Saturday, July 22, 2017

This Week's Bible Study Notes, "God Has a Job For You", Ezekiel 3:1-11, 7/22/2017

GOD HAS A JOB FOR EACH BELIEVER


Ezekiel 3:1-11

STUDY THE WORD OF GOD
V:1. " And he said to me, "Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel."
A. God has a mission for every believer.
    1. We are all responsible for spreading the Word of God to others.
    2. Matthew 28:19 is the commission that Jesus gave to us to spread the
        Good news.
B. First, we must have our hearts set to hear a word from the Lord.
    1. Second, we must study God's Word to know His voice.
    2. Third, we have  make ourselves available to God.
    3. Forth, we have to submit ourselves to the Will of God. 

V:2. " So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. "
 A. We have to be willing to follow God's Word.
 B. We have to meditate on the Word for a deeper understanding.


MEDITATE ON THE WORD DAY AND NIGHT
V:3. " Then he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. "
A. We have to digest the Word.
   1. Let the Word become part of your thinking process.
   2. Let the Word replace your fleshly thinking.
   3. Let the Word become your source of directions.
B. Acquire a taste for the sweetness of the Word
   1. The Word is life.
   2. The Word is good for reproof, and directions.
   3. The Word is enlightening
   4. The Word is Encouraging
   5. The Word is Cleaning.
   6. The Word is purifying
   7. The Word is love.
   8. We must learn to appreciate the value of the Word to our lives.

YOU ARE ORDAINED TO PROCLAIM THE WORD
V:4. " He then said to me: "Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. "
A. Notice, Ezekiel is considered a Son.
    1. A true Son loves his Father.
    2. A true Son is obedient to his Father
    3. The phrase "Son of man" emphasizes Ezekiel mission for Christ.
    4. Ezekiel's spirit had been raised to serve God.
B. The Word of God commissions you to be a servant.
     1.The Word directs you to specific people.
     2. The Word directs you to specific places.
     3. The Word is given to you so you can be the light to  others. 

GOD WILL PREPARE THE PEOPLE TO HEAR THE WORD
V:5-6. " You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel
6 not to many peoples of obscure speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. "
A. God sends you out to proclaim His Word to people who can understand
     your language.
   1. To the people God's send you, His message will be easily understood.
   2. The Word of God is given to His elect.
B. God will not send you to those He did not predestine to hear the Word.
   1. The Word of God is foolish to the world.
   2. The world is not given the spirit to hear the Word.
   3. God's elect are given the ability to understand the Word.
   4. God's elect are given the choice to obey the Word.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT WHO IS LISTENING
V:7. " But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate. "
A. Israel had been taken captive by the Babylonians.
     1. The nation would be in captivity for 70 years because of their
         disobedience.
     2. Disobedience was ingrained in their hearts for hundreds of years.
B. God sent them a message to remind them of consequences of their disobedience
    and to promise redemption if they turned back to Him.
C. God knows the condition of our hearts.
    1. Israel was set in their ways of disobedience.
    2. They did not intend to change even though they were being punished.
    3. There is no excuse for not obeying the Word of God.

GOD IS YOUR STRENGTH IN SERVICE  
V:8. " But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. "
 A. God prepares us for the mission,
    1. He fortifies us with faith in His Word.
    2. He gives us a mind determined to preach the Word regardless of the
        opposition we face.
V:9. " I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house."
A. As determined as the opposition is against God, He will make you
     more determine for Him.
   1. God strengthens our faith to handle the problems we will face to serve Him.
   2. God's grace is sufficient for us to endure  the trouble .
B. When serving God, there is nothing to fear.
    1. God knows in advance that people will get upset with you and threaten your
        life when He sends you out with His message.
    2. The battle is not ours, it is the Lord.
    3. God is our protector during the mission.
    4. God want us to succeed in our mission, even though the people will not change and
        follow Him.
    5. Our job is not to change folk, but give them the tools to change.

MAKE IT YOUR BUSINESS TO PROCLAIM THE WORD
V:10. " And he said to me, "Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you."
A. God gives us the keys to success in the mission and in our lives.
     1. Listen to the Word of God.
         a. Listen is the verb.
         b. Carefully modifies and emphasis  the action of listening.
      2.  We have to come to an understanding of the importance of the mission.
         a. It is important that we spend time studying the Bible.
         b. Not only do we have to study the Word, but we have to spend time
            in meditation in the Word.
  B.  The phrase "take to heart" is the Hebrew word "labad"
        which means to take courage, get comfortable with the Word God wants
        you to give to His people.
      1. The word "all" means every word that God give you.
      2. Don't leave anything out of the message.
      3. I think that there are times when we want to proclaim only the Word
          that is agreeable to us.
        a. Some of God's Word goes against our lifestyle and opinions.
        b. There may be some things that we don't want to change, so
            we ignore God's Word that points out that sin.
        c. All scripture is inspired by God and good for reproof and corrections.
C. The messenger (that's us) have to firmly believe God's Word in order
     to convince anyone of it's truth.
   1. Just because God's Word offends someone, does not relieve us of the                   
       responsibility of proclaiming the Word.
   2. The Word of God is not designed to make you feel good, it is design to change you
       into His righteousness. 

DO YOUR JOB AND LEAVE THE CHANGE TO GOD
V:11. " Go now to your countrymen in exile and speak to them. Say to them, 'This is
          what the  Sovereign Lord says,' whether they listen or fail to listen."
 A. We are commanded by God to tell our people what He said.
      1. Our job is to repeat the Word of God verbatim as it was given to us.
      2. We should never change the Word of God to make it less offensive
           to others.
B. We were not given the responsibility to determine if people listen to the Word
      or not listen to the Word. 
    1. Our responsibility is to proclaim God's Word.
    2. God will take care of the listening part.
    3. We fail when we decide who will listen.


THANK GOR FOR CHOOSING US TO PROCLAIM THE WORD.


Rev M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
5510 West Sam Houston Parkway North
Houston, Texas 77041

For more lessons follow me on facebook and my
blogs  www.revmmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com





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