Sunday, March 20, 2011

EZEKIEL

Today is Sunday!  I love Sundays!  It is also the last day of our Mission's Conference and I am looking forward to what God will do in our midst.  I will enjoy the day being challenged to do more for a world that needs to hear the Gospel.  Oh how we need to send the Missionaries around the world reaching people for Christ, and helping Nationals start Churches around the world.  May God help us!  Today I am reading in Ezekiel and here are a few short thoughts:

1) HEARING BUT NOT DOING- In Ezekiel 33:30-32 it says: "... Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD.  And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.  And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not."  They enjoyed the preaching, but not the doing of God's Word.  We should be very careful that we not only hear the Word of God, but that we do the Word of God.  James 1:22  "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

2) FIRST PERSON GOD- I started noticing this as I read this morning, so I had to go back and re read it and mark it down and count it out, and sure enough, it's all there..... God is a "first person God".  You see, normally the Bible in Ezekiel will say: "The Word of the Lord came unto me saying....."  But starting in chapter 34, through chapter 39, we see that the LORD uses the personal pronoun "I"... a whole lot.  God speaks personally to the people.  In Chapter 34 (30 I's); Chapter 35 (21 I's); Chapter 36 (41 I's); Chapter 37 (22 I's); Chapter 38 (16 I's); and Chapter 39 (27 I's).  Nowhere else do you see a concentration of such first person pronouns in Ezekiel as we read here.  God is a First Person God!  We stand before Him personally!  We must accept Him personally!  We must worship Him personally!  And He is our personal GOD!!  Thank you Jesus!!

Well, this is all the time I have for today.  Busy day ahead.  May God bless!   Pastor Mike Mutchler



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