Ezekiel 2 “Ezekiel’s Commission”

“Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.” Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe. Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” (Ch.2:8-10, Ch.3:1)

Ezekiel’s eating of a scroll was meant to illustrate a spiritual exercise that all of us should engage in. If we are to declare God’s truth with meaning and power, we must take time to let it fill our hearts. We need to feed on it, not just read and repeat it. Before we can serve the Bread of Life to others, we must feast on it ourselves, and let God's Word fill our minds, rule our hearts, and guide our tongues, so we can speak to others in need.

The Truth: “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

Ezekiel 1 “Ezekiel’s Vision of God”

“As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. 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.” (v.28)

Ezekiel was a priest among the Jewish exiles in Babylon and had visions of the Lord (see Ezekiel 1,8,10-11). He described God’s presence as, “the appearance of fire with brightness all around,” “the color of amber,” and like “a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day.” Ezekiel’s reaction was to fall on his face before Him and to listen to His instructions (vv.27-28). For God was about to call him to go to the children of Israel and be God's voice unto them.

The apostle John also saw a vision of God’s presence. He may have been Jesus’ closest friend here on earth. At the Last Supper, prior to the crucifixion, we read that John was “leaning on Jesus’ bosom” (John 13:23). Yet when John saw a vision of the Son of God in all His glory and power, he had the same reaction Ezekiel had, and “fell at His feet as dead” (Revelation 1:10-17).

We cannot comprehend how brilliant and awesome the Lord’s glory is, so we can’t be sure of how we’ll respond when one day we’re in His presence. Will we dance or be still? Will we stand in awe or fall to our knees? Will we sing or not be able to speak at all? Bart Millard got it right when in 2001 he wrote the song, “I Can Only Imagine.”

The Truth: "And He who sat on the throne was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald." (Revelation 4:3)

2 Corinthians 13 "Examine Yourself"

“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.” (v.5)

Paul spent the chapters leading up to today’s passage vigorously defending his own position as an apostle. Now here in our text, he turned the tables and asked the Corinthians to examine themselves, whether they were who they claimed to be, true Christians. If they truly looked inward, and found themselves to be in the faith, then there would be the proof of his being a true apostle, as it was by his ministry that they became such.

Our pride can make it so easy for us to think we have all the answers, to see the faults of others or put them on the defensive to proof themselves to us.  As Christians, we need to continually look inward, examine ourselves, remove the plank from our own eye, then fall on our knees and ask God for His grace and forgiveness in our lives, that we might better serve others.

May we all take the Apostle’s advice and “examine ourselves”, before we point the finger at others.

The Truth:
“Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” (Romans 2:1)

2 Corinthians 12 "Paul's Unconditional Love"

“And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.” (v.15)

Here in chapter 12 we see Paul’s unconditional love for the church in Corinth. Just as a father cheerfully does for his children, Paul is willing to spend any expense, which may be necessary to promote their salvation. All this despite the fact, the more he gave of himself, the less he was loved by them.

Paul’s motivation was never to gain their gratitude, or extract some compensation form them, but to simply obey the will of God in his ministry. Whether others are grateful or not; whether they loved him or not; whether he could promote his popularity with them or not, he just kept showing his love to them in the name of Jesus.

We would do well to remember, the highest form of giving is when we give and receive nothing in return. Therefore, do not be surprised, or discouraged when you spend yourself in love for others who in turn, love less. This will provide an opportunity to display the true agape love of Jesus to others and your reward will be great.

The Truth
“But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.” (Luke 6:35)

2 Corinthians 11 "Fatherly Protection"

“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (v.3)

To demonstrate his deep love for the Corinthians, Paul likened his relationship with them to a father and daughter relationship (v.2). In the Jewish culture, it was the father's responsibility to protect his daughter's honor and to secure a proper husband for her. There by protecting her from the seduction of false suiters.

Paul uses this cultural backdrop to stress in verse 3, how deeply he feared the Corinthians were being seduced by false teachers, those who would replace the simplicity of Christ. Therefore, just as a father would protect his daughter’s honor form an unsuitable character, so Paul sought to protect his flock from, “false teachers, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ” (vv.13-14).

In the church today, we must be just as vigilant. We should be like the Bereans, testing the truthfulness of every sermon against God’s Holy Word, so as to not embrace a lie or a different Jesus.

The Truth
“These (Bereans) were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)

2 Corinthians 10 "The Destruction of a Fortress"

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.” (vv.3-4)

In our text, Paul is talking about waging war, using weapons, and demolishing enemy strongholds. He goes on to explain although they live in human bodies, they don't wage war according to human standards. Their weapons are those of the Spirit, which are the only weapons great enough to bring down fortresses or strongholds of Satan.

Moody Press author Jim Logan, in his book Reclaiming Surrendered Ground describes a satanic stronghold in this way. “Strongholds are the fortresses Satan builds in our lives when we give him a foothold, a piece of ground on which to build. And once they are in place, they give the enemy a "headquarters" from which to carry on his (demonic) activities.”

Ephesians 6:12 reads: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Thus, those who oppose the gospel aren't the real enemy. The real enemy, is the one who has them blinded, held captive, and opposes God's work in every way - Satan. This is why worldly weapons won’t work. Only divine power will defeat satanic power.

Therefore, give no ground, no secrete place in your mind for him to build, fight against the evil one, put on the whole armor of God, and become a Jedi for Jesus.

The Truth:
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11)

2 Corinthians 9 "Give According to Your Heart"

“So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” (vv.7-8)

Here in chapter 9 Paul again takes on the delicate subject of giving to the work of the LORD. Over a year ago, Corinth had promised to contribute to the Lord’s work in Jerusalem, but, as of yet they had failed to follow through with their pledge. Paul was concerned about negative consequences if other churches, especially the Macedonians, discovered the Corinthians' lack of integrity. These churches had given sacrificially partly because Paul had shared with them about the Corinthians' enthusiasm for the Jerusalem collection. So Paul takes it upon himself to send Titus (and an unnamed brother) to receive (collect) their gift, which they had previously promised, and encourages them to “let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

I love the way Paul does not condemn, nor places a guilt trip on them. He lovingly reminds them of their promise to give but places no amount, no percentage, no goals on them, even though they were financially much better off than most churches at that time. Giving comes from love, from our hearts to those in need, and for the furtherance of the Gospel. Our motive should never be what we may get in return. For God’s incredible gift to us of His Son, and our salvation, will forever be enough.

“God loves a cheerful giver” because that's exactly what He is! God gives freely and beyond all we can imagine. This is true first and foremost in the gift of His Son, but it's also true every day we live and breathe. God gives to us first so we can be generous to others. The order here is key though. We don't give first so that we can receive a blessing, giving is not an investment plan. We are already blessed, therefore we give out of love and gratitude for His sacrifice.

Knowing then that we are in so great a debt, how should we give? There’s no formula or percentage when it comes to giving, God cares only about the state of our hearts. Therefore, give as the Lord leads, as you are able to give, without reservation or out of obligation. In so doing, you will become a blessing to others.

The Truth
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

2 Corinthians 8 "Giving to The Ministry"

“For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they (churches of Macedonia) gave of their own accord.” (v. 3)

Here Paul is speaking about the poor churches in Macedonia who were contributing to the work of the ministry according to their ability and in some cases beyond. Their generosity is even more remarkable when we realize that the entire Macedonia region had suffered economically from political turmoil and decreased trade. In stark contrast, the wealthy Corinthians here in chapter 8 had made an initial commitment toward the Jerusalem collection, but had failed to follow through. So Paul relates to them the record of the Macedonian churches and entrusts Titus with the responsibility of exhorting them in this regard (vv.6-7).

Speaking on the subject of money and exhorting others to give to the work of the ministry is easier for some than it is for others. Some have made this their life's calling from the pulpit, making the flock feel guilty for not giving more to the LORD. While others only mention it when they happen to come across it in scripture. Paul’s encouragement here to the wealthy of Corinth was to simply, follow through with their word, their commitment, as the other churches had done. No dollar amount, no percentage, nor financial goal - just encouragement to give of their own accord.

Jesus is our best example here when it comes to giving. He said in Matthew 10, “Freely you have received, freely give” (v.8). And again in Luke’s gospel when He saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins into the temple treasury He said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on” (Luke 21:1-4).

Giving comes from the heart, not from the head. The poor widow and the Macedonians showed that poverty doesn't preclude generosity. Giving, according to our ability, enables us to participate in something greater than ourselves. Through our financial gifts, we're able to participate in supporting ministries around the world, our own local churches, missionaries, pastors, widows, orphans, military families, the homeless, and the list goes on. Our giving is not just limited to financial gifts either. It can also include, our time, our presence, talents, service and prayers.

Therefore, give what you can from a cheerful heart and the LORD will multiply it one hundred times over, for you can never out give God.

The Truth: “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)