I remember just like yesterday,
I'd never heard that song before. We were taking requests, and
Violet Bird requested number 34. And that's been one of my favorites
ever since. There's not a more God-honoring
scriptural hymn in all of our books. It's my favorite. So for that, I'm indebted to
you. He drew an arrow at a fincher, and it struck my heart. Ezekiel
thirty-six, the book of Ezekiel chapter thirty-six. You ought
to have found it by now if you've been hunting ever since. Ezekiel chapter thirty-six. reading through Ezekiel personally,
so blessed by it, and I was amazed how many times God said, They
shall know that I am the Lord. And isn't that salvation? How
often have we quoted John chapter 17 verse 3 here. Which Christ said this is eternal
life. That they might know thee the
only true God. And Jesus Christ to whom thou
hast sent. We quote that as much as any
verse don't we? For many times. Look at chapter 35. Let's just
look at a few times where it says the. Chapter thirty five
verse four says. I will lay the city's waste thou
shalt be desolate and thou shalt know that I am the lord verse
nine the last line of verse nine you shall know that I am the
lord verse twelve thou shalt know that I am the Lord, verse
fifteen, the last line. They shall know that I am the
Lord. Now that's just a few in chapter
thirty-five. And now listen to this. Let me
read to you Isaiah forty-three, verse ten. You are my witnesses,
saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen that you may
know and believe me and understand that I am he before me there
was no God formed and neither shall there be after me I even
I am the Lord. And I've chosen you, he said,
to know this." Well, we just read in Ezekiel
34 of God's judgment against these false preachers,
didn't we? Pastors. They're called shepherds. Pastors who don't feed the flock,
but rather feed on them. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, they
all prophesied or preached against them, didn't they? Just like
Micaiah, just like Elijah. Jeremiah denounced all the false
prophets of his day who weren't preaching God's Word. That's
how you feed the flock, right? That's the pastures we lie down
in. Jeremiah prophesied against them
because they told their dreams and weren't telling the Word
of God. But God said to Jeremiah, God
promised this. He said, Jeremiah, you tell them
I'm going to give them pastors after my own heart. How shall they preach except
they be sent? Or today you'd think, how should
they preach, except they go to a seminary? No. God said, I'll give you pastors. Not assembly line preachers,
but after my own heart. And he says this, let me read
the rest of it, Jeremiah 3. He says, they will feed you with
knowledge and understanding. knowledge, knowledge, knowledge,
and understanding. And what knowledge is that? They'll
know the true God. They'll understand the gospel. Or as Proverbs 9, verse 10 says,
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge
of the holy is understood. Knowledge and understanding.
The knowledge of the holy is understanding, not the knowledge
of the love. The knowledge of the holy is
understanding. You're going to know that I'm
the Lord. And here in Ezekiel 36, he's
going to tell us who he is all the way through, what he's what
he's done for his people, what he's made his people to see,
to hear, to know, to experience. And as a result of all that he
is and all that he's done, they're going to know. They're going
to know that he's the Lord. They're going to know the salvation
of the Lord one hundred and ten percent. They're going to know. And they're going to give him
all the glory. And this is what the pastors
do. If you were here last week, you're going to get the same
message, just different things. All right? All right. Ezekiel 36, you're going to see
three things here. You're going to see who God saves. Secondly, you're going to see
why. Thirdly, you're going to see how. All right? Ezekiel 36, verse
16 and 17. Moreover, the word of the Lord
came unto me, saying, Son of man, when the house of Israel
dwelt in their own land," the house of Israel stopped right
there. Who is Israel? Well, that wasn't his name to
begin with. Who is Israel? Who did Israel
come from? One man. What's his name? All right, what does the scripture
say? It was two boys, one named Jacob, one named one. Esau, all
right? Whom did God love? Whom did God put his love on?
Whom did God choose? Jacob. Election. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated. He chose Jacob, whose name was
changed to Israel. Jacob. And he says, and all of
his sons. He's the God of Jacob, the sons
of Jacob, therefore I'm not concerned. All right? Election. Right there's
election. The house of Israel, not the
house of the Amalekites, not the house of the Ishmaelites,
not the house of this-ite and that-ite. Jacob. Israel. my chosen, my elect. Right? Didn't God say, I will have mercy
on whom I will have mercy? Didn't He? Didn't He say they're
called the elect according to the foreknowledge of God? Argument? Any argument? If there is, these people, Israel,
Jacob, They wouldn't have had anything to do with God unless
God chose them. Isn't that right? Let's offer
Israel a choice. Will you go into the promised
land? No, we'd rather stay here and
eat onions and leeks and garlic. They wouldn't have had anything
to do with God unless He had chosen them. Isn't that right?
So who does he say? Well, it's the elect. Well, here
he describes them now. Here's these elect, these chosen
of God, Israel, the house of Israel. In verse 17, it says,
they defiled, they dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by
their own way. They'd all gone their own way.
They were defiled by their doings. Their way before me was unclean. Verse 18, Wherefore I poured
my fury upon them, for the blood they had shed, full of Peter's
swift-to-shed blood, their idols." All right, who are these that
God saved? His elect, His chosen. Well,
describe them to me. They must have been better than
everybody else. No, no. Defiled, unclean, idolatrous. going their own way that seemed
right. The end was going to be destruction.
But I chose them. Who's God saved? His elect. Describe
them to me. Are they better than everybody
else? Did they choose God? No, he chose them. Are they better
than everybody else? No, they're just as bad, if not
worse. They're the chiefs. They're all the chiefs of sinners. They're the worst. Sinful, defiled,
idolatrous. Look at verse 20. Oh, but some
of them are religious. Look at verse 20. When they'd
entered, verse 19, Stan, verse 19, he says, I scattered them. God scattered them. And then
what it says, I scattered them all over the place to show that
I'm going to be the one to bring them. God scatters before he
draws. All right. Scattered strangers,
Peter said. Verse 20. All right. But they
were religious, so they entered in unto the heathen where they
went. They profaned my holy name. That is, they got involved in
heathen religion, but it was in the name of God. They profaned my holy name. They
took my name on their lips. They didn't even know what my
name meant. They talked about God, they talked about Jesus,
they talked about blood, they talked about these things that
they didn't know. They profaned me. Every time
they took my name on their lips, whom they did not know, they
profaned me. Oh, they talked about how they
loved Jesus, and they hated the Lord Jesus. How they talked about
they loved God, but it was a God of their imagination, an idol.
And somebody bring up the true and living God, they'd gnash
their teeth. Was there such were some of you?
Were some of you that way? Scattered among the heathen and
their religion, huh? Profaning his name? All right,
that's who. That's who. Let's see why he
says. That's who he says. Let's see
why. Verse 21. But God, that's you, that's me,
that's them, worthless, no good, defiled, polluted, idolaters,
unclean, but God. There's salvation in two words,
but God. But I had pity, he said. Who do you have pity on? These
poor, ignorant people? Oh, they're so... They're just
innocent. They really just don't know.
They've just been led astray, and so they're... No. No. They're to be blamed. Not pity. Look at it. Verse 21. Here's
why. I had pity for mine holy name,
which the house of Israel profaned among the heathen, whither they
went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel," listen now,
sons of Jacob, "'Thus saith the Lord God, I do not this for your
sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy namesake.'" I'm
doing what I do. I'm going to save you worthless
worms for my glory, for my namesake, which you have profaned all over
the place. I'm not doing this for your sake.
He said, hear this, didn't he? Hear this now, and I'm not doing
this because you're poor, deluded, ignorant, innocent, basically
good people. No, there's none good, no, none
right. They're all gone astray. They're all full of sweat to
shed blood and poison of ash on their lips. But God, to make
a name for himself. for his glory chose some of these
wiggling maggots called sons of Jacob, these ones. I was hoping I'd get to use this
illustration, Rick. Just to encourage you. We're
standing out here one night after the service, one night. And really
Rick and I were standing there talking and lo and behold at
our feet was a worm. A worm. Ladies, let me ask you. Do you want worms in your house? Do you like worms? Anything good
about a worm? Huh? Worm? What's a worm? Isn't it? Ain't all worms made up of dirt?
Take you a night crawler sometime, cut him up. You know what you'll
find? Dirt. There's a worm, all right? What
good is a worm? Now Rick there represents the
law. Rick represents the law. Rick
said, let's kill it. Smash it. We don't need worms. That's true. That's true. If we'd have given that old worm
who's trespassing against us what he deserved, we'd have both
stepped on it. All right? I said, no, wait,
wait. Wait. We're under grace here. It's
the house preaches grace. I said, wait a minute. Let's
not step on it like it deserves. Let's lift it up. I picked it
up and put it on my forehead. Let's exalt it! That's a word. Yeah, a book. We're gracious. God did that
to us. We're a word. But he afflicted
us. Eh, just a word. And this is
exactly what God sang to me. The house of Israel. I can't a word. But God, who is rich in mercy,
shed his love on some worms. Now, I'm not that gracious. I
ain't going to love a worm. I'm just not going to love a
worm. As a matter of fact, the other day I saw some worms and
killed them all. Bagworms. Burned them up. But God. Let me tell you something. You know, God said, let me just
tell you a little secret of salvation. God saves all worms. Every last
worm He'll save. Another little secret, here's
the key. All dogs go to heaven. I'll go and learn what that means.
Better yet, come back as a dog. All dogs go to heaven. All worms
become butterflies. They transform. salvation. Why is he saving them?
For his glory, for his name's sake. When the ones that Jesus Christ
came down here to save, who were they? Not the scribes, not the
Pharisees, not the Sadducees, not the religious, not the moral,
not those who'd never sinned all their lives and Touch, not
taste, not handle, not live above sin. No, no. He went down in
the gutter, in the mire, in the muck, in the cesspool and got
the worst of the bunch. I mean the worst ones. Why? And Isaiah said, I was sought
of them, as found of them that sought me not. Went looking for those that weren't
looking for him. Why? Because he's going to get
more glory that way. He's not going to share it with
this guy who's never sinned all his life. With this guy who's
been to Sunday school every day of his life. He's not going to
share his glory with that mother Israel who never wore a shorty
short. He's going to save a harlot who
all her life was more short of shorts. Huh? Why? Because she's not going to get
a name. He's going to get a name. He's
making a name for himself. What? The Savior of sinners. This man receiving sinners. Call his name Jesus. Why? He'll save the righteous. No! Sinners! Jesus said, Son of David, have
mercy on me. Who are thee? Blind, burdomeus,
a beggar in rags. Bring him to me. That's just
the ones I say. Bring a woman in and cast her
at his feet. Lord, have mercy on me. Who are
you? A harlot! I've lived all my life
as a harlot, unclean, unclean, justified. Are you all the way
unclean? Yes. Clean every whit. And old Simon's over here, well
I've never, if he knew what kind of person, now he'd never have
spoken to her. Yeah, and he knows what you are and he won't speak
to you. He knows what she is, therefore he speaks for her.
Peace! Forgiveness! And he knows what
a self-righteous fellow that is and he doesn't speak to her.
Riding on the ground, those fellows said, don't you hear us? No,
he doesn't. No, he's not listening. She wasn't
saying a word, and he heard every beat of her heart. Why? For a name for himself. And all worms, and when they
get their wings, and as they hover around his throne in glory
as the angels, they're going to sing one song. What about you? Oh, unworthy. They cover their face. And you
ask them about this, they say, they cover their face. What about
him? Worthy, worthy, worthy. What
were you? Unclean, unclean, unclean. What about him? Salvation of
the Lord, salvation of the Lord. That's why he's saved, for his
glory. Oh we reap the benefits. Oh my. He set his love. You see he set
his love on these worms. There's nothing lovely about
a worm. Now come on now. You can't drum up anything lovely
about a worm. That's the reason God calls us
worms. Because you can't find anything lovely about a worm.
I saw another worm yesterday. I was in my yard. and looked
down, and there was the biggest green worm. It was that long. Unbelievable. That big of a round. And the dog was playing with
it. And I went over and picked it
up and looked at it, and you know, it was green, and it was,
it was, what is the word? And for the life of me, I couldn't
find anything really lovely If you know of a worm somewhere
that you think is pretty, please show me. They all look like worms
to me. Huh? Worms. That's the reason
God calls us worms. Huh? And they're not lovely till
Christ transforms them, till God transforms them. They're
not pretty. The worm's not going to be pretty
to me till it gets wings, till it rises up on wings. And man's not pretty to God,
not acceptable to God until he's been made a new creature in Christ.
All right? Now, he did this for his
name's sake, for his name's sake. And look at this. He said, verse 23, verse 23,
I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the
But you have profaned in the midst of them. You did it. They
do it. You did it. They'll know that I am the Lord
when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. I'm going to be sanctified in
you. I'm going to set you. I'm going to be sanctified. I'm
going to sanctify you, and I'm going to be sanctified in you
before them. You see what he's saying here?
Sanctified in you. Sanctified means set apart. You
know, when God truly saves a worm, a man, God declares to him or her who
he is and how he saved him, what he did for worms. And you know what that man or
that woman goes out telling everybody? that he's a worm, and that God
saved him. All right? He sanctifies, or
that is, he declares, listen, everyone who God saved goes out
among the heathen and declares a God set apart. You hear me? A God altogether
different and apart and separate from the God of the heathen.
Not a God who's like a man who tries and fails, who wants to
and can't, who can't do anything against man's will. We're going
to see that here in a minute. A God who just loves everybody
because they're so lovely. No, sir. No, sir. They go out setting apart. This is a different God, and
they conclude, the heathen have to conclude, we're worshiping
different gods, aren't we? That's right. My God is God. your is an idol. My God is according
to this word. Yours is according to your word.
My God is holy. Yours is only love. My God chooses
whom he will. Yours chooses who you will. My God does the calling. You're
the one that calls him. My God does the drawing. You're
the one that has him waiting outside when you get good and
ready. My God carries you all the way. You walk about halfway.
My God saves. Your God tries. My God keeps. You keep yourselves. Set apart. Our God set apart from the God
of the heathen. Now, he says, I'll be sanctified.
My Christ gives life. Yours just shows you how to live
it. My Christ makes you righteous.
Yours is just an example. that you follow. My Christ's
blood actually puts away all of my sins. You're made a damn
payment. Huh? Set me apart, God said. I'll be sanctified. Set apart. Are you listening to me? Your
Holy Spirit, my Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit draws. I mean, when he starts drawing,
you come, buddy, you come. When God sets His eye on somebody,
sends the Holy Spirit, He betches him, lays hold on, apprehends
him, puts a rope around the cords of a man, and draws, and he comes. All the Father gives me shall
come to me. Here is only those who surrender
will. You've got half a God, half a gospel,
half a verse of scripture, half the truth, which is a lie. My Holy Spirit gives conviction,
and it stays with them. Yours, you have to strike while
the iron's hot. Yours, a crying baby can disrupt
the Holy Spirit of God. A crying baby. Don't let anybody
move now. You disrupt the Spirit. Oh, he's a weakling, isn't he? He says, I'll be sanctified in
your eyes before the evening. They're going to hear from you
that you now worship a different God. But they're not going to hear
you, Jeanette, they're not going to hear you. Why? Because he
chose you. To you has become a savor of
life. To them, noise in their ears. To you, a beloved trumpet. To
them, noise. To you, good news. To them, make
some angry. To you, his name is exalted.
To them, that's who God has elected. You'll see how? You'll see how? All right. Look at verse 24.
He says this. Now, here it is. He says, I shall
be sanctified in you. This is what I'm going to do.
Verse 24. I will take you from among the heathen. Won't you
accept Jesus as your personal Savior? Here he is down here.
People, we're offering him to you. If you'll take Jesus as
your partner, will you take him? Will you take him, please? Thus saith the Lord, I will take
you. And you notice here, as we go
through here, he doesn't ask anybody any time. He doesn't
ask one of these Israelites, not one thing. He doesn't offer
anything, does he? He just declares who he is and
what he's done. I will take you. Remember who
these are. Who'd he take? No good. Secondly, look at this. He said, I will take you from
among the heathen, verse 24, from among the heathen. Now remember
that he's not choosing good apples, but they're all bad apples, from
among the heathen. Not choosing them because he
saw something in them. It was no good in them. See, that's
how he's going to get a name for himself. Some of you ladies
are good cooks, aren't you? Nancy right there, she cooks
a mean, flop-drop cake. What's-her-face back there, Jeanette,
man, she cooks a good meal. You two there, what's your name? Names, there's just one name
important here, and your names have escaped me, the faces that
say it. Good cooks, all right? Try this. Y'all got a cherry
tree, don't you? Roberta, that's it. Roberta,
you got a cherry tree, don't you? Try this. Now, you'll make a name for yourself
if you do this. Go out on the ground and pick
nothing but smashed, rotten, no good, stinking cherries off
the ground. These bugs, worms. Get those
and make us a power. And if it's acceptable, boy,
you'll make a name for yourself. This woman can cook. Now, you can take gold out and
get your granny's list and get your golden delicious and get
that and get the finest ingredients and get all this and make you
a power. Good. But get the worst. Get the worst. Get ingredients
that says nothing good in them. And make a good pie. And have
everybody say, what a wonderful pie. And now you've made a name
for yourself. Huh? That's exactly it. Sinful
illustration? Isn't that exactly how God gets
a name for himself? None good, no, not one. Gets
the worst. He gets more glory that way.
He doesn't get those. He doesn't take those that can
help him out. He wouldn't get all the glory. I'll use another illustration
very quickly. I made a podium like this for
my father for last Christmas, and I used this as a pattern.
So should all gospel preaching be patterned after through preaching,
but I used this as a pattern to make my father a nice podium
like that. Well, I spent a long time making
that podium. I don't have a real good tool,
that old tool, a lot of hand tools. I don't have the finest
tool money can buy. I spent a lot of time on it,
a lot of hand work, hand sanding, hand drilling, hand sawing, and
so forth. and made all of that podium except the top of it, because I had
the wood and all. But I knew that Rick Williams
there worked at a cabinet company, and if anybody's ever tried to
glue, dowel and glue a tabletop, a long, wide piece together,
you know how difficult it is. It's extremely difficult to get
it level and smooth and so forth. You need a machine sander to
run through. You can just do it in a matter
of just a second. Run it through that sander, put it in the machine,
put it together. How much time do you spend on
that top, Rick? Come on, tell me how much time. Twenty minutes. I spent about three days or four
days. Twenty minutes. Did I make it? I can't take all the glory. I have. I've taken all the credit
for it. But I didn't. You see, he helped
me. He just did a little bit. He just did an easy thing. You
know, he just accepted that wood. I mean, it's just a little thing.
It's nothing to it. But I can't take all the glory.
Do you see? Do you see? I accepted Jesus. God says, that's not the way
it's done. I take heed. I do it all. God does it all. Because he's going to get all
the glory. He's not going to share it. He's
not going to share it. Now they're going to know now.
Everybody's going to know that I did all the saving. I gathered
them. Look at this. I got to hurry. Verse 24, he said, I'll take
you from among the heathen. I'll gather you out. I'll bring
you. I will. I will. I will. We're
going to read down through here and all we're going to see is
I will. I will. I will. I will. And this is how you're going
to know the true God from the false. Deborah, this is how you're
going to know that it's the Lord when you hear the He will, I
will, I will, I will. This is how you know he's the
Lord. God does what he will, not what man will. That's how
you know the true God from the false God. That's how you know
the true gospel from the false gospel. The false gospel says,
if you will, God shall. The truth says, God says, I will
and you shall. Do you hear that? I will, not if you will, I will,
therefore you shall. I like that. Every sinner saved
by God's sovereign will and purpose and grace likes that because
he and she knows that he was not willing. He would not come
unto Him. You will not come unto Him. He
would raise you with My will be done. God in His sovereign
purpose and love and knowledge and so forth made us willing
in the day of His power. You will not come unto Me that
you might have life, going every sheep, going his own way. But
God says, Yes, you will come unto Me that you might have life. All's all the father giveth me
shall come to me. Come here! No! Yes! No! Yes! Yes! You see, that's salvation,
isn't it? Is that the way he saved you?
Deborah, is that the way he saved you? If you're saved, that's
the way he saved you. This is the way God saves all
sinners, right here. Right you. Right you. I will. I will. I will take you. I'll gather you. Look at this.
Look at verse 25. Verse 25 he says, Then will I
sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean. I will sprinkle clean water.
What's this water here? Oh, it's A couple of things,
really. Number one, it's the water of
God's Word. This is what God sends, the water of His Word,
the Word of God clean. You like that verse, don't you?
It's clean, cleanses, purifies. It'll wash away all your wrong
notions of God. It'll wash the mud right out
between your ears. clean, pure water, the water
of his word, Henry, it'll clear out our worldly wax ears, won't
it? That's how one time I had, you
may remember one time I got so stocked up, wax in my ear. That gross you out? Everybody
in here has it. I got so much in my ear one time
I couldn't hear a thing. I mean, I couldn't hear a thing.
Wax in my ear. I went to the doctor, and the
doctor, what did he do? He got a water thing and just
squirted it in my ear. A water hose, a fire hose, this
big. That's what it felt like. He washed me away, but I could
hear. That's exactly what God does
with His Word. Well, you ain't had a word of
God's saying because you got worldly wax in your ear. You
can't hear anything for all the clamor that's going on until
God's word comes right at you and blows
you away. Oh, God! I thought I just made you God.
No, I'm God. I've always have been. I always
will be. Oh, I thought it was man. You
do the choosing. That's right. I ain't heard war. I hadn't heard a word you said
until now. You see that? The word of God. It's also, what else could it
be that cleanses us? Blood, blood, doesn't it say
here? Oh, John Davis, look at this. Look at this, John. Good
news. in verse 25 of Ezekiel 36. Good news, John, for us sinners.
I'll sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean. Isn't that good news, John? Not if God didn't say that. Did He say that? I'm going to
sprinkle good, clean water on you now. If you keep yourself
clean, you'll be clean. If we work together on this thing,
no. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, does what? Cleanses us from how many sins? All. What are you laughing about,
priest? Their mouths were filled with
laughter. Psalm 126 there. Clean from all your filthiness
and your idols. Verse twenty-five here. Idols!
Cleans all idols out of the house, doesn't he? Doesn't he? Huh? Who was it? Was it Hosea? I'm
trying to turn fast again. Yeah, Hosea said, What have I
to do any more with idols? I've heard him. Well, have I to do any more than
that? I've heard Him. Y'all can have your little hours.
You can bow down. You can have a God that doesn't have any hands
and say, You ought to. I want one whose hands I'm in.
Don't you? I want one who said, You're in
my hand and nobody's going to pluck you out of my hand. Nobody! And further good news is they're
in my Father's hand. We've got two hands. Nobody! No man will pluck them
out of my hands. I'd give them eternal life, and
they'll never perish. You can have that idol if you
want to, that other one. I like a God with big hands, don't you?
I like a God with big shoulders that I can ride on, don't you?
Would you rather walk or ride? Silly question, isn't it? Everybody
in here has got two or three cars. Christ carries us to glory. His people. Everybody else that
wants to walk, footprints in the sand, you know you can walk.
When I've got news for you, you're not going to make it. All right. He said, I will
sprinkle you. Oh, my. minutes to go over 15
verses. Let's just read down through
here, and I'll quit. A new heart also will I give you. A new spirit
will I put within you. A new creature. I'll take away
the stony heart out of your flesh. That heart that used to say,
well, I don't like that. I'll give you a heart of flesh
that says, oh, how I love that. Verse 27, I'll put my Spirit
within you, my Holy Spirit within you. He'll cause you to walk
in my statues. Christ said the Holy Spirit will
come, the Comforter. He'll take the things of mine
and show them to you, my statue, my Word. And you'll keep it. Christ said He'd keep it, my
Word. And do them, and you'll be like
me. Verse 28, you'll dwell in the land. You won't be a church
hopper. He'll join you to his church
and you'll dwell there. Well in the land that I gave
your father, same church, same church. So what's the name of
the church? Church. That's the name of it.
Never did have a denomination. Never did and never will. The
church. All right. And I'll dwell in the land I
gave your father, and you'll be my people. I'll be your God.
I will save you from all your unclean. And I'll call for the
corn. Give him some corn, like old Boaz. Give him, playing with
her corn, you know, give her a little corn. Give her handfuls
on purpose. Or Joseph filling up the wagons
and the sacks of his brother. I'll call for the corn, it won't
be a little bit, it'll be a lot. While the world's feeding on
husks, you get the corn. While the world is feeding on
the leaves, you drink the wine. Call for the corn, increase it. Every time you eat, you say,
boy, it's the best bread I've ever eaten. Every time Mindy
fixes a homemade bread, I say, this is it, honey, you've done
it now. This is the best, this is the best I've ever ate, until
next week. And I say, how do you've done
it now? Huh? When you hear the gospel, that's
it, that's the best, I can go on now, until next week or so.
You didn't tell half of it last week, did you? I'll increase it and lay no famine
on you. No, you'll never be in famine.
As long as you're hungry, you'll have something to eat. I mean
a full table, too. and not leftovers. I'll increase it. No famine.
Verse 30, I'll multiply the fruit. Oh, you'll bear fruit under the
glory of God, a fruit of the Spirit. You'll grow in grace
and the knowledge of Christ. You'll grow. I will, I will,
I will. Verse 31, look at this. This is something you'll never
forget. You'll never forget this. Verse 31. God keeps reminding
us then, verse 31, you remember your own evil ways and your doings
that were not good, and you shall loathe yourself. You know who loves the gospel
of God's sovereign, electing, redeeming grace? Never grows
tired of it. And every time they hear it,
it's good news. You know who? Those that hate
themselves. You know who love to hear about
mercy? Death row sinners. You know who love to hear about
one who heals lepers? Lepers! You'll hate yourself. All the
days of your life you'll hate yourself. You'll remember the
pit from which you're dug. And therefore you'll look under
the rock. You'll love the gospel. It'll be sweet to you every time. And the only time it's not sweet
to you is because you forgot. You forgot what you were. you hate. I remember this, too,
he says, verse thirty to remember this, not for your sake. You see that not for your sake. So you have to remember this
man. There's nothing. You remember Moses's prayer and
he said, Now, Lord, we know It's not for our righteousness
sake, because we're all a bunch of rebels. Thus saith the Lord, verse thirty-three,
in that day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquity,
I'll cause you to dwell in the cities. Verse thirty-four, the
desolate land will be tilled. This is a new heaven and a new
earth, verse thirty-five. The land that was desolate has
become like a garden of Eden. I'm going to put you back in
a garden. It will never fade away. A garden
of Eden. Fenced! Fenced! Nothing is going to come near
you. There ain't no serpent getting in this garden. Verse 36, Then the heathen that
are left around about you shall know that I, the Lord, built
the ruined place and plant that which was desolate. I, the Lord,
have spoken it. I will do it. But you know what? You know that God is only going
to do this for those that ask Him to do it. God's only going to find them
with seeking. Only going to open the doors
of heaven and mercy for those that knock. You know that? You
say, wait a minute, Preacher, I'm really confused now. I know
that. I know that. We're all confused. But look at verse 36, verse 37,
verse 37. Thus saith the Lord God." Now,
he just told us all he's going to do, but, I will, I will, I
will. Any doubt about it? No, he ended up saying, I, the
Lord has spoken it, and I'll do it. Victim-factor. But here's
a fact, too, Jennie. Everybody he's going to do this
for is going to do this. Verse 37, "'I will yet for this
be inquired of us.' Asked of us." I don't understand. Yeah, you
do. Yeah, you do. Yeah, you do. Anybody that asks
does so because God made a man. If you don't ask, God won't do
it for you. I don't understand. Yeah, we
do. God's sovereign and we're responsible. If we don't call, if we don't
ask, We're to blame. If we do call,
if we do ask, God gets it done. Very simply. Well, who can resist
His will? Don't talk back. Isn't that what
Paul said? Don't talk back. Don't reply
against God. Shall the things say to him that
formed it? I don't know. That's not right.
God's sovereign, and you're responsible. I will, I will, I will, I will,
I will. Don't you love that? I will,
I will, I will, I will. In one little verse, you shall. You'll ask. Right there's the
horse before the cart in the sand. True preaching has
the horse before the cart. True preaching has the Lord seeking,
calling, finding, purposing, loving, choosing, electing, redeeming,
saving, the sinner coming along, asking, seeking, mocking, following. Of course, before the cart preaching.
All right, Brother Joe, isn't that the greatest message you've
ever heard? I just read Ezekiel 36. That's
all we did. All right. What number? 359. Stand with
us. Sing the first and the second
stanza. 359. My faith looks up to Thee, Thou
Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine. Thou hear me when I pray, take
all my sins away. Oh, let me promise they behold
me now. Lay thy regretted heart straight
to thy fainting heart, my dear child. As Thou hast died for
me, Oh, bring my love to Thee, Your warmest dreams will be a
living fire. Thank you and your distance.
Just a half step below.