November 14
Ezek 29:1-30:26 | PS 112:1-10 | Prov 27:17 | Heb 11:32-12:13
If it is about me then it is not about Him. It should never be about making a name for ourselves. If we place ourselves in submission to Him, then it is about His name shining through us. As we read through the prophets, now in Ezekiel, a recurring phrase is, “the word of the Lord came to me”. Interestingly, these words from the Lord did not come that often, most of their lives they were not receiving constant “words of the Lord”. But when they did receive, they did not hold back. When they spoke forth it was never to bring glory to themselves, but to bring glory to God. Realize, many of those used most mightily by God remain nameless and faceless to us: the early Christians, the Reformers, the Puritans, the Missionaries, etc. Servants of God, known by God, used by God, but largely unknown by us.
As we go through the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11, you expect to see names like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, etc. But all we read of them is a lumped together group, called “the prophets” in Hebrews 11:32. Besides that, there is much to say about the group called “others” in 11:35-40, “…Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.”
Yes, these prophets, others, missionaries all got it right. We are being called to join their ranks. Are we willing? Can we put aside self in order to serve and glorify Him. We read in Hebrews 12:1-2, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus did it to bring glory to the Father. He humbled Himself by becoming Man. May we see our true calling, and in boldness, move forward in Him and for Him.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: