Thoughts On Ezekiel

Been reading Ezekiel this week and I should finish it by tomorrow, so I thought I'd share some passaged and thoughts on the last few chapters that I read.

Chapter 33 is familar to many, with the analogy of the watchman often used to show how we are responsible to warn the lost that judgment is coming. Here are verses 1-9:

1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. 5 Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’
7 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for[a] his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.

It just got me to thinking about the "job" of the church. If we are not leading people to Jesus...taking the gospel out of the four walls and into the street, then no matter what else we are doing, it really amounts to nothing more than rearanging the furniture while the house burns down around us.

I wonder how many Christians, how many churches really believe in hell. I wonder how many really believe that people will die and go there and burn forever without Jesus? I wonder, because I don't see a lot of churches reaching the lost...maybe it is just MY church...maybe we are the only ones with the problem...but I have to come to the realization that the guy next door is on his way to hell...and the guy acorss the street, and the one at the corner...I have to let this sink in...and maybe, maybe it will cause me to move, to take action.

I understand that we cannot make people believe, and that it is not our job to make them believe even if we could. But it is our job to take the message to them, to warn them of their condition.

Yes, it will be inconvienient. I know it might make us a little uncomfortable. And maybe that is the root problem. The job the church was given, commissioned by Christ Himself to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, has been seen, not as the normal life of a believer, but instead it is seen as an option. After all, it seems that too many believers won't even adjust their schedule to make a church service, much less adjust their lives to reach the lost. What's sad is that there has to be an adjustment at all.

Isn't the proclaimation fo the gospel supposed to be a part of the normal Christian life? Isn't the church called to be the watchman to the world? If the watchman does not sound the alarm...then who will?

Thoughts on Ezekiel...thoughts on the church...thoughts on me. Lord, give me the boldness, the passion and the love for the lost so that I will set the trumpet to my mouth and sound the alarm.

Just some thoughts...
Pastor Dave