11/1/2017 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 1:1-3:15; Hebrews 3:1-19; Psalms 104:1-23; Proverbs 26:24-26

Today is the first day of November, the first day of the 11th month of our year. So, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is great to be here with you as we take this step into the new month. And this next step forward takes us into a new book. So, having wound our way through the warning prophecies of Jeremiah and then seeing those prophecies come true in the fall of Jerusalem and the carrying off of the Jewish people and exile in Babylon in the book of Lamentations, we find ourselves at the threshold of the book of Ezekiel. And Ezekiel is the first of two prophets from the Babylonian exile. Ezekiel prophesied to the Jewish people for the first two decades of their exile in Babylon. And true to form, the prophet prophesies and the people are too busy assimilating themselves into the new culture to listen. Ezekiel also contains descriptions of almost cinematic visions that in many ways parallel the visions of John on the island of Patmos when he wrote the book of Revelation. And these parallels are often cross-examined in eschatological studies, the studies of the end times, but this doesn’t make it a lofty and unapproachable book. These visions have a great impact, personally, on Ezekiel and if we’re able to allow ourselves to approach the book and the imagery from the perspective of what it speaks to our hearts, rather than trying to force it into a timeline of some sort or a linear ABC list, we’ll be able to revel in its deep and rich textures, allowing it to speak to us as a sunrise would rather than how the morning newspaper does. The book of Ezekiel holds much promise for us today and is one of the most relevant books of prophecy we have. Ezekiel may have spoken these words thousands of years ago, but it is as if he is saying them now. And, we, once again, have the opportunity to ignore or embrace what God is saying. And with that, from the Good News translation this week, Ezekiel chapter 1 verse 1 through 3 verse 15. And we’ll begin with Ezekiel’s first vision of God.

Prayer:

Father, as we begin this brand-new month, this 11th of the 12 months that are the revolution through a year, we look back, as we do at the beginning of most months and we see Your continued faithfulness and counsel and guidance through Your word each day. And as we begin the book of Ezekiel and begin to move our way through those prophetic utterances, we invite Your Holy Spirit to speak to us. As we continue through the book of Hebrews, we invite You to speak to us. And of course, we are led into your faithfulness and worship and adoration in the book of Psalms, but we also find ourselves there, for they speak true, the cry of the heart. And we receive Your counsel from the book of Proverbs. And we continue to meditate on Your words in the way that we use them, the way that we use them for good and the way that we use them falsely, as You have been challenging us. So, come Holy Spirit. We consecrate this month and our hearts to You and Your service in this world in this brand-new month. Come Jesus. We pray in Your name. We ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here.  

So, couple things. As we bring to the closing, the Global Campfire initiative. I just want to thank those of you who participated. Thank you for hearing me and understanding what we’re trying to do and why we’re trying to do it, in building out this platform and the new integrated app that goes along with it and making it free, free for anyone. We are full steam ahead and kind of our wrapping up development of phase 1 of this. Those of you who participated will be getting an invitation with instructions on how to access the app and begin to use it. And it’ll take a couple of days for the us to get that all organized together and out but we’re beginning that today. Super, super excited, like perma-grin on the face about this day because it’s been a long slog forward to get this point. So, I can’t thank you enough. And I’ve already said it all, but it just bears repeating. Thank you for sewing into the lives of those who are coming in making a better way to experience the spoken word of God in and among this community. Thank you.

And then, I haven’t mentioned the calendar in a few days, but coming up on the 19th of this month, so in a couple weeks, we will be in Shreveport, Louisiana, in Bossier City, Louisiana, to be specific, and we will be bringing the Sneezing Jesus message at River Valley church in Bossier City. So, if you are down south then come say hello. For sure, come say hello. You can get all the details at dailyaudiobible.com. Just scroll down to the events section and you’ll find everything you want to know there and we’ll see you soon.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link and it’s on the homepage. And I thank you, thank you every day for your partnership. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the More button in the lower right-hand corner and if you prefer the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill TN 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports:

Hey DAB family this is Byron calling from Florida. I’m calling for Lee in New Jersey. Hey brother, I’m so sorry that your family is going through this difficult time, this conscious moment, where it seems to be coming apart due to your anger issues. You know I’m praying for you and that we’re all praying for you coming together as a community to cover for you guys man. But here’s the thing, do you deserve, perhaps, for your family to leave because of your anger issues? Yeah. Maybe. But is it in God’s will for your family to stay together? Yes. Yes. 100% absolutely yes. You need to understand that those two things are not related to each other. We are Christians. The very story of our live is that we are getting from God what we don’t deserve. So, take all that anger, all that frustration, and all that screaming and direct it upward, direct it towards God, direct it toward Your Father because He can take it and moreover, He can do something about it. Don’t take this lying down. Don’t resign yourself that you have to lose your family because you deserve it. Our God is bigger than that, stronger than that, and more merciful than that. So, trust Him and wait for Him and allow Him to show up and do something awesome to you so that when it’s done, all you can say is, God is gracious, He is merciful and He’s done so much for me. That’s all of our story. And I know, particular to my family, that’s my story too. I have a family I don’t deserve and I praise God for it. Praise Him for it to man. Love you. Praying for you.

Hello global campfire. This is Drew from Dallas. Today is October 28th and I’m calling to express gratitude because last week marked one year since I began listening to the Daily Audio Bible. And last week we also celebrated my son’s first birthday. And those two milestones are related because I learned about the DAB from our doctor, who told us about it as he delivered our son, whose name is Jack, into this world. And, so, over the past year, as baby Jack has grown, so has my love for God, thanks to the Daily Audio Bible. Jack and I often listen together. And, so, he is quite familiar with Brian’s voice. And I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us in year two. So, thank you so much Brian and everyone else who’s behind the scenes for sharing the spoken word of God with us. It has made such a difference in our lives and we continue to be deeply grateful.

This is Peg in Texas. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, I lift up the one who called from Kentucky. I think her name is Karen and yet I’m not sure I remember correctly. But you know exactly who she is and you know the concerns of her heart before they were even shared with the DAB family, a part of Christ’s body on earth. Now I pray for her and all those who have expressed tremendous loneliness. Father, You understand better than we understand ourselves. You understand that there is a sadness in not being connected, there is a sadness in being surrounded with one’s thoughts and not having feedback. Sometimes we need to hear that our requests are taken seriously. Sometimes we need to hear our name placed before You. And, so, now I place her name and I just ask for the others that have expressed the same thoughts of loneliness that You will minister to each one. Even in being alone, I pray that she and others will begin to experience the truth in that You have said that You will never leave and that You will never forsake. How grateful l am that You are ever present, that You see, that You hear, that Your spirit invades, and that You convict and convince through the Holy Spirit. I pray that Karen and for all those who are lonely. I pray that they will make the choice to talk with You, to listen to You as You speak through Your word. I pray that You will grant her and others, and even myself, the joy of friendliness whenever and wherever we rub shoulders with others. I pray that You will grant her an interest in those that cross her path, nurses and doctors and other patients, maybe family far away or maybe someone down the street or maybe someone at church.

Hi Daily Audio Bible. This is Paul from Houston and I’m calling in response to a September 3rd call by Tony the painter from London. And he was asking for prayer regarding his marriage with his wife from North Carolina that they hadn’t seen each other since January. So, I was just wanting to pray that God would open the doors for Tony and for his wife and that they will be reunited and I ask that God would just orchestrate that and that openings would come at the right time and his green card would come at the right time. And I just thank God and ask that his marriage would just be the whole and it will be together and I thank you Lord for blessing his marriage and I thank You Lord for being with him, with Tony and with his family. I thank You Lord for blessing them wherever they are, whether it’s in London, North Carolina, or wherever they end up. Thank You God that You ordained it and that You orchestrated it and I thank You God that You are in control of him and of our lives. I thank You Lord for the marriages out there, Lord, that You would unite husbands and wives. And I thank you Lord that You would orchestrate these different things. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday November 1, 2017 (NIV)

Ezekiel 1:1-3:15

EZEKIEL'S FIRST VISION OF GOD (1.1—7.27)

God's Throne

(A)On the fifth day of the fourth month of the thirtieth year,[a] I, Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, was living with the Jewish exiles by the Chebar River in Babylonia. The sky opened, and I saw a vision of God. ((B)It was the fifth year since King Jehoiachin had been taken into exile.) There in Babylonia beside the Chebar River, I heard the Lord speak to me, and I felt his power.

I looked up and saw a windstorm coming from the north. Lightning was flashing from a huge cloud, and the sky around it was glowing. Where the lightning was flashing, something shone like bronze. (C)At the center of the storm I saw what looked like four living creatures in human form, but each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight, and they had hoofs like those of a bull. They shone like polished bronze. In addition to their four faces and four wings, they each had four human hands, one under each wing. Two wings of each creature were spread out so that the creatures formed a square, with their wing tips touching. When they moved, they moved as a group without turning their bodies.

10 (D)Each living creature had four different faces: a human face in front, a lion's face at the right, a bull's face at the left, and an eagle's face at the back. 11 Two wings[b] of each creature were raised so that they touched the tips of the wings of the creatures next to it, and their other two wings were folded against their bodies. 12 Each creature faced all four directions, and so the group could go wherever they wished, without having to turn.

13 (E)Among[c] the creatures there was something that looked like a blazing torch, constantly moving. The fire would blaze up and shoot out flashes of lightning. 14 The creatures themselves darted back and forth with the speed of lightning.

15 (F)As I was looking at the four creatures I saw four wheels touching the ground, one beside each of them.[d] 16 All four wheels were alike; each one shone like a precious stone, and each had another wheel intersecting it at right angles, 17 so that the wheels could move in any of the four directions. 18 (G)The rims of the wheels were covered with eyes.[e] 19 Whenever the creatures moved, the wheels moved with them, and if the creatures rose up from the earth, so did the wheels. 20 The creatures went wherever they wished, and the wheels did exactly what the creatures did, because the creatures controlled them. 21 So every time the creatures moved or stopped or rose in the air, the wheels did exactly the same.

22 (H)Above the heads of the creatures there was something that looked like a dome made of dazzling crystal. 23 There under the dome stood the creatures, each stretching out two wings toward the ones next to it and covering its body with the other two wings. 24 (I)I heard the noise their wings made in flight; it sounded like the roar of the sea, like the noise of a huge army, like the voice of Almighty God. When they stopped flying, they folded their wings, 25 but there was still a sound coming from above the dome over their heads.

26 (J)Above the dome there was something that looked like a throne made of sapphire, and sitting on the throne was a figure that looked like a human being. 27 (K)The figure seemed to be shining like bronze in the middle of a fire. It shone all over with a bright light 28 that had in it all the colors of the rainbow. This was the dazzling light which shows the presence of the Lord.

God Calls Ezekiel to Be a Prophet

When I saw this, I fell face downward on the ground. Then I heard a voice

saying, “Mortal man, stand up. I want to talk to you.” While the voice was speaking, God's spirit entered me and raised me to my feet, and I heard the voice continue, “Mortal man, I am sending you to the people of Israel. They have rebelled and turned against me and are still rebels, just as their ancestors were. They are stubborn and do not respect me, so I am sending you to tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them. Whether those rebels listen to you or not, they will know that a prophet has been among them.

“But you, mortal man, must not be afraid of them or of anything they say. They will defy and despise you; it will be like living among scorpions. Still, don't be afraid of those rebels or of anything they say. You will tell them whatever I tell you to say, whether they listen or not. Remember what rebels they are.

“Mortal man, listen to what I tell you. Don't be rebellious like them. Open your mouth and eat what I am going to give you.” (L)I saw a hand reaching out toward me, and it was holding a scroll. 10 The hand unrolled the scroll, and I saw that there was writing on both sides—cries of grief were written there, and wails and groans.

(M)God said, “Mortal man, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.”

So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. He said, “Mortal man, eat this scroll that I give you; fill your stomach with it.” I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey.

Then God said, “Mortal man, go to the people of Israel and say to them whatever I tell you to say. I am not sending you to a nation that speaks a difficult foreign language, but to the Israelites. If I sent you to great nations that spoke difficult languages you didn't understand, they would listen to you. But none of the people of Israel will be willing to listen; they will not even listen to me. All of them are stubborn and defiant. Now I will make you as stubborn and as tough as they are. I will make you as firm as a rock, as hard as a diamond; don't be afraid of those rebels.”

10 God continued, “Mortal man, pay close attention and remember everything I tell you. 11 Then go to the people of your nation who are in exile and tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them, whether they pay attention to you or not.”

12 Then God's spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the loud roar of a voice that said, “Praise the glory of the Lord in heaven above!” 13 I heard the wings of the creatures beating together in the air, and the noise of the wheels, as loud as an earthquake. 14 The power of the Lord came on me with great force, and as his spirit carried me off, I felt bitter and angry. 15 So I came to Tel Abib beside the Chebar River, where the exiles were living, and for seven days I stayed there, overcome by what I had seen and heard.

Footnotes:

  1. Ezekiel 1:1 It is not known to what year this refers.
  2. Ezekiel 1:11 Some ancient translations Two wings; Hebrew Their faces, their wings.
  3. Ezekiel 1:13 Some ancient translations Among; Hebrew And the likeness of.
  4. Ezekiel 1:15 Some ancient translations them; Hebrew their faces.
  5. Ezekiel 1:18 Verse 18 in Hebrew is unclear.
Good News Translation (GNT)

Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society

Hebrews 3

Jesus Is Greater than Moses

My Christian friends, who also have been called by God! Think of Jesus, whom God sent to be the High Priest of the faith we profess. (A)He was faithful to God, who chose him to do this work, just as Moses was faithful in his work in God's house. A man who builds a house receives more honor than the house itself. In the same way Jesus is worthy of much greater honor than Moses. Every house, of course, is built by someone—and God is the one who has built all things. Moses was faithful in God's house as a servant, and he spoke of the things that God would say in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son in charge of God's house. We are his house if we keep up our courage and our confidence in what we hope for.

A Rest for God's People

(B)So then, as the Holy Spirit says,

“If you hear God's voice today,
do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were when they rebelled against God,
as they were that day in the desert when they put him to the test.
There they put me to the test and tried me, says God,
although they had seen what I did for forty years.
10 And so I was angry with those people and said,
‘They are always disloyal
and refuse to obey my commands.’
11 I was angry and made a solemn promise:
‘They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest!’”

12 My friends, be careful that none of you have a heart so evil and unbelieving that you will turn away from the living God. 13 Instead, in order that none of you be deceived by sin and become stubborn, you must help one another every day, as long as the word “Today” in the scripture applies to us. 14 For we are all partners with Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at the beginning.

15 (C)This is what the scripture says:

“If you hear God's voice today,
do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were
when they rebelled against God.”

16 (D)Who were the people who heard God's voice and rebelled against him? All those who were led out of Egypt by Moses. 17 With whom was God angry for forty years? With the people who sinned, who fell down dead in the desert. 18 When God made his solemn promise, “They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest”—of whom was he speaking? Of those who rebelled. 19 We see, then, that they were not able to enter the land, because they did not believe.

Good News Translation (GNT)

Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society

Psalm 104:1-23

In Praise of the Creator

104 Praise the Lord, my soul!
O Lord, my God, how great you are!
You are clothed with majesty and glory;
you cover yourself with light.
You have spread out the heavens like a tent
and built your home on the waters above.[a]
You use the clouds as your chariot
and ride on the wings of the wind.
(A)You use the winds as your messengers
and flashes of lightning as your servants.

You have set the earth firmly on its foundations,
and it will never be moved.
You placed the ocean over it like a robe,
and the water covered the mountains.
When you rebuked the waters, they fled;
they rushed away when they heard your shout of command.
They flowed over the mountains and into the valleys,
to the place you had made for them.
You set a boundary they can never pass,
to keep them from covering the earth again.

10 You make springs flow in the valleys,
and rivers run between the hills.
11 They provide water for the wild animals;
there the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 In the trees near by,
the birds make their nests and sing.

13 From the sky you send rain on the hills,
and the earth is filled with your blessings.
14 You make grass grow for the cattle
and plants for us to use,
so that we can grow our crops
15 and produce wine to make us happy,
olive oil to make us cheerful,
and bread to give us strength.

16 The cedars of Lebanon get plenty of rain—
the Lord's own trees, which he planted.
17 There the birds build their nests;
the storks nest in the fir trees.
18 The wild goats live in the high mountains,
and the rock badgers hide in the cliffs.

19 You created the moon to mark the months;
the sun knows the time to set.
20 You made the night, and in the darkness
all the wild animals come out.
21 The young lions roar while they hunt,
looking for the food that God provides.
22 When the sun rises, they go back
and lie down in their dens.
23 Then people go out to do their work
and keep working until evening.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 104:3 A reference to the waters above the celestial dome (Gn 1.6, 7).

Cross references:

  1. Psalm 104:4 : Heb 1:7
Good News Translation (GNT)

Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society

Proverbs 26:24-26

24 A hypocrite hides hate behind flattering words. 25 They may sound fine, but don't believe him, because his heart is filled to the brim with hate. 26 He may disguise his hatred, but everyone will see the evil things he does.

Good News Translation (GNT)

Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society