LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD MEN

So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.  (Ezekiel 22:30)

The Marines have a slogan, “We’re just looking for a few good men.”  So is God.  What a difference a few good men could make in the church and the church’s impact in the world.  Ezekiel underscores this in our text.  Here he pictures a city under siege and the enemy has broken through the wall.  There is a deadly breach in the defenses.  The only hope was for a stalwart soldier to stand in the gap.  It is an accurate picture of what is happening in our time.  The enemy is pouring through the spiritual defenses—our families, our churches, our culture being overwhelmed in the assault of Satan and his minions.  The need is for an elite group of men—sold out to Christ—who will not waver.  Ezekiel was that kind of man. Those prophets of old afford an inspiring model for us.  James exhorted, “Take...the prophets…for an example.”

The prophet’s example challenges us to be men of DESTINY.  Ezekiel—author of this book, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and the rest bore the title, “prophet.”  We usually think of this as someone foretelling the future.  Though this element was often present, their office was primarily forth-telling the truth.  A careful examination of their ministry shows they did not speak only of future events, but confronted their contemporaries.  The prophet had a word for the present hour.  The Hebrew word for prophet is literally, “one who has been called.”  They had a mandate from heaven.  It was a divine compulsion.  Jeremiah described it as a fire in his bones.  This awareness of God’s call imparts a sense of destiny.  Dear reader, God has you here in this time and place for a reason—not an accident, but appointment.  The prophet had something to say.  Society today has lost its moral compass—our families are floundering at sea without an anchor, and churches drifting doctrinally without a steady hand on the helm of Scripture.  Men, we must take up the sword of the Spirit and stand in the gap!

The prophet’s example challenges us to be men of DEVOTION.  They were often referred to as “the man of God.”  This described the man’s devotion to the Lord.  He was possessed by the God who held him and obsessed with the God who loved him.  The prophet was God’s man.  This suggests an abiding fellowship.  Brothers, do you shut yourself up with God to hear from Him in His Word and commune with Him in prayer on a consistent basis?  Because the prophet was the man of God, he could not be bought.  His convictions were not for sale.  The world believes every man has his price—but, not God’s man.

The prophet’s example challenges us to be men of DISCERNMENT.  Another term for the prophet was, “seer.”  He could see beyond the natural realm and gained God’s perspective.  He could see the invisible with eyes of faith—to discern the spiritual realities behind the surface events.  We need to be men of vision who see before others see, see more than others see, and see beyond what others see.  He had a word for his times because he had a view of eternity.

Will you be a man who stands in the gap?  God is looking for a few good men!

WHEN GOD LAUGHS

He who sits in the heavens shall laugh….  (Psalm 2:4a)

We are made in the image of God.  He has created us with a full array of emotions.  His passions are ever pure—unlike ours that are tainted by sin—yet, God is said to be angry, to grieve, to love, and even to laugh.  When God laughs in Psalm 2, however, there is nothing funny about it! 

The Psalm begins with the sad account of MAN’S REBELLION (v.1-3).  Here are those in harmony with Satan’s desire to overthrow God.  This is idolatry.  Idolatry is about man making god in his image (man becomes a god).  The root of this rebellion is man’s unbounded pride (v.1-2).  Why is the world so messed up?  The root of it extends back to the point Lucifer thought in his heart that he should be god.  He took one third the angels into his conspiracy.  Cast to earth, the serpent slithers into paradise presenting the same proposition to Adam and Eve.  They took the forbidden fruit, and the serpent’s venom of rebellion flows into the veins of all.  The nations’ rulers lead the way, but the people readily join the long war against God.  The fruit of this rebellion is man’s unbridled passion (v.3).  The evil heart of man chafes under moral restraint.  They reject Christ because they want none telling them what to do.  Modern man brands the moral teachings of the Bible as outdated and repressive. So we mock God and ask, “What are you going to do about it?” 

In the Psalm’s next stanza we find GOD’S RESPONSE (v.4-6).  Man’s scoffing is met by God’s scorn.  He responds with derision (v.4).  God looks at puny man defying Him and laughs.  The crass comedians of our culture spawn howls of laughter as they mock God and His standards.  God gets the last laugh!  God responds with displeasure (v.5).  It is the LORD—“Yahweh”—I AM THAT I AM.  It means that God is who He is and will do what He wants to do.  He is on the throne and displeased with any fool who thinks to usurp His authority.  God responds with determination (v.6).  Man crucified Jesus on a tree, confined Him in a tomb and laughed, “That’s the end of Him.”  God replies, “Is that so?”  and breaks the bonds of death.  Jesus ascends to the right hand of the Father, awaiting the time of His return to crush His enemies and establish His reign!  The kings “set themselves against Messiah” but God sets His King on the throne. 

The third stanza declares CHRIST’S REIGN (v.7-9).  The second member of the Trinity, Jesus Himself begins to sing.  Before Him every knee shall bow and tongue confess He is Lord.  Jesus is the unique Son (v.7).  He is eternally begotten as the Son of God.  He is the universal Sovereign (v.8-9).  Today is the day of grace and we are to extend the kingdom of Christ to the ends of the earth.  If  grace is spurned there only remains the breaking and dashing of wrath. 

This demands OUR REVERENCE (v.10-12).  The third Person of the Trinity—the Spirit sweetly sings in this last stanza.  There are requirements (v.10-12a). Stop listening to the counsel of the ungodly and hear the Word of God. This requires submission and reverence.  There are reasons (v.12b).  Better to bend than to be broken—to repent and not perish!  There are results (v.12c).  He is our refuge from wrath.  “Whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

RESTORED

So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”  (John 21:15) 

The old car sits rusting in a field—an eyesore that once roared down the highway.  Then, one day, someone buys the decaying carcass, takes it into his garage, where with skilled hands, the vintage vehicle is restored—a classic car now turning heads as it speeds again across the asphalt. 

This is the message of the Gospel.  It is what Christ will do to a life wrecked by sin.  Peter experienced such a restoration as recorded in the twenty-first chapter of John’s Gospel.  Three times he had denied Jesus and now three times Christ asks him if he loves Him.  It was as Peter stood by the distinctive smell of a charcoal fire that his failure occurred and it would be again beside a charcoal fire that Peter’s forgiveness will be experienced.  Peter’s denials had been in public and now his repentance must be done in public as well. 

Each time, Jesus confronts Peter with the question, “Do you love Me?” followed by Peter’s affirmation of that love and concluded with a commission by Christ.  In the first case, Jesus asks if Peter loves Him more than the other disciples do.  This took the fisherman’s mind back to when Jesus predicted that they would all abandon Him in His hour of trial, and Peter’s response was to assure the Lord that though the rest of the disciples did, he would stand firm.  The Rock—for so his name meant—became Jello and slid into the shadows.  Now, his bravado is banished and Peter makes no such claim to love Christ in a way superior to his colleagues. He does say that he loves Jesus, but the love Christ inquires about is agape—God’s kind of love—while Peter acknowledges a lesser love using the word phileo—brotherly love.  Humility has replaced his swagger after his denials of Christ.  Then Jesus told him to prove it by feeding His lambs.  Peter would always recall this and later charge pastors to feed God’s flock with Scripture (1 Pet.5:2).  Our love for the church equates to love for Christ—and will be expressed not by profession, but action. 

A second time Jesus confronts Peter—not asking about his love in comparison to his comrades—instead targeting Peter’s love specifically.  Peter’s response is identical; Christ’s is different.  He tells the fisherman to “Tend my sheep.”  Shepherds are responsible not only to feed the sheep, but lead the sheep—guiding them for they tend to wander and guarding them for they are defenseless against predators.  The specific term Jesus uses here means, “little sheep.”  In the first commission, He refers to lambs and now little sheep—the next stage of their growth.  God’s people need tending at every stage of their spiritual development. 

The final time Jesus condescends to meet Peter at his level asking him if he indeed has phileo love for Him.  Peter, doubtless under conviction over his denials, is grieved and appeals to the Lord’s omniscience, “You know all things; You know that I love You.”  Jesus again calls on Peter to feed his sheep—and the word denotes a mature sheep.  We never grow beyond our need for the Word. 

Jesus is in the restoration business.  If you have failed, you can be forgiven—and brought to a place of usefulness again.

SHARING THE GLORY

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  (2 Corinthians 5:1)

The Apostle John said it like this, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2)  What a day that will be!  The child of God is promised the ultimate experience—to be face to face with Jesus and in that moment to be changed into His likeness.  We will share in the glory of heaven.  Paul gives us some insight into what it means to share the glory. 

He speaks of OUR AFFLICTION (2 Cor.4:16-18). This old house is in a state of deterioration.  The hand of disease can grab life around the throat and squeeze it out.  But the wonderful promise for God’s children is that as physical strength ebbs, spiritual power increases.  In some fashion, our afflictions prepare us for the glory of heaven.  Often we ask, “Why?” when we see a loved one suffer. I don’t have the solution to that dilemma—ultimately we will understand when we reach eternity.  There are some comforting insights given us here, however.  Paul speaks of light, momentary affliction.  From the human perspective, suffering may seem heavy and agonizingly long, but from the heavenly perspective, where a day is as a thousand years, it is light and brief.  And it produces for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.  God puts His saints in the furnace of pain to refine them as pure gold and mold them in the exact image of Jesus.  “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”  (Rom.8:18) 

 OUR AFFLICTION leads to OUR ANTICIPATION (2 Cor.5:1-8).  Paul was not afraid to die; he was anxious to get home!  This world is not our real home.  This body we live in becomes one day unfit for occupation.  In heaven, we will never have a pain or care.  No wonder Paul said, “To depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” (Phil.1:23)   We sorrow when separated from a loved one, but it doesn’t need to be a permanent separation.  We can see them again in heaven.  

This should be OUR AIM (5:9-10).  Paul’s aim was to be accepted by God.  When death called him into eternity, he wanted to be prepared.  Are you?  Every person who has ever lived will one day stand in judgment before the Lord.  You need not fear that.  You can be assured today of acceptance before God—not based on your own merits, but the finished work of Christ.  There will also be a judgment for the believer.  It will not be a judgment for sin, but for our service.  Our reward will be determined according to our faithfulness to Christ.  All believers will share the glory, but some will shine brighter.  My aim is that when I come to the end of the way, to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.”  (Matt.25:21)  Remember this:  

Only one life; ‘Twill soon be past;

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

THE HIGH COST OF LOW LIVING

But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.  (2 Samuel 11:27b) 

I don’t know who first said it, but it is absolutely right: “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”  There is a high cost to low living.  David found that out the hard way.  The sorrowful, sordid story unfolds in 2 Samuel 11-12. 

The moral collapse of the man of God begins with a seemingly small evasion of duty (11:1).  At a time when David should have been with his troops staying on the battlefield, he is strolling on the balcony.  An idle mind is the Devil’s workshop.  It may seem a little thing at first to become slack in worship attendance, neglectful of a daily devotional time, or step back from Christian service.  But, nature abhors a vacuum—and if your mind is not filled with God’s Word, Satan will fill it with carnal thoughts; if our calendar is not filled with wholesome activity, it will become filled with worldly pursuits.  It is only a matter of time. 

We discover David up at night, wandering the palace balcony, where the lion of lust waits to pounce on him (11:2-5).  If a man rises early, meets God in prayer and the Word, his spiritual defenses will be strengthened.  Staying up late and sleeping in sets a pattern which paves the way for exposure to all manner of evil—seldom does any good activity happen after midnight.  How many are swept up into sin—caught up in porn, lured into illicit texting, even swept up into an adulterer’s arms because they were up at night with eyes open that should have been closed in sleep—in anticipation of the next day and getting up and gazing upon the Word of God. 

The sin David committed was bad enough, but the sin he covered was worse (11:6-27).  Bathsheba becomes pregnant.  Her husband, Uriah, will become a casualty of David’s sexual conquest.  Uriah was a Hittite—one of the pagan people that Israel had conquered when they took Canaan.  Yet, his character outshines one of the chosen people in this story.  David, doubtless, never intended for things to go as far as they did, but give the Devil an inch and he will take a mile.  Even Joab is drawn into the conspiracy that brought down an innocent man.  David had become an adulterer, liar, and now a murderer! 

Numbers 32:23 warns, “be sure your sin will find you out.”  The secret sin on earth is a public scandal in heaven.  David will be exposed.  When God sends his prophet to confront the king, he shares a story that will stir a former shepherd’s heart (12:1-6).  We are often quick to judge in another what lurks in our own soul.  Nathan points his bony finger at David—like an arrow hitting his heart comes the pronouncement, “You are the man!” (v.7)  To David’s credit, he is repentant.  God will forgive, yet by his own lips, David had pronounced his own punishment: “fourfold,” (v.6).  The baby Bathsheba will birth will become sick and die—that’s one.  After Amnon, David’s son, rapes his sister, her brother, Absalom will kill Amnon—that’s two.  Absalom will lead a rebellion against David, only to be eventually slain by Joab—that’s three.  Later, Solomon will execute another of David’s sons, Adonijah—that’s four.  We sow evil seed and hope for a crop failure, but God is not mocked (Gal.6:7-8).  

OVERCONFIDENT AND OVERCOME

Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed.  (John 18:27) 

The sun had dawned on a beautiful Hawaiian Sunday, when suddenly the skies were filled with Japanese planes.  Death rained from the skies upon Pearl Harbor where the American fleet was decimated.  They were sitting ducks.  Overconfident and unaware, they were soon overcome and aflame.  That is a reality of spiritual warfare also.  Simon Peter is the classic example of a man brim full of overconfidence.  He ignored the warnings of the Lord.  He was caught off-guard by the test that would overcome him. 

Jesus told Peter that Satan desired to sift him as wheat.  His response was that though all the other disciples would desert Jesus, he would stay faithful.  Then the storm came upon him like the Japanese air force attacking Pearl Harbor.  Jesus was seized by an angry mob in dark Gethsemane.  Peter followed to see the outcome, but Matthew notes that he followed Him “at a distance,” (26:58).  That is the first step toward defeat—the step that takes you away from intimacy with Christ.  Neglecting the inner life—having daily communion with Christ in the Word and prayer—lowers our defenses and opens up the way to attack.  What appears to be a sudden blowout on the road of life has been the result of a slow leak in the tire. 

Peter leaned on his own strength and fell.  Our only hope to vanquish temptation is to cast ourselves in utter dependence on God.  We are no match for Satan.  A big fisherman will cower before a little servant girl, and deny Jesus, if resolve is rooted in the flesh instead of in the Spirit’s power.  His boast had been that he would never deny Christ.  Never say, “Never.”  In certain circumstances we are all capable of yielding to sin.  We don’t have to, of course, but apart from God’s aid, we will.  Bible history is replete with those shipwrecks—even champions like Noah, Moses, and David fell.  If they did, I can also. 

We find Peter warming himself at the fire of the enemy.  Get too close to that fire and you will get burned.  Hang out with wicked people in the wrong places, and you will eventually find yourself defeated by temptation.  The Psalmist proclaimed, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful….”  (1:1)  Peter did the opposite.  He walked in the counsel of the ungodly (John 18:15-17).  Peter stood in the path of sinners (John 18:18).  He sat in the seat of the scornful.  Luke tells us that he sat down with them (22:55).   

Peter denied Jesus—three times—despite his bravado.  He even does it with cursing!  What a sad episode—often repeated by believers today.  Our courage and conviction fade into the background while cowardice and compromise emerge.  Our testimony is harmed and our credibility is damaged. 

America recovered from the disaster of that infamous day, declaring war on Japan the next day.  Eventually defeat turned to victory and the war was won, though recovery from that attack was long and hard.  Peter recovered and was restored to usefulness.  He was a broken man, who wept bitterly over his failure.  Remorse expressed his repentance.  He would never again deny Christ and would eventually die for Him as he pledged.  Better not to stumble by leaning on Jesus, but if we fall let us get up and run for mercy into Jesus’ arms!

SPIRITUAL ADULTERY

“But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it.”  (Ezekiel 16:15) 

God is love—and He is a jealous God.  He will share us with no other lover.  God demands that we who are loved absolutely, return that love to Him exclusively.  To fail to love the Lord with all our being is tantamount to spiritual adultery.  With graphic words that are enough to make a sailor blush, Ezekiel 16 describes the unfaithfulness of Israel.  These lessons are still applicable to the church today as the bride of Christ. 

The chapter begins with a description of Israel’s pitiful condition (v.1-5).  God tells how He came to love them.  They were a tiny people without promise of life.  Like a baby abandoned at birth—cast away and without hope—that is a picture of their spiritual condition.  There was nothing they could do to save themselves.  That is our state without Christ.  We are hopeless and helpless, dying in our sins. 

The saga continues with a picture of God’s precious compassion (v.6-14).  In their death throes, God reached out to them in sovereign grace and imparted life to them.  Not only did He rescue them, He cared for them as they grew, and brought them into His heart as His bride—clothing them and entering a covenant with them.  They were exalted as the bride of the King.  The church is the Bride of Christ through His grace as He has redeemed us, and promised us His fidelity.  He has clothed us in righteousness.  How could we be unfaithful to such a Lover? 

Israel did, and we may.  Next we witness Israel’s pornographic corruption (v.15-34).  Pornographic is the best description for the vile manner in which they gave themselves to idols.  Corruption defines the moral filth that marked their depravity.  God is serious about this sin.  The first two of the Ten Commandments—those fundamental moral standards—demand that we worship God exclusively and properly.  They were insatiable in their idolatry—even offering their children as sacrifices!  When we look lustfully at the things of this world, surrender our hearts to them, and give that which God has bestowed on us to another, it is a foul and filthy thing!  So quickly we forget the goodness of God and wander from the Lover of our Soul! 

This brought God’s painful correction (v.35-59).  God would begin by exposing them to shame by the heathen nations with whom they had cavorted.  As death was the penalty for those who committed physical adultery, the death of multitudes in Israel would be the tragic consequence of their lewd behavior.  God loves us too much to let us go.  It is not only for His glory, but for our good as well, that He uses the chastening rod to break us of our rebellion.  God may have straying children, who become suffering children, but He will not have spoiled children! 

The chastening will do its job as the chapter closes with God’s promised covenant (v.60-63).  The covenant God makes is an everlasting one.  Their unfaithfulness would not void God’s everlasting love.  There is coming a day when Israel will return with tears of repentance to the Lord.  They will find Him waiting with open arms!  Someone has said, “It is impossible for you to do anything that would make God love you more and impossible for you to do anything that would make Him love you less!”  Let us love Him with all we are!

IF GOD SAYS, "NO"

“Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Would you build a house for Me to dwell in?”  (2 Samuel 7:5)

One of the first words children learn is, “No!”  I suppose that is because they hear it often.  They did not like to hear it, but there were many times I had to say it, because “no” was best for them.  Our children may not understand the denial of their desire, but we know more than they do.  So it is there are occasions when our Heavenly Father will say, “No.”  We think our prayer is a good request, and the denial brings disappointment.  How should we respond?  What is God up to?  There are some important lessons for us found in 2 Samuel 7.  God tells David, “No.”

David had been blessed by God.  On one occasion the king is in his palace—gazing around at the beautiful dwelling and responding to God’s goodness by telling the prophet Nathan that he wants to build God a house.  Nathan agreed that this was a wonderful plan. Then God interrupted with, “No.”  (v.1-7)  At this point explanation is not given.  Later, Scripture reveals that it was because of all the blood shed by David as a man of war that made it inappropriate for him to construct a temple for the God of peace.  God is God and we are not.  We cannot demand of Him an explanation—though we may ask, and at times receive an answer.  Fully comprehending the ways of God will be elusive.  It is like trying to explain calculus to a flea for Omniscience to be understood by our finite minds.  There are times we simply rest in His infinite understanding—that is the way of faith.

Is it not true that God wants us to walk by faith and not by sight?  Faith is so vital that God will stop at nothing to develop it in us.  The God who loves us perfectly will do that which is best for us.  Faith responds to His refusal by saying, “My Father knows best,” and submits in childlike trust to His will.

If God closes one door, it is only so He can open another.  If He denies one desire, it is only that He designs something better.  When God does not let David build Him a house, He encourages David by saying He will build him a “house.”  That is, God will establish a dynasty for David—a line of kings that would be unending (v.8-17).  Jesus Christ, the Eternal King, would be a descendant of David.  Ultimately, not only for David, but for each believer, the promises of God are all wrapped up in Jesus Christ.  He is everything.  Jesus is all we need.  Only He can meet the deepest desires we have.  No true fulfillment can be found apart from Him.  Is He enough for us?

David responds to God’s, “No,” with worship (v.18-29).  There is not a hint of bitterness, but only blessing offered to God.  David does not sulk, but submits.  When God denies our request, choosing to answer our prayer in an inexplicable way, it will make us bitter or better, depending on how we respond.  David did not roll on the floor in a temper tantrum, but sat down in reverent submission.  This is the attitude God is wanting.  Is that what you do when God says, “No”?