First Place

First Place

Ezekiel 14

Emmanuel Christian Church

4.28.24

INTRODUCTION: I need to confess something to you this morning. I have always viewed the Bible with sober reverence- knowing that it is God’s Word. That’s put me in a tough position, because I never want to neglect it, or treat it lightly. So, having prepared for this morning’s message from Ezekiel chapter 14, I have concluded that just one verse in the entire chapter is the focal point of message. Everything else in the chapter serves to support or amplify that one verse. So, here’s my challenge to you- as I read the chapter, see if you can identify that one verse around which the whole chapter revolves. When I’m done I’ll give you the opportunity to make your choice. Ezekiel 14:1 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. 2 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 3 “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? 4 Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I the LORD will answer him myself in keeping with his great idolatry. 5 I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.’ Ezekiel 14:6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices! Ezekiel 14:7 “‘When any Israelite or any alien living in Israel separates himself from me and sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet to inquire of me, I the LORD will answer him myself. 8 I will set my face against that man and make him an example and a byword. I will cut him off from my people. Then you will know that I am the LORD. Ezekiel 14:9 “‘And if the prophet is enticed to utter a prophecy, I the LORD have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel. 10 They will bear their guilt — the prophet will be as guilty as the one who consults him. 11 Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign LORD.’”Ezekiel 14:12 The word of the LORD came to me: 13 “Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals, 14 even if these three men — Noah, Daniel and Job — were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD.Ezekiel 14:15 “Or if I send wild beasts through that country and they leave it childless and it becomes desolate so that no one can pass through it because of the beasts, 16 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate. Ezekiel 14:17 “Or if I bring a sword against that country and say, ‘Let the sword pass throughout the land,’ and I kill its men and their animals, 18 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved. Ezekiel 14:19 “Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath upon it through bloodshed, killing its men and their animals, 20 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.Ezekiel 14:21 “For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments — sword and famine and wild beasts and plague — to kill its men and their animals! 22 Yet there will be some survivors — sons and daughters who will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled regarding the disaster I have brought upon Jerusalem — every disaster I have brought upon it. 23 You will be consoled when you see their conduct and their actions, for you will know that I have done nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign LORD.” TRANSITION: So what’s that “one verse” around which the entire 14th chapter of Ezekiel revolves? It IS verse 3: “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?” “Idols of the heart”. Now, you would think that the elders of God’s people, living in Babylonian captivity had learned their lesson! Oh no! The very thing that led to their current condition, was the very thing the continued to do- IDOLATRY! And it isn’t as if God had been unclear about the matter. Remember what He said 1,000 years earlier? Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments. PROPOSITION: If you want to avoid the wrath of God, you need to do two things: IDENTIFY and AVOID, your own “idols of the heart”! Now, if Exodus 20is the commandment against idolatry, Deuteronomy 6:5 is the positive prevention of it: Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Do that ONE THING- and you’re good to go! So, what is an “Idol of the heart”? What is it that gets in the way of this one simple command? ANSWER: ANYTHING. Let me ask another simple question: “How big is the “first place” space in your heart? ANSWER: It’s only big enough for just ONE THING. So the real question we lll need to answer is this: “What’s the ONE THING that sits in the “first place” space in my heart? IDENTIFY: ANYTHING (other than God) occupying the “first place” space in your heart is an “IDOL”. God is really serious about this issue! As a matter of fact, the word “idol” occurs 45 times in the Old Testament- 36 of which are in the book of Ezekiel alone! Israel’s idolatry is why God put them in Babylonian “time out” for 70 years! So what does God’s Word have to say about the the kinds of things we can fashion into an “Idol of the heart”? Jesus said: Matthew 10:37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Luke 14:25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” The Apostle John adds to our list: 1John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. Potential “Idols of the heart”: Family Life Money Possessions Accomplishments Now here’s a VERY important point you need to hear: None of the things on this list are BAD in and of themselves. As a matter of fact, they ARE blessings (God’s gifts) in our lives! BUT, when they take the “first place” in our lives they become “idols of the heart” that push out God and kick Him to the curb! APPLICATION: You may think you have a “big heart” and can love many things- but know this, no matter how big your heart may be- it’s only big enough for one “first place”! For us as Christians, that first place belongs to God alone. Having IDENTIFIED what an “idol of the heart” is, the second question is, “How can we AVOID ‘idols of the heart’?” GREAT QUESTION! Again, God’s Word gives us CLEAR DIRECTION: 1 Timothy 4:4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving… Let’s go back to our list for a moment. Family, Life, Money, Possessions, Accomplishments. All of these are things for which we should be thankful to God- but they must NEVER take His “first place”. FAMILY is God’s special set of relationships in our lives that serves to help us understand His love for us. We are his CHILDREN. We are His BRIDE, the Church, and He is our HUSBAND/GROOM. Because of Christ’s work in our lives, we are BROTHERS and SISTERS. Family is also the very building block of human society! It is a gift from God for which we should give thanks! LIFE is a gift from God- a participation in His very own Spirit first breathed into the nostrils of our ancient human father Adam! It is the very thing that differentiate us from the animals. It is a gift from God for which we should give thanks! MONEY is means we have for translating our God given abilities and efforts into channel for blessing others and supporting the work that God has called others to do. Solomon said, it’s “the answer for everything”. It is a gift from God for which we should give thanks! POSSESSIONS are the things themselves that God brings into our lives through either our own industry or the generosity of others. They are a wonderful means to an end, and that end enables us to be a blessing to others. As Jesus said of possessions “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” They are gifts from God for which we should give thanks! ACCOMPLISHMENTS are the fulfilled opportunities that God has given us to reflect well upon Him. They are gifts from God for which we should give thanks! CONCLUSION: Here’s one more thing you need to know about the “first place” position in your heart. It was created, shaped and designed only for God Himself. If you attempt to put ANYTHING else in that place, you will ALWAYS have a deep sense of purposeless despair. Satisfaction will always be just beyond your grasp. Peace will always seem to slip through your fingers. Listen to what King David discovered in this matter of “first place”: Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. 9 Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. 10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.