Faithfulness with Boldness

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.-1 Timothy 4:1-5

This morning, my personal study led me to Ezekiel (chapters 1-4 to be exact). I was profoundly affected by God’s calling and charges to Ezekiel. He was told he would be going to a people who would not listen, and preach God’s word to them, even though their hearts were hard. God told him that He Himself would strengthen Ezekiel, and that Ezekiel, despite what he would face, should continue forward in resolve. It made my heart heavy, because I know preachers who speak only what people want to hear, speaking to social issues, and not God’s word, barely scraping on the Gospel. Yet this call is still valid to those who seek to preach God’s word: “Speak my words, in spite of opposition.” We are not called, as preachers, to placate church members or grow churches, we’re called to preach the Gospel.

Today is less about thoughts on life, and more of an appeal: pray for me. Pray for faithful elders and preachers everywhere to fulfill their God-appointed duties, that they may not give in to the will of man, but be wholly submitted to the Word and Will of God. Pray for boldness in spite of an obstinate generation, and boldness to speak without hinderance. Pray for utterance through the Holy Spirit by the Scriptures. Pray that the flocks of these shepherds would be emboldened by their leaders examples, that they would boldly preach the Cross to a world that finds it foolish. And pray that we all would be, like Paul, unashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God to salvation for those that believe.

Ezekiel 2

And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. 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.” And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

2 Timothy 3

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.