Sermon Tone Analysis

Sermon for Sunday, April 1, 2007

Title: His Kingdom Comes – Taking the Church to the Nations

Text: Ezekiel 36:20-23 (HCSB) /20 When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said about them: These are the people of the Lord, yet they had to leave His land [in exile].

21 Then I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went.

22 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: It is not for your sake that I will act, house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations where you went.

23 I will honor the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them.

The nations will know that I am Yahweh”—the declaration of the Lord God—“when I demonstrate My holiness through you in their sight./

Have you ever looked at the heroes of the Bible?

Look at Moses, here was a guy, wanted for murder, runs away and becomes a sheep herder for someone.

God chose him to lead the nation of Israel out of the slavery of Egypt.

But the other thing is, when God asked him to do it, all he did was complain that he wasn’t the right person, he didn’t have the skills, and he wanted God to choose someone else.

Look at Gideon.

Here’s another guy that’s from the weakest family in his tribe and he’s also the youngest in the family.

God asks him to save his people, and what does he do?

He protests telling God that He’s made a mistake, and then he challenges God to prove it.

I can give you other examples of how God uses people to do His work, but these people aren’t the kind of people that the world, or maybe even you or I would choose to be leaders.

The people that God chooses probably aren’t the ones voted as “Most Likely to Succeed” in the high school yearbook.

Why did God choose Israel?

Of all the nations of the earth, why did God decide to bless this little tribe of people?

Why did He say,/ “I am going to give them My name and shower upon them My honor and My glory”/?

Why did He do that?

Or perhaps a more relevant question is, Why would God choose to redeem us?

We as a church family, me individually, you individually—why did God redeem us?

We don’t often even ask the question truthfully, and we certainly can’t say that we deserve it.

But these verses that we just read reminds us that God has a master plan and has been at work to fulfill that plan through the ages.

That’s what were going to talk about today.

OPENING PRAYER

/Father, we pray right now that our hearts would be open to hear from You, not to hear from any person, but to hear a fresh word from You, directed by Your Holy Spirit, from Your Word.

And may we be strangely troubled by the Word of God that brings conviction to the heart of man, and may we say yes, in Jesus’ name, Amen./

I. God’s Desire

Do you remember when David wanted to build a temple for God?

He wanted a place that would represent the majesty of God.

David wanted to build a house worthy of God’s name, where God’s name would dwell, where His character and His presence would be known.

Even though God sent word through His prophet Nathan that David would not build the temple but his son Solomon would, David’s spirit was not broken.

He was still filled with praise to God.

And in that praise, David said, /“This is why You are great, Lord GOD.

There is no one like You, and there is no God besides You. . .

.And who is like Your people Israel?

God came to one nation on earth in order to redeem a people for Himself, to make a name for Himself, and to perform for them great and awesome acts.

You established Your people Israel Your own people forever, and You, LORD, have become their God”/ (2 Sam.

7:22-24).

David got it.

He understood.

David said there is no other god.

This was not well known or accepted in that day.

People worshiped numerous gods.

Even today’s society there is a lot more of that.

I was talking to someone at the coffee shop the other day, inviting her to church.

When I asked if she knew Jesus Christ, she replied that her mom was a Christian, but she believed in all gods.

I’ve heard that a lot lately from people that I meet.

All over people are saying that everyone’s religion is true and their gods are to be respected.

But David states the fundamental truth: there is just one God.

Then David wonders: What one nation on earth is like Your people Israel?

What made them special?

There wasn’t anything outwardly impressive about this tribe.

Other peoples outnumbered and outmanned them.

So why them?

David answers, /“God came to one nation on earth in order to redeem a people for Himself, to make a name for Himself, and to perform for them great and awesome acts.”

/How easily we skim over David’s words.

But his words reveal God’s desire.

God said,/ “I redeemed Israel for Myself, that I might make a name for Myself.”/

God wanted to make a name for Himself so that all the nations would know that He is the Lord God.

It was a redemptive concern, that all nations would worship Him.

The Old Testament repeats the phrase “the nations” over and over.

I found 324 verses in the Old Testament that talks about the nations.

God’s passion, from beginning to end, was and is that all the nations would come to honor Him as King.

When God chose Israel, He was looking for:

·       A people who would embody His name, that is, a people who would embrace His character and would live in a way that others saw that their God was true and holy.

·       A people who would embrace His mission to the nations.

God was looking for a people who would understand and commit to His desire to be known among all people.

·       A people who would obey His Word.

But the children of Israel were not faithful to that purpose.

Instead, when God sent Israel among the nations, they disobeyed Him and profaned His name.

God is not going to allow His name to be profaned among the nations in this way; therefore, Ezekiel outlines God’s solution.

That brings us to Ezekiel 36.

Because of those things, God said, I’m going to bring unique blessing on you.

Israel had assumed that the blessing of God was to be consumed rather than to be conveyed.

The church in North America is at the same crisis turning point that Israel was when the prophet declared this opportunity.

We’ve been so blessed as a nation; we’ve been so blessed as a church; we’ve been so blessed as a people.

And yet we oftentimes come to consume the blessing rather than convey the blessing.

That’s where Israel was.

II.

God’s Solution

So God said, “I want to tell you what I’m getting ready to do.” God’s solution is in verse 23.

Ezekiel 36:23 (HCSB)/ I will honor the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them.

The nations will know that I am Yahweh”—the declaration of the Lord God—“when I demonstrate My holiness through you in their sight./

God said, “I’m going to show you the holiness of My Name.”

But even today, we ask the question, “When will the nations know?” and God answers, /“when I demonstrate My holiness through you in their sight.”/

God said, /“I’ve got a strategy.

I’ve got a plan.

I’m going to put Myself in a people in such a unique way that I’m going to show Myself holy among them, among the nations.

Then they’ll know.”/

This all begins right here, where we are, in this location, at the corner of Sacramento St and Berkeley Way.

It begins in our youth groups, in our high schools; it begins in our young adults, in our senior adults, that wherever we go, whether it’s on the golf course, on the tennis court, in the high school, or wherever it is - that there’s a holiness about us that’s so attractive, people begin to say, “Who are those people and why do they live like they do?”

It begins when that process begins to expand from us.

God said, /“When I show Myself holy among My people, then we will see the conversion of the nations.”/

I know God has a solution.

God has an activity.

I believe that we’re living in the most exciting days that have ever been known since the days of Jesus.

What is God going to do in our day?

We may have an unprecedented chance to reach the nations.