God's Sovereignty, Humility, and Hope in Ezekiel

The Bible declares that it is the word of the Lord. There is one thing that you cannot mistake, and that is the Bible's claim to be God's Word, and that claim is either true or false. It should be rather simple to prove whether or not it be true or false. If you can find flaws, if you can find errors, then it must not be true because God would not make an error. But if it is proven to be true, if the predictions that were made came to pass, then there is good reason to believe that yes, it is the word of the transcendent God who transcends time and who can speak of the end things from the beginning, for he knows the end from the beginning, the eternal God who dwells outside of time and is thus able to speak of any period of time even before it happens. [00:56:10]

God does reign as king over the world, and whom he will, he sets up, and whom he will, he brings down. This was a lesson that God taught Nebuchadnezzar, who was filled with pride because of the glory of Babylon. He had this dream of this tree, a great tree, birds of the air nesting in it and all, and the tree was cut to the ground, just the stump remaining. Great tree cut down, and then out of the stump, there came forth new little shoots, new little branches. [00:09:56]

The greatness comes not from man's genius, not from man's abilities, but the greatness comes from God. It is God that has made you great. It is God that has established you. It is God that has established your kingdom, and thus he commands the people to give glory unto God. And what an important thing for us to learn. One of the greatest dangers of being an instrument that God uses is the praise and the glory, the adulation that comes to you from man as they see the work of God in your life. [00:12:51]

Unfortunately, they cannot always distinguish between God and the instrument that God has used, and thus they oftentimes exalt the instrument rather than exalting God. In Romans chapter 1, Paul speaks about them worshipping and serving the creature rather than the Creator, and that's just a part of man's nature. He wants to see what he worships. There is built-in to man that innate need to worship, and so often when God is anointed a man and using a man, people will then begin to hold that man up and worship the man rather than God. [00:13:09]

The danger for that man that is used of God is that of receiving the worship. You remember when Peter and John were going into the temple at the hour of prayer, and the lame man was seeking alms, and Peter said, "Hey, look at me," and the man turned expecting to receive something, and Peter said, "I don't have any silver or gold, but what I have, I'll give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise to your feet and walk." [00:14:30]

And he took him by the right hand and lifted him to his feet, and immediately he was healed. He received strength, and the man began to walk and leap and praise God, and he went through the temple walking and leaping and praising God. And the people in the temple said, "Who was that man that looks like the lame man? He looks just like the fellow that's been out there at the gate all these years. Sure didn't look like him. How come he's walking? Don't know. Let's find out." [00:15:00]

And they followed him back out to Solomon's porch, where he grabbed hold of Peter so that the people suddenly related this marvelous miracle to Peter of this man, 40 years old, who had been lame from birth, now walking. And they are relating this marvelous miracle to Peter, and they began to look at Peter in some kind of awe, like the gods have come down. And Peter said, "Ye men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you look on us as though we through our own righteousness or holiness have done this good deed to this lame man?" [00:15:30]

Be it known unto you that it is by the name of Jesus Christ our God has exalted his son, and it is by his name and through faith in his name that this man stands here before you whole. And Peter went on to point, "Don't look at me," Peter is saying, "Don't think that I'm some kind of a holy righteous person, and this is the result of my righteousness or my commitment." And he pointed them immediately away from himself to the Lord. [00:16:00]

Remember always the words of Jesus: "Apart from me, you can do nothing. You can't bear fruit of itself. The branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine. Neither can you except you abide in Christ, for apart from him you can do nothing." There is a converse to that in Philippians: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." But when it is his strength and his ability, his anointing, then we dare not touch the glory. [00:22:49]

We dare not take for ourselves the credit for what he has done. I have made him fair, God said, by the multitude of his branches so that all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied him. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, because you have lifted up yourself in height, you've exalted yourself. I was the one that gave you the position, but you've exalted yourself, and you have shot up his top among the thick boughs. [00:23:09]

The principle is illustrated over and over again how that as long as they sought the Lord, God made them to prosper. When they first took the Lord, they went down. When they were lifted up with pride, God brought them down, for God exalts the humble, but he turns and resists the proud. And so the importance to learn the lessons of history, and that's exactly what the Prophet was trying to cause the Pharaoh to see here. [00:28:06]

The Bible speaks of dark days, but it never ends in the dark days. God never leaves a man in darkness or without hope. It always goes out to the glorious new day of the Lord that is ahead, and that to me is the thrilling thing. You'll find that often the psalmist goes through the dark valleys, and it's expressed in the Psalms, but it never ends. The psalm never ends in the darkness, but it is always that hope, and I shall yet praise the Lord for His goodness and for his blessings. [00:44:01]