The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

July 7, 2024

Ezekiel 2:1-7

Meaningful Ministry —

Not Glee and Gratitude, But Rejection and Resentment!

1He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” 2As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

3He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. 4The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ 5And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. 7You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. (NIV1984)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

What is “ministry”? “Ministry” is a word that we use quite freely in the church, but when was the last time that you stopped to ask yourself, “What exactly does that word mean?” The word “ministry” comes from the Latin word “ministerium” which very simply means, “activity of a servant.” It is very closely connected to the Latin word “minister” which means “servant.”

Ministry involves serving others with love, compassion and empathy. Helping someone with their physical needs is generally called “compassion ministry.” People such as doctors, nurses and therapists are involved in “compassion ministry” when they “minister to the sick and injured.” Helping someone with their spiritual needs is generally called “Gospel ministry.” People such as pastors, teachers and counselors are involved in “Gospel ministry” when they “minister to a person’s soul.”

Now one might think that as we strive to minister to someone with love, compassion and empathy that they would respond positively— with glee and gratitude. Sometimes that is indeed true, but not always. For example, if you try to help someone who is struggling to pay their bills, they might be offended because they think that you think that they are not able to take care of themselves and/or their family. Likewise, if you try to share the Gospel with someone they might resent the message that they are a sinner who is in need of a Savior. Even though you are trying to minister to their greatest need, even though you are striving to minister to them with a heart that is filled with love and sympathy and compassion they might respond with rejection and resentment.

Today we are beginning a new sermon series that is focused on the subject of “ministry.” To be more specific, this sermon series focuses our attention on what makes a ministry a Meaningful Ministry. Our sermon text for today gives us a real-life example of what makes a ministry meaningful. Using the ministry of the prophet Ezekiel, God the Holy Spirit reminds us that a Meaningful Ministry can indeed be met with Not Glee and Gratitude, But Rejection and Resentment.

Ezekiel had been carried off into exile by the Babylonians. About five years into his captivity the “Sovereign LORD” appeared to Ezekiel. Ezekiel describes that astounding event in the first chapter of his letter. That chapter concludes with these words, “This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell face down, and I heard the voice of the one speaking.” Those words serve as the background to the opening verses of our text. Ezekiel continues, “He said to me, ‘Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.’ As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.”

As a mortal sinful human being when Ezekiel found himself in the presence of the almighty “Sovereign LORD” he automatically “fell facedown” to the ground. What Ezekiel did not yet know was that God’s purpose for appearing to Ezekiel was not to condemn him but to call him! God was calling Ezekiel to be God’s prophet to God’s people. God was calling Ezekiel to “minister” to, to “serve” the people of God who were in exile in Babylon. Note very closely, my friends, that God not only called Ezekiel to this ministry, but God also equipped Ezekiel for this ministry. We see God equipping Ezekiel for ministry when we are told, “As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.”

By himself and on his own Ezekiel was not qualified to minister to God’s people. By himself and on his own Ezekiel was not qualified to be God’s prophet to God’s people. But once the Holy Spirit entered into him, once the Holy Spirit gave Ezekiel the ability to hear the “Sovereign LORD” speaking to him now Ezekiel was ready to “minister” to God’s people. Now Ezekiel was qualified to serve as God’s prophet— someone who would indeed be able to proclaim God’s Word to God’s people!

That same reality holds true right down to this very day. As we will hear in more detail next Sunday, no one— no prophet, no pastor, no teacher, no parishioner— no mortal sinful human being has the right and the ability to “stand” in God’s presence much less “minister” to God’s people. But once the Holy Spirit enters into that person now they are able to stand in God’s presence and listen to God speaking to them through His Word. Now they are qualified to serve God’s people by proclaiming God’s Word to them.

After calling Ezekiel to serve as His prophet, to be His minister, the “Sovereign LORD” reveals to Ezekiel the people he is being sent to serve. The description that God gives to Ezekiel, however, is one that could easily give pause to any prophet, any minister. Look at verses three to five of our text. We’re told, “He said: ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says.” And whether they listen or fail to listen— for they are a rebellious house— they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

God’s description of God’s own people is powerful! God wanted Ezekiel to understand that his ministry was not going to be an easy ministry. God wanted Ezekiel to understand that his ministry was to serve people who were “rebellious.” They were rebelling against the “Sovereign LORD” Himself! They were “obstinate” people— people who were “hard-headed.” They refused to listen to what God said was good for them. They were “stubborn” people— people who were “strong-willed.” They demanded to do what they wanted to do— not what God wanted them to do.

Thankfully, this description does not apply to us, right? Thankfully, we never rebel against the “Sovereign LORD,” right? Thankfully, we are never “obstinate” and “hard-headed,” right? We never think that what we believe is right and while we don’t want to actually say that what God says in His Word is wrong, we do think that it is old-fashion, outdated and out of step with our modern world, right? Thankfully, we are never “stubborn” and “strong-willed” right? Thankfully, we always listen to what our God says to us in His holy Word and we always do what our God wants us to do. Right?

While we might want to believe that about ourselves, while we might want others to believe that about us, the “Sovereign LORD” not only knows the truth about us, but when necessary the “Sovereign LORD” graciously sends people into our lives to “minister” to us, to “serve” us by faithfully saying to us, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says.” The “servant” that God sends to us might be a pastor. They might be a teacher. They might be a fellow Christian. On the flip side of that very same coin we might be the “servant” whom God sends to someone to proclaim to them, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says.” Either way, we need to listen to whomever the Lord sends to us and when the Lord sends us to someone else we need to speak as a “minister,” as a “servant” of the Lord God.

“This is what the Sovereign LORD says.” Whether it was the prophet Ezekiel or me or you this is what makes our ministry meaningful! People don’t need to hear our opinions. People don’t need to hear our interpretation of what is right and what is wrong, what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. No, my friends, people need to hear what “the Sovereign LORD says”! That means that our ministry is meaningful when we faithfully proclaim the message of God’s holy Law: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). That means that our ministry is meaningful when we faithfully proclaim the glorious message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16), “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

And yet, we still might wonder, why? Why did God give Ezekiel a ministry to serve people who were “rebellious” and “obstinate” and “stubborn”? Why does God send us out to minister to people who all too often laugh at us and ridicule us and reject us? Grace. Love. Mercy. Take your pick. Any one of those words describe why God sent Ezekiel to minister to his fellow exiles in Babylon. Any one of those words describe why God sends us out to minister to people today. What we always need to remember is what God reminded Ezekiel so many years ago, “And whether they listen or fail to listen— for they are a rebellious house— they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

Those powerful words take all the “pressure” off of our shoulders as we strive to minister to others. Just as Ezekiel was not responsible for how God’s people reacted to God’s Word— neither are we! Just as Ezekiel was not responsible for changing anyone’s heart— neither are we! Just as Ezekiel was responsible for faithfully proclaiming to others, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says”— so are we! When we stop to realize that we are responsible for faithfully proclaiming God’s powerful holy Word then we can prayerfully leave the results of that faithful proclamation in the hands of our powerful God!

What holds true for us as individuals also holds true for us as a congregation. While we would all agree that we need to improve the outreach efforts of our congregation let’s consciously strive to make sure that our outreach efforts stay focused on proclaiming, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says.” We do not and we cannot change anything that God has revealed to us in His holy Word simply to increase our attendance. We do not and we cannot think that if we do this or if we do that we can help to determine the results of our congregation’s outreach ministry. But we can and do strive to make sure that our ministry is meaningful to Him (Pointing to the cross) by proclaiming His Word faithfully.

If ever, when ever we want to see the perfect example of a meaningful ministry all we have to do is go back to our Gospel lesson for today. (Mark 6:1-6) The account of Jesus preaching in the synagogue of His hometown of Nazareth is both well-known and easy to remember. All of us will automatically agree that Jesus’ ministry was a perfect ministry. As the true Son of God and as the long-awaited Promised Messiah Jesus faithfully served the people of His hometown by faithfully proclaiming God’s Word to them. And what was the reaction Jesus received? Mark told us that the people “took offense at him.” Was Jesus’ ministry a meaningful ministry even though it was met with rejection and resentment rather than glee and gratitude? It most certainly was!

My prayer this morning is that we will always keep Jesus’ meaningful ministry in mind as we strive to carry out our ministry— both our personal ministry and our congregational ministry. When we strive to make sure that our ministry is focused on proclaiming, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says,” then no matter what kind of reaction and no matter what kind of reception we receive, our ministry will be a meaningful ministry— to Him! (Pointing to the cross)

To God be the glory!

Amen