Ezekiel's Vision: God's Presence in Exile

"That God will show up powerfully, profoundly, you won't miss him. It will not be that you didn't realize he came. It's that you were unwilling to respond to his coming. Right? Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance that surrounded him. This was the appearance of the light. I mean, it's just like he can't even explain perfectly to you and me. It's the appearance of what was like the glory of the Lord. What did John do when he saw it? Fell flat on his face. When I saw it, I fell face down and I heard the voice of one speaking. [01:03:37] (44 seconds)  #UnmistakableGod

"And in the midst of our circumstances, that's gonna sound terrible, you don't need a weeping messiah. What you need is an almighty God. You need someone who sees everything, who knows everything, who can do everything, can come to you where you are because you're incapable at this point of going where he is? Don't you want a transcending God who's above it all but's willing to enter it all? Don't you want a powerful almighty God who looks down to you and your situation and circumstances and says, I know who you are, I know where you are, I know what I made you to be, and I'm gonna come and unmistakably, I'm gonna show myself real in your life. [00:59:55] (39 seconds)  #AlmightyWhoEnters

"Because we we as the church do ourselves a disservice. It's gonna sound so heretical. But we spend far more time looking at Christ and his humanity than we do in his deity. We spend far more time looking at him as he lived for thirty three years rather than who he's been for all eternity. We spend more time looking at Christ who was on a cross for six hours than the one who has returned to his throne for over two thousand years. We see a man with blood stained hair and John sees the holiness of God seated on his throne. We get way too comfortable with who Jesus was and what Jesus did, and we've refused to humble ourselves before who actually is. [00:58:07] (45 seconds)  #SeeChristAsKing

"You're not God. And if there's something, it had to come from something because nothing comes from nothing. So what's the original something? Well, the Bible tells us it's a someone. You just heard about him because he's the creator. John chapter one says, in the beginning was the word, the word was with God, the word was God. All things that have been made were made by him. Nothing that has been made was not made by him and for him. Everything that's ever been made was made by Jesus Christ. Long before he was on the on the cross, he was on the throne. Six hours on the cross, all eternity on the throne. [01:21:49] (39 seconds)  #JesusIsCreator

"And this see the difference between John and Ezekiel is God takes John to heaven to see it. With Ezekiel, God brings heaven down, brings right into the midst of his circumstances. So, you know, it isn't, hey, rise above it all, you're gonna be okay. It's though God descends into it all, you're gonna be just fine. Because only one well, a couple of people in the Bible recorded history got raptured into heaven. But at the end of the day, I don't think any of us is getting raptured into heaven coming back with a message because the canon of scripture is done. But for every single solitary one of us, can tell you, but heaven will come to you. [01:02:56] (41 seconds)  #HeavenComesDown

"So if just a light can do that, you you telling me that God can't do something in this created world? He doesn't even have to do this. You know what mean? It could just be a blue light. You're like, oh my god. What do do? Where where is I going? I want speed, honey. I promise. I want speed. And everything, everything right. I don't know what he's gonna do, but I know he's gonna do something. And whatever it is he does, he does to get your attention. And the reason he wants to get your attention is not just to necessarily overwhelm you with mystery, but to make sure you understand who's coming, who's talking. [00:52:33] (36 seconds)  #GodGetsYourAttention

"Like this glorious, powerful, almighty God, I'm not him. I'm never gonna be him. And you know what? I don't wanna be. Because then the only like, then I'm the greatest thing in the face of the circumstances I face. That's a terrible situation to find yourself in. That you have the most power to do the most about what you're facing. Best of luck with that one. Right? It's powerful. It's it's humbling. Okay? When they stood still, they lowered their wings. Okay? God's movement might be mysterious, but praise God Almighty, it is unmistakable. [00:56:26] (38 seconds)  #UnmistakableDivine

"You can find yourself in a different place than you ever expected to find yourself, but you are in the moment of history. You're in the moment of a time that God was well aware of, that he knew before the beginning of time, and he's got the power to solve it before the end of time. You're not alone. He knows who you are. He knows where you are. He knows what you're going through, and he knows how to get to you. Okay? There, the hand of the Lord was upon him. So the presence of God is never subject to the circumstances of this life. Never. [00:46:26] (33 seconds)  #KnownAndHeld

"But can you imagine if it wasn't hurricane or war that did that, if it was God who chose to go to his people and say, you're out. This is my land, not your land, and you've disgraced it for the last time. And I'm sat sending the Babylonians, and I'm not just taking you out, I'm taking you down. And I'm gonna destroy the temple, I'm gonna destroy the city, and hundreds of thousands of arrogant, pompous people are going to be destroyed because they won't relent under my disciplining hand. And when I take you out, it ain't gonna be a four year war, it's gonna be seventy years in Babylon. [00:34:16] (41 seconds)  #DivineDiscipline

"Now, you're probably not, I can't say you won't, but you're probably not gonna see that, but you're gonna see something. You're like, well, how would I know? Listen, I'll give you an example. If you leave today and you get on Cemetery Road or the bypass and you're just doing your Sunday drive, and the next thing you know, you're just doing your deal, and the next thing you know, you see blue lights in your rearview mirror. Does that get your attention? Immediately, your heart rate is, I didn't go through a light. What is he doing behind me? Well, he wants to get your attention, and not because he wants to pull you over, because he wants you to get out of the way. [00:51:36] (31 seconds)  #BlueLightsWakeUp

"And when you forget who I am and I just become as common to you as the car you drive, when I become as common to you as anything else in this world, you're on a pathway, a very destructive pathway. And here's the problem, I won't just discipline you. I'm gonna sweep everything and everyone around you with it. And yes, in America, God the father, the one and only God, Jesus Christ, he become very common. He's just one among many. No, he's not. Don't ever say that. Don't ever buy into that hype. Oh, isn't it really there's no real difference between, you know, the Islamic faith and Christianity. Don't we worship the same God? In the name of Jesus Christ, no. [01:06:01] (42 seconds)  #GuardGodsUniqueness

"We have turned Christ into a a common person, a common man. He's not. Stop that. He's God Almighty. He's seated on his throne, and when he returns, it's gonna be a blood bath. And he's the one who's instituting that blood bath. He's coming to make war, not make a way. He's already made a way, but he's coming to make war. And I beg you, I don't I don't wanna scare you out of hell and into heaven. But I'm telling you, you need to think about this. Humble yourself before God's mighty hand that he could lift you up in due time. Humble yourself. You're not God. You're not. [01:20:33] (48 seconds)  #ChristIsKing

"Well, I wanna know. Get over it. Well, why did this happen? I don't know the why. Ask God why if he chooses to tell you great. He's good with why. He handles why. Ask him. If he chooses to reveal great, he's not gonna smite you because you asked why did this happen. Even Jesus said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Asking why is legit, but be humble enough for God to say, I'm not telling you. That's for me to know. And in my judgment, it's better that you not know. Can we humble humble ourselves? This is the ultimate power of Ezekiel, is how much humility it produces within each of one of us. Not curiosity. [01:12:18] (47 seconds)  #HumbleOverCuriosity

"So even though God's in heaven, he's still separate. I don't mean to ruin your dreams, but you're never sitting in God's lap because he doesn't have one. God is unapproachable in his glory and he is light. He's not physical. He's still you'll be able to see him and experience him, but you will not approach him. He's still God. Even in heaven, he's God. Even in the new heaven and the new earth, he's God, you're not. This is not more that's Mormonism. Mormonism is you become God. You get your own planet where your celestial body of wives, then you populate that planet. [00:55:16] (39 seconds)  #GodIsGodAlone

"But you're still who you are. You still are who God says you are. Okay? And the powerful thing is is God knows exactly who you are and exactly where you are and how to get to you. He was the son of Bouzy. Bouzy, now Bouzy, by the Khabar River. He's reminding you once again, he's gotta tell you twice because who knows it, and he's in the land of the Babylonians. Completely not where he belongs and not by choice. He's in a place and time that he didn't choose, but he finds himself there anyway. Okay? And so what would the the current contextual point of that be? This is possible for all of us. [00:45:41] (45 seconds)  #GodKnowsYou

"That he is able to reflect, remember and start writing in the very moment that everything began to change for him. He's in the midst of he's already been deported. You'll see in a second, he's already been there five years. But now the moment's coming. But now the moment's coming. And this moment matters to him, it matters to us and to translate that into our lives today is I think it's important that you know that things happen within time. These moments are intended by God. No matter where you're at, you're gonna have your moment. God knows who you are. God knows where you are. He knows what you need. [00:38:35] (37 seconds)  #YourMomentMatters

"There's moments in your life that matter. Pay attention to those moments. They may seem, if you will, a little hallucinogenic at first. You're like, am I dreaming this? Is this really God? Is it a bad burrito I had for dinner last night? Why is my stomach moving? It's God moving. Okay? And he does what might just be, believe it or not, now he's doing it because he's led by God. But it might not be a bad moment for you and I to pick up a pen. It might not be a bad idea to start writing because you'd be you'd be amazed how effective writing can be in the midst of tragedy. [00:39:57] (36 seconds)  #RecordYourMoment

"But here's the thing, are you the least bit curious hearing that? You're like, what on earth? Good golly mighty is that? Exactly. Could that not be the point? Oh, I'm gonna make sure you know it's me. You don't gotta know about wings and hands and feet. Let god we'll we'll learn that one day. But who's gonna miss that? You're in desperate situation, desperate circumstances, your life has changed, completely disoriented, and all of a sudden things begin to happen. [00:51:01] (35 seconds)  #YouWontMissGod

"His presence can transcend every situation on this earth, period. Nothing can stop him. He will literally descend into anything and did he not prove that by becoming just like us. If if the holiness of God is willing to descend into the container of humanity, there are no depths to which he will not go. And the reason we need to know this is because next you'll see, he wants you to know he's there. He doesn't want you to just know he knows where you are, that's important. What you're going through, that's important. He wants you to know something. Okay? And that is he's going to enter into your presence in an unmistakable [00:46:59] (47 seconds)  #PresenceThatDescends