Scripture Reading: Ezek. 36:21-38
Ⅰ
For the inward recovery of His people, God acts on behalf of His holy name—Ezek. 36:21-23; Matt. 6:9; Isa. 29:23:
A
In His recovery God acts on behalf of His holy name—cf. Eph. 1:4; Rev. 21:2.
B
We have been recovered and revived not because of any merit in ourselves but because God did something in us for His own name—cf. 1 Pet. 3:15.
Ⅱ
For the inward recovery of His people, God applies His judicial redemption to them for their cleansing with the precious blood of Christ—Ezek. 36:25; 1 Pet. 1:18-19:
A
The clean water in Ezekiel 36:25 refers to the redeeming and cleansing blood—cf. Num. 19:2-10.
B
The Lord washes us from all our filthiness—1 John 1:7, 9.
C
The Lord cleanses us from all our idols—Ezek. 14:3; 1 John 5:21; Col. 1:18b.
Ⅲ
For the inward recovery of His people, God applies His organic salvation to them to give them a new heart and a new spirit so that they may be deified to become a new creation, the New Jerusalem—Ezek. 36:26; 2 Cor. 5:17; Rev. 21:2; Psa. 51:10; 78:8; 1 Pet. 3:4:
A
The Lord gives us a new heart to love Him—Mark 12:30:
１
Our heart represents us with regard to our inclination, affection, delight, and desire—cf. Matt. 15:8.
２
Our heart is our representative in action, our acting agent—cf. Prov. 4:23; Matt. 12:34-35; 15:18-19.
３
God gives us a new heart because He wants us to incline toward Him, adore Him, desire Him, and love Him—1 Cor. 16:22; 2:9.
４
In order to maintain the newness of our heart, we must keep our heart turned to the Lord, loving Him with our whole heart—Mark 12:30; 2 Cor. 3:16-18:
ａ
Our heart needs to be soft—Ezek. 36:26; cf. Matt. 13:19; 2 Cor. 5:10-11a; Isa. 11:2; Rom. 8:28.
ｂ
Our heart needs to be pure—Matt. 5:8; 2 Tim. 2:22.
ｃ
Our heart needs to be loving—Eph. 3:17, 19; 2 Cor. 5:14.
ｄ
Our heart needs to be at peace—Acts 24:16.
B
The Lord gives us a new spirit to receive and contact Him—John 4:24:
１
For us to have a new spirit means that our old, deadened spirit has been enlivened through regeneration—Eph. 2:1; John 3:6.
２
In his subtlety Satan has hidden the matter of the human spirit from most Christians—cf. Gen. 2:7; Zech. 12:1; John 4:24; cf. Jude 19-21.
３
In order to maintain the newness of our spirit, we must continually exercise our spirit to contact the Lord so that we may walk, live, and have our being in and according to the spirit—Rom. 8:4; 6:4; 7:6; 1 Cor. 6:17:
ａ
We must call on the name of the Lord—Rom. 10:12.
ｂ
We must pray-read His word as the Spirit—Eph. 5:26; 6:17-18.
ｃ
We must rejoice always, pray unceasingly, and give thanks in everything—1 Thes. 5:16-18.
ｄ
We must fan our spirit into flame, not quenching the Spirit—2 Tim. 1:6-7; 1 Thes. 5:19.
ｅ
We must practice prophesying for the building up of the church, not despising prophesying—v. 20; 1 Cor. 14:4b, 9, 31-32.
Ⅳ
For the inward recovery of His people, the Lord puts His Spirit into our spirit and causes us to walk in His statutes and to observe His ordinances—Ezek. 36:27:
A
The righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in those who walk according to the spirit—Rom. 8:4, 2.
B
The Spirit with our spirit is the key, the secret, to God's organic salvation—8:16; 5:10.
Ⅴ
As a result of the inward recovery by life, the desolate and waste places will become like the garden of Eden—Ezek. 36:34-36:
A
The Lord's recovery should come to the point where it is like the garden of Eden.
B
In "the garden of Eden" we have Christ as the plant of renown (34:29), Christ as the tree of life with the rich food supply.
Ⅵ
In His recovery by life, the Lord desires to increase us "with men like a flock"—36:37-38:
A
The Lord has promised to increase us, filling the waste cities "with flocks of men," but we still need to inquire of Him, asking Him to do what He desires to do—Luke 10:2.
B
We need to pray that the Lord will give us the increase and that He will bring in flocks of men—cf. John 4:4-8, 28-30, 39-42; Luke 19:1-10.