Ezekiel: Willing to speak

Having just looked at Daniel, I'm now back-tracking to look at Ezekiel. While both were living in exile in Babylon, Ezekiel's ministry begins five years after the first group of exiles was deported to Babylon. Given that Daniel lives through the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and Darius and into the days of Cyrus too, it seems Daniel was part of the later group of exiles.

Ezekiel and Daniel had very different ministries. Daniel was called to serve in the heart of the Babylonian court and empire. He was given a position of power and prestige - though this was threatened by his faithfulness to God and his powerful enemies. Ezekiel lived among the exiles who were a community forced from their home, strangers in a foreign land with no status or wealth. He belonged to the priestly class but instead of being able to serve his ministry in the temple in Jerusalem, he finds himself placed by God in a ministry of unrelenting preaching to a people who didn't want to know. Daniel saw some remarkable miracles: the saving of his three friends in the fiery furnace, his own deliverance in the lions' den, Nebuchadnezzar's humbling, the writing on the wall... He saw some of the Babylonian rulers come to recognise God's greatness and uniqueness. Ezekiel, speaking to God's own people, saw none of this. He faced rejection for his hard message, yet he did not compromise; he persevered.

Much like Isaiah, Ezekiel experiences a 'call' to be God's prophet, to speak His words to the people, with a heavenly vision. As he is commissioned, he is told repeatedly that the people are 'nations of rebels' (chapter 2 v3). 'Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house. But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.' (v6-8) In language echoed later in Revelation, it seems that Ezekiel saw a vision of Christ Himself who gave him his mission ('seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance' chapter 1 v26). I was thinking about my own mission, wondering if I would be as willing as Ezekiel if I knew it was -in human terms- going to be a failure and mean so much isolation and rejection.

There are certainly times where we feel we are not seeing fruit, where it's hard to persevere. I'm challenged through Ezekiel's call that God is asking me, 'are you willing to speak for Me, even when people don't listen?' If God's people are willing to speak the words that He gives them, before whoever He puts them, then it could be kings and princes or the poor and needy; it doesn't matter. It gives Him glory. Are you willing?

Reaching the Unreached

I've just read Paul Bassett's chapter called 'The Inner City' in a book called 'Social Issues and the Local Church'. It was published back in 1988, but Bassett's challenge rings in my ears as urgent and relevant for Christians today.

There is a whole section of society in the UK that is unreached. I'm not thinking about a particular ethnic minority group (although they do feature in this picture), or a particular county, but the vast numbers of people who live on council estates, in inner-city tower blocks and are largely excluded from mainstream Christian churches and church culture.

The Church in the UK has become dominated by the middle class. For example, most ministers are expected to study for a three-year theological degree before they take up leadership roles. There's nothing wrong with a theology degree, but it's meant that there's a generation of church leaders who are nearly all middle class.

And the sermons they preach are middle class too. They involve long words, complicated trains of thought, philosophy and intellectualism. How would an illiterate person off the street cope in one of our church services today? They wouldn't.

Does that mean we should shut down all the churches? Of course not. But I think we need to open our eyes to the sections of society that we're not reaching through our apologetics talks and wine-tasting evenings. We need to look at working-class people and their culture of interaction, at the benefits sub-culture that's arisen and how people communicate. If we can't preach the gospel in a language that they can understand, we're failing in our basic mission, as given to us by Jesus (Mt 28).

Paul Bassett, who is still working in Melbourne Hall Evangelical Free Church, Leicester, gives a big challenge to middle class Christians in middle class homes and middle class churches.

'It is in our inner cities that we generally find the red-light areas, where crime and prostitution abound. The inner-city dwellers are mainly poor, whereas the challenge comes to a church that is chiefly middle-class. Never was there a time when we needed more to remember that “God is no respecter of persons” and that “the common people heard him gladly.” (Acts 10:34; Mk 12:37)

It is a hard and unglamorous work.

'We must begin by living there. This is far from easy; it demands a real sense of calling, and a certain degree of sacrifice. It involves the whole family, and it may affect the education of the children. It may also demand adaptation to a very different environment, possibly a violent one.'

But God is there! God is concerned for the lost! When we prayerfully seek Him and ask Him to reveal Himself to people, He hears us.

'We need to remember that men of God have stood where we now stand and, with God-given courage and indomitable spirit, have tackled the seemingly impossible task of winning wicked cities for God.'

May God give us the courage we need to get out there into the tough places, and take the gospel to reach the unreached.

'How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"' Romans 10:14-15

An Overview of 2 Corinthians 1-6

Here's a quick overview of the first six chapters of Paul's letter to the church in Corinth, written around 55 AD.

Chapter 1

God comforts us in all our troubles. Paul endured distress for the Corinthians' salvation. Paul went through times of despair, but this happened so he'd rely on God. Paul reiterates that God makes him and the Corinthians stand firm in Christ, sealing them in His Spirit.

Chapter 2

Paul thanks God for leading them in triumph in Christ. They are the aroma of Christ: death to the unsaved, but life to the saved. Who is equal to such a task? He asks. He emphasises his own sincerity. They did not go to Corinth for profit- quite the opposite.

Chapter 3

Paul derives encouragement for his ministry from the genuine faith of the Corinthians. Paul doesn't claim to be competent; his competence comes from God. Their ministry is the new covenant, of life and the Spirit, not the law and death. This ministry is glorious! And we reflect God's glory, and are being transformed into His likeness every day.

Chapter 4

Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Paul says they don't use deception, or distort God's word. They set forth the truth plainly, fully aware that Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot understand the gospel. Paul doesn't preach himself, but Jesus Christ. He's just a clay pot, with the treasure of the gospel shining out of him. They've gone through huge troubles and persecution, but they're not defeated. Jesus is being shown more clearly in them through their suffering. They are confident that they will be raised up with Jesus. Their troubles are temporary, but there's an eternity of glory ahead of them that they keep their sights set on.

Chapter 5

This life is tough, Paul says, because we're longing to be where we really belong: heaven. So we live by faith, not by sight, and make it our goal to please God in everything. One day He'll judge us for what we do. In light of this, we try to persuade men to take Jesus seriously. He died for all, and His love compels us. We don't see people through the world's eyes, because we know that if they come to Christ, they will be made a new creation. God reconciled the world to Himself in Christ when He died on the cross, and so we are Christ's ambassadors, taking this message of forgiveness and friendship to all.

Chapter 6

This means we don't put any stumbling blocks in people's paths. As servants of God we commend ourselves by being pure, patient and kind, even in severe suffering: physical beatings, hard work, sleepless nights and hunger. We stick to the truth and we cling to the power of God with weapons of righteousness in each hand. We don't have anything, yet we possess everything. It's a topsy-turvy world we live in as Christians, but we're called to open our hearts to those we are ministering to.

Worship #3

How would you respond to people who said they had stopped going to church because they did not 'get anything much out of it anymore'?

The New Testament makes it very clear that the Christian life is all about a new, corporate identity as the people of God. People are not just saved on an individual basis, but to belong to God's heavenly assembly of the saints (see Revelation 5). The local church is a manifestation of this heavenly assembly. However imperfect local churches can be, if ultimately they are led by people who love Jesus, then they are part of this great global network.

The church is not a building, it is the people of God- therefore every believer IS the church and is part of it. And it thus follows that it is right for every believer to become involved with a local church- it is the natural conclusion to reach. When you get married, you live with your spouse. When you become a Christian, you become part of the church, so you make every effort to find a local church to belong to.

The New Testament speaks of the gathering of the people of God in many contexts (Acts 14:27, 1 Cor 5:4), and the church in assembly not only approaches God, but provides encouragement to its members (Carson). Eph 5:19 tells us to speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Col 3:16 says 'Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.' It seems that an essential part of living as a Christian is to live as part of the wider Christian community. Faith is not a solo pursuit, but involves mutual encouragement and teaching and growing.

Whilst Christian worship happens throughout the week in a Christian's life (we are told in Romans 1:1 to offer our bodies as 'living sacrifices' to God and in Col 3:17 to do everything 'in the name of the Lord Jesus'), corporate worship is still important. It is in corporate worship that we pray together (1 Cor 14:16), Scripture is read and expounded in preaching (1 Tim 4:13). We sing together to praise God and encourage one another (Eph 5:19). We give money towards work of the gospel (2 Cor 9:11-15). We confess faith publically (1 Tim 6:12). The sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper are explicitly provided for. (Clowney)

Carson writes: 'Corporate meetings of the church, however much God is worshiped in them, have the collateral responsibility of educating, informing, and transforming the minds of those who attend, of training the people of God in righteousness, or expanding their horizons not only so that they better know God (and therefore better worship Him) but so that they better grasp the dimensions of the church that He has redeemed by the death of His Son (and therefore better worship Him)'.

Ashton helpfully summarises: 'The church service provides a special foretaste of the experience of heaven. In Heb 12:18-29, the way Christians experience the presence of God is contrasted with what the Israelites experienced at Mount Sinai. Significantly, it is a corporate experience. So when we come together, we can know God and relate to God and worship God in ways that we cannot do when we are alone.'

And finally Kent Hughes writes that 'Corporate worship is intended by God to inform and elevate a life of worship' and it 'regularly functions to intensify our consecration to service'.

It is very difficult to follow the teaching of the New Testament to continue as a Christian, to keep walking in God's ways, reaching out to non-believers around us and stand firm until the end if we are not part of a local church.

And how can the church fulfil its mission to make disciples of all nations (Mt 28) if Christians are not part of it?

Belonging to a church is so much more than just going for what you can get out of it. God has given each Christian particular gifts with which they can serve the church and get the gospel out to the local community.

So, to summarise:

You need the church, and the church needs you.