Got authority? Then you can get things done. When someone gives authority, they expect you to use it. We look at Ezekiel's call and Jesus healing the centurion's servant to see sacred authority at work for God's people, and learn how we're authorized.
Ezekiel's call starts with the volume's beginning chapter which depicts the prophet's wild vision. In our selection in chapter 2, the Lord begins speaking to the prophet. Key things happen in these first verses of Ezekiel 2; the use of the name "son of man," a special term that gets used in Daniel's vision (ch. 7) and by Jesus to identify himself, and that gets paired with the presence of "the Spirit," which many of us recall from the stunning Ezekiel 37 "valley of dry bones" vision.
God calls the prophet to present God's word to the Israelites, "a rebellious house" (stated repeatedly!) that ignores God's word. God warns the prophet that notg only are they "rebellious," but nasty and treacherous, too, and he is to pay them no attention, but faithfully deliver God's word as he has been authorized.
In Matthew 8, focusing only on the story of Jesus healing the centurion's servant, we discover that there is a lot more going on than meets the eye. The centurion knows things about Jesus that most of the people around Jesus don't get at all.
Watch the sermon video below and find out more about the centurion story, and realize that God has authorized us, too.
Ezekiel's call starts with the volume's beginning chapter which depicts the prophet's wild vision. In our selection in chapter 2, the Lord begins speaking to the prophet. Key things happen in these first verses of Ezekiel 2; the use of the name "son of man," a special term that gets used in Daniel's vision (ch. 7) and by Jesus to identify himself, and that gets paired with the presence of "the Spirit," which many of us recall from the stunning Ezekiel 37 "valley of dry bones" vision.
God calls the prophet to present God's word to the Israelites, "a rebellious house" (stated repeatedly!) that ignores God's word. God warns the prophet that notg only are they "rebellious," but nasty and treacherous, too, and he is to pay them no attention, but faithfully deliver God's word as he has been authorized.
In Matthew 8, focusing only on the story of Jesus healing the centurion's servant, we discover that there is a lot more going on than meets the eye. The centurion knows things about Jesus that most of the people around Jesus don't get at all.
Watch the sermon video below and find out more about the centurion story, and realize that God has authorized us, too.
| 07-01-18-ff-answers.pdf |
| 07-01-18-speaking_by_sacred_authority.pdf |