I'm Following Jesus – Page 1714 – 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.

King James Bible Study – “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.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Thursday, September 05, 2019
Chapters: Ezekiel 28-30
Message: I AM THE LORD GOD

Hello My Friend,

I was given a blessing as I had to ride out the hurricane that was headed in my path, well, two, praise God it did not come directly at Florida, and my company paid for the day off that I had to take due to the storm having some affect on us. There are many who will tell you that you are a fool for putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, that prayer means absolutely nothing, and even that God does not exist. There are thousands of documents that try to convince you that there is no God, but there are tens of thousands that prove His existence without even mentioning His name. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death. But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses.” – Psalm 68:19-21.

“But God shall wound the head of his enemies,” There are people more dangerous than the arrogant fool who claims there is no God, they are those who profit off of those who do receive Him, but have no intention of turning to Christ themselves. You know them, they pride themselves on a job well done, of all their self made wealth, fame, position, but not one mention of God is spoken. God has an indignation for those who proclaim themselves as God. As God continues to express His anger toward Tyre, He takes aim directly at the prince.

“Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas. Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.” – Ezekiel 28:2,6-10.

“Thus saith the Lord GOD;” Notice the expression here, GOD, He wants them to know that they may think of themselves as God, but “I AM THE ONLY GOD”. Many people get very wealthy off of the misfortune of others, and are very proud of it. During the time of Judah’s fall the nation of Tyre was very prosperous, priding themselves on being untouchable and gloated over the fact that they became that way as a result of Judah’s fall. However, God was going to prove them otherwise by taking away the very things that brought their prosperity. God’s mercies rain on the just and the unjust, so that they might repent and turn to Him, but when those mercies are self proclaimed, bringing them up to the level of God Himself, that is when He will take them away, and it will be instantly. “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” – Matthew 5:43-45.

“Love your enemies,” I chose this passage to show that as saved, born again Christians, we are not to bring ourselves to the level of the world. God places us in the midst of it so that His presence is known to the world, if we behave like they do then we will never prosper. Some of the greatest blessings come when we are kind to those who are mean to us. Zidon was an ancient city, near Tyre, and in confederacy with it, who prided themselves on their idolatry and superstition. God, tells Ezekiel to turn his face against Zidon, and give the judgment upon it.

“Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against it, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her. For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the LORD. And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.” – Ezekiel 28:21-26.

“they shall dwell with confidence,” There will never be another nation that shall injure, or be a vexation to the house of Israel, for all their troublesome neighbors, who had been as so many thorns in their sides, shall be destroyed or repressed, and they shall dwell quietly and securely in their own land. This promise was in part fulfilled after their return from their captivity in Babylon, but also foretells of the restoration of the Jews, when all the enemies of God’s Church will be destroyed, and all of God’s people will gather together as one nation in Israel. And this is promised to all who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their Saviour. “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” – Revelation 3:10-12.

God had been known to use Egypt over the centuries, even to protect His only begotten Son. At one time, it was a great and powerful nation, in fact, many of the things we enjoy today were invented by the Egyptians. During the time of Judah’s fall, Pharaoh proudly and wickedly boasted of having established his kingdom so strongly, that even God was not powerful enough to take it from Him. Egypt never seemed to grasp the power of God, and in fact, was, and still is always in control. God to Ezekiel to prophecy against Egypt to foretell the end of them as a powerful nation.

“Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales. And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven. And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.” – Ezekiel 29:3-6.

“because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.” Reeds are the common name of many aquatic plants; most of them large grasses, with hollow jointed stems. At the time of the Exodus, Egypt had grown to be a magnificent world power and had become famous in commerce, art, literature, science, and military might, all by the power of God while the Jews were in slavery to them. Of all the sins one can commit, the one that gets God’s blood boiling the most is a person who takes credit for what is His. The devil, Lucifer, himself, was one of God’s angels, who thought himself to be more powerful than God, he exalted himself above God, and for that reason he was cast out of heaven. “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” – Isaiah 14:12-15.

“Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell,” Satan, nations, and people can turn away from God all they want, but that does not change the fact that He is still in control of everything and sooner or later all will know that He is LORD. In order for our nations to be blessed we as individuals need to take a stand and realize that we cannot do this alone. Through Ezekiel, God continues foretelling His judgment placed on Egypt, but that he should also lament for them.

“Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day! For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen. And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down. But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD.” – Ezekiel 30:2-4,25-26.

“it shall be the time of the heathen.” Egypt has never regained the status of a world empire. It remains as a witness to the supreme authority of God. Once day, all Christians, who are scattered all over the world, will come together and find habitation in the land that God promised them. So, they can call us Bible thumpers, Jesus freaks, or fools for Christ, but I rather be a fool for Christ than a fool who is so proud and conceded they think they do no wrong. I rather be a fool for Christ than a fool who sold their soul for a bowl of soup. I rather be a fool for Christ than a fool who rants and curses out of envy for those who choose Christ. And I rather be a fool for Christ than a fool headed straight for hell. “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” – I Corinthians 3:17-19.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.” – Ezekiel 28:25.

Today’s Prayer: God, You love us so much, You want to see us prosper and give us everything we want and need, all You ask in return is that we worship only You, and acknowledge You as the source of all that we are. Lord, with all the temptations of the world, it can be difficult to keep You above all that, but we can do all things by Your power. Lead us and guide us, give us Your power to keep Your first, and to first and far most, acknowledge You in all that You bless us with so we no do forget that it is You who gives us everything we have. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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