06/15/2026
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. Psalm 46:4 NIV
Consumed and Mastered, Series: Bring Back the King, 1985
MEN WHO KNEW THEIR GOD
Ezekiel was a man who beheld God's glory and became consumed by the august majesty and power of God. It came to him in fullness, in the evidence and demonstration of the Spirit.
Ezekiel was a young man living in a dark, hopeless time. Israel had been in captivity for ten years when God gave Ezekiel four distinct visions. His response was marked by overwhelming awe, deep humility, and total obedience. When confronted with God's divine glory, he immediately fell face down on the ground in worship.
Although the visions Ezekiel experienced as a prophet of God were intended both to instill the fear of God in sinners and to offer comfort to those who knew God, they also filled his mind with lofty thoughts of the One he served. He had seen a display of his God's divine attributes and perfections. He had beheld the radiance of His presence and was humbled and awed by what he had seen.
Isaiah was another man of God, awe-struck and brought low by a revelation of God's glory.
During the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord high and exalted, seated on a throne, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Above Him, seraphim with six wings fluttered: two covering their faces, two shielding their feet and two flying. They called to one another, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.” Their voices shook the doorposts and thresholds, and the temple filled with smoke.
Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me! I am ruined! I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips, and I have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5)
Significantly, it was in the year that King Uzziah died that Isaiah beheld a greater King, the Lord of hosts. All the earthly kings who rule us must die to make room for the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Isaiah also saw himself. He saw the filthiness of his flesh, his unworthiness to stand before the Supreme Ruler, and his littleness before his Creator. To whom then will we liken God? Or what likeness will we compare Him to?
In that moment, Isaiah died 1000 deaths and saw his utter helplessness as the fire of conviction burned within his heart. But then God revealed Himself as wise and wondrous in power, yet full of mercy.
The psalmist David was yet another in God's chronicles of the faithful overcomers who experienced God's glory and mercy. (Isa. 6:1-5)
David declared, “When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works— he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke.” (Isaiah 6:1-5)
There is a river flowing from the throne of God. Prepare your heart to enter it. Don't settle for anything less than God Himself.
He longs to visit His people more than we long to be visited. Acknowledge your need and call on Him. He will not turn a deaf ear. When He comes, He will drive out every enemy, cleanse every idol, and bring repentance born of His goodness.
You cannot manufacture spirituality, but when you cease striving and run to Him for mercy and grace, He will establish His Kingdom within you.
To be continued…