The Seeming Strength of the World

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.359 Emily. Father, we do thank you for the revelation that you give to 2 00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:07.360 us, particularly, Lord, for the Good News of the Gospel that comes 3 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:11.359 to us in Jesus Christ, the Gospel that promised to it promises to us 4 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:18.199 the forgiveness of sins and our justification before you, through his obedience, I'm 5 00:00:18.199 --> 00:00:23.920 imputed to us. It's a salvation that also promises to us, Lord, 6 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:29.800 sanctification, US, the hope of being made more and more like you, 7 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:36.439 and one day I'm reigning with Christ and glorious bodies. That no a sin, 8 00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:40.799 no more. Lord, we look forward to that day and I'm until 9 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:43.920 then, we ask that you would help us to persevere, keeping our eyes 10 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:49.079 on you are only rock and our only fortress. We asked that you would 11 00:00:49.079 --> 00:00:53.600 help us with that. And they enable us to do do these things and 12 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:57.759 to be these kinds of people. As we come to your word tonight, 13 00:00:57.799 --> 00:01:02.359 and Ezekiel, bless the reading and preaching of your word and our hearing of 14 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:11.079 it. We pray this in Jesus name. Then, well, tonight I'm 15 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:17.959 going to be reading from Ezekiel Twenty Six, twenty seven and, yes, 16 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:23.120 even the beginning of twenty eight. So if you're able to remain standing. 17 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:30.879 Please do, but if you need to sit down, that's fine. Actually 18 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:41.959 go ahead and be seated. Here's why. Because before I read this I 19 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:45.239 think it would be helpful. What I want to do tonight is just a 20 00:01:45.239 --> 00:01:49.920 little bit differently different. Considering the length of the passage. What I want 21 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:53.760 to do is just interduce you to it first before we read it. I 22 00:01:53.760 --> 00:02:00.719 think it'll help us to hear it better. So I'll survey the passage briefly 23 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:09.319 and then we'll read it and then I'll make some some applications at the end. 24 00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:14.199 For those of you who have been with us through is Zekiel, you 25 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:19.800 know that it is not uncommon for us to read large portions of this book. 26 00:02:20.120 --> 00:02:23.639 I want to remind you just a couple reasons why we do that. 27 00:02:23.479 --> 00:02:34.199 One reason is that general knowledge of the Bible is low among many, many 28 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:39.039 people. Perhaps not for you, but there are. There's good reason just 29 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:43.639 to get to know more of the Bible. So that's one reason. Another 30 00:02:43.639 --> 00:02:46.280 reason, which is more based in the text, is that much of what 31 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:51.560 is Egiel says comes to us in large units. But I think that's intended 32 00:02:51.639 --> 00:02:55.919 to be a taken together. When you see that, both in the way 33 00:02:57.000 --> 00:03:02.360 he frames things and also in the imagery he gives, and you'll see that 34 00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:10.280 here tonight, the the pictures and the prophecy tonight against the city tire. 35 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:16.520 It's full of imagery. It's meant to make an impression on us. Imagine 36 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:21.520 reading a Lord of the Rings, you know, two or three sentences at 37 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:25.159 a time right. It's difficult to get caught up in the story. It 38 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:30.960 would might it would be challenging. Imagine going through some of the songs or 39 00:03:30.039 --> 00:03:34.840 some of the battles and in a grand book like that, just a tiny 40 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:38.520 bit at a time. It's not that that's not useful, but you do 41 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:44.599 miss out on some other things. And so, with various options, a 42 00:03:44.680 --> 00:03:47.240 good options in front of us, this is the one I've chosen and I 43 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:54.919 hope it's a blessing to you. I'm so now an overview of these chapters, 44 00:03:54.960 --> 00:04:00.639 these chapters I'll deal with, these prophecies against the city of tire. 45 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:06.479 You remember that what is happening is a God has promised destruction upon Jerusalem for 46 00:04:06.520 --> 00:04:14.439 her disobedience, for her her many, many sins, which Ezekiel has has 47 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:20.120 testified to and made very clear. But now, with the destruction of Jerusalem. 48 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:26.560 The Lord is moving to these cities outside of Jerusalem, unbelieving cities, 49 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:31.519 people not a part of the Abrahamic Covenant, Not Direct Lee, and he's 50 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:38.800 bringing condemnation on them. We read the reason for that in Verse Two of 51 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:44.800 Chapter Twenty Six, son of man, because tire said concerning Jerusalem, Aha, 52 00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:47.160 the gate of the People's is broken, it is swung open to me, 53 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:54.040 I shall be replenished. Now that she has laid waste. Tire, 54 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:59.600 the city not a part of Israel, looks at Jerusalem's destruction, says now 55 00:04:59.720 --> 00:05:02.480 is our chance, this is going to be great for us, as God's 56 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:09.000 judgment comes upon his people, we have an opportunity to grow even stronger. 57 00:05:09.079 --> 00:05:15.519 And the Lord does not like this. He hates it and in particular, 58 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:18.839 what will see is that he hates the heart from which that comes. It's 59 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:26.399 not only despising of Jerusalem, but it's a very proud heart that is all 60 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:32.639 about wealth, all about her economy, all about having strength in that city. 61 00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:38.279 So first we have this accusation of what tire has done. Then in 62 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:42.079 verses three through fourteen, we have a description of what God will do. 63 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:47.680 Tire is a seaside city and known for its merchant and it's true, it's 64 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:54.399 economies as seafaring, these kinds of things. And God uses water imagery to 65 00:05:54.439 --> 00:06:00.199 describe how tire will be destroyed, like a big wave or a Suna me 66 00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:04.839 even rolling in on this city. He's just going to lay it bare down 67 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:12.560 to the rock. Even the soil, he says, will be removed. 68 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:19.240 The God's wrath on them will be will be made manifest against their wealth. 69 00:06:19.319 --> 00:06:28.680 They're people music and more. Then after that, in verses fifteen through eighteen, 70 00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:31.920 we have the response of tires neighbors, which, interestingly, is kind 71 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:35.759 of what tire should have done in the first place, which is humility. 72 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:41.439 When we see God pouring out his wrath on someone our opera, our response 73 00:06:41.480 --> 00:06:46.519 should not be oh, great, it's time to get or oh, how 74 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:49.759 awesome I am. When we see someone under discipline, it's an opportunity for 75 00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:54.720 us took, examine our own hearts and repent, and we see some of 76 00:06:54.759 --> 00:07:01.639 that. Then we come to chapter twenty six and a lamentation is given, 77 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:05.639 a song, and you have this. I kind of think of it in 78 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:12.399 my mind as the titanic chapter. The city of tire is portrayed as like 79 00:07:12.519 --> 00:07:17.319 the titanic, this sort of unsinkable, beautiful, amazing ship that would never 80 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:24.800 fail, and down she goes. And so this is there's really strong imagery 81 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:29.600 here in this chapter. Is this amazing ship is described. We have the 82 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:32.519 beauty of the ship, the strength of the ship, then the sailors on 83 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:39.079 the ship and all the great successes that she has as she goes about her 84 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:43.680 business in the world. Then in verses, Twenty Six through twenty seven, 85 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:47.879 comes the sinking of the ship, and it is the rowers, it says 86 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:53.639 the rowers, that bring this about. They take the ship, the people 87 00:07:53.720 --> 00:07:58.319 of tire take the ship to a dangerous place. They do not see what 88 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:01.959 is coming. What happens is not an accident. In other words, tire 89 00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:07.480 has brought herself to this place. And then in the chat, the next 90 00:08:07.480 --> 00:08:11.199 thing we have in the last thing we have in that chapter is the great 91 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:18.600 mourning that happens when the works of man come crashing down or sinking down. 92 00:08:20.199 --> 00:08:26.319 It is not uncommon for people, even disconnected with the event, to be 93 00:08:26.519 --> 00:08:30.800 very, very moved by that. We know that in the sinking of the 94 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:35.440 titanic that the Twin Towers come to my mind as well. For those of 95 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:39.799 us who are around when we saw those fall. There is this sense of 96 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:50.159 greatness just crumbling, a vulnerability, of of a seeing of great accomplishment coming 97 00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:56.519 so quickly, so quickly, to an end, and so we see the 98 00:08:56.600 --> 00:09:01.879 mourning of these people as they feel the law us of what has happened. 99 00:09:03.080 --> 00:09:07.879 Finally, in Chapter Twenty Eight, verses one through nineteen, the prophet focuses 100 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:13.840 on in on the king, a king who is very proud. He is 101 00:09:13.879 --> 00:09:18.960 not, his heart is not psalm sixty two, which is the Lord is 102 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:22.799 my strength, the Lord is my salvation, the Lord is my rock, 103 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:26.360 but he is I'm like I mentioned this morning, in the Tower of Babel, 104 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:31.639 or nebuchadnezzar tire. He thinks he's a God, he thinks he is 105 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:37.519 accomplished all of these things, and in some ways he has. His success 106 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:41.600 and his decisions and the things that have happened in this country are to the 107 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:46.360 glory of Man. The problem is that he's trusted in them and he's will 108 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:54.200 put too much faith in himself and for this God will bring him down in 109 00:09:54.200 --> 00:10:00.440 a way that that has echoes of the fall of Satan himself, who is 110 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:07.559 strong and beautiful and powerful and yet falls so greatly because of his pride, 111 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:11.879 a reminder to us not to trust the kings and princes of this world or 112 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:18.600 anything in this world that would promise to be to us God. So that's 113 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:22.360 a summary of these these sections. Let's read them now, and I ask 114 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:26.000 that as you read them, as we read them, as you hear them, 115 00:10:26.360 --> 00:10:31.279 I'm let the words sink in, feel the image three in the poetry, 116 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:35.360 imagine the descriptions that are given. UN Let the weight of these words 117 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:43.000 fall upon your hearts. So let's hear God's word. Knell a beginning in 118 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:48.720 Ezechiel, Chapter Twenty six, in the eleventh year, on the first day 119 00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:52.120 of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, son of 120 00:10:52.159 --> 00:10:56.600 man, because Ti are said concerning Jerusalem. Aha, the gate of the 121 00:10:56.639 --> 00:11:01.039 People's is broken. It is swung open to me. I shall be replenished 122 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:05.159 now that she has laid waste. Therefore, thus says the Lord, God 123 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:09.440 behold, I am against you, O tire, and I will bring up 124 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:13.120 many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They shall 125 00:11:13.159 --> 00:11:18.480 destroy the walls of tire and break down her towers, and I will scrape 126 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:22.559 her soil from her and make her a bare rock. She shall be in 127 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:26.960 the midst of the sea, a place for the spreading of nets, for 128 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:31.440 I have spoken, declares the Lord God, and she shall become plunder for 129 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:35.320 the nations, and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. 130 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:39.600 Then they will know that I am the Lord, for thus says the 131 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:43.960 Lord God. Behold, I will bring against tire from the North Nebuchadnezzar, 132 00:11:45.039 --> 00:11:48.960 King of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots and with horsemen 133 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:54.120 and a host of many soldiers, he will kill with the sword your daughters 134 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:56.960 on the mainland. He will set up siege wall against you and throw up 135 00:11:56.960 --> 00:12:03.000 a mound against you and raise a roof of shields against you. He will 136 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:07.559 direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls and with his axes you 137 00:12:07.559 --> 00:12:11.919 will break down your towers. His horses will be so many that their dust 138 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:16.480 will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and 139 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:20.960 wagons and chariots when he empties your gates, as men enter a city that 140 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:26.360 has been breached, but the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your 141 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:30.559 streets. He will kill your people with the sword and your mighty pillars will 142 00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:35.000 fall to the ground. They will plunder your riches and loo to your Merchantdiz. 143 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:39.200 They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses, your stones 144 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:45.360 and timber and soil. They will cast into the midst of the waters and 145 00:12:45.440 --> 00:12:48.559 I will stop the music of your songs and the sound of your liars shall 146 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:52.679 be heard no more. I will make you a bare rock. You shall 147 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:56.759 be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, 148 00:12:56.799 --> 00:13:01.519 for I am the Lord. I Have Spoken, declares the Lord God. 149 00:13:01.720 --> 00:13:05.159 Thus says the Lord God to tire. Will not the coast land shake at 150 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:09.159 the sound of your fall? When the wounded grow, when slaughter is made 151 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:13.480 in your midst? Then all the princes of the sea will step down from 152 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:18.480 their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will 153 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:22.960 clothe themselves with trembling. They will sit on the ground and tremble every moment 154 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:28.679 and be appalled at you. They will raise a lamentation over you and say 155 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:33.639 how you have pair Urst you who were inhabited from the seas, Oh city 156 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:37.919 renowned, who is mighty on the sea. She and her inhabitants imposed their 157 00:13:39.080 --> 00:13:43.720 terror on all the her inhabitants. Now the coast lands tremble on the day 158 00:13:43.759 --> 00:13:46.320 of your fall, and the coast lands that are on the sea are dismayed 159 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:50.960 at your passing. For Thus, as the Lord God, when I make 160 00:13:52.039 --> 00:13:56.320 you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, when 161 00:13:56.320 --> 00:14:00.279 I bring up the deep over you, in the great waters cover you, 162 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:03.320 then I will make you go down with those who go down to the pit, 163 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:07.720 to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the 164 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:13.000 world below among ruins from of old and those who go down to the pit, 165 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:16.519 so that you will not be inhabited, but I will set beauty in 166 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:20.639 the land of the living. I will bring you to a dreadful end and 167 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:24.960 you shall be no more, though you be sought, for you will never 168 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:31.360 be found again, declares the Lord God. The word of the Lord came 169 00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:33.559 to me. Now, you, son of man, raise a lamentation over 170 00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:37.759 tire and say to tire, who dwells at the entrances to the sea, 171 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:43.559 merchant of the People's to many coast lands. Thus, as the Lord God, 172 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:48.639 Oh tire, you have said I am perfect in beauty. Your borders 173 00:14:48.679 --> 00:14:54.000 are in the heart of the seas. Your builders made perfect your beauty. 174 00:14:54.039 --> 00:14:58.240 They made all your planks from the fir trees of Sennier. They took a 175 00:14:58.279 --> 00:15:01.559 cedar from Lebanon to make a asked for you of oaks of basin. They 176 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:07.480 made your oars. They made your deck of Pines from the coasts of Cyprus, 177 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:11.559 inlaid with ivory. A fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sale, 178 00:15:11.559 --> 00:15:16.759 serving as your banner. Blue and purple from the coasts of Elshaw was your 179 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:22.000 awning. The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad, where your rowers, your skilled 180 00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:26.600 men, oh tire, were in you. They were they were your pilots. 181 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:31.639 The elders of gay ball and her skilled men were in you, cocking 182 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:35.679 her your seams. All the ships of the sea, with their mariners, 183 00:15:35.720 --> 00:15:41.440 were in you, know to barter for your weares. Persia and blood and 184 00:15:41.480 --> 00:15:45.120 put were in your army, as your men of war. They hung the 185 00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:48.120 shield and helmet. In you. They gave you splendor. Men of our 186 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:54.120 Vaud and Helleck were on your walls all around, and men of Gabbaud where 187 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:58.559 in your towers. They hung their shields, on your walls, all around. 188 00:15:58.559 --> 00:16:03.440 They made you perfect or they made perfect your beauty. Tarshash did business 189 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:07.720 with you because of your great wealth of every kind, silver, iron, 190 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:11.879 tin and lead. They exchanged for your wares. Javan to ball and Meshak 191 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:17.960 traded with you. They exchanged human beings and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. 192 00:16:18.679 --> 00:16:25.639 From Beth torgot Togarma, they exchanged horses, war horses and Mules for 193 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:30.360 your wares. The men of Dadan traded with you. Many coast lands where 194 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:34.080 your own special markets. They brought you in payment. They brought you in 195 00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:41.519 payments. It in payment ivory, tusks and Ebony. Syria did business with 196 00:16:41.559 --> 00:16:45.720 you because of your abundant goods. They exchanged for your wars emeralds, purple, 197 00:16:45.720 --> 00:16:51.480 embroidered work, fine linen, coral and Ruby. Judah and the land 198 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:56.399 of Israel traded with you. They exchanged for your merchandise of wheat, of 199 00:16:56.600 --> 00:17:02.399 minith meal, honey, oil and balm. Damascus did business with you for 200 00:17:02.440 --> 00:17:07.119 your abundant goods because of your great wealth of every kind, wine of hell, 201 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:11.559 bon and wood from shot are and casts of wine from us all. 202 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:15.720 They exchanged for your wares, raw iron, CASSIA and Columnus were bartered for 203 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:22.079 your merchandise. Deedon traded with you in saddle cloths for riding. Arabia and 204 00:17:22.119 --> 00:17:26.759 all the princes of Kate are where your favored dealers and lambs, rams and 205 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:32.440 goats. In these they did business with you. The Traders of Sheba and 206 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:37.119 Rama traded with you. They exchange for your where's the best of all kinds 207 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:42.000 of spices and all precious stones and gold. Ron Canay, Eden, traders 208 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:48.039 of Sheba, Asher and kil mud, and traded with you in your market. 209 00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:52.839 You traded with you. These traded with you in choice garments, in 210 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:59.000 clothes of blue and embroidered work, and in carpets of colored material, bound 211 00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:03.279 with cords and made secure. The ships of Tarshas traveled for you with your 212 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:10.519 Merchandiz. So you were filled and heavily laden. In the heart of the 213 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:17.839 seas, your rowers, I brought you out into the high seas, the 214 00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:22.279 East Wind has wrecked you. In the heart of the seas, your riches, 215 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:26.279 your where's, your merchandise, your mariners and your pilots, your cockers, 216 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:30.400 your dealers and merchandise, and all your men of war who are in 217 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:37.160 you with all your crew, that is in your midst, sink into the 218 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:41.319 heart of the seas. On the day of your fall, at the sound 219 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:45.599 of the cry of your pilots, the countryside shakes and down from their ships 220 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:48.799 come all who handle the OAR, the mariners and all the pilots of the 221 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:53.640 sea, stand on the land and shout aloud over you and cry out bitterly. 222 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:59.960 They cast dust on their heads and wallow and ashes. They make themselves 223 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:03.480 bald for you and put sackcloth on their waist. They weep over you and 224 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:08.400 bitterness of soul, with bitter mourning. In their wailing, they raise a 225 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:15.559 lamentation for you and lament over you, who is like tire, like one 226 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:19.920 destroyed in the midst of the sea. When your waves came from the seas, 227 00:19:21.079 --> 00:19:23.920 you satisfied many people, or when your wares came from the seas, 228 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:29.920 you satisfied many peoples. With your abundant wealth and merchandise, you enriched the 229 00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:33.359 kings of the earth. Now you are wrecked by the seas and the depths 230 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:38.039 of the waters. Your merchandise and all your crew in your midst have sunk 231 00:19:38.119 --> 00:19:42.160 with you. All the inhabitants of the coast lands are appalled at you, 232 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:48.480 and the hair of their kings bristles with horror. Their faces are convulsed. 233 00:19:48.039 --> 00:19:52.920 The merchants among the people's hissing you. You have come to a dreadful end 234 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:59.920 and shall be no more forever. The word of the Lord came to me, 235 00:20:00.119 --> 00:20:02.680 son of man, say to the prince of tire. Thus says the 236 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:08.000 Lord God, because your heart is proud and you have said I am a 237 00:20:08.039 --> 00:20:12.000 God, I sit in the seed of the Gods, in the heart of 238 00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:18.519 the seas. Yet you are but a man and no god, though you 239 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:22.519 make your heart like the heart of a God. You are indeed wiser than 240 00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:27.680 Daniel. No secret is hidden from you. By your wisdom and your understanding, 241 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:32.759 you have made wealth for yourself and have gathered gold and silver into your 242 00:20:32.759 --> 00:20:37.200 treasuries. By your great wisdom and trade, you have increased your wealth, 243 00:20:37.240 --> 00:20:41.640 and your heart has become proud in your wealth. Therefore, thus says the 244 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:45.960 Lord God, because you make your heart like the heart of a God. 245 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.640 Therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you, the most ruthless of 246 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:55.440 the nation's, and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom 247 00:20:55.480 --> 00:21:00.359 and defile your splendor. They shall thrust you down into the pit and you 248 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:03.400 shall die the death of the slain in the heart of the seas. Will 249 00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:07.000 you still say, I am a God in the presence of those who kill 250 00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:11.119 you, though you are but a man and no god? In the hands 251 00:21:11.160 --> 00:21:17.079 of those who slay you, you shall die the death of the uncircumcised, 252 00:21:17.079 --> 00:21:22.079 by the hand of the foreigners. For I Have Spoken, declares the Lord 253 00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:26.680 God. Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, son of 254 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:30.640 man, raise a lamentation over the king of tire and say to him thus, 255 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:34.200 as the Lord God, you were the signet of perfection, full of 256 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:40.200 wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were Eden, the Garden of God. 257 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:45.720 Every precious stone was your covering. Sardius, Towpaz and diamond, barrel onyx 258 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:52.000 and Jasper, Sapphire, Emerald, carbuncle and crafted and gold were your settings 259 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:56.920 and your engravings. On the day you were created, they were prepared. 260 00:21:56.559 --> 00:22:02.319 You were an anointed Guardian Cherub. I placed you. You are on the 261 00:22:02.359 --> 00:22:04.920 Holy Mountain of God, in the midst of the stones of fire. You 262 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:10.839 walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till 263 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:15.559 unrighteousness was found in you in the abundance of your trade. You were filled 264 00:22:15.599 --> 00:22:18.920 with violence in your midst and you sinned. So I cast you as a 265 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:23.839 profane thing from the mountain of God and I destroyed you, O Guardian Cherub 266 00:22:23.880 --> 00:22:29.079 from the midst of the fought of the stones of fire. Your heart was 267 00:22:29.160 --> 00:22:33.440 proud because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your 268 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:37.720 splendor. I cast you to the ground. I exposed you before kings to 269 00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:42.400 feast their eyes on you by the multitude of your iniquities. In the unrighteousness 270 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:47.720 of your trade, you profaned your sanctuaries. So I brought fire out from 271 00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:52.720 your midst. It consumed you and I turned you to ashes of the Earth, 272 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:56.119 or two ashes on the earth, in the sight of all who saw 273 00:22:56.200 --> 00:23:00.240 you, all who knew you, among the People's are appalled at you. 274 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:07.200 You have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever. God 275 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:21.440 blesses word to us. So you see what I mean. I talk about 276 00:23:21.480 --> 00:23:27.200 the greatness of this city, the greatness of her king. She is pictured, 277 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:34.039 he is pictured as even herself, as an angel, standing in the 278 00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:42.519 glory of God and in it's true that God even pronounces a kind of commendation 279 00:23:42.920 --> 00:23:48.759 on the wisdom and beauty of the city and of the king, on the 280 00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:53.519 expression of all these things. They were not false. She was truly wealthy, 281 00:23:53.559 --> 00:24:03.000 truly wise, truly powerful, truly glorious. But this, the wealth 282 00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:10.079 and the glory and all of these things led to a heart of pride, 283 00:24:11.640 --> 00:24:18.440 and this is the main thing I want to focus on as I conclude this 284 00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:22.599 this evening, as we let the scriptures do their work in us, as 285 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:27.680 we hear God heard and these many ways in which he speaks to us, 286 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:34.480 I think it's important that we remember how distracting the glory of Man is to 287 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:41.720 us and how enticing and tempting it is to us. It happened to the 288 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:45.680 king of tire and her people, the people of tire. It happened to 289 00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:52.759 Nebuchadnezzar, it happened to Solomon and happened to David. When riches and wealth 290 00:24:53.079 --> 00:25:00.559 come into our lives, into our countries, into our communities, there is 291 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:06.440 much blessing in it, much good in it, but there is also temptation 292 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:12.000 and danger in it, and we have to hear passages like this and remember, 293 00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:18.960 remember, remember, not to trust it, not to trust in the 294 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:23.000 glory and the power of man. You can see in it, you can 295 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:26.279 see it, you can wonder at it, you can be amazed at it. 296 00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:32.759 We can look at big towers and big machiness and new technologies and good 297 00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:40.200 laws and be artwork and merchants and the economies and all these things and say 298 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:47.160 wow. We can marvel at the wisdom in which God gives to men, 299 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:52.279 how much we can learn when we go to the ant and become wise. 300 00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:59.960 But these great marvels, is good as they are, they never, never, 301 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:06.480 never, can replace the true king, the true God and the True 302 00:26:06.599 --> 00:26:11.799 Kingdom that I spoke about this morning that he offers to us. And because 303 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:18.240 of the sin in us, the way Jesus talks about wealth and power is 304 00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:22.480 to be generally deeply suspicious of it. Not that he doesn't use it, 305 00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:26.079 not that there aren't good ends for it, not that he hasn't even he 306 00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:32.160 has placed on people in positions of wealth and power and who have done much 307 00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:37.079 good. Think of Joseph, for example, and others. It's not that 308 00:26:37.160 --> 00:26:41.839 these things are bad in and of themselves, but our sin in US often 309 00:26:41.880 --> 00:26:47.400 makes us go astray and we ought to be deeply suspicious about ourselves and our 310 00:26:47.400 --> 00:26:53.079 place in our our hearts when we come into contact with the glory of Man. 311 00:26:56.000 --> 00:27:00.160 The other thing that we have to remember is, as glorious as these 312 00:27:00.279 --> 00:27:06.799 things are, they don't even begin to compare to the power of God. 313 00:27:07.400 --> 00:27:11.519 You can go and look at something like the Maurenzi mind if somebody, if 314 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:18.519 you've been out there, this huge, vast work with giant machines rolling and 315 00:27:18.599 --> 00:27:25.920 moving through accomplishing amazing things. Or you can look at this passage and this 316 00:27:26.160 --> 00:27:30.759 beautiful city. Pictured here is a ship heavy, laden with riches and work, 317 00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:37.039 exhibiting on the wealth of the nations and being a wealth to the nation's 318 00:27:38.519 --> 00:27:42.480 and then, right at this moment, when she is pictured so in all 319 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:47.680 of her glory and all of her heaviness, it's the very thing that sinks 320 00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:52.960 her as she goes into the high waters and as the Lord brings his judgment. 321 00:27:55.039 --> 00:28:02.400 What's great and powerful to us is really fleeting our lives. Our wealth, 322 00:28:02.400 --> 00:28:07.039 our power of fame, celebrity, all these things, status, education, 323 00:28:07.079 --> 00:28:11.119 these things that we value, these things that we strive for. Though 324 00:28:11.400 --> 00:28:18.960 perhaps some of them good in some ways into some degree, we cannot think 325 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:26.160 that they are permanent or that they are really all that important compared to knowing 326 00:28:26.279 --> 00:28:32.920 God and trusting in him above all things. Money comes and goes, fame 327 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:37.920 comes and goes. You think you've reached one level and there's yet always another 328 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:42.839 level to reach. You've probably experienced this on your own life, and this 329 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:51.319 is the unanimous testimony of every single successful person and kingdom in the history of 330 00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:59.079 the world. Gaining, achieving, moving, accomplishing, growing, great families, 331 00:28:59.160 --> 00:29:04.640 great nations, more followers, more knowledge, better practices, more beauty, 332 00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:11.799 all of it can come falling and crashing down as soon as the Lord 333 00:29:11.880 --> 00:29:18.519 desires. What the Lord desires is not the glory of Man. He's not 334 00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:22.839 impressed. He made the whole world, simply speaking it into existence. He's 335 00:29:22.880 --> 00:29:27.680 not impressed at are, at the things that we do. What the Lord 336 00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:36.240 wants is a broken heart. What the Lord wants is humility before him. 337 00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:40.480 What the Lord wants is to know us and to love US and for us 338 00:29:40.519 --> 00:29:45.359 to love him in return and to find all the glory that we could ever 339 00:29:45.440 --> 00:29:52.119 need and ever want and even imagine in him and in him alone. The 340 00:29:52.160 --> 00:29:56.920 things of this world, they they pass away. Jesus talks about this right. 341 00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:03.200 Things rest, they get stolen, they get lost. You get tricked 342 00:30:03.240 --> 00:30:07.039 out of them. You wouldn't. You give them to your children and they 343 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:14.319 waste them. You waste them. We make mistakes. This is life. 344 00:30:14.880 --> 00:30:22.400 We cannot trust in these things, Jesus says, seek first righteousness and all 345 00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:29.799 these things will be added to you. Passages like this remind us to be 346 00:30:29.960 --> 00:30:36.160 humbled, to look at the example of Jerusalem and now of tire and to 347 00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:42.000 know, as the Lord says, that he alone is God. Kings and 348 00:30:42.119 --> 00:30:48.880 leaders and an who are able to achieve and do great things are wonderful to 349 00:30:48.880 --> 00:30:56.319 have around, but they are not to become our gods. No Man is 350 00:30:56.359 --> 00:31:00.279 ever to be trusted in as the one king, no government is ever to 351 00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:07.359 be trusted in as the one fix, all Salvay, salvific solution for everything 352 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:17.039 we need. Because of sin, the glory of men, the True Glory 353 00:31:17.119 --> 00:31:22.400 of Man that God does desire for us, can never be chieved, achieved. 354 00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:26.640 We always fall short, even of that, and or of the Scriptures 355 00:31:26.680 --> 00:31:33.480 put it, the glory of God. The king of tire thinks of himself 356 00:31:33.519 --> 00:31:37.559 as a God, and God says, will you say this as people are 357 00:31:37.680 --> 00:31:48.880 killing you? He will not. The way that we find true success, 358 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:56.559 true happiness, true stability and a kingdom, as I mentioned this morning, 359 00:31:56.720 --> 00:32:00.759 using Hebrews language, language from the book of Hebrews, a kingdom that cannot 360 00:32:00.799 --> 00:32:07.200 be shaken, is, of course, in God alone. God offers to 361 00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:14.079 us a kingdom that is not achieved on these frail things, our wisdom, 362 00:32:14.079 --> 00:32:20.440 our power. He offers us to a kingdom that is achieved through his work, 363 00:32:21.039 --> 00:32:30.200 his word, his promise. Jesus is God. He is not pretending 364 00:32:30.319 --> 00:32:32.920 to be God, he is not hoping to be God, he is not 365 00:32:34.039 --> 00:32:38.920 just sort of making himself out to be a God. He is God, 366 00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:45.359 and the Kingdom that he accomplishes is accomplished not in the proudness of his own 367 00:32:45.359 --> 00:32:51.119 heart, but in righteousness, in holiness, a kingdom that is founded on 368 00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:58.720 obedience and the fulfillment of the law. The God rewards with an inheritance that 369 00:32:59.039 --> 00:33:06.279 Peter describes is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven. For us, 370 00:33:07.079 --> 00:33:10.480 the Kingdom of Jesus will not sink into the sea, the Kingdom of 371 00:33:10.559 --> 00:33:15.480 Jesus that will not be overcome by his enemies, the Kingdom of Jesus is 372 00:33:15.480 --> 00:33:22.039 not prone to disease or demons or any difficult thing that we face in this 373 00:33:22.119 --> 00:33:30.759 life. The Kingdom of Jesus is forever and it's for sure, and we 374 00:33:30.799 --> 00:33:35.960 see pictures of it in revelation. I'm going to turn their now and listen 375 00:33:36.039 --> 00:33:39.640 to how some of this, this language, comes back to us and when 376 00:33:39.680 --> 00:33:46.480 we are reminded of the new Jerusalem and all of its goodness. Let me 377 00:33:46.519 --> 00:33:52.200 read just a small passage here revelation twenty two, or sorry, twenty one, 378 00:33:52.279 --> 00:33:59.559 on beginning at Verse Fifteen. Think about this passage. In contrast with 379 00:33:59.640 --> 00:34:05.119 the sinking city of tire, here is describing the new Jerusalem, and the 380 00:34:05.119 --> 00:34:07.480 one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city 381 00:34:07.559 --> 00:34:12.599 and its gates and walls. The city lies for square, its length the 382 00:34:12.599 --> 00:34:15.400 same as it's with, and he measured the city with his rod twelve thousand 383 00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:20.800 Stadia. It's length, with and height are all are equal. He measured 384 00:34:20.840 --> 00:34:24.119 its wall a hundred forty four cubits by human measurement, which is also an 385 00:34:24.159 --> 00:34:30.320 angels measurement. The wall was built of Jasper, while the city was pure 386 00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:34.440 gold, clear as glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were 387 00:34:34.480 --> 00:34:38.079 adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was Jasper the second Sapphire, 388 00:34:38.239 --> 00:34:43.559 the third agate, the Fourth Emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth Carnelian, 389 00:34:43.679 --> 00:34:46.159 the seventh Chrysolite, the eighth barrel, the ninth, Topas, the 390 00:34:46.199 --> 00:34:52.159 ten, ten Chrysoparse Prass, the eleven jason and the twelve amethyst. And 391 00:34:52.239 --> 00:34:57.239 the twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each of the gates was made of a 392 00:34:57.280 --> 00:35:01.599 single Pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, transparent is 393 00:35:01.679 --> 00:35:06.719 glass. And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is 394 00:35:06.760 --> 00:35:10.840 the Lord, God, the Almighty and the lamb. And the city has 395 00:35:10.960 --> 00:35:15.239 no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of 396 00:35:15.320 --> 00:35:21.760 God gives it light, and its lamp as the land lamb, by its 397 00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:24.480 light will walk, will the nation's walk, and the Kings of the earth 398 00:35:24.519 --> 00:35:29.280 will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by 399 00:35:29.360 --> 00:35:34.000 day and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the 400 00:35:34.039 --> 00:35:37.880 glory and honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, 401 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:43.440 nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those whose are 402 00:35:43.519 --> 00:35:50.000 who are written in the lamb's book of life. The city that is promised 403 00:35:50.039 --> 00:35:54.400 to us the city of the Great King is one that is that exceeds even 404 00:35:54.440 --> 00:35:59.760 the beauty of the kingdoms of this world, even in their metaphorical sense. 405 00:36:00.039 --> 00:36:05.159 US, it exceeds beyond our imagination. It is a city that is ruled 406 00:36:05.280 --> 00:36:10.159 in justice and love, a city where there is nothing detestable and false, 407 00:36:10.559 --> 00:36:19.519 whose foundations are forever sure. The judgment that is pictured and tire, the 408 00:36:19.719 --> 00:36:24.760 judgment against sin and unrighteousness, is what Jesus endured on the cross so that 409 00:36:24.800 --> 00:36:30.920 we would not have to fear judgment anymore. The city that he brings us 410 00:36:30.960 --> 00:36:34.800 into, the new Jerusalem, this heavenly city, is a city that is 411 00:36:34.800 --> 00:36:40.199 everlasting, and so let us not be distracted and tempted by the things of 412 00:36:40.239 --> 00:36:45.719 this world, but instead put our hope only in the great king, the 413 00:36:45.760 --> 00:36:54.119 true King and our Lord, Jesus Christ men, let's pray our father in 414 00:36:54.159 --> 00:37:00.239 heaven. We thank you that you have created a world in which we can 415 00:37:00.320 --> 00:37:07.000 set about and work in and do amazing things, creating ships and buildings and 416 00:37:07.079 --> 00:37:15.559 cities, on achieving great, great feats in art, in agriculture. Lord, 417 00:37:15.639 --> 00:37:22.400 you allow us to create laws and societies that are really splendid. You 418 00:37:22.519 --> 00:37:30.280 help us to know how to navigate with the stars, how to build computers, 419 00:37:30.280 --> 00:37:37.280 how to write symphonies and great literature, and these things are wondrous and 420 00:37:37.360 --> 00:37:42.920 Glorious and we are right to be amazed at them and to enjoy them and 421 00:37:43.079 --> 00:37:49.000 taste of the goodness of this labor. But, Lord, please keep us 422 00:37:49.119 --> 00:37:52.920 from trusting in it and forgetting that you, and you alone are the giver 423 00:37:53.039 --> 00:38:00.480 of these things. We are not God's and no king is our God, 424 00:38:00.599 --> 00:38:06.119 no government, no power, no philosophy, no promise, except that which 425 00:38:06.159 --> 00:38:12.960 comes from you and Jesus Christ, our Savior. In Him and M him 426 00:38:13.039 --> 00:38:19.800 alone do we have the glory of God, something that far surpasses anything that 427 00:38:19.840 --> 00:38:24.159 we have experienced in this world. Lord, we look forward not to just 428 00:38:24.280 --> 00:38:29.440 more wealth or something like that. We look forward to a new heaven and 429 00:38:29.519 --> 00:38:32.760 the new earth that you have prepared for us. We look forward to a 430 00:38:32.800 --> 00:38:39.960 place where where there is perfect peace and perfect rule forever and all the nations 431 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:46.199 will see your praise and the praise of the lamb. We asked, Lord, 432 00:38:46.199 --> 00:38:52.039 that we would not give the glory of God to any other and that, 433 00:38:52.079 --> 00:39:00.639 as we have, we come to enjoy certain amounts of wisdom or health. 434 00:39:01.239 --> 00:39:06.159 Help us not to trust these things or be tempted by them. And, 435 00:39:06.199 --> 00:39:07.639 as we are, Lord, we ask that you would take them away 436 00:39:07.719 --> 00:39:12.079 from us, that we would allow us to suffer, that we might learn 437 00:39:12.159 --> 00:39:20.719 to trust in you and in you alone. Lord. We pray also that 438 00:39:20.840 --> 00:39:24.760 this word, this good word, of the Kingdom of God and it's King, 439 00:39:24.920 --> 00:39:31.159 Jesus Christ, would be proclaimed faithfully here among us and lived out in 440 00:39:31.199 --> 00:39:38.119 our lives. We ask also that that message would be proclaimed and lived in 441 00:39:38.119 --> 00:39:45.800 in other churches throughout our city and our country and our world. We pray, 442 00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.920 Lord, that the message, in the goodness of your word, would 443 00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.239 help to undo the false pride that so many of us have, the false 444 00:39:54.320 --> 00:40:00.320 trust we have the things of this world. And as we learn to trust 445 00:40:00.360 --> 00:40:05.360 in you, Lord, and as we grow in your strength, we ask 446 00:40:05.400 --> 00:40:12.119 also, Lord, that you would remove anxiety and fear that comes from paying 447 00:40:12.360 --> 00:40:17.360 too much attention to the things of this world. Lord, we also ask 448 00:40:17.480 --> 00:40:22.159 that your blessing would be upon us as we go out into our callings this 449 00:40:22.239 --> 00:40:27.360 week. You have left us here in the world and have called us to 450 00:40:27.360 --> 00:40:31.480 go out into it proclaiming this good news. Being good neighbors, living at 451 00:40:31.519 --> 00:40:37.440 peace with those around us. Help us to do these things as citizens of 452 00:40:37.480 --> 00:40:40.559 Your heavenly kingdom. May Your name be praised in our lives and all of 453 00:40:40.599 --> 00:40:45.559 our various vocations and callings, and when we struggle and when we don't know 454 00:40:45.599 --> 00:40:50.400 where to turn, help us to quickly and always turn back to you. 455 00:40:51.239 --> 00:40:52.840 We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.