Ezekiel chapter 40, verses 1
through 4. In the five and twentieth year
of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day
of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was
smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the Lord was upon
me, and brought me thither. In the visions of God brought
he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain,
by which was at the frame of a city on the south. And he brought me thither, and
behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance
of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring
reed, and he stood in the gate. And the man said unto me, Son
of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and
set thine heart upon all that I shall show thee, for to the
intent that I might show them unto thee art thou brought hither. Declare all that thou seest to
the house of Israel. I'd like to read verse 4 one
more time to you before we begin our preface to the message this
morning. And the man said unto me, Son
of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and
set thine heart upon all that I shall show thee, for to the
intent that I might show them unto thee art thou brought hither. Declare all that thou seest to
the house of Israel. Now the prophet Ezekiel here
has been led by the Spirit of God and this of course is a spiritual
experience that the prophet here is experiencing on this occasion. He's led as it were to Israel
and upon a high mountain God is pleased to give him a tremendous
prophecy and revelation concerning the future of his afflicted nation
Israel. We believe that this is a very
difficult prophecy and of course many say that it's almost impossible
to explain exactly what it was that the Lord was showing unto
Ezekiel. Now we have no question in mind
that Ezekiel understood that God did reveal it to him, that
he was able to discern what it was that the Lord was showing
him concerning the future glory of the nation Israel. But I believe
that this vision and prophecy, when it came in a time when the
people of God were greatly afflicted and had been sorely tried and
tested, that this had to do with their future and the glory that
the Lord would give them in later years. But also I think that
the temple, the city, and the altar, the priest, and the worship,
is all a foreshadow of gospel days and gospel times and the
glories of the Lord's church in latter times. And possibly
this prophecy which extends clear out through the rest of this
book, this book of 48 chapters, is a prophecy that will not find
full fulfillment complete fulfillment until even we get to heaven,
until the people of God are taken home to be with the Lord. Now
the Jews were so befuddled by this prophecy that they didn't
recommend that anybody read this until they were at least 30 years
old. read from the start of chapter
40 through chapter 48, because it was so difficult to figure
out, because they had the veil over their eyes. They could not
see the gospel church, they could not see the coming of the Messiah,
and they could not understand what it was that God was revealing
to Ezekiel concerning the glories of the latter day for the gospel
church. But this morning, I want to talk
about verse 4, and I want to make application of this to us,
and I believe that the Lord will speak to us if we will commit
our hearts and minds to His truth this morning. I believe the Lord
will say something to our souls. The subject this morning is taught
that we might teach, taught that we may teach, that we would be
able to teach. Now it is evident that the Lord
spoke here to Ezekiel and that he revealed these things to him
to the intent that he would carry this message to the whole house
of Israel, that he would preach what he was able to receive here,
that he would preach this to the whole house of Israel. Now,
there are many things that we learn here and I think that we
learn something from this text concerning the prophet Ezekiel
himself. He was certainly one of the greatest
prophets of the Old Testament and his visions that we read
about in the book of Ezekiel reminds us somewhat of John the
Revelator. both for their brightness and
the splendor of the prophecies that were revealed to him and
also the number of the prophecies that was revealed to this seer,
to this inspired prophet. Now, nevertheless, this man having
all of these prophecies, being the great prophet that he was,
he was called the son of man. The Son of Man. Now we read that
here in verse 4, And the man said unto me, Son of Man. Now this title is used over and
over again throughout the book of Ezekiel, Son of Man. Now what does this mean? Well
I believe that it's to remind him, it's to remind Ezekiel,
I think that even this prophet, even this inspire, this seer,
this one who could look down into the future and see what
God was going to do, to see what God was going to bring upon the
earth, how God was going to afflict or how God was going to comfort
the nation, this man that he might hear having all these visions
was still only a man. He was still only flesh and blood. He was just a man. Now the best
of men are men at the best. And this prophet needed to be
reminded, because he was exalted greatly by the revelations and
manifestations of God to him, he needed to be reminded of the
fact that he was just flesh and blood. Those eyes that gazed
upon the Stemendous wheels of providence are still only the
eyes of a son of man. Now this title was used, I think,
to teach him humility and also to remind him of the condescension
of God toward him and toward the nation of Israel and to fill
him with awe. and to fill him with wonder that
he should be chosen from the rest of mankind, though no more
than anybody else. Son of man, he's called. No more,
I say, than anyone else. to see these wonderful sights
that God is going to bring to pass in the future. And like
I say, not only did it have to do with his lifetime and shortly
after his departure from the world, but it had to do with
the gospel age. It had to do with the ministry
of the gospel and the gospel church. in this world, even down
to our day. Now, beloved, listen. These things
have been withheld from all other eyes, but they were revealed
unto the prophet Ezekiel to a son of man. Now, beloved, this holds
I think a very promising aspect to us, for if God can reveal
Himself, as He revealed Himself to the prophet Ezekiel, to one
Son of Man, to one individual who is nothing but dust, who
came forth from woman, and we know that that which is born
of a woman is unclean, and that the nature of man is passed on. And why not to another? If God
can reveal such wonderful and glorious truths unto Ezekiel,
the son of man, then why can He not reveal it unto us today? And if God can speak as He did
speak through Ezekiel, one Son of Man, then why not through
you? Why not through me? For we are
the sons of men also. And so there's some hope, beloved,
and I believe that in the last forty-five years, forty-two to
forty-five years, that God has been pleased to mightily reveal
Himself in gospel truth, and there are more. And I've thought
about this a great deal. I've been in the way now for
over 40 years, and I have seen the truth of the gospel, I've
seen it increase. among men. I've seen God reveal
His truth and churches sprang up. Men who loved the gospel
and men who saw clearly how God saves sinners. Men who understood
and appreciated. And I believe that we have a
number of people in America today that would give their lives for
the truth of free grace. And all of this is because God
has been pleased to reveal unto sons of men His glorious gospel
truth. Now I know that this truth is
hid from many. And the prophet Ezekiel was greatly
favored of God in that God would manifest to him the glories that
were to follow, the glories that were to come. He was greatly
favored of God. And any man or woman that has
the truth of the gospel of redeeming grace revealed to their heart
is greatly favored of God. And certainly God chooses to
do this. the truth from some, and He reveals
it unto babes. He reveals it unto others. But I see something here, and
I think that every one of us, beloved, we have no worthiness,
or we have no fitness, and neither does Ezekiel. He didn't have
any worthiness or fitness that the truth of God should be revealed
unto him. And anyone here this morning
that has the hope, gospel hope, in their breast, they have no
fitness in and of themselves. They have no merit about them,
but God by sovereign grace and by sovereign decree has determined
that He would reveal the truth in them and to them and show
them the mysteries of the gospel. And so, beloved, listen, there's
hope. And if you'll be here this morning, I want you to be comforted
by this truth. Those of you that think that
God can never show you anything, Those of you that think that
God can never use you, even if you were to see gospel revelation,
if you were to understand the mystery of God in Christ, how
that Jesus Christ came down here in the world and bore the iniquity
and the sins of His people, and how He suffered in their room
and stayed in place on Mount Calvary, and how that He was
received back up to glory to be seated at the right hand of
God to give unto all of his elect repentance and faith, even if
you understand those mysteries, you do not feel that you could
ever be used of God to tell out those wonderful mysteries and
the old story of the gospel. And you feel your own insignificance
and you say, well preacher, I don't believe that God can do anything
with me. Well, I want you to remember
this Son of Man that received this great and tremendous revelation
and manifestation from God, and He was called Son of Man because
He was cut out of the same piece of cloth that you're cut out
of. He was just a man, and God was pleased to reveal to him
the truth. And remember that God is able
to do for you exceedingly, abundantly above all that you're able to
ask or think. And remember that God can pick
you up, that God can take you, and He can open the eyes of your
soul, and He can cause the gospel to be revealed there, and then
give you a tongue, even if He's pleased to do it the tongue of
an angel, that you could go out and speak and tell forth all. that He's revealed to your heart. Believe that! That's what I see
here in this text. Well, beloved, He can yet reveal
His Son in you, and Himself to you, and by you He can reveal
the glorious mysteries of His saving gospel. Well, I want to
speak today upon this text in this way. There are three things
that I want to call to your attention. The first thing is the manifestations
with which God favors certain of His servants. And the second
thing will be their responsibility when they are receiving these
manifestations. And then thirdly, the object
which God has in giving these manifestations to His people. Now, beloved, it is that they
may declare all they see, that the whole house of Israel may,
as it were, see by these favored eyes, the favored eyes and ears
of the prophet Ezekiel, and may set their hearts upon the word
of the Lord. And I would today that God would
be pleased to give and to favor in our day His church, And I
believe that he has, but what will the future hold? I do not
know. But I pray God that he'll be
pleased to raise up young men in our day and time and favor
them greatly and cause them to receive such manifold revelation
and manifestation of His glorious gospel truth that they will be
able to lead further the people of God in our day and time to
worshipful obedience unto the God of grace. Now then, first
let me say a few things upon the manifestations with which
certain of God's servants are favored. Now the Lord Jesus Christ,
He draws near in a very special manner to some of His people. If you'll take note here, and
it says, the man said unto me. Now the man was described in
verse 3, because it says, there was a man whose appearance was
like the appearance of brass, with a line of flack in his hand,
and a measuring reed, and he stood in the gate. Now beloved,
this man that is here spoken of is, I believe, the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is the branch. For I take
it that the man mentioned here in this chapter, whose appearance
was like the appearance of brass, is none other than the Divine
Lord, who though a man, yet exceeds all men in the brightness of
His wondrous person. It was He, doubtless, who appeared
unto Ezekiel. Now, beloved, this is not a first-time
situation. The Lord Jesus Christ, long before
He came on earth to die, He appeared to His servants in different
ways in Old Testament times. If you recall, he sojourned with
Abraham as a wayfarer because that's the way he found Abraham.
Abraham was a sojourner and so God, through Christ, sojourned
with Abraham on earth. And then he wrestled with Jacob.
At the brook Jabbok, Jacob was wrestling, you remember, with
a very sore trial. And the Lord Jesus Christ came
and wrestled with Jacob there. And then also he revealed himself
to Moses at the burning bush. I'm talking about the God-man. I'm talking about the Lord Jesus
Christ. He stood by Joshua's side as
the man having a drawn sword in his hand. The appearance of
the Lord Jesus before the Word appeared in actual flesh. He communed here and there with
his chosen servants on earth. And so, beloved, this is a manifestation
here of the Lord Jesus Christ unto Ezekiel, the man Christ
Jesus. Now, He will show Himself, I
believe, to any of you who seek Him. Any of you who cry out to
Him, any of you who desire life for your death, any of you in
whose heart they've found the desire to commune and to fellowship
with the Lord Jesus Christ, I believe He'll draw an eye and He will
unveil the beauties of His face to every eye that is ready. to
see Him, every eye that would see Him, I believe the Lord Jesus
will reveal Himself. Now there's never a heart that
loves Him, but He will manifest His love to that heart. And I know that no one loves
Him before He loves them. But beloved, if in your heart
there's love to Christ, I believe that Christ will manifest His
love to you and that He'll reveal Himself to you. He'll draw up
nigh you and He'll fellowship you because there's no difference,
as I pointed out earlier, between the Son of Man, Ezekiel, and
you this morning living in a body of flesh with a never-dying soul
in you. There's no difference between
you and Ezekiel. Men are men at the best. Now, note this if you will, that
these revelations such as Ezekiel received here from the Lord,
that they do not happen every day. Now, they are not incessant. They don't happen every day. Now we take note here, concerning in verse 1 here, it
says, In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning
of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth
year after the city was smitten, the selfsame day the hand of
the Lord was upon me and brought me thither. In other words, I
believe it had been probably twenty-five years since old Ezekiel
had had a vision from the Lord. God had spoken to him and I don't
believe that Ezekiel and Daniel and other prophets saw visions
every night or saw the glories of their God every day. There
were times when there were long periods of time in between that
they received these manifestations. Now man, it makes no difference
who he is, is not capable of the incessant strain of a perpetual
manifestation of God. These things, like the visits
of angels, are very few and far between. And there's a fellowship
now that can always be maintained between God and His people, but
revelation and manifestation and a time, what we might call
red-letter days, For the child of God, heavenly fellowship,
when Jesus Christ is pleased to draw very near, and when his
presence is felt, and when the power of the gospel is made known
and is made clear to the heart, these days, beloved, are very
few and they are to be remembered as long as memory lasts. If God
ever says anything to you, if He ever reveals Himself, if He
makes Himself known, if He draws near, if there's ever a time
when you feel the presence of God, you're to remember that. Because this is not something
that happens every day. And there are some dates that
are etched upon my own mind that I could give you very plainly
are they to me. when God was pleased to appear
in an unusual and a marvelous way to my own soul. And I'll
tell you this, beloved, that when those occasions happen and
when Christ is pleased to draw near, beloved, this is not something
that we take for granted and say, well, it'll happen again
tomorrow. No, it won't. No it won't, beloved. These things
few and far between. These times when the Lord greatly
manifest Himself to His people. 25 years of captivity. This must
have been enough to wear down the spirits of God's servants. It was 14 years after the city
had been smitten. After it had been laid in waste
and then God appeared. God appeared. Then God by the
Spirit lays hold of this prophet and leads him to Israel, figuratively
speaking, and puts him upon this high mountain to show him these
glories. Now nights do not last forever,
beloved. They do not last forever. I know
that some of you may feel that they will. Your night, you may
feel, will last forever. You're troubled, you're in gloomy
times, you're despondent, you're discouraged, you're tested, you're
cast down, and you may not feel that anything will ever change.
Well, when you have joy, we're to be cautious Because there's
sorrow on the road. But when you have sadness, you're
to be hopeful. There's joy on the way. The Lord
will appear. The Lord will manifest Himself.
He will come. It seems that the Lord reveals
Himself to His people more when they're in the valley. More when
they're in the shade. More when they're in deep. places
than he does any other time. He has a way of showing himself
to his children at midnight, making the darkness light by
his presence. Saints have seen Jesus, I think,
oftener upon the bed of affliction than they ever did when they
were in robust health. The Lord is pleased, it seems,
that in the darkest of times to appear. And that's exactly
what He did here in the case of Ezekiel. And so when things
are difficult with you, and you are pressed down, and you're
between a rock and a hard place, and great trials and afflictions
are upon you, remember this. The Lord can appear, and He most
generally does appear. It seems to me that the Lord
is a stranger in the land compared to what He was when His people
wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins and were destitute
and afflicted and tormented. It seems that God met them at
every turn and every corner in those days and manifested Himself
and revealed Himself and gave the people comfort and rest.
But in our day and time it seems the Lord is a stranger in the
land. Well let us hope that if days are gloomy now and we ourselves
are in trouble, our beloved will come and manifest himself to
us as he does not to the world, but he will come and that he
will comfort us in our day that he will bless us yet in our time
and encourage us greatly. Now notice if you will that Ezekiel
was conducted here to certain places and all through this chapter
here he says He says that he was conducted here in this fourth
verse particularly to the intent that I might show them unto thee
art thou brought hither. You brought hither to the intent
that I might show you these things. And then you're going to go tell
them to the house of Israel. God's children, let me say, are
brought in experience to unusual places on purpose that they may
get clear views of the love and the grace. Yes, sometimes our
experience is for the good of others that God leads us and
brings us. And it was to be so in the case
of Ezekiel. It was for the whole house of
Israel. And then sometimes it's for our
own good. We must be brought many times into soul trouble
to understand the meaning of many of the promises of God. And if it were not for God bringing
us into certain circumstances and into certain tests and into
certain deep trials, we wouldn't have a word to speak. We wouldn't have any encouragement.
to give to anybody else. The God of all comfort comes
and He comforts those that are in need of it. Not even God Himself,
who is the God of all comfort, can comfort somebody that don't
need it. And so, Beloved, He's pleased
to bring His people into certain circumstances so that they'll
have some encouragement and they'll be able to comfort others. However,
It's not outward circumstances that can by itself affect the
divine purpose. It's not only the fact that you're
in the dumps and down in the dumps that's going to make you
useful in the kingdom of God. Beloved, there must be always
a movement of the divine spirit. There must be an opening of the
eye. There must be an opening of the
ear. There must be a giving of the
seeing eye and the hearing ear because God makes even both of
them. And until this happens, You will
be of no use. In verse 3 we read, He brought
me there. Now you can look through this
chapter and you can see how this is repeated over and over. He
brought me to the inner court, and He brought me to the north
gate, and He brought me to this, and He brought me to that. The
Lord brings His people. We never learn a truth inwardly,
beloved, till God brings us to it. Till God brings us to it. Now we may hear truth and we
ought to be careful that we do not hear anything else but the
truth. But God must bring that truth.
home to our soul. You can listen to me preach or
any other man preach the word of God until you're blue in the
face. But if God don't bring that truth
home to your soul, you'll never understand it. You'll never be
able to see it. No truth is well known until
it's burnt into, as it were, the soul with a hot iron. Until God burns it in you, you'll
never really know it. Some doctrines we can never doubt.
There are some things that as a preacher of the gospel that
God's been pleased to teach me and reveal to me that I can never
doubt. The things that I preach! are
part and parcel of myself. The Lord has made them so. I am sure that they are true.
And you say, are you infallible preacher? No! I am not infallible,
but I claim infallibility for the Word of God, for the truth
of God, for the gospel of God's free and amazing grace. Let God
be true, the Bible says, and every man a liar. Now listen
to me this morning, it won't do. It won't do for us to say,
this is my view. It won't do for us to say, this
is my opinion. That won't do. Now, beloved,
somebody that has received revelation in the soul, somebody who's had
the truth burned into their hearts by a manifestation of God, somebody
that's been taken aside and God has tutored them and taught them
and shown them the truth. Listen, these individuals just
won't say, this is my view, this is my opinion. No, they will
not say that. If the doctrines of grace are
not true, I am lost. That's how serious this is. If
they are not the very truth of God, I have nothing to live for. I have no joy in life, and I
have no hope in death. If the gospel of God's free grace
is not true, if what the Lord has taught me, if it's not of
God, if it's not according to thus saith the Lord, then beloved,
we are in desperate difficulty. If God brings you into truth,
If God is pleased to take you aside and manifest Himself, if
He's pleased to teach you the glorious doctrines of the Gospel
of free grace, if He's pleased to teach you the truth of the
atonement, if He's pleased to teach you the doctrine of perseverance,
if He's pleased to teach you your sinnerhood, if He's pleased
to do it, I defile the devil to bring you out of these truths
once you've learned them. Now over and over, I've talked
with people and and I was talking just recently to an individual
he said down in down south in the southern part of the state
here and he said well he'd been under some you know true preaching
gospel preaching and grace preaching and and he said well I the church
is going to dissolve there in the little town he lived in he
said I I'm going over to the Southern Baptist Church I guess
I'm just going over there And he said, I just believe the Lord
had me to do that. And so about a week or two later I was down
there visiting with him and he said, boy, I don't think I can
do that. He said, I went over there and
that was all it took. He said, I won't be able to go
back again. I won't be able to do it. Can't
live under that kind of ministry. No sir, my friend, you cannot.
Once God burns His truth into your soul, you will not, you
will not be able to live without it. Because if God brings you
to it, if He writes it with His own finger upon your soul, then
you will know it with solemn certainty. And nobody will be
able to talk you out of it. God taught me this. This is what
God taught me. Preacher, he talks about it,
but God taught me this truth. And this is my life. This is
what I live on. This is the truth. And I believe
it. Now, I have no choice about believing
free grace. I don't have any choice about
it. Maybe you do. You say, well, Preacher, I can
believe anything, either Arminianism or Calvinism. I believe anything.
Oh, well, you may be able to, but I don't have any choice,
you see. Beloved, I believe it because I cannot help it. It's
been burnt into my soul, and I'm a sinner, and only a sinner. Listen, he can only be saved
by the grace of God. And when you're driven, listen,
you're up a tree, and you don't have any way down unless grace
is free, and unless salvation is with no merit on the part
of the sinner. When an old man, listen, there
was an old man that was asked, whether he held Calvinistic doctrine. And he answered, he said, no.
And all said the other, I'm glad to hear that. All said he, Calvinistic
doctrine holds me. I don't hold it, it holds me.
And there's a great deal of difference between holding truth and truth
holding you. A great deal of difference. And
the difference is in the way you learned it. Did the Lord
bring you to it? I mean, were you brought to it?
Now if the Lord didn't bring you to it, you can give it up
anytime and you probably will. But if the Lord brings you to
it, you're not going to let loose of it. You're going to hold on
to it. And nobody be able to talk you
out of it. Now that puts you in a bad spot,
don't it? But I'll tell you this. It's
wonderful and glorious that God's still teaching some people and
that He still manifests Himself. That He's still going to trouble
to take a few people and once in a while take a person and
take them aside and strip them. and then reveal Himself to them
and show them the gospel of the grace of God. Now then, listen,
did the Lord bring you into His truth? He brought me towards
the south, Ezekiel said. He brought me into the inner
court. He brought me forth into the outer court. He brought me
to the temple. He did it all. All thy children,
John said, shall be taught of the Lord, and there's no teaching
like that, beloved, which we receive by this manifestation
and revelation from the hand of God in our souls. Now then,
the second thing, and I must hurry. And that is our responsibility
in the light of God's free favor. While, if you please, we're receiving
the light. While God's teaching us. What
kind of an attitude are we to have when the Lord is teaching
us? Now, lots of times, it's not
comfortable to receive the truth. We were told one time by an old
preacher, years ago, he said that a man must die to receive
God's truth. Well, he didn't mean that you
must die physically, but he meant that you got to die out to your
own opinions, your own views, and your own hard-headedness.
You got to die out to the way you feel about things and just
simply give yourself up to the mind of God and to the truth
as it's revealed on the pages of the Bible. Now listen to me.
What is our responsibility when God is teaching us? We may feel
sometimes that we're being persecuted by the Lord. Or that He's hard
on us. He's teaching us, but He's stripping
us. You know the Lord's got to kill
us before He makes us alive. You know He's got to strip us
before He clothes us. You know that. And before He
exalts you, His way is to bring you down before He exalts you. And sometimes this is uncomfortable. And we get kind of a persecuted
complex when God's teaching us His truth. Because He brings
us to the end of ourselves. And that's not a comfortable
place to be, beloved. It's not comfortable. But listen
to me. The man said unto me, Son of man, He says there's something
I want you to do. I'm going to show you all these
things, but here's what you're supposed to do. He said, Behold
with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart
upon all that I shall show thee. That's what you've got to do.
Now he says, I think, or I say, I think he meant this. This is
what he means. Use all your senses, and all
your faculties, all your wits, to understand divine truth. Use everything God has given
you to understand His truth. Now when the Spirit of God favors
you with light, mind that you see it. Mind that if you hear
a sound of grace, mind that you hear that sound in your soul. How much more could we understand
of God's Word if We only gave our mind over to it if we just
give ourself to it. We're to learn our lessons by
heart. We were taught that in school. We heard it over and
over years ago. I don't know whether they still
tell children that or not, but we heard years ago that we were
to learn our lessons by heart. We were to learn them in our
hearts. We were to learn them over and over until they were part
of us. Learn our lessons. Now first then, he says, with
your eye. Well, what are the eyes for but
to see with? That's what the eyes are for.
He means look. He means pry. He means search
with your eyes. He means hold it by meditation
before your mind's eye. Remember what he said to the
angels over in the book of Peter. Which things the angels desire
to look into, not to look at, but look into. The angels had a desire to look
into things. Now looking to Christ was Savior,
but it's looking into Christ. that gives joy, that gives peace,
that gives the blessing of real hope in the soul looking into
Christ. Now look into the gospel and
let your eyes be intent, steadfastly fixed upon every gospel truth
that you hear. Listen to what's said, especially
in times when God is pleased to come and it appears that He's
visiting your poor soul. When He's pleased to fanger your
soul and touch you, especially in those times, Listen and hear
well what the Lord is saying. Now listen, hear with these ears
as well. Because what else can a man use
his ears for than to hear? Listen with all your might, it
means, and treasure up the exact words. What did He say? Word
for word. What did God say? Word for word
to me. Listen to what this verse here
says. He said, Set thine heart upon all that I shall show thee. that I might show unto thee art
thou brought hither, declare all that thou seest to the house
of Israel." I believe that a man ought to listen to the words
of the Word, because I believe in the inspiration of the Bible,
don't you? And I believe that every word
that God has given is important. Whenever God does by His Word,
opens our hearts and speaks to us, we ought not to lose anything,
not a sound or a syllable. Not a sound or a syllable. Now, some of you may think, well,
the preacher's talking over my head. He's talking about a spiritual
experience that I don't know anything about. Well, I might
be, but I want to tell you this. Well, this is not something that
happens every day in the life of the same individual. It's
happening all the time in God's living family. God's talking
to His people. God's saying some things to His
people. It might be me today, you tomorrow,
somebody else next week, but God is a talking God and He's
talking to His people and He's got something to say and when
He says it to you, God forbid that you would not hear His voice
in this world because Jesus said that it's they who hear the voice
of the Son of Man that has everlasting life. The Lord talks to His people
through His Word. And beloved, listen to me. If
God, and I've told you this before, but if God ever says anything
to you, make sure that you hear every word of it. And that you
hear every syllable of it. Don't lose any of it. Make sure
that you hear it all because those are precious Precious words
from the Living God to your soul. Well, the Lord demands something
more. Set thine heart upon all that I shall show thee. This
is the way to learn from God. By loving all that He says and
feeling that whatever God says, it's the thing that we want to
know. If God says it, I want to know
it. Set your whole heart on the Word.
Now some people like to read so many chapters every day, and
I would not say a word against that practice. Not a word would
I say. However, I would rather soak
my soul in a half dozen verses all day than I would to rinse
my hands in several chapters of the Bible. I'd just rather
soak my soul in a few verses. And so I say to you this morning,
this is what I'm talking about. Set your heart upon the Word
of God. Let your whole soul be plunged
into the Word of God as you would put cloth into the dye. And eventually the Word of God
will saturate your soul. God is speaking. And your responsibility
is open your eyes, open your ears, and set your heart upon
what God said. You say, I just wish that I knew
a little something. I wish God would teach me. Then,
beloved, whatever you hear, open your eyes, open your ears, set
your heart upon it, and pray that God will open your heart
and enable you to receive it And God will teach your soul.
He'll teach your heart. He'll make it known unto you. All right, now then, pray for
grace to be willing and ready to see all that He would have
us see and to hear all that He would have us hear and receive
into our hearts all that He would have us to receive. This, beloved,
is the responsibility that we have as those favored by God
by manifestation and revelation by gospel truth. This is our
responsibility. Now lastly, what is the practical
design of all this? What's the object of all of this?
Well, he said right here in the last part of verse 4, declare
all that thou seest. Declare all that thou seest to
the house of Israel. Now then, the object is that
we're to declare what God teaches us. to other people. Well, when
we first see it ourselves, and we got to see it ourselves, it
won't do any good for the preacher to see it for you. You got to
see it yourself. Open your eyes. Jesus hanging
on the tree. Open your eyes to the truth of
the atonement. Open your eyes to the truth of
God's grace. Open your eyes. You got to see
it yourself. And then once you see it yourself, then you can
tell other people about it. I heard of a preacher one time
and he'd been preaching for several years and somebody talked to
him about the atonement. And he said, boy he really got
mixed up because he didn't understand the atonement. He'd never been
able to see. the truth of the atonement. Now
he's a preacher, but he never understood the atonement, how
God brings poor sinners and reconciles those sinners to himself through
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he said, I've got to take
a leave of absence and study this. And somebody recommended
to him and said, well you take a leave of absence for the rest
of your natural life. Preacher, if you don't see this
for yourself. And I'll tell you something right
now, we got to see it for ourself. And we better keep our mouths
shut if we don't see it for ourself. And there's a whole lot of preachers
in Great Falls this morning that ought to take a leave or a holiday
for the rest of their natural life until they come to see the
truth about how God saves sinners. I believe that with all my heart.
Now listen to me, we're to tell it to others, especially those
to whom it concerns. Now we do not know to whom we
shall speak. This is to be our guide, though,
beloved, we're to speak about the things that we've seen or
heard to those whom it concerns. Now there's a lot of people that
They have no heart to hear what you've got to say. You found
people like that. They're not interested in what
you've got to say. They're just not. But listen,
have you been depressed? Have you been cast down? And
have you been comforted in that state? Well, if you have, then
listen, the person that's concerned with what you've got to talk
about is the person that's depressed. The person that's cast down.
The person that's discouraged. The person that needs to be comforted.
You've got something to talk about. Has God lifted you up? Tell them what you've received.
Have you had a great struggle of soul? Have you struggled with
unbelief? Have you struggled with doubts?
Have you struggled with fears? If you have, then the very next
person that you meet Brother, sister, that's in that same state. Struggling with doubt and fear
and depression. Struggling! That very next person
you meet, then you got a word that concerns those people and
you're to give it unto them. Has God delivered you in the
hour of sorrow? Then you tell it to the next
sorrowing person. that you meet. Tell them that
God can heal the brokenhearted. Tell them that God can lift up
the fallen. Tell them that the righteous
can fall seven times and the Lord will lift them up. Tell
them that those who are cast down there shall be lifting up
because God said there would be lifting up. Tell them. Tell
them what you've learned. Now when you find people who
are hungry, give them bread. When you find people that are
thirsty, give them a drink of the gospel water. When you find
those who want a blessing from God, then beloved, tell them
of God's blessing to your own soul. Now it's just that simple.
In the morning the scripture says, And in the evening withhold
not thy hand, for thou knowest not whether shall prosper this
or that, or whether it shall be a light good. What I shall
show you in secret, Jesus said, reveal ye in the light. We read
that out of our scripture reading this morning. What I have spoken
to you in closets, that preach ye upon the housetops. Well, are we all to be preachers,
somebody says? Are we all to be public speakers? No, no, but love and listen to
me now. For the honor of Jesus Christ,
who loved us out of sin's death into His life and light, listen
to me, for the honor of His name, we ought to get a word in edgeways,
somewhere, someplace, to help those who are afflicted and tested
and try, those whom God is dealing with, we ought to get a word
in someplace for the honor of his dear name. Somewhere or other,
drop a sentence or two for the honor of his name. Now I do not
know what to say. You say, I don't know what to
say, preacher. I meet a lot of people and they
seem to me like they're in trouble, but I don't know what to say.
Well, if you don't know what to say, then don't say anything. Don't say anything. But if you
have seen with your eyes, and if you've heard with your ears,
And if you set your heart upon what the Lord has taught you,
then you know what to say. You've got something to say,
and the first thing that comes to hand will be the best thing
to say, for God who knows the condition of people's minds,
knows how to fit you to their condition and make your experience
as a Christian to tally with the experience of the man who
wants and needs your light. Now God knows how to do that
and that's what I mean when I'm talking about talking to those
to whom it concerns. Did you ever write a letter and
say to whom it concerns? Well, brother, sister, there's
a lot of people out here in the world and what we got to say
don't concern them. They're not interested. But there
are some poor, afflicted people of God that are out here in the
world. They're not all right here. They're
in other places. God knows. But they need encouragement
and light. And the reason God teaches Ezekiel
is so that he can tell the whole house of Israel. And the reason
that he teaches you and I gospel truth and gives us gospel liberty
and gives us full salvation in Jesus Christ is so that we can
tell it to others. Talk to other people about it.
And brother, sister, I hope that the Lord will go with you and
the Lord will bless you in your effort to try to spread the glorious
light and truth that He's been pleased to give you. Now, I could
not begin, I don't have the words, and believe me, I've never found
the words anyplace to describe the glories and the beauties
of King Emmanuel. I've never been able to find
anything anywhere that I thought done justice to the glorious
truth of how God is able to fix up a poor ruined sinner and to
present him Faultless before the presence of His glory with
a static joy. I just don't have the words to
describe it. But beloved, listen to me. God
has been pleased to give us a hunger down deep to understand more
about that. And He's been pleased to show
us some things and to give us some ability to express the feelings
of our heart toward Him and toward His own beloved Son, Jesus Christ. And this we want to do. And that's
what I'm doing here this morning. And I'll teach you, but it's
to the end. that you can tell it to somebody
else. Tell it. Tell what you know.
And the more you tell what you know, the more you're going to
know. And the more you're going to
feel the liberty of what you know in your own soul. And the
more sweetness that's going to come to you in your own heart
and soul and mind, what the Lord's taught you. Amen. Let's have a song, Larry.