Home

morning everyone my name is steve senior pastor here at st paul's like to pray

before we dive into ezekiel 4 to 48 father god we as we just prayed in the baptism service

we might intend to have hope in you but we need your help and so we need your help not just to

put our trust in you but to keep looking forward to your promises that you have things that you

promised to fulfill in the future for us and so lord as we get a glimpse of that now we pray that

our hearts might be enlarged for your purpose in this world and we ask it for your glory now amen

hasib hussein was the 18 year old suicide bomber responsible for blowing up a bus

number 30 in london on the 7th of july 2005 which killed 13 people one article

in london's the guardian newspaper was titled the bomber aimless youth with poor future

it suggested that hasib hussein's horizon stretched no further than his immediate impoverished

neighborhood that he grew up in the opposite was actually true hasib hussein killed himself and

13 other people because his horizon stretched much further than that and in fact of what he saw

as eternity he believed on that day almost 10 years ago now he was carrying out the will of Allah

he did not call what he was doing suicide because that is a sin to muslims but shahada or martyrdom

he didn't actually believe he would die he believed he would transfer immediately into paradise to receive

his reward and for a male muslim martyr that reward is 72 virgins

if you're a female muslim martyr the reward is you get your husband for eternity

which makes you question why there are female muslim martyrs

apparently if you've had multiple husbands you can choose the best one

to be with for all of eternity but anyway in response to the bombings

the muslim council of britain were bringing in world-renowned islamic scholars

to instruct their people that those who commit such atrocities were in fact going to hell not to heaven

they declared it was a message that needed to be said in clear and direct language

and if there is anyone who uses clear and direct language about heaven and hell it's what we've seen

in the prophet ezekiel but how can he be trusted

how can we know who speaks for god the creator of the world who can be trusted in this present climate

that we live in well in isaiah 41 22 we're given a test for discerning who speaks for god

it says this bring in your idols to tell us what is going to happen tell us what the former things were

so that we may consider them and how their final outcome came to be or declare to us the things to come

tell us what the future holds so we may know that you are gods in other words

look for prophecy that's fulfilled

that will tell you who you can trust

the one who tells you what the future is

and then has the the the power to control it to bring it about

is the one who can be trusted and as we've seen here in ezekiel

for the last three weeks is that that is god himself he tells us what is going to happen and

then he makes it happen we've seen so far in ezekiel uh was that he was right about the future

this prophecy opened with ezekiel amongst the exiles languishing down uh by the kibar river in

babylon and despite that back in jerusalem some of the prominent citizens and prophets were saying

that don't worry about that all is well don't need to be too concerned the city and the temple

still stood and it's just a matter of time before god's going to come back and put everything right

again there's nothing to worry about and we have seen that what ezekiel does is he dashes their hopes

in chapter 4 ezekiel pitches the siege of jerusalem in chapter 10 he sees god's glory leaving the temple

in chapter 12 he betrays the exile and he fiercely proclaims why it's all happening

why has god abandoned his people

jimmy baker was a american tele-evangelist who went to prison for corruption in 1989

while in prison he was asked by an interviewer when did you stop loving jesus

and he replied i never stopped loving jesus and the interviewer replied but what about the extortion

and the corruption and the adultery and the bribery and baker explained i never stopped loving jesus

but i did stop fearing him and that's the problem with god's people in ezekiel's time

there is no fear of the lord the bible says god says to his people be sure your sins will find you out

and they just ignored that they don't believe it they ignored god's word there was no fear of the lord

there was no shame for their sin they had domesticated god they thought that god would just accept them

the way they were and be grateful for any little bits of worship that they might throw in his direction

they thought that god would tolerate them and even affirm their lifestyles because he is a god of love

and god graciously warned them again and again and to stop stop it because if they didn't there would be

consequences and they would be devastating

and he warns his people through his prophet ezekiel and what god predicts about the future

he always gets right and so in 587 bc jerusalem and the temple are destroyed their presumption on god

meant that their protector had in fact become their enemy they used to sing psalms like 40 psalm 46

god is our refuge and strength our ever-present helping trouble and now they would sing psalm 137

by the rivers of babylon we sat and we wept when we remembered zion they wept in babylon as they

looked back and saw the temple destroyed but as we've seen ezekiel's message doesn't stop there

in his great love god is determined to bring life to the dead he's determined to bring hope to the

hopeless we saw last week chapters 33 through to 30 39 contain some wonderful promises of salvation

god is going to come and reign through his great king the good shepherd in ezekiel 34 and when he comes

he's going to put everything right he will raise the dead so judgment isn't simply the end of the world

it actually marks the beginning of a new perfect world order

and so in these last nine chapters of this book

ezekiel describes the vision of that new perfect world order and that's what we're going to see here right now

if only hasib hasain could have seen the future in this way

he believed something about the future and it had enormous implications for how he lived and he died in

the present and that is the vital issue that's before us here in these nine chapters what does the future

hold and how do we live in view of that future there are two key elements that i think dominate so we're

going to look at two things in nine chapters two key elements that dominate our focus in these chapters

firstly god's presence secondly our abundant life that's what we're going to look at so chapter 40 verse 1

open up your bibles we're going to begin there it tells us it's 20 years since god showed up in the

kibar river it's 25 years since the first deportation into exile it's 14 years therefore since the temple

is destroyed in jerusalem and in chapter 40 verse 2 in other words that's a long time for ezekiel to be

waiting for hope in chapter 40 verse 2 ezekiel is taken back via revision for another tour of jerusalem

this is the second tour of jerusalem in visions of god he took me to the land of israel and set me on a

very high mountain on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city what ezekiel gets

here is picture language for something that is great and wonderful and majestic and glorious and spectacular

these chapters speak of a perfect world when god comes to rescue his people ezekiel sees here is something

of the picture of revelation 21 22 bit of which sam just read out a moment ago where it says then i saw

a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away

that that's that's what ezekiel got a glimpse of here revelation 21 a place where there is no more

death and pain no more coffins and hospitals no need for endless boxes of tissues ezekiel sees here a

glorious future his heart must have left because he knew the pain of being a captive in babylon for 25

years he knew the pain and the anguish of losing his wife the delight of his eyes as chapter 24

refers to his wife what ezekiel sees here on this tour is a new temple a magnificent temple chapters 40 to 42

go into great detail about the size and the furnishings of the temple it's like the grand old temple of

jerusalem but only better more perfect if it's possible there is an emphasis here in these chapters

on things like the thickness of the walls because this temple is built to last it will not be destroyed

again and then in chapter 43 the climax of the tour comes reading from verse 1 then the man brought me to

the gate facing east and i saw the glory of the god of israel coming from the east in chapter 10

ezekiel had seen the glory of god depart towards the east and now the glory comes from the east his voice

was like the roar of rushing waters and the land was radiant in his glory in his glory the vision i saw

was like the vision i had seen when i came to destroy the city sorry when he came to destroy the city and

like the vision i had seen by the kibar river and i fell face down the glory of the lord entered the

temple through the gate facing east and then the spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court

and the glory of the lord filled the temple then down into verse 7 we see some really good news here

he said son of man this is the place of my throne and the place for the souls of my feet

this is where i will live among the israelites forever

what what ezekiel gets here is a profound vision of hope for the future

ezekiel saw the glory of god at the kibar river he saw the glory of god depart from the temple just

before it was handed over for destruction and now he sees it again as the departure of god

is is reversed god has returned god is now back with his people forever

and as we know from the bible right from the very beginning that is how god the creator god designed

his world he designed it with him in the middle as the creator and for it to revolve around him he is

the king at the center of everything that's the world's design but as we know adam and eve

although he gave them breath and he gave them the garden and he gave them each other he gave them

perfection they didn't like god being at the center they wanted to be at the center they deposed god

and the result since then has been catastrophic for the world in which we live it has been a domino effect

right throughout the whole creation in genesis 3 we see that the whole universe is cursed

because we push god out from the center everything from marriage to farming has been impacted by sin

and as adam and eve are banished from the presence of god it seems like it's all over

but god doesn't give up on humanity he called the people of israel to himself they were his people

he was their god he established on earth what was in many ways a new eden he lived amongst them and dwelt

with them and blessed them through the temple and as they submitted to his loving kingship they would be blessed

but they kept repeating the sin of adam and eve of pushing god away from the center

they rejected his rule and as a result he left them he banished them to exile

and there they were by the rivers of babylon weeping

weeping

it could have been the end

but what ezekiel saw in his vision confirmed to him that it wasn't the end

god would return everything of the new jerusalem that he sees this new creation

would once again revolve around god

he would again be the center

that is the point that is being made in these chapters

everything revolves around god

ezekiel ends as we know we said this right from the very beginning

with these words and the name of the city that is the city that ezekiel saw

from that time on will be the lord is there

that is the summary of the whole book

god is there at the very center of his glorious world

what impact is this vision that ezekiel gets here in these first few chapters

the first few chapters from verse 40 onwards

have of god's people what sort of impact do you think it was meant to have on them

what effect is it meant to have on us

there is something very striking in chapter 43 verse 10

as ezekiel gets this tour of the temple

it's not the impact you would immediately think of

son of man

describe the temple to the people of israel

that they may be ashamed of their sin

the temple that ezekiel sees here

with its perfect symmetry

stands for god's perfect holiness

and in the light of god's holiness

the sin of the people in all its awfulness

is meant to be exposed

chapter 43 verse 10

is there

so that the listeners of this prophecy

would feel shame

as they contemplate their own imperfection

and failure

alongside this vision of perfection

we make no spiritual progress

until we look within

and we look at god

and we see his holiness

and we start to take responsibility

for our moral failure

when we start to say

i have not lived

with god as god

i have not lived

with god as the centre

this sense of sin

and shame

that the exiles were meant to feel

as they stood before

this vision of the new perfect temple

is what we are meant

to come into

this sense of sin and shame

is meant to be the sharp focus for us

as we stand before jesus

who in john chapter 2 verse 18

John 2:18

having cleared the temple in jerusalem

the new rebuilt temple in jerusalem

proclaims that he in fact

is the temple

in john chapter 2

John 2 · chapter mention

it is jesus's body

which is destroyed

and raised again

in three days

and that body

was the temple of god

jesus is the focal point

of god's presence

amongst his people

that is jesus is the key

and all these promises

about the presence of god

and these promises for the future

are fulfilled

in him

that is by his death

and resurrection

he makes it possible

for us to enter

into the presence

of god

and those

who come to jesus

are promised

in john chapter 10

John 10 · chapter mention

abundant life

and that's the second thing

that we see

as we move

into the latter chapters

of ezekiel

you see

once the king

is at the centre

everything changes

everything falls

into place

in chapters 43

to 46

there has been

a break

in this tour

of jerusalem

that ezekiel's given

as he's given

regulations

for worship

in the new temple

and the tour

begins again

in chapter 47

verse 1

the man brought me

back to the entrance

of the temple

and i saw

water coming

out

from under

the threshold

of the temple

here is a stream

that flows

out from the presence

of god

in the temple

out

and ezekiel

and his guide

take a bit of a

wander along

the river bank

for about

one and a half

kilometres

and verse 3

after walking

about half a

kilometre

they check

the depth

of the water

and it's

ankle deep

then in verse 4

another half a kilometre

it's knee deep

and the same distance

again

and it's waist deep

and the same distance

again in verse 5

it says

it was now a river

that i could not cross

deep enough

to swim in

and as it flows out

this river gets

deeper and deeper

without any

tributaries

running off

in any other

directions

and notice what

happens in the next

paragraph

the end of verse 6

then he led me back

to the bank of the river

when i arrived there

i saw a great number

of trees

on each side

of the river

he said to me

this water flows

towards the eastern

region

and goes down

into the arabah

where it enters

the sea

that the

where it enters

the sea of the arabah

that's known to us

as the dead sea

you know

the sea that's

full of salt

and

this is the surprising

thing

the next

the next bit

when it empsies

into the sea

the water there

becomes

fresh

swarms of living

creatures will live

wherever

the river flows

the river

makes

the salty

water

fresh

swarms

of living

creatures

are the result

where this

in other words

wherever this

river flows

everything

thrives

the dead

is given

life

is given

life

this is the echo

of the river

of the garden

of Eden

where it broke

into four

headwaters

and it brought

life

wherever it

went

when God

is at the

centre

amongst his

people

the result

is abundant

life

for everything

that which is

dead

and salty

becomes life

fresh

and fresh

and again

in John's

gospel

Jesus picks

up this

imagery

from Ezekiel

he is

celebrating

the feast

of tabernacles

the feast

of tabernacles

called

God's people

to do

two things

it called

them to

look back

and remember

the time

that they were

in the wilderness

for 40 years

and remember

firstly

God's presence

with them

for those

40 years

where he

guided them

during the

cloud

during the

day

and the

light

at night

and it

called them

to remember

the second

thing

to remember

God's

provision

of water

miraculous

water

that came

out of the

rock

and

brought

refreshment

to a thirsty

nation

and so

here's

Jesus

John

John 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

he's

standing

at the

temple

courts

the one

that he

just said

actually

this one's

gone

I am

the new

temple

I am

the presence

of God

he's

standing

in the

temple

courts

celebrating

the feast

of tabernacles

and on the

last and the

greatest day

of the feast

he stands

up and he

says in

verse 37

if anyone

is thirsty

let him

come to

me

and drink

you see

Jesus

is not

just the

fulfillment

of God's

presence

he is

the source

of abundant

life

it was

written of

Lord Byron

the playboy

poet

that he

drank

every cup

of joy

he heard

every trump

of fame

drank early

drank deeply

drank drafts

that common

millions

might never

ever have

drunk

then died

of thirst

because there

was nothing

else to

drink

and Jesus

declares to

Lord Byron

and for those

of us

who are

panting for

meaning and

security and

purpose and

hope

come to

me and

drink

for those

who are in

that rat

race cycle

of life

where we

set our

goals and

we achieve

them and

there's

euphoria

emptiness

Jesus

says come

to me

and drink

Jesus

says

who

this

is

this

promise

is for

whoever

believes

in me

he makes

an extraordinary

offer there

of anyone

and whoever

believes in

him

Jesus

is the

one true

rescuer

who will

provide for

our most

essential

need

the presence

of God

that brings

secure

abundant

eternal

life

he promises

lasting

satisfaction

in a

world

that is

shriveled

and cracked

and dry

because of

human sin

that has

pushed

God

out

from

the

center

it was

ultimately

by his

death and

resurrection

that Jesus

opens up

the way

to a

perfect

paradise

that Ezekiel

was shown

a vision

of

and again

who do you

trust for the

future

whose opinion

matters

Jesus

predicted his

death

he promised

that he would

rise again

for the

forgiveness

of sins

and he

did it

three days

later

the one

to trust

is the

one who

has the

power to

fulfill

what he

promises

and here

he promises

abundant

eternal

life

for everyone

who comes

to him

and drinks

it's

Jesus

who

promises

the

abundant

life

of the

new

heaven

and

the

new

earth

that we

see

in

revelation

21

and 22

to all

who come

to him

and drink

it is a

place

that we

are told

where there

will be

no more

death

no more

mourning

no more

crying

no more

pain

no more

hospitals

no more

coffins

no more

suicide

bombers

no more

evil

no more

battling

for sin

everything

will be

put right

it's the

guarantee

of Jesus

because he

will be

there

that is

the Christian

hope

that is

the future

for everyone

who comes

to him

this is

hope

for you

it's hope

for me

it's the

hope that

we just

prayed for

just moments

ago for

Sullivan

when he

grows up

that he

might come

to know

that hope

himself

one day

and so

my question

for you

is

is

it

in

your

diary

everything

that matters

is in

your

diary

isn't

it

well

not

everything

not all

my

nights

are in

my

diary

but

you get

the point

is it

in your

diary

are you

living

your life

day by

day

with this

hope

before you

in this

city

that is

very

thirsty

and

afraid

Jesus

guarantees

the future

he guarantees

the abundant

life

surely

the only

wise

thing

to do

is to

believe

in him

and live

for him

now

I

really

hope

for you

who

believe

in the

Lord

Jesus

that you

will

reject

the

quaint

but

silly

little

saying

that

someone

has

made

up

at

some

particular

point

that

often

gets

repeated

this

particular

person

is so

heavenly

minded

they're

of no

earthly

use

it's

a

ridiculous

little

saying

I

think

the

exact

opposite

is

the

case

it

was

Haseeb

Hussein's

vision

for the

future

that

determined

his

actions

in the

present

and

they

had

devastatingly

bad

consequences

not so

for the

Christian

the

person

who

knows

that

their

destiny

is

glorious

and

certain

because

of the

radical

love

and

sacrifice

of a

forgiving

God

will be

free

to live

the

most

radically

loving

and

sacrificial

life

in the

present

here on

this

earth

here's

what I

mean

if

someone

you're

flying

along

in an

aeroplane

and

someone

decides

to jump

out the

door

without

a

parachute

if

you

haven't

got a

parachute

on

you

don't

think

I'll

save

them

I'll

jump

out

there

as

well

and

I'll

try

and grab

them

that

doesn't

help

anyone

two

deaths

aren't

better

than

one

but

if

you've

got a

parachute

on

you

might

just

try

one of

those

awesome

James

Bond

rescue

attempts

where

you

free

fall

like a

bullet

in order

to try

and grab

them

and latch

onto

them

and pull

the

rip

cord

you

might

just

try

to

do

that

because

you've

got

hope

in

this

thing

called

a

parachute

it's

the

hope

of

eternal

safety

and

love

in

the

end

that

releases

radical

sacrificial

love

right

now

the

apostle

Paul

said

in

Colossians

chapter

one

we

have

heard

of

the

love

that

you

have

for

all

the

saints

because

of

the

hope

laid

up

for

you

in

heaven

heaven

releases

love

it's

the

assurance

of

the

hope

of

heaven

that

releases

radical

risk

taking

love

and so

I believe

that this

prophecy

of

Ezekiel

as

quickly

as

we've

gone

through

it

should

stir

not

just

the

non

Christian

to

hope

in

a

world

of

hopelessness

but

it

should

push

Christians

away

from

sitting

on

the

commitment

fence

it

should

cause

the

Christian

to

move

away

from

self

centredness

and

flimsy

loyalty

and

undisciplined

devotion

and

presumption

on God's

patience

over our

sin

into

people

whose

lives

are

consistently

living

for

something

bigger

than

self

preservation

and

self

exaltation

and

self

recreation

it

is

the

certain

hope

in

a

future

of

love

and

safety

and

the

guarantee

of

God's

presence

that

releases

the

Christian

to

radically

magnify

Jesus

through

God

centred

Christ

exalting

Bible

saturated

acts

of love

and

mercy

now

to

a

world

that

desperately

needs

to

drink

from

the

water

of

life

and

experience

abundant

life

and

discover

a

great

future

to

aim

for

let

me

pray

father

god

our

glimpse

of

heaven

is

so

small

and

so

we

need

your

help

to

have

this

future

hope

take

your

word

we

pray

and

so

implant

it

in

our

hearts

that

it

just

grows

so

that

our

future

hope

and

safety

in

the

Lord

Jesus

of

abundant

life

would

be

reflected

in

abundant

life

now

so

that

we

might

drink

from

you

and

that

we

might

indeed

be

the

source

of

living

water

to

many

and

we

ask

it

for

your

glory

amen

your

heart

your

gemeinsam

Korean

Yo

personally

كم

that

Melissa

Ad ESPN

唐

a

ped