Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "servanthood"
Hot and Cold - Part 1
Moses…saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So…he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand…(The Lord said), “Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me… I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” [Exodus 2:11-12; 3:9-11]
The lives of the men and women of God are recorded in the Bible to teach us. Sometimes we learn from them positively, other times negatively. Sometimes we learn by their example what to do, other times by their example what not to do!
We took a brief glimpse at the life of Jacob/Israel in our last study. We learned from his life both what to do and what not to do. Even more, we saw that it’s not how we begin the race but how we finish it. We learned that we must forget what lies behind and press forward to what lies ahead, ever onward to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
The life of Moses is another fascinating case study of how to go from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity. God is our heavenly Father. It is His job to rear His kids into spiritual adults. And He does! Sometimes He succeeds simply through His Word, other times not so much. If we listen and learn from His Word, and then obey what we learn, we needn’t visit the wood shed with Him.
As we saw with Jacob’s life, so too with Moses’ life. The several verses from Exodus 2-3 with which we began this study illustrate this. Moses made his choice to be a part of the people of God, rather than be an adopted Egyptian. He was raised in Pharaoh’s palace as Pharaoh’s daughter’s son. But Moses learned of his Hebrew ethnicity and of his being God’s deliverer to the Hebrew slaves. Moses rejected the palace for the high calling of God.
Trouble was, Moses didn’t know God enough to understand Him. Moses hadn’t an inkling of what God wanted or how he was to go about it. Moses simply rushed into the fray headstrong and slapdash. He would deliver the Hebrew people from their slavery. The first item on the agenda was to kill an Egyptian taskmaster because he used his whip on a Hebrew slave.
Having done that Moses figured the Hebrew people would embrace him in their arms as God’s gift to them. Turns out Moses was wrong. The Hebrew slaves saw Moses as a Hebrew wannabe, a spoiled little rich kid from Pharaoh’s palace. They wanted nothing to do with him. Moses put himself between Scylla and Charybdis. On one side were the Hebrews who rejected him, on the other Pharaoh who wanted to kill Moses for killing the Egyptian slave master. What to do?
It didn’t occur to Moses to consult God before he took it upon himself to kill the Egyptian. And now when he stepped in it he again didn’t think to consult God about what to do. You see, it takes a certain measure of spiritual maturity to even know of our necessity to consult God for His will in all matters.
So Moses made his own decision once again. He hied off from Egypt to parts unknown on the other side of the Sinai Peninsula, where he lived for the next forty years. He was in Midian, where married a Midianite woman and had two sons by her. The names he gave his sons are revealing. They show that Moses figured he’d never be back in Egypt again, and that he would never see his people again. He was now a Midianite! Thenceforth Midian was home.
Let’s pause here and allow the food to feed our spirits. We’ll continue this topic in our next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The lives of the men and women of God are recorded in the Bible to teach us. Sometimes we learn from them positively, other times negatively. Sometimes we learn by their example what to do, other times by their example what not to do!
We took a brief glimpse at the life of Jacob/Israel in our last study. We learned from his life both what to do and what not to do. Even more, we saw that it’s not how we begin the race but how we finish it. We learned that we must forget what lies behind and press forward to what lies ahead, ever onward to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
The life of Moses is another fascinating case study of how to go from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity. God is our heavenly Father. It is His job to rear His kids into spiritual adults. And He does! Sometimes He succeeds simply through His Word, other times not so much. If we listen and learn from His Word, and then obey what we learn, we needn’t visit the wood shed with Him.
As we saw with Jacob’s life, so too with Moses’ life. The several verses from Exodus 2-3 with which we began this study illustrate this. Moses made his choice to be a part of the people of God, rather than be an adopted Egyptian. He was raised in Pharaoh’s palace as Pharaoh’s daughter’s son. But Moses learned of his Hebrew ethnicity and of his being God’s deliverer to the Hebrew slaves. Moses rejected the palace for the high calling of God.
Trouble was, Moses didn’t know God enough to understand Him. Moses hadn’t an inkling of what God wanted or how he was to go about it. Moses simply rushed into the fray headstrong and slapdash. He would deliver the Hebrew people from their slavery. The first item on the agenda was to kill an Egyptian taskmaster because he used his whip on a Hebrew slave.
Having done that Moses figured the Hebrew people would embrace him in their arms as God’s gift to them. Turns out Moses was wrong. The Hebrew slaves saw Moses as a Hebrew wannabe, a spoiled little rich kid from Pharaoh’s palace. They wanted nothing to do with him. Moses put himself between Scylla and Charybdis. On one side were the Hebrews who rejected him, on the other Pharaoh who wanted to kill Moses for killing the Egyptian slave master. What to do?
It didn’t occur to Moses to consult God before he took it upon himself to kill the Egyptian. And now when he stepped in it he again didn’t think to consult God about what to do. You see, it takes a certain measure of spiritual maturity to even know of our necessity to consult God for His will in all matters.
So Moses made his own decision once again. He hied off from Egypt to parts unknown on the other side of the Sinai Peninsula, where he lived for the next forty years. He was in Midian, where married a Midianite woman and had two sons by her. The names he gave his sons are revealing. They show that Moses figured he’d never be back in Egypt again, and that he would never see his people again. He was now a Midianite! Thenceforth Midian was home.
Let’s pause here and allow the food to feed our spirits. We’ll continue this topic in our next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Hot and Cold – Part 2
Moses…saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So…he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand…(The Lord said), “Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me… I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” [Exodus 2:11-12; 3:9-11]
Moses figured he was now a Midianite. He was born a Hebrew and became an Egyptian and tried to rejoin the Hebrews, and now he was a Midianite. Talk about a cockamamie life! Boy, was Moses’ life whacky.
“Not so fast, Moses my man,” said the Lord. “You may graze sheep in Midian and Sinai, but you cannot go far enough away to escape Me!” So there was Moses and there was a burning bush and there was the Lord in the bush. He told Moses that He chose Moses to be His mouthpiece to Pharaoh. “So get yourself on back to Egypt, Moses, and I’ll tell you what to do and say. I’m ready to deliver My people Israel from slavery and fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant by giving them the Promised Land as their national habitation.”
Forty years prior Moses was champing at the bit to deliver the Hebrews from Pharaoh’s enslavement. Now he couldn’t squirm hard enough or stammer long enough to express his utter lack of desire to go back to Egypt. You see, he was young, brash, and impulsive forty years prior. He was like a teenager—you know, knows it all and doesn’t need to learn. Fast forward four decades: Moses finally understood that HE wasn’t able to deliver the Israelites.
Still, Moses hadn’t yet learned of the necessity for depending on the Lord for direction and strength. Moses heard the Lord’s words, but he understood them as requiring that he carry them out in his own power and by his own reasoning. It actually took the Lord to twist Moses’ arm several times and give in to Moses’ need to cling to Mommy Aaron’s apron strings, before Moses was ready to obey the Word of God. Moses was still that spiritually immature.
In fact it wasn’t until the fourth plague that Moses finally began trusting the Lord enough to confront Pharaoh without clinging to Mommy Aaron’s apron strings. This is an extremely important principle we are to glean from the life of Moses, as well as from the other men and women of God in the Bible. Just as we have to grow by steps in the sphere of nature, so too must we grow step by step in the spiritual sphere.
We mustn’t hie off half cocked to serve the Lord. First we must sit at His feet with Bible opened and allow Him to teach us. We send our kids through twelve grades of school and even on to college and beyond. We ourselves need to go to school at the feet of the Lord Jesus for a lifetime because we never fully know Him or His Word. Notwithstanding this, after seriously attending school with Headmaster Jesus for a few years, we should be spiritually mature enough to grow in discipleship. We should become ardent servants of our Lord. But it takes baby steps at first and then bigger steps as we go along.
Let’s examine our lives, our hearts, and our minds. How long have we been born again? How many times have we read the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible? How often do we spend time alone with Jesus, and for more than a few minutes at that? Are we really desirous of knowing our Lord and Savior? Or are we putting it off until we get to heaven?
Tough questions, these. Let’s tackle them once and for all, shall we? Lord Jesus, have your way in each of our lives, we pray. Amen.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Moses figured he was now a Midianite. He was born a Hebrew and became an Egyptian and tried to rejoin the Hebrews, and now he was a Midianite. Talk about a cockamamie life! Boy, was Moses’ life whacky.
“Not so fast, Moses my man,” said the Lord. “You may graze sheep in Midian and Sinai, but you cannot go far enough away to escape Me!” So there was Moses and there was a burning bush and there was the Lord in the bush. He told Moses that He chose Moses to be His mouthpiece to Pharaoh. “So get yourself on back to Egypt, Moses, and I’ll tell you what to do and say. I’m ready to deliver My people Israel from slavery and fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant by giving them the Promised Land as their national habitation.”
Forty years prior Moses was champing at the bit to deliver the Hebrews from Pharaoh’s enslavement. Now he couldn’t squirm hard enough or stammer long enough to express his utter lack of desire to go back to Egypt. You see, he was young, brash, and impulsive forty years prior. He was like a teenager—you know, knows it all and doesn’t need to learn. Fast forward four decades: Moses finally understood that HE wasn’t able to deliver the Israelites.
Still, Moses hadn’t yet learned of the necessity for depending on the Lord for direction and strength. Moses heard the Lord’s words, but he understood them as requiring that he carry them out in his own power and by his own reasoning. It actually took the Lord to twist Moses’ arm several times and give in to Moses’ need to cling to Mommy Aaron’s apron strings, before Moses was ready to obey the Word of God. Moses was still that spiritually immature.
In fact it wasn’t until the fourth plague that Moses finally began trusting the Lord enough to confront Pharaoh without clinging to Mommy Aaron’s apron strings. This is an extremely important principle we are to glean from the life of Moses, as well as from the other men and women of God in the Bible. Just as we have to grow by steps in the sphere of nature, so too must we grow step by step in the spiritual sphere.
We mustn’t hie off half cocked to serve the Lord. First we must sit at His feet with Bible opened and allow Him to teach us. We send our kids through twelve grades of school and even on to college and beyond. We ourselves need to go to school at the feet of the Lord Jesus for a lifetime because we never fully know Him or His Word. Notwithstanding this, after seriously attending school with Headmaster Jesus for a few years, we should be spiritually mature enough to grow in discipleship. We should become ardent servants of our Lord. But it takes baby steps at first and then bigger steps as we go along.
Let’s examine our lives, our hearts, and our minds. How long have we been born again? How many times have we read the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible? How often do we spend time alone with Jesus, and for more than a few minutes at that? Are we really desirous of knowing our Lord and Savior? Or are we putting it off until we get to heaven?
Tough questions, these. Let’s tackle them once and for all, shall we? Lord Jesus, have your way in each of our lives, we pray. Amen.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Knock Knock. Who’s There? – Part 1
Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel.” [Ezekiel 1:28b-2:3a]
I recall a time when I was going through the business of my day, all the while waiting on a phone call about a prospective job. I didn’t sit by the phone twiddling my thumbs, mind you. But my busy day could not dismiss from my consciousness the position I awaited, no matter how hard it tried!
Well, the phone never rang…but a knock on the door did! I opened it to behold a courtly gentleman standing before me, bedecked to play the part. He couldn’t be satisfied, it would seem, to dispatch a letter to me. Nor would it suffice for him to talk to a voice over the phone. He wanted to see me face-to-face because the position was too important to go through formalities in filling it.
His earnestness and gravity confirmed my own inclination to accept the position. This process was no small matter, and the solemnity portrayed by this true gentleman conveyed that he had the same understanding of the matter as I did.
We are privileged to observe this same solemnity in Ezekiel’s life, as we read the verses quoted to start this text. Ezekiel’s situation was a good deal more solemn than mine, I have to admit. I see a five part progression in the Lord’s call to ministry for Ezekiel, for that is what the verses record. Let’s take a bite and savor these, shall we?
To receive a job, a position, a ministry, we first need someone to offer the job to us. We also need to see the person who does this. And so it was with Ezekiel. He had a vision of the Lord God Almighty.
When any person—and it matters not whether he be human or angelic—but when anyone truly beholds the Lord God, his response is always the same, and that without fail. He falls on his face in awe and worship. The very nature of the Lord impels created beings to bow before their Creator. So it was with Ezekiel. He fell on his face before the Lord. He bowed in worship.
We would do well to emulate Ezekiel in this. Let’s pause here and do just that, shall we? We will continue in this vein tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
I recall a time when I was going through the business of my day, all the while waiting on a phone call about a prospective job. I didn’t sit by the phone twiddling my thumbs, mind you. But my busy day could not dismiss from my consciousness the position I awaited, no matter how hard it tried!
Well, the phone never rang…but a knock on the door did! I opened it to behold a courtly gentleman standing before me, bedecked to play the part. He couldn’t be satisfied, it would seem, to dispatch a letter to me. Nor would it suffice for him to talk to a voice over the phone. He wanted to see me face-to-face because the position was too important to go through formalities in filling it.
His earnestness and gravity confirmed my own inclination to accept the position. This process was no small matter, and the solemnity portrayed by this true gentleman conveyed that he had the same understanding of the matter as I did.
We are privileged to observe this same solemnity in Ezekiel’s life, as we read the verses quoted to start this text. Ezekiel’s situation was a good deal more solemn than mine, I have to admit. I see a five part progression in the Lord’s call to ministry for Ezekiel, for that is what the verses record. Let’s take a bite and savor these, shall we?
To receive a job, a position, a ministry, we first need someone to offer the job to us. We also need to see the person who does this. And so it was with Ezekiel. He had a vision of the Lord God Almighty.
When any person—and it matters not whether he be human or angelic—but when anyone truly beholds the Lord God, his response is always the same, and that without fail. He falls on his face in awe and worship. The very nature of the Lord impels created beings to bow before their Creator. So it was with Ezekiel. He fell on his face before the Lord. He bowed in worship.
We would do well to emulate Ezekiel in this. Let’s pause here and do just that, shall we? We will continue in this vein tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Knock Knock. Who’s There? – Part 2
Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel.” [Ezekiel 1:28b-2:3a]
Ezekiel first caught a vision of the Lord, and then he responded by worshiping Him. The next step in his call to ministry, the third one, was to hear the Lord speaking to him. So it was with Ezekiel. The Lord directed Ezekiel to stand up and receive the Word of the Lord.
By way of an aside let it be noted that “God” didn’t call Ezekiel to the ministry. Look at the text again and see for yourself. “The Lord” gave the call. The word “God” refers to the high and mighty Creator, He Who is far above man and unapproachable by us. The word conveys deity in an impersonal aspect.
The phrase “the Lord” is quite different. In the original Hebrew “the Lord” is not a generic term or an expression of deity. It is the actual name of Deity, aka YHWH or Yahweh or Jehovah. When the phrase “the Lord” is used it conveys Deity as personally involved with man in a covenantal relationship.
Ezekiel’s call to ministry was personal involvement with the Lord. He was called to serve the Lord, and it doesn’t get any more personal than that! Hence the identifier “God” would have been out of place in this case. Ezekiel was called to the Lord’s personal service as His prophet.
The Lord told Ezekiel to stand up before hearing the Word of God. It would be easy to see no significance in this…except for the fact there was crucial significance! The Word of God which Ezekiel was about to receive was his call to ministry from the Lord.
Here’s the thing, dear friends. Too many Christians believe they receive the Lord’s call to the pastorate, for example, only to take their ease and bask in the accolades heaped upon such a holy man of God. The ministry has no place for lazy folks, or for seekers of fame and fortune. The ministry is a position of work, hard work, grueling work. The fainthearted need not apply!
There is a time and a place for everything. The time to worship the Lord must perforce precede the time to serve our fellow man. Still, the time to worship must draw to a close and we must rise from our knees, if we will ever get around to serving our fellow man. We cannot float on a silver cloud while playing a golden harp forever. What use would we be?
Answer: we would be of no use at all! Perhaps we should pause at this point, in order to cogitate on this very point. Tomorrow we will bring this study to a close.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Ezekiel first caught a vision of the Lord, and then he responded by worshiping Him. The next step in his call to ministry, the third one, was to hear the Lord speaking to him. So it was with Ezekiel. The Lord directed Ezekiel to stand up and receive the Word of the Lord.
By way of an aside let it be noted that “God” didn’t call Ezekiel to the ministry. Look at the text again and see for yourself. “The Lord” gave the call. The word “God” refers to the high and mighty Creator, He Who is far above man and unapproachable by us. The word conveys deity in an impersonal aspect.
The phrase “the Lord” is quite different. In the original Hebrew “the Lord” is not a generic term or an expression of deity. It is the actual name of Deity, aka YHWH or Yahweh or Jehovah. When the phrase “the Lord” is used it conveys Deity as personally involved with man in a covenantal relationship.
Ezekiel’s call to ministry was personal involvement with the Lord. He was called to serve the Lord, and it doesn’t get any more personal than that! Hence the identifier “God” would have been out of place in this case. Ezekiel was called to the Lord’s personal service as His prophet.
The Lord told Ezekiel to stand up before hearing the Word of God. It would be easy to see no significance in this…except for the fact there was crucial significance! The Word of God which Ezekiel was about to receive was his call to ministry from the Lord.
Here’s the thing, dear friends. Too many Christians believe they receive the Lord’s call to the pastorate, for example, only to take their ease and bask in the accolades heaped upon such a holy man of God. The ministry has no place for lazy folks, or for seekers of fame and fortune. The ministry is a position of work, hard work, grueling work. The fainthearted need not apply!
There is a time and a place for everything. The time to worship the Lord must perforce precede the time to serve our fellow man. Still, the time to worship must draw to a close and we must rise from our knees, if we will ever get around to serving our fellow man. We cannot float on a silver cloud while playing a golden harp forever. What use would we be?
Answer: we would be of no use at all! Perhaps we should pause at this point, in order to cogitate on this very point. Tomorrow we will bring this study to a close.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Knock Knock. Who’s There? – Part 3
Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel.” [Ezekiel 1:28b-2:3a]
Ezekiel caught a vision of the Lord. As is to be expected from a godly person, he fell on his face in worship. Now let’s learn what followed next.
Before giving Ezekiel his commission, the Lord directed him to stand up. It was as if to say, “The time to worship is past, Ezekiel. Now I will commission you as My prophet and dispatch you to the stiff-necked Israelites, to rebuke them for their sins and call them to return to Me in repentance. You cannot do this on your knees, so stand up!”
Let’s itemize the steps in Ezekiel’s call to ministry from the Lord:
1. catch a vision of the Lord
2. bow in worship before Him
3. hear Him speak
4. get up and get to work
Is that about it? Uh, not quite yet. Something crucial is missing in a call to ministry here. We need to see the Lord, yes, and we need to respond to Who He is by worshiping Him. We most definitely need to understand what He wants with us as well, and then we need to arise and begin the work. However that much only leads to religion, not spiritual service. Something is missing, I tell you.
Ah, yes, I got it. To perform spiritual service we need the Holy Spirit! Accordingly we next learn, As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. At this point Ezekiel had the Spirit’s gifting and power to perform the work to which the Lord called him. Ezekiel was enabled to understand the Word of God for him personally, so he knew what ministry it was to which the Lord called him.
This is a fine blueprint for us today as well. In order to ever truly catch a vision of the Lord—and this precedes everything else if our hearts are to enter the equation—but to see the Lord for real, we need to be into the Word of God for real. A vision of the Lord can only be achieved by faith, and faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ.
So what say ye? Do you desire to know the Lord Jesus for real? Or are you satisfied with keeping Him in a box known as the church building? If we truly want to know the Lord personally, we must commit our lives to sitting quietly at His feet daily with Bible opened, ears attentive, and hearts willing to obey.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Ezekiel caught a vision of the Lord. As is to be expected from a godly person, he fell on his face in worship. Now let’s learn what followed next.
Before giving Ezekiel his commission, the Lord directed him to stand up. It was as if to say, “The time to worship is past, Ezekiel. Now I will commission you as My prophet and dispatch you to the stiff-necked Israelites, to rebuke them for their sins and call them to return to Me in repentance. You cannot do this on your knees, so stand up!”
Let’s itemize the steps in Ezekiel’s call to ministry from the Lord:
1. catch a vision of the Lord
2. bow in worship before Him
3. hear Him speak
4. get up and get to work
Is that about it? Uh, not quite yet. Something crucial is missing in a call to ministry here. We need to see the Lord, yes, and we need to respond to Who He is by worshiping Him. We most definitely need to understand what He wants with us as well, and then we need to arise and begin the work. However that much only leads to religion, not spiritual service. Something is missing, I tell you.
Ah, yes, I got it. To perform spiritual service we need the Holy Spirit! Accordingly we next learn, As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. At this point Ezekiel had the Spirit’s gifting and power to perform the work to which the Lord called him. Ezekiel was enabled to understand the Word of God for him personally, so he knew what ministry it was to which the Lord called him.
This is a fine blueprint for us today as well. In order to ever truly catch a vision of the Lord—and this precedes everything else if our hearts are to enter the equation—but to see the Lord for real, we need to be into the Word of God for real. A vision of the Lord can only be achieved by faith, and faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ.
So what say ye? Do you desire to know the Lord Jesus for real? Or are you satisfied with keeping Him in a box known as the church building? If we truly want to know the Lord personally, we must commit our lives to sitting quietly at His feet daily with Bible opened, ears attentive, and hearts willing to obey.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Hot and Cold – Part 1
Moses…saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So…he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand…(The Lord said), “Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me… I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” [Exodus 2:11-12; 3:9-11]
The lives of the men and women of God are recorded in the Bible to teach us. Sometimes we learn from them positively, other times negatively. Sometimes we learn by their example what to do, other times by their example what not to do!
We took a brief glimpse at the life of Jacob/Israel in our last study. We learned from his life both what to do and what not to do. Even more, we saw that it’s not how we begin the race but how we finish it. We learned that we must forget what lies behind and press forward to what lies ahead, ever onward to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
The life of Moses is another fascinating case study of how to go from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity. God is our heavenly Father. It is His job to rear His kids into spiritual adults. And He does! Sometimes He succeeds simply through His Word, other times not so much. If we listen and learn from His Word, and then obey what we learn, we needn’t visit the wood shed with Him.
As we saw with Jacob’s life, so too with Moses’ life. The several verses from Exodus 2-3 with which we began this study illustrate this. Moses made his choice to be a part of the people of God, rather than be an adopted Egyptian. He was raised in Pharaoh’s palace as Pharaoh’s daughter’s son. But Moses learned of his Hebrew ethnicity and of his being God’s deliverer to the Hebrew slaves. Moses rejected the palace for the high calling of God.
Trouble was, Moses didn’t know God enough to understand Him. Moses hadn’t an inkling of what God wanted or how he was to go about it. Moses simply rushed into the fray headstrong and slapdash. He would deliver the Hebrew people from their slavery. The first item on the agenda was to kill an Egyptian taskmaster because he used his whip on a Hebrew slave.
Having done that Moses figured the Hebrew people would embrace him in their arms as God’s gift to them. Turns out Moses was wrong. The Hebrew slaves saw Moses as a Hebrew wannabe, a spoiled little rich kid from Pharaoh’s palace. They wanted nothing to do with him. Moses put himself between Scylla and Charybdis. On one side were the Hebrews who rejected him, on the other Pharaoh who wanted to kill Moses for killing the Egyptian slave master. What to do?
It didn’t occur to Moses to consult God before he took it upon himself to kill the Egyptian. And now when he stepped in it he again didn’t think to consult God about what to do. You see, it takes a certain measure of spiritual maturity to even know of our necessity to consult God for His will in all matters.
So Moses made his own decision once again. He hied off from Egypt to parts unknown on the other side of the Sinai Peninsula, where he lived for the next forty years. He was in Midian, where married a Midianite woman and had two sons by her. The names he gave his sons are revealing. They show that Moses figured he’d never be back in Egypt again, and that he would never see his people again. He was now a Midianite! Thenceforth Midian was home.
Let’s pause here and allow the food to feed our spirits. We’ll continue this topic in our next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
The lives of the men and women of God are recorded in the Bible to teach us. Sometimes we learn from them positively, other times negatively. Sometimes we learn by their example what to do, other times by their example what not to do!
We took a brief glimpse at the life of Jacob/Israel in our last study. We learned from his life both what to do and what not to do. Even more, we saw that it’s not how we begin the race but how we finish it. We learned that we must forget what lies behind and press forward to what lies ahead, ever onward to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
The life of Moses is another fascinating case study of how to go from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity. God is our heavenly Father. It is His job to rear His kids into spiritual adults. And He does! Sometimes He succeeds simply through His Word, other times not so much. If we listen and learn from His Word, and then obey what we learn, we needn’t visit the wood shed with Him.
As we saw with Jacob’s life, so too with Moses’ life. The several verses from Exodus 2-3 with which we began this study illustrate this. Moses made his choice to be a part of the people of God, rather than be an adopted Egyptian. He was raised in Pharaoh’s palace as Pharaoh’s daughter’s son. But Moses learned of his Hebrew ethnicity and of his being God’s deliverer to the Hebrew slaves. Moses rejected the palace for the high calling of God.
Trouble was, Moses didn’t know God enough to understand Him. Moses hadn’t an inkling of what God wanted or how he was to go about it. Moses simply rushed into the fray headstrong and slapdash. He would deliver the Hebrew people from their slavery. The first item on the agenda was to kill an Egyptian taskmaster because he used his whip on a Hebrew slave.
Having done that Moses figured the Hebrew people would embrace him in their arms as God’s gift to them. Turns out Moses was wrong. The Hebrew slaves saw Moses as a Hebrew wannabe, a spoiled little rich kid from Pharaoh’s palace. They wanted nothing to do with him. Moses put himself between Scylla and Charybdis. On one side were the Hebrews who rejected him, on the other Pharaoh who wanted to kill Moses for killing the Egyptian slave master. What to do?
It didn’t occur to Moses to consult God before he took it upon himself to kill the Egyptian. And now when he stepped in it he again didn’t think to consult God about what to do. You see, it takes a certain measure of spiritual maturity to even know of our necessity to consult God for His will in all matters.
So Moses made his own decision once again. He hied off from Egypt to parts unknown on the other side of the Sinai Peninsula, where he lived for the next forty years. He was in Midian, where married a Midianite woman and had two sons by her. The names he gave his sons are revealing. They show that Moses figured he’d never be back in Egypt again, and that he would never see his people again. He was now a Midianite! Thenceforth Midian was home.
Let’s pause here and allow the food to feed our spirits. We’ll continue this topic in our next study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Hot and Cold – Part 2
Moses…saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So…he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand…(The Lord said), “Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me… I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” [Exodus 2:11-12; 3:9-11]
Moses figured he was now a Midianite. He was born a Hebrew and became an Egyptian and tried to rejoin the Hebrews, and now he was a Midianite. Talk about a cockamamie life! Boy, was Moses’ life whacky.
“Not so fast, Moses my man,” said the Lord. “You may graze sheep in Midian and Sinai, but you cannot go far enough away to escape Me!” So there was Moses and there was a burning bush and there was the Lord in the bush. He told Moses that He chose Moses to be His mouthpiece to Pharaoh. “So get yourself on back to Egypt, Moses, and I’ll tell you what to do and say. I’m ready to deliver My people Israel from slavery and fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant by giving them the Promised Land as their national habitation.”
Forty years prior Moses was champing at the bit to deliver the Hebrews from Pharaoh’s enslavement. Now he couldn’t squirm hard enough or stammer long enough to express his utter lack of desire to go back to Egypt. You see, he was young, brash, and impulsive forty years prior. He was like a teenager—you know, knows it all and doesn’t need to learn. Fast forward four decades: Moses finally understood that HE wasn’t able to deliver the Israelites.
Still, Moses hadn’t yet learned of the necessity for depending on the Lord for direction and strength. Moses heard the Lord’s words, but he understood them as requiring that he carry them out in his own power and by his own reasoning. It actually took the Lord to twist Moses’ arm several times and give in to Moses’ need to cling to Mommy Aaron’s apron strings, before Moses was ready to obey the Word of God. Moses was still that spiritually immature.
In fact it wasn’t until the fourth plague that Moses finally began trusting the Lord enough to confront Pharaoh without clinging to Mommy Aaron’s apron strings. This is an extremely important principle we are to glean from the life of Moses, as well as from the other men and women of God in the Bible. Just as we have to grow by steps in the sphere of nature, so too must we grow step by step in the spiritual sphere.
We mustn’t hie off halfcocked to serve the Lord. First we must sit at His feet with Bible opened and allow Him to teach us. We send our kids through twelve grades of school and even on to college and beyond. We ourselves need to go to school at the feet of the Lord Jesus for a lifetime because we never fully know Him or His Word. Notwithstanding this, after seriously attending school with Headmaster Jesus for a few years, we should be spiritually mature enough to grow in discipleship. We should become ardent servants of our Lord. But it takes baby steps at first and then bigger steps as we go along.
Let’s examine our lives, our hearts, and our minds. How long have we been born again? How many times have we read the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible? How often do we spend time alone with Jesus, and for more than a few minutes at that? Are we really desirous of knowing our Lord and Savior? Or are we putting it off until we get to heaven?
Tough questions, these. Let’s tackle them once and for all, shall we? Lord Jesus, have your way in each of our lives, we pray. Amen.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Moses figured he was now a Midianite. He was born a Hebrew and became an Egyptian and tried to rejoin the Hebrews, and now he was a Midianite. Talk about a cockamamie life! Boy, was Moses’ life whacky.
“Not so fast, Moses my man,” said the Lord. “You may graze sheep in Midian and Sinai, but you cannot go far enough away to escape Me!” So there was Moses and there was a burning bush and there was the Lord in the bush. He told Moses that He chose Moses to be His mouthpiece to Pharaoh. “So get yourself on back to Egypt, Moses, and I’ll tell you what to do and say. I’m ready to deliver My people Israel from slavery and fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant by giving them the Promised Land as their national habitation.”
Forty years prior Moses was champing at the bit to deliver the Hebrews from Pharaoh’s enslavement. Now he couldn’t squirm hard enough or stammer long enough to express his utter lack of desire to go back to Egypt. You see, he was young, brash, and impulsive forty years prior. He was like a teenager—you know, knows it all and doesn’t need to learn. Fast forward four decades: Moses finally understood that HE wasn’t able to deliver the Israelites.
Still, Moses hadn’t yet learned of the necessity for depending on the Lord for direction and strength. Moses heard the Lord’s words, but he understood them as requiring that he carry them out in his own power and by his own reasoning. It actually took the Lord to twist Moses’ arm several times and give in to Moses’ need to cling to Mommy Aaron’s apron strings, before Moses was ready to obey the Word of God. Moses was still that spiritually immature.
In fact it wasn’t until the fourth plague that Moses finally began trusting the Lord enough to confront Pharaoh without clinging to Mommy Aaron’s apron strings. This is an extremely important principle we are to glean from the life of Moses, as well as from the other men and women of God in the Bible. Just as we have to grow by steps in the sphere of nature, so too must we grow step by step in the spiritual sphere.
We mustn’t hie off halfcocked to serve the Lord. First we must sit at His feet with Bible opened and allow Him to teach us. We send our kids through twelve grades of school and even on to college and beyond. We ourselves need to go to school at the feet of the Lord Jesus for a lifetime because we never fully know Him or His Word. Notwithstanding this, after seriously attending school with Headmaster Jesus for a few years, we should be spiritually mature enough to grow in discipleship. We should become ardent servants of our Lord. But it takes baby steps at first and then bigger steps as we go along.
Let’s examine our lives, our hearts, and our minds. How long have we been born again? How many times have we read the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible? How often do we spend time alone with Jesus, and for more than a few minutes at that? Are we really desirous of knowing our Lord and Savior? Or are we putting it off until we get to heaven?
Tough questions, these. Let’s tackle them once and for all, shall we? Lord Jesus, have your way in each of our lives, we pray. Amen.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Knock Knock. Who’s There? – Part 1
Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel.” [Ezekiel 1:28b-2:3a]
I recall a time when I was going through the business of my day, all the while waiting on a phone call about a prospective job. I didn’t sit by the phone twiddling my thumbs, mind you. But my busy day could not dismiss from my consciousness the position I awaited, no matter how hard it tried!
Well, the phone never rang…but a knock on the door did! I opened it to behold a courtly gentleman standing before me, bedecked to play the part. He couldn’t be satisfied, it would seem, to dispatch a letter to me. Nor would it suffice for him to talk to a voice over the phone. He wanted to see me face-to-face because the position was too important to go through formalities in filling it.
His earnestness and gravity confirmed my own inclination to accept the position. This process was no small matter, and the solemnity portrayed by this true gentleman conveyed that he had the same understanding of the matter as I did.
We are privileged to observe this same solemnity in Ezekiel’s life, as we read the verses quoted to start this text. Ezekiel’s situation was a good deal more solemn than mine, I have to admit. I see a five part progression in the Lord’s call to ministry for Ezekiel, for that is what the verses record. Let’s take a bite and savor these, shall we?
To receive a job, a position, a ministry, we first need someone to offer the job to us. We also need to see the person who does this. And so it was with Ezekiel. He had a vision of the Lord God Almighty.
When any person—and it matters not whether he be human or angelic—but when anyone truly beholds the Lord God, his response is always the same, and that without fail. He falls on his face in awe and worship. The very nature of the Lord impels created beings to bow before their Creator. So it was with Ezekiel. He fell on his face before the Lord. He bowed in worship.
We would do well to emulate Ezekiel in this. Let’s pause here and do just that, shall we? We will continue in this vein tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
I recall a time when I was going through the business of my day, all the while waiting on a phone call about a prospective job. I didn’t sit by the phone twiddling my thumbs, mind you. But my busy day could not dismiss from my consciousness the position I awaited, no matter how hard it tried!
Well, the phone never rang…but a knock on the door did! I opened it to behold a courtly gentleman standing before me, bedecked to play the part. He couldn’t be satisfied, it would seem, to dispatch a letter to me. Nor would it suffice for him to talk to a voice over the phone. He wanted to see me face-to-face because the position was too important to go through formalities in filling it.
His earnestness and gravity confirmed my own inclination to accept the position. This process was no small matter, and the solemnity portrayed by this true gentleman conveyed that he had the same understanding of the matter as I did.
We are privileged to observe this same solemnity in Ezekiel’s life, as we read the verses quoted to start this text. Ezekiel’s situation was a good deal more solemn than mine, I have to admit. I see a five part progression in the Lord’s call to ministry for Ezekiel, for that is what the verses record. Let’s take a bite and savor these, shall we?
To receive a job, a position, a ministry, we first need someone to offer the job to us. We also need to see the person who does this. And so it was with Ezekiel. He had a vision of the Lord God Almighty.
When any person—and it matters not whether he be human or angelic—but when anyone truly beholds the Lord God, his response is always the same, and that without fail. He falls on his face in awe and worship. The very nature of the Lord impels created beings to bow before their Creator. So it was with Ezekiel. He fell on his face before the Lord. He bowed in worship.
We would do well to emulate Ezekiel in this. Let’s pause here and do just that, shall we? We will continue in this vein tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Knock Knock. Who’s There? – Part 2
Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel.” [Ezekiel 1:28b-2:3a]
Ezekiel first caught a vision of the Lord, and then he responded by worshiping Him. The next step in his call to ministry, the third one, was to hear the Lord speaking to him. So it was with Ezekiel. The Lord directed Ezekiel to stand up and receive the Word of the Lord.
By way of an aside let it be noted that “God” didn’t call Ezekiel to the ministry. Look at the text again and see for yourself. “The Lord” gave the call. The word “God” refers to the high and mighty Creator, He Who is far above man and unapproachable by us. The word conveys deity in an impersonal aspect.
The phrase “the Lord” is quite different. In the original Hebrew “the Lord” is not a generic term or an expression of deity. It is the actual name of Deity, aka YHWH or Yahweh or Jehovah. When the phrase “the Lord” is used it conveys Deity as personally involved with man in a covenantal relationship.
Ezekiel’s call to ministry was personal involvement with the Lord. He was called to serve the Lord, and it doesn’t get any more personal than that! Hence the identifier “God” would have been out of place in this case. Ezekiel was called to the Lord’s personal service as His prophet.
The Lord told Ezekiel to stand up before hearing the Word of God. It would be easy to see no significance in this…except for the fact there was crucial significance! The Word of God which Ezekiel was about to receive was his call to ministry from the Lord.
Here’s the thing, dear friends. Too many Christians believe they receive the Lord’s call to the pastorate, for example, only to take their ease and bask in the accolades heaped upon such a holy man of God. The ministry has no place for lazy folks, or for seekers of fame and fortune. The ministry is a position of work, hard work, grueling work. The fainthearted need not apply!
There is a time and a place for everything. The time to worship the Lord must perforce precede the time to serve our fellow man. Still, the time to worship must draw to a close and we must rise from our knees, if we will ever get around to serving our fellow man. We cannot float on a silver cloud while playing a golden harp forever. What use would we be?
Answer: we would be of no use at all! Perhaps we should pause at this point, in order to cogitate on this very point. Tomorrow we will bring this study to a close.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Ezekiel first caught a vision of the Lord, and then he responded by worshiping Him. The next step in his call to ministry, the third one, was to hear the Lord speaking to him. So it was with Ezekiel. The Lord directed Ezekiel to stand up and receive the Word of the Lord.
By way of an aside let it be noted that “God” didn’t call Ezekiel to the ministry. Look at the text again and see for yourself. “The Lord” gave the call. The word “God” refers to the high and mighty Creator, He Who is far above man and unapproachable by us. The word conveys deity in an impersonal aspect.
The phrase “the Lord” is quite different. In the original Hebrew “the Lord” is not a generic term or an expression of deity. It is the actual name of Deity, aka YHWH or Yahweh or Jehovah. When the phrase “the Lord” is used it conveys Deity as personally involved with man in a covenantal relationship.
Ezekiel’s call to ministry was personal involvement with the Lord. He was called to serve the Lord, and it doesn’t get any more personal than that! Hence the identifier “God” would have been out of place in this case. Ezekiel was called to the Lord’s personal service as His prophet.
The Lord told Ezekiel to stand up before hearing the Word of God. It would be easy to see no significance in this…except for the fact there was crucial significance! The Word of God which Ezekiel was about to receive was his call to ministry from the Lord.
Here’s the thing, dear friends. Too many Christians believe they receive the Lord’s call to the pastorate, for example, only to take their ease and bask in the accolades heaped upon such a holy man of God. The ministry has no place for lazy folks, or for seekers of fame and fortune. The ministry is a position of work, hard work, grueling work. The fainthearted need not apply!
There is a time and a place for everything. The time to worship the Lord must perforce precede the time to serve our fellow man. Still, the time to worship must draw to a close and we must rise from our knees, if we will ever get around to serving our fellow man. We cannot float on a silver cloud while playing a golden harp forever. What use would we be?
Answer: we would be of no use at all! Perhaps we should pause at this point, in order to cogitate on this very point. Tomorrow we will bring this study to a close.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Knock Knock. Who’s There? – Part 3
Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel.” [Ezekiel 1:28b-2:3a]
Ezekiel caught a vision of the Lord. As is to be expected from a godly person, he fell on his face in worship. Now let’s learn what followed next.
Before giving Ezekiel his commission, the Lord directed him to stand up. It was as if to say, “The time to worship is past, Ezekiel. Now I will commission you as My prophet and dispatch you to the stiff-necked Israelites, to rebuke them for their sins and call them to return to Me in repentance. You cannot do this on your knees, so stand up!”
Let’s itemize the steps in Ezekiel’s call to ministry from the Lord:
1. catch a vision of the Lord
2. bow in worship before Him
3. hear Him speak
4. get up and get to work
Is that about it? Uh, not quite yet. Something crucial is missing in a call to ministry here. We need to see the Lord, yes, and we need to respond to Who He is by worshiping Him. We most definitely need to understand what He wants with us as well, and then we need to arise and begin the work. However that much only leads to religion, not spiritual service. Something is missing, I tell you.
Ah, yes, I got it. To perform spiritual service we need the Holy Spirit! Accordingly we next learn, As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. At this point Ezekiel had the Spirit’s gifting and power to perform the work to which the Lord called him. Ezekiel was enabled to understand the Word of God for him personally, so he knew what ministry it was to which the Lord called him.
This is a fine blueprint for us today as well. In order to ever truly catch a vision of the Lord—and this precedes everything else if our hearts are to enter the equation—but to see the Lord for real, we need to be into the Word of God for real. A vision of the Lord can only be achieved by faith, and faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ.
So what say ye? Do you desire to know the Lord Jesus for real? Or are you satisfied with keeping Him in a box known as the church building? If we truly want to know the Lord personally, we must commit our lives to sitting quietly at His feet daily with Bible opened, ears attentive, and hearts willing to obey.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Ezekiel caught a vision of the Lord. As is to be expected from a godly person, he fell on his face in worship. Now let’s learn what followed next.
Before giving Ezekiel his commission, the Lord directed him to stand up. It was as if to say, “The time to worship is past, Ezekiel. Now I will commission you as My prophet and dispatch you to the stiff-necked Israelites, to rebuke them for their sins and call them to return to Me in repentance. You cannot do this on your knees, so stand up!”
Let’s itemize the steps in Ezekiel’s call to ministry from the Lord:
1. catch a vision of the Lord
2. bow in worship before Him
3. hear Him speak
4. get up and get to work
Is that about it? Uh, not quite yet. Something crucial is missing in a call to ministry here. We need to see the Lord, yes, and we need to respond to Who He is by worshiping Him. We most definitely need to understand what He wants with us as well, and then we need to arise and begin the work. However that much only leads to religion, not spiritual service. Something is missing, I tell you.
Ah, yes, I got it. To perform spiritual service we need the Holy Spirit! Accordingly we next learn, As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. At this point Ezekiel had the Spirit’s gifting and power to perform the work to which the Lord called him. Ezekiel was enabled to understand the Word of God for him personally, so he knew what ministry it was to which the Lord called him.
This is a fine blueprint for us today as well. In order to ever truly catch a vision of the Lord—and this precedes everything else if our hearts are to enter the equation—but to see the Lord for real, we need to be into the Word of God for real. A vision of the Lord can only be achieved by faith, and faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ.
So what say ye? Do you desire to know the Lord Jesus for real? Or are you satisfied with keeping Him in a box known as the church building? If we truly want to know the Lord personally, we must commit our lives to sitting quietly at His feet daily with Bible opened, ears attentive, and hearts willing to obey.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
