Sermon Tone Analysis

Ezekiel 2,3

 

! I.     Introduction

            When I was young there were a few times when I was sent to do a job and I was not very successful.

One time I was sent to the grocery store to buy lettuce.

When I got to the store, I looked at the shelves and there were two piles of round, leafy green vegetables.

I grabbed one, paid for it and went home.

That night, instead of the lettuce salad my mother had intended, we had coleslaw.

I didn’t know the difference between lettuce and cabbage.

I still think of that every time I am sent to pick up one or the other.

On another occasion, I was sent to get ground beef.

When I got to the store, I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to get round beef or ground beef.

I don’t remember which I got, but I do remember thinking, as I also have many times since, that if a mother or wife sends me to the store they should write down in detail what they want, cause I might get it wrong.

There is one task which all of us as Christians have been sent to do and we don’t always get it right either.

The thing is that this job is not like getting lettuce or cabbage which just means that we have either salad or coleslaw.

This job is very important and there are consequences if we fail to do it or if we don’t do it well.

This morning, as we continue in our series on the book of Ezekiel, we will examine this task and learn some things that will help us do it well.

If you want to check out the text, please turn to Ezekiel 2 & 3.

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II.

I Am Sending You 2:3

Last week, we examined Ezekiel 1 in which God appeared to Ezekiel in a vision.

The appearance of God formed a powerful foundation for the life and ministry of Ezekiel.

It was the basis for the actual call of Ezekiel to his prophetic ministry in chapters 2,3.

Ezekiel was not “lost in the divine” as one writer puts it.

In 2:1 we read that Ezekiel was raised to his feet and the Spirit came into him and God spoke to him.

Being filled with the Spirit was a rare occurrence in the Old Testament.

It was reserved for those who were specifically called to be God’s servants.

So when Ezekiel was filled by the Spirit, it indicated a special call from God for the task assigned to him.

The task given to him was that he was sent by God to speak God’s word to the rebellious nation of Israel.

This call comes in Ezekiel 2:3 where God says to him, “I am sending you to the Israelites.”

Has anyone ever said the same thing to you?

If the presence of the Spirit was unique to those who were God’s prophets and specially called people in the Old Testament, then the same is true in the New Testament.

Since all who belong to Jesus Christ are people who have been filled with the Spirit, all Christians are sent by God to proclaim His name in the world.

Just in case we have forgotten this call, let me remind all of us of it.

In Matthew 28:19,20 God’s call comes to us when it says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

In John 20:21 we have a similar call that actually uses the language of sending.

“Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!

As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

Just in case we think that this call was just for the apostles or for teachers and preachers today, II Corinthians 5:18 says, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…” which tells us that all who have been reconciled to God have been given the ministry of reconciliation from God.

Just as Ezekiel was sent by God, we have all been sent by God.

No matter what our job or role is in life, the most important task we have been given is to respond to the call of God in our lives to make His name known in the world.

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III.

Do Not Be Afraid 2:4-8; 3:4-9

Those of us who have been involved in Billy Graham TV Telephone ministry have talked about the fear we have in making His name known.

The first time I answered phones, it was very scary.

After that it has not been so bad, but still until the first call comes in, we don’t relax, we are afraid.

Fear seems to accompany being sent to proclaim God’s Word.

As God sent Ezekiel, he also warned him that it would not be easy.

In Ezekiel 2:3-8, God tells him that he is sending him to a people who are rebellious.

Notice, for example what it says in verse 4, “The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn.”

In verse 6 Ezekiel is warned that his ministry will be difficult, that “briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions.”

In Ezekiel 3:4-11 he uses another image.

He tells him that he is not being sent to a foreign nation that doesn’t understand the language.

He is being sent to his own people, to people who have a background and understanding of the things of God, but, he warns in 3:7, “the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate.”

His job was not going to be easy because people wouldn’t listen, they wouldn’t be interested and they would refuse his words.

The same things are true for today.

I recently read a story about Lorne Cunningham, who is the founder of YWAM.

He tells about the first time that they sent a group of young people to witness at the Olympics which were in Munich that year.

The mood of the Olympics was festive and people were in the mood to celebrate.

They did not want to have conversations about spiritual matters and it was hard to speak about Jesus.

In Matthew 10:16, when Jesus sent out the 12 to proclaim the coming of the kingdom, he warned them, “I am sending you out as sheep among wolves…”

How do we respond to the difficulty of the task?

In Ezekiel 2,3, God encourages Ezekiel by saying, “do not be afraid” in two verses.

But in each of those verses, the encouragement comes multiple times.

Three times in 2:6 and two times in 3:9, God tells Ezekiel not to be afraid.

In 3:7, God encourages him by letting him know that the opposition is not to the messenger, but to God.

Of course, if that is true then anyone speaking for God will also have a hard time, but it helps to know that they do not hate us, but who we represent.

However, even though it is difficult, God warns Ezekiel in 2:8, “Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth…” To refuse to speak, even though it is hard to speak, is rebellion.

So, in spite of the difficulty, we who are sent are encouraged not to be afraid and to keep on speaking God’s word.

The New Testament encourages us to be bold and in II Timothy 1:7, we are encouraged that “God has not given us a spirit of fear…” So whenever we fear, let us remember these words and be bold in spite of our fear.

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IV.Filled With God’s Word 2:9-3:3

After the call and the encouragement not to be afraid, we have a rather interesting thing that happens in 2:9-3:3.

Ezekiel is handed a scroll which has words of lament and woe written on it, both on the front and the back, which was unusual, since most of the time scrolls only had words on one side.

He is then told to eat the scroll and although the words on it are words of lament and woe and we would expect the scroll to taste bitter because of that, when Ezekiel eats it, he finds it to be “as sweet as honey in my mouth.”

What is the meaning of this picture.

Of course, it is a vision, it is a picture.

The scroll represents the Word of God.

Although hard words of lament and woe, they are sweet because they also are words of life.

Ezekiel is told in 3:1 “eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel.”

It seems to me that what this means is that before he can go and speak to others, the word of God must be within him.

In fact, taking it within means even more than just reading and understanding the words.

He is to become the message of God.

The Word of God is to be so much a part of him that not only his words, but his whole life is permeated by it and his deeds and words, indeed all of who he is will communicate God’s truth to the people of Israel.

Last summer I was going to water the garden.

I have water gathered from rain water in a cistern under the garage.

I had used the water to wet grass I had planted in spring and later in the year I wanted to use it on the garden.

I turned it on, but nothing came out.

As I puzzled about this, I looked around and found that the cistern was empty.

If the well is dry, you won’t get water.

If our well is dry, it is hard to speak God’s Word.

We need to have the word of God permeate our whole lives.

That is not to say that we need to know and do it perfectly before we can speak it, but it does mean that if we want to speak it effectively, it cannot just be something we hold on the surface, it must be a part of our life.

God’s word must permeate our whole self so that by our words and by our life, by our whole being the truth of God is proclaimed.

Even if we say nothing, if the word of God is in our lives, it will communicate.

If it is in our hearts, it will come out in deeds and in words as well.

Scripture speaks about this.

Psalm 119:9 says, “your word have I hidden in my heart…” II Timothy 2:15 says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

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V.  The Strong Hand Of The Lord Is Upon Me 3:8, 12-15

This seems difficult to us.

I feel as if I can’t be a good witness for Christ, as if my life is not holy enough, my words are not clear enough.