Old Testament Scripture Reading: (Ezekiel 14:1 – 8 NASB)
Eze 14:1 Then some elders of Israel came to me and sat down before me.
Eze 14:2 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Eze 14:3 “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity. Should I be consulted by them at all?
Eze 14:4 “Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Any man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will be brought to give him an answer in the matter in view of the multitude of his idols,
Eze 14:5 in order to lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel who are estranged from Me through all their idols.”‘
Eze 14:6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Repent and turn away from your idols and turn your faces away from all your abominations.
Eze 14:7 “For anyone of the house of Israel or of the immigrants who stay in Israel who separates himself from Me, sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me for himself, I the LORD will be brought to answer him in My own person.
Eze 14:8 “I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from among My people. So you will know that I am the LORD.
New Testament Scripture Reading: ( Romans 12:9 – 18 NASB)
Rom 12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.
Rom 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;
Rom 12:11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
Rom 12:12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,
Rom 12:13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
Rom 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Rom 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
Rom 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Rom 12:17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.
Rom 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
Transforming Power Statements:
1) One very important thing often overlooked in the “modern Church”, is the emphasis that the Scriptures places on the relationship between God and “believers” whom He has called in the Old Testament Israel His “Wife” and in the New Testament, the Church “His Bride”; so that we as human beings can easily understand the kind of closeness God desires to have with everyone who believes in Him such as: 1) Isaiah 54:1 – 17; Psalms 2:1 – 12; Ezekiel 16:1 – 63;
2) In Ezekiel 14, some “elders” of Israel approached the Prophet to inquire of God, who were harboring idols of their own sin within their hearts, which God saw right through and instructed the Prophet that He Himself would deal with them with judgment because they had made the evil desire of their own mind into an idol of separation from God which would provoked judgment from God unless they would “repent” in order to avert His wrath which would become well known to everyone like a calling card from the LORD.
3) Paul gives some instructions in Romans 12:9 – 18 explaining / providing a “snap-shot” of what kind of life-style every true believer must attain trough intimate fellowship with our loving Father, Who has paid the LAVISH COST of providing each of us the PERFECT ATONEMENT of the BLOOD of JESUS, HIS Only-Begotten SON, in order to GIVE US Holiness that we could never possess, proving that “True Love Enables True Righteousness”!!