Rev. David Holwick ZA
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
August 12, 2012
Ezekiel 22:26-30
|
I. What can one person do?
A. His reputation stands, 23 centuries later.
In 323 B.C. Alexander the Great's army had made it all the way
to what is now Pakistan.
They came to the fortified city of Multan and decided it had
to be captured.
Alexander put himself at the front of his troops.
They broke through a gate in the outer walls and poured in.
When the reached the next set of walls, his engineers tried
to undermine them so a portion would collapse.
Alexander thought it was taking too much time so he grabbed a
ladder and began climbing to the top of the wall.
Other soldiers followed him up the ladder to protect their
great leader.
So many jumped on that the ladder broke.
Alexander was left alone on the wall.
His soldiers held out their arms to him so he would jump down.
Instead, he jumped down the other side and began fighting
furiously, even killing the leader of Multan.
But an enemy arrow penetrated Alexander's lung, severely
wounding him.
By now his desperate troops had broken through and rescued
Alexander.
His personal example inspired them so much, they ended up
conquering much of the known world.
#43
B. One person can make a big difference.
1) Most of us will never be famous like Alexander.
2) But will we make any positive difference?
a) In the world?
b) In your community?
c) In a single person's life?
3) Plenty of people have a terrible impact.
a) God is looking for a few who will go the other way.
b) Not just to be nice, but to turn the tide.
II. Like many of the prophets, Ezekiel majored in bad news.
A. We don't like bad news.
1) Of course, that is what sells newspapers.
(back when people READ newspapers)
2) Perhaps we should say that people don't mind bad news about
other people, as long as WE still look good.
B. Ezekiel wasn't afraid to challenge every last Israelite.
1) Truth was more important to him than popularity.
2) He wanted them to know why conditions in their country
were so bad - and they were going to get worse.
III. He had bads news about Jerusalem's condition.
A. They had a problem with violence. 22:3
1) I guess we should be able to relate to that.
2) Just think of the urban atrocities recently:
a) The massacre by a racist in a Sikh temple.
b) The massacre in the Aurora movie theater by a nut-job.
c) In May, Seattle cafe shooting spree kills 5.
d) In April, 5 people were shot and 3 killed in Tulsa.
e) USA Today reports that for decades we have averaged
20 group killings a year.
1> We have almost become immune to them.
3) In Ezekiel's day, it wasn't just the nut-jobs.
a) Even the leaders were involved. 22:6
b) He is probably referring to the way they used power
to get what they wanted, no matter what.
B. They had a problem with corrupted religion.
1) There is the standard condemnation of idolatry. 22:4
2) He also says they despise holy things. 22:8
a) Ezekiel was originally a priest, and had been taught
that there are ordinary things, and holy things.
1> Priests were no longer doing this. 22:26
2> The Sabbath was especially downgraded.
b) The distinction of holiness must be maintained.
1> We are like the Jews - we lump everything together.
2> Maybe it is time to treat God's things as special
again.
3) Religious frauds. 22:28
a) There were loads of prophets in Ezekiel's day.
1> Anyone could claim to be a spokesman for God.
2> They just had to tack on "This is what God says."
b) A true sign of a religious fake is they whitewash sin.
[see Ezek 13:10-16]
C. They abused sex.
1) They did lewd things (probably associated with
foreign religions). 22:9
2) They committed adultery. 22:10
a) It is difficult to know the exact statistics on
this in America - you don't tend to broadcast it.
b) It is estimated that roughly 30 to 60% of all married
individuals in the United States will cheat at
some point during their marriage.
c) These numbers are probably on the conservative side. [1]
3) They violated the bonds of family. 22:10
a) Some of these bonds were more tenuous than ours
because of polygamy.
b) But even Jews were supposed to know that some
relationships are off-limits.
1> Every culture recognizes this.
2> Yet how many Americans have let their passions
destroy their own families?
D. They had a Wall Street problem. 22:12
1) Bribes, usury (excessive interest from loans), extortion.
2) Apparently this is what "greased" society.
a) Notice the conspiracy of powerful people in 22:25.
1> Material things mattered more to them than people.
b) But regular people were just as bad. 22:29
1> No matter how little you are, there is always
someone a rung lower you can take advantage of.
IV. Worse news - God is coming and he is ticked off.
A. God is going to exile them. 22:15
1) There is no hint that it will be temporary.
2) When they "hit bottom," they will finally acknowledge God.
B. God is going to smelt them. 22:18
1) Like those gold stores that have popped up everywhere.
a) They take your old jewelry and melt it down.
b) When you liquefy metal, the garbage floats on top and
you can scrape it off.
1> God is going to do that to them.
2) Smelting is, of course, a metaphor for terrible times.
a) Ezekiel wants them to know their troubles will actually
be God's wrath.
V. Is there a way to avoid this?
A. Someone could stand in the gap.
1) Unlike my Alexander the Great illustration, this is not
a person who is attacking.
2) It is someone who is trying to defend their society. 22:30
a) The enemies are out there, so they try to build up
the walls.
b) If the wall starts to fall down, they stand in the
gap and use themselves as a shield.
1> God is looking for such a person, but he doesn't
find anyone. Not a soul.
2> So the nation is doomed. 22:31
3) This defense is moral, not military.
a) They don't do the sins that Ezekiel lists.
b) More than just looking out for themselves, they try to
bring their people back to the moral foundations.
This month's "New Yorker" magazine has an interesting
article by Adam Gropnik.
He says America has been influenced by two foundational
movements.
One is the Enlightenment, and the other the Second Great
Awakening, an Evangelical religious movement.
You might say we have always been torn between the
Rationalists and the Revivalists.
The Revivalists are the ones who challenged America on
the evils of slavery. They won.
They later took on alcohol, which didn't fare as well.
But morality is more than one or two issues in society.
It is about the values you are going to live by.
And where those values are going to come from.
The Bible has some clear statements on this.
What will we do with them? #63875
B. Will anyone stand in the gap for America?
1) We aren't that different than ancient Israel.
a) We may be more sophisticated and technologically
advanced.
b) But our moral character is about the same.
2) There are many forces that seek to tear us down.
a) Who will stand in their way?
b) It can start on a very personal level.
A few years ago, a 16-year-old boy named Markquise from
Camden, New Jersey, was cooking dinner for his sister.
He glanced up and noticed the time, then grabbed his coat
and told his sister he would back.
Each evening Markquise walked his older brother, Anthony,
to night school.
It was Markquise's way of helping him stay out of trouble.
Markquise had had a burden for Anthony ever since the
summer two years previously when Markquise had given his
heart to Christ at an Angel Tree summer camp.
Anthony had been at that camp, too, and Marquise had sat
him down and tried to explain Jesus to him.
Anthony listened to his brother's explanation, but it was
difficult to tell if his words touched his heart.
Now two years later, Anthony was still in and out of
trouble.
Markquise continued to grow as a Christian and tried to
be like Jesus.
He lived with his grandmother, and his mom was in and out
of prison and he had never known his dad.
But Markquise used the money from his summer job to buy
new school clothes for his siblings.
When a friend was cold, he gave away his own coat.
And when offered a scholarship to attend a private school
in Pennsylvania, he turned it down, knowing that his
family and friends in Camden needed him.
Saying goodbye to his brother at night school, Markquise
turned to walk home.
Seeing a local neighbor lady struggling to rake up the
leaves in her yard, he stopped to help.
Finishing the task, he continued on his way home.
A few blocks down on Benson Street, a hail of bullets
suddenly ended a life that had burned for the Lord.
The shooter, a young man himself, had mistaken Markquise
for his older brother, Anthony, who owed him money.
In a way, Markquise portrayed the ultimate Christian
truth that night.
He unwittingly laid down his life, taking his brother's
place and paying a debt he did not owe.
#30234
C. In the end, there is only one who can fill the gap for us.
1) Ezekiel found that no one filled the bill.
a) Humans always fall short.
2) God's solution is
=========================================================================
SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] “Facts and Statistics About Infidelity,”
<http://www.truthaboutdeception.com/cheating-and-infidelity/stats-about-infidelity.html>
# 43 “And Where Is Our Leader?” Newsweek magazine, October 5, 1997,
page 83. Illustration also incorporates material from
"Mallian Campaign," Wikipedia.org,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mallian_Campaign>
#30234 “A Brilliant Blaze of Life: Making a Difference One Child at a
Time,” Charles Colson, BreakPoint Commentary, Nov. 28, 2005.
#63875 “The Two Moral Influences of America,” Adam Gropnik, adapted from
his article "I, Nephi: Mormonism and its meanings," New Yorker
magazine, August 13, 2012.
<http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2012/08/13/120813crat_atlarge_gopnik>
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
=========================================================================
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Free help authoring environment