LIFE-STUDY OF EZEKIEL
Message 9
THE HIGH AND AWESOME WHEELS
WEEK 4 - MONDAY
Scripture Reading: Ezek. 1:15─21; Acts 13:1-2; Eph. 3:8
Read and pray: “Wherever the Spirit wanted to go, they went, for the Spirit impelled them; and the wheels were lifted up together with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels” (Ezek. 1:20)
The items in Ezekiel 1 are presented in a good sequence. First, we have the wind, and this is followed by the cloud, the fire, and the electrum. Then the living creatures appear with four faces to express Christ in a corporate way. Following this, we have the eagle’s wings, the hands of a man, and the calves’ hooves.
All this is for coordination. The living creatures move in a coordinated way. This chapter continues to speak of the fire going up and down, of the burning coals and the shining torches. After all this, verses 15 to 21 describe the high and awesome wheels. Beside all the living creatures, there is a wheel. This wheel is as high as it is awesome; it is awesomely high. In this message we will consider the significance of the high and awesome wheels.
A wheel is for moving, not in a common way, but in a special way. At home, when we walk from the kitchen to the bedroom or to the living room, we do not need a wheel. However, when we travel a long distance, we need a wheel. When we do something to fulfill a purpose, we may also need a wheel.
Therefore, the move by means of a wheel is not a common move, but a special move with a purpose. The wheel in Ezekiel 1 implies a move with a purpose. Furthermore, the wheel implies that this move is not by our own strength.
FOR THE CORPORATE EXPRESSION OF THE LORD
The four living creatures are for the manifestation, the expression, of the Lord. They are for the corporate expression of Christ, and thus to express Christ in a corporate way. The Lord on the throne looks like a man, and the four living creatures who express the Lord also look like a man.
The Lord on the throne is like burning fire, and the four living creatures also resemble burning fire. From this we see that the living creatures are the expression of the Lord. Whatever the Lord is, they express. The Lord is living, and they also are living. The Lord is the living God, and they are the living creatures. Whatever the Lord is, they are. Whatever the Lord expresses, they also express. Therefore, the four living creatures are the expression of the Lord.
FOR THE MOVE OF THE LORD
In verses 15 to 21, the four living creatures are not only for the expression of the Lord but also for the move of the Lord. The Lord moves on the earth through them.
Whenever a church is proper, it expresses the Lord, and it has the proper coordination with the fire going up and down, the move of the Lord will be with that church.
However, if a church claims to be proper and yet does not have the move of the Lord, something is wrong. If there is no increase in number year after year and no growth in life among the members, there is no move in that church.
There is neither growth nor propagation among those in that church. This indicates that something is wrong with that church. If a church is proper, it will have a great wheel beside it.
Manifested to All
If a local church has such a wheel beside it, there will be no need for it to claim that it has such a wheel. Everyone will see the move of that wheel. If a church claims to have the Lord’s move, this may indicate that it actually does not have the Lord’s move.
When a church has the Lord’s move, no one needs to declare, “Look at the Lord’s move among us.” If there is a move, it will be manifested to all. Everyone can see the great wheel, high and awesome, for it is beside the living creatures for all to see. The wheel is simply there.
Every local church needs to have such a high and awesome wheel beside it. Furthermore, every individual believer, if he is proper and normal, should also have a wheel. This was the situation in Acts 13. “Now in Antioch, in the local church, there were prophets and teachers... And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (vv. 1-2).
These prophets and teachers were living creatures coordinating together and having the burning coals and the shining torches. They fulfilled all the requirements in Ezekiel 1 related to being in the Lord’s move. Therefore, the move of the great wheel was with them.
An Extraordinary Move
The living creatures have more than one way to move. First, they can move by flying because they have the eagle’s wings. They can also move by walking on the calves’ hooves. These two ways of moving are a common move.
But when they need to move in a special way, they move by means of a wheel. In your work, you need to move daily by means of the eagle’s wings and the calves’ hooves.
If you move in this way, your coworkers will see that with you there is something powerful. You may suffer things that others cannot and endure things that others cannot endure, because you have the eagle’s wings.
They may also perceive that in your character and behavior you are honest, upright, frank, and sincere, having no crookedness. They will see the eagle’s wings and the calves’ hooves upon you, and therefore they will be convinced by you in their consciences.
In addition to this kind of move with you in your work, there should also be another kind of move—an extraordinary move, the move of a wheel. Eventually, because the move of the wheel is with you, some of your coworkers may be gained for the Lord.
If you work in a job for several years and nothing happens for the Lord’s interests, this indicates that with you there is no move of the Lord. You may consider yourself spiritual and heavenly, but you lack the wheel.
If there is no move of the Lord with you, it is questionable whether you have the eagle’s wings, the hands of a man, and the calves’ hooves. This may indicate that while you are at work, you are somewhat worldly and that you are not a proper human being; therefore, the Lord’s move is not with you.
But if you have the eagle’s wings, the hands of a man, and the calves’ hooves, there will certainly be a wheel beside you. The Lord’s move will be with you.
Wherever we go, there should be a high and awesome wheel through us. If we move to a certain city, there should be a wheel in that city. If we move to a certain country, there should be a wheel in that country.
The presence of the wheel will prove that we are proper, that is, that we have the eagle’s wings, the hands of a man, and the calves’ hooves. As we have pointed out, if we do not have the eagle’s wings, the hands of a man, and the calves’ hooves, we are not qualified to have a wheel remaining beside us.
If we want to have the wheel, we must be the proper living creatures. This means that we must experience the blowing of the wind, the covering of the Spirit, and the burning of the Spirit in order to gain much electrum. We also need to have the four faces expressing Christ in a proper way and the eagle’s wings by which we can move and behave in a divine way.
Furthermore, we need the calves’ hooves in order to walk in a straight and sincere way, so that others may be convinced and approve us in their consciences. If this is our situation, then there will certainly be a high and awesome wheel beside us. This wheel is the move of the Lord.
Consider the apostle Paul. By reading his Epistles and the book of Acts, we can perceive that Paul considered himself less than the least of all the saints (Eph. 3:8). Even his name, Paul, means “small.”
Paul was a small man, but with him there were the eagle’s wings, the hands of a man, and the calves’ hooves. Thus, wherever he went, there was a great wheel, high and awesome.
The situation should be the same with us today. We must have the eagle’s wings, the hands of a man, and the calves’ hooves, and thus have a great wheel for the Lord’s move.
🌿Enjoy more:
Hymn: Prayer - “Working with the Lord”
https://hinario.org/detail.php?tab=1&mainmp3=admin/Uploaded-mp3-Files/0786.voz_piano.mp3&id=865
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