ACTING OUT on PURPOSE...
Acting Out On Purpose...for God's purposes.
Some of you have heard me say over the years that the prophetic person given to intercession is like a pantomime or an actor on a stage. They are called to act out with their life, what God is doing, or is about to do.
This acting is not necessarily included in the gift of prophecy, but it can be included when the gift is the man, at least this was the case with many of the Old Testament prophets, and I believe it is still true today for the weeping prophets, men like Ezekiel, which are most widely known today as prophetic intercessors.
I have sometimes compared this office to a windsock, if you look at the man who is a prophetic intercessor you can see which direction the wind is blowing and how hard it is blowing, or if it is blowing at all.
God will blow on the man, as a sign for you, your family, your congregation, your city, your region and perhaps even your country. This analogy is even more appropriate because the wind actually blows through the sock. In the book of Ezekiel, he acts first out of obedience and once he has obeyed, then he prophesies, the wind moves through him and then flows over his lips as he declares with words what he is already walking out.
Some of you have heard me say over the years that the prophetic person given to intercession is like a pantomime or an actor on a stage. They are called to act out with their life, what God is doing, or is about to do.
This acting is not necessarily included in the gift of prophecy, but it can be included when the gift is the man, at least this was the case with many of the Old Testament prophets, and I believe it is still true today for the weeping prophets, men like Ezekiel, which are most widely known today as prophetic intercessors.
I have sometimes compared this office to a windsock, if you look at the man who is a prophetic intercessor you can see which direction the wind is blowing and how hard it is blowing, or if it is blowing at all.
God will blow on the man, as a sign for you, your family, your congregation, your city, your region and perhaps even your country. This analogy is even more appropriate because the wind actually blows through the sock. In the book of Ezekiel, he acts first out of obedience and once he has obeyed, then he prophesies, the wind moves through him and then flows over his lips as he declares with words what he is already walking out.
What could you conclude by looking at this picture? What if the sock was an intercessor?
It obviously is winter and although the wind blows during the winter season, there is no sign of the wind blowing... however we can still see which direction the wind was blowing most recently. These times are some of the hardest to walk through with patience; the times when on the surface it seems there is nothing happening. But just keep watching, the wind can come up suddenly and this too will pass.
This particular sock caught my attention because it helps travelers on the road navigate this mountain pass safely. By looking to the sock, they could see how to hold their course when the winds began to blow. I saw that concept of the prophet is a windsock in the passage for my daily reading in Ezekiel 21-22 and it was written out in a way that was hard to dismiss.
God is calling for judgment (a sharpened and polished sword) against Judah's scepter (a stick of wood) and He commands Ezekiel to act out several things in front of God's people, to display the reality of what is coming.
In fact in at least one case v 14 He commands Ezekiel to do exactly what He later says, that (Ezekiel 21 v17, 22:13) He is doing Himself! Of course, there are many other examples of this prophetic acting out recorded in Scripture and it becomes so plain once you are aware of the concept that it is hard to believe you never saw it before. In just these two chapters Ezekiel is commanded 18 times to do specific things, Ezekiel becomes the sign for the nation of Judah.
v14 and Strike your hands together* let the sword strike twice, even three times.
v19 Mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon
Ezekiel Chapter 22
It obviously is winter and although the wind blows during the winter season, there is no sign of the wind blowing... however we can still see which direction the wind was blowing most recently. These times are some of the hardest to walk through with patience; the times when on the surface it seems there is nothing happening. But just keep watching, the wind can come up suddenly and this too will pass.
This particular sock caught my attention because it helps travelers on the road navigate this mountain pass safely. By looking to the sock, they could see how to hold their course when the winds began to blow. I saw that concept of the prophet is a windsock in the passage for my daily reading in Ezekiel 21-22 and it was written out in a way that was hard to dismiss.
God is calling for judgment (a sharpened and polished sword) against Judah's scepter (a stick of wood) and He commands Ezekiel to act out several things in front of God's people, to display the reality of what is coming.
In fact in at least one case v 14 He commands Ezekiel to do exactly what He later says, that (Ezekiel 21 v17, 22:13) He is doing Himself! Of course, there are many other examples of this prophetic acting out recorded in Scripture and it becomes so plain once you are aware of the concept that it is hard to believe you never saw it before. In just these two chapters Ezekiel is commanded 18 times to do specific things, Ezekiel becomes the sign for the nation of Judah.
Ezekiel Chapter 21:
v2 Set your face against Jerusalem
v2 and say to her...
v2 and say to her...
v6 Groan son of man
v6 Groan before them with a broken heart and bitter grief. and when they ask you,
v6 Groan before them with a broken heart and bitter grief. and when they ask you,
v7 Why are you groaning? you shall say. Because of the news that is coming.
v12 Cry out
v12 and wail, son of man, for it is against my people, it is against all the princes of Israel...
v12, therefore, beat your breast.
v14 Prophesy son of man
v14 and Strike your hands together* let the sword strike twice, even three times.
v17 *I too will strike My hands together and My wrath will subside
v19 Mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon
v19 Make a signpost where the road branches off to the city
v20 Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites
V20 (Mark out another road) against the Judah and fortified Jerusalem
v28 and you son of man prophesy
v28 and say, this is what the Sovereign Lord says...
v28 and say, this is what the Sovereign Lord says...
Ezekiel Chapter 22
v2 son of man will you judge her?
v2 Will, you judge this city of bloodshed?
v2 Will, you judge this city of bloodshed?
v2 Then confront her with all her detestable practices
V3 and say, this is what the Sovereign Lord says
v13 *I will surely strike My hands together at the unjust gain you have made
v24 Son of man Say to the land. "you are a land that has had no rain or showers in the day of wrath"
V30 looking for a man to stand in the gap and I found none...
V30 was the founding verse of the Thursday night prayer group and before I started reading this morning, I asked the Lord what should I be doing about replacing this meeting?
Should I pursue making a place for it?
or should I let it die? and then I came across this verse, Which is one of the key verses for prophetic intercession. God is looking for a man to stand in the GAP.
Should I pursue making a place for it?
or should I let it die? and then I came across this verse, Which is one of the key verses for prophetic intercession. God is looking for a man to stand in the GAP.
I haven't read out of this One Year Bible since October 9th so it is not a matter of just plugging along in a pattern of reading, kind of knowing in the back of your mind what was coming. No! I really didn't know what I was going to run into. But this morning I felt led to go get my one year bible and read today's reading, which was Ezekiel 21-22:31.
Maybe we could all do a little Bible study, how many times in the book of Ezekiel is he commanded to do a public act that relates to a prophetic word for the captives of Judah in Babylon?
Maybe we could all do a little Bible study, how many times in the book of Ezekiel is he commanded to do a public act that relates to a prophetic word for the captives of Judah in Babylon?
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