Series: Restoration Series
Story: Our search for God and peace!
Father John Powell, professor at Loyola University in Chicago, writes about a student in his Theology of Faith class named Tommy;
Some twelve years ago, I stood watching my university students file into the classroom for our first session in the Theology of Faith.
That was the day I first saw Tommy. My eyes and my mind both blinked. He was combing his long flaxen hair, which hung six inches below his shoulders.
It was the first time I had ever seen a boy with hair that long. I guess it was just coming into fashion then I know in my mind that it isn’t what’s on your head but what’s in it that counts; but on that day I was unprepared and my emotions flipped. I immediately filed Tommy under "S" for strange...very strange.
Tommy turned out to be the "atheist in residence" in my Theology of Faith course. He constantly objected to, smirked at, or whined about the possibility of an unconditionally loving Father/God. We lived with each other in relative peace for one semester, although I admit he was for me at times a serious pain in the back pew.
When he came up at the end of the course to turn in his final exam, he asked in a cynical tone, "Do you think I’ll ever find God?"
I decided instantly on a little shock therapy. "No!" I said very emphatically.
"Why not," he responded, "I thought that was the product you were pushing."
I let him get five steps from the classroom door and then called out, "Tommy! I don’t think you’ll ever find Him, but I am absolutely certain that He will find you!" He shrugged a little and left my class and my life.
I felt slightly disappointed at the thought that he had missed my clever line -- He will find you! At least I thought it was clever. Later I heard that Tommy had graduated, and I was duly grateful.
Then a sad report came. I heard that Tommy had terminal cancer. Before I could search him out, he came to see me. When he walked into my office, his body was very badly wasted and the long hair had all fallen out as a result of chemotherapy. But his eyes were bright and his voice was firm, for the first time, I believe. "Tommy, I’ve thought about you so often; I hear you are sick," I blurted out.
"Oh, yes, very sick. I have cancer in both lungs. It’s a matter of weeks."
"Can you talk about it, Tom?" I asked.
"Sure, what would you like to know?" he replied.
"What’s it like to be only twenty-four and dying?"
"Well, it could be worse."
"Like what?"
"Well, like being fifty and having no values or ideals, like being fifty and thinking that booze, seducing women, and making money are the real biggies in life."
I began to look through my mental file cabinet under "S" where I had filed Tommy as strange. (It seems as though everybody I try to reject by classification, God sends back into my life to educate me.)
"But what I really came to see you about," Tom said, "is something you said to me on the last day of class." (He remembered!) He continued, "I asked you if you thought I would ever find God and you said, ’No!’ which surprised me. Then you said, ’But He will find you.’ I thought about that a lot, even though my search for God was hardly intense at that time.
(My clever line. He thought about that a lot!)
"But when the doctors removed a lump from my groin and told me that it was malignant, that’s when I got serious about locating God. And when the malignancy spread into my vital organs, I really began banging bloody fists against the bronze doors of heaven. But God did not come out. In fact, nothing happened. Did you ever try anything for a long time with great effort and with no success? You get psychologically glutted, fed up with trying. And then you quit "Well, one day I woke up, and instead of throwing a few more futile appeals over that high brick wall to a God who may be or may not be there, I just quit.
I decided that I didn’t really care about God, about an after life, or anything like that. I decided to spend what time I had left doing something more profitable. I thought about you and your class and I remembered something else you had said: ’The essential sadness is to go through life without loving. But it would be almost equally sad to go through life and leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you had loved them.’"
"So, I began with the hardest one, my Dad. He was reading the newspaper when I approached him. "Dad."
"Yes, what?" he asked without lowering the newspaper.
"Dad, I would like to talk with you."
"Well, talk."
"I mean .. It’s really important."
The newspaper came down three slow inches. "What is it?"
"Dad, I love you, I just wanted you to know that." Tom smiled at me and said it with obvious satisfaction, as though he felt a warm and secret joy flowing inside of him. "The newspaper fluttered to the floor. Then my father did two things I could never remember him ever doing before. He cried and he hugged me. We talked all night, even though he had to go to work the next morning. It felt so good to be close to my father, to see his tears, to feel his hug, to hear him say that he loved me."
"It was easier with my mother and little brother. They cried with me, too, and we hugged each other, and started saying real nice things to each other. We shared the things we had been keeping secret for so many years.
"I was only sorry about one thing --- that I had waited so long. Here I was, just beginning to open up to all the people I had actually been close to.
"Then, one day I turned around and God was there. He didn’t come to me when I pleaded with Him. I guess I was like an animal trainer holding out a hoop, ’C’mon, jump through. C’mon, I’ll give you three days, three weeks.’"
"Apparently God does things in His own way and at His own hour. But the important thing is that He was there. He found me!
You were right He found me even after I stopped looking for Him"
"Tommy," I practically gasped, "I think you are saying something very important and much more universal than you realize.
To me, at least, you are saying that the surest way to find God is not to make Him a private possession, a problem solver, or an instant consolation in time of need, but rather by opening to love. You know, the Apostle John said that. He said: ’God is love, and anyone who lives in love is living with God and God is living in him.’
Tom, could I ask you a favor? You know, when I had you in class you were a real pain. But (laughingly) you can make it all up to me now. Would you come into my present Theology of Faith course and tell them what you have just told me? If I told them the same thing it wouldn’t be half as effective as if you were to tell it"
"Oooh... I was ready for you, but I don’t know if I’m ready for your class."
"Tom, think about it. If and when you are ready, give me a call."
In a few days Tom called, said he was ready for the class, that he wanted to do that for God and for me. So we scheduled a date.
However, he never made it. He had another appointment, far more important than the one with me and my class Of course, his life was not really ended by his death, only changed. He made the great step from faith into vision.
He found a life far more beautiful than the eye of man has ever seen or the ear of man has ever heard or the mind of man has ever imagined.
Before he died, we talked one last time.
"I’m not going to make it to your class," he said.
"I know, Tom."
"Will you tell them for me? Will you ... tell the whole world for me?"
I will, Tom. I’ll tell them. I’ll do my best."
So, to all of you who have been kind enough to read this simple story about God’s love, thank you for listening. And to you, Tommy, somewhere in the sunlit, verdant hills of heaven --- I told them, Tommy, as best I could.
It is a true story and is not enhanced for publicity purposes. With thanks, Rev. John Powell, Professor, Loyola University, Chicago.
This story is about a man searching for God –looking for meaning in life and a relationship with God. He found it through death and through love. You could say that Tommy and the professor both found a breath of Heaven in this life and opened their eyes to see the resurrection power of God.
Thesis: God likes taking things that are broken or divided and then puts them back together to breathe life back into them. He loves take two and make them one, he desires to have us all serve Him as the true king, He loves to cleanse and set people free and as He does this we become His children and He then dwells with us. I find it amazing that God loves us so much.
T.S. - Today we are going to look at a another story of God putting back together something which looks dead and lifeless and in mans eye’s hopeless, man would look at the deadness and say that this could never be restored or revived.
Sermon: Ezekiel 37: 15-28 “Gods Big Stick”
Scripture Text:
One Nation Under One King
The word of the LORD came to me:
“Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Ephraim’s stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.’
Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.
“When your countrymen ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’
say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim’s hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’
Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on
and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.
I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.
They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
“‘My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.
They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever.
I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever.
My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.
Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.’”
Introduction:
This section of scripture is the follow up of Ezekiel 37:1-14 which spoke of God’s Spirit bringing to life the valley of dry bones. It is one of 10 prophecies that promise the resurrection of the nation of Israel.
One dimension or fulfillment of this prophecy occurred on May 14, 1948 when the nation of Israel was re-birthed.
A little history and some facts about Israel taken from http://www.bibletoday.com/archive/israel2_text.htm and www.biblestudents.com/endtimes_sum08.cfm
The rebirth of the State of Israel in 1948 was a miracle of history. (Ezekiel 37:1-14; Luke 21:29, 30) Never before has a nation been destroyed, its people dispersed to the ends of the earth, and then nearly two thousand years later, regathered to their homeland and reestablished as a nation. With the approval of the United Nations, Israel declared itself a nation on May 14, 1948. This outraged her sworn enemies, and the armies of seven Arab nations marched on the newborn State. Outnumbered 100 to 1, Israel not only repelled the invading Arab armies, but miraculously acquired more of her ancient land.
Three Examples of Miracles
A Syrian column of 200 armored vehicles, including 45 tanks attacked Degania, the oldest kibbutz in Israel. What a psychological blow this defeat would be! Without artillery, Jewish forces were helpless to block the Syrian advance. Until then the only heavy weapons available in all Israel were four howitzers of the type used by the French army in the Franco- Prussian War of 1870. Two of these ancient fieldpieces were promptly dismantled and rushed to Degania. The local commander, Lieutenant Colonel Moshe Dayan, had them reassembled at the very moment the first Syrian tanks rumbled through the kibbutz perimeter, and they scored a hit on the advance tank. Had the Syrians known that these two obsolete weapons represented half the arsenal of field-guns in all Israel, they would have pressed the attack. Instead, the armored vehicles swung around in their tracks and clattered back up the mountain road.
In December 1948, the Egyptians were harassing Israeli settlements in the Negev. Yadin used the Bible for strategy. It mentioned an ancient road forgotten for centuries, which ran almost directly to Mushrafa, the Egyptians’ central garrison. Heavy boulders were pushed aside with bulldozers and soldiers in armored vehicles, jeeps and supply trucks sped under cover of darkness along the ancient road and surprised the Egyptians. Taking this garrison destroyed the Egyptian defense system and ended the war 14 days later.
The Syrian Army had regrouped east of the Galilee. A Jewish column of 24 homeland armored trucks and cars, on the way to relieve a besieged Kibbutz, took the wrong road and crossed the border into Lebanon. Before they discovered their mistake, they ran head on into a column of supplies for the Syrian Army in Galilee — dozens of trucks of ammunition, a string of light artillery and 20 new armored cars. The Israelis fired point blank at the first truck — a tanker loaded with gasoline. It exploded and set on fire the following truckload of hand grenades. Rapid repeating explosions were heard for miles around. Terrified, the Syrians abandoned their cargo and the Israelis scarcely had enough men to drive the captured supply train back into Galilee. Finally they reached the beleaguered Kibbutz, only to learn that the Arab besiegers heard rumors that the Jewish army had invaded Lebanon and fled Israel.
Yigael Yadin, Israel’s commander of operations in that war, had a concise explanation of Israel’s victory. “It was a miracle!” This victory was, in reality, a fulfillment of a 2,500 year old prophecy which declared of the new, regathered nation: “They that war against thee shall be as nothing and as a thing of nought... for I will help thee.” Isaiah 41:12,13.
Never before has a nation been destroyed, its people dispersed to the ends of the earth, and then, nearly two thousand years later, regathered to their homeland and re- established as a nation
Again, in 1967, the Arabs boasted that they would destroy Israel. However, in six days Israel overran the combined forces of Syria, Jordan and Egypt—gaining the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, the West Bank (Samaria and Judea), and the Sinai—one of the greatest military feats in history. To many Orthodox Jews worldwide, especially in the United States, this was a wake-up call from God. Thousands poured into Israel and settled in Samaria and Judea to stake Israel’s eternal claim to the so-called West Bank—the heartland of Israel.
Israel was now a nation with a strong will to exist—though amidst an Arab host committed to her extinction. Of necessity, Israel has developed into one of the most powerful military forces in the world, yet she remains non-militaristic. Her stated desire is to live in peace with those in and outside of her borders.
THE MIRACLE OF IMMIGRATION: Yes, in spite of these on-going conflicts with their Arab neighbors and growing anti-Semitism, the miracles in Israel continue. World opinion is not God’s opinion, and Israel is fulfilling His plans for His land. Isaiah prophesied that Israel would regather a second time. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people... and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” Isaiah 11:11, 12
Jews from the four points of the compass have heard the call—miracles are happening! Come home to Israel! (Isaiah 43:5, 6)
By the year 2000, over a million Jews returned from the former Soviet Republics (CIS) and they are still coming. Israel’s population increased from 650,000 in 1948 to over 7,000,000 in 2008. The miracle of re-population continues.
REBUILDING ISRAEL WITH BIBLE IN HAND: Today, trees, fruits and vegetables grow over what was once sandy wastes or malaria swamps. New industries fringe historic cities. Highways and pipelines stretch across an energetic nation that had slept for centuries.
David Ben Gurion, Israel’s dynamic first Prime Minister, was an ardent student of the Bible and saw it as an accurate history of Israel and its land. He dispatched engineers, horticulturists, botanists, etc., with the Bible in one hand and research tools in the other. Miracles flourished! Following Bible clues, copper and iron mines were established. New agricultural settlements—from Dan to Beersheba—have risen on ancient sites identified by Biblical archaeologists. Concrete pumping stations were set over ancient springs or wells. A well from Abraham’s day now supplies water for residents on the outskirts of Beersheba.
One of the basic necessities in that arid country was reforestation. Since 1900, Jews have planted over a billion trees. They used the Bible to decide what kind of trees to plant and where to plant them.
Barren land transformed to the fertility of ancient Israel is a miracle predicted in Scripture. (Amos 9:14-15; Ezekiel 36:34-35) It was long assumed that most of Palestine was wasteland, irreclaimable for agriculture.
ISRAEL AN ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL MARVEL: Israel at 62 is fast becoming the Silicon Valley of the world. Ezekiel 38:12, 13 predicts that Israel will become the economic envy of the nations. The New York Stock Exchange lists more hi-tech companies from Israel than from any other nation. Israel’s economy grew more than 5% in 2007—faster than the U.S., Europe, UK and Japan.
Our text today prophesied what we see happening in Israel today. Even this week we have Israel in the news again worried about what is transpiring in Egypt and Jordan. There is a push in both countries for government change, the current governments have peace with Israel but the Islamic Brotherhood is seeking to gain control of both countries and if they succeed then Israel will be surrounded again by hostile Arab neighbors.
So we see once again the accuracy of the Word of God.
T.S. - But prophecy also has a spiritual application to anyone who finds themselves in the valley of dry dead bones or a life that is lifeless. God is able to bring life back into deadness by breathing the breath of life back into dead bones, dead lives, dead communities, and even dead families.
I. Two become one (15-22)
a. God tells Ezekiel to take two sticks one representing Judah and one representing Ephraim which is Josephs stick. The Lord tells him to join them together into one big stick. God’s stick and instrument in his hand.
i. Have the Shepherds stick to show. This object lesson communicates God’s desire and will to have unity.
1. It tells the nation of Israel and us that Gods people are reconciled with each other by His mighty hand and power.
2. That God’s Spirit can take any nation or organization from division to unity.
ii. The lesson is the idea of taking two parts to make them one –joining them together.
1. In a sense its Gods way of saying I am bringing unity back to Israel by my fresh breath from Heaven.
2. The Lord instructs Ezekiel to join the two sticks as one and to tell the people that God is bringing unity back to this divided and dead lifeless nation.
a. Remember this is spoken to the people who have been hauled into captivity to Babylon. The nation is destroyed the Temple is destroyed and God let’s this nation know He is not done with them yet.
iii. I find it amazing that He is not just going to resurrect Israel but he is going to reunite Israel back together –so that He can use them to fulfill His divine plan and will for this world.
1. This new united stick and nation will function live and breath by His direction and hand.
2. He will give it life by a breath of heaven and He will use it in the end times to communicate the importance of reconciliation.
a. The message will be turn to God and live, reject God and you will perish.
b. God promises in our text to bring back all that have been scattered. To bring them all back together as one nation again. He will reunite them in their own land. We know this happened in the in the establishment of Israel.
i. God’s hand is on Israel and it’s important to remember that God’s hand can be on us if we choose to heed His call to come home to Him through Jesus.
1. If we allow the Spirit to lead us then that Holy Spirit will lead us home. It will lead us and reunite us with God and His will and His purposes for our lives.
ii. God promises that He will unite Israel and any who are willing together as one nation a unified nation. Jesus called it the Kingdom of Heaven. This nation or people of God will not be a divided one but one which has decided to lock arms together with God as their protector.
iii. This text is one of God’s Covenant promises.
1. A Covenant is something that is very serious and everlasting and God promises that this will last forever this reuniting and gathering of His people back to their homeland.
2. It’s a symbol of marriage between two entities!
c. Here are some thought from sermoncentral.com http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-great-reunion-pat-damiani-sermon-on-israel-144794.asp?page=0
i. As I mentioned, this passage is a key to unlocking the underlying theme of Scripture…It shows that the entire Bible is built on the concept of reconciliation – the reconciliation of the two houses of Israel as well as the reconciliation of man to God through Jesus, the Messiah. Since this is so crucial let’s take a few minutes to examine these concepts in a bit more detail. After the death of King Solomon his son, Rehoboam, became king. But when he continued the heavy taxation commenced under his father’s rule, the ten northern tribes united under Jeroboam, who was from the tribe of Ephraim, and revolted. The two tribes of Benjamin and Judah, along with the Levites remained loyal to Rehoboam and formed the southern kingdom of Judah, with its capital in Jerusalem. Although we often use the term “Jews” to refer to the entire commonwealth of Israel, technically the term refers only to the inhabitants of the southern kingdom of Judah. The remaining ten tribes became the northern kingdom of Israel, with its capital in Samaria. Because Jeroboam did not want his subjects to go to Jerusalem to worship during the feasts, he set up golden calves in Dan and Bethel, at the two extremities of the kingdom, as symbols of God. This began the idolatrous worship that continued through the history of Israel and led to their fall in 722 BC at the hands of the Assyrians. Although there had been some attempts to re-unify the two kingdoms, especially during the reign of King Abijah of Judah, that goal had never been accomplished by human hands. And now that the northern kingdom no longer existed and the people had been scattered among the surrounding nations and the southern kingdom lay in ruins that seemed even more impossible. But just as we have seen consistently throughout the Old Testament prophets, God promised that one day He was going to reverse the division that existed and unify the two kingdoms again. And He commands Ezekiel to participate in the object lesson described in this passage to make this real to the people.
1. The time this prophecy was given was 597 BC then in 1948 Israel was birthed again. It took 2,545 years for this prophetic word to come to pass. But God always keeps His promise and we need to remember that His promise is also very clear that Israel will not again be removed from their home land.
d. Unity is God’s plan for redemption of a nation. He is the only force in Universe which can bring about the miracle or unification of a people which are divided. It’s done by His Holy Spirit and It’s done by His prophetic word.
T.S. - I come to believe that God loves to do the impossible and He is the one that can take something divided and bring life and unity back to it so he can use it for His Kingdom. The Lord desires us to see Him and to embrace Him as the King.
II. One nation (one people) with one king (23-26)
a. The word of the Lord also tells us that they will be united together under one king as well. He promises in His word that they will never be divided again. The two shall become one. No more separation or division.
i. God’s people will be redeemed. They will be taken from rebellion to obedience (vv. 23-24)
1. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes.
ii. Remember the root cause of the split of the two kingdoms of Israel was and their rebellion against God, especially in their worship.
iii. But in spite of their rebellion and sin God promised that one day He would redeem His people from their sin and cleanse them so that they could once again be His people and He would be their God.
1. Pastor Damiani from Sermon Central states: Originally, God had given His people the Law for their own good. It was to be a guide on how to live in a manner that would be the most beneficial for them. It would protect their dignity. But living in obedience to the Law was also to be the way in which God’s people would distinguish themselves from the nations around them for the purpose of bringing glory to God. Throughout their history, God’s people continually allowed themselves to be influenced by and incorporated into the culture of the surrounding nations. And as a result they lost their distinctiveness as a people. By Ezekiel’s time, the northern kingdom of Israel no longer existed as an identifiable people and it wouldn’t be too much longer until much of Judah would suffer the same fate. But when Jesus returns, he is going to establish His rule, first here on earth and eventually in the new heaven and new earth. And when the commonwealth of Israel recognizes Jesus as the Messiah, they are going to repent and regain their distinctiveness as a people by being obedient to Him
b. The reuniting of the nation brings back the people of God who return with repentant hearts.
i. Those who come home to God’s Kingdom will choose to no longer defile themselves any more.
ii. They will give up their idols and detestable fakes of God.
iii. They will commit themselves to serving and honoring their Heavenly king.
1. This king by the way is Jesus!
iv. It says that God will save them from their backsliding.
1. Those who choose to return to God with a repentant heart will be set free from their sinful lost condition.
v. The Holy Spirit will bring the prodigals home and they will receive the great gift of pardon from God because of their heart of repentance.
c. In our text it says that God will cleanse Israel and really all who repent!
i. He will make it as white as snow!
ii. Notice the people are not doing this cleaning the Lord is.
iii. It’s His Spirit that is bringing the lost back home, they are being drawn back to God and they are willing to give up their sinful ways.
iv. There is an awakening that is going on – the Spirit is opening people’s eyes to their blackened condition.
1. The light bulb of revelation is going on and the Spirit is calling the lost home.
v. I want to emphasize that the cleaner or the cleanser is God.
1. This is an important point to understand.
2. We do not clean up the people who are backslidden he does.
3. Rules and regulations will never cleanse a person’s heart its the Spirit which blows through their hearts that does.
4. God then promises that they will be His people And He will be there God.
vi. Remember Vs 24 - They will have one Shepherd through the lineage of David we know from Jesus genealogies that Jesus is this king and He is good Shepherd.
1. It says that they will follow Gods teaching and His commandments.
d. God’s people restored – from barrenness to fruitfulness (vv. 25-26)
i. They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever.
ii. They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever.
I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever.
T. S. – We like Israel need to embrace Jesus as our one and only King because when we do he brings health and healing to dry dead lifeless lives. He also promises that those who embrace him as king will find rest, peace and be blessed with His presence in their lives.
III. They will be one with God and He will dwell among them
a. God’s people will be brought back from distress to rest (vv. 27-28)
i. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”
b. Ezekiel 37 ends with a glorious picture of a new and reestablished relationship between God and His people.
i. God will be with them literally. His presence will be tangible. He will be their God and they will be His people.
1. Through this relationship and because of God’s presence stress will vanish, fear will leave and rest will be found.
ii. Pastor Damiani states: God’s presence with His people is pictured here and in verse 26 as God refers to His sanctuary which will be set in their midst forevermore. This is almost certainly a reference to what is known as the Millennial Temple, which is described in great detail in Ezekiel 40-48. Before we go any further, let me point out that there are some things here in our passage and some things about that Millennial Temple that raise some questions that frankly we just can’t answer based on what God has revealed to us so far. For instance, you may have noted that in verse 25, God promises that Israel will live in the land that He has promised to them “forever.” Although that period seems quite clearly to commence with the return of Jesus and extend through the end of His literal 1,000 year reign here on earth, how does that relate to the new heavens and earth and the New Jerusalem that descends from heaven at the end of that period? We also see that God’s sanctuary will be in their midst “forevermore.” Once again it seems quite clear that there will be a physical temple built in the Promised Land during the millennial reign of Jesus. But since we know that Revelation 21 reveals that there will be no temple in the New Jerusalem because God Almighty and Jesus will be its temple, how is it possible for God’s sanctuary to be in their midst “forevermore”?
Although we certainly don’t have enough information at this point in time to make any dogmatic conclusions, the most likely explanation is that when the New Jerusalem descends from heaven, it then becomes the new home for all Israel and is a continuation of them dwelling in the land forever. At that same time, God the Father and Jesus also become the temple and there is no doubt that they are permanently set in the midst of God’s people forevermore.
c. God will establish and set up the nation.
i. God’s presence will give this nation it’s solid foundation.
1. The rock upon which to stand for eternity.
ii. He will then reestablish His sanctuary which means His temple?
1. Note the Temple society in Jerusalem.
iii. His dwelling place will be with them. Jesus said: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)
d. We only can find rest by pursuing a relationship with God. We live in a world that is full of stress and distress and it’s hard to find rest. But recent scientific studies have shown the importance of rest for our physical well being. A lack of sleep has been shown to increase the likelihood of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and several forms of cancer.
i. Pastor Damiani adds: But it is just as important to find rest spiritually as well. What we see in the last part of Ezekiel 37 is a picture of people who have an intimate love relationship with God. They are permanently in His presence, knowing Him better day by day and worshipping Him constantly. Fortunately for us, we don’t have to wait for the return of Jesus to experience that same kind of relationship. We have His Word; we have the ability to communicate with Him in prayer; and we are in the midst of a body of believers who can encourage us in our relationship with Him.
ii. Perhaps one of the reasons that Psalm 23 is so treasured by so many believers is that it captures the essence of what it means to rest in God by pursuing a relationship with Him. So let’s close our time this morning by reading that passage out loud together. As we read, let’s take it slowly, savoring each word and phrase and we meditate on our relationship with God.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Psalm 23:1-6 (ESV)
e. The world will stand up and take notice that Israel is holy when they see God’s Temple resurrected.
Conclusion:
Three application points today:
1. Unity stays when we keep our eyes focused on the Lord and His teachings. Once we fall into disunity it takes a fresh breath from Heaven to bring it back. Really a miracle from God.
2. We all need to unite under one King and that is King Jesus because He is the only one that can reconcile us back to God. It’s through His Spirit that we are cleansed and cleaned and restored from our lost condition.
a. Restoration comes from the Lord according to Romans and Jesus is our redeemer, cleaner and cleanser of sin.
3. When we are in right relationship with God we become His people, His chosen ones and He then dwells within us. Through His presence we find rest.
When we have unity, when we have our focus on Jesus and when we are in right relationship with God we experience genuine fellowship with each other:
Illustration about genuine unity, real love and divine fellowship:
Bill Hybels recalls a time when Dr. Gilbert Bilezikian was speaking for a leadership conference at Willow Creek Community Church. He writes about it like this… “Dr. Bilezikian said there’s life-changing fellowship in biblically functioning community. That was a far cry from the childhood experience of a lot of his audience! The only kind of fellowship that many of his listeners had witnessed revolved around the fifteen or twenty minutes after the service when the men would stand around the church patio and ask each other superficial questions.
‘So how’s it going at work Jake,’ one of them would ask.
‘Fine, Phil. Say, you driving a new pickup?’
‘Used,’ Phil would reply. ‘What do you have going this week?’
‘Not much.’
‘Well, great fellowshipping with you, Jake.’
‘Same here.’
That was about it. They’d (find their wives who) were having similar conversations, and go home until next week.
But the Bible says true fellowship has the power to revolutionize lives. Masks come off, conversations get deep, hearts get vulnerable, lives are shared, accountability is invited, and tenderness flows. People really do become like brothers and sisters. They shoulder each other’s burdens - and unfortunately, that’s something that few of the people in that audience had experienced while growing up in church.
In many churches it just didn’t seem legal to tell anyone you were having a problem. Families that sat in the same pew for years would suddenly disappear, because the husband and wife were in turmoil over marriage problems. Instead of coming to the church for help and prayer and support, they fled the other way, because they didn’t feel the freedom to say, ‘We love Jesus, but we’re not doing very well. Our lives feel like they’re unraveling. We need some help!’
The implicit understanding was that you shouldn’t have a problem, and if you did you’d better not talk about it around the church.
I learned that lesson well. When I got old enough to stand on the church patio after services, someone would say, ‘So, Bill, how are things in high school?’
And I’d give the response that I thought was expected. ‘Fine, Ben,’ I’d say. ‘They’re just great.’
I didn’t feel I could tell him that my heart was being ripped to shreds because my girlfriend and I had broken up. Or that I was flat-lined spiritually. Or that I had and older brother who was drinking too much and driving too fast, and I was scared about where his life was heading.
I didn’t say anything, because I felt that a good Christian just didn’t admit to having those kinds of real-life difficulties. And in many churches, that’s called fellowship.
It shouldn’t be.” (Rediscovering Church, p. 159-160)
