Ezekiel 43, The Presence Of God
1. The Presence Of God Is Glorious (v1-7)
2. The Presence Of Sin Is Shameful (v8-12)
3. The Presence Of God Must Be Pursued (v25-27)
4. Pursue God’s Presence Until Jesus Returns
Ezekiel 43, The Presence Of God
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Well, this morning as we look at Ezekiel Chapter 43, I want to talk to you about the presence of God. The presence of God is something that is important for us to engage in and participate because it is something that God has made, accessible and available to us and it is something that we need and is the most beneficial thing for us. What we need most in this. Life is time with God and in his presence we have. All of the solutions to all of our problems. We have the healing that needs to take place for our hearts. We have the leading and guiding guiding that we need to receive and the instruction that he has for us the presence of God is so important in God's desire for relationship with us centers around. This in fact, our whole existence centers around this idea of God desiring to have fellowship with us, and so the presence of God is a key aspect for us as believers in God and as those who seek to walk with the Lord. Here in Ezekiel chapter 43 we are following along with Ezekiel, as the Lord is leading him through what we would refer to as the Millennial temple and this millennial temple is something that will be built in the future during the Millennium and in Chapter 43 we see the. Glory of God reflecting or showing that the presence of God is there enters into this millennial temple, and so let me just set the context a little bit here with the time frame we are currently in the present day in what we would call the church age. And in the church age we are walking with the Lord. We're seeking the Lord, and God is pouring out his Holy Spirit upon us. The church to enable us to walk with him and to reach out to the world around us. But soon the church will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. We call it the rapture of the church. And at some point after that, the world will continue on and go through seven years of tribulation like the world has never seen before. While the church is with the Lord in eternity, the Earth will be going through some crazy things experiencing cataclysmic events. And we'll see that at the end of next year as we hit the Book of Revelation in the Bible and. Three-year schedule. But after that seven-year period of the wrath of God being poured out, Jesus will return again and the second coming of Jesus Christ will take place as he comes back right in the middle of the Battle of Armageddon sets. Foot on the Mount of Olives. Lives and then it will usher in his Kingdom where he will rule and reign upon the Earth for 1000 years and this 1000 years is going to be very unique and distinct from the rest of history. During this thousand year period, we know that Satan will be bound at the beginning of it and then released. At the end of it, I'm not. Going to get into all of the details about that. But but that is part of it, and so there's going to be this time of peace without Satan, disruptions and hindrances and things going on. The Saints, who were caught up to meet with the Lord previously, will rule and reign with Jesus here on the Earth. There will be this millennial temple that Ezekiel refers to and goes. Into great depths you describe to us here in Ezekiel, Chapter 40 through 48. The earth during that time will be renewed and restored and just abundant in vegetation as God originally intended and Jesus will reign on the earth from the City of Jerusalem for this thousand year period, and so. During this time, there's a lot going on. There's a lot of reasons for it. There's a lot that we could talk about it, but we just know that it is that time that glorious time that God is prophesied about and promised to his people. And he's going to do an amazing work with the Nation of Israel. And the whole world at that time and then. As the Millennium closes, it will usher in all of eternity and we'll have to wait and see all that God has in store for us in that time. But during this thousand year reign, there is going to be a temple built in Jerusalem and. Up to chapter 43 as equals already been describing it, he goes on in the next few chapters as well to go into great detail about all that services and things that surround it. But here's a quick look at the structure as described. In chapters 40 through 42, and so you have here the temple that dark brown building in the middle. That's the kind of what you would typically think of as the Tabernacle or the temple. The place that has the holy place and the most holy place. And then there was a courtyard right outside of that with the altar there to get into the. Courtyard you see those 3 gateways and so there were gateways to get in and out of that inner courtyard. Then you had the outer courtyard, which was the place where the people would come in and out to worship the Lord and participate in the sacrifices and all of the things that are going on. And of course, there's the wall around the whole complex, and the gateways to get inside, and so it's just a quick look. I'm not getting into details, I understand maybe there's questions. We've done previous teachings and so if you look on our website under zechiel you can find more details and dimensions and all of those things. But just to kind of give you a glimpse and set the stage for what we're talking about here. Because as Ezekiel is talking about the presence of God and the glory of God in this millennial temple, I would remind you this morning that many times as we look at these future things for the nation of Israel, these promises that will be fulfilled. Literally, for the nation of Israel, we also can understand and see them fulfilled spiritually and received for us spiritually. We in the Lord Jesus Christ, and so as the presence of God is manifested and made known in Ezekiel Chapter 43, that is something for us as believers today, we get the opportunity to experience right now that that we get to experience and spend time with God in his presence. In a way that is unique and special because of what Christ has done for. And so this morning we're gonna talk about the presence of God a little bit. We're gonna partake of communion together as well and and really experience and enjoy and walk in the presence of God together as we remember what Christ has done for us. And so I'm going to walk through four points in total this morning, but we're going to start out. Just with two to begin to talk about and set our minds for what God has for us this morning and so, here's point number one. As we look at Ezekiel Chapter 43, the presence of God is. Is glorious the presence of God is glorious as you think about the presence of God, it probably doesn't need to be said, but it is clearly demonstrated here in the first part of Ezekiel 43, let's read verses one through 7. It says this. After this, the man brought me back around to the East gateway. Suddenly the glory of God of Israel appeared from the east. The sound of his coming was like the roar of rushing waters. And the whole landscape shone with his glory. The vision was just like the others I had seen, first by the Kebar River and then when he came to destroy Jerusalem, I fell face down on the ground and. The glory of the. Lord came into the temple through the East gateway. Then the spirit took me up and brought me into the inner courtyard and the glory of the Lord filled. And I heard someone speaking to me from within the temple, while the man who had been measuring stood beside me. The Lord said to me, son of man, this is the place of my throne and the police, where I will rest my feet. I will live here forever among the people of Israel, they and their kings will not defile my holy name any longer by their adulterous worship of other gods or by honoring the relics of their kings. Who have died? Here in Ezekiel 43, as equal is introduced. To the temple and then taken. To the East gateway, to see something important that is about to happen. It tells us in verse 2. Suddenly the glory of the God of Israel appeared from the east. He is with his angelic guide here in these chapters, and they're walking around measuring things and kind of just taking in the whole thing. But but now some action starts to unfold. It's not just a building that exists, but now the presence of God, the glory of God appears. And now things are really going to start moving. There's going to be some real action taking place here because the presence of God is on sites. It tells us there in verse two that the sound of his coming was like the roar of rushing waters. There was not just a visual experience that his echo had but but there was this roar there was this multitude of sound. In a similar way, the apostle John in Revelation chapter one as he first encounters that vision of Jesus in Revelation chapter one, it describes him as well as a a multitude. Of sound, it says in verse 15 of revelation one that his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. And so it's this powerful presence whenever the the presence of God is encountered. The glory of God is revealed, and it's like mighty ocean waves like a roar of rushing waters. There's this powerful sound that takes place, and it tells us at the end of verse 2 the whole landscape shown with his glory. The glory of God was often the distance approaching the temple, and as the Lord approached, Ezekiel could see the whole landscape being lit up in the brightness of the glory of God. It speaks to us of the power of God. It speaks to us of the holiness of God. It speaks to us and reminds us of how awesome. Some God is as the creator of the heavens and the earth. When when he comes and encounters and interacts with his creation, it's not just like a average, everyday humdrum type of thing, but but he appears and there is sound and light and glory like Ezekiel. Had seen previously in the presence of the Lord in Ezekiel chapter one and Ezekiel Chapter 10. And so he relates that he says in verse 3 this was like the other vision that I had. I'm in the presence of God again. And there's something unique happening here. There's something important happening here. As God enters in and verse four, it tells us the glory of the Lord came into the temple through the East gateway. So if you're kind of picturing that temple that diagram, there's the North and South gateways, but that's not what. The Lord used. He specifically used the East gateway. There's some significance to that. That throughout history you can look up Eastgate ways in the Bible and come to understand some of those things. But but he enters in to the temple, and the understanding here is that now God is going to dwell in the temple. It tells us in verse five that the Holy Spirit took Ezekiel into that inner courtyard and the whole glory of the Lord filled the temple. He's making himself home. They're in that millennial temple, and for the 1000 years the Lord is going to dwell in the temple and meet with his people. As I shared on Wednesday, the idea here is that it's kind of like God's ideal plan for life experienced in the the Millennium. And so with the Tabernacle and temple that existed previously, and God's intention was to be dwelling with his people, and interacting with his people, and having this occasion, this opportunity to. To meet with his people and his people to meet with him. That is going to be set up and established here in the millennial Kingdom. It is. A returning. Of the glory of God in the way that he has appeared previously. If you go way back to the Book of Exodus when God gave Moses that vision and instructions for building the Tabernacle and he works through that, and we go through all of those details, and we see all that God intended for and the model that he is patterning after the Tabernacle of the Lord in heaven. When he finally sets it up in Exodus Chapter 40, he puts all of those things that God instructed him into place and the furnishings are put in place that the covering is put in place. Everything is set the way that God instructed. It tells us in Ezekiel chapter 40. That the cloud covered the Tabernacle and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. Moses could no longer enter the Tabernacle because the cloud had settled down over it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle, the the presence of God as the Tabernacle was inaugurated. The presence of God was intense. Now God always dwelt in the Tabernacle thereafter, but in the most. Holy Place, but in that first occasion, as he entered in it, was so intense the presence of the Lord. But that Moses couldn't even enter into the first part of the sanctuary any longer that you know he had just been in there a few moments ago. Like finally, final touches on the lampstand, right? Getting those things lit and everything like finally getting everything in place. But but now he's not able to go in because the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. And so, in a similar way. In the millennial Kingdom as they set up this temple unto the Lord, the Lord is going to show. What and make his presence known and he is going to fill the temple in a similar way. Now we also saw this happen when the temple built by Solomon was inaugurated in second chronicles Chapter 7. Solomon makes his dedicating prayer unto the Lord, as the temple is completed. And it says that when he finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven, burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because of the glorious presence of the of the Lord filled it. And so again, it's describing that intensity of the presence of the Lord, the glory of the Lord, filling the temple, blessing the structure, the building, and making his presence known. Saying I am going to meet here with my people, this is my home and so please come and meet with me. I'm here everybody. Knows that now the glory has filled. My glory has filled the temple. And so we see it in the Tabernacle. We see it in the temple and then now we hear, see it in the. Millennial Temple as well. And it's really important because. All of these things are worthless. Without God's presence, if you think about the Tabernacle, all of the instructions and everything. If if if all of that was fashioned together and put together. But there was no presence of God. If the glory of God was not there, then it would just be a tent with a bunch of furnishings inside and no real meaning or value to it. Solomon's Temple was elaborate and ornate, and he spent all kinds of money on it. But if. It was. Just that the building without the presence of God, it would have been just a building, nothing important or special about it, spiritually speaking. And similarly, this is this temple millennial temple that Ezekiel describes is much larger and it is, you know, significant and yet. It would be of no value and worthless without the presence of God. It's the presence of God that makes the temple special. It's the presence of God that made the Tabernacle special. It's the presence of God that made Solomon's temple special. It's the presence of God. But that you and I have access to by faith in Jesus Christ. We may not see physically the glory like like Ezekiel is describing here. We may not see you know those things we may not hear the sound of a mighty rushing water. Although we could, God could give us that vision and that insight and and open our eyes and our ears to experience his presence in that way. He could do that if he chose to. But whether or not we experience that we walk by faith and not by sight, right? And so we need to understand that that what we have in Christ. Is access to the presence of God in this way the author of Hebrews says so. In Hebrews chapter 10, verse 19, he says, in so dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's most holy place. Because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened up a new and life giving way through the curtain. Into the most holy place. Making reference to that veil that separated inside the temple, the holy place from the most holy place, the place where the priests could go to the place where the priest couldn't go because the presence of God was there. But when Jesus was crucified that temple veil was torn from top to bottom. Indicating for us. The author of Hebrews makes the point. That we now have access into the presence of God because. Of what Christ? Has done for us because of the blood of Jesus. He has opened up a new way for us. To truly encounter. The living God, the creator of the heavens and the earth, the one who manifests himself in brilliant light and awesome sound. By faith in Jesus you have access. And are encouraged. To experience the presence of God. So the presence of God is glorious and. You have access to that. But we need to continue on here in Ezekiel Chapter 43 because. There is some further understanding that we need to grasp hold of as well, and that is. The presence of sin is shameful. We see this contrast here in the chapter. And it may not. Be a super comfortable contrast for us to reflect on, but we need to. The presence of sin is shameful. God presence is glorious, but when sin is present. There is, there is shame involved that that is appropriate and that needs. To be there. In Ezekiel Chapter 10 and 11, the prophet Ezekiel was seeing this same vision of the glory of God, but going a different direction. The glory of God was departing from the temple that stood in Jerusalem in Ezekiel's day. He saw God leaving the temple. Now the Jewish people back in Jerusalem Zikos in Babylon, but Jerusalem was still there at that time, and they were still going to the temple. They were still offering sacrifices. They were still worshipping at the temple, but their hearts were far from God. And so God has. Sent Prophet after Prophet calling them to repentance. They've resisted for hundreds of years. The nation rebelled against God and refused to be corrected. And so in Ezekiel, Chapter 10 and 11, God says, OK, I've given you enough time. I've given you enough opportunity. That's all I can handle. I'm leaving, and so his glory departs. From the temple he leaves. Later on, there is a rebuilding of the temple under Zerubbabel and then later modified by Herod as well, the temple that stood in Jesus Day. We have no scriptures or indication that the glory of the Lord ever returned to that temple. And So what we see here in Ezekiel 43 might be the only time that the. Glory of the Lord comes back. To a temple, and that is in the millennial Kingdom. But at that time the glory had departed because. Of the shameful things. That the people of God were doing read verses 8 through 12 with me, it says. They put their idol altars right next to mine with only a wall between them and me. They defiled my holy name by such detestable sin. So I consumed them in my anger. Now let them stop worshipping other gods and honoring the relics of their kings, and I will live among them forever. Son of man described to the people of Israel the temple. I have shown you. So they will be ashamed of all their sins. Let them study its plan. And they will be ashamed of what they have. Describe to them all the specifications of the temple, including its entrances and exits and everything else about it. Tell them its decrees and laws. Write down all these specifications and decrees as they watch so they will be sure to remember and follow them. And this is the basic law of the temple. Absolute holiness The entire top of the mountain where the temple is built is holy. Yes, this is the basic law of the temple. The Lord. Instructs Ezekiel. To share all of these details. With the people of Israel. For the purpose of bringing about shame. We read through these details. You go back through chapter 40 and 41 and 40 and you're like, whoa, oh, there's a lot of cubits and rods and things that are hard to picture and understand, like what? What is all the these details about? What is this for? Well, God tells us what it's for. It was designed. To bring about shame for the people of Israel for the way. That they treated God the way that they. Rebelled against God. In verse eight, he says they put their idol altars right next to mine. With only a wall between them and me. And we saw that a little bit as we worked our way through the accounts of the Kings and Kings and chronicles that there was gross idolatry going on in the nation of Israel right outside the gate of the temple, right next door to the temple, and sometimes even bringing idols into the temple compound. And God says, look, here is my glory. Look at how pure and holy and awesome I am and my presence is. And Can you believe the gall that these people have? They came in and set up their idol altars right next to mine. They they set up their rebellion. They set up their gross. And sometimes it was. Just one wall between their idolatrous practices. The police that I had called to put my name. And to reveal myself and my presence was in, he says they defiled my holy name by such detestable sin. It was gross, it was detestable. What a terrible thing was done. By disrespecting God. Right there in his very presence. And so God says at the end of verse 8 so I consumed them in my anger and what they experienced as the people of God there. In Jerusalem the judgment of Babylon conquering them. Was the result of this detestable sin. So God is calling them out of that. God isn't finished with them and written them off and saying. I'm never going to work with you again. Verse nine let them stop worshipping other gods. Stop those things and I will live among them forever. There's still hope. There's still opportunity for the glory to return for the glory to resume. But but it. Can't continue as it was, it can't continue alongside of these detestable things to have the presence of God, and have this idolatry, and these practices against God. And so he tells Ezekiel describe the temple that I've shown you give out all the details, give out the plans of the exits and the entrances and all of the dimensions and how tall they are and how wide they are. Give all of these things to them. Verse 10 tells us so they will be ashamed. Of all of their. Sins and then he says again in verse 11. And they will. Be ashamed of what they have done. This was designed to evoke shame in the people of God who had. Been so callous? And rebellious against God. God does not want his people. To be perpetually under. A burden of shame. A banner of shame that. His people would always walk around, you know, with their. Hands dragging on the ground slumped over just shamed. By how they have behaved, that's not God's intention. That's not God designed. But at the same time. God does need to evoke in his people a sense of shame. So that we do not continue in sin so that we do not press on in things that are destructive to us. God does need his people to acknowledge their shamefulness. We have the opportunity to confess our sin and be forgiven, but to confess means to agree with God, that is to agree, yes, God, I have behaved shamefully. I am ashamed of my heart of my mind, of my attitude, the presence of sin is shameful, and the basic law of the temple. He says in verse 12 he's like, let's just summarize the whole thing. Here's here's the whole thing. Holiness, absolute holiness. Completely being set apart unto the Lord and for the Lord. And having hearts that are divided, having hands that are defiled. It's shameful. The presence of sin is. And so he gives this instruction to Ezekiel to give to the people of Israel that they might be ashamed of how they have related to God and treated God previously, so that they would not continue in that. But that they. Would practice holiness and experience the presence. Of God now as we consider these things for ourselves again, there's a spiritual application that we get to engage with right now. In the New Testament we are taught. That we are the Temple of God, that the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Yes, but you know something interesting about that. There's two very clear parts the apostle Paul teaches and declares that we are the temple of the Living God. First Corinthians Chapter 6 and 2nd Corinthians Chapter 6 both make reference to that in that particular way, and both of those teachings are associated with the need. To depart from sin. Both of those teachings would go along with the point that the presence of sin is shameful. Listen, you are the temple of God as a believer in Jesus Christ. And so the presence of sin in your life is shameful. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, the Lord says. First Corinthians chapter 6 Paul says run from sexual sin, no other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does for sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself. For God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body and to engage in sexual immorality is a sin against your own body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. God paid such a high price for you and how shameful it is. To treat what God purchased at such a great price in that way. We need to understand there is a sense of shame that is appropriate. For our sinful behavior in Second Corinthians, Chapter 6, verse 16 and 17, Paul says what Union can there be between God, temple and idols, for we are the temple of the Living God. As God has said, I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they will be my people. Therefore come out. From among unbelievers and separate yourself from them from them, says the Lord, don't touch their filthy things. And I will welcome you. The call to separate the call to leave your hand off of the filthy things because you are the Temple of God. There needs to be a little bit of shame. When we depart. From right relationship with God. When we engage in disobedience to God. And sometimes, perhaps it could be described like this in our lives as well. There's just a wall between. In one room you're reading your Bible and you're praying and. In the next room. You're bowing down before. Defiling yourself And not to live in this way. But for this moment. The Lord wants us. To just stop and let it let, let's absorb it a little bit. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. The presence of sin is shameful in your life. You are the temple of God. You have access to the very presence of God. You were purchased at a high and great price. And so we are not. To be just living, however, we want to engaging in all kinds of sinful activity. In Galatians chapter 5, Paul walks through the desires of the sinful nature. As he goes through the list, he talks about immorality and impurity. Lustful pleasures. And if you're walking in those things, if you're engaging in those things you you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Idolatry, sorcery hostility, quarreling jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension division. I mean, we could spend a lot of time just trying to like point out everybody sins and. I think we're all listed in here. How dare you speak to your wife that way? How dare you disrespect your husband that way? You're so focused on yourself and your ambitions and your your consumed with those things. Why would you divide people in that way and cause that kind of quarreling, and have those outbursts of anger? You you should be ashamed of yourself. With envy and drunkenness and wild parties and other sins like these. The presence of sin in our lives. Is not something to glory in to revel in to put up with. The only proper response to sin in our lives is to be ashamed. To come to the point where we say God, how how.
Can I do?
This to you've done. For me so much. And you've granted me access to your presence and given me. The opportunity to be forgiven. How could I behave in this way? The presence of sin is shameful. So shameful. And Ezekiel 10 and 11 the glory of. The Lord departed. But the good news is it can be restored. The good news is that God is going to bring his glory back in his presence back. The good news is that he is made a way for that sin and that shame to be dealt with. So that the. Pattern is broken and that we do not just continue on in those self-destructive sinful practices. And through the cross. Through the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. We have access. To the glory once again. I'm going to invite the worship team to come up and we're going to prepare for a little bit of communion. We're going to partake of just the bread by itself first. And as you begin to prepare your heart to partake of the bread, I want to encourage you to consider what James writes in James Chapter four, he says, come close to God and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you, sinners, purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God. And the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. The Lord sacrificed himself and gave us his body broken for us. To give us the opportunity to come close to God and he will come close to us even though we've behaved shamefully, even though we have cause for shame and reason to be embarrassed by what we have practiced and what we have engaged in. James says, look you can you can draw near to God, but don't draw near to God with a cavalier heart that just says alright, who cares what I've done? You know, it doesn't matter. There's Grace, you know that's no, no, no, come with sorrow and deep grief. Be ashamed. And I want to encourage you in this time even. Though it may be fence sounds. Weird, but just let that settle in your heart a little bit. And let's worship the Lord, humbly, he says, humble yourself before the Lord. And maybe there's. Appropriate sorrow and deep grief for you as you worship the Lord. As you kind of take in and and and recognize. What he has done for you and how you have treated him. Listen, the presence of God is glorious. And you have the opportunity to be brought back in to the presence of God. So recognize the shame of sin. Let's confess it before the Lord. Let's come into agreement with him experiencing the shame so that we can be cleansed and lifted up and brought back into right fellowship with God. The full glory. The full presence that he offers to us. They're going to lead us in worship and the first song we're just going to worship. As they lead us in the next song, then they'll pass out the bread, hold onto that portion, and we'll party together. At the end of the song. But but first, let's just focus on the most important thing. Let's allow the Lord to settle in our hearts the presence of God is glorious. But the presence of sin is shameful. Let's worship the Lord.
Bodyshaming one.
What are you turning into I? Open the eyes of. The blind there's no one like you. Into the darkness you shine.
Out of the ashes.
We rise, there's no one like you. Thank you. I got his painting. Our guys painter, our guys, stronger God you are higher than any other. Our God is healer awesome in power.
What do you turn?
What are you turning to? Open the eyes of the blind. There's no one like you. None like you. The darkness into the darkness to shine.
Out of the ashes.
We rise, there's no one like you. None like you.
Second high.
Our God is green. Our God is freedom. Our God is stronger. God you are. There than any other our God is healer awesome. Empower our God. Second, God is for us, then who could ever stop us and.
If I got. But if with us. Then I can stand against and if our God. Is for us. Then you could ever stop. And if our God is with us. Though I can't. Stand against and if our God is for. Us then you could ever stop. Then if I got. It with us now I can't stand it.
Every working stand again.
Our God is greater. Our God is stronger. God you are higher than any other.
I got.
I just feel love awesome and how? I got this thing, our guy our God is greater. Our God is stronger. God you are. Than any other. Our God is healer awesome. Our God. I have a maker. He pawned my. Before even time began. My life was in his head.
He he.
He knows my name.
He knows.
Every thought and he loves me. The easy she that falls and he hears me when I call. I have a father. He calls me his own. He'll never leave me. No matter where I go.
Second, now knows my name. He he. He knows.
Every thought he loves me. He sees ISHI that falls, and he hears me when I call.
I have a maker.
I have a. He bought. Hey ho. Before even time. My life was in his head.
No no.
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Every thought and he loves me. He sees each cheese that falls and he hears me when I call. And he hears me when I call and he hears me when I call.
In first Corinthians Chapter 11, the apostle Paul says I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed. The Lord Jesus took some bread. And gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. But we want to take this time. To remember. You and what you've done for us. And So what we hold here, this bread, which reminds us of your body. Your body was broken. Like this bread pierced for our. And Lord, you have known us through and through and from the beginning. Have known all that we would do. And that's why. You surrendered your body to be broken on our behalf. So that we wouldn't be left in that shameful state. Like that in you. We could find forgiveness. And an invitation to the very presence of God. Lord, we are in awe. Of how much you love us? How much you have done for us. And your patience and grace that continues. To be extended toward us. We thank you God. We remember you. And we honor you. Let's party together. The presence of God is glorious. The presence of sin is shameful. But God grants us by his body. The opportunity to remove the shame to cast off the guilt and there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. What Grace and mercy we experience. In the invitation. To the presence of God. That brings us to the third thing I'd like to share with you this morning, and that is jumping down a little bit further in Ezekiel 43, looking at the last few verses, verses 25 through 27 point #3 the presence of God must be pursued. The presence of God must be pursued. Here's what it says in verses 25 through 27. Every day for seven days, a male goat, a young bull and a ram from the flock will be sacrificed as a sin offering. None of these animals may have physical defects of any kind. Do this each day for seven days to cleanse and make atonement for the altar, thus setting it apart for holy use. On the eighth day and on each day afterward, the priests will sacrifice on the altar, the burnt offerings and peace offerings of the people. Then I will accept you, I the sovereign Lord, have spoken. Here as we continue on looking at this millennial temple and. It is inaugurated as the presence of the Lord comes in, but he also goes on in the chapter to describe the altar and the dimensions and how it needs to be built, and also how the altar needs to be inaugurated and and the special things that need to be done, that that the altar may be used as part of the worship of the Lord in the. Giving of sacrifices. And so the initial consecration. Of the altar involves sin offerings every day for seven days. The sin offering was the offering. You can go back to Leviticus chapters one through 7 to walk through the different sacrifices and offerings that God prescribed for his people. It was an offering to cleanse of sin. And so they are offering this sacrifice. Thus, in offering to set apart the altar and prepare the Millennial temple for its use in service for the rest of the thousand year reign of Christ. But it has to start with this sin offering and nothing can be done. This is the important part to understand. Nothing can be done in regards to the worship of God and and the fellowship with God. Until that sin issue is taken care of. And for us we we understand we looked at Christ, we partook of his body, the bread which represented his body just a moment ago, not reminding us of what Christ has done for us in dealing with the thin issue. But as we go forward here in diverse 27, we see that there's also something for the people to do. It's not just OK. The sin issue is done, so just sit there and do nothing and make no effort to walk with God at all. No, that's not what is instructed or given in fact. It tells us on the eighth day the seven days of consecration. The sin issue is taken care of on the eighth day, and on each state afterward. So there's something that happens on the eighth day, but that something is to happen every day. And that is that the priest should sacrifice the burnt offerings and peace offerings. These were not sin offerings. These were not intended to try to remove, send, or deal with sin or address in in any way. These were a different kind of sacrifice. And notice that it says the burnt offerings and peace offerings of the people. And so the idea here is that the people are bringing these sacrifices. Every day on the eighth day, they couldn't bring the sacrifices before until the sin issue was dealt with, but now the sin issue has been dealt with and so the people can come and bring their offerings to the Lord. And the burnt offering was an offering that would be offered as a testimony as a declaration of complete dedication and devotion to the Lord, where the animal would be entirely consumed upon the altar, and the worshipper would be saying, that's me, right there, Lord, I am yours completely 100% given over to you. I'm your servant. You do with my life what you desire. I will submit to you completely and fully without holding any part back. Anything back. Nothing is off limits. Lord, I am yours. That is an appropriate response of the people of God. To the previous seven days, the sin issue. Having been dealt with. The only reasonable response to what God has done for us is for us to give ourselves entirely and completely. To the Lord. And then there was the peace offerings. And these are. A particular kind of sacrifice where it really indicated fellowship. It was a celebration and a joyful occasion. They would burn just a small portion of the fat of the sacrifice on the altar, but the rest of the animal was enjoyed as a meal with family and friends. And even there, on the temple grounds, there was places for them to prepare the meats and then go and have the the feast and offer this sacrifice to the Lord and Fellowship and have peace with God and one another and enjoy. That fellowship between. And so this gives us a little bit of insight into how to pursue. God's presence. How to pursue God's presence? I'm just going. To walk through these things briefly. Number one. Devote yourself to God daily. Offer that burnt offering. We talk about our daily devotions, right, and we typically think of OK, I gotta read the Bible. Gotta pray right? And that's true, you gotta do. That spend time. With the Lord every day, but but also don't forget the devote part of devotions every day. Present yourself to the Lord and say, Lord I'm yours 100%. You direct me. You lead me you do with my life what you want to do. I'm here to serve you. That is one of the huge and important parts of our daily devotions. Not just to receive from God, but to. Give ourselves to God. Another aspect is to enjoy and celebrate peace with God to take advantage of that peace. To enjoy his presence, to celebrate, and and have joy in what God has done in the forgiveness that he provides. Thirdly, fellowship with God. People engage and interact with other believers who have experienced the same thing and and talk and share of the deliverance and the goodness and the work that God has done in your life. And then forth they fully engage in God's presence. The birds offerings were 100% devotion. Pursue the presence of God. It's glorious. Here's how to do that. Give yourself entirely to the Lord. Commit yourself to him and devote yourself to him. Celebrate and enjoy peace with God. Have meals together with other believers. I mean, it's one thing to gather together to watch the World Series or Super Bowl, or you know whatever like that's great, but but also gather together just to enjoy and celebrate God's work, to talk about what God's doing to hear, what the Lord is saying. Have peace with God and enjoy the presence of God. But there's this one here. To fully engage in God's presence, and this one comes from a few chapters over in Ezekiel chapter 46. God gives instruction that when the people come to offer these sacrifices, they're to come in a particular way and then to go out a particular way. Ezekiel 46 nine says when they come in from the north that then they need to exit. From the South, and if they come in from the South then they need to exit from the north. And and to me, this really speaks of this idea. The importance of fully engaging in the Lord's presence. So if you come in from the north. You don't just turn around and go out the way you came, but you have to kind of experience the whole courtyard. You got to walk through the whole thing to go out the other side after you've offered your sacrifices and worship the Lord and had your meal or whatever you're doing in that that but, but you can't just get in, get out, you don't get it over with. You gotta experience the whole courtyard. And if you're coming in from. The South then same thing you come in you. You offer your sacrifice. You worship the Lord. You spend time with the Lord and and you gotta go to the other side and. Experience the whole courtyard of God's presence. I wonder if the diagram reflected what we often. Do and are. Seeking the Lord is like OK, I just like. Dip my toe. In the water I'm out of here. You know, sometimes as we worship the Lord I. Would encourage you to. Consider that we just sing a couple songs. Which better reflects your? Time of worship just now. Did you dip your toe in you kind of thing a little bit? You kind of like thought about the Lord. You kind of were ashamed and repented. Of saying a little bit, you know? Like there's some little things, but. Or did you go all the way in and experience all the fullness of what God had for you in? That time of worship. Fully engage in God's presence it it takes some effort on. Our part to walk with God to devote ourselves to God and to experience what he has for us. And to fellowship with God's people, I think there's another interesting aspect of that. Idea there in Ezekiel 46. Leaving by the South if he came in by the north, leaving by the north, if he came in by the South because. That means that. People are going to interact with each other. You have to cross paths with other people who. Are there to worship God? There's no way. Around it, you can't just go in with the people you came in with and go out with the people that you came in with. You have to interact. You're gonna bump into rub shoulders with you're gonna come in contact with others who came from the other side, a completely different direction. I think it's part of God's design. For us to cross paths with one another to interact with one another. The presence of God is an open invitation for us. But we kind of drift out of it automatically. God never moves, but we move all the time. And so it's this reengaging and re entering in by faith in Jesus Christ that we get to experience the presence of God. But but it must be pursued. You need to have some intention and and deliberateness in your approach to God. And so devote yourself to him. Fully engage. And the times of worship fully engage and the times in the word fully engage with the Lord. As you have opportunity fellowship with one another. The presence of God must be pursued. And so we want to pursue the presence of God and partake of the cup together. And so worship team. You can come back up and as they come up and get settled, I want to share with you again from Hebrews chapter 10. And this time reading a couple more verses in verse 19, it says. And so dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven most holy place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and living life, giving way through the curtain into the most holy place. And since we have a great high priest who rules over God House. Let us go right in to the presence of God with sincere hearts, fully trusting him for our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ blood to make us clean and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Notice the author of Hebrews is saying and declaring the doctrine the way is open. The invitation is there. But there is the part for us to play verse 20. Two let us go. Right into the presence of God. There is our part to do to enter in. To fully engage. To celebrate who he is and what he's done to worship him and devote ourselves to him to engage with one another. To partake of the cup, he instructed us to partake and to to remember him. And so as we worship the Lord. I want to encourage you go right into. The presence of God. Prepare your heart to receive that Communion Cup and be reminded of what he has done for us and and just go right in. You've been washed, you've been cleansed. Fully embrace God. Fully engage in what God has for you and experience the most that you can out of this time of worship together.
Let's worship.
2nd grader is the one.
Who's in the skater is the one. Who calls our name? He will never fail.
Stronger is the wine.
Stronger is the one. Within hours, stronger is the way. Who fights for us? He will never bear. You will never fan. For your love indoors. Wherever your love endures forever open up our eyes surround us with your eye. Your love indoors forever. Mighty is the one. Mighty is the way. Strong to say he will make away. You will make away.
Second, mighty is the one.
Who's for us? Mighty is the one. Strong to say he will make away. You will make away for life for your love. Forever, all your love indoors forever. Open up our eyes. Surround us with your by your love indoors forever.
Got it fine.
Our God is fighting for us always. Our God is fighting for us or our God is fighting for us always. We are not alone. We are not alone. I got buying. For us always, our God is fighting. It's funny for us, so we we are not alone. We are not alone for love, for your love endures forever. All your love indoors. Open up. Surround us with your lie, your love indoors for. Never open up our eyes. Surround us with your lie, your love indoors forever.
Ride along.
I see love is that you're feeling crazy.
See you.
I below is at your feet. Me touching you.
Second, what I need?
Only you.
Second, your life on me again.
Bring me back to the place where. I love that. Be back to that place when my.
Second, bring me back to win undivided. Second, Jesus.
Bring me back to you.
Where I belong.
I be long without your feet. Been praising you. Where I below is at your feet.
Touching you.
What I need?
What I need?
Only you.
Second, more out your life on me again.
Bring me back to that place where I love the prize.
Second, bring me back to that place where I'm on my way.
Bring me back to when undivided.
Second, bring me back.
To you.
Bat bring me. Bring me back.
Second, bring me bad second.
Bring me back.
Bring me back, bring me back.
Bring me.
Ben ringing the bell.
What I need?
What I need? Only you.
Second, or out your life on the.
Bring me back to the place.
Bring me out to the.
Where are you?
I love that prop.
Second, bring me back to that place where I'm on my way. Second, bring me back when Andy invited and.
Bring me back to you.
And Lord, behold, in our hands the reminder that you gave us of your blood that was shed for us, that we could be washed and redeemed and cleansed. And so, Lord, the invitation is real. We can come back to you back into your presence. Back to experience. The glory. Of being with you. God, I pray. That you would bring us back and fire up within our hearts. That passion for you that desire for you. That gratitude for who you are and what you've done for us. But as we partake of this cup Lord, we receive your forgiveness. We receive your Grace and your goodness. And we devote ourselves to you. Here we are Lord back at your feet. To worship you let's party together. As Paul finished off that passage there in Corinthians about communion and what he received from the Lord. He tells us in verse 26 every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again. And so that gives us the 4th point that I wanted to share with you today, and that is pursue God's presence until Jesus returns. We don't just do this once. In a lifetime or once in a while or once in a month. But we are to be captivated. By the Lord Jesus, pursuing his presence, and until we enter into glory. It's an ongoing pursuit. We can't be satisfied with, you know, for a few years I really was serious about my relationship with the Lord, and I walked with the Lord, and I was devoted to him. And so you know. Good, that's great. You know, I had that that good. Solid season of my life. Now until he comes. Keep pursuing, keep drawing near. Keep receiving from God. His forgiveness, his grace, his mercy and his presence, which is glorious. Keep being reminded. One of the reasons why we need to come back to the Lord so often is to to be reminded of the shamefulness of sin that we don't just continue in it and allow it to go on in our lives, but that we turn and repent and allow God to work in us. Pursue the presence of God and keep on pursuing it. Don't be satisfied with your level of relationship with God with your level of you know access and understanding of the presence of. God keep pursuing no God more. He's got so much more for you than you've experienced thus far, and so press on into more and more and more of the presence of God. I pray Lord, that you would help us to do just that, that we would continue on Lord. You ask the question when you return will you find faith on the Earth and Lord may we say yes? You will find us. Ready for you? Your bride prepared because we've been pursuing you, we've been spending time in your presence and we've been seeking you and spending time with one another and enjoying and celebrating all that you've done for us. God, I pray that you would draw us. Nearer and stir up our hearts. Lord, that we would. Be inclined to seek you more that we would be. Inclined to put you first. And to devote ourselves to you and the pursuit. Of knowing you. In your presence, I pray this in Jesus name.