EZEKIEL 33 YOU NEED TO HEAR FROM GOD2019 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ezekiel 33 You Need To Hear From God

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2019.

Well, as we look at Ezekiel chapter 33 this morning, I've titled the message, You Need to Hear from God. And I want to just remind all of us, these are things that we know and have heard, and yet at the same time, it's important to be reminded of the reality of our need to hear from God. Here in Ezekiel chapter 33, we have a

kind of a recommissioning of Ezekiel. Some of these concepts and thoughts that God is addressing here in chapter 33, he's also dealt with earlier. He, in chapter 3, called Ezekiel to be a watchman, and then here he's kind of refreshing that call and reminding him of his ministry and really commissioning him to be a watchman for the nation of Israel. And so there's this renewing

of some things that the Lord has already done and spoken to Ezekiel that is taking place here in chapter 33. Now at the beginning of Ezekiel's ministry, the Holy Spirit was, you know, given to Ezekiel and set him on his feet and he began at that time to hear from God. And

And there is this ongoing need for Ezekiel, as well as for us, to hear from God in a similar way, to fulfill what it is that God has given to us. And so this morning, I would extend that to us and say that we need to hear from God. We have a need for several reasons, and we're going to walk through four reasons why we need to hear from God.

For things that are realities in our lives that really require that we learn how to hear the voice of God, that we learn how to receive from God and respond to what he is saying. And so the first thing for us to consider is here in verses 1 through 9, we need to hear from God in order to warn people, specifically to warn your people.

Let me read verses 1 through 4 again. It says,

Here, God introduces the idea of a watchman once again. And the watchmen are those who have a solemn responsibility.

It's a serious position to be a watchman. And God is going to apply these concepts to Ezekiel in a moment. But first, he just considers just the practical reality of a watchman on a wall in a time of war. And the picture here is that this watchman has a very specific role. This city is under attack.

or this city is threatened by an enemy. And the watchman is posted there on the wall to be scanning the horizon and to be on the alert, to be looking for those enemies that will come and attack. And that is the role of the watchman, to be the first to spot the enemy and then to sound the alarm once an enemy is spotted. It's a very specific role, but

but it holds a great responsibility. Now, the role of the watchman is not to prevent the battle. It's not to keep the battle from coming against the city, right? The role of the watchman is not to organize the battle and figure out how to have a defense strategy and attack back or to escape the battle. It's not so much to fight the battle. The watchman's role is very specific and that is to spot the threat and

And sound the alarm. And so God goes through here in this passage and describes two scenarios for this watchman who is sitting on a wall. The first scenario is when a watchman sees the attack coming and warns the people. And then God lays out how people respond to that within the city. The person who hears the alarm that the watchman sounds, takes heed, protects himself, defends himself, is ready for battle, and so he is saved. But the one who ignores the alarm says,

well, that one is killed. And the watchman, if he sounds the alarm when he sees the attack, he's fulfilled his responsibility. So even though some people die, if they die because they ignored the alarm, that's not the watchman's responsibility. Again, their specific role is to see the threat and sound the alarm. Well, the second scenario that God walks through is, well, the watchman sees the attack, but does not warn.

He doesn't sound the alarm for whatever reason. And in that case, everybody who dies, the watchman is now accountable for that because he didn't do his job. He didn't sound the alarm and alert the people to the attack that was coming.

And as God walks through these scenarios, again, he lays it out as a very solemn responsibility. This is a very serious role to play in a city. In verse six, he says, but if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.

God says the person who dies, you know, they don't escape the judgment that they deserve for their own sin. So there's still that. Each individual is still responsible for themselves. But at the same time, God says, his blood I will require at the watchman's hand. If he does not do his part and sound the alarm, if he doesn't fulfill his role, the individual still dies as a result of his iniquity.

Still held accountable for our own personal actions and behavior. But at the same time, now the watchman is also held accountable because he failed to fulfill his role. It's a responsibility that is given that comes with the weight of other people's lives. Now, the responsibility that's given to the watchman is to warn. The response of the people is not on the watchman.

God leads this out in verse four and five. He says, And so God makes it very clear. This is a very important responsibility, a very important role, the role of a watchman.

And the responsibility is to sound the alarm. Now, the watchman is not responsible. People have the freedom to choose. And if they choose to ignore the alarm and go about their business and do what they want to do, well, that's not the watchman's responsibility. They're not accountable for that. They're accountable for their part. Watching the horizon, spotting the threat, and sounding the alarm.

Now, as God lays out this scenario of a watchman, I think it's also interesting to consider how personal it is. And this is why I made the point this morning to warn your people. Look at verse 2 again. He says, Son of man, speak to the children of your people and say to them, when I bring a sword upon the land and the people of the land, take a man from their territory and make him their watchman.

The watchman of the city, the watchman of the territory is not some other person from some other region. The watchman is someone from the midst of their territory.

The watchman is someone from the midst of their city. It's not, you know, it's not something you outsource, right? You don't outsource your watchman. Your watchmen come, they have the most invested, right? They're the ones who are concerned the most and care the most. The watchmen are those who are from the people and they are appointed then to have this role of a watchman.

To sound the alarm, to sound the alert, to let people know that there is a danger that is approaching. In a similar way as we consider these things, it's not just the matters of warfare that God is describing here, but God is walking through these scenarios to then apply it

to Ezekiel and his ministry, and then by extension as we consider these things this morning, to us and the responsibility that God has given to each of us. In verse 7, God says, So you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Therefore you shall hear a word from my mouth and warn them for me.

God says, let me lay out the scenario. Look at, you know, the watchman who stands on the wall, just watching, you know, for physical threats and his responsibility is to sound the alarm. Ezekiel, that whole picture, that is a apt description of you and your role. And again, notice how personal it is. I've made you a watchman for the house of Israel, your own people, your own house. You're a watchman for them. You are responsible for

for your people to hear from me what I have to say and then to pass that on to the children of Israel. Go back to the Garden of Eden. Well, not the Garden of Eden, but back to Genesis soon after the Garden of Eden, right? When the Lord asked Cain, hey, where's Abel? And he said, am I my brother's keeper? He didn't

want to be responsible for his brother. But of course, you know, Cain knew that he had killed his brother. But this idea of being the brother's keeper, it's something that has been a concern for many throughout the years. And there has been this attitude, this idea of, hey, I'm not my brother's keeper, you know, let them do whatever they want to do. That's up to them. And yet at the same time, we need to consider that

Just as Ezekiel was called to be a watchman for his people, God calls us to be watchmen, to be watchwomen, watchpeople for our people. And who is that? Who is your people that God has appointed you as a watchman to warn? Commentator William McDonald says this, the question arises for every believer, for whom will God hold us responsible?

It's a question not just for Ezekiel. And it's a question not just for me or pastors or missionaries or those who have, you know, some...

official capacity or title within a church or organization. This is a question for all believers. Who is God going to hold you responsible for? Now, like the watchman, we're not responsible for people's responses. And so we're not, it's not our place to force people, you know, to respond or to do things the way that God wants them to do it or the way that we want them to do it.

It's not our responsibility to make sure that, you know, everybody does everything exactly the way that we want, but our responsibility is for those that God has entrusted to us to make sure that we hear from the Lord and provide the warning. Again, God says to Ezekiel, therefore you shall hear a word from my mouth and warn them for me.

This is not something limited to Ezekiel, but again, something that God calls us to as believers. The Apostle Paul in writing to the Romans, he's writing not to Timothy, the pastor, he's not writing to, you know, a specific leadership role. He's writing to the church at Rome and he says, I'm confident, Romans chapter 15, verse 14, I'm confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish the

This is one of those one another verses where God has called us as believers in Christ to minister to one another and to relate to one another in specific ways, in specific capacities. And one of those ways that we minister to one another is in the area of admonishment.

Admonishment is the idea of correction. It's a gentle correction. It's not a harsh, you know, that kind of, you know, mean, cruel correction. But it's that, well, it goes along with this idea of warning. It's that warning correction, that warning admonition. And we are called to and responsible to admonish one another. Right?

In Colossians 3, verse 16, it tells us to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another. This is a responsibility that we have as believers in Jesus Christ, as followers of Christ, that we are connected to people. And it's important for you to consider who are the people that God has entrusted to me in a way that I'm responsible for.

Not for their every decision, because I can't control them, and God gives people the freedom to make their choices, but I am responsible to warn. I'm responsible to sound the alarm. I'm responsible to call to attention things that are out of line and things that are out of order. It's a question for every believer, William McDonald says. Who are your people? Who has God placed you in connection to and entrusted to you?

as those who are called to make disciples, we are responsible for people around us. It's a solemn position. It's a solemn responsibility. But we need to hear from God. We can't just give warnings about everything that we want to give warnings about. We can't just give warnings about, you know, all the things that are important to us or that we care about. But to hear from God is

To hear instruction from the Lord, to hear insight from the Lord, to hear a warning from the Lord that we give to the people is the responsibility that we have. That's what was given to Ezekiel and it's what's given to us as well. So you need to hear from God in order to warn your people. You're accountable for the warning that you give. And if you do not give the warning, God still deals with the individual individually, but we can bring upon ourselves the blood of others.

in a failure to speak, to warn, to correct, to address things that God has called us to address. Well, we're going to jump now to verses 10 through 12 for point number two, and that is you need to hear from God, not just to warn your people, but also to give people hope. And it's important to remember that

What God calls us to in ministry and this idea that we represent God in relating to the people around us and the people that he's entrusted to us, that it's not just for correction. It's not just for, you know, sometimes that's the only approach that we have or that's the only way that we relate to people when it comes to the things of the Lord. It's just, you know, correction, rebuke, admonishment, that kind of thing. But

But here, the Lord tells Ezekiel to give the people hope. In verse 10, it says, Here, God is addressing what is happening internally within his people. The house of Israel is saying, look, you're saying that we...

sinful. You're saying that we are receiving all of the consequences for our sin and the things that we're facing and the Babylonian captivity and all the things that have come against us. And if our sins are so terrible that it has brought upon us these events and these things, how then can we live? They're saying we're pining away in our sins. The idea is there of rotting and decaying.

We're experiencing the decay, the rot that comes from our sinfulness. There's a hopelessness that is being expressed here by the house of Israel, by God's people. There's a hopelessness. Like, okay, so we hear that you're saying that this is the result of sin, but it's so bad now. The results that we've experienced are so great. What can we do? How can we live? There's no hope. There's no opportunity here.

for us to have life after this it's a hopelessness that is being expressed but here's what god instructs ezekiel to say say to them as i live says the lord god i have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live turn turn from your evil ways for why should you die o house of israel as the people are saying we're stuck we're trapped in sin

God gives Ezekiel a word to deliver to the people that says, look, everybody has the option to turn from sin and live. I don't have delight when the wicked die, God says. I don't have delight. I don't rejoice in that. What I rejoice in is when the wicked person turns from sin and finds life in me. And notice here, God says, say to them, God is giving Ezekiel joy.

a specific word for the people to give them hope. A specific word that they needed to hear. God knows what's happening internally with the people. He knows where their heart's at. He knows where their minds are at. Now, it would be easy in Ezekiel's shoes, having to watch the devastation and the ignoring of, you know, the messages that he's been preaching, right? He's been calling people to repentance and people have been ignoring it. It would be easy for Ezekiel to just continue in rebuke mode, right?

Right? You ever get stuck in a mode, right? And it's just like, you're just in rebuke mode. It's just, you continue on and it's, you can't get out of it. Or you're just in angry mode and you're stuck in angry mode and you don't need to be angry anymore, but you're stuck in angry mode and you just continue on. It would be easy for Ezekiel to just continue to be disgusted with the sin of the people and to be fed up with and frustrated with the ignoring of all the, you know, messages and invitations and opportunities. It would be easy for him, but God here speaks to Ezekiel.

And there's still going to be messages that God will give of correction and rebuke and admonishment and warning and all of that. But here at this time, in this specific occasion, God says, I want you to give this message of hope. You're not stuck and trapped in your sin. Yes, you are experiencing the devastation of your sinfulness, but that doesn't mean that the end and that it's the end and that you're stuck in that condition and there's nothing you can do. No, you have the opportunity to turn and find life.

There's an old saying that the preacher's job is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. To comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. That there are those who are afflicted, there are those who are burdened, that there are those who are hopeless and they need to be given hope.

And then there are those who are comfortable in their sinfulness, in their rebellion against God. And well, they need to be afflicted to be reminded of the responsibility that we have to God. Now, it's not just a responsibility for preachers or for prophets, but for us as followers of God, as disciples, that we need to be able to hear from God in a way that we can make a distinction. On the one hand, we are called to warn people.

But there are also those times where the warning is not appropriate. And instead, the message needs to be changed to a message of hope and comfort. Paul, writing to the church of Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 5.14 says, Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the faint-hearted, uphold the weak, and be patient with all. There's a

possibility, a temptation for us to get stuck in warn mode or rebuke mode, correction mode, but that is appropriate in some cases and it's not appropriate in other cases. Sometimes we need to comfort the faint-hearted and sometimes instead of coming down hard, we need to uphold the weak and help them stand.

And in all cases, whether it's the unruly and those who deserve warning or whether it's those who are weak and we're tired of having to always comfort them all the time, like, hey, you know, why don't you grow up a little bit and stop being so moody? No, we need to be patient with all, right? So there's balance on both sides, right?

There's those who need comfort and strengthening, and we're going to get tired of strengthening and comforting them. And then there's those who need warning, and we're going to get tired of warning them. And again, in that frustration, it's easy for us to get stuck in the wrong mode. And that's why we need to hear from God. And we don't just respond to people and relate to people based on how we feel or what we think or what we would expect, but that we have a message from the Lord.

To warn, to comfort, whatever is appropriate for what God knows is happening internally. And that's the key here is God knows what's happening in the hearts of his people. He knows what people need. And sometimes we're fully convinced. I know what they need to hear, right? And at the same time, we have no clue, right? We can't see the heart and we don't know what's really going on. But God knows. You need to hear from God so that you can warn your people.

but also so that you can give people hope. In verse 12, he goes on to say,

concept here of the righteous and the wicked and the opportunity to turn from either, it's something that we spent some time considering a few weeks ago back in Ezekiel chapter 18. So the rest of the verses, verses 13 through 20 that are part of this conversation, we're not going to get into this morning. But here again, the distinction is made. There are those who are wicked who need to be warned so that they have the opportunity to turn to righteousness. And

And there's a distinction. There's the righteous person who has the opportunity to turn to wickedness. They need to be warned. They need to be exhorted. They need to be comforted. But the wicked, well, they don't need to be comforted in the idea of, yeah, just continue on, right? They need to be comforted in that there is hope. There is opportunity. And this is what God is declaring. It's not too late. All of the wickedness that they've done, he says, will not be remembered in the day that they turn from their wickedness.

And so there is the opportunity to have a clean slate, to have a fresh start with God by turning to God. Now, along with Ezekiel, there was other so-called prophets there in Babylon and there in Jerusalem with Jeremiah. There were false prophets who would give the people hope to their hurt. And they comforted people in the wrong way. They comforted people in their wickedness.

So that the people did not have the sense of, well, I need to turn and get right with God. The people did not see the need to repent of their sins, but they comforted them to just continue on and promise things that God was not promising. In Jeremiah 6, verse 14, God says, they have healed the hurt of my people slightly, saying, peace, peace, when there is no peace. And so here they claim to speak on behalf of God and they say peace, but there's not really peace.

And so it's a false hope. It's a false comfort. We need to hear from the Lord so that we don't just comfort people because, well, they're in need of comfort. There are some people who are in need of comfort, but at the same time, what they need more is a warning. And there are some people that we want to warn, but what they need most is comfort, hope. And it's really hard for us to distinguish between the two. It's really hard for us to know when to warn and when to give hope.

Because we can't see what's happening internally. But the Lord knows. And that's why you need to hear from God. Because we might rebuke the person that needs hope. And we might give hope to the person that needs rebuke. Think about the Corinthian church. Remember there was that situation in 1 Corinthians where there was this man involved in sin that wasn't even practiced by the unbelievers in their midst, right?

And the Corinthians were glorying at it. They were saying, look how tolerant we are. Look how great we are at allowing this situation and we're just showing so much grace. And Paul said, look, you're not handling that appropriately. You need to deal with and address that situation. You cannot just allow the believer to continue in sin openly in that way. You need to, well, invoke church discipline, remove that believer from your presence because you

They cannot continue to practice open sin and be part of the fellowship. And so the Corinthians responded and they did that. And then they got stuck in that mode. They're still in discipline mode. They're still in warning mode. They're still in. And so they continue to treat this guy in a way of discipline after he's come to the place of repentance. And so then Paul addresses it again in second Corinthians. And he says, look, the punishment that was inflicted, it's sufficient for

Now you need to change gears. You're not in warning mode anymore. Now you need to forgive and comfort him. Lest you be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Paul says, therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. He's turned. He's made the right choice. He's turned from wickedness back to righteousness. Now it's time to embrace him again. To give him hope. To forgive and to comfort him. Like the Corinthians, it can be hard for us. We can get stuck in rebuke mode. Or we can default to comfort mode.

like they were at the beginning. We need to hear from God because people need to be warned. People need to be given hope, but it's God who knows which people need which message. We're going to move to verses 21 through 22 for point number three this morning, and that is to know when to be silent. You need to hear from God to warn your people, to give people hope, and to know when to be silent.

Now as a matter of example before you, I'm just going to be quiet for the next five minutes. No, I'm just kidding. We live in a time where there are more voices than ever before. People are hearing, people are receiving, there's more words, there's more messages coming to us as individuals more than ever before.

I mean, you know, things exploded when the printing press happened and the printed word was available and that kind of thing. That was great, you know, good advances. And now in the digital age where everybody has a voice, there is so many voices, so many conversations and so many things that are happening. One of the things that, you know, is happening as a result of that, there's always been this idea and issue of fake news and

these days it's an issue on a whole different level because of how quickly it can spread and how vast it spreads. I'm sure you've heard conversations about it and seen headlines about it, that there is this prevalent issue. What do we do with this fake news or false news and how do we handle it and who's to blame and who's responsible? There was a study done that took place over about a 10-year period of

social media history to kind of try to evaluate fake news and get to the bottom of it. And there's still room for lots of discussion and debate about it. But this article in Fortune, quoting a study that was done, and these kinds of things were shared a lot at the time, but it came out last year. But basically, they did this study over a 10-year period and found that human emotion, so not Russians, not bots, but humans,

Actually, real people with real emotions make fake news more viral than the truth. So, you know, one of the issues is that the false, fake, weird, crazy stuff spreads and is more prevalent than the stuff that is actually true and factual. Now, it's not really a surprise, you know, when we think about these things, but, you know, they were surprised by their conclusions, right? Apparently, fear and surprise are more viral than sadness and trust, right?

Like we've known that, right? I mean, the evening news has known that for years and years and years, right? And so there's ways to get ratings that, you know, aren't necessarily for the benefit of the people watching, but it's for the benefit of the ratings that are needed. And yeah, fear and surprise are more viral. They're more catchy than sadness and trust. And

False news usually is capitalizing on that fear, that surprise, stirring up those emotions of disgust and those kinds of things. And true stories typically don't have those same elements. What they found as they looked at this was the bots that, you know, everybody likes to blame. They share fake news and real news at the same ratio.

But it's the humans that share more fake news, more of those clickbait, you know, catchy headlines than anything else because it triggers our emotional response. And as our emotions are triggered, then we're caught up in that and we begin to rant, to rage, to share, to spread, to get sucked into whatever, you know, the thing is that is being spread, the message that is being promoted.

All that to say, with all those voices and that tendency, that manipulation that is intentionally going on to manipulate our emotions, to capture us and use us as agents of somebody else's agenda, we need to hear from the Lord to know when to be silent, to recognize that is not a conversation I need to be a part of, to recognize that is not something I need to be involved or engaged in. Now, Ezekiel was...

experiencing this kind of thing, but in a more direct way than we probably will get to experience, probably more than we would want to experience. But Ezekiel was forcibly mute by God. Goes back to Ezekiel chapter three, verse 26 and 27. Again, there when God was commissioning him as a watchman, God tells Ezekiel, I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth so that you shall be mute forever.

Now verses 21 and 22 here in Ezekiel chapter 33 describe the occasion where the guy comes from, the messenger comes from Jerusalem with word that Jerusalem has been destroyed.

Remember, Jerusalem was conquered several times by the Babylonians. Ezekiel was taken the second time that Jerusalem was conquered. He was taken into captivity. He's there with the captives in Babylon. Jerusalem was still standing. But now the message comes for the final time. Babylon is destroyed or defeated Jerusalem and destroyed Jerusalem. This is what Ezekiel has been prophesying about and telling them was going to happen even though the people didn't believe it. But now the word comes back. Jerusalem has been destroyed.

Now the time frame from Ezekiel chapter 3 to Ezekiel chapter 33, where this news comes, is likely to be about seven years. It's about seven years of ministry when Ezekiel is commissioned to the time that the news comes that Jerusalem has been destroyed by Babylon. And so back seven years ago, God told Ezekiel, you're going to be mute.

except for the occasions where I speak to you and then you will say, thus says the Lord. And try to picture what life was like for Ezekiel. You know, you go to Ezekiel's house, he can't talk about the weather. He can't tell you what he wants for dinner. He can't order his own food. He can't have a regular conversation. He's mute until the Lord speaks to him and gives him something to say. I'm sure Ezekiel was relieved here in chapter 33 where now that's released and now he's no longer mute. But at the same time,

There's a part of us that perhaps would say, yeah, Lord, could you do that to me? Because a lot of the things I say I know are not from you, but I just have a hard time regulating this thing on my face. I have a hard time controlling that. Think about, though, the dramatic impact that this would have on people, the people around Ezekiel. They would learn over time. I mean, a seven-year span, it's a good amount of time as Ezekiel's with the people, but

They would learn, they would discover when Ezekiel spoke, it was because God had spoken to him. He wasn't just rattling off his opinions. He wasn't just shouting out his ideas. He wasn't just declaring, you know, what he thinks. They would learn that when Ezekiel spoke, it was because God had spoken to him. It happened to Ezekiel very forcibly, right? Dramatically. But it's a practice. It's an example of

For us to consider. Can people around you tell the difference? Between when you are talking about conspiracy theories. And when you're sharing a warning from God. Can people make that distinction? Do they understand? When you're chasing down some rabbits of ideas and concepts. And then delivering something that God has specifically said. Can people tell the difference? When you're expressing wishful thinking. And when you're declaring hope from heaven. Can people make that distinction?

Can people tell the difference between your interesting ideas and sound doctrine that you're delivering? Can people tell the difference between your personal opinion and universal truth that God has established? There's a place for us to learn to be silent, to make a distinction, to set the tone, to help people understand. There's a difference between

Not that we're not allowed to have ideas or to play around with theories or to have wishful thinking, right? Not that that's forbidden or sinful, but at the same time, we need to be careful that we don't begin to allow those things to be communicated in the same way, to the same degree, with the same weight that the things from God. And sometimes we need to warn people. Sometimes we need to give people hope. And sometimes we just need to be quiet, right?

And to not say anything. And let whatever God is doing in the situation work itself out.

I mean, you think about the seven years that Ezekiel is mute. This was seven years of people rebelling against God. This was seven years of all kinds of nonsense being shared and false prophets saying false things and all kinds of things happening, right? I'm sure there was plenty of times where Ezekiel wished he could speak, not just because he wanted a little bit more salt on his food, but because there was an issue that needed to be addressed, but God had not given him permission to address it. God had not given him a word for that situation.

In a similar way, we need to learn and develop some discipline. Hear from God to know when to warn, when to comfort and give hope, and when to be silent. James tells us in James 1, verse 26, "'If anyone among you thinks he is religious "'and does not bridle his tongue, "'but deceives his own heart, "'this one's religion is useless.'"

We can easily talk about, you know, controlling what we say and how it's so hard and all of that. And James just like cuts right to the point and says, look, if your religion doesn't help you with what you say, your religion is useless. You don't have a relationship with God that impacts what you say, that gives you some discipline, that helps you to discern when to warn, when to give hope, when to be silent. Your religion's useless. The heart of the matter is the heart. You need to know God. You need to hear God.

from God so that you can know when to be silent. I was working through my notes for the message this morning and I thought, you know, why do I have the most to say about the point to be silent? We need to warn, we need to comfort, we need to be silent, and we need to hear from the Lord so that we know when to do each one. Well, we're going to finish up in verses 30 through 33 for point number four, and that is you need to hear from God to do what God says.

Jumping to verse 30, it says,

Indeed, you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument, for they hear your words, but they do not do them. And when this comes to pass, surely it will come. Then they will know that a prophet has been among them. This final passage is a really powerful passage to consider. As you start into it, verse 30 sounds great. Here are the people. He says, look, Ezekiel, everybody's talking about you.

In the houses and along the walls, on the streets, you know, word is out. There's this social discussion about Ezekiel. And everybody's saying, please come and hear what it is that comes from the Lord. Here's a prophet. Everybody, let's go listen to what Ezekiel has to say. Sounds really great. Until God, again, lays out the heart in verse 31. He says, look, so they come to you and they sit before you as my people.

Now they are God's people in the sense that they are the descendants of Abraham and God's chosen people. But they are not God's people in the sense that, well, they don't actually do what God calls them to do. But they come, they sit before the prophet as if they were God's people. And they hear your words, but the problem is they do not do them. They show much love with their mouth.

They give much praise. They're talking about it and on the surface, what you hear them talk about, it sounds great, but their hearts pursue their own gain. God is describing a situation where it was the popular thing to do, to go and hear from the prophet Ezekiel. It was trendy. It was, you know, something that was seen as acceptable and even incorrigible. It was part of their culture now. There's a, there's a,

Similar situation that can develop for us that there is this family expectation, right? It's a popular thing to do. It's a good thing to do to go and hear from God. But there's a very important danger that we need to recognize and that is that we go through the motions of going to hear from God, but then we don't actually allow God to change us. We don't actually do what God says, right?

I would ask you to consider, is your life changing? Is your life being transformed? Is the direction of your life and the decisions that you make, is there change that's happening as a result of you doing things that God has instructed you to do? For Ezekiel's case, God says in verse 32, to them, you're like a very lovely song of someone who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument. It's just entertainment for them. It's

It's just pleasing and enjoyable. It's an emotional experience perhaps, but they don't actually take the words that I'm giving to you and then apply them to their lives. This is a condition that we can all find ourselves in. It's a condition we all need to watch out for. The main reason why you need to hear from God, part of it is that you need to warn people. Part of it is that you need to give people hope. Part of it is that you need to know when to be silent. But the main thing

is that you need to hear from God so that you can do what God says. And we need to be very careful that we do not forget that. That we do not hear from God primarily for other people. We hear from God so that we can do what it is that God says. Is your life changing? Are you being transformed? Changed? Conformed into the image of God? Because you take what God says and begin to live it out in your life.

Now, as we think about this idea of hearing from God, we have this opportunity to hear from God. We have the potential to hear from God. We have the capacity to hear from God because of what Jesus has done for us upon the cross. That we can hear from the Father and have access to God and receive insight for our lives and for those around us because Jesus

we have the opportunity to approach God as those who have been cleansed and washed. And even though we have been wicked, we have had the opportunity to turn from wickedness to righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ. And this morning we get to partake of communion to conclude our time together and stop and reflect and remember what Christ has done for us.

And in the past, God has spoken through prophets like Ezekiel and spoken in various ways. But Hebrews chapter one tells us in these last days, he's spoken to us through his son. It's through Jesus that we hear from the father, that we hear what God says for us. And so we have the opportunity now to go back to reflect and remember the person of Jesus, the work of Jesus, the ministry of Jesus for us and to receive, to hear from him.

what he has for us, what he has for those around us, but more importantly, the instruction that he wants to give us to put into practice in our lives. And so Jesus gave us these elements. He says, look, it's going to be very important for you. You need to stop every once in a while and remember what I've done for you so that your religion is not just religion and external ritual, but that it does change your life. And so remember, by partaking of the bread, this is my body which is broken for you.

And do it in remembrance of me. Remember that I gave my life and my body was broken on your behalf. I received the penalty of your sin. Remember that. Don't forget that. But also don't forget the cup, which speaks of forgiveness. I received the penalty on your behalf so that you could be forgiven, so that you could be cleansed, so that you could be washed, so that you can have full access to God and the promise of eternal life.

That's the reminder that communion provides us with and the opportunity for us to be refreshed and renewed. Just like Ezekiel was recommissioned, I think this morning here we have an opportunity for us to renew our commitment as we remember Jesus, that we would come back to the place where we are committed to hear from God in order to obey him. And so Pastor George is going to come up and lead us in a closing song and

As he does, they're going to pass out the bread and the cup and you can partake between you and the Lord anytime during the worship song. You're free to do that. George will give you an opportunity at the end. If you haven't partaken, you can partake at the end. But let's take this time to just refresh and renew ourselves in what Christ has done for us and also to refresh and renew our commitment to God to hear from him and to do what he calls us to do.

Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word, the reminders, the encouragement, Lord, the necessary instruction that we have here before us. I pray, God, that you would draw us near to you. Lord, that our relationship to you would not be just external and ritual. Lord, I pray that you would connect us to you in a way that we hear your voice. Lord, you said that your sheep know your voice, that they hear you and that they follow you. Lord, we want to be your sheep.

Help us to hear your voice and to follow your instruction. We pray this in Jesus' name.