Lessons from Ezekiel

Ezekiel chapter 18

“20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. 21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die: saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? ….. 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.”

 

God has given us each free will. He gives us the choice of whether to live for Him or ourselves, whether to die in our sins and go to hell at our physical death; or whether to repent of our sins and spend eternity with him in heaven. Our choice.

But these verses make it clear that there are consequences for the lives we lead. We will each have to answer for what we have done in this life, whether good or bad.

In the following chapters Ezekiel goes on to show that not only do individuals have a choice to make, nations have the same choice to make, with similar consequences.

Chapter 20:

“13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my Sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. 14 But I wrought for my name’s sake that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out. 15 Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands; 16 because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes: for their heart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness. 18 But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statues of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: 19 I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; 20 And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.”

Nations that turn their back on the One True Living God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth will eventually face the judgment of a Holy and Just God.

They, too, will have to face the consequences of their actions.

We are now living in a nation that has collectively turned their backs on our Creator. We have allowed the murder of millions of innocent babies. We have allowed sexual sin to run rampant through our movies, television shows, and even in the courts. We have turned our disagreements into violence and anarchy, attacking each other when we should be loving each other.

We have defined what is sin in God’s eyes as a woman‘s right to choose, equal rights and freedom of speech.

We have taken what is righteous in God’s eyes and now call it oppression, bigotry, racism, and hatred.

God is merciful, patient and longsuffering; but He is also Holy and Just.  Eventually His judgment will be forthcoming.

So, what can we do?

Ezekiel 22:30 & 31 says “30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. 31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them: I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.”

We must stand in that gap before the Lord God and pray for this nation of ours before it is too late.

 

© Drusilla Mott and https://drusillamott.wordpress.com, 2017

JOEL ROSENBERG’S INTERVIEW ON MOODY RADIO

Joel Rosenberg’s blog post September 6th was about his new book and about calling the church to make disciples.  His post September 7th was about an interview he had with Janet Parshall on Moody Radio.

These are a few notes that I took as I listened to that interview:

We go through seasons in our lives, but Christian men and women need to be sure what the Lord wants them to be doing. We really have to know what the Lord is telling us to do during each season in our lives.

For politics:

1. Christians need to pray faithfully and consistently for national leaders. We are told to in scripture.

2. Christians need to exercise their right to vote and mobilize others to do so as well

3. SOME Christians need to run for elected office or serve others in some governmental capacity

4. SOME Christians need to stay completely away from the political arena

5. Christians must not become addicted to partisanship

* * * * *

Where is America? Something is wrong – we are going in the wrong direction.

1. Many countries are mentioned in the Bible as key players in the end times. Israel, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Egypt. US has no specific defined role in end time prophecy.

2. That means the United States is going to have to be neutralized or paralyzed to keep us from playing a clearly defined role in the end times.

3. There is nothing we can do about changing God’s mind, but we can plead with the Lord to give us an awakening, a revival.

4. What are we supposed to do differently? Matthew 28:18-20

5. The church in the United States is weak because of an epic failure of discipleship. We are not transmitting our faith to the younger generations.

* * * * *

What is the Great Commission and how do we live it in our age?

What Jesus said in Matt. 28. to the men that He had invested in.

Invest in individuals, go and make disciples of all nations. Disciples follow another’s way of life.

* * * * *

Joel’s book Implosion diagnoses the spiritual sickness in this country.

His follow-up book The Invested Life describes the cure.

* * * * *

We bring people to be saved, they are in spiritual infancy. Then we teach them to grow to spiritual adulthood. But we stop there. We need to be spiritual parents – reproduce what you have become as a fully devoted follower of Christ. So then those that we led into the kingdom can grow to the point that they are truly faithful to the Lord and can lead others to faith and help them grow.

Every Christian needs to answer:

Who is investing in you?

Who are you investing in?

When we have an “Apostle Paul” investing in us and teaching us, then we need to follow their example and do the same for someone else.

* * * * *

Toward the end of the interview, Joel brings up a good point:

What will happen when we stand before Jesus if He asks us where our disciples are? How are we going to feel if we have to admit we didn’t make any.

* * * * *

We need to pray, fast and repent. It is the only way to bring revival to this country.

* * * * *

These are only a few notes on Joel’s interview. The interview is 46 minutes long. When you have the time, go listen to the interview. If you are serious about bringing revival to this country, it is well worth the time.  This is the link.

© Drusilla Mott and https://drusillamott.wordpress.com, 2012