YEar 3 Day 127

Year 3 Day 127


Pray (ACts)


Read - Ezekiel 14:6-11


Message - Alan Burke 


The Lord God knows our hearts, He knows all things, He knew the elders were coming to Him and their hearts were not His, they were idolatrous. Now the Lord calls them, all of them, the elders and the people of God to repent, to turn from their idols to renounce their detestable practices, these were those in exile, with idols in their hearts, with stumbling blocks before them, God calls them to turn from these things. These elders were wanting God on their terms, when it suited them, it wasn’t enough for these elders just to show up and want a word from the Lord, it wasn’t ok that they were going through the motions, it may have looked wonderful but it was a nonsense, the Lord calls them to repent, it’s a simple enough command that is given to them, repent, repent from their idolatry, renounce all their destined practices.


What the Lord required of them was that they repent, turn, renounce, you see those three words that are mentioned there in v6, ‘repent’, ‘turn’ ‘renounce', now the ESV and KJV use the words ‘repent’, ‘turn’ and ‘turn away’. We get the idea. God is calling them to turn back from their idolatry, the idea of renounce although a word that we don’t uses very offend today is a word that that portrays what God is calling His people to do, renounce their idolatry, the false worship, renounce gives the idea of declaring that something is not ours. God wants His people to come back to Himself, instead of having hearts far from him they would be hearts that are for him. 


Notice at this stage, as God speaks through Ezekiel there is still room for God’s people to repent and return to God. It didn’t matter if they were an Israelite or aliens whether they were part of the furniture or a blown-in they were called to repent, it was the house of Israel God was calling to repent, it was those in exile, those in Jerusalem repent. But look on, for if they do not repent, the Lord in verse eight will set His face against them and make them an example a byword, so that they would know He is the Lord. 


God knew the hearts of the elders of Isreal who had come to Ezekiel, he knew the hearts of his people, he knew their hearts. Their apparent orthodoxy, their outward piety, their outward show meant dam all what mattered was their heart. This is one of those things that we need to sit up a pay heed to, the heart matters not the outward appearances, God looks on the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). Here because of their hearts, because of their false piety, because of their pretending the Lord was going to bring his judgement upon them to make them a byword but it would be so that they would know that He is the Lord. 


The Lord calls us all to repent, turn from, renounce, we may not have physical idols, but Jesus Mark’s gospel, first words recorded there, we are told after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel. (Mk 1:14-15). Repent, it is an about turn, to change ones orientation, it is to renounce what we once were. This was the message that the Lord gave Ezekiel to take to the elders, it was the message Jesus took out and it is the message we must hear. It is not enough to want God on our terms, when it suits us, it is not enough to have God second, or third, or forth or to fit God in when everything else is done as the elders of the people of God here, we must repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and we will be saved by a righteousness that is imputed to us through Jesus Christ.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q10 How did God create man?
God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures. (Gen. 1:26–28, Col. 3:10, Eph. 4:24)
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