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Love you, Jesus' name, pray, amen. Amen. All right, well, we're there in Ezekiel chapter 33, and we are starting a new section of the book of Ezekiel. If you remember last week, in chapter 32, we ended a section that dealt with Pharaoh and a section that really dealt with Satan, and here in Ezekiel 33, we actually, it's a climax, in some ways, of the book, because, for a couple reasons. Number one, Ezekiel 33 is just a famous chapter, it's probably the most, well, I shouldn't say the most, it's one of the most famous chapters in the book of Ezekiel, and in this chapter we see the fulfillment of the prophecy that Ezekiel's been talking about this whole time. This whole time, from chapter one up to 32, he's been talking about the judgment of God coming upon the children of Israel, the judgment of God that's coming, the judgment of God that's coming, and then in chapter 33, the judgment comes, and we'll see that here in a little bit. And then, starting in chapter 34, there's a shift in the book, because from chapters one through 32, it's a very negative warning of the judgment of God, and we're gonna see a little bit about that tonight, and then once the judgment comes, then Ezekiel kind of shifts gears, and he turns into a very encouraging, trying to encourage the people that once the judgment of God has came, and so it's interesting as we delve into chapter 33 here. So, there's several, there's lots in this chapter, and we could literally spend weeks just studying this chapter, we're not gonna do that, of course, but let me just give you kind of a few headings in regards to what we see here. The first part of this chapter is what I call the parable of the watchman, and what's interesting is that this idea has already been dealt with twice in the book of Ezekiel. I wanna say chapter three and chapter 18, we see it again in chapter 33, because this is really important to God. I want you to notice what he says there in verse one, Ezekiel 33 and verse one, the Bible says, again, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, and I want you to notice that that is a reference to the judgment of God, it is the punishment of God. He is talking about an army coming, a military coming to destroy the land, he says, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coast and set him for their watchman, now, the watchman there was supposed to be someone whose job it was to watch, to look out, and to be vigilant, and to be watching for militaries that might be coming to attack, he says, if they set up a watchman, notice verse three, if when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people, so the watchman, whose job it is to watch, is watching, and he sees an army coming, and he blows the trumpet, he warns the people, he lets them know that there is impending danger on its way, verse four, then whosoever hears the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. So here's what he's saying. If the watchman warns you, and you don't take warning, then when the punishment comes, the judgment comes, you suffer the consequences, God says, that's on you. He literally says, his blood shall be upon his own head, he heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning, his blood shall be upon him. So we see in this parable, and he says, look, if the watchman warns you of the coming judgment, and people don't take heed, then that's their fault, that's on their hand, it's their responsibility, they are responsible for suffering the consequences, because they did not seek, they did not, excuse me, heed warning. Notice verse five though, last part of verse five, but he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. So he says, look, if the watchman warns you, and they hear the warning, they take heed to the warning, they take actions as a result of the warning of impending danger, of judgment coming, then that individual will deliver their soul. Verse six, but, so here's the next option, we've had two options so far, two scenarios. Scenario number one, the watchman warns people don't take heed, God says, their blood is upon their heads. The watchman warns people do take heed, then they deliver their souls from the coming judgment. Here's verse six, here's the third option, verse six, but if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, so notice, it's a watchman that's not doing his job, he knows the judgment is coming, but he doesn't warn anybody, he doesn't blow the trumpet, he doesn't warn the people, if the sword come, and I want you to notice what it says, if the sword come and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity. So here's what he's saying, he's saying, when the judgment of God comes, the judgment of God always comes upon those that deserve it, it's because of their sin, it's because of their iniquity that the judgment of God came, and you can say, well, yeah, but the watchman didn't warn us, but here's the thing, it's your sin that God will judge, it's your sin that brings consequences, it's your sin that brings the wrath of God. He says, look, if the watchman fails and does not warn, if the sword come and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity, notice though, but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. So he says, I'm going to hold the watchman responsible for not warning the people, but they are taken away in their iniquity. So here's what he's saying, whether you get warned or not, when God judges you, when God brings his judgment upon a sinner, that judgment is deserved because you are a sinner that has sinned against a holy God. But he says, if the watchman warns, then you can deliver your soul. If the watchman warns and you choose not to, that's on you, but if the watchman does not warn, then God says, I will hold the watchman responsible, his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. And here's the application, verse seven, so thou, O son of man, notice what he says, I like how God does this, he did it in chapter three also, he said, so thou, O son of man, I have set thee, a watchman, unto the house of Israel, therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, notice what he says, and warn them from me. Now I want you to understand, Ezekiel 33, the context is about the nation of Israel literally being overtaken by Nebuchadnezzar and by the judgment of God is coming upon them, and they literally have a watchman that should be warning them of impending danger. But of course, there are spiritual applications that could be made here, and the way that we would apply this to our lives as New Testament believers is this, and here's what you need to understand, Ezekiel was set as a watchman for his generation during the time of warfare of his time, but you and I have been set as watchmen today, and we are in a spiritual warfare today, and you say, well, what kind of judgment are we watching for? Look, the Bible says that the wrath of God abideth on those that do not believe. The Bible says that the judgment of God will come, the judgment of God is coming, the judgment of God is on its way for everyone who is not saved, who's not believed, who's not called upon the Lord Jesus Christ to save them. Notice verse eight, notice what he says, he says, when I say unto the wicked, O wicked, thou shalt surely die, if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, and that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul. Now keep in place here Ezekiel 33, we're going to come back to it obviously, but go to the book of Acts, Acts chapter number 20, and I want to show you how Paul actually used this terminology from Ezekiel 33 and applied it to soul-winning, so it's not a far-fetched idea for us to apply this to soul-winning, and let me say a couple of things. We call it, when we go out in the community into the highways and the hedges, and we preach the gospel to people, we call it soul-winning, and I like the term soul-winning, I don't have an issue with that, that's a biblical term, the Bible says he that win his souls is wise, and I get that, but honestly, and I've said this before, sometimes honestly what we're really doing is we're soul-warning, because we don't win anybody. God is the one who gives the increase, God is the one who does the saving, God is the one who does those things, and here's the honest truth, most of the time what we're out there doing is soul-warning, not soul-winning, and look, the goal, you say, what are you trying to accomplish out there? We're trying to knock on people's doors, we're trying to give them an opportunity to be saved, if we can show you how you can bypass, how you can not have to suffer the judgment of hell, would you allow us to show you, and people might say, no, I don't care, well you know what, then that's on them, we've won, we've accomplished, we've accomplished what God called us to do, as long as we're out there warning people, are you there in Acts 20, look at verse 31, Acts chapter 20, keep your finger there in Acts, we're gonna leave it, we're gonna come back to it, but I want you to look at Acts 20 and verse 31, the Bible says this, therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears, notice Paul said, what I was doing when I was out there, I was warning everyone, and let me just say this, if you're one of these soul-winners that likes to complain about the fact that, oh we went to this neighborhood and nobody talked to me and I wasn't receptive and I haven't got anybody saved in a while, you don't understand what you're doing, your job is to be a watchman that warns people, you say, I'm gonna quit soul-winning because I won for three weeks now, and nobody got saved, well then you don't understand your job, your job is to warn, your job is to give people the opportunity, what they do with that, that's between them and God, and look, we rejoice when they get saved, and we rejoice when they get saved and they call upon Christ, and when you go out there and you get to do some soul-winning, praise the Lord for it, but when you go out there and all you did was warn, you ought to rejoice as well, because you've done what God called you to do, go to Colossians chapter 1, you're there in Acts, you're gonna go past Romans, 1st, 2nd, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, so don't sit there and complain, oh we gotta go to this one area and it's not very receptive, what, those people don't need to be warned? I mean do those people not deserve, well they're rich, does that, okay, so their souls won't burn, their hell won't be hot, they don't, you say, well I want to go get somebody safe, look we all want to get somebody safe, but our job is to warn, our job is to make sure everybody gets warned, our job is to make sure that we give the message out there, and look what people do with the message, what they do with the warning, when they hear the trumpet and they choose to ignore it, that's on them, but our job is to warn every man, Colossians 1 28, notice what the Bible says, whom we preach, don't miss this, warning every man, see here's the thing, we can't win them all, but we can warn them all, today it was a failure because nobody got saved, no you know what, if you warned everyone on that street, if you did your best to warn everyone on that, in that area that you got a map in, and then you did your job, because whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, see what we do when we go out there to preach the gospel, sometimes we do soul winning, but every time we should be doing soul warning, and that shouldn't discourage you, that's not a bad thing, that's a great thing, that we've given people the opportunity to be saved, and here we're not Calvinists, what they do with it, that's between them and God, go back to Acts chapter 18, here's what's interesting is that Paul used the same terminology that we see from Ezekiel 33 in regards to taking responsibility and having their blood upon their heads, or upon his head, or upon his hands in regards to preaching the gospel, Acts 18 verse 5, notice what the Bible says, Acts 18 verse 5 says this, and when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit and he testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ, so he was out soul winning, right, what we call soul winning, soul warning, he's testifying to the Jews about the Messiah, that Jesus was Christ, that Jesus was Christ, verse 6, and when they opposed themselves, because look that's what some people do, we go out and we give them, we tell them hey there's a free gift that God wants to give you, and when we bring it all the way to them, I mean we don't expect them to come to us, we go to them, we knock on their doors, we offer them to receive the gospel, to receive the gift of salvation, and what do they do, they oppose themselves, they hurt themselves, and when they oppose themselves and blaspheme, notice he shook his raiment and said unto them, notice what he says, your blood be upon your own heads, he didn't get discouraged about it, he didn't get upset about it, he said look that's your problem, you don't want to take warning, you don't want to hear the warning, then your blood is upon your head, but notice what he says, I am clean, from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles, notice Acts chapter 20 verse 26, just flip a few pages over, Acts chapter 20 verse 26, it's interesting because Paul said look, he said I've done my job if I've warned you, he said here's where I failed as a soul winner, I failed as a soul winner if I watched the judgment of God, the impending danger coming, and I never said anything to anybody, that's when I failed, that's how I failed, you say I don't even go out there and preach the gospel to anybody, then you're failing as a watchman, but when you go out there and you warn someone and they don't take heed, hey you know what, you can walk away from that like Paul and say I am clean, your blood be upon your own head, Acts 20 verse 26 notice what the Bible says, wherefore I take you to record this day, notice what he says, that I am pure from the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God, so what is it that we're trying, here's what we're trying to accomplish, here's what we're trying to do, we're trying to get to heaven with as little blood on our hands as possible, we're trying to get to heaven and be able to say with a clear conscience, and you know it's true in your life, and I can tell you in my life, that there have been people that we did not give the gospel to, and we failed them, and their blood is on our hands, and you say well what can I do, here's what you can do, you can spend the rest of your life trying to warn people, and quit getting discouraged about whether they listen or not, because your job is to be a watchman, your job is to blow the trumpet, your job is to tell people, and if they take heed, praise God, and if they don't, I'm clean, their blood is upon their heads, I am pure from the blood of all men, so we see the parable of the watchman is this, get out there and warn people, get out there and let people know about the impending danger that's coming, because here's the bottom line, there are people in your life, there are people that you come in contact with, there are people that you have access to, that only you have access to, and God will hold you accountable for whether those people received a warning or not, so we see the parable of the watchman, go back to Ezekiel 33, I want you to notice secondly in this chapter we see the principles of repentance, there's a few verses here that deal with repentance and how it works, and let me just explain something to you, and I want to make sure you understand this about Ezekiel, when we're looking at Ezekiel, the entire book, and especially chapters 33, 18, you know chapters that deal with these things, we're not talking about spiritual salvation in this chapter, the Bible tells us that the book of John was specifically written that people might believe, okay, so when you have to go to Ezekiel 33 to get your salvation doctrines, you're really grasping at straws, okay, Ezekiel's not necessarily the gospel according to John or anything close to it, when we're looking at Ezekiel 33, we are not talking about spiritual salvation, we're talking about people literally physically being saved when they take heed to the warning of impending danger, now we can make the spiritual application, and Paul did, he used the same terminology in regards to salvation, but you need to understand that the people that Ezekiel was talking to, he was not trying to get them saved, so don't go to Ezekiel 33 to try to prove your repent of your sins gospel, because it's not there, the proper application, the legitimate application of Ezekiel 33 is about a nation repenting and avoiding national judgment, that's the actual application, now you can make applications and there's some principles that can be applied to believers like we just did, and you can make principles from the section on repentance that can be applied to a believer avoiding God's chastisement, a believer getting saved, good night getting saved, no I'm saying the wrong things, a believer that's already saved getting right with God and avoiding the judgment of God, however no application in this in this passage proves that you have to repent of your sins to be saved, look there's so many clear verses in the Bible that teach that salvation is not of words, that teach that turning from your evil way is words, that teach all of those things, so I want to make sure you understand that, but look at Ezekiel 33 and verse 10 notice what the Bible says, it says, therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, thus ye speak, saying, if our transgressions and our sins be upon us, we pine away in them, how should we then live? Now I want you to notice verse 11, because verse 11 is actually a verse that gets thrown in our face a lot, those of us who believe in soul winning and those of us who believe in the reprobate doctrine, this verse gets thrown at us a lot, Ezekiel 33 11, the Bible says this, say unto them, as I live save the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live, turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die, O house of Israel? And people will throw this, because you know we'll preach about the fact that there are reprobates that are gonna die and go to hell, and you know what, we're not sad about it, we're not upset about it, that's where they need to go. And people say, well what about Ezekiel 33 11? God says I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. So let me explain a couple of things, keep your place on Ezekiel, go to Romans chapter 1, and while you go there let me read for you 2 Peter 3 9, 2 Peter 3 9 is a famous verse, you know it, you know Romans 1 also but let's look at it together, 2 Peter 3 9, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but his longsuffering to us were not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So people say, well what about Ezekiel 33 11, what do you do with that? Okay number one, it's not about salvation, so don't try to use a passage that's about a literal military coming to take over a nation and God's trying to get that nation to get right with God. Okay, we're not talking about salvation, but number two, let's go and play the devil's advocate, let's say you wanted to apply it to salvation even though it doesn't apply to salvation, yeah it's true, the Lord God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, and here's what you need to understand, he's not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, who can come to repentance? Because the thing is this, that not, people get this idea when we preach about the reprobate doctrine that we're talking about people that never had a chance, God loved every, all those people God loved, all those people Jesus died on the cross for, all those people could have been saved if they wanted to be saved but they chose to reject it, they chose to reject it, and it's not that they never had a chance, it's that God gave them up, you're there in Romans, you've seen it before, let's look at it together, chapter 1 verse 22, professing themselves to be wise they became fools and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things, verse 24, wherefore God also gave them up. Now look, they changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, so they chose to change the gospel of God, the things of God, the idea of God, and then God says, the Bible says, God also gave them up to unclean us through the loss of their own hearts to the center of their own bodies between themselves. Notice verse 25, who changed the truth of God into a lie, they changed the truth of God into a lie and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator who is blessed forever, amen? So then God responds, verse 26, for this cause God gave them up into vile affections for even their women to change the natural use into that which is against nature, and likewise also the man leaving the natural use of the woman, burdened in their lust one toward another, men with men working that which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of the air which was me, verse 28, and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, it's not that they did not have the knowledge of God, it's not that they did not have the opportunity and the access to salvation, they chose, they didn't want it, God says, and the Bible says in the same way that they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, they didn't want to think about God, but God said, okay, you never have to think about me again. God gave them over to a reprobate body to do those things which are not convenient. So here's the point that I want you to understand, when we go back to Ezekiel 33 11, look at it, Ezekiel 33 11, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, absolutely, but that the wicked, notice, the wicked that he has no pleasure in the death of is the ones that are able to turn from his way and live, and he's telling them, turn ye, turn ye, you know, you say, how does this apply to the reprobate? It doesn't, because the reprobate can't turn, he's been given up, the reprobate's lost their opportunity to turn. You want to apply salvation, here's how you can apply it, the heart of God breaks whenever an unsaved person that could have been saved dies and goes to hell. God's heart breaks, because at the very least we could have taken the gospel to them and warned them, but this passage, number one, it's not about salvation, but even if you want to apply it to salvation, you can't apply it to reprobate, because these people have a chance. God says he wants them to turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die, O House of Israel? Notice verse 12. In verse 12 we start talking about these principles for repentance, and again, we shouldn't apply these to salvation, we should honestly apply them to a nation that has God's judgment upon them and they're trying to get right. You understand that nations can get right with God? Even if people don't necessarily get saved, they can get right with God, to where God will not destroy them, and you can apply this to believers who God is chastising for their sin. Verse 12, Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him the day of his transgression. As for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness. Neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. Verse 13, When I shall say to the righteous that he shall surely live, if he trust in his righteousness and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered, but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. You say, what is the principles of repentance that we're learning here? Here's the point. Prior righteousness will not make up for present wickedness. He's saying, all his righteousness, this guy used to be right with God, this guy used to be faithful to the things of God, this guy used to walk with God, this guy used to do things for God, all his righteousness shall not be remembered, but for his iniquity. Because at this point, he's living in iniquity. At this point, he's not walking with God, he's not living for God, he's living in sin. He says, for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. So you say, well, what can we learn here? Here's what we learned. Prior righteousness will not make up for present wickedness. You know, it doesn't matter how much you used to go soul-willing. You know, it doesn't matter how much you used to read the Bible. You know, it doesn't matter how close you used to be. Look, when people talk about, oh man, back when I used to be, you know, and people talk about it like it's a good thing, like, man, I used to be really on fire for God. All you're telling us, look, if you're telling us that there was every time when you were more right with God than you are right now, here's all you're telling us, you're backslidden. It's not really something to be proud about. Not really something to be bragging about. I used to, don't tell me what you used to, look, prior righteousness will not make up for a current wickedness, and prior wickedness will be forgiven when you turn to righteousness. Notice verse 14, again, when I say unto the wicked, thou shalt surely die, if he turn from his sins, from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right, if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Notice verse 16, none of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him, he hath done that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live. He's saying, look, you said, well, I've been living right. Okay, here's the great news, you can get right with God today, and prior wickedness will be forgiven when you do right today, when you do right right now. Now, here's the response to that, because people say, wait a minute, so I used to live right, and now I'm backslidden, God's going to judge me, and my old righteousness isn't going to account for my present wickedness, but the guy that's not right with God, if he gets right with God, then that'll be fine now? Yeah, that's how it works. Say, well, that's not fair. Well, that's exactly what they said too, look at verse 17. Yet the children of black people say, the way of the Lord is not equal. They'll say, that's not fair, but as for them, their way is not equal. God says, you know what, don't talk to me about being equal. When the righteous turneth from his righteousness and committed iniquity, he shall even die thereby, but if the wicked turn from his wickedness and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. Yet ye say, the way of the Lord is not equal, O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his way. And here's what he's saying, it doesn't matter what you think is right, God's always right. He said, well, how does this make sense? You know, prior righteousness won't make up for present wickedness, and prior wickedness will be forgiven with present righteousness. And here's what he's teaching, and I'll just give it to you real quickly, you don't have to turn there, but in Ecclesiastes 7 and 8, the Bible says this, better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof. It's more important how you end than how you begin. See, here's the thing, you can start right, and you can end right, and that's great. And you can start wrong and end right, and that's fine. But if you start right and end wrong, you're in trouble. Because better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof. So the idea is, focus on today. How's your Bible reading today? How's your prayer time today? How's your walk with God today? How's your soul winning today? How's your church attendance today? How is your commitment to God today? Because you'll be judged today. Prior righteousness won't make up for a backslid heart today. And you don't have to worry about the past, you can confess your sin and move on with God and get right with God today. Notice verse 21, in verse 21, we see a prophecy fulfilled. This is what I was talking to you about, the climax of the book in some ways. We saw the parable of the washroom, we saw the principles of repentance. Then we see real quickly here a prophecy fulfilled. Notice verse 21, and it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me saying, the city is smitten. Now that doesn't look like much, but if you remember, Ezekiel actually prophesied this. You were there in Ezekiel 33, go back to Ezekiel 24 just real quickly. Remember Ezekiel was prophesying about the impending judgment. Remember in Ezekiel 24, if you remember back when we were in Ezekiel 24, we talked about the fact that Ezekiel stood up on that day and he said, today Jerusalem has fallen. There's no way for Ezekiel to have known that. Ezekiel didn't know that, he's just prophesying what God told him to prophesy. And people said, that's crazy, that doesn't make any sense. And Ezekiel said, you know what, because it's going to take some time for someone to run away from the danger of Jerusalem and show up here in Babylon, and they're going to testify to the account that I've said, then you'll know that this prophecy was fulfilled. That's exactly what's happening in this chapter. Notice verse, you're there in Ezekiel 24, look at verse 25, also thou son of man shall it not be in the day when I take from their strength the joy of their glory the desire of their eyes and that whereupon they set their minds their sons and their daughters verse 26 that he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee to cause thee to hear it with thine ears. So God tells him, in that day of judgment someone's going to run away and it's going to take them some time, but they're going to get to you and they're going to validate your prophecies. And we see that fulfilled in Ezekiel 33, 21, when it says that one had escaped out of Jerusalem and came unto me saying that the city is mitten. Here's what's interesting, if you look at verse 27 of Ezekiel 24, God told Ezekiel that there was going to be a time of kind of a famine in his ministry. He says, in that day, shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped and thou shalt speak and be no more dumb. He's telling him, you're going to go through a time in your ministry, Ezekiel, where you feel like you're dumb, like I'm not using you, I'm not speaking to you, you're not prophesying anymore and thou shall be a sign unto them and they shall know that I am the Lord. And he says, but when that guy shows up, like I'm telling you about, when he shows up from that day forward, you're going to start a new ministry. And that's what we see in Ezekiel because starting in the next chapter, we start talking about the millennial reign, and we start talking about the temple, and we start talking about some real exciting things, and it all was kicked off by this man that shows up and fulfills the prophecy. So we see here a message for Ezekiel, and then we see a message from Ezekiel. Look at verse 22, Ezekiel 33, verse 22. In Ezekiel 33 and verse 21, we saw a message for Ezekiel, one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me saying, the city is smitten. In verse 22, we see a message from Ezekiel. Now the hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came and had opened my mouth. He said, his message opened my mouth until he came to me in the morning and my mouth was open and I was no more dumb. And there's a reviving of the ministry of Ezekiel. So we've seen the parable of the watchman, we've seen the principles of repentance, we've seen a prophecy fulfilled. Let's see, fourthly tonight, notice in this chapter, we also see the prerequisites for the blessing in the land. And this is important, and I want you to get this, we don't spend a lot of time on this, but notice verse 23. Then the Lord came unto me saying, son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak. So he's saying, the people that live in the land, they're speaking, they're saying things. Notice what they're saying, saying. Here's what they're saying, it's really funny. Abraham was one and he inherited the land, but we are many. The land has given us for inheritance. So here's what they're thinking. They're thinking, well, Abraham was just one person and God gave him the whole land, we're way more than one descendant from Abraham, we're many descendants, so everything's gonna be okay, God's gonna give us the land too. They thought that the land and the blessing of the land was connected to their connection to Abraham. And look, when we get to the New Testament, they're telling John the Baptist and Jesus the exact same thing. Remember, they're being told, hey, think not, don't think that it matters that you have Abraham as your father, that you're a descendant of Abraham. He says, look, that's not the connection to God's blessing. Notice what he says in verse 25, wherefore say unto them. So remember, they're saying Abraham was one person and he got the land, we're many, so God's gonna give us the land too, don't worry about Nebuchadnezzar, don't worry about the judgment. So here's the response, verse 25, wherefore say unto them, thus saith the Lord God, and this is what God is saying to them. Because they just got them saying, everything is gonna be fine, because there's lots of us. So God says to them, ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes towards your idols, and shed blood. God's saying, he's listening to their sins, he's saying, you eat with the blood when I commanded you not to eat blood. You lift up your eyes towards idols when I commanded you not to worship idols. He says, and shed blood. He said, you're killing people, you're hurting people, you're violent. When I told you not to do those things, and shall ye possess the land? Notice verse 26, you stand upon your swords, you work abominations, you defile everyone, his neighbor's wife, and shall ye possess the land. Here's what he's telling them, and it's been like this from Exodus, Leviticus, this was all found in the Pentateuch, that their blessing and their connection to the land was dependent on their relationship with God, their walk with God. God's saying, you think I'm going to bless you with the land when you're defiling your neighbor's wife, when you're working abominations, when you're setting your eyes on idols, when you're shedding blood, when you're eating blood? He said, and shall ye possess the land? And look, don't sit there and think, I'm saved, so I've got the blessings of God. No, you're saved, so you've got salvation, that's what you got. But don't think that God's going to bless you when you're living like a heathen. Don't think that God's going to bless you when you're not walking with him, when you're purposely disobeying his commandments, when you're not taking heat. God's not going to bless you. Oh, well, he's my father. Yeah, exactly. You know what that means? That means you're getting a spanking, that's what that means. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you, as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord. That's what the Bible says. The Bible says that God is going to chasten you. If ye endure chastening, then God dealeth with you as with sons. That's what the Bible says. But if you be without chastisement, then are you bastards and not sons? You say, ah, I'm a Christian, I live my life however I want, nothing ever happens to me. Well, I hate to break it to you, but you're not saved. Then you're a bastard, you're not a son. Because the Bible says that God chastises his children. So don't think that I can be saved and have God as my father and just live however I want. And look, you can live however you want and you're still saved. You can live however you want and you still have God as your father. You can live however you want and you're still born again. But you can't live however you want and not expect a spanking from God. Who's your father? Who loves you? So notice what he says, verse 27. Say thou thus unto them, thus saith the Lord God. He says, you think I'm going to keep you in the land? As I live, I like when God says those things. Because he can swear by no greater, he swears by himself. As I live, surely they that are in the waste shall fall by the sword. And him that is in the open field will I give to the beast to be devout. And they that be in the fort and in the cave shall die for the pestilence. For I will lay the land most desolate and the pomp of their strains shall cease and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate and none shall pass through. Then shall they know that I am the Lord when I have laid the land most desolate because of all of their abominations which they have committed. And here's what he says. He says, you're not going to get the land because of the way you are living your life. And look, and this is Old Testament Israel, but we can apply this in our lives. You cannot have the blessings of God upon your life when you are living in sin. And don't let the word bastard offend you, okay? That's a biblical word. That's what the Bible says. That's what it says in Hebrews chapter 12. You should read it. Notice verse 30. In verse 30, we find the last section in this chapter. So we've talked about the parable of the watchman. We talked about the principles of repentance. We talked about a prophecy fulfilled. We talked about the prerequisites for the blessing in the land. And then this chapter ends with what I think is an extremely interesting section. And I think it's interesting because it applies to me. It applies to some of you. It doesn't apply to all of you, but that's okay. Let's look at it. He ends by giving, talking about the preaching of the prophet. And he's giving preachers some advice and some things to take heed. And he's letting preachers understand. Those of us that are in spiritual leadership, these are things that we need to understand. This applies to me because I'm a pastor. I'm in spiritual leadership. But we've got men here on staff. This applies to them because they're in ministry. Some of you guys are training to be preachers one day or training to be pastors. This applies to you. So listen up and notice what he says. Ezekiel 33, verse 30. Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people. So he's saying the people you preach to, notice what he says, still are talking. Notice this word though. Against. It's not a positive thing. Still are talking against thee, by the walls and in the doors of the houses. He's saying, there are church people that are going home, Ezekiel, when you get done preaching and they're talking smack about you. They're talking ill about you. They're gossiping about you. They're gossiping about your wife. They're gossiping about your staff. They're gossiping. He says, look, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the house. And let me just help you understand something. For those of you that want to go in ministry, you need to get this. And for those of you that aren't in ministry, I just want you to know that I understand this. As a preacher, there comes a moment in your ministry when you must come to grips with the fact that there will always be someone criticizing you, talking bad about you. Even people who like you and love you. We'll see that in the text. Some of you go home and criticize everything we do. And look, something I had to learn in ministry a long time ago is that I cannot make a decision. I cannot make a decision without somebody going home and speaking against it in their house and with their friends. You just have to get this. And for those of you that want to go into ministry, just understand this. For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism. So just get used to it. Look, please understand something. If you're going to go into ministry, get used to people talking crap about you because it's part of the game. It's part of the deal. It's how it goes. So look, people think they're smart. It's funny because the Lord has a way of revealing everything with time. People think like, oh, yeah, yeah. Well, I can't believe that pastor's doing this and he shouldn't do this. It's funny how people who've never ran a church think they know everything about running a church and being a pastor. It's funny how people will come to me with their issues. Oh, I don't think, when they finally do get the guts to come to me with their issues. Usually the conversation go like, well, I don't think that we should have done X, Y, and Z. And I'll say, well, here's what you didn't know. This and this and this. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, I know. Because you're not the pastor. Because you don't have all the details. Because you just see things from your perspective. So here's all I'm asking you. Here's all I'm trying to help you with. Maybe as a church member, can you cut us some slack sometimes? You say, well, not you. Okay, that's fine. You're the next pastor, the next guy, the church you go to once I kick you out, whatever. Can you cut that guy slack? Because there might be something you don't know, you don't understand, you don't see, or you're just not thinking about. So as a preacher, you must come to grips with the fact that there will always be someone talking bad about you, your wife, your kids, your staff. Just get used to it. Notice verse 31, and they come unto thee as the people cometh. People like that. Oh, you think he's talking about me? Yeah. If you're asking the question, do you think he's talking about me? Yeah, the answer is yes. And they come unto thee as the people cometh. Come ask me that question, Judas. Is it I? Yeah, thou sayest. Here, let's dip our hands together. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words. Notice what he says, but they will not do them. He said, what are some things we need to understand as preachers? Well, first of all, you need to understand, you need to just come to grips with the fact that there will always be someone who's talking bad about you. But here's the second thing. As a preacher, you must come to grips with the fact that there will always be people who hear your preaching and do not apply it. Just get that. Just understand that. Just get this thought. We want to have this idea that we spend time thinking and praying and studying, and we're going to get up and preach this phenomenal sermon, and lives are going to change, and people are going to get right. And here's the thing. Sometimes that happens, and it's great. But most of the time, they just sit there. Some of you, right now, right now, are just sitting there, and you've been sitting there for a long time. And you hear the sermons, and you hear the preaching, and I do my best to make sure that there's always a clear application, that you don't walk out of here thinking, I wonder what he was trying to say. No, no, it's real clear what I was trying to say. And you choose not to do anything with it. They came unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them. Keep your finger there. We're almost done. I know it's awkward, right? Go to Matthew chapter 7. We're almost done. I promise. Matthew chapter 7. I just want to show you something real quick. Matthew chapter 7. We're going to look at something in Matthew 7. We're going to look at something in Ezekiel 33. We're going to look at something in Matthew 7. Funny how whenever it's awkward. It's never awkward for me. This is like therapy for me. I enjoy it. It helps me. Matthew chapter 7, verse 24. Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine. Matthew 7, verse 24. Oh, Pastor, it's your fault because you're just not an effective communicator. Okay, well, same thing happened to Jesus. Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, Jesus speaking, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house, and it fell, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sin. Now keep your finger right there because we're going to come right back to it. Go back to Ezekiel 33. We're almost done. Say, what are some lessons we can learn for preachers? Here's a lesson. You must come to grips with the fact that there will always be somebody criticizing you. You must come to grips with the fact that people who have never led anyone spiritually, who have never read the Bible cover to cover or whatever, people who have never had the awesome responsibility of being the spiritual guide of families. They will always think they know better than you. They know better than the decision you make, the choice you made, the ministry you started, where you decided to invest money, where you decided to invest time, where you decided to invest staff. They'll always know better. So just realize that. As preachers, we must come to grips with the fact that there will always be people who hear your preaching and do not apply it. And then number three, as preachers, we must come to grips with the fact that no matter how much people like your preaching, they will never appreciate your preaching until they suffer the consequences of not taking heed to it. Ezekiel 33 verse 32, and lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song. Look, they didn't dislike his preaching. They thought he was a talented preacher. They thought he had communication skills. They thought that God had given him a talent to be able to communicate God's Word. They enjoyed it. And he says, and lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one them that have a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument. And look, and I'll tell you, I appreciate the encouragement and our church people, and you guys encouraged me along the way with the preaching, and we get letters and emails and things, and I appreciate all of that. People say, man, your sermons are helpful or they're great or they're good or whatever. But notice what he says. He says they think you're a very lovely song. They think that you're one that hath a pleasant voice. They think that you can play well on an instrument. They're saying your preaching is like someone who plays well on an instrument. But notice, for they hear thy words, but they do them not. Verse 33, and when this cometh to pass, when what cometh to pass? When the destruction comes. When the trumpet was blown. Go back to Matthew 7. Keep your finger right there. Go back to Matthew 7. So remember, what's preaching likened to? Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet. See, it's not just soul winning, it's church. See, every church service, every Sunday morning, every Sunday night, every Wednesday night, I get up here and you know what I do? I warn. I'll say, you want to have a good marriage? Here's what you need to do. You want to have kids that love the Lord? Here's what you need to do. You want to not have finances that God blesses? Here's what you need to do. You want to have a career that God blesses? Here's what you need to do. And we just warn, and we warn, and we warn, and we warn, and we warn. And some people listen and Jesus says, I liken them unto a wise man that built their house upon a rock. Why? Because when you build your house upon the rock of God's word, he blesses you. But when you walk away and say, that was a great sermon. Yeah, whatever. Jesus says, well, I liken to you unto a fool who built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell and great was the fall of it. Go back to Ezekiel 33. And let me say this, it's not when the storm comes, it's not if the storm comes, it's when the storm comes because the storm's coming. And here's all you need to understand and here's all you need to get. The storm does not cause you to have your foundation on the sand. The storm merely reveals where your foundation was all along. So here's what he says. Here's what he tells Ezekiel. He says, hey, they like your preaching. They like it. They thumb it up on YouTube. They send you emails. They tell you good sermon. And I'm not, look, I'm not, if you say good sermon to me, I appreciate it. I'm not trying to talk bad about you. I'm really not. I do appreciate the encouragement. But here's what he's saying. He says, you are a very lovely song to them, a pleasant voice. You can play well on an instrument for they hear thy words, but they do them not. Verse 33, and when this cometh to pass, when the storm comes, when the destruction comes, when your life, when your marriage, when your finances, when your children, when your relationships, when it fell and great was the fall of it, when this cometh to pass, lo, it will come. Then shall they know that a prophet has been among them. See, it doesn't matter how much you like the preaching. It doesn't matter how talented the preacher is. It doesn't matter how lovely it is. It doesn't matter how dynamic he is. It doesn't matter how interesting he is. If you do nothing with it, you really won't appreciate it until after the storm. Because when it comes, lo, it will come. Then you'll know, man, that wasn't just a good sermon. He was right. That wasn't just a good presentation. Then shall they know that a prophet has been among them? Here's a question I have for you. What do you do with the truths that are revealed from this pulpit? I'm not just talking about me. I'm talking about any time anybody opens up God's Word and preaches God's Word, what do you do with it? What do you do with the sermons on communication? What do you do with the sermons on gossip? What do you do with the sermons on soul-wedding? What do you do with the sermons on finances? What do you do with the sermons about marriage and child-break? What do you do with the sermons? Because when it all falls apart, that's when you'll really appreciate the truths that have been brought forth from this book. I hope you take heed. 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 in Ezekiel. And Lord, I thank you. I thank you for the end of Ezekiel 33, because sometimes it's good for us as preachers to know that there is no new thing under the sun. And as much as we receive criticism, so did Ezekiel, so did Jesus, so did every person who attempted to stand up and preach God's Word, and we realize we're not perfect, and we make many mistakes. Lord, I pray you'd help our church people to not just sit there, that their hearts would get right, that they would go home and do something with what they've heard from your Word. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.