God's Choice - Why?

The title is God's Choice. Why? God's Choice. Why? Henry Kissinger, Alexander Hamilton, Dick Morris, and John Podesta. What did they have in common? Hmm. Well, they all happen to be advisors to the presidents. I just picked out four. There's many advisors to the president, but they were advisors to the president. I happened to have the experience, and Mary met her, a customer of mine back in Tennessee, who retired in Tennessee with her son as she was the personal assistant and oversaw the estate or household of an advisor to the president in John F.

Kennedy. Then he stayed on and helped Johnson. So I spent a lot of time with her on various jobs that I did, but also she was very entertaining. She would have parties because she was used to giving parties in Washington, D.C., for all the mucky mucks and all the people who wanted to get the president's ear. So they would go through the advisors. She was a very accomplished woman, and she told me so many stories about him as his father was actually an ambassador to some other country back in the 1930s and 40s.

I found that to be interesting because of those people who would come even after he was no longer advisor to the president. They would come to the house or try to make an appointment so they could, you might say, pick his brain. They might ask his advice on various things because he was so well educated and knowledgeable.

And so she would tell me the various people that you would know that would come through the house and discussions that she would overhear as she delivered food or drinks or see what else she could get for them. We also have advisors in the United Church of God. The Council of Elders are advisors to the President of United, and the President is also an advisor to the Council. So they interchange because of the value of ideas that's going back and forth. What kind of advisor would you choose to listen to?

You ever thought about it? What qualities would be in an advisor that you would choose? Wouldn't we all want wisdom? I want a advisor who has some wisdom. Usually, you get a wisdom from where? Experience. By going through a lot of things. I think we would also want there to be integrity, honesty in advisors. So they would tell you honestly what their opinion is, not just maybe what you want to hear. So oftentimes we get in politics. I used to love listening because 30-40 years ago you would have one presidential candidate say this to this group, and he'd go to another group, and he would say pretty much the opposite without saying the opposite.

God presents an interesting thought-provoking scenario for us in Ezekiel 14. God picks three men. They were His choice to teach us one lesson, and that lesson is salvation and righteousness is singular. Yes, singular. It's about you and you alone, and it defines your personal destiny in many ways. I want to look at that today because perhaps you haven't thought about this part of Ezekiel.

We're reading from the New King James Version. So if you will go with me to Ezekiel 14. We'll jump into this. In verse 12 of Ezekiel 14, it says, The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, Son of man, as he's talking to Ezekiel, when a land sins against me ...

is that possible? ... when a land sins against me by persistent and faithfulness, I will stretch out my hand against it. Hmm. It doesn't say the land. In Deaf and article, it says a land. So it's not just discussing, as we know, Ezekiel is in Babylon preaching. Back in Jerusalem, you have Jeremiah preaching. And this is the time before they're all taken away and brought to Babylon. But it's interesting how he says, because this also is speaking about the future. We'll go into that just a little bit later. So if I had to say something, I would say this is also talking about our time.

But it says that when a land or a country sins against me by persistent and faithfulness, I will stretch out my hand against it. So he's about to tell us, for all you crime fans, God's MO. What does MO stand for? Oh, you have watched Law and Order on one of these shows. modus operandi. That is exactly what God is laying out for us here. And he's saying, if there's a land that's just consistently, as he said, persistent and faithfulness. Are we there yet in this country? Well, let's dig a little deeper, Bill. It says, if you do that, I will stretch out my hand against it. You want to know why some countries have problems? I mean, he's saying here. I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it, which means actually die. Famine. Nothing gets your attention more than going without a few a little few meals. Does with us. Now imagine if you were to do something and we have some of those countries in the world today. People literally starving to death.

Is this what it's talking about? Could be. Or is it even talking about the future?

What about this country? We are one of the richest countries in the world, one of the most indebted, but richest, most powerful militarily.

You want to break us? Try this first one. It's pretty soon all the weapons in the world is not going to get you to grow food. The breadbasket of America, Midwest, the cornfields of Indiana where I was born and raised. I was 18. Reared, raised like corn, I guess. But yeah, think about it. If there was no rain, there was no rain. For what? Six months? Would it change how you live? Oh yeah, try three months. We'd find out just how high grocery stores, little registers could go.

God is saying, this is what I'm going to do. You can read examples of this in Scripture. As a matter of fact, you had one king that walked around, and he found two women arguing. Because they were starving to death. This was in Jerusalem. This was God's people at that time. They were arguing because, wait a minute, we killed your son and ate him last night. Tonight we're going to kill my son, and you're not going to kill my son. They were arguing, and he realized just how sad the situation had gotten.

Was there a reason Jacob had to go to Egypt? So, God is telling us something here that may be prophetic. Because how do you take down the United States of America?

I don't know that there's a nation out there that can. Right now, we're so strong, militarily. Advancement. I don't think there is a single, singular country that can. They don't need to if God does, though. Because God says, this is what I can do. So, we have on our coins, if you look at one, says, in God we, what? Trust? Really? Do we see that now? They don't even want God taught. They want Bibles in schools. I think a lot of places they don't want to say a pledge of allegiance. One nation under God, divisible. This is not a doomsday sermon, but it's to let us see what God is trying to tell us.

Let's go on. So, he's talking about bread and sin to famine on it and cut off men and beasts from it. It says, and even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their, what's your... says the Lord, by their righteousness. That means they can't deliver other people. Because it's their righteousness that will determine. So what's he saying? Wow, I could send these three amazing men and they could preach. But unless the people did something about it, another matter, because they would just deliver themselves. That's a major statement. Because sometimes we think about our families, don't we? We think about, wow, if things got tough, you know, what could I do?

Let's move on to 15. So, if I cause wild beasts to pass through the land and they empty it, what in the world could that be? It's happened before.

You want that?

He said he would cause that. Wild beasts go through the land. Has it happened before? Remember Scripture? When the Assyrians took over? Israel, the land of Israel, and they sent their people in and relocated them. And what was happening? Lions were eating them. Lions were coming out of nowhere, just eating them up. And so they didn't know what to do, so they had to go back and find a holy man of God and say, what can we do? Remember what the holy man said? Obey God, do what He tells you to do.

They did it. You know what happened? The Lions quit eating people. Wow. Wouldn't that be like, huh, I could have had a V8. It's like it was a moment. They didn't know. Didn't know. What's that? So let's go on these wild beasts to pass through the land, and they empty it, and make it so desolate that no man can pass through because of the beast.

We have animals here. We have alligators that walk up and down the street down here, walk in your yards.

What if you had pythons? We do have them here in the Everglades. This one is that big. They got one last year, 14-15 football. We have panthers here. Bears. Yeah, we do have bears. Not very big bears, but they're bears, and doesn't take a very big bear to bear down on you, would it?

What if dogs became vicious? You have coyotes? We have. What if the iguanas got big? Something to think about. I got 15-16 in my backyard. They come out every day for the sun. Yeah. Wild hogs. Boars. Boar hog that can. Yeah, Arkansas has them. 600-700 pounds with tusk, and you have to be careful. Okay, God's saying, I can cause all this. I can cause the zoo to open up, and all the creatures come out. And He says, I can make it so that the land would be desolate, and everybody's afraid to go.

Does that sound real to you? This looks like a movie. Sounds like a movie that you might watch. But how many of us really? I'll just stay in my house.

Let's go on and read a little bit more. It says, even though these three men were in it, who? Noah, Daniel, and Job. These three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God. It's a big statement. As I live, and we know God lives, He doesn't die. So He's saying, this is going to happen. As I live, says the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons, daughters, granddaughters, grandsons, elderly parents, nieces, nephews.

But He makes it personal, because He's talking about sons and daughters. They would deliver neither sons nor daughter. Only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate. There's going to be parts of the world that are going to be so desolate before the time of Christ. It's predicted. It's in there. How's your righteousness going? Are you as righteous as you need to be? I would prefer to get a little more work done. Okay? I think Mary would like to have a little more work done. I think we would, because I don't mind animals. I just don't like those that eat me. So this is very strange for God to be given this to Ezekiel, because He knows He's already told him what's going to happen. He already told him, you're going to be taking a prisoner, you're going to be in captivity for 70 years, then I'll return you. But God is giving a serious warning here. The land of Israel, not Judah, had gone through this. So this is He's not reflecting back to this is what I did. He's saying this is what's going to happen. And He's using this as an example of maybe you need to get your act together, because these three men, as great as they were, they can't save the world. We know at the end time, there's two witnesses going to go across the world. They're going to be known.

And you remember what else happens? Three and a half years of absolutely no rain. We talk about what would happen in six months in this country. Imagine three and a half years. How many people would die of starvation? Millions, hundreds, and hundreds of people, thousands, tens thousands. In the cities, it would be like animals. People would be like animals because there's not enough food delivered by trucks. No matter if Eckfield could probably tell us, he was there for many years. Many of them, like I heard, only keep three or four days worth of food. Is that correct? Only keep three or four days worth of food, and then they have trucks coming. Well, there's no trucks coming.

This is very serious stuff because it's reality. Let's go on down. Verse 17. Or if I bring a sword on the land, what does he mean by sword? Yeah, armies. War.

And say, sword, go through the land. And I cut off man and beast from it, even though these three men were in it. As I live, says the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered. So he's saying, I say swords. So if he says an army's going to go, go attack them. They're going to go. They may not even know. And they wipe out the land. He becomes desolate.

You can't save your kids. You can't save your family. Now, that may sound very depressing because I just had a bunch of great nephews and nieces born in the last two years in Tennessee. Sweet, beautiful kids. I can't save them. You can't save them. Because if Noah couldn't do it, Daniel couldn't do it, and Job couldn't do it, Chuck Smith is definitely not going to do it.

The sword. That's sad. Because that's vicious. We've seen what happens. Look at Gaza right now. In Gaza, you've got killing people. Let's go on. Verse 8-19. Or if I send a pestilence. Ooh. I mean something that makes COVID look like child's play. I send a pestilence into the land and pour out my fury on it in blood. And cut off from it, man and beast, even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver only themselves by their righteousness. Hmm. This is a very strange few verses, but it is so real to those who read God's word and believe in God's word. He picked those three. Think about it. Starvation. Animals eating you. War. And then pestilence. Have you ever heard that before? You ever read that before? It's mentioned at various places in Scripture, but let me take you to one. I just want to give you one that is so crystal clear. Revelation 6 and verse 8. Revelation 6 and verse 8.

This is the fourth seal, widespread death on earth. This is predicting what's going to happen, and it's going to happen.

The fourth seal. It says, the voice of the four living creatures saying, come and see. Verse 8. So I looked and behold a pale horse. We're looking at God's MO again. The name on him who sat on it was death and hate. Followed with him. Power was given to them over a fourth of the earth. 25% of the people on earth will die just by this. Oh, it's not over. You've got the trumpet and the trumpet plague yet. This is just four seals. It's going to be open. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth to kill with the sword. And we heard about that, didn't we? And with hunger. That's what he said. With death and by the beasts of the earth. Wow. Exactly what he said he would do. He's going to do it. We have eight billion people alive on this planet right now. A little over eight billion. That's two billion people. Gone. With just one seal opened. The fury of God is not being poured out yet. That's later on. Then there's a third wiped out. You want to read about that. And then you're not even talking about the amount of people that are damaged by and killed by other things. Oh, how do we how do we help our families? We can't. It's tied to your righteousness and their righteousness. Will they listen to you? Mine sometimes thinks that all I want to give is a sermon. So I don't do as much as I used to. So what do we have to do? Best sermon that have ever been heard are the ones that are seen. Is that our responsibility? I think so. They need to see it. They need to see righteousness. There's not many people listen to righteousness anymore. We can pray, can't we? The sermon about that next week in Fort Lauderdale.

Imagine that happening. I think it's unsettling. But let's look at something else.

Let's look at these three advisors. Because see, they are advisors to us. Because it says no matter whether they're beasts, whether there's armies, whether you starve to death, no matter what it is, these three men will be in the kingdom of God because of their what? Righteousness. So don't you think it might be wise for us to study these three men? How about other men and women who we know will be in the kingdom of God? Because the Bible is crystal clear on certain people being there. Well, I know their story. Do you? Do I really know? When you start digging in and that's your that's your whole passion, you can read the couple of chapters about Noah and pick up stuff you never even dreamed about before. About Daniel. Put yourself, close your eyes and put yourself as a 17 year old kid taken taken to Babylon and then go through what he went through.

Yeah, there's there's there's a lot there for us to study. Noah, he saw the worst disaster that has ever taken place on earth. I guess between two to 10 million people because they have no way of knowing it. Sixteen hundred years after Adam and Eve. Roughly sixteen hundred years when the flood happened. So they think it might have been two million could have been ten million. It's kind of like them carbon dating things go back 50 trillion years ago. They don't know. But here, here's what we do know. He saw everyone wiped out. Wiped out.

But this is what we learn from it.

Said there was wickedness was great on the earth. That's what's written. Wickedness was great. Are we there yet?

We're sure headed that way. There's a lot of wickedness. Just look around you pick up newspaper. They even print them anymore. I don't see many of them, but you have it on your phone. You can watch read it. Watch it on television. I mean, a lot of us don't watch it because it's so depressing because every time you get on there, whether there's a flood in Texas and killed these beautiful little girls. 160 people still missing.

Ukraine just bombed again.

There is wickedness, but he says something in there. Chapter six. I'll let you go read it on your own. But he says something that has always stuck with me as inspired because it says that the people at that time, every intent of the thoughts of their hearts were continually what? Evil. Are we there yet? No, we're not there yet. The intent of their hearts, which means they wanted evil. They needed to do evil. They can't help but want to do evil because it's part of their heart. Continually. Constantly. You know what it tells us? It's coming. I can walk down the street as I did, get a little exercise yesterday. I didn't have to worry about somebody coming out stabbing me. I didn't have to worry about somebody killing me for my flip-flops. Okay? Because that's there is pure evil. You can see it. But is it continually all the time? Not yet. But what does he say about the end time? As in the days of uh-huh.

It means we have time, don't we? We have time to be a better example. We also have time to learn more about righteousness.

How about Daniel? Daniel saw the future, didn't he?

He gives very good description in 12 chapters. You see his whole life. You see him from age 16 to 17 to 90 plus by the end of it.

What can he teach us?

A lot. He had experience. He had godly wisdom. Things we desperately need.

Huh. You remember? He was an advisor. Advisor to him. Nebuchadnezzar, the world's biggest leader, he was... He was... There was none greater than him on the earth at the time, was there, Bill? That we know he had the world-ruling empire. And he told him!

And he couldn't save Nebuchadnezzar from his fate of becoming like an animal for seven years. Hmm. Most powerful man on earth. Seven years he became like an animal.

But it's amazing because after he was changed back, what happened? He came around and made the statement. And do we need to make sure we have that statement?

Because the reason is, is until you know the most high rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever he chooses.

Do we still question it? I know people do. Well, that may mean this one, but it doesn't mean this one. No, I'll take it. I'll take it. I'll take it from the President of the United States to the dog catcher down here. I'll take it because that's what Daniel gives to us. Do we apply it to ourselves? I hope so. Because I know one thing. Daniel's going to be there, isn't he, in the kingdom of God? God even told him, seal the book up. Basically say, shut up and put the book up. You're going to go to sleep and then I'm going to bring you back.

I'm going to raise you up. This is someone that we need to study. Oh, it's nice to to study and hear. You know, I love the sermon on the Beatitudes.

I love various things that I read, but I also realize after reading this, I'd better know every quality about these men, about these people, because it's very limited. Think about it. Make a list sometime. Yeah, you can go to Hebrews 11 and take, well, I'll study all those people. No. Look at those that we know. We believe most of those people in Hebrews 11 faith chapter will be there. Okay, I believe they will, but I also know I know these will be because of what's said. Because Christ even points that they will be in the kingdom. I need to know that. Seek first the kingdom of God and his same same story he's given us again. It's about righteousness. Are we going to get it, brother?

I'm your pastor. I can't. I can't get you into the kingdom. I have a responsibility that says as an overseer. And I have to work at it. We'll look at that at the Bible study.

And then we have this guy named Job. Job saw firsthand what the devil can do. Have you ever read the forty two chapters of Job? I think most of you have. But have you ever taken it apart and spent four months just studying all forty two chapters? I spent two weeks in it to press the daylights out of me. But boy, was this a man of all men on earth that he said, have you seen my servant? There's a lot to learn there. A lot of experience that can be brought forth from that. But he saw God in a whole new light at the end in chapter forty two. You can read it. But now my eye sees you. But I'd like to go, because I didn't give this to David, but if you will, because I'm not really going anywhere else, any other place in the Bible, I'd like you to go with me to the book of Job. Just one verse. Job one. Job one.

And I believe this is six, five or six. No, it's five. And I'll read from the New King James. So it was when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning, and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. Number of who all? Aha! Is children and children's children. For Job said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus Job did regularly. That was at the very first. Do you think by the time he got to chapter 42, he understood they might have sinned? They might have. He was trying to make them righteous on his own. It can't happen. Ezekiel told us that, didn't he? You can't. You can't save your sons, your daughters. You can't save your best friend. I can't save my wife. That's sad.

Because she's heard, I don't know how many sermons I've given. None of them can say. It's her righteousness.

So this is something that we definitely. So I ask you in the coming weeks before the Feast of Tabernacles, I'd like to encourage you to pick three advisors in the Old Testament.

I want you to think about them and think about them advising you on righteousness. This seems to be a very important thing to God.

According to Ezekiel 14, they can't, we could study these men and women, and they can't save us. But boy, can they advise us. Because these words have been preserved so that we could use them. 2 Timothy 3, 16, 17. Every word is God-breathed, and He wants this for us. Because it's about righteousness. He knows that billions of people are going to die. He knows the firstfruits are a small little group of people. He's concerned about that small little group of people that He has had angels checking us out. He has had His Son die for those firstfruits. For the entire world before these firstfruits. He has preserved the word Scriptures just for us. So that we can stand with Daniel, with Job.

I picked mine, and I'm going to be doing the very same thing. I'm going to do a study between now and the Visa Tabernacles. My own personal study besides writing sermons and Bible studies and doing this. I want to do this because I was so inspired by these verses in Ezekiel 14. Because I thought they were written to me.

I'm going to tell you mine because I'm going to tell you why they're mine. My first one is Joseph. Well, good. You will study it and we can share those notes. Why did you pick him?

You saw my notes. That's why you did that. No. He lived to be 110 years old. And yet I read everything about him, and there were more words written about him in the book of Genesis than any other person. More than Abraham, more than Isaac, more than Jacob, more than anything. Joseph. And yet, other than his zealousness when he was 17 and making his brothers jealous, I can't find one negative word about him. And he was an advisor to somebody more powerful than the president. And he became.

I also have chosen Daniel because I can't find anything negative about Daniel. And I could find plenty of negative about me. OK, but I want to study him. I want to find I want to I want to go back because I did this at one time and I want to go back and do that study on Daniel and not just doctrine, not just about a prophecy, but I want to know about the man. I want to see what made him tick. I'm going to hunt his mind and I'm going to try to find out everything I can. And finally, my last one. Joshua. Joshua. You won't find a lot of negative stuff in there about Joshua. Even losing a battle of a. It wasn't his choice. People did it themselves. Right, Linda? She's not. Yes. But Joshua lived to be 110 years age and he finishes with this. Right. As for me in my house, we shall serve the Lord. Yes.

What example did he set in his house? You never heard anything about his wife. Did you know anything about his kids?

But he was a pretty amazing man. I don't know enough about it. It's out there. That's why I want to study. So I encourage you to do a life study. Because we know. We know from the Word of God and from Christ's words that. There are two men that are going to be there. They were transfigured, weren't they? And so he Christ would be lying if they said they wouldn't have the kingdom. So who had Moses and Elijah? Right. We know they're going to be there. Who else? Who else? You guys thought about it?

David says he will be what? Really? And boy, that's a life to study. Both good and bad. And we know Daniel. What about the apostles? Did Christ say they were going to be in the kingdom? He even told them what they're going to be doing. Isn't that powerful? And then he told in Matthew 8 verse 11, he told the religious leaders of that day that others will come and sit down in the kingdom. With who? Who did he name? Would be there.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. See, there's enough to study that they will be there. Some of them, which I've known because I've given extra sermons on their faults. I'm not looking for the faults of my three. I'm looking of how they can teach me about righteousness. So I challenge you to do the same because I would love to have a Bible study before the feast, Tabernacles, and let you tell me about your three. And share with us your path to righteousness because it is your path to the kingdom of God.