Ezekiel 2
Ezekiel called “Son of Man” verse 1- 2
And HE said to me – Son of man – stand upon your feet
and I will speak to you
And the Spirit entered into me when HE spoke to me
and set me on my feet
that I heard HIM that spoke to me
Nation of Israel rebellious verse 3- 5
And HE
said to me
Son of man – I send you to the children of Israel
to a rebellious nation that has
rebelled against ME
they and their fathers have transgressed against ME
even to this very day
For they are impudent children and stiffhearted
I do send you to them
and you shall say to them
Thus says the Lord GOD
And they whether they will hear or whether they will forbear
(for they are a rebellious house)
yet shall know that there has been a prophet
among them
Ezekiel to give Israel message from God verse 6- 8
And you son of man be not afraid of them
neither be afraid of their words
though briers and thorns be with you
and you do dwell among scorpions
Be not afraid of their words nor be dismayed at their looks
though they be a rebellious house
And you shall speak MY words to them
whether they will hear
or whether they will forbear
But you son of man hear what I say to you
Be not you rebellious like that rebellious house
open your mouth – and eat that I give you
Message from the LORD given on a scroll verse 9- 10
And when I looked – BEHOLD – a hand was sent to me
and lo – a roll of a book was therein
And HE spread it before me
and it was written within and without
and there was written therein
lamentations and mourning and woe
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 And the Spirit entered into me when HE spoke to me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard HIM that spoke to me. (935 “entered” [bow] means come in, to come upon, to come or go into whether literally or figuratively, gather in, or lead in)
DEVOTION: Here we find Ezekiel under the influence of the Holy Spirit listening to HIM as HE spoke to him. The Holy Spirit was active in both the Old Testament and the New Testament in the lives of believers.
Ezekiel was a servant of the LORD that was used of the LORD to communicate the truth from the LORD to the children of Israel. All of the servants of the LORD are supposed to be available to listen to the Holy Spirit to learn the truth from the LORD about their given situations.
Today we have the Bible and as we study the it we can come under the influence of the teaching of the Bible and learn what our actions should be in any given situation.
Our prayer life is involved as well as our study of the Bible. So as we learn to come under the influence of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit we can live a life that is pleasing to the LORD.
If we receive a message from the LORD through the ministry of the Holy Spirit we can move forward in our growth toward a walk with the LORD that is pleasing in HIS sight. If we are living in this type of life we will make good decisions that will be pleasing to the LORD.
The children of Israel listened to the Holy Spirit at time and at other times they didn’t listen and those where the times when things didn’t go well with them. It even happens today when we are not listening to the teaching of the Word of God.
CHALLENGE: Are we listening to the Holy Spirit as we study the Word of God? The only one who knows this fact is you as an individual. Many times, the children of Israel didn’t listen and sad to say many times today’s believers are not listening as well.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 4 For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send you to them; and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD. (7186 “impudent” [qasah] means unyielding, stubbornness, strong resistance, harden, stiffnecked, obstinate, hard of face, pertaining to being obdurant (stubborn) and not changing an attitude or behavior.)
DEVOTION: Here we find Ezekiel getting the message of his calling to be a prophet in the midst of the children of Israel who are in captivity because of sin. Chapter one introduces his first vision of God.
Now this message is given with a warning that he was speaking to a very rebellious people. They were stubborn. They were hardhearted. They didn’t want to hear what the LORD had to say to them.
Ezekiel was to not water down his message. He was not to be afraid of their faces. He was not to be concerned about how they looked at him. He was just to give them the message that the LORD had given him.
He was warned not to be rebellious himself. He was given a roll to eat that had lamentations, mourning and woes written on it. That was his message to them.
We are to eat the Word of God up in our daily meditations. Meditation means to “chew the cud” like a cow does with its food. Once we have chewed on the Word of God for our own personal life, then we are to share what we have learned with others.
Some will listen but most will not. Our responsibility is to learn and share. Their responsibility is to listen to what the LORD has given us to say to them.
We are learners who need to teach others. HE feeds us, so that, we can feed others. Each of us is maturing in our understanding of the Word of God. Some mature faster than others. Those who mature faster are held accountable for what they have learned.
Let us share what we have learned with others. Let us not worry about what they might think of us. Let us not be afraid to share the truths of the Word of God with our world. Each person we have in our world needs to know more about the Word of God.
CHALLENGE: Once we become a believer, we are to share the message of the LORD with all we come in contact with on a daily basis. The LORD doesn’t want us to rebel against HIS teachings. Share your faith.
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: 6 And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thrones be with you, and you do dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. (6440 “looks” [paniym] means face, presence, countenance, person, or surface)
DEVOTION: Ezekiel is given a message from the LORD to give to the people who are in captivity in Babylon. The people are disheartened. The people might even be angry with the LORD for sending them into captivity even though HE warned them it was coming. They just didn’t want to stop what they were doing and repent and follow the LORD.
Now they are in captivity and the LORD still wants to show them that HE cares. HE gives a warning to Ezekiel that these people are going to try to frighten him away from the message he has from the LORD. They are not only going to not listen to him but they are going to say bad things about Ezekiel because he is trying to bring the true words of God to the people. There are still false prophets in captivity that will give all those who are faithful to the LORD a hard time.
It will seem to Ezekiel that everyone wants a piece of his flesh. The LORD conveys in HIS message that it will seem like he is working among plants that have thorns or briers. It will seem like everyone around him wants to sting him to get him away from them.
Finally, he is not to be afraid of their face. Most of us like individuals to give us a good facial expression when we are talking with them. Here we find that the faces of the people are going to express their desire for him to go away.
Most of us know how to read faces. We know if someone wants to listen to us or if they are distracted by other things or individuals. It is hard to carry on a conversation with someone who is disinterested in what we are saying. Their face shows their attitude and emotions. Some are able to hide it for a while but it comes out eventually.
Our ministry is to people who don’t want to hear what we have to say because we are giving them the message of the Word of God. We only want to convey the truth that is found in HIS Word.
Like the children of Israel in Ezekiel’s day didn’t want to hear his message from the LORD, those people around us don’t want to hear the message of salvation through Christ alone.
CHALLENGE: Remember that the LORD has not given us the spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. Memorize II Timothy 1: 7 in your translation of the Bible and put it into practice daily.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 8 But you, son of man, hear what I say to you; Be not you rebellious like that rebellious house: open your mouth, and eat that I give you. (398 “eat” [’akal] means devour, consume, to take in solid food, dine or have sensation of taste.)
DEVOTION: The LORD is giving Ezekiel a warning. HE is warning Ezekiel that he was not to be like the rest of the nation. He was to be different. He was to not be rebellious. He was to open his mouth and state what the LORD had told him to say.
When the cows eat their food they can put it in compartments and chew on their food for a long time. We are to do the same thing with the Word of God. The LORD wants us to consume the Word of God. Food takes a long time to go through our system. Each day we can consume more food and let our system digest it.
People who want to pretend to read the Word of God to understand but just do it to say they have read the Bible then they are lying to themselves. They are acting like those who lived around Ezekiel. They thought they were willing to study the Word of God but when it came down to it they really didn’t want to allow the Word of God to change them.
God wants HIS Word to energize us each day. Just like eating breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout a day we need to chew on the Word of God each day and allow it to feed us in our understanding regarding how we are to act for God that day.
Our memory might not be good but with a good diet of the Word of God we can allow the words to come to a point where we can repeat it in our daily life.
The warning to Ezekiel and us is the same. We are not to be rebellious like the Israelites. We are not to allow ourselves to stop obeying the commands of the LORD. If we do we will not grow in the LORD. We will have to be disciplined by the LORD for our actions. The children of Israel were and many others have had to be disciplined because of their lack of following the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Are we having a good meal in the Word of God daily? Is it giving us strength to face the challenges the LORD allows in our lives?
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Roll of a book verse 9, 10
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Roll of a book verse 9, 10
Lamentations – mourning – woe verse 10
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD speaks to Ezekiel verse 1
Lord – Adonia (Owner, Master) verse 4
GOD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 4
Lord GOD verse 4
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Spirit entered Ezekiel verse 2
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Rebellious verse 3, 5- 8
Rebelled against LORD verse 3
Transgressed verse 3
Impudent verse 4
Stiff-hearted verse 4
Not hear the LORD (forbear) verse 5, 7
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Spirit enters verse 2
Hear the LORD verse 5, 7, 8
Prophet verse 5
Not afraid verse 6
Not dismayed verse 6
Speak God’s words verse 7, 8
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Son of man = Ezekiel verse 1- 3, 5, 6- 10
LORD speaks to him
Spirit enters into him
sets him upon my feet
spoke to him
Spirit sent him to the children of Israel
LORD sends him to Israel
Prophet
Told not to be afraid of them
Told not to be afraid of their words
Not to be dismayed at their looks
To speak MY word to Israel
Whether they will hear or whether
they will forbear
Told to hear what LORD says to him
Told not to be rebellious like the rebellious
house
Told to open his mouth and eat that LORD
gives him
Given a roll of a book out of hand of God
Written within and without and
therein was written lamentations
and mourning and woe
Children of Israel verse 3, 5- 7
rebellious nation
rebellious house
most rebellious
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
2:6–7 Like Joshua (Josh 1:9), Ezekiel was encouraged at the beginning of his mission not to fear opposition. His congregation was described as “briers and thorns” and “scorpions” (v. 6), terms that allude to their stubborn rebellion and hardened disobedience. Ezekiel would not be held accountable for the people’s lack of receptivity; he was responsible only to speak the words God gave him, “so that they will know that a prophet has been among them” (vv. 5, 7). The measure of success in God’s work is not always in terms of the amount and frequency of visible response. Success is to be measured in terms of our obedience to the words, commands, and will of God regardless of the visible results. So the mission of the prophet was to proclaim the word of God to a rebellious and unresponsive Israel. (Cooper, L. E. (1994). Ezekiel (Vol. 17, p. 77). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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Don’t be afraid (Ezek. 2:6–7). Three times in verse 6 the Lord admonished the prophet not to be afraid of the people, and He repeated it again (3:9). He had given a similar caution to Jeremiah (Jer. 1:8), and Jesus gave the same warning to His disciples (Matt. 10:26, 28, 31). “Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass?” (Isa. 51:12, nkjv) Ezekiel was to declare God’s Word boldly no matter how his listeners responded. His own people might act like briars and thorns” and even like painful scorpions, but that must not deter His servant.
Receive the Word within (Ezek. 2:8–3:3). Being a priest, Ezekiel knew that the Hebrew Scriptures pictured God’s Word as food to be received within the heart and digested inwardly. Job valued God’s Word more than his “necessary food” (Job 23:12), and Moses admonished the Jews to live on God’s Word as well as on the bread (manna) that the Lord supplied daily (Deut. 8:3; see Matt. 4:4). The Prophet Jeremiah “ate” the Word of God (Jer. 15:16) and so did the Apostle John (Rev. 10:8–10). God’s prophets must speak from within their hearts or their messages will not be authentic.
A hand stretched out and handed Ezekiel a scroll that didn’t have any good news written on it, because it was filled on both sides with “words of lament and mourning and woe” (Ezek. 2:10, niv). Perhaps it contained the messages that are recorded in chapters 4 through 32, God’s judgments on Jerusalem and the Gentile nations. (See the suggested outline of the book.) God commanded him to eat the scroll and it tasted sweet like honey (Pss. 19:10; 119:103), although later he tasted bitterness (Ezek. 3:14), not unlike the Apostle John (Rev. 10:8–11). It’s a great honor to be a spokesperson for the Lord, but we must be able to handle both the bitter and the sweet.
Had Ezekiel heard the description of the hardness of his people before he saw the vision of God’s glory, he might have had a difficult time accepting his call. But having seen the glorious throne of the sovereign Lord, Ezekiel knew that he had all the help he needed to obey the will of God. In his difficult ministry to the Israelites, Moses was encouraged by meeting God on the mountaintop and seeing the display of His glory, and the Prophet Isaiah saw the glory of Christ in the temple before he launched into his ministry (Isa. 6; John 12:37–41). The Prophet Habakkuk was lifted from the valley of despair to the mountain peak of victory by contemplating the glory of God in the history of Israel (Hab. 3). Before Stephen laid down his life for the sake of Jesus Christ, he saw the glory of the Son of God in heaven (Acts 7:55–60). The only motivation that never fails is doing all for the glory of God. (Wiersbe, W. W. (2000). Be reverent (pp. 18–19). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor/Cook Communications.)
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6–7 In light of the difficult ministry Ezekiel was being called to, the Lord reassured him (v.6; cf. 3:8–11, 22–23). Regardless of how frightful the opposition may be—pricking him as thorns or stinging him as scorpions—Ezekiel was not to be afraid or become dismayed and give up. On the contrary, he was to be faithful in the proclamation of God’s message, for his recipients were rebels who needed his warnings (v.7). This truth is still a source of encouragement to those called to proclaim the truth of God’s Word in the midst of a perverse and wicked generation. (Alexander, R. H. (1986). Ezekiel. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 762). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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2:6–7. Three times God told Ezekiel, Do not be afraid. He needed this encouragement because the task was difficult (briers and thorns are all around you) and even dangerous (you live among scorpions). Ezekiel learned his lesson well. Nowhere does the book hint that he cowered in fear or hesitated to proclaim God’s message.
God said Ezekiel was to speak His words. Verses 7–8 are a bridge between two major sections. The first section (1:4–2:7) reports the visions for the work. The next section (2:8–3:11) gives the message for the work. This One who gave Ezekiel the word is the Sovereign Lord whom Ezekiel had just seen in the vision. (Dyer, C. H. (1985). Ezekiel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1230). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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Thou, son of man; thou a prophet, sent by him whose throne is highest, whom thou sawest as the appearance of a man in glory, and provided with power to protect thee. Be not afraid of them; cast away discouraging fear, be not dismayed at their persons; rulers, priests, and pretended prophets will oppose, but yet in the delivery of thy message fear none of them. Words, Heb. will bear counsels, or words, misreports, accusations, threats, flouts, or whatever else an envious and malicious heart can suggest to the tongue. Briers: here two words in the Hebrew are used, the first used only in this place, though frequently used in the Chaldee paraphrase, where it expresseth contumacy, as Exod. 7:14, of Pharaoh refusing to let Israel go, and Jer. 5:3, obstinate refusing to learn. But our translators, guided by the proper signification of the other word, have rendered it briers, which usually run up among thorns, and are a very fit emblem of the frowardness and keenness of sinners against God and his prophet, and of the sure destruction which will befall these briers and thorns when God shall send his judgments like fire amongst them. With thee; against thee. Scorpions: some say this is an herb which, because it is every way armed with sharp, pricking stings, hath this name given it; but if we retain the more common interpretation, it speaks the rage and heat, the poisonous malice, and the sly lurking craft and irreconcilableness, of these apostate Jews, and of all other contemners of God and religion. These men, like scorpions, undiscerned, wound, torment, and kill. Be not afraid; the admonition against sinful fear is repeated; lest Ezekiel should forget, or we in like case should fail of our duty, it is four times given in charge. (Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 2, pp. 668–669). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.)
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Ver. 6. And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, &c.] Of any of them, the greatest among them, their princes and nobles; who, by their grandeur and authority, their stern looks, and big words, might awe and terrify him; wherefore it follows: neither be afraid of their words; of their calumnies, revilings, and reproaches, their scoffs and jeers, their menaces and threatenings: though briers and thorns be with thee; that is, men comparable to such; wicked men are like to briers and thorns, 2 Sam. 23:6; Isa. 27:4. are grieving, pricking, and distressing to good men, and are of no worth and value; are useless and unprofitable, and fit fuel for everlasting burnings. The Targum is, “for they are rebellious, and hard against thee;” so Jarchi and Kimchi explain the first word, סרביﬦ, translated briers, as signifying rebellious and disobedient; though the former observes, that R. Donesh interprets it of a kind of thorns, of which there are twenty names, and this is one: and thou dost dwell among scorpions; that is, as the Targum paraphrases it, “thou dwellest in the midst of a people whose works are like to scorpions.” Some interpret it, as Kimchi observes, of sharp thorns, of a thorny plant that grows in the form of a scorpion; but scorpions here are a kind of serpents, subtle, venemous, and mischievous, which have stings in their tails; which, as Pliny says, they are continually thrusting out, and striking with, that they may lose no opportunity of doing hurt; and fitly describe wicked men, their subtlety, and mischievous nature; be not afraid of their words; as before; with which they are like briers, thorns, and scorpions, being very grievous, defamatory, and mischievous: nor be dismayed at their looks: their frowning, furious, and angry countenances; forbidding with which, as well as with their words, the prophet from prophesying unto them: though, or for, they be a rebellious house; see ver. 5. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 6, pp. 11–12). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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After Jesus’s resurrection, He appears to His disciples and reassures Thomas of His deity.
INSIGHT
God commands us to believe in Him, but He doesn’t require us to believe in Him contrary to the evidence.
Thomas needed to be shown that the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection was really true. God provided Thomas with the proof he needed. Jesus appeared to Thomas and said, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands. . . . Do not be unbelieving, but believing” (20:27). Jesus saw what Thomas needed and gave him sufficient evidence to believe.
You don’t have to be afraid of sincere doubt. That doubt can be changed. Just examine the evidence of Christ’s work in the New Testament. Then ask God to help you to believe according to the evidence. Like the father in Mark 9:24, your prayer can be: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Quiet Walk)
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A RANSOM
For ye are bought with a price. 1 Corinthians 6:20
What Paul has learned from the cross is that the Lord Jesus Christ had died for him there in order to deliver him. Now, many terms are used to explain this, and one of them is the term of paying a ransom, paying a price. Man has become the slave to the devil and of sin and of evil, and he has to be bought. The apostle says that he discovered that what was happening on the cross was that the Lord Jesus Christ was purchasing him. So he writes to the Corinthians about morality and behavior, and he puts it like this: “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Now then, here the new view comes in. He was the slave of the devil, the slave of the world, the slave of sin and of evil. He could not get free, try as he would. But he has been bought. He has been delivered; he has been set free. He has been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s Son. He has been redeemed. And now he has a new view of himself. He is not his own; he does not belong to himself anymore. He formerly lived to himself, but no longer; he has been bought with a price. He has a new life; he is in a new world. You know, this so grips and thrills this man that he cannot stop saying it. Listen to him saying it in Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
A Thought to Ponder: What Paul has learned from the cross is that the Lord Jesus Christ had died for him there in order to deliver him. (From The Cross, pp. 207-208, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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The Abounding Life
“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)
Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). This well-known promise is sometimes misapplied, being interpreted to mean that the Christian life would normally be a life of material prosperity, popularity, and happiness. The words “abundantly,” “abounding,” and similar terms are all based on the same Greek word, which does, indeed, mean “abundant.” But it can apply to sorrow as well as happiness.
The Christian life, as our text indicates, should be abundant in good works for the simple reason that God’s saving and keeping grace has been manifested abundantly toward us. Having been “stablished in the faith,” we are to be “abounding therein” (Colossians 2:7). Christians, of course, should also “abound in love.” “And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you” (1 Thessalonians 3:12).
But the Christian may also experience much sorrow and difficulty in his life. Paul was a classic example: “. . . in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft” (2 Corinthians 11:23). One may also abound in poverty. For the Christians at Philippi, for example, “in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality” (2 Corinthians 8:2). An abundance of suffering for the believer can always be overbalanced by God’s abounding grace. “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:5). Our God of all grace “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:20). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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It is possible to be intellectually stimulated without being changed from within. This is why we are to proclaim the Word, to the hearts of our people, with authority and certainty. (p. 150)
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People need a serious word form God, so we need to deliver our message as if tomorrow depends upon it; the truth is, it does. (p. 151)
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J. Sidlow Baxter wrote: “To my own mind, the most satisfying proofs that the Bible is divinely inspired are not those which one ‘reads up’ in volumes of religious evidences or Christina apologetics, but those which we discover for ourselves in our own study of the Book. To the prayerful explorer the Bible has its own way of revealing its internal credentials. (p. 151)
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The leader should convince, rebuke, and exhort. But he must make sure he does so “with all long-suffering and teaching.” What exactly does Paul mean here? (p. 157)
(Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World by Dr. David Jeremiah)
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