the Old Testament book of the Prophet Ezekiel
and it's chapter 33 Ezekiel chapter 33 and
we begin at the first verse.
And the word of the Lord came unto
me saying Son of man, speak to the
children of thy people and say unto them
when I bring the sword upon a land
if the people of the land take a
man of their coasts and set him for
their watchman, if when he seeth the sword
come upon the land, he blow the trumpet
and warn the people then whosoever heareth the
sound of the trumpet and taketh not warning,
if the sword come and take him away,
his blood shall be upon his own head.
He heard the sound of the trumpet and
took not warning, his blood shall it be
upon him, that he that taketh warning shall
deliver his soul.
But if the watchman see the sword come
and blow not the trumpet and the people
be not warned, if the sword come and
take any person from among them, he is
taken away of his iniquity, but his blood
will I require at the watchman's hand.
So thou O son of man, I have
set thee a watchman to the house of
Israel therefore thou shalt hear the word at
my mouth and warn them from me when
I say unto the wicked O wicked man,
thou shalt surely die if thou dost not
speak to warn the wicked of his way,
that wicked man shall die in his iniquity
but his blood will I require at thy
hand nevertheless if thou warn the wicked of
his way and turn from it, if he
do not turn from his way, he shall
die in his own iniquity but thou hast
delivered thy soul.
Therefore O thou son of man, speak unto
the house of Israel thus he speaks saying,
if our transgressions and our sins be upon
us and we pine away in them how
shall, how should we then dine?
Say unto them, as I live saith the
Lord God, I have no pleasure in the
death of the wicked but that the wicked
turn from his way and live.
Turn ye turn ye from your evil ways
for why will ye die O house of
Israel?
The Lord will bless the reading of his
own word.
Amen.
I think it is appropriate before we begin
that I should express my gratitude and thanks
to the secretary of the conference to Mr.
Secretary for his invitation kind conversation and warm
welcome and for those who organized the conference
I want to express my deep thanks and
gratitude and to you ladies and gentlemen young
persons, boys and girls express also thankfulness to
you for coming and praying that this night
God would be pleased to glorify his son
Jesus Christ in our midst tonight.
The second thing I want to say is
to ask if you will please to turn
with me to Ezekiel chapter 33 Ezekiel chapter
33 passing the buck and
shifting responsibility, a trace that every man, every
woman every boy, every girl inherited from father
Adam and mother Eve.
Ancient Israel in captivity as POWs, God sent
Ezekiel the prophet to preach to them and
they complained that they were in a catch
22 situation and therefore to live or die
that was the question and by implication they
blamed God and God had to answer this
accusation note carefully how they blamed God and
what they said in verse 10 of Ezekiel
33 God said to the prophet therefore you
O son of man say to the house
of Israel thus you say and here is
their catch 22 situation if our transgressions and
our sins lie upon us and we pine
away with them how can we then live
if what God is saying is true and
the heaviness and the pressure of our sins
are upon us and the very fact that
we are POWs in a foreign land is
directly the activity of God how can you
prophet Ezekiel say to us we shall live
when death has surrounded us when God is
the one who has placed us here how
can we then live by implication they accused
God then God answered their accusation in verse
11 say to them as I live says
the Lord I have no pleasure in the
death of the wicked but that the wicked
turn from his way and leave turn turn
from your evil ways for why should you
die O house of Israel in God's
answer to the accusation brought against him there
are three things in verse 11 and the
first is this what does not or what
God does not take pleasure in what God
does not take pleasure in and God wants
the people to understand clearly succinctly and carefully
that he does not take pleasure in the
death of any man any woman any boy
any girl any young person who dies in
his or her sin look at the language
of verse 11 as I live says the
Lord I have no pleasure in the death
of the wicked now God registers his denial
that the people were saying it is his
fault God registers his denial in two simple
ways one by an emphatic no I do
not take any pleasure in the death of
the wicked God registers his denial publicly emphatically
look at the verse say to them I
have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked God is saying something like this do
I at all take pleasure in or desire
the death of the wicked emphatically no I
do not know when God expresses the truth
so strongly in this way we need to
take careful note what is he saying to
us God in his denial is saying several
things to us that is there is no
hesitation or limitation in his denial he does
not hesitate to say that he takes no
pleasure in the death of the wicked nor
does he go to define and to say
what kind of wicked he does not take
pleasure in their death every man every woman
every boy every girl every young person outside
of Christ is defined wicked we do not
take our definition of wicked by the Oxford
Shorter Dictionary we take it out of Ezekiel
33 and if we are outside of Christ
and dead in trespasses and in sin God
says we are wicked now God's denial in
God's denial there is no qualification God does
not qualify his statement nor does God exclude
certain persons certain persons who have grown certain
persons who are morally upright certain persons who
have been groomed and brought up certain persons
because of common grace certain persons because of
what God have lavished upon them as his
creatures pride themselves we are a cut above
the rest but God says if you are
outside of Jesus Christ you are wicked God's
denial in God's denial there is no classification
God does not classify sinners we are all
dead in trespasses and in sins therefore ladies
and gentlemen boys and girls young people listen
to me carefully it is absolutely true and
almighty God says it is that he does
not take pleasure nor does he desire the
death of anyone who is outside of Jesus
Christ I can say to you without any
hesitation that to die in your sin and
to perish in it does not give to
God the slightest pleasure to die in your
sin and to perish in it is a
horrible horrible horrible thing and that does not
give God pleasure instead it grieves him to
see you continue in your sin continue in
your unbelief continue in your rejection of his
unique and only begotten son Jesus Christ the
Son of God now if you believe almighty
God and you repudiate your sin and turn
away from it and embrace the Lord Jesus
who freely offers himself to you in the
gospel without any reservation there is that divine
and absolute guarantee that you will not perish
or die in your sin so God is
saying Ezekiel make sure that you say to
the people and explain to them what does
not give me pleasure and what does not
give me pleasure is this I take no
pleasure in the death of the wicked show
them that emphatically clearly dogmatically simply evangelically
so that no one may leave the audience
of the prophet without one knowledge that God
does not take delight in the death of
any sinner but God registers his delight in
a different way God takes an oath to
ensure that people understand what he means look
at the text look at God's earth oath
say to them here is the oath as
I live says the Lord now why is
God swearing by himself when we go to
court we take up the Bible and we
hold it up we say I swear by
almighty God that the evidence I will give
in this court is the truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth would to
God people would speak the truth but they'll
tell you anything and everything except the truth
but here is almighty God taken an oath
by himself he swears by himself because there
is no one greater than himself and he's
saying something like this in his oath that
he takes no pleasure in the death of
the wicked now there are some people who
say that God takes no pleasure in the
death of the wicked when the wicked turns
that's a good truth that's a true truth
that's a splendid truth but that's not the
truth in the text look at the text
is there any when there as I live
says the Lord I have no pleasure in
the death of the wicked there is no
when almighty God is saying something like this
in his oath it is eternally true and
I solemnly swear that I take no pleasure
I have no desire in the death of
any person who dies in her sin outside
of my son who perish who goes into
utter darkness forever and ever and ever it
gives me no pleasure do you understand this
ladies and gentlemen boys and girls and young
people almighty God is given to us here
in this text the greatest incentive we can
have this side of heaven why we should
turn from sin make a turn of a
hundred and eighty degrees turn from sin and
turn to the living God by faith in
his son Jesus Christ this is the greatest
incentive and the Lord said to the prophet
make sure with all energy you can muster
that you say to them I have taken
an oath by myself that I will not
or I do not take pleasure in the
death of the wicked so then what does
not or what God does not take pleasure
in God does not take pleasure in the
death of the wicked but there is a
second thing in the text and the second
thing is this what God takes pleasure in
if the first point is a negative the
second point is a positive if God does
not take pleasure negatively in the death of
the wicked God certainly takes pleasure positively in
something what is it that God takes pleasure
in look at the text again say unto
them as I leave says the Lord God
I have no pleasure in the death of
the wicked but but that the wicked turn
from his way and live God is saying
something like this instead of taking pleasure in
the death of the wicked even though they
have accused me of taking pleasure in their
death let me tell you and let me
tell all of them let me tell the
entire world publicly that the thing that gives
me almighty God the creator of every man
every woman every boy every girl the thing
that gives me pleasure is that each one
turn from his or her sin or sins
but how are we to interpret God's pleasure
it was the Lord Jesus who himself is
God incarnate Emmanuel God with us God the
Son it was the Lord Jesus Christ who
is unique as the only begotten Son of
God as the only one of his kind
who knows the mind of the Father who
was sent from God and who spoke to
us by God it was the Lord Jesus
who exegeted the mind of God John tells
us he exegetes the mind of God he
tells us what was in the mind of
God and he tells us this that there
is joy in heaven in the presence of
the angels over one sinner who repents note
it is not the angels rejoicing it is
God and the angels in his presence cannot
but rejoice when men and women and boys
and girls and young persons turn from sin
to the living God and the angels if
I may put it reverently the joy of
God becomes eternally contagious that the angels in
his presence rejoice because repentance of men and
women boys and girls young persons give God
pleasure now what are we to learn from
that we have to learn several things we
have to learn something about God's tenderness and
God's compassion God's tenderness and God's compassion think
of that we love our sin we are
yoked to our sin we are marinated in
our sin we do not want to leave
our sin and yet God is so full
of compassion so full of goodness so full
of mercy instead of leaving us in a
sin he sent his only begotten son to
die the death that we should die in
order to give us life that we may
live forever who could fathom it furthermore
the text tells us something else that God
is uncompromising and unashamed in what he is
saying God has no hang ups preachers have
hang ups they failed to preach the full
and free and unfettered gospel of the grace
of God to all indiscriminately but here God
himself is preaching it uncompromisingly unashamedly saying I
take no pleasure in your death turn from
your sin that you may live what a
wonderful God is the God of the Bible
God makes it very clear that his desire
his pleasure his delight his joy is to
see men and women boys and girls and
young persons turn from sin and live that's
what the text is saying now to die
in sin and to die in your sin
is a great disaster it is eternal disaster
and I plead with you here almighty God
is saying for you to continue as you
are and then to prim yourself and to
think because of your background because of your
training because of your religious association or because
of your good living because of your moral
conduct because of your ethical behavior you have
earned your way to heaven God said no
Jesus said I am the way I am
the truth I am the life no one
absolutely none can come to the father except
through me ladies and gentlemen we have a
confusion today in religion and you have a
pluralism and Jesus Christ is brushed aside but
God is saying Christ is saying there is
no other way there is no other route
to God but through Christ and Christ alone
if you are walking another way it will
lead to destruction but the way Christ is
the way not one of the ways he
leads to life he gives life so here
God says tell them Ezekiel what gives me
pleasure what gives me pleasure is that they
turn from their sin and live is that
not what the text is saying am I
imposing upon the text or am I opening
up the text in the negative what does
not in what God does not take pleasure
positively in what God takes pleasure but there
is a third thing in the text and
the third thing is this how God expresses
or displays his pleasure this is the marvelous
thing about the Bible the God of the
Bible is not aloof the God of the
Bible is not dry the God of the
Bible is a God full of compassion full
of mercy full of pleading full of patience
and long-suffering forgiving sin and iniquity and
transgression and here God displays or expresses his
pleasure in a way that surprises all of
us not how he does this God expresses
or displays his pleasure in seeing the wicked
turn from sin in a very very moving
way look at the text 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 leave
here not how God expresses his pleasure turn
turn from your evil ways for why should
you die may I read it to you
again turn turn from your evil ways for
why should you die not carefully
God unashamedly repeated his passion and
his concern he repeated the word turn and
the word turn is the word for repentance
it is the word of turning away from
something and turning away to someone I turn
away from my sin and I turn to
God by faith in Jesus Christ but God
is not concerned merely to speak a word
to us he repeats his sacred self turn
turn here is the passion and compassion of
God that ladies and gentlemen men and women
young people boys and girls God is passionate
concerning your salvation it is not God's desire
that you should remain where you are but
that you should turn turn turn and live
and the prophet had to preach with all
the energy God would give him so that
the people would understand furthermore God's repetition teaches
us that when it comes to repentance to
faith and to the salvation of men women
boys girls and young persons God issues a
universal invitation the invitation here turn turn
from your evil ways it is a universal
invitation it is a regal invitation it is
an invitation from the throne of God he
is pleading and he is saying to us
here is a universal offer of mercy turn
but not only it is universal it is
indiscriminate God doesn't say the man the woman
or you man you woman no it is
indiscriminate however young we may have been however
young we are however old we are if
you are in sin dead in trespasses and
in sin the invitation of God to you
this night is indiscriminate whatever your religious association
whatever your background whatever your cultural training wherever
you are placed whatever church you belong to
if you are dead in trespasses and in
sin indiscriminately God says turn turn from your
evil ways why will you die oh house
of Israel is there mercy like this mercy
is there anyone so compassionate so merciful so
kind so just and so good like almighty
God he could plunge the whole lot of
us into oblivion instead he condescends to plead
with us to turn from sin that we
may live but in God's plea there is
no hesitation no procrastination on the part of
God some of you will procrastinate you will
God off you will put it off I
plead with you I beg of you please
don't do it tonight may be your last
night upon this earth now is the acceptable
time behold now is the day of salvation
today if you hear God's voice do not
harden your heart seek the Lord while he
may be found call upon him while he
is near let the wicked forsake his way
and the unrighteous man his faults and let
him return to the Lord and he'll have
mercy upon him unto our God for he
will abundantly pardon him God does not hesitate
but there is even more in the way
God expresses his pleasure not only in the
repetition but there is a protest God is
protesting remember when people protest they have their
banners and they say what do you want
hey hey hey when do you want it
now what do you want hey hey hey
how do you want it now very well
but that's not the protest God has that's
not the divine protest God's protest is very
serious very solemn and yet it breaks
the hardest heart it melts a heart of
stone God humbles himself if I
may say it reverently and to ask us
one very very basic question simple
question in his protest look at verse 11
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 leave turn turn from your evil
ways here is God's protest for why should
you die here is the protest why why
when you are in disaster I Almighty God
have sent my son and on the cross
he has taken the full toll of divine
wrath and vengeance that it pleased the Lord
to bruise him God opened the arsenal of
justice upon him and every bullet in the
armory of justice God landed into the soul
of his son it pleased the Lord to
bruise him God has put him to grief
who delivered of Jesus to die cried Octavius
Winslow it was not Judas because he was
a lover of money it was not Pilate
because he was a coward it was not
the Jews because they were jealous who delivered
of Jesus to die it was God why
for love John 3 16 and this came
out of the mouth of the Lord Jesus
he exegeted God and here God is saying
why why why will you die in other
words to put it in very simple language
God is saying give me Almighty God one
good reason why you are going to hell
did you hear that?
God is asking you give to me Almighty
God who is omniscient I know it all
I know how horrible hell is I created
it I created it for the devil and
for his angels and here in this horrible
pit I want to deliver you give me
one good reason why you want to go
to hell do we not associate hell with
bad persons with bad people you say yes
I said God is there where you want
to go give me one good reason why
you repudiate my kindness why you must repudiate
my mercy why you must repudiate my forgiveness
why you must repudiate my repentance and plunge
yourself into an eternal abyss give me one
good reason can you give to God a
good reason why you want to go to
hell that is what God is saying why
will you die?
I am appealing to you says Almighty God
solemnly passionately robustly without any hesitation without any
inhibition without any procrastination and I ask you
why will you die when I offer you
myself when I offer you salvation when I
offer you mercy in Jesus Christ you mean
you love your sin more than your soul
you love hell more than heaven you love
the devil more than God you love damnation
more than justification why will you die give
me one good reason why I
am pleading with you personally then God touches
the mind the heart, the will, the imagination
the emotion, the feeling of every man every
woman, every boy, every girl every young person
God personalized this call he said why will
you die?
did you get it?
why will you die?
you say well I have heard enough of
it it was run down my throat and
I see people who are Christians they were
worse than myself yes but why will you
die?
I do not go to chapel I do
not go to church I do not read
the Bible but I live a life better
than those who go to chapel than those
who go to church yes but why will
you die?
we are having business with God God didn't
ask us to compare ourselves with our fellow
sinners it is not a pair competition we
are standing before the august majesty of almighty
God and he is asking each one of
us this pointing revolutionizing question this night give
me one good reason why you want to
perish in your sin you know an unconverted
person is like a person who suffers with
migraine they have a terrible job keeping their
heads on but they are frightened of cutting
it off are you in that state tonight?
you know you are on the border of
eternity there is a razor's edge between you
and eternity God is saying why do you
want to throw yourself?
why do you want to exit?
why do you want to commit suicide?
why the spiritual suicide?
when I offer you mercy and kindness and
forgiveness I am pleading with you in a
manner only almighty God can plead why?
why?
you say well sin is sweet yes it
is but it is sweet it doesn't last
people say well it's joy yes it's still
joy no wonder it kills them but God
is saying I am concerned for you I
am moved over you I will give you
one option and I ask you one simple
basic question and my question is remembering it
is almighty God speaking to us why will
you die in your sin?
to spend an eternity separated from God separated
from Christ separated from the angels separated from
good men and women saved by grace alone
through faith alone in Christ alone according to
scripture alone why do you want to go
down into this horrible horrible pit?
why?
it doesn't make sense why will you die
when I graciously freely frankly fully and lavishly
offer to you the way of escape and
the way of escape is my son my
only son Jesus Christ and he forgives sin
and they called him a friend of sinners
what a lovely tray description characteristic of our
Lord Jesus because the very name Jesus means
savior the one who saves the one who
rescues from sin from damnation from condemnation why
will you die when so much mercy so
much kindness so much goodness is offered to
you so freely so lavishly so plentifully why?
why?
why will you die when there is mercy
plenty as grace with him is found grace
to pardon all our sin here is my
protest I am protesting against your disobedience your
stubbornness your unbelief your desire to perish in
your sin I am protesting against it with
all the strength I have as almighty God
with all the knowledge I have as almighty
God who knows everything comprehensively exhaustively I want
you to give me one good reason or
one solid reason why you want to die
separated from me separated from heaven separated from
bliss yet yoked and married in your sin
is that not foolish?
if this place was on fire God forbid
and you were trapped in and hear the
fire men outside with the ladder pleading with
you come come come and you begin to
dance and joy in the flame they would
say he or she is out of his
mind and rightly so because you'd be stupefied
by the smoke but think of almighty God
saying why?
when I offer you forgiveness of all your
sins all kinds of sins and blasphemies will
be forgiven the children of men Jesus says
all kind of blasphemy you have blasphemed against
me I will forgive you God says I
have blotted out your sin as a thick
cloud return unto me God pleads saying come
now and let us reason together says the
Lord though your sins are as scarlet they
will be as white as snow though they
are red like crimson look at what I
will do they will be as soft as
wool I will blot it out I will
remove it and the blood of Jesus Christ
God's Son cleanses from all sin and with
Wesley could say Jesus lover of my soul
let me to your bosom fly oh my
friend oh my dear friend I plead with
you this night in the stead of God
in the name of God under the authority
of the Word of God why will you
reject the gospel of mercy and of kindness
and of forgiveness to perish in your sin
Jesus looking back upon his work his labor
in Bethsaida, Capernaum and other
places and then with a heart of disappointment
he calls upon God to bring judgment upon
them saying woe to you Bethsaida immediately
he turned and he stood and he said
this come unto me all you who are
weary and the heavy laden and I will
give you rest rest our souls are restless
Augustine tells us until they rest in God
and I say to you this night the
same God of mercy and of grace and
of compassion and of kindness the God and
Father of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
this unchanging God this unchangeable God is pleading
with us and I ask you do not
give yourself this night neither rest nor peace
until you make your peace with God why
will you die when mercy and kindness and
rescue and forgiveness of sins when these are
freely lavishly offered to us God says why
please I beg of you leave your sin
and run to Jesus Christ saying nothing in
my hand I bring only to your cross
I cling foul I too a fountain fly
wash me Savior or I'll die rock of
ages plead for me let me hide myself
in you or to put it in the
language of Bonar I was a wandering sheep
I did not love the fold I did
not love the shepherd's voice I would not
be controlled I was a wayward child I
once preferred to roam and he did roam
and he said the father sought the child
the shepherd sought his sheep he followed me
over vale and dale over deserts waste and
wild he found me near to death famished
and lost and low he bound me with
the cords of love he saved the wandering
one who is he Jesus my Savior is
it was he who saved my soul and
now he says I love my shepherd I
love I love his fold what has happened
he's a changed man he's a converted man
he has turned from sin and he has
turned to God by faith in Jesus Christ
may it be the experience tonight of every
man of every woman of every boy of
every girl of every young person outside of
the kingdom of our God and of this
Christ this night salvation is near you let
us pray Almighty
God do not allow your word to fall
upon death ears death hearts death minds we
know that some will scoff but Lord remove
their scoffing some will harden their hearts but
Lord soften their hearts some will rebel but
Lord draw them to yourself some will dismiss
it but Lord open their eyes some will
curse but Lord bless them with mercy that
every man every woman every boy every girl
may know that you are a merciful God
and you forgive sin and iniquity and transgression
through Jesus Christ your only begotten Son we
pray Amen