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SCRIPTURE – Eze 33:2-3                                                                                                                                                                        MAY, 2020

Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, WHEN I BRING THE SWORD UPON A LAND,
if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, HE BLOW THE TRUMPET, AND WARN THE PEOPLE;

SUBJECT – THE SWORD OF THE LORD!! [1]

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Take a look at the above scriptures. Read them carefully. Now, to finish the thought, read the following verses which are a continuation of the above.

Eze 33:4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
Eze 33:5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.

Let's stop right there. Tell me, what message do you see?

To the ordinary person, it probably doesn't mean that much. However, to those that name the name of Christ, it is saying a whole lot, and quite frankly their souls could very much be at stake.

God is speaking to the prophet Ezekiel, and telling him something that is quite interesting. He is to tell His people, that 'WHEN HE BRINGS THE SWORD UPON THE LAND,' that if the people put someone in the position of being a watchman, and when he sees this sword, he is to sound the alarm, to warn the people.

Now what I want you to see is this. You will notice the capitalized portion of the first verse in the subject. It says, when I bring sword upon a land!! What is the first thing that jumps out at you?

The first thing, is that word 'when.' That tells me that it is not a question of it being a possibility, but rather a certainty. It then goes on to say, God speaking, that He is going to bring the sword upon the land.

This is where most people, and especially most Christians seem to have a problem.

You see, most of those outside of Christ, tend to look at problems as just things that happen by chance. It is all a part of life. Some times things just happen. It's just good or bad luck.

Most Christians on the other hand, take the view that it is the Devil, and set about to rebuking him, pronouncing the 'Blood of Jesus', over the situation, and commanding him to go, in Jesus' name. They will claim all the scriptures that they know, that promise victory, over the forces of evil.

What they fail to realize is this. If God is saying 'I am sending this trouble', then, you can rebuke, plead the blood of Jesus, and every other thing that is biblically correct, and it won't do you a bit of good. In fact, it could end up harming you even more.

How??

If God is sending it, that means it is punishment for something the people are doing that He doesn't like.

Let me put it to you this way. When the people are busy doing all that God says for them to do, the enemy will try attacking them. But because they are within the Realm of His Protection, they can't be touched. And as such, they have power over the enemy.

On the other hand however, if they are being disobedient to God, meaning they are sinning, then they are outside of that Realm of Protection, and as such, are fair game for the enemy, and will remain so until such time as they repent, and turn from their evil ways.

2Chr 7:14 IF MY PEOPLE, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, AND WILL HEAL THEIR LAND.

Do you see what God is saying??

First, He is addressing, not the people, but HIS PEOPLE!! There is a difference. We all know that God created all of us, so, therefore we are His creation, made in His Image. However, that is as far as it goes when it comes to whom He supports. His Word, only applies to those that have put their total faith in Him and His Word/Jesus Christ!! All others are estranged from Him.

Next, He says His people, need to turn from their wicked ways. Not the people, but His people!!! And, if they will do that, then He will heal their land!!

Believe it or not, God's people, and their actions, hold the key to what happens in their land.

This nation, as well as the world, is caught in this pandemic called the Coronavirus.

People are looking at it as something that man can, with the help of scientists, politicians, and the cooperation of everyone, defeat this scourge that threatens to destroy tens of thousands of lives in this nation, and hundreds of thousands, or even millions of lives worldwide.

To the Christian, we are supposed to see it differently. We are to see it not from the eyes of man, but, the eyes of God.

This is where the 'watchman' comes in!!

A watchman, is a person whose job it is to watch over and protect anything or person of value. It is their job to sound the alarm any time they see something that appears to be a threat against those things or persons that they are assigned to protect. Consequently, their security rests solely in the watchman's hands.

When it comes to people, when the watchman sounds the alarm the people are supposed to react in a way that will preserve their lives.

Now obviously, the watchman has to be able to identify the threat, and be able to tell the people what they need to do to protect themselves.

Once the watchman sounds the alarm and tells the people what they need to do, then it is up to the people to follow those instructions, so that they can be safe. If they do not follow those instructions and perish, then the responsibility of their deaths, rests solely on them. They were warned and did not listen.

However, since they did not listen, the watchman is blameless for what happened to them.

But now, let's look at what comes next.

Eze 33:6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.

The job of a watchman comes with its benefits but it also Has its hazards.

The main hazard being, if the watchman sees this trouble coming and does not warn the people and some of them died because they weren't warned, the watchman will be responsible to God, for their deaths.

Now, here's the thing!!

The terminology of 'if the watchman see,' means among other things, that he has to be alert, and always watching. He can't be distracted with other things, drunk, or asleep.

When I was in the military as a security guard, guarding aircraft and munitions, I had to be on constant vigilence, looking for any sign that would reveal that an intruder had come into my area of responsibility. I had the responsibility to notify my superiors of any situation that was a threat so that the proper response could be made to find and nutralize it.

The key being, I had to be able to recognize it!!!

Today, the watchman carries another name. It is the preacher. He/she is the one that is supposed to be on guard over the souls that are under their charge, and to give them warning when they see the evidence of infiltration by the enemy.

However, in far too many instances, these people are either asleep, distracted by politics, revelry, or, they can't identify it as being a threat, or where it comes from.

What good is a watchman if he can't identify what is a threat? What good is he if when seeing the threat, doesn't know what to tell the people to do? For all intents and purposes an individual like this has no business being a watchman/preacher.

The best example of how a watchman/preacher should be is the air traffic controller at our nation's airports. My hat goes off to every one of them. Every day that they're on the job, they are responsible for millions of lives in the areas of their responsibility.

They have to be alert and on the ball. Any mistake or miscalculation on their part could lead to the deaths of hundreds of people in an instant. They have to see the trouble and they have to tell the pilots of the airplanes what to do to avoid it.

When I joined the Air Force, I signed up to be an air traffic controller. But after going through a series of tests it was determined that I would not be able to get into that field. The reason being a problem was found with my eyesight.

Everything has to be in perfect order to take a position like that.

The same thing goes for the watchman/preacher over God's people. He has to be on the ball all the time, and be able to identify the threat, and tell the people what they need to do to save themselves.

The thing is, as I mentioned earlier, among other things, he has to be able to tell the difference between an attack by an enemy, or punishment coming from God.

There would be a BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OUR RESPONSE TO IT!!!

If it is coming from the Devil, then rebuking it, pleading the Blood of Jesus, and using all the weapons of our warfare as revealed in Ephesians 6:10-18, is appropriate.

However, if the source of this problem is directed by God, then, none of these things will work. And, could end up costing you a lot worse.

Take a look at this passage of scripture.

Acts 5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
Acts 5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

Look at the difference between what was said in verse 38, and verse 39!!

We will examine what this means as it pertains to this pandemic next month.





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