How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to thy word. With all my heart I have sought thee. Do not let me wander from thy commandments. Thy word I have treasured in my heart that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O Lord. Teach me thy statutes. With thy lips I have told of all of the ordinances of thy mouth. I have rejoined in the way of thy testimonies as much as in all riches. I will meditate on thy precepts and regard thy ways. I delight in thy statutes, and I shall not forget thy word. What a fantastic progression, the last part of that. I have rejoiced in thy testimonies as in all riches. I will meditate on thy precepts, study, and immerse my mind in it. I will regard thy ways. I shall delight in the statutes, which is the outcome of study, immersing ourselves in it, to be a Psalm-wannist, so to speak. And then, as a result, I shall not forget. And if you don't forget, you will walk with him." So let's hear, let's remember, and walk with him. God turning your Bibles to Ezekiel chapter 2 verse 5 I've made that reference a couple times that I purposely skip verse 5 in chapter 2 because 2 is dealing with the commissioning of a servant of God in verse 5 deals with something far more important far more great and that's his telos which we're gonna look at in earnest this morning I feel somewhat Unworthy, or what's the word, uncapable, not up to the task, because this is such a glorious truth. And so we really need, every week, regardless of how I feel or you feel, we need the grace of God to give us eyes to see and ears to hear. So as we approach God's word together, let us indeed do so, relying upon Him. I'm gonna read verses one through seven for the sake of context, but we'll be focusing on verse five this morning, specifically 5B. And as this is God's word, let me therefore invite you to stand together with me as we read God's word together. Then he said to me, son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you. And as he spoke to me, the spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. And he said to me, son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. And I'm sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, thus says the Lord God, as for them, Whether they listen or not, for they are a rebellious house, they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you, and you sit on scorpions. Neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. But you shall speak my words to them, whether they listen or not, for they are a rebellious house. Let's follow the reading of God's word. Let's pray together. Father, how we pray, do a work of grace this morning, that we might come to a fuller understanding and apprehension of you, your character, your kingdom, your gospel, your purpose for us in that kingdom, and thus our place in redemptive history. Father, bless this time, give us understanding, we pray. And so, woo us and incline our hearts and transform us into thinking that to this day we would muse upon you, our God, and be changed. Be exalted, we pray now this holy moment in Jesus' name, amen. Please be seated. Perspective can have an interesting commentary upon life. It can change the way we view our lives. Understanding the why behind things is radically transforming. I've got the quote before you. I've read it before, so I'm not gonna read the whole thing. I'm gonna read part of it by Martin Luther. Follow along, alas, must I walk the baby, wash its diapers, make its bed, smell its stench, stay up nights with it, take care of it when it cries, heal its rashes and sores, and on top of that, care for my spouse, provide, labor at my trade, take care of this and take care of that? Skip now down to the paragraph symbol. What then does Christian faith say to this? It opens its eyes, looks upon these insignificant, distasteful, and despised duties in the spirit, and is aware that they are all adorned with a divine approval as with the costliest golden jewels. It says, oh God, I confess today that I'm not worthy to rock the little babe, or wash its diapers, or to be entrusted with the care of the child and its mother, et cetera, et cetera. Talk about life-changing perspective, but that's what faith does. That's what the eye of faith does as we gaze upon this life and we gaze upon this world, it transforms our perspective and changes what is in the world's eyes something to be despised, something to be regretted into something that is to be of all joys a privilege before God. You know, the world's perspective upon ministry is captured by Paul in 1 Corinthians 4. We have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now. And as you and I, insofar as we conform to this present world system, we can easily find ourselves looking upon ministry, callings, giftings, and looking upon them lightly, or in the words of Thessalonians, despising prophetic utterances. despising gifts of the Spirit, despising the callings that God's placed upon our lives, whether that calling is a calling of glory and honor or a call of ignominy. Yet faith, perspective from the Kingdom of God, changes all of these things into something that they do not appear on the surface. We see that in Ezekiel this morning. Ezekiel, his first four chapters, as we've seen, is the calling of this man to the prophetic ministry. All of his life, he thought he'd be a priest until he was 26, then he went into exile, and still maybe, way down deep, he hoped to be a priest, but by the age of 30, it looked pretty dark and gloomy, dim, that he should be a priest. But at that moment that he would have been called to the priesthood, God called him to be a prophet and sent him into the ministry of a prophet. And chapters 1 through 4 is an extended, exhausted, an exhaustive presentation of this man's call. Now he wrote this, he wrote the book of Ezekiel, it's believed at one sitting. What we mean by that is not a one moment, but one two or three week span, or whatever. He wrote this at a time. And so that he chose to spend four chapters detailing his call is incredibly significant for us who would be servants of Jesus Christ, who would join the ministry that Ezekiel and so many other people participated in and serve Jesus Christ at his bidding. Chapters one through four become incredibly significant and thus a glorious presentation of the forging of a servant of God. Thus far we've seen his audience. that we should never forget. We've seen His strength, which we should never forget. We've seen His commission, which, again, we should never forget as servants of Christ. And now, this morning, we turn our focus to His telos, or the ministry, the telos of all ministry in the kingdom of God. And to look at this telos in verse 5b, I want us, however, to understand the context, not of Ezekiel, but the sitzenleben, the life setting of Ezekiel. Because to understand this context is to understand this statement in much more color and much more vividly. And for that, we're gonna look at five different verses, and I would like you to turn with me there, if you would. Keep your finger in Ezekiel, and look with me at five verses as we set the setting of Ezekiel. Go with me to Isaiah chapter nine, verse 15. This is 150 years before Ezekiel. Isaiah 9, 15. And we read these words. Using the metaphor of a beast, Isaiah describes the rebellious people of God. The head of the beast is the elder, an honorable man. And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail. For those who guide this people are leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are brought to confusion. Okay, we'll stop there. When you look at this era of redemptive history, the 400 years of the kingdom years, 400 years, And you know there's 16 prophets in the Old Testament. 16 prophetic books. And you know they were authored by prophets. And so there were 16 prophets in the Old Testament. And then you scratch your head a little bit deeper and you go, wait a second, there's the former prophets, Elijah and Elisha. Maybe we can add to them Micaiah and Nathan and a couple other faithful ones. But the reality is we can probably come up with a list of 20, maybe a little bit more, of prophets that populated the people of God during this 400 times, a time span. And that's what we typically think of. We typically think that this 400-year era, God sent 20 different prophets to minister to his people. 20 divided by 400 is one every 20 years, which is one every generation. So during this era, there was a prophet reigning, ministering in the kingdom of God during every generation of God's people. That would be the average. Of course, that wasn't so because at times you had prophets overlapping. And because of that, we presume, again, there's just these 20, but then we read passages like Isaiah 9. And there we see that Isaiah wasn't the only prophet, or the only one viewed as a prophet in his day. There were false prophets. There were false prophets. False prophets who led God's people astray. Now for a false prophet to lead God's people astray means one of two things. They were either incredibly powerful or they were incredibly numerous. The weight of their message was either in the person of the prophet or the number of the prophets proclaiming the same message. And as we're gonna find out in just a couple moments, during this same era where God sent 20 genuine prophets of God, there were thousands of false prophets. Literally thousands. We go forward five years to Micah. Chapter three, verse five. So go forward in your Bibles past Ezekiel to Micah. Micah chapter three, verse five. And we read these words, thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray. When they have something to bite with their teeth, mark that phrase, bite with their teeth, they cry, peace. But against him who puts nothing in their mouths, they declare holy war. Wiseman Alexander and Waltke made this observation from Micah. The verb rendered feeds, bite with their teeth, what I told you to mark, the verb rendered feeds, in 10 of its other 11 uses has to do with snakes, vipers. Like malevolent and dangerous serpents, these false prophets kill their victims to feed themselves. As verse 11 makes clear, for these evil prophets, money talked louder than God. What was going on? Okay, this is what was going on, brothers and sisters. During this time, the vast majority of prophets, men and even women, who the people recognize to be prophets, the vast majority were prophets for hire. And what that means is, if you had the money, you could go to the prophet who was recognized to be a spokesman of God, Give them that money and they would give a prophecy that would authorize you to steal your neighbor's property. They'd give a prophecy that would authorize you to rape, pillage, burn. They would give a prophecy that would boost you up. And if you, the landowner, you, the lower class, who was being the victim of this, came to the prophet and said, oh, oh, oh, oh, holy one, what does God say about this? If you gave him enough money, he'd say that this landowner's wrong. God's changed his mind, whatever he might say. But if you didn't give any money, which you wouldn't, because you didn't have it, The prophet would say, God's taking your property because you're not worthy. That's the implication of Micah 3. The more you gave, the more peaceful were their prophecies. Now we go forward a hundred years in redemptive history to the time of Jeremiah. Go back to Jeremiah chapter 8. Jeremiah has multiple passages describing the prophets. I've got a couple here. I'm not going to read them all. Jeremiah chapter 8 verse 10. Jeremiah wrote, from the least even to the greatest, everyone is greedy for great gain. From the prophet even to the priest, everyone practices deceit and they heal the brokenness of the daughter of my people superficially, saying peace, peace, but there is no peace. Jeremiah's writing 627, that's 40 years before 586, 20 years before 605. 605 was the first exile, 596 second exile, 586 third. Jeremiah's writing 20 years before the first exile, 20 years before darkness descends upon the land, 40 years before complete and total eclipse of the well-being of God's people, of the kingdom of God on this earth in essence, the temple, the Jerusalem, a holy nation, all gone in 40 years. And at this deep and dark, horrible time, the vast majority, hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of prophets were proclaiming peace, peace. The future is bright and glorious. There were only two prophets during this time that spoke otherwise. Jeremiah, and Zephaniah. We've already looked at their prophecies. Two prophets who preached hell and condemnation, fire and brimstone sermons. The rest of the hundreds were saying, peace, God loves you, has a wonderful plan for your life, don't worry. Jeremiah 14, 13 was so hard. that it caused problems for the genuine prophet of God. Jeremiah 14, but all Lord God, I said, look, the prophets are telling them, you're not gonna see the sword, nor will you have famine. but I will give you lasting peace in this place. Do you know what Jeremiah was preaching? Famine and a sword. What was Zephaniah preaching? Famine and a sword. When you get down to 605, what was Habakkuk preaching? Famine and a sword. Then you get down to Ezekiel, and he's gone. What's he preaching? Famine and a sword. Very, very few genuine prophets of God. The vast, overwhelmingly vast majority, the pulpits in that world were all saying, peace, safety, don't worry about it. And the result was, the genuine prophet of God was shown to be a fool, an idiot. A crazed individual who's gotten too much religion or something, Don't listen to them, Christians. Listen to, think about it, if you were in a land where 99% of the pulpits unanimously proclaim the same message, and two pulpits, only two, and one was a bachelor who never got married, followed around by this servant who sat there and whined and wailed all of the time, would you listen to him? Or would you listen to the 99% of the pulpits? Fast forward the clock 50 years now, 40, 50 years, and we get to Ezekiel. Ezekiel's in exile. Ezekiel's not in Jerusalem. Ezekiel's away from all this stuff. And Ezekiel's called to be a prophet, which means Ezekiel's ministry will be probably pretty easy. He's out in the exile. The rest of the people of God in Jerusalem think he's a nut, think he's a loser because they went into exile. God's cursed them. So it'd be easy to be a prophet of God there because there's no other prophets, right? Wrong. Ezekiel, where he was in Babylon, they were populated. Just anywhere God's people went, also went false prophets. Ezekiel chapter 13, verse 8. Now go to Ezekiel 13, 8. Speaking of the false prophets, therefore, thus says the Lord God, because you have spoken falsehood and seen a lie, Therefore behold I am against you declares the Lord God So my hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations in the future They will have no place in the council of my people nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel Nor will they enter the land of Israel that they may know that I am the Lord God in other words when I bring my people back They're not going it is definitely because they have misled my people by saying peace when there is no peace That's the sitzenleben of our passage this morning. Ezekiel was a genuine prophet of God, called by God in the exile to proclaim judgment, doom, and gloom. All around him were prophets, false prophets, saying the exact opposite. Peace, safety. And by the way, footnote, brothers and sisters, this isn't the only time that this disproportion occurs. The last days are described as the exact same way. Matthew 24, Christ said, false prophets and false Christ will arise and will show great signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. The last time it's going to be hard to be a genuine servant of Christ. I'll tell you what, understanding the Sitz in Laban like we do, it gives me a whole much more sense of compassion and sympathy for the many genuine servants of God, genuine followers of Yahweh who opposed the genuine prophet. Did you hear me? I have so much more compassion for these people who opposed genuine prophets of God, according to Matthew 23, 30, who some were even murdered, killed. at this time, much more sympathy, because they're living in a time where they were the vast minority, the genuine prophet. And thus they were shown to be fools, idiots, ignoramuses. They mocked Jeremiah line upon line, line upon line, precept upon precept, precept upon precept. That's all you ever say. Those are all the language used in nursery school. How do you teach people 2 plus 2? 2 plus 2 is 4. Everyone repeat. 4 plus 4 is 8. That's what you do in class, right? Say your times tables. 2 times 2 is 4. 4 times 4 is 16, right? It's line upon line, precept upon precept, and that's all that Jeremiah's prophecy was. God's people mocked him for his stupidity and his simpleness. I have so much more understanding why they would be opposed. 1 Thessalonians 5.3 says, while they're saying in our days, peace, safety, then destruction will come upon them suddenly. That will be the predominant message in the end times. Same message as in Ezekiel's day. Peace, safety. Safety, peace. So even though we're back in, as we just read, Matthew 24, in the end times, God's people, or even some of God's people, will be tempted to be led astray. That's the era in which Ezekiel is called as a prophet. With this, we understand now his mandate much more. We already talked about his mandate, but let me just review it. Verse seven, but you shall speak my words to them whether they listen or not for they're rebellious. I'm referencing this because why would God need to tell Ezekiel this or Jeremiah this? Why? Because the temptation would be to measure your success as a prophet based upon the response of the people of God. And we've just seen that the people of God had a choice of two different sermons they're going to listen to. 99.9% of the pulpits in our land is preaching peace, and you're preaching doom and gloom. Most are going to listen to peace. And therefore, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Ezekiel, Obadiah after him, Daniel, Zachariah, Haggai, all these prophets, would have difficult goals and difficult ministries, such that it would be so easy for them to say, I am done with the ministry. It's exactly what we see on the part of Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 20, O Lord, thou hast deceived me and I was deceived. Why does he feel deceived? Because all the other prophets are prophesying peace, and you've given me a message of judgment. No fair. That hast overcome me and prevailed. How has he overcome and prevailed? Well, he's going to tell you now in a moment. I become a laughing stock all day long. Everyone mocks me. We know from Jeremiah, it was even his brothers and sisters and his family members who would bring him under the cloak of family ties, and then they would attack him. It was horrible. For each time I speak, I cry aloud, I proclaim violence and destruction." That's his message. He summarized his entire 40 plus years of ministry in this phrase, violence, destruction. That was his message. So he says, I'm done preaching. But if I say, I will not remember him or speak anymore in his name. that Jeremiah says this tells us that this was not just a passing thought, this was a temptation, this prophet struggled with. And I'll say this, every faithful minister of God will struggle with the same temptation. God, there's no fruit, I'm done. I'm done. Every time I try to minister, it's like one step forward, 20 steps backwards. And I'm sick of it, God. You can go take your magnifying glass and point it at some other insignificant aunt. I'm done ministering for you. I'm done suffering for you. That's Jeremiah. But when I do that, then my heart becomes like a burning fire. I shut up in my bones. I'm weary of holding in. I cannot endure it. Yeah, try to do that, Christian, and see how miserable your life becomes. Try to honestly say, God, I'm done with you. You can't. You can't let God go. And that's why Jeremiah feels deceived, feels tricked. God, you've given me a passion for you and your kingdom, a passion such that I proclaim violence and destruction, and then I get beat up enough that I say, I'm done, God. I don't need this headache. And then in my heart, it's like, I gotta minister. I can't let God's people go. I can't let this ministry go. And that's why the mandate's there. Preach my word regardless of the fruit. Minister faithfully, application. Minister with the gifts and the calling God's given you regardless of the fruit. That's the mandate. Jeremiah 23, 28. The prophet has a dream. The false prophet has a dream. May relate his dream. But God says, let him who has my word speak my word in truth. There's no going back, there's no stepping back, there's no retreat, Christian. If you've been called by God to serve God's people, you serve them. I don't care how much abuse you get, how much ingratitude you get, God would say, it doesn't matter, your call is to serve. And the big question we have is, Why, God? Why would you call us to serve in a place where no one's listening? Why, God? Why do you call me to care about people who care less about you and themselves than I do? I care more about them than they do. Why? 2-5 is the answer. And that brings us then to the telos of the faithful ministry. You see where this sits in Laban. You understand the context now. Now notice the command. I'm sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children. You shall say to them, thus says the Lord God, nothing less, nothing more. As for them, whether they listen or not, they're a rebellious house, and we know they're not going to listen. They will know that a prophet has been among them. I don't know about you, but that's underwhelming. That's what I want to hear. I wanna hear, Greg, ministry's gonna be hard. You're gonna have those difficult times. But you gotta know one thing right now, I am thrilled with you. Well done. That good and faithful servant. I wanna hear, Greg, it's rough, man. The call that I placed upon your life is not an easy call. But you gotta know at the end of your life, there is an eternal weight of glory waiting for you. That's what we want to hear. Instead, we hear, and Ezekiel, no one's going to listen to you, and this is your recompense. This is what's going to make it all worth it. After you're long gone, dead and buried, they're going to know you were a prophet. That make you feel good, doesn't it? Everything's been said and done you've been beat up and abused by your by ministry beaten abused Hit and stabbed in the back numerous times when you're gone Everyone's gonna say He was a prophet Yep, that was a prophet Underwhelming wouldn't you guess I mean again what we want to hear something like this. I God's gonna use Ezekiel, and yeah, he's gonna get a lot of abuse. Okay, God, we can handle abuse, but at least give him a couple times in his life where he gives a phenomenally powerful message, and a prophecy that he gave happens before everyone's eyes. Wouldn't that be cool? There's gonna be an earthquake, and this is what God says, and all of a sudden, the entire ground trembles. That would be awesome. And you know what's amazing, brothers and sisters? God is not loveless. God did that with Ezekiel. Ezekiel 33, 33, so when it comes to pass as surely it will, then they will know that a prophet has been in their midst. That happened in Ezekiel's life. And what's more, God gives us the promise in Christ that at all times as a servant of God, he's well pleased with you. He also, what's more, gives you the promise that at the end of your life, there remains an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. So you've got everything you could ever want, temporally, emotionally. Feeling wise you got it now that we got that over with okay God loves you has a wonderful plan has has Incredible future for you all of that's true now that we got that out of the way Let's now get to the ultimate end the ultimate telos of your ministry Which is brothers and sisters more grand and glorious than all of the temporal Assurances I could ever give you and when it comes to ministry I What we have in this verse blows the imagination. So let's study it earnestly here this morning. Let's talk about the phrase. They will know that a prophet has been among them. So let's look at the word know, Yadah. It's a covenant word. It's the word of the kingdom of God. Yadah speaks of the richest, of intimacy, of depth. It's the same word used in Genesis 4 if Cain knew his wife and she conceived. It therefore speaks of God's, get this, this is the definition, I don't know if I've got it in your outline, I hope I do. It speaks of God's children coming to the deep realization of God's redemptive program and so God's redemptive purpose. Okay? I don't have anything, so mark that down. Yedah speaks of God's children coming to the deep realization of God's redemptive program, and so His redemptive purpose. God's saying this, Ezekiel, this is going to be the telos of your ministry. The people of God are going to come to a fuller realization of my redemptive plan, purpose, and program. They will know a prophet, not a priest. Priests represent man and speak to God. Prophets represent God, this is the key, and speak to man. They are going to know, there's gonna come a time in the redemptive program of my people when they will come to a greater understanding, realization of my redemptive program because of your words. Do you see that? That's what he's saying here. And then that a prophet has been among them. Once again, covenantal language. God with us. It wasn't just that there was a prophet sent to them. It was that there was a prophet, a genuine prophet of God, walked amongst God's people. Do you know what that means? That means God has never let his people go. Do you understand that? That's what's being said here. They're going to come to this realization when they're in the exile, and they're wondering, why has God forsaken His people? When a temple is destroyed and crushed, God's people are going to come corporately to the realization that God has never left them. That temple is not what they needed. They needed God. And through all things, that's all they needed. That's ever all they needed was God, Jesus Christ. in Christ alone. That's it. Because of their message. Brothers and sisters, another way of saying it is God, through Ezekiel, will be vindicated. Do you understand what that means? God's the telos of Ezekiel's ministry. It's a big point here. If you're wandering, welcome back. Come back. You're back with me now? The telos of all ministry is the vindication of God, or the glory of God, or the pleasure of God. Ezekiel. I'm calling you to minister. And whether they listen or not, the focus of your ministry is not fruit on this earth. The focus of your ministry is that I would be exalted among the sons of men. That is the goal. That's the telos. That's the end of your ministry. That's the end of your ministry of helps, of speaks, of serving, of ministry, of mercy, of marriage, of singleness, of any calling, consequence that God could ever ordain is that God would be glorified and man would be used to that end. Do you see it? The vindication of God. Now why this is so important? The vast majority of the thousands and thousands of prophets that inhabited the people of God for 400 years, to which God said about 20 plus genuines, those prophets have been doing nothing but dishonoring God for 400 years. When the wealthy abused the poor and supposedly received God's endorsement, God was defamed amongst the needy. Hey, get off the property. It's mine. This is not your land. My name is Baruch, and my family name goes back on this property 800 years. God just said that that property right has been revoked. Get off my land. What are you talking about? When the powerful flex their muscle with the support of God. We're raising taxes. We don't have any money. Give it up. We don't have any money. Slavery for you then. You can't enslave me. God's word says. The prophet just said. When sin, compromise, and false worship were rampant and seemed as though God endorsed it all. God was dishonored when ill came upon the land and the temple was destroyed and God's people wondered, why has God forsaken us? When the exile did occur, when God's people appeared to be abandoned in the wilderness, when the exile lasted longer than the promised two years of the false prophets. Do you understand how much dispersions were cast upon God during this time? All the prophets saying, peace, peace, peace, God loves you, wonderful things. And then God is hammering them, and hammering them, and hammering them, just like Zeus. This capricious, fickle God. Why are you doing this, God? That is why, brothers and sisters, this is amazing. Do you know why the Book of Chronicles was written? It was written during the exile. Do you know why? If you read the Book of Chronicles, like the Gospels, you'll notice that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all say the same thing. They're all detailing the same history. Well, Chronicles details 2 Samuel 1 and 2 Kings. Why is it repeating the exact same history as 2 Samuel 1 and 2 Kings? Answer, it's a religious commentary written during the exile to explain to the people of God that God did not forsake his people. His people forsook God. Remember that? If you've been through Bible survey, you learned that. In the exile, everyone wondered, why has God forsaken his temple? Why has God forsaken his people? And the answer from Chronicles is, God did not forsake his people. His people forsook God. Now, if you come to the realization that Ezekiel was a genuine prophet of God, or Isaiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Daniel, If you come to the realization that these were genuine prophets of God, then you must also come to the realization that what they spoke was the Word of Almighty God. So all the time we were thinking God's Word was peace, safety, go as far back as Joel, 845 BC. And Joel was prophesying about the judgment that was coming upon God's people if they didn't, as a nation, repent. God was saying that the entire time. Listen, if you had your son or daughter playing with a dog, teasing it and goading it on and that dog starts growling and puts its ears back and starts going Right and then it bites the child and you've said daughter son be careful that dog's gonna bite you Don't tease that dog and your child just goes right on teasing it and they get bit Do you blame the dog or do you say we told you we told you that dog was gonna bite you God had been warning about the consequences of apostasy for 400 years and God's people never listened never listened. Those few that did listen were likewise castigated and abused. But the day would come when God and His providence would use the genuine efforts of the prophets of God to vindicate His name, to demonstrate like chronicles before, to demonstrate to the world that God is just, that God is lovely, God is holy, God is good. A good, a capricious God doesn't warn 400 years in advance. A gracious God does. So get this, the net result of Ezekiel's ministry, do you see it? Is the vindication of God, that's the telos of his ministry. And let me make the suggestion to you, that's the telos of all our ministries. The glory of God, the exaltation of God, the praise of God. You say, Greg, I liked it better when it was about me. my encouragement, my comfort, the fact that I know that no matter what I did, God's going to pay me back with eternity. I'd prefer to be that than this. No, you wouldn't, and this is why. Do you know of all the creation that God made, we are the only facet of creation that was made to esteem to delight in esteeming that which is greater than us. I'll say it again. Of all creation, we are the only facet of creation that God made that delights in esteeming that which is greater than them. Did you know that? Dogs don't esteem us. Dogs, animals do not esteem glorious things. They don't esteem it. We do. And with this inclination, with this creation, comes with it the downside that we'll turn our backs upon God, Romans 1, and worship and serve the creature rather than the creator. But of all things on this earth, as image bearers, we've been created to do one thing. And that is esteem. Appreciate. Glorify God. Do you understand that? Mance T. Vann. Mance tell us we were made to glorify and enjoy God. And thus, when's the hammer most happy? when it's being used according to its purpose, when it's used to bang nails? When is a Christian, when is a person most happy? When they're being used to esteem, to glorify, to exalt God. There is nothing more glorious on this side of the grave for anyone to participate in than esteeming God. Now, I'm taking a page out of Piper's book. You go to the Grand Canyon. And I dare say, when you're in the presence of the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls, whatever other metaphor you wanna use, picture that you wanna use, no one sits there at the Grand Canyon and says, bring me a mirror, bring me a mirror, I must look at myself. No one does that. You know what happens at the Grand Canyon? You completely forget about self. You realize that? When you're beholding something so awesome, You forget about yourself. And yet, everyone wants to go to Grand Canyon. Why? Because it's so fun. It's so incredible to stand at a moment on this earth and have absolutely no thought of self, but only the sense of reverence and awe. Guys, that's our chief end. And I have news for you. That is when you and I are most thrilled. When God is using you to glorify Him, there's no greater thing in the world. For God to be glorified. Take a page, not from Piper, but from John the Baptizer. John 3.29b-30, and John, so this joy of mine has been made full. How, John? Because he must increase, but I must decrease. Look at the text, direct correlation. My joy is made full as he increases and I decrease. That is why the lie of our present age saying that it's all about you may feel good at the moment, but in the end, it's all defeating. You're the most miserable. The more of you there is in your life, the more miserable you will become. The more tired you'll become, the more aggravated you'll become, but the more there is God in your life, the more that you pause and spend your days gazing upon, reflecting upon, and being used by God to encourage other people to gaze upon and reflect upon the glory and the beauty and the grandeur of God, the more you are at your joy, says John. This joy of mine is over the top. Brothers and sisters, here's some incredible truths. Romans, you got the verses, listen to them. Romans 15, eight through nine. May this burst your bubble. For I say that Christ has become a servant for the Gentiles to glorify God for his mercy. Do you know why Jesus Christ became a man? We think to make much about us, to make much of man. because that's what the world teaches us. We are most happy when we are most glorified. And that's the exact opposite. God became a man so that man might make much of God. Do you understand that? This is an incredible reality. What we've seen is equal to five. In the end, when your ministry's done, people will make much of me. Why did Jesus Christ die on the cross? Ephesians 1, 4b, 5, and 6. In love, God predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to the praise of the glory of his grace. Yes, I'm skipping words, but that's what the text says. Jesus Christ died on the cross to the praise of the glory of his grace. Do you understand, brothers and sisters, the kingdom of God is not about God making much of you. God being burdened that you're not happy enough, that money didn't quite do it for you and those drugs didn't quite do it for you. So he wringed his hands long enough and went after you because he thought maybe you'd be happier with Jesus than you would with drugs. Brothers and sisters, that is not what happened. Jesus Christ died on the... Christ became a man so that God would be made much of, and he died on the cross so that we would make much of God's grace. In fact, that's the telos of God's love. God's love. We think God so loved the world, he saved. That's not why... That's not what happened with his love. The love of God According to Psalm 86, David wrote, I will glorify thy name. Why? For thy loving kindness towards me is great. The telos of God's love for man is the praise and the glory of God and his grace. You are at your best, Christian, when you are small. You are at your best when the world is casting dispersions upon you. In the name of Jesus Christ, John 6. You can read about it. You are at your best when they think they're doing God a service by persecuting you. You're at your best. Are you ready for the Christian history daily calendar? And I read, it's Christian history, I've been reading a lot of these things lately, and I read about this guy who spent 45 years in agonizing pain in the 1700s. They didn't have anything to take away his pain. He was a Christian. And the things he wrote about God and his glory and how all of this is for the glory of God is such a testimony to us as God's people. The paper cuts of life make me curse God and die. Brothers and sisters, it's all to the praise of the glory of God. John Piper wrote it this way. Man was rescued from sin in order that he might enjoy God's acts of glorifying God. If God values the glory of God so much, and the rescuing of man, which we just saw from Ephesians 1, then the aim of that rescue would be to give man the ability and the inclination to value God the way God does. This is the ultimate loving aim of the cross. Christ did not die to make much of us, but to free us to enjoy and participate in God's making much of God forever. It is profoundly wrong to turn the cross into a warrant for self-esteem as the root of mental health. If I stand before the love of God and do not feel a healthy, satisfying, freeing joy without turning that love into an echo of my self-esteem, then I am like a man who stands before the Grand Canyon and feels no satisfying wonder until he translates the canyon into a case for his own significance. That is not the presence of health, but bondage to self. The only ultimate love is the sacrificial act of God, saving us to share God's passion for the supremacy of God. Nothing glorifies him or satisfies us more. That's Ezekiel 2.5, brothers and sisters. That is what this verse is saying. Ezekiel, you preach the word of God regardless of fruit, because it's not about you. It's not about your will. It's not what you deign. Brother, you go to work, and you serve, and you minister, regardless of the lack of recognition at that place, because it's not about you. It's not about your recognition. Child, you faithfully be an older brother or older sister to your younger brothers and sisters, even though they are selfish and mean and complain and whine, because it's not about you. It's not about your pleasure. It's about God. Do you see it? Brothers and sisters, the telos of ministry is the vindication of God, the glory of God. And if God would use us in any insignificant way to further that, and we have had the most blessed life any man could ever live, even if that life means suffering with cancer. suffering with shame, suffering with people attacking you and kicking you and beating you and abusing you. We are, we'll die happy men and women because we've been used by God in this way. Do you remember the hymn, Father, I know, one of my favorite hymns? Content to take a little space if thou be glorified. That's what ministry's about, guys. Now what application for us today? We all here are subject to burnout, subject to disillusionment. We're subject to say it's not fulfilling to serve the saints in fellowship. It used to be, but not anymore. I'm tired of teaching, serving, loving, encouraging the people of God. I no longer like my marriage. It's no longer satisfying me. My wife doesn't satisfy me. This doesn't satisfy me. Ministry has become a yoke and a burden. I'm burned out. Dr. Rayburn in seminary, he's now dead, the late Dr. Rayburn, told us in seminary there's no such thing as burnout but sent out. What does that mean? This is what it means. Brothers and sisters, if you have been called by God and gifted to participate in a ministry which by definition is eternal, if you've been called, and given gifts to participate in ministry, which by definition is eternal, right? Until the next generation, until the next age. And you do it in your own finite strength. Operative words, eternal, finite. You're going to burn out. You will not have the resources as a finite man to do all that you need to do in a ministry which has no end, you will burn out. But in essence, that's sitting out because your focus is wrong. You don't do the work of the Lord by might, by strength, but by my Spirit says the Lord. You do it trusting, by faith in God. You do it as an offering unto the Lord. I'm preaching today, and if you all respond by slapping me in the face, throwing tomatoes at me, persecuting me, guys, it doesn't matter if I'm doing it for the Lord. And if I do it and I hear the voice of a God and not of a man, that ought to not matter. That's just a temptation because it's for the glory of God. If you're serving your children or your husband or your wife or your work, all the things that you're doing, if you're doing it to get an earthly perishable wreath, you will burn out because they're not going to come. Very few of us are going to stand up as a national champion Everyone else are losers. You understand that? Every sporting competition, FIFA, World Cup, there's only one winner. Every other team goes home with a sense of depression and despair. Four years down the drain. What have we done? Every team. Very few champions. And that tells me that most of us in this room, if not all of us, are going to be part of the army of the anonymous, and we're gonna spend our days laboring, which in the end of our lives, we'll look back and say, what have I done? And you will be disappointed if your labors have not been for the Lord. So I exhort you this day, do a diligent search where you reassess the motives that are driving you in what you do. Are you here this day to get or are you here this day to honor God? Are you in the body of Jesus Christ because these people make you feel happy, because they fulfill your needs, you will burn out and eventually you'll be disillusioned? Or are you here because you believe God would have you to pour your heart out into the lives of the people of God, even when they spit at you? We need to reassess, reevaluate, and pray the prayer of Psalm 139. Search me, O God, know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there any be any wicked way in me, any wrong motive. Lead me in the everlasting. Expose my wrong motives that I might be a minister who ministers unto the telos of God, which is making much of God. He increases and I decrease. Let's pray. Father God, this passage, I know I've not done justice to it. What an incredible truth. Please, oh Lord, impress it upon our hearts and our minds. Impress it upon the hearts and minds of your children here, the covenant children growing up, to the adults, to the oldest. God, give us the grace to have our hearts set aflame As you did, John, that a joy would be to the utmost if you would only be glorified, exalted by our lives, by our suffering, by our want. Lord Satan said it. What praise is there if God blesses a man all of his life and he says, thank you, God? Smite him and see what he says. God, give us the grace to respond to the bitter providence of you, our God, to these difficulties of ministry, with a resounding chorus, content to take a little space, if thou be glorified. Be exalted, God. Give us the exalted privilege of making much of Jesus and nothing of ourselves. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.