* God is in the transfer business.

* He transfers the wealth of the wicked to the righteous.

* He also transfers positions of power, influence, and authority from whom and to whom He wishes.

* He did it with Eliakim replacing Shebna in Isaiah 22.

* He did it with Zadok replacing Abiathar in 1 Kings 2.

* He did it with Ezekiel as well.

* These men exhibited a “father’s heart.”

* In an age of “platform lust,” we get a great lesson from the prophet Ezekiel.

* Ezekiel 1:1 - “In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.”

* Where was he? Among the people - one of the group. He didn’t stand out.

* But then God gave him some crazy commands and a really difficult message to deliver.

* Out of a spirit of honor, Ezekiel followed those to the “T,” even though he looked like an absolute moron.

* The spiritual leaders hated him and made fun of him.

* But then the situation changed and Ezekiels’ words turned out to be true.

* Now, a full 14 months later, God’s word came to him again.

* Ezekiel 8:1 - “In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of the Sovereign Lord came on me there.”

* God transferred the mantle of leadership from these men to Ezekiel.

* Why? Because of his reverence, not his relevance.

* When chaos comes, the person who knows what to do will emerge the leader.

* EX: Custodian at the World Trade Center.

* Noah was faithful for 120 years to build an ark - and he was the most irrelevant man on the planet.

* Hebrews 11:7 - in reverence he built the ark.

* His reverence led to his relevance.

* The influence transfer is taking place - it always does in times of battle.

* The question is, will you be the one it’s transfer to or from?