The two will become one
Contents
Bible: Ezekiel 37:15-17 Sermon: Two will become one (Aug. 15, 64th anniversary of liberation)
August 15th anniversary is the 64th anniversary of the liberation of the Fatherland. Half a century has passed since the liberation of the country after seeing the prayers of the blood and tears of martyrdom of the ancestors of faith who kept their faith in the oppression of shrine worship by the Japanese imperialists. We do not give up and we do not stop praying to the Lord who is the Sovereign of the world. Today's words are the words that God prophesied through the prophet Ezekiel in the 5th century B.C. that the people of Judah who were living in captivity in Babylon would be liberated from Babylon and united into one unified nation of Israel, Israel and Judah.
1. Resuscitation of dry bones (1-14)
The theme of the book of Ezekiel is “They will know that I am the Lord.” God does not act in front of the stage of history, but makes his existence known in a way that controls the history of individuals, peoples, and nations behind the scenes. The protagonist of history, the protagonist of democratization, is hidden.
The vision of the dry bones of the valley that God showed Ezekiel was the northern kingdom of Israel, which fell to the Assyrian (B.C722) empire, and the southern kingdom of Judah, which fell to the Babylonian (B.C586) empire. When the power of the Lord (1-3), the word of the Lord (4-7), and the breath of the Lord (8-10) were breathed in, Israel achieved national restoration.
The vision of dry skin is a revelation of salvation in which the descendants of Adam, who died in their sins and trespasses, gain life through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:1). It was restored through the word of God's power and the Holy Spirit. And those who are in Christ Jesus have been set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2). The 12,000 unreached people still remaining on the earth must be spiritually liberated through the gospel. We need workers who can prophesy God's power and the word of life.
2. The union of the two sticks (15-28)
The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel again. This time, they were asked to write “Judah and his companions, the children of Israel” on one stick (16), and the whole house of Israel on the other stick, and then to unite the two sticks to become one.(17) The cross Originally two trees. The horizontal and vertical trees were nailed together to form a single tree in the form of a cross. The word of the two sticks is a prophecy that the northern nation of Israel and the southern nation of Judah will become one nation of Israel, and that the 12 tribes that have been divided will become one nation under the rule of one eternal king just like one tribe, and that it will become a nation with eternal peace.( 22)
This prophecy is the blessing of salvation that God and sinners can be reconciled to God through the blood of the cross forever (Galatians 5:6, Romans 2:29) and the words that Jews and Gentiles will form one church in the gospel (Ephesians 4:3).
Looking at the reality of our nation that is still not unified, the day when the two sticks are united into one should be the subject of prayer. Our dry bone vision and the two sticks of the Word are the vision of our mission. For the reconstruction of the North Korean church and the gospel ministry for the unreached peoples, we must prepare by participating in prayer and material resources, and we must be ready to run whenever God calls us. While praying to God, who is in charge of history, we need to start with small actions while preparing with a vision to save the dry bones with the power of the Word and the Holy Spirit. Lord, work out the unity of our nation and the salvation of the nations.