Fear Them Not!

“And he said to me, ‘Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. 

“’Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.’ Moreover, he said to me, ‘Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, “Thus says the Lord God,” whether they hear or refuse to hear.’” (Ezekiel 3:4-11 ESV)

Sadly, not everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ is a true believer in and a follower of Jesus Christ. And not everyone who is of genuine faith in Jesus Christ is presently walking according to his ways. So much of what is called “church” here in America is not the church, the body of Christ, but they are businesses (institutions) of human-origin patterned after the ways of the world and after the traditions of humans which have been passed down from generation to generation. And so many of them are social clubs.

And so the Lord Jesus (God) is calling out to all who profess his name, and he is reminding them of who he is and of his calling and purpose for our lives and of what it means to believe in him and to be one of his followers. For so many have lost their way because they are listening to humans over and above listening to God and to his word (taught in context). For so many “preachers” of the word these days are taking Scriptures out of context and they are altering them to say what they don’t say in context.

And so the Lord is sending out his messengers to tell the people the truth of what the Scriptures teach, when taught in context, and to refute the lies of the enemy which are so largely being received as truth these days (at least here in America). How many of these messengers are there? I don’t know. I know I am one of them, and I know there are others, but I believe we are few in number by comparison to those who are teaching the lies that so many people have now adopted as the truth.

And for us to be able to teach the truth, in opposition to the lies, we do have to set our faces like flint, which means to accept the fact that what we are called to do will be hard, and it will not be well received, and we will face much opposition and rejection, but we have to do it anyway. And we are not going to have huge followings, and so we will be ignored and cast aside and treated as though we are nothing but someone to stomp on because we tell people the truth in the face of so many lies so widely being accepted.

But that doesn’t mean that we are strong people by nature. I am not! And it doesn’t mean that we are unaffected by some of the responses that we receive from others. We are feeling people. We cry. But we still have to obey the Lord in teaching and in sharing the truth that he has called us to share regardless of how we get treated in return, and even if all desert us and speak evil against us. Not all do, mind you, but teaching the hard truths of the Scriptures does not normally endear people to you. And so this can be a very lonely existence. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Why? Because the truth of the matter is that so many professing Christians here in America (and perhaps in other nations) are living worldly lives, not lives which are dedicated to the Lord and to his service. They profess him with their lips, but they are the ones charting their own courses and making their own decisions with regard to how they will live their lives. They may be somewhat influenced by what the Scriptures teach, but so many are still worldly, living for the pleasures of the flesh, and not to be pleasing to God.

And so there needs to be voices out there which are speaking the truth of what the Scriptures teach regarding what the Christian life is to be all about and what will happen to us if we do not follow the Lord in obedience but we continue in self-indulgence and in worldly living. And we will face opposition. It goes with the territory. But the truth needs to be heard and responded to, for it is a matter of life and death that we receive and believe the truth and that we reject the lies which have gained so much popularity.

For the truth is that Jesus said that if anyone would come after him he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience, then we have eternal life in him. For he also said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one DOING the will of God the Father.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

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