SERIES: “EXCERPTS FROM EZEKIEL”
TEXT: EZEKIEL 3:16-21
TITLE: “ARE YOU LISTENING?”
INTRODUCTION: A. Two men were talking over coffee one day. One said: "I’m concerned about my
wife. She talks to herself a lot these days."
The other said: "Mine does too, but she doesn’t know it. She thinks I’m listening.”
B. We start a new series today: “Excerpts from Ezekiel”
--a little background information to get us started:
1. Biography
a. “Ezekiel” = “God strengthens”
b. Ezek. 1:3 tells us that he was born into a priestly family
c. Rather than serving as a priest, he served God as a prophet
--Prophetic ministry lasted 22 years
2. Background for Ezekiel’s work as a prophet
--a capsulization of several hundred years of Old Testament history:
a. The nation of Israel – God’s chosen people – had continually been disobedient
to His will
b. Sometime around 930 BC, after King Solomon died, the kingdom split into a
northern kingdom – designated as Israel – and a southern kingdom – designated
as Judah.
c. Around 722 BC, the Northern Kingdom fell to the Assyrians
d. The Southern Kingdom managed to hang on for just a bit longer
1). A new empire had become the world power in the meantime
--The Babylonians
2). The Babylonian king – Nebuchadnezzer – subdued Jerusalem in 697 and
10,000 Jews – including Ezekiel – were taken into exile in Babylon
--This is the setting in which Ezekiel began to prophesy
1). God’s people had continued in disobedience for years and refused to repent
e. Eventually almost every Jew was carried into exile in Babylon because they
continued to rebel against the Babylonian occupation
--On Aug. 14, 586 BC, Jerusalem and the temple were burned and destroyed
C. Ezek. 3:16-21 – “At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of
man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak
and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man, You will surely die,
and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to
save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for
his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his
wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved
yourself.”
Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a
stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for
his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will hold you
accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he
does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning, and you will have saved
yourself.’”
1. God’s people had failed to heed the prophets who came before Ezekiel
--Nor did they listen to the warnings that Ezekiel gave
2. Ezekiel’s job was difficult – seemingly almost impossible
--God had already warned him about their unwillingness to listen
a. Ezek. 2:3-4a – “He said, ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a
rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their father have been in
revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are
obstinate and stubborn…’”
b. Ezek. 3:7 – “‘But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they
are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and
obstinate.’”
3. Ezekiel understood that this mission was possible only because it was a God-thing
and not of human origin
a. One phrase is repeated 42 times in Ezekiel: “the word of the Lord came to me”
1). For Ezekiel, delivering the message was about being obedient to God
2). On the other hand, those who heard the message needed to know that they
weren’t rejecting Ezekiel.
They were rejecting God
b. God’s call to Ezekiel came in a series of visions
--Ezekiel describes it this way in Ezek. 1:1 – “In the thirtieth year [literally my
30th 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.”
c. Ezekiel saw the issue as more a matter of obedience rather than a chance to do
something great
--He was faithful in the performance of his duty
D. Ezekiel heard God’s call and responded with faithful action
1. When FDR was president, he often endured long receiving lines at the White
House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said in
these situations.
One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person
who passed down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, “I murdered my
grandmother this morning.” The guests responded with phrases like, “Marvelous!”
“Keep up the good work!” We’re proud of you!” “God bless you, sir!”
It wasn’t until the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia,
that his words were actually heard. Confused, the ambassador leaned over and
whispered, “I’m sure she had it coming.”
2. Title: “Are You Listening?”
3. As we consider God’s commission to Ezekiel, let’s make sure that we’re really
listening to what God is saying to us.
I. Are you listening to: THE CALL OF GOD TO ACTIVATION?
A. God placed a call on Ezekiel’s life to become a “watchman on the wall”
1. God says to Ezekiel, “I’ve got something I want you to do. Are you going to do it?”
--God is telling him that he isn’t really listening if he doesn’t do what God asks him to do.
2. Chuck Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity:
Imagine, if you will, that you work for a company whose president found it necessary to travel out
of the country and spend an extended period of time abroad. So he says to you and the other trusted
employees, “Look, I’m going to leave. And while I’m gone, I want you to pay close attention to the
business. You manage things while I’m away. I will write you regularly. When I do, I will instruct
you in what you should do from now until I return from this trip.” Everyone agrees.
He leaves and stays gone for a couple of years. During that time he writes often, communicating
his desires and concerns. Finally he returns. He walks up to the front door of the company and
immediately discovers everything is in a mess – weeds flourishing in the flower beds, windows broken
across the front of the building, the gal at the front desk dozing, loud music roaring from several
offices, two or three people engaged in horseplay in the back room. Instead of making a profit, the
business has suffered a great loss.
Without hesitation he calls everyone together and with a frown asks, “What happened? Didn’t you
get my letters?” You say, “Oh, yeah, sure. We got all your letters. We’ve even bound them in a
book. And some of us have memorized them. In fact, we have ‘letter study’ every Sunday.
You know, those were really great letters.” I think the president would then ask, “But what did you do
about my instructions?” And, no doubt the employees would respond, “Do? Well, nothing. But we
read every one!”
B. Sometimes we think it’s enough to come to church, hear a sermon or attend a Sunday school class or
Bible study and then go home as if what we studied really doesn’t matter
1. James 2:14, 17 – “14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can
such faith save him?” “17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
2. Mt. 7:24-27 – “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a
wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew
and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone
who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his
house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house,
and it fell with a great crash.”
3. What are you doing to answer God’s call on your life?
II. Are you listening to: THE CHALLENGE FROM GOD FOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT?
--What are you doing to show God that you have heard and are being obedient?
A. The job of the watchman
--In the ancient world, the “watchman on the wall” had two important functions:
1. Watching
a. Watchmen were set at important positions high on a city’s wall to watch for approaching enemies
b. They watched out for the safety and welfare of the people who lived within the city’s walls
2. Warning
a. When the watchman saw trouble on the way, it was his responsibility to warn the city ahead of
time – before trouble arrived
b. The watchman would either shout out or sound a trumpet to let people know they needed to
prepare their defenses against those who would bring trouble
c. The people of the city would then be able to close the city gates and fortify their position against an
attack
B. Ezekiel understood what God wanted him to do
--God spelled it out very clearly:
1. He was to hear the word of God
--Ezek. 3:17a – “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I
speak…”
2. He was to notify the people of Israel concerning what God said
a. 17b – “…and give them warning from me.”
b. James 1:22 – “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
3. He was to remain faithful in his task no matter what
a. Ezek. 3:10-11 – “And he said to me, ‘Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I
speak to you. Go now to your countrymen in exile and speak to them. Say to them, This is what
the Sovereign LORD says, whether they listen or fail to listen.’”
b. Paul’s charge to Timothy in 2 Tim. 4:2-3 – “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of
season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time
will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they
will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”
C. There’s an irony to this whole passage
1. Why would there be a need for a “watchman” now?
a. The war was over and God’s people defeated
b. A large number of Jews had been carried into captivity
c. The walls of Jerusalem no longer afforded protection for the remaining inhabitants
--So why the need at this juncture for a “watchman”?
2. The anser is simply: BECAUSE
a. Because God was still trying to teach His people about His justice, mercy, and love
b. Because God still had a purpose for those He called to be His people
c. Because God was not finished with the purpose that He started in Israel
--The coming of Jesus and the offer of salvation for a lost and dying world
D. Have you acknowledged God’s call on your life?
1. A call to relationship
2. A call to service
a. We’re not saved to sit. We’re saved to serve
b. George Barna surveyed 10,000 Christians about the purpose of the church
1). 90% (9,000 people) saw the church as existing to meet their needs
2). Only 10% saw the purpose of the church as God meeting the needs of others
through His church
3). Based on the results of that survey, is it any wonder that thousands of church close their doors
every year if 10% are carrying the 90% on their backs?
3. A call to be a watchman
--All Christian have been called by God to stand as watchmen to a lost and ding world
a. 2 Cor. 5:17-20a – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new
has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the
ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting
men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are
therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us….”
b. 1 Peter 2:9 – “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to
God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful
light.”
III. Are you listening to: THE CAUTION FROM GOD ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY
A. We just experienced the ferocity of a hurricane named Katrina. 36 years ago, in 1969, another
hurricane, this one name Camille, struck the same approximate area. There were a lot of similarities in
the aftermath of Camille as in the aftermath of Katrina. Pay close attention to this story about people
who failed to hear and heed a very important warning:
A group of people in Pass Christian, Mississippi were preparing to have a “hurricane party” in the
face of Camille. Were they ignorant of the dangers? Could they have been overconfident? Did they let
their egos and their pride influence their decision? We’ll never know.
What we do know is that the wind was howling outside the posh Richelieu Apartments when Police
Chief Jerry Peralta pulled up sometime after dark. Facing the beach less than 250 feet from the surf, the
apartments were directly in the line of danger. A man with a drink in his hand came out to second-floor
balcony and waved.
Peralta yelled up, “You all ned to clear out of here as quickly as you can. The storm is getting
worse.” But as others joined the man on the balcony, they just laughed at Peralta’s order to leave.
“This is my land,” one of them yelled back. “If you want me off, you’ll have to arrest me.”
Peralta didn’t arrest anyone, but he wasn’t able to persuade them to leave either. He wrote down the
names of the next of kin of the twenty or so people who gathered there to party through the storm.
They laughed as he took their names. They had been warned, but they had no intention of leaving.
It was 10:15 p.m. when the front wall of the storm came ashore. Scientists clocked Camille’s wind
speed at more than 205 miles-per-hour, the strongest on record. Raindrops hit with the force of bullets,
and waves off the Gulf Coast crested between twenty-two and twenty-eight feet high.
News reports later showed that the worst damage came at the little settlement of motels, go-go bars,
and gambling houses known as Pass Christian, Mississippi, where some twenty people were killed at a
hurricane party in the Richelieu Apartments. Nothing was left of that three-story structure but the
foundation. The only survivor was a five-year-old boy found clinging to a mattress the following day.
B. In that story, who would you blame for the deaths of the party crowd?
1. Was it the fault of the police chief who went to warn them?
2. Was it the fault of the apartment owners or builders?
3. Was it the fault of the storeowners who sold them the liquor?
4. Was it the fault of the storm?
5. Or was it the fault of those who freely chose to ignore the repeated warnings that they were in
danger?
C. Please understand one very important thing this morning: God will hold you accountable for the
choices that you make
1. Accountability is not a popular word in our society
--We’ve developed a “victim” mentality
a. It’s McDonalds’ fault we’re fat
b. It’s our parents’ fault that we behave the way we do
c. It’s the government’s fault that we don’t have everything we want
d. It’s God’s fault when we face the consequences of our own sins
--when we reap what we have sown
2. God spells out four very clear scenarios of responsibility in vss. 18-21
a. 1st scenario: The unsaved person who is not warned
1). Result: punishment for the unsaved person AND the watchman responsible for not being
faithful in their duty to warn
2). Why does God say that the unsaved person who hasn’t been warned by the watchman will be
punished?
a). There is no one with an excuse
b). Rom. 1:18-20 – “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the
godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since
what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine
nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men
are without excuse.
b. 2nd scenario: The sinner who is warned and refuses to heed the warning
--Result: punishment for the sinner but vindication for the watchman
c. 3rd scenario: The righteous person who falls into rebellion and is not warned
--Result: punishment for the rebellious person and for the watchman
d. 4th scenario: The righteous person who is warned and heeds the warning
--Result: The righteous remains in the way of the righteous and the watchman is respected and
rewarded
CONCLUSION: A. A police officer in a small town stopped a motorist who was speeding down Main
Street. The driver tried to explain: “But officer, I…”
“Just be quiet,” snapped the officer. “I’m going to let you cool your hells in jail until
the chief gets back. “But officer, I just wanted to say…” “And I said to keep quiet!
You’re going to jail!”
A few hours later the officer looked in on his prisoner and said, “Luck for you that the
chief’s at his daughter’s wedding. He’ll be in a good mood when he bets back.” The
fellow answered, “Don’t count o it. I’m the groom!”
B. What is it that God is saying to you?
1. Is there something that He wants you to do?
2. Is there something that He wants you to quit doing?
3. Are you really listening to what He wants you to do?
--You’re not really listening until you start doing what He asks
