SCRIPTURE:
So I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: Say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to desecrate my sanctuary—the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.
…
Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.’
Ezekiel 24:20-21, 24:24
OBSERVATION:
You should go to church every week. You should serve at church. You should fellowship at church. You should do your very best for God. These three statements are pretty well-agreed upon by Christians. And they’re all true. However, it’s also true that one can follow these statements to the extreme such that “church” can also become a bad thing. That’s what today’s reading from Ezekiel cautions us about.
In Ezekiel 24, God shares a prophetic word that He wants Ezekiel to speak on His behalf to the nation of Israel. In verse 21, God makes a surprising statement: “I am about to desecrate my sanctuary.” God is going to desecrate and destroy His sanctuary. The church. The place where He is worshipped. Why? The answer lies in His description of the church. God describes the sanctuary as “the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection.”
God desecrates the church because the church has become an idol for His people. The church, rather than God, has become the object of their attention. The church, rather than God, has become the focus of their worship. The church––their good deeds, their routines, and their customs––became the focus of their actions, rather than the God that all these actions were supposed to point to.
Rather than become a vehicle for worship, the church became an object of worship. In doing church, they became distracted from the One that church was supposed to be all about. It’s not that God desecrated His sanctuary––the people of God already did that. Rather, God simply allowed His people to desecrate His sanctuary. Why? Because God desired the hearts of His people, more than He desired them to do church. For church was never meant to be a distraction from God; it was supposed to be a conviction towards Him. Thus, God allowed His church to be desecrated so that the people would return to Him and “know that [He is] the Sovereign Lord.”
APPLICATION:
Church is good, but has it become a distraction from the One whom church is all about? As it is written in Proverbs 25:16, “if you find honey, eat just enough— too much of it, and you will vomit.” In other words, too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing––even church.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying “don’t go to church.” This is not your permission to stop going to service, to step down from a ministry, or to leave early from fellowship. These things are good things––but too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing.
Don’t let church––or anything for that matter––become a distraction from the One whom church is all about. Don’t use the thing that was created as a vehicle of worship to become an object of your worship.
Church must never be reduced to a checklist. It must never be a thing that we do because we feel obligated to, or a routine that we complete to make ourselves feel good. The services, the worship, the serving, the programs––all of it exists to glorify God and to point us back to the One who first loved us.
God must always be the focus of His church, Jesus must always be the Head of His church, and the Holy Spirit must always be the Guest of Honor at His church. And if we fail to do so, God will allow His church––and perhaps even those of us within it––to be desecrated, not because He hates us, but because He desires our hearts more than He desires for us to do church.
Never forget that Church is all about God, for God, from God, and to God. Yes, you should go to church every week. Yes, you should serve at church. Yes, you should fellowship at church. Yes, you should do your very best for God. But God must always be the focus of all these actions. Serve at church because Jesus came not to be served but to serve. Fellowship at church because God created us to not do life alone. Do your very best for God because God is worthy of our very best.
Let God be your focus––for He cares more about who you are to Him rather than what You do for Him.
PRAYER:
God,
You are our all in all. With everything, for everything, and in everything, we praise Your name. We repent for the times we have desecrated Your church through our distractions and our disobedience––both unintentional and intentional––and we ask for Your forgiveness. It’s all about You, it’s all for You, and it’s all to You, for You are worthy of it all. Jesus, You are the Head of Your church. Lead us, guide us, shape us, anoint us, have grace upon us, and use us for Your glory as we worship You. We love You, Lord! Every morning, bring us back to You, and be glorified through our lives. We are Your church, and You are our God. Jesus, we love you!
In Your name we pray,
Amen
