Friday, February 21, 2014

What Would You Do?


What would you do if you had a vision like Ezekiel had?  Ezekiel had never seen anything fly through the sky except a bird.  But he saw wheels with eyes flying.  He saw the likeness of four men with straight legs and feet like calves, each had four faces--each different--and each likeness had four wings.  He saw above that a lining like ice and above that a throne like sapphire.  A man was on the throne and it was as if fire was radiating out of him with a glory above him like a rainbow.  What would you do if you saw something you'd never seen before?  Imagine being at a loss for words to describe something flying if you'd never seen an airplane or spaceship.  

Ezekiel was supernaturally transported back to his people to deliver a message from God.  When he got there, he sat among them for seven days--at a loss for words over what he'd just seen.  I imagine he was a little traumatized.  God had told him to not fear the people or fear their faces (don't we get intimidated when someone looks at us angrily or with contempt--and tend to back off?)  The message was hard...and God had already told Ezekiel they wouldn't repent.  What would you do?


We are told in Acts 2:17, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, God declares, that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels] and your young men shall see visions (divinely granted appearances), and your old men shall dream [divinely suggested] dreams."


What would you do if you were given a vision or a dream?  Would you be willing to share it to whom God directed you?  It all sounds amazing to give a word to people until we realize it may be to angry people who may want to kill us.  We want to be a people "for such a time as this," like Esther, until we realize she was fighting for her life in the modern-day country of Iran, among a people who hated her people.


We're also told that in the last days, Christians will be hated among all nations.  If we're going to be given dreams and visions in the last days...and be hated by all nations in the last days...I think we better be praying.  Ezekiel couldn't do his job without being filled with the Spirit...and neither can we.


What would you do?


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