Ezekiel
|
||
Ezekiel Chapter 14
Unbelief is the cause of unanswered prayer in many cases but some of the time there is a stumblingblock of iniquity which is hindering our prayers. We have majored a lot of modern teaching on lack of faith and unbelief as a hindrance to prayer but sometimes there is sin in the heart or in a congregation which could be the root cause of the unanswered prayer or even unbelief. If we encourage people to have faith and have not taught them to turn from sin at the same time, we are failing to give forth the whole truth. When we ask God for something, we must at the same time be willing to forsake any sin that we may be involved in at the time. When the two men went before the Lord to pray and one expected to be heard because he did good deeds and kept his religious rituals, while the other one, just said, "Lord be merciful to me, a sinner." The second one was more justified than the other because he recognized that he was a sinner in need to salvation. When we come to God we must repent and see ourselves as those in need of His mercy and grace. To come to God thinking we deserve what we ask for because we have done good deeds or some other religious act, we may have a heart full of pride and sin. We must not even expect any answer. If we willfully have ignored God's written word that He graciously provided us with and expect to come to God for answers without a heart that is sorry for ignoring His messages, then we are wasting our time. These men of Israel thought they could have their idols and expect God to answer their prayers and show favor to them at the same time. Why should the Lord save them from the armies of Babylon when they have spent the time in worship to Tammuz or some other form of idolatry. In order for God to hear their prayer they would have to acknowledge their sin of idolatry and be sorry enough to stop sinning. It is that simple. In our day the idols could be what occupies most of our time, money and admiration. In saying that though since I updated this study, there is actual idolatry slowing creeping back into our world. They set up one in New York. Yet even without actual images, having idols in our hearts is a stumbling block of iniquity.
In the time of Ezekiel, they had real genuine idolatry brought into the temple that was originally built for the worship of God. God created humans. He called Abraham as the chosen seed to bring the Messiah to deliver them from sin. He later called the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob out of Egypt, He also saved them from enemies on more than one occasion. Gave them water and food in the wilderness, sent a cloud and a pillar of fire to guide them. Gave them a land of milk and honey, favoring them over the wicked Canaanites before them and yet they slap God in the face and worship Tammuz, Baal, Moloch and other gods that are really no gods at all. We must avoid idolatry whether it is actual images or other things that we become so obcessed with that it hinders our relationship with God. It is a direct violation of the 2nd commandment and also an insult against our Holy God.
God always gave them a chance to repent. All they had to do was stop what they were doing. Getting right with God is so simple. Today it is repent and believe in Jesus to save us from sin. Repent and believe. Repent and trust in God. It is simple. We think we have to go through rituals, ceremonies, penances and such. All we have to do is turn away from sin and turn back to God.
This is what happens to anyone who once knew God and then turns to another or a false god. If they fail to repent, they are cut off from God. If a Christian repents of sin and
believes the gospel but later returns to the sin Jesus saved him
from refusing to repent after God sends warning, then he too can
lose his soul and be lost. If Gpd cut off Israel, the children of
Abraham and the apple of His eye, His chosen and His elect, then He
will cut off anyone claiming to be a Christian yet not bearing the
fruits of a Christian.
It is very dangerous to be a false teacher or a false prophet that deceives people. God's judgment is against those the preach peace when God's judgment is ready to fall. We must warn against sin, if any are living in sin and are claiming to be a Christian. I mean real sin not just someone that don't keep certain traditions we may adhere to. I'm not talking about making mistakes and not contiuing in them. It is known continual sin that is evil. We know to do good but we perposely do not do it in other words. In the days of Ezekiel the majority of the people thought they were okay. They lived compromising lives full of idolatry. Idolatry always leads to greater sins; sexually immorality being the main one but sometimes murder, child sacrifice, rape and other perversions go along with it. Today we have people that ignore the gospel and refuse to have God rule over them or tell them what to do. Then we have those that think they are Christians and totally ignore God's word. They live any way they choose and still expect to be saved because they mentally believe in Jesus Christ. Israel in the days of Ezekiel mentally believed in God. They mentally believed in the law and the prophets but in works and in reality they denied Him. Faith in Christ will produce works of faith. It is active and alive. To believe in someone is to believe what they teach, say and stand for. We can't say we believe in Jesus Christ and do things opposite to what He taught. John said He that hates his own brother is a liar. Love and kindness is what Jesus taught, but also speaking truth and not wavering from that truth. If we do not warn, it is another form of hate. To love is to be for real and speak truth.
We can claim to believe in Jesus all we
want but if we hate someone, we are deceiving ourselves.
God would forgive and cleanse them of sin if they would only repent and turn back to Him. If Israel would never have strayed from God, they would be ruling the world by now. No enemy could have overtaken them. No country could have destroyed them. They were defeated only when they turned away from God and turned to sin and idolatry. If the United States would have been right with God, 911 would not have happened. There is no nation powerful enough to come against a righteous nation. What did we do though? Remember the 1960s when God and His word was cast out of our public schools and ruled unconstitutional? Remember the 1970s when abortion became legalized? You might say, well what about the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941? That was before the casting out of God or abortion. Yes but what was going on in Germany? Millions of Jews were being slaughtered while we sat and did nothing. A boat load of Jews were refused entry in the United States in 1939. What did Jesus say?
Jesus was speaking of His brethren, the Jews and those that believe on Him as Lord and savior even if they are not natural born Jewish people.
Pearl Harbor got the United States into a war that they needed to have been in years before. I hate war but we needed to go against Germany and what was happening to innocent people. We could have saved more of them if we would have gotten there sooner. In saying this though, going into other nations and meddling in every dispute or war is not right but when it involves massive genocide of whole populations, we have to do something surely.
God has not changed His mind. He sent us mercy when He sent His own Son to save us from sin. If we reject that Son there is nothing else left to save us from sin. We will be lost for eternity. As a nation, if we reject the Son of God, there is no other protection from the enemies that come against us. We are sealing our own doom by rejecting God's correction and doing things His word forbids. Why do we not fear God? We ignore God's written word in the name of freedom and liberty not realizing that without God we become in bondage to sin. There is then no protection when the enemy decides to destroy this country. Wake up and see what is happening. 911 was a wake up call that we are ignoring.
God does save countries when enough righteous people live within its borders but there does come a point of no return when God says, "It is enough" and even if Noah, Daniel and Job lived in the the rebellious country, it would be too late if they are at the point where they cannot repent. Israel didn't listen in the days of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Look what happened then and in 70 AD when the religious leaders rejected Jesus as God's only Son and delivered Him to be crucified. Jesus had to die for sins but if Israel would not have rejected Him, the Romans would have killed Jesus. That is my speculation though. Is the United States any different? If God spared not the natural branches, His chosen and those He loved, will He spare us if we do the same sins that Israel did. We may not bow down to statues literally but we are lovers of pleasure, sexual immorality, the god of convenience, murdering innocent babies (abortion) for the god of convenience and the god of money. Now as I write this update, we have in some states those that mutilate children with gender surgeries or homones to try to change their gender different than the way they are born. In reality, it doesn't do that but destroys their bodies making them unable to have children when they become adults. They also allow babies in the womb to come to full term in order to harvest their organs. If this is not murder, I don't know what is. Some politicians claim to want to help the poor but they give taxpayer money not their own money. To just give money without helping them to get jobs and pull themselves out of the misery they live in doesn't help, it creates a dependency. All is done to get votes but the people stay poor. That is not real giving. That doesn't really help anyone.
Those that choose to obey God and refuse to go along with the evil around them will be held in God's hand of protection. They may suffer from men who reject their message but they will never suffer from the hand of God, and their souls will be saved. We must be true to God no matter who is in leadership, no matter what our neighbors think, and no matter what we lose in the process. He is our salvation and in Him must we trust. True Christians have to hold fast to the Lord in good times or bad. There may be a time when we have to choose God over our own lives. But in the end we have life eternal that no one can take from us.
A remnant of Israel was saved to carry on their seed. They had to be back in their own land for end time prophecy to be fulfilled and nothing shall stop it. They came back in 1948. In the latter day tribulation, the man of sin that we call the antichrist will try to uproot them once again but Jesus Christ Himself will arrive to save them. The United States is not under any promise that a remnant shall be saved. It is up to us as a nation whether or not we are part of the inheritance that Israel will inherit or whether we choose our own way like we are choosing now. No president can save America alone. Only a national repentance and turning to God can save us. Millions of children have been killed by abortion all for money and greed. The larger the baby in a mother's womb, the higher the price is paid to the abortion doctor. Greed causes the doctor who was trained to save lives into killing for cash. Now it is even worse. The baby parts are sold for organ harvesting, cells used for vaccines or other medical research. It is the worse sin I can imagine that is done to innocent children. An now they can even be killed if they are born alive by a botched abortion. We are afraid to warn people that their way of life is killing them both physically and spiritually. We are calling evil good and good evil. Our children have no respect for their parents, ministers or teachers. Schools are no longer safe. Bibles are considered as unconstitutional. We need God back before its too late. Our cries are falling on deaf ears just like in the days of Noah, Ezekiel and when Jesus walked the earth. DC
|
||
|
HOME |
SITE MAP |
BIBLE STUDY INDEX
©2025 oldpathlighthouse.com |
||