November 15, 2006 - Ezekiel 1-2 and Hebrews 11:1-19
As we begin reading the book of Ezekiel, we see that God gave Ezekiel a grand revelation of His glory, and then, He called on Ezekiel to fearlessly trust Him and deliver His Word to the rebellious people in Babylonian exile. Not only did Ezekiel see the four living creatures with the wheels within wheels, but he saw the throne of God and the rainbow of His glory. What effect do you think this revelation had on the prophet? I believe He was able to see the wondrous power of God, and that made him able to trust God for ability to carry out the mission God had for him. Ezekiel was called on to do some pretty strange things that required a lot of faith in God, so God gave him a strong, sure revelation of Himself. That is how faith works. Faith is trusting a person. It is not a feeling or a desire. Before we can have real faith, we must see the person we are being called on to trust. We must know that person is trustworthy. God showed Ezekiel that He was fully trustworthy, and then, He asked him to put his faith in Him.
Hebrews 11 tells us the same thing. Faith has substance because we know the person we are trusting. We know we can trust God, because He comes to each of us in a way that is unique to us. Then, He asks us to trust Him. After that revelation, the only way to please God is to have faith in Him. Think of the people mentioned here in this chapter. How did God reveal Himself to each of them? It was different in each case. However, the result was the same. Each one trusted God's revelation of Himself. That is how God works in every life in the middle of Africa or the USA. God always responds to faith by sending more of a revelation of Himself, whenever a person trusts the revelation he has received. That is a good fair plan, isn't it? Anyone can come to trust God and know about salvation through Christ by responding to God's gracious revelation of Himself to them. (Romans 1:18-20)
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 3-4 and Hebrews 11:20-40.
Hebrews 11 tells us the same thing. Faith has substance because we know the person we are trusting. We know we can trust God, because He comes to each of us in a way that is unique to us. Then, He asks us to trust Him. After that revelation, the only way to please God is to have faith in Him. Think of the people mentioned here in this chapter. How did God reveal Himself to each of them? It was different in each case. However, the result was the same. Each one trusted God's revelation of Himself. That is how God works in every life in the middle of Africa or the USA. God always responds to faith by sending more of a revelation of Himself, whenever a person trusts the revelation he has received. That is a good fair plan, isn't it? Anyone can come to trust God and know about salvation through Christ by responding to God's gracious revelation of Himself to them. (Romans 1:18-20)
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 3-4 and Hebrews 11:20-40.