The Remnant: Hope Amidst Judgment in Ezekiel’s Prophecy

It's good to have brother Davison back with us tonight and looking forward to what the Lord's laid on his heart.

I think somewhere in Ezekiel.

I'm looking forward to it.

Okay.

Thank you, Pastor.

Appreciate that.

Thank you for that song.

And my wife and I got in the choir, and that was a new song that came out that our song leader introduced to us.

So that must have been a new song about 66, the year we got married.

1965, somewhere right in there.

And I am all for keeping those songs alive.

That's good stuff.

Good stuff.

And thank you for that very much.

And I thought, what kind of nerve it takes to go a cappella.

And I just keep remembering, oh, boy, I don't know.

I couldn't do that.

And I remember our blind piano player that said when he heard me sing, he wished he was deaf as well as blind.

So I try not to do that.

Every once in a while, I break loose and sing while I'm preaching.

And I remember, first or second time I remember doing that, I looked at my wife was in the service, and she's going.

So I sang two verses just to show her who's in charge here.

No, not so, okay, how many read Ezekiel 14.

Okay, good, good.

All right, so tomorrow, for tomorrow night, read chapter 18.

Now we're gonna do chapter 15, but I'm saving it for Wednesday night and reasons I might or might not explain on Wednesday night, if I can remember to explain it.

But we're going to go to chapter 18 tomorrow night in Ezekiel, and then we'll be back in Chapter 15 on Wednesday night.

All right, so you have your Bible open to ezekiel and chapter 14.

How about we stand together for the reading of the word?

Ezekiel 14.

So verse one, it says, then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, unto Ezekiel, and sat before me.

Question, would you think that if they came before Ezekiel, the priest and prophet, would you think if they came before him, they expected or desired to hear from him?

You'd think.

You'd think.

That's the way it appears.

And if Ezekiel had been a 21st century preacher and been very interested in accommodating his audience, they probably would have been glad to hear from him, but they didn't want to hear what he had to say.

So I don't have time to preach that right now.

Let's Keep it going.

Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me, and the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart.

Doesn't matter what they look like right now.

God says, I know it's in their heart, and they haven't turned from their idolatry.

It's set in their heart and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face.

Should I be inquired of?

Should I be inquired of at all by them?

And then he says, therefore speak unto them.

And he has Ezekiel speak to them about their spiritual condition and about God's attitude towards where they are.

That's down through verse 11.

Look at verse 12.

The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it.

Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should not deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.

If I cause noisome beasts, that would be those beasts that would be feared, that would be harmful to man, the lion family and all.

If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate that no man pass through because of the beasts, though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters.

They only shall deliver.

They only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.

Or if I bring a sword upon the land, and say, sword, go through the land, so that I cut off man and beast from it, though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.

Or if I send a pestilence into the land and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast, though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter, they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

For thus saith the Lord God, how much more when I send my four sword judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast, severe judgment from God, yet behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth both sons and daughters, behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings, and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and concerning all that I have brought upon it.

And they shall comfort you.

This remnant will, when ye see their ways and their doings and.

And ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord God.

Father, just the reading of the passage makes me want to come before you again and ask you, Lord, that you would help me to communicate the message of this portion of Scripture.

And it could be that some that have not considered this of late or read it this week, or have made themselves familiar with the passage might say, what are we supposed to learn from this?

It's a strange sounding chapter, as are many of the chapters of the book of Ezekiel.

So Lord, we know that it is here for a reason, and there is that from which we are to benefit and learn and be helped, and that which should cause us to examine ourselves and to consider our own ways.

And so, Lord, I pray that you'd help me tonight to be able to communicate the message in a way that would be meaningful and helpful.

And of course, we know that when we have done our very best, that without the unction and the work of the Holy Spirit, it will come to naught.

So I pray for the work and the help of the Holy Ghost, and that you would make this a meaningful and profitable time.

In your word, in Jesus name I pray.

Amen.

Thank you.

God bless you.

May be seated.

Let's consider Job for just a second.

The story pretty familiar to most, if not everyone.

And we know that Satan was allowed to attack Job and that in that process, Job lost his children, he lost his servants, his workers, possessions, his health, he lost friends, and he lost influence.

Job was a man highly esteemed in his time by everyone that would have been in his circle of culture.

Job was held in high esteem and through the attack of Satan, he lost it all.

So why did Satan do that?

Why did Satan do that?

Well, the reason Satan did that is because he is the destroyer.

That's what he does.

And he destroys for the sake of destroying.

With no greater purpose in mind than destruction and carnage and pain and misery and death.

That's the nature of Satan.

That's why he does it for the sake of destroying.

Now consider the Flood.

Since Noah is in our account as well, consider the flood.

If you read just brief comments made by Matthew and by Luke, you would see that they commented that the Flood came.

And by the flood, God destroyed them all.

And of course we know, except for the family of Noah that was safe in the ark, but God destroyed them all.

Now why did God do that?

Why would God destroy by flood?

Not only apparently destroying the flood with the upheaval and all the planet with the upheaval in all but destroy the lives?

Why would God do that?

Well, we have to understand that when God so judges, it is according to his own righteous judgment.

In other words, God does not destroy just for the sake of destroying.

If God destroys, then God destroys because of his righteous judgments.

Let's remember one thing.

He can only do what is righteous.

He has no ability to do unrighteousness.

God would never destroy just for the sake of destruction, but to fulfill his righteous purpose for the purpose of bringing about righteousness, the purpose of purging, cleansing, correction.

You'll see also that he makes his judgments of the past known for future generations to be mindful that he is a God of wrath and a God of indignation.

Another subject totally ignored by the vast majority of 21st century preaching, but still in the word of God, that God does this for righteous purposes and righteous means.

Now, the reason I bring that up and bring it out is because this is one of the points of the passage, because you read with me, where God mentioned the four approaches of exercising judgment and wrath upon his nation, upon his people.

We're gonna talk about them a little bit more later.

And God brings to light that he is going to do that.

And in the minds of the people that he is exercising judgment upon, he has no reason to do that.

And what God is doing through the prophet Ezekiel is showing them that these are righteous judgments and that he is not just judging for the purpose of judging.

And while they are in denial largely and see no reason for God to be dealing with them in the ways that he said that he would deal with them and that he did deal with them, they see no reason for it.

God's going to vindicate his own righteousness in these judgments.

Does that make sense to everybody?

Alright.

And that's basically what is taking place in this chapter.

Now, I want to remind you of the dire spiritual condition of the nation of Judah.

Now, the reason I say the nation of Judah, all that is left of Israel is the southern kingdom.

The northern kingdom was wiped out a number of years before by the Assyrians.

And so the northern kingdom hasn't existed for a century or thereabouts.

And now you have the southern kingdom that is still in existence, but unfortunately the southern kingdom followed the same path that brought destruction to the northern kingdom.

And now God is executing judgment upon them.

And their spiritual life is absolutely miserable and their living conditions are miserable.

Because, you see, by the time we are in our account, Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar has already made an invasion upon, I think invasion might be the right word, but made an invasion upon Jerusalem and upon Judah.

And so what they have done is they've taken some of the royal families, some of the key and skilled people of the land, and they've carried them off to Babylon.

And then there's another element of people that I mentioned to you last night that has taken off that are not being prepared for leadership in Babylon, like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and Daniel were being prepared, but these people were carried away as captives in an undesirable place at the river Chebar called Telabib.

That's the name of the town.

That's the only reason it's known, is for the fact that God's people were carried there in their captivity.

And so when you think of the river Chebar and you think of the town Talab, I think about my wife and I have covered the country, driving all over the place, besides flying, and I much prefer driving.

And I think back in the eastern part of the country, some of the beautiful rivers that are there, and I could name a few, but I won't, because you're aware of them.

And I think if you think about the river Chebar, don't think about one of those beautiful rivers in the eastern part of the country, think more like the Red river when it's low.

Not impressive.

I get sick and tired of those Easterners coming over here and making fun of our rivers, because oftentimes you see a lot more sand than you do water.

And that's the case sometimes in the Red river even.

And so if you're going to think about what it was like there, well, think about one of those rivers that didn't really look like a river.

This one would have been like a spur off of the Euphrates.

And from what we understand from the historians and geographers and those that study such things, that it would have been an ugly place, it would have been a desolate place where there wouldn't have been a lot like greenery growing and such as that.

And the water would have been the muddy water, the red water, the dirty water of the desert and everything that surround it there.

And that's where they were.

And when I think about the People there, I often think it comes to my mind, and maybe yours, too, about some of the scenes I've seen in the news when nations have conflict, have conflict and war in.

In Africa or in some of the Mideastern places, and many of the citizens run as refugees from that land to another land, and they live in squalor, and they live in some ugly and desolate places, and their life is miserable.

Well, that's what this would have been like.

There was nothing desirable.

Nobody said, well, okay, well, you got carried away, but at least you got to go to the river Chebar.

No, that's exactly where you didn't want to go.

At least you got a town nearby.

You got Talab.

That's a town you didn't want to be anywhere near.

See, and that was their condition.

Those were the conditions in which they lived.

Now, there those people were in this misery, hearing and thinking that we're not going to be here long because they have prophets that are preaching to them.

If you study the Book of Ezekiel, you'll see they had prophets preaching to them that say, this captivity is not for long.

You'll be back there before long.

This is just a temporary thing.

And so they were thinking, we're not here for long.

We're just here for a temporary thing.

And our prophets are telling us to, hold your chin up.

You're gonna be back home before long.

Things are looking good back home.

Well, back in Jerusalem, things are not looking good in spite of what they are hearing.

And back in Jerusalem, they are under besiegement.

They are under.

The city is besieged by the Babylonians.

Not nobody can come out except by the permission of the Babylonians.

Nobody can go in except by the permission of the Babylonians.

They've got it besieged.

And so that means the food supplies are cut off, necessities are cut off, and life is deteriorating but fast in the city of Jerusalem.

But in the city of Jerusalem, you gotta understand also that they are hearing from false prophets who are saying they've heard from God, and God hadn't said anything.

I encourage you to read the big picture of Ezekiel because it becomes very explicit and very clear that there are preachers that are saying, thus saith the Lord, when the Lord hasn't said anything like they're saying, and they're making it up and claiming to be speaking for the Lord.

And so if you want to see what it was like there, let me just have you do a little exercise with me and we'll back up and look at some verses.

Go back to Chapter nine and verse nine.

I'm not going to read long, just want you to kind of check on this.

And I can kind of get the idea of the attitude and the mentality of the people.

Okay, so look in chapter nine and verse nine.

Then said he unto me, the iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood and the city full of perverseness.

For they say the Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not.

Now let me enlarge upon that in just a second here.

What they are basically saying is the Lord has failed us.

They're not just saying, we're under the judgment of God, we better do something about it.

No, that's not their attitude at all.

Their attitude is the Lord has failed us, the Lord has forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth us.

Not.

So really like the Israelites often did, according to their history back in the wilderness, do you know who they blamed a lot of their problems on?

God and Moses and they.

The things they murmured about for 40 years there.

You know who they blame?

God and Moses.

And they haven't gotten over that attitude.

They're still doing that.

Let me show you another verse.

Chapter 12 and verse number 22.

Turn there right quick.

Chapter 12 and verse 22.

Is that.

Okay, hold on, just.

Yeah, chapter 12.

Look in verse number 22.

Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel?

So he's talking about to Ezekiel, about what is being said and accepted by people that are back in Jerusalem.

Look in verse 22, what is that proverb that you have in the land of Israel?

Saying the days are prolonged and.

And every vision faileth.

Can I have your attention?

Ezekiel, Jeremiah, back at Jerusalem, Ezekiel in the captivity, Zephaniah, back in the land, are prophesying of the coming of Babylon to utterly destroy the city.

And what they are saying is those days are prolonged and every vision that those preachers are preaching is fail.

So they didn't believe that Ezekiel was speaking under the authority of God, nor Zephaniah, nor Jeremiah.

See?

And so they're just pretending as though it's not there.

Look down in verse 27, Son of man, Behold, they of the house of Israel say the vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of times that are.

Come on.

If anything is going to happen, like these preachers that I just mentioned to you are saying, it's not anytime soon.

This isn't going to happen.

It is something that is afar off.

Are you listening to this?

God is talking to them about the judgment that is coming upon them.

In fact, the judgment is already in process.

And they are in total denial.

Like Egypt is going to deliver them from the Babylonian attack.

Like somehow, someway, they're going to escape all of this and they're not going to have the misery that these preachers are saying they're going to have.

They're in total denial about it.

Ah, well, if it happens, it's a long ways off.

It won't be in your lifetime.

I can hear them saying to their kids, it'll be after hours.

This a long ways off.

No, we're Israel.

This isn't going to happen to us.

That's what they're saying.

Look in chapter 13 and verse 10, real fast.

Chapter 13, verse 10.

Because even.

Because they false teachers have seduced my people, saying, peace.

And there was no peace.

And one built upon a wall, and lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar.

So preachers, their own preachers, not Ezekiel, huh?

Jeremiah or Zephaniah, not them, but their own preachers that they listened to were saying, ah, it's not.

It happens.

It's a long ways off.

And they bought into that and they said, peace.

But God's word is saying there is no peace.

See, they were buying into a lie.

One more verse.

Look in chapter 14.

And verse number 13 again.

Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break off the staff and bread thereof, and will cut off man and beast from it.

So God is saying, here is what your prophets are saying.

And Ezekiel is saying, this is what God is saying.

And in fact, this is what God said and had for Ezekiel to say to them that this judgment is certainly.

I said 13.

Look in verse three.

That's what I meant to have you read.

Look in verse three.

Son of man.

These men have set up their idols in their heart and.

And put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face.

Should I be inquired at all of them?

These men.

Excuse me, look at me a second.

They came before Ezekiel.

We all agreed.

I think it's hard to tell if you're in agreement or not.

But anyway, we all agreed, I think that if they came before Ezekiel, they would expect a man to say something.

They would expect him to give them a word from the Lord.

Why else would they come to him?

And so God said to Ezekiel, they're coming like they want to hear from you, but they don't.

And here, listen to what he says.

I can see their heart, Ezekiel.

They may come and say, here we are, man of God, speak to us.

And God says, no, don't believe it.

They don't want to hear from me.

I can see in their heart.

And the idolatry is still in their heart.

That abomination, that practice of bowing before idols and chasing after the gods of the heathen.

They may be sitting before one of the great preachers of all time, but their heart is far from God.

And they're still devoted in their heart to those idols that are such an abomination to God.

That's what's taking place there.

This is exactly what Ezekiel is facing.

And what is happening in that land.

Now, what are we supposed to learn from this passage?

Well, I think it's like this.

That God makes his judgment.

Okay, let me repeat that God makes his severe judgment very vivid, vividly clear to them, lets them know that it is coming.

And they've gone too far.

They will not come back.

Now, I haven't read all the verses or anything, but they still had occasion to repent and refused.

And God knew them and where their heart was.

And their heart was where, in idolatry, in those idols.

It says so right there.

And so God very vividly says, watch this now.

You've gone too far.

You've gone so far that I am going to send.

I'm not going to read it all again.

I am going to send this famine.

You've gone so far that the beasts will come and devour you.

Your children will not be safe.

Safe from the beast that God is stirring up.

Come on.

He's the Creator and he's the God of all, and he stirs them up to be adversarial to the people of the land.

And they're going to devour, and they're going to instill fear within the people.

This is what's coming because of their phoniness, because of them coming before Ezekiel.

And God being so gracious as to have spoken to them generation after generation, and continues to speak to them by the likes of Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Zephaniah.

And God is saying to them right now at this time, no, that famine is coming.

And I'll tell you what is coming.

The beasts that are going to devour.

And the sword, war is going to come.

Blood is going to be shed.

People are going to die.

That's what he's saying to them.

I just don't like that judgment stuff.

God just seems so vindictive.

God is merciful to tell them what's coming and still give them space to repent.

When God sends these sounds of his coming judgment with such clarity, and it sounds like it's trying to instill fear.

Well, it's meant to do that, but that's the goodness of God to warn us of what's coming.

That's what he was doing with these people.

He said, the beasts are going to come, the famine is going to come, and the sword is going to come.

Well, Egypt's going to come up and save us.

No, Egypt is not going to come up and save them.

And Egypt was not powerful enough to save them.

And no God had equipped Nebuchadnezzar to exercise this judgment.

And Egypt helping them, or all the nations of the world going to help them as long as God is executing the judgment, See?

And so he said, the sword is going to be applied, blood is going to be shed, people are going to die.

Which indeed they did.

And then God said, pestilence is going to come.

Pestilence, disease, infectious disease in animals, which was their way of living.

And in people, pestilence will come.

People will die because of it.

Hmm.

Egypt deliver you.

Mm mm.

In fact, you're so far gone.

God says, if Noah came here, Noah, how did he get in the picture?

God brought him in the picture.

Now, Noah wasn't an Israelite.

This is before the covenant, before they were a race of people.

But Noah was manifestly recognized as a man of faith.

Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and the human race was saved because God gave grace to Noah and the ark was built.

And then from Noah and his family, then the earth began to repopulate, right?

But he said, Noah, did Noah have faith?

Well, he was 120 years in the building of the ark, and he was a preacher as well.

And so he prophesied and pre spoke forth the word of God for 120 years in the preparation of the ark.

I would say that Noah was a man of faith and he obeyed God in that ark.

What an amazing account.

Amazing story.

I never get tired of reading the book of Genesis and reading that account.

I never get tired of it.

And so God is saying to them, ezekiel, do you know how far gone they are?

And he is saying, for the benefit of the people, for Ezekiel to tell them, you are so far gone that if Noah came back and was a part of society and interceded on your behalf, Noah couldn't deliver you, you're that far gone.

That's how bad it was.

And neither could Daniel.

Must have been some that say, well, no, that was so far back.

Okay, well, they knew about Daniel.

Daniel was a man that was a contemporary.

In fact, he was their prophet in Babylon.

So here's Daniel, a man that had great favor with God.

Come on.

The angel even appeared and spoke to him and said that you found exceptional favor with God.

But if Daniel right now interceded on your behalf, it wouldn't be enough to deliver you.

As a matter of fact, Daniel did intercede.

You might want to read sometime Daniel, chapter nine.

It is an incredible chapter where Daniel comes before God and confesses the sins of his nation.

And he prays like other patriots did.

That when he prayed about the sins of the nation, he identified as though he was as guilty as they were.

Well, he had not committed those sins himself, but he was a part of a nation.

I mean, he was a part of that nation and a part of that race that was going to come under the judgment of God.

And if you read Daniel in chapter nine, you can see how he interceded for them, made intercession for them, and he sought the forgiveness of God upon the land.

And do you know how God answered him?

If you'll read chapter nine, you'll see it yourself.

No, Daniel, they will not be spared.

70 weeks are determined upon my people and upon this nation.

And so what he is saying to Daniel is, I hear your intercession.

That intercession was good for Daniel, but it did not spare or save the nation.

Now, come on.

Is Daniel one of your heroes?

He certainly is mine.

One of my heroes in the Bible, for sure.

And God said, you, condition is so bad that if Noah came back, he could not intercede on your behalf.

In fact, your condition is so bad, you are so far gone.

You have crossed the line to the point that even Daniel, your prophet, you're favored of the Lord.

Prophet.

His prayer won't save you.

No, nor would Job.

Job, Job's friend said he's wicked.

He's sinned.

Why don't you just go ahead and own up that you're suffering all this misery because of your wickedness and your sin.

And all of his friends, quote, unquote.

Friends said that he was a wicked man.

He's trying to ignore his sin and cover up his sin.

That's what his friends said about him.

But God said that Job was perfect before the Lord and a righteous man and a just man.

I believe I'll go with what the Lord said, don't you?

Especially after reading that a few times.

It looks like they didn't know what they were talking about.

And God had great favor upon Job.

And they knew that because, I mean, God delivered Job.

Boy, did God deliver Job.

He wound up with twice as many everything as he had before, which was one way of measuring, just one way of measuring the blessings and the favor of God.

And so he gave him more children, he gave him more possessions, he gave him more livestock, he gave him more everything.

And Job raised back to the esteem that people had of him before.

And he prayed for his friends, and God set them in their place.

But do you know, if Job showed up on the scene, you're so far gone, it would not save you.

It would not.

You've crossed the line.

I don't like to hear that.

Because the mercy of God endures forever.

The mercy of God endures forever.

They crossed the line.

God knew their heart.

It wasn't toward him.

It was toward themselves.

That which was appealing to them.

The idolatry, the things of this life, the things of this world, all the filthy lifestyle that went with the idolatrous practice they had.

That's where their heart was.

And God said, you've crossed the line.

Reading that, thinking about that.

Does anybody besides me think about the United States of America?

I really think if we're gonna talk about Israel and then talk about the United States, we've got to be very, very careful, because we're not the same.

Well, this is a blessed nation.

This is a blessed nation indeed.

But we're not a covenant race of people like Israel was.

He did not make the promises to the United States of America that he made to his people, Israel.

However, I will say this, that not only did God say he would deal this way with the nation of Israel, I want you to follow this.

Just a second.

That not only did he say he would visit this way with the nation of Israel, ladies and gentlemen, but you gotta remember that God has done this in the past, before there was an Israel, and he's done it since with nations that were not his covenant people.

I remind you of the days of the flood.

Had the culture, the population of the world had.

They crossed the line till God brought judgment and said, that's enough.

Well, certainly it happened.

That's how the flood came.

And that wasn't with the covenant people.

That was before Israel.

Abraham was unheard of.

And I might remind you about Egypt.

God showed Egypt that he's God.

Did he or not?

Absolutely he did.

And they had 1, 2, 10 occasions of God manifesting his power, his authority, his judgment, his righteousness.

They had 10 occasions to watch all of that and hardened.

And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened.

And the people of Egypt and God dealt with them in that kind of judgment.

At the Red Sea, Pharaoh and his army totally destroyed the Red Sea.

That wasn't a covenant people.

And yet God said, you've gone too far, it's enough.

He dealt with Assyria.

Come on, just read through the prophets and you'll see.

He dealt with Gentile nations in judgment and wrath because they thumbed their nose at him as though he was not God.

And they despised his people and wanted to destroy them from off the face of the earth.

So he dealt with the Assyrians, with Syria.

He dealt with Edom, Moab, Philistia.

He dealt with the Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome.

God dealt with all of those nations.

I think we could look in, quote, modern times, unquote, and see that France isn't what it used to be in the world.

Germany isn't what it used to be in the world.

England isn't what it used to be in the world.

And Israel sort of had this attitude, you can read it in the book of Romans.

Israel sort of had this attitude that we are Israel, we are this man, we are special, we are Israel.

And I'm just about up to here.

Like many others, no doubt of hearing, this is the United States of America with arrogance and pride.

Now hold on just a second.

I love the red, white and blue.

I love our military.

Hey, I'm a patriotic individual.

But I'm just going to tell you, God doesn't like pride anywhere he sees it or anywhere he hears it and anywhere he finds it.

And just like Israel thought, no, this could not happen to us because we are who we are.

And there are many people in the United States of America in a state of lethargy, spiritual lethargy and indifference and on and on and on.

Because we live in the United States, in America, America.

And we're the greatest nation in the world.

We're the greatest economy in the world.

30 some million trillion dollars in debt.

We're the greatest economy in the world.

We're the greatest nation in the world.

We this and we this and we that.

And I just wonder if anybody's read Romans 1 lately and the debauchery and the filth and the wickedness.

We can look at the pagan nations that God has dealt with and see why God dealt with them in judgment.

I mean, we can go all the way back to Egypt and Assyria and on and on and on.

And God dealt with them according to how they dealt with his people.

And I'm just telling you right now, there's a strong element in our culture, in our society that cares nothing about being the Friends of Israel.

We better pray for our leaders that they have the good sense.

Because God has never retracted when he said, I will bless them that bless thee and I will curse them that curse thee.

That has never been taken back by God.

That's still the way it is.

I would say stick my neck out and say we may be more accountable than anybody.

Because I get a little leery when people say we're a Christian nation.

I don't know that we've ever been what could really be called a Christian nation.

Although so much of our history shows that this country was brought into existence under the leadership of men, that in fact, we're Christians.

We're Christians.

The instruments that give us the freedom that we have are full of references to our God given rights.

It's full of them.

Yale came into existence sometime after that.

Princeton came into existence.

I guarantee you can Google some of that and you won't even find why they came into existence.

To train men to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ on this continent and the world.

That's why.

That's why Harvard existed.

A hotbed of liberalism, a hotbed of Marxism, a heartbed of communist thought and Marxist communist thought.

These institutions were originally established for the purpose of training men to propagate the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And our history's full of it.

Our history's full of it.

The history of the Supreme Court is full of documentation of the word of God and the laws of God and the existence of God the Creator.

Yeah, the signers of the Declaration of Independence, I think all of what, just a little bitty handful where openly professing Christians saved people.

The monuments in Washington D.C. keep telling the story for those that visit.

Doesn't matter what the history revisionists say.

Just go to Washington D.C. and if all you do is go read the monuments, you'll think, whoa, this is strong, this is good.

Shows our heritage, our history.

Countless public speeches and on and on.

So I get asked once in a while, Brother Sam, do you think there's.

Do you think it's possible to have revival in America?

Well, what kind of person would say, no, no, I don't think so.

But do I see concern to think that it's possible we've gone too far.

There might be evidence to that.

And besides that, what is called Christianity today.

I said, what is called and accepted as normal Christianity today in the United States of America, if it is Christianity at all, it is so anemic, it is so accommodating to a wicked culture.

It is so willing to adapt to whichever way the cultural winds are blowing.

And if we're gonna have a crowd, and if we're gonna build our churches and if we're gonna have people, then we've got to go with the directions and they follow the winds that are blowing.

So if you went to the majority of so called churches today in the United States of America and, and you stood outside and listened to the music, you wouldn't know if you were at an entertainment center or if you were at a place of holy worship before God.

Yeah.

Sad.

It's sad.

Boy, this is gloomy stuff, Brother Sam.

Yeah, well, it's something we can't ignore.

I said, it's something we can't ignore.

If there's somebody in this room tonight and you say, ah, this kind of stuff, I don't really care to hear this.

You're part of the problem.

You'd be one of those people that Ezekiel's talking about right here.

Cause the fire is not there, the passion is not there.

The zeal for God is not there.

I'm just saying, if you're there, I'm not accusing anybody.

I'm just saying, you know where you are in your spiritual walk, your spiritual journey.

And if you're here out of duty or you're here because you think, well, that's what I should do.

And you're not here because of a heart for God.

God knows if you have a heart for him or if he doesn't.

Come on, look at this.

His people stood before him.

And God said, ezekiel, I can see them standing before you, like they want to hear from you.

But no matter how they may look to you, son, they don't want to hear from you.

And told Ezekiel, here's what you have to tell them.

And he had nothing nice to tell them because they didn't position themselves in a spiritual way to receive faith, favor and blessings from God and favor from God, they didn't put themselves in that position.

They didn't humble themselves before God.

They still had in their hearts.

This is all about us doing what we want to do, living how we want to live.

Yep.

I'm not discouraged.

Well, good, because you've discouraged me.

Well, let the word of God encourage you.

Look down at the end of chapter 14, verse 22.

Yet behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth both sons and daughters, not just a few old people hanging on sons and daughters.

Behold, they shall come forth unto you, and you shall see their way and their doings.

And ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem.

In the midst of it all, you're going to get comfort from God and comfort from those that God is going to use.

That's what he is saying to them.

And they shall verse 23, comfort you when you see their ways and their doings.

And ye shall know that I have not done without, because all that I have done in it, saith the Lord God.

Listen, you know what a remnant is?

A remnant doesn't represent a majority.

A remnant represents a portion.

And it doesn't necessarily specify what size the portion is in relation to the whole, but it means a part of something bigger.

And he said, there's going to be a remnant.

And I'll tell you what heartens me.

See our country on a spiritual slide.

While we may see our churches that are trying to accommodate the culture rather than confront the sin in the sinner and the sin in the culture rather than that they are willing to accommodate and compromise the word of God and say things that God said that he never said.

And speak peace to people when there is no reason to speak peace to people heart are contradicting or contrary to God.

Even though that is taking place, I am still confident that there is a remnant that's not following the herd.

There is a remnant that says, no, I can't go that way.

No, I can't put up with that kind of lifestyle.

No, I can't put up with that cultural shift.

No, I can't put up with that which is not worship being called worship before the righteous and holy God.

God said, I'm going to have a remnant.

And I believe that's not only in relation to Israel.

I do believe that we can carry this all the way to the last days and just say, why don't you determine, sir, this home is not going to be like the typical American home.

This marriage is not going to be like a TV marriage.

Our children are given to us for the glory of God, not so that they might fit in the culture.

And nobody makes fun of them ever.

Why don't somebody stand up and say, I'm going to be a part of the remnant?

I like to see every time I've Come to this church.

Seen the young people sitting over here.

Some of them weren't born the first time I came.

We talked about that yesterday.

And here they are, teenagers.

I hear somebody say, wouldn't you hate to try to raise teenagers in this day and time?

Well, I've kind of checked back that since the fall there's probably been no favorable time raise godly children in this world.

So let's not treat it like it's something that is impossible, shall we?

And let's not pat all the kids on the head.

I know you don't send them to a youth camp that pats them on the head and says, well, it's okay whatever you do, God loves you and you're good, you're good, you're good.

No, no, it's right to confront and say, why don't you be a man of God in your school?

Because I'm not a man yet.

Well, you're a young man.

Why don't you be a lady of God?

You're a young lady.

Yeah, but everybody else is.

How about you don't follow everybody else?

And besides, that's not even true.

Not everybody.

Well, everybody.

No, not everybody is.

There are some people that are bound determined to do right by God no matter what anybody else does.

Even if somebody mocks them or laughs at them or calls them weird or strange or.

Let's see, what's another word?

Peculiar.

See, you Bible readers, you know where that's going, don't you?

Well, he saved us to make unto himself a peculiar people.

Zealous of good works.

Sure he did.

How about you don't be a part of the following the herd.

Why would you wear something like that?

Haven't you looked on TikTok lately?

On what?

My watch.

Don't even make any noise.

Yeah, but are you on Facebook?

I've never thought anybody wanted to look at my face.

No, come on, I'm just being silly.

But this weird culture is going to determine how you live.

This botched up society is going to.

You want a marriage that looks like that?

TV marriage.

Mom comes out of the house, she gets in the car, husband is following along behind.

And here come the children.

And mom gets in the car, she makes sure everybody's there and everybody's here.

She gets behind the wheel and the husband sits over there.

Something like that.

And all the children, she smiles at them.

She smiles at her husband and he smiles back at her like, hi honey.

And she drives and leads the family.

They get out of the car and he follows her around like this.

Oh, dear Lord, have mercy.

Men, please stand up.

Be men.

Does your wife drive when you're going across the country?

Uh, I drive.

Maybe she should at sometimes, but I drive.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Come on.

There's gonna be a remnant.

And it's not just about our behavior, about all this weirdness that's going on.

It's about a conviction that we are the people of God.

And the word of God gives us clear direction.

What God expects of our life and his Word will be a light unto our path and a guide for our feet.

I mean, we can follow the word of God.

And God says, I'm going to have a remnant.

And I guess what I'm asking this congregation tonight is, are you going to be a part of the herd out there?

Well, I'm a member of this church.

I'm talking about how you live day by day by day by day by day.

You going to be a part of the herd out there?

Or are you going to be part of that remnant that says it doesn't matter what the false teachers are saying.

It doesn't matter what popular Christianity is saying.

Pop Christianity.

Think about that.

It doesn't matter what pop Christianity is saying.

I know what the word of God says.

And this book by the Holy Spirit of God's gonna govern my life.

Be a part of the remnant.

Your nation desperately needs you.

Thank you, Lord, for your word.