The Spirit Within
The Spirit Within
Ezekiel 36:26-28
INTRODUCTION:
Do you ever feel like you’re not good enough to go to heaven? Even though we recognize that we are forgiven through the blood of Christ (in our heads), don’t we sometimes feel in our hearts that we’re just not good enough? Do you ever think as you are driving down the road that you just sin too much, too frequently?
There are a lot of biblical responses to these feelings that we have - the most important, perhaps, is recognizing that we do have forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ by the grace of God. But, there is another point I want to bring to our attention this morning from the major prophet Ezekiel. While you are turning to Ezekiel, let me give you a little background.
We distinguish between “major” prophets and “minor” prophets only because the “major” prophets wrote more; their books are longer than the “minor” prophets. The so-called “major” prophets are: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The other twelve prophets are minor prophets. Because of persistent sin, God had caused the nation of Israel to be ripped out of their homeland and carried into exile in Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar. That’s where we pick up with the prophet Ezekiel.
Ezekiel is a priest, among the Israelites in exile in Babylon (1:1-3). The time is around 586 B. C.
ISRAEL’S SPIRITUAL CONDITION:
In chapter one, Ezekiel has a vision and out of that vision, Ezekiel sees the glory of the Lord (1:28). At the presence of Jehovah God, in his vision, Ezekiel falls on his face.
God speaks to Ezekiel and calls him to go beyond being a priest; God calls Ezekiel to be a prophet. That call to being a preacher is found in chapters 2 & 3. I want us to listen to God’s conversation with Ezekiel and notice how God describes His people, Israel (2:3-7):
“Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. “I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ “As for them, whether they listen or not—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. “And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. “But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.”
So “rebellious” were God’s children, the Israelites, that God refers to them as “rebellious” sixteen times just in the book of Ezekiel! Sixteen times! This word for “rebellious” is only used 23 times in the OT, which means Ezekiel has 70% of its uses.
Israel’s biggest sin, the root of its sin, is that it quit trusting in Jehovah God. A lack of faith / trust in God is the fundamental root of all sin. When we quit believing that God will take care of us, then we start disobeying His commandments. We begin trusting in other people, listening to them tell us things that are not true because they aren’t from the mouth of God. When we trust what other people say, we do what they tell us to do and we quit doing what God tells us to do.
For the Israelites, they had quit trusting in Jehovah God and began worshipping false gods, idols. That’s the reason, the major reason, why God had dragged them into exile in Babylon. They were a rebellious house. They refused to trust God, listen to God, and do what God had commanded them to do.
Now, I sin from time to time, but I don’t necessarily pay attention to how frequently I sin. It might be as frequently as the Israelites did in the days of Ezekiel. But there is one major difference! I am teachable. I don’t want to sin. I am not rebellious. I want to honor God with my life. I want to glorify Jesus Christ with my life. These Israelites did not. You know, if you still cry over your sins - you’re probably alright. We do need to sin as little as possible. I’m not encouraging us to abuse the grace of God.
But, if God still wants this rebellious people to be saved, then I think God’s grace will forgive my weaknesses too. And notice this - God still wants Israel saved. Let’s read from chapter 3; this is still God’s commission to Ezekiel to become a preacher and do the work of a preacher. At the end of chapter 2 (2:9-10), God tells Ezekiel to eat the gospel message, and regurgitate it before the people of Israel. In other words, Ezekiel was to preach exactly what God told him to preach (3:4-9):
“Then He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. “For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel, nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you; yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn and obstinate. “Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. “Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house.”
Five times in these two chapters God has referred to Israel as being “stubborn:” 2:4, 3:7, 8, 9. The word translated “stubborn” literally means “hard forehead.” They were refusing, absolutely refusing to do what God told them to do. And, they were “obstinate,” a word which literally means “hard-hearted.” Only twice, here and 2:4, does God refer to them as “obstinate.” But, it’s a synonym for stubborn.
That is the spiritual condition Israel was in. They were in exile, uprooted out of their homes, some of them even killed, and then transferred from their homes to a foreign land. Plus, God’s promise had been through Jeremiah that they would stay in exile for seventy years. Who among our number are seventy years old? That means that when so-and-so was born, Israel was taken into exile and just now, seventy years later, allowed to go back home.
All because of sin.
There was one remedy for that sin... having a relationship with God. Frequently, the OT writers use the word “know” for having a relationship...
ISRAEL NEEDS TO KNOW GOD:
Let us go back to 2:5; notice God tells Ezekiel that when he preaches to Israel: “they will know that a prophet has been among them.” God wanted Israel to hear the gospel preached. That was Ezekiel’s job. That is our job today. Whether people obey or not, that’s their responsibility. Our responsibility is to teach them the truth.
“Knowledge.” Do you know how many times Ezekiel uses the verb to “know”? Ninety- nine times! 99 times! Look at 5:13, God tells Ezekiel: “Thus My anger will be spent and I will satisfy My wrath on them, and I will be appeased; then they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in My zeal when I have spent My wrath upon them.”
Look at 6:7: God will punish Israel, killing many with the sword: “The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.”
Look at 6:14: “So throughout all their habitations I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land more desolate and waste than the wilderness toward Diblah; thus they will know that I am the Lord.”’”
The problem was not that Israel did not have the Bible. The did have the Bible (OT). As much of the Bible as had been written up to that point: the law of Moses, the history books. Ezekiel himself refers to Noah, Daniel, and Job. Israel had the Bible. They just weren’t reading the Bible. Studying the Bible. Obeying the Bible.
Why? Because the Bible wasn’t allowing them to do what they wanted to do. God put limitations, restrictions on them which they did not like. So, you turn your back on God first because you don’t like what God says. Then, your heart is open and susceptible to whatever anyone else tells you is true. That’s human nature. That’s what was happening to Israel during the days of Ezekiel.
Israel’s spiritual condition was dark, stubborn, obstinate, sinful. Which led to them being uprooted and carried into exile. All of this was caused by their lack of relationship with God. It wasn’t because they didn’t have the message from God; it was because they didn’t follow the message of God in order to have a relationship with God. But God wants them to know Him! That brings us to our last point from Ezekiel:
GOD’S SPIRIT WOULD REVEAL HIM:
As we move toward Ezekiel 36, the text for our study this morning, I want to point out to you the recurring theme:
28:23 - “then they will know that I am the Lord.”
28:24 - “they will know that I am the Lord God.”
28:26 - “they will know that I am the Lord their God.”
29:6 - “all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the Lord.”
29:9 - “they will know that I am the Lord.”
29:16 - “they will know that I am the Lord God.”
29:21 - “they will know that I am the Lord.”
30:8 - “they will know that I am the Lord.”
30:19 - “they will know that I am the Lord.”
30:25 - “they will know that I am the Lord.”
30:26 - “they will know that I am the Lord.”
32:15 - “they will know that I am the Lord.”
33:29 - “they will know that I am the Lord.”
34:27 - “they will know that I am the Lord.”
34:30 - “they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them.”
35:4 - “you will know that I am the Lord.”
35:9 - “you will know that I am the Lord.”
35:12 - “you will know that I, the Lord, have heard.”
35:15 - “they will know that I am the Lord.”
So that brings us to chapter 36. In the last eight chapters, God has commented nineteen times that he wants man, primarily the Israelites, to know Him.
In chapter 36, God promises Israel that He is going to bring them back home. He is going to reestablish His relationship with Israel and bring them back to the Promised Land (36:8-11). Notice at the end of verse 11, once God brings Israel back to the Promised Land from Babylon, God says, “Thus you will know that I am the Lord.”
When God brings Israel back home, He will also punish Babylon for their own wickedness. Notice verse 23: “Then the nations will know that I am the Lord.” Here is where I want to slow down and observe the promises of God to the nation of Israel (36:24-28):
“For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. “You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.”
Here are God’s promises:
#1 - He will bring Israel back to her own land. This is an act of grace on God’s part. This happens to you and me every time we sin and every time we ask for God’s forgiveness. God was willing to do that with Israel, even though Israel was stubborn and obstinate. You and I are not stubborn and obstinate. Sinful sometimes, yes. But we want to honor God in our lives. He will forgive us.
#2 - God will sprinkle clean water on them and they will be clean. That is an allusion to the laver that was in front of the temple in which the priests were to wash before they went into the temple. Under Christ, of course, we are washed clean by the blood of Christ when we are baptized in water for the forgiveness of our sins. John (1 John 1:9) tells us that we can still be clean through the blood of Christ, every day.
#3 - God will cleanse them / us from all their / our filthiness and idols. Notice it is God who does the cleansing, not us. We only do what He says to do in order for Him to cleanse us.
#4 - God will give them / us a new heart and a new spirit and He’ll remove the heart of stone and give a heart of flesh. What does that mean? It means God can change our attitudes. God can change our direction. God can change our motivation. For Israel, God did it when He brought them back from Babylon and resettled them in Palestine, the Promised Land. For you and me, it is all about Jesus Christ. Who gives us a new direction? Who gives us new, better attitudes? Who gives us new motivation? Jesus Christ. It is His life, His love, His gentleness, His forgiveness, His power. All our newness that comes to us every time we say, “God, please forgive me. I have sinned,” it all comes through Jesus Christ.
#5 - God will put His Spirit within Israel who will motivate them to walk in His statutes and to observe His ordinances. So, I have laid the foundation for this promise. Israel is in sin because she doesn’t know / have a relationship with God. Who takes the initiative to remedy all that? God does. And God promises He will send His Holy Spirit who will help Israel / man stay faithful to God.
Joel (2:28-32) makes a similar promise and Joel says that God’s Spirit will be made available for all flesh.
Its Fulfillment:
Now we fast forward to the time of Jesus Christ. Once Jesus was baptized, God sent the Holy Spirit over Him. But Jesus also promised that He would make the Holy Spirit available to all those who obeyed Him. That promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2.
In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven on the twelve apostles and, through the apostles, the Holy Spirit touched the hearts of the Jews who crucified Jesus. The Jews responded, “What must we do to be saved?” Do you see that the Holy Spirit, preaching the message about Jesus Christ through Peter, changed the Jews’ direction? He gave them new motivation. The Holy Spirit, through the Gospel message, changed their attitudes. Many of those people, no doubt, went from being persecuting Jews to persecuted Christians.
When we are baptized for the forgiveness of sins, we receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).
The Holy Spirit of God is promised to all those who love God (Acts 5:32).
The Holy Spirit, sharing the message of Christ with us, pours out love for God in our hearts (Rom 5:5).
When we listen to and follow the Holy Spirit’s message, He provides us with righteousness, peace, and joy (Rom 14:17).
Because we obey the Spirit’s message and are forgiven through the blood of Christ, it can be said that we are sanctified, separated from sin, by the Holy Spirit (Rom 15:16).
When we became a Christian, the Holy Spirit came to dwell in us (1 Cor 6:19) and that’s how we are made holy (Titus 3:5). There is much more that could be said about the Holy Spirit but here’s the...
Take home message: When we feel like you are not worthy to live in heaven, remind yourself that the Holy Spirit has separated you from your sins, through the blood of Christ. If you will saturate your mind with the Spirit’s Message, you will have fewer troubled thoughts.