Ezekiel 26
Tear Down the Fortress! (Part 1 of 2)
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, July 2.
Did you know that ancient Tyre was a formidable island fortress? It was the capital and leading city of the Phoenician Empire, who greatly influenced Israel and the surrounding coastal region. Tyre was built atop an island, which made it virtually impregnable by sea or land. The Assyrians had sieged Tyre for five years and could not prevail against it. Yet God confidently declared His judgment against this seemingly undefeatable stronghold in Ezekiel 26:2-6:
“Son of man, because Tyre has said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste,’ therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her debris from her and make her a bare rock. She will be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God, ‘and she will become spoil for the nations. Also her daughters who are on the mainland will be slain by the sword, and they will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
We all have strongholds in our hearts and minds that need to be brought low so that they stop influencing areas of our lives that should belong exclusively to God. In 2 Corinthians 10:3, we learn that to remove such strongholds we need God’s power, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”
Seize the moment and trust God to tear down the fortresses of sin in your life.
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.