St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church -- Watertown, WI
Pastor Mark Gartner
Sermon for Pentecost 7 -- July 20^th and 23^rd, 2006

3He said: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. ⁴The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’ ⁵And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.

Dear children of our heavenly Father

There is a show on TV that points out all the worst jobs that people can have. There are those who work in the sewage plants of New York city and deal daily with the filth, grime and smells of all the sewage in this very large city. There are those who have to crawl under homes to inspect and build homes that encounter critters, bugs and snakes of all shapes forms and sizes. There are those who work with police units that see all kinds of gross and cruel ways that people die or are killed. Sometimes you watch these shows and wonder what the job descriptions must look like for these types of jobs. "Wanted someone whose stomach can handle gross situations and isn’t bothered by odd situations."

As we look at the words of the prophet Ezekiel we see God calling Ezekiel to be one of his prophets. We see God calling him to go and work among God’s chosen people of Israel. He flat out tells Ezekiel what he is going to face and what his work is going to be like. At first glance we might say that this is a no-win job and why would Ezekiel take this job. Today we will see that Ezekiel like all of God’s servants or ministers was not looking at the externals of his upcoming work in God’s Kingdom. Ezekiel was remembering something else. He was remembering that:

Dea Sermon Theme: God’s Word Powers His Ministry

At the time of Ezekiel’s calling, Ezekiel was with the Israelite exiles in Babylon. God’s people had already been in Babylon as exiles for about five years. In our text for today we see God showing his power as he called him to be his servant. As Ezekiel witnessed this power of God, he fell on his face before this glory of the LORD.

The LORD then spoke to Ezekiel, "Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you." We don’t hear that Ezekiel froze in fear and we don’t hear that he stood up on his own accord. Instead, our text shows Ezekiel’s response to God’s command: "As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me." What stands at the head of this sentence is that God took the initiative to prepare Ezekiel for his ministry. We find no evidence to indicate that Ezekiel had distinguished himself in any way. He was just one of the exiles. There is no reason to think he had requested this position from the LORD. Nor did the LORD ask Ezekiel to decide whether or not he wanted to be a prophet, much less, whether he wanted to talk with the Almighty. We are told that God took the first step. With these words, the Spirit entered him, stood him on his feet, and opened his ears miraculously.

This step was intended to show God’s strength in Ezekiel’s calling. God wanted to show his grace. He wants to be known as the God of grace. God made Ezekiel his prophet in a miraculous way. Yet, it was not done without means. God began this calling by speaking. His almighty Word has the miraculous power to make of people what God wants them to be.

What God’s miracle meant for Ezekiel can be seen by noting that Ezekiel was stood upright. For an undeserving sinner to stand in the presence of the Almighty was a mark of God’s forgiveness. It was a sign to him that this visitation of the LORD was not for the purpose of damnation, but salvation. God was not being cruel, but merciful. The other purpose of the Holy Spirit’s entrance was that the soon-to-be prophet could hear God’s words. They weren’t muffled. Those powerful words were clear to Ezekiel. He knew what God was saying.

While every Christian is to live as a temple of the Holy Spirit, that quality is especially to be found in the called ministers of the gospel. The Lord calls them to represent him publicly. Called workers and those served need to bear in mind that it is God’s call. Neither the worker’s fitness nor his preparation are the call’s primary factors, nor is it an independent action by a congregation. God works in and through the congregation, or calling body. The LORD has taken the initiative, not man.

The LORD provides with that call an opportunity to hear his Word. To comfort others, the prophet must see and hear that Word. God’s Word fills the called servant with his Spirit. The servant hears Christ’s word of forgiveness to give him comfort and courage, to make him stand before the LORD with a clear conscience. This initiative which God takes gives the spokesman the key to a measure of nurtured understanding. It also enables him to see clearly what God’s will be in applying his truth. What a privilege for a minister to hear God’s Word! May God’s servants always recognize God’s speaking to them as a gracious act of their LORD and protecting Savior!

Though the privilege is never diminished, hearing God’s Word for the minister also means hearing some disturbing realities. God’s preparation of Ezekiel acquainted him with the nature of his audience: "He said: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn." Here God’s action of sending stands out. Ezekiel is not merely to follow his whims or to speak only when requested.

It will be important for Ezekiel to follow God’s directives. Were he to follow his own or the people’s bidding, he would not only have the LORD to answer to, but who knows what other evils would follow, given God’s description of his hearers? These were the sons of Israel who had been proud of their human heritage. They could just as well have lived a little over 500 years later and said they had Abraham for their father. They felt no need for guidance — even that of a prophet. God’s will was in their blood, right? Wrong. God marks them as a rebellious nation. The imagery brings to mind not common-sensed people with the God of order ruling, but a state of bloody anarchy controlled by current emotion. Their pride made them more like the devil-infested herd of swine than a procession of heavenly martyrs. The LORD adds a further dimension by declaring that they rebel against him, the eternal "I AM." He forgives but they rebel. Their self-destructive nature shows itself in their defiance.

To fill in this character-sketch a little more, God states that they and their fathers transgressed against him to that very day. These sons knew the borderlines their heavenly Father had established and they tested him, ever pushing beyond those limits. They refused to accept God’s authority and accept him at his gracious word; they always knew better — or so they thought. Their brand of transgression was the kind that only love could cover. In all other respects it was sickeningly odious. The word "transgress" means a break in an honored trust and in respect. And, if this were not bad enough, they were obstinate and stubborn. They did not want to change their course of action or attitude! They did not wince at sin or unbelief.

But still God shows that fatherly ability to love despite hate. He gives Ezekiel hope that they can still return to his family, despite their inclination toward evil. How much God wants those who bear his name to love him in return! This the preacher must bear in mind in the case of the nicest of Christians. For each Christian still has his rebellious flesh, though he be part of true Israel. At times even the greatest of Christians is stubborn in his sin and not about to change his thought on a particular sin. He pushes defiantly over God’s boundaries, not asking why he should do so, but why not. The sinner can’t be excused just because he bears the name Christian.

The scope of Ezekiel’s task was not complete with only an understanding of what he could expect to face. He needed a message with which to face the people. God provided him with that: "Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’" God’s treatment of the problem was not the prophet’s savvy, cunning, "good-guy" appearance, poverty, humility, unpolished honesty or anything else innate or affected. "This is what the Sovereign LORD says," was what would work on the rebellious hearts, if they were to change at all. No proud looks were to dissuade Ezekiel from saying what God said.

Not only was Ezekiel’s message important, but also whom he represented. When "This is what the Sovereign LORD says" rolled from his lips, they were not curse words or merely legal rulings. These were messages of the almighty God. While the preacher seeks to be all things to all men and not to cast pearls before swine, he cannot forget that his calling is to speak the Word in season and out — to say, "This is what God says," to break hard hearts. At times it may seem he is using a plastic hammer on iron spikes. But if anything will work, God’s Word does. Merely to change externals is not enough. The preacher must faithfully apply the Word.

In order that Ezekiel stick to that Word and not get caught up in concern over numerical results, God adds a further word: "And whether they listen or fail to listen — for they are a rebellious house — they will know that a prophet has been among them." Ezekiel was given no false hopes. His hearers might listen and then again they might not. Their response was out of his hands. The LORD again notes their rebellious nature in order to remind Ezekiel that the message may well be ignored.

But one thing they couldn’t ignore: God spoke through this man, He faithfully said what God said. The bearers of Christ’s name still have the Old Adam. It is a real possibility that they forsake God’s Word. The acceptance of it is not to enthrall the preacher, nor is the despising of it to discourage him. His concern is to use God’s Word faithfully, going neither to the right nor to the left. He is neither to revel in man’s praise, nor live to enjoy alienating people, but to find his delight in the correct application and exposition of God’s Word. God will work the necessary results.

At times we can get caught up in playing the numbers game. We can look at our congregation and say we must be doing the right things, because numerically we are growing. We always want to thank God that his Word is what is working this growth and this change in hearts. It is not people and it is not just the right programs. It is the power of God’s Word that we hear on a regular basis and which we partake of when we come to the Lord’s table. May we not become lax or full of too much pride, but rather to give all thanks and glory to our God who has blessed this congregation with faithful called pastors and teachers. And we also can thank God that we have faithful leaders who are God’s ministers as they let God’ Word lead and guide them.

I thank the Lord every day that God’s Word has moved the hearts of so many people here at St. Luke’s, but I pray every day that we never forget that we too can stray or become weak in our faith like the people of Israel if we don’t stay close the power source of God’s Word. God has given us this wonderful power source, and this power source has moved us as we thank the Lord with all that we do here for God’s praise and glory. Amen