Wednesday Night Services

Why does God give a word of prophecy to Ezekiel to tell how much the heathen nations will miss Tyre when it is gone? I read, reread, and pondered over the words all this week to get an understanding on why this chapter exist. We start off with a favorite story of mine about Alexander and the fall of Tyre that I left off last week.

Here is a look at one of the most amazing prophecies of the Bible; the word given to Ezekiel about the city of Tyre. Find out the incredible details of the prophecy and why it took a mature prophet like Ezekiel for God to be able to entrust it to.

As we look into this prophecy of Ezekiel, you will come out with a greater understanding of the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herod, the Sanhedrin, the layout of the land in Israel during the time of Jesus, and the trial before the crucifixion.

In the prophecies given to Ezekiel in Chapter 25, the first two are against those who mock God’s chosen people. Two different reasons for two different nations, but judgement comes to these. Find out what they did and how God dealt with them. God may be angry with Israel and Judah, but theat doesn’t mean anyone can mock them!

The word of God that comes to Ezekiel tells him of an event that began on this day. He is to write it down so that people will know that God gave him the words he speaks. Ezekiel is also called upon to not mourn as his wife is about to die. Find out what all this means for us!

There are two attitudinal sins in Ezekiel 23. These two bad attitudes were at the root of all the others sins listed. The first one is pretty obvious and it is Unfaithfulness. God spends a lot of time spotlighting this attitude! Can you find the second one? Both of these sins are more involved the lives of believers today than we would care to admit! How do we recognize them, and more importantly how do we correct these attitudes are both our topic tonight!

The prophecy in Ezekiel 22 goes from what had been a general pointing out of sin, to spotlighting very specific acts of sin. It also shows that the root of the loss of morality is in the loss of faith. We will spend some time looking at this concept throughout the Old Testament and how any nation or individual can find itself on the same path Judah is on.

Be careful what you ask for! At the end of the last chapter Israel seemed to think less of Ezekiel's words from God as they were in parables and such figurative language. So now that get as direct a word as you could have in Ezekiel Chapter 21.

Have you ever had an opinion about a matter contrary to what you understand God’s word to be (spoken or written), and then hear or see something that seems to indicate you were correct? Maybe down in your spirit you knew not to get a thing you really liked or wanted, so you went and got it anyway. Then something happens and wow does it look like you were right in getting the thing (new car, house, job, etc.) So, how do you approach this? Is it maybe I miss understood what was in my spirit? Certainly God wasn’t wrong, was He? Well, in this lesson on Ezekiel 20 we will see something very similar going on but it won’t jump out at you. This is one of those times when what is going on in the time frame of the prophecy directly impacts our understanding of it. This setting is well known to all involved in chapter 20, but not to the reader as it’s never mentioned. We will go over it all in this Midweek service and it will have a great impact in your own life as you follow after the words

In these two allegories of the young lions and the vine & branches, we have the royal line of David shown. The ending state is a vine that has no branches left with strength to rule. We don't just rule as Christians because of our position; our strength has something to do with it as well and we see 5 things they did that took this strength away, and it will also take ours as well.

Should the guilt of past sins our parents, or other family members have done, follow us? It would seem that the answer should be no, but how many times in the prophets does God refer back to what sins and idiolatry Israel and Judah had done under previous kings? The people do accuse God of being unfair (Ezekiel 18:25) and the thinking is so prevalent that both Ezekiel and Jeremiah deal with it. How did this opinion of the past and of God’s unfairness come about, what gave it merit, and where is it today?

In Ezekiel 17 we have a riddle given in the prophecy and one that seems to indicate that some of the things that have already happened to Judah were not in God's plan. Find out what they are and how that matters to us.

We begin a new series on Boundaries. I referred to this before as something I remain very conscious of in my prayers and spiritual walk, but don’t recall teaching it much, so we endeavor to change that. Going against this principle has caused many to stray from the will of God and even pray for things that will not come about, leading to weak or even "shipwrecked" faith. The enemy is constantly working this principle against you, but you can turn it around and have it work for you.

This part of Ezekiel's prophecy is probably the most avoided of all prophecies. There was even an age requirement among the Jewish people for this prophecy to be read. The most difficult part of this word given to Ezekiel is the part of the sisters of Jerusalem called Samaria and Sodom. Toward the end of the prophecy it speaks of the restoration of all three. Is Sodom going to be restored? What relationship does it have with Jerusalem? Why is Samaria (built much later than Jerusalem) called the older sister?

What is a vine good for except for giving fruit? It's wood is useless and there is nothing else beneficial it can do but give it's fruit. The prophet Ezekiel is given a parable about a fruitless vine in this shortest chapter in Ezekiel ... chapter 15 is only 8 verses long. It is followed by the longest chapter, in fact the 16th chapter is longer than some minor prophets entire writing. But in this 16th chapter we learn of what has happened to this unfruitful vine from the time it was found by God.

In Ezekiel 14 God asks "Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by these men?” How can what we ask of God become limited? Would God ever not listen to us? What would we have to do to get God to ask this question of us?

A word against those who prophesy falsely is given to Ezekiel in this chapter (13), calling them foolish and speaking nonsense. They are seen by God as those who are "hunting souls." There are those who speak falsely today, representing their words as words from God, but God has not sent them. Recognizing them is the same as it was in Ezekiel's day and we look at how to tell true messengers from false ones.

Why does God give Ezekiel a word of prophesy with a demonstration about the inhabitants of Jerusalem going into captivity? The people he is speaking to are already in captivity and will not return to Jerusalem. They even say “What are you doing?” in verse 12:8. Find out what God is doing and it's meaning for us today as we study together in this midweek service.

f you receive a prophetic word from multiple people who have no connection to each other, but each gave similar counsel, even using the same words or phrases is it a signature that these messages are from God? Don't just think you know the answer, but know for sure from God's word as we look at Ezekiel 11.

When you look out at the ungodliness and injustice in the world, what do you feel? Did you know that what you feel when you look on these things tells God something about you? Come out tonight (or tune in via Facebook Live) to find out what your feelings tell God about you. We take on Ezekiel 9 and 10, and there is more to discover beside this truth, like will the righteous ever suffer with the unrighteous?