Today is the ninth message in our series: Timeless - Truth For Today. We are covering the entire Bible in a 3 month period.
So far we've covered the first 23 books of the Old Testament.
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs (Solomon), Isaiah

Here's a re-cap:

- Pastor Don started us out in the history books with Genesis through 1 & 2 Kings. From these messages we learned how to worship the Lord and about walking in faith. We gained lessons that will help us be better citizens and build better communities and nations.

- Nick Van De Moortel wrapped up the history books with 1 & 2 Chronicles through Esther. We got into the history of the Jewish people in exile and their return to the Promised Land

- Aaron Smith began the poetry books and covered the book of Job. Here we shift from just facts to important wisdom for living Godly lives. Aaron pointed out that we need to think about who we get our opinions from and who we should seek approval from.

- Gary Nelson continued through the poetry books with Psalms through Song of Songs. How many of us love God the way He truly deserves?

- Jeff Burpee began looking at the prophets with the book of Isaiah. The book of Isaiah is a well of information, warnings, and prophecy. Jeff pointed out our sinner situation and then God's Savior solution.

This begins week 9 of our series. We'll look at 3 prophets, and a total of 4 books. Jeremiah, Lamentations (written by Jeremiah), Ezekiel and Daniel.
When we cover these next 4 books we'll be at a total of 27. Next week we'll look at the 12 minor prophets and which will take us to a total of 39 which completes the Old Testament!

These 3 prophets led at different times, but they had in common the fact that they all spent large amounts of time learning about God and trying to understand His will for them.
Now we'll take a look at each of the 3 prophets...

Jeremiah -

Jeremiah pronounced God's judgment upon the people of his time for their wickedness. He was especially concerned with false and insincere worship.
Even though Jeremiah was rejected, hated, mocked, imprisoned, and ignored, which resulted in lonliness and sadness, he never lost his compassion. He continued to praise God!

A prophet is a STUDENT of who God is.

Jeremiah 1:7-10
Quote from C.S. Lewis: "I need Christ, not something that resembles Him."
Table Question: Do we really know God or just know about Him?

Ezekiel -

Ezekiel was a man pretty much like us. He had an awareness of God, a heart for God, and an availability for God.
He was told he would be with people that had no drive or vision, that he would have to continue to repeat the same message, and that the people listening would be apathetic.
Ezekiel was able to see the big picture and always pose a challenge to the people.

A prophet is a SYMBOL of who God is.

Ezekiel 1:1, 28
A fan of something or someone models their lifestyle to represent the object or person of their passion. They are a symbol of that person, object, or team. We see this many places in the Bible and especially in the church. Acts 4:13
Quote from Francis Chan: "Lukewarm living and claiming Christ's name simultaneously is utterly disgusting to God."

Daniel-

The book of Daniel is a prophetic and apocalyptic book written about a faithful servant of Yahweh living in Babylonian exile. Daniel was told that everyone was going to want his job, that he would face danger and his leadership would constantly be challenged.
Daniel was an extremely honest man. It would have been easy to let his integrity slip but he was a man of pure motives.

A prophet is a SPEAKER of who God is.

Daniel 12:1-3
Each of us are called to warn people of the impending judgment, much like a lighthouse warns ships of potential disaster. We are to tell others about God and we will shine like the brightest star!

Take Home -

Jeremiah - was known as the Weeping Prophet because of his compassion.

Ezekiel - God used the images and language of Ezekiel to communicate creatively to the world around him.

Daniel - he along with many other younger and influential people were taken captive by the Babylonians and carted hundreds of miles away.

Each of these prophets shared God's message, were impactful to those around them, and stepped outside their comfort zone to share about God.
In all 4 Gospels and in the book of Acts, God instructed His people to be His witnesses and to make disciples. We have to look at ourselves...if we really believe something in our head and heart, then it must be spoken from our mouth. Student, Symbol, Speaker - we are all called to the same thing.
Matthew 28:19-20

Birthdays and Anniversaries We're Celebrating This Week!

Sunday, February 26th - Ardie Reid, James Wiser
Wednesday, March 1st - George Shook, Noah Mendoza, Alabama Jones
Friday, March 3rd - Kelly Kerby