Learn the Lesson!

I’m sitting here studying the book of Ezekiel, and I see a parallel—a mirror—of Judah and Jerusalem of old, and how America, and rather the Church, is looking like Judah and Jerusalem of old. It breaks my heart, because they were God’s people, and we are God’s people. We have been grafted into the Vine, and yet we did not learn the lesson that was taught and given to us in the book of Ezekiel.

When we rebel, when we go against God’s way, when we set up idols in our hearts, we must remember this is not God’s way. We must do things God’s way. We cannot do things our own way. We think we are on the path that leads to the Father—Jesus and Him crucified—but we are not looking to Him and what was accomplished at the Cross of Calvary for us.

We cannot look like the world. Yet the Church today has adopted many things from the world and has tried to bring them into the Church—just like Judah and Jerusalem tried to look like, act like, and do things like the nations around them. They brought in idols. They brought in all kinds of things God did not want in the temple, in His house.

As I read and study Ezekiel, I see the same things: what they did then, we are doing now. Either we haven’t read or studied these lessons and examples, or we have read them without seeking understanding, or we have hardened our hearts.

Ezekiel prophesied, “Thus saith the Lord,” to the elders as they came before him. They wanted to hear a message of sunshine and rainbows—just as many do now in the Church—but instead they received a message of judgment and destruction. Their hearts were hard. They did not listen to the prophet because it wasn’t what they wanted to hear.

Even today, people sit in churches where no one is preaching what God told us to preach: Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Yes, Scripture is read, but it is mixed with the world. Because of that, many have a form of godliness but deny the power of God, which is the Holy Spirit.

If America does not watch itself, we will be just like Judah and Jerusalem of old. Yes, there are righteous people in this land, but God will say to us just as He said to Jeremiah: you can pray all you want, but once I declare Myself against you—once I call you to turn and you refuse—your prayers will not be heard.

The elders came before Ezekiel wanting to hear that they would go home and that there was hope, but instead they received a hard message. Their hearts grew harder. Even though Ezekiel sighed and cried under the burden of what was coming, it did not move them. They did not listen, take it to heart, weigh the message, or fall on the mercy of God asking for forgiveness.

Today, the more warnings we hear about the wrath of God, the more people dismiss them. Yes, God is love, but He is also a God of wrath. If we continue to rebel just as Israel did, judgment and destruction will come. We will cry, “Lord, spare America!” but as God told Jeremiah, such prayers will not be heard.

Ezekiel declared that God would cut off the wicked by sword, death, and destruction—but He would also cut off the righteous so that their prayers could not spare the land. The Word of God tells us that it rains on the just and the unjust alike. Judgment falls on both, though differently. The wicked are destroyed, and the righteous feel the consequences because we live in this world.

Now is not the time for distraction. Now is not the time for rebellion—especially in the Church. In our personal lives, our cities, our states, and our nation, distractions abound. We must learn from the lessons and examples in Scripture.

We must preach Christ crucified, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:23. Too few are preaching this, and because of that, the people are not where they need to be in Christ.

When Jesus descends in the clouds, when the dead in Christ rise first and we who are alive are caught up with Him, there will be few who are ready. Jesus asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” Faith must be in the correct object—Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Much of the Church today does not have its faith placed there because ministers are not teaching what God instructed to preach. They preach what pleases the ears of those in the congregation so people will stay and money will be received. They preach everything except what God commanded. This is rebellion and disobedience, and it leaves people unprepared for the coming of Christ.

If your faith is not in Jesus Christ and Him crucified, you are in rebellion. Sadly, much of the Church is in rebellion—just like Judah and Jerusalem were—and many do not even realize it. They thought they walked with God and that God was for them, yet destruction still came.

Many today believe that because they attend church every time the doors are opened, they are right with God. Again, they have a form of godliness, but their hearts are far from Him. Their faith is not placed where it needs to be—Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Some churches have Jesus but have left the Cross behind or deny its importance in the complete victory accomplished there: salvation, justification, and sanctification.

We must get in line with God’s way. If we do not, God will set His face against us. When He speaks, it will be done. No amount of prayer—no matter how holy the one praying—can overturn God’s judgment once He has spoken.

We must learn these lessons quickly. This applies not just to one church but to the entire Body of Christ. Many name the name of the Lord but remain in rebellion because they are not doing it God’s way—Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Even though we do not want to see destruction come upon our nation or our loved ones, we must understand that once God sets His face against a land, prayers to spare it will not be heard. It was the same with Judah and Jerusalem. God pleaded patiently for years through Jeremiah and Ezekiel, calling them to repent, but they refused—and judgment came.

Judgment delayed is God’s mercy and patience. He does not desire that any should perish. I believe this is why Christ’s return has been delayed—He is pleading with us to repent and turn from our wicked ways. I am grateful that God is faithful and just to forgive, and that He has been patient with me, just as He is with us all.

Judgment begins at the house of the Lord. Now is not the time to play with eternity or salvation. Make sure your faith is in Jesus Christ alone. He is everything. Everything we need is found in Him through the proper channel and the proper plan—the Cross.

God’s way is Jesus Christ and Him crucified.