Coals of Fire

Coals of Fire
Ezekiel 10:1-22

It has been about two and a half months since we were last in Ezekiel.

Then we saw the beginning of a vision that God gave the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel.
In that vision in chapter 9 we saw a group of militant angels with destroying weapons in their hands enter the city and walk toward the house of God.

That was a vision that began with a dark outlook and ended with a small glimmer of hope.
With the destroying angels was one clothed in priestly white linen.
He had no weapon in his hand but an inkhorn with which he was to mark those who mourned for the spiritual condition of their country.
Those who were thus marked were granted mercy when the judgment was visited upon the remainder of the people.
In that last sermon from Ezekiel we learned that there is mercy in the mourning of God's people for their sin.

Today we are in Chapter 10.
It is merely a continuation of the same vision and we should recollect the scene which will be shown in this chapter as well.

First of all, let us remember that God is here pictured in a complex and magnificent chariot-throne.
- The glory of God is revealed in the efficiency of the wheels and the consistency of their movement.
- The glory of God is revealed in the four-faced angelic creatures representing different powerful characteristics of God's nature.
- The glory of God is revealed in the appearance of coals of fire beneath his glorious throne.
I'll remind you that this chariot-throne has, in the earlier portion of this vision, come close to the temple in Jerusalem, that symbol of God's presence among His people.
It is that throne and the nearby mercy angel still clothed in white that we see right away in our text this morning.

READ TEXT EZEKIEL 10:1-22
PRAY

There are three outstanding aspects of the scene in this chapter.
1.) The Chariot-Throne
2.) The Coals of Fire
3.) The Presence of God

These three aspects have, in their representation in the text, specific and powerful lessons.
Let us look to each of these and find the Lord's challenge for us this morning.

1.) The Chariot Throne
The first aspect that grabs the attention of the reader is the wonderful chariot-throne.
Its description is complex, but seems to communicate a multifaceted, efficient and powerful God, in Whom is no change or instability.
The Cherubim appear to be a part of the chariot-throne and wholly obedient to the will of the One Who sits thereon.
We have studied the lessons of the chariot-throne in Chapter One and will spend no additional time on it today.

2.) The Coals of Fire
In Chapter 1 it was noted that the appearance of the cherubim was as coals of fire.
As we noticed in Chapter One, there is a distinct symbolic value to the appearance of the cherubim.
Now we see that this is even more apparent with the linen-clothed angel now instructed to procure coals of fire from the throne of God and scatter them about the city.
These coals of fire are clearly representative of God's judgment and their placement throughout the city is nothing but the fiery judgment of God spread over the entire city of Jerusalem.

From the previous chapters we have seen that God's people had allowed sin into their lives.
They had surrounded themselves with images and idols.
They had compromised their worship, trading religious ritual, dead traditions and even pagan influences for the holiness and purity that God had demanded in the lives of His people.
Now He is instructing the angel to take the coals of fire that represent His own holiness and purge the city of its wickedness.

Elsewhere in the Bible we see the symbolic use of coals of fire.
- In Leviticus 16:12 we read that the Priests of the tabernacle were to take coals of fire from the altar and use them to burn sweet incense before God's throne, the Mercy seat. It was there, that God's Holiness was shown to bring out the sweetest aroma from a life lived for His pleasure.
- In Isaiah 6:6, after Isaiah declares himself undone and unworthy to be used of God, an angel takes a coal from the altar and touches Isaiah's tongue. There, God's holiness was shown to make an imperfect man able to speak God's perfect truth and glorify God.
Then, there are the passages that show God's holiness in a different light.
- In Psalm 18:12 and 13 we see coals of fire sent forth from God's presence as judgment for displeasing Him. There the holiness of God is shown to be a terrible thing to the object of God's wrath.
- Habakkuk 3:5 shows coals of fire paving the very footsteps of God when God comes to judge the earth. There God's holiness spells the doom of the sinners who rejected Him.

In each instance, coals of fire represent the holiness of God.
The holiness of God is the empowering healing revealer of beauty or it is the terrible destroyer of sinfulness.
The difference is the condition of the people exposed to God's holiness.

In our text we see that God has directed that these coals be scattered throughout the city to signify that Jerusalem would be burned because they failed to respect the Holiness of God.

3.) The Presence of God
The final aspect of the chapter is the Presence of God.
the text is very specific during the vision about where God is in the scene.
This is because His presence is what gives meaning to the text.
In Verses Three and Four it appears that God is present on the threshold of His temple.
He has moved there and filled the court with His glory.
Normally this would be a good thing, but as we have seen, God's holiness can have a terrible effect as well as a good one.
It appears God has descended from His throne to oversee the spreading of the coals of fire.

What a thought!
The temple that had for so long been the place of compromise finally has the presence of God.
Unfortunately it is not a time of rejoicing.
They had pushed Him out of the temple by their compromises.
He had come back to them to deliver His judgment.
Now was a chance for repentance, but no, there would be no repentance from the city of Jerusalem.

In verse 18 we see the presence of God moving.
He departs from the temple and is carried away to the east gate.
Now He has left His people to be judged without His assistance.
So it is when a person rejects God's offers for repentance and mercy, he honors the choice made by the sinner and leaves him utterly alone.

If you are here today, a child of God, a blood-washed believer, you must respond to the moving of the Holy Spirit this morning.
His coals of fire represent a holiness that you and I must respect.
Let us decide that we will let His holiness do its perfecting work.
If we don't, we can be sure it will do its work of judgment.

If you are here as one unsure of your position with God today, I can tell you in simple terms, God is offering you mercy.
You are a sinner I know because we all fit that moniker.
You fall short of the holiness you need to be in His presence.
Your sin has indebted you to Him, and you have nothing to pay.
But Jesus was Holy enough.
He paid for your sins.
He offers you His holiness if you will take Him as your personal Saviour.
Won't you do so today?

THE MAN WHO HAD NOBODY

THE MAN WHO HAD NOBODY
John 5:1-7

Today is Friend Day! at Gospel Light Baptist Church.
If you were invited here by somebody today, it means you are loved and somebody considers you a friend.
Our greatest treasure is the relationship that we enjoy with our God.
The greatest gift we have to give is an introduction to the Greatest Friend that anyone could ever have.
Is has been said that:
Insomuch as any one pushes you nearer to God, he or she is your friend. -Anonymous

We would also like to prove to you that it is our goal to be the most loyal friend you can find in a person.
If there is ever anything that we can do to help you in any way, do not hesitate to call us.

I would also like to express my thanks for my friends that have come today.
It is said that true wealth can be counted in the number and quality of a person's friends.
I am truly a wealthy man.

Today we are going to read from a passage that John wrote, an excerpt from the life of Christ.
Our text begins shortly after Jesus healed a nobleman's son from a deadly fever.
The special circumstance of that miracle was the great distance at which Jesus healed the young boy.
There was a feast, in all probability, the Passover feast of the Jews, coming up in Jerusalem, and Jesus is entering the City of Jerusalem through one of the many gates.
In our text it appears he has entered by way of the sheep gate and has crossed through the nearby sheep market.

READ TEXT
PRAY

BACKGROUND:
In 1956, a team of archeologists discovered a great rectangular shaped pool, fed by a natural spring, long since dried up.
This pool had covered porches on all four sides and a dividing porch across the center.
The location of this pool was just inside the sheep gate on the way to the temple.

Our text tells us that this pool was called Bethesda, which means in the Hebrew language, "House of Mercy."

Verse three sets the scene for our imaginations, with a great multitude of lame and crippled people sitting under the shade of the porches and leaning against the pillars.
- An old English term is used to describe these folk as being completely helpless, unable to work and unable to help themselves.
- Also there are blind people, whose blank stares and whited eyes tell their own stories of helplessness.
- Some also whose injuries or birth defects had caused them to limp or drag a foot in their walk, were there.
- Others had limbs that had somehow failed to get the nourishment of the others, they were those "withered."

What a scene this must have been!
Can you place yourselves there?
Can you see the despair in the crowd?
Can you smell the odors of humanity?

All were waiting for something to happen.
There was and air of anticipation in the porch of Bethesda that day as a strange phenomenon was known to take place.
Since the pool was close by the temple and enroute from the sheep gate, it is likely that the primary use of this pool was the washing of sheep on the way to the temple for Passover.
Typically, in such a pool unclean cripples would not be allowed to enter.

As Passover season was just beginning, there must have been some signal from God that it was time to bring the lambs to the temple.
This bit of grace came in the form of an angel sent to trouble the waters of the pool.
A byproduct of this signal of grace was that the first to enter the waters after the disturbance would be healed of whatever ailment he had.

Verse 5 zeroes in on one man.
Praise the Lord that while the salvation of God was sufficient for all, it is offered on an individual basis!
This man was most likely 38 years of age and suffering from a lifelong ailment.
We are not given this man's specific issue but most likely he suffered from the Palsy and was wholly unable to mobilize himself with any speed.
His tortured progress would soften the heart of any man as all could see that he would never reach the water before another.

Jesus looked on him with complete awareness of his problems and asked him a powerful question:
Wilt thou be made whole?

As we get to Verse 7 it is clear that the pool was not wholly ADA compliant.

The man's answer wove a tale of despair and hopelessness.

SOME OBSERVATIONS
OF THE CRIPPLED MAN:
1.) Although surrounded by people, he was completely alone with his illness.
> Loneliness is not necessarily the condition of being by yourself.
Can you identify with this man to any extent?
Have you ever been surrounded by people and yet completely alone.
It is so easy to become engulfed in loneliness in this world, while hundreds of lives go on around you, it seems you are completely alone.
This man was in just such a place.
No one cared more for him than themselves.
No one offered to carry him to the pool.
No one seemed to realize he was even there.
He was alone with his illness despite the fact he was surrounded by people.

2.) Although near the healing water, he was helplessly crippled for life.
> Proximity to help is of no benefit if you are unable to get there and it won't come to you.
Often people recognize a need for a relationship with God, and they get as close as they can by attending a familiar church.
However, surrounding yourself by religious symbols and well dressed people does not bridge the gap between you and God.
Just as this man needed to actually encounter the healing power, we must actually encounter God by accepting the salvation he offers.
Gospel Light Baptist Church is a great church, but you can attend here four times a week it will not bring you an inch closer to salvation if you do not meet Jesus.
This man would be crippled for life next to a pool of healing water.

3.) Although in the prime of life, he was hopelessly waiting to die.
> Death comes to people of every age and every condition.
This man was nearing forty years of age, but had no hope of becoming the man he had dreamed of being.
He was just waiting to die.
Know this that we too are susceptible to death at what ever age.
If you are living a life consumed with fulfilling your own desires, you are no different than the poor man whose life was over for all intents and purposes.
If this life is all there is, we are just waiting to die.
Paul said, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."
This man was at the age most people are solidifying a career but he had nothing but death to look forward to.

Having now seen the state of the crippled man and how closely we can relate to him, let us look to Jesus for help.
SOME OBSERVATIONS
OF JESUS
1.) Jesus knew all about him.
> This man may have gone unnoticed by most, but he was not unnoticed by Jesus.
Jesus not only noticed his current condition but Jesus knew all about him.
The psalmist put it beautifully:
Ps 142:3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path.
If you are struggling with some ailment or overwhelming feeling of loneliness, Jesus knows all about you.
He is acutely interested in you and wants to be your friend and companion.
He knows your greatest sorrow.
He knows your greatest sin.
He still wants to be your Saviour.
Jesus knows all about you.

2.) Jesus offered him healing.
> Never does Jesus force Himself upon the unsuspecting.
He politely offers his help.
The question so compassionately offered to the crippled man is not unlike the way Jesus offers salvation.
He positions Himself as One standing on the outside asking for an invitation to come in.
The Bible speaks of salvation as a gift that Jesus offers.
It is not earned.
It is not forced upon us.
It is offered.
Jesus offered healing to a man who could reject his offer.

3.) Jesus healed him completely. Verse 8, 9
> When Jesus saves or heals, He does so completely.
There is no trial period to the salvation Christ offers.
It is a transaction made in heaven where payment is applied in full for a debt that we have incurred.
Ro 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
As Jesus healed the crippled man completely, so Christ saves completely.
There is no work left to do for my salvation, He did it all on the cross.
Now I work for Him out of a heart of gratefulness, and every work is now rewarded because He is good.
I have now every confidence, that when I die, I will immediately go to be with Him.
Is it because of my good works?
NO!
It is because of His.
He saved me completely.

As we close today, I want to leave you with this challenge,
Have you accepted His freely offered salvation?
Have you found a friend and a Saviour in Him?
I am not asking if you know about Him.
I am not asking if you attend church.
I am asking if you have accepted His offer of salvation.

It is one thing to feel lonely on this earth.
It will be quite another to stand alone before God and say, "I thought I could earn my way into your grace."
His words have already been written.
Jesus warned what he will say:
Mt 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

You never have to be alone again.
You can accept Him as your personal Saviour today.
He has promised to never leave you nor forsake you, and on that final day, Jesus will say, Well done, good and faithful servant...enter thou into the joy of thy lord.