EZEKIEL 33:31-32 REAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD2006 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ezekiel 33:31-32 Real Relationship With The Lord

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2006. Well, we're in Ezekiel chapter 33 this morning. We're not continuing on in the book of Philippians as we normally would, but...

to take a break this week because there's a special message really that God has been placing on my heart for some time now for a couple months and I wanted to share it with you this morning and so you might notice it's a little bit different this morning the pulpit's not here and it's

I'm a little bit dressed informal. I got my jeans on and relaxed. And I hope that's okay with you. I just want to spend this time sharing my heart and what God's been speaking and some of the things that he confirmed at the pastor's conference and really just allow God to do a work within our hearts this morning. So is that okay with you guys if we're a little informal this morning? All right. Rosie said no. So, yeah, this is another church across the street. You can... Just kidding.

You know, it all started a couple months ago. God began to speak to my heart. I was walking into the pulpit on a Sunday morning, and just like we're sitting here right now, the time of worship had ended. The person leading worship, I don't remember who specifically it was, but they were praying at the end of worship, as we often do. And while they were praying, I was getting out of my seat, and I was coming up to the pulpit, preparing to teach the word out of the book of Ephesians.

Well, as I was walking up, I got out of my chair and I took a couple steps and God began to speak to my heart and he asked me, why are you going up into the pulpit right now? And I was standing up there and preparing my heart and

preparing for what I was about to share and I told the Lord, you know God, we just have to make this really quick. Maybe can I get back to you on this? I'll think about it later and meditate. And so, you know, he's very gracious. He let me get back to him later. And so I began to meditate as he

had prompted that in my heart at that time, and I just began to meditate. After the service that day and over the next couple of days, just wondering, Lord, what is it that you're trying to speak? What are you asking me, and what is it that you want to minister to my heart?

Well, it was a few days later that my wife and I, celebrating our anniversary, our two years together back early in May, and we went to Disneyland. We went down there, spent a couple of days, and did the whole tour thing. You know, we did it. We did it for our first year anniversary, too, so it was kind of a thing that we're starting a tradition. I don't know if we'll do that every year, but we're there, and we went to Disney's California Adventure.

And as we're at the California Adventure, down back on the back corridor by the Hollywood Tower of Terror is the Aladdin show. And maybe you've heard of it or seen it. And they have a show there. It's 45 minutes long and they condense the whole, you know, movie, the Disney movie Aladdin, into that 45 minute time span.

And it was a really great play. I encourage you if you're in the area, you know, you happen to be there. It's very entertaining, very fast-paced and moving. They go through it pretty quickly. But while we're there, we're watching the play.

And I began to notice something. I'd seen it before, so I wasn't paying that much attention to the story. I was kind of just paying attention to how they were doing things and the way that they would do their special effects and make you think that Aladdin's really flying and so on and so forth. And as I'm paying attention to these things, I noticed that they would...

drop the curtain down in order to change the scene. And you say, well, you don't have to pay much attention to notice that. Every play in the world does that, you know. They drop the curtain so that they can change the scene. And then when they pull it back, voila, you're in some new place, you know. Instead of being in the marketplace of Agrabah, now you're in the palace, you know, with the sultan and everything. And so they change the scenes very quickly. But

What I noticed was they would always have some distraction for you so that you wouldn't notice they were changing the scene. There was either the genie out there telling his jokes or Aladdin would be out in front of the curtain telling you about his innermost thoughts and struggles. And as he's doing that, you're paying attention to him. And next thing you know, the curtains draw back.

And there is the new scene. You're magically translated into some new place so that you can continue on in the story. It's not like a movie where they can just change the scene with a camera. But they do it all behind the scenes and using the curtain to mask that so that you can't even tell.

Well, as I was watching that, the Lord began to ask me the continuation of this thought, why are you walking up to the pulpit right now? And God began to really challenge my heart and asking myself personally, if I was using prayer to lower the curtains that we might change the scene. And I began to notice in some of our services and sometimes in our times together that, you

You know, our prayers weren't necessarily prompted or motivated by wanting to express ourselves to God and be in God's presence, but really to change the scene. We would occasionally use prayer to move from one place to another or to do something that you would not notice. And the Lord really began to challenge my heart with that, and he led me to a portion in Ezekiel chapter 33. If you could turn there with me if you're not there already.

Ezekiel chapter 33 verses 31 and 32. This is really where God really began to speak to me and I know that he wants to speak to us this morning. Verse 31 of Ezekiel 33 says this, So they come to you as people do. They sit before you as my people and they hear your words but they do not do them. For with their mouth they show much love.

But their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed, you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument. For they hear your words, but they do not do them.

This portion of the book of Ezekiel, God is speaking to Ezekiel. Now Ezekiel was a prophet to the nation of Israel. He was at this time in captivity. He was in Babylon with many others who had been taken captive from the city of Jerusalem. And they were there being held captive by the Babylonians. And they would remain there for 70 years until the Lord set them free and sent them back.

And while they're there, there's still some back in Jerusalem, some Jews, they didn't take them all completely yet, but they're in captivity and God is speaking through Ezekiel to his people. He's allowed them to go into captivity because they refused to follow him and be obedient to him. They refused to worship him, but he's still reaching out to them and seeking to have relationship with them.

And so he's using Ezekiel to share God's word with the people. And he's giving prophecies, he's giving encouragement, calling the people back to relationship with God. Well, as he's doing this, God gives this message to Ezekiel.

He says, again in verse 31, they come to you as people do. Just like people will gather together for a service, that's how these people are coming to you. The nation of Israel, they're in captivity. They're coming to you and they're taking part in the service. He says, they come and they sit before you as my people. Now,

They are God's people. Israel is God's chosen people. But what God's saying is they're pretending. They're coming and they're pretending to be. They sit before you as if they were my people. But there's a problem with those who are participating in the services of Ezekiel and hearing the words of Ezekiel because God says they hear your words, but they do not do them.

They hear what you're saying, Ezekiel. They hear the message that you're giving. They hear my word being given through you. But they don't apply it. They walk away and nothing's changed. They haven't allowed me to impact their life or their hearts. They haven't allowed me to transform them. They haven't allowed me to instruct them or correct them in the way that they're living. They've just come and sat and participated.

more as a spectator, than allowing me, God, to minister to their heart and to really reach them. He says, For with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. With their mouth they show much love. Here they come, and they're showing much love verbally. As there's the time of singing, they sing verbally.

Afterwards, they pat the guy on the back and say, good job, Ezekiel. Great word. We enjoyed the service. Boy, that was a great message. They say, you know, I love God. We love God. We're God's people and so on and so forth. They're paying lip service to God, but with no real heart. They're not applying themselves. Their lives aren't being changed. God says that in their hearts, they're pursuing their own gain.

So in reality, they don't care about the things of God. They're not concerned about the things of God. They're just concerned about their own gain, their own welfare. The things that

are important to them. And they don't care much for the things of God. And so it's all a facade. It's all a great show to these Israelites who come before Ezekiel. They come, they sit, they say the right things, they say the hallelujahs and praise the Lord, brother, sister, amen. But there's nothing really going on.

God says, they're not allowing me to reach their heart. In verse 32, he says, Indeed, you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument. Now this morning, you have heard those who have lovely voices and can play well on instruments, right? We were blessed with Michael and Golden. But the problem was,

God says, my people, when they came to you, Ezekiel, they come and they hear the wonderful music, they hear your lovely voice, they think you're an eloquent speaker, but that's it. There's nothing beyond that. Again, they're just there for entertainment. It's a show. It's their weekly routine or however often they would meet.

But again, there would be no change taking place. Their hearts would not be impacted. They would not experience God. And God so longed for them to experience His presence and dwell with Him. Again, He says at the end, for they hear your words, but they do not do them. He repeats that again. The bottom line is this, God says. The Word is being given.

And they're not doing it. They're not receiving it. They're not taking it for themselves. And so God, as he's speaking here to Ezekiel, he's telling him these things about his people, but he's not pleased with this. He's not pleased with this attitude that they have when they come before Ezekiel. And just hearing the lovely song, the lovely voice, the eloquent speech of

It's hypocrisy, God is saying. They're pretending to be my people, but there's nothing really going on within. They're not allowing me to have relationship with them. They're giving me lip service, showing me much love with their mouth, but they're not being obedient to my word. Ezekiel, they're listening to you, but they're not obeying what I'm speaking through you. They're just here to be entertained.

Now, in any given gathering of God's people, there will always be those who have this mentality. There will always be those who are there because of the show, to be entertained, because it's the religious exercise that we do week in and week out. There will always be those who come and put on a show, again, honoring God with their mouth, but not in their hearts. Their hearts are pursuing their own gain.

And so as God directed me to this portion of Scripture, He began to continue to speak to my heart and ask me, Jerry, are you putting on a show? In the service times that you're involved in, is there showmanship in your heart? Or are you harboring that mentality that

By using showmanship, encouraging people to have that mentality, the mentality of just here to be entertained, just here to watch the show without a real connection with God. I say, well, how do I do that? Well, by putting on a show. By being more concerned with how the service goes, and if it's real smooth, and if the transitions are good, and if we...

mask it really well and draw down the curtain so that you can't tell we're changing the scene and then boom, here we go. We're in the next thing and you didn't even notice. God says, if that's your priority, Jerry, there's a problem. Because my priority, God says, is I'm there to meet with my people. Not to put on a show, not to entertain, but to meet with them. Are you doing that, Jerry? Are you involved in showmanship? And of course, my immediate answer was no.

And then it kind of progressed to, well, I don't think so. Then finally, what am I? A few days after that,

I was listening to a message from Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, the founder of Calvary Chapels. And it was back from 1980, about 26 years ago. It was a pastor's conference that he was teaching at. And it was interesting to me. I was quite shocked as I was listening to his service because he begins teaching the Word.

And he's about four minutes into his teaching. He's already opened the Bible. He's read through the portion. He's beginning to expound upon it. And as he's teaching there for a few minutes, his introduction really introducing what he's going to be sharing on, all of a sudden, you hear him say, Hey, what's going on? Something wrong with the speakers? Is someone messing with something back there? And he begins now to have a conversation with the sound guys for a couple minutes. And he's like,

And I'm like, what's happening here? What's going on? This isn't right. He's in the middle of this message. I'm waiting for him to get into the meat of the message, the service that he's giving. And he's having this conversation with the sound guys. Check, one, two. Is something wrong? What's going on?

Can you guys get it fixed? And so as he's going back and forth with these guys, finally, he looks at some guy, I guess he's in the front row. His name is Tom. He was leading worship for them before. And so he says, Tom, why don't you come back up here and lead us in a couple more songs? So Tom comes up and he's a piano player. And he hits maybe three or four notes on his piano, on his keyboard. And he begins to sing.

And then you can hear with him, it was quite amazing, the body just joined with him in that song and joined with him as they worshipped. So they worshipped the Lord for a couple of songs. This is all in the message that I'm listening to. Very old songs that were nice to remember. You know, I have decided. You guys remember that one?

Good old school songs. But they're worshiping the Lord, and they're in the middle, they're finishing up, or they're in the middle of this one song, and another guy comes up, and he begins to pound on the microphone to see if it's working. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

And so here's everybody worshiping. I'm just picturing in my head, here's everybody worshiping. This guy comes up, and he goes, is it working? Check, one, two, hello? Is it working? Okay, I think we got it. And then he goes and sits down while they're worshiping. And then they just continue to worship. They finish the song, and then Pastor Chuck comes back up right where he left off. He doesn't like address it or, you know, talk about it. He just, right where he left off, he just keeps on teaching. And I listened to that, and I was blown away. I was amazed.

And I began to wonder, what would we think if that happened at Living Water on Sunday morning? We think it's a disaster. That was the worst service ever. Mario, you're fired. You can't do that. How horrible is that? It didn't faze them at all. You know why? They weren't putting on a show. It wasn't about being entertained. It wasn't even about having a perfect, flawless service.

They were fellowshipping with Jesus Christ. They were having relationship, enjoying relationship with God. And so it didn't matter so much what they were doing at the moment. Well, we thought we were going to get into the Word and enjoy relationship with God there, but I guess we're just going to keep worshiping for a few moments. And so they go right back into worship without a care, without worry, without stressing out and thinking, what's going to happen? What are we going to do?

They just, all right, well, let's worship. And they go back into the worship. And you could hear the body just join in immediately with a couple strokes on the keyboard. They just joined in because they were there to worship God. And so if they had an opportunity again, even if it was when they were supposed to be hearing the word, so what? Let's worship God. They're right back in it with all their hearts.

And then back when things were ready and they were able to continue on in the Word, okay, let's get back into the Word. They were there to have fellowship with God, experience Jesus Christ. And however He wanted to do that was okay by them. And so the Lord's really been challenging me with this whole idea and asking me to make sure in my own heart that I don't get caught up in the idea of showmanship, being more concerned about God

the flawless service or how smooth it is, but instead I need to be more concerned with how well we present God and how well we give an environment where you can experience God and know that He is real. And so with that, I would like to please ask your forgiveness. Please forgive us.

You know, if we have conveyed to you anything except the reality of God that we serve, please forgive us. If we haven't expressed to you that He is real, if we have not helped you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is real and that His love for you is real, please forgive us. We need you to know, we want you to know that God is real, that He is here in our midst and that He loves you so dearly.

Oh, if we've kept you from knowing that God is real, please forgive us. The thing that we want to convey the most, by we I'm referring to myself, I'm referring to those who stand before you and lead you in worship and lead you in prayer and lead you in the word together. The thing that we want to convey the most is that God is real.

And he loves you so much that he sent his son to die on the cross for you. That you could have a personal relationship with him. That he could be your God and you could be his people. That he would meet your needs and transform your life and give you peace and hope and forgiveness. God is real and he loves you so much. I would like to read this portion from Ezekiel again and challenge you.

with this same challenge that God has been challenging me. This question, do you...

Have a real relationship with God. Is that what you're experiencing? Is that what you're involved in? A real relationship with God. Again, Ezekiel 33 verse 31 says, So they come to you as people do. They sit before you as my people and hear your words, but they do not do them. For with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain.

Indeed, you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument. For they hear your words, but they do not do them.

Let's read verse 33 as well. And when this comes to pass, surely it will come. Then they will know that a prophet has been among them. God says, listen, Ezekiel, I've been using you to prophesy, to tell them what's about to come, that Jerusalem is going to be destroyed. They're going to be there in captivity. I've been using you, Ezekiel, to tell them what's going to come to pass. And they're coming before you. They're sitting there.

They're experiencing, they're paying lip service, they're pretending, but there's no real connection. And so they're not going to know until after your word is fulfilled that I was really speaking to them, that I really desired to have a relationship with them. Now this brings great concern to me, because I ask the question, does this describe you, Ezekiel 33, 31, and 32? As far as Bible prophecy is concerned, no.

There's nothing else that must take place before Jesus Christ returns for his church, the rapture of the church. There's other prophecies that might be fulfilled, but there's nothing that has to take place, which means that Jesus Christ could come back right now this instant, or ten minutes after service, or tomorrow morning, or ten years from now. We don't know, but he could come back right now.

And it raises concerns within me. Because if we do not experience real relationship with God, we're not going to know until it's too late. We're not going to know that God really did want to have personal relationship with me and be close to me until the church is caught up in the air. And those who are left behind, those who are here on earth, will experience the great tribulation, the wrath of God being poured out on this earth.

We ought to be very concerned that we do not just come and pretend to be God's people and sit through services and say the right things and pay lip service to God, but walk away not obedient to His Word in our hearts. We need to be careful. I want to look at a couple of areas this morning, looking at our church services.

that we would remember the reality of the God that we serve, that he desires a real, close, intimate, personal relationship with us. Prayer. Prayer is the first area that God really began to speak to my heart about all of this. And you need to know that when we pray, we really do have an audience with God.

We really have the attention of the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Creator of the Universe, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and End. God gives us His attention and allows us to approach Him in times of prayer. As I said, this is the first area that God began to speak to my heart when He asked me, why are you walking up to the stage, into the pulpit, during a time of prayer? Why not?

Just stay where you are and really be praying. Now, in saying this, by no means am I saying that you cannot do things while you are praying. We drive, we walk, we talk. I mean, we're to pray continually. God asks us to do that. But here at church, during a service, I have said, Lord, I'm dedicating this time to you. I need to make sure and check my own heart that I'm using the times of prayer to really be in prayer.

In the times of worship, to really be worshiping. In the times of the word, to allow God to speak to my heart. You know, we've made a few changes as a result of this in our services and with the ushers. Now we have the ushers close the back doors. When we begin service and we begin in prayer, the ushers keep people from coming in during that time of prayer. Because we're remembering that it's real.

That we're spending time in God's presence and we really are standing before his throne as we approach him in prayer. And so the ushers keep the back doors closed and keep people out to protect the sanctuary from distractions for those who are here. In the presence of God, they're really there. When we pray, we are really in the throne room. In his presence. Standing before him. Amazing that God would humble himself to that.

But He does and He invites us. Prayer is a time to express yourself to God and to be consumed with God. It's not the time for us to find our seats or to get up and sneak off to the bathroom because then nobody will be looking. They won't notice that we're gone or that we've left. No, prayer is a time reserved for God and it's real. He really listens. He really speaks to us in times of prayer.

It's a time of communion between us. Jeremiah 33.3 God says to Jeremiah, Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know. Familiar verse to many of us. But God is telling Jeremiah, Listen, if you call to me, I'm going to answer you. And as we spend time in prayer, God is going to answer us. Our relationship with God is real.

And as we speak to him in prayer, we should expect him to speak to us. Because he's promised that he will. That he'll show us great and mighty things which you do not know. He's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. Eye has not seen, nor has ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man what God has in store for those who love him.

We need to be in prayer. And we need to expect God to speak to us because He's real. He does speak to us. He will speak to us. And so use times of prayer to be consumed with God and express yourself to God and to hear from Him because He promises to show you great and mighty things. Also, as part of our services, we have a time of worship. When we worship, again, we really are in the presence of God.

It's not just a feeling or an emotion. It's not something we just kind of go through because it helps take some time up in the service. When we worship, we really are worshiping Him. And He loves it when we worship Him. He loves it when we lift up our voices and sing to Him and lift up our hands and praise Him and bow down our heads.

in adoration of Him. He loves it. We spent the last couple of years going through the book of Psalms on Wednesday nights, learning over and over and over again how much He loves it when we worship Him. It's so easy for us to get in a routine, isn't it? And we come in and we sing the songs without ever really worshiping God, without ever really engaging in our hearts connecting with His love.

lifting him up in glory. You know, I encourage you as we spend times of worship together that you close your eyes and again, be consumed with God. Focus on the Lord. Think about the words that you're singing and sing them with all your heart to the Lord. Mean them. That's what times of worship are for. That you can express to God the things that we are singing. That you can experience his presence.

As I shared about the message I was listening to from Pastor Chuck 25 years ago, the Lord reminded me, because the guy came up, he hit a couple tunes on the keyboard, and then they were just, they were worshiping. And God was reminding me that worship, it's a choice. It's not a feeling. It's not an emotion. It's not even necessarily an experience. It's a choice. They didn't have to wait until the end of the song.

You know, usually when we worship the Lord, there's often climaxes to songs. We don't have to wait to that point, to that final chorus where finally, yes, finally now I can worship the Lord. No, it's not like that. It's not an emotion. It's not that we have to build up this hype and get to this certain point that finally we can worship God. Worshiping God is a choice that happens like that. The instant we choose to lift Him up and to praise His name,

To sing to Him. To give our hearts to Him. Worship, it's real. It happens by us choosing to do so, regardless of how we feel. We need to be worshiping God. So in our time of worship, in this service, coming weeks, lift up your voice. Lift up your hands. Sing to the Lord and bless Him. It blesses Him so much. And you will be blessed as you spend time in His presence by praising Him.

Another part of our service is together is the Word of God. Spending time studying the Scriptures, the Bible. And if you don't know, then you need to know. The Bible is the Word of God. It really is His words. It's not just a good book or mostly accurate. No, it's 100% inspired by God. Every word for you and I that we may grow in the knowledge of God.

That we may hear from him and be directed by him. He really does speak to us through it. He really does give us direction, instruction, correction, even though we don't like that one so much. But he brings us back to our senses and puts us on the right track through his word. He reveals himself to us through his word. He gives great promises to those who will take the word of God seriously and spend time in it.

Remember Joshua chapter 1 verse 8? Where God speaks to Joshua as he has this great task ahead of him of leading the people into the promised land. And God tells Joshua, here's the key to success. It's a difficult thing you have in front of you. There's many battles. If you want to be successful, here's the key. Don't let this book of the law depart from your mouth. But meditate on it. Chew on it day and night that you may be careful

to be obedient to it, then you will be prosperous and successful, God says. So it's connected with it. It's not just about reading. But Joshua, you need to meditate on it, to think about it day and night, that you may be able to do it, to walk uprightly and to follow my commands. And you're going to be prosperous and successful as you make my word a priority in your life. Remember Psalm chapter 1? Psalmist said the same thing.

talks about the differences between the godly and the ungodly and how the ungodly are like chaff and they're going to be blown away, but the godly, they meditate on the word of God. They delight in the word of God and they become like a tree planted by the rivers of water, producing fruit in its season. God says, if you will make my word a priority, if you'll meditate in it, delight in it,

You're going to be fruitful. You're going to be established. Not like chaff which is blown away, but you're going to be grounded like a tree that's planted by the rivers of water. You're going to have everything that you need and you're going to produce much fruit for me. Jesus in Matthew chapter 7 verses 24 through 27 tells the parable that

Of a wise man and a foolish man. And the wise man, he built his house upon the rock. And when the storms came, the floods hit, the house was not moved. It stood and withstood the storms. But there was a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. Nice views, right there on the beach. But when the storms came, the house was wiped away, knocked down.

Completely destroyed. And Jesus says, if you will hear my words and do them...

you will be like the man who built his house on the rock. Again, that connection. Hearing the Word of God and doing it. Much like God was accusing Israel of not doing in Ezekiel 33. They hear your words, but they don't do them. They don't follow through. They don't apply it to their lives. They don't let me change them through my Word, God says. But if you do, if you will be obedient as God speaks through His Word,

As you're obedient to walk in those things, God says, your life is going to be like a house built on the rock. You're going to be solid. You're going to stand. Nothing will move you. But if you don't. Now, it's interesting. He says, the one who hears my words and does not do them is like the foolish man who built his house upon the sand. It doesn't say the person who, you know, never heard the word of God or never reads the Bible or never comes to church.

Jesus is saying, if you read the Bible, if you come to church, if you listen to K-Wave and hear the word, but do not do it, you're like a foolish man. You're going to be wiped out. Reading the word in and of itself, not enough. We must then take it and ask God, Lord, how do you want me to live this in my life? How do you want this to change the way that I act and the way that I live? The Bible is the word of God.

So read your Bible. Ask God to speak to you through it. Bring it with you every service and wherever you go. Because God wants to speak to you through His Word. Let it be an important part of your life. Quick side note here. You know, we have Bibles on the back table there in the sanctuary.

That's so that you can come and if you don't have a Bible or you maybe forgot to use that service, that you can pick one of those up and you can follow along with us. It's so important that you follow along as we study the Word of God each week. Because we need to see it for ourselves and go, that's really in the Word, that's what it says. And that's what God is speaking to me. We need to know it for ourselves and read it for ourselves that we take it personally. And that's what those Bibles are for.

But can I challenge you? If you come and every service you use the Bible off the back table instead of bringing your own, I believe you're missing out. You're missing out because this is your source of life, your connection with God, the way that he speaks to you. You need to have a love for the word of God.

Let it be a priority. Delight in it. It really is His Word. And it's not just the Word of God in general. We could all agree, I think, yeah, this is God's Word. This is the Word of God. But we need to take that next step and say, this is God's Word to me, to my situation, to my life, where I am right now in my relationship with my spouse, in my walk at school, the way that I am at work or wherever I might be, on the freeway, in the grocery store.

In church, this is God's word to me. He wrote it specifically so that right now I could read this portion and he could speak to me. It's God's word for you. So study it. Read it. Meditate upon it. Delight in it. Pay attention when it's being taught. But most importantly, apply it to your life. Let God change your life through his word.

Or we could look at so many other examples about the reality of the God that we serve and the relationship that He offers to us. God really does love you. He has a love for you like you cannot imagine or understand. He really does offer to you forgiveness, to set you free from guilt, and to wash away the sin. He really does promise to take care of you as you rely upon Him, to meet your needs and provide for your family.

Jesus Christ really did die on the cross for you, for your sins, because he wants to have a close personal relationship with you. One more area I would like to look at about the reality of the God that we serve, and that is the person, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is real. He is real. He is God, and he is real.

You know, Jesus taught us much about the Holy Spirit in John chapters 14 through 16, as well as Acts chapter 1. But he stressed there in those portions that it was better for Jesus to go that we could have the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' estimation, it's better for you to have the Holy Spirit working within you and there to comfort you and to encourage you

than it is for Jesus to physically be present with you. When you think about the implications of that, it's just staggering. Because I think we would all say, I'd rather have Jesus right here with me. You know, we have the bracelets, what would Jesus do to remember? Okay, if Jesus was here, what would he do? But Jesus says, no, better than me being here is the Holy Spirit working within you.

And what does he do? Well, Jesus describes for us the role of the Holy Spirit and what he does in us as believers. There again in John 14 through 16 as well as Acts chapter 1. A couple quick things. Number one, he teaches us. He teaches us what we need to know. What don't you know? Ask the Holy Spirit. He's real. He wants to teach you all things and lead you into all truth.

Do you read portions of Scripture and say, I just don't get it? You need to ask for the Spirit of God to come and teach you His Word. The Holy Spirit convicts us. Do you need to be convicted? Do you find yourself involved in sin and you're kind of just okay with it? It doesn't really bother you that much? Can I go through that season or through that season? And yeah, well, everybody stumbles, everybody falls.

Do you need to be convicted about sin in your life? You need to ask God to send his spirit because Jesus said the spirit will come to convict you. Sin. Convict you regarding sin, righteousness, and the judgment. We need to be convicted, but it's a work of the Holy Spirit. We must allow him to convict us of sin that we do not continue on in unrighteousness. The Holy Spirit leads us, Jesus went on to share.

He says He'll lead you into all truth. He'll guide you. He'll direct you. Do you need direction? You need to know, Lord, am I supposed to be in this job? Am I supposed to be going this direction? Moving in this way or that way? Getting married to this person? Do you need direction?

Jesus says the Holy Spirit will come and he will guide you into all truth. Isaiah, talking about the Holy Spirit, says the Spirit will be with you and he'll whisper in your ear, this is the way, walk in it. And as you go to the right or to the left, he'll whisper into you, no, you need to go this way. Don't go that way. Don't go that way. This is the way. Walk in this and he'll lead you. The Holy Spirit directs us and guides us.

Last area I'll look at. Again, in Acts chapter 1, Jesus says, the Holy Spirit empowers you with a dynamic power. Not just a little bit of strength, but He gives you dynamic strength that you might walk with Him and live the Christian life. That you might overcome the bondage to sin. That you might be a witness for Jesus Christ. That you might serve Him with the gifts that He's given to you.

that you might be empowered for the life that God has called you to live. The Holy Spirit is real. He desires to do a work in our lives. We must allow Him to. He won't force Himself upon us. We must invite Him to teach, to convict, to lead, to empower. We must rely upon the Spirit to work in our hearts and in our lives.

You know, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the filling of the Holy Spirit that we read about in the book of Acts, it's real. And through that, he empowers us to serve God, to live the Christian life, to be a witness. The gifts of the Spirit are real, where he supernaturally enables us to meet the needs of the body of Christ. It's real. It's not fake. It's not just someone has great enthusiasm.

God wants to work through us powerfully by His Spirit. You know, it's by the Spirit that we're able to have close relationship with God. His Spirit helps us to communicate with God and develop our relationship and stay close to Him. And so we need desperately for a fresh move of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts to draw us near to God, to empower us and lead us and guide us. We need God's Spirit. We need to look to the Spirit and to rely upon Him.

In wrapping this up, I say again, please forgive us if we have failed to communicate the reality of the God that we serve. But God is real. This is not a show. It's not just a religious exercise or some form of entertainment. God is here right now in our midst, right here with you. He's here and he wants to meet with you.

And he wants to meet your needs. I was reading this morning in Psalm 103, where David says, Lord, you know that man is just dust. You know his frame, God. You know that he's just a bunch of dirt. So you know his weaknesses and you know his needs. And you're here this morning and God is asking, what is your need? What do you need?

Because God says, I'm here. For real. This is not a joke. This is not just some thing that we do on Sunday mornings. He says, I want to be close to you and have relationship with you. I want to meet your needs. In the book of Exodus, chapter 3, God reveals himself to Moses in the wilderness.

You are probably familiar with the story of the burning bush. God tells Moses to go back to Egypt because God wants to use him to set his people free. Moses is a little bit skeptical and he asks God, Lord, when I go to the people of Israel, when I go to the elders there of your people, what do I tell them? Who do I tell them has sent me? I can't just say, well, you know, I saw a burning bush and

It was on fire, so I thought I'd come. Seemed logical. Lord, who do I say sent me? And God spoke to Moses. And he said, I am who I am. That's what you shall say to the children of Israel. I am has sent you. I am. What is he talking about? Well, the name Jehovah or Yahweh in the Old Testament used over and over again.

It's the name of God and the name that God used in His covenant with His people. The name Yahweh, it literally means, it's a form of the verb to be. And so God saying, I am, He's saying, that's my name, that's who I am. I am. And we might ask, well, I am what? It carries with it the idea of His existence. Again, God is real. I am. I do exist. I am real. I am here.

But it also speaks to our hearts as God is saying, I am whatever you need me to be. That's what he was speaking to the children of Israel. At that time, they needed deliverance from bondage in Egypt. So God says, I am. I exist. I'm real. And I'm here to meet your need. This morning, what is your need? Do you need forgiveness from God? Do you need to be set free of the guilt from your sin?

God says, I'm here to meet with you, to give that to you. I've provided and took care of that at the cross through my son. Just come and receive. Do you need direction this morning? Maybe there's some decisions that you need to make or some things that have been on your heart or maybe you just have no idea where you're going or what you're doing.

Do you need direction? God says, I'm here to meet your need. I want to show you my will. I don't want to keep it a secret from you that you never find it. I want to show you my will. I want to show you the next step. I want to speak to your heart and lead you in all that I have in store for you. Do you need healing this morning? Maybe it's physical. Maybe it's emotional. But God says, I'm here. I want to meet your need to bring restoration to you. The book of James says,

talks about those who are sick and that they should call the elders of the church and have them anoint them with oil, lay hands and pray with them. Is that what you need this morning? God is here. He wants to meet your need. Maybe it's financial trouble that you're in this morning and that's the source of your need. Do you need the power to live the Christian life? Do you need deliverance from sin or power to witness?

Do you need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit? May be filled afresh and anew. That you may walk in victory as a witness for God. Do you need this morning to be born again? To receive the gift of God, His Son Jesus Christ on the cross for you. That you might have eternal life. This morning I ask you, are you experiencing a real relationship with God? God does not reserve Himself for the select few.

He doesn't say, well, these are the only people that I'll reveal myself to and meet with and share my heart with. No, God sent His Son to die on the cross so that everyone who believes in Him could approach Him and have a real relationship with Him.

Everyone who believes. Every single one of us have the same right to the throne room of God, to His direction, to His guidance, to His speaking, to His leading, to His empowering, to His gifting. Every single one of us, there's none of us who are different. We all have access to God because of His Son, Jesus Christ. The question is, are you experiencing that? Are you living that? Are you in a real relationship with God? Or,

Like the people of Ezekiel's day. You come, sit, listen. Good voices, good instruments, great speech. But no real relationship with God. The worship team is going to come forward and lead us in some more worship. And I want to encourage you. We're going to close out the service in worship. As they lead us, let this time be a time for you.

Just between you and the true and living God. He really is here. He's desiring to meet with you, to minister to you, to hear from you, and to speak to you. And while we're worshiping, we're going to have the guys up here. Pastor Sisko and Pule, a couple of the guys. They're going to be up here specifically to pray for you.

And as you're spending time in worship, again, I encourage you just to close your eyes, lift up your hands, and worship God. We've left the front row open, so if you feel led and you want to just come and kneel in the presence of God here, feel free to do that. Come forward as we're worshiping and kneel before God and experience, remember that He is real.

And these guys will be up here to pray for you and to pray with you as God is speaking to your heart. And maybe one of those needs that I mentioned are something that you're really feeling right now, that you really need that need met. Maybe not. Maybe there's something else. These guys would love to pray with you. They would love to lay hands on you, anoint you with oil, and pray that you would receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They would love to anoint you with oil and pray for healing.

or agree with you on something that's on your heart, whatever the case, I want to encourage you to have a real experience with God. Meet Him. He's here to meet with us. He's in our midst. And so as we worship the Lord, you spend time, just you and Him. If you need to come and kneel before Him, do so. If you need to come up for prayer, you know, if you have to consider it too much or think about it a lot, should I go up, should I not go up? That means God wants you to go up. Go up. Get prayed for.

Allow God to speak to you and to minister to you. Don't let God's word to Ezekiel of his people be true of us this morning. But let's have a real encounter with Jesus Christ. Amen? Let's worship the Lord together. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.