God's Persevering Love (Ez 20:1-44)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.360 --> 00:00:16.269 Ezekiel Chapter Twenty. I'm going to read from the beginning through verse Forty Four. 2 00:00:21.190 --> 00:00:26.780 As I read, you can consider this passage in light of the Psalm 3 00:00:27.179 --> 00:00:32.100 we just saying and read these other things that I've mentioned. We get a 4 00:00:32.219 --> 00:00:38.009 sense, in among other things, a sense in Ezekiel twenty, of what 5 00:00:38.329 --> 00:00:43.570 happens when we don't praise God, when we instead turn our hopes, our 6 00:00:43.689 --> 00:00:53.399 fears are praises to idols. We see why we must give him our ourselves, 7 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:57.200 are faith, our love and him completely in him alone. What happens 8 00:00:57.240 --> 00:01:02.799 when we don't, and what God has done, even in spite of our 9 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:07.269 great sinfulness. So we come to a better understanding of both what God desires 10 00:01:08.469 --> 00:01:12.829 ourselves and our sin, and also his great mercy to us. So let's 11 00:01:14.269 --> 00:01:21.219 hear God's Word Now Ezekiel Chapter Twenty one through forty four. In the seventh 12 00:01:21.299 --> 00:01:23.700 year and the Fifth Month, on the Tenth Day of the month, certain 13 00:01:23.739 --> 00:01:27.780 of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord and sat before me, 14 00:01:30.060 --> 00:01:33.049 and the word of the Lord came to me. Son Of man, 15 00:01:33.209 --> 00:01:36.650 speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, thus says the Lord 16 00:01:36.730 --> 00:01:41.450 God. Is it to inquire of me that you have come as I live, 17 00:01:41.569 --> 00:01:45.969 declares the Lord God. I will not be inquired of by you. 18 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:49.640 Will you judge them, son of man? Will you judge them? Let 19 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:55.079 them know the abominations of their fathers and say to them. Thus says the 20 00:01:55.239 --> 00:01:59.799 Lord God, on the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the 21 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:04.310 offspring of the House of Jacob, making myself known to them in the land 22 00:02:04.349 --> 00:02:07.709 of Egypt. I swore to them, saying I am the Lord your God. 23 00:02:07.629 --> 00:02:10.189 On that day, I swore to them that I would bring them out 24 00:02:10.229 --> 00:02:14.710 of the land of Egypt into the land that I had searched out for them, 25 00:02:15.349 --> 00:02:19.340 land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands. 26 00:02:19.979 --> 00:02:23.460 And I said to them, cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, 27 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:28.819 every one of you, and do not defile yourself with the idols of 28 00:02:28.900 --> 00:02:34.490 Egypt. I am the Lord your God. But they rebelled against me and 29 00:02:34.650 --> 00:02:38.090 were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable 30 00:02:38.169 --> 00:02:42.889 things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. 31 00:02:43.729 --> 00:02:46.240 Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger 32 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:51.159 against them in the midst of the land of Egypt, but I acted for 33 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:53.879 the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight 34 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:58.990 of those nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself know 35 00:02:59.229 --> 00:03:01.509 own to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. So I 36 00:03:01.550 --> 00:03:05.789 led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 37 00:03:06.469 --> 00:03:09.389 I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, 38 00:03:09.430 --> 00:03:14.580 if a person does them, he shall live. Moreover, I gave 39 00:03:14.659 --> 00:03:19.180 them my sabbaths as a sign between me and them, that they might know 40 00:03:19.379 --> 00:03:23.939 that I am the Lord who sacrifice, who sanctifies them. But the House 41 00:03:23.979 --> 00:03:27.849 of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my 42 00:03:28.009 --> 00:03:32.409 statutes, but rejected my rules by which if a person does shall if a 43 00:03:32.490 --> 00:03:38.129 person does them, he shall live, and my sabbaths. They greatly profaned. 44 00:03:38.449 --> 00:03:42.560 Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness 45 00:03:42.599 --> 00:03:46.520 to make a full end of them, but I acted for the sake of 46 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:50.400 my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations 47 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:53.280 in whose sight I had brought them out. Moreover, I swore to them 48 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:57.389 in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had 49 00:03:57.430 --> 00:04:00.110 given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of 50 00:04:00.189 --> 00:04:05.550 all lands, because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes 51 00:04:05.909 --> 00:04:13.300 and profaned my sabbaths for their heart went after their idols. Nevertheless, my 52 00:04:13.500 --> 00:04:16.379 eye spared them and I did not destroy them or make a full end of 53 00:04:16.459 --> 00:04:20.779 them in the wilderness. And I said to their children in the wilderness, 54 00:04:21.060 --> 00:04:26.129 do not walk in the statutes of your father's, nor keep their rules, 55 00:04:26.569 --> 00:04:30.410 nor defile yourselves with their idols. I am the Lord, your God. 56 00:04:30.050 --> 00:04:34.529 Walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules and keep my sabbaths 57 00:04:34.569 --> 00:04:39.519 wholly, that they may be a sign between you and me, that you 58 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:43.800 may know that I am the Lord, your God. But the children, 59 00:04:44.279 --> 00:04:46.879 but, but the children, rebelled against me. They did not walk in 60 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:51.120 my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if 61 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:58.589 a person does them, he shall live. They profaned my sabbaths. Then 62 00:04:58.629 --> 00:05:00.750 I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against 63 00:05:00.750 --> 00:05:04.670 them in the wilderness. But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake 64 00:05:04.750 --> 00:05:08.860 of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the 65 00:05:08.899 --> 00:05:13.420 nations in whose hand or in whose sight I had brought them out. Moreover, 66 00:05:13.459 --> 00:05:15.339 I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the 67 00:05:15.420 --> 00:05:20.060 nations and disperse them among the through the countries, because they had not obeyed 68 00:05:20.139 --> 00:05:25.889 my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their 69 00:05:26.009 --> 00:05:31.250 eyes were set on their father's idols. Moreover, I gave them statutes that 70 00:05:31.370 --> 00:05:35.160 were not good and rules by which they could not have life, and I 71 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:40.680 defiled them through their very gifts, in their offering up all their first born 72 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:45.839 that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I 73 00:05:45.959 --> 00:05:49.870 am the Lord. Therefore, son of men, speak to the House of 74 00:05:49.990 --> 00:05:55.670 Israel and say to them thus, as the Lord God, in this also 75 00:05:55.750 --> 00:06:00.350 your father's blasphemed me by dealing treacherously with me, for when I had brought 76 00:06:00.389 --> 00:06:04.220 them into the land that I swore to give to them, then, wherever 77 00:06:04.459 --> 00:06:11.220 they saw any high hill or a leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices 78 00:06:11.300 --> 00:06:15.980 and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There they sent up their 79 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:19.689 pleasing aromas and they poured out their drink offerings. I said to them, 80 00:06:20.250 --> 00:06:24.810 what is the high place to which you go? So its name is called 81 00:06:25.250 --> 00:06:30.290 Bomba to this day. Therefore, say to the House of Israel, thus 82 00:06:30.329 --> 00:06:34.680 says the Lord God, will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers 83 00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:40.600 and go whorring after their detestable things? When you present your gifts and offer 84 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:46.079 up your children and fire? You defile yourselves with all your idols to this 85 00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:50.389 day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O House of Israel, 86 00:06:50.430 --> 00:06:55.509 as I live, declares the Lord God. I will not be inquired 87 00:06:55.589 --> 00:07:00.500 of by you. What is in your mind shall never happen. The thought 88 00:07:01.180 --> 00:07:05.819 let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and 89 00:07:06.100 --> 00:07:12.860 worship Wood and stone, as I live, declares the Lord God. Surely, 90 00:07:12.939 --> 00:07:15.970 with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, 91 00:07:16.209 --> 00:07:20.769 I will be king over you. I will bring you out from the peoples 92 00:07:20.810 --> 00:07:25.529 and gather you out from the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty 93 00:07:25.649 --> 00:07:30.160 hand and an outstretched harm and with wrath I poured out, and I will 94 00:07:30.279 --> 00:07:33.000 bring you into the Wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into 95 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:38.199 judgment with you, face to face, as I entered into judgment with your 96 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:42.120 fathers and the Wilderness of the land of Egypt. So I will enter into 97 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:46.670 judgment with you, declares the Lord God. I will make you pass under 98 00:07:46.709 --> 00:07:50.069 the Rod and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. I 99 00:07:50.149 --> 00:07:55.029 will purge out the rebels from among you and those who transgress against me. 100 00:07:55.550 --> 00:07:59.019 I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall 101 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:03.420 not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the 102 00:08:03.579 --> 00:08:07.500 Lords for you, a house of Israel, thus says the Lord God. 103 00:08:07.220 --> 00:08:13.050 Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you 104 00:08:13.129 --> 00:08:16.250 will not listen to me, but my holy name, you shall no more 105 00:08:16.410 --> 00:08:22.529 profane with your gifts and your idols, for on my Holy Mountain, the 106 00:08:22.610 --> 00:08:26.050 mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God. They're all the house of 107 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:31.120 Israel. All of them shall serve me in the land. There I will 108 00:08:31.160 --> 00:08:35.000 accept them, and there I will require of your contributions and the choicest of 109 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:39.639 your gifts, with all your sacred offerings, as a pleasing aroma. I 110 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:43.669 will accept you. When I bring you out from the peoples and gather you 111 00:08:43.789 --> 00:08:48.710 out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will manifest my 112 00:08:48.909 --> 00:08:52.029 holiness among you in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that 113 00:08:52.190 --> 00:08:56.460 I am the Lord when I bring you into the land of Israel, the 114 00:08:56.539 --> 00:09:00.899 country that I swore to give to your father's and there you shall remember your 115 00:09:00.980 --> 00:09:05.539 ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you shall 116 00:09:05.620 --> 00:09:09.659 loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed, and you shall know 117 00:09:09.450 --> 00:09:13.370 that I am the Lord when I deal with you for my namesake, not 118 00:09:13.730 --> 00:09:18.570 according to your evil ways nor according to your corrupt deeds. O House of 119 00:09:18.690 --> 00:09:33.360 Israel, declares the Lord. Men, in the back of your hymnals, 120 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:39.309 a few turned to the shorter catechism. I'm going to do this now, 121 00:09:39.470 --> 00:09:43.669 and you find that question which I am looking for, because I don't remember 122 00:09:43.669 --> 00:09:46.990 the exact number here. It is twenty six. How does Christ execute the 123 00:09:46.070 --> 00:09:50.429 Office of a King? This is on page nine hundred and sixty nine. 124 00:09:50.470 --> 00:09:58.980 Nine hundred and sixty nine. How does Christ, Howeth Christ execute the office 125 00:09:58.019 --> 00:10:03.940 of a King? The answers this Christ execute the office of a king in 126 00:10:03.340 --> 00:10:11.570 subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending US and in restraining and conquering 127 00:10:11.610 --> 00:10:22.240 all of his and our enemies. This question an answer is on full display 128 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:28.840 here. In Ezekiel, Chapter Twenty, you see and hear the mighty power 129 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:35.710 and words of God as he speaks with great authority over his people. He's 130 00:10:35.870 --> 00:10:43.629 very clear about this point. You are my people. And for the person 131 00:10:43.830 --> 00:10:48.190 who's rebelling against God, for who hates God, who loves the idols, 132 00:10:48.830 --> 00:10:54.740 this is constantly frustrating because he keeps bringing them in and giving them laws and 133 00:10:54.820 --> 00:11:00.139 giving commandments and they want to do other things. Those who rebel against God 134 00:11:00.379 --> 00:11:05.730 do not want to be under his kingship. And the fact of the matter 135 00:11:05.850 --> 00:11:11.330 is he's unrelenting. He doesn't just say lest forget about it, never mind, 136 00:11:11.370 --> 00:11:13.769 I don't want you anyway, or this is too much trouble, or 137 00:11:13.850 --> 00:11:18.720 I'll go find some other people. He just continually goes after them, again 138 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:24.879 and again and again. We have at the end, another expression of that 139 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:33.789 kingship of Great Power and glory, as he conquers us for himself, as 140 00:11:33.909 --> 00:11:37.350 he subdues us to himself, but does it in a gracious way, no 141 00:11:37.509 --> 00:11:43.269 less powerful, no less strong, no less full of majesty and might, 142 00:11:46.539 --> 00:11:52.100 but coming not according to our corruptees, coming not according to our evil ways, 143 00:11:54.100 --> 00:11:56.340 but according to his own perfect will and as well, of grace. 144 00:11:56.379 --> 00:12:01.259 It's really amazing, it's outstanding. It gives us a sense, as I 145 00:12:01.299 --> 00:12:05.610 mentioned earlier, very specific sense of God, a God who is big, 146 00:12:05.490 --> 00:12:11.490 a God who is not small, a God who is bigger than we imagine 147 00:12:11.570 --> 00:12:16.840 agin gives us better than we deserve. To review just a little bit of 148 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:20.720 ezechiel twenty, I won't go verse by verse or will be here a little 149 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:28.159 while, but very simply, we have there's a repetition, right, you 150 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:33.110 notice that there's three generations. God deals with those in Egypt, those who 151 00:12:33.110 --> 00:12:37.070 were brought out of Egypt, those of their children, and with each generation 152 00:12:37.470 --> 00:12:45.620 God sees them and commands them don't go after the idols, don't defile yourselves, 153 00:12:45.659 --> 00:12:50.899 don't do to detestable things like sacrificing your children, burning them on the 154 00:12:50.940 --> 00:12:58.259 altars to this or to that God. And in each of these generations, 155 00:12:58.500 --> 00:13:03.090 what happens? They do exactly what he has commanded them not to do, 156 00:13:03.009 --> 00:13:09.610 and he gives them very he's he, as he speaks to is equel. 157 00:13:09.049 --> 00:13:13.279 He recounts specific ways in which they do that, you know, in different 158 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:18.639 times and in different ways. One of them is a refusal to obey his 159 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:24.039 laws and statutes. Another the sacrifice of children, another refusal to repent. 160 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:30.750 He called alls them and he passes them under judgment. This image of the 161 00:13:30.789 --> 00:13:35.070 Rod and each of these instances. The Sabbath is another example. He he 162 00:13:35.350 --> 00:13:41.899 has created these institutions as a sign of the Covenant, a marker in time, 163 00:13:41.139 --> 00:13:46.179 and their weekly rhythms, on which he himself defines, is something that 164 00:13:46.299 --> 00:13:50.899 sets them apart and they don't care about it, they don't observe it, 165 00:13:50.940 --> 00:13:54.179 they don't remember it and ensuing so they fail to remember him as their king. 166 00:14:00.009 --> 00:14:03.330 And all these things. God prosecutes the Covenant. It's one of the 167 00:14:03.450 --> 00:14:07.769 things you can think of. Is Ekiel's kind of like a lawyer standing up 168 00:14:09.210 --> 00:14:13.639 in the courtroom on behalf of the one who has been harmed, on the 169 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:18.759 behalf of the king who has not been given his dues, and he says 170 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:22.720 the law was clear, the expectations were clear. The gifts that he gave 171 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:28.230 you are innumerable and many. He called you out for these specific purposes and 172 00:14:28.350 --> 00:14:33.669 again you failed and you disobeyed. Next part of the cycle that we see 173 00:14:33.789 --> 00:14:41.019 with each of these generations, as after the after, God brings the accusation. 174 00:14:41.220 --> 00:14:43.940 He says, I'm going to be done with you, and then he 175 00:14:45.059 --> 00:14:48.379 relents. Did you notice that you're kind of expecting it all over, be 176 00:14:48.500 --> 00:14:52.929 over, because he says it's all over, I'm going to put an end 177 00:14:52.970 --> 00:14:56.009 to you, this is all the defilement and corruptions will stop. And then 178 00:14:56.450 --> 00:15:03.289 he doesn't. He relents from the disaster. He stops short of destroying his 179 00:15:03.490 --> 00:15:07.879 people, in removing them all from the face of the earth. And there's 180 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:11.879 a specific reason he gives. Do you remember what it was? The specific 181 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:16.960 reason he gives several times over, and it's it's because of his name, 182 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:24.149 because of the watching nations, that he will not do this thing. We 183 00:15:24.309 --> 00:15:26.190 have to ask yourself, what is it about God's name? What is it 184 00:15:26.269 --> 00:15:33.350 about his honor that he wants to uphold? And the answer is his promises. 185 00:15:35.019 --> 00:15:43.019 He made a promise to Abraham to make him the father of many people, 186 00:15:43.059 --> 00:15:46.700 a blessed father, an exalted father, one through whom all the nations 187 00:15:46.740 --> 00:15:52.009 of the Earth would be blessed. And if God blots out his people from 188 00:15:52.049 --> 00:15:56.809 the earth, if he takes his thumb and just says never mind on Abraham 189 00:15:56.889 --> 00:16:02.690 and that family over, then he has failed to fulfill the covenant that he 190 00:16:02.730 --> 00:16:08.080 promised to fulfill. Yes, is people under Moses have failed to fulfill the 191 00:16:08.200 --> 00:16:12.720 covenant that God brought them out and told them do this and you will live. 192 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:18.320 He says two three times in this passage. This is the law, 193 00:16:18.590 --> 00:16:22.870 that you may live by it. And they are not living by it and 194 00:16:22.070 --> 00:16:26.909 they are dying by it. So the question is is that, how come 195 00:16:26.990 --> 00:16:30.590 they don't die? How come he keeps relenting? Well, it's because there 196 00:16:30.669 --> 00:16:37.019 was an earlier covenant, because this covenant that God made with Moses was attached 197 00:16:37.100 --> 00:16:41.700 to another covenant, promise to Abraham, by which he walked through these animals 198 00:16:42.139 --> 00:16:48.409 and animals cut in half and said, essentially, may these thing, this 199 00:16:48.649 --> 00:16:52.730 death that has come upon these animals, happen to me if I don't fulfill 200 00:16:52.970 --> 00:16:56.529 my promise to you, Abraham. He says to Abraham, I will do 201 00:16:56.929 --> 00:17:03.879 this period, I will fulfill my promise, I will do these things for 202 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:07.599 you. And so if God blots out his people, then we have to 203 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:10.599 ask, and the nations of the world will ask, well, what was 204 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:15.589 that Abraham thing all about? Yes, the people disobeyed, but how did 205 00:17:15.630 --> 00:17:21.509 God fulfill his promises? How did he keep his word? Over and over 206 00:17:21.589 --> 00:17:26.069 in the psalms right we read about his steadfast love, his loving kindness that 207 00:17:26.230 --> 00:17:30.500 never fails, his promises that never fail. If God were to blot out 208 00:17:30.500 --> 00:17:36.900 his people, what would that say about his name? When he says to 209 00:17:37.019 --> 00:17:41.980 Abraham, I will be your God, to his children, you will be 210 00:17:42.140 --> 00:17:52.930 my people, God has sworn by his own name. Hebrews says, to 211 00:17:53.089 --> 00:17:59.720 keep the oath, to keep the promise, and so he relents once, 212 00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:04.920 twice, three times. He relents over and over again. And of course 213 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:08.240 we know that these summaries, if you know a little bit about the Old 214 00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:15.029 Testament, our summaries, we could pile up the examples, over and over 215 00:18:15.230 --> 00:18:19.990 and over again, of the even more specific ways in which God relents from 216 00:18:21.069 --> 00:18:26.430 disaster, in which God saves his people and Pours Out His grace even as 217 00:18:26.470 --> 00:18:32.220 he judges them and disciplines them for his sin. He keeps these promises to 218 00:18:32.380 --> 00:18:37.380 Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to Israel, his people. He 219 00:18:37.500 --> 00:18:41.049 holds a remnant, he presses them on, he gives the next generation another 220 00:18:41.210 --> 00:18:48.690 chance and he doesn't blot them out from the face of the earth. One 221 00:18:48.730 --> 00:18:53.529 of the things this teaches us is exactly what our sins deserve. The Lord 222 00:18:53.609 --> 00:18:57.400 is very clear about this. When we refuse him, when we cast him 223 00:18:57.440 --> 00:19:03.839 off as our king, we deserve death, not only because the evil of 224 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:07.319 our sins, but let us remember, he is the God of life. 225 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:15.349 If you take a plant that needs daily full sun and yes, get under 226 00:19:15.349 --> 00:19:22.789 the kitchen cabinet, it's going to die right. It's just what happens when 227 00:19:22.829 --> 00:19:30.380 you get away from the light. Nature runs its course and we, by 228 00:19:30.500 --> 00:19:36.059 nature, made in the image of God, are made to be dependent on 229 00:19:36.140 --> 00:19:41.809 him. We are made our chief end is to glorify him and enjoy him 230 00:19:41.809 --> 00:19:48.049 forever. That's what we were designed by God himself to do. And so 231 00:19:48.210 --> 00:19:49.930 when we reject him, when we turn away from him, when we say 232 00:19:49.970 --> 00:19:53.200 to the king, I'm not going to obey your laws, not only do 233 00:19:53.319 --> 00:20:00.359 we receive the just penalty for that death and his wrath, his curse, 234 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:06.880 but it's natural consequences too. You get out from under the light, you 235 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:11.190 escape into the darkness, you believe the lies of the evil one and you 236 00:20:11.349 --> 00:20:18.349 will experience those consequences, like the plant under the counter that needs full sun. 237 00:20:18.710 --> 00:20:25.859 We die. This passage and the idolatry and the rebellion that it's found 238 00:20:25.940 --> 00:20:30.259 in it reminds us of what our sins deserve. Where they lead, as 239 00:20:30.339 --> 00:20:37.690 the Lord says, the law. Those who keep the law live. What 240 00:20:37.970 --> 00:20:41.849 happens when we don't keep the law? We die. That's what our sins 241 00:20:42.809 --> 00:20:51.079 deserve. They deserve punishment, they deserve death. Another thing they is. 242 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:56.480 Our sins bring us is at I shouldn't put it. PUT THEM IN THE 243 00:20:56.519 --> 00:21:00.720 POST wave of I'll just keep going. Another thing our sins bring us is 244 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:06.309 a separation between us and God. Right, this is restating in a way 245 00:21:06.470 --> 00:21:08.710 what I just said, but I want you to see it through another Lens, 246 00:21:10.029 --> 00:21:15.589 the Lens through which this chapter begins and ends. The elders of Israel 247 00:21:15.670 --> 00:21:18.619 do what. They go to inquire of the Lord. What does he say? 248 00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:27.539 No, I'm not talking to you. There is a separation between them. 249 00:21:29.619 --> 00:21:33.210 Now the Lord tells us to inquire of him all the time. Ask 250 00:21:33.329 --> 00:21:36.569 and you will receive. Go to your father, who loves to give to 251 00:21:36.609 --> 00:21:40.009 you, and on and on and on. So why here a separation? 252 00:21:41.130 --> 00:21:44.809 Why is here here? Why here is he saying no, I will not 253 00:21:45.650 --> 00:21:49.480 let you inquire of me. I will not speak to you except this word 254 00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:56.160 of judgment, because this is another thing our sins do. They separate us 255 00:21:56.200 --> 00:22:02.150 from him. God offers us, over and over and over again, opportunities 256 00:22:03.509 --> 00:22:07.109 to repent, opportunities to serve him. But there comes a time when judgment 257 00:22:07.190 --> 00:22:14.470 comes, when those opportunities are no more, when God turns his ear against 258 00:22:14.509 --> 00:22:18.220 us and will not hear. Now, in this life we are promised, 259 00:22:19.420 --> 00:22:23.619 we are promised every opportunity to turn and save. Even at the very last 260 00:22:23.779 --> 00:22:27.539 hour of our lives, the very last minute, the very last second, 261 00:22:27.859 --> 00:22:33.369 God offers to us an opportunity to cling to him, to find forgiveness for 262 00:22:33.450 --> 00:22:42.690 our sins and in in repentance. But whatever that next second is, whatever 263 00:22:42.809 --> 00:22:45.400 that next minute is, and we don't always know when it be, when 264 00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:51.720 we die, that's it. There comes a day, God says, when 265 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:56.319 he will judge all of us. We will raise up us out of the 266 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:03.589 dead and judge us either according to our sins or according to the forgiveness of 267 00:23:03.630 --> 00:23:10.150 our sins that we have in Christ. There is a separation between us and 268 00:23:10.269 --> 00:23:14.819 him. That happens and we cannot, we must not take that for granted. 269 00:23:15.740 --> 00:23:19.740 God speak to us in his mercy, is loving kindness. He comes 270 00:23:19.779 --> 00:23:26.579 to us in his gentleness. Over and over and over again, hear him, 271 00:23:26.690 --> 00:23:33.809 receive him, listen to him, inquire of him, while he yets, 272 00:23:33.890 --> 00:23:41.210 still offers himself to you. There are a lot of other things we 273 00:23:41.289 --> 00:23:44.440 could talk about, to other things with this patch. That was which this 274 00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:49.599 passage points us to that we can't take for granted. But let's turn now 275 00:23:52.200 --> 00:23:56.029 to the end of the chapter and the way that God responds to this continuing 276 00:23:56.349 --> 00:24:07.910 idolatry, the continuing rebellion. He says in verse thirty three, with great 277 00:24:07.069 --> 00:24:12.539 power and strength, as I live, declares the Lord. Surely, with 278 00:24:12.660 --> 00:24:18.619 a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I will 279 00:24:18.900 --> 00:24:25.849 be king over you. He is not going to let this people go, 280 00:24:26.289 --> 00:24:30.970 is he? He is even going to pour out his wrath and all of 281 00:24:32.089 --> 00:24:40.480 his strength and his might to subdue them to himself. I will bring you 282 00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:44.200 out from the People's and gather you out of the countries where you scattered, 283 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:49.000 with a mighty hand in an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out. I 284 00:24:49.160 --> 00:24:52.829 love at the beginning of this chapter and and are at the beginning of this 285 00:24:52.950 --> 00:24:56.670 section and throughout, as we move towards verse forty four, there's this question 286 00:24:56.789 --> 00:25:00.190 in our mind, is like, what's going on here? He sounds like 287 00:25:00.309 --> 00:25:06.910 he's about to destroy them completely, as have we've seen before, right mighty 288 00:25:07.029 --> 00:25:11.019 hand, outstretched arm, pouring out wrath. And yet the result of these 289 00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:18.059 things is a gathering in a nations from the nation's and establishing them on his 290 00:25:18.259 --> 00:25:22.690 holy mountain, as we read in Verse Forty on my Holy Mountain, the 291 00:25:22.730 --> 00:25:26.890 mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord. They're all the house of the 292 00:25:26.970 --> 00:25:32.730 House of Israel. All of them shall serve me in the land. There 293 00:25:32.809 --> 00:25:37.079 I will accept them, and there I will require your gifts and offerings, 294 00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:41.799 he says, as a pleasing aroma, I will accept you. Do you 295 00:25:41.960 --> 00:25:45.319 feel the tension there a little bit? What is going on? How does 296 00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:51.990 this idolatrous, evil, corrupt people becoming, all of a sudden, this 297 00:25:52.509 --> 00:25:59.230 great nation, this wonderful holy cities set on mountain tops, being a pleasing 298 00:25:59.349 --> 00:26:03.069 aroma acceptable in the side of the Lord, even as he's pouring out his 299 00:26:03.230 --> 00:26:07.859 wrath upon them? I will manifest my holiness among you, Verse Forty One, 300 00:26:07.940 --> 00:26:11.980 in the sight of the nation's and now they're all going to see. 301 00:26:11.779 --> 00:26:15.579 They will be a light to the world. In Verse Forty Two, you 302 00:26:15.779 --> 00:26:19.410 shall know that I am the Lord your the Lord God, when I bring 303 00:26:19.529 --> 00:26:23.609 you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to 304 00:26:23.730 --> 00:26:29.650 your father's and there you shall remember your ways, in your deeds, which 305 00:26:29.690 --> 00:26:33.519 you defiled yourselves, and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you 306 00:26:33.640 --> 00:26:42.200 have committed, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Let Read 307 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:48.829 Question Twenty six again. Christ executes the Office of a King in subduing us 308 00:26:48.910 --> 00:26:55.150 to himself. Doesn't that sound an awful lot like Ezekiel? Twenty Jesus, 309 00:26:55.269 --> 00:26:59.349 of course, in fights us. Jesus woos us, Jesus is gentle with 310 00:26:59.470 --> 00:27:03.140 us, but he also subdues us. He also is a king who says 311 00:27:03.299 --> 00:27:10.140 no more sin, I'm done with it, it's over. You will worship 312 00:27:10.259 --> 00:27:17.970 me and you will worship me from the heart. He rules US and he 313 00:27:18.170 --> 00:27:25.809 subdues us, he strains and conquers us. The big question, then, 314 00:27:25.890 --> 00:27:30.799 is, how are we still standing here? How do we live when the 315 00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:37.559 Almighty God of all the world is pouring out his wrath upon us? How 316 00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:44.430 do you end up after that, with a city of light. How do 317 00:27:44.509 --> 00:27:48.789 you end up after that, with people who are praising the Lord, who 318 00:27:48.789 --> 00:27:59.660 are acceptable to the Lord? How is it that he deals with us? 319 00:27:59.660 --> 00:28:03.380 For his namesake? And he does it not according to our evil ways, 320 00:28:03.819 --> 00:28:11.259 not according to our corruptees, when we have broken the law, when we 321 00:28:11.380 --> 00:28:18.769 have died in our sins. Was Because of Christ, of course, because 322 00:28:18.769 --> 00:28:23.250 of the promised one who comes, because Yah way come ums into the world 323 00:28:25.529 --> 00:28:30.720 and manifests his name into the world, in the world, in Jesus, 324 00:28:30.759 --> 00:28:37.839 Christ executes the Office of a King and subduing us to himself and ruling and 325 00:28:37.880 --> 00:28:44.430 defending US and restraining and conquering all of his and our enemies. How does 326 00:28:44.509 --> 00:28:48.430 Christ do that? He does it by going to the cross for us and 327 00:28:48.630 --> 00:28:55.859 exercising for us and in the name of God, his kingly power. there. 328 00:28:56.619 --> 00:29:00.380 Now, the world, of course, laughs and mocks and does not 329 00:29:00.619 --> 00:29:07.099 see a great God and great power ruling and subduing all the nations. In 330 00:29:07.259 --> 00:29:11.609 fact, they nail a funny sign up above the Cross and King of the 331 00:29:11.609 --> 00:29:15.130 Jews, isn't he spectacular? And they laugh at him and they mock him, 332 00:29:15.609 --> 00:29:25.720 they strip him naked and they beat him and he dies. What the 333 00:29:25.799 --> 00:29:30.839 Bible tells us is that when Jesus went to the Cross and this wrath of 334 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:36.240 God that has talked about here, this wrath of God that will be poured 335 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:41.430 out to subdues people to himself, is poured out not on the people so 336 00:29:41.589 --> 00:29:45.269 that they die, but he takes on himself, the wrath of God, 337 00:29:45.589 --> 00:29:52.019 poured out on Christ, so that we can live, that he leads the 338 00:29:52.140 --> 00:30:00.339 devil and all his minions in a prate of shame. He embarrasses them, 339 00:30:00.180 --> 00:30:06.700 he shows himself to be the victorious and the powerful one as he takes on 340 00:30:06.980 --> 00:30:11.329 all of our sins, all these the separation, the death, the punishment, 341 00:30:11.410 --> 00:30:15.170 the misery, all of it, and he takes it on himself. 342 00:30:17.329 --> 00:30:19.970 How is it, going back to Ezekiel Twenty and that question, how is 343 00:30:21.089 --> 00:30:29.720 it that God will pour his wrath out and save his people? The answer 344 00:30:29.799 --> 00:30:37.150 is because he pours it out on himself and he removes our sins from US 345 00:30:37.309 --> 00:30:42.910 and he puts a spirit in us that wants to obey from the heart. 346 00:30:45.589 --> 00:30:49.059 When Christ executes the Office of a King and he rules and subdues us to 347 00:30:49.140 --> 00:30:55.099 himself, we're not kicking and screaming, we're not saying I don't want to 348 00:30:55.140 --> 00:30:59.180 do it anymore. We're saying thank you, Lord. He moves his Holy 349 00:30:59.259 --> 00:31:03.140 Spirit in us so that we, from the heart, say I love you, 350 00:31:03.380 --> 00:31:07.529 Lord, and we cling to him with everything that is in us. 351 00:31:07.569 --> 00:31:15.849 We become that people that he is promised that we would become. When we 352 00:31:17.009 --> 00:31:22.839 think about the sins that we deserve because of our idolatry, you can see 353 00:31:22.039 --> 00:31:29.200 why we come to this place whereas is Echiel puts it, we remember our 354 00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:33.910 ways, we remember our deeds and we loathe ourselves for all the evils we 355 00:31:34.029 --> 00:31:40.309 have committed. What else can we do? It's why we say, and 356 00:31:40.670 --> 00:31:52.579 you know in our membership vows, that we abhor and humble ourselves. And 357 00:31:52.779 --> 00:31:59.299 yet, though we are greatly saddened at the defilement that we have put on 358 00:31:59.380 --> 00:32:04.289 ourselves, that we loathe ourselves and the evils that we have committed, nevertheless 359 00:32:05.930 --> 00:32:09.690 we also know ourselves to be the very people of God, people who have 360 00:32:09.769 --> 00:32:15.160 been rescued, redeemed and, by the power of His grace and the work 361 00:32:15.240 --> 00:32:22.720 of the cross, subdued. Oh, subdue my heart, Lord, subdue 362 00:32:22.920 --> 00:32:32.309 me, subdue us, not by your wrath but by your grace. Give 363 00:32:32.430 --> 00:32:38.029 us the power of the Cross. That we might no longer disobey, but 364 00:32:38.109 --> 00:32:44.069 that we might be conformed more and more to the image of Christ and shine 365 00:32:44.190 --> 00:32:50.859 with his light and reign with him forever. That's our prayer