09/07/2026
The Promise of the Return of Glory
Message by: Torin Joshua West
Worship is so important. Spending that intimate time with God, connecting with Him is critical. Don't worry about what others are doing or thinking. Raise your hands, hit your knees, do what the Holy Spirit pulls you to do.
God never leaves His people in exile. He leads them back by retracing their steps. We see this in the book of Ezekiel.
In Ezekiel 8, the temple was defiled.
Elders were in the temple, burning incense to idol engravings on the wall.
📖 Ezekiel 8:7-16
[7] And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. [8] Then he said to me, “Son of man, dig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. [9] And he said to me, “Go in, and see the vile abominations that they are committing here.” [10] So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. [11] And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. [12] Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’” [13] He said also to me, “You will see still greater abominations that they commit.” [14] Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. [15] Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? You will see still greater abominations than these.” [16] And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east.
In chapter 9, judgement began…
📖 Ezekiel 9:4
And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.”
Then through 9-32 sees a lot of things unfolding.
For those who think they are being beat up by the Lord…. Note what happens next in Ezekiel 33, Jerusalem has fallen.
Chapter 8 started a movement forward to Ezekiel 43.
In chapter 8, the defilement came, so judgement came. Then the glory left, and justice came according to their actions. They continue to defile, so God brings it all to an end. It is there that the focus switches from judgement to restoration.
Does God ever feel far from you? If you're in that right now, take an inventory of what's in-between.
Ezekiel warned the people of the temple of the wrong they were doing. They didn't heed the warnings
Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to find the ROCK (Jesus) at the bottom.
When you are at the end of you, and your ways, God can start His work. Restoration can finally begin.
When we look at Ezekiel 37, and the dry bones, we should reflect on if WE are those dry bones.
This is one of the reasons worship is so important.
📖 Isaiah 54:17
No weapon that is formed against you will succeed; And you will condemn every tongue that accuses you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord.
As we are alive in Him, the enemy will always try to come against us.
📖 Ezekiel 43:1-5
[1] Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. [2] And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. [3] And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face. [4] As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, [5] the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
The same way you left, He is coming through.
God is not waiting for you to clean up. You don't cleanup before getting in the shower. God will clean you, especially you in your filth.
The sound of many waters would be terrifying. Any noise around you or in your life, it doesn't compare.
After 19 years of exile, 19 years of no God, 19 years of a spiritual eclipse, 19 years of darkness.
The sun of righteousness rises in the East. (Just like the Son of righteousness rode in from the East on a donkey.)
There is something so bright about the light of Christ. It is consuming!
📖 2 Chronicles 5:14
The priests could no longer minister because of the cloud, since the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.
What/who are you listening to?
Sometimes God takes you into the wilderness to take you out of the storm… the storm where you are listening to the noise around you. He wants to put you in a place where you're listening to Him… not the voice of the storm.
We see God pull His chosen people into the wilderness all throughout the Bible.
We all have pride. If you don't think you have pride, your eyes are covered.
Sitting in the presence of God, on your face, is the real position of power.
When the weight of God's presence fills the room, pride can't stand.
If you're too proud to get on your knees in worship to Him, how will you lay yourself at His feet?
What is your heart posture?
What have we let become an idol?
How will you respond to the presence of God?
Ezekiel collapsed when the presence of God returned after 19 years of separation.
We must fall on our faces before we can stand in His power.
Revival happens when we choose the altar over the stage.
We need to be listening to God (though His Word and the Holy Spirit), because others will try to lead you astray.
📖 2 Peter 2:1
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
There are 1.8 billion Muslims in this world. False prophets were promised, and their success was promised. We see it today. Don't let that destroy what God is doing with the real, authentic prophets.
When we look back in Ezekiel… God didn't just pass through, He filled! Not 98%... 100% filled.
Are we surrendered 100%? Are we hitting our knees and on our faces in complete surrender? Are we listening to the voice of the King?
Ezekiel was carried into the inner courts. Some Christians want to play on the sidelines… in the outer courts…
There needs to be a complete undoing… a surrender. He is calling to put you in the inner court. The Holy Spirit will carry you there. God will speak to you there.
You can't do it without Him. You need Him.
He wants to return you to His Glory. You need only to let Him.
