Category: Devotions

Ezekiel 37

Some times we need to stand in the valley and speak to what appears to be dead.
Speaking not what has gone wrong nor what the enemy has done, because anyone can do that, BUT what God will do.
When hope has gone, hope can come back.
When breath has been lost, breath can come back.
We need to speak of the power of the SPIRIT within the power of the WORD.

Ezekiel 36

Some times we just need to speak to the mountains.
The mountains of Israel are the mountains of faith where Abraham once walked.
The mountains of Israel are the mountains of strength that David looked up at.
The mountains of Israel are the mountains which Jesus called us to speak to.
But they are also the mountains that have been taken by the enemy.
Where our heritage has been walked over.
Where our inheritance has been stolen.
But we speak and call back those things.
We speak positively 7 key facts:
Cleansing
New beginning
Power
Life
Saviour
Increase
Credibility
Speak those things over your life today. Speak them and grow.

Ezekiel 35

Edom had a history. We all do.
Their heritage was the man Esau whose brother God chose over him.
It hurt him.
We all have histories of pain.
Esau could have served God but chose to harbour bitterness against his brother.
We all have histories where choices were crucially made.
Now Edom is in their generation but their spirit is still stuck in the past.
We all can get stuck in the previous generation especially if there is a grievance.
What are you teaching the children?
Don’t teach them everything. Don’t teach them ancient hostilities.
For if they hold on to them it will be their undoing.
What are you still fighting today? Your parents complaint? Do you want to right some wrongs? Be careful ….

Ezekiel 34

There are some Shepherds who are only in it for themselves.
They want high living, the best of the best and all to the expense of the sheep.
They take from instead of taking care of the sheep.
They do not pastor.
They do not search for the lost.
The Church is where it is today because of its Shepherds.
If your Shepherd is different to the above then encourage them today.
They are under-Shepherds after all.

Ezekiel 33

Every week people gather to hear the latest word from God, v31.
They are inquisitive.
They like to be entertained.
They like to feel the emotion.
They come with their own desires and agendas hoping God will approve.
They are hero-worshippers.
They speak positive words of love.
They want to gain more than they have right now.
On the surface they look the part.
But God knows the heart.
Am I speaking of today?
I could be.
I could be speaking of 2014.
But this is 6 centuries before Christ.
Nothing much changes.
God is still waiting.

Ezekiel 32

You may wonder if anything that I prophesied actually came true!
I guess time was always going to tell.
Will there be any historical evidence that Nebuchadnezzar invades and conquers Egypt? (The answer is YES)
Would Egypt in 2014 still hold to the pantheon of idols that it worshipped in my generation. (The answer is of course NO)
Would Egypt ever know God as Lord of all? (The answer is of course YES)

Therefore …
Though you have someone who may stir up trouble, muddying the waters for you, this is short-lived. v2.
For God will make sure they are brought down just like everyone else who stands against Gods people, v31.
But the good news is that everyone can find God even those who were against you, even Egypt. The rivers of oil in v14,15, are symbolic of Gods blessings. The blessing for Egypt will be that they will know God. It is the same for today.

So don’t lose heart even with those who are giving you a hard time.

Ezekiel 31

Beyond comparison regarding his greatness, v2-3
Beautiful in appearance, risen in status, served by many, v4
Very successful in the work, v5
Many are impacted and influenced by his work, v6
Unrivalled by any other, v8
Envied by many, v9

Fantastic we all say!

But behind this person was a rising pride
So God cast it down.
He did this to Assyria.
He still does it today.

Ezekiel 30

This is what the Sovereign Lord says, v2

This is what the Lord says, v6

This is what the Sovereign Lord says, v10

This is what the Sovereign Lord says, v13

Okay this may be simple but nevertheless it’s true.

It’s not more sermons that we need it is sermons where God is actually speaking.

It’s not more prophecies but it is more divine direction.

Our communicators need to communicate Him.

For it is all about Him.

It is not about our professionalism.

It is not about the stages of the great modern cathedrals of Christianity.

Nor about our gifts and our abilities and our charisma and our experiences and our wisdom and our contacts and our finance and our intelligence and our persuasion.

What it’s about is this:

People need a message from God.

Ezekiel 29

It was day 12 of month 10 in year 10. He spoke to me again. (v1)
Then it was day 1 of month 1 in year 27 when His word came to me again. (v17)
These are not just dates. This is God speaking at important points in my life, in the life of this nation.
A year and 2 days after our city began to be attacked, in January 587 BC, something significant happened. ”Pharaoh’s army had marched out of Egypt, and when the Babylonians who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.” (Jeremiah 37:5) This could have been a moment to rejoice to think Pharaoh was our friend but what does God ask of me? “Set your face against Pharaoh … and prophesy against him …” v2.
Then in year 27 God showed me how Nebuchadnezzar was carrying out God’s will by defeating Egypt. Israel’s enemy was defeating Israel’s enemy but was under the control of Israel’s God!
So I record these dates, for we should never forget when God speaks to us especially when He is telling us to be cautious when interpreting the circumstances and to know everything that happens God is still in control.

Ezekiel 28

So who was the King of Tyre that he would be finished and found no more? (26:21)

It is apparently someone who is leading the Phoenician merchant city of Tyre. But because chapter 27 calls for a lament which carries the meaning that this is prophetic poetry.
The understanding of the merchant is someone who wanders and bargains and misrepresents and deceives.

So who is he?
It is someone who thinks and operates as if they have the same authority as God, v2.
It is someone who is supernatural not man, v14.
It is someone who has been at the beginning of perfection and who was perfect until they created sin, v13.15.
It is someone who has the death sentence on them, they are already destroyed, there is no grace for them, v16.

So in understanding the judgment of God I realise not to look at people who have done wrong and deserve it. But I understand that the great merchant trader, the liar and the father of lies, satan himself who mercilessly attacks our lives has and will be truly defeated.
Amen!