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Introduction<\/h3>\nIntroduction<\/h3>\nWe are in the middle of our study of the book of Romans.\u00a0 We’ve hit Chapter 8, where we’ve been introduced to the Holy Ghost.\u00a0 We’re studying this matter of walking after the Spirit, and we’ve come to verse 5, that tells us that those that are after the Spirit mind the things of the Spirit.\u00a0 So we’ve been investigating the things of the Spirit.\u00a0 We’ve covered beginning, praying, worshipping, waiting, sowing, reaping, speaking, preaching, and last time we met, being carried away in the Spirit.\u00a0 And this brought us to Ezekiel and the valley of the dry bones.\u00a0 And there we found an expression “the hand of the LORD was upon me” and went through the book of Ezekiel examining the experiences\u00a0Ezekiel had associated with the hand of LORD being upon him.\u00a0 We learned:<\/p>\n
“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones…”\u00a0 Ezekiel 37:1<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
We’re preaching about being carried away in the Spirit.\u00a0 In Ezekiel, in Chapter 37, I want us to concentrate on this passage “…down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones…”\u00a0 Do you see how this answers the question of\u00a0where Ezekiel was carried away.\u00a0 Where is it that the Spirit of God carries his servant?\u00a0 Where can you expect to go being carried away in the Spirit?\u00a0 I don’t know about you, but I want to go places with God.\u00a0 I mean we have preaching for weeks about walking after the Spirit.\u00a0 Well if we’re going to walk, where are we going?\u00a0 Are we on some spiritual tread mill, or does the Holy Ghost take us places?\u00a0 Did God not say, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”\u00a0(Jeremiah 33:3)\u00a0 Did the word of God not say, “…they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and<\/i> they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)\u00a0\u00a0All I’m asking Ezekiel is, “When you were carried away in the Spirit, when the hand of the LORD was upon you, where did he take you?<\/p>\n
So we are going to look at something particular:\u00a0 Location, location, location.\u00a0 I wanted\u00a0to do this like last time and go through the experiences of Ezekiel and glean.\u00a0 We’re actually going to focus on the his initial experience with God; we won’t have time to get into\u00a0all of them.\u00a0 And there were many locations.\u00a0 He was by the river, in the plain, shut within his house, between heaven and earth, at Jerusalem, the gate of the Lord’s house, the inner court of the Lord’s house, the east gate of the Lord’s house, and in the valley.\u00a0 He was set upon his feet,\u00a0taken up, lifted up, taken away, set upon his feet, entered into, fell upon, carried out, and set down.\u00a0 So Ezekiel and the Holy Ghost were very active.\u00a0 And I wanted to hit all those, but alas I have to go where I believe I’m led.<\/p>\n
The River of Chebar<\/h3>\n
So we want to go back at the experiences of Ezekiel and inquire as to the whereabouts of Ezekiel; see if we can glean some truth or help from the scriptures.\u00a0 We want to go back to the beginning of Ezekiel where he had his first experience with God.\u00a0 While he was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and he saw visions from God.\u00a0 This is a very amazing description of Ezekiel’s experience.\u00a0 This is where he meets these four living creatures, supposedly cherubims.\u00a0 They have four sets of wings, four faces, just amazing looking creatures.\u00a0 And with these creatures are the wheels inside of wheels.\u00a0 The bible says that they were “high and dreadful” and were “full of eyes”.\u00a0 We’re going to get into that a little bit, but the first things I want to look at in this experience as far as the whereabouts of Ezekiel, is where he was when he got the vision from God.<\/p>\n
The bible says that he was by the river Chebar.\u00a0 Chebar is a large river that runs north into the Euphrates River.\u00a0 It lies between the Tigris and the Euphrates in the heart of the modern day country Iraq.\u00a0 They were in captivity nearly 500 miles from their homeland.\u00a0 The Tigris and Euphrates were natural barriers to their location.\u00a0 There was no getting out of that area.\u00a0 The only way out was north around the wide deep parts of the Euphrates, up through Syria and down back to Israel.\u00a0 Or straight over the river and through 500 miles of desert.\u00a0\u00a0They were deep in the heart of the Babylonian Empire.\u00a0 There was really no getting out.\u00a0 How did they get there?<\/p>\n
Ezekiel says that this first vision came in the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity.\u00a0 Now, I want you to get some perspective on this.\u00a0 Who is Jehoiachin?\u00a0 He’s Josiah’s grandchild.\u00a0 Josiah was the last good king of the southern kingdom, the last good king of all Israel.\u00a0 Most all, if not all, the kings of the northern kingdom were bad; they did evil in the sight of the Lord.\u00a0 When Josiah came to power, the northern kingdom had already fallen.\u00a0 The first wave of captives were taken away.\u00a0 Josiah was rebuilding the house of God when the book of the Law was found.\u00a0 Hilkiah the priest had found it, and had Shaphan the scribe bring it to Josiah.\u00a0 When he read it aloud, Josiah rent his clothes and lamented, because it was now clear to him how far Israel had strayed from God and from everything God had commanded them to do, namely follow the book of the Law.<\/p>\n
So Josiah killed the false priests and burned their bones on their own altars.\u00a0 He broke down the altars to false gods.\u00a0 He restored the Passover and the worship of the true God.\u00a0 The bible says that “And like unto him\u00a0was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and\u00a0with all his might…”\u00a0The bible says, “…there was no Passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a Passover as Josiah kept…”\u00a0 So there was something very special about\u00a0Josiah and the Passover that he kept.\u00a0 No doubt it captured the true spirit of worship that God had longed to see from his people.\u00a0 I believe God gave them this worship.\u00a0 Josiah had inquired of God, and Huldah, the prophetess, had told Josiah the imminent doom that awaited the kingdom of Judah.\u00a0 However, because Josiah inquired and humbled himself before God, because he rent his clothes and wept before God, he would be spared and would not live to the see the judgment of God.\u00a0 After that God let them have that last Passover, that wonderful Passover that no other Passover compared to.\u00a0 He had that last Passover and after that, he would die.<\/p>\n
Necho king of Egypt was coming up through Israel to wage war with Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon.\u00a0 Necho warned Josiah not to meddle, but to get out of the way.\u00a0 Josiah refused and engaged Necho there in the valley of Megiddo.\u00a0 He was shot by Necho’s archers and brought back to Jerusalem where he died.\u00a0 His son Jehoahaz took over and ruled for only three months.\u00a0 Necho marched into Israel all the way into Jerusalem and forced the nation to pay tribute of silver and gold.\u00a0 He captured Jehoahaz, carried him back to Egypt, and made his brother king in his stead.\u00a0 His name was Eliakim, but his name was changed to Jehoakim.\u00a0 He reigned 10 to 11 year and during that time, Babylon rose to\u00a0power over the Assyrians.\u00a0 Nebuchadnezzar king of Bablyon came up against Judah and bound Jehoakim in fetters and carried him off to Babylon, and left Jehoiachin, Josiah’s grandchild, in charge.\u00a0 So Josiah did good and was spared, but upon his sons the wrath of God fell.\u00a0 Jehoahaz was carried off to Egypt.\u00a0 Joehoiakim was carried off to Babylon.<\/p>\n
So when Jehoiachin came to power, things were not looking good.\u00a0 The northern kingdom was desolate, conquered by Assyria and carried off into captivity.\u00a0 Necho of Egypt had killed his grandpa and carried away his uncle.\u00a0 Nebuchadnezzar had came in and conquered the land and carried off the vessels of the house of the Lord and put them in the temple at Babylon, and carried off his dad.\u00a0 So half the nation is gone, his family is gone, the Passover and worship is gone.\u00a0 The bible says that Jehoiachin reigned only three months and ten days in Jerusalem.\u00a0 I wonder what those three months were like?\u00a0 Everything that was important or meant something was gone.\u00a0 The days of David were over.\u00a0\u00a0Instead of conquering, they were now the conquered.\u00a0 The days of Solomon had passed.\u00a0 There was no riches, no gold, and they paid tribute to other nations.\u00a0 When Jehoiachin came to power, they were one king away from complete and\u00a0utter desolation.<\/p>\n
Nebuchadnezzar comes a second time against Jerusalem, and\u00a0Jehoiachin did not fair any better than his father Jehoiakim.\u00a0\u00a02 Kings 24:10-16<\/p>\n
At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it. And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign. And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even<\/i> ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.<\/p>\n
And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those<\/i> carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. And all the men of might, even<\/i> seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were<\/i> strong and<\/i> apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
It was this deportation that Ezekiel was part of.\u00a0 It was a very sad time and a very poor condition the children of Israel were in.\u00a0 This was the second trail of tears for the children of Israel.\u00a0 This was the condition that Ezekiel is found in.\u00a0 It was this condition that Psalm 137 was wrote:<\/p>\n
\nBy the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.\u00a0 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.\u00a0 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us<\/i> mirth, saying<\/i>, Sing us one<\/i> of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
It was there by the river Chebar.\u00a0 It was there in their captivity, in their defeat, and in their sorrow that God revealed himself to Ezekiel.\u00a0 We’re talking about being carried away in the Spirit.\u00a0 Can I say this?\u00a0 Spiritually, we aren’t going anywhere with pride.\u00a0 Isaiah 57:14 says, “Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.”\u00a0 We’ll never get anywhere with God with a proud and haughty spirit.\u00a0 Pride is the greatest stumbling block before God’s people.\u00a0 That spirit and the Holy Spirit, don’t walk together.\u00a0 So before we look at where Ezekiel was carried away to, we get a glimpse of where the Spirit carried him from.<\/p>\n
Before Ezekiel was given probably the greatest experience of his life, he had to go through some tough times.\u00a0 He experienced king after king turning from God, and\u00a0seeing his nation fall to it’s knees (not in prayer, but in defeat).\u00a0 He experienced being captured, enslaved, and dragged across 1000 miles to a strange land.\u00a0 He experienced humility of the most bitter flavor.\u00a0 Hopeless and defeated, he sat by the river.\u00a0 Where was God?\u00a0 This was the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity. \u00a0Ezekiel was there in the depths of his despair, in the morbid reality that God had removed his hand from the children of Israel.\u00a0 But it was there that God in his mercy and care, decided to\u00a0place his hand upon Ezekiel.\u00a0 The bible says:<\/p>\n
\nFor thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is<\/i> Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place<\/i>, with him also that is<\/i> of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive<\/strong> the spirit of the humble, and to revive<\/strong> the heart of the contrite ones. (Isaiah 57:15)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Quickly, I want to give you this list.\u00a0 Remember, walking after the Spirit, chapter 8, is the antidote for chapter 7.\u00a0 In chapter 7, Paul says, “So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”\u00a0 In my mind, I want to serve the law of God, but in the flesh I just can’t seem to do it.\u00a0 But then in chapter 8, he says, “Ah…”<\/p>\n
\nFor the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
For what the law could not do.\u00a0 The law used sacrifice and offering to deal with sin. So I want to give you a quick list of the things that God esteems higher than sacrifice and offerings.<\/p>\n
\n
- The sacrifice of the body of Christ is acceptable to God.\u00a0 Hebrews, chapter 10, says, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins…\u00a0 Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but\u00a0a body hast thou prepared for me…\u00a0 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God… we are all sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”.<\/li>\n
- Genuine, sincere love of God is acceptable to God.\u00a0 Mark 12:33 “And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his<\/i> neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”<\/li>\n
- Obedience\u00a0to God is acceptable to God.\u00a0 1 Samuel 15:22 “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great<\/i> delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is<\/i> better than sacrifice, and<\/i> to hearken than the fat of rams.”<\/li>\n
- (This is where we’re at today)\u00a0 Psalm 51:16-17 “For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt-offering. The sacrifice of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”\u00a0 A broken spirit, and a\u00a0broken and a contrite heart is acceptable to God.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
This is where you’ll find God.\u00a0 This is where we find Ezekiel.\u00a0 We’re talking about the whereabouts of Ezekiel, location, location, location.\u00a0 I want to say that Ezekiel was where God was.\u00a0 God was where Ezekiel was.\u00a0 The Spirit of God did not just show up with Ezekiel and carry him away through this mountain top experience of the vision, but he was with him\u00a0and had carried him through the valley.\u00a0 God was with Ezekiel through the tears and through the pain.\u00a0 How do you know this?\u00a0 Because God said,\u00a0 “I dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit..”\u00a0 A broken heart and a contrite and humble spirit God esteems more highly than all the sacrifices and burnt offerings.\u00a0 Sacrifices are supposed to atone for sin.\u00a0 They’re supposed to appease God.\u00a0 They’re supposed to satisfy God.\u00a0 But nothing satisfies God, but a broken heart, a contrite and humble spirit.\u00a0 There were no more sacrifices.\u00a0 There were no more offerings.\u00a0 There was no more temple.\u00a0 There was no more house of God.\u00a0 But found a dwelling place with Ezekiel.<\/p>\n
O, the worth and value to god of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.\u00a0 I want to also add to this that God esteems a broken heart and a humble spirit MORE<\/strong> than heaven and earth.\u00a0 God spent six days creating heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he sat back and rested and looked at his work and said it was good.\u00a0 God created heaven and earth, but this is what he has to say about it:<\/p>\n
Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is<\/i> my throne, and the earth is<\/i> my footstool: where is<\/i> the house that ye build unto me? and where is<\/i> the place of my rest?\u00a0 For all those things<\/i> hath mine hand made, and all those things<\/i> have been, saith the LORD: but to this man<\/i> will I look, even<\/i> to him that is<\/i> poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.\u00a0 (Isaiah 66:1,2)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
He said, heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool, BUT to this man will I look.\u00a0 This man is where my attention lies.\u00a0 This man that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word, this man do I esteem more than heaven and earth.\u00a0\u00a0Ezekiel is this man.\u00a0 Can I say this?\u00a0 You can be that man too.\u00a0 You can be that man too if you humble yourself before the mighty hand of God.\u00a0 Now Ezekiel was that man and God dwelt with him.\u00a0 And because he was that man, he got to see the heavens opened and the visions of God.\u00a0 He got to see the throne of God.<\/p>\n
God said, “I dwell with him also that is of\u00a0a contrite and humble spirit, to revive<\/strong> the spirit of the humble, and to revive<\/strong> the heart of the contrite ones.”\u00a0 The work of the Holy Spirit is to revive the spirit of the humble and revive the heart of the contrite ones.\u00a0 Jesus said that he would send a Comforter, a comforter of the soul.\u00a0 What comfort it must of been for Ezekiel to hear from God in the manner that he did?\u00a0 Paul said to the Corinthians, “Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us…” (2 Cor 7:6)\u00a0 God has reserved his most comforting, healing, medicine only to those that are sick, those that are broken.\u00a0 Jesus said, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick.”\u00a0 (Mark 2:17)\u00a0 David said, “Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou has broken may rejoice.”\u00a0 The Spirit of God comforts.\u00a0 The Spirit of God heals.\u00a0 The Spirit of God revives!\u00a0 What was it that Jesus said of the Spirit?<\/p>\n
The Spirit of the Lord is<\/i> upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,\u00a0 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.\u00a0 (Luke 4;18,19)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The River of Chebar, it was place of sadness, yes.\u00a0 A place of sorrow, brokenness, and humility.\u00a0 But God was there. God had led them there.\u00a0 If you truly have asked God to lead you and walk with you, I believe he’ll do it.\u00a0 It may not always be mountain top experiences and smiles and high-fives, especially if you stray from the Lord.\u00a0 But I’ll say this, or Paul also said this in chapter 8 of Romans, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are<\/i> not worthy to be compared<\/i> with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”<\/p>\n
The Four Living Creatures and the Wheels<\/h3>\n
The Spirit of the Lord was upon Ezekiel by the river Chebar, in sadness and defeat, in sorrow and despair.\u00a0 That’s where God opened up the heavens and made himself know to Ezekiel.\u00a0 Utlimately, he sees the throne of God.\u00a0 But before we go there, I want to look at his journey there.\u00a0 I want you to see look at the things Ezekiel saw before he saw the throne.\u00a0\u00a0 The first thing (or things) that Ezekiel saw were four living creatures.\u00a0\u00a0 The bible says:<\/p>\n
And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was<\/i> about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came<\/i> the likeness of four living creatures. (Ezekiel 1:4.5)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
These four living creatures, many believe that these are actually cherubims, angels.\u00a0 When we think of an angel, we usually think of someone dressed in a white robe with some white wings on their back.\u00a0 But I want you see the description of these:<\/p>\n
\n
- (5) Shape:\u00a0 They had the likeness of man.<\/li>\n
- (6) Four faces: (10) man, lion, ox, and eagle.<\/li>\n
- Wings:\n
\n
- (6) four wings each<\/li>\n
- (11)\u00a0two wings stretched upward, two wings covered their body.<\/li>\n
- (24) the noise of their wings was like the noise of great waters<\/li>\n
- (9) their wings were joined one to another<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Feet:\n
\n
- (7) like calf’s feet,<\/li>\n
- sparkled like the colour of burnished brass<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Hands:\n
\n
- (8) Hands of man beneath their wings<\/li>\n
- Four hands?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Appearance:\n
\n
- (13) like burning coals of fire<\/li>\n
- like lamps<\/li>\n
- it went up and down the living creatures<\/li>\n
- the fire was bright<\/li>\n
- out of the fire went forth lightening<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- Motion\n
\n
- (9) they turned not when they went<\/li>\n
- they went every one straight<\/li>\n
- (14) ran and returned\u00a0 as the appearance of a flash of lightening.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
And then, along with these living creatures, were wheels.\u00a0 I’m not even going to attempt to try to interpret what these wheels were or what they represented.\u00a0 All I can tell you is that there were wheels.\u00a0 And I want to describe them for you also.\u00a0 Ezekiel 1:15,16,18<\/p>\n
Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. \u00a0The appearance of the wheels and their work was<\/i> like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was<\/i> as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. \u00a0When they went, they went upon their four sides: and<\/i> they turned not when they went…\u00a0 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were<\/i> full of eyes round about them four.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Like\u00a0I said, I don’t know what these wheels are other than they are wheels and apparently they’re very dreadful.\u00a0 But there is something about them and the four living creatures I want you to see now that we have it in our mind what they look like.\u00a0 I want you to first look at verse 19.\u00a0 “And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.”\u00a0 The latter part of verse 20 says, “for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.”\u00a0 And then verse 21 says “When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.”\u00a0 So it looks like to me that wherever those creatures went the wheels went to.\u00a0 They moved together.\u00a0 They stood together.\u00a0 They were lifted up together.\u00a0 Whatever the creature did, the wheel did too. Amen?\u00a0 Now look at verse 12.\u00a0 The wheels are not mentioned until verse 15.\u00a0 In verse 12, he’s speaking of the creatures:<\/p>\n
And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and<\/i> they turned not when they went.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Whither the spirit was to go, they went.\u00a0 You realize that this is actually the first time that “the spirit” is mentioned in Ezekiel.\u00a0 This is not the spirit of the living creatures as in verse 20 and 21.\u00a0 This is another Spirit.\u00a0 Let’s read all of verse 20 now:<\/p>\n
Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their<\/i> spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was<\/i> in the wheels.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This is what I’m getting out of this:\u00a0 Wherever the spirit was to go, the living creatures went.\u00a0 Thither<\/em><\/strong> was their spirit to go. That means “toward that place” was their<\/strong><\/em> spirit to go.\u00a0 “Their” is the living creatures.\u00a0 So wherever the sprit went, the living creatures went, and wherever the living creatures went, the wheels went.\u00a0 So this is the picture I’m getting.\u00a0 The spirit is the Holy Spirit, and wherever the Holy Spirit goes, the creatures go and the wheels go.\u00a0 So what does that mean for you and me?\u00a0 If we are going to walk after God, if we are going to walk after the Spirit, guess who’s going to be there too.\u00a0 The creatures and the wheels!\u00a0 You say, “Preacher, I’ve never heard that before in my life!”\u00a0 Well neither have I.<\/p>\n
But keep in mind:<\/p>\n
\n
- It was an angel that gave Hagar hope in the wilderness<\/li>\n
- It was angels rescued Lot from Sodom<\/li>\n
- It was angels accompanied Jacob on his way to meet Esau<\/li>\n
- It was the angel of God that went before the camp of Israel in the wilderness<\/li>\n
- It was an angel that drove out the Caananites, Amorites, Hittites, and Perizzites our of Caanan<\/li>\n
- It was an angel that stood before Balaam<\/li>\n
- It was an angel that spoke to Gideon<\/li>\n
- It was an angel that touched Elijah under the Juniper tree<\/li>\n
- It was an angel that smote the Assyrians and sent Sennacherib away<\/li>\n
- It was an angel that shut the mouth of the lion and rescued Daniel<\/li>\n
- It was an angel that spoke to Mary<\/li>\n
- It was an angel that appeared before Joseph<\/li>\n
- It was an angel that appeared before Zechariah<\/li>\n
- Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit, was driven into the wilderness, and after his encounter with the devil, it was angels that ministered unto him.<\/li>\n
- It was an angel that rolled the stone back from Jesus tomb<\/li>\n
- It was an angel that opened the prison door and set the apostles free<\/li>\n
- It was an angel that spoke to Phillip and led him to the Ethiopian<\/li>\n
- It was an angel that spoke to Cornelius<\/li>\n
- It was an angel that stood by Paul on the boat to Rome and comforted him<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
So is it so odd to know that where the Holy Spirit goes, the cherubims and the wheels also go?\u00a0 David said, “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”\u00a0 (Psalm 91:11,12) “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.\u00a0 They shall bear thee up in their<\/i> hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.<\/p>\n
Listen, we’re not walking alone.\u00a0 The bible says, (Psalm 68:17) “The chariots of God are twenty thousand , even thousands of angels…”\u00a0 When the king of Syria came up against Israel,\u00a0 God kept telling Elisha where he was going, and Elisha would\u00a0warn king of Israel, and at least three times, Israel was saved.\u00a0 So the king of Syria got mad and said who keeps giving me away and his servants told him “It’s Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel.\u00a0 He’s telling the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bed chamber.”\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So the king said, “Well, where’s Elisha?\u00a0 Let’s go get him!”\u00a0 They found him in the\u00a0city of Dothan,\u00a0and they surrounded him\u00a0with horses, and chariots, a great host, and compassed the city about, surrounded the city.\u00a0 And Elisha’s servant woke up early that morning and saw that they were surrounded, and said “Alas, my master! how shall we do?”\u00a0 Elijah said:<\/p>\n
Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.\u00a0 Elijah prayed and said, Lord, I pray the, open his eyes, that he may see.\u00a0 And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.\u00a0 (2 Kings 6:16,17)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Wherever the Holy Ghost goes, the cherubims go, and wherever the cherubims go, the wheels go.\u00a0 To walk after the Holy Ghost is not to walk alone.\u00a0 “Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them…”<\/p>\n
The Throne of God<\/h3>\n
Well, where did they go?\u00a0\u00a0 Where did the spirit go and the four living creatures and the wheels.\u00a0 Let’s read vs 26-28<\/p>\n
And above the firmament that was<\/i> over their heads was<\/i> the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was<\/i> the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was<\/i> the appearance of the brightness round about. This was<\/i> the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it<\/i>, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The throne of God and the glory of God.\u00a0 Paul said in the letter to the Hebrews (4:16), “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”\u00a0 If you put this verse together with Romans chapter 8 and the experience of Ezekiel, and I don’t know how to put it together.\u00a0 I don’t know how to present this to you, but let me tell you what I see.\u00a0 When we walk after the Spirit of God, when we are filled with the Holy Ghost, this is where he leads us:\u00a0 the throne of grace.\u00a0 And this tells us and demonstrates to us the intentions and motives of the Holy Ghost.\u00a0 This is what the sweet Holy Spirit wants us to have: mercy and grace to help in time of need.\u00a0 This is where the Holy Spirit leads us.<\/p>\n
Mercy and grace.\u00a0 Ah that’s why Ezekiel fell upon his face:\u00a0because he needed mercy and grace.\u00a0 That’s why Isaiah, when he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple, and he saw the seraphims that cried “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of host,” when he saw this, he said, “Who is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips… for mine eyes have see the King, the Lord of hosts”\u00a0 That’s why Peter fell down at Jesus kness’\u00a0and said, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord”\u00a0 They needed mercy and grace.<\/p>\n
Remember the other days when I read that excerpt from that sermon, The Knowledge of God<\/em>, by Edward D. Griffin fomr 1836?\u00a0 What did he say?<\/p>\n
Why should you not aim at the eminence of Enoch and Moses and David and Elijah?\u00a0 (And to this I add Ezekiel) The same God that raised them so high still reigns, and is accessible to you.\u00a0 You may go to that exhaustless store-house and take as much as you please.\u00a0 Why denumb every effort by the miserable calculation that it is not for you<\/em> to attain such eminence?\u00a0 Who told you so but your own sluggish heart?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The reason why we can be raised as high at Enoch and Moses and David and Elijah and Ezekiel, is because we can be as low as they have been.\u00a0 Humble yourselves before the mighty hand of God and we lift you up.\u00a0 Ezekiel said, “I fell upon my face…”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We’re preaching about being carried away in the Spirit. In Ezekiel, in Chapter 37, I want us to concentrate on this passage “…down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones…” Do you see how this answers the question of where Ezekiel was carried away. Where is it that the Spirit of God carries his servant? Where can you expect to go being carried away in the Spirit? I don’t know about you, but I want to go places with God. I mean we have preaching for weeks about walking after the Spirit. Well if we’re going to walk, where are we going? Are we on some spiritual tread mill, or does the Holy Ghost take us places? Did God not say, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (Jeremiah 33:3) Did the word of God not say, “…they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31) All I’m asking Ezekiel is, “When you were carried away in the Spirit, when the hand of the LORD was upon you, where did he take you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-romans8","category-romanscommentary"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thereisnewsinthetruth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Gebhard_Fugel_An_den_Wassern_Babylons.jpg?fit=300%2C204&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7qg4l-4I","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thereisnewsinthetruth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thereisnewsinthetruth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thereisnewsinthetruth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thereisnewsinthetruth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thereisnewsinthetruth.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=292"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/thereisnewsinthetruth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":369,"href":"https:\/\/thereisnewsinthetruth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions\/369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thereisnewsinthetruth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thereisnewsinthetruth.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thereisnewsinthetruth.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thereisnewsinthetruth.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}