When What God Asks Seems To Be Too Much Series

A HARSH STORY: God gives Ezekiel a task that overwhelms him.

- Ezekiel 3:14-15.

- 2 Corinthians 1:8-11; 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, 16-18.

- This is a tough story and it’s going to lead us in this sermon to some difficult points.

- We’ve been talking for the first two sermons in this series about the intransigence that Israel is showing. Further, God tells Ezekiel going in that Israel is not going to rush to the altar at his preaching. He even tells Ezekiel that he needs to have a “forehead like the hardest stone” because he is preaching to a “rebellious house” (3:9). Not an encouraging job description, huh?

- Now we have Ezekiel moved to where the Israelites are: in exile. The Babylonian exile was a hard time for a disgraced and disobedient nation.

- Now, it does not specifically tell us why he was filled with “bitterness” and “anger.” It is possible that it was because of the spiritual condition of Israel.

- It seems far more likely, though, that it is because of the mission God has given him when you consider what is before and after these verses.

- Before it God has warned Ezekiel about how difficult a group Israel is going to be to preach to.

- After it God gives (this is next week’s sermon) a lengthy warning about his responsibility to deliver the message no matter what the outcome (or lack of outcome) of his ministry is.

- Both point us much more toward an overwhelming task.

- Now, how can this be relevant for today when say, “God won’t put more on you than you can handle.” Well, the question is whether that’s Biblical. And the answer is that it’s not.

- One straightforward statement on that is 2 Corinthians 1:8-11. In it Paul discusses how overwhelmed and struggling they are. It’s a passage that clearly indicates that sometimes Paul was in a situation he could not handle and that led him to have to rely totally on God.

- That means that this may be a situation in which we find ourselves as well.

- Now, none of this are things we want to hear, but often the truth of the Bible isn’t what we want to hear. It’s important for us to clarify what’s going on here and I think our next step is talking about a false gospel that we often preach.

THE GOSPEL WE OFTEN PREACH: The gospel of self-fulfillment.

- This story about Ezekiel is one that we don’t care for. There are a number of reasons for that, but I want to focus on what I think is the biggest.

- It is that stories like this contradict the gospel of self-fulfillment. So often we try to make the walk of faith about making us happy or actualizing our dreams, or God fulfilling us. It reduces the gospel to something that is focused on us and our needs.

- One example of this is that many gospel presentations include the idea that “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” Now, I do think God loves us and I do think He has a plan for our lives, but the way this reads to most people considering Christianity is that God is going serve you to get you what you want. He’s going to solve your problem and fulfill your needs and many of your wants. He’s going to commit Himself to taking care of you. But, of course, that’s not what God is actually offering – that’s the gospel of self-fulfillment.

A MORE ACCURATE IDEA: The gospel of kingdom fulfillment.

- Matthew 5:11-12; Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Timothy 2:3-4.

- Now, we’re going to get into some challenging truths. These are wildly different than what the world is preaching at us.

- Rather than the gospel of self-fulfillment, the truth that this passage points us toward is the gospel of kingdom fulfillment. What kingdom do I mean? The Kingdom of God, inaugurated by Jesus.

- It is Jesus’ desire that this kingdom grow and expand to add many more people to its fold. It is His desire that this kingdom would have greater impact and influence. And we are one of the major vehicles for that happening.

- Jesus wants the kingdom of God to prosper and He wants to fulfill that through us.

- Let me share a few relevant Biblical ideas about how we relate to this idea and then summarize the idea.

a. Persecution.

- Matthew 5:11-12.

- In the beginning of the greatest sermon of all-time (the Sermon on the Mount), Jesus shares that persecution is something that His followers are going to have to deal with. Why? One major reason is that we are standing for something that the world doesn’t like. This rejection can go all the way from torture and death down to social shunning. (I’m reluctant to call the latter persecution although it is rejection.)