The Lord Was There Ezekiel 35 Ezekiel 48 Pastor Barry Kerner
The Lord Was There
Ezekiel 35
Ezekiel 48
Pastor Barry Kerner
If you have your bibles, I want you to turn to the Old Testament. To be precise, the book of Ezekiel chapters 35 and 48.
A number of you may have been the main topic of some very serious discussions. There have been some people discussing you. And in the discussion some questions arose. Question such as how in the world did they endure so many different experiences, hardships, difficulties. How did they encounter so many problems and adversities in the years past and yet they are still here.
Some of you don’t have to go back that far, because there have been some of you that have been through some major transitions just in this past year and you really don’t know how you made it. How is it that some of you survived the train wrecks in your lives and the physical assaults and attacks on your health?
Some have experienced some things that nobody knows about but you and God, some inner hurt, some inner pain. And the question that’s asked is how in the world, given all that you have been up against, all that you’ve been through, how is it possible that you are still in your right mind and you are still alive in the land of the living.
Others raised the question, how is it possible that they have endure great stress. How is it that they have handled serious problems in their lives. How it is that they have been under so much extreme pressure and such great stress, and they’ve not taken a leave of their senses. Someone may have asked how is it that they have been under such tremendous distress and have not yet been institutionalize at some center for the mentally insane.
The reason some of you are still in your right mind is found in the four last words of both of our texts. The four last words of our texts tell us, even though you been through hell and high waters the real reason that you have made it is because The Lord Was There.
My soul leaps with joy just to be able to mention these words to you “The Lord Was There.” It may have been rough sometimes. Your way may have gotten dark sometimes, some people counted you out, some people had written you off, but what they didn’t know is that you were never in the situation by yourself. What they didn’t know is that the Lord was there for you. I wonder will you turn to somebody and tell them I’m still here because the Lord was there.
I believe that while we are going through our calamities and our tribulations, that there is a tendency, a propensity, a predisposition, an issue on our part that we may have spent too much time dwelling on who was not there. I believe that there is a strange proclivity, a strange inclination and tendency on our part to focus too much on who didn’t come through, who didn’t show up and who let me down when I so desperately needed them. I believe that we’ve been too busy concentrating on who failed us. But I want to tell you this morning to stop focusing on those who were not there, and start focusing on who was there.
We need to stop looking to those who really had no power to help us in the first place. In fact, I’m glad that some people didn’t show up, because if they would have been there, they might’ve said the wrong thing, given me the wrong advice, pointed me in the wrong direction. Because the truth of the matter is if you have the Lord on your side then you could recite Romans 8:28. No matter how bad your situation is, you can say: “and we know that all things work together for the good of them that love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose.”
So for the people that didn’t show up, for the people that didn’t respond when I was sick, when I was in hunger, when I was homeless, when I was thirsty, when I was poor, when I was lonely, when I was sad, when I was broken, for those that didn’t show up in the time of need I want to say thank you, because the Lord was there.
The God that I serve knows when to show up. The Bible is full of witnesses to that fact. Take Abraham, I read how Abraham took Isaac the mountain of Mt. Moriah to slay him. If he could talk to us today he would say, “When I was prepared to slay my son I heard a voice from heaven call my name twice Abraham, Abraham, I knew that it had to be important because he called my name twice. The voice said “I know now that you fear me.” And, when I looked up there was a ram in the bush. And I know that it was only because the Lord was there.”
Or, how about Daniel? You all remember when Daniel was in the lion’s den to be devoured by the lion and God changed the lion’s growl into a purr. It only happened because the Lord was there. Then there was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. You all remember the three Hebrew boys that were in the fiery furnace, yes Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were thrown into the fire and somebody said, “did we not throw three men into the fire?” and somebody said, “yes,” and then somebody else said, “well I see four men in the fire and the fourth one looks like the Son of God.” I’ll tell you that the Lord was there even in the fire.
I believe that some of you, who have had some trials and some tribulations, are able to say, that in your situation, when you were going through difficult times, “ The Lord was there.” He was there in the sickness and he was there in your darkest hour. He was there when I you were tired and he was there when you were in dispair. I can truly say that the Lord was there. In fact the scripture says that “the eyes of the Lord are everywhere, beholding the evil and the good”.
David said, “if I make my bed in hell he is there or if I make my bed in heaven he is there.” Yes he’s everywhere. You need to think about that because the very next time you think about sinning, the next time you begin lying, know that God is there. The next time you prepare to do evil, know that the Lord is there. Think about that the next time you’re about to say something that you know isn’t true. Think about that when you feed the flames of discord. Know that the Lord is there and he’s keeping a record of every good and evil deed that we do. The Lord Is There.
So here in our text in Ezekiel 35, it opens up by giving us an interesting episode about the people of the nation of Israel. Our text tells us that God is angry and disturbed with the people of Mt. Seir. And, if you don’t know, let me tell you that Mt Seir was known for their evilness, and God was sick of it. Just like God is sick and tired of all evilness.
God is tired of our evilness and God is trying to give us another chance to straighten our lives out, but we are taking it for granted. God was so angry that he told the man of God, by the name of Ezekiel, he said, “Ezekiel prophesy against Mt. Seir.”
You see Mt. Seir was the nation of the people of Edom, or the Edomites. God was upset with them because of the way that they were treating and abusing his people. Another reason God was upset with Mt, Seir was because they had evil intentions, evil plans for the people of Israel. God was angry with them because they had hardheartedness against his people.
I need to tell you this morning that God is not pleased if we are not standing up for righteousness, God is not pleased if we know the way of righteousness yet we go in another direction. God is not pleased when we call ourselves brothers but we can’t shake one another hands. God is not pleased when we don’t remember what God has taught us, the places where God kept us, everything that God gave us, and we go opposite to his will.
The Edomites coveted the land of Israel. Down through the generations, the Edomites always believed that the land of Israel belonged to them. As they saw it, the only reason their nation did not possess the land was because Jacob had stolen it from their forefather Esau. The Edomites sought every opportunity to either conquer Israel or to lay claim to some of their land.
The Edomites ignored a very significant fact: after Esau sold his birthright, God had compassion on him and led him to the land that surrounded Mount Seir. But God’s mercy and compassion to the Edomites down through the centuries mattered little to them. They still hated Israel and coveted their land. They continued to choose the wealth of this world over God and His plan for it.
As a consequence of the Edomites’ covetousness and greed, the LORD would judge them. And His justice would be perfect. The Edomites would reap exactly what they had sown. They had sown anger and envy; therefore, they would reap anger and envy.
And the judgment would honor the LORD’s Name. Through the judgment of Edom, God would make Himself known among the Israelites.
If I have gleamed anything from this passage of scripture, it would be that we must be careful how we treat the people of God. And we’ve got to be careful how we treat one another. When you mistreat one of God’s children it may be that you’ll find God’s wrath directed at yourselves. In Matthew 18:6 it warns us, “ but whosoever shall offend one of the little ones which believe in me, it would be better for them to hang millstone around there neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
Now some of you know that the Lord has many names and that these names express who he is to us. Help me if you will.
Some of us call him Jehovah: ZUR (God Our Rock)
Ya Wadood – (The Loving One)
Ya Mujeeb (The Hearer of Prayer)
Yahweh (The Self-existent One)
El Shaddai (God All Sufficient)
JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU (The Lord Our Righteousness)
Jehovah-Rophe (The Lord Who Heals)
JEHOVAH-SHALOM (The Lord Our Peace)
But I personally like JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH (The Lord is There)
Because he’s always there:
When I’m sick he there
When I’m lonely he’s there
When I’m broke he’s there
When I’m friendless he’s there
When I’m mistreated he there
When I’m abused he’s there
When I’m accused he’s there
When I’m lied on he’s there
And as I was working on this message, someone told me that he wanted to testify about God being there. He told me that he was trying to hold his peace but he couldn’t because when he heard me talking about the Lord was there, he said please let me testify. So I said, “who are you and what do you have to say?” He said my name is David. I was standing before a mighty giant four or five times my size, and all I had was 5 smooth rock and a sling shot in my hand. They had tried to put Saul’s Armor on me but it didn’t fit right. But with one of those stones I slayed the giant and the only reason that I was able to conquer him was because the Lord was there.
Another said hold on Pastor, don’t leave me out. My name is Joseph and I need to testify how my brothers mistreated me, they threw me in a pit, they sold me into slavery, and I got thrown into a prison, but I made it to the palace only because the Lord was there.
And there are some you that are sitting here that have been through some hard times and the only reason that you made it through is because the Lord was there. Some of you have lost love ones and in those darkest hours of the night, when you had time to really think about it, you broke down in tears and the only way you made it out is because the Lord was there.
And some of you been dealing with some issues and you thought you might not make through. But, through many toils and snares you made it through, and the reason you made it through is because THE LORD WAS THERE. If the Lord was ever there for you, turn to someone and tell them, “The Lord was there!”
Admit it, he was right there, right in the nick of time. The Lord was there for the Israelites and he’ll be there for you.
Hebrews 4:14-16 tells us, “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
The grace that God gives us to face the pressures of life arrives on His schedule rather than on ours. The Greek phrase translated ‘in time of need’ is a colloquialism, of which ‘in the nick of time’ is the exact equivalent. Grace just when and where I need it. You are attacked by temptation, and at the moment of assault you look to Him, and the grace is there to help.”
This is such a wonderful promise for us to hold tightly when we are in difficulty. While we tend to think that it would be better to have everything settled in advance and know exactly how things will work out, God knows that we need to trust Him. So often we are placed in situations and circumstances where it is easy for us to feel that God has forgotten His promises to us. Yet, in truth, that never happens.
The mistaken idea that bad things only happen to bad people is an old one—that is what Job’s friends told him after he lost everything in Satan’s attack. What we have is not a guarantee that things will turn out as we think they should, but rather that in the perfect timing of God…in the “nick of time”…His grace will be there when we need it most.
Always remember, no matter what, The Lord will be thee!