King James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: The Importance Of Knowing The Truth
Date: Saturday September 03, 2011
Chapters: Ezekiel 10-13, Proverb 3, Psalm 83
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“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” - Hebrews 9:22-28.

Millions of people all over the world are brought up to believe, or perhaps drew this out of their own reasoning, that Jesus Christ was just an ordinary man, a prophet, God used to warn the people of His coming judgment. They do not understand the importance of knowing that Jesus, is in fact, the Son of God, born of a virgin, which made Him born without sin, who was sinless and perfect, thus becoming the spot free sin sacrifice that would save mankind from eternal death. “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;” - Hebrews 5:8,9.

The word remission means, to release, to pardon, it is the giving up of the punishment due to a crime, in other words, the perfect, sinless, blood sacrifice that Jesus made for man was sufficient enough to pardon the hell bound soul who looked to Him for salvation. The only way to be pardoned of the eternal death penalty passed on to every person born in this world is by looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” - Hebrews 12:1,2.

Amazingly, God use to dwell over the Temple in Jerusalem, when a person wanted remission for their sins they would bring an offering (spotless animal sacrifice), give it to the priest, and the priest would offer up the sacrifice to God on their behalf. However, with all the abominable acts going on in Jerusalem I imagine not many people were offering sacrifices to God, if they even knew what it meant to give a sacrifice to God. Through Ezekiel we see God in all His glory remove His presence from the Temple.

“Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight. Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD'S glory...Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD'S house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.” - Ezekiel 10:1-4,8,19.

Brokenhearted, His presence hesitatingly departed from the city and went to the Mount of Olives, lingering there for a while as though He were waiting to see if Israel would repent and return to Him. God is always around, He just makes His presence known to those who He trusts. People often think that God's presence lies between the four walls of a church, this is not true. God does not dwell in buildings, He dwells in the people He trusts inside the buildings, the only people He trusts are those who believe in and have accepted the blood of Christ in their souls. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” - Romans 10:9,10.

Ezekiel had observed the leaders of Jerusalem who appeared to be the chosen ones and the favored people, blessed and called to remain in charge while so many others had been killed or taken captive. In reality, it was those captive in Babylon who learned, through suffering, to repent of their pagan idolatry and trust in the One True God of Israel. Through Ezekiel, God foretells the fate of those who claim to know and preach God, but are liars and deceivers.

“Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you? And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly. Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.” -Ezekiel 13:17-21.

Many people will claim that they know God's Word, but the only way to know if someone is telling the truth is by reading God's Word for yourself. If what a person says lines up with God's Word than you shall know by the Scriptures, and I mean every Word of God, not just a few here and there. While we can not stop God's judgment, we can be prepared by learning His Word. Besides, learning His Word not only prepares us, it strengthens us, encourages us, and brings us closer to God and his blessings. “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” - I Corinthians 2:9.

Although God can hear and see everything that we are thinking and doing God still wants to show His presence among His people when they are living righteously, but when His people live in sin He will in a sense remove Himself from their sight. Think about it. Since God dwells in every believer that means any sin committed is defiling the Temple that God dwells in. Therefore, can you imagine God's anger and sadness with those who refuse to acknowledge Him and live a wicked life? Those who live is sin will, in a sense, lose the presence of God for a time, meaning He will not continue to help them, but He is always there waiting for them to seek His help. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - I John 1:9.

Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
Lord, I pray that You will capture our minds and draw our hearts to what has been prepared for us. May we with child-like faith keep our attention drawn to the eternal truths of Your Word. And may these spiritual truths turn our face toward heaven. Our future home where we will enjoy a sinless atmosphere, never-ending fellowship with our brothers and sisters and the majesty of Your presence forever. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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