Speaking What is in You

I still feel like I am getting back into the swing of things. When the weather warms up, I’m sure it will help greatly. I am speaking at a church service at a local assisted living community, on Sunday, so I spent some time in preparation for that event. I also spent some time in our basement trying to rearrange our storage for some work that we will have done in coming weeks. I was surprise how much I could accomplish with a little ingenuity.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY….   “God said, “Mortal man, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.  He said, “Mortal man, eat this scroll that I give you; fill your stomach with it.” I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey. Then God said, “Mortal man, go to the people of Israel and say to them whatever I tell you to say…”   Ezekiel 3:1-4 Rev. 10:10

The call of Ezekiel is different than Jeremiah. Ezekiel was a Priest when God called him to serve in the role of a prophet. We see Ezekiel’s words to those in exile were not just a call to return to the Lord, but prophesying about what the future would hold.

The call of Ezekiel was similar to that of Jeremiah, in that God was preparing him for that fact that he would be rejected and ridiculed. In many ways God’s used Ezekiel as a “human object lesson” to communicate God’s message. But in the imagery above we see God providing Ezekiel with a scroll written on both sides and is told to eat it. He is then instructed to speak forth God’s message. What is interesting is that the words of the Lord to Ezekiel speak of “fullness and sweetness”; but as he shares them with a rebellious people it will be like vinegar in their ears.

The instructions to Ezekiel are repeated to John hundreds of years later as the New Testament Apostle receives a vision of coming judgment.

“I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will turn sour in your stomach, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” I took the little scroll from his hand and ate it, and it tasted sweet as honey in my mouth….Then I was told, “Once again you must proclaim God’s message about many nations, races, languages, and kings.”  Revelation 10:9-11

In both of these passages in the Bible we see a clear picture of “speaking what the Lord places in you.” The graphic description certainly catches ones attention. When someone speaks “in the name of the Lord” it is a serious responsibility. For believers today, it shows that importance of having, “God’s Word in us.” We are than called to share it with discernment, in obedience and with meekness. (1 Peter 3:15)

The problem of the Old Testament can be seen in our day. That is because human nature and spiritual realities have remained the same through the ages. This is what the Lord spoke to Jeremiah about those who spoke from their own minds and imaginations.

Then the LORD said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.   Jeremiah 14:14

We see the warning from Peter in the New Testament, “False prophets appeared in the past among the people, and in the same way false teachers will appear among you. They will bring in destructive, untrue doctrines…”                2 Peter 2:1

Paul gave this warning to Timothy, “The Spirit says clearly that some people will abandon the faith in later times; they will obey lying spirits and follow the teachings of demons.” 1 Timothy 4:1

False “prophets” spoke to gain favor with people. True “prophets” spoke out of obedience to the Lord regardless of what people thought or how they received the message. The wisdom of Solomon says, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”  Proverbs 27:6

When you are connected to a church and with friends who will faithfully share, challenge and comfort you with God’s Word, you are in good company.