Sermon Tone Analysis

Good Morning, it is great to be back in the house of the Lord together this morning, good to see everybody, I hope and pray you all had an awesome thanksgiving and now everyone has repented of the gluttony that took place, by the way....

I did not fast during lunch on thanksgiving maybe I am unholy but I thought I should let you know.

But after what I did to myself this past weekend I ought to be able to abstain from food for at least 14 days lol

Everybody do me a favor stand to your feet, some of you may be because you were forced to be here, some of you came here because you wanted to even though you didnt feel like it, listen to me whatever the reason your here can I just say from the bottom of my heart thanks for being here.

We have just come off of a time when the blessings of God are brought to the forefront as we acknowledge all the many reasons we have to be thankful.

I even posted this week on Facebook and it was just a picture of Amy and I and I said Happy Thanksgiving the Lord is good.

thanks for honoring God by putting Him first today.

But why is the Lord called good?

Say this with me: IM ALIVE, IM ALERT, AND I READY TO HEAR THE WORD

In this passage is one of the questions of Jesus.

Jesus asked alot of questions in the gospels and He never asked a question because he needed someone to answer Him He asked the questions because He was trying to make a point.

Say it again.

Matthew 19:16-

Listen I wanted to talk with you this morning about something god is working into my heart.

I’m 33 years old I am the same age Jesus was when He went to the cross to die for the sins of the world.

I wanna say something the older I get the more I realize that there is nothing, and I mean nothing more important than the spiritual health and well being of my heart.

Now let me stop right there this question right here is what alot of people are asking.

I’ve got all

NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT IN OUR LIVES THAN THE SPIRITUAL CONDITION OF OUR HEARTS.

Turn with me in your Bibles this morning to .

It s alittle book in the OT its not one we read all the time.

Its after Psalms

(Let’s Pray)

6 years ago i was reading through the book of Ezekiel, it was a part of my plan to try to read through the Bible in one year.

Im reading Ezekiel and I am getting really confused heres this guy and he is struggling heres this guy who is ministering to people who have been taken from their homeland and put in far distant lands and made prisoner.

Amy and I are in Graceville and were sitting in a house thats 900 square feet and we have a certain time we have to be out by, at the time I thought we were in trouble graduation was drawing near and I had been accepted to Southwestern seminary in Fort Worth.

We were about to move all the way across the country.

We were nervous we didnt want to leave Union Hill but we were willing to be obedient and at the time I thought we were supposed to move to Fort Worthbut something didnt feel right about it.

I went into a time of prayer personally not understanding the reservations I had about leaving.

It was during that time of prayer that God woke me up in the middle of the night, I immediately sat up in bed I had this urging from the Lord to get up and get into His word, I walked out to our couch we had bought for 50 dollars that had a make shift cover on it, because the owners before us had a cat or something and it was shredded.

I sat down on the couch, and before I opened my Bible the voice of God came through so clearly it was almost audible.

YOU ARE GOING TO PASTOR UNION HILL BAPTIST CHURCH.

I sat there stunned at what I had just heard, me pastor?

Im not ready for that Lord, and how brother Rob is still here and there is no indication he is going anywhere so are you telling me to stay put as the youth pastor?

I had questions but the message came through very clear again YOU ARE GOING TO BE THE PASTOR OF UNION HILL.

I sat there stunned I didnt know what to expect, God I hear you but I am young the arent gonna want me to be their pastor, there will be strife and trouble and things may not go very smooth, I am a little different I just dont know how that will work Lord.

God spoke again:

God spoke through that passage and told me very clearly I have a group of people there who need you I say that they need you, and this is where you will go.

I simply said yes Lord

I woke up the next morning and I told Amy what had happened.

She was shocked but not nearly as shocked as I was when three days later I went to the church office and brother Rob called me into his office to tell me he was leaving.

the rest of the story is history as they say but I say all that to say this GOD ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING.

When we are filled with doubt His plan is ALWAYS for the best.

When we thought we were all alone, God remined us in a second IVE NOT FORGOTTEN YOU.

Ezekiel’s name means God is strong.

GOD IS STRONG

so heres the word of Ezekiel from the Bible Ezekiels propecying in dark sad days, the people are on a downward spiral because of sin, they had an 18 year old king named Jehoician.

Now can you imagine being 18 years old and being a King.

He rules for 3 months.

Ezekiel the preacher he is 25,when all of a sudden this King named Nebuchanezzar and his people from Babylon come railing into Judah and they take all these men of God from Judah as prisoner.

The Bible says that Nebuchanezzar comes to Ezekiel and Jehoachin he steals their palace he takes thier Temple, He takes all their wealth, all their gold, all their silver, all their money.

He destroys thier government he ruins their army.

By taking their soldiers and putting them in his army, he deports more than 10,000 people back to Babylon where Nebuchanezzar is from.

The only people he left in Judah was the poor the sick, and the lame , and the elderly.

It would be like someone coming into cottonwood Alabama and taking anyone that has money, anybody who is healthy, anybody that has money and moving them to a different place and saying, you guys who are rich you guys are now my prisoners.

Now you have to wonder why would God allow this if God cares for us and he loves us and He wants whats best for us, why would He let this happen?

Well heres what the Bible is framing for us in the bbook of Ezekiel: THE REASON GOD ALLOWED THESE ISRAELITES TO BECOME PRISONERS OF THE BABYLONIANS IS BECAUSE THEY WERE SINNERS!

They had gone after idols, they had taken these pagan gods and they had adopted them as their own gods.

They had forgotten the one true god.

Then they started intermarrying with pagan tribes.

god had told them hey only want you to marry other Hebrews dont have anything to do with race, it had everything to do with the god they served.

ONly marry people who believe like you do.

Well they didnt do that they are marrying anybody who looked good, if she looks good shes an option, and God said because of that I am going to punish you.

So the nations around Israel are watching as this happens.

they begin to mock Gods name, they begin to say your telling us that you serve the one true God then why has He abandoned you prisoners in Babylon.

This is so personal to God because back when God started this nation back in the book of Genesis with a guy named Abraham, god told him that He would make him a father of a great nation.

Through your lineage Abraham Im going to bless the whole world.

Everyone in the whole world is gonna know that I am God because of your people.

so this punishment they are going through is very heartbreaking to God because His people have gone after the way of idols.

They have gone after the way of the world.

God warned them about this in the 10 commandments Commandment number 1

HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME

DONT MAKE ANY IDOLS

DONT TAKE MY NAME IN VAIN

REMEMBER THE SABBATH ITS AN IMPORTANT DAY

Well the Israelites have done none of that and as a result God has let them suffer punishment.

So here we are 36 chapters in and Ezekiels going hey man its about to get worse you thought the prisoner camps was bad its about to get worse.

When all of a sudden ad the people are at their lowest point and Ezekiel comes to preach, and heres his new word.

GOD HASNT FORGOTTEN US! WHAT?!

Wait a minute are you fixing to tell us a good message that we will appreciate and that theres hope?!

YES

God is going to rescue us, but listen heres what he says

God is going to do it on account of His great Name thought we deserve punishment god is gonna give us mercy.

Have you ever prayed and wondered God are you listening to me?

Nothings happening

The prayers in the Bible are never prayers based on us telling God what were gonna do or what wed like to do, or God help me with this because Im a pretty good guy I only cussed twice last week and I been going to church

those kind of prayers god doesnt answer in the Bible but listen to me these are the kinds of prayers that God answers most frequently in the Bible.

When you go to god and you say OH GOD I AM A FAILURE I DESERVE PUNISHMENT I KNOW I AM WORSE THAN A PRISONER AND IM NOT TELLING YOU ANYTING GOOD ABOUT ME THEY AINTY NOTHING GOOD ABOUT ME, but God will you do this because You can and because we want your name to be made famous, on account of your name would you please help me.

When you humbly pray like that God says your ready.

He comes to them and he says listen you deserve to be prisoners but Im gonna bring you back from that foregin land I am going to restore you, I am gonna give you a brand new heart and i aint gonna do it on account of your name but on account of my name.

Ezekiel 36:

He says I am about to bring you back to purity before me.

Im about to cleanse you from all sin, im gonna pour clean water on you, Im gonna take away anything that takes away your holy affections

HOW IS GOD GONNA DO THIS?

So here are these people with no money, no king, no cars THEY GOT NOTHING and God shows up and whats the first thing God is gonna do for them?

HES GONNA USE HIS SPIRIT AND GIVE EM A BRAND NEW HEART!

You see sometimes the thing we think we need God isnt even interested in cause He knows how He is gonna take care of that but what you need is a new heart.

CAUSE WHEN YOUR HEART GETS RIGHT EVERYTHING ELSE GETS RIGHT!

On the other hand if everything about your life looks good but your heart remains hard, and lifeless then you are far from God BUT IF YOUR HEART THE INSIDE OF YOU, IF YOUR HEART IS RIGHT EVERYTHING ELSE STANDS THE CHANCE TO BE RIGHT AS WELL!

The biggest need in your life is a brand new heart every single day that can only be given to you by the Holy Spirit of God.