there's two places I'd like you to turn this morning we're going to start with a brief reading out of Psalm 137 and then we'll turn to Ezekiel chapter 1 Psalm 37 that's found on page 617 and then we'll turn over to 822 Ezekiel 1 this is the word of the Lord we'll begin at Psalm 137 verse 1. By the waters of Babylon there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung our lyres, for there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors myrrh, saying, sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land we forget you oh jerusalem let my right hand forget its skill let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if i do not remember you if we if we if i do not set jerusalem above my highest joy remember oh lord against the edomites the day of jerusalem how they said lay it bare lay it bare down to its foundations o daughter of babylon doomed to be destroyed blessed shall be he who repays you with what you've done to us blessed shall be he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock and now we'll turn over to ezekiel chapter one ezekiel 1 822 is the page number and we'll read this chapter in the 13th year in the fourth month on the fifth day of the month i was among the exiles by shabar canal the heavens were opened and i saw visions of god on the fifth day of the month it was the fifth year of the exile of king jehoiachin the word of the lord came to ezekiel the priest the son of Buzi in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chabar canal and the hand of the Lord was upon him there as I looked behold a stormy wind came out of the north and a great cloud with brightness all around it and fire flashing forth continually and in the midst of the fire as it were gleaming metal and from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures and this was their appearance they had human likeness but each had four faces and each of them had four wings their legs were straight and the soles of their feet were like the soles of a calf's foot and they sparkled like burnished bronze under their wings and on their four sides they had human hands and the four had their faces and their wings thus their wings touched one another each of them went straight forward without turning as they went as for the likeness of their faces each had a human face the four had the face of a lion on the right side and the four had the face of an ox on the left side and the four had the face of an eagle such were their faces but their wings were spread out above each creature had two wings each which touched the wing of another while two covered their bodies and each went straight forward wherever the spirit it would go they went without turning as they went as for the likeness of the living creatures their appearance was like burning coals of fire like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures and the fire was bright and out of the fire went forth lightning and the living creatures darted to and fro like the appearance of a flash of lightning now as I looked at the living creatures I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures one for each of the four of them as for the appearance of the wheels and their construction their appearance was like the gleaming of barrel and the four had the same likeness their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel when they went they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went and their rims were tall and awesome and the rims all four were full of eyes all around and when the living creatures went the wheels went beside them when the living creatures rose from the earth the wheels rose wherever the spirit wanted them to go they went and the wheels rose along with them for the spirit of the living creature creatures was in the wheels when those went these went when those stood these stood and when those rose from the earth the wheels rose along with them for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of an expanse shining like awe-inspiring crystals spread out above their heads and under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight one toward another and each creature had two wings covering its body and when they went I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters like the sound of the almighty a sound of tumult like the sound of an army when they stood still they let down their wings and there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads when they stood still they let down their wings and above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne in appearance like sapphire and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance and upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal like the appearance of fire enclosed all around and downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire and there was brightness around him like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain so was the appearance of the brightness all around such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord and when I saw it I fell on my face and I heard the voice of one speaking and there we'll end the reading of God's word did you get all that I hope I don't do more damage to this and trying to preach this today this is a very complex passage but i want to give it a good honest effort because it's such an important passage for us and something that i think is vitally crucial for our day i was reflecting on the vision of ezekiel chapter one and it dawned on me that there really is no place in the old testament it's kind of a big claim what i'm about to make there really is no place in the Old Testament that speaks more directly to our situation than the book of Ezekiel. Why do I say that? Because the prophecy of Ezekiel comes to them in Babylon. What we have in this book is God speaking to his people who are greatly discouraged as they sit by the waters of Babylon never since the days of Moses had God spoken to a prophet outside of the holy land and there is so much for us to learn here in Ezekiel chapter 1 in this opening vision that is meant to encourage you and is meant to help you and to awaken you this is a very powerful passage and it i began with this great question of what is this all about one of um you said to me the other day and i think it kind of captures the heart of what's going on in this particular passage you said pastor i feel at times that god has abandoned us it's a terrible feeling that i have and me and i struggle with in these times whether he cares not that he doesn't exist of course i believe he exists has he abandoned has he forgotten does he care see i think that's at the heart of where people are right now i think that captures the struggle of people right now and i doubt few in this building would would doubt the existence of god but i think more than we know in this building wonder if god has abandoned in the state of things that they are i listen to the conversations of almost everywhere i can be at the grocery store i can be i can be anywhere and and even from non-believers even from those who have no faith they all are complaining about how bad the state of things are right now everyone feels it everyone sees it what in the world has happened what is going on and we're fixated on this question we're all fixated on the state of things and why things have gone so south and are so bad at our present moment i don't think there's too many people i've met or come across who aren't fixated with this struggle and and think this way about the state of the world well what few seem to realize in our times and what few seem to think about is the great truth and the message of scripture that it is god himself who controls governments and economies and prosperity and poverty and lean years and fruitful years go right down the line god sits enthroned over all of this and at times in this life God strikes Babylon pretty hard with judgments that's the reality he hits Babylon with judgments and the people of the Lord feel rather disoriented at times like this living in this world knowing that it's not our home and feeling all the more that it's not our home for us it seems that this is not a great time if we look at the periods of church history a great time of the outpouring of the spirit people seem rather dull to the faith people we don't see widespread repentance and faith we feel little power at the moment our faith feels weak if i'm describing anything of what you're feeling you shouldn't feel too bad because this is a common experience right now of the church our devotion feels rather dead churches by and large around the country are emptying people not even taking worship seriously anymore and discouragement abounds i mean there are a lot of people right now if we look at the numbers and the statistics even evidencing this who are giving up well welcome to the setting of ezekiel welcome to the setting of ezekiel it comes to us when god had laid a severe judgment on jerusalem the holy city the nation itself the church had faced a severe chastisement from the lord and that was the state of the people because of this remember um what the prophet and ezekiel 2 1 says this jeremiah rehearses all of this but this is how ezekiel's commissioning begins the descendants talking about jerusalem are also impudent and stubborn I send you to them and you shall say to them thus says the Lord God what and whether they hear or refuse to hear for their rebellious house they will know that a prophet has been among them his church was not alive at this time in history the church was not alive what was going on and the vision comes in this context of great discouragement to wake up the people of god out of sleep out of slumber which is a big theme in the bible it's high time to wake up out of sleep at this point in this vision the captivity first captivity had happened and ezekiel is among the original first group of deportees to be hauled off by king nebuchadnezzar to babylon this is about 597 bc and in around 11 years jerusalem would be totally destroyed and they would remain in babylon for a period of seven years for god to fulfill his judgment and to fulfill his purpose. And what we have in this opening scene of Ezekiel are the original deportees of Babylon sitting by the river Shabar, by the waters of Babylon, greatly discouraged. It was a devastating time for them. They couldn't process this. They wept for Jerusalem. They longed to be in Jerusalem. What in the world could have gone so wrong that this kind of thing could happen and that's where we enter this great text notice in verse 1 what it says in the 13th year and there's a lot of debate about exactly what that 13th year is some tie that directly to at least the old expositors to just socia finding the book of the law in the temple i don't know if that's correct it's a there's a lot of debate on that in the 13th year in the fourth month on the fifth day of the month i was among the exiles by the chabar canal the heavens were open and i saw visions of god this is um a big moment in the history of israel and judah and their deliverance this is why i read psalm 137 to capture how difficult the moment was for them and how hard it was for them as psalm 137 says by the waters of babylon there we sat down and wept when we remembered zion how shall we sing the lord's song in a foreign land all this to say when things are going this wrongly and we feel abandoned by God and things are in the state that they're in, this is always in the Scripture when the brightest moment of God's revelation seems to shine. And that's what this vision accomplishes for us. It's actually quite... I think we live in one of the most exciting times ever to live because this is the time, if we look at it and carefully look at the Scriptures, the time when God begins to do things that are surprising. and god begins as it's almost like it's all prepared for again something great to happen on the earth well i want you to notice here what this vision accomplishes the message is very clear in the vision god has not abandoned them god was indeed with them and every time things were about to change, a great prophet would be commissioned and the word would be given and the word would be heard among his remnant. So again, the purpose of this great text today was to reawaken the exiles in Babylon to give them again hope and faith. You see how important that is for our day to awaken them again to hope and faith and that's exactly what we need right now that's exactly this is exactly one of the most important things that the church needs right now in our times but my question today is as we open up this great vision how did the lord do this and what did the lord do and what did this a vision this vision accomplish to awaken them and I think the first thing that you'll notice as we read through this great passage today is how it awakened Ezekiel to the awesome presence and the incomparable power of God that is captured in this vision when you see that there is a divine purpose in the darkest moments of life that's what keeps you going that's what keeps you going and ezekiel needed this and the church needed this and that's where we enter this vision as they're weeping by the waters of babylon struggling how could we sing to the lord if we're not in jerusalem could we really sing to the lord in a foreign land said the said the psalm ezekiel all of a sudden is by the river chabar and the heavens were opened up and he saw visions of god notice how it's described in verse four as i looked behold a stormy wind came out of the north and a great cloud with brightness all around it and fire flashing forth continually and in the midst of the fire as it were gleaming metal it's an overwhelming vision one of the most unique in the scriptures a powerful description of god is given in the midst of such darkness in the scriptures to awaken them ezekiel says i i looked up and all of a sudden i saw a whirlwind a great storm appeared out of the north that's why we sang psalm 29 which was describing the same thing a storm breaks out over the mediterranean and heads up on the land and every one of god's people are shouting glory this was a storm theophany like psalm 29 and psalm 18 which i'll quote here in a minute where what when you have these storm theophanies what is described in the scripture is a great and powerful and awesome firestorm with God seated on the throne above it. Listen to the description here that's given. It was as a furnace of fire. The furnace cloud was awesome to behold. The fire itself, he says, was engulfing itself. Continuous flashings of lightning and brightness all around blazing forth. An epic firestorm of glory had just appeared right before Ezekiel's eyes. How do you even capture this? Out of the midst, I saw the color of amber. What is this? It's God coming on fire. It's God coming as a consuming fire. They, of course, had feared Nebuchadnezzar. They, of course, had feared the great king of Babylon who had come to take them away and who was now their king in Babylon. But notice here, Ezekiel sees God in the midst of all of this in incomparable glory, secluded from everything else. Now, to understand the vision, we go wrong when we focus on the details and the sort of mechanics of the vision, which many have done throughout history. Without really focusing on the meaning of the vision. In fact, I believe the vision was given for the sole purpose of making us fall down in awe before God. That could never be drawn. This could never be captured. I don't know anyone who's given me a depiction of Ezekiel 1. And if they did, it would be very insufficient. From within this furnace, he says, this firestorm that appeared out of the north, I look up and I see four living creatures. It says in verse 5, they had the likeness of a man. So they're formed into one real powerful creature here. Each having four faces and four wings. Much of it's symbolic. What we find ourselves doing in this vision right at the beginning is looking up into the throne room. Ezekiel 10 tells us these are the cherubim. You ever wondered about the angels and the cherubim? Here's a description that's symbolic so that you would be amazed. He says, I looked at them and each of these creatures had four faces. So four creatures, each with four faces, 16 faces. Notice what they are. the first and most prominent was like that of a man, then to the right like that of a lion, then to the left like that of an ox, and then to the back was the face of an eagle. Powerful, awesome beings that God had created surrounding the throne. Notice in verse 9, their wings touch one another. Verse 11, their wings stretch upwards, Two wings of each one touched another. So the picture is this so far. Their massive wings are raised up. All of them forming a wall. There's no light that breaks out of these wings. They're raised up and they are utterly surrounding the glory of God. Completely shielding off the glory. Because if any of that glory broke forth, it would consume anything outside. God is completely walled off in His glory. Verse 13, that's exactly what is described. As for the likeness of the living creatures, you'll notice here, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures darted to and fro like the appearance of a flash of lightning. What is that? It's a massive firewall around the throne. Nothing but continuous lights, glory, lightning, radiation, fire, like torches passing all around the throne. God is on fire. When he looked and he saw, he saw the throne, he saw God on fire in their midst. Red and yellow flashes forming a wall that nobody could come close to without being incinerated. When Ezekiel saw that, he wasn't thinking about Nebuchadnezzar or Biden. He wasn't thinking about worldly leaders. verse 11 he is absolutely fixated on this throne their wings he says were specifically created to cover their bodies so that the angels themselves weren't consumed and they're not even sinners they have to shield themselves from the radiating glory of god who is the consuming fire what is this saying to us well first major point i think ezekiel's driving home here is the awesome power and holiness of god that was the first thing that listen to this is so important that was the first thing that needed to be recovered among the people of god every time throughout history and if i can use the word revival in a good sense every time there was revival every time there was renewal and the people woke up out of the dimness and darkness of just apathy to god there was a sense again there was an overwhelming sense again of the awesome splendor and holiness of God. Isaiah, when he was commissioned, had the same thing happen. Remember, he said, I looked up and I saw the train of the Lord's robe fill the temple and all the angels in heaven are flying about saying, holy, holy, holy. And I fell on my faces dead. It seems to me, to really grasp this vision at the beginning, you have to say that the great error among the covenant people of God throughout history, when the times were dark and there seemed to be little faith and there seemed to be little response and people were turning from the word and doing whatever they wanted to do, The great error that had been committed among the people of God was forgotten holiness. That the God we serve is holy in all of his power. We are polluted in this world by sin. And sin greatly discourages us. And we forget how awesome and brilliant God is. how sin can't even be in his presence. We lose total sense of this. We don't even think about this. We don't even think about the one to whom we have to do and give an account this way. Because it's the great truth that drives us, when we understand it, to give glory and reverence to him. We used to start worship years ago. It was a common thing that was said that's lost today. God is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep fear before him. What is the great gospel that's been preached to us from the beginning? Think about his people. The great gospel that was preached to us from the beginning is that God has favored us with His presence. This is what the whole Old Testament was wrestling through. How could God dwell among us as sinners? And the overarching message of Scripture all throughout from Genesis 3 on was since there is forgiveness with you, you are feared. you will give forgiveness so that you may be reverenced, you may be worshipped, you may be adored. That the holy God of heaven and earth dwells with his people is the most remarkable of all truths throughout all time. And he's made a way. That's why he gave his son. What is forgotten in times of darkness what are we all caught up in i saw i saw a pastor say this week talking about other pastors when pastors get bored with jesus and the gospel they gravitate to social issues politics or pragmatics as a matter of first importance what are the issues of first importance again to remember the awesome holiness of god captivating our hearts recognizing who it is who made us and holds all things and his purity his radiance he dwells in unapproachable light and that he loves us in christ that's what your greatest need is again think about this to be captivated by the holy god who made all things he's the one who formed us who knew us in the womb who is so pure and holy who dwells with us that beloved is the greatest of encouragements in the darkest of times he's with us and it's this God who's offered us him as our help who can sleep through that it's somebody who's lost fact lost sight of the fact of who they are and who God is and he's moving did you notice that second emphasis here in verse 15 beside each creature is a wheel in splendid barrel color it's not a regular wheel is a wheel in the midst of a wheel anyone know what that is so that whenever the wheel moved it could go in any of the four directions without having to turn everything's in perfect symmetry and these these wheels alone are just awesome Ezekiel's looking at these wheels they're just impressive wheels verse 18 says that they have rims. These are better than Southern California spinners. They're high and they're awesome. The rims are full of eyes all around the four of them. So you know what he sees? These wheels are so massive that the bottom part of the wheel, he says, is touching the earth and it goes all the way up into the heavens to the top part of the wheel the wheels are touching the earth at the bottom part of the earth and the wheel goes right on up the top part right on up into the heavens whenever the cherubim moved whenever they whenever they stopped they stopped whenever they went these wheels went what are you what are you seeing in the vision the throne is on wheels in other words what you have here is a glorious vehicle chariot transporting the throne room of God it's represented as a glory chariot this was something so revolutionary to the israelites mind you have to understand this vision is absolutely if you're an israelite and you're listening to this this is revolutionary to their mind because the temple's over there and it's getting thrown down by nebuchadnezzar how could god be with us apart from the temple Here the temple's rolling Throughout heaven and earth And it's come to them in Babylon He's riding on his chariot in Babylon on a storm What's our assumption of God? Let's be real He's not near to us we suffer and we go through all these things and we struggle and god's abandoned us god's forgotten us god's in some off distant place that's that's how all of history has treated him so deus said he doesn't see he doesn't know and the vision is saying when god's people are oppressed on the earth this is so so important when god's people are in turmoil when god's people are discouraged when god's people feel like giving up because they've experienced the woes of babylon and the difficulties of living here and have felt the judgments falling on the earth. Psalm 18. Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken because he was angry. Smoke went up from his nostrils and devouring fire from his mouth. Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also and came down with darkness under his feet. There's the wheels. He rode upon a cherub. That's it. That's what we're describing here. And he flew. He flew upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his secret place. His canopy around him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. From the brightness before him, his thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire. I think Psalm 42 could be asked right now, why are you downcast, oh my soul? put your hope in God. He is, Psalm 91, the shelter. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. How important is it for people in despair who think God has abandoned them to see this vision? It's not true. it's not true. We're in the same place. This is why I think that claim could be made that what's being described here in Ezekiel is probably in the Old Testament the most relevant description for the people of God today. When we are in the same place and feel more and more that we don't belong here and feel more and more it all bearing down on us, sickness, death, sin, sorrow, corruption. Then we are in Babylon. When every evil is assaulting, guess whose throne has come to you? Do you know how radical a claim that is to the Old Testament? What a terrible thing to give up faith in these times. What a terrible thing to give up Jesus. in these times he has said i'll never leave you nor forsake you third encouragement wherever the spirit wanted to go they went and the wheels rose along with them for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels when those went these went when those stood these stood and when those rose from the earth the wheels rose along with them for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels so think of this 16 heads and 32 eyes there's not a place they don't see their legs and feet are constructed to be made to execute the will of god perfectly they don't deviate to the right or to the left at all from the will of god they're agile they're swift to do the work they're darting to and fro to do god's work that's why angels are ministering spirits sent from heaven to minister to you said hebrews notice in verse 8 that the hands of a man were under his wings they're extremely skilled and they do whatever the Holy Spirit tells them to do. The cherubim. When they went, I heard the noise of their wings. Like the noise of many waters. Like the voice of the Almighty. A tumult, a noise of an army. And when they stood still, they let down their wings. They went straight wherever he said. What is that telling you? Well, there's a reason Jesus, and we say in the Heidelberg, when we ask the Lord to do his will, that we would do his will as speedily and readily as the angels in heaven. All, this is the encouragement, all of his purposes are being accomplished and nothing's frustrating. he's ruling over all. And nothing is outside of his will. And beloved, there's nothing he does not see. Nothing. Nothing that is happening on the earth can frustrate his plan. Nothing that is happening on the earth can undermine his purposes. I was preaching the other day at the Jane Wardenburg service and I was absolutely caught. It didn't even come to my mind in preparation. I was absolutely caught as I was reading that passage in Psalm 71. You have given the command to save me. That can't be frustrated. You see? This is why he tells us to pray. We have a lot of fears right now. What's going to happen to us? You know, I keep thinking of what would it be like if Putin launched a nuke to the U.S.? It'd be awful. Who controls the speed of these things? Who holds the heart of the king in his hand? Who frustrates the plans of the wicked and frustrates their counsel? Think of the encouragement. your holy God dwells with you. He has all power and dominion. He has all strength. He has all wisdom. He has all skill. And he's ever-present with us to determine the course of history. Here's the best part. And above the expanse and over their heads, there was the likeness of a throne. In appearance like sapphire and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness of a human appearance. And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal like the appearance of fire enclosed all around and downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire and there was brightness all around him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face. And I heard his voice speaking. Who is that? Revelation grabs this vision. Revelation is full of the garb of the Old Testament. And it says this, At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven. With one seated on the throne. Who is that? It's Christ. He's the Lord of history. He's seated over all. He rules the nations. He's the king. And beloved, the king loved us so much. This God. That he would send his son down. the Father would send His Son down here and taking on our human nature off that splendid throne, the glory that He had with His Father before the world began. To die for you. To forgive you. To give you righteousness and peace. There's no one on heaven and earth more powerful than this God. I found it interesting that the rainbow is all around him. The rainbow is not some sweet contemplative thing, by the way. In early ancient Near Eastern cultures, it was considered to be a war bow. He hung it in Genesis 9, that relaxed horizontal position for a time to say he's in his mercy staying the judgment. When he comes, that rainbow is all around him pointing down in judgment. That's why it's so sad what the culture's done to the rainbow to mock God's mercy. And this is the important point today. People need to again hear his voice. That's how it ends. I heard his voice. I dropped my face. This is who's speaking to you. hasn't hebrews been saying that god in these last days has spoken to us through his son why do we fear you see how important this vision is and all this discouragement this vision is a warning to those who refuse to hear his voice but it's an encouragement to those who hear him and turn to him and look to him and trust him by the rivers of Babylon we wept how many of you are weeping and feel the pains of being in Babylon here's his response to babylon oh daughters of babylon doomed to be destroyed blessed shall be he who repays you with what you've done to us blessed shall be he who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock why does that trouble us so much because we have lost sight of the justice of god the nations need to fear him but most of all in our day the church needs to fear him in reverence and awe and realize that this God who is a consuming fire has announced his love in Jesus Christ to us this God cared for them and this God cares for us the one on the throne today has spoken the father was very serious when he said this is my beloved son listen to him let's pray Heavenly Father thank you for such a glorious text and a vision that is all inspiring thank you for your steadfast covenant love to us Let us be awake in these times. Let us not lose heart by the waters of Babylon. We thank you, Lord, that the Jerusalem that we do long for is the heavenly Jerusalem that you've prepared for all who love you. Thank you for dwelling with your people. And thank you for declaring in the covenant of grace, he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. The wheels are right in front of us. We praise you today and give you thanks for encouraging our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen.