LIFE-STUDY OF EZEKIEL
Message 17
THE OUTWARD AND INWARD RESTORATION BY LIFE
WEEK 8 - SUNDAY
Scripture Reading: Ezek. 36:21-25
Read and pray: “In that day there will be a fountain opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.” (Zech. 13:1)
CARES FOR HIS HOLY NAME
Ezekiel 36:21-23 says: “But I had compassion for My holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went. Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake that I do this, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them; and the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when I vindicate My holiness before their eyes.”
Here we see that in the restoration of His people, God acts for the sake of His holy name. The inward restoration of life is carried out by God because of His name. Many of us can testify that we were restored and revived not because of any merit in ourselves, but because God did something in us for His own name.
BRINGING THEM TO THEIR OWN PLACE
“I will take you from among the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land” (v. 24). In His restoration, God takes us out of the world and brings us back to our own place. He brings us back to Christ as our land.
THE LORD WASHES US WITH PURE WATER
The Lord not only brings us back to the enjoyment of Christ; He also washes us with pure water. Zechariah 13:1 says that the Lord’s blood is a fountain that washes. Likewise, the pure water in Ezekiel 36:25 refers to the Lord’s redeeming and cleansing blood.
The Lord Jesus washes us with His cleansing blood not only when we are saved, but also every time we are revived and brought back to Him.
Cleanses Us from Impurity
The Lord washes us from two categories of dirty things: from filthiness and from idols. Filthiness includes all kinds of sinful, unrighteous, wicked, and dark things. This also includes hating others, doing wrong things against others, and indulging in worldly amusements.
When we were saved, we felt ashamed of these filthy things. When we are revived, we also have a sense of shame, not wanting to recall the sinful and worldly things in which we were once involved.
The Lord’s blood, like pure water, washes us from all our filthiness. Perhaps today we need to be washed from gossip, rumors, jealousy, criticism, and cruelty. We praise the Lord that no matter how dirty we were, the Lord’s blood is the pure water that washes and cleanses us.
Cleanses Us from Idols
Before we were saved, we not only had a great deal of impurity, but we also had many idols. This may also have been our situation after we backslid and before we were revived. Consider how many idols you had before you were saved or revived. For some, a piece of clothing is an idol. They love that piece of clothing more than they love the Lord Jesus.
Once, while brother Watchman Nee was ministering in Shanghai, he suddenly pointed to a certain sister and asked, “How many chapters are there in Matthew?” She replied, “Twenty-eight.” Then brother Nee asked her how many buttons were on her long dress, and without hesitation she told him the correct number. Brother Nee then said, “You know your long dress so well. You even remember how many buttons it has. Yet you do not remember how many chapters there are in Matthew.”
This simple illustration shows us that we may love a piece of clothing more than we love the Lord Jesus. Anything we love more than the Lord is an idol. Some Christians have never shed a single tear for the Lord Jesus, but they shed many tears for their clothes. This proves that they love their clothes more than the Lord Jesus.
Others may care for things such as a doctorate or a high position. Still others may desire fame or want to make a name for themselves. All these things are idols. We need the Lord’s redeeming blood to cleanse us, not only from all our filthiness but also from all our idols.
A NEW HEART AND A NEW SPIRIT
The purification mentioned above concerns the negative side. On the positive side, after purification, the Lord gives us a new heart and a new spirit.
Many of you have been Christians for years, but have never heard a message saying that you have a new spirit. No one told you that, at the moment of your conversion, the Lord gave you not only a new heart but also a new spirit.
Loving the Lord with Our Heart
We need to realize that there is a difference between the heart and the spirit. Our heart is an organ of love. Once I released a message in which I showed that it is not enough simply to have a loving heart toward the Lord.
One sister in particular was concerned about this and wanted to know what I meant by saying that we need something more than a loving heart. To illustrate, I asked whether she loved a certain Bible that belonged to her husband and whether she would like to have it. Then I said, “The Bible is yours; please take it.” When she stretched out her hand to take it, I said, “Do not use your hand. Just use your loving heart. Take the Bible with your heart.”
Through this illustration, she came to understand that having a loving heart is not enough. She also needed to stretch out her hand to take the Bible. In the same way, we need both a heart to love the Lord and a spirit to receive Him.
🌿Enjoy more:
Hymn: Praise to the Trinity — “His Reign”
https://hinario.org/detail.php?tab=1&mainmp3=admin/Uploaded-mp3-Files/0003.voz_piano.mp3&id=7
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