Many centuries ago, the Lord took the Prophet Ezekiel on an incredible supernatural journey to show him the filthy and deplorable spiritual condition of His people. He wanted the Prophet to know the extent of unholiness that was occurring in secrecy behind closed doors, so He escorted Ezekiel in the Spirit and ushered him though a passageway to a chamber in the Temple where elders were committing unspeakable acts of idolatry.
Here is that story. “And He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. Then said He unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. And He said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about. And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said He unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.” (Ezekiel 8: 7-12)
Can you imagine? Not only committing these disgraceful deeds, but actually having the nerve to do it in the Temple! These unfaithful, we'll call them “undercover brothers,” thought they were pulling the wool over God’s eyes, but they were wrong. Dead wrong. Our God saw everything they did just as it is written in Proverbs: “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15: 3) Our God also heard every word they said as described by Matthew: “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” (Matthew 12: 36) And our God even knew about every thought they had per the book of wise sayings: “O LORD, Thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off.” (Proverbs 139: 1-2)
But even more important than the Lord directly observing their atrocious actions, He was righteously evaluating and exposing the reprehensible condition of their hearts. How sad! We need to understand that though you may think you can cunningly hide behind the closed doors of crimes committed in concealment, your heart screams out confessions of wrong-doing to an all-knowing God. You see, “The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.” (Proverbs 20: 27) And these individuals were so consumed with carnally celebrating in their palaces of pleasure that they ignored the fact that the Word of God “….is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” (Hebrews 4: 12-13) Nothing is hid from our Creator. And I mean nothing. “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He pondereth all his goings.” (Proverbs 5: 21)
This interesting and enlightening story of Ezekiel’s adventure in the Temple is a great illustration of how “everything that glitters ain’t gold.” Just because we see something or someone that looks good or does good on the outside doesn’t mean that it, or they, are good on the inside. For instance, how many of you have taken a piece of fruit which appeared ripe and delicious but when you took a bite it was rotten to the core? Or how many of you have been fooled by those appearing to be righteous and/or religious but found out they were not to be trusted? Well, if you haven’t experienced either of these, then you are quite a unique person because the world is full of this kind of fruit and those kind of people.
Jesus Himself recognized this and has some dreadful words awaiting those who think their deceitful and insincere actions will curry favor with Him when the end of time comes. “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7: 21-23)
There are those who think they can hustle their way into heaven by doing good works. But God sees right through phony proclamations of allegiance to Him and goes straight to the source of such falsehoods when He says, “This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me.” (Matthew 15: 8) That is why good works are worthless without the heart-changing faith that allows access to the grace that gains you admittance to God’s Kingdom. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2: 8-9) There is nothing we could ever do that would be good enough to cancel the debt of sin that could only be erased by the unimaginable torment and agonizing death Jesus willingly suffered in our place that we might be exonerated from our guilt and set free by the mercy and grace of a righteous and holy God.
You see, Jesus came to earth on a mission from His Father to redeem all of us from destruction. And this offer is not only to a certain few or a special group, but it applies to everyone. He told us Himself who He was specifically sent here for when He said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5: 32). Now some may see this as an exclusionary statement but it could not be more inclusionary because according to God’s Word, “There is none righteous, no, not one:” (Romans 3: 10) This means, “…all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3: 23) So we have no alternative but to come to the conclusion that everyone is guilty and no one can claim that they don’t need the cleansing, healing and resurrecting power of our Messiah’s blood sacrifice on Mount Calvary.
Yes, we all need a Savior. And not just any so-called savior, but the one and only Son of the Living God, whose very name Jesus means “Yaweh Saves” The One of whom it was prophesied that “…they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1: 23) The One that “…loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 1: 5-6)
Now we can understand the prideful and arrogant mindset of those who refuse to accept Jesus as their Redeemer, who go through great pains to conceal their unrighteousness and present a false image of who they really are. Case in point, consider the seemingly religious leaders of Jesus’ day of whom the Lord was harshly critical because they misrepresented Him and led others astray. He issued a stern warning to them saying, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” (Matthew 23: 25-28)
It all comes down to this. The problem with the scribes and Pharisees was not what they were showing on the outside, but what they were hiding on the inside. In other words, they were in dire need of a cardiologist because they, as well as we all at one time or another, had some serious heart problems. Of course, I say this humorously though this is a very serious subject. I am not talking about your physical heart with its rhythmic pulsations that pumps plasma through your valves, chambers, veins and arteries. I'm talking about the core of your being, your distinct existence that is separate from your body, the spiritual essence of who you truly are. Your soul.
No matter what gyrations we go through to prove otherwise, we are who our heart says we are. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” says Proverbs 23: 7. We may hide it for a while but eventually our heart will spill the beans on us. Beloved ones, don't be led astray or influenced by anyone who tells you things like, “I can look as long as I don’t touch.” That is nothing but an evil invitation and false justification to bask in unrighteous thoughts. And it is those very thoughts that will condemn you in the end. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” (Mark 7: 21-23) To put it in culinary lingo, by the time any of these things are physically manifested, your goose is already cooked. That's why we need these old hearts changed.
And you can call it what you want ....... behind closed doors, on the down low or wolves in sheep's clothing. All these are just metaphors for the people of whom Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (Matthew 7: 15) And when Jesus says beware, He means it. Those with unchanged hearts are not only unreliable, but dangerous as well. “When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.” (Proverbs 26: 25) The lyrics to an old song from back in 1971 said, “Smilin’ faces sometimes, pretend to be your friend; Smilin’ faces show no traces of the evil that lurks within.” Sounds like those writers may have taken a cue from the biblical Psalmist who wrote, “The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.” (Psalm 55: 21)
The Lord is not distracted by what you do. He is focused on and interested in your heart because He knows that if your heart is right that you will do the right thing at the right time for the right reason. And when your heart is right, you have a God that gladly shows off His awesomeness to you just because you are His. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.” (2 Chronicles 16: 9)
We see this played out in a scene from ancient Israel where God had deposed the disobedient King Saul and had selected one of the sons of Jesse the Bethlehemite to replace him. God sent the Prophet Samuel to Jesse and as he was inspecting those sons, he was very impressed with the physical attributes of one in particular whose name was Eliab. “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16: 7)
So God showed Samuel that His choice for who would be the new king was the young son of Jesse named David who was a little shepherd boy. Contrary to what Samuel thought, God wasn’t recruiting some smooth-talking, good-looking, muscle-bound intellectual genius. He was looking specifically for one that had a humble and contrite spirit. The Lord was seeking Him a man after His own heart. One who would rule righteously. One He could and would use to defeat the giant Philistine soldier Goliath in battle even though David was estimated to only be about 15-19 years old at the time.
In this world we can get caught up so easily in what we think, just like Samuel did. But remember, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and God’s ways are not our ways. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55: 9) As with David, God was not, and is still not looking for a race, a religion, an ethnicity, a gender or any other earthly characteristic as we might think. He is looking for a people. A special people. A chosen people. A spiritual people. An obedient people. His people. “Know ye that the LORD He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.” (Palm 100: 3)
It’s not about our bodies or our carnal legacy, but about what kind of heart we have. It’s about our spiritual lineage which the Lord chose to begin through the Jewish nation. (Remember, Jesus was a Jew.) And they were chosen not because they were strong and powerful, but just the opposite. “The LORD did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people…” (Deuteronomy 7: 7) God chooses the weak, the outcast, the despised, the disregarded and the helpless so that when He shows His great power there will be no way it can be said that we did it on our own but that God would get all the glory!
For God's family you don’t have to search Ancestry.com to prove you were born in Israel and have a legitimate claim to this heritage. You don’t need 23andMe to certify that you have natural Hebrew ancestors to be part of this pedigree. You don’t have to wear a yamaka, memorize rabbinical commentaries or travel to Jerusalem 3 times a year. It’s not about where you’re from or who you're related to on the outside, but what has happened to you on the inside. “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” (Romans 2: 28-29) Jesus Himself tells you who His real family is when He said, “For whosoever shall do the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.” (Matthew 12: 50)
And I say it again, it’s not about what you do, but about what God does for you. “…if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5: 17) This means you are not the same as what you were. This means you have been changed. And did you change yourself? Many have tried, even I, but the answer is No! Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard change his spots? No! You may change your mind but you can’t change your heart. Only God can do this. And He is so willing to do it because He never changes and wants everyone to be rescued from the wrath that is to come. For without that change you cannot be saved. Jesus said, "...Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 18: 3) That is why He makes this unparalleled and unbelievable offer to all the world: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11: 28-30)
The world has tried to legislate morality for centuries and has failed miserably. I applaud the effort but you need much more. You need what only God can give you. And this is what He gives: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them.” (Ezekiel 36: 26-27) We don't need more legislation, we need more sanctification!
Now, consider these sacred scriptures that were sent to us to signify the way to salvation. Note that the word “contrite” means “humble, crushed, broken, penitent”
Psalm 34: 18 - “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”
Psalm 51: 17 - “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
Isaiah 57: 15 - “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
Isaiah 66: 2 & 16 - “For all those things hath Mine hand made, and those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word. Nevertheless in a contrite heart and an humble spirit let us be accepted.”
The Book of James says , “…ye have not, because ye ask not…Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss…” (James 4: 2-3) If you want a changed heart and a changed life, you only have to ask for it because He's the One drawing you to Him through His Son. But as noted in the above scriptures, you have to ask humbly, sincerely, sorrowfully acknowledging your sin and your helplessness. If you do this, you will be accepted by God, “And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.” (Deuteronomy 30: 6) You will then be a partner with God in a glorious agreement of eternal communion with Him, the Creator of All Things, and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people.” (Jeremiah 31: 33)
Finally, we started this message speaking about the folly of mankind and his attempts to present a false front, a façade of fakery, and a desperate attempt to evade the inevitable and unnegotiable demand of God which is to “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord…” (Acts 3: 19)
Let us therefore not be as the scribes and Pharisees and all disobedient people who reject God’s loving offer of salvation. Let us not operate in sinful secrecy behind closed doors, but instead open wide those very same doors and grant unrestricted access to Jesus because He is speaking to you and saying, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3: 20)
At that moment it doesn’t matter whether we have never known the Lord, strayed from our relationship with Him or just struggle in our daily battle against the onslaught of spiritual wickedness. I assure you that He is a merciful, loving and forgiving God. Just ask King David who had lost his way, but then he prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free spirit.” (Psalm 51: 10-12)
The God that we serve is the only One that can fix whatever is broken, heal whatever is sick, strengthen whatever is weak, provide whatever is lacking, encourage whatever is depressed and restore whatever is lost. Be thankful and rejoice that “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” Believe with all of your heart that “The LORD is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works” and that “The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth.” (Psalm 45: 8 & 17-18)
The God Who loves you is drawing you to Him through His Son. So bring your broken heart to Jesus and let Him soothe your pain. Let Him dry your eyes, ease your mind and comfort your soul. Let Him change your heart and take you into His loving arms of eternal grace and glory.
May we rejoice exceedingly abundantly and then declare unto Him Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, “The LORD is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works. All Thy works shall praise Thee, O LORD; and Thy saints shall bless Thee. They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of Thy power; To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom.” (Psalm 145: 9-12)
And now, may peace be with you all, and love with faith, from God the Father and our beloved Messiah.
In the precious name of Jesus. Amen.
Comments