* 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 3:7-9 (11/24/21)
Fighting the War of Ideas
November 24, 2021 • Benham Brothers • Ezekiel 3:7–9
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.