Watchmen
Ezekiel 33:1-7
This passage of scripture jumped off the page to me when I read it this morning. God says some pretty strong words to Ezekiel, words that, I believe, apply to us as Christians today...
God tells Ezekiel that God has placed Ezekiel as the "watchman" over Israel. It was Ezekiel's responsibility to hear from God and take the Lord's message to the Israelites. In Ezekiel's case, the message was one of repentance and warning of things to come if they didn't repent. If Ezekiel shared that message with the people, and the people didn't listen, then they made their decision and it is on them. But here is the catch...If Ezekiel decided he didn't want to share the message, when the people continued in their sins (because they hadn't heard the message), Ezekiel was the one who took the blame.
So how does this apply to us??
We are called to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, to share the good news, to proclaim the good things God has done. Acts 1:8 says,
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
We are to be witnesses, we are to share, testify and give evidence of the Gospel.
As believers, we know the truth, we know that Jesus is the only way to be saved...the only way to eternal life in Heaven. (John 3:16, Romans 3:23) We know that without a personal relationship with Jesus, the only option is eternal torment in hell.
So, since we have a very important message that is a matter of life and death; we also have a responsibility to share that message. If we choose to keep quiet, if we keep the good news to ourselves, then we become responsible, just as Ezekiel was responsible!
My goal is not to cause you to feel like you've failed if you haven't shared. But I do believe that it is an important job that we all have, and I don't want to be the one responsible because I chose to keep quiet when God asked me to speak! I am sure there have been times when I could have shared, but I chose not to. I think it is safe to say that we all have kept silent at some point! So, when we fail to obey, we need to remember, that God is gracious and forgiving.
We are "watchmen", let's not keep silent, let's share the truth of the gospel whenever we have opportunity!
We know and serve such a gracious, compassionate, merciful, and awesome God...
Let's not keep Him to ourselves!!!
Our Pastor shared some thoughts on sharing the gospel last Sunday and what he said made so much sense! I encourage you to listen to the full message Here!
