I'm on a New Level

Introduction

New levels come with responsibility and a new vantage points. If you are at a place of acension or on a journey of improvement God will place us at a vantage point in which we can have a panaramic view of what God is doing in our life.

God brings us to high points so that we can envision the entire picture. We walk by faith because sometimes the heights that God brings us to can be a little frightening.

Think about times where you have been elevated to a very high place. A roller coaster, a hotel room with a skyline view, at the top of a mountain after hiking. The altitude that you are standing at allows you to see a bigger picture, when we see a big picture we do not allow the miniscule things of life get in the way of the bigger mission.

This vision that Ezekiel is having is one of encoragment. Despite captivity, despite rebellion, God gives the prophet a vision of a place of worship. We know where there is worship there is liberation, where there is worship there is salvation!

As we approach the end of this year many of us are beginning to think about things we want to change and things we want to see in our lives in the days to come.

Background

The date of this vision is the New Year’s Day in the 25th year of captivity. This is the day of expiation or the act of making amends or reparation for guilt or wrongdoing; atonement.

Understand the dynamic of this vision. This vision is different than Ezekiel 37:1 “The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.”

Understand that valley moments are for our benefit just like mountaintop moments, the difference is valley moments are typically for our ability to understand what God has done, mountain top moments are so we can see what God is going to do.

Mountaintop moments are experiences of vision that help us understand where God is going to take us.

Matthew 4:8 “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.”

Revelation 21:10 “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,”

A Different View Requires a Difference Vantage Point

God had to put him at a different place to see a different view. The city of Jerusalem and the temple had been destroyed the city had been overtaken and the people were scattered.

In times of trial we have to look ahead to what God has planned in the future. When you are going through a tough time, get to a higher vantage point so you can see the bigger picture. The bigger picture is only seen when we have the faith and obedience to trust God in the high spaces!

Faith that the land would be restored and there would be a new city, a new temple and a new priesthood.

We have to have faith that God will sustain us through the trials of life for a better future. Even when everything seems to be crumbling or destroyed, know that God has a better plan in store.

The assurance of a glorious future should sustain us when times get tough! These trials don’t last forever! Considering we know this it should stimulate us to keep living in a holy way. Understand that the word holy is used 35 times between chapter 41 and 48. Understand that God is not taking us to a high vantage point just to see the destination but visualize our success to a new horizon. Heaven is not simply a destination, heaven is the motivation. If I know where I am going, I should manuever through life in a confident way that God is never going to leave me hanging! He blessed Ezekiel with a vision for a reason.

Everybody does not get the opportunity to see the vision, but understand that even if you are not the visionary does not mean that you reject what God is going through others!

See What God is Doing!

The city was captured on the very same day the hand of the Lord was upon me and He took me there.

In order to see what God is doing in your life you have to be close to God. You have to put your hand in the hand of the Lord! We aren’t having visionary moments because we refuse to climb.

Understand that the prerequisite of planning is obedience. Before beginning the measurement God provides him with the significance of what is being measured.

Ezekiel 40:4 “And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel everything you see.””

If we are going to see what God is trying to do we have to hear what God is saying. The only way we can see what God is doing is to listen to His word. There is no such thing as a vision that does have the word attached to it.

Faith is typically a reflection of what we spend time listening to.

Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” We want a mountaintop vision faith, we have to have a valley type of connection with God. Our closeness to God should not be determined by the level of happiness in our lives.

God brings Ezekiel to the mountaintop to see a vision that would be beneficial to God’s people. As a church we have to have a panoramic view of God’s people in effort to serve God’s people.

The mountaintop allows you to see God’s people as a whole, not getting caught up in the individualized aspects of life that cause us to have biases and only want to help certain people or those in close proximity to us.

Do You Want to Go to the Next Level

What is the next level? The next level is knowing God is available no matter where life takes us!

Sometimes the best vision comes during the toughest times. Sometimes we see God the clearest during the darkest moments.

We may be in exile, we may be separated, we may be oppressed but God is still working and Liberation is on the horizon.

God brings us to a different view because we need to see what’s in store to keep going! God always has better! No matter where you are in this moment there’s better! The closer we are to God the more we understand that it gets better by and by. My trial is never the end because God has the final say so.

When my view changes I see myself in a different way.

When my level changes I see my circumstance in a different way.

When God raises my view I can see more than just survival I can see thriving by trusting God. That even in the midst of exile and trial, God still provides us with the ability to not only experience worship but see worship!

Think about it in this moment no matter how rough the last 72 hours have been there is still hope because I serve a God that can’t change any situation and sometimes the situation changes when change my view!

See when my view changes I can’t be selfish about life. Because from an elevated view I see how my actions not only impact me but impact the next person. Nonetheless a different vantage point will also see the context of the people that I am dealing with. I know see that people might be struggling because of what is going on around them and not necessarily to any fault of their own. The prophet knew this, but Ezekiel also understood that the mission of God was greater than his wants! Heaven is beautiful, the gospel is beautiful, the sacrifice of Jesus is beautiful, forgiveness is beautiful, grace and mercy are beautiful. The most beautiful aspect of these blessings is the fact that they can be shared with others!

God did not exalt Ezekiel for Ezekiel and Ezekiel only, his exaltation was a blessing to an entire nation! God if you are going to lift us up, lift us up so that we can be a blessing to the people around us.