Seeing God's Glory in Exile and Adversity

Here's the question. What if the place that you thought God left is the very place he's trying to reveal himself? If you feel that you are in exile right now, you are undergoing a a tragedy or sickness or adversity, what if that is your exile? And what if that exile doesn't mean the evidence of God's absence, but a preparation for an encounter with God? See, Ezekiel was in Babylon, and he said, heavens broke open, and I saw God. [01:12:48] (35 seconds)  #ExileToEncounter

The more you spend time with God, the more you spend time with godly people. The more you spend time doing godly things, you increase God's image in you. But the more you move away from God, the more you spend less time meditating on his word, spend less time in prayer, skip coming to church and fellowship, you also decrease the exposure to his glory. Here here's the big idea. Whatever you consistently expose yourself to will shape who you become. [01:10:44] (31 seconds)  #ExposureShapesYou

What does it mean? This is not random imagery. God is showing to Ezekiel that Babylon might have won the battle, but God is still on the throne reigning as king, and he's not stuck in Jerusalem. The people in Jerusalem were assuming that as long as we offer sacrifices, God stays in Jerusalem and nowhere else. But when Ezekiel saw the vision of God, he knows God is not in Jerusalem anymore. God is there in an unlikely place in Babylon. In Babylon. [00:59:23] (44 seconds)  #GodBeyondTemple

Here's why I think Israel broke their covenant with God. It's because Israel believed that as long as they have the temple, they pay their taxes, the tithes goes to the temple, the priests continue to offer sacrifices, they are secure regardless of how they live. They didn't just believe in God. They believed also that they had God contained, secured. That as long as they have the temple running, God must stay. It's part of the covenant. As long as they have the temple running, God is there, not as lord, but as hostage. [00:43:53] (42 seconds)  #YouCantContainGod

They were sent away from Jerusalem, but not from the presence of God. They are temporarily in exile, but it doesn't mean that God is not with them. See, in Jerusalem, they have the temple, but their focus was not on God. In Babylon, they don't have the temple and yet their focus was on God. What happened? It's the condition of being in exile. Adversity helps us focus on God. [00:49:26] (27 seconds)  #AdversityFocusesFaith

Think about this. The people who thought they are safe because they remain in Jerusalem are the very ones who are in danger of being destroyed, totally destroyed. But the people in exile who thought God has abandoned us were actually the people whom God has spared and has plans for them. I mean, maybe for a while, temporarily, you are in exile. You feel like you identify with the people who are in exile and God doesn't care, God has abandoned you, but the truth is God has a way of preserving you from something. [00:52:58] (37 seconds)  #SparedInExile

That means those in exile, they may have to suffer for a while, but that suffering was meant to spare them from total destruction. It was their protection. In fact, in history, in May, Nebuchadnezzar went back the third time to Jerusalem, burned the temple, and killed the people. Those in exile, they were they were spared. Those in exiles were the ones Jeremiah was writing, build houses, live in them, marry your children, be prosperous, pray for the city. You are good. [00:54:29] (34 seconds)  #SufferingSparesUs

Now I don't know what's what it looks like what your week looks like Monday through Saturday. But even in ordinary things, God may reach out to us. We may have an encounter with God. All we have to do is to open our eyes. We may get distracted from from many things, but try to spend time with God. Maybe this week, your commitment should be, I will spend more time with God. Will spend ten minutes of prayer. [01:13:30] (35 seconds)  #EverydayEncounter