King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And 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.]
Date: Tuesday, September 07, 2021
Chapters: Ezekiel 34-36
Message: A New Heart And A New Spirit
Hello My Friend,
There are so many passages that come to mind as I read the chapters for today, but what stood out the most is when Jesus met with Zacchaeus, [Luke 19:5-10 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.]
All these religious people frown at the sinners who come to Christ, oblivious to the fact that they are sinners themselves. There is another passage that comes to mind here, [Luke 11:42-44 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. 44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.]
False religion sends more people to hell than not knowing who Christ is at all. And if you think that God does not keep track of all those souls that these religions have brought to hell with them, oh, yes He does and He is against each and every one of these shepherds. As we continue in the Book of Ezekiel, God goes on to stress His anger toward the shepherds of Israel, these were the high priests and priests of the Temple. They were supposed to be keeping the congregation fed with the spiritual food they needed to stay faithful to God, but instead they were doing nothing, but feeding their flesh off of the tithes and offerings given to them.
[Ezekiel 34:2-5 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. 4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. 5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.]
[Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves!] These are the Joel Osteen’s of the Church, they feed off of Christ’s sheep by feeding them with false hopes, false promises, and false doctrine that promotes lifestyles that never lead to repentance of the flesh. Let me tell you, each and every one of them will answer to God, and He goes on to tell them just what their judgment will be,[Ezekiel 34:8-10 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; 9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.]
[and I will require my flock at their hand,] Ordained pastors of the churches are the under shepherds, while Christ is the Good Shepherd and head of the Church. Each and every pastor is responsible for the entire congregation, they will be held accountable for the spiritual wellbeing of every soul that that comes to them. When the sheep of the church are only fed carnally, that is when their spirit literally starves to death and starts to seek food elsewhere, which likely leads them to fall away from not only the Church, but Christ Himself, [2 Timothy 3:1-5 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.]
Christ’s under shepherds have a duty to feed His sheep, God uses them to be leaders in His Church to care for them, minster to them, and provide them with the spiritual food and medicine they need to heal them from their sin, which is the Gospel, and living by it. Sadly, this is exactly why the Church is a mess, and God will expose every under shepherd who reaps the money, power, and fame to feed themselves, yet refuses to feed His sheep. As God continues address these shepherds, He goes on to reveal an amazing prophecy.
[Ezekiel 34:12,16-17,22-23 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. 17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. 22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. 23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.]
[and bring again that which was driven away,] Jesus will call for, and bring out all His sheep that are scattered all over the world and these include those who are in the graves as well, [1 Thessalonians 4:16-17]. Jesus, the Good Shepherd to His sheep, not only seeks His lost sheep (believers who do not know Him as their Saviour yet), He also seeks the backslidden as well as those who are wandering out of His fence, [John 10:14-16 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.]
[between the rams and the he goats.] This sounds a lot like what Jesus said will happen when He judges mankind, [Matthew 25:31-34,41 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:]
Judgment is coming, and it will be he Good Shepherd that gives it. It is before this judgment that He will bring His sheep back with some good old fashioned discipline of their own, since they followed these religions in the first place. Through Ezekiel, God reveals that He will send One Shepherd to break them from the bands of sin.
[Ezekiel 34:26-31 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. 28 And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. 30 Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD. 31 And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.]
[when I have broken the bands of their yoke,] Jesus is the only one who can break us free from the yoke of sin that keeps us tied down. In order for Jesus to set us free we actually need to become yoked with Him, meaning, we need to literally join ourselves with Him. And the only way that we can do that is by believing in and accepting Him as our Saviour, [Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.]
It seems like there is not a day goes by that we are not hearing of preachers getting exposed for their sin or leaving the Church. You know, we are all sinners, we have all done things that we are not proud of, and will be accountable for them while we are here. However, God’s people are His people, and He will deal with each and every one of us as He sees fit. As for the world, well, God will deal with them too He sees fit as well, and they are not going to be pleased. Edom (descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother to be exact), boasted over Israel’s fall and vowed to take their land for themselves, even though God had actually given them Mount Seir. Mount Seir, was Esau’s heritage, God literally tells Ezekiel to prophecy against the mountain.
[Ezekiel 35:5-6,10-11 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end: 6 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee. 10 Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there: 11 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.]
[These two nations and these two countries shall be mine,] It is out of pure envy that Easu hated his brother, as did his descendants, and it is out of pure envy that the world hates Christ as well as His people. Until Christ returns, and the new earth is here, there will always be a hatred between God’s people and those who despise them because, simple put, they want what we have, period, [Matthew 10:21-22 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.]
You see, God may place judgment upon His people, but it is not permanent, unless we are unrepentant of our sin and the only option God has to save us from our sin is to take us home. Through Ezekiel, God explains why He protects His own, and cares for them, even though they sin time and time again, [Ezekiel 36:22-24 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. 23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.]
[I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel,] Our salvation and why Christ never forsakes us has nothing to do with how righteous we are, and everything to do with our heart. We are only saved by grace through our faith in Christ alone, not of our own works. In fact, we will come to realize that our works are filthy rags compared to what Christ did and continues to do for us. God goes on to explain how He gives those who believe in Him and new heart, and a new spirit as well, which is the Holy Spirit, by the way, [Ezekiel 36:26,31,33 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. 33 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.]
[and I will give you an heart of flesh.] The second we admit that we are sinners, God gives us a new heart of flesh. Once we believe that we are sinners and that Jesus died to save us from hell, that is when Christ begins to do His work, first be cleansing our soul. Nothing we do in our own flesh can save us, and once we are saved nothing we do can take that away, it is a gift from God, not because we are the most faithful, but because of the promise He made. And we are not saved because we are the most righteous, but are trusting Christ alone for our salvation, and this goes for both Jews and Gentiles who believe, [Romans 6:21-23 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.]
Jesus Christ Magnified: [Ezekiel 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for taking my place on the cross. It is because of Your death, burial, and resurrection that we have hope of our own future resurrection, when our bodies will be stripped of the faded and unraveled clothes of this mortal life, and clothed in immorality. We will no longer be acquainted with sickness, sorrow, pain, or sin. The temptation to sin will not even exist in our future life and our adversary, the devil, will bother us no more. Praise God! What anticipation this builds when we see You face to face in our glorified, eternal bodies. Lord, Keep us faithful and looking unto You until the day You return. It’s comforting to know that You have our back, even when we mess up. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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