Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro Scripture:

2 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. 2 And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious †nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.

The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version.

(Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), .

If you would lift up the name of the Lord with a shout of triumph as you are seated!

I can picture Ezekiel, much similar to Isaiah seeing thi

With the utterance of the Holy Ghost, I would like to preach Be Filled With The Spirit

I can picture Ezekiel

Here we read of a prophet named Ezekiel which means 'God strengthens.'

Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, was deported to Bablonia, almost certainly with Jehoiachin (the young king of Judah) in 597 BC.

To briefly review, this was better known as the time of the exile.

In 723 BC Northern Israel was captured by Assyria, in Ezekiel we read about how Southern Israel (Judah) was captured by Babylon.

During this time period the first temple is destroyed.

The early period of Ezekiel’s life saw the ending of the dominance of the Assyrian Empire, a brief interim spell of Egyptian influence in Judah’s affairs and then the growing control of Babylonian kings over Near Eastern politics.

The kings of Judah under whom he lived were:

Josiah

640–609 BC

Jehoahaz

609 BC

Jehoiakim

609–597 BC

Jehoiachin

597 BC

Zedekiah

597–587 BC

John B. Taylor, Ezekiel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol.

22, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1969), 31.

He settled in the village of Telabib by the river Chebar.

Five years later he received his call to prophesy to the Nation of Isreal.

It was at the ripe age of 30 when Ezekiel began his ministry as a prophet.

You see those who prophesied or taught in their temple where considered young men until the age of 30, if you were to be a minister it would not have happened until at least 30.

Interesting enough, this is when Jesus began His ministry if one studies out the gospels.

Let us delve into the calling of Ezekiel and try to imagine what he was seeing in chapter 1, verse 4-28:

4 As I looked, a stormy wind came out of the north: a great cloud with brightness around it and fire flashing forth continually, and in the middle of the fire, something like gleaming amber.

5 In the middle of it was something like four living creatures.

This was their appearance: they were of human form.

6 Each had four faces, and each of them had four wings.

7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot; and they sparkled like burnished bronze.

8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands.

And the four had their faces and their wings thus: 9 their wings touched one another; each of them moved straight ahead, without turning as they moved.

10 As for the appearance of their faces: the four had the face of a human being, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle; 11 such were their faces.

Their wings were spread out above; each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies.

12 Each moved straight ahead; wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went.

13 In the middle ofa the living creatures there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving to and fro among the living creatures; the fire was bright, and lightning issued from the fire.

14 The living creatures darted to and fro, like a flash of lightning.

15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.b

16 As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl; and the four had the same form, their construction being something like a wheel within a wheel.

17 When they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without veering as they moved.

18 Their rims were tall and awesome, for the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.

19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose.

20 Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

21 When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

22 Over the heads of the living creatures there was something like a dome, shining like crystal,c spread out above their heads.

23 Under the dome their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another; and each of the creatures had two wings covering its body.

24 When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of mighty waters, like the thunder of the Almighty,d a sound of tumult like the sound of an army; when they stopped, they let down their wings.

25 And there came a voice from above the dome over their heads; when they stopped, they let down their wings.

26 And above the dome over their heads there was something like a throne, in appearance like sapphire;e and seated above the likeness of a throne was something that seemed like a human form.

27 Upward from what appeared like the loins I saw something like gleaming amber, something that looked like fire enclosed all around; and downward from what looked like the loins I saw something that looked like fire, and there was a splendor all around.

28 Like the bow in a cloud on a rainy day, such was the appearance of the splendor all around.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.

When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of someone speaking.

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), .

One can say Ezekiel quickly learned the power and might of the one true living God.

Ezekiel was able to see the magnificence of God’s Chariot moving throughout the land of the Chaldeans, but even though he identified what where known as Cherubims they themselves did put his face into the ground.

The glory of God is what caused this man to fall on his face, but the glory had a voice.

Ezekiel had three distinct steps after experiencing the glory of God:

The voice demanded that he stood up

The spirit then entered him

The commission of a preacher

4 The descendants are impudent and stubborn.

I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD.” 5 Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.

6 And you, O mortal, do not be afraid of them, and do not be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns surround you and you live among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words, and do not be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.

There was little that would be easy about what Ezekiel was called to do.

He would have to prophesy utter judgement and demise onto his family, the Israelites.

Could you imagine telling your family that they would die or suffer from your enemy because of their disobedience to God.

This is what Ezekiel faced.

With great vision and anointing came a severe responsibility.

If it was left to Ezekiel, I’m sure he would have been like “by felisha.”

Nope, I’m good…not going to do that

But God had a plan…you see what brought pain to the Children of Israel was hypocrisy.

Chapter 8 identifies serious accounts of idol worship.

The image of jealousy…god or goddess that most likely made God jealous

The engravings of idols and animals

Tammuz…yet another idol being lamented by women within Israel

Sun worship or the worship of the god Shamash

All of this equates to a judgement of wrath with no probable intercession by the prophet.

To the Church:

When you cross a line with God, there comes a time when, while the ministry is praying for you, if you do not remove and destroy your idols God will destroy you.

One must ask what was the difference between Israel and the prophet:

One was concerned with the desires of God, the other was concerned with the desires of their flesh

One knew God was there all along even though he suffered, but he did not deny His existence

One was raised up by God’s Spirit and duly fellowshiped with Him due to purity…not only that, but Ezekiel was used to deliver His word

Donnel example

Drawing this Back to the Church:

Many of you long for God to use you, but my question is have you been filled with the Spirit?

Have you ever stepped into intercessory prayer?

Why don’t we stop playing church and get serious tonight.

There is an incumbent judgement coming upon this world in the last days and I would much rather deliver the good news than take part of the world’s idolatry.

Don’t let the church be found as Israel worshipping things that provoke our God to wrath!

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