Please be turned with me to Ezekiel
16. Ezekiel 16. And God evidently wants to tell
us about his love twice this morning. I've entitled this message,
The Time of Love. Ezekiel 16, verses one through
eight. Give everybody a minute to find
it. Ezekiel 16, verse 1. Again, the
word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, call Jerusalem
to know her abominations. And say thus, saith the Lord
God unto Jerusalem, thy birth and thy nativity is of the land
of Canaan. Thy father was an Amorite, and
thy mother an Hittite. And as for thy nativity, in the
day thou wast born, thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou
washed in water to supple thee. Thou wast not salted at all,
nor swaddled at all. None I pitied thee to do any
of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee, but thou wast cast
out in the open field to the loathing of thy person in the
day that thou wast born. And when I passed by thee and
saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, when
thou wast in thy blood, live. Yea, I said unto thee, when thou
wast in thy blood, live. I have caused thee to multiply
as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen
great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments. Thy breasts are fashioned,
and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Now
when I passed by thee and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was
the time of love, and I spread my skirt over thee and covered
thy nakedness. Yea, I swear unto thee and entered
into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest
mine. We read here of one that does
not have a very esteemed background, you might say. They were brought
forth from a soothsayer. The word Amorite means a sayer.
The one that brought them forth, their father, is one who through
his actions plunged the whole human race into a place where
they thought they could be like God. They were brought forth
from one who thought they had the ability to say or decide
what their future would be. But also their mother was a Hittite. That word means terror. So we
came from one who was murderous and evil and knows nothing but
terror. Our parents, from what they did,
plunged us into a state where we, by nature, think we can choose
our own way and we will attempt to murder God if we have to in
order to get what we want. I know most of this world would
not say that they do not, they won't say they hate God. I would
not have said that either. There are thousands of people
who hate God and they will say, no, I love God and serve him.
But God says we hate him by nature. So who are we to believe? Who
are we going to believe? I am a created being. We are
all created beings, created by a sovereign God. So what do I
know? If I think I'm worth anything
that would be a benefit to an almighty, sovereign, holy, just,
and so on God, then you have a picture of me right here in
this passage. By nature, I do think this way. And whether or not anyone else
thinks they do or not, they are this way. Because God tells us
we are. But God be thanked. There are
some who are brought forth from this union of this Amorite and
Hittite that he has done something for. This is what this passage
is talking about. It's not talking about the world.
It's talking about a specific people and here said to be Jerusalem.
Jerusalem and then we have a specific individual who has been thrown
out into the field. I want to talk about Jesus Christ
and what he has done for his church and for the members of
that church. So we see here we have an infant. One, when they were born, were
born dead. Because it says, I saw you polluted
in thy own blood. And he also said to live, so
they had to be dead. Here is one who is dead and still
tied to their parents because their navel have not been cut.
Something needs to change to cut us away from our lineage
by nature. But it goes on. Nothing was done
to caress and take care of us. Why is this? No one can. We are born dead because we come
forth from our own kind, and our own kind are dead to God. None eye pitied thee. Why? Because our parents, even as
it is with us by nature, love death. So why would anyone do
anything? We by nature love darkness rather
than light. We love death rather than life. We need someone to change that.
There's only one that did that. Jesus Christ the Lord. This he
did and he did this for those who were born this way. So if
you think in some way you were born with a heart toward God,
then you are deceived and either you are not included in this
love story or you have not been revealed yet who it is that loved
you. Because the first thing Jesus
Christ did was to cause us to live. What does it say? I said unto thee, when thou wast
in thy blood, live. Yea, I said unto thee, when thou
wast in thy blood, live. This Jesus Christ did judicially
on that tree for his church, his people, his called out ones. And that's what I want to talk
about first. The one spoken of here, and they are spoken of
as Jerusalem here, as I said, this is talking about His church.
Jesus Christ did this for His church, for all those whom He
chose out of the world. What did He do? What does it
say here in verse 7 and 8? I have caused thee to multiply
as the bud of the field, And thou hast increased, and waxen
great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments. Thy breasts are fashioned,
and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Now
when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was
the time of love, and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered
thy nakedness. Yea, I swear unto thee, and entered
into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest
mine. Jesus Christ in what he did closed
us with his righteousness. That righteousness that even
exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees. That righteousness
which is without the law. His righteousness is a God righteousness
because Jesus Christ is God. But every member of his church
is decked with his clothing, and that by his doing. We could not do this ourselves.
We were laying dead in a field in our own blood. In fact, Jesus
Christ did this before any of us here were even born into this
world. But we were in the mind and purpose
of God, which is all that is needed to keep us unto this time. But it says, here he caused us
to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased
and waxen great. Not in anything that we have
done, but we are great because of him. What do we read in Revelation,
Revelation 7, 9? After this, I beheld, and lo,
a great multitude, which no man can number, of all nations, and
kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne and before
the land, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands.
This vast number that no one can number. They are so many,
and they have been clothed Not with any clothing they had because
they were lying in a field in their own blood, naked. They had no clothing of their
own. They had no money to buy any clothing. They had nothing
and could do nothing for themselves. And no one else could do anything
for them, nor wanted to do anything for them. Except one. That one is Jesus
Christ the Lord. He clothed us in His righteousness. Now, I keep saying that His righteousness
exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees, and it is a righteousness
without the law. Why would I say that? First of
all, that is what Scripture says. But here is the reason. Jesus
Christ kept the law. Jesus Christ is God. He could
do no other but to keep the law every jot and tittle. Keeping
that law is conformity to that law. I mean, it's what the law
demands. But Jesus Christ did something
more than what the law could do. Jesus Christ gave life to
Son. That law cannot give life. We
know it, Galatians 3.21. Is the law then against the promises
of God? God forbid. For if there had
been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness
should have been by the law. Why could the law not give life?
Why cannot the law produce life? The law is wholly just and good. Why can it not give life? Life
is righteousness because we read it right there in Galatians.
For if there had been a law given which could have given life,
verily, righteousness should have been by the law. The reason
that the law could not be given that would produce life, or that
is righteousness, is because we were born dead and polluted
in our own blood, naked and destitute. We could not and cannot keep
God's law in order to get life because we are dead to God. The
only thing the law can do is to prove that we are guilty. It cannot give life, it is clear
from scripture. But Jesus Christ could and can
because he is life itself. He is that light that came into
the world, and the world loved darkness rather than light. This
is all of us by nature. We hated God as we were born
into this world. Scripture says that we come forth
speaking lies, and that's lies on God. I know the world cannot
see this. I could not see that until that
time, that time spoken of here as the time of love. So now let's look at this as
it concerns each and every one of his people and what he has
done to them and all of that because of what he has done for
them. There came a time when Jesus
Christ visited me and he saw me polluted in my blood and he
said, Paul, live. Do you think I then lived? When
God says something, it is done. all of His people He comes to
in this way. He sends His Spirit to us, breathing
into us life from the dead. But let me back up just a little
bit. I said before that Christ did for His people, at least
for us here, He did what He did for us, and that is He was our
substitute to give us life from the dead. And that was before
we were ever even born. But there comes a time, and it
is a time spoken of here as the time of love. But there comes that time when
a dead, bloody, naked sinner before God is given life from
Jesus Christ so that they might know him who is life. They come to see what he has
done for them and to them. It is as the hymn says, amazing
grace that we just sung. Amazing grace, how sweet the
sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am
found, was blind but now I see. Did I see of my own doing? Was
I found of my own doing? Or did someone else do this for
me? Some have done this on their own. Ask them and they'll tell
you this. They will say things like, I
picked myself up by my own boob straps. Those are still laying
in the field dead, bloody, and naked. But then there are others,
these wretches. And they only know themselves
to be wretches because of what he does to them. Otherwise, they
would never know. What can a dead man do? Can a
dead man believe God? Can a dead man believe his gospel? No. He must come to us in that time
of love and say to us, live. Then us having life, we can then
see, hear, and believe his gospel. I know some do not believe this,
but it's what scripture says. Very familiar, 2 Thessalonians
2.13. But we are bound to give thanks
all the way to God for you, brethren and beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth. So we have right here
so much of what God says and what God says is true. But first
of all, thanks ought to be given to God. because God has done
it all. What has he done? He chose us
to salvation. Now this salvation that it's
talking about here is a salvation where we come to know about it.
But this salvation is only possible because of what he did on that
tree and taking the sinner's place and saving them. But God
has chosen us to salvation. This salvation includes all of
what he is going to say next. He says, sanctification of the
spirit. That's one thing. There are two
things mentioned here and the order does matter. Because dead
men can do nothing. He comes to us, he sends his
spirit to us and he says, live. And by his spirit breathing life
into us, we do just as he has commanded. we live. The sanctification
of the Spirit is that setting us apart, and this setting us
apart is for one purpose, which is the next thing mentioned,
belief of the truth. Because the Spirit of God has
sanctified us, we can then believe the truth. What is that truth? That Jesus Christ has saved us
to the uttermost. He has saved us as far as He
can. He has saved us to the extent
that we will never ever see death again. Two things must and will happen
for all those to whom Christ died on that tree. Life from
Jesus Christ must come first and then you will believe the
gospel when you hear it. If life does not come first,
you will never believe his gospel because you cannot. In the beginning,
God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life. Man and Adam
lost that life because Adam willingly ate of the fruit. That's all
it took, a fruit. There are men and women today
who do not think they hate God. But they cannot see that just
denying who he is and what he has actually done is hating God. All it took was for Adam to eat
a fruit that God told him not to eat of, but God knowing he
would eat of that fruit because he told Adam, in the day you
eat thereof, you shall surely die. He did and Eve did, and
we are born forth from that union. We come forth speaking lies against
God because God says so. But back to my point. Why do
men think that somehow God has now placed in the hands of men
the ability to breathe life into a dead soul? What does Christ
tell us in John 17, one through three? These words spake Jesus,
and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is
come. Glorify thy son, that thy son
also may glorify thee. As thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he, that is Jesus Christ, should give
eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life
eternal. that they might know thee the
only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. This is
saying what we read in 2 Thessalonians 2.13. Christ gives life and the
evidence of life being given is believing the record God gave
of his son. That's what John 17 is saying
right there. The scripture confirms this with
another witness. Hebrews 11 one says, now faith
is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen. We believe by faith and faith
is the evidence that we have eternal life given by Jesus Christ
himself. Here's how a lot of people seem
to read 2 Thessalonians 2 13. But we are bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit by belief of the truth. That's not what it says,
though. That's not how it was God breathed.
The word and is actually in that verse, and it is a conjunction
which ties two distinct things together. You will not have one
without the other. But one happens before the other,
but you will not have one without the other one. I'm afraid there
are too many preachers today who think they have something
to do with a man or a woman getting life or even believing the truth.
But it's just not true. John 1, 12 and 13 we read, but
as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will
of man, but of God. Man has no part in giving another
man spiritual life from the dead, and he has no part in causing
a man or a woman to believe God. The Spirit sanctifies. When the Spirit does this, then
what then does that one who has been sanctified possess? Galatians
5, 22 and 23. but the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance, against such there is no law. Faith comes
in or into an individual who has been given life because it
is the fruit of the Spirit which has given that one life. Then
when God sends a preacher to preach his gospel, That is, they
preach the faith of Jesus Christ. It is mixed with that faith in
them that hear it. And what happens is they believe. Everything God requires, God
provides. He never places it in man's hand
to get anything done. It is by his spirit that we believe
God. I know there are some who will
not believe it. So be it. I've just given you
what God says in his word. I cannot make men and women believe
it. Why does God have some of his
people believe something and then others he does not give
it to them to believe this something? I don't have the answer and I
will not be able to give the answer. The only thing I can
say is this though, it pleased God to do it that way. I have
not arrived. I do not know it all. I pray
God show me in his word where I am wrong, no matter what it
is. But if I look in the scripture
and see what God says about something, I have to bow down to what God
says. I don't care what man says. I
don't care how many men say it. God is wise and he knows what
he's doing. God is the first cause of everything. That is what we read in our text.
Anything of any lasting value has to be done by God himself. So what has he done? We have
already went over it, verse 8. Now when I passed by thee and
looked upon thee, behold, thy time was a time of love, and
I spread my skirt over thee and covered thy nakedness. Yea, I
swear unto thee and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the
Lord God, thou becamest mine. There was a time when Jesus Christ
did one thing, and this one thing was done for each and every individual
that God the Father gave the Son before the foundation of
the world. What did he do? He was crucified,
and that by wicked hands. The sins of his people were on
him, and he gave up the ghost. He willingly died. But he then
arose, just as Joe was saying earlier. Being the righteousness
of God without the law, he spread his skirt over us so that now
we are under him, if you will. When God looks at us, he is looking
at his son because we are covered by his skirt. His robe of righteousness
has been placed on us, has been given to us. He gives us his
gospel, washing us throughly, and by the oil of his spirit
we are anointed by him. It is because of everything that
he has done for us that we are the way we are. Read verse 14
of Ezekiel 16, verse 14. And thy renown went forth among
the heathen for thy beauty, for it was perfect through my comeliness,
which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God. He says it was perfect through
my comeliness, which I put upon thee. Had he not done so, we
would still be laying there in our own blood, naked before a
thrice holy God. I was gonna have you turn with
me to Ephesians 2, verses one through five, but Joe's already
read all that, so I won't turn there. This is what we're talking
about in Ezekiel, aren't we, Joe? Those who were his, those
who were born into this world just like everybody else. At
one time, we were just like them. But there is one who made a difference. And there is a difference between
us and them. There is a difference. But it's
not a difference, it's not us who makes the difference. It
is Jesus Christ the Lord who did something for us, not because
we were loving him. What does it say? Even when we
were dead in sins, he quickened us together with Christ. When Christ rose from the dead,
then we rose from the dead if we are in Him. But He also comes
to us in time and He quickens us because He has been given
the right and He has the power to do so. He comes to us in that
time of love and He says, live, and we live. We then begin to
see the love He had for us because we can now see what He actually
did, to some extent, anyway. Scripture says that what He did
was the manifestation of His love toward us, 1 John 4, 9 and
10. In this was manifested the love
of God toward us because that God sent His only begotten Son
into the world that we might live through Him. Herein is love,
not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son
to be the propitiation for our sins. Our salvation has nothing
to do with us. It has nothing to do with mankind. It only has to do with one man,
and that man is Jesus Christ. He did not have to do this. He
is God of all and can do anything He wants to. He chose to have
a people and in order for Him to have a people, God and His
wise design knew that His creation could not obey Him. He knew He
was the only one that could obey. But not only that, He knew that
because of his nature, his character, that no one else but him could
satisfy his own justice. So he came down and paid the
debt of sin I owe. That debt is death. He died so
that I don't have to die. When he died, I died. So I have
paid the debt of sin in my substitute. If he did all that for his people,
and he did, because the scripture says he did, then he will come
and find his lost sheep, and he will give them life from the
dead. He will let them know they are
covered by his righteousness. Has there been a time of love
for you? A time of love for you? Will
there be a time of love for you? I cannot answer that question.
I know this, though. Only He can do it. All I can
tell you to do is to put your trust in Him. Fall down at His
feet, and if you do, He will cover you with His skirt of righteousness. And then you will know that time
of love. Amen. Thank you, our sovereign,
holy God. Forgive us of our sins, dear
Lord. We don't even know what to pray for. We don't even know
how to pray for as we ought, dear Lord. We trust you and your
groanings for us, dear Lord, because you know what we need,
and it's only you that can provide that which we need. Keep our minds state on you,
dear Lord. Comfort us with your words and all these things we
ask in Jesus Christ's name, amen.