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Bible in 5 Years - Ezekiel 18
VBS Acknowledgements
Round of applause for Christy and all of the VBS volunteer staff
Phenomenal job,
Thank you to parents and families for trusting us with the care and edification of your children
I had the honor of being this year’s Bible Teacher, big shoes to fill after Caitlin Hamaker’s stellar job last year.
Encounter with Christy before VBS
Filled with stress and worry
All the worry and fear for the unknown, I could see this spiritual burden weighing physically on her shoulders.
It meant so much to her that she do a good job.
I started probing at the subject and she began to open up and you guys… let me tell you something: Christy and her daughter Anna Leigh sacrificed so much to make all this happen.
As she spoke, we whittled down to the root of her fear, and she just didn’t want to let anyone down.
I reminded her that the OUTcome is OUT of her control.
All she can give is her best and God would take care of the rest.
In fact, Jesus said SUFFER the little children to come unto me.
There is a reason the word is SUFFER… it takes sacrifice to train up children in the Lord.
Jesus will SURELY bless your sacrifice.
Just slow down, and wait. Wait for God to move.
We talked some more, hugged, but I could tell she was still in her head about it all.
Not 2 minutes later, Tanner Wilson drops off his 4 year old daughter, the sweet and beautiful Abigail, and you can’t help but laugh at the Lord’s timing…
… because she runs into the room that Christy is decorating and stops cold.
She looks around and goes, “Wooooow it’s sooooo beautiful in here, like a forest.
And just like that, the Lord showed up and gave her enough reassurance to keep going.
4 days of VBS later and I am drained.
I am walking back to our home up on the hill, and one of the youth helpers stopped me in a private manner, he wanted to talk.
He referenced back to my bible lesson for that day, part of the exercise was to think about a time you had been super sad.
He began to get emotional and started to tell me how his best friend passed away last year and it still hurts him. In his heart.
He wanted to know if I could pray for him, right there.
So we did. And just like that, the Lord showed up again and reminded me why we do all this stuff anyway.
What you are doing, people. TRULY MATTERS. You may not feel like you are getting through to these kids, you may feel like you’re largely wasting your time… Conner reminded me that was far from the truth.
Suffer the little children to come unto me.
For what you have done for the least of these, you have done to me.
Prayer: Lord we commit our Bible study to you. We’re thankful for your Word, which is truth. Even though this is a story that is ancient, we thank you that it is timeless and good for teaching, good for correction and good for training in righteousness. Let your Word fill in the gaps in our soul so that we can better know you and be equipped for every good work.
Before we read Ezekiel 18, let’s remind ourselves of the context of the story:
580ish years before Jesus was born
The Jewish people have been banished by God from Israel to Babylonia to spend 70 years in a time-out because of their sin and rebellion against God.
God has allowed them to be conquered by the Babylonian empire.
Their new home now is what we know as modern day Iraq.
They’ve brought it upon themselves
Warned time and time again by prophet after prophet.
Israel did not heed the warnings
They rebelled against God
They worshipped false idols
They sacrificed their children
Ezekiel, one of the Jews among them, has been raised up by God as a prophet in Babylon along with the captives of Israel
He is there to challenge them, encourage them, speak truth into their lives.
In Ch. 18, the Jewish people are looking at their circumstances in Babylon and they have 2 major objections that they are giving voice to:
It’s not my fault.
Therefore, God’s not fair.
This speaks to our own culture today
It’s not my fault, God’s not fair.
Let’s read the first couple of verses together:
1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: “ ‘The parents eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
3 “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel.
4 For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die.
What we see right at the beginning of chapter 18 is the first objection, the Jewish people are saying…
It’s not my fault.
There was a well known, culturally established proverb in the Ancient Near & Middle East.
One that the Lord quotes in verse 2 and claims to be false.
This is not called a proverb because it was a wise saying, not like our own Book of Proverbs written by King Solomon.
Rather, the Hebrew word here for proverb is ma-shal, which can also be translated as:
Discourse
Taunt
Modern Equivalents
I’m cleaning up someone else’s mess.
I’m carrying baggage I didn’t pack
This was broken before I got here.
This proverb was more akin to a common saying or phrase that people would repeat over and over to express discontent with their situation.
By the way, saying something over and over again doesn’t necessarily make that true.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
Several years ago, my late uncle tried to enlisted me to do the One Chip Challenge with him.
The challenge was to eat a single chip, loaded with nightmare levels of capsaicin.
I remember him saying those words, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
What he should have said was, what doesn’t kill you makes you incredibly sick.
Because that’s what I gained from watching him undergo that experience. An entire night of stomach aches, moaning and vomiting.
Not stronger. Not worth it.
Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me
Yeah, try telling that to your wife mid argument. It’ll go over GREAT for you.
Mine took it as a challenge.
JK honey that would never happen
*wink*
The Customer is Always Right
No their not, okay?
Anybody ever worked retail before?
Let’s be honest. MOST of the time…
… the customer has no idea what their talking about, alright?
You came here for Jesus and all I have are jokes, apologies folks we’ll get back on track.
2 … ‘The parents eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
The Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, translates:
the children’s teeth are set on edge
as
they suffer pain in the teeth.
In other words, the kid has a toothache because mom and dad ate too many sour grapes.
Or even simpler, mom and dad ate too much candy so the kids got the cavities.
This was a way for Israel to deflect responsibility. Shift the blame.
It’s not really my fault.
I only worshipped idols because mom and dad worshipped idols.
I only sacrificed to these false gods because mom and dad sacrificed to these false gods.
Many of us have held similar stances in today’s day:
I’m an alcoholic because mom was an alcoholic.
I have a temper because dad had a temper.
I only lie a little bit because my mom or dad lied a little bit.
No listen, the influence of mom and dad is significant.
It is.
You are shaped by your parents and those that raise you.
But the influence of God is greater, and at some point we have to stand up and take responsibility for our lives and stop shifting the blame to mom and dad.
In a hospital in Georgia, there was a patient that accidentally spilt his cup of water onto the floor beside the bed.
The patient was afraid of slipping on the water, so he called the nurse’s aid in to help him clean it up.
The patient didn’t know this, but the hospital policy stated that small spills should be cleaned by the nurses aid, while larger spills were to be cleaned by housekeeping.
The nurse’s aid decided the spill was a large one and called housekeeping.
Housekeeping argued the spill was a small one.
An argument followed.
“This puddle is too big, it’s not my responsibility.”
“No, the puddle is too small for it to me mine. This mess is yours.”
“Nu uh”
“Yes huh”
The PATIENT was becoming less and less PATIENT as he listened to the bickering.
Then he reached over and took the pitcher of water from his table…
… and dumped all of the contents onto the floor.
“Is that a big enough puddle now for you two to decide?”
It was, and that was the end of the argument.
We live in a generation that wants to blame everybody.
What about 2 Corinthians 5:17 that says…
17 … if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…
So how about YOU start to take responsibility for YOUR life, and YOU choose to hand down a NEW heritage, a different legacy, to your children.
This not what Blair Dillon Swanner says. This is what God says.
That’s why in verse 3, we see this:
3 “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel.
4 … The one who sins is the one who will die.
Our first point this morning is this: God gives us…
1. The Opportunity for Responsibility
1. The Opportunity for Responsibility
Watch how the Lord breaks it down so eloquently. There is alot of repeated language here, so I am going skip from verse 5, to 10, to 14, to 20.
5 “Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right.
10 “Suppose [that righteous man] has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other [sinful] things
14 “But suppose this [wicked] son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:
20 The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.
The Holy Spirit is telling you this morning:
You will be responsible for what has been revealed to you.
Look at the picture we get on responsibility in the next couple of verses:
29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
That means that the things that have been revealed to us, like the truths in this book, belong to us. We must OWN them.
More:
17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Once you have seen the truth about sin in your life… there is no more excuse! You must cut it out of your life!
41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.
The more we experience… the closer we come to KNOW this perfect God…
The more we are required to cast off.
That’s why this message is for everyone, in every stage of life.
For the unbeliever, this is a call to eternal perspective.
The sins you have committed HAVE ALREADY bought you a ticket to hell.
Now you know.
Turn around. Get a different ticket from Jesus Christ. A ticket that goes to heaven.
For the believer, this is a call to self inspection.
Jesus asks ALOT from His followers.
If you have been coming here for any moderate length of time, you have heard me preach a time or two.
Many of the messages I have been called to give are not easy to swallow.
They call for action. Boldness. Pushing AGAINST the current that our Western civilization is swimming.
We investigate topics that are uncomfortable, ones that society today is split on.
We wrestle with them.
Because YOU have been a part of that…
YOU are now responsible for applying those truths to your lives.
If you were blind, you would have no guilt. But because you have seen, the guilt is your own.
The good news is this:
God gives us…
2. The Opportunity for Repentance
2. The Opportunity for Repentance
21 “But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die.
22 None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live.
23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
God is saying…
I don’t WANT ANYONE to die!
I would rather EVERYONE live!
600 years later, Simon Peter (one of Jesus’ 12 disciples) wrote something that echoes the same truth:
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.
25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear, you Israelites: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
Invite worship team up
Here’s why God is saying that THEIR ways were unjust/unfair.
The people were basically saying that they want to live, however they want to live.
They want to blame, whoever they want to blame.
And they want to get away with, whatever they can getaway with.
And claim that is just. They claim THAT is fair.
God is trying to reason with them here…
Are you sure it’s MY ways that are unjust? Isn’t it, YOUR ways that are unjust?
No reasonable person would stand here and defend that THEIR ways are fair.
You know what else isn’t fair??
God’s position is entirely beyond fair.
If you are in Christ, you will not get what you deserve when you die.
Simplify that Pastor Blair.
Okay, here goes:
Because we have rebelled against the King of the Universe, there is only ONE THING we actually, truly deserve.
Help me out somebody, what is it?
Death.
We live lives full of sin in rebellion against the creator of the universe…
and He says that whoever takes responsibility for their sins and TURNS from them, TURNING to God…
whoever does this…
They will be forgiven.
WHAT?!
Where else does this exist?
Where else can you commit the crime, but not have to do the time because you accept responsibility and genuinely try to leave such behavior behind?
The only place I could think of was… growing up as a kid.
I was a very tough kid to parent. Not easy, at all.
My mom made hand over the entire contents of my piggy bank because I shattered a windshield at Pams PlaySchool with 2 handfuls of gravel.
This was after I was black listed at Buddy Bear’s Day Care for “Violent and Unsanitary Tendencies”
I bit other kids and spat on them, okay?
*shrug* Big deal
My parents would extend grace after grace, raising me to choose the harder right over the easier wrong.
I am incredibly thankful for that.
I extend the same grace to my own children.
Some children need a little more grace than others...
Where are my VBS volunteers at?!
But this makes sense too… because God is a FATHER.
Our third point, clear as day. God gives us…
3. The Opportunity for Renewal
3. The Opportunity for Renewal
30 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.
31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel?
32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
If you take nothing home from this sermon, I am begging you to take at least this one thing. Let this brand itself onto your very soul and stay with you as you drive to work, as you mow your grass, as you lie down to sleep:
WHY WILL YOU DIE?!
REPENT & LIVE!!!
His way is SO MUCH BETTER.
I am going to close with a story:
In one of my VBS classes this week, I was teaching the kids about heaven, the location.
What it would look like, sound like, BE like to be in heaven.
I asked every class, WHO WANTS TO GO TO HEAVEN?!
Kids roar and scream as loud as they can, it was great.
But in one class, there was a little girl who jokingly said,
“Not me.”
I said, “You don’t want to go to heaven and be with God?”
She said, “Nope.”
Big smile on her face.
I responded, “So when you die, you would rather bathe in a lake of fire, full of sorrow and sadness and regret, in pain and seperated from God and ALL those that you have ever loved… forever?
Her confidence started to wane…
“Yes…” she was hesitant now.
I looked at her right in her eyes and said, “In all seriousness, you need to be very careful with those sorts of jokes. Because the truth is this: God will give you EXACTLY what you want.
If you do not want to spend eternity with Him, He will not force to do so.
If you choose to live this life SEPARATED from God, you will live the next life SEPARATED from God.
If you instead choose to walk with JESUS CHRIST in this life, you will walk with JESUS in the next life.
TURN AND LIVE!!!
Let us pray.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray each and every soul in this room is convicted to make a choice.
Everyone here has a cross that they have yet to pick up.
A duty they have yet to perform.
Every heart in this room is holding onto SOMETHING that keeps them from getting closer to you.
Blow in a mighty conviction, like an East Wind, that tears away our defenses.
Tear them down, and leave us bare before you Lord.
We must make a choice.
Turn around and live?
Or keep walking these roads that only lead to destruction.
Help us to choose you in each moment, with every decision made, every single day of our lives.
Reveal yourself to us every day, so that we may know your ways, and be continuously molded more and more into the image of your Son, Jesus Christ.
It’s in His name that this church, this body of believers, prays and says:
Amen.
