If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Ezekiel Chapter 3. If you do have a bookmark, you can put one in Matthew 10 and another in Romans 10.
As you’re turning first to Ezekiel, I’m going to read a few things from Christianity.com to help put this into perspective.
It says: In ancient times, the role of a watchman on the wall held great significance and was vital for the safety and security of cities and settlements.
The watchman served as a sentinel, stationed on high vantage points such as city walls or towers, to observe and alert the inhabitants of any approaching danger, whether it be enemy forces, natural disasters, or other potential threats.
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By maintaining constant vigilance, the watchman could promptly identify and report any signs of impending trouble.
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The role of a watchman on the wall was physically demanding and required constant attention, especially during times of heightened tension or conflict. Watchmen were chosen for their sharp eyesight, keen observation skills, and ability to remain alert for extended periods.
Their dedication to their duty often required long shifts and a deep sense of responsibility for the safety and welfare of the community they served.
So let’s look at what God commanded Ezekiel in Chapter 3, verses 16-19, regarding being a watchman.
16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.
You’ll see that God was not commanding Ezekiel to be a literal watchman on the wall, but a prophetic watchman. He was being called to speak out to the people of Israel, and to warn them of their evil ways, not to condemn them, but in order that they might repent and be saved. Notice that not everyone who is warned will repent, but the duty of a watchman is to be faithful to the call regardless of how someone might respond.
I believe it is our duty as Christians to not falter in speaking the truth in love. The voice and duty, and call of a watchman is like the duty of an evangelist. It is a call to harvest souls, that those who hear may repent and be saved. We need to look at what is around us with spiritual eyes and encourage our lost friends and family members to, as Isaiah said, seek God while he may be found and call on him while he is near.
Let’s look at Matthew 10, starting with verse 32 and going through verse 39:
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”
If you’ve ever seen The Chosen, there was an episode where Jesus followed this passage with, “It is not my intention to divide families, but the cost of following me can mean that people will be hated by those closest to them because of their unbelief.”
We have to be mentally and emotionally prepared for that to happen. We are at a time in our history when that is happening. Perhaps not a lot, maybe very little, but keep in mind, not only is our theology theological, but so is our social/political leaning theological. Our whole worldview reflects who we are and what we believe as Christians.
I found a quote this week from a great Christian author and speaker, Alisa Childers, who said, “Your worldview determines how you view what you have not yet seen.”
Several months ago, Childers said this in an interview, “Progressive Christians actually begin with their political views, and then their theology flows out of that. Whereas for conservative Christians, we start with our theology and then our politics is gonna flow downstream from that.”
Think about that. Our theology determines our worldview. And our worldview, based on our theology, determines everything, even the things we have not yet seen or heard.
Our theology should be based upon scripture and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth. Jesus said in the Gospel of John that when “he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.”
Now, the Holy Spirit isn’t going to contradict himself. There are people whom I don’t doubt their salvation, but I do doubt that they’re listening to and being guided by the Holy Spirit. And I think they’re going socially and politically off track because of it. They’re following the ways of the world rather than Christ.
So, what I’m trying to say is, we live in a very “walking on eggshells” society now. It makes evangelism much more difficult than it used to be. Encouraging people to come to Christ was so simple. But now, the social/political tension in our society–which is practically a religion unto itself–can blow the whole thing. If you’re on this side of the political spectrum, and they’re on the other, Satan is going to tempt them and us (myself included, I’ve been there) to go off track and get distracted on this issue or that. Some scriptural issues about things that a lot of atheists and agnostics, and those of a different political party, get hung up on, and I don’t know how many times I’ve been told, “you can’t be a Christian if you vote so and so.” And then Satan will use that as a scheme to try to send us down that rabbit hole. Or they may cut you off because of it.
So, how are we to be a watchman, stand our ground with the truth, and encourage our friends and family to come to Christ before it’s too late–because we know the hour is soon, while not being pulled into argumentative traps?
Kenny Rogers said it best, “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, Know when to fold ’em; Know when to walk away, And know when to run.”
On one hand, you want to obey what Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:15, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” Yet on the other hand, Proverbs tells us to “not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be just like him.”
Gotquestions.org quotes D.A. Carson by saying:
“When we fail to demonstrate love and mercy, but instead condemn others for failing to follow standards we may have invented, we are missing the entire point of God’s instructions in Matthew 9:13, which says, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”
Carson ends his assessment of John 7:24—judge with righteous judgment— with a timely application that’s very similar to what I said last week. “In an age when Matthew 7:1 (‘Do not judge, or you too will be judged’) has displaced John 3:16 as the only verse in the Bible the man in the street is likely to know, it is perhaps worth adding that the command to not judge, or you too will be judged, forbids judgmentalism, not moral discernment. By contrast, judge with righteous judgment demands moral and theological discernment in the context of obedient faith…”
Speaking of Matthew 7:1, Jesus continued by instructing us to take the log out of our own eye first. Then, we can help your brother. That’s important for a watchman to remember.
Paul gave this instruction to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:23-26: “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.“
But what if we give an answer as Peter and Paul both tell us (with gentleness and respect), and we get nowhere? The person just wants to continue arguing? Remember the Kenny Rogers quote, “know when to run?” Even Jesus said to his disciples that if they don’t listen, then “shake the dust off your feet” and move on.
The job of the watchman is to watch and warn. If they don’t listen, they don’t listen.
From gotquestions again: We figuratively “shake the dust off our feet” when, under the Holy Spirit’s direction, we surrender those people to the Lord and emotionally let go. We have the freedom then to move into the next phase of ministry. Jesus’ instruction to “shake the dust off our feet” reminds us that we are only responsible for our obedience to God, not for the results of that obedience.”
So, in other words, as God said to Ezekiel, it is our job to warn, and their job to decide whether or not to heed our warning.
Quoting from Proverbs again:
Proverbs 18:2
A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.
Proverbs 29:11
A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.
Proverbs 29:9
If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.
Proverbs 18:7
A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
I’m going to close today by reading Romans 10:14-17.
As you’re turning there, let me remind you of Paul’s encouragement to Timothy with these words of instruction: “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”
He encouraged Titus to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone; told the Ephesians to speak the truth in love, encouraged the Galatians to live by the Spirit, which produces a fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; and said to the Romans, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
And speaking of Romans, now onto chapter 10, and we’ll read verses 14-17
Romans 10:14-17
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
And that is our duty as watchmen and watchwomen. We have to be bold in this day and age. At one time, you could be a Christian and not pay a whole lot of attention to what goes on in the world. Nobody in Upstate New York cared about who the New York City mayoral candidates were. Democrat, Republican, not that big of a deal. But now we have a Communist Islamist as one of New York City’s mayoral candidates who has shouted, “Globalize the Intifada.” For those of us who remember 911, did you ever think that would happen?
If he’s elected, what is that going to mean for New York City’s Christians and Jews? Will it turn into Europe, where Christians are arrested for silently praying in public, while Muslims can openly pray out loud in public and in large numbers? That’s what is happening there because of their Islamic mayors.
Speaking of which, we’ve been seeing a growing antisemitism across the globe, including here in the United States. On top of that, the recent conflict with Iran makes us–at least me–all the more watchful of the coming of the Lord. Which should encourage us all to be more like watchmen, sounding the alarm that Jesus may be coming very soon. We may not have a whole lot of time left.
Jesus talked about deception in the last days and apostasy. Pastors in churches all across America, Christian ministers on radio and TV (with the exception of a few), at one time seemed to faithfully preach the gospel. The thought of a false gospel being preached on TV or in our local churches would have never even crossed our minds. But now, it is happening in our local churches, even within the American Baptist denomination. All across the country, it seems as if we see some new shocking heresy every day. OC just sent me a video of a so-called church that sang a so-called worship song that dropped the F-Bomb, praising God that they were gay. We have Drag Queen story times in churches, schools, and libraries. There are those who think that transgender surgeries for minors without parental consent are perfectly fine, and graphic sex education for primary school students is no problem. They also believe in abortion until the time of, and even after, birth.
So you see what I mean? It’s not enough to be a Christian; it’s not enough to be an evangelist. We have to watch what’s going on. We can’t be ignorant about these things and live in our own Christian bubble. But I know what you’re thinking, what can we do? We’re just regular, ordinary people living regular, ordinary lives. But that’s just it. Each and every one of us can do regular, ordinary things and still make a big impact for the Kingdom of God.
Being a watchman boils down to one word–intentionality. Maybe you’re called to be more intentional with instilling certain Christian values in your own home–that’s where it all starts. More Christian content and fewer secular influences. Maybe you’ve been wanting to write to your state senator, your congressman about important topics like the ones I just mentioned. Maybe it’s about intentionally posting more Christian content on social media or getting that bumper sticker you’ve been debating about, inviting that friend or family member to church or a Bible study–whatever the Lord leads you to do, do it. Be intentional about it. Make an effort, set a date. Put it on your calendar–July 1, July 4. Maybe it’s just to pray or start a prayer group, or join an already existing prayer group, whether in person or online.
Most importantly, whatever you do, it’s about sharing and demonstrating the love of God. With all that I’ve said about how people may react, or may respond, remember–speak the truth in love. My very first sermon here was on the subject of love. Never forget that love is the center of anything and everything we do. Re-read 1 Cor. 13 again, if you get a chance.
And lastly, we should find Moredecai’s words to Esther a source of boldness and purpose for us today; and we should find Esther’s gentle and kind demeanor in how she acted out her duty as an example that we should follow. I don’t have time to go into that, I do have another sermon on that topic, but I am going to close today by rephrasing Moredecai’s words just a tad as a charge for all of us this morning, who are not only watchers, but watchers in what might very well be the last of the Last Days.
“Who knows that you were born for such a time as this?”
Featured Image by Jonathan Roger on Unsplash
