July 28, 2011

SOUGHT & FOUND

Ezekiel 26

Brittany Bundren
Thursday's Devo

July 28, 2011

Thursday's Devo

July 28, 2011

Central Truth

Sought and never be found? WOW! Never be found! Seriously? Who knows what tomorrow brings? Who knows when Christ will return or when our time is up? None of us knows any of it. If we don't do something, our friends may not be found in heaven if we were to look.

Key Verse | Ezekiel 26:21

"I will bring terrors on you and you will be no more; though you will be sought, you will never be found again, declares the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 26:21)

Ezekiel 26

Prophecy Against Tyre

In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. And she shall become plunder for the nations, and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar 1 26:7 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar; so throughout Ezekiel king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers. He will kill with the sword your daughters on the mainland. He will set up a siege wall against you and throw up a mound against you, and raise a roof of shields against you. He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. 10 His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached. 11 With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. 12 They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and soil they will cast into the midst of the waters. 13 And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. 14 I will make you a bare rock. You shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, for I am the LORD; I have spoken, declares the Lord God.

15 Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Will not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when slaughter is made in your midst? 16 Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground and tremble every moment and be appalled at you. 17 And they will raise a lamentation over you and say to you,

‘How you have perished,
    you who were inhabited from the seas,
O city renowned,
    who was mighty on the sea;
she and her inhabitants imposed their terror
    on all her inhabitants!
18  Now the coastlands tremble
    on the day of your fall,
and the coastlands that are on the sea
    are dismayed at your passing.’

19 For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you, 20 then I will make you go down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you to dwell in the world below, among ruins from of old, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set beauty in the land of the living. 21 I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more. Though you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord God.”

Footnotes

[1] 26:7 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar; so throughout Ezekiel

Dive Deeper | Ezekiel 26

May 21, 2011. How can you forget, the day the world ended, right? Wrong! Anyone who walks with the Lord was probably laughing that day and felt pretty confident because Matthew 24:36-44 talks about the return of our Savior and how "the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will."

I was with my best friend from high school that night when she began panicking and making phone calls in case the world ended. We read Scripture verses that night and talked about the end times, yet she never seemed to find peace. She knew Bible verses and had said "the prayer" at a young age, but she was still worrying about the end of the world. She had all of her treasured stored up on earth and had Jesus only if she needed Him.

There are so many "Christians" who are just like my friend. The prayer was said, and if you needed Jesus He was there, but the daily decision to surrender all to Him is never even considered. Thinking about my friend, I can't imagine her not being in heaven with me. Heaven is going to be AMAZING!!

I learned years ago that I couldn't stand back and do nothing. I couldn't be scared to speak truth, even if it might cost a friendship. The truth is that a friend is someone who cares more about your eternal future than hurt feelings. If I love my friend enough to want her in heaven, then I better do something.

The best thing I have ever done for our friendship was to speak the gospel and truth to her. It made us even closer than before. We may not live the same lifestyle, but whenever she needs someone, she always calls me; not because she knows I'll make her feel good, but because she knows I will be honest and speak eternal truth.

If the world were going to end tomorrow, I can't promise I could find her in heaven, but I can promise that I have done everything I can for her to be sought after and found there.

Discussion Questions

1. Who in your life, if you sought them in heaven, are you questioning whether they would be found?

2. If you do know people whom you think might not be headed to heaven, what keeps you from telling them about what Christ has done for them? Is your insecurity worth them not being in heaven with you one day?

3. If no one comes to mind, are you looking for people to share the gospel with?

4. Romans 10:9 says, "[I]f you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Do you confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth? Do you believe with your heart? Will YOU be found in heaven?

WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY

EZEKIEL 23-27 (JULY 25-29)

Read Ezekiel 27:1-11.

What did Tyre believe about itself in the second half of verse 3? Tyre was consumed with itself, and its people had become prideful. God is sending them a message through the prophet Ezekiel about their pride.

Read Proverbs 16:18.

What does God say about pride? What does pride look like? What does it mean to have pride in yourself? Your looks? Your gifts?

Read Psalm 10:4.

What does pride keep you from doing? Why is this sin and disobedience?

ACTIVITY: As a family, make a big list of things that people take pride in. Think about famous people, talented people, beautiful people, etc. What are the top three you struggle with most? Now, take time to go through each one on the list. Think about what will happen to these things in the future. Why should you not put your worth and pride in these things? Think about getting older, looks going away, strength decreasing, etc.

Now read Psalm 139:13-14, 2 Peter 1:3-4, and 1 Corinthians 12. What do these passages tell us about who made us? Who gives us what we need to accomplish His work? Who gave us the gifts and talents that we have? Can we have pride in anything that we do or should all the glory go to God?