THE WATCHMEN--THOUGHTS FROM EZEKIEL 33

THE WATCHMEN--THOUGHTS FROM EZEKIEL 33

The Word of The Lord came to me: “Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’ “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself. “Son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?”’ Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the 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?’ “Therefore, son of man, say to your countrymen, ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him when he disobeys, and wickedness of the wicked man will not cause him to fall when he turns from it. The righteous man, if he sins, will not be allowed to live because of his former righteousness.’ If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done. And if I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but he then turns away from his sin and does what is just and right—if he gives back what he took in pledge for a loan, returns what he has stolen, follows the decrees that give life, and does no evil, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the sins he has committed will be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live. “Yet your countrymen say ‘The Way of The Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just. If a righteous man turns away from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live by doing so. Yet, O house of Israel, you say, ‘The way of The Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to his own ways.” Ezekiel 33:1-20 (NIV)

God wants us to live for Him in the present moment! There are those who have lived for Him in the past, but they have become disloyal followers and have stopped living for Him in the present. There are also those who did not live for God in the past, but are now living for Him. And there are those who did not live for God in the past or in the present, but who will live for God in the future. God is patient, not wishing that any should perish, but He is also warning us that we cannot depend on our past relationship with Him to excuse our present evil. God wants us to follow Him in the here and now, and He has given us His Holy Spirit to guide us and give us victory over sin in our present reality. There is a war going on between the forces of good and evil in the here and now, and just as soldiers must daily prove their loyalty in their service to the king, so we must daily show whose side we are on by supporting God in the here and now. Never mind that you gave excellent service in previous battles, because our kingdom is endangered right now, this very day. What good is it that you helped God win previous battles, if you prove to be a traitor today? What sort of reward should you expect when your good actions are followed by the betrayal of your fellow soldiers and rebellion against the God you serve? Lucifer had been exalted to a prominent position in heaven before his betrayal and open rebellion against God. Should God praise and reward you for sitting on the sidelines while the enemy wreaks havoc on humanity? If you are only a spectator in the conflict, you could easily become a traitor or an enemy soldier. Jesus said that He wishes we were hot or cold, but because we are lukewarm instead, He will spit us out. In a similar fashion, God welcomes those who have deserted Satan’s army and are now seeking admission into the Army of The Lord. God says very plainly that those who turn away from evil are welcomed into His Kingdom, and their sins will be remembered no more. God is interested in the here and now because this is where the action takes place. Yesterday and tomorrow have their proper places, but both are constantly being affected by our present choices. Jesus gave us examples of those who were invited to the banquet, but gave excuses for not attending. Their places in the banquet hall were given to former outsiders in the highways and byways who were now compelled to come. The foolish bridesmaids who allowed their lamps to go out were refused admission for their failure to prepare. God has appointed some as watchmen, to warn us when we are doing evil and to show us the proper pathway to heaven, but it has become rare to hear God’s watchmen speaking the necessary words of warning. There are certain sins which recently are considered too controversial to mention, such as abortion and homosexuality. The supporters of these two sins are not afraid to speak in favor of them, and their representatives fight hard in state and federal legislatures and courts to win their approval, while God’s watchmen, soldiers and representatives are afraid to even bring the subject up! Why is this? God has given us His guidelines in the Bible so that we will have a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. In the Bible we find God’s rules for living in harmony with Him and with our fellow man. Why then do we not exhort each other to avoid these two sins and hundreds of other sins and evils that assault us on an hourly and daily basis? Are we more concerned with not offending others than we are about obeying God? Furthermore, God has told His prophets to speak the truth to us whether we will listen or not. Paul told Timothy to preach the Word both in and out of season. That sort of preaching has always been unpopular, except when the world is in the midst of a revival. You periodically hear nostalgic calls for revival preaching, and there are some who yearn for true revival, but the majority seem to be content to have their ears tickled week after week with the latest clever teaching, historical Bible commentary, theological debate, humanistic rhetoric, creation vs. scientific argument, ecumenical-political backslapping, pop-culture-hyped, frenzied and repetitious praise choruses, and whatever else currently passes for partially-religious entertainment, which seems to be more concerned about emulating the world than worshipping God. Even when there is nothing inherently wrong with our method of worship, if our main concern is to appear attractive to the world, we risk sacrificing our main purpose, which is to lead others to Christ and assist them in their pursuit of a Godly life. But for many churches, any extraneous activity which remotely resembles religiosity, which will not offend anyone and will attract new membership is considered acceptable, while warnings are considered too harsh. Many of today’s churches have elements within them who are more concerned about their finances than about their mission. So whatever happened to exhortational preaching? Where are the watchmen on the walls who warn us of ever-present dangers both without and within the Kingdom of God? The world says that it is a personal choice whether we practice abortion and homosexuality and that no one has a right to tell us what to do on these and many other issues. God says that murdering and willfully causing the death of innocent children and homosexual perversion of God’s plan of procreation are sins which are punishable by death. The lack of exhortation from the pulpit regarding these issues is so palpable that laymen are forced to scream in the streets, online and otherwise and are called religious wackos and right-wing zealots for defending, supporting and recommending the God they serve. When the Church refuses to do its duty in defending God and His Kingdom, God is well-able to raise up servants and soldiers who will do what is required. You will recall that Lucifer began his great fall from his self-exalted platform within heaven itself, and for this reason he and those who rebelled with him were cast down from that great height and made an eternal example of the end result of our rebellion against God. Our watchmen need to wake up, warn us to turn from our evil ways and make preparations for the Bridegroom Who is certainly coming soon. When their messages are passionless religious drivel that totally miss the mark of exhortation and leave us without motivation in our quest for a vibrant and living relationship with our Creator, we are in danger of becoming irrelevant and unproductive Christians who lack the necessary zeal to be good soldiers. If our watchmen have become complacent, who will recognize the voice of our Bridegroom when He arrives and be prepared to follow his instructions? Jesus says that we “diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life” John 5:39-40. Watchmen must do more than warn us of our failures—they must point us toward a relationship with Christ Himself. Only God can provide the zeal which will sustain us both in our battles with apathy and complacency and in our eternal conflicts with the forces of evil that surround us. Let us earnestly pray that God will provide us with watchmen who are worthy of their high calling, who will warn us about our many sins, preach the Word both in and out of season, and exhort us to fight the good fight of faith while there is still time.

Mark Overt Skilbred

PROCRASTINATION IS EXPENSIVE!

PROCRASTINATION IS EXPENSIVE!
I attended Concordia Moorhead from 1968-1972 and we helped with the sandbagging in those years just like they are doing again this year. Question: Since these periodic floods are cyclical to the extent that their recurrence is guaranteed for the future, what long-term plans have South Dakota, Minnesota and North Dakota made for the future? Have you asked the Army Corp of Engineers or some other agency to look at long-term solutions for the area from Big Stone Lake to the Pembina area, including dredging, reservoirs, agricultural diversion channels which could double as irrigation infrastructure, permanent dikes, levees, catch-basins, pumps, etc. with an eye to both the prevention of flooding and the enhancement of controlled irrigation of the fertile Red River Valley? Since future flooding is guaranteed if there aren't substantial changes made, why not begin now to put in place an infrastructure which will plan for future flooding, take advantage of precious water resources, and increase and broaden the further development of the region's vast agricultural potential. Rather than viewing this flooding as a temporary inconvenience, why not prepare for what is a predictable certainty and make use of this water resource for future generations? I know there will need to be several versions of environmental impact reports and political discourse between the states impacted and our Canadian neighbors, so this process should begin soon, so that we don't continue to pass this problem along to our grandchildren without addressing the issue and making an attempt to improve the existing infrastructures. I believe that the long-term savings and benefits are worth the costs involved and will more than repay future generations through enhancements to safety, agriculture, transportation, parks and recreation. By proactively pursuing a program which considers long-term savings through the prevention of future floods, such as the one which devastated the Grand Forks region in recent memory, we can make a compelling case for improvements which will be supported by all the federal and state agencies which are impacted. There will also be near-term benefits of employment and financial incentives which should attract business, capital and investment to the region. Since the Fargo-Moorhead area is centrally located in the heart of the Red River Valley, it is the logical place to regionally locate the solutions for this shared problem in an area which is best able to implement solutions. Sandbagging and other equivalent temporary solutions only serve to postpone the inevitable solutions for future generations, when costs will have certainly increased due to more-extensive redevelopment and infrastructure. It is not too soon to begin this process, and we should start now before another year and its attendant problems demand our attention.

Mark Overt Skilbred