Pastor Robert Schipul

Ezekiel 33:7-20

“God’s Message is a Constant-Turnaround”

3-7-10

There is no alternative route for Ezekiel. God speaks to the prophet in no uncertain terms: “I have made you a watchman.” Period! There is no question about the direction that God has planned for Ezekiel. He is to be the one who brings the message of God to the House of Israel. He is to bring a warning from God. He is to use words which convict. They are not his words, they are God’s words. Not only that, but if Ezekiel does not bring this Word “to dissuade them from their sins,” God will hold him accountable, not for the sins of Israel but for not bringing that Word to the people. So the believer in God in Ezekiel’s day has a responsibility…a job description…an expectation from God.

You know the word “politically correct” we might say “politely correct” in our society today. In contemplating what he should do, Ezekiel did not consider that God’s Word to him was faulty. He was a believer not only in what God is, but in what God was saying to him. It was personal!

Arguments of the stoles

Black: Ya, but it’s different today. Our teachers have told us over and over again that you can’t trust the Word. Every translation is different. Better be careful…you might offend someone. Anyway…what RIGHT do you have to tell anyone else they should repent? It isn’t correct today to admonish anyone. You can get a lawyer and sue them but don’t try to tell them they are wrong about anything.

White: You’re His child. He loves you. Didn’t He tell Ezekiel that He doesn’t want to condemn anyone? Didn’t He say that He wants them to turn from their ways and “LIVE?” Didn’t He say that sin weighs us down and we are wasting away in sin? That doesn’t sound like a hateful God…It sounds like a loving Father talking to His children. Why would I not want to believe that Word?

Well more and more people are questioning “How then can we live?” We know we cannot go on in the direction we humans are going. If that sounds like the time being described in our Old Testament Lesson today…it is. “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?” That is the Word, the Plea of a loving God.

Black: Loving God…sounds angry to me. Anyway…He won’t carry out his threat. At the last moment he will give in just like any Father does. It will all work out. We’re all going to be up there with him anyway. We’re just human. Hey…remember that GPS…did you ever turn around? Na…you just wait for her to find another way. There are plenty of ways to get there.

White: He asked you to trust in Him. If He asks you to turn around then that is what is best for you but in the end… He knows you better than you know Him. And He loves you more than you will ever love Him. Jesus is proof of that.

So turning around is important, isn’t it? In fact it is the difference between life and death. When I step into my car each day, I can’t count on my past record to allow me to avoid decision making today. And I can shut my ears to the words of direction that come to me today. But God wants me to listen.

It all depends on Jesus.

He died for my sins…He paid the price…He listened to both sides too…and He decided to follow His Fathers directions. Both messages came to Him right up until the last moment on the Cross.

Black: That all happened a long time ago. Lot of water went under the bridge since then. We are much more advanced…they were primitive back then. They didn’t know what we know now. IF God is up there…we might meet Him on one of these space trips. And that Hubbell telescope we invented…why we can see so much out there…who knows what we will find…maybe another universe with people smarter than us.

White: There is a lot we don’t know. What we do know is Jesus gave His life for us and because of it…we can live with God forever. That’s what He wants us to share with our friends and family. He wants us to live in the promise…not the speculation…and if there is life out there…He made it…and loves it too. In that Gospel story Jesus was sending us a message that He is “digging around our roots and helping us grow” so when His Father comes to harvest…He will find good fruit….Not perfect fruit but fruit that He will recognize that has His Word and promise all over it.” That is something others will notice too.

So here we go. I am going to put you where everyone can see you these weeks in Lent. (Place black stole on one side of the cross and the white stole on the other side.)

Black: I know I will never be rid of you if He wasn’t.

White: I am glad you are here to whisper the alternative. Man…you remind me I have a choice in all this. I’m not a robot programmed but I can make decisions to follow where our Master is guiding us to be with him forever. Amen.