Clean Transcript

Will America Be Destroyed And Will You Be Dispossessed?

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• Book of Ezekiel chapter 33. Ezekiel chapter 33, and we're going to be reading verses 23 through 29. Ezekiel 33, verses 23 through 29. The title of the message is actually two questions, and I think you will see the reason for this title. The title is, number one, "Will America Be Destroyed?" or number two, "Will You Be Dispossessed?" So, if you'll look in Ezekiel chapter 33, beginning there verse 23, the Word of God says, "Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel, speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land. But we are many, the land is given us for an inheritance. Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, You eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood, and shalt you possess the land? You stand upon your sword, you work abomination, and you defile every one his neighbor's wife, and shalt you possess the land? Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, As I live, surely they that are in the waste shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beast to be devoured, and they that be in forts and in caves shall die of the

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• pestilence. For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease, and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through. Then shall they know that I am the Lord when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations, which they have committed." Actually, this message is preceding another message that I wish to bring next week, which I've just simply entitled "Cataclysmic Judgments." And so hopefully this will lay the foundation and the groundwork for that message. But this message then poses two very important, difficult, and unnerving questions. Will America be destroyed? Will you be dispossessed? Although I've referenced America, these two questions could apply to any country. We could ask, will Germany be destroyed? Will the Christians there be dispossessed? Or will Austria be destroyed? Or Poland be destroyed? And the reason these questions could be applicable to any country and not just America is simply because these questions are based upon biblical principles that are clearly taught in the Word of God. And these principles are also based upon what is known as the immutability of God.

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• You remember that God is immutable. That means He does not change. Malachi 3, in verse 6, He says, "For I the Lord change not; therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed." Not only is God unchangeable, but also His Word is unchangeable as well. And in Psalm 119, in verse 89, the Bible says, "Forever, O Lord, is Thy word settled in the heavens." And then our Lord Himself, Matthew chapter 5 and verse 18, said, "For verily I say to you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled." So clearly then, God is immutable. His Word is immutable, and therefore we can also conclude that His judgments are also immutable; they do not change. And you must understand that God, it is impossible for God to become more holy, more righteous, more just, because He is already perfect in holiness, righteousness, and justice. Moreover, it is impossible for God to become less righteous, less holy, and less just. Because if He did, He would not be perfect, and therefore He would not be God.

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• So, God's immutability is one of those perfections that is absolutely required in Scripture. So, since God is immutable, His Word is immutable, it is therefore obvious, and should be, that His judgments are immutable as well.

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• Now, in light of these truths, let me point out the fact, and we are going to see this in Ezekiel chapter 33, that Israel was indeed dispossessed of her land. Also, Judah and Jerusalem were dispossessed as well. And they were dispossessed simply because of their sins and their rebellion against God. And the interesting thing is this: God's right to dispossess anyone at any time is based upon not only His sovereignty but upon His creatorship and the fact that He owns everything. The world and everything in it, including everyone, is owned by God because God created each of us and everything that is in the world. Over and over in the Bible we are given this simple truth. For instance, in the book of Exodus chapter 20 in verse 11, the Bible says, "For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day and blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." And then when you get to Psalm 24 and verse 1, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein."

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• It was in Acts chapter 17 and verse 24, where it is declared, "God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is the Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands." But notice if you would, "God that made the world and all things therein." And then twice in 1 Corinthians, the first time 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 26, "For the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." And then in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 in verse 28, "For the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." And of course, you remember there in the book of Psalms the Bible tells us that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. In other words, everything in the world was made by God, and therefore God is the true and proper owner. Since God is the true and proper owner and since God is also sovereign, then He may dispossess anyone at any time according to His own will and His own pleasure.

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• He does as He pleases. So you would have to ask this question: why would God dispossess anyone? Why would God kick anyone out of their nation or out of their country? And the answer is simply because those individuals do not and would not render to God His dues. For instance, the tithe is nothing more than God's tax for the use of the earth. I believe that unconverted people should tithe just like converted people. Why? Because they breathe God's air. They use God's earth to grow their food. God gives them ability. And all the tithe is, like I say, is God's tax for the use of His earth. And then, of course, we're required to worship God, honor God, glorify God.

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• And four times, I believe it is in Psalm 107, the Scripture says, "Oh, that the sons of men would praise the Lord for His goodness to the children of men." So God has indeed been good to us. But when we refuse to give God, I will put it like this, the rent that is due unto Him, He has the absolute right to dispossess anyone. So let me put it to you like this. If you owned 20 properties, and you had renters in those 20 properties, and they refuse to give you the rent, they refuse to pay. Not only were they refusing to pay, they were abusing the property, destroying the property, and then you find out that they're not only destroying the property and refusing to

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• pay, but all the equipment and all the appliances and everything that you had in those rental properties, they are ripping them out and either throwing them away or giving them to their friends and their lovers. What would you do? I know what you would do. The same thing I would do. You would try to get those renters out as quickly as you could before they absolutely destroy everything.

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• The interesting thing is, before Israel went into the land, God warned them, and God told them exactly why He kicked all the other nations out before they came into the land. So if you will hold Ezekiel chapter 33, but I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus chapter 18. Leviticus chapter 18, and look if you would please beginning there with verse 24. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. Notice if you would Leviticus 18 beginning there in verse 24. Listen to what God says. Leviticus 18 and verse 24, God says, "Defile not you yourselves in any of these things." Now all those things that are mentioned previous to this verse, God's talking about offering your children to Moloch and lying with animals and all kinds of things like that. So He says in verse 24, "Defile not yourselves in any of these things, for in all these the nations are defiled, look now, which I cast out before you." So God cast them out. "And the land is defiled, therefore I do visit the

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• iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you. For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled."

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• Now watch it, "that the land spew not you out also when you defile it, as it spewed out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore shall you keep mine ordinances, that you commit not any one of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you defile not yourselves therein.

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• I am the Lord your God." So God has stated very plainly they are not to engage in all of these wicked abominations; they are to obey Him because if they do not obey Him the land is going to vomit them out just exactly as it vomited out the nations previous. Now if you look in Leviticus chapter 20, Leviticus 20 at verses 23 and 24, He says this again. Leviticus 20 verse 23, He says, "You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my judgments and do them, that the land whither I bring you to dwell therein spew you not out. And you shall not walk in the manner of the nation

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• which I cast out before you. For they committed all these things and therefore I abhorred them." So the word "abhorred" is a very strong word for hatred. So God says don't do it. Now if you would turn right on over to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 29, Deuteronomy 29, and look if you would please beginning there with verse 24. Deuteronomy 29 and verse 24, here He says this again: "Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done this unto this land?

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• What meaneth the heat of this great anger?" In other words, now God is talking about Him judging the land of Israel. "Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which He made with them, when He brought them forth out of the land of Egypt. For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom He had not given to them. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book." Now watch verse 28, "And the Lord rooted them out of their land in anger, in wrath and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day." So God did indeed dispossess Israel. He did indeed dispossess the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and Simeon in the southern kingdom as well. Now I want you to turn back to Ezekiel chapter 33, because oftentimes

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• when people get kicked off of rental properties or get kicked out of a rental house, they will always say something like this: "Well, it's not fair." In other words, I should not have been kicked out for what I did. Or they would say something like this: "This should not have happened unto me." But it did happen. So let me show you the attitude, because in Ezekiel chapter 33 Israel is accusing God in one sense of the word of being unjust and unfair, because they're saying that His ways are not equal. For instance, look in verse 17: "Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal. But as for them, their way is not equal." Now, the Lord demonstrates the equality of His ways. Let me show you in verses 12 through 20. So let's read it. Look in verse 12, Ezekiel 33: "Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression.

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• As for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness. Neither shall the righteous be able to live after the righteousness in the day that he sinneth. When I shall say to the righteous that he shall surely live, if he trusts to his own righteousness and commit iniquity, all of his righteousness shall not be remembered. But for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die, if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right, if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity, he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him, he hath done that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live. Yet the children of our people say, The way of the Lord is not equal. But as for them, their way is not equal. When the righteous turneth away his righteousness and committed the iniquity, he shall even die thereby. But if the wicked turn from his wickedness and do that which is lawful and

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• right, he shall live thereby. Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you everyone after his own ways." Now listen to what God said. I'll try to give you an illustration. He said the righteousness of the righteous will not save or spare his life in the day that he sins, in the day that he transgresses. So here's a good illustration. I've been a preacher for 58 years and I believe I have a good and godly testimony. But let's suppose tomorrow I go out and rob a bank. And I get arrested. And I'm taken to trial and I'm standing before the judge and the judge said, "Sir, you've been charged with robbing this bank." And I say, "But your honor, you don't understand. For 58 years I've been a preacher and I've lived right and I've done right and I never robbed a bank for 58 years. And so judge, you should be lenient with me because look, look how good I was for

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• 58 years." You think that will fly with the judge? I mean, no, if I robbed the bank, he's going to sentence me. That's all there is to it. So my righteousness is not going to deliver me when I do that which is wrong. So it's the same thing if I come up to Steve and get so angry with him and say, "Well, I'll just shoot you," and I start pulling out a pistol and the next thing I know he pulls out one and shoots me first. Well, didn't matter that I had done right for 58 years. I'm now dead, right? Yeah, you see what I'm saying?

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• The point being, God says this is equal. And if a sinner now turns from his wickedness, he's not going to die. He's now doing that which is right and holy. So God says my ways are equal. It's your ways that are not equal. And you know, the crazy thing is this: everyone can do that which is right, and usually if you're going to be attacked, you're going to be attacked either by your own government or some organization like the SPLC, the Southern Poverty Law Center. I just heard this morning on the news, Allison, we're going to church, that the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the American Family Association as a hate group. Can you imagine that? I tell people, I said, you know, SPLC is wrong. Southern—they may be in the South, but they're really not Southern. Law—

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• Well, they certainly don't follow biblical law, constitutional law, or common law. They might follow legalese, but no law. And poverty—they're certainly not poverty stricken because Morris Dees put what, millions upon millions in the banks in the islands. The only thing left would be center, and I think the word S-I-N-N-E-R, center, would be more appropriate. If you don't believe that, you just read the divorce papers of Morris Dees and find out all of the wickedness and vileness that's involved.

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• All I'm trying to say is this: God is saying if you do that which is right and then turn around do that which is wrong, you're gonna suffer for it. If someone's doing that which is wrong and they turn around do that which is right, they're not gonna suffer for doing what's right. God is saying my ways are equal. The problem was in Israel and in Judah as well, those folks were unrighteous, ungodly, disobedient, rebellious, unrepentant, and therefore the Lord rightly judged them and dispossessed them.

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• Now, in Psalm 145 verse 17, the Bible says, "The Lord is righteous in all of His ways and holy in all of His works." So whatever God does is done in righteousness and in holiness. God is not going to do that which is unrighteous. God's not going to do that which is unholy. Now in this chapter, God has appointed Ezekiel to be a watchman to warn the people.

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• I want you to look at it in the first seven verses so that you can see the absolute necessity of these warnings. Watch it. Ezekiel chapter 33 verse 1, "Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak unto the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon the land," and note that phrase, "When I bring the sword upon the land."

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• In other words, this is God's judgment. He says, "When I bring the sword upon the land, if the people of the land take a man of their coast, 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 be upon him. But 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 in his iniquity, and his blood will I require at the watchman's hand."

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• Now watch verse 7. "So thou, O son of man, I've set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel. Therefore, thou shalt hear the word at my mouth and warn them from me."

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• Now, let me just stop there for one moment. So God is taking an illustration of a watchman, a military watchman. The man is on a tower. He has a trumpet and all he has to do is blow it if he sees the enemy approaching. Once people hear that trumpet being blown, the distress signal, the signal of war, then the man who fails to heed it, if he gets killed, his blood's on his own head. The man that heeds it and gets out of the way, his life is spared. But if the watchman sees the sword coming, he sees the enemy invading, and does not blow the trumpet, and those people die, God said, "His blood will I require at the hand of the watchman." Now look at verse 7 again. What's this? God says, "So thou, O son of man, I've set thee watchman of the house of Israel. Therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth and warn them from me." So the warnings in this chapter are not from Ezekiel. They are from God.

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• God is just simply giving the word warning to Ezekiel. Ezekiel is nothing more than the messenger. So then to ignore the warning that Ezekiel gave is to ignore the warning that God has given, because God has given the words to Ezekiel. Likewise, the same is true today. To ignore the warnings from a man who is preaching and proclaiming and expounding the Scriptures is to ignore the warning from God. Because God and His Word are immutable. These warnings are from Him.

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• So, the problem is this. Most people today are like the people in Ezekiel's time and in Jeremiah's time. They don't pay any attention. Don't listen to God. They don't listen to preachers. They just simply do their own thing. If you will turn back in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Jeremiah, let me just show you several verses because God complains of this over and over in Scripture. In Jeremiah chapter 7, Jeremiah chapter 7, and look if you

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• would please beginning there in verse 25. God says, "Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day, I've even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck, they did worse than their fathers." But note verse 26 said, "Yet they hearkened not unto me." So God was speaking through the prophets, but they didn't listen. If you look in Jeremiah chapter 25, very quickly, Jeremiah 25, notice if you would, verse 4. Jeremiah 25, verse 4: "The Lord has sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you've not hearkened nor inclined your ear to hear." God said you just simply will not listen. We're close there. Look in Jeremiah 26 if you would and verse 5. Jeremiah 26 in verse 5, He says, "to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send unto you, both rising up early and sending them, but you have not hearkened." Consequently He said in verse 6, "Then I will make this

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• house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth." And then look in Jeremiah 29 and verse 19. Jeremiah 29 in verse 19, God says, "Because they have not hearkened to my word, saith the Lord, which I send to them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, but you would not hear, saith the Lord." God said you just simply would not listen. He said the same thing in Jeremiah chapter 35. He said the same thing in Jeremiah 44. He said, "I sent you all my servants the prophets, but you would not listen. You would not heed, you would not hear." Naturally, and I'm going to probably explain this a little bit more next week, but naturally since they would not heed the warnings from God through His prophets, when the judgment came many of them were surprised. They took the attitude, "It couldn't happen here. It just can't happen here." I've heard people say that. "America can't be destroyed. We're a Christian nation."

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• Really? May I remind you that Israel and the southern kingdom were covenant nations as well. I mean, they were supposed to be the people of God. And the truth of the matter is God destroyed them and God dispossessed them. God kicked them out of the land because of their sins. And the truth of the matter is this: just the fact that we are supposedly a Christian nation, and we're a Christian nation originally, only intensifies our sins and also intensifies our judgment.

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• So let me show you. If you'll hold Ezekiel 33, but turn back to the book of Lamentations right after the book of Jeremiah. Look in Lamentations chapter 4 if you would please and verse 6. Here is an amazing and astounding statement by Jeremiah. Lamentations 4 and verse 6: "For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hand stayed on her." Did you hear that? He said the punishment of Judah and Jerusalem was greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom. Wow.

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• So here's a good question. Why was the punishment of Judah and Jerusalem greater than the punishment of Sodom? And the answer is because Judah and Jerusalem had all the blessings of God, all the opportunities, all the responsibilities. They had the temple. They had the priesthood. They had the law. They had the sacrifices. They had everything. And therefore, God judged them more strenuously. He said, no, He said, talking about Sodom, "there was overthrown as in a moment.

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• No hand stayed on her." I'll talk about that a little bit next week. But the truth of the matter is when God rained fire and brimstone it was over with. It was over with quickly. But it was not over with quickly for Judah and Jerusalem. They were besieged. They were starving. People, women killed and cooked and ate their own children. There was pestilence. Many of them were killed. Some were taken into captivity. And for 70 years they were in captivity. So you'd have to ask this: why? Why?

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• Were they judged more strenuously? And I'm gonna answer that from the Bible. So if you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12, and let's begin reading there with verse 45. Luke chapter 12 verse 45. Watch this. Luke 12 verse 45, God says, "But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and to drink and to be drunken; the Lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him," that is, it'll be a surprise, "and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

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• And that servant, which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. And to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." Did you see what God just said? God said the man that knew his Lord's will and did not do it, it's gonna be beaten with many stripes. But the man who had no knowledge, didn't know anything about it, but he committed things worthy of stripes, he shall be beaten with few stripes. Why? Unto whom much is given, much is required. Judah and Jerusalem had a lot given to them that the other nations did not have given unto them.

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• So let me put it to you like this. The greater the opportunities, the greater the responsibilities, the greater the culpability, that is, the criminality, that deserves censure and judgment. And so that is why Jeremiah said that the hand of God was far more grievous against Judah and Jerusalem than it was against Sodom and Gomorrah.

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• Now, I want you to go back in your Bibles to Ezekiel chapter 33, and I want you to look, if you would, at verses 23 and 24. I read this earlier, so let me point it out. Watch, you see our attitude today is similar to the attitude of Israel in Ezekiel's day. Since the land in that day had been given to Abraham and these people were the descendants of Abraham, they just assumed that they had a greater right to that land. So look what they said. Here it is, Ezekiel 33 verse 23: "Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land. But we are many, the land is given to us for an inheritance." In other words, we should possess this land. We should have this land because we are the descendants of Abraham. He was just one man and he got the land. Look at us now. We have filled the land. So the land should be ours. Let me tell you what these people were doing when they said that. They were living off the heritage of Abraham. What they had forgotten was this: that Abraham was a righteous man.

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• Abraham was an obedient man. Abraham was a man of faith and Abraham was a friend of God. And they were not. You know what we've been doing for years now? We've been living off our Christian heritage. It was given to us by our founding fathers, those early people here. And we've developed the attitude exactly the way these Israelites had developed their attitude. You've heard of American exceptionalism or Christian exceptionalism.

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• God's not going to judge us. We're a Christian nation. God's not going to judge us. We're the exception. That's exactly what Israel thought. That's exactly what Judah and Jerusalem thought. Don't care what you call it. The truth of the matter is God did indeed judge them and God says you're not going to possess this land. So look in your Bibles beginning with verse 25 and look carefully at what He said in chapter 33. Ezekiel 33 verse 25: "Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, You eat with the blood," which He had forbidden, "and lift up your eyes unto your idols," which He had forbidden, "and shed blood," which He had forbidden, "and shall you possess this land? You stand upon your sword, you work abominations, you defiled everyone his neighbor's wife, and shall you possess this land?" God says you're doing absolutely contrary to everything I commanded you and you think you're going to stay here. "Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord God.

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• As I live, surely they that are in the waste shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beast to be devoured, and they that are in the forts and in the caves shall die with the pestilence. For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease, and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, and none shall pass through them. Then shall they know that I am the Lord, when I have laid the land most desolate, because of all their abominations which they have committed." Wow. Notice if you would, two times in that short passage, God asks, "and shall you possess the land?" "Shall you possess the land?" May I remind you that the sins of America are the same sins of Israel.

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• Idolatry, murder, aborticide, adultery, fornication, corruption, fraud, theft, deception, pride, arrogance, haughtiness, and blasphemy. I want you to hold Ezekiel 33 but turn back in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 5. Jeremiah grieved exactly as did Ezekiel over the people. I want you to see what God said in Jeremiah chapter 5 and let's begin reading there in verse 7. We'll read through verse 13. Look what God asked. By the way, go back to verse 1: "Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem." So we're talking about Judah and Jerusalem. Okay, so now skip down to verse 7. God asked, "How shall I pardon thee for this?

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• Thy children have forsaken me and have sworn by them that are no gods. When I fed them to the full, then they committed adultery and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. They were as fed horses in the morning; everyone neighed after his neighbor's wife. Shall I not visit for these things?" and let me point out that's not a friendly visit either. "Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord, and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?"

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• "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy, but make not a full end. Take away her battlements, for they are not the Lord's. For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord. They have belied the Lord," that is, lied against the Lord, "and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us." The Lord's—it won't happen to us. "Neither shall we see sword or famine. And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done unto them." Skip down if you would now to verse 25. Look what he said: "Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit. Therefore they are become great and waxen rich. They are waxen fat.

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• They shine. Yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked." Now, these are professing covenant old people of God, and God says they overpass the deeds of the wicked. They're more vile than the wicked. And He said, "They judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord.

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• Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? A wonderful and a horrible thing is committed in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so. And what will you do in the end thereof?" What will you do in the end thereof? Wow. I want you to just pause for a moment and think of the political and the governmental corruption that abounds. And not only are the innocent and the righteous persecuted and prosecuted, at the same time the wicked and the guilty either go free or just have a little slap on the wrist. Moreover, you have to consider all of the corruption and perversion and heresy in our modern-day professing Christian churches. When you stop and think of all the churches in this land, how few are really genuinely preaching the truth of God, the whole counsel of God. It's astounding. We've turned into politically correct and

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• sin-tolerant social clubs that we now call churches. All I'm pointing out the fact is that everything that happened in Ezekiel, everything that happened in Jeremiah, is happening today. I want you to go back to the book of Ezekiel, but I want you to turn right over to Ezekiel 36 and let's look at four verses there. Ezekiel 36 beginning there with verse 16. Ezekiel 36 and verse 16, watch carefully. Ezekiel 36 verse 16: "Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land," that is, they did possess it at one time, "when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings. Their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.

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• Wherefore I poured out my fury upon them, for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it. And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries, according to their way, and according to their doings I judged them. And when they entered into the heathen," watch, "and when they entered into the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land." What?

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• And they knew why they dispossessed them, that is, because of their sins and their wickedness. He said they're gone forth out of his land. That is, no, God's land. God was the owner. God was the proprietor. God had the right to dispossess them and He did. Now, you and I oftentimes, when we think of this land being destroyed and we being dispossessed, we tend to think of countries that are going to invade us. And we tend to think of China, Russia. But may I point out, you do not necessarily have to have an outside country that will come in and destroy us by war for us to be subdued and dispossessed. Let me show you.

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• Look back in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah, right before Jeremiah, Isaiah chapter 1. I want to begin reading here with verse 4 and just read through verse 9. Watch if you would Isaiah chapter 1. So I'm going to make this point, I hope, exceedingly clear. We do not necessarily have to be driven from our land in order to be dispossessed and for the land to be made desolate. Isaiah 1 verse 4, God's talking about Judah and Jerusalem. He says, "Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters.

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• They have forsaken the Lord. They provoke the Holy One of Israel unto anger. They are gone away backward. Why should you be stricken anymore? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot, even unto the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. They have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment." Now watch. "Your country is desolate.

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• Your cities are burned with fire. Your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in the vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom and we should have been made like unto Gomorrah."

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• Now go back to verse 7. Look what he said: "Your country is desolate. Your cities are burned with fire. Your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers." So we must understand that a country may be overthrown from the inside as well as from the outside. And in this instance it is from the inside, because the country's made desolate and devoured in your presence. Now, let me ask you, have we witnessed our nation, our country being devoured and made desolate in our presence?

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• What about the BLM and the Antifa? What about all of those stores that were looted and burned? How about all the people that were either hospitalized or literally killed? I'm just simply saying we have witnessed robbing, raping, destruction of business, looting, murdering, and nothing is done about it. Not one thing. I want to challenge you to do something. When you get home and you have a few minutes, get on the internet and type in pictures of Portland, Oregon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, San Francisco, California, Atlanta, Georgia.

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• You could probably add Tallahassee, Florida. But the point I'm trying to make, you will see block after block, after block, after block, street after street in all of these cities of people laying on the sidewalk, drugs. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Everything is desolate. Who wants to walk down those streets? Check it out. God said in verse 7, "strangers devour it in your presence." Now the word "strangers" in the Hebrew is the word "zur," which actually reads a foreigner, a loathsome individual, or an enemy. So it clearly they are enemies because they're making the land desolate. They're destroying it. He said the land is overthrown by strangers. Do you realize just because someone is born in this land does not necessarily make him one of us? I mean, he can still be a stranger. How can someone born in this land be a stranger?

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• Well, he can be made a stranger through Marxism, through communism. In other words, he is a stranger to our faith. He's a stranger to our culture. He's a stranger to our society. He's a stranger to our way of life. And then of course, you need to consider all of these illegal immigrants that are coming in who are bringing in everything imaginable except our culture and our faith.

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• I'm just simply pointing out it is being devoured. Now, here's an interesting thing. Look at this again in verse 7. He said, "Your country's desolate. Your cities are burned with fire. Your land, strangers devour it in your presence. It is desolate, as overthrown by strangers." Now, the word "overthrown" in the Hebrew is "makpaka," and it means to destroy, to overthrow, and to make desolate. It is the same exact Hebrew word that is used for the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. Hmm.

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• So let's ask some questions. What has happened to our Christian heritage? What has happened to our constitutional republic? What has happened to our common law? The truth of the matter is everything that I've just asked has been overthrown, is being overthrown by our own government and by those who are in positions of power and authority. What has happened? Our country is being devoured and made desolate in our own presence.

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• Now, let me try to make some applications because to me this is exceedingly important. What can we do? In one sense of the word, we're completely helpless. In another sense of the word, the power to rectify the situation is in our hands. It's true. I can't change Congress. I can't change the president. I can't change the judges. I can't stop George Soros. In that sense of the word, I'm helpless. But in the other sense of the word, I'm extremely powerful. You remember

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• our Lord's words in Luke, chapter 18, where men are always to pray and not to faint. It was in that passage He told about the unjust judge. The unjust judge said concerning that widow woman, "Though I fear not God nor regard man, yet I'm gonna give this widow woman justice lest by her continual coming she weary me." So the judge said, "I'm gonna give her what she wants just to get her off my back, just to get rid of her." And then our Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said. Don't think God is like that unjust judge." Because He said, "Shall not God avenge His

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• own elect who cry unto Him day and night? I tell you He will avenge them speedily." Well, what should we cry? We should be crying and we should be praying some of these imprecatory prayers that are given us in the Bible. I'll just give you a few of them very quickly. David prayed in Psalm 3 and verse 7, "Arise, O God. Save me, O my God, for Thou hast smitten all my enemies upon the cheekbone. Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly." When's the last time you've asked God to smite the enemies of God on the cheekbone and to break their teeth? That's a good prayer request. How about this one in Psalm 7 verse 9? I pray this one regularly: "Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just." Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just. I like also Psalm 9 verses 19 and 20: "Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail. Let the heathen be judged in Thy sight. Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but mere men." Put them in fear. That's a good prayer request.

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• Let not man prevail. How about this one in Psalm 58, verses 6 through 8: "Break their teeth in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord. Let them melt as waters which run continually. When he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be cut in pieces. As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun." Have you ever prayed that? Break their teeth in their mouth?

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• O God, cast them down, O Lord, that they rise not up again. Here's a good one. Psalm 140 verse 10: "Let burning coals fall upon them. Let them be cast in the fire, into deep pits, that they rise not up again." Those are imprecatory prayers that are being prayed against God's enemies.

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• Now, I want you to turn back to Ezekiel chapter 33. I'm telling you, the power is in our hand in one sense of the word. We need to learn to pray these prayers. But here's another application. Here's where we are in America. Look at Ezekiel chapter 33 beginning there verse 30. God says to Ezekiel, "Also, thou son of man, the children of my people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors and in their houses, and speak one to another, everyone to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord." Now wait a minute. Look at it in verse 30 again. He said, "My people still are talking against thee." And the latter part of the verse they're saying, "Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord." So how in the world can they be talking against Ezekiel while at the same time they're inviting people to come hear Ezekiel? Well, it's explained. Look in verse 31: "And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them. For with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And lo,

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• thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument. For they hear thy words, but they do them not." Now watch verse 33: "And when this cometh to pass," that is, his judgment, "when this cometh to pass, and lo, it will come, then shall they know that a prophet has been among them." So here's how they're talking about Ezekiel. They're inviting people to hear him for entertainment. For entertainment. What did God say? "And lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument." In other words, they're just coming to be entertained. They're not coming to obey.

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• Their heart's not in listening. When you stop and think of the people today that go to church for the entertainment, for the music, for the programs, for the food, for the fellowship, they don't go to hear the Word of God. They don't go to hear and learn and obey. They go to be entertained. And that's exactly what happened to Ezekiel. They were speaking against him by inviting people to come to him and saying, "You'll enjoy this. This is just entertainment for us. We're gonna listen, but we're not going to obey. We're not going to do."

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• So the questions that I ask: Will America be destroyed? Will we be dispossessed? When you consider the immutability of God, and how God has judged other nations, and especially Israel and Judah and Jerusalem, the southern kingdom, and when you consider we're committing the exact same sins that they committed, it does not look good unless there is repentance and a real turning to God. And so God asked them, when you're doing all of these evil, wicked things that I command you not to,

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• "and shall you possess the land?" I want you to understand, what happened to these people happened suddenly. They were warned, but they did not listen. So Lord willing, next Sunday, I want to deal with the message, "Cataclysmic Judgments," and show you exactly what God does oftentimes to destroy a wicked, vile nation. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. Help us, Lord, to seriously consider these questions, to examine our hearts and our lives, and to bring our lives into greater conformity to Your Word. 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 | 2026-06-05T22:10:02Z