The Simple Life

But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. Ezekiel 3:19 (ESV)   Ideas and actions have consequences. My responsibility is to do what God asks me to do, for ultimately, the consequences are already prescribed.   "Public sentiment in New York has been aroused against a poor brakeman on the New York Central railroad because he failed to give the danger signal to the St. Louis express. He was sent with a red lantern to wave down the approaching train, but, instead of doing so, he went into a depot and sat down by the fire. As the express thundered by he asked, "What's that?" and, when told, he disappeared in the darkness and has not yet been found by the police. The express dashed into the train on the track and killed twelve persons. Everybody feels that such neglect was criminal, and yet how about us who believe that our friends are going headlong to...

But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. Ezekiel 3:19 (ESV)   We are not the controller. We are the controlled. We cannot force people to listen and obey God's Word, but that does not mean we should not present it to them.   We each have responsibility. We are responsible for what we hear, listen to, or learn. We are responsible for using what we have learned to teach others. We are all on both sides of this fence every day, and therefore we have the opportunity to grow and help others grow.   When we think we are responsible for others' growth, we are tempted to manipulate the data to validate our efforts, which makes us more critical in the process.   I often think of my limited ability and wonder why I bother teaching at all. Perhaps that is why God included the book of Ezekiel in the Bible. I need to understand that my faithfulness to God is ...

And 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. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.” Ezekiel  3:16-17  (ESV)   Often on the ocean I have gone to the prow of the vessel and looked out into the darkness of the night. I have found the watchman not one moment from his post, his eye gazing far over the sea, where he might discern at the greatest distance and at the earliest moment any cause of possible danger. The lives of the crew and passengers were in his hands. The mist might come down heavily, the wind might blow furiously, the storm rage incessantly; but still on and ever the watchman looks out in the one direction. The whales may sport in multitudes around the vessel, the whole sea behind him be in a phosphorescent glow. His own great object is not to care for these things, but to look ahead! So you are watchmen. You are on the ship. The vessel may be...

And 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. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me." Ezekiel  3:16-17  (ESV)   A watchman's job is to watch. The fight is not theirs. The strategy of war is not something about which they need to be concerned. They need to be concerned with watching. A faithful watchman stands on the wall or at other strategic spots and warns of impending danger. Watchmen need to be faithful, reliable people. Watchmen need to be those who communicate clearly, without delay, with the intent of the hearer responding to the message. They position themselves to see how the enemy operates, so that those in the city, on most days, can enjoy their peaceful lives.   A problem arises when those living peaceful lives ignore the watchman because of the plans they have made, in which case the watchman becomes annoying rather than protective. Tho...

Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house." Moreover, he said to me, "Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God,' whether they hear or refuse to hear." Ezekiel 3:8-11 (ESV)   God makes it clear that Ezekiel needs to let the people know that the authority with which he speaks comes from God. There is no debate, there is no campaign, and no vote, because God has spoken.   I find it amazing that adults can and will often act like little children. Ezekiel needs to be prepared for people's "ugly" looks. Those who are hopelessly lost and who want others to be lost with them become visibly angry with anyone who find...

But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. Ezekiel 3:7 (ESV)   On a winter evening, when the frost is setting in with growing intensity, and when the sun is now far past the meridian, and gradually sinking in the Western sky, there is a double reason why the ground grows every moment harder and more impenetrable to the plough. On the one hand, the frost of evening, with ever-increasing intensity, is indurating the stiffening clods. On the other hand, the genial rays, which alone can soften them, are every moment withdrawing and losing their enlivening power. Take heed that it be not so with you. As long as you are unconverted, you are under a double process of hardening. The frosts of an eternal night are settling down upon your souls; and the Sun of Righteousness with westering wheel, is hastening to set upon you for evermore. If, then, the plough...

And he said to me, "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart." Ezekiel 3:4-7 (ESV)   God commands Ezekiel to speak, then tells him that his speech will not matter. Ezekiel has a choice between obedience and apparent success. He chooses obedience.   I am commanded to love. I cannot control the results of that love. I need to love my family, my friends, and my enemies, regardless of how they respond to me. This kind of love demonstrates commitment, whereas most modern day "love" demonstrates arrangements.   Christians...

And he said to me, "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. Ezekiel 3:4-7 (ESV)   It's tough to speak to your hometown. A prophet and his message are usually not welcomed there, and your neighbors and acquaintances get upset when you challenge their lifestyles. You would think that those in your hometown, your family, would accept a message from God through you if you were a prophet, yet that usually does not happen. Perhaps when a prophet speaks to his home crowd, he actually knows about what to speak, and the truth becomes...

"But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you." And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. And he said to me, "Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it." Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. Ezekiel 2:8 - 3:3 (ESV)   The consumption of God's Word sustains the man of God. We are promised that God's Word will never return "void," therefore, feasting upon it is wise. The rebellious attempt to find sustenance apart f...

And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house. Ezekiel 2:6-7 (ESV)   What if God gave us an assignment that brought us no apparent value? What if we essentially got "nothing" out of serving God? The question itself, in one way, is absurd, for those who obey God will always receive a blessing. However, the blessing will not be in the form of comfort, worldly success, fame, riches, fortune, power, or authority.   Ministries that must evaluate their success by numbers have made the numbers their god. Success is always measured by obedience alone.   Stephen, Daniel, Noah, and others gave a message that few, if any, listened to. It was not their preaching results that made them successful...

And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house. Ezekiel 2:6-7 (ESV)   "The prophets of the Lord have always been opposed to the age in which they lived. Whenever the ministry has fallen into accord with the age, it is not the age that has gone up, it is the ministry that has gone down. A reproachful, corrective, stimulating voice should always be characteristic of a spiritual ministry. No evil shall be able to live in its presence, and no custom, how fashionable or popular soever, should be able to lift up its head without condemnation in the presence of a man who is filled with the burden or doctrine of the Lord. Evermore shall the wicked hate the godly, unless the godly take down their banne...

And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house. Ezekiel 2:6-7 (ESV)   It is easy to fear the wrong things in life. Peers can make things pleasant or seemingly impossible. Focusing on the wrong "thing" will discourage us and eventually wear us down. God's Word has been clear in teaching His children that loving God will be costly, and expressing God's love to others will often be "offensive."   Yet, the assignment given to us is well within reach as we are told to speak His Word. It is not my job to control the responses. It is my job to be faithful to my God. When I am faithful to Him, I can rest in a job well done, for there is nothing more powerful or effective than ob...

The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God.' And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. Ezekiel 2:4-5 (ESV)   God gave Ezekiel an assignment and told him in advance that the people would not listen. It seems as if He told Ezekiel that it really did not matter if they listened or not, because, when it was all said and done, they would know that a prophet was among them.   The very idea that a prophet, the voice of God, is among people is a big deal, and Ezekiel was to be faithful to the words God instructed Him to use. In that he would be faithful to God, he could not, however, control the response. God gave him an assignment he could accomplish. As a teacher, my responsibility is to ensure my communication is accurate. I cannot control the response. God has given me something I can actually do, and I need to focus on that...

And he said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you." And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. And he said to me, "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God.'” Ezekiel 2:1-4 (ESV)   Leaders don't always get pleasant assignments. We don't choose the assignment we are given. God has a plan. He will work out His plan, and we can be part of it if we choose to submit to Him.   If we ignore God, we will be a part of the plan, too, on the losing side. Regardless of our choice, God's plan will be fulfilled.   I would not be excited for this assignment, but I would be excited that God has chosen to use me when He could do things ...

In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there. Ezekiel 1:1-3 (ESV)   Ezekiel, a prophet and priest, was exiled to Babylon in 597B.C. His ministry extended over at least twenty-three years. The book opens with his first dramatic vision of the "likeness" of the Lord himself. (ESV Strong's)   A leader needs to know God. A leader needs to respond to God. A leader, in essence, is a good follower of God and loves Him by obedience and loves others by pointing to Him.   Leadership should focus on obedience to God and demonstrating God to those around them. Any power, authority, and resources they possess are vali...