Preaching the Word Regardless of the World.

Dodger:  Hi!  Great to see you again!  How is everything going for you?  I'm super excited about the summer vacation.

Lilly:  Me too.  In fact, I've already signed up for summer church camp.

Dodger:  Really?  Who's your counselor?

Lilly:  Pepper Potters.  This is her fifth year as counselor, and she's really great.  Are you signed up for camp, Dodger?

Dodger:  I wouldn't miss it for the world.  My counselor's name is Ezekiel Prof.  He's new to this, but I think he'll do okay.  He's got a passion for God, and plenty of enthusiasm.

Lilly:  Ezekiel, huh?  I actually read about Him the other day in the Bible.

Dodger:  My camp counselor?

Lilly:  No, Dodger, the prophet Ezekiel.  I was reading chapter 2, where God is speaking to Him before sending him to preach to the disobedient and rebellious Israelites.  Like so many other prophets before and after, Ezekiel's getting ready to preach something that his audience most likely won't want to hear.  God has some great things to say to Him.  Dodger, would you read Ezekiel 2 please?

Dodger: "And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me.  And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.  For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’  As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.  “And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house.  You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious.  But you, son of man, hear what I say to you.  Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it.  Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe." (Ezekiel 2:1-10 NKJV)

Lilly:  I think we have a few things in common with Ezekiel.

Dodger:  What do you mean?  After all, God isn't sending us out to preach to a rebellious group of people, and we aren't declaring lamentations and mourning and woe.

Lilly:  Well, you're right that we aren't sharing all of the same messages as Ezekiel did.  However, we are supposed to do what He did; we are supposed to share God's Word with those who don't know God.  Plus, the people we speak to who don't know Jesus are by definition rebelling against God, since Jesus said, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters." (Luke 11:23 NKJV, boldface added)  While we may not all be prophets, we are supposed to spread the gospel to people rebelling against God.

Dodger:  People don't always listen though, and it's not very popular to do it.  Some people treat you badly just for talking about the Bible.

Lilly:  That's true, and it brings me to something else Christians share with Ezekiel.  I'm pretty sure there were a lot of people who didn't want to hear what he had to say.  As Christians we face the same problem at times.  People don't always want to listen to us, in fact,  they may even mistreat us for sharing the gospel and other parts of God's Word.  Regardless of whether people listen (or seem to listen) or not, however, we do need to keep declaring God's Word and telling people Who Jesus is.  When God was sending Ezekiel He told Him not to be afraid of hostile people.  This is important because Ezekiel wasn't the only prophet who faced less-than-enthusiastic listeners.  Jesus did that, and anyone Who speaks God's Word will, too.  Jesus tells us in advance.  It's in Mark 13, I think, along with some other places.

Dodger:  "But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.  And the gospel must first be preached to all the  nations.  But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved."  (Mark 13:9-13 NKJV)

Lilly:  It's not popular or easy to be a Christian when the world hates you, but Jesus promises us that we'll be given the words to say, just as God gave Ezekiel the words to say.

Dodger:  That's pretty cool when I think about it.  Say, did you notice how God warned Ezekiel not to be rebellious like those around Him?

Lilly:  Yes.  You see, Ezekiel was given a mission from God, but he couldn't complete it if he was rebelling against God and following the same lifestyle as everyone around Him.  Just like Ezekiel, Christians have to be different from the world around them.  We aren't the same, so we shouldn't act like it.  Our citizenship is in heaven, not the world, and we can and should be proud of representing Jesus here on earth.  It's that simple.

Dodger:  The Bible was never meant to be put in a nice little box.  We don't need to make it look nice by watering it down or denying parts of it or not mentioning it to make others feel good.  That doesn't bring God glory, that just leads people down the wrong road.  We need not be ashamed of the gospel.  Paul wasn't.  He writes: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." (Romans 1:17 NKJV)

Lilly:  God always supports us, too.  Sometimes we will face big-looking obstacles to declaring God's Word to others, but we can overcome each of them in the power of Jesus Christ.  Though people may not like us and we may face threats, violence, and unkindness, we can stand strong on God's Word and in His power.  He never fails, and will always be there for us.  He loves us too much to do otherwise.

Dodger:  I feel a lot more confident about sharing the Bible knowing God is there to help me

Lilly:  Me too.

Dodger:  Well, it's time we wrapped up.  I have to get packed for camp.

Lilly:  So early?  Camp isn't for a full month!

Dodger:  Yes, but I always forget things.  This will give me the chance to make sure I have everything ready without rushing.

Lilly: Oh.

Dodger:  Thanks for coming by today!  Remember, Jesus loves you, and that's not about to change!

Lilly:  Adeus!




(NKJV Means New King James Version)

Happy Dad's Day!

Dodger:  Hello there!  Thanks for coming in.  Lilly and I would like to wish you a slightly belated Happy Dad's day and say thank you to all the dads out there.  We appreciate you and we're glad God gave you to us.  Thanks for being there.  You know, Lilly, it's pretty neat that we have a holiday to celebrate our dads.  After all, dads are pretty cool people.

Lilly: I know they are. My dad is really great.  He looks out for me, protects me, provides for me, encourages me, and loves me.  I guess that's his job, but he does it so well that he goes above and beyond the call of duty.

Dodger:  You know what?

Lilly: What?

Dodger:  I just thought about how yours and my dad are much like Someone else we know.

Lilly:  Oh no.  There's no one who does everything my dad does.

Dodger: Actually there is.  Our Father, God, does all the things our dads do for us, only more so.  He looks out for us, protects us, provides for us, and loves us more than anyone else ever can.  He went, and continues to go, way above the call of duty.  After all, He made our dads, and their dads, and their dads, and their dads, and so on.  He saved our lives and gave us the gift of eternal life, adopting us so we could call Him Father.  Romans 8:14-15 says: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (KJV, boldface added)

Lilly: We're adopted into God's family when we become Christians.  We were once His enemies, but now we are His children  It's amazing that we can call God our Father because He went out of His way to be our Father.

Dodger:  God is so awesome. It's great to realize that even though our dads sometimes make mistakes or fail us (no matter how cool they are) God our Father never will.  Psalm 27:10 says "When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me." (NJKV)  Knowing God is our Father makes dad's day even more special.

Dodger:  Yeah it does.  Well, it's time that you and I got ready for the BBQ we're going to have tomorrow.  I bought my dad a new grill, so I'm excited about the incoming hamburgers.  Thanks again for stopping by.  Have a great week, and celebrate both your dad and your Father!  See you later!  Remember, Jesus loves you, and that's never going to change!

Lilly: Later gator!

(NKJV means New King James Version, KJV means King James Version)