IT IS SAFE TO SAY THAT NOBODY WANTS TO DELIBERATELY FAIL AT ANYTHING. THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT "FAILING" IS THE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE BASICS OF FAILURE ITSELF.
THE GREATEST NEWS ABOUT FAILURE IS THAT FAILURE IN AND OF ITSELF IS NEVER FINAL. YOU CAN LEARN GREAT LESSONS FROM FAILURE IF YOU ARE WILLING TO DO SO. INSTEAD OF WALLOWING IN SELF-PITY OR GETTING WOUND UP IN ANGER, WE CAN TAKE THOSE LESSONS FROM FAILURE AND MAKE OURSELVES EVEN BETTER AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE.
WHEN IT COMES TO FAILURE, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT FAILURE IS NOT IN FALLING DOWN, BUT IN OUR REFUSAL TO GET BACK UP TO TRY AGAIN. TOO MANY PEOPLE STAY "DOWN FOR THE COUNT" AND NEVER GET UP TO TRY AGAIN. HOW SAD!
WE SEE COUNTLESS STORIES OF FAILURE FROM PEOPLE SUCH AS MOSES, KING DAVID, PETER THE APOSTLE, AND THE DISCIPLES WHO FAILED TO CAST OUT DEMONS IN JESUS NAME.
EVEN JESUS HIMSELF DID NOT REACH SUCCESS, BY HUMAN STANDARDS, 100% OF THE TIME. AFTER HEALING THE 10 LEPERS ONLY ONE CAME BACK TO SAY “THANK YOU.” WHEN DISCUSSING ISSUES OF ETERNITY, ONE MAN TURNED AND WALKED AWAY FROM JESUS BECAUSE HE HAD GREAT WEALTH AND COULD NOT GIVE UP ALL HE HAD TO THE POOR. EVEN THE FACT REMAINS THAT JESUS NEVER CONVERTED OR WON OVER EVERY SINGLE PERSON HE MET.
ALTHOUGH JESUS MAY NEVER HAVE REACHED A SUCCESS RATE OF 100% HUMANLY SPEAKING, HE NEVER ALLOWED THAT STATISTICAL FACT TO BE CONSIDERED AS AN ACCOUNT OF FAILURE IN HIS LIFE AND IN HIS MINISTRY.
NEITHER DID THE OTHERS I MENTIONED. MOSES CONQUERED HIS ANGER, DAVID REBOUNDED FROM HIS ADULTERY AND MURDER, PETER MASTERED THE RESULTS OF HIS MISGUIDED PREDICTIONS, AND THE DISCIPLES BECAME GREAT APOSTLES OF THE FAITH REGARDLESS OF ALL THE HARD-HEADEDNESS THEY DISPLAYED TO JESUS OVER THEIR THREE YEARS TOGETHER.
THE SITUATION WAS NO DIFFERENT FOR EZEKIEL WHEN DEALING WITH THE PEOPLE OF JUDAH. THE PEOPLE WERE TAKEN INTO CAPTIVITY IN BABYLON, AND THOUGHTS OF BEING DISMAL FAILURES BECAME PREVALENT WITHIN THE PEOPLE.
EZEKIEL COMES FORWARD AS GOD’S SERVANT TO REDIRECT THEIR SHORTCOMINGS. THIS IS WHAT MAKES THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL SO POWERFUL AS IT DEALS WITH THE CHALLENGING AFFECTS OF FAILURE.
EZEKIEL PERSONALLY STEPS FORWARD TO WARN THE WAYWARD PEOPLE AND TO CALL THEM TO INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY AS WELL AS NATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY. EACH ISRAELITE WAS PERSONALLY TO TURN TO THE LORD. LIKEWISE, THE WHOLE NATION MUST ULTIMATELY RETURN TO HIM.
THEIR FAILURE COST THEM MANY YEARS IN CAPTIVITY. IT COST THEM THEIR BELOVED CITY IN THE YEAR 586, WHEN JERUSALEM WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED BY THE BABYLONIAN ARMY. THEY EVEN LOST THEIR KING AS ZEDEKIAH WAS CAPTURED AND BLINDED AFTER WITNESSING THE EXECUTION OF HIS SONS. THE REMAINING INHABITANTS OF JERUSALEM WERE EITHER MURDERED OR DEPORTED TO BABYLONIA. NOW THAT IS WHAT I CALL FAILURE!
IT ALL SOUNDS LIKE A HEFTY PENALTY TO PAY FOR DISOBEDIENCE. BUT, WE MUST UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH GOD LOVES HIS PEOPLE. THE LORD LOVED ISRAEL AND CHOSE HER AS HIS VERY OWN PEOPLE TO BLESS THE WORLD. SO, SINCE SHE STRAYED FROM HIS RIGHTEOUS WAYS, THE LORD BROUGHT JUDGMENT ON HER TO MAKE HER CONSCIOUS OF HER WICKEDNESS SO THAT SHE WOULD RETURN TO HIM.
THAT IS WHY THE CRY OF EZEKIEL WAS TO DECLARE THE REASON FOR THE LORD’S JUDGMENT SO THAT ISRAEL WOULD “KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD.” A DECREE THAT WAS SO IMPORTANT THAT IT IS REPEATED OVER SIXTY-FIVE TIMES THROUGHOUT THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL.
BY NOW, WE’RE PROBABLY ASKING WHAT WAS IT THAT GOT THE NATION OF ISRAEL IN SO MUCH TROUBLE. THE ANSWER IS A COMMON THREAD IN THE TAPESTRY OF ISRAEL’S HISTORY.
THE NATION OF ISRAEL HAD MARRED AND STAINED THEMSELVES WITH DISOBEDIENCE TOWARDS GOD’S COVENANT. AS BEFORE, THEY ONCE AGAIN STRAYED FROM GOD AND FOLLOWED THE OTHER GODS OF THE PEOPLES AROUND HER. THAT’S RIGHT! IT WAS THE ABOMINATION OF IDOLATRY!
THE SAD HISTORY OF THAT FACT IS THAT IT WASN’T JUST A “ONE TIME” SLIP. UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF KING MANASSEH AND HIS GRANDSON AMON, ISRAEL NOT ONLY REJECTED THE WAYS OF THE LORD, BUT FOR 55 YEARS, THEY HELPED TURN THE PEOPLE TO ALL KINDS OF IDOLATRY AND WICKEDNESS. THEIR LEADERSHIP WAS SO BAD AND THE PEOPLE SO GULLIBLE THAT IT PERVERTED THE NATION TO THE POINT THAT THEY REJECTED THE LAW OF GOD AND EVENTUALLY FORGOT THAT THE LAW EVEN EXISTED.
IF WE PUT THAT IN TODAY’S PERSPECTIVE IT WOULD BE LIKE TRYING TO IMAGINE BILLY GRAHAM CONVERTING TO ISLAM AND HEARING HIM PREACH FROM THE KORAN. IT WOULD BE LIKE EVERYONE IN THE UNITED STATES, CHRISTIANS INCLUDED, BECOMING SO VILE THAT THEY WOULD NOT ONLY FORGET GOD, BUT THEY WOULD TOTALLY FORGET THAT THERE WAS EVEN SUCH A BOOK AS THE BIBLE.
THE SAD THING ABOUT THE IDOLATRY OF THE NATION AND HER SPIRITUAL LEADERS IS THAT IT WAS AN INTERNAL PROBLEM RATHER THAN EXTERNAL. THAT MEANS IT WAS A MUCH DEEPER PROBLEM BECAUSE IT WAS A HEART ISSUE.
THE ISSUES OF THEIR HEART CONFESSED A TWO-FOLD ALLEGIANCE TOWARDS GOD THAT WAS FICKLE AT BEST. THAT IS WHAT MADE THIS ISSUE SO HORRIBLE. THE TRUTH IS, IDOLATRY CAN RUN RAMPANT IN GOD’S HOUSE BUT REMAIN TOTALLY UNSEEN.
THAT’S WHAT THE LORD MEANT WHEN HE SAID THESE ELDERS HAD A “WICKED STUMBLING BLOCK BEFORE THEIR FACES.” THE STUMBLING BLOCK EZEKIEL REFERRED TO WAS ANYTHING THAT WOULD JUSTIFY HAVING THE IDOL HIDDEN AWAY IN YOUR HEART.
EZEKIEL CONFRONTED THE PEOPLE WITH THE FACT THAT THEY WERE COMING TO GOD AS IF THEY WERE TRULY SEEKING AFTER HIM, BUT THEY WERE REALLY HIDING IDOLS DEEP IN THEIR HEARTS. NO WONDER GOD RESPONDED, “WHY SHOULD I ANSWER YOU?”
AN IDOL IS MORE THAN JUST THOSE THINGS THAT COME BETWEEN GOD’S PEOPLE AND HIMSELF. IT IS SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST THOSE THINGS THAT DRAW US AWAY FROM GOD. AS I SAID BEFORE, IT HAS TO DO WITH A MUCH DEEPER ISSUE OF THE HEART.
BECAUSE WE CAN SO EASILY BE SWAYED BY OUR HEARTS, WE CAN BE ASSURED THAT IT WILL ALWAYS BE THE CALL OF GOD TO RECAPTURE THE HEARTS OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO WOULD TURN TO IDOLATRY AND AWAY FROM HIM.
THE MESSAGE ISRAEL NEEDED TO HEAR WAS NOT ABOUT THE FALL OF THEIR BELOVED JERUSALEM OR THE SITUATION THAT SURROUNDED THEIR CAPTIVITY IN BABYLONIA, BUT SIMPLY AN URGENT MESSAGE TO REPENT AND COME AWAY FROM THEIR IDOLS. THEY HAD TO RENOUNCE ALL THEIR HIDDEN, DEEP-HEARTED PRACTICES ASSOCIATED WITH IDOLATRY.
WE STILL NEED TO HEAR SUCH A MESSAGE TODAY. ALTHOUGH IT WOULD COME AS A TOTAL SHOCK AND WOULD CHALLENGE US TO THINK IN A NEW DIRECTION, I HONESTLY BELIEVE THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM IN OUR CHURCHES TODAY IS IDOLATRY.
I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT STATUES, BAD THEOLOGY AND DOCTRINE, ADULTERY, ALCOHOL, OR ANY OTHER SOCIAL ILL. THE IDOLS I SPEAK OF IS IN REGARDS TO A MUCH MORE POWERFUL LUST. THE IDOL OF WHICH WE MUST REPENT IS THE DRIVING AMBITION TO SUCCEED WHICH IS MOTIVATED BY OUR FEAR OF FAILURE.
GIVEN THE STATE OF OUR CHURCH TODAY, I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN GET SO CAUGHT UP IN TRYING NOT TO FAIL, IN TRYING NOT TO BE A “LITTLE CHURCH” THAT WE CAN UNINTENTIONALLY SET UP AN IDOL OF AMBITION IN OUR HEARTS BECAUSE OF THE FEAR THAT WE MAY BE, FOREVER, A SMALL STRUGGLING CHURCH.
BECAUSE OF THE FEAR, WE SET UP THE IDOL OF AMBITION TO STRIVE SO HARD TO BE FINANCIALLY STABLE, TO WORK HARD TO KEEP THE BILLS PAID AND TO INCREASE OUR MEMBERSHIP. THE IDOL OF FEAR SOON WELCOMES IN THE IDOL OF AMBITION.
WE CAN EVEN GET SO AMBITIOUS IN TRYING TO SUCCEED THAT WE COMPROMISE THE GOSPEL BY “TONING DOWN” OR “WATERING DOWN” THE GOSPEL BECAUSE WE DON’T WANT TO “OFFEND” ANYONE AND CAUSE THEM TO LEAVE OUR CHURCH. NOTE: OUR IDOLS OF AMBITION WILL ACTUALLY DO MORE TO SHIPWRECK OUR FAITH THAN IT WILL TO MOVE US FORWARD IN OUR FAITH.
BY ALLOWING THE IDOLS OF AMBITION TO REIGN IN OUR HEARTS WE WILL SOON SEE THAT IT IS NO LONGER JESUS CHRIST IN WHOM WE FIND SELF-WORTH, BUT IT WILL BE BY THE WORLD’S STANDARDS OF CAREERS, POSSESSIONS, AND PAYCHECKS.
BY ALLOWING THE IDOLS OF AMBITION TO REIGN IN THE CHURCH, WE BECOME A DENOMINATIONAL MACHINE THAT IS NOTHING MORE THAN A FLESH-DRIVEN INSTITUTION.
BECAUSE OF THE IDOLATRY OF AMBITION, DRIVEN BY FEAR, WE HAVE ALLOWED THE WORLD TO CONVINCE US THAT BEING “SUCCESSFUL” IS DETERMINED BY MASSIVE ATTENDANCE, LARGE BUILDINGS, PUBLIC NOTORIETY, AND A BIG, FAT BUDGET.
I CAN TELL YOU, THIS ISN’T THE DESCRIPTION I FIND IN THE BIBLE OF THE CHURCH THAT JESUS CHRIST IS COMING BACK TO TAKE AS HIS BRIDE. JESUS IS NOT COMING BACK FOR A CHURCH THAT HAS PROSTITUTED HERSELF TO BROKENNESS OR FLESH-DRIVEN AGENDAS THAT HAVE GROWN OLD, STALE, AND SINFULLY CORRUPT.
SO, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR OUR CHURCH TODAY, SINCE WE ARE PREPARING FOR A NEW YEAR OF MINISTRY AND A NEW FORMATION OF LEADERSHIP TO GUIDE US INTO THE YEAR. THAT QUESTION IS: WHAT IS OUR AMBITION?
WILL OUR AMBITION BE TO SIMPLY MAINTAIN AND HOLD STEADY OUT OF FEAR THAT WE MAY DO SOMETHING WRONG? WILL OUR AMBITION BE TO TAKE SOME SACRIFICIAL STEPS OF FAITH TO MOVE FORWARD? IS IT TO LOVE GOD MORE, OUR NEIGHBOR MORE, OR EVEN OURSELVES MORE? JUST WHERE IS OUR AMBITION HEADED THIS YEAR? FOR OURSELVES AND THIS CHURCH? WHAT DOES IT INCLUDE AND WHO IS IT INCLUDING?
AS YOUR SPIRITUAL LEADER, I WANT TO LEAD IN THE DIRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST. I WANT TO TURN BACK TO THE CENTRALITY OF JESUS THE CHRIST, BACK TO SEEKING GOD’S FACE IN TRUE INTIMACY, AND BACK TO A HUNGERING FOR THE TRUTH.
I WANT EVERYONE WHO WALKS INTO THIS PLACE TO SENSE A FRESH NEW WORK OF GOD IN THE AIR. I WANT EVERYONE WHO COMES INTO CONTACT WITH EACH OF US ON A DAILY BASIS TO SEE JESUS FIRST BEFORE THEY SEE US.
ALL IT WILL TAKE IS TO RID OUR HEARTS OF THE IDOL OF AMBITION THAT IS FUELED BY FEAR. LET US STOP BEING FEARFUL OF BEING SMALL, FEARFUL OF HAVING MEAGER ASSETS, FEARFUL OF EMPTY PEWS ON SUNDAY, AND FEARFUL OF HAVING TO WORK WITH A SCRAPPY BANK ACCOUNT.
SO LET US NOT GIVE ANY PLACE TO FEAR OR MISGUIDED AMBITION ANYMORE. LET’S LOOK TO GOD WHO IS THE SOURCE OF OUR FUTURE. THE GOD WHO WILL FILL US WITH HIS GLORIOUS HOPE AND HIS WONDERFUL WORKS.
LET US ALWAYS BE FOUND SINGING A NEW SONG UNTO THE LORD EACH DAY. MAY OUR HEARTS BE FILLED WITH PRAISE TO GOD FOR THE NEW THINGS HE WILL DO THROUGH US THIS YEAR.
AS WE BEGIN 2004, LET US LIFT UP OUR VOICES IN THE WILDERNESS, SHOUT FROM THE TOPS OF THE MOUNTAINS AND SING AND GIVE GLORY TO GOD IN THE VALLEYS. WHEREVER WE MAY BE, WE WILL SAY, “JESUS CHRIST IS LORD AND WE INTEND TO LIVE THAT WAY!” LET OUR AMBITION BE NOTHING OTHER THAN JESUS.
