it's saying. Go to 2 Timothy. This is what
they'll turn to. 2 Timothy chapter 3. Look at
this, check in Timothy chapter 3 and look at verse 9. They take
this text. Peter speaking of the coming
judgment. Now remember, we're talking about
warning people of God's judgment. He says Christ is coming again.
Christ is coming in judgment. And he says the Lord is not slack
concerning this promise. He's not slack. Just because
He hadn't come in 2,000 years doesn't mean He's slack. He's
going to come. As some men count slackness.
But listen, why he tarries. You want to know why Christ tarries?
This is it. Look at this. He's long-suffering
to who? Look at it. What does it say?
Usward. Well, who's that? Well, that's
those who are saved. That's those who are believers
in Christ. That's the elect. God is long-suffering
to His elect. And that's the reason He hasn't
come back yet. And He's not willing that any
should perish, but all come to repentance. Now, who's the any
and the all? Us. That's who is talking about
us, the elect. God's not willing that any of
His elect should perish, but that all of them should come
to repentance. What Christ said in John chapter 6, all that the
Father giveth me, what? Shall come to me. God's not willing
that they should perish. And I suppose that God's will
is for all men to be saved, but that's not what's in the text.
God's long-suffering to us, to His elect, His elect children.
God's not pleased with the death of the wicked, but He is pleased
with this, the repentance of the elect. He's pleased with
this. He's pleased with His children
turning, the wicked turning from their sins. And He asks this
question, why will you die, O house of Israel? Now listen, I'm just giving you
a warning. Judgment is coming. You must be as holy as God. And
you say, oh, we pine away in our sin. How shall we live? Here
it is. Turn ye. Turn ye. For why will you die? Why will you die? Do you see
the fullness of God's goodness on display? Oh wicked man, why
will you die? Why will you not turn from your
evil way? In other words, there is a way.
There is a way of life. Now to the world, there is a
way that seemeth right unto a man and God says that way is death.
But to whom shall we turn? What does this mean? Does it
mean that we should reform ourselves or start trying to obey the law?
It's not what he's saying. It simply means this, that you
should turn and believe on Jesus Christ. He is the only way to
God by which the wicked are accepted. He's the only way by which the
wicked are accepted. Only in Him has the justice of
God been satisfied. Only in Him has the righteousness
of the law been honored. The Scripture says that mercy
and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Where? In Jesus Christ. He is the only way of life. So why will you die? Behold,
the Son of Man, the Son of God was ordained to be the Savior
of Israel. He was ordained to be the High
Priest of His elect. And as the representative and
mediator, He has obtained for them both an offering to God
and a righteousness they could not procure themselves. Over in Hebrews chapter 5, it
tells us this, that this Jesus Christ being a high priest, He
said those high priests were taken from among men. Even so,
Jesus Christ was taken from among men, ordained of God to offer
gifts and sacrifices unto God in the behalf of man. And so Jesus Christ glorified
not himself being made in high priest, but he that said unto
him, Thou art my son this day, have I begotten thee as said
in another place, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek,
who in the days of his flesh, when he offered up prayers and
supplication with strong crying and tears unto him that was able
to save him from death, and heard in that he was feared. Though
he were a son, yet he learned obedience by the things he suffered,
and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation. Jesus Christ came into this world
ordained of God to be a high priest and offer both gifts and
sacrifices that we could not offer. So the question is, why
would you die? If God has offered a perfect
sacrifice, if God has made a perfect righteousness, then why will
you die? Turn ye! Turn ye! Flee to Christ, and there is
life. Because when Jesus Christ hung
upon the tree of Calvary, God made Him to be sin for us, who
knew no sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. The sword that looms over men
fell on Him. Awake, O sword, and smite the
man that is My fellow. The sheep will be scattered,
and then I will turn My hands to the little ones. Oh, you wicked! Listen, behold
the Lamb of God and see how He bore our sins and pleased God. And God raised Him from the dead
and set Him on the throne of heaven. And He did this for the house
of Israel. He said, speak this to the house
of Israel. Why? Because only the house of
Israel will turn. only the house of Israel will
hear. Now, who are these vessels of mercy? Who is the house of
Israel? Now, that's a good question.
If God's justice is coming, and I have to warn you about it,
you've got to be as holy as God is. You know this, that you are
a sinner. Yet behold, God says, turn ye,
here's hope. Christ has offered Himself a
sacrifice for His elect, for His people. Now, how then do
I know if I am one of these people? Let me give you the characteristics
according to the Word of God of the elect. I want you to know
that all of the elect are wicked. All of the elect are wicked. If you can notice, let's see in verse 12, Therefore, thou
son of man, say unto the children of thy people, Listen, the righteousness
of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression.
As for the wicked, wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall
thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness, neither
shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in
the day that he sinneth. So there are two people mentioned
here, the righteous and the wicked. Now who lives and who dies? Well,
the righteous is righteous so long as he's righteous. But in
the day he sins, he's no longer righteous. And God says in that
day he sinned, he will not be able to live. But, listen to
this, the wickedness of the wicked, if he turns, His wickedness shall
not be mentioned. Now then the question is, who are you? God says those that
trust in their own righteousness shall not be delivered. If you
are trying to be accepted based on your righteousness, listen,
the moment you sin, you cease to be righteous. This is the idea of religion.
Somehow they believe that righteousness or obedience somehow pays for
sin. Well, you know, I was a sinner
up until this point, and then from now on, I'm just going to
start doing good. And then that's going to somehow
outweigh all of the bad that I did before. It's not what God
said. He said you're righteous so long as you're righteous.
But in the day you sin, you cease to be righteous. Now wait. When
did you sin? Scripture says you came forth
from the womb speaking lies. So how then shall a man obtain
favor with God by his own righteousness? He cannot. He will not. He will die. He will die. By the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified. I have no gospel for the self-righteous.
Listen, I've only got a warning for you. I've got no hope. If
you add anything to the work of Christ, I got no hope for
you. If you add your baptism, if you add the Lord's Supper,
if you add your obedience to the law, you add anything to
Jesus Christ, there is no hope for you. None whatsoever. But I do got
a message for the wicked. Are there any wicked people?
Am I speaking to any wicked person beside myself? God's message of hope is to the
weak. To those who have no hope. To those who have nothing in
themselves. We have no place to turn. No
place to look within. No place to look without. As for the wicked, he shall not
fall thereby when? In the day he turneth. In the
day he turneth. In verse 14, And when I say unto
the wicked, Thou shalt surely die, if he turn from his sin,
and do that which is lawful, If the wicked restore the pledge
and give again that which he robbed and walk in the statues
of life without committing iniquity, he shall live and not die. Listen,
the only lawful and rightful thing to do is believe on the
Son of God. The only way to restore the pledge
is by Christ. The only way To restore what
we robbed of God is by Jesus Christ. Listen to what Christ
said in prophecy in Psalm 69. He said, Then I restored what
I didn't take away. What did you rob God of? His
glory. You broke His pledge, His law. You've offended a holy God. And the only way to be restored
is through the work of a representative. And as you turn by faith to Christ,
what does God say? God say, thou shalt, you shall
die if you turn from His wicked ways and do that which is lawful
and right. Listen, verse 16. None of his
sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him, and he
hath done Already. Got that? You have already done that which
is lawful and right. He shall surely live. So who are the elect? They're
wicked. And they're wicked men who turn to Christ. And God swears,
listen to me, I will never mention your sins again. Now, how can
He do that and be just? Because there's no sin dimension.
Christ bore your sins away, and they will never be charged to
you. So, when you go to God, what should you expect? You should expect His arms to
be outstretched, ready to embrace you as His Son. This is a watchman's duty to
declare this. I can't make you believe it.
I can't make you turn. I can't make you see it. I can't
make you hear the warning. Only God does this. That's not
my business. My business is simply to declare
it to you. Now, what do people say about
this? Verse 17. He said, yet the children of thy people, what
are they going to say? The Lord's way is not equal. Now when you hear the preacher's
gospel to other people, what are you going to expect them
to say? You're going to expect them to do this? You expect the
world to do this? No. They're going to say, well,
God's unrighteous. They'll take God and put Him
before their bar and say, well, God, you know, He chose a people
and if He redeemed only those people, and only those people
are saved, Then God's way is not right.
God's way is not equal. That's why Paul asked that question.
He said, you shall say, is there unrighteousness with God? God
forbid you should say such a thing. They say the Lord's way is not
equal. Paul said this, If he have mercy on whom he will have
mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. That was saying to me, why does
he yet find fault? Who hath resisted his will? Well,
if God saves people, only his people by his sovereign will,
and nobody resists his will, then how can he blame them that
don't come? You know what Paul says? Who in the world are you? Who
in the world are you that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say it
to him that formed it? Why hast thou made me thus? Hath
not the pot or power of the clay of the same lump? See, there's
the thing right there. We were all brought from the
same lump. We all deserve hell. And yet
God in mercy of the same lump makes one vessel to honor and
one to dishonor, and who are you to say anything to God about
it? See, I'm not here to try to make
God pleasing to men. I don't care if He's pleasing
to men or not. I'm here simply as a watchman to tell the truth.
God has chosen a people, Christ has redeemed them, the Spirit
will call them, and all of them by nature are wicked. And all
of them will see it, they will feel it, they will turn to Christ,
and they will believe on Him, and their sins shall not be mentioned
to them again. Do you believe? Do you believe
on the Son of God? Then friends, you have escaped.
You have heeded the watchman, and you have been made holy by
the righteousness and blood of Christ. Who then is to receive
all the praise and glory for such a thing? Only God. Only God. I pray that God would, even this
night, cause the wicked to turn from their ways and be saved. Let's stand and
be dismissed in prayer.