A couple of months ago I became the leader of the young adult group at my local church. It wasn't really something that I expected to be leading, but instead something that I had planned on attending. However, the leadership that was doing it decided that it was too much for them to make the weekly commitment and the group would be disbanded if I did not step up and volunteer to take the position. I knew a couple that was currently not attending church or any kind of small group for growth. One of the couple was somewhat new to the faith and I knew that the group would be perfect for them, as I had enjoyed the time that I got to spend with other people my age. Thus, I saw the need for the group to continue.
I started the group by having a study on Dwight Robertson's book, You are God's Plan A. This seemed like the perfect fit for where everyone was in life. It went as well as any book study with a group of young adults goes. No one really had the book read so we struggled through the discussion. Not willing to try another book study yet, I moved to something different – the Bible. But, I couldn't get them to pick a book in the Bible to study. My goal for the group was not to have a teacher student relationship, but they kept turning to me to be a leader and pick a book. So I was at a loss.
However, then in one of our seminary assignments, I was struck by a couple of interesting verses in Ezekiel. I hadn't realized such interesting things were found in the book. On the other hand, I did remember a number of exceptionally awkward verses that would definitely lead to some rather unusual discussion. So I decided to lead the group through a study on Ezekiel . . . having no idea what was in store.
The first week went well as we had a blast observing the imagery used in Ezekiel's vision. Our first assignment was to draw our own rendition of the “creature” for the following week. This was a good time, but now we hit Ezekiel chapter 3, and we found our first bit of seriousness and profoundness. In particular we looked at the following verses:
Ezekiel’s Task as 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[b] 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.
20 “Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 21 But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.”
22 The hand of the LORD was on me there, and he said to me, “Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you.” 23 So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the LORD was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown.
24 Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25 And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people. 27 But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’ Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.
We all sort of fell silent and didn't really know how to handle some of these verses. We were all kind of focusing and reflecting on the idea that we had perhaps missed a number of opportunities to share God's message . . . and would now be held responsible. What it means in the end to be held accountable for not warning people about sin we did not know, but we did know it could not be a good thing.
God was sharing with us the importance to not miss opportunities to share the gospel. We cannot let things like fear and worry hold us back. It is our responsibility as Christians to share God's message and work His Great Commission – regardless of whether or not people accept it.
I was reminded on a man I once knew and spent a weekend with. A man from Illinois by the name of John Kiley. In my mind he is a living here of Ezekiel's responsibility. From the day that John Kiley was saved, he has never missed an opportunity to share the message of Christ with someone. Literally ever single person we interacted with over that weekend he shared something about God or Jesus with. This was anyone from the waitress at a waffle house, to the cop that we stopped to talk to, the lady at the McDonald's Drive thru, and the man asking us for bus fare. Even the ones who rejected his message he managed to hand a book to even if they only accepted it to get him to go away. He was so committed to the people that we talked to that we ate at the waffle house the next day just to see how the waitress was doing and if we could pray for her or do anything more for her. This man was absolutely crazy, and was in his mid 40's I think. Surely there could be no one that would be left accountable for him. However, sadly, I am not sure I could say the same about myself. I have not lived a life of such boldness and passion for Christ. This passage in Ezekiel serves as a reminder and inspiration as to how we should be living out walk with Christ.
So my challenge for you this time is to consider the opportunities that you have missed. Did you have the chance to make them different? Were you afraid of rejection or persecution? What holds us back from living a life like John Kiley?
Your friend, brother, and companion in Christ,
-Zach Haas
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