Lessons From Ezekiel
Ezekiel 3:7-9 (11/24/21)
November 24, 2021 • Benham Brothers • Ezekiel 3:7–9
* Ephesians 6:12 - “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the Rulers …Authorities …Powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” * The battle is fought in the mind - it’s the war over ideas. * God loves all people but He does not love all ideas. * Bad Ideas infect good individuals - it’s like biological terrorism. * How do you treat someone who has an infection but wants to get better? You help them. * How do you treat someone who’s infected and they want to infect others? You fight them. * Under the criminal law, a person with HIV is criminally liable for prosecution if they have intentionally transmitted the virus to someone. * So what do we do? * We need to reach out to all individuals with compassion while resisting bad ideas with courage. * We’ll only do this if we have hard head and soft heart. * We should be hard-headed toward principle (unbending), and soft-hearted toward people. * We need to please God (soft heart), not man (hard head). * Vs 7-9 - Ezekiel needed this to go along with the call God had given him. * 1) Hard Head / Soft Heart: * You want to please God and not man. * You don’t bend on principle but you flex with people. * 2) Soft Head / Hard Heart: * You don't care about pleasing God and you want to please people. * You bend on principle but you don’t flex with people. * 3) Hard Head / Hard Heart: * You don't care about pleasing anyone, God or man. * You don’t bend on principle but you also don’t flex with people. * 4) Soft Head / Soft Hear: * You want to please everyone, God and man. * You bend on principle and flex with people. * BONUS - when you have a hard head and a soft heart you also need TOUGH SKIN (Brian Dixon). * Because the arrows will fly your way!
Ezekiel (11/7/13)
November 7, 2013 • Benham Brothers
Ezekial was a prophet sent by God as His messenger Ezekial had to speak God's word whether the people listened or not - he was not to focus on the result Ezekial 33:9 God makes us watchmen - He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, so He wants to warn them through watchmen. If the watchmen warns the people he is saved. If he doesn't warn them then he dies. Ezekial 3 We need to not just ingest things from God - we need to warn our nation against what's going on Ezekial 9 When a nation sins against God two sins manifest themselves: 1) Sexual perversion 2) Innocent blood God is looking for people who are broken over the sins of the nation - these are the ones He will use Ezekial 16:47 They grew prideful and they committed abominations Viscious Cycle - from bondage to spiritual faith, to great courage, to liberty, to abundance, to selfishness, to complacency, to apathy, to dependency, to bondage once again
Ezekiel 1, 2, & 3 (11/6/16)
November 6, 2016 • Benham Brothers
• BIG IDEA - God is doing something in the world and wants to use you. * Ez needed to be transformed into the man who could fulfill the call (VS 3:17 - Watchman). * He was to be a modern-day movie. * Ezekiel the BOOK - Key theme: Showing reverence for the name and glory of God * Phrase "Lord God" repeated over 400x, "I am the Lord" 57x, "So that you will know I am the Lord" 27x * The prophecy begins with the sovereignty of God not the sinfulness of Israel. * Eastern people believed gods were tied to the land, so Israel's God was weak and defeated. • The Jews were captive in Babylon and Ezekiel, a 30 year old, was among them - VISION! • VS 1:28 - 2:1-2 - Here's the process of entering God's Call: • 1) Ezekial is being faithful to the work God had called him to do as priest. • 2) God revealed Himself to Ezekiel. • 3) Ezekiel fell on his face before God - this is the proper “receiving” position. • 4) God commanded him to do something he couldn't do on his own. • 5) God's Spirit came into him to "do" the obeying. • 6) After his obedience he was ready for God's instructions. • VS 2:3-5 - Ezekiel was to focus on his duty, not the results. • If you focus on results strategy overtakes the Spirit. • VS 2:6-7 - Rebellion isn't just disobedience - it’s the deliberate act of the stubborn will to overthrow an authority figure. • Lucifer “rebelled” against God and was cast out - He wanted God’s throne. • VS 2:8-3:3 - The CURE to rebellion is God's Word getting inside you! * The Spirit came into Ezekiel by his reverence, but God’s Word got into him by his action. • When you eat something it becomes a part of you - you are what you eat! • VS 3:4-6 - The CALL - he wasn’t sent overseas but to be a missionary to his own people. • VS 3:7-9 - To be of use to God Ezekiel needed a hard head and a soft heart. • Hard Head / Soft Heart - you want to please God and not man. • Soft Head / Hard Heart - you don't care about pleasing God and you want to please man. • Hard Head / Hard Heart - you don't care about pleasing anyone, God or man. • Soft Head / Soft Heart - you want to please everyone, God and man. • VS 14 - Ezekiel was now a changed man. • God turned him into the man he needed to be to accomplish what God wanted him to accomplish.
Ezekiel 1, 2, & 3 (11/6/14)
November 6, 2014 • Benham Brothers
The theme of Ezekiel is the sovereignty of God over all things, and the book is split three ways: 1) God's judgement of Israel, 2) God's judgement of the nations, 3) God's plans of restoration for Israel. Israel was already exiled out of Jerusalem at this time and Ezekiel the prophet was among them. Ez 1:10 - God gave Ezekiel a vision of four angels, all of which had four different faces. These faces represented the sovereignty of God, and are the four faces of Jesus. Man - God created man in His image, and He became a man to redeem all mankind. Lion - God is mightiest among all creatures in heaven and on earth. You don't mess with a lion. Bull - God is always working and pulling the plow. Eagle - God flies high above all things. Problem - most churches cater to one face of Jesus! Ez 1:12 shows us how these angels went about completing the task God had given them - they saw themselves as ministers on mission! 1) Ministers - They were led by the Spirit. They didn't call their own shots - God was in control. 2) Mission - They never turned to the right or left - they went straight ahead. They were laser focused on what God called them to do. Ez 1:28 - 2:5 - Notice the process Ezekiel went through to be God's minister on mission: 1) He was being faithful right where God had placed him. 2) God revealed Himself to him. 3) Ezekiel fell to the ground. (vs 28) 4) God commands him to stand up. (vs 2:1) 5) God's Spirit came into him to "do" the obeying. (vs 2:2) 6) After he stood up God gave instructions. (vs 2:3-) Ez 2:5 - Ezekiel was not to concern himself with the results. If we focus on results we will move from the spiritual into the strategic. Ez 3:1- God commanded Ezekial, now that he was filled with the Spirit, to eat the scroll. Two step process: 1) Bow before God in humility and repentance and receive His Spirit - this is God's part. 2) Eat the SCROLL! Devour the Word of God - this is our part. Ez 12-15 - God did not call him to be Mr. Niceguy. For such a time as Ezekiel's God made and called Ezekiel to be a wrecking ball.
Ezekiel 1:1 (11/17/21)
November 17, 2021 • Benham Brothers • Ezekiel 1:1
* The people had lost their freedom and were now subservient to Babylon. * When catastrophe happens, you have three choices. * The first two choices are Denial and Despair. * DENIAL refuses to see what’s right in front of you. * DESPAIR can only see what in front of you. * In Denial, you pretend it’s not there. * It thinks everything will be fine. * It takes refuge in fantasies and distractions. * It’s a refusal to come to grips with reality. * In Despair, you no longer have a vision for the future and the weight of your current situation is more than you can bear. * So you sit in it without any hope of getting out. * It is paralyzed by the catastrophe, unwilling to do anything. * It is void of hope. * Both denial and despair are sin. * So what do you do? * DECIDE to see what’s in front of you and project God’s power into the future. * Fear is about a past or present threat. * Anxiety is about a future threat - the threat of powerlessness. * We are commanded NOT to be anxious. * How? By seeing our current situation and projecting God’s power into the future.
Ezekial 2:1-2 (10/31/13)
October 31, 2013 • Benham Brothers
1) Ezekial is being faithful to the work God had called him to do 2) God reveals Himself to Ezekial 3) Ezekial falls on his face before God 4) God commands him to stand up 5) God's Spirit came into him to "do" the obeying 6) After Ezekial stood up God gave His instructions
Ezekiel 2:5-8 (11/17/21)
November 17, 2021 • Benham Brothers • Ezekiel 2:5–8
* John Quincy Adams fought to end slavery, be he was unsuccessful in his lifetime. * He famously said, “Duty is ours. Results are God’s.” * Our job is not to concern ourselves with the results, but simply our duty to be faithful to what God has told us to do. * Vs 4-6 - Ezekiel was given the command to go and speak, but the people wouldn’t listen. * Vs 7-8 - Live the message you speak (be holy). * If you focus on the results, you’ll operate strategically rather than spiritually. * Your effectiveness will be the barometer to your success, rather than your obedience. * EX: Small church pastors. * Vs 3:4-7 - He was given the command again, but they wouldn’t listen. * Vs 8-9 - God prepared Ezekiel to deliver the message. * Vs 26 - but He took his ability to speak away for SEVEN YEARS!!! * What would Ezekiel do? * He would continue to be faithful, even though he couldn’t do the very thing he was called to do! * Duty is ours. Results are God’s!
Ezekiel 3:1-3 (10/31/19)
October 31, 2019 • Benham Brothers
* Ezekiel was lying flat on his face from seeing a picture of God (chap 1), then he was filled with the Spirit (chapter 2). * Now he’s commanded to eat the Word of God. * When you eat something it becomes a part of who you are. * Both the Spirit and the Word had to get into Ezekiel before he could be set on his mission. * What was the result? * Vs 12-14 - A brand new Ezekiel! * He had become the message God wanted him to deliver.
Ezekiel 5:11-13 (11/1/18)
November 1, 2018 • Benham Brothers
* God was angry with His people and He was going to avenge Himself because they defied Him. * All throughout the Bible we see God and others getting angry. * With God He was angry but never sinned (Ephesian 4:26). * Anger is an emotion with a purpose. * Emotion is an impulse to act. * Anger is meant to lead to justice. * Anger does not cease until justice is done (Esther 7:10). * When someone crosses a legitimate boundary it should lead to anger. * The way to keep ourselves from not sinning is that we remember that vengeance is the Lord’s (Romans 12:19). * When a boundary has been crossed, we should feel anger. * But our response is two-fold: * 1) If they repent - we forgive. * 2) If they don’t repent - we give the situation to God (like Jesus did on the cross). * In both situations, anger will be felt, but we work through it as we remember God’s role in the situation. * He is the One who will handle things on our behalf.
Ezekiel 7:12-13 (11/1/18)
November 1, 2018 • Benham Brothers
* God had announced judgment on Israel for their idolatry. * Babylon would come and take over Jerusalem and then deport most of the Jews. * So God was giving them a prophetic warning. * vs 12-13 - Don’t get all excited about the stuff you just bought, because you won’t get to enjoy it! * vs 19 - Your money is useless in the day the enemy comes to take over your city. * “In the day of the wrath of the Lord, they will not satisfy their souls….” * Your money will not deliver you from the wrath of God! * Psalms 119:14 - David loved God’s Word more than money. Why? * Because God’s principles were the source of his sustainability. * Money is how we sustain ourselves physically, but it is not the source - God is the Source! * Which would you rather have, a fish or the ability to fish? * vs 72 - riches is “the abundance of a valuable possession.” * David said that God’s Word was more precious to him than all the money in the world. * Which would you rather have, 100k in your bank account or an arsenal of Biblical principles for growing wealth in your heart? * We need to choose righteousness over riches - it’s the only thing that will truly satisfy our souls.
Ezekiel 7:20 (11/5/15
November 5, 2015 • Benham Brothers
• Ezekiel was prophesying about the wrath of the Lord upon the Israelites. • We see three things God allowed because of their disobedience: • 1) vs 20 - He mentioned that their Temple, the symbol of God’s presence, was used as a symbol of pride for those who were going to destroy them. • God's symbol would be stolen and used as their symbol. • Uh, this is happened today - God’s symbol of covenant (rainbow) has been taken and used for Gay Pride. • 2) vs 24 - Because of their sin the Israelites became subservient to a foreign nation - people were expelled from their houses. • Look at what’s going on today with the refugee crisis - people are being expelled from their houses. • Entire cities are now being infiltrated with Muslims, and laws in those cities are changing. • 3) vs 8:16 - Ezekiel is having a vision from God and he sees men in the temple praying to their god facing east - Muslims. • When God is removed, something will fill the void. • The Muslim infiltration was prophesied back then. • These same three things are happening today - Gay pride, mass immigration where towns are being taken over, Muslim infiltration.
Ezekiel 8:1 (11/4/21)
November 4, 2021 • Ezekiel 8:1
* God is in the transfer business. * He transfers the wealth of the wicked to the righteous. * He also transfers positions of power, influence, and authority from whom and to whom He wishes. * He did it with Eliakim replacing Shebna in Isaiah 22. * He did it with Zadok replacing Abiathar in 1 Kings 2. * He did it with Ezekiel as well. * These men exhibited a “father’s heart.” * In an age of “platform lust,” we get a great lesson from the prophet Ezekiel. * Ezekiel 1:1 - “In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.” * Where was he? Among the people - one of the group. He didn’t stand out. * But then God gave him some crazy commands and a really difficult message to deliver. * Out of a spirit of honor, Ezekiel followed those to the “T,” even though he looked like an absolute moron. * The spiritual leaders hated him and made fun of him. * But then the situation changed and Ezekiels’ words turned out to be true. * Now, a full 14 months later, God’s word came to him again. * Ezekiel 8:1 - “In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of the Sovereign Lord came on me there.” * God transferred the mantle of leadership from these men to Ezekiel. * Why? Because of his reverence, not his relevance. * When chaos comes, the person who knows what to do will emerge the leader. * EX: Custodian at the World Trade Center. * Noah was faithful for 120 years to build an ark - and he was the most irrelevant man on the planet. * Hebrews 11:7 - in reverence he built the ark. * His reverence led to his relevance. * The influence transfer is taking place - it always does in times of battle. * The question is, will you be the one it’s transfer to or from?
Ezekiel 9:4 (11/5/15)
November 5, 2015 • Benham Brothers
• Ezekiel is still in his vision from God about the slaughter coming to Israel. • God shows him the people He's going to save - those whose hearts were broken over the sins of their nation. • What doesn’t break your heart that should? • God spared those who had the mark on their head - those who mourned over the sin of the people. • We need to be concerned for personal sin, but also sin in the church and nation. • God is a God of nations. • Ezekiel 14:12-23 - "When a land sins against Me...."
Ezekiel 11:11-12 (11/3/16)
November 3, 2016 • Benham Brothers
* Romans 12:1-2 tells us not to be conformed to the pattern of the world. * The Israelites struggled with the same thing - they wanted to be conformed to the pattern of the other nations around them. * Why? * Because they wanted to be accepted. They wanted to fit in. * Their laws made them stand out like a sore thumb and they didn't like it. * They also wanted to conform because spiritual leaders were teaching them to (Ezekiel 8:16 & 11:1-2). * Because they conformed God had to execute judgment on them. * This is always the result when we conform. * The battle takes place today in our minds. * God calls us to transform by renewing our mind. * Renewal - renounce the lies of the devil and replace with the truth of God's Word. * In time we'll see ourselves sticking out like a chocolate chip in a batch of cookie dough.