Posted on 07/04/2015 10:26:45 PM PDT by Charles Henrickson
Prophets without Honor (Ezekiel 2:1-5; Mark 6:1-13; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10)
Prophets without Honor. Thats what we see in our readings today, in the lessons from Ezekiel, Mark, and 2 Corinthians. Prophets without Honor. Thats what we see in our world today--thats what we see in our nation today. And who are these prophets who do not receive the honor befitting the message that they bring? Well, guess what? Its us, we in the church, who bring the word of God. So it behooves today to listen now, as we consider the trials--and the blessing--of being Prophets without Honor.
Scene 1, 600 B.C. Ezekiel is called to be Gods prophet to the nation of Israel. The Lord tells Ezekiel: Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD. And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.
So this is Ezekiels calling and his job description. The Lord is sending him to a rebellious people, to a people who will not listen to what he has to say. It is a people you would think ought to listen to the word of the Lord, after all the Lord had done for Israel in their history. And yet, they will not listen. Ezekiel will be a prophet without honor. Nevertheless, regardless of the reception he receives, Ezekiel is called to be faithful in speaking the message the Lord gives him. Because that is what a true prophet does.
You know, sometimes when we hear the word prophet, we think of someone who is able to predict the future. Now sometimes the Old Testament prophets did that, foretelling what would come, because the Lord had revealed that knowledge to them. But the big thing about the biblical prophets is not so much foretelling as it is forth-telling. The prophets were to forth-tell, that is, they were to speak forth the word that the Lord had for them to speak. And it was a word of law and gospel. Often there was some serious law, calling the nation to repentance for their sins, even pronouncing judgment on the nation when they would not repent. And at the same time, there was also a message of gospel, a word of hope for the faithful remnant, assuring them that the Lord would not forget them, even as judgment would fall on the nation as a whole. Forth-telling, telling forth the word of the Lord, speaking faithfully the message of law and gospel--that is what prophets are called to do. And when they are not received, as was often the case, then they are prophets without honor.
Scene 2, the first century AD, about the year 30. Jesus goes to the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. Be begins to teach there. And when Jesus teaches, it is great wisdom that he speaks forth: The proper understanding and application of Gods law, how Gods people are to live. The powerful proclamation of Gods promises, how they are fulfilled now in him, how the kingdom of heaven has come among us in the person of Christ. And yet the people would not listen. It says, And they took offense at him. And so Jesus says to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.
You see, Jesus himself was a prophet without honor. In fact, he is **the** Prophet without honor. And therefore, all those he sends out in his name, bearing his message--they too will be prophets without honor. Thats what Jesus tells his disciples when he sends them out.
And so this is Scene 2B, Jesus sending out his disciples. He tells them, quite frankly, that there will be those who will not receive them. He says, And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them. So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.
Jesus tells them that there will be those who will not receive them, but still they go out. Jesus commission encouraged them to go, gave them the courage to go and preach. And they did what they were sent to do: They proclaimed that people should repent.
What is it to repent? And why is it so important that preachers proclaim it? To repent means to turn from your sins--to acknowledge them, confess them, and turn from them. To repent means to change your way of thinking, your whole mindset about things. To see things from Gods perspective, as his word is proclaimed to you. It means to give up on self and to rely on God for the righteousness you need to stand before him. All this is packed into the preaching of repentance.
But people do not like to hear this. They chafe at the bit. It goes against the grain, to hear that we are sinners in need of a Savior, that we cannot save ourselves. We dont like to hear this. We dont like to hear that the things we love to do that go against Gods will--that these things are sin and that we are guilty and that we are called to turn from them. We dont like to hear this. The people we preach to--they dont like to hear this. And so, oftentimes, they take out their anger on the preacher. They turn a deaf ear to the church. And they shake their fist at God. That is why Jesus messengers are treated as prophets without honor.
Scene 3, also in the first century, about 25 years later, maybe around the year 55, and St. Paul is writing to the Corinthians. Paul has been very busy over the years, traveling far and wide to preach the gospel of Christ, and now he reflects on his experience. Things have not always gone so smoothly. In fact, Paul has experienced a lot of rejection, a lot of suffering, for the cause of Christ. But this is what he says about that. He writes: For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities? Is this how Gods prophet ought to be treated? No, of course not. But it comes with the territory, when you bring a message that a lot of people dont want to hear. They will hate you for it. They will mistreat you, beat you up, persecute you. Thats what happened to Paul. But it did not stop him from preaching. Because Paul had a promise that was greater than the persecution. Because Paul had a Savior who was stronger than the suffering. And guess what, dear friends? So do you.
It is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He, Jesus--he took the Big Suffering for us. Jesus took the punishment for our sins upon the cross. By his shed blood, we are forgiven. When the Son of God dies for you, that covers everything. All your guilt is taken away. And when this same Jesus rises from the dead, and he shares that resurrection victory with you in your baptism--well, that changes everything, doesnt it? It puts any persecution into perspective. It puts our sufferings here in this life into the Big Picture of salvation and eternal joy. This is why Paul could say, For the sake of Christ, then, I am content. For when I am weak, then I am strong. And we have that same confidence in Christ.
And how we need it! For now we come to Scene 4, twenty-first century America, the Fifth of July, 2015. Where are we today in the U.S. of A.? Ill tell you where we are. We are prophets without honor, we in the church who come bearing the word of the Lord. The people of this country are not listening to Gods word. They are rejecting the message of repentance and faith. Our country has gone crazy. The brainwashing, the indoctrination, has been so thorough, from all the levels of our society. Television, movies, celebrities, the entertainment industry, the media, officials in our government, corporations, public education--all of them railing against the word of God, despising Gods word, rebelling against it. And when they reject Gods word, they reject Gods messengers, the church that is faithful to Gods word.
People do not want to hear that what God calls sin is sin. They hate that. They call evil good, and good they call evil. We saw that just recently with the Supreme Court ruling legalizing homosexual so-called marriage in all fifty states. What is an abomination before God is now the law of the land. And so many of our fellow countrymen do not have a problem with this.
What they do have a problem with is us. We are the bigots, we are the homophobes. And they take offense at us. So get ready for persecution. In fact, its already here in many places. Bakers, florists, wedding photographers, people who because of their moral convictions cannot in good conscience provide goods or services that would directly approve or celebrate what is a sin before God--they are being taken to court and suffering major penalties and being driven out of business. Churches may be next. The God-haters have the church in their line of sight, and things could very well get worse, if they ever get better.
So be ready. Dont let this stuff surprise you or get you down. Suffering for the sake of Christ has always been the churchs experience. In some ways, weve had it pretty easy here in America for a long time. But that looks to be changing.
But what does not change is this: Gods promises to his people. Our Lord promises to be with us, through whatever hard times we endure, whether from persecution or from any other suffering we experience. Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. Blessed are you when all men speak evil of you for my sake. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
Dear friends, in this world--and now, even in our nation--we may be prophets without honor. But by Gods grace, praise the Lord, we are prophets **with** a Savior!
He said to me, Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you. And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. And he said to me, Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD. And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.
Mark 6:1-13 (ESV)
[Jesus] went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household. And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief.
And he went about among the villages teaching.
And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff--no bread, no bag, no money in their belts--but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them. So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (ESV)
I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows--and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses--though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Ping.
Thank-you for posting this much-needed message. America is quickly spiraling downward, and as it does it more and more resembles a modern, technological version of Sodom and Gomorrah merged with a syncretic version of Baal-snake nature worship mixed with Eastern occult pantheism.
It’s truly sad to see America decline so rapidly.
Thank you Pastor, we had the same lessons at Trinity today but not a word about the direction of the church or country in the summation of the sermon which was on the Gospel.
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