| DAY 6 “… the heavens
were opened, and I saw visions of God.” Ezekiel 1: 1
Ezekiel means that God will
strengthen in a time of strife. There he was in a concentration camp, yet
in spirit seeing the very glory of God, just at the time of Israel’s shame
– the exile to Babylon. The experience was so radical that a third of the
chapters are situated in the glory – revelations of the future, including
the millennium. The last verse declaring Jehovah-Shammah: the Lord who
is there.
That is a great definition
of glory, the Lord so penetrating the city on the millennium earth that
He and His people can be one.
The flow of the prophecy
concerns departing glory (Chapters 1 – 24) and returning glory (25 – 48).
Glory is on the look-out for a new home. However, with the failure of a
church or individual the glory departs – because of sin. The secret sins
of the sanctuary in Jerusalem are seen very clearly, although the prophet
languishes by the river Chebar hundreds of miles from home. He sees
more in Chapter 8 than even
Jeremiah who was on the very spot! The image of jealousy today stops the
Lord from fully occupying the hearts and minds of God’s children. It could
be a world-spirit or an evil spirit or some secret sin, so that the Lord
is outside the door of your heart, knocking to try to get in. Then there
were idols portrayed on the walls. An idol is anything you love more than
Jesus, or
anything that controls you.
What is on the walls of your mind?
Glory is on the look-out
for a new home… The sin in the church is why glory looks for a new home.
Are selfish ambitions driving
you to a position beyond your ability? Or is your problem pornography from
a TV film, or a book or a magazine? Or is the idol in your heart an unremitting
desire for a new car? Family, a precious brother or sister in the Lord,
or food, can all become idols. Sin robs God of glory and stops you being
a serving son or daughter. The sin in the church is why glory
looks for a new home. Ezekiel
ends with a very full revelation of the millennium. There we will learn
what glory was, is and is to be. Until then, we look to the AUTHOR and
FINISHER of our faith, who desires us to share the glory He knew with the
Father. No flesh should boast in the glory. All self and sin prevent glory
from being manifest but God has put the treasure of the new creation in
our
spirits. The glory is in
our inner man, that invisible image of God within us, where the Shekinah
glory dwells. Now we must be strengthened with the power of the Spirit
for the glory to break forth in our lives!
Let’s pray,
“Father, reveal any blockages
to Your glory being manifest in my life. Show me any idols in my heart
and enable me to renounce and turn from them. Cleanse Your church so that
the glory may return and reside in our midst, in Jesus name. Amen.”
[Renounce means to speak off, or “I break covenant with”.]
DAY 7 “So I arose
and went out into the plain: And, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there,
like the glory which I saw by the
river Chebar: and I fell
on my face.” Ezekiel 3: 23
Obedience to the living Word
brings glory!
Obedience to the command
of God will bring an experience of glory. The thing of the commanded word
has a creative issue. The words “word” and “thing” in the Hebrew are interchangeable.
The living Word is a substantial thing to the Jewish mind. How much more
for the sons and daughters of the new creation! The Word has power to uphold
the atoms of the universe. That’s how Jesus can put an end to this heaven
and earth just as easily as a man taking off a dirty shirt. Ezekiel went
to another place, but the same glory confronted him. We are destined for
another place: the ages to come. The glory of the Lord in all its fullness
will illumine the New Jerusalem.
Everything – every colour,
material, metal etc., will speak of Christ. Here and now we need foretastes
of glory – the presence of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. He comes
on the basis of our obedience. Check Leviticus 9: 6, “This is the thing
which the Lord commanded you to do, and the glory of the Lord will appear
to you”. The great commission from the resurrected Lord promises His presence
to those who obey and teach and baptize in the name of the Father, Son
and Holy Ghost. The great vision of Ezekiel 37, the valley of worthless
dry bones changing into a mighty army, occurred because Ezekiel obeyed
the command. He
prophesied AS HE WAS COMMANDED
(verse 7) – he was in step with the Lord, not serving up some undigested
morning quiet time and passing it off as prophecy. If the glory of the
Lord appears to you, generally there is a purpose. Notice that Jesus, after
the resurrection, spoke commandments to the apostles, to whom He had chosen
(Acts 1: 2). The word obeyed creates glory – the
character of God being released
in Acts 2 with great joy. And yet, by the Word, destruction can come. Check
2 Peter 3: 5 – 7, where we learn that it was the word of God that brought
the flood and also the word will bring fire to dissolve the Obedience to
the living Word brings glory! elements before the great day of the Lord.
So the Word has this dual aspect, quickening unto obedience and glory,
or a killing unto death for those that remain disobedient!
Many believers are in ignorance
of the judgements of God. Yet Ananias and Sapphira stand testimony that
the Word can kill even in the church age. When glory comes the only response
is to fall on our face as Ezekiel did and yield to the soul surgery of
the Holy Spirit. As we obey the revelation command of Jesus, we will move
from glory to glory. Yet in the culture of glory, there is also judgement.The
convincing splendour of glory will prostrate us, to be dealt with by a
merciful God.
DAY 8 “And I fell
on my face. Then the Sprit entered me… and spoke with me and said to me,
“Go, shut yourself inside your house.” Ezekiel 3: 23, 24
Falling under the power of
the Spirit is a common phenomenon, yet many who have experienced the Lord
in this way, have not understood the significance. When we are prepared
for this holy anesthetic, we are spoken to in the depths of our spirit.
When all self effort is knocked out of us, when our systems are at peace,
we know on the floor, that all is of grace, nothing of ourselves. Abraham
fell into this kind of sleep
in order that God could cut the covenant and speak the promise to him.
The priests could not stand to minister at the inauguration of Solomon’s
temple when the glory cloud rolled in. Demons cast some people to the floor
(Luke 4: 35) and we who minister the glory of God need to be aware of the
presence of evil spirits who want to discredit the ministry.
The great wonder is not falling,
but God speaking and the influx of the Holy Spirit. There is no passivity
about this, only the divine control of peace. Paul fell off his horse for
repentance and commission to follow. Peter fell bodily in a trance for
the vision of Acts 10 to change his legalistic heart and open the door
of the gospel into Europe. May we never belittle God’s way of doing things.
The awesome prostrating vision of God, of ourselves and the lost world
are needed today. However, we do not look to phenomena, but to what God
speaks to us in that condition of yieldedness. In March 1987, God spoke
straight to my spirit to go to nations – I had no natural leaning this
way, but within six months ministering opportunities came in France and
Spain.
For His glory He will PREPARE
us before the commission, and a sense of being shut up and concentrated
upon Jesus will be vital to ministry success
Remember the transfiguration
when the inner circle of disciples were overcome with glory. In the R.V.
margin of Luke 9: 32, there is something very interesting… “Now Peter and
they that were with Him were heavy with sleep, but, HAVING REMAINED AWAKE,
they saw His glory…” That exactly describes the rest of seemingly being
asleep, yet the faculties remaining alive and aware, which is a vital condition
for true working of the Holy Spirit. May the counterfeit falling under
a power never put us off from the genuine. For His glory He will PREPARE
us before the commission, and a sense of being shut up and concentrated
upon Jesus will be vital to ministry success.
DAY 9 “Overthrown,
overthrown, I will make it overthrown! It shall be no longer until He comes
whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.” Ezekiel 21: 27
This is a great principle:
God turns over political systems and kingdoms. Babylon was overthrown,
then the Medo-Persian Empire, then Greece, until Jesus came in the middle
of the Roman Empire. Everything that is against the glory of God, at some
stage, God will overthrow. All sin and self and satanically inspired schemes
will be overturned. Jesus the manager of the earth was sacked by his
own people, but He is coming
back to reign over the nations.
Jesus has SPOILED EVERY PRINCIPALITY
and POWER – by ripping off all evil spirits from His body on the Cross!
Jesus overturned the money-changers
in the temple and then the healing virtue from His hands began. What stops
glory has got to be stopped. The book of Ezekiel shows who is behind the
prevention policy – the anointed cherub, the most beautiful and brilliant
of all of God-created creatures. But he began to enjoy his own smartness
and thought the beauty proceeded from himself (Ezekiel 28: 13 – 15). One
day he will be overthrown into the lake of fire forever. Everything not
of God in our lives will be overturned: doing our own will, church committees
and structure, the crime of worry, everything that fails the test of His
word.
Everything God has made by
right of creation or by right of redemption is for the glory
When we go through a crisis
as believers, watch carefully: God wants to overturn or overthrow something
that stands against His glory. Perhaps we have a demonic problem or habitual
sin or an area of self-life still manifesting. God wants to overthrow it
and render it powerless. Jesus has SPOILED EVERY PRINCIPALITY and POWER
– by ripping off all evil spirits from His body on the Cross. They tried
to cling and invade Him because He was made sin at Calvary. But, they could
not! He triumphed over them FOR US TO LIVE A LIFE OF VICTORY! He wants
to share His glory. Everything God has made by right of creation or by
right of redemption is for the glory. The reason everything exists, as
created or redeemed by Jesus, is for the sole purpose of manifesting His
glory. That’s why the victory of the Cross will penetrate everything one
day, except demons and those who refuse the gospel of God. The excellency
of the power will be seen to be of God and not us. We shall be given to
Jesus a spotless Bride once we are healed and delivered, as well as saved.
As believers we become worthless dry bones when we lose the presence of
God through sin or self or evil spirit interference. Ask the Father to
expose sin and fill you with the Holy Spirit today.
DAY 10 “I will put
My Spirit in you and you shall live…” Ezekiel 37: 14
Christians without the Spirit
of God dwelling, anointing and leading them cannot live the life God lives.
We must be overcomers. Restoration is God bringing us back to our original
condition and only the Holy Spirit can achieve this. He can do more in
five minutes than twenty years of education. Three symbols of the Spirit
speak to us in Ezekiel:
1. FIRE (Chapter 1: 4)
The symbol of holiness because
our God is a consuming fire. As ministers of the gospel we are to be flames
of fire bringing blessing and judgement. Today we need to THINK CLEAN by
knowing the fire burn and wither unclean imaginations. Humility and holiness
combine in the life that experiences the fire of the Holy Spirit.
2. WIND (Chapter 37: 9)
The symbol of power because
the strength of God is in the skies. The winds of power can be sudden like
at Pentecost. The wind of the Spirit can leave as suddenly as He comes.
The season of refreshment may only last a few weeks, but we need the cobwebs
of our tradition blown away.
3 . WATER (Chapter 47: 1
– 12) The symbol of satisfaction and healing, because everything lives
when the river of the Spirit comes. The river represents plenty, fruitfulness
and pasture. Are we thirsting? God will meet us at the point of our need.
The river comes from
under the sanctuary. If
we are learning to be a worshipper in Spirit and in truth we will swim
in the river of God.
When the Holy Spirit entirely
possesses us, we shall live continually in that presence and for His glory,
like the cherubim
God wants to live the life
of Jesus through us for His glory. In Ezekiel we notice the cherubim. The
literal meaning of these high order of angelic beings is “as the whole,
as the rest”. They are always associated with the glory of God. We are
going to be like them in the ages to come. They guarded the entrance to
Eden, and they sit at the mercy seat, the place of the presence of God.
When the Holy Spirit entirely
possesses us, we shall live continually in that presence and for His glory,
like the cherubim. May sin not have dominion over us, that we may live
for God’s glory, conscious that in ourselves we are nothing better than
tin cans.
“Father, I ask that You would
baptize me with Holy Spirit and fire, to burn away all that is not of you
in my life and empower me, for Your glory. Amen.”
DAY 11 “These things
Isaiah said, when he saw His glory, and spoke of Him.” John 12: 41
John 12 is a chapter of transition
– the miracles are almost over and the run-in to Calvary begins. Isaiah
saw that the Jews would reject Jesus and refuse the evidence of miracles.
The cost of being a believer is seen in this chapter. Glory in the Holy
Spirit has a cost.
| C |
Christ |
(v 16) |
or |
compromise |
(v 42) |
? |
| O |
Obedience |
(v 26) |
or |
obstinacy |
(v 37) |
? |
| S |
Sacrifice |
(v 24) |
or |
selfishness |
(v 25a) |
? |
| T |
Treasure |
(v 3) |
or |
triviality |
(v 13) |
? |
There is no neutral road
in following Jesus. A stark choice confronts every believer if we are to
become a disciple
There is no neutral road
in following Jesus. A stark choice confronts every
believer if we are to become
a disciple. Do we know the anointed path of obeying
Christ through the treasure
of sacrifice?
1. CHRIST OR COMPROMISE?
Jesus is glorious to us
if we are to speak of Him as a worshipping witness. Compromise stalks the
church, men prefer position in a denomination or society rather than jettison
role and follow Holy Ghost reality. Glory comes to those who There is no
neutral road in following Jesus. A stark choice confronts every believer
if we are to become a disciple refuse compromise with the crowd, and travail
for the anointing. Compromise is refusing to fight for what we know to
be right.
2. OBEDIENCE OR OBSTINACY?
To keep following means
to obey Jesus by recognizing the thing at hand. What is He prompting us
about? Is it tithing? Or praying for the government? Giving to mission?
Giving ourselves to hospitality? Or witnessing at work? The obstinate,
hard-hearted religious people cause Christ Jesus to be blasphemed in the
world. That’s why Jesus was so hard on the religious Jews. He is merciful
to sinners and merciless with religious playboys, the hypocrites.
3. SACRIFICE OR SELFISHNESS?
The Cross never annihilates
a vision but purifies it. The seed must go into the ground to die. At the
Cross it appeared that everything was lost. The vision is real, but we
must wait for it, even though it tarry. In the death God can change us
to get us to the place He wants us – so we can handle the resurrection
of the vision. Also we personally need to die to self if we are to see
the things that God
has spoken about. If we
love our soul-life, we will lose our spirit-life. Denying yourself is the
path to preserving the life of God in our spirits. Many beginning in the
Spirit have ended up in the flesh, because they have been ignorant of,
or have denied the Cross-principle.
4. TREASURE OR TRIVIALITY?
Our treasure is God’s life
in our Spirits. If we are to fill other lives with fragrance we need to
know brokenness and blessing for the release. The most precious things
about our lives is serving God in our spirits. Triviality is waving palm
branches, plenty of external show - a doing of tradition by rote - a form
of heroworship with feigned submission. Only when Jesus is Lord in a life
can we know
Him as the Christ, or can
the Christing (anointing) be upon us (Acts 2: 36: the order is Lord, then
Christ). Mary knew Him as Lord. The crowds soon shouted, “Crucify, crucify
him!” Are we changeable or radically determined to obey at any cost to
ourselves? To be radical is to allow the axe to the root of the tree of
the self-life.
The glory of discipleship
is …renouncing the past
| …repenting of sin |
…rebuking the enemy |
| …restoring the heart |
…renewing the mind |
and all these aspects flow
as we take the axe to the root of the tree. We cut down the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. Remember God hates mixture and we hate the
self-life now (see Romans 7: 14, 15). The sanctification of hate helps
us to make the right decision. Hating wrong has a power. Jesus hated lawlessness
and loved righteousness and so was anointed above everyone else. The cost
of the Cross in our personal lives determines how full of glory and how
full of the Spirit we really are! In some situations we may have to make
a very radical discipleship decision. This is where the hard saying of
Luke 14: 26 comes in. Our love for God has to be so extravagant, that by
comparison our love for our family seems like hatred. One contemporary
example of this is when a Muslim converts to Christianity, he is often
forced to separate from his natural family, unless he renounces his new
found faith, because of death threats.
Will Christians embrace the
Cross of martyrdom in the cause of Christ?
We must pray that radical
Muslims become radical Christians, with a deep knowledge of embracing the
Cross. Brother Andrew is right to suggest that suicide bombers are not
primarily terrorists but they do their atrocious deeds through religious
conviction. Will Christians embrace the cross of martyrdom in the cause
ofChrist? In other words, will we as Christians put our lives on the line
just as Stephen did in Acts 7? He simply spoke the truth by the power of
the Holy Spirit, and his accusers saw the glory of God radiating from his
face, and as he looked up to heaven he saw Jesus standing up at the throne
of God.
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