Introduction: “God bless the USA”! Praise the Lord for our beloved country. But truthfully, is “AMERICA the BEAUTIFUL”- losing her beauty? CHRISTians are the backbone of this nation. *{News flash}….AMERICA needs to BLESS GOD! “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psa 33:12). Much like in the days of Ezekiel, who experienced His GLORY (Ezek 1), answered His CALL (Ezek 2-6), became a WATCHMAN on the wall (3, 33), cried out against idolatry (Ezek 8), interceded for the land (Ezek 22:30), and was FAITHFUL to his culture, believers today can do the same by the power of the Holy Spirit. How? There are (5) ways:

 

1. By being “SALTY CHRISTians! (Ezek 9:4)
“And the Lord said unto him…go through…the city….of Jerusalem…set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and…cry for all the abominations.”
• Salt adds flavor (Matt 5:13) “Ye are the salt of the earth”
• Salt preserves DECAY (Matt 5:13) ” But if the salt has lost its savor… it’s good for nothing”
• Salt stings in a cut

 

2. By being “Palm Tree” CHRISTians! (Psalm 92:12)

“The righteous shall flourish like the Palm tree.”
• Palm trees bend but does not break
• Palm trees sink roots deeper during a storm

 

3. By being “Bulldog” CHRISTians! (Gen 32:26)
Jacob while wrestling with the angel said, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.”
• A bulldog bites and holds on (God’s promises)
• A bulldog hangs on (prayer promises)

 

4. By being “Fire-Fighting” CHRISTians! (Jude 23)
” Others save….pulling them out of the fire: hating even the garments spotted by the flesh.”
• God’s 911 rescue squad
• Snatching people out of the FIRE (Jude 23)

 

5. By being “Heaven – Bound” CHRISTians! (Phil 3:20)
“For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven.”
• See God’s GLORY here (Psa 19:1, 2)
• See God’s GLORY there (Rev 21, 22)

 

Conclusion: I love the story of the little boy that was walking along the shoreline of a beach with millions of starfish lying helplessly in the sand. While he began to throw them back into the ocean, a man said, “Son, what are you doing? Your wasting your time! You can’t help save all these stranded starfish. The little boy picked up ONE at a time and said, “Look! I did that one!! And that one!!!”

 

Ezekiel made a difference, and so can we…

one heart at a time,
one FAMILY,
one neighborhood,
one city,
one country….

 

Love y’all, 

Dr. Randy Reese