A Job Description for God’s Messengers:
- I’m going to keep this broad and include all of us who are called to share the good news of Christ. There would also be an avenue for preaching this sermon as the call of a preacher but I think the truths here are good for us in general.
1. We speak what God says.
- Ezekiel 2:1b, 4b, 7a.
- v. 1b – God speaks to us.
- v. 4b – We proclaim what the Sovereign Lord has told us.
- v. 7a – We are to speak God’s words.
- People don’t care what we think. We need to share what God has said.
- We need to get our opinions out of the way. Sometimes we mingle our opinions with His truth and we get into trouble.
- God has been clear in giving us His truth, so we aren’t in a confused position.
2. We are empowered by the Spirit.
- Ezekiel 2:2.
- v. 2 – A vivid image of the Spirit raising him to his feet.
- The larger plan of salvation includes being empowered by the Spirit to live out the Christian life. This is a significantly overlooked part of the Christian walk of faith.
3. Sometimes the toughest audience is those claiming to be God’s people.
- Ezekiel 2:3-4, 6.
- v. 3 – Israelites had rebelled against God.
- v. 4 – They are obstinate and stubborn. Harder than most.
- v. 6 – They are like briers, thorns, and scorpions.
- Sometimes people who think they’re ok with God are more callous to the pulling of the Spirit. They are quicker to dismiss what the preacher has to say because they know better.
- In Christian Pharisees, the call to repentance in the last chapter speaks to the need to quit thinking we have the answers and just humble ourselves before God.
4. The results are not your responsibility.
- Ezekiel 2:5a, 7b.
- v. 5a, 7b – Whether they listen or not.
- This is a hard lesson. We want people to hear the words of God and be transformed. Sometimes that happens; sometimes it doesn’t.
- This is true when we witness. You might give a well-reasoned, well-spoken, sincere presentation of the gospel and have it rejected.
- This can be true of entire ministries. A pastor who in another era might have seen untold hundreds come to know Jesus might live their life with minimal results because they’ve been called to a hard field. It’s not their fault.
5. Whether the message is received or rejected, our faithfulness is a witness.
- Ezekiel 2:5b, 8a.
- v. 5b – They will know a prophet has been among them.
- v. 8a – We must be faithful even if they aren’t.
- Whether they convert or not is not our responsibility. Our faithfulness to God is our responsibility. We need to be a solid witness for God no matter the situation we find ourselves in.
