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Sermon Transcript

Lisa and I enjoy watching the television show, “Antique Road Show”. It is always fun to hear the stories of how individuals found their cherished treasures. Some are appraised at values far beyond what the owner imagined. For others, there is the clear disappointment that comes with dashed expectations.

Years ago people who did not trust the banks hid money and other valuables in their homes. In more recent years, stories have emerged of amazing finds as old homes are being renovated. My favorite story is of what happened when two brothers in Vermont noticed a “strange gap” in the wall of their deceased father’s home. They applied pressure on the wall and what they found was beyond belief. There before their eyes was an original Norman Rockwell painting. It is believed that their father hid the painting many years earlier amidst a divorce so that his wife wouldn’t get possession. The painting realized $15.4 million at auction.

It isn’t always good things that are found behind walls. The police in England found over $700,000 worth of drugs behind the walls of a home. Family secrets found in diaries are at times found within walls.

In Ezekiel 8, the prophet Ezekiel has a vision. I encourage you to read this chapter written by one whose name means, “Strengthened by God.” Throughout the book of Ezekiel God is depicted as showing great kindness as he calls his people to bear fruit. When God’s people embrace self-indulgence however, God removes his presence.

As we read through Ezekiel 8, we witness Ezekiel getting a tour of a temple that is not what it appears to be at first glance. In verse 8 Ezekiel is told, “Now dig into the wall.” God was calling Ezekiel to look deeper than the surface. God was saying that image isn’t everything. In I Sam. 16:7 the Bible says, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.” Behind the wall of what appeared outwardly holy in Ezekiel’s vision were idols that had replaced God’s supremacy in the lives of the people. What was present behind the wall caused them to forfeit God’s presence. God was calling attention to what those in the place of worship were doing in the dark. There are three points to consider in closing:

• God has an expectation of holiness for each of us.
• We need to ask ourselves what we have trivialized (Ezek. 8:17) and come to accept as allowed or excusable in our lives.
• God calls upon us to dig out the walls. It is ours to do lest we deceive ourselves into believing that what is hidden there will never come to light.

I pray that true, authentic godliness will be the cry of each of our hearts!