The Local Christendom Podcast with Aaron Ventura

His Unspeakable GiftSunday, November 1st, 2026All Saints’ DayChrist Covenant Church – Chehalis, WA2 Corinthians 9:6–15
Prayer
O Father, we thank You for Your Son, who became poor for a season, to make us rich forever. Grant us to taste and to see Your Divine Goodness in Your Word, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
Do you have a generous soul? Would other people describe you as being a generous person, a person who has not merely a big wallet but a big heart?
It says in Proverbs 11:24-25, There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters [others] will also be watered himself.
This morning I want us to consider how the Apostle Paul talks about money, giving, and generosity. For here in this letter he is writing to the church in Corinth, advising them to be generous to the poor back in Jerusalem.
Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” and here Paul enumerates what some of those blessings are.
And so I thought it most fitting, that on our first Sunday here, in this building that was largely purchased for us by a handful of very generous souls, that while they remain anonymous, we can honor their gift by honoring God in how we receive this gift. Do you know how God would have us receive a blessing as grand as this?
David asks in Psalm 116:11, What shall I render unto the Lord For all his benefits toward me?
Well, here in this passage, Paul is going to give us some directions in how to do that, sothat you may come to know by experience, that it is truly more blessed to give than to receive.
Outline
Now there are four reasons in this passage, that Paul uses to motivate the Corinthians to be generous. And it is according to those four reasons that we will walk through our text. So starting in verses 6-7, the first reason Paul gives for generosity is: Because the more you sow, the more you reap.
Verses 6-7 – Because the more you sow, the more you reap
6But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
7Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
Here, Paul gives us the image of a farmer, or gardener. And the question he asks you is: How big of a harvest do you want? How much fruit and grain, bread and wine do you want to have this summer and fall? If you want a big harvest, then sow big. If you want a small harvest, then sow stingily.
He says in Galatians 6:7, Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
So this is the first incentive to give. Jesus Christ is Lord of the harvest, He makes the rain to fall and the sun to shine on the just and unjust alike (Matthew 5:45). And therefore, if you are a child of God, living in God’s world, why not sow bountifully into His divine economy and leave the results to Him?
In verse 7 the Apostle goes on to describe the most fertile conditions for producing a great harvest. He says, Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
In the original context, the Corinthian church had had many months, if not a full year to set aside money each week to relieve their poor brothers and sisters in Jerusalem.
In Paul’s first letter to them, he concluded by saying in 1 Corinthians 16:1-3, Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week [Sunday] let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.
Now as most of us know, it is easy to be inspired to give to some person or missionary or worthy cause in a moment of passion, but then after a few days, or weeks, or months, that passion subsides, and we can easily forget that that need still exists, and that unless we follow through on our intention to give, that intention is really worthless. If after the feeling passes, no gift has been given, no check has been signed, did you really meet that need?
And so Paul is writing this second letter to the Corinthians to stir up their affections again, and to remind them of their original intention to give, along with the real blessings that await those who sow bountifully to the Lord.
As it says in Proverbs 19:17, He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.
So Paul does not want anyone to give alms from a mere passing sentiment, or emotional guilt-manipulation, and certainly not under threat or compulsion.
Instead, he wants them to give alms (which is a free-will offering distinct from the tithe) from a sober mind, a decisive heart, that cheerfully gives in proportion to their means. Recall He says in 1 Corinthians 16, lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper.
And so do you consider the money in your bank account as seed that God has given you to sow? We could ask the same of your time and energy, and how you prioritize your life. Is your whole a life a cheerful offering unto God?
A healthy church is a church that is full of cheerful givers. Because those are the only kind of givers that God is said to love. God loves a cheerful giver (not a reluctant giver), because cheerful giving is divine.
Such generosity is god-like. Cheerful giving is who God is in His very nature and being. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are together a unity of unbounded and infinite love. And so if God gives cheerfully, so also should His people. That’s the first incentive to give. God is not mocked, a man will reap what he sows.
Now the second reason to be generous is…
Verse 8 – Because God has unlimited resources
8And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
That is a lot of universal language here: all grace, always, all sufficiency in all things to abound in every good work.
This is a remarkable promise, that only a God with unlimited power and resources can make. Later in 2 Corinthians 12 Paul will use his own life as an example of this promise being fulfilled. Paul is suffering, he is in pain, he is being harassed by this messenger of Satan, this thorn in his flesh, and pleads with God to remove it.
But what does God say to him? How does God’s all surpassing power minister to Paul?
It says in 2 Corinthians 12:9, The Lord said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
And so wherever there is a good work to be done, God has grace in unlimited supply. That grace might come in an unexpected form, it might not come as a check in the mail, or maybe it will. But in either case we have God’s promise.
And as Jesus says in Matthew 6:33, Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
This is true for us individuals, and it is true for the church corporately. God does not command us to do anything without also supplying the strength and resources to do it.
Sometimes this means we have to get really creative, we have to make sacrifices, but the promise of God is always sure. He will not test you beyond what you are able to endure, and then when you feel unable to endure, that is often when God most frequently loves to manifest His power.
What did Abraham call the mountain where God provided a ram for his son Isaac? It says Genesis 22:14, And Abraham called the name of the place, Jehovah-Jireh (The-Lord-Will-Provide); as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
This means you must climb the mountain of God by faith. Not by sight, not always carrying the ram upon your back, but trusting that if God told you to do something, He will give you what you need when you need it.
And so however poor and needy you may feel and be, hope in God and never let go. Wrestle with God, like Jacob wrestled with angel, and tell him, I will not let go until you bless me.
This is how God makes you strong, by dislocating your hip in hard trials, so that His divine power can be manifest in your weakness. This is true when it comes to spiritual things, and it is true when it comes to our finances as well.
So Paul tells the Corinthians to give because God has infinite grace, unlimited supply. And this will sustain your heart, even if it feels like a lean season. God is not asking you to give what you do not have.
Now the third reason Paul gives is…
Verses 9-10 – Because God gives us gifts that are labeled for other people
9(As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
10Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
Here Paul fortifies his argument with three proof texts from the Old Testament. He starts with a direct quotation from Psalm 112, and then brings together Isaiah 55:10, and Hosea 10:12.
So just in case you did not trust Paul’s authority. Here he brings forth a threefold witness from the Psalms and Prophets.
And what he is doing is anticipating a possible objection, which is, “If I give to the poor saints in Jerusalem, how can I be sure that I’ll have enough food for myself?”
And the answer Paul gives is, well, you have to trust Jesus. And so think about where both your seed and your bread (the necessities of life) come from. If the seed comes from God, and God tells you to sow your seed bountifully, is He then going to withhold from you the daily bread He knows you need?
And so rather than living with fear and doubt, think about what Jesus did with five loaves and two fishes. He fed thousands. Isn’t that the same Jesus you claim to love and follow and trust? And who tells you in Luke 12:22-23, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing…o ye of little faith.
And so Paul cites these Old Testament passages to strengthen our faith, and to remind us that God gives us more than our daily bread, so that we can be a blessing to others. Isn’t this God’s promise to Abraham, which is fulfilled in Christ, that we are blessed in order to be a blessing to our neighbors?
And what else does Psalm 112 describe about the generous man? It says in verses 3-8, right before the verse that Paul quotes, Wealth and riches will be in his house, And his righteousness endures forever. Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established; He will not be afraid, Until he sees his desire upon his enemies. And then it says, He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted with honor.
So there are many and great blessings for those who see their possessions for what they are: Temporary, something you cannot take with you, and packages with other people’s names on it.
The man in Psalm 112 is like the original Saint Nicholas. It brings him cheer to give to other what God has given to him.
SUMMARY: So give because: 1) you reap what you sow, 2) because God is unlimited, and 3) because your abundance is meant to be shared. And the fourth and final reason Paul gives is because, God wants gratitude and worship to increase in the world.
Here in verses 11-15, Paul describes some of the spiritual benefits of generosity.
Verses 11-15 – Because God wants gratitude and worship to increase in the world
11Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
12For the administration of this service not only supplieth the needs of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;
13While, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men,
14And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.
15Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
So beyond just meeting the real tangible physical needs of the saints, Paul says this bountiful gift causes four spiritual effects:
1. Many thanksgivings unto God by all who hear of their generosity.
2. The glorification of God, when people see that the Corinthians are living out their confession to the gospel of Christ.
3. The recipients pray for the Corinthians. So there is a mutual bond of spiritual fellowship.
4. The recipients long for the Corinthians, because of God’s grace which has been manifest in them.
And Paul punctuates all of this with a thanksgiving of his own, Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
Conclusion
According to Greek scholars, Paul invented or coined this word which we translate as unspeakable or indescribable or inexpressible.
Meaning, the gift of God’s grace, and the magnitude of God’s generosity is such a great gift, that human language is insufficient to describe it.
And so I ask you this morning, do you know by experience this indescribable gift?
If someone were to give you today a billion dollars, would writing them a thank you card really do that gift justice? What would you owe that person who gave you such a gift you could never repay?
Well God gave has given us so much more in His Son. He offers you eternal life by repentance and faith in the cross of Christ. And so I close with the words of 2 Corinthians 8:8-9 which says, I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
May God grant you to know these riches and to give them generously to others. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Church Planting in CanaanSunday, October 25th, 2026Twenty-Second Sunday After PentecostChrist Covenant Church – Centralia, WAGenesis 12:1–9
Prayer
O Heavenly Father, we thank you for the example of our spiritual father Abraham, who sojourned in the land of Canaan, who forsook all to follow You, and because of his patience and faith, received the promised inheritance, not in this life, but in the life that is to come. Grant us to imitate his great faith, which is faith in Your Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God forever, Amen.
Introduction
4,000 years ago, Noah died. And two years after Noah’s death, Abram was born. Noah died in 1998 BC. And Abram was born to Terah in 1996 BC.
Now a couple weeks ago we studied Genesis 11 and the building of the tower of Babel. And we saw how men conspired together to dethrone the Most High God.
How did God respond? He responded graciously, by coming down and scattering the tongues and languages of men.
Now as we come to Genesis 12, and the call of Abram, about 320 years have passed since that Babel event. And we find that Abram is living in Haran (500 miles north of Babylon), and with Abram, God is going to begin a new building project, which is the building of Christ’s kingdom.
God has placed Genesis 11 and Genesis 12 right next to each other, to show us this difference between man’s way of exalting himself and building a kingdom against God, and God’s ways of exalting man to sit down next to Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6). God’s kingdom is built through humility, obedience, and patient faith in God’s promise. As it says in Zechariah 4:6, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, Saith the Lord of hosts.
At Babel, man tried to make his own name great, but to Abram what does God say? I will make your name great.
At Babel, man refused to leave his own country and kin. Instead of spreading out on the earth, he tried to build a world city (the first globalist empire against God). But to Abram God says, leave your country, leave your kindred, leave your father’s house, forsake your blood and soil, and go to a new land that I will show you.
At Babel man tried to build a monument for posterity, a name which would not be forgotten. But where are the names of those builders today? Instead, their memory is an unfinished tower, forever testifying to their pride and folly.
What does God build with and through Abram? God builds from him a great nation (many nations in fact), principally a holy nation and a royal priesthood. And through his loins, and the barren womb of Sarah, would come the promised redeemer and seed, the God-man Christ Jesus.
Paul says in Galatians 3:16, Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
So Christ is the ultimate means by which blessing comes to Abram and all humanity. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:20 that in Christ Jesus, all the promises of God find their Yes and Amen.
And so if you have the faith of Abram, which is faith in Christ, then you are an heir together with him. And just as Abram had to trust God, and wait patiently, and endure long trials, hoping against hope, so also must you in your own day.
And so on this final morning, of us worshipping here together in this building, I want us to consider how God builds his kingdom through the faith and patience of His saints.
Outline of the Text
Our text divides into three sections:
In verses 1-3, God issues a command and promises a blessing.
In verses 4-6, Abram obeys and departs to Canaan.
In verses 7-9, God appears to Abram, and Abram builds two altars for worship.
So God commands and promises a blessing, Abram obeys and departs, and then God appears to Abram, and Abram builds a place for worship.
Verses 1-3 – God gives a command and promises a blessing
1Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Here we have a command followed by a promise. The command is to leave at least four things behind:
1. Abram must leave his own country/land
2. He must say goodbye to his kindred and extended relatives,
3. He must leave his father’s house, which we are told in Joshua 24:2 was a house of idolatry.
And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods.
Abram was to forsake his father’s gods and idolatrous ways.
4. And then fourth, Abram must relinquish the security and control that he presently has over his own life. God tells him to go, but God does not yet tell him all the details about where to go, and for how long, and if he will ever get to settle down anywhere. Abram has to trust God, and trust the very limited information God gives to him at this stage.
It says of this scene in Hebrews 11:8, By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Isn’t this how God so often works in our lives? He gives us clear commands that we must obey and promises blessings if we do, and yet He leaves out so many particulars that we think are essential to know.
God gives Abram a command without giving him a precise destination. The command is Leave, but where to, he is not yet told.
And so you can imagine the greatness of Abram’s faith here. Because Abram has to go have one of those awkward conversations with his wife later that evening.
“Honey, the Lord spoke to me, and He told us we need to leave.
Leave what?
Not much, just our land, our family, my father’s house.
Uhm. Okay. Where are we going?
Great question. I don’t know. He didn’t tell me that. But get this, He promised me a great blessing if we obey. Oh yeah?
He said, I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
What did Sarai think of all this? We are not told. But this is a staggering promise that is tied to a kind of scary command. Leave all that is familiar to you, and go somewhere unknown. All you’ve got to go on at this point, is the word of God. Is that enough?
Well as risky or scary or thrilling as this might be (depending on your temperament), this is also what Jesus says to every person who would follow him. Isn’t this what God is still saying to you today?
Jesus says in Luke 14:26-30, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
So have you counted the cost, of leaving all so you can follow Jesus and actually reach the finish line (dying in faith)? Well then you too must in spirit and in truth, forsake this world, forsake the sins of your father’s house, forsake the devil and all his works, forsake your family and relatives, and anything that would hinder you from obeying Jesus completely.
Jesus leaves no room in his kingdom for divided loyalties. You cannot serve God and mammon, no man can have two masters, Jesus says. Eventually God will separate the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares.
And so have you truly forsaken this world, for the sake of Christ? Can you honestly say with the Apostle Paul, But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Chris (Phil 3:7-8).
Abram forsook all to follow and gain Jesus Christ and his resurrection glory. And so must you, if you would be called a true son of Abraham.
Now in verses 4-6 we are given a brief description of Abram’s departure.
Verses 4-6 – Abram obeys God’s command and departs to Canaan.
4So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
6And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
What do you expect to be doing when you are 75 years old? Some of you are older than 75, and here you are. Did you imagine your life would turn out this way? Whatever Abram’s plans might have been, it was probably not leaving everything behind and start a new life on the road.
Recall Abram and his wife are childless, and they have been childless their entire marriage, with all the griefs, sorrows, and disappointments that that would cause. We learn later in Genesis that both of them are fairly resigned to this hard providence, and so Eliezer of Damascus, an adopted servant is the heir.
And so Abram and Sarai are beginning a new life that is founded solely on the Word of God, and not on anything they can presently see. In fact, what they see, and what they know about themselves, appears to run exactly contrary to the promises God has made to them. How will this seed come?
Abram and Sarai are childless. Sarai has a barren womb. And yet God has spoken. God has promised to bless them, and make them a blessing to the whole world. And if God can create the world out of nothing, by the word of His power, then with God, all things are possible.
Now together with Abram and Sarai who else is with them? Hundreds more than are presently in this room.
For starters there is Lot, who is Abram’s nephew. And as nice as it might be to some kindred leave with him, Lot will be the cause of some grief to Abram a couple chapters later. Abram will have to go to war and kill people to rescue him.
In Genesis 14 we are told that Abram had 318 household servants trained for war. And if those men had families, and children or grandchildren of their own, this could easily have been a caravan of well over 1,000 people (some think much larger).
These servants and their families are what verse 5 calls, the souls that they had gotten in Haran.Abram is a kind of civil magistrate, a sheik, or chieftain, not merely a private individual.
And in Genesis 17 God includes all these household servants, who have zero biological relationship to Abram in the covenant of circumcision. In fact, God makes it a command, that if anyone is not circumcised in Abram’s household, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant (Gen. 17:14).
And so loyalty to Abram meant loyalty to Abram’s God, and that mean all the males, including the servants, and the servant’s children, received the covenant sign of circumcision.
And so notice, from the very beginning, the covenant people of God are not limited to a single bloodline. It included non-biological descendants of Abraham, who had no Abrahamic blood in their veins. And this is just one of the many reasons why the New Testament condemns the Jews for all their boasting in the flesh, boasting in their lineage.
Because who is a true son of Abraham? Who is a true Jew?
I know the CKA kids can answer this because they just memorized Romans 2:28-29, For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
And so even before God called Abram out of Haran, he was already winning souls from those around him. So much so that they were willing to fight for Abram and be circumcised as grown men. That takes some measure of faith!
Abram was what we could call, an evangelist, a church planter. “Apostle to the Canaanites” is a title we could give him. He had been doing this in Haran, and now God is promising to bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him. A promise that belongs to all of us who keep covenant with Christ.
Finally, in verses 7-9, the Lord appears to Abram, and starts to give him some of those details about the land he did not previously have.
Verses 7-9 – God appears to Abram
7And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.
8And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.
9And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
Now in your bulletin you can see this illustrated on the map. Abram left Haran and went south about 400 miles to Shechem. And it is at Shechem that God appears to him, and says, Unto thy seed will I give this land.
Now Abram does not yet know how this will happen, or when it will happen, he is only told that it will happen. And in response to this promise of a seed to inherit the land, Abram builds an altar unto the Lord.
He does the same thing 20 miles south, between Bethel and Ai, and in the next chapter, after his exodus from Egypt, he will build an altar at Hebron (35 miles south of Bethel).
So at 75 years old, Abram is a traveling evangelist, calling upon God, and building altars of worship throughout a land that God has promised him, but which is presently inhabited by Canaanites.
And it is significant that Abram builds 2 altars then a third, because the law says, in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word/matter shall be established (Deut. 19:15, Matt. 18:16).
So an altar is a confirmatory sign, a memorial of witness, a place for sacrificial worship unto the true and living God. This is Abram’s way of planting a flag in the ground, and putting the Canaanites on notice, that their land belongs to Christ, the seed of the woman, who shall crush the serpent’s head.
Now how long does it take for these promises to be fulfilled? How long until those humble altars of earth, become the literal geographic inheritance of Abram’s offspring? Over 400 years.
And this is where faith must be married with patience and hope. Because God tells Abram in Genesis 15:13-16, “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs [referring to Egypt], and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age [he will die at 175 years old]. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
And Stephen the Martyr says in Acts 7:5, God gave him no inheritance in [the land], not even enough to set his foot on.
And so do you have same patience and faith as Abraham? Is your heart set on earthly things, or heavenly things? This world, or the world to come?
It says in Hebrews 11:9-16, By faith [Abraham] dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God…These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return [that is to Shechem, and Bethel, Ai and Hebron]. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
Conclusion
What is God commanding of you today? What has God promised to those who love Him? What is God calling Christ Covenant Church to be in this community?
He is calling you to forsake the world, the flesh, and the devil.
He is calling you to live in hope of that heavenly country, that celestial city, that worldwide inheritance that Jesus Christ died to secure.
Abram built altars for worship on earth, because by them he could lead the Canaanites, and lead his household, into the true and heavenly promised land. And this is what we are doing when we start churches, when we build Christian households, and preach the good news of forgiveness in Jesus, to our neighbors and all who will hear.
We are announcing to them that Jesus Christ is LORD, and Chehalis is Christ’s possession. There may be Canaanites in the land, but their days are numbered. And by God’s grace, those unbelievers shall be converted and subdued to King Jesus.
This is all signified by the first man named Jesus in the Bible, you probably know him as Joshua (which is the Hebrew name for Jesus), who living 400 years after God’s promise to Abram, conquered Shechem, Bethel, Ai, Hebron, and divided the land to Abram’s descendants.
And so I charge dear saints of God, as God charged Joshua before he took the land, Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
And so may He, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Babel & The City of GodSunday, October 11th, 2026Twentieth Sunday After PentecostChrist Covenant Church – Centralia, WAGenesis 11:1–9, Ezekiel 48:30–35
Prayer
O Father, we thank You for the revelation of Your Son, who by his death and resurrection has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, to create in Himself one new man from the scattered and divided tribes of the earth, thus making peace. Grant us this peace, as Your kingdom advances, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
How many acres of land do you own? Zero acres? Maybe you rent. Half and acre. 5 acres. 100 acres. More?
What if God gave you 50 square miles of land, that is 32,000 acres? What would you do with it? How would you organize, divide, and arrange that land so that people would want to live there? Where would you build the city? What would you call it? Where would you put the farmland, the forests, the pasture, the houses, the neighborhoods, and the grocery stores? How would you write the zoning laws for what could be built and where?
In the two passages I just read, Genesis 11 and Ezekiel 48, we have two competing visions for what a land and a city should be.
On one hand there is the Babel Vision, with a tall tower that stretches up towards heaven. And then there is Ezekiel’s Vision, where heavenly blueprints descend down to earth, and God shows us how He arranges 50 square miles of land around His Holy sanctuary.
If you look at the graphic I have put in your bulletin, there is a central square there, in between the two territories of the Prince. And that square measures about 50 square miles, and just for comparison, that is about the same land mass as all of Tacoma.
That is what is God is showing to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 40-48, and this morning I want to compare and contrast these two rival visions for what society can be. There is the Babelic vision to build a tower and a name for oneself. And then there is God’s Vision, with a sanctuary for true worship from which living waters flow, and then south of that Sanctuary is a city whose name is The LORD is there.
So as we are about to move from one city to another, from Centralia to Chehalis, I want us to consider some of the practical lessons contained here in Genesis 11 and in Ezekiel’s vision.
Outline of the Sermon
In order to set these two rival visions side by side, we are going to ask and answer three questions of each building project, that capture its essence. Those three questions are:
Q1. Where do they build?
Q2. What do they build?
Q3. Why do they build?
So starting with the Babel Project, where was the city and tower of Babel built?
Q1. Where do they build?
We read in Genesis 11:1-2
1And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
2And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
First recall the context of Genesis 11. It is about 100 years after the flood. God reduced the entire population of the earth down to 8 people, Noah and his family. And after the flood subsides it says in Genesis 9:1, So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”
So God’s charge to Noah has not changed even after the fall, and even after the flood. The commission God gave to Adam and Eve in the Garden, is re-commissioned to Noah and His sons as they step out of the ark.
God still wants a world full of image bearers who reflect His Triune glory and who exercise dominion over the earth.God intends for Noah and his sons and their wives to fill the earth with true worshippers of the true God, and to especially not repeat the same wickedness, idolatry, and disobedience that provoked God to flood the earth in the first place.
So the marching orders for this reboot of the human race is: Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. That is go out, cultivate the land, plant vineyards, plant gardens, raise cattle, dig in the earth for gold, silver, and precious stones, make tools, make musical instruments and offer all your first fruits to God.
God wants Noah’s descendants to beautify and offer the creation back to God in worship. They are to be good stewards of a new world that has just been washed clean.
Now 100 years go by, and a lot can change in 100 years. Can you imagine living in 1926? It was a different world! And depending on how quickly children were born and spaced, there would only have been perhaps a few thousand people on earth when the tower of Babel was built (estimates range anywhere from 1,000 on the low end to 10,000 at the high end). Whatever the case, when it says in verse 1, the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech, it is describing a world population that is almost certainly less than 10,000 people.
Now we are told in verse 2 that they journeyed from the east and chose to settle in the plain in the land of Shinar (שִׁנְעָ֖ר). This is the where for the city and tower of Babel.
Now what does this name Shinar mean? In Hebrew it means something like shaking teeth, or teeth city. And this word for teeth in Hebrew (Shen) shares a root with the Hebrew word for gate (Shaar). And if you think about it, what are teeth but the gate of the mouth?And this is curious since this whole passage is about man’s mouth and speech and what comes out of it.
In verse 1 it says more literally, the whole earth had one language and one lip. And so there is a lot of Hebrew wordplay going on here as God is about to scatter and divide the proud tongues of men.
So Genesis 11:1-9 is really about man’s mouthy rebellion against the Most High God, and what God does to those who exalt themselves against Him.
So the name Babel, which means confusion, is built in the land of Shinar, shaking teeth.
And perhaps this idea of shaking teeth should remind us of what Jesus says in the gospels. That those who do evil will be cast into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is the land of Shinar, where the ungodly children of men try to build a city in defiance of God. What Satan tried to do as an angel and fell, so also man now tries to do, and will fall.
What about God’s city in Ezekiel 40-48. Where is that built?
First recall that Ezekiel is seeing everything in a vision. And so really the location of God’s city is in the mind of God. It is in the bosom of the Father who begets the eternal Word, and from which the Holy Spirit of love proceeds. The Triune God is the inheritance, the holy land, the true sanctuary and city, for those who desire eternal life.
As we sing in Psalm 46, God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble…There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
Now if you read these chapters in Ezekiel carefully, you will notice that God never tells Ezekiel, He never tells Israel, to build any of what He is showing them. Instead, He tells them to measure it, study it, contemplate its form and its arrangements. As He says in Ezekiel 43:10, Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern.
And so God is using earthly geographic structures, forms, buildings, to teach us what it means to be holy as He is holy.
Ezekiel is seeing in a vision, what our father Abraham could only apprehend by faith.
As it says in Hebrews 11:13-16, These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better [country], that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
What does God say to Abram in Genesis 15:1, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
So mark this difference between the City of Babel, and the City of God. Babel is city a of man’s fleshly works, where men try to climb up to heaven on their own strength, by their own ingenuity, and proud ambition.
But the City of God is built in heaven, not with human hands, but by Divine hands, and at the end of the history, that heavenly city comes down to earth. And thus Jesus says in the Beatitudes of Matthew 5, Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth…Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Heaven and earth are the inheritance of the saints. But you have to aim for heaven by humility and meekness, and then God gives you not only heaven, but earth as well. That is God’s way, and it is opposed to man’s way.
And so I ask you today, Where are you building? Where is your ambition and labor and resources being invested?
The wise mother says to her son in Proverbs 31:3, Do not give your strength to women, Nor your ways to that which destroys kings
And Jesus says in Luke 12:29-32, And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek [first] the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Do you believe this?
This brings us to our second question which is, What do they build?
Q2. What do they build?
We read in Genesis 11:3-4
3And they said one to another, Go to [Come now], let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
4And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
Notice there are three things that humanity tries to build in Shinar: A city, a tower, and a name.
And here it appears that the city is built for the sake of the tower, and the tower is being built for the sake of making them a name. Together this is how humanity imagines it can reach up to heaven and not spread out upon the earth. Organize, unite, and consolidate our efforts to climb upward. This is ultimately what every man-made false religion tries to do: get to get God on our own terms, climb to God on a rickety ladder of our own making.
God said be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. I will bless you! But they say, “No, let’s all stop here in Shinar, make bricks, and build us a city, a tower, and name for ourselves.” Let us climb up to heaven if we can.
Meanwhile, what does God show to Ezekiel?
God shows him a perfectly square sanctuary, a perfectly square city, a perfectly square land in which city and sanctuary reside, and in that city 12 gates in total, three on four sides, so that all the tribes of Israel are united in service to God.
This is very basic but a square has 4 equal sides. And this signifies the equality, justice, truth, and unity that God’s people and city are to be.
In Ezekiel 45:9-10 it says, Thus saith the Lord God; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord God. Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath.
Now one of the most significant details that Ezekiel is shown, is that the City is subordinate to the Sanctuary. And this is God’s way of telling us that Worship is of central importance to having a healthy society. The commonwealth, the culture, the city, is literally downstream of the Church. Everything exists for and revolves around the true worship of God. That is what God is picturing for us here (an eccelesiocentric commonwealth).
A second important detail is that City and Sanctuary are in different places. And it was not always this way.
In Solomon’s day, the temple was inside the city, and the king’s house was right next to God’s house, they almost shared a courtyard.
However, the kings of Judah had abused this privilege, they committed idolatry, and profaned the true worship, even transgressing at times the priestly office (King Uzziah does this in 2 Chronicles 26 and God punishes him).
And so in Ezekiel 43 God essentially says to them, we can’t be next door neighbors anymore. You’ve got to learn to distinguish rightly between City and Sanctuary, between Politics and Worship, between your house and God’s House, between the Civil realm and the Church realm.
Jesus Christ is high priest and high king, and ruler over all. But Jesus Christ governs the church in a different way than he governs the world. Jesus governs the church through Word and sacrament, through elders and discipline. And then He governs the world, the land, the city, through civil powers and civil laws. These are distinct jurisdictions, but both under Christ.
As it says in Romans 13:1-2, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
This is just one of the lessons of Ezekiel’s vision and how the land is laid out.
Moreover, notice the city is not called the City of David. Instead, it is named The LORD is there. And so God’s presence is not only in the Church, God is also present in the city of the righteous. In those who are just, equitable, honest, and upright.
What is God building today? He is building his heavenly kingdom through the preaching of the gospel, and temporal cities through the holy lives of His people.
In Ezekiel 47 there is a river of living water that flows from the sanctuary down to the dead sea. And the fountainhead of that river is the body of Jesus, who poured out the Holy Spirt at Pentecost, and who says in John 7:38, He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
This is what you Christ Covenant Church is meant to be in Chehalis. Pure water proceeding from a pure heart, speaking pure words, that purify and give life to the dead.
You are called to this supernatural ministry, and to participate with God in His healing of the world.
Finally in closing, we can compare the competing Why’s of all this building.
Q3. Why do they build?
We are told in Genesis 11:4, that Babel was built, not only to make a name for themselves, but also lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
And so we observe here at least two sinful motives/reasons for the building of Babel: Pride and Fear.
Pride blinds us and makes us foolish, and fear can do the same.
There is a righteous fear of the LORD, which is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). But there is another fear that arises from disobeying God, where you are afraid of God punishing you. It says of this fear in Proverbs 10:24, The fear of the wicked will come upon him, [but] the desire of the righteous will be granted.
Those who are afraid and have a bad conscience, ultimately have their fears realized. The men of Babel feared being scattered, and yet, that is exactly what happens to them.
The fear of the wicked eventually comes to pass. And so it is better to just obey God the first time, rather than digging in your feet, and erecting a monument to your pride and folly.
As Mary sings in her Magnificat in Luke 1:51-53, He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, And exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; And the rich he hath sent empty away.
In contrast to the pride and fear of Babel, there is the God who builds from sacrificial love.
What will it take for Ezekiel’s visionary city to be realized? It will take nothing less, than the humiliation and death of the Son of God.
Jesus Christ came down from heaven and suffered on the cross for things he was not guilty of. So take whatever injustices you have experienced, and then add to that all the sins of the world.That is what Jesus suffered and endured because He loves sinners, and He loves the glory of His Father.
And so God’s city is built on sacrificial love, it is built on the blood and humility of the cross of Christ.
And so that is how we must build as we move to Chehalis. We must love one another. We must humble ourselves and suffer for one another. We must forgive the people who have hurt us. Because then, and only then, can God say of our city, the name of it is The LORD is There.
May God grant you to see that day, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Anagogical ArchitectureSunday, September 27th, 2026Eighteenth Sunday After PentecostChrist Covenant Church – Centralia, WAEzekiel 43:1–12
Prayer
O Father, we thank You for Your law, that is perfect and converting to the soul. We thank You for Your testimony that is sure and makes wise the simple. Teach us we ask, by the power of Your Spirit, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
Children, I have a question for you this morning before you start coloring, are you listening?
Have you ever had an idea in your head, or a picture in your head, of something that you wanted to draw? How many of you are good at drawing? How many of you are bad at drawing?
Pastor Ventura is very bad at drawing. But sometimes my children will ask me to draw something for them, usually it’s a dragon, or some kind of excavator or racecar. And I’ll have a perfect picture in my head of that dragon, or that truck, or that Toyota Supra my boys want me to draw them. But then when I go to draw it, my dragon looks more like a goat with flames coming out of its mouth. Or I’ll try to draw Lightning McQueen, but it looks nothing like him. I make him too short, or too fat, or too long. And if I’m drawing on the Magna doodle, my kids sometimes just erase it it’s so bad, and they go and ask Mom to draw for them.
Do you know what it’s like to draw or make something, but then it comes out way worse than what you had hoped? And how does that make you feel? Sad. Frustrated. Disappointed. Angry.
Or let’s say you are playing with Magna-Tiles or building with Legos. And you build something that you think is really cool. But then your big brother, or your little sister comes along, and in just a few minutes they make something twice as big, twice as cool, twice as awesome, and now nobody cares or likes what you made anymore, because what your brother or sister made is so much better.
How would that make you feel? Would you be really happy, or ashamed of yourself?
Well here in God’s Word, in that passage I just read from Ezekiel 43, God is drawing a picture for His people to look at. And it is the picture of a beautiful, glorious, visionary city. And that city He is drawing is way better than anything that they could ever hope to draw or build on their own.
Why is God showing them this city? It is because He wants His people to be ashamed of all the bad ideas and the sinful images that they have in their head, which the Bible calls idolatry. God wants to show His people a holy city, so that they will be ashamed of how not holy they have been. That’s what this section of Ezekiel is all about.
Outline of the Text
Now our text divides into three basic sections, according to three actions of God.
In verses 1-5, God returns to His House and consecrates it. To consecrate means to make holy.
In verses 5-9, God condemns His people for their past unfaithfulness and idolatry. He tells them they need to clean up their act, or they won’t be able to live in His neighborhood anymore.
And in then in verses 10-12,God promises His people a hope-filled future, but only if they are ashamed of their sins.
So God returns to His house, God condemns His people, and then God promises salvation for those who hate their former sins.
So let’s look at our text a little more closely together. Starting in verses 1-5 we see that God returns to His House by entering through the east gate. And if you look at the handout I gave you of Ezekiel’s temple, you can see the east gate is the entrance on the right side of that top diagram.
And if you were to enter through that gate, it would then be a straight shot from the Outer Court to the Inner Court, up the Altar, and then up the stairs into the Holy Place, and then through the doors in the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place where the Throne of the Mercy Seat was. That is the path God shows to Ezekiel here in verses 1-5.
Verses 1-5 – God Returns To His House
1Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east:
2And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
3And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.
4And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.
5So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.
Now if we had the whole book of Ezekiel in our minds, we would remember that about 19 years earlier, God gave to Ezekiel a vision of His glory, and also a guided tour of Jerusalem and the Temple (rf. Ezekiel 1-11).
And this was a guided tour of all the idolatry, and wickedness, and abominations that God’s people were committing in their minds and hearts, and in public together.
It says in Ezekiel 8:15-18, Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.” So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east. And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”
And then after this in Ezekiel 9, God starts killing people. And He starts by executing the wicked leaders, the elders in the temple, and then works His way outward from the sanctuary until dead bodies are lying in the streets.
The only people who are spared in this judgment, are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Upon them, God places the Hebrew letter tav on their foreheads.
And what does a tav look like? It looks like a cross. Only those who have the cross of Christ engraved upon their minds shall be spared in the judgment. Everyone else shall die in their sins. This is the message of Ezekiel 600 years before the death of Christ.
It says in Ezekiel 9:4-6, And the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” To the others He said in my hearing, “Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.”
And so I ask you this morning people of God, if God’s judgment came upon Christ Covenant Church today, would you be spared? Would you survive? Do you have the mark of the Cross in your forehead, and the Holy Trinity engraved upon your heart, or is their idolatry there?
God’s judgments on His House are not just an Old Testament thing. The Apostle Peter says in 1 Peter 4:17-18, For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
So do you take up your cross daily, and follow Jesus Christ with your mind fixed upon Him? Because that is the only sure way of salvation. As it says of the redeemed in Revelation 22:4, And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
So Ezekiel had this vision of God’s glory and judgment, and the desolation of the Temple 19 years ago (around 592 BC). The temple was literally destroyed and burned to the ground by the Babylonians about 6 years later in 586 BC. And ever since then, the faithful have been living in exile, looking to Ezekiel as their priest and prophet near the Chebar river in Babylon.
And this is when God reveals to Ezekiel a vision of His glory returning. Returning to a consecrate a new and more glorious Temple than before. But with that return comes a stern warning and rebuke. This is verses 6-9.
Verses 6-9 – God Condemns His People
6And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.
7And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.
8In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger.
9Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.
So these are God’s conditions for living in the same house and neighborhood and city with His people again.
For those of you who live in a neighborhood with an HOA (a Homeowners Association), imagine if the requirements to live in your neighborhood was: You must keep the Ten Commandments.
No other gods. No idolatry. No blasphemy. Must attend worship on the Lord’s Day. Honor your father and mother. No murder. No adultery. No stealing. No lying. No coveting.
Imagine if everyone kept God’s commandments in spirit and in truth. What kind of neighborhood would that be? What kind of city of love, justice, and mercy would exist if God’s people obeyed the Word of God from the heart?
That is God’s message to us today. The reason you cannot have nice things, clean sidewalks, beautiful parks where children can play unsupervised, is because you leave the trash of sin and injustice everywhere you go. You defile God’s city with a perverse mouth and proud lips and a lying tongue. You envy and covet, you steal and you kill. And you think God will let that go unpunished?
No. Have you learned your lesson yet? Do you understand why God destroyed Jerusalem the first time? And will you now repeat the same sins that left the Temple desolate?
God says to His people in verse 9, Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.
This is the promise of salvation to those who repent. And in verses 10-12 God shows us that true repentance means you must be ashamed of your sins. He says…
Verses 10-12 – God Promises Salvation to the Repentant
10Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern.
11And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.
12This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
What should make us ashamed as Christians, is just how far short we fall from the pattern of living God has revealed.
In Ezekiel’s day, they had this visionary temple to compare themselves with, to make them ashamed. But we have something far more clear and convicting to compare ourselves with.
We have the Incarnate Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the glory of God, and the exact imprint of the Father. Jesus is the Most Holy Place, the Temple of God, and He reveals to us in the gospel what human perfection looks like. And so have you compared yourself to Him?
You can and should read Ezekiel 40-48, and then be ashamed of yourself if you can understand it. We should be ashamed of the state of the church today, and how apostate and unfaithful we are, how crooked and corrupt our pews and pulpits have become, how poorly we live in spite of all that God has given us!
But what is much easier for all of us is to look at is Jesus. Look at the Son of God. And compare yourself to Him. Are you not ashamed of how unlike Christ you still are? Even after all this time professing Him as Lord?
Jesus says be merciful as Your Father is merciful, but you go home and lose your temper, you get angry and start blaming other people and demanding your own way. Jesus says be self-less, and you think that means be selfish. We profess Him with our mouth, but our hearts are far from Him.
Jesus says forgive your debtors as I have forgiven you, love one another. And you think that means, hold on to your grudges, nurse them, and make that other person pay.
How can you look at Jesus, and his dead body hanging from the cross, and not be ashamed of yourself? You have to be either delusional, or not actually seeing Him at all.
God says to Ezekiel, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house.
Conclusion
Jesus Christ is the House of God. Jesus is the perfect architecture and form for a new humanity. And God promises that if you repent and believe in Christ, the Father will forgive your sins, He will cover your shame. He will clothe you with a new power from on high, the very power of His Holy Spirit.
And then when in the Spirit, you look at Jesus, it says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, that you are transformed into His image, But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
And so I charge you dear brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, be careful what you look at in your mind. Be careful what you think about and ponder, adore and worship. Because what you love, is what you will become like. The image you worship and adore, is the image you will be conformed to. If you worship people or things that are not the source of life, you will die. But if you worship Jesus, who is the only true and living God, you shall live forever, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.