Ezekiel 2:1-8
Notes
Transcript
Song: Choose Someone What a friend we have in jesus
Song: Choose Someone What a friend we have in jesus
Prayer: Choose Someone
Prayer: Choose Someone
Scripture: Choose Someone Psalms 103:12
Scripture: Choose Someone Psalms 103:12
Give Scripture: Ezekiel 2:1-8
Give Scripture: Ezekiel 2:1-8
1 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.
4 For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God.
5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
7 And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.
8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.
Give A Review
Give A Review
In the last few weeks, we have been studying the book of Ezekiel and on last week we concluded Chapter 1 of this book of prophecy.
Chapter 1 was a combination of a history lesson and a deep dive into the realm of the prophetic as we faced the prophetic interpretations of Ezekiel as he relays his experience being called into the prophetic. In this sense, Ezekiel was a vessel used by God and in his vision (though brief in terms of its portion of the collective scripture) it is packed with some of the most consequential pieces of information we have about Angels, God, Heaven, and the Realm of the Spirit.
I do not want to get lost here, but your spirit exists on a different plane than your physical body, as can be evidenced throughout the scripture.
Ezekiel sees things that others do not see.
Elisha has to open the eyes of his servant that he would see the more for them than against them.
And all kinds of different things point to the fact that the realm of the spirit exists beyond that of the physical.
God exists in both planes while we are secluded to this one but for the grace of God and the death of Jesus which gives us access to the spirit even here on Earth.
So Ezekiel peers into the realm of the spirit and in so doing, he gets a glimpse at angels as they fulfilled their jobs and responsibilities. Now I said this the week before last, but in effect what Ezekiel sees is the angels fulfilling their divine responsibilities as opposed to humans who had long since neglected their duties.
Furthermore, he is simply getting a glimpse into the spirit where he gets to simply see the magnificence of God and his creation as it was intended. God, in effect, gives Ezekiel a back stage pass which in effect communicates to him the words of Paul… I am calling you Ezekiel and though it may look bleak now but the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed. See now a glimpse of my glory, work for me, and then see the fullness of my glory at the appointed time.
Allow for Questions?
Allow for Questions?
Write some of the questions down if possible.
Scripture Study
Scripture Study
26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
The angels are moving around, some flying, others walking, others ascending/ descending…
As they do so, Ezekiel notices what he likens to a throne which was of sapphire (meaning it was likely blue).
On the throne was one who looked like a man.
This man was the color of amber, as though fire was burning from within him.
This description is much like the one given by John the Revelator in the book of Revelation which tells us about Jesus.
In that description his feet are described as being the color of finished bronze and his hair like wool… but there it was described as though his eyes burned with fire (if my memory is correct).
But then he describes a rainbow that encircles the throne upon which this man sat…
So much glory exuded from this moment… from the throne… that Ezekiel could not help but to fall down upon his face in the presence of the glory.
Have you ever been so much so in the presence of God in prayer or anything where you could not stand in the glory but could only fall down in the glory?
Nobody had to push you… no one particularly laid hands on you… no one did anything but God’s glory perhaps met you in your living room or your kitchen or in your car and all you could do is prostrate yourself before him.
And so we leave off Chapter 2 with Ezekiel laid in the floor in awe of the glory of God.
Reminding everyone that this is his first encounter with the prophetic in his own life.
So God is essentially trying to win him aboard with this vision of terrible but awesome glory.
In effect, this is his new employee orientation and he cannot even stand to receive it.
1 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.
This shows us that a glory experience is important, but it is just as important as the instruction.
Juanita Bynum once preached a sermon on Purpose in Prayer and in it she talked about the importance of reaching glory in prayer… but she cautioned we must be careful that we get so much after glory we miss the instruction.
I liken it to the High Priest on the day of Atonement.
His job was not to simply go in so he could experience the glory of God but he went in on behalf of the entire nation to receive that years instruction.
What crops to plant, where to plant them, how to sell them, etc etc.
If the priest missed a year… that was a year worth of instructions missed because one man was off his assignment.
That is why you cannot go to the altar and simply fall in the floor… God is not the author of confusion… so you need to leave room for instruction somewhere in your glory experience.
You know the one… the wind blow and they in the floor.
So Ezekiel has his glory experience but then the same God who brings him glory steps into his spirit to bring him upright that he might hear the instruction.
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.
Why is God calling Ezekiel to the children of Israel?
Ezekiel says, in effect, the same things that were spoken by Jeremiah, Hezekiah, Josiah, Hilkiah, Huldah, and COUNTLESS others.
Why send him?
Furthermore, Ezekiel is in bondage… what is the long-term aim of a man who is bound to try preaching someone else free?
4 For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God.
5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
My younger brother would sometimes say or do things when we were growing up and I would tell him differently but he went on ahead and did what he wanted to do.
I would say clean your room… he would play video games.
I would say get your school clothes out… he would watch tv.
Ultimately it did not impact me but I wanted to tell him because I already knew what the expectations would be.
But I always said something because I did not want to leave room for it to be said that I withheld information… nope.
He knew, he just elected to remain quiet.
This is much like the situation we see in scripture… God is saying you will not be able to say that I did not say something.
I warned you.
I sent people to warn you.
I tried pointing out the issues and mistakes.
6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
He gives him the same basic speech as Isaiah and Jeremiah.
It can be easy to get discouraged when you in service to anybody especially the Lord.
What do you do when you are discouraged, especially in your service to the Lord?
7 And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.
Preach it in season and preach it out of season.
8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.
One of the most important pieces of this lesson… do not allow yourself to fall into the trap of being like the people I am calling you to minister to.
I hear the Apostle Paul again echoing in my ear...
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
It is difficult to stay separated from something when you are called to that something.
We are called to minister unto the World concerning the Gospel which has been given unto each and every one of us.
However, we are also called to remain separate and distinct from that same world...
So Ezekiel is given the warning… do not become like that which you see because I cannot use you if you are like them.
Provide Key Takeaways
Provide Key Takeaways
Do not become so paralyzed by glory that you miss the instruction that God gives
Be careful that you not only hear God’s word but that you speak and preach it no matter what is going on around you.
Do not become trapped by the world that Jesus called you to help save.
Allow for Final Questions?
Allow for Final Questions?
Write some of the questions down if possible.
Roll Call & Prayer Requests
Roll Call & Prayer Requests
Prayer: Do yourself unless otherwise led
Prayer: Do yourself unless otherwise led