GOD's Passion - June 14, 2014

Scriptures: Ezekiel 31-36

25 You eat meat with blood in it, you worship idols,[b] and you murder the innocent. Do you really think the land should be yours?
31 Their mouths are full of lustful words, and their hearts seek only after money. - Ezekiel 33
4 You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty.
26 I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing. 27 The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken their chains of slavery and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the Lord. - Ezekiel 34
25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.[b] 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. - Ezekiel 36

Message:

GOD's passion goes to both the wicked and the righteous.

Observation:

GOD shows how passionate He is towards people by showering the righteous with abundant blessings and punishing and eliminating the wicked through destruction.

Application:

We ought to chose to live a life that is pleasing to GOD because GOD will always deal with everyone according to what they deserve. There's only two sides to the world, the good and the bad, there's no in between darkness and light. If you are not with GOD then you are certainly against Him. So make a decision today to do what is right and follow after GOD.

Sacrifices

20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose. 21 And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things. 22 As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.”

- Genesis 8:20-22

An altar is a place where sacrifices are offered for worship. In the olden days people build an altar and sacrifice burned offerings to the LORD for worship. But it is not the same today, we don't have to build an altar to worship GOD or sacrifice the blood of animals because Yeshua was already the last ultimate sacrifice. We have our church or sanctuary, but we can chose a place in our homes, or wherever we are, and that can be an altar where we can worship GOD with our hearts giving a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Why is it a sacrifice? Why is praise and thanksgiving a sacrifice? It becomes a sacrifice when it is difficult to do. In difficult and hard times, we would rather wallow in our sadness and cry than lift up our praise and thanksgiving to the LORD our GOD.

But when we give a sacrifice to GOD, when we do something for HIM that is difficult to do but we give our praise to HIM anyway even when it hurts until it hurts, it is becomes a pleasing aroma to GOD, just like how it was when they sacrificed animals for GOD. Our sacrifices when it pleases GOD brings us new promises from GOD. And so if you are going through hardship and difficult times, give GOD your sacrifice of praise, worship and thanksgiving because then you might please HIM with that sweet aroma of sacrifice causing HIM to bring new promises in your life. As long as you live, the Lord's faithful love will endure and His promise will stand for you as long you remain with Him on earth. Make the most of opportunity in suffering, in difficulty, to offer your sacrifices to GOD today.