Our Response to God and His Word
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Intro
Intro
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ”
20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Others might respond to what God says in a similar way to Felix who didn’t want to deal with what he heard and assumed he would have another opportunity to respond.
24 After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.
25 And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.”
26 At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him.
How we respond is very important. Our response to God’s word is significant and has eternal ramifications.
Rejection of God’s message is ultimately rejection of God, and obedience to His Word is obedience to Him.
Will You Believe God and His Word?
Will You Believe God and His Word?
1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house.
3 As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile’s baggage, and go into exile by day in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.
4 You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself at evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile.
5 In their sight dig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it.
6 In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.”
7 And I did as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.
Eze 12:1-7
In obedience to the Lord, Ezekiel packed his bags like a fugitive plotting his excape. He pushes the bags though a whole in the wall that he dug with his own hands and then carried the bag on his shoulders in front of the people.
As I explained before, I imagine this was like some type of performance art that we might see today except these were direct instructions from God.
I imagine the people standing around watching him asking, “What in the world are you doing?”
Lord instructs Ezekiel to tell the people:
10 Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’
11 Say, ‘I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’
The message that Ezekiel is delivering is for Zedekiah, the “prince” in Jerusalem. He would flee the city in the middle of the night with his face covered in a disguise.
Instead of getting away, Zedekiah would encounter Nebuchadrezzar as well as God as he is captured. Like a hunter catching his prey it says:
13 And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there.
eze 12:
We read about these events actually taking place in & . and .
We read about this taking place in & .
Zedekiah’s troops will be scattered and he will be brought before Nebuchadnezzar at the Babylonian headquarters. Zedekiah’s sons are slaughtered and Zedekiah had his eyes gouged out and he died in captivity.
14 King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.”
So, you would think that after hearing all this the people would be shaking with fear at the thought of being taken over by the Babylonian army. Right?
22 “Son of man, what is this proverb that you have about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’?
27 “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’
eze 12:
Even though Ezekiel faithfully proclaims and even acts out the message the Lord gave him, the people didn’t believe anything they saw or heard.
It was so bad they had developed a proverb (or saying) that “The days keep passing by, and every vision fails.”
They didn’t believe Ezekiel because up to that point they had not seen anything that validated his claims.
This is similar to Thomas in the New Testament
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”
28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Like (Doubting) Thomas needed proof before he believed. They rejected Ezekiel’s message because he was just a crazy dude saying crazy things. He’s just a deranged man who acted weird.
In the same way, Zedekiah didn’t believe the word of the Lord when it was given through the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah personally warned him in and 38.
If had just listened to the Lord instead of the false prophets then his life and the lives of many in the city would have been spared. Their disbelief cost them their lives.
Will You Delay Your Response to God’s Word?
Will You Delay Your Response to God’s Word?
26 And the word of the Lord came to me:
27 “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’
28 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.”
eze
Not only did they not belief the message from the Lord but they also delayed their obedience.
Brothers and sisters, the act of delaying our obedience indicates that we believe we will have additional time and opportunities to obey whatever the Lord is telling us.
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—
14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
If you want an example of delayed obedience looks like. Check out and 14.
Moses has led the people out of captivity in Egypt and they are the verge of entering the promised land. They sent spies to check out the land and came back shook. Even though they saw that the land was beautiful and flourishing they were afraid to go against the Amalekites who lived there.
Even though Caleb and Joshua tried to be the voice of reason, the Israelites decided the Lord was leading them into a slaughter instead of giving them the victory.
When the people learned they would be diciplined for their obedience, they mourned, changed their mind and decided they would go after all.
Basically Moses told them they missed their chance. They should have gone when God told them to. But again, they wanted to be hardheaded and do it their own way.
Of course, this was a disaster. Neither Moses nor the Lord went with them and they defeated. Their obedience was just one day late.
Had they done what God told them to do without delay, they wouldn’t have died in discipline and would have made it to the promised land.
Conclusion
Conclusion
I need you to hear this.
God’s word is not just for yesterday or tomorrow. It is for today. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not promised.
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
The Psalmist says in , “Today if you jear His voice: Do not harden your hearts”
7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
ps
Brothers and sisters, delayed obedience is DISobedience.
As your pastor the most loving thing I can say, the best way I can serve you is by encouraging you to obey the Lord the first time you are called to obedience and every time you are called.
Anther thing we learn from this passage is that we shouldn’t be so quick to assume when we hear a word from the Lord that it’s meant for someone else. You need to check and see if that word is meant for you.
That’s what Ezekiel’s audience was thinking. Oh, that old Ezekiel is talking about stuff that’s not going to happen for years to some other people.
28 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.”
v.
I wonder if there’s anyone here today thinking, “I wish so and so were here. They need to hear this message.”
NO, YOU need this! You are so and so. Pay attention. God is speaking.
Believe in His Word and Obey it! NOW!!!!
Now is the moment. Now is the time. Choose today who you will serve.
12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
All of our days are written in the Lord’s book.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
Only the Lord knows the total number of days and where we are in the count.
There are so many people who are consumed by wondering if we are in the last days.
I think we can safely say that we are.
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
More importantly than talking about the last days is the realization that these are our only days. There are no repeats and do overs.
Will You Distort God’s Word?
If Jesus came back right at this moment. That would be it. Game over. Either you’ve already submitted your life to him or you haven’t.
44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
How can you be ready?
Will you Proclaim God’s Word No Matter the Cost?
God has provide the way for you to escape the final judgement and that way is through Jesus Christ.
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
By submitting you life to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are granted:
the forgiveness of sin
mercy
and salvation with the promise of everlasting life.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ”
20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Others might respond to what God says in a similar way to Felix who didn’t want to deal with what he heard and assumed he would have another opportunity to respond.
24 After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.
25 And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.”
26 At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him.
How we respond is very important. Our response to God’s word is significant and has eternal ramifications.
Rejection of God’s message is ultimately rejection of God, and obedience to His Word is obedience to Him.