Watchmen Warn

 Scripture:

““As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf.” ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭33‬:‭7‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Ezekiel was told in this passage, that he was considered a watchman for the house of Israel. In other words, when he heard a word from God’s mouth, he was to warn them. A watchman looks out around a city or nation to see if an enemy is coming. They were set to know what is coming and to prepare the city of nation for what is coming. 

Application:

As a pastor, one of my primary jobs is to hear from God and know what He is saying. I must then deliver that word to His people. I have to watch what is happening in society, the church, the world, the nations, then seek God for what He has to say about these things. My ultimate job is to hear what God is speaking to the church, to our church, to our city, to our nation, and to the world. I need to then warn people about what is coming.

Prayer:

Father, help me to see what You see and hear what You speak. Open the heavens over my life and let me hear Your voice clearly. I want to say what You are saying and do what You are doing. Lead me. Guide me. Teach me. Help me to represent You well in my generation. Teach me Your ways and show me Your truths. Open my eyes as a watchman to see what the enemy is doing at the same time. 

Your Son,

Jeff

He is LORD!

 Scripture:

“When I turn the land of Egypt into desolation and the land is destitute of everything that fills it, when I strike all those who live in it, then they will know that I am the LORD.’” ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭32‬:‭15‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Throughout Ezekiel, I keep hearing the same words over and over again. “Then they will know that I am the LORD.” The heart cry of God is to be worshiped. He longs for nations and peoples to know that He is the LORD. In this passage, He is speaking about Egypt, but throughout Ezekiel, the same words come about all the surrounding nations who have done Israel wrong or who worship other gods. 

Application:

God wants to be worshiped and honored as LORD. That goes for nations, as the prophets spoke constantly about, and it goes for us as individuals. When we are proud or boastful about what we have accomplished, God is not honored. He is awesome and we are not! He is incredible and we are not! The place of blessing with God comes from great humility before Him. We must realize that He is worthy of our highest praise and worship. He gave Himself for us and we should honor Him with our lives.

Prayer:

Father, You are the LORD over the entire world. You are LORD over the universe and all that makes it up. Your praise will continually be on my mouth and I will boast only in You. You are the source of every good thing in my life. You are my everything and I bless You my king. Help me to live in the fear of God and humility every day. 

Your Son,

Jeff

Revealing God’s Power

 Scripture:

““‘This is what the sovereign LORD says: When I regather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are dispersed, I will reveal my sovereign power over them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their land that I gave to my servant Jacob.” ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭28‬:‭25‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Ezekiel prophesies here that Israel will be gathered back together, after they had been exiled to the nations where God dispersed them. It says that God will reveal His sovereign power over them before the nations and that they would live in their own land again. The section closes by saying, “then they will know that I am LORD.” This speaks of what was happening right then in Israel, but sometimes there are double fulfillments in scripture. Israel becoming a nation again after 2000 years, was an absolute miracle. Now they are in the worldwide news every day. God is doing what He said thousands of years ago, what He would do.

Application:

The purpose of the restoration of Israel was, “Then they will know that I am the LORD.” God has restored Israel and made her powerful on the world stage. It is His doing and the world should stand up and take notice. What has happened there is a literal miracle. A people, a language, a nation that was gone for 2000 years re-emerges as a powerful nation that the world fears. Why? So we will know that God is the LORD over all the earth and that we would recognize Him and serve Him. We must live our lives knowing that God is working in our day and it is significant. I want to give my life to letting the world know that He is LORD.

Prayer:

Father, let my life bring Your glory. I want to make Your name famous in all the earth. Help me to live every day in service to You. Let Your light shine through my life and many turn to Christ. Lead me step by step. I want to follow You and Your plans accurately. I want to do Your will for my life every day.

I Am Yours,

Jeff

Difficult Obedience

 Scripture:

“Ezekiel will be an object lesson for you; you will do all that he has done. When it happens, then you will know that I am the sovereign LORD.’” ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭24‬:‭24‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Ezekiel was told by God that he was going to walk through a very difficult time. He was not to cover his lips or eat what people gave him. He was to let the people know that God was about to judge them and that they would go through an extremely difficult time. For Ezekiel, his wife died after he spoke to the people of God. He was told by God that this was an object lesson for Israel. This seems extreme, but God was trying everything to get His people to turn around. He was using Ezekiel’s life to demonstrate His intentions for His people. 

Application:

This seems very harsh of God. Would God really let Ezekiel’s wife die to get his point to Israel about their sins? Rather than think that way, we must realize the depth of God’s anguish when His people don’t follow Him or walk in His ways. Ezekiel’s wife paid the ultimate praise for Israel’s sin so that they would hopefully repent and be spared. Sometimes God allows things in our lives that are not fun or good. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. We must realize that God has bigger plans. We must live our lives submitted to Him when it makes sense and when it doesn’t. We don’t know if Ezekiel’s wife was already sick and died or if she just died suddenly. What we know is, God was sending a message to His people. 

Prayer:

Father, I offer You my life. When I don’t understand why certain things happen to me, help me to see Your bigger picture. Teach me Your heart and help me to know Your ways. Let me walk with You closer than ever before. I am Yours. Keep me aligned with Your will at all times. 

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Distinguish

 Scripture:

“Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst.” ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭22‬:‭26‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

God is speaking to Ezekiel here about the condition of His people. In this passage he directly speaks about the priests. He says they have desecrated holy things, the don’t distinguish between holy and profane, and they don’t distinguish between holy and unholy. In other words, the priests were not differentiating right from wrong. They were accepting whatever happened instead of bringing correction.

Application:

From this passage, we can see that God takes sin and overlooking sin very seriously. He expects His people to distinguish what is right from what is wrong. Our society today doesn’t like leaders who speak truth about what is right and what is wrong in our nation. When we speak up, people get offended. When we don’t say anything, people get offended. As a pastor, I need to speak on behalf of God and distinguish what is right from what is wrong. I need to speak about what is clean and what is unclean. I need to be more vocal about what pleases God and what doesn’t.

Prayer:

Lord God, You are awesome and I love You with all my heart. Help me to please You in the way I lead people. Empower me to speak Your truth in the midst of a generation that doesn’t want to hear. Let me accurately represent You and Your word and not take the easy road. Help me to say what You are saying and do what You are doing. I want to represent You well. Speak through me LORD.

Yours,

Jeff

God Raises and God Puts Down

 Scripture:

“All the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I make the high tree low; I raise up the low tree. I make the green tree wither, and I make the dry tree sprout. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it!’”” ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭17‬:‭24‬ ‭NET‬

Observation:

The LORD had been telling Israel all hers sins and the punishment for them. He listed to them exactly what they had done and told them that they had prostituted themselves with other gods. At the end of this chapter, the LORD says something powerful, “I make the high tree low; I raise up the low tree. I make the green tree wither, and I make the dry tree sprout.” In other words, God can change anything. He can raise up and He can put down.

Application:

If God can raise up and put down, then our best response is obedience in every area. We are to trust the Lord and serve Him. We shouldn’t promote ourselves, but let Him work in our lives. He can make things happen that we have no power over. He can lift us up or put us down quickly. Our trust must be in Him. Our obedience, must follow our trust.

Prayer:

Father, help me to follow You well. Let my life bring You honor. I trust You with all I am and all I have. You are good and Your mercies are new every morning. Your faithfulness is great! Teach me to walk in a way You can bless.

Forever Yours,

Jeff

Then They Will Know

 Scripture:

““Then they will know that I am the LORD when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among foreign countries.” ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭12‬:‭15‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Throughout the book of Ezekiel you hear the phrase, “then they will know that I am the LORD.” It is also through many of the prophets. Through the prophets one can hear the voice of the Lord telling His people that He wants them to know who He is and what they are missing out on. Sometimes when He blesses a people he says, “then they will know I am the LORD.” Sometimes when He curses a people, he says, “then they will know I am the LORD.” The bottom line is that God wants us to know He is God and that He is all powerful. 

Application:

God is looking for a people who will realize that He is all-powerful. He wants a people who know He is God Almighty. I want to respond by following Him completely and letting Him know that He is God over everything and everyone. He is the Most High God. I KNOW He is God and I want to serve Him completely.

Prayer:

LORD, You are awesome and I love You. You are the LORD of heaven and earth. You are God Most High, avoid every other thing. You are amazing and it is an honor to serve You. Help me to worship You as You want to be worshiped. Let my life be used for Your glory and the honor of Your name. Teach me to serve You well as I endeavor to represent You to those Your entrusted to me. Let my life be pleasing to You in every way and let is say, “I know You are the LORD”

Yours, 

Jeff