Sinking Ships & Churches
“The Lord said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil and giving wicked advice in this city. They say, ‘Haven’t our houses been recently rebuilt? This city is a pot, and we are the meat in it.’ Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, son of man.”
Today’s Text: Ezekiel 11:1-12 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
Today’s devotion continues in Ezekiel’s prophetic vision where he is transported to one of the gates of the temple in Jerusalem. He sees the leaders of the people, including Jaazaniah and Pelatiah, who are giving wicked counsel and misleading the people. They are falsely under the assumption that Jerusalem is safe and secure, similar to meat in a pot.
God commands Ezekiel to prophesy against them. God rebukes the false teachers’ confidence, corruption, and sin. Contrary to their assumption, God declares that they are not protected within the city and the people would face judgment. The sword of the Lord will bring swift judgment against the people for rejecting God and following idols such as other nations. It is with this judgment that the people will surely know that God is indeed Lord.
When the RMS Titanic was build, it was hailed as the most advanced ship ever built and that it would be unsinkable. The passengers, engineers, and even the crew had full confidence in its design that there was nothing that can sink this ship. Some have even attributed that “even God himself couldn’t sink this ship.”
Yet most of us are aware of history when the Titanic made voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1912. The Titanic had struck an iceberg and began to sink, taking over 1500 lives that perished in the sea. Despite warnings of icebergs in the Atlantic, the ship did not take any precautions and sailed at full speed. Lifeboats were limited and many safety measures were ignored due to overconfidence. The people had false assumptions about the reality of the circumstance because their leaders have falsely led them.
In the same way, many church leaders today can fall into the trap of overconfidence, believing that the perception of success means they are spiritually secure. That is something we must be keenly aware of. We may think that we are okay because we have a building, because we have a growing attendance, because our House Churches are multiplying, because we have programs and events, etc. But these external signs do not guarantee that we are truly walking in God’s will or that our hearts are aligned with His purposes. Those can only come if all of us are faithful to God’s Word and pursuing a genuine relationship with Him. We must continuously be obedient to God in faithfully preaching His Word, getting on our knees in prayer, and sharing the gospel through evangelism.
Like the leaders in Ezekiel’s day or the crew of the Titanic, they may ignore clear warning signs such as a lack of prayer, drifting from God’s Word, absence of evangelism, reliance on charisma over conviction, etc. When leaders begin to rely more on human success than on spiritual obedience, they mislead the people into a false sense of security. God sees beyond appearance however and He calls leaders in the churches to remain humble and faithful stewards of the gospel, not finding self-assurance as the means of success. Just as judgment came to Jerusalem and tragedy to the Titanic, so too will God one day expose spiritual corruption in the church. His purpose is not to destroy the church but to call His people back to holiness, truth, and complete dependence upon Him.
Let us pray for our leaders continually and may God give us courage to lead with humility. May we, as a church family, commit ourselves anew to obedience, prayer, and love, trusting that God’s grace will sustain us through the gospel. Let us pray for humility in our leaders and for our hearts to remain sensitive in following and listening to God’s voice. For our true safety is found in Christ alone, no matter what others may see on the outside.
