Profaning the holiness of the lord - Chambers, Oswald

Ezekiel 36:2029

1. The searching of his people

. . . They profaned my holy name. (Ezekiel 36:20)

This was the characteristic of the people of god whenever they forgot whose they were and whom they served. Under the searchlight of god we realise that gods holy name is profaned when we put before people what gods grace has wrought in us instead of god himself. Whenever we go into work for god from any standpoint saving that of the dominance of god, we begin to patronise at once; unless we go as the bond servants of Jesus Christ we have no business to go at all. Jesus Christ became the towel- girt servant of his own disciples. Never deal with people from the superior persons standpoint, god never blesses that; deal only by steadily presenting the lord Jesus Christ. The characteristic of the holiness which is the outcome of the indwelling of god is a blazing truthfulness with regard to gods word, and an amazing tenderness in personal dealing.

There is only one thing to heed in christian work, and that is god himself and his programme. The last thing we learn is that there is no chance happening in the saints life, circumstances are gods, not ours, and by choosing our own way we profane gods holy name, whatever our desire. . . . Whither they went. It is possible to profane gods holy name in our minds where no one sees but ourselves. Our feet carry us in secret and they carry us in public; they carry us into shops and into streets, into houses and into churches; god says, you profane my holy name, not because of the places you went into, but by the way you went into them. Scrutinise yourself, and let god search you, as he searched these people. We forget the minuteness of gods searching; he searches us right down to the inmost recesses.

2. The sanctifying of his people

. . . And the heathen shall know that i am the lord , saith the lord g od, when i shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. (Ezekiel 36:23) individual sanctification is one thing; collective sanctification is another; when Paul talks about attain- ing unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, he is not talking of individual saints, but of

All the saints. It is the sanctification of gods people together that is required. When we isolate ourselves we hinder instead of further that end. Very few of us have got beyond the need for the searching which god gave these people. We are all too set on our own sanctification, forgetting that we are to be broken bread and poured-out wine for the lifting up of others who are not there yet. Individual sanctification has a world- wide benefit so long as the sanctified soul remains right with god. The sanctified soul keeps right with god by placing gods methods first, and gods methods are foolish to everyone who is not sanctified. Verses 2529 point out that purity in gods children is not the outcome of obedience to his law, but the result of the supernatural work of his grace. I will cleanse you; i will give you a new heart; i will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes; i will do it all. After sanctification the first thing is to stand, as it were, with our hand in gods while he recalls to us what we once were. The memory of sin does not come before sanctification, the memory of defects and blunders comes then, but sin is only remembered and known after sanctification, and it is by the recalling of the holy spirit that we remember it. In the absolute humility that is produced there is never any fear of spiritual pride, never any fear of forgetting that god sends us into work for his own glory; never any fear of being harsh or unjust to others, because god has shown us what we were, and we have realised it with shame.