Ezekiel 20:32-39 NLT “You say, ‘We want to be like the nations all around us, who serve idols of wood and stone.’ But what you have in mind will never happen.
32 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will rule over you with an iron fist in great anger and with awesome power.
34 And in anger I will reach out with my strong hand and powerful arm, and I will bring you back from the lands where you are scattered.
35 I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will judge you face to face.
36 I will judge you there just as I did your ancestors in the wilderness after bringing them out of Egypt, says the Sovereign Lord.
37 I will examine you carefully and hold you to the terms of the covenant.
38 I will purge you of all those who rebel and revolt against ME. I will bring them out of the countries where they are in exile, but they will never enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. “
39 “As for you, O people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Go right ahead and worship your idols, but sooner or later you will obey me and will stop bringing shame on my holy name by worshiping idols.”
God is referring to two types of people: those who rebel and revolt and those who worship idols. Even in our twelve years of ministry, we have experienced those who are “workable” and those who are like dross and will eventually be tossed out.
People with sin issues and idols are people who sin against their own bodies. Then, there are people who come against authority and are classified as rebels. The rebel group sins directly against God as they rebel against His sovereignty usurping against all governing authorities. These are the group that tend to come directly against pastors.
As we see in verse 38, God will purge all rebels. All moles and spies will be eradicated. If anyone has a complaint with us, the Pastors, you know by now you may come to us to voice your concerns and receive a valid audience. If anyone goes to Bishop and has a complaint, as long as you tell the truth, and even if I am corrected, I do not have a problem with that. But when a mole goes to Bishop and intentionally perverts the truth to sabotage our relationship with Bishop and his family, now that person makes it personal. Judas was beloved by Jesus, but there came a time when Judas was told to go!
Even in the Bible, the Apostle Paul called Elymas the sorcerer the son of the devil because he was perverting the truth and preventing the gospel from being told to the governor. Jesus loved everyone, but HE knew the Pharisees and called them sons of the devil. Jesus was not nice to everyone. John the Baptist called them out as well and called them snakes. Such people are full of jealousy and resentment, captivated by sin. They are, as the book of Jude says, ones who look to shipwreck the faith of little ones. They have wormed their way in feasting with us but twice dead who claim no shepherd. They are their own authority.
I know we do not have such people in our lovely church, but if you ever decide to be a mole who passes on perverted truth to damage God’s people here, I will not relent until such moles are purged from our House.
But for the rest who have experienced my wife and I in the last decade, we have shown you our hearts and motives. I hope you realize by His Grace and Power, we are more than willing to lay down our lives for our people. We love you all!
Pastor Steve Kim