In Ezekiel 33 God let the prophet Ezekiel know that when you see the sword coming and don’t sound the alarm, then the sword will come and take them away but ‘their blood will I require at your hands.’
However, if you sound the alarm and they don’t listen and they don’t heed the warning then the sword will come and take them away but their blood will not be on your hands, because you sounded the alarm and they refused to listen.
So today I am the watchman on the wall and I am sounding the alarm. I believe that the coming of the Lord is near. If you are familiar at all with the prophecies and you look and see what’s taking place in the world today, unless you have your head in the sand, you have to believe it won’t be long now.
I could try and make you feel good by telling you that everything is going to get better, that the economy is going to get better, that morality and integrity are going to get better, that racial strife and prejudice are going to get better, that our government is going to get better, and that all the tension with Iran, North Korea and Russia is just going to dissolve into world peace. But if I did I would be a liar, because none of these things are going to get better.
There are a lot of so called prophets that prophesy peace and everything is wonderful and it’s just going to get better, but it’s not true.
Jeremiah 8:11 says, “For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”
That means the false prophets have put a band aid over a cancer and said it’s going to be alright, but it’s not true.
I want you to know that Yes God is good and God is going to bless his people, and yes God is going to protect and prosper his own. But I can see that the sword of judgment is about to fall on the ‘lukewarm’ church of America.
But everything is not fine: God is not happy with what is happening in his church, it is not a time of peace, it is not a time to be asleep like Jonah the prophet.
It’s a time of war, it's time for the church to beat her plowshares into swords and fight!
My heart is heavy as I share this word, but I also have the great joy of telling you, that in the midst of wrath and judgment, I feel in my spirit that God will once again make his mercy known and visit us again with revival.
But the first step to healing is being honest and recognizing that there is a sickness. As a person who has recovered from alcoholism I have come to understand that the first step to recovery over anything is admitting that you have a problem.
Ezekiel 37:1-10
God asked the Prophet the question, “Can these bones live again?”
In other words: Is there hope for these bones? Can they be restored? Let me bring it home: Can the church ever be revived? Can the Church of Jesus Christ ever quit fighting and arguing over stupid things that have no eternal consequences and get back to being the body of Christ the glory of God in the earth? Will it ever be possible again for the Church to once again be the representatives of the kingdom of God in the earth? Can the church strip off her worldly garments and be clothed in strength and put back on her robes of righteousness? Will the Church ever again be a mighty army of God beating down the gates of Hell setting captives free, healing the sick, delivering the bound and the oppressed? Will we ever again experience, 'these signs shall follow them that believe?'
Ezekiel’s answer shows us just how bad the situation had become: “Lord God thou knowest.” He shifted his attention from the problem to the power of God.
If you need a miracle, if you need a deliverance, if you need a healing, or if you need a spiritual breakthrough, then you have to shift your attention from the problem to the power of God. Yes you first have to admit you have a need, but then you have to take your eyes off the problem and get them on the power of God. The longer you look at the problem, the more you think about the problem, and the more you talk about the problem the worse it's going to get.
Ezekiel knew the situation was beyond his ability and that the only one who could change it was God. Sooner or later every one of us will come to a place in life where we are going to have a ‘Lord God thou knowest’ moment. It’s a going to be a place where you know that your circumstances are beyond human ability, your momma can't fix it, your daddy can't fix it, and your doctor or lawyer can't fix it. That’s the moment when you know that if it's going to get better, it is going to have to be the power of God.
Ezekiel's answer was a statement of dependency, a recognition of his insufficiency his weakness, and his need.
I love God's response. God says prophesy upon these bones: God is essentially saying, “that's all I needed from you was your dependence upon me now let's get to work.”
God never shows us hopeless conditions and circumstances to overwhelm and frustrate and depress us. God shows you these kinds of things because God has chosen you to use you and to change the situation. It was already in the mind of God to make Ezekiel an agent of change.
We look at the Church today and so much worldliness has made its way into her. Political correctness has overwhelmed the mindset of so many in the Church that now even mention of the Blood of Jesus is considered offensive by a lot of churches. I'm angry at the devil, he has perverted our spiritual lifeline and many Christians do not even know what’s happening. It's the blood of Jesus that saves me, that heals us, that delivers us, that sets us free, that sustains life. The blood of Jesus is our lifeline.
I'm not condemning anyone, but I'm just sounding the alarm!
Virtually every sit com or situational comedy on television is now endorsing and encouraging either homosexuality or lesbianism or both and Christians sit and watch and laugh and don't know they're drinking poison.
The meaning of the word tolerance is:
1. The power or the capacity of an organism to tolerate unfavorable environmental conditions.
2. A disposition to allow freedom of choice and behavior
3. A permissible difference: allowing freedom to move within limits.
4. Broad mindedness showing respect for the rights or opinions or practices of others.
5. To survive the introduction of an organism or a poison in the body.
The church has become tolerant: We have allowed the world to pressure us into conformity, to accommodate the world in the church. The Apostle Paul urged us not to let this happen:
Romans 12:1-2
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Colossians 2:8
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
The fact is whatever you tolerate will eventually control your life
The church was never called to tolerate sin: but to come out from among them and be separate, and touch not the unclean thing. To shun the very appearance of evil
1 Peter 5:8
“Be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may destroy.”
The church has fallen far from her high and holy calling.
This message is not to frustrate you, it is not to cause you to feel discouraged or depressed, and it is not so you can fold your hands and hang your head down in despair and hopelessness. But, neither is it to bury your head in the sand like an ostrich and pretend evil does not exist. This message is to make you understand that God has called you to be an Ezekiel to your generation. He has called you to be a prophet and an agent of change. He has called you to be an intercessor.
You may never stand behind the pulpit and declare the word of the Lord, but you can be an Ezekiel in your prayer closet. You can prophesy the divine destiny of the church, you can rebuke sin, you can cry out for revival, you can prophesy to the wind to come and blow up on His church again. You can call for the fire of God to fall from heaven and purify his church. You have a powerful call upon your life: you are called to be an intercessor to this generation.
My purpose today is to tell you: God is going to do it again; God is going to send revival. The church may have gone down, but she is not out. She may have fallen from her rightful place but she is getting back up. She may have gotten her robes dirty with the filth of this world, but she is being washed clean by the blood of the Lamb.
Revival is coming to the body of Christ!
It may look impossible, it may look hopeless, it may look irreversible, and it may looks like the devil is winning, but that’s because we’ve focused on the problem instead of the power!
Truth and righteousness are going to be resurrected and the church is going to once again shine forth with the glory of God, when we focus on God’s power.
It's not over, these dry bone will live again!
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