A Nation Of Rebels

Scripture

“Son of man,” He said, “I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against Me to this very day.

~Ezekiel 2:3, NLT

Quote

Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.

~Samuel

Five times in Ezekiel chapters 2-3 the LORD refers to the Israelites as rebels {2:5,6; 3:9,26,27} The LORD told Ezekiel, “They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people.” The LORD said, The Israelites won’t listen, for they are completely rebellious! The LORD also said, “The people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn. But look, I have made you as obstinate and hard hearted as they are.” Wow, how would you like to have Ezekiel’s assignment? I will admit that people today are not setting on the edge of their seats, anxious to hear what God has to say but when I read Ezekiel, I am thankful for Grace Point, Danville and Sardis Springs. In every congregation I find those who are keenly interested in what God has to say and occasionally I speak to folks that even take notes. I can’t imagine speaking to a congregation of rebels who have a scowl on their face. I have preached to angry faces but they were in a minority thank goodness. Preaching before a group of malcontents is bad enough; I would hate to go before and entire congregation of angry people intent on doing the opposite of what the LORD said through His messenger and His word.

I said all that to say this: I am thankful for my congregation. I am thankful for a place to preach and teach. I’ve been there long enough for the new to wear off. Most of the encouragement I get is to preach short sermons. But there are happy faces there and they seem to be listening. Oh yes, I do look out from time to time and see someone taking a nap or talking but I don’t focus on them, I focus on the ones who are listening and I thank God for them. Trust me folks, I have been conditioned. Some people, I will not call names, work at discouraging the preacher. As soon as you start their body language tells you that they could care less what you have to say because they are not interested. They may fold their arms and close their eyes. They may trim their finger nails. I’ve seen them drawing on the bulletin. They want you to know they are not listening. Today I am thankful for those who do.

Extra

I do want to thank those who prayed for us yesterday: we had a very small turn out; not as many as last year. We have got to get the laity involved. Many churches has only one person there–the pastor. DBC had three and GP had two but most had one.

I think Ann Browns’ COLS service was going on at the same time. Ann was a gracious lady and one of those very good cooks from Lebanon. I used to substitute for her on the bus route. My sympathy to Rayburn and the children.

TGIF day and since I am off Sunday, I hope to get a lot done. Have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.

 

 

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