Ezekiel has not been the easiest book of the Bible to study. Up until today’s lesson, most of it has been dark, depressing, gloomy and full of judgment and wrath.

But regardless of the past, I have some news about the future: the best is yet to come.

Because the book is making a major turning point in this section we’re in. So far, we’ve just encountered the bad news. But now we’re in a part called the Gospel According to Ezekiel. That’s what some commentaries call it.

And the word “Gospel” means good news.

So we have some good news for you today, and this good news will be in the form of future prophecy. This book is turning it’s attention toward the future for the material we’re going to talk about in today’s verses.

We’re covering the back half of Ezekiel 34 on this episode, and we’ll answer these questions…

• Why does God bring trials into our lives that cripple and hobble us?
• Who is the David spoken of in verse 23?
• Is it possible that we’re in the Millennium right now?

You’ll find out today on the Cross References podcast.

0:00 - Introduction

1:20 - v11-16, The Best Shepherd

12:45 - v17-24, Judgment Within the Church

19:45 - v25-31, The Millennial Sheep Pen

24:30 - Closing Thoughts

Special thanks to the Two Witnesses Live podcast for inviting me on their show recently! Here is a link if you’d like to see/hear it: https://www.youtube.com/live/Mh0bTZhUKwk?si=vqVdx6KZx9tQIZSo

If you want to get in touch with me, send an email to crossreferencespodcast@gmail.com

A pastor must be a good public speaker, able to draw large crowds with his authority and charisma.

A pastor must be like a CEO, an expert in management and leadership.

A pastor must be a skilled fundraiser, and know how to execute a building program.

A pastor must be on-call 24/7, even on holidays and vacations.

A pastor must be an expert psychologist and counselor, able to diagnose and treat every mental illness.

A pastor must have a picture-perfect family, a wife who leads the women’s ministry and teaches children’s church and does it all with a smile- and their kids must never misbehave or embarrass their parents.

And by the way, the pastor is supposed to be one of the poorest members of the church, driving an old used vehicle, living in a 1000 square foot house, taking now more of a salary from the church than the absolute minimum needed to survive, as a way to show his true devotion to God.

These are some of the modern expectations of a pastor or ministry leader. This is what many in the modern American church want- or think they want- from their pastors.

But are these expectations biblical? Are these the priorities that God said He expected from a pastor when He gave us the New Testament? Or are some of these things that we’ve added over the years? And if we’re adding human standards to God’s Word for what qualifies a pastor, is it wrong of us to do that?

We’re going to explore that question today by looking at a text from Ezekiel 34 where he shares God’s heart on the qualifications of a spiritual leader. All of that today on the Cross References podcast.

0:00 - Introduction

3:50 - The Pastor as Shepherd

15:20 - A Pastor’s Job Description- I Timothy 3

21:20 - Ezekiel 34, verses 1-10

33:00 - Closing Thoughts- The Good Shepherd

Special thanks to the Two Witnesses Live podcast for inviting me on their show recently! Here is a link if you’d like to see/hear it: https://www.youtube.com/live/Mh0bTZhUKwk?si=vqVdx6KZx9tQIZSo

If you want to get in touch with me, send an email to crossreferencespodcast@gmail.com

I have heard all my life about declaring God’s promises. The idea was that certain things in scripture became true in reality as long as you declared them to be so.

Sounds a little bit magical. But is it biblical?

We’re going to talk about that today. We’ll also wrap up Ezekiel 33, and for the first time in 30 chapters, Ezekiel is going to be allowed to speak freely. You may have forgotten, but Ezekiel’s mouth was shut for a large chunk of his time in ministry. God supernaturally prevented him from speaking.

We’ll talk about that. And nobody wants to be unpopular, but if you listen to the end today, you’ll also learn about the dangers that come with being too popular.

So are God’s promises something you just have to declare? Are they activated by faith? Or are there conditions that have to be met for God’s promises to be fulfilled?

You’ll find out today on the Cross References podcast.

0:00 - Introduction

3:30 - v21-22, No Longer Mute

7:00 - v23-29, Standing on the Promises of God?

18:30 - v30-33, The Dangers of Popularity

25:15 - Mailbag

26:35 - He Opened Not His Mouth

If you want to get in touch with me, send an email to crossreferencespodcast@gmail.com