All right.
Just real quickly before we get into this, I do want to ask you to be in prayer for us
tomorrow.
Brother Oliver and I will be traveling to Orlando for the Make America Straight Again
Conference, and I'll be preaching there on Friday night, so please just be in prayer.
I think they're going to live stream it.
I don't know where, so you'll just have to kind of check all of the YouTube channels.
Just be praying.
A lot of hype and media attention that the conference is getting, and as they say, it's
not our first rodeo, so I'm not too concerned about it, but who knows, this might be my
last sermon here.
So just pray for us as we go over there, and just pray that God is magnified, and we would
appreciate that.
All right.
So we're there in Ezekiel 36, and we are continuing through our study in Ezekiel.
And of course, if you've noticed as we've been going through the book of Ezekiel, you'll
know that the book of Ezekiel is divided into several sections.
I've been letting you know as we enter and end a section, and we've looked at sections
that dealt with Satan and with Pharaoh.
We've dealt with other sections that dealt with different nations, and we've dealt with
sections that had themes.
And in chapter 36, we are getting into the last section of the book of Ezekiel.
Now, there are 48 chapters in Ezekiel, so we've got quite a few weeks to go, but this
is the last section because the last part of this book deals with the millennial reign,
deals with the temple of Ezekiel that he describes, deals with a lot of these future and prophetic
type things.
And chapter 36 is the transitional chapter into this new part of the book.
In fact, what Ezekiel does is he spends half of the chapter talking about the current nation
of Israel and what God is doing in and through them, and then he ends the second part of
the chapter talking about the future Israel of God.
So we're just going to walk through this, and I'll give you some information and application
as we go along.
But I want you to notice that even the way the book feels and how Ezekiel addresses the
people changes now, because he's been very negative towards the children of Israel.
And if you'll notice, now he kind of stops being negative towards them, and he starts
being negative towards their enemies.
Look at verse 1, Ezekiel 36 and verse 1, the Bible says this,
Also thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel.
So I want you to notice that oftentimes the prophets of God would prophesy to a land,
but they're not really prophesying to the land, they're prophesying to the people in
that land.
So they're talking about the land, but they're talking about the people that inhabit that.
He says, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel and say, ye mountains of Israel, hear the
word of the Lord.
Thus saith the Lord God.
Now notice what he says.
He says, because, and he tells them, I'm going to do something for you and I'm going to prophesy
on you.
And here's why, here's the reason why.
Because the enemy, so notice he's not talking about them, but he's talking about their enemies.
He says, the enemy has said against you, aha.
Now we've seen this already kind of teased out through the book of Ezekiel in this theme,
but I want you to notice he brings this up again.
He says, because the enemy has said against you, aha, even ancient high places are ours
in possession.
Because your enemies looked at you in your distress and they said, ah, we have an opportunity
here and we're able to take ancient high places and make them our possessions.
He's saying, because your enemies said that your land can be our possession, verse three,
therefore prophesy and say.
So he says, for that reason, I'm giving this prophecy.
And he says, here we go.
Thus saith the Lord God, because they have made you desolate and swallowed you up on
every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen.
He said, because they took advantage of you and they wanted to make you a possession for
the heathen, for themselves.
He says, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers and are in infamy of the people, therefore,
verse four, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God.
Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills and to the rivers and to the
valleys, to the desolate waste and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey
and derision.
So he's saying, look, your land became a prey.
Your land became a derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about you.
Verse five, therefore, thus saith the Lord God, surely in the fire of my jealousy.
Now a few weeks ago, we were in the contentment series on Sunday morning, and remember I explained
to you the difference between jealousy and envy in the Bible.
Jealousy is a positive thing in the Bible.
It's being jealous over something that belongs to you.
Envy is a negative thing in the Bible, because it's basically the same feeling, but towards
something that does not belong to you.
And here he says, God says, the Bible says, the Lord God, surely in the fire of my jealousy
have I spoken against the residue of the heathen and against all edumia, which have appointed,
notice what he says, my land into their possessions.
So he's saying, the Edomites, the land of edumia, he says, they've appointed my land
as their possession, with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast
it out for a prey, prophesy, therefore, concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains
and to the hills and to the rivers and to the valleys, thus saith the Lord God, behold,
I have spoken, notice what he says, in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne
the shame of the heathen.
So he's talking to his people, and he's saying, because they said, aha, we can take your land
and make it our possession, because you became a desolate place, a derision, because they've
taken your possession.
He says, I burned in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the
heathen.
Verse seven, therefore, thus saith the Lord God, I have lifted up mine hands, surely the
heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.
Now here's what I want you to understand.
What we see in these verses is God's jealousy over his people.
And here's what we literally see.
We see that, and again, I want you to notice the difference in the chapter.
He goes from attacking the children of Israel to now defending the children of Israel.
And you might be asking yourself, well, what's the difference, or what's the problem here?
What is it that he's trying to say?
And really, this is the idea.
The idea is that God is a Heavenly Father who is chastening his children, chastening
his people.
He is giving them a spiritual spanking because of their sin.
But the idea, if you think of it in just a personal way, it would be the same idea
as me spanking my children, right, because they're being disobedient, because they're
not doing what they should be doing, because they're doing things that I've told them not
to do, spanking my children.
But look, if you take my kids and you try to spank my kids, you're going to have problems
with me.
And that's the idea.
He's saying, God says, I'm going to chasten you, and I'm going to spank you, and I'm going
to bring my judgment upon my people, because I love them, because whom the Lord loveth
he chasteneth and scourges every son whom he receiveth.
But he says, as soon as he then decided that they want to pile on, too, and they want to
chasten God's people, too, and they want to hate on God's people, then God says, no, no.
And he goes and defends his own people.
So we see God's jealousy over his people.
And then secondly, tonight, we see God's blessing over his people.
Notice verse 8, he says, but ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth the branches
and yield your fruit to my people of Israel, for they are at hand to come.
Now remember, he just said that they were desolate places.
Now they're going to shoot forth your branches.
Notice verse 9, for behold, I am for you.
I will turn unto you.
So notice the difference here.
He's punished them, but now he is leading that punishment.
There's not an everlasting punishment.
He says, I am for you.
I will turn unto you.
Ye shall be tilled and sown, verse 10, and I will multiply man upon you, all the house
of Israel, even all of it, and the cities shall be inhabited, and the waste shall be
builded up.
Notice verse 11, and I will multiply upon you man and beast, and they shall increase
and bring fruit, and I will settle you, and your old estates, and will do better unto
you than your beginnings, and ye shall know that I am the Lord, yea, I will cause men
to walk upon you.
Notice what he says, even my people Israel, and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt
be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men.
So again, I want you to notice, we saw God's jealousy over his people, now we see God's
blessing over his people, and here's the application for you from this passage is that God can
restore that which is dead and unfruitful.
God can punish you, and God can chastise you, and God can make you a waste and a desolate
place.
God can dry up your relationships, and God can dry up your health, and God can dry up
your finances, and God can dry up your situation, whatever it is that you're dealing with, and
God's chastisement, but that same God can turn around and take the desolate place and
make it shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit and multiply you.
Look, God says, I can be for you or I can be against you.
He says if you, in the book of James, he tells us that if we make friendship with the world
and we become friends of the enemies of God, that puts us at enmity with God, but then
in the same book, he says that if I draw nigh to God, he will draw nigh to me.
He says I am for you and I will turn unto you, and here's what you need to understand.
You are in charge of whether God is for you or against you, and it has everything to do
with you in which direction you want to go.
Notice verse 13.
Thus saith the Lord God, because they say unto you, the land devours of men and has
bereaved thy nations.
Therefore, thus saith the Lord, thou shalt devour men no more.
Neither bereave thy nations anymore, saith the Lord God.
Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen anymore.
Neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people anymore.
Neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall anymore, saith the Lord God.
Again, talking about the blessing that he wants to give them, but then notice he goes
back and talks about his punishment for them.
Verse 16.
Moreover, the Lord came unto me saying, Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in
their own land, they defiled it.
He's telling them, look, I'm going to bless you, but in your blessing, don't forget what
got you here to begin with, because this is what Ezekiel knew about the children of
Israel.
This is what God knew about the children of Israel.
This is what God knows about you, and this is what God knows about me, that often in
our blessings, we forget the God that blessed us.
Often in our blessings, we forget the God that brought us there, so he says, I'm going
to bless you.
He said, I'm about to turn things around for you.
I'm about to do some great things for you, but don't forget, verse 17, when the house
of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings.
Their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman, wherefore, he says, for
that reason I poured my fury upon them, for the blood that they had shed upon the land
and for their idols, wherewith they had polluted it, and I scattered them among the heathen.
This is what we're learning.
This is what Ezekiel, Ezekiel's in Babylon.
Jeremiah and Isaiah have been prophesying of the coming Assyrian empire, the Babylonian
empire, and Ezekiel has been talking about the different waves of the enemies of God
coming and bringing the people out of the land.
This is why we have books like the book of Esther.
This is why we have books like the book of Daniel, why we have stories like Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego.
This is why we have those stories of the exiles.
This is why we have the story of Nehemiah and Ezra and Zerubbabel coming back from exile
into the land.
He says, because of their sin, verse 19, and I scattered them among the heathen, and
they were dispersed through the countries, notice what he says, according to their way
and according to their doings.
He says, I judge them.
Look, God's judgment and God's blessing is not arbitrary.
God says, I will bless you based on your doings, and I will chastise you based on your own
way.
Verse 18, wherefore I poured my fury upon them, for the blood that they had shed upon
the land and for their idols were what they had polluted it, and I scattered them among
the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries, according to, notice again
the emphasis, their way, according to their doings, I judge them, and when they entered
unto the heathen, whether they went, he says, they profaned my holy name, when they said
to them.
So don't miss this.
He says, when they, because of their doings and because of their way, when I scattered
them, when I dispersed them, and then they entered into the heathen, he said, they profaned
my name.
You say, well, how did they profane your name, God?
He said, they profaned my name when they, the heathen, said to them, the children of
Israel, verse 20, these are the people of the Lord and are gone forth out of his land.
He says, look, when I punish my people and when I have to bring chastisement on my people,
when I curse my people and when I remove them out of the land, he says, you know who that
makes look bad?
That makes me look bad.
And look, please understand this and please get this.
Our sin brings consequences for ourselves, but our sin is a bad testimony for God because
we are his representatives on this earth.
Keep your place there in Ezekiel.
Let me just show you a famous verse on this.
Go to 2 Samuel chapter 12.
In the Old Testament, you got those first, second books that are all clustered together
for 2 Samuel, for 2 Kings, for 2 Chronicles.
Go to 2 Samuel chapter 12.
You know the story.
David committed adultery.
He kills a man to cover it up.
Nathan the prophet preaches to him and calls him out on his sin.
2 Samuel 12.14.
Notice what Nathan says to David.
He says, how be it?
And by the way, when the man of God called out David, he responded well.
He confessed a sin and he repented and he got right with God.
He didn't make excuses.
He didn't hide it.
He didn't lie about it.
But this is what Nathan says.
He says, how be it?
Because this deed thou has given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme the
child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
And here's what he's saying.
He's saying, look, there are consequences for your sin, but your sin makes God look
bad.
And look, you need to understand this and you really need to get this in your life.
If you decide, you know, I'm going to do this Christianity thing and I got saved and I'm
going to become a disciple and I'm going to walk with God and you're going to go ahead
and you're going to grow like Brother Corbin was preaching about, you're going to grow
in knowledge but not necessarily grow in grace and you're going to go ahead and deal
with your relationships like a bull in a china closet and you're going to go ahead and burn
some bridges with family, you're going to burn some bridges with friends, you're going
to make sure that you just own that holier than thou attitude and you're going to make
sure that everybody knows how godly you are and how separate you are and how sold out
you are and how great you are and how holy you are.
And it's not really how holy you are, it's more about how holy they're not.
You go ahead and do all that but just remember, just remember, if it lasts a year, if it lasts
two years, if it lasts three years, if it lasts seven years and you end up getting backslidden
and you end up quitting on God, you end up quitting on soul winning, you end up going
back to how you used to dress, how you used to act, how you used to be, just realize that
that is a blot on God and we make God look better.
So count the costs.
Make sure you've got the right attitude and the right spirit.
Make sure that you're walking with God because you're walking in the spirit, not because
you're trying to fulfill some sort of a carnal, I'm better than you mentality.
Because God says, when we do things in our flesh, we will fail and God says, it makes
me look bad.
But God says, don't think that that'll stop me from not, He said, I'll chastise you, David,
even if it makes me look bad.
Here's verse 21, Ezekiel 36 verse 21, but I had pity for mine holy name, which the
house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God, He said, I punished you
enough.
He said, you were in exile for 70 years and for 70 years, the heathen said, aren't these
the people of the Lord?
If God is so great, why did the Assyrians beat Him?
If God is so great, why did the Babylonians beat Him?
If God is so great, why are they in exile?
He said, for all those years, they said those things, He said, eventually I started blessing
you again.
God says, I started blessing you again, just because I felt sorry for myself.
I mean, notice what He says, verse 21, but I had pity not on you, He says, for mine holy
name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God, I do not this for your
sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among
the heathen, whither ye went, and I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the
heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them, and the heathen shall know that I
am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
And here's what He's saying, and here's what you need to learn, is that sometimes God doesn't
bless you because of you.
Sometimes God blesses you because of Him, and because of who you represent, so don't
let those blessings go to your head.
Notice what He says in verse 24, we saw God's jealousy over His people, and we saw God's
blessing over His people, and we saw God's punishment over His people, then He talks
about the restoration, He's going to bring them out of bondage, and He's going to restore
the land unto them, verse 24, for I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you
out of all countries, and I will bring you into your own land.
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness,
and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
And of course that was fulfilled with Nehemiah, and with Ezra, and with Zerubbabel, and with
those exiles that came out, that was fulfilled with Cyrus, the king, and with those exiles
that came out and went back into the land.
Up to this point, He's been talking to the nation of Israel, He's been talking to the
contemporary nation that He's dealing with at that time, and He's talking about the fact
that they're going to come out of bondage, and they're going to go back into the land.
But this is how prophecy works, often in prophecy you're talking to the people of the time, and
then you begin to prophesy about a future coming people, or a future kingdom, or an
event in the future, and this is what happens in this chapter, because we're going to spend
the rest of the book of Ezekiel dealing with the future kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and He transitions, because He's talking about their restoration, but then He begins to talk
about a future restoration of God's people, and you say, well how do you know that it's
future?
How do you know we go from the time of Ezekiel to now a future restoration?
Well notice what the Bible says, verse 26, a new heart also will I give you, and a new
spirit, don't miss these words, will I put within you.
Now if you remember several weeks ago, we were going through a series on the Holy Spirit,
and we talked about how the Holy Spirit did not indwell people in the Old Testament, and
it is a New Testament thing that we are indwelled with the Holy Spirit, because if you remember
in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit, the glory of God indwelled the temple, in the
New Testament, you and I are the temple of God, and the Holy Spirit comes in and indwells
us, and Ezekiel begins to prophesy, and here's what he's prophesying, he's prophesying about
this new covenant that's coming, because if you remember through the Bible, God made several
covenants with the children of Israel, He of course made the famous Abrahamic covenant,
that He would give a seed to Abraham, and from that seed, all the nations and all the
families of the earth would be blessed, and those that bless Him would bless, they would
be blessed, and those that curse Him, they would be cursed, and of course, we know from
the book of Galatians that that was fulfilled through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then you had the Mosaic covenant, where God made a covenant with the children of Israel,
and He basically said, and this is what we've been learning about, that if they followed
His laws, He would bless them, and if they broke His laws, He would curse them, and in
fact, in that covenant, He told them that if you did not follow the laws, I would disperse
you into the heathen, and that's exactly where we're at here with Ezekiel.
Then you have the Davidic covenant, where God made a covenant with David, and He told
David that He would have a descendant that would sit upon the throne of Israel, and we'll
actually look more of that covenant later on in the chapters of Ezekiel as we see the
prophecies of David ruling in Jerusalem and the Lord Jesus Christ, the descendants of
David, ruling in Jerusalem, but I want you to notice, when you get to verse 26, we're
now talking about a new, He says, look, there's the old covenant, and look, the word covenant
means a testament, this is why your Bible is divided into an Old Testament and a New
Testament, you say, why is that?
Because in the Old Testament, there was an old covenant that God made with the children
of Israel, in the New Testament, there is a new covenant that God made with His people,
and Ezekiel is actually prophesying of this new covenant, notice what he says, verse 26,
a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take
away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh, and I will
put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my
judgments and do them, and ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and
ye shall be my people, and I will be their God.
Now today, the Zionists and the dispensationalists, they'll try to say, this doesn't apply to
New Testament Christians, this is about Old Testament Israel, God's gonna bring back Old
Testament Israel, they're gonna make a comeback, the Jews are gonna make a comeback, once God
is done with the New Testament, He's gonna go back to the Jews and He's gonna restore
them and give them the land.
Well here's why that's wrong, and I'll prove it to you, keep your finger there on Ezekiel
36, and go with me to the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 6.
2 Corinthians chapter 6.
Now when you get to 2 Corinthians, do me a favor and put a ribbon there or a bookmark
or a bulletin, do something, because we're gonna leave it and we're gonna come back to
it, 2 Corinthians chapter 6, and I want you to just be able to flip back and forth just
real quickly, you should have Ezekiel 36, 28, and you should have 2 Corinthians 6, 16.
Here Ezekiel is making a promise of a coming covenant, and he says, as a part of this covenant,
God is gonna give you a new heart, He's gonna give you a new spirit, He's gonna put it within
you, He says, I will put my spirit within you, and then He says this at the end of verse
28, I want you to look at Ezekiel 36, 28, He says, ye shall be my people, and I will
be their God.
Now let's see how the apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, applied
that covenant promise in 2 Corinthians chapter 6.
Now in 2 Corinthians, Paul is writing to the Corinthians.
These are Gentile believers in the New Testament, 2 Corinthians 6, 16, notice what the Bible
says, he says, and what agreement at the temple of God with idols, notice what he says, for
ye are the temple of the living God.
As God had said, don't miss this, I will dwell in them.
Kind of like Ezekiel said, I will put my spirit within you.
I will put a new spirit, will I put within you?
He says, I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and, tell me if this sounds familiar,
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
He's quoting Ezekiel 36, 28, in Ezekiel 36, 28, he says, ye shall be my people, and I
will be your God.
And then, Paul says to the Corinthian Gentiles, he says, that's about you.
That's about you, that you are the temple of the Holy Ghost, and that the Holy Ghost
dwells inside of you, and God will be their God, and they shall be my people.
So here's what I want you to understand, this passage speaks to a new covenant.
Now keep your finger there in 2 Corinthians, we're going to come back to it, go back to
the book of Ezekiel, go to Ezekiel chapter 11.
In Ezekiel 36, this is not the first place that this is brought out.
It's mentioned also in Ezekiel 11, look at verse 17.
Ezekiel chapter 11, and verse number 17, notice what the Bible says.
Ezekiel chapter 11 and verse 17 says this, therefore, say, thus saith the Lord God, I
will even gather you from the people.
Now I want you to notice that this prophecy has to do with the land.
That's why Ezekiel's been talking about the land, he's prophesying to the mountains, and
to the rivers, and to the valleys.
He says, I will gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries, whether
ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel, and they shall come hither,
and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof, and all the abominations thereof,
from thence, verse 19, and I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within
you, and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of
flesh, notice verse 20, that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and
do them, and they shall, does this sound familiar, be my people, and I will be their God.
It's this new covenant, and here's what he's talking about, he's talking about regeneration.
I'm going to give you a new heart, I'm going to give you a new spirit.
Ezekiel mentions it in Ezekiel 11, he mentions it in Ezekiel 36, he'll mention it again in
other chapters as we continue in Ezekiel.
Go to Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter number 31, you're there in Ezekiel, just flip a few pages
back, go to Jeremiah, Jeremiah spoke of the same thing, Jeremiah 31.
Jeremiah is actually more specific than Ezekiel in the sense of it being a new covenant.
It's interesting that an Old Testament prophet living under the old covenant, living in the
Old Testament, prophesied that there was a new covenant and a new testament coming.
Hebrews tells us that the new is better than the old.
Jeremiah 31 verse 31, notice what it says, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord.
Notice what it says, that I will make a new covenant.
You say, look, there's coming a day when the old covenant, the Mosaic covenant, it'll be
done away with.
I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
Notice what he says, he's very specific about this verse too.
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took
them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, that's the Mosaic covenant.
You say, the new covenant replaces what?
The old Mosaic covenant.
Doesn't replace the Abrahamic covenant because the Abrahamic covenant is fulfilled in the
Lord Jesus Christ.
He says that he wasn't speaking, the promises were not made to Abraham's seed.
He says seeds as of many, but to his seed, which is Christ.
The Davidic covenant is also fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, ruling and reigning
from Jerusalem during the millennial reign.
He's talking about the covenant he made with them when they came out of Egypt, that covenant
of keeping the old law, of keeping the Sabbath days and keeping the holy days and keeping
the washings and the ordinances.
He says there's coming a day when that old covenant will be done away with and I will
make a new covenant.
And we usually think of this being taught in the New Testament, but here the Old Testament
prophets are prophesying about it.
He says in verse 33, but this shall be a covenant.
Well, let's read through it again.
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took
them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant they break,
although I was in a husband unto them, saith the Lord, but this shall be the covenant that
I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my
law in their inward parts, talking about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and write it
in their hearts, does this sound familiar, and I will be their God and they shall be
my people.
See, it's this new covenant he's referring to, this new covenant he's talking about.
And in this covenant he talks about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, I will put a new spirit
while I put within you, I will put my spirit within you.
He talks about the regeneration or the new birth.
He says a new heart also will I give you and a new spirit.
And by the way, this is why Jesus was so frustrated with Nicodemus in John chapter three.
Now go with me just real quickly to John chapter three, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and I don't
want to spend too much time here because we are starting a series in July called Encounters
with Christ and we're going to just listen in in the conversations, the intimate conversations
that Christ had with different individuals throughout his ministry and one of them will
be Nicodemus and we'll go through and dissect it and learn everything we can about it.
But I want you to notice there's something interesting here that Jesus says to Nicodemus
in John chapter three and verse one.
He says, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
The same came to Jesus by night and said unto them, Rabbi, we know that thou art a
teacher come from God for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with
him.
And we're going to get into all that in a different sermon.
I just want you to notice what Jesus says to him.
Verse three, Jesus answered and said unto him, barely, barely I say unto thee, except
the man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Now that phrase being born again is used in the New Testament.
This is the first time it's used in the New Testament and Jesus looks at Nicodemus and
says, hey, except the man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus saith unto him, Nicodemus doesn't understand, says, how can a man be born when
he is old?
Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?
He's thinking, Jesus is talking about two physical births.
Verse five, Jesus answered, very, very I say unto thee, except the man be born of water
and of the spirit.
He's like, this is not two physical births, Nicodemus.
There's a physical birth, but he says, there's also a spiritual birth.
Born again of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
He says, unless you get born again of the spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Verse six, that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit
is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, he must be born again.
See, the term being born again is talking about being regenerated by the Holy Spirit
of God, where you are quickened, you are made alive.
There is a new man inside of you.
It is a new man that is born into the family of God when you get saved.
And Jesus looking at Nicodemus saying, why are you so confused about this that ye must
be born again?
And again, notice the emphasis is on the spirit.
Verse eight, the wind bloweth whether it listeth, and now hears the sound thereof, but cannot
tell when it cometh and whether it goeth.
And the wind is often used as a representation of the Holy Spirit.
Remember the day of Pentecost, there was a mighty rushing wind.
He says, so is every one that is born of the spirit.
So he's talking about this new birth is being born of the spirit.
Verse nine, Nicodemus answered and said, how can these things be?
And this is the part that I think is interesting because Nicodemus, and look, this is the first
time that this terminology has been used.
You gotta be born again.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, he must be born again.
He said, you gotta be born of the spirit.
He said, even so is every one that is born of the spirit.
Nicodemus is confused, how can these things be?
Verse 10, Jesus answered and said unto him, notice what he says, and this is where it's
interesting because Jesus begins to get frustrated.
He says, art thou a master of Israel and knowest not these things?
Jesus was upset and frustrated with Nicodemus because he's still looking at Nicodemus, he's
saying, aren't you a teacher?
Aren't you a Pharisee?
Aren't you a teacher of the law?
Don't you teach the Old Testament?
How do you not know this?
You say, well, what is Jesus referring to?
The phrase being born again is not found in the Old Testament, is not found in its view
in the New Testament.
The first time Jesus brings it up, why is he so frustrated with Nicodemus like Nicodemus
should know this?
Here's why he's frustrated with Nicodemus, because Ezekiel mentioned the new birth, Jeremiah
mentioned the new birth, Jesus is referring to the new covenant, to being born of the
spirit and having the Holy Spirit indwell you and the regeneration of the spirit.
And Jesus says, you should know this, Nicodemus.
Jeremiah taught it, Ezekiel taught it.
You should understand that there is a new covenant coming that will replace the old
covenant.
And we're going to talk way more about, a lot more about that as we continue our study
in the book of Ezekiel.
Go back to Ezekiel 36, look at verse 28, he talks about the regeneration, the filling
of the spirit, the indwelling of the spirit and the new birth.
And then he begins to talk about the millennial reign.
Notice what he says, and ye shall dwell in the Lamb that I give to your fathers.
Notice what he says, and ye shall be my people and I will be their God.
Now look, we ran a lot of cross-references.
That phrase, and ye shall be my people and I will be their God, is mentioned, every time
it's mentioned, is mentioned to people that have a new heart, that have a new spirit,
that are indwelled with the spirit, that are the temple of God and have the spirit of God.
It's also mentioned in the book of Revelation, when God comes down and says that I will be
their people, they will be their God.
Here's what you need to understand, people want to fight with us and say, well God, you
know, fundamental pastors want to fight with us and say, well God's going to give the land
back to the Jews.
Yes, he will, but not the Jews that are alive right now.
You say, well aren't the Jews going to inherit the land?
Yeah, save Jews.
People that were actually saved.
People like Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, people that actually believed on the Lord Jesus Christ,
they're going to be resurrected and they're going to be brought into that new covenant,
they're going to be brought into that.
Look, the land is not going to go back to a bunch of anti-Christ, Christ-denying Jews.
You say, well isn't the land going to go back to the nation of Israel?
Yes, during the millennial reign.
And it will be saved Christians, it will be saved Israelites, it will be saved Hebrews,
it will be saved Jews.
This is what the idea is, this is what he's saying.
He's telling them, you're going to get the land back, yes, with Ezra and Nehemiah, but
he said there's coming a better covenant, there's coming another time when you'll actually
get the land for good, and he said it will happen during the millennial reign when we
are in the new covenant.
Then he says in verse 29 that there will be a supernatural blessing upon the land.
Look at verse 29, I will also save you from all your uncleanness and I will call for the
corn and will increase it and lay no famine upon you.
He said, look, during that time there will be no famines.
And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field that ye shall
receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.
Let's get down to verse 33, we'll come back to verses 1 and 2 here in a second, 31 and
32.
But look at verse 33.
Thus saith the Lord God, in that day shall I, I shall have cleansed you from all your
iniquities.
I will also cause you to dwell in the cities and the waste shall be builded and the desolate
land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that pass by and they
shall say, this land that was desolate, notice, we already saw that he was going to make
it fruitful, right, for the people that came from Israel, with Ezra, with Nehemiah, he's
going to shoot the branch and all those things.
But this is different.
Notice what he says, verse 35, and they shall say, during this time, this restoration, this
land that was desolate, and look, I've been out there in Jordan, it is desolate, all right,
I've been in Palestine, it's desolate, but he said, they're going to say it's become
like the Garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced
and are inhabited.
Here's what I'm telling you.
There's coming a day, it's called the millennial reign, when saved people will inherit the
earth, when saved Israelites will have the land, and it's going to be blessed by God,
and that land is going to, people are going to look at it and say, this is like the Garden
of Eden, and this is not today, and this was not when the UN gave Israel their land
back, okay, when the UN gave those Jews their land back, that land did not become like the
Garden of Eden.
This is talking about a future prophecy.
Verse 36, then the heathen that are left round about you shall know, and by the way, there
will be unsaved people during the millennial reign, that's a different sermon for a different
day.
I preach the whole sermon on the millennial reign, if you want to look that up on YouTube
and you can learn about that.
There will be unsaved people during that time, that I the Lord build the ruined places
and plant that that was desolate, I the Lord have spoken it and I will do it.
Verse 37, thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of
Israel to do it for them.
I will increase them with men like a flock, as the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem
in her solemn feast, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men, and they shall
know that I am the Lord.
I just want to point out one more thing and we'll finish up.
I hope you understand that this passage is referring to a coming kingdom, millennial
reign.
It's going to be like the Garden of Eden.
The people that will be there will be people who God looks down to and says, you are in
the new covenant, you've believed on Christ, and you are my people and I am your God.
But it's really interesting because in this passage it says this in verse 31 and 32.
And he's talking about the time when the land becomes like the Garden of Eden.
He says, then shall ye remember your own evil ways and your doings that were not good and
shall load yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.
Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you, be ashamed and
confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.
And it's really interesting because I don't think we really understand this, I don't think
we really grasp this, but even after the rapture, even after you're in your glorified body,
even once you're living in the millennial reign, there will be regrets for our sin.
And he says, even during this time, even during this time, he said, you shall load yourselves
in your own sight for your iniquities.
Now they're saved, they're there, but you know what, they'll have regrets for what they
could have done, what they should have done, what they refused to do for God.
So here's the application, live for God now, because this is just a short time.
These 70, 80, 90 years you've got on this earth, they're nothing in comparison to the
millennial reign and the eternal state to come.
And look, I'd rather just live for God now, I'd rather sacrifice for God now, I'd rather
just sell out for God now and not have regrets during the millennial reign of what I could
have done, what I should have done, what I knew that I was supposed to do for God.
Let's bow our heads in our word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your word, thank you for the Bible, thank you for
this chapter, and Lord, I pray that you'd help us as we just continue to study the book
of Ezekiel, to learn it, to apply it to our lives, we love you.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
All right, just a couple of things.