11.3.11 "The Hidden Room"

"The Hidden Room"

Ezekiel 7:1-9:11
Hebrews 5:1-14
Psalm 105:1-15
Proverbs 26:28

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple." I Cor. 3:16-17

This scripture is not a part of the scheduled One Year Bible reading for today, but it sets up a very important lesson that we can learn from the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel has a vision where the Lord has brought him to the Temple.

"And he said: 'Son of dust, do you see what they are doing? Do you see what great sins the people of Israel are doing here, to push me from my Temple? But come, and I will show you greater sins than these!' Then he brought me to the door of the Temple court, where I could see an opening in the wall.

"'Now dig into the wall,' he said. I did, and uncovered a door to a hidden room. 'Go in,' he said, 'and see the wickedness going on in there!' So I went in.

"The walls were covered with pictures of all kinds of snakes, lizards and hideous creatures, besides all the various idols worshiped by the people of Israel. Seventy elders of Israel were standing there along with Ja-azaniah (son of Shaphan) worshiping the pictures. Each of them held a censer of burning incense, so there was a thick cloud of smoke above their heads.

"Then the Lord said to me: 'Son of dust, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in their minds? For they say, "The Lord doesn't see us; he has gone away!"'" Ez. 8:6-12


When I was in college I did a large research project on the difference between Japanese and American educational systems. A Christian friend from Japan was a great resource for this. She said one of the biggest differences in our cultures is the Americans' ability to "compartmentalize" their lives. In other words, we have many worlds we live in: our home world, our work world, our school world, our church world... and we like to keep them separate. She said that even in the highest level executive meetings in Japan, it is common courtesy to spend a great deal talking about family more than getting "down to business".

Our culture has created this "separation of church and state". Compartmentalization has become part of who we are. It's come into the life of many Christians as well. I'm not just talking about living separate lives of work, church, home. I'm talking about a deeper compartmentalization of the mind. This deep hidden room in the Temple.

We see it over and over again. Christian believers who know truth and godliness and yet there's an area of sin that is in this "secret room" of the mind. It is a room where idols are worshiped. It's a room where pet sins are fed. Past hurts are stored away and incubate into vile bitterness and "justifiable" hatred. Where lusts are kept alive by continual visits to the room "because I deserve it." Ezekiel's description almost makes it seem like the hidden room was a wall of TV's. 

There's a foolishness to the statement of the priests in Ezekiel's day as they worship these vile things, "The Lord doesn't see us: he has gone away!". It doesn't make any sense. Yet for some reason Christians have fooled themselves into thinking the same thing. "The Lord can't see my sin." "Because my wife can't see my computer screen, God can't either." "Because my husband doesn't know what's really in this book, the Lord can't see it either."

Sounds ridiculous right? If it's so ridiculous why do so many live that way? Lurking beneath the surface is such vile hatred and bitterness that has come from abuse. "Sure hatred is bad, but in me it's justified because of what someone did to me!" Surely God can't see into that room.

Do we really believe what we believe? Truly? If we do, how can we so willingly live in this life of dichotomy (existence of 2 opposing forces)?

It often seems that Christians are content to mature in Christ up to certain point, and then for some reason they stop. They don't want to go any further. The bad part is that an individual is tricked into thinking that they can continue growth in the rest of life, but the sad truth is that growth is stunted until this area is taken care of. Sure they may have others fooled, but God sees into the room and it catches up with them. It's as if there's a thought that being a Christian "a long time" is what it takes to be mature.

Look at what it says about that in Heb. 5:12-14 "You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others, but instead you have dropped back to the place where you need someone to teach you all over again the very first principles in God's Word. You are like babies who can drink only milk, not old enough for solid food. And when a person is still living on milk it shows he isn't very far along in the Christian life, and doesn't know much about the difference between right and wrong. He is still a baby-Christian! You will never be able to eat solid spiritual food and understand the deeper things of God's Word until you become better Christians and learn right from wrong by practicing doing right."

It's time for a moment of introspection. Where am I in my Christian maturity? What rooms are hidden in this temple that I've fooled myself into thinking that God can't see it? Allowing him in to clean out these rooms is the next step to maturity.

There is such joy and freedom in knowing there is nothing hidden from God. So much energy has been wasted in trying to keep the door to the room locked and guarded so that no one will see. What foolishness that is anyway, because God has seen it all along.

If you've found a hidden room, invite Jesus in to clean it out. Giving up these "idols" is not as hard as you think. You can live without them. In fact, you can't truly find abundant life if you try to live with them!

Ps. 105:4 says, "Search for him and for his strength, and keep on searching!" As you search for God, his light reveals areas of clean-up. Let him do it. Through this process you can truly live the Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship.

Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

Pastor Greg Lathe

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