What We Need in 2024

Good morning and happy new year. If you are new to Watermark, my name is Kevin. I'm one of the leaders here.

It's great to be with you and great to see you again and great to have seen so many of you at our Christmas service just recently.

I hope that after Christmas you manage to get some rest and recuperate after the Christmas rush.

Get ready for the new year.

I know that we have the Lunar New Year in a few weeks time for many of us in Hong Kong.

That's a big event.

And if you have children in school, it doesn't feel like a new year because the academic year hasn't started.

And so it just feels like life just kind of goes from 2023 into 2024 very quickly.

But here we are, 2024.

It is the start of a new year.

I wonder how you're feeling about this new year.

One of the things I love about the new year is a chance to slow down, to think, to pray, to reflect, and to process a little bit of the year that's gone but also the year that's to come.

What is it that I'm hoping for this year?

What are some ambitions?

I often like to think of what's one word I want to capture for this year?

And I love doing this for me personally but also for our family.

For our family, what are some of the things we want to prioritize this year?

What are the rhythms or activities we want to start?

What are some things we need to stop?

What is this year going to hold?

And how can we move from death to life, from pain to joy as a family?

What are the two or three things that are going to characterize our lives, our family this year?

But if that's true for us personally, if it's true for a family, what about us as a church family?

What are some things that we're going to prioritize this year?

What are the things that God is calling us to?

Of course, as a church family, we can't do everything that comes to mind.

We just don't have the bandwidth for that.

We can't be everything to everyone.

But what should we do?

What should we prioritize?

What are the most important things to keep at the forefront of our minds?

Now part of what makes this question difficult to answer is that there's some things that we can do.

We can prioritize devotions and our worship to God and faithfulness.

But there's actually many things that are out of our hands.

It's only in God's hands.

The things that only God, the sovereign God, can do.

God is not a slot machine that you put in a bunch of prayers and out come the results, right?

But there's some things we can do, but there's many things that only God can do.

So as we think about this question, I want us to go to a passage of Scripture in the Old Testament,

a very famous passage in Ezekiel chapter 37.

Ezekiel 37 · chapter mention

And we're going to look at it, and we're going to get from this passage some things I think God wants to speak to us about,

but here's hard for us this year.

So on that note, let me call up Rachel, who's going to do the Scripture reading.

Let's listen to the reading of God's words.

Over to you, Rachel.

Good morning.

This morning's reading comes from Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37.

Ezekiel 36 · chapter mention

Starting in chapter 36, verses 22, we read,

Therefore say to the house of Israel,

Thus says the Lord God,

It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act,

but for the sake of my holy name,

which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.

And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations,

and which you have profaned among them.

And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God,

when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses.

And from all your idols I will cleanse you, and I will give you a new heart,

and a new spirit I will put within you.

And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh.

And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes,

and be careful to obey my rules.

You shall dwell in the land that I give to your fathers,

and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Then in chapter 37, verse 1, we read,

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the spirit of the Lord,

and set me down in the middle of the valley.

It was full of bones.

And he led me among them, and behold,

there were very many on the surface of the valley,

and behold, they were very dry.

And he said to me, Son of man, can these bones live?

And I answered, O Lord God, you know.

Then he said to me, Prophecy over these bones,

and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

Thus says the Lord God to these bones,

Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.

And I will lay sinews upon you,

and will cause flesh to come upon you,

and cover you with skin,

and put breath in you,

and you shall live,

and you shall know that I am the Lord.

So I prophesied as I was commanded,

and as I prophesied,

there was a sound,

and behold, a rattling,

and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

And I looked, and behold,

there were sinews on them,

and flesh had come upon them,

and skin had covered them,

but there was no breath in them.

Then he said to me,

Prophecy to the breath,

prophecy, son of man,

and say to the breath,

Thus says the Lord God,

Come from the four winds,

O breath,

and breathe on these slain,

that they may live.

So I prophesied as he commanded me,

and the breath came into them,

and they lived,

and stood on their feet,

an exceedingly great army.

Then he said to me,

Son of man,

these bones are the whole house of Israel.

Behold, they say,

Our bones are dried up,

and our hope is lost.

We are indeed cut off.

Therefore, prophecy,

and say to them,

Thus says the Lord,

Behold,

I will open your graves

and raise you from your graves,

O my people,

and I will bring you

into the land of Israel,

and you shall know

that I am the Lord

when I open your graves

and raise you from your graves,

O my people,

and I will put my spirit within you,

and you shall live,

and I will place you

in your own land.

Then you shall know

that I am the Lord.

I have spoken,

and I will do it,

declares the Lord.

This is the word of God.

Great.

Thank you, Rachel.

Thanks for that long reading.

Hey, let's pray together

as we come to God's word.

Heavenly Father,

Lord Jesus Christ,

Holy Spirit,

the triune God,

we come before you this morning,

God,

the first Sunday of the new year.

God, we come to your word

because we want to hear from you.

We don't just want your word

in our heads.

We want by your spirit

for it to lodge in our hearts.

We want you, God,

to speak to us.

God, I pray that

you by your spirit

will do what we cannot do,

what I cannot do,

that you will

cause fresh life

in our heart

and our souls, Lord.

Lord, as we come

to the start of this new year,

in some ways,

one day doesn't change

from the next.

You are faithful forever.

Just as you have been faithful,

you will be faithful.

In some ways, God,

you are not doing anything

particularly new.

You're doing what

you always have done.

But God, also,

this new year

is a chance to dream afresh,

to think afresh.

Lord, why don't you come

and have your way

in our midst this year.

I pray for us

as a church, Lord.

I pray that we will

be very attentive

to your spirit,

very attentive

to your leading,

your guiding.

I pray that our hearts

will be soft towards you.

God, we need you.

We say, Lord,

that we need you.

Each one of us individually

and as a church family,

as a city, God,

we need you.

We need you to move

in our midst.

God, you know each one of us,

the fears,

the joys,

the anxieties,

the hopes,

the dreams,

and the worries

that we have.

Won't you come

and meet each one of us

at that place?

Come and minister to us.

Come and draw near to us.

Come and be our Father.

Come and fill our hearts

with your love,

we pray.

God, this year,

we want to walk

closely with you.

And so now,

as we look at your word

and for the rest

of this year,

come and draw us

closer to yourself,

we pray, God.

Lord, we pray these things

in your wonderful

and your gracious name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, we're looking

at this passage,

Ezekiel 37.

Ezekiel is not an easy

book of the Bible.

I encourage you to read it,

but it's not necessarily easy.

And the context is this.

Ezekiel is a prophet

in the Old Testament,

and he is given a message

to God's people

who are the nation of Israel.

And the book of Ezekiel,

really,

Ezekiel's message

contains three things.

It is an explanation.

It's explaining

why God's people,

the nation of Israel,

are in the condition

that they're in.

As we're going to hear

in a few minutes' time,

they're in a very bad state.

Things are not going well

for them.

And Ezekiel is explaining

to them,

this is why you're in

this place

that you're in.

It's also

a correction.

Ezekiel's not just saying,

this is the way things are.

He's saying,

this is the way things are,

but come back to the Lord.

It's a call to return to God

and to follow Him.

But it's not only

an explanation

of why things are bad

and a call to correction.

God's Word always contains

a promise,

a promise of hope.

God speaks through Ezekiel

and says,

I will do something for you

or better,

in you,

something that you cannot do

for yourselves.

But first,

before Ezekiel gets there,

before we get there,

Ezekiel's going to explore

the devastating condition

that Israel are in.

Their condition is very bad.

And it's a result

of their refusal

to love and follow

their God,

their covenant-keeping God.

And so God has handed them over

to their very worst nightmare.

Their worst nightmare

has come upon them.

Their worst enemies,

the Babylonians,

have come

and destroyed

the city of Jerusalem

and the nation of Israel.

The Babylonians,

this ruthless nation

from the northwest,

have come.

They've burnt

the crops

and the fields.

They've destroyed

the houses,

destroyed the land.

They've destroyed

the temple.

They've killed

hundreds,

thousands of people.

The temple,

they've taken

the very best articles,

the furnishings

of gold and silver.

They've removed

them for themselves

and set them up

in their own temple

in Babylon,

this pagan temple,

which is sacrilegious.

And the rest

of the temple,

they've burnt down.

They've brought

pigs into the temple,

which if you're a Jewish person

it's kind of the worst

thing that you can do.

They've killed

lots of people.

Some of the strongest

and the best

and the brightest,

they've marched off

to Babylon

to use as servants

and slaves

in their empire.

The rest

have left for dead.

And then they

take the king.

They kill his children

before the king's eyes.

They poke out

the king's eyes

that the last thing

he sees,

his last memory

will be seeing

his children die

before him.

And they put him

in chains

and shackles

and they march him

off to Babylon

to be their slave.

And it's almost

impossible

to describe

the intensity

of the devastation

and the hopelessness

that God's people

feel at this time.

Their loss

is a total loss.

It's political loss

obviously,

financial loss,

okay,

they're now

desperate.

It's relational loss.

It's a physical loss.

It's spiritual loss.

The worst thing

about this

is their sense

of abandonment

by God.

To almost everyone

in Israel

it seems

as if God's promises

have failed.

God has not

kept up his covenant.

What of all those promises

that God made to him

about I will give you

a king who will

stay on the throne

forever?

What's happened to that?

What about God's promises

that they will possess

the land

and drive out

their enemies?

What about God's promises

of being a shield

around them?

A prince of peace

Alan spoke about

a few weeks ago.

A wonderful counselor,

a mighty God,

everlasting father.

Where are all

these promises now?

And so the essential

question facing Israel

at this time

God's people

is has God's

promise

that patience

ran out forever?

Has God's promises

failed?

Were we foolish

to think

that God

would come through

for us?

Has our faith

been an exercise

in futility?

Friends,

I wonder if these

questions have ever

crossed your mind.

Maybe you're someone

who you're used to

at the start

of the new year

have dreams

and hopes

and ambitions

for the year

but you've long

gone

given up

on such

futility.

Maybe you've

abandoned such

thinking.

Maybe you've

concluded there's

no point in

really planning

for the year

it's just going

to end

in disappointment

anyway.

Maybe the idea

of the promises

of God's covenant

faithfulness,

his steadfast love

seems like wishful

thinking at best

a cruel joke

at worst.

Well it's

into this context

that God

speaks his word

and his word

is like a ray

of sun

breaking in

through the clouds

on a dark

and overcast day

because God

speaks a word

of hope.

Hope to a people

that are facing

hopelessness

and God gives

Ezekiel a vision

and in this vision

he takes Ezekiel

to a valley

and the valley

is a valley

of

desolation.

A couple of times

previously in the book

of Ezekiel

God takes Ezekiel

he gives him

a vision

of a valley

at both times

this is a vision

of judgment

but here

it's different

it's a vision

of hope.

In this vision

that God

gives Ezekiel

the valley

is covered

in sun

scorched bones

dismembered

skeletons

a long

abandoned

nation.

These aren't

just one

or two

skeletons

one or two

unlucky people

who came

to an unfortunate

end.

This is

an entire

army

an entire

nation

who have

come to

a horrible

end.

We all know

that to not

give somebody

a decent burial

is a very

humiliating thing.

To not give

somebody an

honorable

farewell.

Here is a

nation of

people that

have come

to an

unfortunate

end

but more

than that

there's some

kind of

curse

there's some

kind of

judgment

nobody has

buried them

they've been

left for

dead

they've been

left for

humiliation

and shame.

I think

of when I

read this

passage I

think of

the killing

fields of

Cambodia

if you've

ever been

to Cambodia

and you

see just

these statues

of skulls

that they

found or

maybe the

concentration

camps in

Europe

and World

War II

just endless

bones of

people that

have been

left for

dead.

Look at

verse 11

in your

bulletin

with me

verse 11

says

then God

said to

me

son of

man

these bones

are the

house of

Israel

behold they

say our

bones are

dried up

our hope

is lost

we are

indeed

cut off

Ezekiel

realizes these

aren't just

any bones

this is a

picture of

God's

people

this is

what God's

people have

become

but of

course

the point

of the

vision is

not just

what God's

people have

become

it's what

God is

going to

do with

them

Ezekiel

knows the

depth of

despair to

which Israel

has fallen

he's been

speaking about

it for

years

for years

he's been

warning them

saying

Israel

your future

is looking

bleak

but the

point of

the vision

is what

God is

going to

do

with

his

people

who have

become

a shadow

of what

they're

meant to

be

and what

is God

going to

do

he's

going to

do

with

them

and in

them

what they

cannot

do

for

themselves

he's

going to

restore

them

he's

going to

renew

them

he's

going to

resuscitate

them

and give

them new

life

God is

going to

revive

them

look at

verse 3

to 10

with me

it's quite

long

but let's

read it

together

Ezekiel

says

then God

said to

me

son of

man

can

these

bones

live

I

answered

him

oh God

you

alone

know

that's

a great

answer

by the

way

Ezekiel

knows

okay

the natural

logical

answer

is

not a

chance

imagine

you're a

doctor

you've got

a couple

of

doctors

you're

working

in

A&E

at

Queen

Mary

and you

get a

call

paramedics

coming

we've got

a dead

patient

on a

stretcher

coming

in

get ready

with the

resuscitation

equipment

okay

we're ready

and in

comes a

dry

skeleton

okay

these

bones

are not

going

to

live

can

these

bones

live

not a

chance

but

Ezekiel

knows

God

is in

the

habit

of

doing

the

miraculous

and so

he says

I don't

know

God

you

alone

know

verse 4

then he

said to

me

prophesy

that

means

speak

God's

word

over

these

bones

and say

to them

oh dry

bones

hear the

word of

the Lord

thus says

the Lord

God

behold

I will

cause

breath

to enter

into you

and you

shall live

I will

lay sinews

upon you

cause

flesh

to come

upon you

cover

you

with skin

and put

my

breath

in you

and you

shall

live

and you

will

know

that I

am

the

Lord

God

so I

prophesied

as I

commanded

and as I

prophesied

there was a

sound

behold

a rattling

bones

coming together

bone

to its

bone

and I

looked

and behold

there were

sinews on

them

and flesh

was covering

them

skin

had covered

them

then he

said to me

prophesy

to the

breath

oh son

of man

and say

thus says

the Lord

God

come from

the four

winds

oh breath

breathe

on these

slain

that they

may

live

so I

prophesied

as I

commanded

the breath

came into

them

and they

lived

and stood

on their

feet

an exceedingly

great

army

God's

word

to his

people

as I

said

is that

he's

going to

do

something

in

them

something

to

them

before

he

does

anything

for

them

God

is not

just

going

to

improve

their

circumstances

he's

going

to

renew

them

God's

not

just

going

to

change

their

circumstances

he's

going

to

change

their

being

their

very

essence

their

identity

God's

not

just

going

to

simply

bless

them

he's

going

to

revitalize

and

renew

them

you see

the problem

facing

God's

people

is not

a

superficial

problem

they haven't

just come

with a

broken

finger

just a

slight

cut

or

need

for

antibiotics

these

people

are

in

desperate

need

for

renewing

okay

well

that's

good

and well

but the

question

is

what

does

this

have

to

do

with

us

today

I

mean

nice

history

lesson

ancient

Israel

good

for

them

here

we

live

in

21st

century

2024

Hong

Kong

what

does

have

it's

the

whole

point

of

Christmas

why

Jesus

came

it's

the

point

of

Easter

why

Jesus

died

on

the

cross

the

whole

message

of

the

Bible

every

page

of

the

Bible

drips

with

this

truth

that

God

takes

those

who

are

dead

and

broken

and

lost

and

God

does

something

in

them

and

to

them

and

for

them

which

we

could

not

do

for

ourselves

God

revives

the

dying

and

the

dead

God

renews

us

listen

to

how

the

apostle

Paul

writes

it

in

Ephesians

very

famous

he

says

as

for

you

as

for

me

we

were

dead

in

our

trespasses

and

sins

in

which

we

once

walked

following

the

course

of

this

world

the

prince

of

the

power

of

the

air

the

spirit

is

now

at

work

in

those

who

are

disobedient

among

whom

we

all

once

lived

following

the

passions

of

our

flesh

carrying

out

the

desires

of

our

body

and

mind

we

were

by

nature

children

of

wrath

that

means

we

were

by

nature

dead

under

God's

judgment

having

no

hope

but

God

being

rich

in

mercy

because

of

his

great

love

with

which

he

loved

us

we

spoke

about

that

on

Christmas

right

for

God

so

loved

the

world

that

he

sent

his

son

because

of

his

great

love

with

which

he

loved

us

even

when

we

were

dead

it's

not

when

we

had

done

a

whole

lot

of

good

things

when

we

were

dead

he

made

us

alive

with

Christ

by

grace

you've

been

saved

and

he

raised

us

up

with

Christ

and

seated

us

with

Christ

in

the

heavenly

places

so

that

in

the

coming

ages

he

might

show

the

immeasurable

greatness

of

his

riches

of

kindness

towards

us

in

Christ

by

grace

we

have

been

saved

through

faith

and

this

is

not

your

own

doing

it's

a

gift

of

God

not

of

works

so

that

no

one

can

boast

friends

if

you

are

a

Christian

this

morning

this

is

how

you

became

a

Christian

not

because

you

did

a

whole

lot

of

good

things

but

because

God

poured

faith

into

your

hearts

so

that

you

cried

out

to

him

recognizing

your

sin

asked

him

to

have

mercy

and

God

took

you

who

are

dead

and

made

you

alive

again

in

Christ

Jesus

friends

the

good

news

of

Ezekiel

to

Israel

is

the

same

good

news

of

the

gospel

to

you

and

I

today

this

is

what

God

is

doing

in

the

world

and

if

you're

not

a

Christian

this

morning

this

is

what

God

wants

to

do

in

you

and

through

you

and

for

you

God

is

calling

friends

our

faith

apart

from

God's

reviving

work

is

the

faith

of

eternal

separation

for

God

in

hell

forever

but

our

faith

by

God's

grace

can

be

an

eternal

embrace

by

God

in

glory

of

his

love

forever

this

is

what

God

is

doing

in

the

world

and

this

is

what

God

is

still

doing

okay

but

now

the

question

is

well

some

of

us

many

of

us

here

are

Christians

already

so

you

may

say

okay

well

that

happened

to

me

back

in

2010

God

changed

my

life

radically

I

was

one

person

I

met

God

changed

my

life

amazing

but

now

it's

2024

so

what

does

that

have

to

do

with

me

or

maybe

happened

much

earlier

1995

or

1975

what

does

that

have

to

do

with

us

today

we've

often

said

this

but

the

gospel

is

not

just

the

way

into

God's

kingdom

it's

the

way

of

God's

kingdom

it's

not

just

the

doorway

that

you

walk

into

it

is

that

but

it's

also

the

pathway

that

you

walk

in

God's

kingdom

as

Tim

Keller

famously

used to

say

the

gospel

is

not

just

the

ABC

of

the

Christian

life

it's

the

A to

Z

of

the

Christian

life

in

other

words

when

God

by

his

spirit

moves

to

renew

and

revitalize

and

restore

for

some

people

that

means

getting

saved

born

again

for

the

first

time

they

encounter

the

living

God

and

God

changes

their

lives

I was

chatting

to

someone

recently

that

happened

to

them

just

a few

months

ago

this

year

last

year

not

this

year

change

your

life

amazing

praise

God

but

friends

for

some

of

us

we

might

be

what

we

call

nominal

Christians

maybe

you've

grown

up

in

the

church

you

always

go

to

church

you

part

of

a

CG

you

do

the

Christian

thing

nominal

means

you're

a

Christian

by

name

but

not

by

essence

in

those

your

heart

hasn't

really

been

changed

revitalized

you've

never

encountered

the

living

God

he

hasn't

changed

renew

you

restore

you

but

for

some

of

us

we

may

be

what

you

call

sleepy

Christians

in

other

words

we

just

sleep

walking

our

way

through

the

Christian

life

right

it's

kind

of

like

our

faith

is

on

airplane

mode

it's

there

but

it's

in

the

background

it's

not

really

having

any

vital

impact

in

our

day

to

day

life

we

actually

more

focus

on

work

and

money

and

career

and

children

but

it's

kind

of

in

the

background

God

wants

to

revive

us

and

renew

us

and

restore

us

and

for

some

of

us

in fact

probably

all

of

us

just

the

reality

of

life

has

a

way

of

wearing

our

faith

down

and

our

love