Greetings again my Brethren. This month we will start a new section looking at the divine, “Principles of Service.” To do this we use the “Living Creatures” from the Book of Ezekiel as a backdrop. Don’t you know we are “living” creatures before God and man? Many Christians I know want to be spiritual and try to make everything in their life spiritual well that is not God’s intention. We are to be of the Spirit of God (in Christ) and not so much spiritualizing everything. I think most often the spiritual side of our walk with the LORD is seldom, but when the LORD rolls back our understanding and we enter into the spiritual realm we are overtaken by the mysteriousness of what we experience and want to abide there forever, but this is not to be. Too much of a good thing can ruin us.
There is much we can learn from the “Living Creatures.” Again if we spiritualize everything we touch in God we will miss out on practical lessons we need to help us mature and develop in God. In verse nine we read, “Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.” (Ezekiel 1:9) The first thing we learn is harmony with our fellow workers as we labor together with God. Oh the loss in the Body of Christ due to petty competition
and rivalry among people and denominations. Oh the loss and waste of resources and time spent repairing mistake after mistake. Brothers and sisters this ought not to be in the Body of Christ, but sadly it has become the normal way of doing business instead of the abnormal. Please notice the “Living Creature’s” wings were “joined one to another” nothing separated them. How easy flight must be when you have everyone’s wings adding lift to yours. How easy things must be to get done when everyone is joined together in unity. Well this is the image. The word “one” here means unity. How easy to get things done when people are in unity. Now that is not all people agreeing on the same things because it is almost impossible for us all to believe the same things, but all people working together to get things done that will further the equipping of the Saints and the working of the ministry. There is a way where all hearts can come together in unity, but that will take the same dealings and judgment of God in all lives for unity is worked in man when they endure God’s dealings and judgments in their lives. It is God’s dealings and judgments that is the common denominator that binds our hearts together in unity. Until then we will be divided out existing on different levels of spiritual growth and development after all a man cannot give what he does not have. Paul said it this way, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:9) We work together with God in the garden of life. Not the Garden of Eden or another garden of our choosing , but in the garden God has planted us in. You, I, and the LORD yoked together in the yoke of servant hood and commitment to each other and as we work alongside serving each other we become God’s building, we are His special building project. Now it is important to know God has a building program we all must willfully enter into. Just as important to know, God starts building in us by first tearing down. God does not build on another man’s foundation, oh no. All that we are built on that is not of God must be pulled down and ripped out of our lives so that God can build in us His character and nature. The Psalmist said, “unless the LORD build the house he who builds laborers in vain. . . .” (Psalms 127:1) Many Christians today are building on church membership, attendance, and doctrine, but in reality they are building not in God’s building program and on sinking sand. Paul tells us in Ephesians,
“We are God’s workmanship . . . ” (Ephesians 2:10) We are the work of God not the denomination or church we attend every Sunday. We are the church and God is building us into a holy habitation (Ephesians 2:22) through the Spirit for Himself for all eternity. Along with unity (and this is the second divine principle) in Ezekiel 1:9, we can see God is developing a singleness of purposes with no devotion on account of other interest. Ezekiel says the “Living Creatures” “went every one straight forward” they did not go in different directions nor did they go in the direction of their choosing they all went in the direction they were told to go in. Unity of purpose like unity does not mean everyone is doing the same thing to get the job done oh no. In a team of horses pulling for the same reason and purpose one horse may pull harder than another because they are younger and still zealous while another horse a bit older pulls not as hard because they learned how important it is to conserve their strength while knowing just the right time to pull with all of their might, yet the pull is in unity (they all are pulling) for the same purpose.
Next month we will continue looking at the call of the Apostles by continuing to look at the “Living Creatures” and the divine principles of service they project. Can you hear Him now?
