Sermon (01-Oct): It's On Me, Lord" Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32

Bible Passage:

1 Then another message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Why do you quote this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste’? 3 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, you will not quote this proverb anymore in Israel. 4 For all people are mine to judge—both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die.

25 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’ Listen to me, O people of Israel. Am I the one not doing what’s right, or is it you? 26 When righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things, they will die for it. Yes, they will die because of their sinful deeds. 27 And if wicked people turn from their wickedness, obey the law, and do what is just and right, they will save their lives. 28 They will live because they thought it over and decided to turn from their sins. Such people will not die. 29 And yet the people of Israel keep saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’ O people of Israel, it is you who are not doing what’s right, not I.

30 “Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! 31 Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? 32 I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live!

Objective: (SLIDE)

The objective of this message is to realize that God loves each one of us and that we live in Him

Introduction: (SLIDE)

“From the first to the last chapter of Ezekiel one supreme thought runs throughout, that of the sovereignty and glory of the Lord God.” – Charles Lee Feinberg, American biblical scholar and professor of Semitics and Old Testament

- The prophet Ezekiel (“God Strengthens”) had a rough road to travel in his life; chosen to be God’s messenger to Israel and Judah

- Ezekiel was one of the 10,000 Jews that were taken exile to Babylon—consequently for the nation’s worshipping idols and turning away from God

- God lays it on Ezekiel’s heart to tell them of this judgment and pain but also to speak of God’s mercy and new life

- One thing we see is that although Ezekiel sees God’s glory depart; he also imagines the hope of its return

- In part, that hope is found in the New Testament and eventually Christ’s return but let’s look at our passage

1) The Power of a Proverb (SLIDE)

1 Then another message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Why do you quote this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste’? 3 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, you will not quote this proverb anymore in Israel. 4 For all people are mine to judge—both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die.

-- The Book of Proverbs contain some of the wisest sayings known to benefit humankind

-- Proverbs among the Israelites were popular whether they were biblical or just cultural—truth or cultural—along the lines of social media

-- In these days, it’s very easy to fall prey to the “wisdom of the world”; I know I’ve caught myself listening to the catchy phrase/witty saying

-- Worldly: (SLIDE)

“Better late than never.”

“Many hands make light work.”

“The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.”

-- Biblical: (SLIDE)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

-- Ezekiel serves as that contradiction and attempts to pass on what God says, in short, the principle of individual responsibility applies—we are all accountable for our sins;

-- It lines up with what the Apostle Paul writes,

(SLIDE) (Rom 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”)

-- Ezekiel points out that the Israelites leaned on, “The parents eating the sour grapes…their children’s mouth puck[ering]”

(SLIDE) “The parents ate green apples; the children got the stomachache?” (MSG)

-- For those who know the Bible, this is the same thing that God mentioned to Jeremiah (31:29-30),

29 “In those days people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ 30 Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.

-- Two contemporary prophets at roughly the same time who are given this same message

-- To me, it boils down to this, (SLIDE)

“Children are affected, impacted, and involved in the consequences of their parent’s/ancestors’ sins but that is not the be-all and end-all”

-- We inherits our parents’ and ancestors’ weaknesses, proclivities, inclinations and what have you but we don’t inherit their eternal destination

-- That’s what Exodus 20 is talking about as far as what’s passed on

Exodus 20:5 (NASB) “You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me…”

Transition: The Scriptures (including the Proverbs) serve as God’s prompts for us

2) Watch for God’s Prompts

25 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’ Listen to me, O people of Israel. Am I the one not doing what’s right, or is it you? 26 When righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things, they will die for it. Yes, they will die because of their sinful deeds. 27 And if wicked people turn from their wickedness, obey the law, and do what is just and right, they will save their lives. 28 They will live because they thought it over and decided to turn from their sins. Such people will not die. 29 And yet the people of Israel keep saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’ O people of Israel, it is you who are not doing what’s right, not I.

-- We, as a country and people, want justice but sometimes…Just not for ourselves

- When we look at the passage here, we look at the consequences of the timeline of three generations: a righteous man, a violent son, and a righteous grandson

- Many times, we have our own views on how things should play out—whatever the circumstance may be

- We believe one deserves death and another deserves life; one deserves judgment while the other deserves grace and mercy

- The thing that I have come to understand is that no one has the complete picture—we don’t know the full story though we seem that we do

- Here, the Israelites are thinking along the lines, “God’s got it wrong” which is far from the truth

- God will always have the bigger picture/biggest picture and the last say

- Throughout Scripture from beginning to end, God gives us prompts—from nudges to whispers to warnings and shouts—that He loves us and we need an eternal change in and for our lives

Transition: That is His great passion

3) Understand His Great Passion (SLIDE)

30 “Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! 31 Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? 32 I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live!

-- God’s great passion is to be with us

- When we hear that he will judge, immediately we can think of the negative

- As devastating as this may seem, God never determined it to be final—in the case of Israel or us

- He never left them without a way out nor will He leave you or me

- God never demanded perfection from imperfect beings; His message is to repent and turn from sin (i.e., idolatry and rebellion)

- A.W. Tozer writes,

“God will take nine steps toward us, but he will not take the tenth. He will incline us to repent, but he cannot do our repenting for us.” - A.W. Tozer, Christian Reader, Vol. 32, no. 5.

- It’s so simple to imagine that our step towards God triggers His great steps toward us—His love and all that comes with it; it almost seems unfair

- Considering how great He is compared to how flawed we are

- John 10:28 states,

28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

- God is pressing us to seek/to find a new heart and a new spirit—His Spirit because that’s the only way we can be made right with Him

- At least two times in this book, He poses a question, “Why should you die?” and that He “take(s) no pleasure in the death of the wicked”

- God is just and patient and will always keep His Word

2 Pet 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

- His end goal—His desire—is to see us with Him in glory

- About 32 times in the New Testament (17 times in the Gospels) eternal life is mentioned, a zoe kind of life

“a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last forever” – Thayer’s Lexicon

- When we focus on God’s judgment detached from His love, we get a rather twisted picture and the outlook is pretty bleak

- Yet, when God’s love enters the equation and we internalize it, that’s when true, gospel John 3:16 understanding happens

CLOSING: As I begin to close, I must realize that it’s on me Lord

- The principle of individual responsibility applies…and it’s on me

- Blaming my parents, siblings, ancestors, wife, children is all a cop out

- The Scripture mentioned that it is each of our own actions not anyone else and that’s our takeaway our faithpoint

FAITHpoint: (SLIDE)

I have to be focused on my own actions and not anyone else’s, look for God’s prompts not social media’s popularity

I must realize that I am a part of God’s Great Passion and not excluded from His love

- Will you pray with me…