The Word that I have spoken…to you….shall I not do it?
Ezekiel 12:28 “Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; there shall none of My words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God.”
Ezekiel 36:36 “…I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it.”
Both in judgement and in blessing….God’s Word will be brought to pass.
(In Ezekiel, a prophet to the people taken captive to Babylon….it is said “the Word of the Lord”….sixty-two times! Ezekiel was to speak His Word faithfully…no matter how they received it…”whether they hear or they forbear” Ezekiel 3:27)
Mostly, he spoke in general to those who said they wanted to hear God’s Word to them, now in this place of burdens and woe…
Ezekiel 3:17 “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at My mouth, and give them warning from Me.”
“Warning” here means to enlighten by caution, admonish, teach.
To warn is to make those we are speaking to, aware of the danger they are in.
Ezekiel warned the captives, as God’s people….but he also spoke personally…to the righteous and to the wicked..
To the righteous:
Ezekiel 3:20-21 “…when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him,….because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin…but his blood I will require at thine hand.
Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned….”
(Let me say here, that sin is our refusal to be in subjection to God. It is the path to death….for we “die” a little toward God, when we sin.
Every sin causes us to walk more and more in darkness.
Romans 6:16 “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”)
To the wicked:
Ezekiel 3:18-19 “When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou gavest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Yet if you warn the wicked…..thou hast delivered thy soul.”
Ezekiel….and we, as Christians, are to “warn” both the righteous and the wicked…to turn…to Christ Jesus.
Has the Lord spoken anything to you? Has He called to you speak His Words….or warn them from Him?
(Something the Lord has spoken us about is:
My husband, when he was preaching, was told by the Lord that there was no neutral ground in the services. No one could say….that does not apply to me.
For God speaks to each individual…about their situation.
Another Word the Lord spoke to my husband was….(he doesn’t remember what the Lord was requiring at his hand)
…..but he was praying about it….and praying about it…and the Lord said to him, “Do it or Don’t do it, but do not mention it to Me again!” That settled it….he realized this was very serious….and he did it.)
Well, what has the Lord spoken to us about? What would He have us to do?
The days of speaking are here. The days of warning those we are personally responsible for.
[We can not act for them….but we can make sure they know the Word of truth….in meekness and love. (Ephesians 4:11-12, 15)
Galatians 6:1 “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”]
We are responsible for that Word that the Lord gives us…for them. Whether it is warning….or sounding an alarm against the enemy of their souls.
We can not do for them….but we can speak God’s Word faithfully….and allow Him to act for Himself.
God warned those in captivity, through Ezekiel, not look to Jerusalem for help….but to their God,….for He was with them.
To those that “hear”…..this implies the desire to understand God’s Word…and do it.
To those that “forbear”…..(forbear means to be flabby…to desist, be lacking or idle)…those that would not put forth the effort…in this foreign land….to repent and get right with God….and be blessed there.
Today, Jesus Christ stands ready to “save to the uttermost” (Hebrews 7:25 which means to bring to completion through varying experiences)…
…..that means He is ready and Able to help you do anything He requires….within or without.
….will you hear what He is saying to you again….and stop side-stepping it….or putting it off.
Israel was not to look to Jerusalem, or look to their past….but to look to the God which was with them…and preserved them….even through the fires of the captivity…
…for He would bring them through it.
So with us, we are in a world that we really do not belong to. It is one which loves not God.
But we are to live in it, doing good to all we can…according to HIs Will…for Christ’s sake.
We are to speak “a word in due season”…..and “warn them….for Me”.
It is not our Word we speak….but His….
…for as He loved us, and warned us….and we were saved from going astray….or brought back from it (1 Peter 2:25)
…so we ought to speak the truth in love…
1 Thessalonians 5:14-15 “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.”
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 