I was privileged to open up the Word of God at Eastside Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina on Sunday, September 3, 2023. If you would like to read my message, “Then They Will Know That I Am the LORD,” please read on. . . .
“Then They Will Know That I Am the LORD”
By Bob StoufferEastside Presbyterian Church
Greenville, South Carolina
Sunday, September 3, 2023
Passage: Ezekiel 6:8-14
Opening
Many of you know that I am a voracious reader.
Last week, when I was visiting my mother in Iowa, I read <this book> Preaching, by Tim Keller to sharpen my adult Sunday school teaching.
This week, upon my return, I started reading <Paul David Tripp’s book> Reactivity, a book largely about our reactionary social media posts and responses to the culture.
Little did I know how much both of these books would help me in the preparation of this message.
I consider myself a life-long learner. I love to learn.
For instance, one of the contemporary topics of great interest to me is the behavior of multiple generations in the workplace.
Anymore, you can easily find members of any organization who are Baby Boomers, Generation Z’ers, and Millennials – perhaps even those from The Greatest Generation as well.
I am a Baby Boomer.
With younger generations, that term now carries a pejorative connotation.
Those of us who are 60 or older really don’t want anyone referring to us with this negative term.
I say or do something in an outdated way, and the persons declares, “BOOMER.”
I get it.
As a young man, I poked fun at older generations. I can recall when I thought 40 was “old.” Now, 40 doesn’t seem so old to me at all. The closer I get to 70, the younger it seems!
Like those TV ads. . . I have become my father.
To that point, I am astounded how quickly worldviews have evolved in even the past few years.
In the preparation of this message, I composed a list of 17 statements which get to the heart of how much our culture has changed in my lifetime.
I could have and would have delivered those points with great enthusiasm and intensity. My convictions are strong. There was a lot of truth in those 17 statements.
I am my Father’s son who would like some sanity to return to the world!!!
But a friend helped me see that my original intent for this sermon could have been construed as angry and condemning – focused more on what I’m against than what I’m for.
So. . .I will be making none of those 17 statements.
We pine for “the good old days,” don’t we?
But “the good old days” have come and gone.
We must live in “the here and now,” working to expand the Kingdom of God in times of “the already but not yet.”
What’s a Christian to do in the face of these issues?
Angrily berate people and the culture?
How right it is to have Christian convictions, but how important it is approach these issues as God would direct us, not as our emotions guide us.
Seriously, let’s always first turn to God.
He certainly has answers about issues of concern to Him in the book of Ezekiel.
Body of Analysis
Ezekiel is a fascinating book of the Bible.
Ezekiel is filled with many concrete sensory images.
Chapter 1 comes out of the chutes with vivid and unusual visions.
Later, Ezekiel eats a scroll given to him by God.
At one point, Ezekiel was bound with cords.
Eventually, God commanded Ezekiel to take some very interesting actions. Imagine Ezekiel lying on his left side for 390 days and his right side for 40 days!
He ate unclean bread prepared over cow dung!
He shaved his head and beard with a sword!
At another point, God lifted Ezekiel between earth and heaven.
The prophet crawled with baggage through a hole in the wall.
God prophecied that Ezekiel’s beloved wife would die suddenly, and the LORD commanded him not to mourn for her. I can’t imagine being obedient to that command.
Later, in the chronological Bible, we will be reading the famous passage in which “dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones” come to life!
Who is this Ezekiel?
He was both a Priest and Prophet.
The name Ezekiel means either “the strength of God,” or “strengthened by God.” (Poole in Guzik)
God addressed Ezekiel as the “son of man” 93 times in this book of the Bible. The phrase used for Ezekiel essentially means that he is a “human being. “ Recall that Jesus called Himself the “Son of Man” as the Messiah.
Ezekiel served during the same time as Daniel and Jeremiah.
He was numbered among the people of God exiled to Babylon.
According to commentators, Ezekiel was 30 years of age at the point of his ministry.
The year was 597 B.C.
What were the problems in this prophet’s time?
God’s people had suffered exile due to their own rebellious sin and the conquering of Israel by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
False prophets abounded, promising more immediate delivery from exile.
In contrast, God’s true prophet Ezekiel prophesied truth, no matter how painful to him or to his listeners.
When reading the book of Ezekiel, we learn that God’s people had “whored after idols.”
Whoa. Strong words. “Whoring after idols.”
God tells it like it is!
We gots no idols in 2023, right?!
Obviously, I am being facetious!
We chase after. . .
Power and influence
Prestige
Possessions
Vocational position
Children
Houses
Vehicles
Sex
Fitness
The list goes on and on and on and on.
Even good things like our church activities can become idols.
I turn to a commentator named Taylor for the etymology of the Hebrew word for idols here in Ezekiel:
“The word [for idol]. . . (gullulim) is a favourite with Ezekiel, occurring no [fewer] than thirty-eight [38] times, as against nine [9] times in the rest of the Old Testament. Its derivation is uncertain but it is quite likely. . .a home-made word consisting of the vowels of [the] Hebrew [word] siqqus, for which the dictionaries give the polite translation of ‘detested thing,’ and the consonants of a noun meaning ‘a pellet of dung.’ The final combination carries about as much disdain and revulsion as any word could do.” (Taylor in Guzik)
“Detested things.” Maximum “disdain and revulsion.” “Pellets of dung.”
As an English major, I can embrace such raw and sensory descriptions!
It seems to me that we all go after pellets of dung! We think there is promise in the idols, but the promises actually turn out to be empty promises.
The most important question we should ask is “Why did the people of Ezekiel’s time – and why do people today – chase after idols?”
In Ezekiel’s time, Asherah promised fertility.
The prophets of Baal promised rain in their showdown with Elijah.
The promises of idols look so good. They are shiny pennies which attract our attention.
Those in Israel had also built altars to false gods. Such was why God directed Ezekiel to prophecy against the mountains where these shrines were located at the time.
I bet there are no altars to false gods in the U.S.!
That would be wrong!
Huge complexes hold thousands of people enthusiastically worshipping talented athletes, roaring cars, raucous rock stars, and swift Taylors. (See what I did there?! Sorry, Swifties! Lame joke! BOOMER!)
Why are we drawn so passionately to these activities? Are we amusing ourselves to death, as Neil Postman asserts in his book by the same name?
So. . .as a result of this rampant false worship, God promised judgment through Ezekiel:
Sword
Famine
Pestilence
Desolation
Waste
God said to Ezekiel:
Clap your hands and stamp your foot!
I love that onomatopoeia! You no doubt remember that term from your high school English class. The words are concussive and sensory.
Sounds great. That command apparently worked in Ezekiel’s time.
Today, I can stand up and angrily <CLAP MY HANDS> and <STAMP MY FOOT> in response to the heresies of the culture.
But what will that get me?!
I prefer a different biblical image in 2023. As followers of Jesus, we shine our light!
When we shine our light. . .
“THEN THEY WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD.”
Do not miss that extremely important pronouncement!
In Ezekiel 6:10, those 9 words comprise the title and theme of this message!
“THEN THEY WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD.”
Commentator David Guzik wrote, “This is the first. . . [of 60 uses] of [this particular pronouncement]. . . in Ezekiel. . .show[ing] that God worked in His judgments and His restorations to reveal Himself to Israel and the world.” (Guzik)
“THEN THEY WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD.”
And God promised to stand by His remnant of faithful, obedient followers.
Closing
Are there remnants of Christians in the U.S., South Carolina, or Greenville, as with Israel in Ezekiel’s time?
YES, of course, there are! I certainly believe Eastside Presbyterian is one of those remnants!
This is a warm, friendly, welcoming, others-centered, Bible-believing, Gospel-preaching church!
The problems in our communities seem obvious.
But the solutions and answers can be either combative or reconciling.
We can view our situation either as a “battlefield” or a “mission field.”
Today, I encourage the latter. The fields are ripe for harvest.
To conclude, what can we do as that remnant?
First and foremost, we must abide.
When we abide. . .
“THEN THEY WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD.”
We must seek a deep, personal, intimate, abiding relationship with God.
Which commandment of the law is the greatest? Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
We, too, must remember that God alone is sovereign judge. We are not the ultimate judge.
Even when we are frustrated and angry, we must choose to address all people and issues with gentleness and respect. That’s a command from the Bible.
I know that’s hard, but how will we attract families to our church or the body of Christ unless we have a reputation for addressing issues with gentleness and respect?!
At Eastside Presbyterian, let’s be known more for what we’re for, rather than what we are against.
That doesn’t mean we assimilate to or approve of ungodly behaviors of the culture.
At the same time, we must not withdraw from the culture.
Also, we must pray without ceasing, listening for the still, small voice of God.
God manifested Himself to a depressed Elijah in a whisper — not fire, thunder, lightning, or earthquake!
Also, we must repent of our own sin. I must take the log out of my own eye before attempting to take specks out of the eyes of those in the culture.
We must fix our eyes on Jesus! Rather than chasing pellets of dung, let’s chase after
Jesus!
We must identify and reject our idols, replacing them with Jesus. We must place “. . . God back where He belongs.” (Ryman, p. 65)
Idols give NOTHING of eternal value.
Jesus gives us EVERYTHING of eternal value.
As the hymn writer asserted, “Be Thou, and thou only, the first in my heart! O High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.”
And yet another lyricist proclaimed: “Give me, Jesus! Give me Jesus! You may have all this world! Give me Jesus!”
We must courageously engage people who are not following Jesus, even and especially when confronting challenging issues.
Which is the second greatest commandment? Jesus said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
We must love our neighbors.
We must listen actively to those folks.
We must build relationships with them to earn the right to speak the Gospel to them in respectful ways.
We must seek not to win arguments at the loss of relationships.
I must follow Christ’s example, choosing to love all others – Cheryl, my children, my grandchildren, friends, enemies, and those who persecute me. Praise be to Jesus when we are able to supernaturally love the most difficult “others” to love!
Let’s act in winsome ways — that we might win some!
We must love EVERYONE. ALL have been created in the image of God.
We must ask good, non-threatening questions and expect others to give evidence, not just opinions or emotions, for their beliefs.
We must stand strong in our faith, consistent in our walk with Jesus.
We must be Christ to all others!
HE must become greater in us; WE must become less.
In our life stories, we are “tragic heroes.” We sin. We bear the regrettable consequences of our sin, idolatry, and false worship.
In spite of our sin, and any lunacy in the culture, Jesus will not abandon us.
He is always our example. During His earthly ministry, He did not abandon others.
He met people where they were, but He did not allow them to stay there. Jesus lovingly challenged everyone to follow Him and to be changed by His counter-cultural truth!
He even prayed for His murderers on the cross: “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.”
While we were yet sinners, Jesus died for us.
Our sin imputed to Him on the cross!
His righteousness imputed to those of us who follow Him!
We must choose not to conform to the ungodly patterns of this world.
Rather, we fully yield to the Holy Spirit’s work of transforming us into the likeness of the Son!
He conquered death and ascended to heaven as our advocate before the Father!
We are co-heirs with Christ, with all of the rights and privileges thereof!
Jesus is the true “hero” of our stories.
Jesus died for our critical spirit.
His example actually would not mean anything if he hadn’t taken the punishment for our idol worship and the ways we look down our noses at those with whom we disagree.
Jesus is the hero of all of history – not just because he’s our example — but because he is the one who took hell for us! He is the hero of all of history, so let’s joyfully receive His rescue.
That is the Gospel!
And the Gospel changes everything!
Let’s pray. . .
drbobinc 