EZEKIEL 33 ACTIVE OBEDIENCE RIGHT NOW2010 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ezekiel 33 Active Obedience Right Now

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 2010. We're in Ezekiel chapter 33 this evening, and let's pick it up here in verse 1. It says...

Again, the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, speak to the children of your people and say to them, when I bring a sword upon a land and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people...

Verse 5. Verse 6.

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity, but the blood I will require at the watchman's hand.

Here as we pick up in chapter 33 of Ezekiel, we're heading into a new section of the book of Ezekiel. We've been looking for the past few weeks at the judgments that God was pronouncing on the nations surrounding the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. And so we looked at the nation of Egypt and Tyre and those surrounding areas and the judgments that God was pronouncing upon them as a result of their rebellion against God.

But now as we head into chapter 33 through the rest of the book of Ezekiel, we'll be focusing once again on the nation of Israel. Now if you remember, the first part of the book, chapters 1 through 24 of Ezekiel, really dealt with the fall of Jerusalem and how God was bringing Babylon upon Jerusalem and upon the nation of Judah because they were disobedient to God because they refused to submit to Him.

Babylon was used to bring discipline and judgment upon the nation. And so the first part of the book was looking at the judgment that was coming, the judgment that as we see in chapter 33 is fulfilled as Ezekiel is writing and prophesying these things.

Now, the rest of the book, as we go forward in chapter 33 and on, we're going to be looking forward at the future that God has in store for the nation. Not the future judgment, but the future restoration. And so we'll be looking at the restoration of the nation of Israel and the wonderful things that God has in store for the nation in the coming chapters.

And so here in chapter 33, what we have is somewhat like a recommissioning of the prophet. God's kind of switching things up and refocusing him so that he can now begin to pour through him these things that are yet future, even for us today, these glorious things that God has in store for his people. And so he reminds Ezekiel about the role and the position of a watchman.

Now back in chapter 3 of Ezekiel, God called Ezekiel and he said, you are going to be a watchman for me to the people. And I'm going to speak to you and then you are going to share that with the people. And so he's sharing and he's talking about the same type of thing here in chapter 33. And he describes here in verses 1 through 6 the duty of a watchman.

What is the duty of a watchman? Well, in those days, the cities would have walls around them and they would post watchmen on

on the walls to look out and pay attention to stay awake to make sure that the enemy wasn't going to catch them by surprise and so the watchman's job was to stand there on the wall to be a lookout and if he saw an enemy coming to attack then he was to blow the trumpet to sound the alarms

to let everybody know that the enemy was coming so that they would have time to get up, to prepare for battle, so that they would be able to save their own lives. And so the watchmen there upon the walls were responsible for the people. They were accountable for being obedient to warn the people. They were accountable to fulfill their duty.

and to sound the trumpet when the enemy approached. Their job was to warn. Their job was not to win the battle. Their responsibility was not to prevent the battle. Their responsibility, their job was to warn the people. That's what they were responsible for. Whether they won or lost the battle, that didn't matter as far as the duty of the watchman was concerned.

What really mattered was did they do their job? Did they sound the alarm when they saw the enemy approaching? And so God, in giving Ezekiel this idea and this picture of a watchman, he gives two scenarios. The first scenario is the watchman, there standing on the wall, sees the attack that is coming and he sounds the trumpet and warns the people.

And so in this scenario, if there's a watchman, if there's a battle that's coming, and he sees it happen, he sounds the trumpet, then the people who hear the sound, they hear the trumpet blast, they know that there is an enemy approaching, and then they respond and get ready and save themselves. Well, they've been delivered because the watchman did his duty.

But if they hear the sound, if they hear the trumpet, as the watchman is warning them, and they don't do anything about it, and then when the attack happens, they are taken, either taken captive or they are killed, then they die, they are taken because of their iniquity, because they've refused to listen, they refuse to heed the warning, and so they're taken captive.

But the watchman is not responsible. He's not accountable for their captivity or their death. Because he did his job, which was to sound the alarm. Now the second scenario that God gives there in verse 6 is... If the watchman sees the battle that's coming, but he doesn't do anything. He doesn't sound the alarm. He sees the enemy coming, but he doesn't warn the people. And so in that scenario...

If then the attack happens and people are killed or people are taken captive, well, they are still killed, they're still taken captive because of their own iniquity, God says. But God will also charge their blood to the account of the watchman because he didn't do his duty, which was to sound the trumpet, to sound the alarm when he sees the enemy approaching. And so the duty of a watchman is to warn.

And whatever people do with the warning, well, that's up to them and that's on their own heads. But it's important, it's necessary for the watchman to sound the alarm, to give the warning. And that is the point that God is making here in verses 1 through 6. As He's talking about the watchman, it's something they would all understand. This was His job, this was His duty. If He didn't do it, well, He would be responsible for

Look at verse 7.

He says,

And so God sets up this parallel between the watchman on a city wall and the role of Ezekiel as a prophet to the people. He says, Ezekiel, you are a watchman. I've made you a watchman.

And as we consider this idea that Ezekiel is a watchman, I would challenge you and encourage you to consider as well that for those of you who are believers in Jesus, you and I are God's watchmen as well. Because God has given us the great commission, the responsibility of sharing the gospel message to the world around us.

And so God tells Ezekiel, you shall hear a word from my mouth and warn them for me. It's the same thing that he has entrusted to us. We have heard the word, the gospel message from his mouth.

And we are responsible to warn the people on His behalf. Who is it that is called to declare the gospel message to the world? God did not write it in the sky. He did not appoint angels to do that. He called and commissioned His disciples, His followers. That's you and I as believers. It's our responsibility today.

to get the word out, to hear the gospel message, and then to share it with the world around us. And so as we consider Ezekiel as a watchman, also consider the fact that you are a watchman or a watchwoman. You are a watch person that God has called you to hear from him and to warn people. And so again, God gives him two scenarios.

The first scenario is that if he does not warn the wicked person, so he hears the word from God, but he doesn't deliver the message. Maybe he's too scared to deliver the message. You know, sometimes it's really hard to deliver the message of God or to share with people what the Bible says, to tell people the truth. It can be very difficult. And we can get really nervous about it. And Ezekiel was a person just like you and I. He...

without a doubt wrestled with some of the things that God called him to say. And so he gives Ezekiel this scenario. So if I speak to you Ezekiel and you don't warn the wicked person maybe because you're scared maybe because you're lazy maybe because you just don't feel like it whatever the case if you don't warn them they will still die they will still be judged for their iniquity they'll still reap the consequences for their sin

But Ezekiel, I will also charge their blood to your account. You will be accountable because you did not warn them and pass on the message that I spoke to your heart. The second scenario is Ezekiel, if you hear the word that I give to you and then you warn that wicked man, well,

Whether they receive it or not, you've done your job. Because that's the watchman's duty, right? To sound the alarm, to deliver the warning. That's the job of the watch person. That's your job and my job. Now, if they respond, great. They've saved their life. They've responded to the message of God. And that's awesome. But if they don't respond, they'll still be dealt with for their sin.

But Ezekiel, you will not be accountable for their blood. You will have delivered yourself by delivering the message, by delivering the warning that I have given to you. You and I, we need to consider this and take seriously Ezekiel's call to be a watchman. Because again, it's a call that you and I have been given as well. The Apostle Paul felt and expressed this same type of call.

He tells us in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10, He says, We all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

So Paul says, look, every one of us, we're going to have to stand before God. We're going to have to stand before the Lord and give account for what we did in this life and what we did with the things that God has given to us. With the gifts that He entrusted to us, with the resources that He entrusted to us, with the time that He entrusted to us, and with the message or the warning or the gospel that He entrusted to us.

And so Paul goes on in 2 Corinthians 5.11, he says, He says, look, we're going to have to stand before God to give account. Because of that, knowing that, we persuade men. We work to share the message, to give the warning, to declare to the people what God has done.

Paul also expressed this again in Acts chapter 20. You remember there he gathered the Ephesian elders together? He says, look, this is probably the last time I'm going to see you. He says, I want you to know I'm innocent of all men's blood. Remember what God tells Ezekiel? Listen, if you don't share the message, if you don't pass on the message I've given to you, their blood will be charged to your account. Paul says in Acts chapter 20, I'm innocent of the blood of all men. Why? Why?

He says, because I've not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Because I've declared to you all that God says. Paul says, I'm innocent. He did his duty. He performed the duty of a watchman. And he declared the whole counsel of God to the church of Ephesus. You and I are called to be God's watchman. And we will be held accountable for what we did with the message that God has given to us.

Notice in verse 2, as God is describing this watchman, he says, When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman. Notice where the watchman comes from. It comes from the land. It doesn't come from some outside source, but it comes from within.

And so if the city is under attack, the watchman comes from within the city, pulling that over to the spiritual aspects, the watchman that you and I are called to be. We're called to be watchmen and we're brought from within. In other words, if there's going to be a watchman for your family, it's not going to be someone from the outside. It's going to be from within. And that means it's you.

If there's going to be a watchman in your workplace, it's not going to be K-Wave. It's not going to be some other outside person or force. It's going to be from within. And that means it's going to be you. If there's going to be a watchman within your friends, if there's going to be a watchman within the people that you hang out with, it's going to come from within. And that means that's me and that's you. We are the watchman.

We're the ones that God has placed strategically in all the aspects of life that we're involved in so that we can warn the people, so that we can sound the alarm and tell the truth so that they can hear the message that God is speaking. And that's a great responsibility. That's a huge responsibility. Because if we don't share the message...

According to what God's telling Ezekiel here, they're still going to die for their sin. They can't blame anybody else. They're still accountable for their disobedience and their rebellion against God. But God will require their blood upon the watchman if the message was not delivered. Once the message is delivered, the watchman is cleared.

Their duty is done. For you and I as believers, as followers of Jesus, having been given the Great Commission, our responsibility and our duty is to share the Gospel, to share the truth, to stand up for righteousness, to speak forth what God has said, to deliver His message. Our responsibility is not to convert people,

That's up to the Lord. That's between them and God. But we have to share the message. We have to deliver the warning. And then God will do the work that He's going to do. You think about Jonah, right? God called him to go to Nineveh. He was a watchman. He didn't even want the people to be saved. But he went obediently after some persuasive, you know, working on God's part. He went and he said, in 40 days, this city is going to be

destroyed. He delivered the message and the people responded to the message even though he wasn't excited about them responding, even though he didn't want them to be saved. He delivered the message. He sounded the alarm and the people responded. You and I, we're God's watchmen here in this earth. You're God's watchmen within the family and within the workplace. And you and I are responsible and we're accountable

For the people that God has entrusted to us and placed around us, we're required to share, to sound the alarm. Hey, we're going through Revelation on Sunday mornings. What a great reminder of the things that are to come and a great urgency for us to sound the alarm. Jesus is coming back soon. We need to get ready and we need to get right with God. It's a message that needs to be delivered to the people in your life. But are you being a faithful watchman?

And delivering that message. Are you fulfilling your duty as a watchman? Well, God commissions and He calls Ezekiel. He says, I've made you a watchman for the house of Israel. And you're going to hear my words and you're responsible for passing it on. You have to deliver the message that I've given to you, Ezekiel.

Going on in verse 10, he says,

And so God now goes on to tell Ezekiel, listen, this is what the people are saying. The people are saying, look, you're telling us about sin, you're telling us to repent, but if we're wasting away in our sin, how can we live? How can we have life? How can we turn? Basically, the people are saying, we're stuck in this situation. We're trapped.

We don't have a choice. We're stuck in this sin. We're stuck in this condition. There's nothing that we can do about it. We're wasting away in our sin. How can we have life? But God's response to them was, you're not stuck. You have the choice. Everyone has the option, the choice to turn from sin and live or continue in sin and experience the consequences, the judgment that results.

God says, look, I don't have pleasure in the death of the wicked. I haven't placed you in this sin and given you this condition so that I can laugh when you're judged. I don't have pleasure in the death of the wicked. No, I take pleasure, God says, when the wicked turn and find life and deliverance and freedom and have the guilt dealt with. That's what I take pleasure in, God says. And so he calls the people, turn from your wickedness.

That's what God desires. Peter tells us that as well in 2 Peter chapter 3. God's not willing that any should perish. That's not what God wants. He wants all men to come to repentance. That's all of us. That's what God desires. That's what brings God pleasure. Sometimes we get this idea of God, you know, he just gets so excited when it's time to bring judgment. But that's not the reality.

Even the worst of the worst. You know, some people do get excited, you know, when there is an execution that takes place. And you're like, yes, finally justice is done. But God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He would rather that the wicked turn and find life in Him. He would rather that they turn to Him and find the forgiveness and salvation that He offers. Verse 12.

Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people, The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him on the day of his transgression. As for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness, nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.

Here, as we go forward in this message that God has given to Ezekiel, we find some really powerful challenges to thought processes that exist even to this day. So,

The message is that the righteous person who turns from his righteousness and now lives in sin, God says, that person will die as a result of his sin. That person will experience judgment as a result of sin. He was righteous, but none of his righteousness will be remembered when he turns from it and begins to live in sin. We would love...

We would absolutely love it if God had designed it in such a way that we could do maybe like one or two really good acts, really good deeds, and that would count for our righteousness. And then because we're so righteous, because we did those couple of wonderful things, then we could do whatever we wanted with the rest of our life. Some people feel that way about church. It's like, well, I'm okay because I go to church.

Well, I live in immorality and idolatry and murder and covetousness the rest of the week, but on Sundays and on Wednesdays I go to church, so I'm okay. We would love if that were the case. Hey, we put up with church a couple times a week to be able to live in sin and do whatever we want. But listen, that's not reality. That's not what God expects. That does not work. What God requires, what God expects is love.

obedience right now. We can't look back and say, but look at all this righteousness that I've done. Look at how wonderful I've been and all these good things that I've done. And so it's okay now that I'm committing sin and that I'm living in sin. It's okay that I'm practicing these things that I don't really fully obey in these areas. It's okay because look at all these righteous things that I've done. God says, look, it doesn't work that way.

Right now, what he's doing with this message is he's piercing through the deception that we would love to hold on to. The deception of our flesh and the deception of the enemy that, hey, as long as you do a couple of good things or go to church, then you're fine. You don't have to be fully obedient in all the rest of what God says. No, but the reality is that God expects us and requires us to be obedient to Him.

Right now. It doesn't matter what you did yesterday. Right now, being obedient to Him. What God requires is our obedience. You know, there's a saying, it's not how high you jump, it's how straight you walk once you hit the ground. And that really is the truth. You can have an awesome conversion experience. You can have an awesome, you know, righteous act. But it's not so much about the past.

It's not about one time something you did. It's about today right now. And that's continual, right? It's always the present. It's always right now. And right now, you must be obedient to God. That's what God expects. And so what God expects for the watchman is for the watchman to be obedient to deliver the message that God has given to him. What God expects from the righteous person is for him to continue to be obedient.

Not to trust in his righteousness and say, hey, look at how righteous I've been so I can disregard what God says and do whatever I want. No, what God expects is for us to continue in righteousness, to continue in obedience. Well, he gives the other side here in verse 14 through 16. It says, again, when I say to the wicked, you shall surely die. If

And so God presents the other side of the coin.

So now we're talking about the wicked person. Now the wicked person doesn't have to be stuck in that condition of wickedness. The wicked person has the opportunity to respond to God's message. And God says, look, if the wicked person will respond and turn to me, repent from his sin, then his wickedness will not be remembered against him. And even though God says, I said, hey, you're going to die because of your wickedness.

God says, even though I made that proclamation that he would be judged for his sin, when he turns from his wickedness, well, that changes everything. And so even though he's been wicked, and maybe he's been the most wicked person ever to walk the face of the earth, even though that's the case, when he turns from his wickedness, when he repents from sin and embraces God, begins to walk in obedience with the Lord,

None of his wickedness will be remembered and he will have life. So for the righteous person, what does God expect? He expects continued obedience. For the wicked person, what does he expect? A turning from wickedness, a beginning of obedience. What God expects is obedience right now.

If you're a watchman, you need to be obedient and deliver the message that God has given to you. If you're a righteous person, you need to continue in righteousness and stop entertaining those ideas and those thoughts and playing with those sins, thinking, well, I'm righteous. Or, you know, for us familiar with the New Testament, we think, hey, there's grace, you know. It's no excuse to practice sin. Those who practice unrighteousness will experience judgment. If you're a wicked person,

And maybe you wouldn't say, "Well, yeah, I'm a wicked person." But if you don't have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, that's how the Bible describes you, a wicked person. You may not think you're the worst of the worst. You may look at the serial killer next door and say, "I'm not as bad as him." But sin is sin. And without forgiveness that's found in Jesus Christ, we're lost, we're hopeless. We have no hope of eternity with God, no hope of heaven. So what does God expect from that wicked person?

repentance. And look at the repentance that he describes here. This is not, you know, just an emotional repentance. It's not just a feeling sorry for sin or what has been done. But look at the restitution that is made. He says, look, he pays back what he's stolen. He makes things right. It's not just an emotional experience. But it's a real change of life. That's what repentance is. It's not just about feeling bad for something. It's about feeling

It's about changing your mind and changing your life in obedience to God. And so when God says to the righteous, hey, you're going to live, but he turns from his righteousness and does wickedness, well, that promise, that pronouncement is null and void. If you practice wickedness, you're going to be judged. You're going to die. When he says to the wicked person, hey, you're going to die because of your sin, if that wicked person then responds and says, hey, I repent and I turn to you and I'm going to follow you,

Well, again, that pronouncement is null and void. He won't be judged for his sin. He'll find life in Jesus Christ. Now the people respond in verse 17.

Yet the children of your people say, the way of the Lord is not fair. But it is their way which is not fair. When the righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it. Yet you say, the way of the Lord is not fair. O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways."

The people respond and say, hey, that's not fair. Why do they say that that's not fair? Well, because they think just like you and I do. So here's a guy, he's been wicked his whole life, and he's lived on the earth 117 years. And there on his deathbed, he turns to Jesus Christ. He says, Lord, I turn from my sin. Forgive me. I believe you died upon the cross for me.

God says, He has life. He's forgiven. All that wickedness is forgiven. He has life in Jesus. Like the thief on the cross, right? Now, here's another guy. Went to church, served at soup kitchens, never stole anything. You know, just good, awesome example of morality his whole life. But then he turns from the Lord and he lives in sin. Now, we have this visual, right?

We imagine this big scale. If I do good for 99 years out of 100, I'm awesome. I should have no problem. He did bad 99 years out of 117, he should be judged. But listen, God doesn't work with a big scale because it doesn't work that way. We don't realize how bad our sin is. We don't realize how bad our condition is because we're not good 99 years out of 100.

That's our high estimation of ourselves. Maybe we'll be generous and we'll say, okay, well, okay, right, right. I'm good 51 years out of 100. You know, at least it's more than half. No, the Bible teaches very clearly that none of us is good, not even one. We're sinful to the core. And so sure, if we could live, you know, perfectly, we'd be fine. But that's the problem. We can't.

That's why we need the Lord. That's why we need the sacrifice that Jesus offered upon the cross. And so the people say, well, that's not fair because they're imagining these big scales like we imagine. My good deeds outweigh my bad. That's not right. But God says, no, what I'm expecting from you is active obedience right now. I'm not just asking for, you know, some intellectual acknowledgement that I exist. I'm not just asking for it.

God says, "I'm not just asking for some emotional experience. I'm not just asking you to shed some tears or to feel bad for something. I'm asking you to change your life and to live in obedience to Me. That's what God expects. That's what God requires. That is what is necessary for you and I." And so God says, "Look, I'm judging each one according to his own ways." That's right. That's fair. God doesn't judge us according to someone else. Now, we judge ourselves according to other people.

We look over to our right, we look over to our left, and we say, I'm way better than these fools. But God judges us according to our own ways. What did we do with what He has given to us? God is fair, and His judgment is right. It is just. It's exactly what is deserved. And so if the righteous man turns from his righteousness, and now commits sin, he'll be judged as a result. And if the wicked person turns from his wickedness,

and lives now in obedience, he'll be blessed as a result. It doesn't matter how many years before in the past that they were righteous or wicked. What matters is right now. How are you living? Are you living in obedience to God?

Going on to verse 21 and 22, he says,

Now what's happening here, now it's telling the story of what happened when a captive from Jerusalem makes it back to Babylon where Ezekiel was. Now you remember Jerusalem was under attack by Babylon. It was conquered. You remember a couple of chapters back, God tells Ezekiel, mark the day, today the siege began.

Well, now they're finally receiving news back. This is five months after Jerusalem had fallen. Finally, the word gets back. This guy comes back and says, Jerusalem has fallen. Babylon has conquered Jerusalem. Well, God had told Ezekiel back in chapter 3 of Ezekiel that he would be mute until that message of Jerusalem's destruction was delivered. And so this whole time through the book of Ezekiel, the only time Ezekiel could speak...

was when God gave him a message. He described that and he explained that back in chapter 3 of Ezekiel. And so now that's come to an end. And so now he's able to talk and have conversations and have a normal kind of conversational life like you and I would experience or would know of. But before this, he could only speak when God had given him a message to deliver. Verse 23...

Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, they who inhabit those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, Abraham was only one and he inherited the land. But we are many. The land has been given to us as a possession.

Therefore say to them, thus says the Lord God, you eat meat with blood, you lift up your eyes toward your idols and shed blood. Should you then possess the land? You rely on your sword, you commit abominations and you defile one another's wives. Should you then possess the land? And so again, God is dealing with the obedience of the people. But this time he's talking about the obedience of the people that are back in Jerusalem.

And they've just been conquered by Babylon, but there's a small remnant that is left that were not taken captive. And their mindset, their thinking was...

Well, hey, Abraham was just one man and he inherited the land. You know, they all existed. The nation of Israel came from Abraham. So they're thinking, he was only one and although we're a few, we're just a remnant of those who were once here. Hey, we'll be fine. We'll inherit the land because we're many compared to Abraham to just that one man. We will inherit the land. Now,

Now remember, these are people that have been in rebellion against God to the point that God used Babylon to come and bring judgment upon them. And so God says, basically, I don't think so. Listen, you're walking in disobedience.

Eating meat with the blood in it. That was something that the Jewish people were specifically forbidden to do. But not only that, you're lifting up your eyes toward idols. So they're worshipping these other gods, these false gods. They're also shedding blood. They're committing murder. Not only that, they're relying upon their own sword. They're not relying upon the Lord. They're not trusting in the Lord.

And not only that, but they're committing abominations. They're practicing things that are forbidden, that are horrible, that are disgusting. And not only that, he says, you're defiling one another's wives, committing sexual immorality. This is something we might be familiar with. You know, the person who says, yeah, I'm a Christian, but they're sleeping with someone that they're not married to. Their lives, their devotion, their passion are dedicated to things other than God.

They're practicing wickedness. But they say, yeah, I'm a Christian. That's what these people were like. They said, hey, we're God's people. Abraham was only one man. He inherited the land. We're many. God says, no, you're not going to possess the land. You're not going to be the ones who repopulate the land. You're living in disobedience. What does God expect from them? He expects them to be obedient right now. He doesn't expect from them to have a...

forefather Abraham who was obedient and that's enough and then they can do whatever they want just because they're descendants of Abraham doesn't make them automatically able to possess the land and inherit the land God says what is required of you is your obedience right now and you're living in disobedience there's no way I'm going to bless you with this land what God expects what God requires is obedience right now verse 27

Verse 2.

Verse 29, So God here describes the result of their disobedience. The result of their persistence in rebellion was that the land was going to be left desolate. So there is a remnant left of the land

But they were going to be taken out. In fact, they go on to Egypt. We read through that in the book of Jeremiah. So they move out to Egypt. They leave the land desolate. God's word is fulfilled. As a result of their disobedience, the place is left abandoned, isolated, no inhabitants there. And God says there in verse 29, Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

Something we've seen over and over. That was the objective that God was working towards through the prophet Ezekiel was for the people to finally know that he was the Lord. And it was only after they would be driven out completely from the land that they would finally know that he is the Lord. What will it take for you to know that he is the Lord?

What does it mean to know that He is the Lord? Well, it's exactly what we're talking about this evening here in chapter 33, and that is obedience. What will it take for you to know that He is Lord? Or in other words, what will it take for you to live in obedience to the Lord? It's one thing to say that He is Lord, but what's it going to take for you to finally obey? These people refused obedience.

So the way that they found out that He is Lord was by the judgment that He poured out upon their disobedience. We can find out that He is Lord the same way. We can insist on living life our own way. We can insist on doing whatever we want. We can insist on living the way that we want to live, disregarding Him. And we'll find out that He is the Lord. Or we can decide right now. We can declare He is Lord and walk in obedience to Him. Verse 30 says,

As for you, son of men, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses. And they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.

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. And when this comes to pass, surely it will come. Then they will know that a prophet has been among them.

God now talks to Ezekiel and says, hey, Ezekiel, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. That's what's happening back in Jerusalem. And here around here, Ezekiel, I know it looks good because attendance is high, but they're not paying attention, Ezekiel. They're coming. They're sitting there in the service as you're sharing, but they're just coming to be entertained. And they're just like, hey, well, that's just like a lovely song. Oh, wow, that was wonderful. He says, with their mouth they show much love.

Oh, Ezekiel, that was great, man. Good message today. Great job. But God says, the problem is, they don't do what I'm commanding them to do. And so they're coming, they're listening, they're sitting there, everything looks good from the outward, but then they go away and their lives are unchanged. That's the problem, Ezekiel. That's the issue. What is it? Again, it's about their obedience.

It's not about how frequently they come to church. It's not about how much love they express with their mouths. It's about how are their lives changed as they obey my commands. That's what God is requiring. That is what God is expecting. He is expecting us to change, to put into action what he has called us to do, to put feet to our faith and to live out different lives than we had before.

Before we had a relationship with God. To kind of close out this thought and consider this a little bit further, would you turn with me please to Matthew chapter 7.

Here in Matthew chapter 7, we're at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has just taught some powerful principles for several chapters. He's been dealing with heart issues and heart issues. And He's been working in people's lives. But now, as He's closing this sermon, He's closing this message that He's delivering there, He exhorts the people to be obedient and to put it into practice.

He says in Matthew 7, verse 21, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. And so at the end of this message, Jesus says,

Listen, the end of time, as you stand before God, Jesus says there's going to be a lot of people who stand before God and say, Lord, Lord, we did all these things. We did all this righteousness. On our scale of righteousness versus wickedness, man, our righteousness was way up there. We did a lot of great stuff for you, God. Jesus says there's going to be a lot of people. Not just a couple, not just a few, but there's going to be a lot of people. There's going to be many.

who have that argument. They're going to say that He's Lord. They're going to have done a lot of righteousness. And He's going to say, depart from me, I never knew you. And notice what He says, you who practice lawlessness. You see that? Practice lawlessness. What God expects is active obedience right now. It doesn't matter how many righteous things you do, if you practice lawlessness. If you continue to live in sin.

What God expects is for us to repent and to turn from sin and start following Him. And it doesn't matter if we call Him Lord and it doesn't matter if we have a lot of things on our big scale of righteousness. What matters is are we living in obedience to Him? He goes on, verse 24 through 27. I won't read it, but He says, Look, I'll tell you what a man who takes these things that I'm teaching and then puts them into practice is like. He's like a man who builds a house upon a rock.

And the storms come... And the house stands... He says... I'll tell you what it's like... When a person who hears these things... But doesn't do them... Doesn't obey... It's like a person who builds a house upon the sand... And the storm comes and... The house falls flat... You and I will stand before God... And we will give an account... And that's going to be a heavy storm... And if you've built your life on obedience to God...

you'll survive, you'll last, and you'll enjoy eternity with God. But if you've built your life upon the sand, if you've built your life upon whatever it is that you thought was best, or what Oprah said, or what you wanted to do, or whatever your mom taught you to do, and you didn't live in obedience to God, splat. You have no chance. What God requires, what God expects, is active obedience right now. Whether you're a watchman,

Be obedient to deliver the message that God has given to you. Whether you're a righteous person, continue in righteousness. Whether you're a wicked person, turn from your wickedness now and start obeying God right now. Whether you're on the top of the world or whether you're in the pit of destruction, what God expects, what God requires is for you to obey Him right now. The worship team is going to come up and close us in some worship. And as they do, it's a good opportunity for us to consider

Where do we stand on this issue of obedience? Since that's what God expects and that's what God requires. Well, where do we stand? Are we living in obedience? And it's a great opportunity for us right now to make things right. To choose. To turn from sin. To repent. To change our lives. And to start walking in obedience towards God. Whether it's for the first time or for the millionth time. It doesn't matter.

What God expects from you and I right now, this evening, is for us to respond to His commands, to obey Him and to follow Him. So let's take this time, just between you and the Lord, be obedient, turn to Him and turn from sin as we 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.