I Fell on my Face – Turn and Live – Ezekiel Chapter 18

A few years ago, I did a detailed study in the book of Ezekiel. I’m going to be posting the prophetic insights from each chapter over the next little bit. If you want the full teaching, it’s available on my YouTube channel (link below):

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1SJ72pTdlLmfd8nXNtTwbwZGApM_1Xjo&si=3Vx3geZoUUB3arjU

I FELL ON MY FACE – TURN AND LIVE – EZEKIEL CHAPTER 18

He is calling for repentance. Will we turn and live?

INSIGHTS:

1. Mercy ALWAYS triumphs over judgement.

We know judgement begins in the house of God (1 Pet.4:17). This is happening on a large scale right now. It’s coming to the rest of the world but it must start in the church. There is such a misunderstanding around judgement in Christian teaching (especially in the prophetic). (To be honest, I find this deeply frustrating). The judgement of God is inextricably linked to his love. You cannot separate them. Mercy ALWAYS triumphs over judgement.

We want to choose the path of mercy. We want to turn and live. We want to be moving in that direction so God does not have to judge us in this life. Ezekiel 18 is about personal responsibility in the here and now. It has nothing to do with eternity.

To be clear, the judgement being released in the here and now is about being weighed, measured and found wanting. We can avoid it if we turn and live and throw ourselves on the mercy of God. Why? Because mercy ALWAYS triumphs over judgement.

2. Personal responsibility–everyone stands alone.

This is a hard thing to say and has been a brutal lesson to learn. (Personally, this has distanced me from some of my family members. I have taken a stand for righteousness, while they have chosen to remain in their brokenness).

Here’s the rub: we cannot use our environment or our upbringing, no matter how horrible it was, as an excuse to live an immoral life. We cannot use it as an excuse to treat people poorly. Hurt people hurt other people. We must allow God’s love to come and rescue us, be born again and take personal responsibility.

Please here me. If you were abused as a child or something terrible happened to you, it is NOT your fault. NONE of it was your fault. But is IS your responsibility to deal with it and allow God to heal it. Healing will turn your test into a testimony. It sends a strong message to darkness that the love and mercy of God can rescue anyone and anything.

As we allow the Lord to turn our hearts back to him, we can press on in hope and forgiveness.

3. It is time to get our souls healed.

It is time, Church. If you have not yet come to Jesus, he can redeem you and give you a new heart. You can be healed of ANYTHING. We just need to be willing to submit to the healing process. It’s time to get our souls healed. If we still have open wounds, please be aware wounds do not get better with time. “Time heals all wounds” is not biblical. Wounds fester and grow more destructive over time.

When I went through my own personal journey of extensive healing and deliverance almost 8 years ago, the Lord led me directly to Ezekiel 18. This scripture powerfully spoke to me back then.

“Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die.”

‭Ezekiel 18:4 NKJV‬

Please be aware, this passage is NOT speaking of eternal life and death. It’s about taking personal responsibility in the here and now and allowing his love to heal us. There is nothing his love can’t heal. If we say we can’t be healed, we are elevating our brokenness above the work of the Cross. We must be careful of this as it is a manifestation of pride in our life. We need to humble ourselves and cease thinking what happened to us was worse than what happened to him. We may still bear the scars in this life. That is OK. It’s proof he heals.

Will we turn and live?