School of Hard Knocks
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Intro
Intro
It’s hard being a pastor. It’s not just because I’m a covocational pastor.
Just to explain, I’m sure you’ve heard the term bivocational. I don’t think that term is adequate enough. It reenforces the idea of duality.
You’ve got your secular job over here and your ministry job over here.
One of the biggest misconceptions is the term “full-time” vs “part-time” pastor. There’s no such thing as a part-time pastor.
There are no part-time ministries.
1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel
3 and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked.
4 Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north.
5 And all flesh shall know that I am the Lord. I have drawn my sword from its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again.
6 “As for you, son of man, groan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan before their eyes.
7 And when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that it is coming. Every heart will melt, and all hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will be fulfilled,’ ” declares the Lord God.
8 And the word of the Lord came to me:
9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say: “A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished,
10 sharpened for slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! (Or shall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, with everything of wood.)
11 So the sword is given to be polished, that it may be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished to be given into the hand of the slayer.
12 Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Strike therefore upon your thigh.
13 For it will not be a testing—what could it do if you despise the rod?” declares the Lord God.
eze 21:1-
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
matt
49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!
In 2 Thessalonians, Paul lets us know that Jesus will return and when he does, he will bring fire.
7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
2 thess
After the physical death, those who don’t obey God will experience eternal destruction in a fire that will never be extinguished.
15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
In our text this morning it says his sword will never be extinguished.
The question we should be asking ourselves is, Are we ready? Are the people we love ready? What are we doing to sound the alarm?
28 “And you, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; say, A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter. It is polished to consume and to flash like lightning—
29 while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the profane wicked, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.
30 Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.
31 And I will pour out my indignation upon you; I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver you into the hands of brutish men, skillful to destroy.
32 You shall be fuel for the fire. Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall be no more remembered, for I the Lord have spoken.”
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This is the destiny of the Ammonites here in this text. They will be totally consumed by God’s judgement. Their people will completely and permanently annihilated.
17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
So, how can we avoid God’s judgement?
Ezekiel tells the people here that God’s judgement can’t be avoided. For us on this side of the cross, Jesus gives us this answer:
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
God gave Zechariah the answer way before the incarnation of Christ.
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.
Christ not only came to weld God’s sword but also receive it.
Brothers and sisters, the reason you and I won’t be slashed by God’s sword is because Christ already was.
So, the fire of judgement won’t destroy us but refine us.
9 And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”
Christ absorbs the fire of God’s wrath instead of us.
Conclusion
Conclusion
14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.
Paul writes these words to let the people know they had everything they need to teach, encourage, challenge, equip and counsel each other.
Doing this all through the Bible and authority of the Bible. It’s not about giving advice, it’s about communicating the truth of God’s word.
There’s several ways to for people to hear God’s word, the truth of the Bible.
We typically think this is the job done by people like myself as a pastor preaching a sermon that calls people away from wrong behavior and toward right behavior.
The reality is, this happens in the context of normal life. As Christians, we are “sent ones” that interact with others.
It happens when a friend encourages another to carry on in their spiritual disciplines.
It happens when brother and sister are in need of help for a move and we selflessly give our time to help load the moving van or clean the house.
It happens when a brother or sister shares what God has been teaching them through their Scripture reading.
This is NOT just the job of pastors. This is the responsibility of EVERY Christian. We are all called to be ministers.
In a blog post on his website Tim Challies puts it this way,
“Did you know that you are a minister? That word “minister” isn’t a job title. It’s an action. A minister is simply someone who tends to another person. You minister healing to an injured person by bandaging their wounds. His title is “doctor” but his job is to minister healing. You minister comfort to a hurt child by picking her up and cuddling her. Her title is “mom” but her job is ministering comfort. And you minister truth to others by bringing God’s Word to bear on their life and circumstances. Your title is “Christian” and your job is to minister truth.”
There are way more people that need to be ministered to than ANY one pastor can do alone.
Brothers and sisters, we need you to minister the Word!
We need you not only building relationships with people who come through these doors but also building relationships with people you come into contact with on a daily basis.
This is why it’s been important to me to be at Bolingbrook events and meet people.
Our partnership w/ MCMA has given us an opportunity to reach people we wouldn’t be able to otherwise.
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,