“ENACTING ONE’S MESSAGE”

Ezekiel                                                                                                                                                              Chapter 4

I will never forget the first time I rode the ride at Disneyland called “Pirates of the Caribbean”. Before the vehicle you are sitting in goes down the two water falls into the lower level of the ride, you gently glide through the ambiance of a Southern swamp. As you serenely skim over the water you are given a view of lightning bugs, hanging branches of willow trees, and an old dog sitting on the front porch of his cabin with a piece of straw hanging out of his mouth. As you pass by this inert being you hear him say lackadaisically, “It’s the good life”! Of course this is before you descend into the abyss of a world of pirates on the high seas.

Well, most people regularly pursue a figment of their imagination called: “THE GOOD LIFE”. In concept it refers to an easy  life; a comfortable life; a stress-free life. And I, foolishly, ask you this morning, “We’ve all reached that goal, right?” I already know the answer. Even though we continue to hope for such a destination, in this life, sooner or later we come to the      realization that it is not real. It is an empty wish, at best. This realization sets in particularly when one reaches retirement,     doesn’t it? The long awaited dream of sitting idly in the rocking chair on the front porch of “the good life” doesn’t really      occur in this earthly existence. Retired folk keep telling me they never knew how they got things done while holding down a full-time job because of all the activity, stress and demands on their time and energy since retiring.

Well, amazingly, people who are Christians seem to have the same unrealistic expectations of the Christian life as well. You see, people are creatures of habit. Even though someone places their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, they often buy into the idea that, once they figure out how the Christian life works, they can settle into a comfort zone and just live according to the pattern they have adopted. The Bible does not portray such a reality, but it is the “default way of thinking” we human beings often try to pursue. The bible portrays the life of faith as an adventure of surprises, actions and encounters.

In our series on the Major Prophets, thus far, we have discovered that Isaiah, Jeremiah and now Ezekiel were each surprised      by God. God deliberately moved them out of their “comfort zone”. If you are a student of the Bible, you would be remiss if    you thought that God’s will was ever to be in such a pattern of comfort living. On top of that fact, God expects every one of   His children to be involved in ministry. The Bible clearly teaches us that as long as we have breath, in this life, God, the Holy Spirit is working with us, molding us and growing us out of our current situation into a deeper maturity of life. Listen, as I list    for you some important actions God tells us He is doing in your life and mine. We find this list in Ephesians 4:12-16. Then     tell me if this fits the idea of a “comfort zone”?

o   He wants to prepare us for works of service.

o   He wants us Christians, together, to be built up.

o   He wants us to reach unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God.

o   He wants us to become mature, attaining the whole fullness of Christ.

o   He doesn’t want us to be infants, tossed back and forth by every wind of teaching and the cunning and craftiness of       men in deceitful scheming.

o   He wants us to speak the truth in love, so we grow up into Christ.

o   He joins and holds us together, His body of people, as we support one another and build each other up in love; each of     us doing his part in the work!

Well, there we have it; so much for “the comfort zone”! And that is only one passage, in the Bible, displaying how God’s    people are supposed to see life. All of this perspective brings us to God approaching Ezekiel in chapter 4 of this prophetic  book. I read the chapter to you just a moment ago. Even though some might try to convince me that since God asked Ezekiel     to lay on one side or the other he was in a position of “comfort” I don’t believe the prophet was comfortable with this assignment.

God does three things in this chapter that move Ezekiel OUT of his comfort zone. He commands this man to put his own activities “on display” for all his contemporaries to see. God tells him, “This will be a sign to the house of Israel.” (v.3)     “Eat the food as you would a barley cake; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel.” (v.12) Ezekiel is given an assignment to act out, by his actions, God’s message. In a score of ways his entire ministry is role-playing, acting, and demonstrating God’s message publicly.  First-of-all, God puts His man on center stage. He “breaks him open” in front of his peers as a teaching lesson for others. Ezekiel is not allowed to slide into the background. This is not how I would define being in a position of comfort. Second-of-all, God asks this man to do things he would never have chosen to do. Honestly, I do not believe Ezekiel was one who would choose to lie on his left side for 390 days. I don’t think this man of      God would have chosen to then lie on his right side for 40 days; this time tied up so he could not turn from side to side. It is obvious that God prescribed a menu for this man which, in terms of its preparation, portrayed God’s view of His people       while it violated the sanitary and theological standards Ezekiel held dear.

We hear much these days about doing ministry based on “spiritual giftedness”. Such teaching conforms to God’s Word in       the New Testament. But any thought that God expects to utilize us ONLY as we are gifted is a misnomer. Simply put, even though we must attempt to minister according to the interests and abilities God gives us, He is not restricted from asking us        to do things we are not comfortable doing. You will find this observation consistent with the entire list of Bible characters   residing in Scripture. We, many times, fail to see God’s sovereignty and reality of knowing everything about everybody at all times! God knows all about us. He knows how we’re wired: he did it! He knows us so intimately He has the hair on our heads numbered. He knows us by name. AND, He knows your neighbor as intimately. He knows your co-worker as specifically. He knows your best friend and your worst enemy just as completely. He ALSO knows exactly how to get to them, how to teach them, how to bring them to their senses. Often, His choice (not ours) is to work in our lives AS AN EXAMPLE so they get      the picture by watching us. That puts us “center stage” and “vulnerable”. We have only scratched the surface of how He used Ezekiel in such a way. Wait for the next two weeks to see more of this.

Third-of-all, God is the One who determines how to use us for His purposes! He is God! We are His creation. We squirm  under such an idea. We grate under authority. We want to make the choices about what happens and what doesn’t in our lives. Well, though that is what we want to do, God often chooses to do things differently. Notice that God does take into account Ezekiel’s feelings concerning using manure instead of the repugnant use of human waste to prepare the food. God recognizes  that He needs to take into account the sensitivities of His people. Yet, He is the boss! And He does not seem to be shown in     the Bible to give His people a choice in terms of designing their lives according to their wishes.

I want to throw three more examples, directly out of scripture, into the mix in order to grasp the lesson for us today. I didn’t   write this: God did! You need to show me how to see it differently than the way it is written in the Bible, if you disagree with it. In these three examples it is our Lord, Jesus Christ speaking. In John 14:21 He says, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” He states that His will is for people to live life His way, in order to show their love for the Lord. In Matthew 5:14-16 He says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” He     tells us that He expects us to live “center stage”. In John 9:1-3 Jesus fields a question from His disciples. We read, “As He   went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,     that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of   God might be displayed in his life.’” God chose for this man to be completely blind from his birth until well into his adult      life for one purpose: that the work of God might be shown in his life. That is God’s way of doing things. This man did not     have a choice. God performed an incredible miracle in his life but his life through blindness also demonstrated much to the   people who knew him. Once again we see a person who was called by God to live out of his comfort zone.

So, let’s put things in perspective. God calls His people into ministry. Frankly, those who belong to God are expected, by    God, to be on display to all others. They shouldn’t expect to be comfortable! God keeps us in this life to grow and become      all that He wants us to be. The growth part moves us out of our comfort zone and God wants it that way! In the process God  will ask obedience of us when what He desires is contrary to what we feel comfortable doing. His grace will be sufficient but     we are to follow Him.

How are you doing in this dimension of the Christian life? Remember, God will listen to your concerns if you have a problem  with something He is asking of you. If He goes with your opinions, as He did Ezekiel and the food preparation, be thankful. If   He doesn’t let you make changes to His plan and will, then without hesitancy launch out and obey Him. This message is a tall order. But so it is with each person who belongs to God who is working all people’s lives in concert at the same time. We see     in part and He sees the whole picture. Is He number one in your life? Only when you humble yourself before Him and let Him    be number one can life work as it should. May we have the humility and courage to accept His leading and move out of our comfort zone!