Ezekiel 36:25-26

0:02 Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good afternoon everyone. It is Friday, August the second, twenty twenty four. It is currently fiveh eight pm Central Time, and I am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Abilene, Texas well as many of you know, twenty twenty four has become the year of the Sermon's two point zh app sermon Challenge, where you're supposed to be grabbing the sermon's two point oh app every single day and picking a random sermon unless I give you a specific topic or verse or something specific to look for, and even then it's supposed to be random, just it would be a sermon based on that verse or that topic. But again you're not looking for a particular speaker or a particular kind of church.

1:00 So you're supposed to be choosing random sermons. You're supposed to be listening to one a day, writing the title down, and writing a summary of what the sermon was about. So by the end of the year, your notebook will have one sermon for every day of twenty twenty four. That was the challenge that was the goal. We are in August. I don't know how you're doing. I don't know if it's been beneficial. I don't know if it's been frustrating. But it is August, and so I'm continuing to try to do my best to know participate in the challenge and to meet the goal as well. I'm doing my very best to do that as well, because again, I want us to use the app. I want us to get as much from it as possible. Now, if I'm being like honest with you, a lot of the listening has been very almost detrimental to my spiritual wellbeing.

1:58 I hate to say that, but a lot of the sermons and the things said have just absolutely at times made me so discouraged and so frustrated and so irritated. And I hate that because I wanted it to be a much more positive experience. I hope it's been different for you. I hope it's been positive. I know I've received some emails from some people going, wow, this is bad. In fact, speaking of the Sermon's two point oh app sermon challenge today, have you looked at the Sermon's two point oh app today? Have you looked at it? Have you looked at it. I let me see if it shows up on I was looking at the website. So let me pull up the app itself and see if it shows up on the app. All right, if you look at the app? Okay, yeah, the featured sermon today.

2:47 Did you see the featured sermon today? Did you look at the featured sermon? Deceive by Pharma Kiah or big Pharma? All right, Deceive by Pharma Kiah or big Pharma. This is based on Revelations Chapter eighteen, verses twenty three through twenty four. It's had eight one hundred and forty eight downloads, eight hundred and forty eight downloads. Now, I look when I saw it to see by pharmakieb. This is going to be against big Pharma, against the pharmaceutical industry. As soon as I saw it, I was like, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, Do I even want to click on this? So I chose not to. I received an email today with someone who sent it to me, and I responded like, hey, I thought about clicking on it, but no way, but no way. I decided not to.

3:40 So then they emailed me back and he said, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it or something along those lines. I'm paraphrasing the email, so for the person who sent me the email, if I don't state it correctly, I apologize, but basically telling me don't just don't do it, don't even think about it, step away, because I guess it's supposedly really really now. The comment under it seems to think at least someone thought it was really really really really really good because someone posted pastor thank you for sharing all of this with the world. These things are right down the middle truth. My husband and I thank you for your passion for God and this truth. This sermon is something everyone on earth needs to hear. God, continue to bless you. We'll keep listening and praying for your ministry. So I'm like, Big pharmacuea about big pharmacy, about the pharmaceutical industry. I'm assuming that's where it's going. There again, there's no description, but I'm like, oh, so, I don't know if you want to listen. I wanted to grab it today and do a review. I did, but then I'm like, you know what, this could get into a lot of issues about medications, about certain maybe vaccines.

4:54 I'm assuming it's going to go that direction, and I you know, for e for each claim made, then I would have to go do extensive research because so many times when I hear Christians talk about vaccines or the pharmaceutical industry, so many times it's factually in error. It's straight up misinformation, disinformation lies. I'm not saying that's the case with this sermon. I'm saying that so many so when you are trying to review it in real time, you almost would have to go, Okay, wait claim number one. You would have to write down every claim made. So if you listen to it, this is what I would challenge you to do. If anyone listens to deceive by Pharmakia Big Pharma, Here's what I would challenge you to do.

5:42 As you listen, make a list of every single claim made in the sermon. Just write it down. Don't make a judgment about it. Just write it down. Then do research and see how many of the claims you can confirm is true and how many you can demonstrate to be false. Now, I'm not saying they make any claims, but if they do, I am not making any make sure no one misunderstands. I'm not making any judgments about it. I'm just saying, listen, if claims are being made, write down every single claim. Then go study and research from numerous sources to see how many of the claims can be confirmed and how many of the claims can be proven to be fraudulent. And if the majority are fraudulent, even if some of them are fraudulent, well, then you can decide how you should respond. Here's what I would say if you find something to be fraudulent, if you find something to be an error, do not post a public comment. First, email them, share your factual information, see how they respond. Do not post a public comment if it's negative. Sermon audio typically will not post it if it's negative, so it's not going to do you much good anyway. It's better, though, also to try to contact the person directly and then see if they will respond

7:14 to it. What I have found in my Christian life is every single time I've contacted a ministry where they just lie, literally have fraudulent information and a sermon, I have never had one apologize, never had one retract it. I have never had one remove it, even though it's filled with fraudulent information. So I would argue you probably won't be very if there is fraudulent information in it. Now if you are, if you're a medical professional, then you may have much more qualification than I would. Right, even though I worked in the medical world, I don't think I have the qualification to necessarily get into all the arguments about big pharma. And there we have it.

7:58 Now. A lot of people have very I getive feelings about big pharmaceutical companies, and I understand that. Also, know you think of how many people take medication on a weekly or monthly basis in the United States of America. Now you could argue they don't need that medication. That's what some people claim, and then you could argue how many issues are controlled by it. But that's right there on the sermon's two point. Oh app I don't want to spend all the time talking about it, but I do. If it's there. It's the featured sermon. So if you happen to see it, you may want to listen to it. Someone has and they're telling me not to listen to it, probably because they realize by the time it's over not I won't need big Pharma. I will need the local liquor store, or I'll need some illegal drugs. Okay, I'm joking.

8:43 I'm joking. I'm sure it may not be that bad. Maybe it will be. But so I was going to do that because it's the sermon's two point oh app sermon challenge, and I haven't been listening to enough sermons recently, so I need to get back on track. I have one, though, we are going to review, because it's been here loaded in my software. I've loaded it, removed it, loaded it removed it. It's been back and forth now for days. This one is on Ezekiel chapter thirty six. Ezekiel chapter thirty six. If you listen to my sermons from last Sunday, you know that I spent a considerable amount of time in Ezekiel thirty six. If you've ever listened to me talk about Ezequel thirty six, you have heard my frustration.

9:31 You have heard my irritation and how church after church after church takes Ezekiel thirty six and makes it about us, when Ezekiel thirty six is about the nation Israel, and anyone who can't see that that we need to go back to school for reading comprehension tests, because I and look, if we can't figure out that Ezekiel thirty six is about Israel, then, ladies and gentlemen, I give up. That means the Bible cannot be interpreted, it cannot be understood correctly, and I'm finished. I just I just don't even know what to do. And that's what sometimes drives me to the point of despair with Christianity and hermoneuticts, because sometimes the Texas like, if we can't understand this, then there's no point that we can understand anything, because it seems so obvious. So I have strong opinions about Ezekiel thirty six, with much frustration with how most churches handle it. So I don't even know what day it was again Sermon's two point Sermon's two point oh app sermon challenge looking for a random sermon, and I found one entitled I Will.

10:38 Now. Immediately when I saw I will, I thought, oh, I wonder if this is going to be like, you know, maybe about Satan or about pride or narcissism. I will, I will, I will, or is it about what God will do? Well? Then I said I will, and then I'm like, oh, Ezequel thirty six, this is about what God will do for Okay, I wonder who it's going to be about Israel or Us. I didn't listen to it. We're gonna find out together, all right, So are you ready? Are you ready? Here we go. I have my Bible. I have a. Pencil right there. I can't that's the sort of the Lord newspaper. Yeah. I wanted to do some things with this, but I'm gonna set that down for now. Bible. So here's just if you're looking for a sermon to listen to. For the sermon's two point oh app sermon challenge, go listen to Decei by Pharmakiah Big Pharma. Write down every claim made in the sermon. Then do some fact checking and see if you can determine what is true and what is false. Hopefully what you find is everything stated is one hundred percent accurate. If it's not, well, then you can go there. And maybe that's not the direction it's going to go. It's the direction I feel like it's going.

11:49 It's okay. I think it's going to get into a big discussion about the Greek word pharma kia and I'm assuming they're taking it from Revelation chapter eighteen. So ooh, we could do we could do a word study there. Okay, but I see I'm gonna get all distracted. We need to go to Ezekiel thirty six. Are you ready, let's listen to this sermon. I did not label this part one. We all know I probably should have because the sermon that we are reviewing is fifty two minutes and twenty seven seconds long. Now, the only problem is that usually turns into four or five six hours of review. I don't necessarily want it to do that, so I did not put a part one. But if depending on how this goes, this may have to be part one.

12:31 Oh. I hate doing this on a Friday afternoon. I hate because, yeah, I know I'm making a mistake here for my own mental health. But here we are. Let's just see where it goes. Maybe we can bring this to a conclusion and we don't need to review all of it. Who knows. Maybe this is positive, maybe this is negative. Always. The wonderful thing about sermon reviews is I have no idea because I don't listen to these things before I review them, because it's supposed to be like we're listening to the sermon together in real time. So are you ready to sit down on a Friday afternoon going to a Friday evening to listen to a sermon. Well, I hope you are, because that's what we're doing here. We go. Good morning, Church. It's an exciting thing to get up on Sunday morning and know that you're coming to the House of Lord to worship our Savior with our brothers and sisters in Christ. It's the highlight of my week to be able to come into the House of the Lord and worship with each and every one of you Wednesday night, the highlight of the middle of the week from me. And I hope that you all understand what I'm saying and understand how precious the Church is and how precious the Body of Christ truly is. And it's not a have to, it's a we get to come together and worship Him. A couple of weeks ago, I had the honor to preach, and I talked about a

14:04 conversation Jesus had with a man named Nicodemus and what it meant to be born again. And I'm going to continue along that line this morning. We're not gonna look at Nicodemus any longer. But I was thinking back over the school year this past year and We've been studying biblical doctrine for two years in class, and we finished at the end of the year looking at the doctrine of soteriology. Isn't that impressive? That really big word there. I don't like when pastors like, you know, ooh, that's a big word. I don't like it. If you're going to use the word, then don't act like it's a big word. Act like it's a word everyone should know.

14:56 But pastors always like if they use a bit so teeriology, lesiology, eschatology, then like ooh, that's one of those big words. And then they then they have to kind of like explain it away, like you don't really need to know the word, then why did you say the word in the first place, Like if you if you if you think saying the word is somehow pretentious and arrogant, that you're using a philological term, well then don't use the term. It's like, well, you know how these these theologians where they're where their you know, five dollars words or whatever term they use, And I hate that. Right either, the term is important to utilize because it's the technical theological term, and you and your job is to equip the people, so they're no longer tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine.

15:42 And the way to equip them is so that they know the terminology. So if they hear the word or say the word, they know whats soteriology is or eclesiology, eschatology, pneumatology, and well you can go through all the different ologies, right, okay and that, But but some people think you're being pretentious and saying the words. So it's almost like pastors like, well, if I say these words, then I come across cross as being pretentious, and the people in the pew will think I'm just trying to be arrogant, So then we almost have to play it down. But you know what, I don't really care. Don't care what the people think. They need to know the terminology so when they see the words, they know what the words are. If they think you're being pretentious, they think you're being pretentious, I don't. Pastors always seem like what those theologians, what those scholars, and they always want to put themselves like, I'm not a theologian, I'm just a Bible preacher. Well if you're if you study God and you seek the knowledge of God.

16:36 Then you're a theologian, and every person in the pew is a theologian because because they should be studying God and pursuing the knowledge of God, and everyone has a soteriology, a system of doctrine about salvation, they should know that. So I understand, terms can be utilized in a way where you come across pretentious and arrogant. But at the same time, there's nothing wrong with pursuing technical terminology as it relates to specific theological areas. All right, So I now I so I guess there's a balance, is what I'm saying. Pastors seem afraid that they're going to be you know, they gotta kind of they gotta like, I gotta talk in the language of the common man. Well, the common man who comes to church needs to be challenged to move up from their common understanding to a higher understanding and learn the terms and learn. That's why I get sick when I'm told, well, you can't really teach that in church. That's really that's that's too difficult for the people to grasp. Like, who are you to tell me that the people can't grasp it. I've always had that you need to preach at a seventh grade level. No, I don't. I'll preach at whichever level I want to preach.

17:50 My job is to take these complicated issues and do whatever is necessary to help the people rise up in their knowledge so they have a greater understanding. It's not to dumb it down. It's to get the people to come up it. Don't dumb it down. Give them a lotter so that they can cline to get to it, if that's what you need to do. So, I don't know, I just don't like what you know, one of those big words. No, it's so Teiology is a pretty just not really that big a word, and it's pretty common and it's been utilized forever. So I mean, I understand that there's some terms that there's no way that people are going to know. I understand that. So I don't know. Well, we can't have all kinds of discussions here, but let's continue.

18:35 Let me simplify this down for you real quick, because it's the doctrine of salvation, the doctrine of salvation. And I asked a question to the students, and I said, how many of you think that Christianity and being a Christian is all about do's and don'ts. Every one of them in one class raise their hand, all. Right, ladies and gentlemen. That is horrifying, and that makes me want to just quit and give up. But I've stated this so many times that if you ask young people in school, is create how many think Christianity is about a bunch of dues and don'ts. That's what they're going to say, because I've said it so many times.

19:28 Whether you like to admit this or not, your church, my church, churches everywhere, whether we like it or not, we have taken the law and created a law based system that we call gospel. And we try to disguise this law based system as gospel. We'll use some gospel language, but it's all about do's and don'ts, do's and don'ts, do's and don'ts. Do you have to do this, don't do this, do this, don't do this. Now, you've got to do this to prove your safe and you got don't do this to prove it. And if you don't do this, or if you do this, then you prove you were never save. You've got to do this, do this, don't do this, do do do do It's all about the things you do. It's about law, law, law, law, law, law.

20:08 That's why I've yelled and screamed about the proper distinction between law and gospel for so long. You take young people in church, how many believe Christianity is about dues and don'ts? Go to your church, find the young people like you just walk around, whether are away, hey, whether they're away from their parents, Hey, come here, come here, come here, come here now, I you know, And and when they come there, it's like, hey, just keep it on the download. You're right, I got I got a theological question. Do you think Christianity is about dues? And don'ts now? Their parents are not around, there's no way, And they'll probably be like, what are you talking about? Of course, that's all it is. You can't do this, you do this. If you do this, you're gonna you're gonna burn in hell. You can't do this, you can't do this, you can't do that. I can't do this, I can't do this. I can't go here, I can't go that. I can't I can't It's all law. And you're like, well, thank you, I'm glad to know this church is doing a good job and making sure you understand what Christianity really is. And I've stated it so many times, I'm made the exact same mistake and the way I taught and raised my own kids dos and don'ts, do's and don'ts, do's and don'ts. And if you do this and you don't do this, you prove you're not saying lordship clearly was a major lordship Salvation was a major influence in my early Christian life. So I'm glad he now. I'm assuming he's going to compact this idea of dos and don't so let's see if he does and how he handles this.

21:38 I was like, Wow, I said, we haven't strayed far from the Pharisees. We haven't strayed far from legalism. We haven't strayed far from the law and trying to keep the law and works righteousness. There's grace. Wow, that's powerful. So many churches, it's phariseical, it's like the Sadducees. It's legalism, it's law keeping. Christianity is just reduced to a moral system where you can yell and scream about who's right and who's wrong and do this and don't do that, don't listen to this, don't watch that, don't go here, don't look like that, don't dress this way, don't don't, don't, don't.

22:28 Don't. Law law law law, law, law, la la la law. Oh, but we believe that you saved by grace alone, to faith alone, because of Christ alone. Law lah la la la la la la. Oh. Yes, yes, we believe in grace. I'm telling you, our gospel is nothing more than law masquerading as gospel. It's just gospel in disguise. It's law identifying as gospel. If you want to use that controversial language, people always get you to go back to my earlier broadcast. Okay, it's law, just people pretending that it's gospel. But there's nothing gospel about it.

23:17 And looking at the doctrine of salvation, there are many doctrines that fall under that doctrine, the doctrine of grace, faith, repentance, regeneration, sonship, our union with Christ, being in Christ, justification, sanctification, perseverance of the saints, and the assurance of our salvation. And the thing about this is there's nothing that any single one of us in this room, in this church, in this world, in the creation can do to earn salvation. And as I stated before, that's what separates us from every other religion in the world. Every other religion in the world is works based. Man has to do good works in order to appease God, to make God proud of him. His good works must outweigh his bad works.

24:12 And I will argue that Christianity is just his workspace. But here's what we do. We play a little game. See, we don't do the works to please God. We don't do the works to earn our salvation, but we do the works because we're saved, and by doing these works, we prove we're saved. So therefore we have to do these works in order to prove we're saved. And if we don't do the works, then we're not saved. Well, then you're telling me I have to do the works to be saved. No, no, no, no, I'm saying you'll do the works if you're saved. So you're saying that when I'm saved, I'm infused with some righteousness so that i'll do good works exactly. Well, that's Roman Catholicism. So am I saved by an imputed righteousness which you cannot see and there's no way to judge it because it's imputed.

24:55 Or am I saved because I prove my salvation by what I do? And if I proving my salvation by what I do, that would seem to be that I'm proving that I have received an infused righteousness, which is Roman Catholicism, which is a workspace system. That's not the case with my gracious God. That's not the case with my precious Jesus. That's not the case with my helper and teacher, the Holy Spirit. I try unity that does everything for me. When we were his enemies, He died for us. Works does not fall in there.

25:55 Lodibacum preached a sermon, and I'm the Lord puts me in a place where I get in certain passages of scriptures, and I just I can't escape them, and I'm forced to meditate on them and think about them and preach it to myself and body. Bacam I asked the question in one of his messages. He said, what can dead men do? What can dead men do? And I think if you can answer that question, you're gonna understand how great a salvation we have because and you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins. Somebody tell me what can a dead man do? Nothing? He can do absolutely nothing. And when you understand these subtopics of the doctrine of salvation, these subdoctrines grace God's riches at Christ's expense, unmerited favor. You can't work for it. It's something that God gives to you freely. And when you understand faith, faith is believing and trusting who God is. But now let me clarify this for you. By grace through faith,

27:26 it's God's favor that opens the door to exercise faith repentance. Do you not know that it is the goodness of God that leads you to repentance regeneration in which we're looking at. Tell me, what can any of you in this room do to change your nature? What can any of you do in this room to change your heart and your desires and your emotions? What can you do because of a fallen nature and you're dead? What can you do to regenerate yourself? Dead men can do nothing?

28:09 Can they justification? It is God who justifies the ungodly, not you, not me. I can't justify anybody. I can't declare anyone righteous Holy God sanctification. Well, when He graciously gives us his spirit, we're sanctified. We're set apart for a holy purpose. We're set apart for the will of God to take place in our lives to conform us to christ likeness. What do you do there? Did you do that? And perseverance and assurance will?

28:58 Look sounds like he's putting forth the idea of a monegistic sanctification. If it's a monegistic sanctification, that means God's doing all the work in sanctification. Therefore, your lack of sanctification would be God's fault and not your fault, unless you would be because God is the one doing the sanctifying. And if God is doing the one sanctifying, then why he is no one perfect? Right? So now now I'm gonna kind of go. And he seemed to be going through a moneargistic way. Look, I know the concept of his monegistic sanctification. I know the concept of synergistic sanctification. I just know if you say God is the one sanctifying, then the lack of sanctification is on God. And if God's doing the sanctification, though, why isn't the ones. He's doing sanctification in or perfect And when you say, well, then God doesn't want him to be perfect, well then how can they Then if God doesn't want them to be perfect, then how can they're imperfection then be blamed on anything other than God? Well, God doesn't get the blame a minute. God's the one doing the sanctification. He doesn't sanctify me in a specific area.

30:04 Therefore I'm not perfect, and therefore I sin in that specific area. But it's on me and it's not on God. Well, if it's on me, then it's my responsibility and it's not on God, then that's not a monargistic scentification. That's a synergistic sanctification. So we could get in a whole discussion here. Now there's a lot here. I'm one hundred percent in agreement with. My concern is we're going to Ezequel thirty six, and clearly the way this is going to go, He's going to make Ezequel thirty six all about us, and that's where I'm going to start losing my ever living mind. I'm hoping that's not the case. Look at that a little later. You have nothing to boast about church, But Jesus. You have nothing to boast about but Him. So to come together in this place and worship him corporately together and understand that he paid it all, and that he did it all, and that he did all of the work so that we could enjoy him forever as he changes us and conforms us to the likeness of Christ. Well, like I said several weeks ago, there's four things that I teach, and I'm repeatively teaching them. One is the gospel Christ died for our sin, was buried and resurrected. The heart, the heart

31:36 the seat bed of desire and emotions, mentioned over a thousand times in the scripture. And only God can change the nature of a man, the heart of a man, The will of God. I teach the will of God. And now we've had this conversation I feel like a thousand times on this podcast, and no one has yet being able to map it out for me. All Right, So you have these different concepts within Christianity. I don't want to get too far into this, but I at least have to mention it. There's at least one stream of Christianity who seems to basically teach something like this. Okay, So, before salvation you have a wicked heart, a deceitful heart. It's it's it's depraved, it's sinful, it's ungodly. Then you get saved done dunda dah, you get a new heart.

32:21 The old heart is gone, the new heart is there. Okay, Well, now if I have a new heart and the old heart is gone, then why do I still sin? Well then say, well, well you have a new heart, but the heart is different. But the flesh, the flesh isn't all right, So then it's the flesh. Now what does the flesh consist of my physical flesh? Or are you saying my flesh is my nature? So do you have Do you say that I have an old nature? But a new heart? Is heart and nature separate? So when so? When? So? Is this the way it works? Before salvation you have a wicked heart and a wicked nature. After salvation you have a new heart a wicked nature. So God only changes the heart, but he doesn't change the nature. Now, some go so far to say no, when you become a Christian, you get a new heart and you get a new nature. Well, then if I have a new heart and a new nature, Well, now, why can't then I be perfect. Why I mean, you would think it would be not only possible, it would be probable. It would be expected if you have a new heart and a new nature. Because some will say, we see when you become a Christian, practically speaking, you're a new creature in Christ. Old things have passed away, all things have become new, which means your heart and your nature. Well, then you should expect perfection. Now many of them will almost preach it. Well, yes, now you can say no to sin, Now you can say yes to God. Well then why is no one perfect? So no one can really explain this. So do I have a new heart but an old nature? Do I have a new heart

33:52 and a new nature? And if I have a new heart and a new nature, then why do we sin? And if God is doing the one that's changing, we wouldn't know. He wouldn't be changing us. See this is another contradictory thing. If you have a new heart and if you have a new nature, then what is there for God to change? Your heart has been changed, your nature has been changed in salvation, and so that would be an instantaneous word. You have a new heart, you have a new nature, Then what is there for God to change. There's nothing for him to change. You have already changed. It's weird. Christians will say anyone who is in Christ is a new creature. All things have passed away, all things have become new, and at the same time saying God is making us new and changing us. What is there to change if we're already a new creature in the old is already gone? So is that positional new or is that practical new? And Christians just they say these things and it's just a It's a never ending source of circular reasoning and logical contradictions, and they can never map it out, and when you try to push them on it, it just gets more confusing by the set. Well, yes, you have a new heart, you have a new nature, but you can still sin. Well, what's sinning my new heart or my new nature? It doesn't sound like it's very new if it can continues to sin. Well, can I be perfect? Well no, you can't be perfect. What's keeping me from perfection? If I have a new heart and a new nature. Well, God is changing you. Well, if God is changing me, then

35:23 why wouldn't God just change me to perfect? And then I would never sin again? Well? And if he's changing me, what is he changing if I have a new heart in a new nature? Like you just ask these questions and sometimes you just like never mind, because you watch the Christians just go in circles. They just talk circles, and everybody in the fuel just be like, Amen, Amen, this is good preaching. And I'm sitting there going this is the most contradictory illogical thing circular reasoning. Fifteen different logical fallacies. I don't know if there's not actually fifteen logical fallacies typically the way they're listed out, but in other words hyperbolically using hyperbole and hyperbolic. Yeah, there's a thousand logical inconsistencies. When they start trying to map it out, and anyone sitting there with a pencil and trying to draw out a chart, you're like, wait a minute, So wait, I got a new nature, but I don't have a new heart. I have a new heart, but I don't have a new nature. No, I have a new heart and have a new nature. Okay, which is it.

36:19 To be conformed to the image of Christ? Because every day you get up, you should be praying Lord, this day, make me more like Jesus, teach me and show me who you are. Teach me to love Lord like Jesus. Now again, if Jesus is the one teaching us, then why are there thousands of denominations and nobody can agree on anything. If Jesus is the one teaching you via the Holy Spirit, then why are there Nobody can agree on baptism. No one can agree on the Lord's Supper. No one can agree on salvation. No one can agree in repentance. No one can agree on the structure of the church. No one can agree on how to interpret anyone verse. Obviously not teaching us, because there would be one doctrine, there would be one church, there would be one truth, there would be one baptism, and there would be the end of all of this never ending disagreements.

37:16 But it's the idea. This is I remember, I always tell you there's the Christianity we sell. So you come to Christ. Boom boom boo boom, He will change you, he will teach you. Well, then, if Christ is the one changing and Christ is the one teaching, then we should be perfect in our behavior and we should be perfect in our theology. But no one has either. That. I can love those who hate me and then there's this last one. It's the great commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And the second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself. In this all the law and the profits speak so this morning, and let me make it very clear.

38:19 The great commandment love God with all your heart, mind, body and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. You never obey it. You are in a perpetual state of disobedience to that law. You are in a perpetual state of being condemned by that law. And that law should show you every single day that you cannot obey it. The law is meant the law. It was never designed for you to be able to keep. Because it was impossible for you to keep. It condemns you. It drives you to Christ. And when it says love the Lord that got with all your heart, my body and soul, love your neighbor as yourself, only one person has ever done that. That is Jesus Christ. By putting my faith in him, his obedience to that law is imputed to my account. So now I stand before God as someone who obeys that law, because Christ did it for me.

39:04 I will never never do it. Neither will you. And if you think that you love God with all your heart, your body, and soul, and you love your neighbors yourself, you are deceived, and you've become a self righteous pharisee, thinking that you're more righteous. You may have cleaned up the outside of the tomb, you may have cleaned up the outside of the cup, but deep down inside, you know you don't love God with everything in you. You know you don't love your neighbor as yourself. And you know your sin, and you know it no matter how much you deny it, and no matter how much you pretend it's not there. You may have seventeen layers of fig leaves covering up your nakedness, but trust me, it is there. Everyone knows it's there, and you can pretend all day, But your sin is there because we cannot keep God's law. We cannot, we cannot, we do not, we will not. That's we are say by an imputed righteousness.

40:02 And our hope is that there will come a day where, then and glorification, our sin nature is finely removed, and then we will be like him. I'm gonna head back to Ezekiel. Chapter thirty six. You're gonna work your Bibles this morning, so go ahead and get those out. You're gonna exercise your hand muscles, your arm muscles, flipping pages. And we're gonna start in Ezekiel thirty six. And I hope that you will understand a little bit because I can't go into much detail for time reasons. And our salvation has nothing to do with us.

40:49 And looking, no, boy, it's got every red flag. Our salvation has nothing to do with us. Why are we turning to his Ezequi will thirty six again? Why, oh boy. He's gonna make this about us, ladies and gentlemen. He's gonna make this about us. He's gonna make this about us. All right, I'm telling you, I am so weary of this. At Ezekiel chapter thirty six, we will pick up, and we will. I'm actually gonna read verses twenty five through twenty seven. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all of your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh. And give you a heart of flesh.

41:49 I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments and do them. Oh verse twenty five, I will God will sprinkle clean wind. Please note he didn't read verse twenty eight, which says, then you shall go dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, which clearly shows you this is about Israel. Number so number one. He didn't read the next verse, which tells you who this is referring to. Then I will spring clean water on you who is the you, and you, who is the you, She'll be clean. I will claim you from all filthiness who's the you? And from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you my spirit and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statues. And you will keep my judgments. Not that you will may, or you will try, or you will desire. You will do this, ladies and gentlemen, that is not us, That is Israel.

42:55 How do I know? Just go to chapter thirty six, verse one, And you, son of Man, and prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, oh, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. Thus, thus says the Lord God, because the enemy has said of you, Aha, the ancient heights have become our possession. Therefore prophesy and say, thus says the Lord God, because they made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side. This is referring to Israel. Israel. Israel is mentioned time after time from chapter thirty six. Just read the entire chapter and identify how many times Israel is either mentioned or where things are said that it can only refer to Israel. Just verse twenty eight, right after those verses, he just read, then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. When is this going to happen right before they dwell in the land. This is a reference to Israel being transformed, being renewed, being revived, being regenerated before they then take possession of the land which God had promised them. This is not the Church, this is not you. This is Israel at a specific time in history.

44:10 If you don't read it that way, then I give up. If you I know I'm gonna get some arrogant reformed person and trust me. I hold to reform soteriology, so you can you can talk all the big game you want. If the minutes you destroy the meaning of these words, then then theology and hermonutics mean absolutely nothing. When it says you're gonna go into the land that's actual land. If it's not actual, you're telling me Israel doesn't mean Israel, and land doesn't mean land. Then I'll tell you Resurrection doesn't mean resurrection, creation doesn't mean creation, day doesn't mean day God, Virgin doesn't mean virgin. We'll just throw out every meaning of every word and say the Bible doesn't mean anything. All right, Well, let's see he's a back back up to twenty five. Maybe he's gonna mention Israel here.

45:02 Maybe he's going. To water on you. You could go to numbers nineteen and look at that chapter of the ceremonial purification and the ashes of the heifers and the water that was used to purify. But if you go to Hebrews chapter nine, and you look in Hebrews chapter nine, you will see that that was just a picture and a type of the coming Messiah. The Lord Jesus who would shed his holy blood to cleanse us. So I will, says God, I will clean you. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all of your idols. What is the greatest idol that we worship in this life? Ourselves?

45:55 Our selfish desires, the things that we want. So God's gonna remove all of our idolatry? Is all your idolatry gone? You go to church with people or are everyone you know in your church is an idolatry? Idolatry is still prevalent in every church. So is he gonna make it go away? Or is he in the process of making it go away? Is he just going to do it? Or is he doing it? And if he's doing it, why is it taking so long? Why can't God just make that idolatry goes away? This sounds like a very emphatic statement. I'm going I Am going to sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean, and I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Is that their internal sin? Or is that their external sin? Is he gonna just remove it all? Is this God just going to remove their their positional guilt or their practical sin.

47:00 The things that we feel like we need to entertain us or keep us from getting bored in the life that we live. And I want to tell you something, and I've told the youth, is I can honestly stand here and tell you I am never bored. I am never bored. Ever am I bored? Why? Because I know the God of all creation and I am known by him. Oh wow, So he is never bored because he's more spiritual than you. If you're bored, you're not as spiritual as him. Now, let me make this very clear. I say the same thing. I am never bored. I hate the word bored, but I have never used it as an example of my spirituality. I'm never bored because I know God. Now I say I'm never bored because there's fifty seven billion things I want to do in this life.

47:57 From books, comic books, wi music, sports, movies, TV shows, you just name it. There's a million things I would like to do, meaning that I'm not bored because you could argue I have a million idols in my life. But I guess for him, ladies and gentlemen, he is never bored because he knows God. So I guess does that mean he doesn't do anything for entertainment? He doesn't need any entertainment. He doesn't need anything because he has been washed and now he all his idols have been removed. Well, what's the problem with the rest of everyone? Did the sprinkling of the water not work on everyone else?

48:44 I can pray to him anytime I want to. I can think thoughts of him anytime I want to thults that push my mind to the very limit of its ability. I can meditate on his word. And I'm going to tell you something, Church, if you don't memorize scripture, you need to go into the practice of doing that, because it's a sweet thing to sit down and just recite scripture. I never get bored. I can sit for hours and think of God and read his word and pray to him. It's not boring to me. It's actually probably the most favorite thing I have in this life to do. I don't need the world's entertainment to keep me from getting bored because I don't get bored. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.

49:35 All right, So he doesn't get bored. He doesn't need the world's entertainment. He doesn't need anything because he has God. So is he now the standard, Ladies and gentlemen, If you get bored, and if you like the world's entertainment, you still have idols. So you have not been sprinkled, you have not been made clean. Therefore you're not saved. Is that the implication? I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. He changes us internally when we recognize the love of God through Christ and we place our faith and trust in what He's done. He gives us a new nature.

50:26 Herry, ladies and gentlemen, that you and the text now becomes we. Ain't that interesting? Christians always complain about pronouns, right, No, your pronoun are he and him? Yeah, your pronoun is not she or her? We who care about pronouns. But when we read the Bible, you becomes we? How did you become we? Now? Just note he just said we get a new nature and we get a new heart. So wait a minute. So if I have a new heart and a new nature, then I have no old nature. I have no old heart. Then why do I say? But I find it interesting that Christians are so up on pronouns, pronouns, pronouns, pronouns, pronouns, pronouns, pronouns.

51:07 But we go to the Bible, and where the pronoun is you. Now it becomes we, it becomes them, it's them. Now it becomes us, it's them, and it becomes me. See, Israel just got kicked out of Ezekiel thirty six. He's just preached a sermon where he literally told Israel, get out. We don't want you here, we don't need you here, because this is about us. We're claiming these promises, even though it specifically was for Israel. The desire for the things of the world start to disappear, and we have a new desire to please and live for God.

51:53 Wait a minute, why would they start to disappear? If you immediately get a new heart, and you immediately get a new nature, then you would immediately have new desires. The old desires would be completely gone, because the old desires are something of the old nature of the old heart. Don't tell me. On one hand, I get the new thing, but the old thing still is there, but it just slowly starts to get less. That's utterly illogical. If I get a new heart and I get a new nature. Then I'm literally different from the inside out. I've got a new hard drive. I've got a new hardware. I'm completely reprogrammed. Therefore, all of my thoughts will be that of God. All of my desires will be of God. Therefore, I'll have no desire for the world, no desire for the flesh. The world's temptations will no longer have any impact on me, because the world's temptations would not have anything in me to appeal to, because I have a new heart and a new nature, So any temptation would be like it would just bounce off of me. Well, sorry, there's nothing inside me that desires it. I only desire to memorize Scripture. I only desire to read my Bible.

52:57 I only desire God. I don't desire anything but God. I don't want anything. I don't need relationships, I don't need anything. I just need God because I'm a new man. Yeah, oh man, this stuff drives me mad. And He does it all. He creates the new desire. He does it all. If God does it all and he creates the new desire, well, then if you don't have new desire, then is it God's fault? And why would he have to create a new desire. If he gave you a new heart and a new nature, you would not already have new desires, So why does he?

53:41 So? I guess God gives you a new heart, a new nature, and he creates new desires. But somehow we still sin, and somehow we can't be perfect. All he does is tell me to trust him, because if I truly trust him and truly, I'm gonna do what he says. Because, oh so, if I truly trust him, I will do what he says, meaning then I will obey the law perfectly. So if you truly trust God, you will love God with all your heart, mind, body, and soul. You will love your neighbor as yourself. You will be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect, and you will be holy as He is holy. Therefore you will be perfect. So, ladies and gentlemen, if you trust God, you will be perfect.

54:31 Oh bit, But Christianity is not about dos and don'ts. No, no, no, no no. Christianity is not about dos and don'ts. But if you really trust him, all you're going to do is the dus and you're never gonna do the don'ts because you're basically perfect. But it's not about works. It's not about works, because it is. The joy of my life. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and calls you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments and do them. The desire to obey him he does that.

55:18 That verse does not say a stinking thing about desire. It says you will do. Does it say you will desire? It says you will. So don't turn this into well, you will desire, but sometimes you won't. No, this is you will do this. You will the end perfectly. You will do it. Don't water it down. Now you've already kicked Israel out of it. If you're gonna make it about us, then everyone who this happens to you obey everything and you are perfect. Oh and then you're gonna go into the land a sworn to your father's I don't know how that has anything to do with you, but I'm sure we'll make it work.

56:01 It's not something you have. You don't have a desire to obey him. You see this right here in this New Covenant. That's what He creates in you is a new heart that desires Him. You didn't do that. This is a supernatural work of God. To be regenerated, to be recreated, to be a new creation. It is the greatest miracle you will ever witness on the face of the planet. In and of yourself. You don't need anything else when He takes that heart out and gives you a new heart. And the whole world. Looks different to you because you're seeing it through the love of God, through Christ and the Word of God, and the spirit of God is working in you and through you and molding you and making you like Jesus.

56:50 You don't need anything else but Him. It's amazing. Christians don't need anything else. But look at every Christian. You know, they have pretty much everything else the world has. They care about this. And they want homes and they want property, and they want to retirement, and they want entertainment, and they want a nice house, and they want a wife, and they want kids, and they want relationships and they want friends, and they want to entertainment, and they want a fellowship mill, and they want good food and they want this, and they want the holidays, and they want gifts and they want and they want, and they want and they want and they want and they want, and they gossip and they slander, and they back by and they lie, and they fight and they argue and marriages fall apart, and they're, oh, wait, why why is any of this happening? They don't want anything but God, they don't need anything but God, because basically they're supposed to be perfect. See this is where I just sometimes I reach the point going, look, you know what, I can't I can't participate. It's like playing a fantasy game. Somebody, this is fantasy world. This is not what If Christianity was like this, then nobody would need anything and everybody would be basically living in a monastery and all they did was think and pray and talk to God and wouldn't care about anything else because they would have a desire for nothing else other than God.

58:22 So what a great promise we have here. And so let's move over, and I'm going to read this. Let's move over to the Great Commandment. And all right, that's it. That's how he covered his equal. He literally kicked Israel out. He literally kicked Israel out. He did not even bother to read the very next verse. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. Be my people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleanliness.

59:04 I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields. Ladies and gentlemen. That has literally nothing to do with you. This is a promise. This is a covenant made with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. We are grafted in to a certain extent. But this part is specifically for Israel. Specifically, what will prepare them to go and take possession of the land which God had promised them. If you make that about us, you can't just take part of that and make it about us.

59:47 Everything else would have to be about us. The land, the grain, no more famine, all of that would have You would have to take every bit of this and make it about us. So here's what I want you to do. I want you your assignment today is very simple. You to read Ezekiel thirty six. There are thirty eight verses. There's thirty eight verses, and I want you to take out of those thirty eight verses, find out how many times Israel is mentioned if it says you or them, who is it referring to? It's gonna be Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel. And look and make a list of every specific promise given in Ezekiel thirty six, and ask yourself, is that you? It's not you unless you're delusional. I'm to the point I'm just I give up. I just give up. You go to a chapter where it's Israel Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel.

1:00:47 Then you leave out the verses before it, you leave out the verses after it. You take four verses and say that's you, and then just ignore Israel and then move on. And everybody's in the church. It's like, now, I'm not saying that that's what they were doing, but typically sure people like, Amen, praise God, such a great sermon, pastor Amen, We're so happy you're our pastor teaching us the word of God, even though you literally just got a passage literally ripped apart. Positionally, I am perfect, Positionally, I'm a new creature. Positionally, all of that is true because I am saved by an imputed righteousness. Positionally I'm perfect, I'm obedient. Practically, i am not changed. I still have an old nature. I'm still a sinner, and I will still sin. I do have the guarantee that there will come a day that then I will be transformed, and I will no longer have a sinful nature, and I will become like he is. No sinful nature, no more pain, no more suffering, no more corrupt body, no more death. Positionally, I'm perfect. Practically I'm a sinner glorification. Then the positional reality will become the practical reality. In the meantime, I'm still a sinner. And Ezekuel thirty six is about Israel,

1:02:20 as the chapter clearly outlines. And if we can't understand Ezekiel thirty six by the words that are used, then ladies and gentlemen, forget hermoneutics, forget Bible study, forget Bible interpretation. It's a meaningless exercise and futility. There is no way to understand it. Just give up, put your Bible away, and be done with it. There we go. Now, I'm exhausted because it's four hundred and fifty seven degrees in this studio. I am literally not even a joke covered in sweat, not pleasant. I feel like I've run fifteen miles because I'm so frustrated by this. But I've just grown to the point of utter weariness of it. Like I've grown to the point that I just I can't even tolerate it anymore. Like it went from a little bit of frustration, a little bit of irritation, to now you can just hear. Like I'm at a breaking point.

1:03:19 I'm so sick of it because if I can't understand Ezequel thirty six, and I can't understand anything. Literally, I can't understand Day, I can't understand virgin I can't understand Christ, I can't understand the Trinity. I can't understand the deity of Christ. I can't understand the hypothetic union. I can't understand any theological issue because we can't even believe what the words say. All right, I'm gonna stop who but you've got your assignment. Read Ezequel thirty six. Identify every time Israel's mentioned, and then write down every single promise, every single promise, and then look at those promises, and then you tell me is that for you or is that from the nation of Israel? When at the right appropriate time, God will regather, he will renew, he will cleanse, and they will be his people, and He will be their God, and He will dwell in the midst of them, and every covenant promise made will be fulfilled. To Israel, thank you for listening, have a great evening. I'm going to pass out now.

1:04:26 God bless