The Prophet's Call

When we are called to preach, there are certain fundamental things to remember, and these are found in Chapters 2-3 of Ezekiel. We will only look at chapter 2 today.

1. God has called us be ready- Verses 1-2, the Holy Spirit puts a cowering Ezekiel up on his feet and demands attention so that God can speak to him. When I am preparing for a sermon or speaking to a group of men, I need to be in prayer and in the word, waiting for the Lord to speak to and through me. God doesn't want me to be timid, but to boldly proclaim what He wants said. To do that, I must be mentally, spiritually and physically ready to preach.
2. God has called us to obedience - In verses 3-5a, God has called Ezekiel to preach to a rebellious people. He has called Ezekiel to preach to a group of people that will not listen. He has placed him in a difficult situation. The same goes for us. We may be placed in a church that has difficult people or politics. We may be preaching to empty pews or cold people in the pews. We may be dealing with very difficult political climates. We may be preaching to very rich and powerful people who think they don't need God. But preach we must!
3. God has called us to be bold - In verses 5b-7, God reminds Ezekiel that whether they react to his preaching, he will be heard. They will know that a prophet is among them. He will be singled out because of his preaching. But God tells him to not fear them or their words because God will be his strength. Without God, Ezekiel would have given up, ran away or been killed. Only God could provide the courage and strength to persevere in the harsh climate. Only God can give us the strength to preach the Truth in a world where there is no truth. Only God can give us courage to preach Peace and Hope when the world does not provide peace and Hope. Only God can give us the fortitude to preach Righteousness in a world that does not know the meaning of the word.

I will stop there because verses 8-10 go with chapter 3. I hope to comment on that and the rest of chapter 3 tomorrow.