“Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face. 24Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.” Eze. 3:23-24
The Spirit will never set us upon our feet until we humble ourselves before God.
“Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. 2So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. 3And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.” Eze. 3:1-3
To those that are willing to eat (spiritually) the word of God, they will always find it sweet. It is those that resist it that find it bitter.
“And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.” Eze. 2:7
The word of God is for those that will hear it as well as those that won’t. Being a rebel does not excuse anyone from having the word preached to them.
“And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.” I Sam. 8:7
Whenever you stand unwavering for the truth you will face rejection. The rejection that will be the hardest to deal with is when that rejection comes from those who consider themselves Christians. It is hard for any Christian to have to face this kind of rejection. It often leads to hurt feelings that can fester into bitterness. However, if you always remember that when other believers reject you for holding to the truth, they are not rejecting you, but God. I pray that we don’t consider our own hurt feelings, but instead get a burden for our brethren and go before the Lord in prayer for them.
“And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.” I Sam. 23:16
Jonathon was a warrior for the kingdom of God. One time Jonathon, with his armor bearer, went and slew 20 Philistines. Jonathon was also sensitive to the will of God and knew one day that David would be king. Instead of being jealous over David he loved and supported David, even when his father Saul was hunting him down. Jonathon’s life was cut short because of his backslidden father’s poor leadership, but there is one great thing that he did before he was killed in battle. He went to David who was hiding out in the wilderness and encouraged him. He “strengthened his hand in God.” David did go on to be king. Jonathon’s encouragement lived on in David. I want to be an encourager, how about you?
“Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. 13From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: he hath made me desolate and faint all the day.” Lam 1:12-13
Jeremiah lamented over Jerusalem which was once full of people, but became a widow. He lamented over Judah who had gone into captivity. He had such a deep grief in his heart that he is called the weeping prophet. This sorrow he experienced was above human sorrow. This sorrow came from the Lord. For the most part we understand there is a love beyond human proportions. It is a supernatural love that can only come from God. Have you ever asked God to grant you to love as He loves? There is also a sorrow of supernatural proportions. A sorrow God has for His lukewarm and backslidden church. I have not been so quick to ask God to grant this sorrow to me. I need to ask Him, you need to ask Him. God, give us a burden for your church, one that keeps us in the altar of prayer for your people. Let us feel what you feel. Amen!
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Jn. 8:32
The phrase, “shall make you free,” comes from two Greek words, eleutheroō and humas. Eleutheroō means to liberate and exempt. So the truth does these two things, it exempts from the penalty of sin and then it liberates from a continued life of sin. The word humas means you. Yes, the truth exempts and liberates YOU. Hallelujah, me too!
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Jn. 8:32
There is a time coming when the truth will no longer set people free but result in damnation. Praise the Lord that you know the truth now.
“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” I Jn. 4:8
As eternal and infinite and unsearchable as God is, aren’t you glad that He explains Himself as love? You can lack intelligence and not even know how to read, but you can still know what love is. If you know what love is then you have the capacity to have a simple understanding of God.
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Dt. 6:4-5
A Christian said to a pastor friend of mine that there is too much preaching about love today. In response, my friend said, “You can never preach too much about love.” I have to agree with him, for God is love. The problem isn’t too many sermons about love; it is sermons preached without love. Another problem is sermons that only preach about the love God has for us and not challenging the church to love God with all their heart, soul and might. The whole message of love must be preached, and it will be, if love for God dominates the preacher.
