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The Scope Of Christian Obedience - Part 1 of 2

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• I want you to open your Bibles, if you would please, to Ezekiel chapter 24. We're going to read verses 15 through 18. And when I get started, you are going to think that I am going to be missing these verses, but we will come back to them, that is for sure. Notice Ezekiel chapter 24, verse 15. The title of the message today is, "The Scope of Christian Obedience." The Scope of Christian Obedience. Ezekiel 24, verse 15: "Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall tears run down. Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men."

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• "So I spake unto the people in the morning, and at even my wife died, and I did in the morning as I was commanded." When we talk about the scope of Christian obedience, we have to understand the word "scope." Those of us who hunt normally think of scopes on hunting rifles. But when you think about a scope, you also think about the extent or range of view,

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• or the outlook or the application, sometimes the operation and effectiveness. But it also deals with aim or purpose as well. So if we consider the word "scope" then in its widest application, then obviously we could have this topic extended for a number of Sundays. But I want to just take the word "scope" and use it as far as the extent or range of obedience. If you understand the word "scope" in that sense of the word, there are answers to what is the scope of our Christian obedience, and they are what you and I would call very succinct or concise answers. And arguing from the lesser to the greater, I want to give you several. So let me just ask you, trying to set the stage up: Are we the children of our Heavenly Father?

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• And the answer is yes. Well, there is an admonition in Colossians 3, in verse 20, where the Bible says, "Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord."

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• Now, arguing from the lesser to the greater: If God requires children to be in obedience to their earthly parents in all things, does He not require us, and much more so, to be in obedience to our Heavenly Father in all things? And the answer is most definitely yes. So you could also ask this: Are we not the servants and slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, the answer again is yes.

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• The Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 19-20: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." Well, if we are servants of the Lord, then are there not applications from servants in the Bible?

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• And the answer is yes. Colossians 3, verse 22 says, "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord." So then, if God requires earthly servants to be in submission and obedience to their earthly masters, arguing from the lesser to the greater, does not He require His heavenly servants to be in submission and obedience to Him in all things? And the answer is yes.

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• Now I want you to turn to the book of Acts chapter 3 and look, if you would please, concerning a passage here that is dealing with the Lord Jesus Christ. And if those two arguments are not sufficiently clear, I think this would be. Notice Acts chapter 3, and let's begin reading there with verse 20, just so that you can see that Jesus Christ is in the context. Acts 3, verse 20: "And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." Now watch: "For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you." And of course, that passage is found in Deuteronomy chapter 18, verses 18 through 20, where it prophesied that there would be a prophet raised up.

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• But notice if you would, God says that we're to hear Him, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, in all things. So let me just try to summarize what I've just told you. The scope of our obedience is one of totality. It's one of completeness—in all things. So when we talk about our obedience, it is not just in things that we like. It is not just in things that we choose. It is not just in things that we agree with. It's not just in things that we understand. It's not just in things that please us. No. Our obedience is to be in all things. Now listen carefully. We must recognize that He is the Father and we're the children. We must understand that He is the Creator and we are the creatures. We must grasp that He is the Lord and we are the servants. We must understand that He is the Redeemer and we are the redeemed. We must understand that He is in control and we are to be controlled. We must understand that He is the potter and we are the clay.

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• So the Bible tells us in Acts 17, verse 28, Paul said, "For in him we live, and move, and have our being." So everything that we are, everything that we have, is of Him. If it is not of God, we have no life, we have no movement, we have no being, we have nothing. So here's what I'm trying to tell you: If we do not recognize this simple truth that God is absolutely sovereign and over all things, we will never be obedient in the way that we should be.

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• Consequently, there are many professing Christians that have already adopted the attitude of Pharaoh. Exodus chapter 5, when Moses said to Pharaoh, "Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go." Pharaoh responded, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." So the point I'm trying to make is very simple: If you do not recognize God's sovereignty, if you do not recognize God's supremacy, then you are not going to be obedient. Just like Pharaoh, you're going to say, "Why should I obey Him?

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• Why should I do what He is commanding me?" So when one does not recognize the absolute sovereignty of God, he will never be obedient. So here it is: total obedience requires total submission. And total submission requires total recognition of who God is and who we are. That is why I was telling you: He is the Father, we are the children. He is the Creator, we are the creatures.

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• He is the Lord, we are the servants. You must understand who God is and you must understand who you are. So we have to have then a right view of God and a right view of ourselves if we are going to obey in all things. So let me make a statement, and I am going to try to not only show you this from Scripture but illustrate it as well. Here's my statement: Obedience is a sovereignly dictated order of life for the children of God. Obedience is a sovereignly dictated order of life for the children of God.

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• Now, before we look at our text in Ezekiel chapter 24, I want to set the stage. And so therefore I'm going to ask you to go back in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 2, and we'll spend a little bit of time here before we go any further. So look at Genesis chapter 2, and let's begin reading there with verse 15. All of these passages are very familiar. Genesis 2, verse 15: Here's Adam's creation. The Bible says, "And the Lord God took the man, that is Adam, whom he had created, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of

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• the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Now, notice if you would in verse 16, "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying..." The word "commanded" actually means that God put him under a charge, or God put him under an oath. Adam may have been vicegerent of the earth, or governor of the garden, yet he was to be under obedience to God. His status, position, and uniqueness did not exempt him from obedience. God reserved one tree for Himself. He gave all of the others to Adam. Adam could freely eat of all of those trees except the one that God reserved for Himself. Now I want you to listen to what Matthew Henry said on this passage, talking about Genesis chapter 2, verse 16. He says, "A confirmation of His present happiness to him in that grant of every tree in the garden, 'I may freely eat.' This was not only an allowance of liberty to him in taking the delicious fruits of Paradise as a recompense for his care and pains in dressing and keeping it, but it was withal an assurance of life to him, immortal life, upon his obedience, for the tree of life being put in the

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• midst of the garden as the heart and soul of it, doubtless God had an eye to that especially in this grant. And therefore when upon his revolt this grant is recalled, no notice is taken of any tree of the garden that is prohibited him except the tree of life, of which it is there said he might have eaten and lived forever, that is, never died, never lost his happiness."

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• And then he adds this little thing, listen carefully. He is summarizing the command of God and he says this: "Continue holy as thou art, in conformity to thy Creator's will, and thou shalt continue happy as thou art in the enjoyment of thy Creator's favor, either in this paradise or in a better." So God created Adam, He placed him in the garden, and He put him under commandment, under charge, under an oath. So the condition that Adam is placed in this garden is his perfect, personal, and perpetual obedience. And if Adam had obeyed, he would have been assured immortal life, not only for himself but his posterity forever.

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• Now, there are two things that are very clear in this passage. The first one is this: When God created Adam and placed him in the garden, He placed him under a commandment-oriented life. Because God basically said, "This do and thou shalt live. This do and thou shalt die." It's just that simple. Plain as the nose on your face. The second thing is this: Absolutely nothing was to get in the way of Adam's obedience to God. He was obligated to God. He owed God. God was his creator, his sustainer, his provider, his protector, and obedience, therefore, was first and foremost demanded by God. So God created man with original righteousness and original holiness and knowledge and placed him in the garden under the commandment-oriented life.

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• Now you're going to have to ask this question: What happened? Well, if you look in Genesis chapter 3, let's read the first seven verses.

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• "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons."

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• Now, let me go back to this question: Since God created Adam, placed him in the garden under commandment in his life, and he was duty-bound and obligated to obey God, what happened? Well, the answer is not simply that Adam was tempted. May I surprise you with this statement? Temptation, in and of itself, is not a sin. There have been plenty of sinners that have been tempted and never yielded to temptation. You have to remember that our Lord, who was perfect and sinless, in Matthew chapter 4 was driven of the devil into the wilderness and tempted, and yet He was sinless. He did not sin. So there is not a sin in being tempted. The sin is yielding to the temptation. Okay? So the answer is not that they were just merely tempted. Secondly, the answer is not merely that Eve was adding to the Word of God when you look at verse 3: "...said unto the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of

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• it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." Now, there are so many people that try to say, "Well, what Eve is doing right here, she is adding to the Word of God because the Bible does not deny them the right to touch it. The Bible says you should not eat it." Well, you've got to understand the principle here. Listen carefully. When God forbids any act, at the same time, He forbids anything that would lead up to that act. How can you eat the fruit if you don't touch the fruit? Obviously, she was stating this principle.

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• Let me explain it to you. Does God forbid adultery? And the answer is yes. But at the same time, God also forbids covetousness and lustfulness that will lead up to the act of adultery. Does God forbid murder? And the answer is yes. But at the same time, God also forbids unrighteous anger and hatred and strife that would add up and lead up to that act of murder.

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• So when the woman said, "Ye shall not touch it, lest ye die," she was right in that sense of the word, because touching it is the first step to eating it. So very obviously, the answer is not that she is here adding to the Word of God. So let me answer it like this: What happened? The answer is that which caused Adam to sin is that which exactly causes us to sin.

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• The root of his disobedience is the root of our disobedience. Now, before I explain this, listen carefully. Eve was the first person to sin. But sin did not come through Eve. The Bible says in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 14, "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." So Eve sinned first. But sin did not come in the world through Eve; it came through Adam, because God had entered into the covenant with Adam. And that's why the Bible in Romans 5, verse 12, simply says this: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Well, when did all sin? We all sinned in Adam—passively.

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• It happened once and for all, and it is over. It is done with. We all sinned in Adam. When you get to 1 Corinthians 15, verses 45-48, the Bible teaches us that Adam was our federal head and federal representative. That is, what he did, we did. When he sinned, we sinned. When he fell, we fell. It is just that simple. You say, "Well, I don't like that." Well, if you don't like that, then you don't like salvation, because Jesus Christ is our Second Head. He is our Federal Head and Federal Representative as well.

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• Because what He did, we did. And the Bible teaches very clearly concerning Jesus Christ in that area. So here we are in Adam. So, without going into extreme detail, let me just try to tell you what transpired in Genesis chapter 3. If you look in verse 6, Genesis 3: "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." Now, it's been pointed out very clearly that you have here the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life—the same thing that is condemned in 1 John 2:15-17. Now, she saw that the tree was good for food. She saw that it was pleasant to her eyes. She saw that it was a tree to be desired to make one wise. So here's my question: Where is the word "commandment" in verse six?

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• The answer is it's not there. You see, when God created Adam and Eve, He placed them in the garden under a commandment-oriented life. Now what is she doing? She's leaving the commandment-oriented life and now she's learning to live by her feelings, her desires, her emotions. Now it is true that she was the first one to sin, but notice if you would please, the Bible said that she gave also to her husband and he did eat as well. Well, I want you to understand something.

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• In this particular sentence here, he may not have been deceived. What he did, he did knowingly and willingly, but there have been some wonderful messages preached on this text. What Adam did, he did for his wife, because she was a sinner and now he sins with her to be with her. But notice if you would, when he did that, he violated the first commandment: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," for he now places his wife ahead of God.

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• So both of them now have sinned. And here's what has happened: Once this has happened, man by nature now has become a feeling-oriented and a desire-oriented creature. We live by our feelings. We live by our desires. "I want this. I don't want that." And that's exactly what has happened.

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• Now, it's important to note that in the fall, feelings became all-important. Let me show you. The Bible tells us that God walked in the garden in the cool of the evening and called Adam: "Adam, where art thou?" Where were Adam and Eve? They were hiding. They were hiding. Isn't it amazing that Adam did not come running to God and say, "Oh, I'm so sorry. My wife and I have disobeyed you. We have sinned. We have transgressed. We violated the covenant. Please help me. Please forgive me. Please make this thing right." No, no, no, no. Feelings are paramount now.

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• So instead of confessing and acknowledging their sins, they run and hide so they will not have to confess those sins. In other words, anything that's going to make them uncomfortable, they no longer want to experience, because their feelings now have priority over everything. Well, here's the principle: Man has now become a desire- and feeling-oriented individual. He wants what he wants, and that's it, regardless of God's commands.

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• So let me show you another illustration. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Joshua chapter 6. Joshua chapter 6. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this one, but I think you can see it is exactly the same truth of Genesis chapter 3 and 1 John 2, verse 15. Notice if you would in Joshua chapter 6, God is bringing the children of Israel into the land of Canaan, and they are going to conquer Jericho and destroy it. And look what God says in Joshua 6, and notice if you would verse 17. Let's begin there, verse 17. God says, "And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord:

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• only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord."

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• Now notice if you would please, God has said explicitly: everything in this city is cursed. Do not touch it. The silver and the gold, all that is going to come into the treasury of the Lord. You can't have it. Everything is cursed. Everything is to be put to death except Rahab and her family. Well, if you would look in Joshua chapter 7, you will note now that Achan has stolen. He is now being confronted by Joshua. Look in verse 19: "And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him;

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• and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done." Now, he wouldn't have done this except God had already—God drew him out. He was taken by lot. This was not just a spontaneous confession. He has to confess.

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• Now, he's been singled out. Watch verse 21. Here's what he said: "When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it." What did he do? He saw, he coveted, he took.

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• There's the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. He took it. It's the same exact thing that Eve did in Genesis chapter 3. Achan gave in to his desires, he gave in to his feelings, rather than obey God. He satisfied his desires, he satisfied his feelings, and they killed him. His refusal to obey a commandment-oriented life led to his desire-oriented life, which led to his destruction. Adam and Eve had already proven that you cannot sin against God and escape judgment. Now, Achan verifies this with his life and the life of his family as well. So, obviously, here are people that are living by their desires rather than by the plain commands of God. Now, if you would turn right over to Judges chapter 14. Next book, Joshua, Judges chapter 14.

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• And let's begin looking there, verses 1 through 3. Judges 14, verses 1 through 3. I want you to see this. "And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well." Now, I want you to note what Samson has done. He's gone down to the Philistines and he's found this woman. Comes back, tells daddy, "Get her, I want to marry her." And daddy says, "Wait a minute. Is there not a beautiful woman in your own tribe that you can marry? And if you can't find one in your own tribe, there are 11 other tribes that you can find one.

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• Why are you going to go down after this Philistine?" I want you to understand that Samson is deliberately, purposefully, premeditatedly going contrary to the plain commands of God. In Exodus chapter 34, without turning there, verses 12 through 16, and Deuteronomy 7, verses 1 through 5, the Israelites were expressly forbidden to intermarry with the people of the land, and especially the Philistines. So, daddy says, "Don't do this.

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• Pick out an Israelitish girl and you can marry her." And what does Samson say? "Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well." What else was Samson doing? Violating the fifth commandment: "Honor thy father and thy mother." Here's what he said: "Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well." Translated, here's what he said: "Get her for me. It's right in my eyes. It's agreeable to me. It's pleasing to me. I want her."

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• It really doesn't matter what God has commanded. I have feelings for this woman. Get her for me. So what was he doing? He's leaving a commandment-oriented life and he's following a feeling-oriented life. Now if you would turn over in chapter 16—and you don't have to just look at it in detail, but this is the story where he goes down and finds him another Philistine woman, Delilah. And you know the story: now he goes to sleep in her lap and she cuts his hair and he loses all of his strength and power. And what happens?

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• Well, skip down to verse 20 if you would. "And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him. But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house." May I ask you: Why did Samson lose his eyes, ultimately his life, his family, and his ministry? And the answer is because he refused to have a commandment-oriented life, and he wanted to live a desire-oriented life. It's just that simple. It's just that simple.

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• Now, the whole point of the message is this: We must obey God in all things. Literally, all of our lives are to be brought into totality, into the totality of conformity to the Word of God. There are two main hindrances to our obedience. What are they? Feelings and desires. I wish I had a Federal Reserve note for every time I've heard people say, "I don't feel like doing that."

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• Or, "I have no desire for that." Really? Do you understand that most people today live on feelings? They live on their desires. They do not live on principle. They do not live on biblical commandments. They live on their feelings. And do you realize it is indeed a clever wile of Satan to tempt men to think that they cannot obey God because they don't feel like obeying God? I've heard Christians say, "But I don't feel like praying." Really? That doesn't matter. God commands us to pray. "Well, I don't feel like reading my Bible." Really? Well, God commands us to study to show ourselves approved unto God. "Well, I don't feel like going to church." Well, God's commanded, "Forsake not the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is." "Well, I have no desire for those things." Well, I'm sorry. That's not my problem.

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• You are responsible to obey, because God simply commands. It's just that simple. See, what we've done is this: We've changed everything, and we are now modern-day Christendom happens to be living by two principles. The first one is this: If it feels good, do it. And the second one is: If it doesn't feel good, I'm not going to do it. Doesn't matter what God said. It's kind of like Samson: "Get her for me; she pleases me. Well, it's agreeable. I don't see anything wrong with it." So here's what I want to demonstrate: I want to demonstrate from Scripture for you that our feelings and our desires and our emotions should never, ever hinder our obedience. And when we allow those things to get in our way, we're sinning against God. I want you to go back in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel chapter 24, because Ezekiel is a prime example of what I'm going to be teaching and sharing with you today. And I've often asked myself, would I perform and obey as Ezekiel did, giving the same circumstances?

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• Ezekiel was a priest that God called to be a prophet. Ezekiel was already in Babylon. And according to the book of Ezekiel, he was assigned to those Israelites who were in Babylon. He was also assigned to those Israelites who were yet to come into Babylon. And his life illustrated many truths. One was that the Temple in Jerusalem was to be destroyed. So I want you to look again at Ezekiel chapter 24, beginning with verse 15: "Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men." Now watch.

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• "So I spake unto the people in the morning, and at even my wife died." Here is Ezekiel, and we must comprehend and understand his obedience in the most distressful, emotional, and feeling-oriented situation that any man could possibly face: the immediate and instant loss of his wife. Look in verse 16 what God told him: "Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke." In other words, God says, "I'm gonna take her from you, and she's going to die suddenly, quickly, instantly. I'm gonna take her away from you," because He was going to take the temple away from the Israelites and the Judahites. Here's what John Gill said on verse 16. Listen carefully. He said, "I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke," meaning his wife, who very probably was of a beautiful countenance and goodly to look to, and however, of an amiable disposition, and in the conjugal relation very agreeable to the prophet, and no doubt a truly religious

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• woman, and upon all accounts very desirable to him. This lovely object of his affection, the Lord, who is the sovereign disposer of all persons, signifies that he would take her away from him by death unto himself, that is, suddenly and at once. And so the Syriac and Arabic versions render it, 'with a sudden stroke.' Sometimes persons are struck with death at once with a palsy." So God tells him, "Ezekiel, I'm going to kill your wife. I'm gonna take her." And notice if you would, she is called "the desire of thine eyes." He loved her.

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• She was beautiful. Now, let me just point something out: I think every man in here could identify with this. The unexpected and sudden death of your wife would be sufficient in and of itself to cause the most loving and godly man to crumble and to become so devastated that he could not act or think. In fact, it doesn't even have to be our spouse. There have been times in our lives that we have lost loved ones instantly. Could be a son, a daughter, could be a father, a mother, could be a close relative.

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• But when we hear, we're absolutely stunned. And we stand there in disbelief. We cannot believe it has happened. Like a deer in the headlights. We don't know which way to go. We don't know where to turn. And so God is telling him, "I'm about to take your wife, and I'm going to take her away with a sudden stroke." But here is the thing that makes it even worse—that is emotionally worse.

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• Look at it in verse 16. He said, "Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men." So God now has forbidden him to even shed a tear or to grieve or to cry. He can't do anything that would indicate that he is in mourning. Matthew Henry on this passage says this: "He must not give vent to his passion by weeping or letting his tears run down. Though tears are a tribute to the dead, and when the body is sown, it is fit that it should be thus watered. But Ezekiel is not allowed to do this, though he thought he had as much reason to do it as any man, and would perhaps be ill thought of by the people if he did it not.

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• Much less might he use the customary formalities of mourners. He must dress himself in his usual attire, must bind his turban upon him, here called the tire of his head, must put on his shoes, and not go barefoot, as was usual in such cases. He must not cover his lips, nor throw a veil over his face, as mourners were wont to do. He must not be of a sorrowful countenance, appearing unto men to fast. He must not eat the bread of men, nor expect that his neighbors and friends should send him in provisions, as usually they did in such cases, presuming the mourner had no heart to provide meat for themselves. But if it were sent, he must not eat of it, but go on in his business as at other times.

  #53 | 42:17 to 43:00 | cleaned

• It could not be but greatly against the grain of flesh and blood not to lament the death of one he loved so dearly, but God so commands." Wow. So God says, "Ezekiel, I'm gonna take your wife. I'm gonna take her with a stroke. You can't mourn. You can't cry. You dress like you normally dress. You put on your shoes. You do what I tell you to do." One more quick quote. Matthew Poole in his commentary says this—listen now, listen: "It is likely Ezekiel had this revelation in the night or evening before. And he tells them times in the morning what God would do in taking away his wife and what he must not do when she is dead and to be buried." Hang on.

  #54 | 43:01 to 44:08 | cleaned

• Let me read that again: "It is likely he had this revelation in the night or in the evening." So I want you to consider something. If what Matthew Poole said is correct, and probably so based upon the text, Ezekiel did not have time to prepare himself for his wife's death. His wife would have died within 12 to 24 hours after God had spoken.

  #55 | 44:08 to 44:38 | cleaned

• Look if you would at verse 18. He said, "So I spake unto the people in the morning, and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded." You talk about something that is humbling, poignant, and a condemning truth. What did he say? "I spake unto the people in the morning, and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded." Think about this.

  #56 | 44:47 to 45:26 | cleaned

• The scope of Ezekiel's obedience was in all things. His feelings, his emotions, circumstances, situation, stress, nor distress—none of that caused him to disobey. And humanly speaking, we would look at him and say, "You have every right to disobey." But he said, "My wife died, and I did as I was commanded." Hmm. Let me make some applications. The first one is this: In light of Ezekiel's loss, how small and insignificant is our whining and complaining? If the grace and mercy of God could uphold Ezekiel in such a time and call him to obey, is it not possible for us to obey in our much easier and lighter situations and circumstances? We haven't been through that. The only thing that you can say is how we have failed, how we have disobeyed. And most of the time we excuse our disobediences when in reality there are no excuses. The second application is this: How often do we consider our feelings and our emotions and our desires and completely disregard the plain command of a holy, righteous God?

  #57 | 45:27 to 47:22 | cleaned

• His commands are designed for our good as well as for His glory. And certainly we have to confess that God knows better for us than we know for ourselves. And you have to also consider that when you and I put our feelings and our desires and our emotions ahead of God, that's the worst sort of idolatry. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," and yet we're putting ourselves before Him. My feelings, my desires, my wants, my emotions. Now watch this. Think with me. When God created Adam, He put him in the garden under commandment-oriented life. When Adam sinned, he left the commandment-oriented life and went to a feeling-oriented life. Fallen man, ever since, has lived by his feelings. When God saves us, when He converts us, He puts us again under a commandment-oriented life.

  #58 | 47:25 to 48:44 | cleaned

• Do you remember what our Lord said in John 14, verse 21? "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me." When you get to verse 24, He said, "He that keepeth not my sayings loveth me not." May I remind you of 1 John 5, verse 3? The Bible says, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." What is loving God? It is keeping His commandments. What about 1 John 2, verses 4 and 5? Listen now: "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him." How do we know that we're in Him? Because we obey Him. We're back under a commandment-oriented life. So God expects us not to live by our feelings, or our desires, or our emotions.

  #59 | 48:46 to 50:10 | cleaned

• He expects us to live by His righteous commands. Now, one last passage. I do want you to look in Matthew 10, verse 37. I want you to see what our Lord says. Matthew 10, verse 37. Watch carefully. We must come to the conclusion that absolutely nothing or no one must hinder our obedience to our Heavenly Father. In Matthew 10, verse 37, our Lord said it like this: "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." And we could also say, "He that loveth husband or wife more than me is not worthy of me." What our Lord is simply saying is this: We must love Him supremely, we must love Him singly, and the way we love Him is through obedience. The scope of our obedience is in all things.

  #60 | 50:10 to 51:25 | cleaned

• God said, "Ezekiel, I'm going to take away from you the desire of your eyes. But you can't cry. You can't weep. You can't mourn. You can't demonstrate sorrow." So his wife died that evening, and in the morning, he said, "I did as I was commanded." If God gives such grace in such dire circumstances to enable one to obey, we need to look to Him in every circumstance for grace to obey. Because God expects total obedience. He is the sovereign. He is the Father. We're the children. We must obey. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to you this day. We thank you for your word, for your truth, for your grace, for your mercy.

  #61 | 51:25 to 52:30 | cleaned

• And we acknowledge, Lord, that we've sinned. So many times we've lived by our feelings, by our emotions, by our desires, rather than the word of God. Forgive us for our sins, Lord, and give us grace that we may learn to obey regardless of every situation, every circumstance, and regardless of our feelings and emotions and desires. Make us, Lord, and enable us to live a commandment-oriented lifestyle.

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• In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

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• so so

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-04T22:08:18Z