Thursday, April 18,
2013, 4:27 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me to this song:
My Jesus, My Savior / Michael W. Smith
My Jesus, My Saviour,
Lord there is no one like you,
All of my days, I want to praise
The wonders of Your mighty love.
My comfort, my shelter,
Tower of refuge and strength
Let every breath, all that I am
Never cease to worship You.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Ezekiel 33 (NIV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2033&version=NIV
Repeat
Ezekiel was called to be a messenger of the Lord. He was to
speak (repeat) God’s words to the people. He was to give them warning about
their sins and the coming judgment, and he was to call them to repentance. We,
the people of God today, have been given a similar calling of God to the
people. Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, which is what takes
place when we accept God’s invitation to believe in Jesus Christ, we will be
his witnesses, i.e. we will repeat his words and life to people throughout the
world.
He also said that we are to make disciples (followers of
Christ) of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all things
Christ has commanded us. We are called to be ministers of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, which means to warn people concerning their sin, to inform them that
there is going to be a Day of Judgment, to call them to repentance, and to
share with them the hope we have in Jesus Christ of freedom from decay and
freedom from slavery to sin while we still live on the face of this earth. That
is a message of great hope!
Repent
The people had just faced the judgment of God for their
sins. The people recognized that they were facing God’s divine discipline
because of their rebellious ways and their refusal to repent, so they
acknowledged their sin before God. But, they were having a pity-party. They had
not yet repented of their sin, so God told Ezekiel to tell them that he takes
no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their
ways and live! Amen!
It is absolutely possible for us to realize we have sinned,
to even confess the specific sins to God, and to feel genuinely sorry that we
did wrong, and to maybe even wallow in our guilt (have a pity-party), but to
never truly repent. The Bible says in 2 Co. 7:10 (NIV):
Godly
sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but
worldly sorrow brings death.
On the other hand, true repentance means to turn from our
evil ways so that we can live. The teaching of Ephesians 4 explains this.
We must not only turn away from our former lives of living
in sin and for self, but we must be made new (of the Spirit of God) in the
attitude (about God and about sin) of our minds, and we must put on our new
lives in Christ Jesus, “created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness.” It is a lot like the process of metamorphosis that takes place when
a caterpillar is changed into a butterfly. In other words, we have to change
and become someone else. If we have been in the practice of telling lies, we
need to start telling the truth. If we have been in the practice of cheating
our spouses, employers, family, friends or neighbors, then we must put off
living for self-pleasure, and we must give of ourselves selflessly to the
legitimate needs of others, in the power of God. If all we do is try to stop
sinning but we never change and become someone else, then we are like a thief
between jobs. Chances are that when the going gets rough, we will return to our
vomit.
Response
The people’s response was that God was unjust. Yet God’s
response back to them was that it was their way which was unjust. And, the same
old thing goes on today. Many people have diluted the gospel of Jesus Christ
because they feel that the message of the cross is just too hard to bear, or
that it is unloving (unjust), or because they fear rejection of people, loss of
popularity, or loss of people in their seats in their churches, or for whatever
reason they choose to regard the true gospel as unjust. They want to pick and
choose what is sin and what is not sin rather than follow God’s standards. They
want to believe that we are not required by God to obey or to repent of our sin,
even though these teachings of repentance and obedience permeate the New
Testament. Yet, if we do not turn from our sin, then where is salvation? Where
is freedom? Jesus Christ came to set us free from sin – not just free from
eternal punishment in hell, but free from slavery to (the control of) sin over
our lives on a day-to-day basis. Jesus said that if anyone would come after
him, he must deny (disallow) himself (his self-life) and take up his cross
daily (die daily to sin and self) and follow (obey) him. That is the crux of
the gospel and it is not unjust!
Reveal
Even though the people had just experienced God’s hand of
judgment against them because of their sins of rebellion against God Almighty,
they still believed they should inherit the Promised Land because of the
promise God made to Abraham. And, do you know that many professing Christians
today feel the same way? They feel that somehow God owes them heaven because of
religious heritage, or because of good works, or because they prayed a prayer
at an altar at some point in their lives, or because they regularly attend
church, give of their tithes and serve in their local church congregation. Yet,
none of that is a guarantee of heaven apart from true repentance and a choice
of the will to walk daily in humble and contrite obedience to Jesus Christ and
to his commands.
So, God put things in perspective for the people. He
reminded them that they had not truly repented of their sins, and he even listed
off some of their most offensive sins to God, including their idolatry, their
shedding of innocent blood, detestable practices, and their adultery. The book
of 1 John puts things in perspective for professing Christians today. It says
that if we claim to have fellowship with God, and yet we continue to walk in
darkness, i.e. continue in a lifestyle given over to sin, then we are liars and
we don’t live by the truth. It also says that if we say we know God, but yet we
do not do (do not make it a practice to do) what he commands, we are liars. If
we love this world’s (sinful) evil system, the love of God is not in us. And,
no one who lives in Christ will continue in a lifestyle of sin. If we do, then
we have never seen God or known him. Wow! I hope we all take this to heart!
Refuse
The people of God would come and listen to Ezekiel speak the
message from the Lord, and that is how they phrased it, but they did not put
into practice what they heard. Boy does that sound familiar! Their mouths spoke
of love, but their hearts were greedy for unjust gain. And, this goes on again
today among the people of the “church”. James said this:
Do
not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who
looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and
immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect
law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have
heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. ~ James 1:22-25
(NIV)
God is not interested in us merely reading and listening to
his words. He is not impressed by our Bible studies and theological training if
we do not follow through on what we have read or studied and put it into
practice in our daily lives. It is not what we know, but it is what we do with
what we know that is important. True wisdom is knowledge put into practice.
Reward
There are two types of judgment and it is important we
understand the distinction. God disciplines his children for their good, and
that discipline can involve what we term divine judgment, i.e. hardship, famine
and sword. Isaiah prophesied concerning Jesus Christ and the time of the end
before his return when God would judge his people for their idolatry, spiritual
and physical adultery, and their refusal to repent of their evil ways. God’s
people are the church in the last days, and it is clear from the prophecies of
Isaiah that this divine discipline (correction) will result in the church
revived and the salvation of souls of people from all nations who will flock to
Jesus Christ and to his gospel of salvation. As well, Revelation 2-3 gives us
letters to the church, most of which called for repentance, and warned of
judgment if the churches did not repent of their specific named sins.
Yet, there will be a final judgment which will determine who
spends eternity with God in heaven and who spends eternity in eternal
punishment and torment in the lake of fire. Jesus came to save us out of that
judgment of fire, but we must turn from our sins, and we must be changed in the
attitude of our minds concerning sin and concerning God, and we must turn to
follow our Lord Jesus Christ in faithful obedience, forsaking all others – by His
grace and in His strength and power alone. Those who have genuinely repented of
their sins and have followed Christ in obedience will spend eternity in glory
with God. Those who refuse to repent of their evil ways and continue in their
sin will face the ultimate punishment of life without God in eternal torment.
Which will you choose? I pray you choose today!
Follow Him / An
Original Work / February 21, 2013
Based off Luke 9:22-25
Jesus, Son of God,
Died for us on a
cross.
Anyone who would come
to Him
Must deny himself and
follow.
He must take up his
cross daily;
Die to sin and self each
day.
Father, God above,
Loved us so: gave His
Son.
If you want to save
your old life;
Keep on sinning,
follow your ways,
You will lose your
life forever;
Hope of heaven gone
away.
Spirit of our God
Gives us life in God’s
Son.
Nonetheless, if you die
to self;
Forsake your sin;
follow Jesus,
You will live with God
in heaven,
And forever praise His
name!
My Jesus, My Savior: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqSQvoinDE4
No comments:
Post a Comment