Ezekiel 36:35–36
This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.
Good evening, church. I have a confession to make. I'm afraid of the dark. And if Chris Gaiman is here, I don't know if he's here or not, he'd be very disappointed in me. But I've been afraid of it, you know, more so when I was younger, but a little bit less now, but still there. Afraid to not be able to see anything. Afraid that I might accidentally stub my toe against furniture. I'm afraid that my mom would be standing there looking when I'm doing something or trying to steal a cookie from the jar.
But I'm sure that most of you, if not all of you, share some of that, you know, scarcity, I guess. There's something instinctively terrifying about the dark. You can't see. You don't know what's in front of you. You can't even use the senses that the Lord has given you to plan out what you're going to do. But imagine the relief that you have when you do suddenly see the light. One time I was here at church when all the lights were off, 9 p.m. I was printing something, and I had to walk out to my car. Man, I was relieved when I was able to see out of the door the streetlight. And I was like, yes, I know where I'm going. I can see a glimpse of something there that will guide me. And that's where we find ourselves tonight, in the book of Ezekiel. So if you have your Bibles with you or the bulletin, you can turn to Ezekiel chapter 36. Most of the book so far has been prophecies
of the dark, of judgment. But now, the Lord is giving them a glimpse of hope. You'll find our two verses tonight in chapter 36, verses 35 to 36. Ezekiel chapter 36, verses 35 to 36. Let me read our text for tonight. Verse 35. And they will say, this land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden.
And the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited. Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord. I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord. I have spoken and I will do it. Our text tonight is a simple text. It's a future-looking text. And what I want you to see tonight from this text is this.
It's very simple. God will make His name known. God will make His name known. And we'll split our study tonight in two points. First, the recreation of the ruin. And the second, the gospel of God's glory. Another way to think about it is we're going to look at the what of verses 35-36 and the why of the verses 35-36. And so let's look at the what, the recreation of the ruin.
So what happened? Well, there's desolation and there's ruin. In verse 35, we see that the land has become desolate. The cities have become ruined. But this is not desolation and ruin that comes from natural disasters. It's not simply wars or battles. This is not just an earthquake or a tsunami. This is the result of God's judgment. In Ezekiel 15, verse 8, it says, And I, the Lord, will make the land desolate because they, Israel, have acted faithlessly, declares the Lord God.
And so this desolation and this ruin comes from God. It is his judgment. And the people of God are now going into exile as a result of their sins. And so most of the book of Ezekiel has been prophesying judgment, judgment, judgment, judgment. But now, Ezekiel prophesies about the future, about hope. And so look at verse 35. This land that was ruined has become like the Garden of Eden. This is not just a simple restoration.
This is not like I scratch myself and God place the band-aid on my arm. No, no, no. The Garden of Eden reminds us that it is an act of creation, act of God creating things from nothing. This is not just restoration, it is re-creation. The old will not just be made newer, it will be made new. And so how will this re-creation come? It's a prophecy, the book of Ezekiel is mostly prophecies, and so Israelites would have thought that God would fulfill this promise at the end of exile.
They would think that once we come out, the land will be filled. Milk and honey flowing from every tree. I don't know how that works. People multiplying everywhere. And yet we know where the story goes. Their lives didn't improve after exile. One could argue it grew worse. God withdrew his presence from their worship. They lost the Davidic kingship. They no longer ruled themselves. And so they waited. They waited.
They waited. Until one day, a man named Jesus entered the scene. And this man is different. This Jesus brought what seems like restoration with him. His miracles told the Jews, this guy's different. This guy has authority. The sick and the lame are healed. The demons are exorcised. The dead are raised. Clearly, this man is not like the other. And the Jews all around started to think, maybe, just maybe, this man is the one who will restore the ruin and the desolate.
Maybe God is finally bringing all the blessings he promised. But then Jesus died. Nothing changed. The Jews are still living under Roman rule. Still no Davidic kingship. God's presence still has not returned to the temple. And so to this day, the theology may have changed a little bit, but to this day, they're still waiting for the Messiah, waiting in vain.
Friends, how sad it is that they are blinded from seeing what Christ came to do. Christ did come to bring restoration. Christ did come to bring recreation. His miracles are signs of this. The fallen effects of the old creation were restored temporarily and His death on the cross paid for your sins so that you can be spiritually restored.
His resurrection proved His victory over death, being the firstborn of the new creation. And so through Christ, the new creation, the recreated creation is now breaking through the old. Think of a sunrise. If you stand outside and look at the horizons minutes before the sunrise, the sun's not up yet. Is it dark? No, it's bright. Even though you can't see the sun yet, you can see evidence of it. You can see brightness coming up from it. And in the same way the effects of the new creation can be seen in Christ even before it's here. But church, this is where it gets really good. Do you know where else we see the effects of the new creation?
Do you know where else we see evidence of the new creation? Look around you. We see it in each other. We see it in the lives of brothers and sisters who have placed their faith in Christ. We saw it this morning in the gathering of saints. We saw it every Lord's Day. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5.17 that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away, and behold, the new has come. Paul didn't say that if you're in Christ, you get some of the blessings, the leftover blessings, or you get like a new arm or a new leg or new eyes. I wish I have new eyes. I don't have to wear glasses. No, no, you were recreated. You're totally new. Nothing of the old is there anymore. Just the new. Brothers and sisters, do you realize this? You are a new creation. You're not just patched up.
You're not like dolls in Toy Story 1 where Sid puts them together in some weird amalgamation. No, no, you are new. But this is so hard to remember. It's so hard to remember that we are a new creation when the old is still plaguing us. It's hard to remember that we're a new creation when we're constantly reminded that our bodies are of the old. That we're still living in the old. And we are still living in the old church.
Make no mistake. This world is still fallen. Christ has now returned. Full restoration is coming. Full recreation is coming. But it's not yet. We live in an era of partial restoration. And that can be greatly discouraging. We have members like Greg preached this morning who are fighting at the front of this battle themselves. It doesn't have to just be physical things. We struggle with the external and the internal.
We are still tempted with sin to disobey God in big things and small things. We go through external sufferings, diseases, natural disasters, relational problems, professional problems. Sometimes I can be tempted to think. And I'm wondering if you can be tempted to think, is any of these true? Are things really going to be better? Things are so hard right now.
Is it really going to be better? But brothers and sisters, look around you. Each and every one of you sitting right here, those who have placed their faith in Christ, Are your self-evidence that it is true, that new creation is coming? You're living, breathing, witnesses, testaments to God's great love and His plan for salvation. And so when you feel discouraged, when you feel like, is this really going to happen?
Will God really restore us? Will God really come and save us? Look to one another. Point one another to Christ. Bring others in, those who are struggling, and bring them into your life so that they can see what the Lord is doing in your life. Encourage one another to continue to walk ever so faithfully, one step at a time, closer to what comes after. When the early morning chill permeates your bone, you're standing there waiting for the sun to rise.
Doubts and fears comes clawing up. Keep looking forward to the day that's promised here in Ezekiel 36. The sun is coming. And each waking moment, we are enveloped more and more in its heat and its rays and its warmth. Trust that God will restore, will recreate, will bring what is right. But good news for us, there's a greater reason why we should believe, not just because we have been recreated, not just because it's in Scripture.
There's an even greater reason for why we can believe in God's promise, a reason that we can take all the way to the grave, and it's this. God will do all of these things because He does it for His own glory. He will not forsake His own glory. Let's look at our second point, the gospel, the good news, of God's glory. Read with me, read with me verse 36. Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord. I have rebuilt their ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord. I have spoken and I will do it. Now, verse 35 is the what of God's promise, then verse 36 is the why. And so why does God restore? Why does He promise to recreate all of creation? Well, the answer is in verse 36, so that His glory is known to all.
From the smallest to the biggest, from the least to the greatest, is known to all. All of this, All of these things written in our Bibles, in this book right here, are written for instruction so that we may know the glory of God. The entire project of salvation is for God's glory. Your whole lives are for God's glory. The Lord saved you so that you can give Him glory. He will restore those who trust in Him so that the nations will know His name.
But again, we ask why. Why is it so important for God to spread his name throughout all creation? Why is it so important that the nations will know of his glory? Because he cannot and he will not stand idle when there are people and tongues and tribes who still mock him, who still scorn him, curses him, who still steals glory from him.
How can a king stand by and do nothing when there are enemies in his kingdom mocking him, sneering at him? Our God is a jealous God, and he will not stand by while there are idolaters who steals glory from him and gives it to another. If you have a physical Bible with you, move up a little bit to verses 22. Let me read it. Scan your eyes. Let me read parts of it. Verse 22 says, therefore say to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord God, it is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, that you have profane among the nations to which you came, and I will vindicate the holiness of my great name.
God acts for the sake of his name. He will not leave it mocked. He will not leave it scorned. God desires to make his name known. He has saved you so that his name is made known through all the earth. But do you want to see his name known? Do you seek his glory across all creation? Do you seek his glory in your heart? Or do you deep down always try to find opportunities to glorify yourselves when you can?
We are created beings, and so we exist to magnify our Creator. Every created thing exists to magnify their Creator. Yes, there are beauty in created things. This pulpit is beautiful, but I'm not going to come to this pulpit and say, wow, this pulpit is amazing, and that's it. No, I'm going to say, whoever made this pulpit made a sturdy pulpit. There's a reason why we refer also to great works of art by the Creator's name. We don't talk about Symphony No. 9.
We talk about Beethoven's symphony and Shakespeare's plays and Da Vinci's paintings. Creation exists to magnify their creator, and you are God's creation. And not just that, you are God's people whom he saved to magnify his name. So, brothers and sisters, how can we even fathom the idea of stealing his glory, to glorify ourselves even in the tiniest corners of our lives.
The sin of self-glorification is so tempting, so tempting. Even just me preparing this sermon for a group of about 200 people in a small church and who knows where in Kentucky, I'm tempted to glorify myself. It's always present, whispering to you that you deserve the credit. You deserve the praise for the good things in your life. The sin of idolatry is always crouching at the door, trying to get you to worship created things instead of the Creator.
Christians, do not give in. Do not let even a square inch of your heart be dedicated to self-glorification or self-worship. Ask the Spirit, come to the Lord, humble yourself. Ask the Spirit to reveal what in my heart, what are the things that I'm holding on to, that I'm trying to glorify myself with. This is a personal thing. It's a very personal question to ask.
And so, church, go to the Lord and ask that he would convict you of these sins. Those who steal glory from God will receive wrath from the jealous God. And praise His name that those of us who have put their faith in Christ, those of us around the world who have put their faith in Christ, have been covered by His atoning blood. That even if we are so selfish and so self-centered, even when we still struggle with it as a new creation, Christ has saved us.
Praise His name. And the Lord has saved you so that you may stand as living witnesses of His glory. And he is deserving of all glory. The end of verse 36 says, I am the Lord, I have spoken, and I will do it. He is not dependent on anyone or anything to make his name known. He doesn't need us weak humans to make his name known.
But out of his grace and his love, he has chosen you to be the ones to bring him glory. So make his name known, church. Live in a way that honors him. Live in a way that glorifies your king. Let's pray. Father, we come to you confessing that we are sinful men, sinful women, who at every opportunity are tempted to glorify ourselves, Lord, to lift ourselves up.
Father, we are sorry. And Father, I pray you would remind us of the future that you have promised to us, of recreation, Lord, of a future where there is no more sin, no more temptation, no more suffering. Father, I pray that you would help us to humble ourselves, convict us in our hearts, Lord, of areas in which we glorify ourselves and help us to glorify You, Lord. Give us ways to glorify You in our lives. Help us to trust Your promise, to look to one another for encouragement, to look to You for nourishment, that we can walk through this life ever closer to see the sun rise.
Pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.