The young daughter of a family attending a church I once pastored asked me if we were a "pushover" church. After some discussion with the child's parents, I learned they had previously attended a church where the pastor would pray over people, touch them on the forehead, and they would fall down in a phenomenon called being "slain in the Spirit". It is easy enough to see why, from a child's perspective, she considered that church a "pushover" church.
Perhaps God's Spirit will cause a person to fall down, but most assuredly it will cause a person to stand up:
"Then He said to me, 'Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!' As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me" (Ezekiel 2:1-2 NASB).
God's word is vital information every person needs to know and respond to in order to live in His coming kingdom age. The operating force behind that essential message is His dynamic Spirit. It is His Spirit that enables His people to "stand and deliver" His live-changing message.
It will come as no surprise to tell you that many people today are anything but responsive to God's word and message. And yet, unresponsive as many people are, they are no more so than people in the prophet Ezekiel's day:
"But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious. Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you" Ezekiel 2:7-8 NASB)
God, through His Spirit, gave Ezekiel a "diet" of His word. He instructed Him to "eat", or internalize, His word. He then gave him the directive to "speak My words to them whether they listen or not" (similar words to the apostle Paul's - "preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction" - 2 Timothy 4:2 NASB).
Ezekiel's directive is ours. We are called, first of all, to "eat"; to feed on His word. Bottom line: get in to it; read it; study it; know it. Secondly, God calls us to declare it, regardless of receptivity to it. I'm not convinced this means we become a screaming street corner preacher, or an abrasive "force-feeder" or His word to friends, family, and coworkers. But I do think it means that people closely associate us with God's truth in what we say and how we live. And, equally important, we are people who "stand and deliver" through the power of His Spirit.
Whatever your setting, God has provided you with an environment to be His living, breathing word to others. Through the opportunities He provides this day, confidently stand and deliver His life-changing word.
Steve
© 2010, Steve Taylor
Perhaps God's Spirit will cause a person to fall down, but most assuredly it will cause a person to stand up:
"Then He said to me, 'Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!' As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me" (Ezekiel 2:1-2 NASB).
God's word is vital information every person needs to know and respond to in order to live in His coming kingdom age. The operating force behind that essential message is His dynamic Spirit. It is His Spirit that enables His people to "stand and deliver" His live-changing message.
It will come as no surprise to tell you that many people today are anything but responsive to God's word and message. And yet, unresponsive as many people are, they are no more so than people in the prophet Ezekiel's day:
"But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious. Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you" Ezekiel 2:7-8 NASB)
God, through His Spirit, gave Ezekiel a "diet" of His word. He instructed Him to "eat", or internalize, His word. He then gave him the directive to "speak My words to them whether they listen or not" (similar words to the apostle Paul's - "preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction" - 2 Timothy 4:2 NASB).
Ezekiel's directive is ours. We are called, first of all, to "eat"; to feed on His word. Bottom line: get in to it; read it; study it; know it. Secondly, God calls us to declare it, regardless of receptivity to it. I'm not convinced this means we become a screaming street corner preacher, or an abrasive "force-feeder" or His word to friends, family, and coworkers. But I do think it means that people closely associate us with God's truth in what we say and how we live. And, equally important, we are people who "stand and deliver" through the power of His Spirit.
Whatever your setting, God has provided you with an environment to be His living, breathing word to others. Through the opportunities He provides this day, confidently stand and deliver His life-changing word.
Steve
© 2010, Steve Taylor
posted by steve @ 9:09 AM
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