20/20 Vision Part 6

Proverbs 29:18

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.

 

Ezekiel 44:1-18

Then He brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut. The LORD said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. As for the prince, he shall sit in it as prince to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by way of the porch of the gate and shall go out by the same way.” Then He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD, and I fell on my face. The LORD said to me, “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the statutes of the house of the LORD and concerning all its laws; and mark well the entrance of the house, with all exits of the sanctuary. You shall say to the rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Enough of all your abominations, O house of Israel, when you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, even My house, when you offered My food, the fat and the blood; for they made My covenant void— this in addition to all your abominations. And you have not kept charge of My holy things yourselves, but you have set foreigners to keep charge of My sanctuary.” ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary. But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who went astray from Me after their idols, shall bear the punishment for their iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house and ministering in the house; they shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them. Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn against them,” declares the Lord GOD, “that they shall bear the punishment for their iniquity. And they shall not come near to Me to serve as a priest to Me, nor come near to any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the house, of all its service and of all that shall be done in it. “But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood,” declares the Lord GOD. “They shall enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My table to minister to Me and keep My charge. It shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and wool shall not be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner court and in the house. Linen turbans shall be on their heads and linen undergarments shall be on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat.

 

When God brings you out of the sin, from being lost in the world, he has to bring some stuff off of your life

 

1. Without Vision You Lose Sight Of What is Important.

 

 

Eli had become consumed with flesh

 

 

Eli in our text was lazy, undisciplined it also says he had no vision…

 

 

He is seated and leaning back WHICH REPRESENT CONTENT AND COMFORTABLE WITH WHERE HE WAS

 

1. The Next Generation Will Suffer If I Lose My Vision.

 

 

The problem according to this text is if I lose my vision my kids will become unrestrained

 

 

When you are not thinking about the future, about the next generation, you can just be satisfied with where you are

 

 

Ecclesiastes 8:11 it says that because judgment is delayed, people think they are getting away with it.

 

III. There Are Two Types Of Priesthood’s That Are In My House, In My Temple.

 

 

One is the priesthood of Eli and they are consumed with flesh and they have no vision…

 

 

I will let them only minister to them…

 

 

God’s gift is without repentance he does not take it back and they can still do it and it will minister to them.

 

 

That my ministry can become about performance, ministering to THEM using the gifts God has given me…

 

 

You can minister to people but you don’t touch God, you don’t come near to God to minister to God

 

 

The big question is when God looks at you does he see purity and will he let you come and minister to him

 

 

BUT THE SECOND TYPE – They Shall Minister to God.

 

 

In this text God is talking about our personal holiness

 

1. He Is Saying There Are Two Types Of People Serving Me Today

 

 

There are people that honor their personal convictions

 

 

God wants a people that will minister to him…

 

 

I don’t want to just minister to them, I want a ministry that ministers to him.

 

Two types of priesthood, there is one that can minister to them and the other can come near God and minister to him

 

 

I can deal with somebody who in their heart they are trying their best and they want to do better

 

 

Church is not about us it’s about HIM!