"Therefore, say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God, "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord," declares the Lord God, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances."
Ezekiel 36:22-27
This is what God is doing. He has taken us, a harlot people, a people full of sin and idolatry, a people that has profaned His name, and He has joined Himself with us, and He has married and come into covenant with us. And He says now, not for our sake but for the sake of His Holy name, He is going to vindicate the holiness of His name and prove Himself, and He is going to wash us and cleanse us by His blood and bring us into a new land, a place in the Spirit that is holy and supernatural, a place that the carnal and natural man cannot figure out, but a place where He shows His greatness and proves that He is Lord. Even now He is doing this, and He's taking out our old hearts of stone and putting in a new heart of flesh, ones that are soft, pliable, compassionate and yielded to Him, ones that love Him and loves what He loves, and He's putting in His desires and His passions in us. And He's bringing us into this new place of the Spirit to prove Himself in and through us. In this hour He's pouring out His Spirit and He's going to manifest His power and blessings through us in mighty ways, not because we deserve it, but because He is God and He is Lord and He is King, and He wants His name vindicated among the nations.
God says He's giving us a new heart and putting a new spirit within us. It's HIS Spirit, the Holy Spirit, His very breath and life. And we will walk in His ways and live according to His ordinances and glorify His holy name. I praise God that He has chosen us and created us to be extensions of Him, of His Son Jesus. Jesus walked in that holiness and in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and now we are to do the same. We are to lay our lives down and receive His life, the life of the Spirit that walks and lives with the heart of God, a heart of mercy and compassion and of righteousness and truth.
Lord, we receive what You are doing. We are Yours and You are ours. Your name is to be vindicated. Do in us what needs to be done that You may be glorified among the nations. Take out our stoney hearts and put in Your heart of flesh. Put Your Spirit in us and pour out the fullness of that Spirit, the oil and anointing of it, so that we might walk in righteousness, truth and holiness, and so that we might glorify Your name among the nations. Amen
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