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Society today is different today then it was 2500 years ago. Although we have advanced far in fields of science and technology. We can fly and drive almost anywhere we want, for the right price. We can break language barriers with the right interpreters and understanding of language. We can communicate to almost anyone instantly at any given moment and expect an immediate response. We’ve conquered a lot of barriers today. But one barrier that seems to persist, even over thousands of years is the barrier of a rebellious heart. Whether Old Testament or New Testament, there has always been a group of people with a rebellious heart, and that means we are all rebellious in our human nature. For more than 110 years Israel had stood as a united Kingdom under the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon. Then it had divided into two kingdoms- Israel, the norther kingdom; Judah the southern kingdom. Israel had eventually fallen to Assyria which had fallen to Babylon later on. Following Babylon’s gain to power, the kingdom of Judah fell to Babylon as well. Ezekiel was taken captive by the Babylonians when he was 25 and called to be a prophet at age 30 and it was at that time this text is based. The book’s overall message covers Israel’s(Judah) rebellion and how God was calling to them for their repentance. If their rebellion would persist, then they would face ruin and judgment. Ezekiel speaks to the nation of Israel and tells them of the ruin and retribution to come. The text at hand is specifically Ezekiels divine call to stand against rebellion. God calls us to stand against rebellion, and if we are to do that we need to speak God’s word, be encouraged, and be righteous. Is that what we’re doing? Are we taking this stand recognizing these needs. God commanded Ezekiel to stand against rebellion by speaking his word, and in order for us to stand against rebellion, we too should like wise speak his word. We see in verse 3 that Israel has been living and rebelling against God, and in verse 4 we see God telling Ezekiel to go them and speak God’s commandments. At the beginning of the text we see the Holy Spirt entering Ezekiel and speaking to him telling him what he should say. While the Holy Spirit did not indwell every believer or God fearer at this time he was selective on individuals, and through His indwelling on Ezekiel we can see that he had been empowered to say what he ought. We see in verse 5, that Ezekiel is commanded to speak regardless whether the people will hear or refuse to hear God’s message. This was necessary because these people would now be responsible for their sin. They were warned to change, and if they would not then they would face the responsibility for their actions. When you have a position of authority, be it a parent, a teacher, or an RL you hold an authority above others. One of the responsibilities that you have is to inform and enforce rules for your subordinates. The reason it’s necessary that you inform them is so they know what they must do in order be on track with the authority. If they are ignorant of those rules because you failed to inform them, then the responsibility is in your hands, and that leaves them with the excuse to continue ignorantly breaking the rules. I work custodial, and my job as a crew leader is to inspect what my expects and my boss expects for the Old Main building to be cleaned nightly. Now I don’t do it all myself. As a crew leader I have a crew that does the work I assign them. If I fail to tell them, then it’s my fault and the crew has an excuse because they were never informed. But if I do tell them, they have no excuse and the work did not get done because they were insubordinate to my authority. Ezekiel was God’s watchman for Israel. Look at Chapter 3 verses 16-19. The wicked’s blood was required at the hand of Ezekiel if he failed to inform him because of his iniquity. But if the wicked man was informed then he would die with his iniquity on his own hands. That’s why we need to speak God’s word today. We are called to give the Gospel to a world of sinners. We can see many example in the new testament of why it was necessary to speak the truth. Jesus himself said that we need to let our lights shine before men, why? To ultimately give God glory, but to also leave them without excuse for their sin. God calls us to speak his word, and if we fail we live with their blood on our hands because we failed to inform them of the Gospel. The rich man went to hell, and while he was there he wanted Abraham to inform his relatives of his place. I have no doubt that after Abrahams response, that the man was in deep regret for not accepting the truth as well as passing it on to his own family. God commanded Ezekiel to stand against rebellion by being encouraged, and we need to be encouraged when we stand against rebellion. We look at verse 6 where God is telling Ezekiel that he should not be afraid. There is a lot of pressure for Ezekiel. Based off of the text he is going to face a pretty tough crowd in his ministry. The people are impudent and stubborn; they are disrespectful and refuse to listen to the truth. We can see that this group of people was prone to resist because they are compared to briers, and thorns, and scorpions. These were natural things that caused resistance to people who traveled, and the nation of Israel would be the same kind of resistance to Ezekiel’s ministry. It makes sense why Ezekiel would get discouraged, why he would have some type of fear. He was going to be surrounded by opposition, but God told him to be encouraged despite that opposition. And they had everything to offer that would bring discouragement: open actions of sin, intimidating looks, and harsh speech against the Lord and Ezekiel himself. Well what would motivate him to follow through? I think it was the very fact that his mission was a divine calling from the Spirit of God himself. He was working a job that was backed by the Lord’s authority, and that speaks for itself. Jesus faced some discouraging times. He was a prophet to his own people of Nazareth, and they rejected him. Paul went from city to city and he was taken and beaten and left for dead. I have no doubt that these men faced incredibly discouraging times throughout the course of their ministry. But because their ultimate cause was for the Lord, they stood against the rebellion and spoke God’s words to the very end. Because it was God’s will and God’s plan, and we know from the scriptures that we ought to obey God rather than man. We also know that if God is for us, who can be against us? Jesus said the world hated him before it hated you and I, yet he persisted. When it’s his message we ought not get discouraged in times of rebellion if we are faithful. Be encouraged in the work, because God calls you to do it, and while it may not always be the easiest we should stand strong. So when you’re going door to door witnessing, and the door gets slammed in your face be encouraged. When you see people engaged in sinful activities like smoking or drinking, and they insult you and slam you for rebuking them, be encouraged. It hurts to see that, but Ezekiel went through it just like we did, and God told him to not be afraid. In response to rebellion God also commanded Ezekiel to live righteously, and we should live righteously before God as well. Ezekiel’s task here was to do just the opposite of rebellious people of Israel. They were rejecting God’s message so God expected Ezekiel to be accepting. They were disrespectful to the Word of God, God expected Ezekiel to honor it and obey it. Ezekiel was given the message to take to Israel, but what good was the content of the message if the carrier of it was as just as corrupt as they were. He needed to be an example of what God was expecting from the house of Israel. He needed to live out the standard God required. If he lived as they had lived then why should they listen to him, if he couldn’t even obey? There’s no reason to take a flashlight that doesn’t work into the darkness. Why? because it will of no use to you getting where you need to go. Ezekiel had to back up the message he was sending to dark people during a dark time. Look at the world today: people are engaged in all sorts of rebellion be it the way they act, dress, or speak. If we are going to stand against the rebellion of the world we need to be presentable. Don’t speak harsh words like the people who gossip, don’t lie like the people who cheat for the grade, don’t manipulate like the people who try to get their way. There are so many things that we have to be careful of if we are going to shine. And we are called to do it. Christ told us to let our light so shine before men that they may see our good work and glorify our father which is in heaven. That light won’t shine if your living in the darkness as they are. We’ve looked at Ezekiel’s call from God, and God told him that he must stand against the rebellion of his day. He needed to be in God’s word, he needed be encouraged in the face of the opposition, and he needed to live righteously in spite of the rebellion. We are called to do that as well. Rebellion is rampant in the day and age we live in, but that’s no excuse to join it. We need to fight it and stand against it. The excuses we make won’t help us, it didn’t help the people of Ezekiel’s day. Judgment came and they faced significant hardship because of their decisions made against God. If we fail to stand we will fall, and we will have to live with consequences. I challenge you to stand against the rebellion. It’s not easy, in fact it will hurt. But we have a job to do, and we need to be in God’s word and spreading it and living it. We need to be encouraged by it, and take comfort in it. It all comes down to the necessary decision to obey. Only two choices on the shelf, choosing God, or choosing self.

Check out my sermon for the 2011 new year.