Welcome here to our evening service at Calvary Baptist Church of Trehearne. And also welcome to those in Tunitas via internet all over the world. Please open your handouts number 175. 175. Standing on the promises. Number 175. standing on the promises of christ my king through eternal ages let his praises ring glory in the highest i will shout and sing standing on the promises of god Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my Savior. Standing, standing. Standing on the promises of God Standing on the promises that cannot fail When the howling storm of doubt and fear assails By the living word of God I shall prevail Standing on the promises of God Standing, standing Standing on the promises of God my Savior Standing, standing I'm standing on the promises of God Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord Bound to Him eternally by love's strong cord Overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword Standing on the promises of God Standing, standing Standing on the promises of God, my Savior Standing I'm standing on the promises of God Standing on the promises I cannot fall Listening every moment to the Spirit's call Resting in my Savior as my all in all Standing on the promises of God Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my Savior. Standing, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God. Namaste. Our Heavenly Father, we are thankful that we have the promises in Thy Word that are true, and we have a God who is behind those promises, and we know that they never fail. And we're thankful that we can know that we can have eternal life if we turn to Thee in repentance and trust in Thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to save us. We have eternal life. What a blessing that is to know that our sins are forgiven and to know that we have a home in heaven, to know that the Holy Spirit indwells us and that we can serve Thee faithfully. We're thankful also for that opportunity we have once we're saved to come to Thee and confess our sin and be forgiven and restored to right fellowship and the blessings of growing in Thee and being a blessing to others. We do pray for our country of Canada, pray for the great need for souls to be saved, for our governments, for the salvation of many as we have much turmoil in our federal government and also provincially as well as municipal. We pray for the salvation of many, pray that we would be bold and faithful to thee in reaching out and seeking to remind politicians and doctors and nurses and police that they need to be saved. We do pray for the strike that's taking place in our province and the healthcare workers. We pray, Father, that Many of them would be saved as they walk those picket lines and as they think that more money is going to make life better for them. They might understand that what they need is thy peace and truth in their hearts. And we pray that we could be a help to those in our area here as we communicate with them. We can help them to see what is really important in life. We do pray for the situation in the southern states as those in the parts of the states that were hit with that Helena, that as they recover, that they would have wisdom. We do pray that they would have the funds that they need to be able to get houses up and find places to live before the cold weather comes. Pray for Milton as well, as opposed to arrive in Florida today, we pray for That as well, we do pray for the governments that are behind these things, that thy will would be accomplished there, that as man tries to play God, that they might realize how foolish that is. And we know that thy word warns of famines that are coming and pestilences, and we can see how the devil is working now under thy permission to bring turmoil. But we're thankful that in spite of all that, we can still reach out to the lost. We can still help people to know the truth. And so we pray for boldness and faithfulness. We do pray for the preachers in Canada and for the discussion that's been going on recent in regard to the King James Bible. Pray for those that are wondering about that issue, that they would search the scriptures and allow thee to show them the inspiration of thy word. the preservation of thy word that they would know thy peace and blessing. And we pray that as deception is growing, that thou help us to have wisdom and be faithful and be able to help people to know the truth. We pray as well for the nation of Israel and as they continue to battle on several fronts, we pray for Mr. Netanyahu that he would be saved for his cabinet as well as many of the soldiers We do pray for their safety as they fight these battles. We pray that even the citizens of Israel, many of them would be saved, and for the Jews across the world. We know that thy will is for them to move back to that land, and we know that some are moving back, and more will. We just pray that many would be saved in these days of grace. We pray also for the situation in Ukraine, and with Russia, and Korea, and China. We ask that as these tensions are rising and alliances are forming, we know from thy word how it's going to end. We pray that in the meantime that many would be saved and know thy peace and blessing. Guide us here. We pray that we would glorify thee. Pray our live streaming would work well. Pray for Ken and for Tom and others that they would see the importance of coming to church and learning of thee. that they too can know thy peace and blessing. So may thy will be accomplished, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you. And over to 378. 378, stand up for Jesus. 378. Stand up, stand up for Jesus. Life high his royal banner It must not suffer loss From victory to victory His army shall he lead Till every foe is vanquished And Christ is Lord indeed Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the trumpet call obey For to the mighty conflict in this his glorious day He that are made of serve him against unnumbered foes. Let courage rise with danger, and strength to strength oppose. Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in his strength alone. The arm of flesh will fail you, heathen, at last you're wrong. Put on the gospel armor, it's peaceful, done with prayer, where duty calls, ordained. enough for Jesus, the strife will not be long. This day the noise of battle, the next a bitter song. To him that overcomes With the King of glory shall reign eternally. And over to 467. 467. Saints, I have been redeemed. Number 467. I have a song I love to sing Since I have been redeemed Of my Redeemer, Savior, King Since I have been redeemed Since I have been redeemed Since I have been redeemed, I will glory in His name. Since I have been redeemed, I will glory in my Savior's name. I have a Christ that satisfies, since I have been redeemed. To do His will, my heart is pleased, since I have been redeemed. Since I have been redeemed. Since I have been redeemed, I will glory in His name. Since I have been redeemed, I will glory in my Savior's name. I have a witness bright and clear, Since I have been redeemed, ♪ Dispelling every doubt and fear ♪ ♪ Since I have been redeemed ♪ ♪ Since I have been redeemed ♪ ♪ Since I have been redeemed ♪ ♪ I will glory in his name ♪ ♪ Since I have been redeemed ♪ I will glory in my savior's name. I have a home prepared for me, since I have been redeemed. Where I shall dwell eternally, since I have been redeemed. Since I have been redeemed, since I have been redeemed, I will glory in His name. Since I have been redeemed, I will glory in my Savior's name. Take your Bibles and turn to Ezekiel chapter 20. Ezekiel chapter 20, we're going to be reading there from verses 33 to 44. We'll stand, please, for the reading of God's word. Ezekiel chapter 20, beginning at verse 33. As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm and with fury poured out will I rule over you. And I will bring you out from the people and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face, like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt. So will I plead with you, saith the Lord God. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant, and I will purge out from among you the rebels. And them that transgress against me, I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn. And they shall not enter into the land of Israel, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God, go ye, serve ye every one his idols. And hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me, but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts and with your idols. For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land serve me. There will I accept them. And there will I require your offerings and the first fruits of your oblations with all your holy things. And I will accept you with your sweet savor when I bring you out from the people and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered. And I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. And ye shall know that I am the Lord when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers. And there shall ye remember your ways and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled. And ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. And ye shall know that I am the Lord when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings. O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful that we have thy word. Thankful again for Ezekiel and his willingness to be obedient to thee in writing down these things for the nation of Israel of that time and also for today and for us as Gentiles as well, that we can study thy word, that we can learn what happens when people who claim to be thy children, who are supposed to be thy children, when they choose to walk in defiance against thee. And as we've already prayed, we continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We pray for the Jews across the world that many would come to know thy peace. We're thankful for those that are saved. We pray that they would grow in thee and they would not be guilty of trying to straddle the fence which isn't there as Peter did, but that they would want to stand true to thee and help other Jews to know the truth. We're thankful that we even as Gentiles also can read thy word and we can study thy word and we can also understand the importance of submitting to thee in all things and realizing that the devil wants to destroy thy work, doesn't want us to be a holy people. But we're thankful for those that are saved that we can be a holy people. We can glorify thee and thus we can help others to know the truth as well. So may thy will be accomplished and may we glorify thee. As we look into these verses and as our minds are busy, that we would allow thee to guide us in drawing the right conclusions, making the right choices, that we can know thy peace and blessing. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. The title of the message is The Day of the Lord. In this passage, we've talked already in the past in Ezekiel chapter 20. We've come through three divisions in this chapter so far. Verses 1 to 9, we have the idolatry of the nation of Israel in Egypt addressed. In verses 10 to 26, we have the idolatry of the nation of Israel in the wilderness addressed. In verses 27 to 32, we have the idolatry of the nation of Israel in the promised land addressed. Tonight, as we look at this passage, we're looking at two aspects of the nation of Israel. The first part, is looking forward to the end, to the end of the tribulation and into the millennium. And then in verse 39, God counsels the elders that came to Ezekiel in verse one. He counsels them to go and serve their idols, but not to pretend that they were serving God. So it's not that he wanted them to serve idols, but if that was their choice, at least be honest. And that's always important. And we see that today in our world that one of the things that's been around since 1948 is what was coined as the New Evangelical Movement. It was called that because it was a popularization of a philosophy of thinking that's been around much longer than 1948. But that movement was promoted and headed up by a man by the name of Harold Ockengay. And he was also very influential in the life of Billy Graham. And Harold Ockengay's philosophy, along with the men who met together with him, developed and promoted a system where the word of God is not absolute, and where you have to allow for cultural changes, you have to allow for different situations depending on what society you're in and so on. And the fruit of that is the mess that we see that I grew up in and the mess that we see continually growing. And lately, last I don't know how many years, it has also been called the emergent church movement. And it's all connected. It's all compromise. And it's not something that we should be aspiring to. Something we need to be aware of and guard against. And this past week, there's been quite a few emails come across the pastor's Gmail site. And these emails were started by a younger pastor. who is questioning the King James Bible, whether it's time to modernize it. And years ago, there was a man, D.A. Waite, some of you may know him. He's passed on now. He was a very learned man in regard to the Bible issue. He had studied the Bible issue most of his adult life from what his testimony is. He's done a lot of writing, and he has exposed a lot of the false teaching that's behind the perversions. And he stated at one point in one of the conferences where we were at, he stated that he did not believe that there were any men around in this time in which he was living at that time, and certainly not now, who were capable of even trying to change some of the words that we're not familiar with in the King James Bible to bring them into the current language of today. And we don't need to do that if we take 2 Timothy 2 15 where it says study to show thyself approved unto God. A workman that needs rightly divine word of truth, a workman needs not to be ashamed, rightly divine word of truth. That's the way it should be. And so if we study God's word, we understand that we're not gonna take the Bible and read it like a newspaper. And even if you read a newspaper, you're gonna find words in there possibly that you don't understand. And with the Bible, You can't just take a Webster's Dictionary and look at the word. You have to look at the context in the scriptures and what does the word mean. So it's study that's required and we don't need to update. I don't believe we need to update the Bible. We need to humble ourselves and accept it as the truth and study it properly and do the research we need to do and ask God to guide us in our study. And there are the Strong's Concordance that we can use and things like that that can help us to understand the scriptures. For those who are new in the faith, again, D.A. Waite was involved along with some other men in putting together a Bible called the Defined Bible. And that's a very good Bible for someone that's a new believer who is not familiar with some of the words in the King James because those words are defined at the bottom of the page. Not in the text. The word is bolded and then you go to the bottom and you find a definition there. But again, you're taking the definition that somebody has put down. So it's never good to just take what somebody else says and say, well, that's good enough for me. The Bereans in Acts chapter 17 show us how we need to deal with things. The apostles were faithful men of God. They preached the word of God faithfully. They were directed by God. They were inspired by God. And yet the Bereans, they took what the apostles said and they searched the scriptures to make sure that what the apostles were telling them was true. So that's the wise way to go about the word of God. Search the scriptures. And that's something that we encourage here. Have your Bibles open, follow along, take notes, and study it out. If you have questions, ask the questions, get the answers so that you're settled in your heart and mind as to what God has said. When we study the scriptures properly, as this young preacher wrongly stated in his response to some of the men who have responded to his questions, And he stated that there is no unity amongst independent Baptists, or not common unity. And he noted something that, to me, has been a caution for a number of years already, where some independent Baptist churches have moved into the emergent philosophy with regard to music. And they have adopted some of the CCM music. They are patterning themselves after a church in California, which is run by Paul Chappell. And he is very much involved in the emergent church, even though he classifies himself as an independent fundamental Baptist. And many churches are using his materials. But he is promoting a philosophy that is dangerous. And this young preacher has picked up on that. And he admitted that we are not in agreement when it comes to music, and that's very true. And we're not in agreement on other things as well. And if we study the Bible carefully and humbly, Ephesians chapter four tells us there needs to be a unity in the spirit. We're not cookie cutter Christians, we don't all look the same. We have different color hair, we're different heights, we're different weights. But when it comes to doctrine, there should be, as we grow in the Lord, there should be a purifying of the doctrine so that we can speak boldly and faithfully and help others to know the truth. In 1 Peter chapter four and verse 17, the apostle Peter wrote there, directed by God, he says, for the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God. And if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? So God is always seeking to purify his people. And every one of us that gets saved starts out as a babe in Christ. As a babe in Christ, we need to learn. Some may have had godly parents, but that still doesn't stop you from being a babe in Christ when you get saved. And as that babe, you need to learn. Now, if you have godly parents, well, that's an asset. You can learn from them. They can help you. But they're still human beings. So as we grow, it's important to always have the Bible as our source, as our authority, our foundation, and that we allow God to direct us so that we build properly. In our study in 1 Corinthians that we're doing in our devotionals, we're seeing that in Paul's letter there, that was the problem in Corinth. They were fighting over which personality they were gonna follow rather than paying attention to doctrine, and because of that, they had a lot of problems in that church. And the Apostle Paul was directed by God to address those problems. And as we read into 2 Corinthians, we see that the people heeded those warnings and were blessed for it. So as we look at our text, the nation of Israel and God in the book of Ezekiel, as well as in the book of Hosea that we're studying on Sunday afternoons, God often pulls the nation of Israel back to their roots. points out to them how he has led them, how he has been faithful to them. And that's important for the nation of Israel to see that, that their problems that they were facing were not God's fault. He had been faithful, but they had not been faithful to him. They had not been obedient to him, and that's why they had their problems. So the first thing that we want to look at in this passage is the judgment of the Lord. So we look at verse 33, and it says there, as I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm and with fury poured out will I rule over you. Now, as we mentioned already, this first part is dealing with a time that Israel has not known yet. They don't know it today. but they will know it at the end of the tribulation and as they move into the millennium. And God is going to deliver them. The Antichrist is going to come. He is going to be a deceiver known as the wicked one. And the Jews, when he comes, are going to embrace him. the lost jews the saved jews will be removed just as the saved gentiles will be at the rapture what we call the rapture and the lost jews will embrace the antichrist and we know that through the seven years of the tribulation time god is going to raise up a hundred forty four thousand jewish virgin men who will be preaching the gospel. There will also be the two witnesses in Jerusalem who will be preaching the gospel and also doing signs, biblical signs, not the deceptive signs of the Antichrist. And the Antichrist and the world will hate those two witnesses and they will rejoice when they are killed and they lay in the streets of Jerusalem for three days. The world will see that. At the end of the tribulation, or by the end of the tribulation, there will be a number of Jews that will have been saved. And when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back at the end of the tribulation and sets his feet on the Mount of Olives and splits the Mount of Olives, at that time, the Jews that are alive, many of them, will recognize him as their Messiah. They will realize that it was they, the Jews, that put Jesus on the cross. And that generation will repent. They will recognize Jesus as their Messiah, and they will enter into the millennium to live with Jesus Christ. So verse 33 is talking about that time. It's talking with a mighty hand. The Antichrist is going to convince the majority of the world in the tribulation to follow him. middle point of the tribulation he's going to declare himself to be god and then he's going to demand that everybody alive take his mark and those who are saved will not do that and then he will have his goons to go out and find those who do not take the mark and kill them and god will protect some of the jews and But many people will be killed at that time, and the ones who are willing to take the mark, they will also be killed, not by the Antichrist, but by the judgments of God that will be coming during that entire time. But with a mighty hand, in spite of the massive army that the Antichrist is going to have at the end of the Tribulation, he's not going to be able to overpower Jesus Christ. And so the Battle of Armageddon is a very bloody battle, probably worse than anything the world has ever known. The description of it given in the scriptures, we've never read of anything like that in world history. But it's going to be God's mighty hand, and the Lord God here is going to be seen in Jesus Christ. He is the eternal son of God. He is the one who will come to this earth. He is the one who the people will see. And his fury will be poured out against the wicked, not against the saved Jews, but against the wicked. And it says he will rule over them. So in the tribulation, I mean, in the millennium, Jesus Christ will be the king, he will be the messiah, he'll be the savior, and he will rule over the people. The Bible says he will rule with a rod of iron, we'll see that yet in this passage. In verse 34, it says, and I will bring you out from the people and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm and with fury poured out. So that's a promise of God and we are seeing some of that happening today in our time. We're seeing Jews that are moving back to Israel and some of that is happening because of the anti-Semitic pressure that is being put upon them. This week in BC there was a protest And at that protest, there was people talking about death to Canada, death to the United States, and death to Israel. And at that protest, they burned the Canadian flag. The police did nothing to stop it. The government did nothing to stop it. The Federal Minister of Defense was confronted on her position on this thing, and she refused to condemn it. And so the opposition leader said that she was sympathetic to Hamas and Hezbollah. Of course, that caused an uproar in Parliament, but the fact that she wouldn't condemn it, what other conclusion should we draw then? But that is going on in our country, not just in BC this week, but that's been going on for a number of years. In fact, in Toronto, over a year ago, the police were told to take coffee and donuts to the protesters as they were blocking a bridge that the Jews used to cross over for their business. And the police were entertaining that and promoting it. So that's been going on for a while in our country, this anti-Semitic activity. And it's not a good thing, but God is using that to draw the people, the Jews, back to the land of Israel. And he says in verse 34, he's gonna bring you out from the people. The Jews are going to go home. We've seen that in France. We've seen it in other places. They're moving back to Israel. And that's where they need to be. Now there are still Jews in Canada, United States, who think that they are better off here than they are in, it would be in Israel. But they're looking at the world through secular eyes. They're only looking at the material things. And yes, Israel is a small country. But God has blessed them in spite of their rebellion against him. And the Jews are not starving. They are doing well in their land. Their suffering is as a result of their rebellion against God. But he's still watching over them. In verse 35, it says there, and I will bring you into the wilderness of the people. and there will I plead with you face to face. So let's go in our Bibles to the book of Joel. Joel chapter three. And Joel was directed to write about this in verse two. And it says, I will also gather all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat. Now, the wilderness that Ezekiel is speaking of, that's what that's referring to. The valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations and parted my land. The nation of Israel right now is divided. Israel does not have everything that God promised to Abraham. They have some of it, but they don't have it all. Israel over the years, since 1948, has given land away to try to get peace. It hasn't worked. Every time they gave land away, the enemies moved their rockets closer to Israel, to the main, to Jerusalem, because that's the enemy's goal, to destroy Israel. And so Israel has not gained anything by giving land for peace. Verses 12 to 16 of the same chapter says there, let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, get you down, for the press is full, the fats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision. For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake. But the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. In verse 17, it says, so shall ye know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall be no strangers pass through her anymore. So there, in verse 17, the goal that God has is for the nation of Israel to know him as the Lord their God. Same thing we read in Ezekiel. So back in our text in verse 35, and I will bring you into the wilderness of the people and there will I plead with you face to face. And that's speaking of when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back and when he will confront the world at the end of the tribulation and the battle of Armageddon and the blood will be flowing up to the horse's bridles. And the devil will be bound and cast into a bottomless pit. And the Antichrist and the false prophet will be cast into the lake of fire. And he's going to bring them into the wilderness of the people. That's what God calls that when the ungodly are there with the godly. The second point we have is God's court of justice. In verse 35, it says there in the last part of verse 35, and there will I plead with you face to face. Again, that's speaking of Jesus Christ. He is the one who will be there. And the pleading that is going on there is similar to a court of law where the facts are being exposed. It's not like Canadian courts of law, which are quite corrupt. Many of them are like kangaroo courts nowadays, especially if it has anything to do with something the government doesn't want us to do, not because it's illegal, but because it goes against what the government wants. But this case here, it tells us in this passage, in verse 36, it says, like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, sayeth the Lord God. Again, the word Lord God there, as you see many times in the book of Ezekiel. Lord, capital L, small o-r-d, Master, God, capital G, capital O, capital D, Jehovah. Speaking of the God that Israel needs to know, they will know, same God that we need to know, the one who is in charge, the one who no man interferes with, and that he does what he says he's going to do regardless of the situation and the circumstances. And that's the God that we need to know. As we live out our lives and we live in a more hostile environment than it was when I was younger, we need to be reminded of the fact that the enemy is limited in what he can do. And we don't have to be afraid. We need to trust God. We need to be bold and we need to move forward for God and trust him to make a way for us. And he will, just as he has in the past. And so God is going to be pleading with the Jews of the end of the tribulation, just as he did with their fathers in the wilderness in Egypt. And what did God do there? Well, he proved to them over and over again that he's the true God. He showed them, he exposed their rebellion, he judged their rebellion. In fact, an entire generation except for two people perished in the wilderness. They died and they never entered the promised land. And so God is going to do the same thing through Jesus Christ in the end of the tribulation. Verse 37, I will cause you to pass under the rod and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant and I will purge out from among you the rebels and them that transgress against me. I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn and they shall not enter into the land of Israel and ye shall know that I am the Lord. Now, the rod, being brought under the rod, that phrase is found only two times in the Old Testament. In Leviticus chapter 27 and verse 32, it says, and concerning the tithe of the herd or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the 10th shall be holy unto the Lord. And then the other time is right here in this verse. Now in Psalm 23 and verse 4, the psalmist, David, was told to write about God's rod and how that that rod comforts him. And the rod of God speaks of God's judgment. He makes, as it says here, that the people I will cause you to pass under the rod. So under is a reference to the fact that they are going to be submissive to him. It says, I will cause you to pass under the rod. That's Jesus Christ again there in the context. And the same Jews are going to come under that rod, and they're going to be bound by God's covenant. And they're going to be bound by that covenant, not against their will. That's important. God never forces himself upon anyone. He makes it abundantly clear that his way is the right way. And if a person wants to go their own way, he makes it abundantly clear that that's the wrong way. But he's not forcing anyone to bow to him. He wants obedient, willing servants. Same thing he did with Adam and Eve before the fall. He provided a garden for them to live in, He gave them work to do, and he gave them a free will to choose whether they were going to obey him or not. And Adam decided not to obey God, and the result was that he caused mankind to be sinners. So all the seed of Adam and Eve are, of course, born sinners needing a savior, and God promised a savior in Genesis 3.15. and developed that throughout the scriptures. So the result of this passing under the rod, it says in verse 38, is to purge out. So at the end of the tribulation, as we see elsewhere in the Bible, at the end of the tribulation, he's going to purge out from among you the rebels. That's nothing new from what God wanted the nation of Israel to do prior to the time of Ezekiel and in the time of Ezekiel. that when they were going to come into the land of Canaan, they were not supposed to make a league with the people of the land of Canaan. They were supposed to destroy them. They were supposed to tear down their houses and everything. There was not supposed to be any reminder there of the paganism of the peoples that were living there. But we find that Israel didn't take long before they started making alliances with the pagans. and that was to their detriment. And so here, when the Lord comes back, nobody, no lost person will enter into the millennium. So he will purge out from among you the rebels and them that trespass against me, that's the key, anybody that trespasses against the Lord. That's the standard. It's not me, it's not you. The standard is God, and that standard must be upheld. As we're again studying in 1 Corinthians, that is the same standard that God expected of the Corinthian saints. They were not doing so, and the Apostle Paul needed to rebuke them and teach them and show them how that that was required of them. And the same is required today. God expects his people to be holy. First Peter chapter one tells us that, elsewhere as well. We are to be a holy people. And we can be, because the beautiful thing about Christianity is that God not only demands holiness of his people, but he provides the way for us to be holy. So it's not that God is expecting something of us that we can't do. He provides everything that is needed in order for us to be obedient to him. That's how good he is. Everything we need is provided. But we need to turn to him and trust in him for our salvation and then walk humbly with him. As we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit at salvation, then we need to learn how to walk with him. So it says, I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. So again, there's going to be that purity in the millennium that God has always required, but the world has not, even the Israel, nation of Israel has not seen that. One of the best times that they had was in the time of King David. But even there, there were deficiencies. In verse 39, for as for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God, go ye and serve everyone his idols. So the third point we have is God's counsel to the rebels. Now, the scriptures are full of references of God's counsel encouraging people to turn back to him, especially the nation of Israel. They needed to turn back to him because they had been chosen as his people. Abraham believed God and was counted unto him for righteousness and so on, but the nation of Israel had defied God and they turned away from him. And so God here, because these rebels from verse one, the elders, He says to them, thus saith the Lord God, go ye, serve ye everyone his idols. That's what you want. Go and do it. And hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me, but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts and with your idols. So God was not pleased at all. with the fact that the elders were serving idols, promoting idolatry, and yet still trying to pretend that they were following God by offering their sacrifices and so on, suggesting that God was approving of what they were doing. And God again reminds them here that he was not approving it at all. and he tells them to stop polluting his holy name. And I believe that's the same, we're not Jews today, I don't believe in replacement theology, but I believe that God requires, as I've already mentioned, the same thing of those who are Christians today. We need to be a holy people. There's no room for compromise amongst God's people. And God will work to bring about that holiness. In Hebrews chapter 12, it talks about God's chastening. And the purpose of his chastening is to bring about the peaceable fruit of righteousness. And I believe that God is still doing that today. His requirements have not changed. And the reason for that is because, just as it says here in verse 39, But pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts. And the problem that we see today is that a lot of people have a very strange view of who God is. Even a lot of professing Christians have a very strange view of who God is. Not a view that they found in the Bible, but a view that they develop by watching professing Christians. And when professing Christians do not behave like biblical Christians, it creates a problem. Just as I mentioned earlier with this young preacher who has been observing things amongst the independent Baptists in Canada that he has seen that, yeah, we're allowing for different standards of music Not good standards. And so there's other things as well that he has noted that are, there's differences, and so why can't we disagree on the Bible issue? You see, we need to understand, as Jesus, or as the Bible says, a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. And when we don't take that seriously, we don't understand and we don't sometimes see the negative effects of our compromise for a little while. And this compromise in the music issue, something that I've observed in the Independent Fundamental Baptist camp in Canada for a number of years now. And that's why I don't go to the conferences anymore, because I'm not interested in being led down that path. I come out of New Evangelicalism, I'm not going back there. And it's a dangerous thing. But it seems that too many people don't see it as a dangerous thing. And here we are seeing this one man at least expressing what I'm sure others are thinking. What's wrong with compromise? What's wrong with different opinions? And yes, we are different people. But again, when it comes to doctrine, we have one Bible, one word from God, And that word is absolute. And so as we grow in the Lord, we should be refining our positions to become more Christ-like, not less Christ-like, not more worldly. The friendship of the world is enmity with God. It's not a blessing, it's not a help. And so God says to these elders in verse 39, you want to have your idols go forth, but don't bring my name into your idolatry. In verse 40, for in mine holy mountain, as we read from the book of Joel, that's talking about Jerusalem. In mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land serve me. And again, that's talking about the millennium. So at that time, The entire nation of Israel that's going into the millennium is going to serve the Lord. There will I accept them. There will I require your offerings and the first fruits of your oblations with all your holy things. So one of the things the Bible tells us, Ezekiel talks about that later on in his book, there's going to be a temple in the millennium. The Antichrist is going to build a temple. His temple will be nothing like the temple of King Solomon, nothing like the temple that was around in the time of Jesus, but he's going to build a temple. That's going to be his temple. That's not going to be a temple approved of by God. The Jews are going to embrace that temple. One of the things that Jews are very interested in now, they have everything in place pretty well. I think they have the ashes of the red heifer to purify the temple. They're anxious to have a temple. And the Antichrist is going to take that and he's going to build them a temple. But that temple is going to come up very quickly, because by the midpoint of the tribulation, he's going to enter that temple and defile it. So that means that in three and a half years, he's going to build the temple, at least. Probably sooner than that, because it's going to be used already before the midpoint. So that temple will not be anything like the Temple of Solomon or the one that was there when Jesus was on Earth. But in the millennium, Jesus Christ is going to have his temple, and there the people, the Jews, are going to bring their sacrifices, and they're going to honor God with their lives. It will not be ritualistic, it'll be from the heart, and it'll have the proper meaning to it. Verse 41, I will accept you with your sweet savor. And that's what the sacrifices were supposed to be in the Old Testament, a sweet savor, a blessing, something that God could appreciate, not just because this sacrifice was made according to commandment, but that the heart of the people was right as they were bringing the sacrifice. It's possible to go through the motions and try to cross every T and dot every I and yet not have a right heart. It's possible to do things just because you know that's the best way to get along with others, but still not have the right heart. But in the millennium, the hearts of the Jews is going to be right with God. When I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered, and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. So the people that are going to be there at the end of the tribulation are going to recognize, be sanctified means to be set apart unto holiness and unto God. And so the nations are going to recognize these same Jews at that time, they're going to recognize they're different. And that's what God expected of the nation of Israel all along. That's what God expects of Christians today as well. We're to be different. We're a peculiar people. And the difference is in the fact that our heart is different, and so our actions are different. Our attitude is different. Our speech is different. Our desires are different. And that is something that comes from the person that is saved, but not just the person that is saved, but the one who is walking humbly with the Lord after salvation. As again, we look in 1 Corinthians, Paul's addressing the saints, but they've got some major problems, and they need to be addressed. Verse 42, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. So again, this is God's purpose in what he does. When I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers. God took Abram, changed his name to Abraham, took his wife Sarah, I changed her name to Sarah, took them from Ur of the Chaldees into the land of Canaan. Abraham sojourned in that land. His wife Sarah died in that land. He died in that land. Isaac was living in that land. Jacob and Esau were born in that land. But they left that land. Jacob left that land under God's direction, spent 400 years in Egypt before God brought them out and back into that land. But God is the one who gave them that land. He's the one that told them to drive out the inhabitants of the land. And he began that by taking down the walls of Jericho, and destroying the people without the nation of Israel fighting. So God showed them what he expected of them and they failed to follow through on that. But in the millennium, it'll be different because Jesus Christ is going to rule. So verse 43, and there shall ye remember your ways and all your doings wherein ye have defiled wherein ye have been defiled, and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. And that's important as well. When a person, even in today's world, in the church age, when a person comes to the place of repentance, there does need to be that recognition of sin. There needs to be that recognition of the wickedness of sin. And so the nation of Israel here, God says that they are going to look at themselves. They're going to see, as Zechariah tells us, they're going to see that they are the ones, even though they are many generations from the time when Jesus was on this earth, but they are still Jews. and they're going to recognize that they are the ones that crucified Jesus Christ. And so here it says that they're gonna remember their ways, they're gonna realize just how wicked their hearts were. And they're going to, it says here that they're going to loathe themselves in their own sight. So as they look at themselves, they're going to realize just how wicked they are. And that's important. That goes contrary to the philosophy of the world, which says that we need to protect the self-esteem of people. Self-esteem is just a bigger word for the word pride. We don't need to protect people's pride. A person needs to come to the end of himself and realize that he has nothing and has no value without knowing Jesus Christ as Savior. That is not the same as what some people do in the world where they take their own lives. That's not what God is talking about. When a person turns to God and sees His holiness, sees his goodness, his greatness, his mercy, his love, and everything else about God, we realize that we really are nothing in his sight. And that's what we need to do. And when we come to that place, that's when God can fill us. That's when God can use us. That's when God can teach us. But as long as we think that we have value in ourselves and we just need a little bit of tweaking, we've got a problem, and it doesn't work. And so here God says that they are going to do that at that time in the millennium. As they enter into the millennium, they're gonna realize just how evil they are in themselves, and they're going to recognize God's holiness, Jesus Christ's holiness. You remember in the Gospels, I didn't make a note of it, but when Peter and the disciples were out fishing at one point, and Jesus came there and he told them to cast out their nets, and on the other side, I believe it was, if I'm remembering it right, and they got a boatload of fish. And Peter fell down before Jesus and told him to depart from him because he was not worthy of Jesus. And Peter at that moment realized the greatness of Jesus Christ. After that, he again didn't all the time, but he needed to learn that. But in that moment, he realized how much greater Jesus was than what he was. And that's something that we need to understand as well, those of us that are saved, the greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as we recognize that, it will cause us then to want to humble ourselves and submit to his rule. The verse 44, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. Again, all capitalized, Jehovah, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake. not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God." So God doesn't need to take lessons from us. We don't have anything that we can teach him. We need to learn from him. We need to understand who this true God is. And we have the complete scriptures to help us to understand that. And once we are saved, the Holy Spirit indwells us, and he helps us also to understand the word of God correctly. And that's the key, to understand it correctly. Yes, we can look at commentaries, We can listen to other people. The Bible teaches us that we have apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers for the purpose of the perfecting of the saints. So we need these people. But in all of those people, of course, the apostles and prophets, that is the scripture, but the evangelists and pastors and teachers, we are not the scriptures. We are supposed to teach the scriptures. We're supposed to help people to understand the Word of God. The only way we can do that is when we personally are submissive to the Word of God. Then we can teach people the right way. And so it's always important for us to point people back to the Word of God. That's our authority. Build your life on the Word of God. Study it. Make notes. Spend time in prayer, read God's word, meditate on God's word, and grow, submit to God's word, grow in the Lord. And as you grow in one area, God can open up another area where you need to grow, because there's always room for us to grow. Doesn't matter how long we've been saved, there's always room for us to grow. And so that's important for us to look at these Old Testament passages and realize they're not old in the sense that they're outdated, but they're old in that they came before, but they're there for our learning. As we study the nation of Israel through the scriptures, there's so much that we can look at, and as the Bible talks about, it's like a mirror, and we can see ourselves. And we can realize that the same answer that God gave for the nation of Israel, the same answer we need. We need to know the true God, we need to submit to the true God, and we need to serve the true God faithfully. So if you're listening to me today and you're not saved, maybe you think you are, but if you look at what the Bible says, are you truly a child of God? Are you born again? Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior? Are you serving Him obediently? And if you're not, today is the day for you to turn to God and ask Him to forgive you, and if you're not saved, get saved. If you are saved and you're fighting against God, confess that as sin and get right with God. Start serving Him faithfully. All of us, no matter who we are, all of us need to grow. And so that's important for us to do that, to grow in the Lord if we're saved, to serve him more faithfully, and to seek to help others to know him as well. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we're thankful that we have thy word, thankful for this passage that we can study, for the promises that were given to these elders that had come to Ezekiel. They were not interested in the truth, but they were given the truth. The nation of Israel was given the truth. They still can read it today and study it. Thankful that we have the promises that were given there of a better time that's coming for the nation of Israel. And we're thankful for that. And we do pray again that there would be many Jews that would get saved, that they don't have to face the sufferings that are going to come during the tribulation. And we do pray for many Gentiles that they would be saved as well. We're thankful that we can know that there is a home in heaven for us, and we can look forward to that as we live in this wicked world that we are in today. Help us to be a light, help us to be faithful, to be bold, to be people of prayer, so we can be directed in the right way, so we can have an answer to give to every man the reason of the hope that is in us with meekness and with fear. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.