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Ezekiel is a very, very, I think, overlooked book. It's very underrated, and he's one of the major prophets, and it was written roughly 2500 years ago. But there's so much application for us even for today. And you know, I love Ezekiel chapter one, especially because it's very mysterious, it's very supernatural. In chapter one you can read that. You know, I don't believe the lord's talking about UFOs in chapter one, but it's very angelic. And so I was like, man, I would love to teach chapter one, but the Lord's like, I want you to teach chapter 33. So I said, all right, we'll do that. That's how I talked to the lord. Okay, chapter 33, verse one. Let me read it. Let the Lord speak to you again. The word of the Lord came to me, to Ezekiel, saying, son of man, speak to the children of your people and say to them, when I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make and make him their watchman. When he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning. His blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity. But his blood I will require at the watchman's hand. Verse 7. So, you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Therefore you shall hear a word from my mouth and warn them for me. Let's pray. Lord, would you speak to us this morning? Thank you so much for what you are doing. Already in our lives, we can look back at hindsight and see everything you've been doing up till now. And Lord, we know you're going to do a work even in for us, for the distant future. But Lord, we want to take a moment right now, presently, and just sit at your feet. Whatever we've got going on, whether good or bad, we just want to lay it before you. Just clear our minds, clear our hearts, Lord, renew them, renew our spirit and help us understand a little bit about what you want to tell us here from Ezekiel 33, the whole counsel of your word is so applicable for us. And so may we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. We thank you for your son Jesus. It's in his name we pray. Amen. When I first started dating my wife Kayla, when we were in college, I learned something very quickly about her. I learned that she was a people watcher, if you don't know what I mean. Not a creepy way, but if you don't know what I mean. Here's an example. When we would go on dates and go off to dinner, I would notice as we're talking, her eyes would just start to, uh huh. I'm like, what is going on? What's back there? And I would, you know. Cause you know when we're dating, you know, it's all about me. So I gotta be like, you gotta talk to me. Now. I grew up, I'm very focused. I'm very observant. I can read the room pretty well. I like to pick up mannerisms from people impersonate sometimes and I like to just, you know, have fun and. But I don't really get distracted. I'm not trying to puff my own ego. I just don't really get distracted when I'm, when I'm talking to you, I want to talk to you. I'm not saying anything about my wife in a bad way. But I learned, I was like, hey, you're not, you're not focused. You need to talk to me, focus on me. Let's talk. And she was like, I am so sorry. And she's like, I have to admit I get distracted by people so easily. And I'm like, really? And I never, and I never knew that. Now you know, then when we started dating later and up till now we still go on dates and we love it. I still have know you need to date your, your spouse even though you're married, you got a date. And I, we love people watching together. We'll do it together. This guy's going to eat it. He's going to fall flat on his face. Let's watch. Now you're like, oh, that's so terrible. Come on. There's. Sometimes you just have to laugh at people falling. I'm sorry, there just like there's something funny about that. And if you think I'm, if you're offended, I'm sorry, you can, you can laugh at me when I fall. I don't care. So we, people watch now we're like, oh, they're on their first date. Remember that. Remember when we were or Whatever. So we'll do that. And you know, I'm not gonna get a show of hands because if I ask, are you a people watcher, that. That's a creep. Okay? You're like, I'm a creep. If you're a single person, don't raise your hand either. It's like, that's even more creepier. But I think, honestly, all of us are tend. Tend to get distracted and we like to watch people, like, just, there's some odd people out there. They're just. It's like, what is going on in that situation? And you know, honestly, I actually, I think it's so funny. I heard this from a comedian years ago. That it is so true. And don't, you know, you might think I never thought of that. Like, everyone does this when, you know, that time where you happen to lock eyes with somebody at the same time, you may be at a long distance and you just happen to be walking and both of you just happen to look at each other at the same time. Have you ever done that before? And it's awkward. It's like, do I say anything? It's like we're just looking at each other. All right, Normally, this is what comedian said. Normally when you do that, everyone does this. Your eyes get big and you walk away. It's like, this is awkward. But why do our eyes get big? I don't understand it, but we do. You'll see, you lock eyes. You're like, okay, bye. Bye. Why do I say all this? Ezekiel In 33, he is appointed by God to be a watchman. Now, we saw that in verse three, I'm sorry, verse two, that God is talking about the role of a watchman. And then he tells Ezekiel, I want you to be just that in a spiritual sense. Now, what is a watchman? We're gonna. We're gonna look at that. And I've entitled today's message simply Watchman. Okay? And I, I know, I'm like, I really don't. I can't come up with really good, fancy titles. But honestly, it's just like the Lord's like, just be simple. Like, this is what God's word is all about. And I want us to understand what the meaning watchman is because God has called us to also be that. And I'm going to talk about that at the end of the teaching. But if you're taking note, you can understand. A watchman's role is simply this. It was very prevalent in ancient times in the Old Testament. It talks about it numerously. But A watchman's role was simply this. It was to be. They were to be stationed at a high point. It was, it was a military tactic. It was for the, you know, preserving and protecting a community and, and watching out for impending threats. They would either be at the city gate, Second Samuel talks about that, or they'd be on a lookout tower. Second Kings talks about that. A watchman. Now a watchman's role, their job, Your one job, all right, you had one job. Your one job was to keep watch and warn the people of impending threats. Those two main things. Watch and warn when they saw the enemy approaching. Because if they were on the lookout tower at the city gate, you could actually see long distance and tell others, tell the, the king or the military, hey, a threat is coming. We need to sound the alarm. That was their job. Now, their job was not to go fight the army. Their job was just to go alarm and tell their, their people or the king or the, the military there's an impending threat coming. And you saw that a lot in the Old Testament. So Again, in Ezekiel 33, this is normal stuff that Ezekiel knows about. And God says, you need to appoint a watchman. All right? He talks about when you, when you appoint a watchman, this is what the watchman is supposed to do. And now, Ezekiel, I'm going to appoint you as a watchman also. Now here's what he's. Here's what God says at the beginning in verse three. He says, when the watchman sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet, and that would have normally been a ram's horn. When he blows the trumpet and, and warns the people, whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes them away, the blood shall be on their own head. It says that he heard the trumpet but did not take warning. And so that. That is not on you. That is not on the watchmen. The watchmen did their job. They sounded the alarm, and the people didn't do anything about it. So he said, I. They're going to be held guilty. They're held accountable. But verse six, if the watchman sees the sword coming, sees the enemy coming, and it says, and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any people, he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand, saying, you're held accountable, watchman. You, you knew better. You saw the threat. You didn't say anything for whatever reason, whether out of, you know, being lazy or whether it was intentional. You're now going to be held responsible for the blood that spilled. This was a serious role in ancient times. And then God says, now, Ezekiel, I'm going to make you a watchman as well. But it's for a spiritual purpose. Ezekiel had a very tough life. If you read the book of Ezekiel, he was a very interesting prophet. And God made God had him do some very weird, just going to say very weird things. He had a tough life. He started his ministry, he started, you know, his, his prophetic ministry at age, around age 30. And he's taken captive like Daniel to Babylon. He and Daniel and Jeremiah all coincide together and Ezekiel is in Babylon and he sees visions. And God calls him to be a prophet, but God calls him to do weird things. But it's not weird in God's eyes because God says, here's why I'm having you do this. They may sound odd, but it's because my people, whom I love have been so rebellious and they've been doing disgusting, weird things. I need you to send a message to them, to wake them up. He uses the term rebellious people almost in every chapter of Ezekiel. They are rebellious people. They are stiff necked people and they won't listen to me. And I love how in chapter 33, notice how in verse two, he says, Son of man, speak to the children of your people. That's what he did to Moses too. I've talked about this so many times. No one wanted to claim these people. Like God's like, moses, I need you to take your, your staff and I need to take you. You got to do something with your people. Take them away. And Moses like, they're not my people, they're your people. God's like, no, they're actually your people. I was like, what? What? And Ezekiel now is in the same boat. Ezekiel, these are your people and they're rebellious. Ezekiel's like, whoa, come on, seriously, they're my people now. And God says, yes, and I need you to be my vessel and speak to them. And in chapter 33, he actually gives a task of the watchman to Ezekiel. And it's actually one of the easiest jobs that he could do thus far. All the other stuff that he had to do were very odd, interesting, and quite burdensome. But this one, it switches gears in chapter 33 and on God's message is now about hope. The first 32 chapters were all about judgment. It's a big book. The first 32 chapters are about judgment. 33 and on to the end of the chapter is all about hope. You actually get a glimpse of the millennial kingdom at the end of chap. Chapter 40. Very interesting book. And in this section where we come to the hope that people can have in God, it's a very humbling thing to think of. Even though these people did not deserve forgiveness and God says, I am still going to offer them hope, I still love them. Even though they have been so rebellious to me and the unthinkable and unspeakable acts they've been doing, it hurts my heart. There will be punishment if they don't get right with me, but I will always be right there if they turn and repent. And at the end of this teaching, you're going to. We're going to see two main attributes of the Lord that has always been there with him, and he will forever be this way. God does not change. He is the same God in Ezekiel. He's the same God that for the time of the Gospels, he's the same God for today. And that's. That's a really humbling thing to know for Ezekiel. Now in chapter 33, verse 7, when he tells Ezekiel, so, you Son of man. Now, I want to make this clear in the Hebrew, I don't want you to think of this as like a Messianic title, even though it does point to Jesus. Jesus was called the Son of Man. The Son of Man term is also found in Daniel, and that is referring to Jesus Christ. This one, if you dig deep into the Hebrew, it actually means Son of Adam or Adam or dirt. So what he's telling Ezekiel is you are called the Son of Man. You're the Son of the earth, You're Son of Dirt. Meaning you're. You're just human. There's nothing special about you. Ezekiel. And he always had that title for Ezekiel. He called him the Son of Man, or the Son of the Earth. So, you, Son of Man, verse seven, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Therefore, you shall hear a word from my mouth and warn them for me. So again, if you're taking note, we see now Ezekiel is appointed as a watchman. And Ezekiel is appointed as a watchman by God himself for Israel. And he's appointed as a spiritual watchman. He is not going to be a physical watchman that's watching for impending threats upon Israel. That's not what God is talking about. All right? He is a spiritual watchman. He is to warn them of judgment unless they turn from their wicked ways. He is to warn them that something bad is going to happen. If you continue down this road, something bad's going to happen. You're going to die in that sinful state. And then if you die in that sinful state, there is separation from me, and it's called hell. And he says, I need you, Ezekiel, to warn them that it's coming. But if they turn, and I'm going to talk about that terminology, the turning point, if they turn from their wicked ways, I'm going to forgive them. And Ezekiel has appointed this, now the second bullet point on the screen. This is very freeing for Ezekiel and for us today, because we're going to see how this applies to us. He was not held responsible for the people's response. He was only held responsible for his obedience to God. That is very freeing. Okay? He was just appointed to warn the people. And if the people rejected or accepted, he's not held responsible for that. That's between them and the Lord. All he is responsible for is actually doing it. Just speaking, being obedient to God. And Ezekiel was just that. And that's God's heart for all of us. Honestly, if you're a Christian in here, God's heart is for you not to always understand what God is doing, but just to obey. Just trust him and obey. And that's a very underrating term because we don't like to submit under authority at times. But God says, when you obey me and just trust in me, and you don't have to understand what I'm doing, and you're going to be blessed. I'm going to bless you just for simply obeying me. And we're going to see how. Ezekiel as a watchman for Israel is a type of how the Christians should live in today's society, in the church. And in verse eight, when you keep reading, because. And I don't want to get to the good part in verses 10 and 11, I'm going to save that for the end. But God says, when I say to the wicked, oh, wicked man, you shall surely die. And you do not speak to warn the wicked man from his way. That wicked man shall die in his iniquity. But his blood I will require at your hand, Ezekiel, because I told you what to say to them and you didn't do it. You know, he's given this example. If you don't do this, it's going to be on you. Verse 9. Nevertheless, if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity but you have delivered your soul or you have saved yourself. You're not held responsible. God says, I'm only going to hold you responsible if you disobey me. And then judgment comes and wipes them out. And he says, that's on you, Ezekiel. This is a serious task. Very serious. It's not. It's not the most strenuous because again, a lot of the stuff that God told Ezekiel to do is just very strenuous and odd and weird. This one is very simple, but yet it's probably the most important. Because now you're a mouthpiece, Ezekiel, and I need you to tell people of the judgment that's coming. And if they turn, that's awesome. If they don't, that's not on you, because you did your job. And Ezekiel is under the command of the Lord now, and he's. He's going to do it. And in a sense, what I said is Ezekiel is kind of like, this is a type of what we are to be as, as the church. So again, if you're taking note now, not just Ezekiel, but the Christian, we are called actually to be a watchman. And in today's society, in the year 2025, all Christians are called to be a watchman. All Christians are. And the thing we are supposed to do is tell others about Jesus. Now, I'm going to use these two passages I put on the screen. Matthew 5 and Colossians 1. Very unique passages. And in Matthew 5, if you know your Bibles, that's the great Sermon on the Mount that Jesus gave. And in chapter 5, verse 13, it begins with one of my favorite in the Sermon on the Mount, the salt and light passage. In the New Testament, when Jesus kind of flips the script and it's no longer the law, but it's grace, he still says, I didn't abolish the law, I fulfilled it. And now with my Holy Spirit through the church, here's the new way of being a watchman is being salt and light. So if you know your Bibles, Jesus says you are two things. You're the salt of the earth and you're the light of the world. He said that to the people that were listening. And the salt and light analogies, you can listen to Pastor Gary's past teachings. Many pastors have talked on this, and it's one of my favorite to study because salt and light, you can do a whole sermon on this. But salt and light have very different properties, yet similar properties. And salt, we know the top two things is it adds Flavoring, it's a seasoning, but it also preserves another thing. It stings. If you have a cut or a wound, it stings. So many properties with salt, all for a good purpose or a good outcome. Light, on the other hand, is a property that exposes the darkness and it guides us where we need to go. And he calls us as the church. You are those two things. Your salt for a dying, unbelieving world and your light for a dying, unbelieving world. And he says, if your salt loses saltiness, he's like, it's worthless. It's just to be thrown out and trampled. He says, if you don't have the salt anymore, if you don't have that effect on Christians, then something's wrong for light. He says, don't hide it under a basket. And you know the famous song, don't hide under a bushel. I don't even know what a bushel is, maybe saying that song growing up. Hide it under a bushel. No, you're going to let your light shine. What's a bushel? I don't know. It doesn't matter. A basket sounds more appropriate. You don't hide a lamp in that time under a basket. Why? Because it doesn't shine light. You take the basket off so that it shines throughout the household, but it also exposes the evil deeds of the darkness. And I. I love that these analogies. And so this passage In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus is trying to say, as a watchman in today's, you know, modern era, we're not to really. We're not going to be on towers or in castles and watching the impending threat, but we can be salt and light in a spiritual sense. And in Colossians 1:28, Paul has a meaning on what it means to be a watchman in today's world as well. But I do want to show on the screen, if you don't know this verse, you need to know it, because at the end of the salt and light passage, Jesus says in Matthew 5, 16, in the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see. Okay, people are watching you. You know, the watchman in Ezekiel's day, he's watching for impending threats. It's kind of reversed now as the watchman to be salt and light. In a way, Jesus says, people are, though, they're watching you, how you're going to react. They're watching you, how you live, they're watching you, how you talk, how you act, who you hang out with, what you say on social media. They're watching you. And he says, let your good deeds shine out for all of them. Why? So that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. And Jesus is brilliant in this sense where he says, your good deeds is something that needs to shine. Now, hopefully you all know we've said this so many times here at Cornerstone Chapel, you should know by now that good deeds don't get you to heaven. Correct. Okay. We all know that you should. If I spoiled that for you, good. You need to know, okay, good deeds don't get you to heaven. However, good deeds are still noticed by God. God saves us by his grace through our faith, and that's how we get to heaven. However, Jesus still says, your heavenly father still watches the good things you do. And people will notice that. They will not care if you know your Bible from inside and out. And you can quote amazing scriptures. That's why Jesus rebuked the Pharisees. He says, no, that is not how you're to live. You're to live in the way. Just be me and show your fruit and then you'll know. People will know that you're my disciples. It's how you live, not what you really say all the time. And a lot of people think, man, I gotta like know the Bible, I gotta be the Bible, or whatever. No, you really don't. Just be yourself, be normal, but be Jesus to other people. They're gonna see you do something good and they're gonna see that, wow, that's amazing. And they glorify your Father in heaven. People are watching. Okay, we're all under a microscope at times. Pastors especially pastors are very, you know, it's a noble task when, when pastors are called to serve in full time ministry, they're going to be attacked more by the enemy. But they're also under a microscope by every single person who are watching. But you as Christians, everyone's watching you too. Everybody's watching us. And what are they seeing? Are they seeing Jesus through you or do they just see just a regular person? It's like, oh, that they're doing the same thing I do. Well, that's not being salt and light. Paul would then say this in Colossians 1:28. Another way to be a watchman for us is I love this verse. He says, so we tell others about Christ. And he says, warning everyone can highlight or circle that part. Warning everyone and teaching everyone. He says, both with all the wisdom that God has given us. And then he says, we want to present them to God. Perfect or mature in their relationship to Christ. Now, Paul, when he's on his missionary journeys, he's using the term we because he has his companions with them. And he says, hey, look, church, we tell others about Christ, and here's what we do. We warn them and we teach them with all the wisdom that God has given us. Now, this is a lost gift that people have now. And honestly, it frustrates me when Christians, or even TV evangelists or pastors these days, we will use one or the other, and they take it to the extreme. Okay, I've been around, you know, been around long enough, and I've seen TV evangelists or I've seen TV street evangelists. You know, I lived in Southern California for a year when I was going to Bible college, and I saw it everywhere. The street evangelists hanging up, you know, holding the signs. Repent, or you're going to hell. And hell is painted like this horrific picture. And I get their hearts. I understand it, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth because they're warning, but there's no love or grace or compassion. And people that see those signs are like, I'm not going to follow that. Like, all you talk about is hell and doom and gloom. Why would I ever get right with the Lord when you talk about that? I get their heart. John the Baptist was the best person to ever do this. And Jesus even said, he. He was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, born among women. John the Baptist knew what it meant to preach repentance and judgment, but also had grace and compassion. He would baptize people. He had the loving heart, but he rebuked the Pharisees. And he's like, look at all them. They're. They're brutal. I'm not pointing to you guys up there, but look, just realize that brood of vipers. Look at these snakes. Don't follow them. He's like, but. And then when he sees Jesus coming, he says, I'm not. I'm not worthy to baptize you. You need to baptize me. John Baptist is one of my favorite characters in the New Testament. And he understood what it meant to warn people, but also teach them. And Jesus was brilliant about this. One of the. One of the top subjects that Jesus talked about in the Gospels was hell. And he warned people about hell. What it's like, what it. What it is. Don't. You don't want to go there. He. He. He talked a lot about hell, but he also taught with grace and compassion that that's how. That's how Jesus was. So Brilliant at this. And that's where I want us to meet, in the middle, because there are some. Still some teachers out there that only teach, but they don't warn people about, hey, if you go this route, you are going to be separated. If you die in your sins, you will be separated from a holy God. And it's called hell. We've got too many pastors and teachers out there that just teach the word, whatever word they're teaching, but they don't talk about hell. We either don't believe it or it's. It's going to, you know, throw people away. We don't. We don't want them to leave our church. So we're not going to talk about judgment, doom and gloom and hell. I'm sorry, but you're. That's a lot of the gospel that you're leaving out. Too many people are doing the warning and too many people are doing the teaching, and we need to meet right in the middle. And I like what Paul says. You want to be a watchman, you can still warn people. Hey, I don't want you going down this path. Paul said it numerous times in First Thessalonians and Philippians and Colossians. Warn others and urge them to get back to the faith. We can warn them in a loving way, but we can also teach them and show grace and truth. We can do both. It is possible. But for those that just warn, warn and warn, and there's no grace, why would everyone. Why would anyone follow that? And if there's just teaching, teaching, teaching, then you're. You're not telling them, hey, you actually need to stop doing this sin that you're in, because if you die in that, you. You. You could be separated from the Lord. Oh, okay. Well, I thought you going to church was just fine. No, it's. No, but a lot of pastors are saying, no, it's fine. Just come to church. Be who you are. What? No, we have got to get back to teaching the truth and blending in it with warning, because there are many people that are on their path that the wide gate that leads to everlasting destruction. And that's why Jesus was so true when he said the narrow gate that leads to everlasting life, and very few find it. I don't know who I'm preaching to, but you need to hear this. Find that balance of warning and teaching. Because all that the goal is at the end of this verse is to present them to God in a mature relationship with Christ. That's been my passion, just from Day one, when I started ministry to disciple youth and even adults, I want them to mature in their relationship with the Lord. I don't want them to be stuck in that sense where I said the prayer. But I kind of just still live the way I want to live. No, you need to grow in the grace and knowledge of Lord Jesus. You need to grow in the knowledge of the Word. You need to grow in his grace. You need to mature in your relationship. You can't be immature anymore. You know, truth. You've got to just now grow. And that takes. That takes time and that takes effort. You know, naturally, when your kids grow, you really can't stop that. You're just like, they keep going. They keep going. Some of you have really tall kids, and we're like, we're really short. How did you get so tall? I don't know. You naturally will grow. That's the way God made us. And then there's a point where you stop. But God says, I want you to keep growing and maturing in me. Don't stop. Don't stop. And we will never really stop. I will never stop loving God's Word. And I'll never. I'll never begin to understand all of it. I am still learning. There's so much packed in here. And you know what God says? God says at Revelation. Because Revelation is probably one of the biggest books where we're like, I don't understand anything in Revelation. Thank God that he said in chapter one, blessed are you who obey my words and read this book. He didn't say, blessed are you who understand it completely. Well, there's a lot of division when it comes to Revelation. I'm not sure we all understand it. That's why Jesus says, blessed are you if you obey it. If you just trust in me, just read it. And that's not just Revelation. Read his whole word and you're going to be blessed. But when we're a watchman, we are now to watch and warn and teach and love and show grace to others who are on a pathway to hell. And that's on us, Church, like Ezekiel. If we don't sound the alarm and we know better, God is going to hold us responsible. But here's the interesting truth. And I want to. I want to show this at the last screen, the last bullet point on the screen. In the same way, though, here's the freedom. Just like Ezekiel. In the same way, though, we are not responsible or accountable for people's response in Jesus Christ. Amen to that. That is very freeing. We are not responsible. However, we are responsible only for our obedience to God. That I actually went to that person I didn't feel like talking to, and I told them about Jesus. Well, they rejected me. They said cuss words at me. So what? You were obedient to the Lord, and he will bless you for that. His job is to save them. Not you. Not me. My job is just to present the gospel as best I can, and it's your job to respond. And I love that. That's very freeing for me as a pastor. It's very freeing for you as a Christian. We're all Christians. We're all walking the same path. It's very freeing that we are not held responsible or accountable for how people respond to the gospel. It's great when they do, but if they don't, don't. Don't hang your head low. Don't be downcast. Know that you were obedient to the Lord. The best example I can think of is Jonah. And we all, like, shake our heads at Jonah. Like, Jonah, Jonah, Jonah. I think we all would have been like Jonah. Now, Jonah's a very easy book. It's only four chapters. If you can't read four chapters, oh, you have. You need to read. Jonah is an interesting character, and again, one of my favorite books in the Bible. But yet he was a troubling man because he was a prophet. He knew God's word. God called him to be this prophet, and God called him to go to Nineveh, a wicked, wicked place. The stuff that we've learned about of the Ninevites are unthinkable. And Jonah knew that. And he said, I'm not going there. God says, I need you to, because I actually love them, and I want to. I want to forgive them. Jonah's like, okay, see ya. I'm going to Spain. Spain is a great place to get away. I don't know what accent that was, but he's going to Spain. That's Tarshish. That's Spain. And God says, all right, you can run, but you can't hide. And he's running, and he knows I. I'm supposed to warn them. God told me to, but I'm not. He's disobeying. He's in sin. A prophet. Oh, actually was in sin. Yeah, because they were human. He was in sin, disobedient to the Lord. And so the Lord had to swallow him up with the fish. And at that point, I. I don't know what rock bottom is for you, but that's probably rock Bottom. A fish just swallowed me. Maybe I should go preach to them. What could be worse than this? I don't know. Dying in this fish. So God spat him out with the fish. Okay, Jonah goes and preaches. What happens? They get saved. They repent. And then Jonah still is whining, I knew they would. I told you, God. And he's so mad. He's so mad to the point, he's like, I kind of just want to die right now because I don't understand God. I actually do understand you, but I don't understand, like, really, why? Why? Why would you do this? God says, jonah, why should I have saved you, too? Are you better than these Ninevites? And the book of Jonah kind of ends very randomly. It kind of leaves you with a cliffhanger. It's like, what? What just happened? But God says, jonah, these Ninevites needed forgiveness, and I wanted to give it to them. And I used you to be my vessel, and you accomplished that. But don't look at me as unfair, because I loved and saved you, too, and I want to love and save them. And they responded. That whole city got saved. It was an amazing revival. But yet, in Jonah's disobedience, God still used him. Jonah ended up obeying. But then Jonah was still kind of stuck in this. This state of God. Why? Why? Because God was doing something that Jonah couldn't see. Jonah was to be a watchman and to alarm the sound. And he did that, and God still used him. And then God says, jonah, this is a lesson also for you. I know, Jonah, you're a prophet of mine. But I love that people, and I know they do wicked, unspeakable things, but I still love them because I created them. And I asked you to do one job. And I'm glad you did it. It took some effort, took you with the big fish to get you there, but you did it. And in the end, you know, I hope Jonah's life was blessed, because he did respond, but he still had to get some to work in his heart. God was doing a work in his heart. But for us as Christians, as a watchman, we're not responsible for how people respond. Those Ninevites, they. If the story was flipped and they don't respond, then at least Jonah obeyed. But they did. And the same is for us. Wherever God has placed you in your neighborhood, in your work, in your school, God has placed you there for a reason. And are you being a watchman, are you warning and telling them about Jesus in a gracious, loving way? Because you know where they're going, you know the truth, and if you don't say something, God's going to hold you responsible. He's going to hold me responsible if I don't say something. And I've, I've been there where I've, I've. God has put this person in my life. And I keep seeing them. I keep seeing them. I'm like, God, I think you're trying to tell me something, and I don't really want to talk to that person. God. God's like, yeah, I am trying to tell you something. I want you to talk to them. And I have at times failed. I, I disobeyed the Lord and I had to repent and ask the Lord to please, then find somebody else, use them to get to that person. Because God was trying to use me. And, and I, I, I didn't, I didn't oblige. But now I've, I've learned and I've known when God is speaking to me. Go talk to that person. I'm going to go talk because now I know it doesn't matter the response. I still want to be obedient to the Lord. That's who I'm supposed to please, is the Lord, and that's who you need to understand. Who's watching? God is watching. He wants to see that you'll respond to his calling. The things I want to leave us with are two attributes that the Lord has at the, at the rest of chapter 33. And I want us, I saved the best for last because I want us to see the heart of God in all of this. Can you guys look with me in verse 10 still in Ezekiel 33, God says, Therefore, O Son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus you say, he's saying, this is what Israel is saying. If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us and we pine away in them or waste away, how can we then live? Israel's saying this. They're crying out, look what verse 11 says. One of the best verses in all of this book and in all the Bible. Say to them, as I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. God does not send anyone to hell. A person chooses to go that way. And God says, all right, you chose it. And I have to give you what you chose, because I've given you free will and I love you, but I will do anything I can to get a hold of you so that you don't have to go that way. And people have been playing this game for a long time. Why would a loving God send somebody to hell? You've got that all mixed up. God doesn't send anybody to hell. It just says it right here. I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. God does not delight in that. He. He wants all people, good and bad, to understand his grace. And he says, I have no pleasure in them. I have actually pleasure in that the wicked turn from their way and live. And then he says, turn, Turn from your evil ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel, turn. And that turn terminology then would be translated into the Greek in the New Testament. And it's our word where we get repentance. Repentance simply means to turn the other way. It doesn't mean just a state, a change of mind, although that's part of it. It's a change of mind. But then I'm going to turn physically sometimes and go in a different direction. That's repentance. That's true repentance. And, and God calls for that. He says, I have no pleasure in the wicked dying. I don't want. I don't want anyone that has done so much wickedness. And we can think, think of people in our modern history that have done such terrible wicked things, people that we read about on the news that have done some unspeakable things. And God says, I still love them, and I have no pleasure in them dying and separated from me forever. And look at verse 16 if you jump to that, because now I'm going to show you the two attributes that God has. Verse 16. And then we're going to close with this. None of his sins. This is the wicked person coming to faith in, in the Lord. None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him. Isn't that amazing? And he's using the analogy, you know, Ezekiel's going to preach to the people, talking about the fairness of God. And the people's complaint was, God is not fair. Why he's not fair. And God says, actually, you're not fair. That's what he says. I've been fair this whole time. And here's the fairness of God. He says, if a righteous person lives a great righteous life, but then at the end rebels against me, wants nothing to do with me, turns away from me, and he dies in that sin. He's going to be held responsible for that and be separated from me for eternity. He says, I won't even think of the righteous things. He did because they meant nothing to me, because of his action where he turned away from me and rebelled. But then he says, the flip side is the most wicked person that ever lived, all the way up maybe till their deathbed, and cried out and asked for forgiveness. God says, I will save them and I will remember their wickedness no more. So it's the flip side. People that were so pious and righteous like the Pharisees, oh, we do everything right. Of course God is going to bring us to eternity with him. And Jesus says, no, I rebuke you because you're hypocrites. You're saying all these great things, but then you yourself don't follow them. And he says, the prostitutes and the tax collectors are getting into heaven faster than you. That. That blew their mind. That's why they wanted to kill him, because he called out their character. And he said, prostitutes and tax collectors are getting to heaven faster than you. This is the heart of God. And I get passionate about this because I don't want to see loved ones of mine that don't know Christ, or even people that I haven't met yet that don't know Christ, to ever be separated from the Lord. God does not delight in it. I certainly don't delight in it. And I've got to be a watchman for as long as I'm here on earth to sound the alarm and to do my best to warn and teach people of what is coming, but who Jesus is and that you can be saved from it. And the two things that we see here as we close, the two things that we can take from. That's another verse from Revelation. Two things are these. Take note of these. If you get nothing else, get this. God's heart is for all to come to repentance and for all our sins to be erased. That's his heart right here from Ezekiel 33. Now, second Peter 3. Nine would kind of take this passage in Ezekiel 33 and say it in the New Testament and say, God is patient with you, wanting none to perish, but all to come to repentance. That's the heart of God. He says, I. I want. I am patient, so patient with you. I want none to perish, but all to come to repentance. And then he says, I want to also remember your sins no more. And it's funny how God says, I forget your sins, and I erase them from my memory. And, you know, does God really forget everything? No, He. He's all knowing, but he chooses not to hold them against us. He will never bring up the past, he will never bring up. Hey, remember what you did. Don't. Don't do that again. He won't even do that. He erases it. Some of us, though, we hold onto it. We'll bring it up to some other people. Remember what you did. We'll bring it up to ourselves. I can't believe I did this. How. How could God ever love me? God does not do that. So why do we do that? And in Micah, chapter seven, verse 19, it's on the screen, just the verse you need to really highlight this verse in your Bible. In Micah chapter seven, God says at the end of the whole book, he says, I remember your sins no more. And I've actually taken them in my hand and I've thrown them into the sea to where it falls to the depths of the ocean. Your sins are forgotten. And he says, I've thrown them into the sea. Love that verse. God's heart is all about you and I coming to repentance and then knowing that our sins are totally eradicated. If that doesn't blow your mind, and if that doesn't just bring you to your knees, I don't know what will, because this is humbling to me. And I want to close with these two verses as we wrap up this study together. Remember these verses. Write these down. Isaiah 43, 25. The Lord would say to Isaiah and to the people, I, yes, I alone says, will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again. Hallelujah. Amen. God says, I'm blotting them out. It's done, and I'm never going to remember them ever again. What do you say to that? But thank you. There's nothing else you can say, Lord, I don't. I don't deserve that. Well, I'm doing it and I'm not gonna remember it. Cause I love you so much. I wanna close with this psalm of David. It's a beautiful psalm, and I'm actually gonna use it as part of my prayer with all of us together. But in Psalm 103, you can write this down also. Psalm 103, 8:12. David would write this psalm. It's a beautiful psalm. And we see the attributes of God here as we see in Ezekiel, chapter 33. Just these attributes that the Lord has. David would write about it way before Ezekiel. As we close our Bibles and bow our heads, I want to read this verse. I want to read it together. And then I'm going to pray it and have us honestly just understand what it means to obey the Lord, to trust in him, and to know that he calls us to repentance. And he says, I forget your sins because of my character. David would write, the Lord is compassionate and merciful. He says, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He says he will not constantly accuse us nor remain angry. It's amazing stuff that the Lord has. He does not punish us for all our sins. He does not deal harshly with us as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. And he has removed our sins as far as what east is from the west can't reach it. Some of you need to hear this. Some of you need to understand what it means to be a watchman, that we need to do our job as to warn and teach others about what we know. But then some of you need to know that God is wanting you to repent of any sin that you have. And he is right there willing to forgive even from the most vile, wicked thing you've ever done, either in public or in secret. God already knows it, but he says, I want you to come clean because I love you so much, and I don't want you to die separated from me. I delight. I do not delight in punishing the wicked. I delight in seeing them repent and coming to faith. And then some of you need to know that your sins are always forgotten once you give them to the Lord and say, God, take it from me, I repent. Please forgive me. He does and it's done. Don't even think about it. It's a humbling thing. So with all our heads bowed, eyes closed, let me pray. And I want to pray this Psalm as well, because this is so. This is so good for us to know this. And ezekiel being written 2,500 years ago, it's still applicable for us. God has called all of us to not just stand around and be idle Christians, but we have a job to do. And if you don't know the Lord, then get right with him right now. Now you know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Whatever bondage you're in, God will break those chains, whatever sin you're holding onto, release it to the Lord. Father in heaven. We thank you so much for this time that we've had together in your word. Lord, this watchman passage in Ezekiel 33 is something that's very heavy on my heart, and I hope it is for many people watching and listening. Lord, you have called just like Ezekiel, you've called for all of us to be your vessel in warning and teaching truth. And God, if we don't and we know truth, we're held accountable. But Lord, we are not held accountable for how anyone reacts to the gospel. Everyone's going to react in a different way, and we are not held accountable for their response. All we are held accountable is that if we were obedient to you, God, I pray, Lord, that everyone in this room and watching online would cling to your word and just say, lord, I trust in you and I just want to be obedient. Just use me, Lord. Use me. And Lord, it doesn't matter what people say to me, doesn't matter what people think about me. Lord, I'm here to please you and you alone. God, thank you so much for the reminder, even in the Old Testament that you are a God that does not delight in the wicked perishing, but you delight in repentance. And you also say, I'm going to eradicate and erase all your sins. Everything you've ever done. God says, they're wiped clean. I blot out them. God, we thank you so much for your word and your truth, Lord, as I close with Psalm 103 in my prayer. Thank you, Lord, that you are compassionate and merciful. Thank you, Lord, that you are slow to get angry. You're filled with unfailing love. Lord, we thank you that you're not constantly accusing us. You don't remain angry forever with us. Lord, thank you for not punishing us for all our sins. God, we don't deserve this, but you do not deal with us harshly. God, thank you for your unfailing love toward those who fear you, because that is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. That love that you have towards us, Lord, and you will remove our sins as far as the east is from the west. God, we thank you for that promise. That is a promise and we cling to that. We love you, we praise you. We thank you so much, Lord, for saving us that we responded to the call. And now, Lord, our job is to call others out of sin and warn them and teach them and love on them and show grace and mercy to them, God, because God, you did it for us. So, Lord, we just want to respond to that. Help us to be obedient. We pray. We love you. We thank you in Jesus name. And everyone said amen.