A Wellspring of Unity

Hello Friends, lately I have been meditating on the book of Ezekiel, and I have learned some interesting lessons that I would like to share with you pertaining to the institutions of family and the church. Today, our message will be coming from Ezekiel 14: 12-23 (NASB). And it reads:

12 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 13 “Son of man, if a country sins against Me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine against it, and eliminate from it both human and animal life, 14 even though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only save themselves,” declares the Lord God. 15 “If I were to cause vicious animals to pass through the land and they depopulated it, and it became desolate so that no one would pass through it because of the animals, 16 though these three men were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not save either their sons or their daughters. They alone would be saved, but the country would be desolate. 17 Or if I were to bring a sword on that country and say, ‘A sword is to pass through the country,’ and I eliminated human and animal life from it, 18 even though these three men were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not save either their sons or their daughters, but they alone would be saved. 19 Or if I were to send a plague against that country and pour out My wrath on it in blood to eliminate man and animal from it, 20 even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not save either their son or their daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.”21 For this is what the Lord God says: “How much more when I send My four severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, vicious animals, and plague to eliminate human and animal life from it! 22 Yet, behold, survivors will be left in it who will be brought out, both sons and daughters. Behold, they are going to come out to you, and you will see their conduct and actions; then you will be comforted for the disaster which I have brought against Jerusalem for everything which I have brought upon it. 23 Then they will comfort you when you see their conduct and actions, for you will know that I have not done without reason whatever I did to it,” declares the Lord God.

May God add a blessing to the readers, hearers, and doers of his holy Word. The title of this message is called “A Wellspring of Unity.” Before we go further into this message, it is important that we have an understanding of the context of this particular chapter. In the very beginning of this chapter, the prophet Ezekiel described how certain elders of Jerusalem came and sat down in front of him. Ezekiel was a priest and a prophet, and the people of that day were similar to the people of today; everybody wants to hear a word from the prophet. They wanted to hear a message of prosperity and good will from the prophet, but as soon as those elders sat down in front of Ezekiel, God spoke to Ezekiel telling him that the men who sat down in front of him had idolatry in their hearts. After God told Ezekiel the elders had idolatry in their hearts, he pronounced judgment upon every prophet who prophesied prosperity and good will towards idolaters. Prosperity itself is not sin, but telling idolaters and sinners that they will prosper is sin. The only message the sinner and the idolater needs to hear is a message of repentance. Not only did God pronounce judgment upon the false prophets of prosperity, but God also pronounced there will be a famine.

When Yahweh Pronounces A Famine?

A famine is like a desert. There is hardly any food. There is very little water. There is not enough food and water to go around. In a famine, people are starving for food, and they are thirsty for something to drink. Sometimes people die in the desert, because they don’t have what they need to survive. The Israelites had no idea they would find themselves in the middle of a desert with no food and no water because they forgot about God. They left God and became idolaters who worshiped idol gods. They were disconnected from God, and they were desperately in need of a wellspring of unity with God.

They literally built gods with their hands. They built altars to idol gods. They made sacrifices, and they committed sinful acts. Some people even sacrificed their children, and made their children walk through fire (see Ezekiel 16: 21). Regardless of their actions, God always extended grace to his people, because he faithfully gave them time to repent of their sins. However, there were moments in time when the sins of Israel were so great that God would call for a famine. God would allow war to break out, and he would cause the water to stop flowing, He would allow animals to die. He allowed diseases to break out across the nation. Every time God called for a famine it was to let Israel know that it was not the idol gods who provided them with food. He was letting them know that it was not the idol gods who protected them from war and disease. It was not the man-made gods who saved them and preserved them, but it was Him, Yahweh, the only living God, who gave them life. It was Yahweh who blessed them with everything they needed to survive in this life.

Ancient Israel vs. Present-day America (the Western World)

What is disheartening is that there are great similarities between the sins of ancient Israel and the sins of America today. I’m afraid that the sins of America are greater than the sins of ancient Israel. America has committed the sin of idolatry, in so much that she worships her own idols of different religions, sororities, fraternities, and celebrities. Just like ancient Israel, America has forgotten about God. The greatest form of idolatry in America is the idol of humanism. Humanism says that humanity's way is better than God’s way. Humanism says that humanity determines what is right and wrong. Humanism says that man is supreme, because it refuses to acknowledge God in the affairs of man. America has failed to realize that humanity without God is a famine unto herself. Humanity without God is a desert. Look out into society, you’ll find a desert of adultery and abortion; a desert of homosexuality and transgenderism. America sacrifices her children in the abortion clinics, and she makes her children walk through the fire of murder. She mutilates her body beyond repair through transgenderism. America is in desperate need of a wellspring of unity with God.

In our text, the prophet Ezekiel gives us an example of a wellspring of unity by pointing to Noah, Daniel, and Job. In the 14th verse, God told Ezekiel that “…only Noah, Daniel, and Job will be able to save themselves from the famine by their own righteousness.” When we look at these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, we can see men who were faithful to God regardless of what the world was doing around them. All three of these men lived in societies filled with idolatry and humanism, but they all depended upon Yahweh for their survival. That is real worship. Real worship is when you depend on the only true God for everything. These men had sweet communion with God. They made sacrifices to God. They lived for God even when the world turned its back on God. They prayed for their children. They prayed for the world around them. They spoke out against injustice, and they warned the world, pleading with them to return to God. Many times they stood alone, but they were determined to stand with God. Their communion with God was the most important thing to them. If we will be saved, communion with God is the most important. Meditate on these words, “Communion with God is most important.”

The second most important thing is that there is love and unity among Christians. The Lord Jesus affirmed that the two greatest commandments of all are that we love the Lord God with all of our being and love our neighbors as ourselves. In John 17: 21, Jesus prayed to the Father that his disciples would be one. These are two important principles of unity that many Christians have forgotten today, and it was forgotten during the days of Ezekiel. In the 20th verse, our text says, “20 even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not save either their son or their daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.” This verse reminds us that the saved person is not able to save his children. I must admit that the first time I read this particular scripture, it was devastating to me, but this verse lets us know that there was a disconnect between the parents and the children. Job could not save his children.

When you read the story of Job, you will find that Job prayed many prayers for his children. The Bible said that Job made many sacrifices to God for his children, but the sacrifices Job made for his children were not able to save the lives of his children. Job’s children partied every time that had a chance, and the story of Job describes Job’s children as though they had forgotten about God. Just like the children of Job, many of our children have forgotten about God. They are in need of a wellspring of unity with God and the godly instructions of their parents. Therefore, it is true that the righteous ones cannot save their children, but the children can be raised to be as righteous as Noah, Daniel, and Job. God extends grace to us, in that our children can have sweet communion with God just as Noah, Daniel, and Job did. This grace and truth was given to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. (see John 1: 12-14).

So, what is a wellspring? You’ve heard me say the word wellspring throughout the entire message. In physical geography, a wellspring is defined as the source of a spring or stream; it is literally a fountainhead of water. It is a source of continual or abundant supply. I can hear the Master say, “I Am the wellspring of unity.” If you want sweet communion with God, Jesus says, “I am the wellspring of unity.” If you want unity with your brethren, you need Jesus. I can hear Jesus say, “I have the living water. If you drink of this living water, you will never thirst again” (John 4: 10). Jesus is the wellspring of unity. He fills us with the living water of the Holy Spirit that gives us eternal life.

Holy Communion

He brings us into Holy Communion with God and our brethren. This is why the sacrament of Holy Communion is so powerful. In Holy Communion, we, the Body of Christ, come together in the spirit of unity, and we eat the bread and drink the wine. The bread is the body of Jesus, and the wine is the blood of Jesus. When Jesus conducted the first Holy Communion service, Bible says that Jesus broke the bread, and gave it to his disciples, and said to them “Take it, and eat it. For, this is my body. Then, he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it. After he gave them the wine, he said, “For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26: 30). In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Jesus gave us Holy Communion so that we would never forget about God. He gave us Holy Communion so that we will never forget that He gave his life and shed his blood to save our souls and restore us back to God. But not just anybody can take Holy Communion. The apostle Paul said that every Christian must make sure that he is worthy to eat the Body and the blood of Jesus. Then, Paul said that some people took Holy Communion unworthily, and some of them got sick; and some of them died (1Corinthians 11: 27-32).

In his book called Life Together, the late Rev. Dr. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote these words about Holy Communion: “The day before the Lord’s Supper is administered you will find the brethren of a Christian fellowship together and each will beg the forgiveness of others for the wrongs committed. Nobody who avoids this approach to his brother can go rightly prepared to the table of the Lord. All anger, strife, envy, evil gossip, and unbrotherly conduct must be settled and finished if the brethren wish to receive the grace of God together in the sacrament.” He went on to say, “…time of preparation for the Lord’s Supper will be filled with brotherly admonition and encouragement, with prayers, with fear, and with joy.” In Holy Communion, we must warn our brethren against sin. We must encourage our brothers and sisters to keep the faith in God, keep your faith in Jesus Christ.

We must pray for one another. We must fear God and take joy that He has given us the grace of Holy Communion. The word Holy Communion comes from the Greek work eucharisteo. That is why some Christians call Holy Communion the Eucharist, but the word eucharisteo simply means grace. Thank God for his grace! It is the grace of God that we can consume the body and blood of Jesus. It is the grace of God, that we are the Body of Christ. It is the grace of God that we have sweet communion with God through Christ Jesus. It is the grace of God that we can love one another. It is the grace of God that we can forgive one another. It is the grace of God that we can encourage our brothers and sisters in the Lord. It is the grace of God that Jesus is the wellspring of unity. It is the grace of God that we have Holy Communion. I can hear the late Rev. James Moore singing “Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven, feed me until I want no more.”

Let us pray,

Heavenly Father, thank you for the grace you have us to have Holy Communion with you. Thank you for the body and the blood of your Son Jesus the Christ. Thank you examples of righteousness you have shown us through Noah, Daniel, Job, and your only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Fill us with the living water of Your Holy Spirit. As we receive the body and blood of Jesus, help us to remember Jesus, sweet communion with you, and unity with our brethren. Let our families and our churches be unified in love. Feed us with your joy. Feed us with your love. Feed us with your forgiveness. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen,