Week of August 30

It has been said, “Letting yesterday affect today will only destroy the excitement of tomorrow.” Well said, but let’s add a prophetic tweak to the axiom. Ezekiel encountered some leaders who were living in their failed past, and it was ruining the prospects for God’s future. He denounced their flawed leadership. Most of us will know of a church ministry where the members lived their present within the glories of a previous season of success. They too often longed sadly for their past and stubbornly refused to participate in God’s glorious future. In many cases, their hard hearts were the obstacle to receiving God’s promises. Ezekiel reminds us today that God’s people are a pilgrim people who are moving ever forward toward better days. They have hearts that long for His will to be done and they show it with their lives.

There is a both/and to God’s promises to restore Israel following its exile. The people would be able to return to their homeland and rebuild their lives there, but there would also be a sweeping spiritual reform that would take place as well. You see, for God’s people, it always must be this way. Israel so often failed, as do we, to follow through on God’s promise of revival. We see in our focal passage that the nation was first to remove all “vile images” and “detestable idols.” Lamar Cooper says both Hebrew words used here mean something like “abominable/detestable” (NAC). We too often grossly underestimate the detestable nature of our own sin. Christians must accept the truth about our sin natures and sinful behaviors, or they will remain a barrier between us and God and His intended future for us. Take time now to read Revelation 4 and catch a glimpse of what takes place in God’s presence every day!

God’s intention is fulfilled. We will see a frequent “interchange” between heaven and earth in the great bulk of the Book of Revelation (ch. 4ff.; EBC). What occurs on earth is inseparable from its heavenly counterpart. We see very quickly, at the end of the age, that which Ezekiel and all people of faith know: that nothing occurs, whether past, present, or future, apart from God’s intention (Revelation 4:2-3). 

The faithful worship God with whole hearts. All authority in heaven and on earth comes from Him. Notice, in contrast to the 25 rebellious elders in Ezekiel 11, there are 24 elders in Revelation 4 who worship God with their whole hearts. The former elders were wiped out, while the latter supernatural beings were very much alive as worshipers in God’s presence. The point is that God is holy and all who truly “live” will worship Him with all their beings (Revelation 4:6-8; 9-11). Bear with me a moment longer and flip back to Ezekiel 11. We need to know how to leave behind our sin, so that we may enjoy what we have been created to do—worship and abide in the presence of the Father.

God gives the required new hearts to His people! The widespread revival, about which Ezekiel writes, will take place because God will give the people a new heart and a new spirit. The heart, as we well know, is the center of human reason and will. We either reject God’s way, like the 25 elders did in Ezekiel, or we choose to follow it like His prophet and the faithful remnant will do (cf. Exodus 14:5; 1 Samuel 14:7; 27:1; 2 Samuel 7:3; NAC). This new person will serve God with an undivided heart (lit. “one heart,” Ezekiel 11:19; NAC; cf. James 1:8). God will also provide this remnant with a new spirit, which means a renovation of the mental processes that had become perverse (cf. Romans 12:1-2).

Long before cosplay conventions became a cultural pattern, there was a delightful person with whom I was associated that enjoyed wearing “period attire.” I mean, she wore clothing from various eras to work each day. Some days were all about frilly lace and parasols, while others were more Victorian and unpretentious. Oh, and there were hats. Lot of hats of the most amazing kind and variety! I would see her in a building or meet her along a sidewalk, and I could not help but feel as though I had stepped into another time. 

Here is the spiritual point. That was fun, but it is never amusing when God’s people cling to the failed past and cut themselves off from God’s desired future. God’s people are transformed for a glorious future. There is no other way, because this is His way (John 14:6). C.S. Lewis once said, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

1. When we come to Christ, He provides us with new spiritual DNA. It is in our new nature to worship and follow Him, so we are to follow through completely with God’s design and will for our lives. It is a daily choice. Take a long look in the spiritual mirror today and see how you are clothed. Are you wearing the “filthy rags” (rebellion) of life apart from Christ, or are you clothed in your new apparel (Christlikeness)? Choose your wardrobe well.

2. For Families: Our children might not understand the putting off of “detestable idols” and “vile images,” although, having seen some video games they play, the images might be considered pretty vile or scary! However, they can think through the concepts of a “new heart,” pure worship, and being faithful to follow God in the future. These are all part of the Ezekiel passage for today.

To reinforce the message of this text, invite the kids to come to the table, where you have gathered lots of artistic supplies: construction paper, water colors, magic markers, scissors, tape, ribbons, and other interesting materials for the imagination. Ask them to draw a large heart. Then share about the message Ezekiel spoke from God. God’s people are to trust Him. God will give them a new heart and life. With this new heart, they will leave their yesterdays behind them and look forward to their all-important and every-day worship of God.

Ask them to write one big word across the top pf the heart on their page: FUTURE. Now ask them to put three words underneath: God, Family, and Work. Ask your children to imagine their lives as they become adults. When they grow up, how will they follow God? Choose three words or pictures to answer that question. Then ask them the same about the other two words. What kind of parent will they be? What kind of work will they want to do for God when they grow up? Draw their pictures, or write words to describe themselves as adults with God, at home, and at work.

After they have filled in their heart pictures, ask them to bring them to dinner, so your family can all see and hear what they have been thinking about their futures. God cares about our future, and invites us to look forward to living it with Him!

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock