In this sermon, the preacher focuses on the description of four living creatures in the book of Ezekiel. These creatures have wings joined together and always move straight forward without turning. The preacher emphasizes the lesson we can learn from their unwavering movement and challenges the listeners to believe in the truth of these extraordinary beings. He encourages believers to break free from the distractions of worldly possessions and focus on the awe-inspiring reality of God's presence. The sermon also highlights the description of God sitting on a blue throne, surrounded by fire and appearing as the color of amber.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, AFPA, 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the freewill offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. I greet you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Flaming Son of God. Thank you, Moses. That makes it easier to stand up here with all that encouragement. Praise God. Amen. Thank you for coming. I also want to thank the visitors who have come here tonight. Tonight, thank you for coming. Thank all of you for caring enough about God to come and spend a week and seek God. Thank you. May God reward you. I have so many things to say as I thought of what to say to all of you. I love you all. It's a privilege to stand up here in front of a whole bunch of young people like this, and I thought, my, I could say a lot of things. But as I prepared and sought the Lord for what He was laying on my heart for you, I don't have time to say a lot of other things. So, I have an objective tonight, and I intend to fulfill it. My objective is to see the living God. I have a prayer for you that are, love the Lord Jesus Christ. Many of you do, I know. My prayer is that tonight you would get a blessing as I lift up the living God. Some of you are struggling with the world and the flesh. My prayer for you is that God would grant you a victory over the world and the flesh. There are some of you that are bound by the devil. And my prayer is that you would be delivered in the name of Jesus. Some of you are unbelieving and defiled, just like 1 Corinthians says. And I pray that the mercy of God would be upon you tonight. I pray the mercy of the living God would rest on you tonight. If you are unbelieving and defiled here, God be merciful to you. And then there are some of you that are defiant. Some of you are actually in defiance against the living God. And my prayer for you is that God would open up your eyes and your ears. That you might become wise and kiss the sun. So my objective tonight is to see the living God. And it's a joy to preach about it. I love this subject. I have delighted in the subject of God. Seeing God for years. And as I considered where you are tonight. And this mixed group. I hope it's not so mixed tomorrow night. But I felt like I should lift up the living God to you. In a world that says there is no God. And even in a Christian life that can become dull and dry. There is nothing like seeing the Lord Jesus again. So, I want to just say a few things and then get right into what I have to say here. We are going to walk through the first chapter of Ezekiel. If you would like to turn there, you may. Ezekiel chapter 1. In John 2 verse 11 it says, This the beginning of miracles Jesus did in Cana of Galilee. And He manifested forth His glory. And His disciples believed on Him. You know when He turned 150 gallons of water into wine. And it says there that He manifested His glory. And the way I picture that is that Jesus pulled His brown robe apart just a little bit in doing that. He was just a man to them. He was a great teacher. Maybe a prophet even. But when they saw Him turn 150 gallons of water into wine. It's like they took a second look at this man. And it was like the shell was cracked for a moment. And a beam of the light of the glory of Jesus Christ shone out. And His disciples saw it. And they believed on Him. The glory of Jesus Christ was revealed. It was hidden. Shrouded in flesh. But there were times when His disciples saw Him. They saw His glory. And oftentimes, I think, they took a look when He wasn't looking and just thought, Who are You? Who are You anyway? Who is this man that walks among us that raises the dead? And turns water into wine and speaks words that make my heart burn. Who are You anyway? I remember that story in the boat. When He had calmed the sea, He stood up in the midst of the storm and said, Be quiet. And the sea obeyed. And it says that the men feared greatly and asked, What manner of man is this that even the wind and the wave obey Him? He's the Living God. That's who He is. He's the Living God. The Son of the Living God. Alright, let's begin here in the book of Ezekiel. This is a revelation of God. I believe that God gave a revelation of Himself many times in the Bible because God wants us to know some things about Himself. He didn't give these revelations just to be stuffed away in the backside of our Bibles and ignored and go on vaguely wondering what God is like. He wrote these things clearly so that we would have a clear understanding of who God is. Or else why are they written? And so I'm approaching it with that faith this morning or this afternoon. Let's begin reading in the first chapter there. And I'll just comment as we go along here. Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Kibar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity, the word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Kibar. And the hand of the Lord was there upon him. And I looked, and behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire enfolding itself, and a brightness was about it. And out of the midst thereof, as the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Now let's just stop there and ponder this a minute. It says, first of all, that there was a great cloud. Now this is not one of those fluffy white clouds that you see on a calm day. This is a whirlwind, it says. The hand of the Lord was upon Ezekiel, and he says, I saw this cloud on the horizon. Have you ever experienced that when you're in a storm? Maybe some of you haven't actually seen a tornado or a hurricane. Have you seen that? I know some here have, actually. It's awesome, isn't it? When you see the clouds and they're moving thick, and there's a strange color in the sky, and even more terrifying is when you see it on the horizon, you see that cloud is dipping, and something's happening over there, and it starts to come down toward the earth, and it's whirling. You know that awesome feeling? I don't know what it's like, but it gets you right in the stomach. You think, this is awesome. Well, that's what Ezekiel saw. He says, I saw this great cloud of a whirlwind. It was a storm on the horizon, and this was just the beginning of the awesome things that he's about to experience as God manifests Himself to Ezekiel. In this cloud, then, it says, there is fire enfolding itself. And I see there fire that's wrapping into the cloud. It's like a strange whirlwind with flames in it. This cloud on the horizon, and he sees this storm, and it's a whirlwind, obviously, it's taking place over there, and then there's fire that's enfolding and moving in and out, and darting into the storm. It must have been an awesome sight, just to see that coming on the horizon out of the north. Also, out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures, and this was their appearance. They had the likeness of a man. What do you think? What do you think Ezekiel thought as he saw that sight? And then, all of a sudden, out of the midst of it, it says, out of the midst of the whirlwind and the fire that's enfolding, these four creatures come forth. It must have almost made your heart stop to see it, coming right out of the fire. Sounds like a story, doesn't it? It's right out of the Bible. This is our God. And this was their appearance. They had the likeness of a man. What that means is they had legs like we do. They had a torso like we do. They had arms. They had a face. They were the makeup of a man. When you saw them, you said, hey, they look like men. Just like men. But they're not men. Verse 6, And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. Four faces and four wings. This is not a man. They had four faces. Verse 7, And their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot, and they sparkled like the color of burnished brass. Now you may think this is strange, right? A man's legs that end in calf's feet. We would think that's what you see in some storybook that some writer has made up in a fanciful story. This is the Word of God. This is the description of real beings. And I don't think you're going to laugh at them. You know when it says their feet are straight like calf's feet, but look at them, it says they sparkle. And they look like burnished bronze. I work in a metal shop, and if you've ever seen metal when it's hot, it's impressive. If you've seen bronze when it's polished, you know, maybe you've seen a door post or a handrail that's been rubbed till it's just sheen. It says he's looking at these beings coming out of this storm, and he looks at their feet, and their feet are sparkling, and it says that it looks like they're polished brass for feet. It doesn't show weakness in my mind. That doesn't speak of weakness. It speaks of majesty. Alright, let's look at verse 9 here. Their wings were joined one to another. They turned not when they went. They went every one straight forward. Each one went straight ahead. So there's four of them here. Now, the way I see it, there's four of them. They're all facing this way. And one's facing this way. Four of them. But they don't turn when they move. They always go straight forward. Always. They move like this. Sideways, but always he's moving forward. There's a lesson for us there. I don't have time to teach it right now. It'll come clear in a verse that we're going to touch on here in just a little bit. They always went straight ahead. They turned not as they went. Verse 10. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man and the face of a lion on the right side. And they four had the face of an ox on the left side. And they four also had the face of an eagle. They had one face that was the face of man. Notice that that's the face that is facing out. He describes the other faces on the left and the right. And I assume that the eagle's face is toward the back. But the face of man is outward. The face of man has been made in a likeness of God. It's interesting that we are not the only people that are made in the likeness of God. Angels are described as looking like us. God is actually described as looking like us, as we're going to find here in just a little bit. They have these four faces. I wonder how many of you, if I ask you to be honest, would think that sounds kind of funny. To have four faces. To us it seems kind of humorous, doesn't it? What a bizarre looking creature with four faces on one head and feet like bronze. You're tempted, I'm sure, to not believe it. This sounds like something out of a book that someone made up. But my friend, you'd better get used to the thought of beings with four faces. Because you're going to spend the rest of eternity with them. Do you believe that? These beings are beings that stand in the presence of Almighty God. These are living beings. God is describing here things that are beyond our understanding. We'd better change our thinking to correspond with what the Scripture is saying. And learn to delight in the things that God has made. Because these beings are awesome beings. They are the heavenly watchman. We're going to spend eternity with them. They are the cherubim of God. Verse 12 And they went, everyone straight forward, whither the spirit was to go, they went, and they turned not as they went. Notice that. Whither the spirit was to go, they went. There's a little clue here into what happens in heaven. You ever wonder why Jesus prayed, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Because the beings of heaven are so in tune with the spirit of God that whithersoever the spirit would go, they go. The power of these cherubim lies in their total surrender to the will of the spirit of God. Our power lies in the total surrender to the will of the spirit of God. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Verse 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire and like the appearance of lamps. And it went up and down among the living creatures, and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. I don't think you'll laugh when you see these angels. It says that as for their figure, they weren't just like dressed. It says that they were like amber, like a burning hot coal. Their bodies were hot looking, glowing hot. What else does it say there? It says, like fire and lamps. And then in between the beings, fire was going up and down in the midst of them. This was everything but funny. This was awesome. You know, it's coming out of a whirlwind, and the fire is unfolding, and these beings come forth out of that whirlwind. And we haven't even started to see the awesome things yet. I mean, we're just looking at the floor. This is our God. This is the living God. Oh, that God would open up our hearts tonight, and that He would allow us the privilege to see Him the way He is. How many things would suddenly be stripped from our lives? How many things would suddenly just change in the presence of God? But the blindness of the devil is upon us. His tactic is to shroud the eyes and the minds of men from seeing the living God. Notice that there's a fire going up and down between them. Not a dull fire. It doesn't say there was a little glimmer of flame. It says there was a fire and a brightness coming out of it. These were not apathetic creatures that just were haphazardly moving here and there. They were alive. They are alive. There is power that radiates from them. They have light and radiance emanating out of their beings. They are alive. They are alive and in perfect obedience to the Spirit of God. Then verse 14, notice this. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of the flash of lightning. Now if you can picture this, I don't know how many of you have a graphic mind, but if you can see these beings, and I don't know how big you think this whole thing is, but it's coming out of the north, and now it says when they move, they are not lumbering along like a giant wagon. They are moving like lightning. Here. There. Now they are there. Now they are there. And fire is moving inside of them, and they move always straight forward, here and there, like lightning, the Bible says. All of a sudden all your human efforts and all your macho strengths as a man just drain. As you suddenly realize, I can't believe what I'm seeing. I'm in the presence of a living God. His eternal power and His divine nature is clearly seen by those things which are made. God said of Leviathan, He says, I made Him. Will you not be laid low even at the sight of Him? Who then can stand against Me? I'm the living God. I made heaven and earth, and all that in them is. Alright, let's look at verse 18. As for their rings, well, let's see. Let's look at 17. And when they went, I'm sorry, I skipped verse 16. Let's go to 16. And the appearance of the wheels in their work was like under the color of Beryl. Beryl is a golden yellow color. And they four had one likeness, and their appearance in their work was as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides, and they turned not as they went. Golden colored wheels, double rimmed, that's the way I see them, like a rim on the outside and a rim on the inside. A wheel within a wheel. It speaks of not your average wagon wheel. It's impressive. It's sound. And we'll also notice some other things about these wheels too here in the next verse. These golden wheels are beside these creatures. In verse 18, as for their rings, and I believe that means the rims of the wheels, they were so high that they were dreadful. What does that mean to you? How high is dreadful? You know, I've stood by Niagara Falls, maybe some of you have too, and it's dreadful. Wouldn't you say? Have you experienced that? You're standing there and you can actually feel the throb of the water. And you're standing there so close and seeing that water fall. It just kind of grips you somehow. It's dreadful. Well, Ezekiel says, he doesn't say these angels are dreadful, or the storm is dreadful, and I would have to say they're dreadful already. But now he says, But these wheels, these wheels were so high, it was dreadful. It filled my heart with a dread. It was awesome. It was beyond me. All my strength just went out like water. This is God. Notice it says, they were full of eyes round about them. Full of eyes. Now that's strange. That's different. The wheels are full of eyes. I don't know about you, but it's kind of uncomfortable to have a lot of eyes looking at you, isn't it? But here's a wheel that's so high it's dreadful, and he says it's full of eyes. Revelations 4.6 says, And before the throne there was a sea of glass, like unto crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts, full of eyes, before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, the second beast like a calf or a bull, the third beast had the face of a man, the fourth beast like a flying eagle. Does that sound familiar? Same. Same creatures. They're the cherubim. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within. And they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and is and is to come. Why would God make four creatures full of eyes? We have two eyes. Jesus Christ had two eyes. Why do these have so many? It says they're full of eyes. Not only front and back, but within. They're full of eyes. If you had that many eyes, what would it do for you? Nobody would sneak up on you. You wouldn't miss much. Think about it. What if you were standing in the presence of one of these beings? Where could you hide? You'd search that being over, and pretty soon you'd find a couple of eyes looking at you, wouldn't you? Not only front and back, but within. They're full of eyes. And notice what it does for them. They perceive God. They're watching what's happening on earth. They're watching what's happening in heaven. Their eyes are watching the face of God all at the same time. And they're perceiving God. And what is their response? Night and day they cry out, Holy, Holy, Holy. The One who is, and the One who was, and the One who is coming. They're full of eyes. And it's hard for us. It's hard for our poor human minds to fathom the things God has written here. And yet these are the creatures that Ezekiel saw. These are the creatures that John saw. And I believe with all my heart these are the creatures you will see. Daniel 4.13 says, if you remember that story of Nebuchadnezzar, remember he had a dream, and he was threatened that if he didn't change his ways, his tree was going to be cut down. And in that dream it says, I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and behold, a Watcher. And a Holy One came down from Heaven. Now why do you think Nebuchadnezzar called him a Watcher? Maybe he had some eyes. Maybe Nebuchadnezzar felt a little bit uncomfortable standing in the presence of an angel coming out of Heaven full of eyes. Eyes looking here and there, and eyes looking at him. Maybe a few. Maybe a half a dozen looking at him. You know, and all those things in his life, and he knew he wasn't right with God. And he says, a Holy One. I knew he was holy. I didn't have to ask who he was. All I knew is he was a Watcher, and he was holy. Notice in verse 17 of that chapter, this is what that angel says. It says, cut down the tree, and then band its stump, and then listen to these words. It says, this matter is by the decree of the Watchers. He says, Nebuchadnezzar, we, the Watchers, have given decree on your life. You're to be cut down. That's awesome. I believe that you'll find in the book of Revelation, you'll find these four creatures intimately connected with the judgment of God. They are in the presence of God. They perceive God. And they also carry authority. They are the heavenly Watchers. And they cut Nebuchadnezzar down. It says, this is by the decree of the Watchers, and the demand is by the Word of the Holy Ones, to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. Doesn't that sound like envy to you? It sounds to me like some creatures who are in the presence of God, and they watch all things that are happening in the earth, and they watch this man, Nebuchadnezzar, walking on the top of his castle, saying, Babylon, the great which I have made, and these Watchers who perceive God. They have a heart after God. They know God. And they can't stand what that man is doing. And they, on their own initiative, issue a decree against that man, and say, cut him down. It's not God making the decree, because they refer to God as the Most High. These angels are jealous for the name of God. They love God. They know He's the living God, and they cry night and day, Holy, Holy, Holy, the One who is, and the One who was, and the One who will be. We need to get a grip on it. There are things happening today that we don't even give thought to. We are being watched. If Nebuchadnezzar was being watched, you are being watched. And if those angels are jealous for the glory of God in His life, then I believe that they are jealous for the glory of God in your life. Verse 21, When these went, speaking of the wheels, and when those stood, these stood. And when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. Now, I don't have time here to go into this verse. This verse preaches a message all by itself, and you can look at it. Take it in your prayer room. And read this verse. This is the message it preaches. The message this verse is preaching is that of a surrendered life. When the spirit moves, the one in whom the spirit dwells moves also. That's the simple truth. This is heaven, my friend. This is heaven. When the will is totally surrendered to the spirit of God, and where the spirit moves, the one who is indwelt by the spirit moves. What a beautiful picture of a surrendered life. The angels move, the wheels move. Because the wheels, the spirit of those creatures are in the wheels. The spirit of God dwells in us, brothers and sisters. It ought to be like that with us. Just like in heaven. It should be like that with us. Where He moves, we move. When He stops, we stop. When He rises, we rise. Verse 22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the head of the living creatures was as the color of a terrible crystal. The terrible crystal. Stretched forth over their heads above, and under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other. Everyone had two, which covered one this side, and everyone had two, which covered on that side their bodies. Now, like I said, we're just talking about the floor yet. These creatures have a job. They're carrying an expanse. See, this isn't a picture of these beings, though the word spends a lot of time describing them. They're awesome enough in themselves. But it says here that there is an expanse over their head. As they're coming out of the north, and they're moving like lightning, and these angels are all aflame, they are burning hot, and they have fire moving in and out of them, and their faces are awesome, and their feet are gleaming. It says, as he lifts his eyes above those dreaded wheels so high, and if the wheels were dreadful because they were so high, what must it have been to see a crystal expanse spread out over the head of those beings? Now, the word firmament means expanse, or just a space. But firmamentum, which is the word that that comes from, often refers to something solid. And in this case here, I believe that it's talking about a dish of crystal. An awesome expanse of crystal above these angels' heads. It is the platform for the throne of God. In Revelation 15, verse 2, it says, And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass, mingled with fire. And then that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having harps of God. Well, if you just put your pictures together a little bit, you're standing before the throne of God. These are those that overcame the image of the beast and his mark. And they're standing on a sea of glass. I don't know about you, but I'm going to stand there someday. By all the grace of God that He's poured out in the blood of His Son, Jesus, I intend to stand on that sea of glass one day. I look forward to it. To stand on top of this crystal expanse. Underneath, above in front of the throne of God, with harps. To lift voices that are rejuvenated. Remade. No weakness. There's enough awesome things in this chapter already. Wouldn't you say? It challenges our human mind to even conceive of it being true. Can these things be true? What do you say? Are they true? I think we could say, if you believe these things, then you're a believer. And if you don't believe these things, you're an unbeliever. You need to believe God. We need to break out of the foolishness and the cloudiness that the devil has woven over our minds with the carnal pursuits of our life and our cars and our boats and our bicycles and our houses and our blenders and our carnal things of life and all the nice things that we have and the new ironing board and you know, all those things that fill our lives, right? And the net result of it is we get so cloudy and our perspective is so low that we get a little problem that comes into our life and we forget there's a living God that sits enthroned above the cherubim. I was going to say this later, but maybe this is a good place to say it. I don't know where all you are. I'm sure there are hurts here. There are a lot of hurts in this room. Young people wrestling through life, trying to find your way with your home situations, your work, your future, all of us. I don't know where you are or what you're dealing with in life. But I know this one thing. The answer lies in the living God. The answer for your problem lies in the living God. He is not a dead God. He is not a religion. He is alive and He is well. And the power that emanates from those creatures came from Him. He made them. There is no power on earth like it. These things that we are wrestling with, if we could just get our eyes off of these things and look unto the God that is alive, that sits above the cherubim, it would change our lives. It should change our lives. Shouldn't it? Does it change your life? I pray it will. It's my prayer for my own soul. God, open my eyes. I don't want to live down here. I want to set my mind on things above. Amen. Well, verse 26. And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone, and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above it. The likeness of a throne. So you have these awesome creatures with power that is just radiating out of them, and they are carrying upon their head a tremendous crystal expanse. And as he looks and lifts his eyes, he's kind of describing this whole thing as his eyes are lifted, and I don't know what his heart is doing, I don't even know how he can stay conscious, but he's, he sees above this crystal expanse a throne. Now a throne, I think it needs a little explanation. A throne is not just a chair that a king sits in. King Solomon had a throne. It had six steps going up to the throne. Six steps. And then his chair, his throne, was made out of ivory. And it was entirely overlaid with gold. The whole thing. And there was a lion on every step, on both sides, as you approached the king. And then there was two lions sitting at each armrest. Never had been one made like it. Never was there one made like it. Like King Solomon's throne. Isaiah said, I saw the Lord high and lifted up upon his throne. I don't think he had six steps. I envision he had more. I envision I envision God sitting on that crystal expanse. And there's a throne. And his attention is drawn to that throne. And his eyes go up those steps. It says that the throne is made like sapphire. Sapphire is a bright blue. A crystal blue throne. What a picture. I think God has good taste. What a beautiful sight. What majesty. I don't think... I think if you put Solomon's throne there, it would have looked like tin foil. The blue throne of God. Enthroned upon the crystal expanse. Carried by the four living creatures. The watchers of God. And then at the apex of the description, he says these words. As I saw Solomon sitting there as the appearance of a man. Isn't that like God? Isn't that like God? God is so humble. God is humble. Can you believe it? Someone with such power? Who was made in whose likeness? You were made in the likeness of God. You look like you look because God looks like He looks. He said in the very beginning, let us make man in our own image. But look what He says here. And I saw one sitting there and God bows Himself to be described as looking like the Son of Man. It's all backwards. He just does it so that our puny understanding can somehow grasp what God looks like. What He looks like us. I grew up in a school of thought that said that God is spirit. He has no form. It's not true. It's not true. We look like God. We are made in the likeness of God and yet He stoops to be described as in the likeness of man. You are made in the likeness of God. He is the living God. It says of Jesus Christ that He was gird about in the book of Revelations. He is gird about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And His eyes were like a flame of fire. And His feet like unto fine brass as if they burned in a furnace. And His voice as the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars. And out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. And His countenance was as the sun shining in His strength. So John describes the risen Jesus Christ. Daniel 7 says, I beheld till thrones were cast down and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was as white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was like a fiery flame and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from Him. Thousands, thousands ministered unto Him. And ten thousand times ten thousands stood before Him. And the judgment was set and the books were opened. Isn't that a beautiful picture? In the book of Daniel, Daniel says, I saw the Ancient of Days. Hair as white as wool. His throne was a flame of fire. And then John comes and sees the resurrected Jesus Christ who has come from the presence of His Father. From sitting on the right hand of God. Come to speak to His church. And the description that He gives to Jesus Christ is just like His Father. Like Father, like Son. We didn't see it. Like Paul said, if we'd have known, we would never have crucified the Lord of Glory. That song was a very fitting song tonight, Samuelette. And can it be that I should gain an interest in my Savior's blood? Died He for me that causes pain? That Thou, my God, should die for me? The living God, I know, the mind just wants to shut down, doesn't it? It's like I can't grasp it. The mind comes to the end and we say, wow, this is heavy, too heavy, good night. Really, that's what it does. But we're talking about reality. This is reality, young people. And I'm telling you, if you get a hold of this reality once in your life, you'll never be the same. If you get a glimpse of God once, and I pray God He gives it to you. If this preaching won't do it, I pray something else will. But you are in the presence of the living God tonight. He sees you. If those angels see you, He sees you even better. He watches the heart. He tries the reins. He sees the very motivation of every thought. He sits upon that blue throne. And notice how it describes and maybe we'll just look at that first here. It says in verse 27 and 28, And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within, from the appearance of His loins even upward. He's sitting on a blue throne, high and exalted. And Ezekiel says, I saw from His loins, His waist, upward. And there was an amber color. Now if you've ever worked with steel, amber is a beautiful description of hot metal. If you get it hot, cherry red hot, it becomes translucent. You can almost look into the metal. It becomes red hot. There's something in our nature that naturally withdraws from it. There's heat there. And this says that God from His waist up was glowing hot, like red hot metal. And inside of the hotness, Ezekiel said, I saw flames of fire moving inside. Is that how you see God? In this week day when God is a sugar daddy upstairs with a gray beard, and from the appearance of His loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire. I didn't see any legs. All I saw was fire. What a picture of God. Friends and brothers and sisters, behold thy God. Behold the God of Israel. This is the God whose heart burns for men. This is the God whose heart is warm with a love and a longing that men would turn from their sin and escape the burning wrath of His fury. And as the appearance of the bull that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness around about it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the ever existing one. Jehovah. That's His name. Uses His proper memorial name there. Says this was the glory of the I am. The one who exists. The one who lives. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face. And I heard the voice of one that spake to me. God sits upon His crystal throne. From the waist up, He is glowing hot. And from the waist down, He is all fire. This is God. I'm sorry, but He's not He's not some glowing, dying ember somewhere far away in outer space, like some view Him. He's not dying. He's not glowing lower and lower and lower. He's glowing today like He glowed here. His life is in Him just like it is here. There is a radiance coming out of Him. If you get the picture of that throne, it is not a throne of confusion. It is a throne of awesome light. In the book of Revelation, it says that peals of thunder and lightning come forth from that throne. It's not confusing to Him. It makes us tremble. God is alive. He is alive. There is a living God tonight. And He cares about the life that you're living. He cares about your life. For this cause, the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil. He is alive. He is the Son of the living God. He is alive. He is not a dusty rule book in a lifeless religion. He is not. And neither is He a formula tucked away somewhere in your theological equation. He is the living God. He speaks to hearts. He is in our presence this night. Where two or three of you are gathered together, I, the Son of the living God, am present. May the Spirit of God open up our eyes that they might never close to the truth of the living God. I don't care how many problems you're facing. I don't care how big they are. I don't care if they are unsurmountable. If you are struggling with confusion, failure, there is a living God tonight. God is alive. There is a radiance coming out from His being. He is alive. He has energy. He is not asleep. He is not far away. He is near at hand. Notice it says, I fell upon my face. I fell upon my face. That's what John did when he saw Jesus. I fell upon my face. Have you fallen on your face, young lady? Do you know what that means? Do you know what it means to come to grips with the living God and fall on your face? I am not preaching a story. I am telling you the sober truth. And as sure as I'm standing here this night, each one of you will stand on that crystal expanse and you will look into the face of this one I am telling you about and we will give an account for every word. This is the truth. This is God. He is alive. May we never forget it. Do you know what that's like? To fall on your face in surrender? I am undone. I'm done with my macho life. I'm done with going my own way. I'm done with trying to be cool, macho. All I care about is that that God when He looks into my life is pleased with me. Have you been there? Have you young men been there? You know what it means to say I have come to the end of myself in the presence of the living God. I have surrendered. I'm willing to move when the Spirit moves. There is no life like it. There is not a life like it. I fell on my face. Why not do it now? What are you waiting for? What are you waiting for? Unless you don't believe me, I read those words right out of the Word of God. I'm not telling you a story that I fabricated my own theology. I'm not stretching these words. I'm telling you there's glory. There's glory beyond our understanding. Jesus said, I'm telling you the truth that I have seen with my Father. He is seeking you to be His worshiper. I'd like to say one more thing before I close here tonight. Just leave you with an illustration. God is a God who is alive. And He is a God that is watching you right now. And I know you don't feel it. And maybe it doesn't even seem a reality to you. But you can believe it. You can believe it because the Bible says so. And you can cry unto God that He'd open up your understanding. The eyes of God when they look upon your life, there is an area of your life that God is keenly interested in as He watches your life. As He sees from that throne and He looks upon your life, and He tries your reins and your motivations. He's looking down into your life. The thing He's watching is your conscience. You can mark my words. God is watching your conscience. And He delights in a man or a woman whose conscience is 100% clean. God delights in that man. Can you imagine that? He looks from heaven upon that man's life that is utterly clean before Him. And He says, I am pleased with you. Is anything more valuable in the world? Is there a person in this room that is more important to you than that? Or maybe a person that you left behind back home? Who is more important than the person that sits enthroned on the crystal throne? When we talk about a conscience, I have a picture in my heart when I talk about my conscience and dealing with God. This is a cake pan I have here. It's square and it has these little corners down in here. And sometimes when a little girl is doing the dishes, it's hard to get it out of that corner, isn't it? I see some smiles. You all agree with me. Because you've taken the scouring pad and scoured in that corner for a good few minutes just to try to get it out of there. And a good girl, a good girl will do that. And those young men who have experience in washing dishes, you know what I'm talking about. But I'm talking about your conscience. Cleansing the conscience. And when a good girl washes dishes, she pays attention especially to those hidden areas that are hard to get clean. And when she feels they're clean enough, and she just holds the little pan up to mama. Is that clean enough, mama? Is that clean? Now, there's a naughty girl who doesn't want to go through the effort of that. She's scrubbing a little bit there. Well, that's good enough. That's good enough. Opens the cupboard, shoves it in, and closes the door. And then she hopes that nobody asks to see her work. And she hides behind that and she knows she hasn't done right. She knows that there's stuff in the corner of that pan. But she doesn't care whether mama approves of it or not. And she closes her eyes to the approval of her mother. She closes her eyes to her conscience, shoves that pan where it cannot be seen and ignores it. That is a picture of a dirty conscience. And in my own life, I know what that feels like. And I think you do too. But freedom and liberty and power and light in the Christian life comes when you're willing to take your pan out of the cupboard and deal with it. And even hold it up to daddy and say, what do you think of my pan? And he's a good father. He's not going to say, oh, that's good. Put it away. No, he says, you have some more scrubbing to do here. But there's nothing more blessed than coming to the end of your scrubbing of repentance and confession and getting clean with God and dragging out every little sin and every little bit in your life before the living God and holding up your conscience and saying, am I done? Am I done? Is my conscience clean? And you know that the living God is saying it's clean. That is life. That is eternal life. Do you know what that's like? Are you afraid tonight to hold up your life like that? Can you open up your heart to God right now? You know, I mean, you know when the pan is in the cupboard, you know it. Are you holding your heart up to the light of Christ and the eyes of the all-seeing God tonight? Is there something, can you say honestly to God, Lord, is there anything in my life that I'm saying no to? That I'm hiding from? You'd know it if you are. Or if you don't know it, I'm sorry. There is nothing like coming clean with God. God is alive tonight. God sits enthroned on high. His heart is burning in love for us. His wrath is not asleep. It comes upon the world. I'm not telling you God is all love. I'm not trying to paint a picture of God like he's all wrath and he's an angry monster in the sky. I don't think that's the picture that God gives us here. But there is a holy terror in standing before God. And oh the delight when that God who sits there says, I love you. I sent my son to die for you. I sent my son to die for you. And of how much severe punishment are we worthy who shun it and trample it underfoot as if it's unimportant. That's all I have to share tonight. I feel like in light of these truths, many of you may be pondering your life and I know that some of you have a pan in the cupboard and you need to get it out. You need to pull it out and you need to do business with God. You need to go back to the scrubbing in those corners and be honest. And God will cleanse you. God will cleanse you tonight. You could go to bed tonight with your heart entirely clear with God. You believe that? The things that I shared tonight don't need to cause you fear. You don't have to look at that day when the books are open as it says there in Daniel with trembling. You could say, I'm going to stand in front of God someday and I'm looking forward to it. So I think we'll sing a song here tonight and I'm going to ask those of you who have things that you need to deal with God to come up here to the front. Is there someone in this room that is ashamed to do business with God? Are you ashamed to do business with God when you think of coming up here and confessing that you are a needy soul? Does that cause you shame? In light of who God is? In light of the living God who longs for you and wants to make you clean? Don't be ashamed. I love you all. I pray that God will open your hearts. Open your hearts. And expose everything. And if you're clear with God, I'm sure that this message has been a blessing. I hope it encouraged you and I hope that you're ready to help someone else get their pan clean. Let's sing a song. Samuel, do you have a song for me? 899. Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me. See on the four poles he's watching and waiting, watching for you and for me. Amen. Come home. Come home. Come home. You are weary. Come home. Come home. Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling. Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading, pleading for you and for me? Why should we linger and heed not his mercy, mercy for you and for me? Come home. Come home. Come home. You are weary. Come home. Earnestly and tenderly Jesus is calling. You know, it says earnestly and tenderly Jesus is calling. That's right. Can you hear an earnest tender call from him whose feet are like burnished bronze that has been made to glow in the furnace? And his face is like the sun shining in his strength. And out of his mouth comes a two-edged sword. And he is girt about the paps with a golden girdle. And he is the son of the living God. And yet in all that magnificence and power he earnestly humbly pleads with sinful men. He humbles himself to plead with you and say, what are you waiting for when I shed my blood for you? If you're sitting in your seat, and I know some of you are, you're sitting in your seat saying, I just can't do that. May I add to the plead of Jesus Christ, don't wait. Please. You could be happy tomorrow with a clear heart. You could have a conscious tomorrow that is totally clean with God. We'll sing one more verse. Oh for the wonderful love he has promised promised for you and for me though we have You are weary weary tenderly Jesus is calling calling calling Alright. I know that some of you decided not to come forward. Maybe you're ashamed. Maybe you're not certain as to what you need to deal with. Maybe you think you've been a Christian too long and it would be a defeat to admit that you have a problem now. We're going to dismiss these mourners back to the prayer rooms. If you ladies would like some counseling and would like someone to pray with you or you'd like to just go back to the prayer room and pray by yourselves, you should go out these doors to my left. Go ahead girls to the right. I'm sorry. Out to my right. If you'd like, just get up right now and go out the doors to the right there and there'll be someone there to help pray. Go out this way here. You men, if you'd like to pray or you'd like some counseling, if you go out this door here, go back there and wait and someone will be there to help you counsel with you. If you'd like counseling or find a place to pray in the prayer room back there, I encourage you to open up your heart to the living God. If you are sitting in your seat and you know you have business to do with God, I encourage you right now to get up and go back to the back rooms there and find help cleaning out your heart. This week will be all the more blessed for you if you do. God bless you counselors. We are in the presence of the living God. It's not a religion. It's not a movement. It is the mercy of the living God in our lives that He would allow us to be right with Him through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. Aren't you glad your heart is clear tonight? Are you glad you can say, my heart is clean before God. I am accepted by God. There's nothing between my soul and the Savior. Are you glad you can say that tonight?