Rise Up To Christ

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King James Bible StudyAnd when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Chapters: Ezekiel 43-45
Message: Rise Up To Christ

Hello My Friend,

If he shall leave me to be a doorkeeper in his house, I will cheerfully bless him for his grace in permitting me to do anything in his service. The call of Christ’s servants comes from above. Jesus stands on the mountain, evermore above the world in holiness, earnestness, love and power. Those whom he calls must go up the mountain to him, they must seek to rise to his level by living in constant communion with him.” – Charles Spurgeon

As I read this this morning it occurred to me the saying that I still keep to this day, “I rather be scrubbing floors in the kingdom of God than in hell.” It is Jesus that calls us for our positions, and when He does call on us we are to take it seriously because He takes it seriously. We should never count sweeping flours or cleaning toilets as nothing, for we are all important to Christ. As we draw closer to Him, and wait patiently, He will entrust us with more. “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” – John 15:15-16.

and that your fruit should remain:” You see, this is why we do what we do, so that we remain fruitful. Jesus will not use someone who is not going to bring more people to Him. He knows our faith and faithfulness, and unless we have constant communion with Him, even when scrubbing floors, He will not take us up higher, and will even take away things (Luke 13:6-9). We have been reading about a glorious new temple that will be built when Jesus returns. Now, as God takes Ezekiel to the place where His throne would be as well as the altar in which Israel will bring their sacrifices. As Ezekiel was watching this, the Glory of God returned, filling the new temple.

So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me. And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon. And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.” – Ezekiel 43:5-7,11,18,27.

And if they be ashamed of all that they have done,” In order to come to the knowledge of Christ we must first be ashamed of what we have done in our sin. No one is without sin, and those who say they have not are liars (I John 1:8-10). This can be a little confusing, especially since Jesus eliminated the need for animal sacrifices when He gave His life as the one and only sacrifice needed, but something comes to mind as you contemplate it. During this time sin will actually be suppressed, but the desire to sin will not. Therefore, the acceptable sacrifices will be restored as Israel will finally acknowledge Christ. “And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.” – Romans 9:26-28.

because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.” Incredibly, not only will Jesus be present as KING and Prince, the Holy Spirit will be present as well as the Glory of God will fill the temple and dwell in the most holy place while the earth remains. During this time, Israel worship God with a new heart, and every detail of the temple services will be restored also, and carried out according to God’s appointment. As God leads Ezekiel out of the sanctuary, he sees a gate, but it was shut and no one could enter, but the Prince.

Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same. Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face. And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary. And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations, And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.” – Ezekiel 44:1-6,10.

they shall even bear their iniquity.The Levites who defiled the temple shall bear the shame and disgrace of their sin, when they come to see their errors, and the punishment and chastisement of their sin, of which hereafter. Jesus is the only one with the key to heaven, the only one who can sit with God and eat bread with Him. However, we can come to Him through our faith in Him and He will let us in, and we will be able to eat bread with Him. In fact, He wants to let us in, and is knocking on the door of every heart. Jesus also has the keys to death and hell (Revelation 1:18), and if we do not open the door when He knocks, and accept Him in, we will bear the iniquity of our own sin. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” – Revelation 3:19-21.

I rebuke and chasten:” Do you think that God is cruel to require that we only come to Him through His Son? Do you think that God is cruel to cast out anyone who believes in Him, but has not accepted His Son? Do you think it is cruel for God to deny someone who knows of His Son, but never received Him? It is not cruel, because we have choice, no one has to end up in hell, and to say that you believe in God or Jesus, but do not believe that He is the only way to God is to say to God Himself that you do not believe in Him. Let me tell you, salvation has never been about works, if one gets saved and that is all they ever do, their faith still saves them at judgment. They will lose communion with God, and blessings, but they will still be in His kingdom. Why? Their faith in Christ. This is confirmed as those Levites who defiled the temple would never serve in the temple again, but the ones who remained faithful will.

And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.” – Ezekiel 44:13-16.

But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house,” God will use anyone, even His unfaithful, they will surely bear the iniquity of their sin, but will not stand before the great white throne for judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). Constant communion with Jesus does more that keep us out of trouble, it brings us closer to the Father, and He will commune with us, bless us, and use us to do much more than clean up after messy Christians. Yes, we are all a mess, but that is okay, as long as we walk and talk with Him, He will clean us up. Amen! “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” – I John 1:7.

If you are saved and born again, rejoice, because God is always with you, do not fear, just let all the burdens, guilt, or shame go and give it all to Him. Once you receive the Lord, Jesus Christ as your Saviour, never stop allowing Him to work in you, He is the key to all the blessings in our lives, even in the struggles. Now, during the kingdom age, Israel will also honor God with portions of land set apart for divine service, both for the Levites and a special portion for the prince. Sin offerings will be offered according to God’s appointment, again, while sin will be suppressed, the tendency to sin will not be removed until the new heaven and earth are established.

Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the LORD, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about. And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the oblation of the holy portion, and of the possession of the city, before the oblation of the holy portion, and before the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward: and the length shall be over against one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border. Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, ye shall offer the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is an homer of ten baths; for ten baths are an homer: And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of Israel; for a meat offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make reconciliation for them, saith the Lord GOD. All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel.” – Ezekiel 45:1,7,14-16.

All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel.Those who have accepted the Lord, Jesus Christ as their Saviour ought to know how blessed they are, and start taking their salvation more seriously. The Church is a complete mess, and Jesus needs some able bodies to give back to Him by showing His love to the those who need Him too, even if that means we scrub some floors in church once in a while. If we are estranged from Christ and want to be lifted up by Him we need draw closer to Him in repentance for reconciliation. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” – James 4:8-10. Amen!

Jesus Christ Magnified: “Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.” – Ezekiel 44:2-3.

Today’s Prayer: God, We cannot remain neutral, must stand for what is good or we will fall for what is evil. Help us, as believers, to cling to You, even when it comes as a great sacrifice. We look to You alone, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved than Your Son, Jesus Christ. Lord, Lead us and guide us, give us Your power to live by faith and the power of Christ to serve You in whatever calling. Our faithfulness, and constant communion with You is the only way our fruit will remain, and even if we are scrubbing floors, give us the heart to do it cheerfully. If there is anything that hinders us, reveal it so we can reconcile with You and be lifted up. I pray this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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