SAFETY, REST, AND QUIET
Chapter Four
“Neither was I quiet.” (Job
3:26)
Job’s third priority was not being quiet. This means that Job
talked about God. He proclaimed to the people around him, “Thus saith the Lord God.” He
told people what God required of them. He lauded that which is good and right,
and he told people how to get right with God. He clearly defined and denounced
sin and called on people to repent and turn from sin. In the presence of
others, Job praised God and thanked Him for all the goodness God had bestowed
upon Job and his family. Job was a man who spoke much about God.
Job wasn’t quiet. He was not silent. And much of the time that he
talked, he talked to God and he talked to other people about
God. He was a verbal witness. He didn’t just count on his life style to
be his witness. He proclaimed with his mouth, the things God would have
everyone know about their Creator God. He didn’t hide his light under a bushel.
He let it brightly shine forth to all those around him. This was Job’s third
priority that made him perfect and upright before God. “Neither was I
quiet.”
So what about you? How do you compare with Job in this third
priority of his? The main reason God gave you a voice is for you to talk to Him
and to sing praises to your God. God wills that we lift up our voice unto Him.
He commands us to “Pray without ceasing.” (I Thessalonians 5:17) He desires that we intercede to
Him, storm Heaven with our petitions and voice our grief over, and our
opposition to, those people now on earth who are making void His Law.
“Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.” (Psalms 150:6) You certainly have breath. So make sure
you obey this command and praise God with your breath. “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me.” (Psalms 50:23) So let us offer much praise to our great
God, and thereby glorify Him greatly.
I believe most of us fail miserably in using our voice for the primary
reason God created it, to be used to talk to Him. Sure, there are many
people around you to talk to. But none of them is as important as God. So don’t
neglect to let Him hear your voice regularly. God always listens intently to
you.
“Heavenly Father, please help me to talk to Thee and sing praises to
Thee without ceasing. Help me to truly love Thee with all my heart, and thereby
become more desirous to talk to Thee than to any other person. May my heart
always be filled with praise and thanksgiving to Thee. May I always tell Thee
of every desire of my heart and bring all my needs to Thee. I pray this for all
other believers too. Amen.”
The second reason God gave you a voice is for you to talk to others
about Him. But we are so prone to use our voices for anything and everything
under the sun, except for these two purposes. It seems so easy for us to talk
to anyone about anything, but God. I have been around many
professing Christians for years without ever hearing them mention God or say
anything about Him. However, during all those years, their tongues never ceased
to wag about everyone and every thing else. How awful that is and how
displeasing to God.
“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand
of the enemy.” (Psalms 107:2) Such a cause
for great rejoicing. God hath redeemed us from the hand of the enemy, by the
precious shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. How can we redeemed help but “say
so”? How can we possibly keep from telling everyone about this wonderful thing
that God has done for us?
“Lord God, please make my heart to overflow with such great joy over
being saved, that I cannot keep from telling everyone about how great it
is to be a child of God with my sins forgiven and cleansed by the precious shed
blood of The Lord Jesus Christ. Help me to “say so” to everybody. Help all
other believers to broadly proclaim to all around them, that they are redeemed.
Amen.”
“For I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.” (Job 6:10) That’s Job’s wonderful testimony. But what
about you? Do you have the same God-pleasing testimony? Do people around you
hear the words of the Holy One from you? The people around Job certainly heard
about God from Job’s lips. Job wasn’t quiet about God, judgment, Heaven, Hell,
salvation, eternal life, and such important matters.
But what about the people around you? Do they hear from your lips, the
truth about these serious matters that are so important to the salvation of
their eternal soul? You have available to you, all of God’s Words to this human
race, the entire Holy Bible from Genesis to Revelation. And come Judgment Day,
you will give a strict account to God for what you did with those Words during
this life. Do you conceal them? Do you hide them under a bushel? Or do you
proclaim them to everyone that you can? Be like Job! Don’t
be quiet.
“I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will
I not conceal.” (Job 27:11) God forbid that
you and I not be like Job. God’s Words of the Holy Bible are the ONLY hope for
this lost and dying world. God forbid that we fail to broadcast them to
everyone that we can. God forbid that we should be quiet about salvation in the
Lord Jesus.
“Heavenly Father, please help me not to be guilty of concealing the
words of the Holy One from the people around me. How badly this lost and dying
world needs Thy Words of Life. So please help me to always be aware of the
importance of constantly holding forth to everyone, Thy Words of Life. Help me
not to hide my light under a bushel. Please give me the courage and boldness
needed to speak to everyone I can about God. I pray this for all other
Christians also. Amen.”
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The eternal destiny of each and every human soul hinges on whether or
not they are told about the only Saviour of the world, The Lord Jesus Christ,
and His offer of salvation to them. “For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13) That is a most wonderful and true promise
from Almighty God. But, “How then shall they
call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him
of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Verse 14)
Someone has to
tell people about Christ in order for them to call upon Him to save them. And
if you don’t tell them, then who will do it? God will not appear
here in Person and tell them. He will not send angels to give them the good
news. God has ordained that ALL saved people tell the plan of salvation to the
unsaved people around them. He has ordained that ALL believers be like Job and
spread the Good News about salvation in Christ. “Neither
was I quiet.”
“The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published
it.” (Psalms 68:11) God is calling on you
to be a part of that great company. From the beginning of time, believers have
proclaimed the Words of God. Throughout the world and down through the ages,
this amounts to a great company of people. Of course, the spotlight of
the world is seldom on them. They seldom make the news, especially in any
favorable light. More often, they “publish” God’s Word while being persecuted
by the world. But God’s spotlight is certainly always on them. He takes
great pleasure and delight in seeing anyone proclaim His Word. And He bestows
much blessing in this life and many eternal treasures in the next life, upon
all those believers who join this company that publishes and proclaims God’s
Word throughout the world. The richest, most blessed, most fulfilled life one
can have, is that of telling others about God. Will you do that? Will you be
like Job who said, “Neither was I quiet”?
Think seriously on the two things necessary for a person to be saved
from the eternal punishment of his sins in Hell. The one thing most
necessary was for God to provide salvation for us, because no human has the
power to save himself. God so graciously provided us this salvation by Jesus
Christ taking our sin punishment for us. He died on the cross in our place.
Three days later, Christ arose from that grave, victorious over death. None of
us could have done that to provide salvation for anyone. Only God had the power
to do that.
And because Jesus Christ loved us enough to die for our sins, God’s
perfect salvation is available to every person in the world. But one must first
be told about Christ before one can believe on this Saviour of the world. If we
neglect to tell people and they never hear about Christ, then they cannot
believe on Him. Heavy, HEAVY is our responsibility to be like Job and
tell people about the Holy One. Someone told you about salvation in the
Lord Jesus Christ, so you would have the opportunity to believe on Him and get
saved. Therefore you are now duty bound to do the same, in turn, and tell
others about Jesus wanting to save them. If you fail to warn anyone you can,
that they are headed for destruction, then their blood will be on your hands
when God judges you. (Ezekiel 3:18) What a tragedy that would be. Don’t let
that happen. Be like Job and don’t be quiet about God.
The most wonderful and most important thing you can do in this life is
to receive Christ and His eternal salvation. That changes your eternal destiny
from Hell to Heaven. After you believe on Christ, then one of the most
wonderful and most important things you can do is to tell others about Christ. Please
don’t fail to hold forth the Words of Eternal Life to all the lost souls
around you. Don’t fail to be like Job. “Neither
was I quiet.”
“Heavenly Father, I do want to be like Job. I want to be a part of
that great company, that down through the ages has proclaimed Thy Words to Thy
created human race. So please teach me how best to do that. Make me vigilant,
watching for every available opportunity to impart Thy Word to others. Show me
what a grave responsibility I have toward Thee and toward lost sinners, to tell
them how to get saved and go to Heaven. And above all, please add Thy blessing
to my efforts, mightily empowering the words that go forth from me so that they
will bring forth much fruit for Thy Glory. I also pray these things for all
other Christians. Help us, Lord. Amen.”
Likely one of the main reasons some believers do not speak to others
about God is because they don’t love Him enough. You know your own self very
well and therefore know how prone you are to talk a lot about the many people
and things that you like and love. If you seldom or never talk about God,
freely sing praises to Him, and such, then seriously consider if your love for
God is not what it should be.
“Heavenly Father, Thou doest command us to love Thee with all our
hearts. Please give me a desire to do that. Please show me how cold and
careless is my love toward Thee. Change my heart and help me to love Thee with
all my heart. Create within me a heart that is always desirous to speak to
Thee, sing praises to Thee, and to talk to others about Thee. I pray this for
all other Christians also. Amen.”
Another reason for Christians not telling lost sinners about salvation
in Christ is because they just do not love lost souls enough. Shame on you,
if that is true of you! Christ loved you, a lost sinner, enough to give His
Life for you. Some other Christians loved you enough to tell you about the
Saviour and lead you to Him. Now, how can you dare to be indifferent to the
eternal fate of suffering and torment that awaits all lost people? Had other
Christians not led you to Christ, you would still be lost and headed for Hell.
So it is high time for you to repay their good deeds to you, by also telling
lost souls of the wonderful hope in Christ.
“Lord Jesus, please forgive me for my lack of concern over lost souls.
Please give me a heavy burden for the lost. Help me to love them and care about
them as thou doest. Convict me of how awful it is for me to be silent about the
eternal hope I have in Christ, when so many people around me are without hope.
Break my heart over the tragic fate that awaits lost people and set a fire
burning inside me that will not let me be silent about The Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Way to Heaven and the only hope for all mankind. Amen.”
Another main reason for not talking about God, is being afraid or
being too embarrassed to do so. Satan knows the great power of the spoken word.
And he and his legions of demons bring all their power to bear against it and
fight it with all the forces they have. Hence at times, they overpower us with
cowardice, closing our mouths when we should be broadcasting the Words of the
Holy One. The devil throws everything he has our way, to try to silence us and
ensure that we are quiet and are not like Job.
I deeply regret that I have failed to speak for God and right, many
times when I should have. So many lost opportunities, and so regrettable that
it is impossible to go back in time and change things. And if you love God,
likely you know the same remorse also. Though we cannot change the past, we can
call on God to help us do differently from now on. So let us do that. “Our help is in the name of the Lord.” Let us go to that Help.
Because this is a spiritual battle, prayer is essential for any
victory. Pray for God to give you courage to speak to others about Him. And
without ceasing, continue to pray for that. Rest assured that Almighty God is
on your side in this matter. And if you are serious about wanting courage to
speak up for your Creator, then He is most serious about wanting to give it to
you.
“Heavenly Father, I now pray to you for that courage. Please help me
to be a good witness for Thee. Please help me to have the same testimony that
perfect and upright Job had, “neither was I
quiet.” Please take away the spirit of fear
from me and instill me with Thy Divine Courage. Help me not to be embarrassed
or ashamed of Thee before others. Help me to be a bright and shining light,
always lifting high my Lord Jesus and exalting Him before everyone. I pray this
for Brother Richard too. And I pray it for all Christians. Amen.”
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Pray to God for guidance about what methods to use, as some methods of
“speaking” require less courage than others. Consider starting with some of
these that do not require so much courage. If it is hard for you to muster up
enough courage to talk to people about God, or feel like you don’t know
exactly what to say, consider passing out tracts and other Christian
literature. You can pass out tracts that have a clear and well-organized
message of salvation in them, even if you are not able to deliver such a good
message by speaking it yourself. If you don’t have the courage to hand a tract
to someone in person, consider putting tracts where people can take them. I
like to walk through the neighborhood, leaving Christian literature at the door
of each house while getting exercise by taking a walk. Think of other places
you can leave the Gospel in print for people to take it.
I have several placards displayed in front of my house with short
messages about salvation on them. From inside my house, I sometimes hear the
Japanese people, especially children, read them aloud as they pass by. Why not
display words of eternal life at your residence? By doing so, those words will
be available all day and night for people to read.
You can display a short Bible message on your car. “JESUS SAVES” on a
bumper sticker placed on your car, will give a needed message to those around
you traveling the road of life.
You can wear an attractive “badge” or similar item with a short Gospel
message on it, and most all people who see you will see that message. I do this
at times, but fail to pin it on every day. “Lord, help me to be more
diligent in doing that.”
I believe it is most important to exercise discretion about putting
writing about God on our clothing, to ensure that it is not done in an
irreverent or immodest manner. I read a Christian woman’s writing, about
wearing a “shirt” with writing about God on the front of it. She said that she
soon quit wearing it, because God convicted her of people looking at her chest
to read it. “Amen, Sister. Good for you.” I personally question whether or not
it glorifies God for a male to wear a T-shirt with a Gospel message on it. To
me, it just appears “cheap,” much too cheap for a high and Holy, Righteous God.
And I certainly believe it is a sin for a woman to wear a T-shirt or such shirt
that reveals the form of her body in a manner that causes men to look and lust.
And if something about God is written on that immodest shirt, in a sense, that
seems even worse. May God help us to make all the ways we “speak” of Him, most
honourable to Him. May the way we speak, glorify Him.
You can “speak” by displaying a Gospel message at your place of work.
Even just having your Bible at your work place sends a loud and clear message
that you are on God’s side. It is so regrettable that many employers forbid or
discourage such. I believe that, in general, God is not pleased with Christians
spending their workday in a place where they are not allowed to talk about Him
at all. Of course, your purpose for being at work is to diligently do the work
you are getting paid for. You are not on the job to talk about unrelated
subjects. But if at break time, lunch time, and such, you are strictly
forbidden to talk about God, while most all other talk is permitted; I just do
not believe that God is pleased with you spending each day of your life in such
a place that shuts Him out of that part of His Creation. If you work in such a
place, diligently seek God’s will and guidance concerning it.
It is common for us to lack the courage to be like Job and therefore
be quiet about God. When I was a young adult, God really began dealing with me
to witness about my Saviour. And I wasn’t opposed to doing so at all, but
courage sure was lacking. So I prayed for it. Also, I began witnessing to
children, as that didn’t require as much courage. If you desire to tell others
about Christ but lack the courage to do so, consider talking to children about
Him. It is rewarding in that they are more prone to listen than adults are.
Also, they are an eternal soul, just as important as the soul of any adult.
If you absolutely feel like you just don’t know what to say to them or
how best to say it, then read to them; The Bible, Bible stories, and
good Christian literature for their age level. Sing Christian hymns and songs
to them and with them. If they are small children, don’t worry that the Bible
and some hymns are above their level of understanding. It is important for them
to understand, but it is more important for them to be exposed to
the Word of God. What you expose them to, will lodge in their hearts, and
understanding of it will come later when they are older. From the time a baby
is born, even before it is born, it is beneficial to the baby for its mother to
read the Bible to it and sing hymns to it. I promise you that it is. So do it.
Christian parent, I hope and pray that you are desirous to train your
children to be like Job and not be quiet about God. Training them to speak to
smaller children is a good way to get your children started, I firmly believe.
If there are smaller children available in your family or around you, you can
easily have your four-year-old child, sing songs to the baby, telling the 4
year-old, that it is important to sing to the baby about God. Start your
children serving God as soon as they are old enough to sing a short song about
Him. So beneficial.
Back when I lacked courage to speak to adults about God, the more I
witnessed to children about God, the more easy it became to also talk to adults
about Him. So use any method you have courage for, to get started
telling anyone about God. And God will quickly bless your efforts by
giving you spiritual growth and increasing your courage. The younger the hearer
is, the easier it is to witness to them. So witness and sing to babies. I
promise you it is beneficial, to the baby and to you.
Singing hymns and Gospel songs as you go about your daily routine is
an excellent way to broadcast the Good News of salvation in Christ. When we
witness person-to-person, often that person goes on the defensive, trying to
evade and escape. But that is not likely to happen when you sing out as if you
are doing it simply for the sake of singing. People around you aren’t likely to
get nervous by thinking it is a personal attack coming their way. Still they
hear it all and God can thereby work in their hearts by what they hear. You
well know that the melody helps us to remember and memorize the words of a
song. So more of the song’s message is likely to lodge in a person’s heart,
than the words of normal conversation. If you sing of your Saviour out in
public, it is not likely to put people on the defensive like a personal encounter
with them will do. Still many people will snicker and make fun of you. Ignore
that and keep glorifying God.
Do not hesitate at all because you consider yourself a poor singer. Praising God is not a subject that is assigned to good singers only. Praising God is commanded of everything that hath breath. (Psalms 150:6) My singing out in public draws much more derisive laughter than does my preaching. But I just go on singing anyway. And I plan to keep singing praises to my God for all eternity while the people who now scorn me are then weeping, wailing, and gnashing their teeth forever.
“Neither
was I quiet.” “Lord God, help us all to be like Job.”
“Heavenly
Father, please show me where and how to start in telling others about Thee.
Please teach me all the different ways that I can use, in my present
circumstances, to let all the people around me know about salvation in Jesus
Christ. I now open my heart to Thee, for Thee to teach me how to be the most
efficient and effective messenger of Thine that it is possible to be. So please
help me in this. Amen.”
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I was serving in the U.S. military here in Japan when God clearly led me to quit that job and stay here as a missionary. I had no Christian college education (still do not). And about the only previous experience I had in Christian service was teaching Sunday School and going on church visitation. Therefore I felt so helpless, not knowing how to try to spread the Gospel to a foreign people in their language.
I started my missionary journey studying the language full time in a missionary language school. And during that time, I attended a Japanese church and joined with local Japanese Christians in passing out tracts and invitations to church, and other such simple service. All the while, I spent much time in prayer and some time in fasting, seeking God’s wisdom, guidance, and power, as I was at such a loss to know how to win Japanese to Christ.
Also during that time of preparation, I was most observant. That is one key to being successful in any area of life, being observant, taking in what is going on around you and learning from it. So always practice that. I quickly observed that almost no Japanese people were interested in hearing anything from the Bible. Many refused to take the literature we offered to them. And of the few who did take it, most received it grudgingly and didn’t read it. Many would throw it down in our sight, or as soon as they got out of our sight. I would watch Japanese Christians spending long hours in passing out invitations asking people to attend church in hopes of getting lost people to come hear the Gospel. But usually no one would respond to those invitations.
I believe that passing out Christian literature and invitations to church is a wonderful thing to do. But I wisely observed how that the vast majority of the people “targeted” by that outreach, successfully avoided hearing any Gospel. So that made me most desirous of a better method that would cause more Japanese people to “hear” about the Saviour of the world. And to make a long story short, in just a brief time of a year or so, God crystallized it in my mind that a wonderful way (maybe the very best way) to get the Japanese people to hear about the One Way to Heaven, would be to just stand out in public where many of them are, and verbally proclaim “Thus saith the Lord God” to them.
So, with God giving me
the courage, I started preaching out in public. And the more I do it, the more
I am impressed with what a good method it is to convey the contents of the
Bible to everyone. And I become more convinced that God desires that we male
believers preach out in public an awful lot. That method automatically does
away with so many hindrances and time-consuming chores associated with most other
methods of telling people, “Thus saith the Lord God.”
When you go to someone’s residence to talk to him or her, they can (and do) refuse to let you come in. When you accost someone in public and ask to speak to him or her, they can usually manage to refuse if their mind is set to do so. Offer literature and they can refuse that. These methods involve a battle of the wills in which the “targeted” person is at an advantage in that he can refuse you the opportunity to talk to him. So God has taught me the wisdom of foregoing all that, and just going out in public where those hardened, rebellious souls are passing their existence on their way to an eternal Hell, and just start telling them, “Thus saith the Lord God,” without having to get permission from them or anyone else.
“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (Psalms 24:1) Almighty God owns each and every square inch of this creation of His. He is more pleased with us speaking up about Him anywhere in His creation, than He is about us speaking about anything else. So far, I have never used any mechanical means of amplifying my voice when preaching out in public, nor do I have any plans to do so in the future. I have two reasons for that. Speaking with my God-given voice is a more natural and personal way to talk to people. And I do not have to get involved with man’s laws and regulations about amplified speech out in public.
When we go out knocking on doors, desirous to witness to people about Christ, if they do admit us into their abodes, we feel compelled to start with greetings and a certain amount of small talk to appear civilized. That is also pretty much true when we accost someone out in public to talk to them. I know for a fact that I only have a limited number of breaths to breathe during my short life here on this earth. So I see the wisdom of dispensing with appearing civilized and just fly off and preach out in public, foregoing all the small talk chatter and endeavoring to make each word just as “meaty” as possible, trying to make each breath count for all eternity.
The “written word” and the “spoken word” each have their strengths and weaknesses. When we distribute written Bible teachings to anyone, that writing remains available to them indefinitely to read any time and many times (strong point). But they can easily choose to never once read it (weak point). When we speak “Thus saith the Lord God” into people’s ears, they only have that one chance to receive it/hear it (weak point). But Glory to God, they cannot help but hear it that one time (strong point). They cannot choose to totally keep that message from reaching them, no matter how much they hate for it to reach their mind. God has purposely created us so that it is nigh to impossible for us to shut out the spoken word. AMEN!
Once in the late 1970’s when I was preaching on the streets where I live here in Japan, several Japanese children gathered around me. They were not interested in what I was saying, but just wanted to gawk at the foreigner. One boy remarked in disgust that I was so loud and then he stopped up both ears with his hands. But he soon took his hands away from his ears, disappointedly saying that he could still hear me anyway. That’s right, boy. Just couldn’t shut it out, could you? God purposely made your ears like that.
And if you, fellow Christian, have a zeal to tell others about Christ, but are frustrated because you can’t get people to stop and listen to you, then just cease your vain efforts of trying to get them to stop and listen. Just preach to them anyway. God their Creator has already prepared their ears so that they can’t help but hear it. So just stand out there and send out “Thus saith the Lord God” to those ears.
For that reason, I
delight to preach out in public. I invite children of the devil to come to
church to hear about God, but they refuse. I give them Bible literature, but
they throw it down without reading it. I knock on their doors, but they won’t let
me into their houses. And in doing these things, they glory in having won
against me. But when I stand as close as 2 feet from them out in public and
just haul off with old fashioned preaching, I fail to detect any “victory”
looks on their faces. And if they walk away, or even run away in defeat, still
several sharp barbs of truth penetrate their being before they can get out of
hearing. How God delights for us to be like Job. “Neither
was I quiet.”
Down through the many years that I have been preaching out in public, I continue to pass out much Christian literature, invite people to attend church services, and verbally witness to them person-to-person. But I put much emphasis on preaching out in public and get such a blessing out of it. It is so free of hindrances. So little preparation is needed. It can be done any time that I have a few minutes to put into it. And I have come to believe that it is a main source of blessings on all the many other ways I spread Bible preaching and teaching. It is most pleasing to God. Believe me when I say that, and get out and do it!
With much admiration for them, I watch diligent Japanese Christians here print up thousands, even tens of thousands of invitations to special evangelistic services they have scheduled. And for up to a month before those services begin, those Christians diligently go out every day, passing out those notices to a mass of people, spending much time and money in doing so. But often, no one responds to those many invitations. Usually a short Gospel message is printed on the invitations and likely some people read that. Still the Christian workers feel so disappointed and frustrated when no lost soul responds by coming and sitting on one of their pews to get preached to.
As I diligently observed those Christians’ efforts and the poor results of few or no people responding to the invitations, God quickly taught me a much more efficient way to preach to the masses of people running from God as hard as they can; just go out in public where their sinful, God-rejecting carcasses are passing their daily existence on their way to God’s eternal hell, and just open my Bible and my mouth and let them hear from the Judge of the universe. “Neither was I quiet.” God help all us believers to be like Job.
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“And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forebear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.” (Ezekiel 2:3-7)
I firmly believe with all my heart that God wants all, or most all, of us present-day male believers to do exactly what He commanded Ezekiel to do here; go out and let all the impudent, stiffhearted, rebellious God-haters “know that there hath been a prophet among them.”
“Heavenly
Father, please confirm to me in my heart right now, Thy will and Thy desire
toward me regarding proclaiming Thy Word out in public. Doest Thou desire that
I do like Thou commanded Ezekiel to do, and let all the people around me ‘know that there hath been a prophet among them?’ If so, please tell me that so plainly that I cannot
possibly be mistaken about it. Teach me, Lord, I pray. Amen.”
It is a most wonderful and glorious thing when the lost souls who hear our preaching respond by repenting to God and receiving Christ as their Saviour. But if we seldom, or even never, see such results, God still wants us to go out and preach to God-rejecting people. God glories in you preaching out in public. And no matter what kind of results you see, He will highly reward you for it, now and in eternity. Please believe that, because it is true.
“Heavenly
Father, if this is true what Brother Richard says here, please confirm that to
me now and help me to fully believe it. If I can believe that, I will not
become discouraged and quit proclaiming ‘Thus
saith the Lord God’ out in public, when all
the hearers rebel against Thy Word instead of embracing it. So please give me
the fortitude to proclaim Thy Gospel to everyone out in public, regardless of
how they respond to it. Amen.”
“Be
not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words…nor be dismayed at their
looks.” (Verse 6) If you will proclaim God’s Word out in public, you
will soon learn why God warned Ezekiel about this. You will see many faces
terribly distorted with anger, scorn, disdain, rage and wrath against God and
you. You will see faces laughing, sneering, snickering, and mocking you. And
from the mouths on those wicked, sinful faces, you will hear all kinds of harsh
words, including the most vulgar words, spoken in opposition to you. So be sure
to obey God here when He commands, “be not afraid of
them.”
“Heavenly
Father, please give me all the courage I need to obey this command of Thine and
to not be afraid of the evil looks and words of the rebellious God-haters to
whom I preach out in public. Please fortify me with Thy Divine Courage so that
I never flinch before their terrible onslaught of opposition to Thy Word. No
matter what Thine enemies do or say, help me to stand firm in front of all
their wickedness and keep proclaiming to them, ‘Thus
saith the Lord God.’ In my own frail power,
I am most weak and fearful. So please help me in this, Lord, I pray. Amen.”
“They are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.” (Ezekiel 2: 4&5)
When God commanded
Ezekiel here to go street preaching, He didn’t promise that prophet any
converts, any fruit, for his street preaching efforts. So we can plainly see
that winning converts is not the
primary reason God commanded Ezekiel to get out there and preach to the public.
But Almighty God does clearly tell Ezekiel one thing He wants that street
preacher to accomplish. He wants those God hating, God rejecting creatures whom
He created to glorify Him; God wants them to know for sure, “that there hath been a prophet among them.” I believe
that God is presently commanding you other Christian men and me to do exactly
what Ezekiel did; go out in public, stand right in the faces of the many people
who are in stiffhearted rebellion against their Creator, and let them “know that there hath been a prophet among them.”
“Lord
God, please give me a zealous, burning desire to do just that. And then give me
the courage and guts to go out and do it. Please give me the endurance to do it
many long hours, without rest and without fearing for my safety. Amen.”
God rejecters want their Creator to leave them alone so they can rest easy as they habitually go about wallowing in sin and glorifying God’s enemy, the devil. But God does not want those who live in rebellion against Him to rest easy at all. He wants them to constantly hear “thus saith the Lord God.” Those sinners sure do not want to hear that. But God wants us believers to proclaim enough of His Holy Writ to them so they will “know that there hath been a prophet among them.” Even if you get no converts, you greatly glorify God and therefore He will greatly reward you for broadcasting His Word. So by all means, broadcast it to everyone.
“Neither
was I quiet.” Amen, Job. I admire you for that. And I sure do want to be
like you. “Lord, help me to be like Job. Help all my fellow believers to be
like Job.”
“But
thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that
rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And when I looked,
behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; And he
spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was
written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.” (Ezekiel 2:8-10)
The Lord God
commands His prophet, “Be not thou rebellious like that
rebellious house.” How could Ezekiel have been rebellious against God at
that time? The main way would have been for him to disobey God’s clear command
to him, by closing his mouth, being quiet, and not saying unto those
stiffhearted, rebellious people, “thus saith the Lord
God.” But good ol’ Ezekiel was like Job. So he obeyed God in this matter
and was not rebellious. May God help you and I to be like him.
“Heavenly Father, please give me clear guidance as to
where, when, and how, that Thou desirest me to proclaim thy Word, and please
help me to not be the least bit rebellious about going out and preaching in the
manner that Thou guidest me to do. Amen.”
Look what God gave
Ezekiel to eat; “a book…and it was written within and
without: and there was written therein LAMENTATIONS, AND MOURNING, AND WOE.”
Knowing God’s Holy
Bible as I do, I have no doubt about what lies ahead for my sin-laden homeland
(U.S.A.), “LAMENTATIONS, AND MOURNING, AND WOE.”
Also, I have no
doubt about what lies ahead for this heathen, pagan, idolatrous nation (Japan)
where I have spent well over half of my lifetime, proclaiming, “thus saith the Lord God.” “LAMENTATIONS, AND MOURNING, AND
WOE.”
Therefore not much
of the content of my preaching centers on themes like, “Smile, God loves you,”
or “Something good is going to happen to you.” I certainly do preach of God’s
love and of His great goodness to us. But God has plainly told me that it is
most important to preach to everyone about what was in this book that Ezekiel
was commanded to eat, “LAMENTATIONS, AND MOURNING, AND
WOE.” May God help me to not be rebellious against that leading of His.
May He help me to be like Job. “Neither was I quiet.”
*******************************
A lot of us
Christians who believe and love God’s Holy Word, often tend to have naturally
faulty thinking in that we consider all the men whom God used to pen His Holy
Bible to be dead and gone, out of the picture. But each one of them is just as
alive as he has ever been, and he will always be alive. It is likely that they
look down on each of us believers who live after their time on this earth, to
see what each of us do with the precious, eternal words that God used them to
pen. How much and how often do we read what they wrote? How much do we believe
it, obey it and practice it, and proclaim it to others?
I think of the
severe hardships and persecution that most all of them suffered through, while
being used so greatly of God. Many of them were martyred for their God,
murdered for speaking the words that became God’s Holy Bible. So God forbid
that I should be concerned about my safety and be afraid to stand out in front
of this present stiffhearted, rebellious generation, and proclaim these same
words to everyone. Those “Bible writers” suffered such horrible persecution
because they boldly and unashamedly spoke those words that God ordained to be
His Eternal Words to mankind. What a treasure I hold in my hands when I hold
those written words. In respect for, and in honour of, what those “Bible
writers” endured at the hand of the same enemy who is just as real today, I
just love to stand out in public, hour after hour, day after day, year after
year, decade after decade, and literally wear out Bibles, telling all the
stiffhearted, rebellious God haters around me, what Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
Paul, John, and all the rest of the men who penned God’s Eternal Bible, has to
say to this degenerate human race. “Neither was I
quiet.” Don’t you be quiet either.
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a
cloud of witnesses.” (Hebrews 12:1) I believe that all those men who
penned the Bible are looking on with great joy as I preach to everyone I can,
God’s powerful truths that those men penned for the Bible. One day soon, I will
have the glorious privilege of meeting all these men in person in Heaven. I
sure would not want to meet up with them in Glory Land, full of shame and
embarrassment over the fact that I never used all that heavy artillery those
godly saints provided for me to use. After I arrive in Heaven, I so hope all of
them will be coming to me, telling me what a joy it was to them to watch and
listen to me use their words against the wicked generation of my time, words
for which most of them got severely persecuted, and even killed, for speaking.
Oh how I want to preach all those words to the whole world. I want to do
exactly what my God commanded Ezekiel to do in Chapter Two. Also, I want to be perfect and upright like Job, who said, “Neither was I quiet.”
Some of you fellow
Christians who spend most all of your spare time living for the pleasures of
this present life, have so little knowledge of what those men wrote in God’s
Holy Bible. Therefore you do not apply it to your life, nor do you proclaim it
to other people. You are going to be so ashamed and embarrassed when you meet
up with those holy men in Heaven and the only greeting they have for you is a
disappointment-laden, “Howdy, stranger.”
“Heavenly Father, drive home to my heart, the reality and
the importance of what Brother Richard just said here. Help me to seriously
think on this blessed truth that up till now I have hardly considered. As a
saved person I will soon have the wonderful privilege of meeting in person each
of the men whom Thou chose to pen all the words of Thy Holy Bible. Please make
me totally aware right now, of what a glad reunion day that will be, if I now
study their words as diligently as possible, believe and obey all those words,
and wear out Bibles proclaiming those words to as many people as I can. Help me
to get as excited as I can be, thinking about how happy I’ll be when I meet all
the “Bible writers” in person, if I now lay aside safety and rest to proclaim
to everyone within my hearing all the eternal truths of Thine that these men
penned. So please help me to do that, Lord. And please help all my fellow
Christians to do that also. Amen.”
If you will do this
most wonderful, God honouring, God glorifying, blessings-filled act of standing
out in public and declaring “thus saith the Lord God,”
to everyone, then do keep the words in Ezekiel Chapter Two foremost in
your mind. They will fortify you, give you courage, and keep you from getting
discouraged when few people heed, or no one heeds, God’s Words that you preach
to them.
**************************
Let’s now look at
another excellent example for us street preachers. “For
if God…spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a
preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the
ungodly.” (II Peter 2:4&5)
Noah’s age is given
as 500 years old in Genesis 5:32. And then in Genesis 7:6, God tells us, “And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters
was upon the earth.” So it looks like Noah spent those 100 years
building the ark and preparing for the flood.
I believe that Noah
was “a preacher of righteousness” to the “world of the ungodly” around him for all of those 100
years and likely for some more years before that 100-year period started.
Besides his other seven family members who entered the ark with him and were
thereby saved, apparently Noah got no other converts for that 100 years or
more, of preaching out in public.
But look at what an
important thing Noah accomplished by preaching righteousness to “the world of the ungodly.” “By faith Noah, being warned of
God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving
of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of
the righteousness which is by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7) By his preaching,
Noah himself condemned the world. This was most important in relation to God
judging those evil sinners.
From what is
written in Romans 1:20, I believe that people who do not hear God’s Truth
during their lifetime, are afterward judged and condemned by the evidence of
God their Creator, in His creation around them. “For
the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead;
so that they are without excuse.”
But God is most
desirous that every human creature hears His Words contained in the Bible. And
when we believers broadcast those words of the Bible to everyone we can, we
accomplish two gravely important things for the Judge of the Universe. “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us triumph in
Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in
them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the
other the savour of life unto life.” (II Corinthians 2:14-16)
Those people, who
heed the words of the Bible that we preach to them, and therefore repent and
receive Christ, thereby receive God’s eternal life. What an eternal joy this is
to us “preachers” and to the ones who “receive” our preaching. “He that winneth souls is wise.” (Proverbs 11:30)
Rejecting the Word
preached unto them condemns the people who spurn God’s words that we broadcast.
God has ordained that we believers have a part in their condemnation by
ordaining that we preach the Bible to every one that we can. Paul said that God
“maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in
every place.” Paul could say that because he went everywhere he
could, preaching to everyone he could. And when Paul went and preached to
people, he told them everything they should know about God. “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the
counsel of God.” (Acts 20:27) Paul did not preach only of God’s love,
mercy, and grace. He also “reasoned of righteousness,
temperance, and judgment to come,” causing ol’ Felix to tremble (Acts
24:25). Therefore Paul could say, “Wherefore I take you
to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.” (Acts
20:26)
You and I are also
duty-bound to God to take the Gospel to everyone that we can. If you do not
have the ability to go far, then just do what you can (Mark 14:8). Spread the
Word of God to the people around you where you are. When no one is in sight or
in sound of you, then intercede to God for lost souls. “Pray
without ceasing.” (I Thessalonians 5:17) If we will “preach” to people
when they are in our presence and pray for them when they are not in our
presence, then we can say along with “perfect
and upright” Job, “Neither was I quiet.”
Noah condemned “the world of the ungodly” by his obedient act of
building the ark. He also condemned them by preaching righteousness for 100
years or longer. God greatly rewarded him for that, and Noah “became heir of the righteousness which is be faith.” Oh,
how blessed that is. Noah put his faith in God to save Him. Then he acted on
that faith (obedience) by building the ark and by being a preacher of
righteousness for 100 years or more. May God help you and I to do just as Noah
did, so that we too can be that blessed.
After this life,
all the Christ rejecters presently around you will be condemned by God in
Judgment and thrown into eternal hell fire. God has ordained that all us
believers be a part of their condemnation by clearly warning them to fee the
wrath to come. If we will warn them, I believe we will be present when they are
judged and God will point to us and say, “He (or she) told you so,” as He
banishes their lost souls from His Presence forever. But if we fail to do what
we can to warn them, then we will have their blood on our hands when we are
judged and that will be most sad and regrettable.
“Heavenly Father, please help me to be ‘a preacher of righteousness’ to
‘ the world of the ungodly’ around me. Teach me how that Thou hast ordained that I
have an important part with Thee when thou judgest all the ungodly around me.
Thou hast ordained that I warn them to flee the wrath of God that is soon to
come upon them. So please help me to make manifest the savour of Thy knowledge
in every place that I can. Please help me to declare all the counsel of God to
everyone I can. Help me to always intercede for lost souls. Please help me to
be like Job. Help me to be like Ezekiel and Noah. Help me not to be quiet.
Please help all my fellow Christians to do these things also. Amen.”
“The world of the ungodly” around you does not want to
hear from God their Creator. They do not want to be condemned for their much
sin and wrong. Instead, they want to be praised for their evil. And in our most
evil and perverse generation, so many people are heaping praise upon evil
doers, condoning their many, gross sins, even “standing up” for their rights to
sin, and making more and more sins to be “legal” in the eyes of government.
Therefore the wicked are becoming more proud, bold, and boastful of their sins
and are greatly glorying in their sin and wickedness. They thereby give much
glory to God’s enemy, the devil, and they rob their Creator of the Glory due to
Him.
How I just love to
stand out in public as close as an arm’s length from them and proclaim, “thus saith the Lord God” to them. Oh how those proud
faces quickly become distorted with such sour looks, and what awful words from
degenerate hearts spew out of those dirty mouths, simply because they cease to
be able to rest easy in their wicked rebellion against their Creator. And what
heavenly joy floods my soul for doing what God is commanding me to do. “Neither was I quiet.”
In Revelation 2:3,
God says the following about the church at Ephesus. “And
has borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast
not fainted.” I urge you to proclaim “thus
saith the Lord God,” loud and long to everyone you can for our Lord’s
Precious Name’s sake, regardless of whether the hearers receive or reject those
words. Do it long hours and do not “faint.” And have patience, as the rewards
you gain from it will greatly increase with time. From long experience, I know
that to be a fact. I pray that you will come to know fully what a wonderful and
glorious thing it is to be like Job and not be quiet about God. And may God
greatly bless you as you go about proclaiming His great glory to everyone.
“Heavenly
Father, I earnestly pray for all the Christian believers who read this. Speak
most clearly to their hearts of the importance of all us believers proclaiming ‘thus saith the Lord God’ to everyone we can. Please
cause my fellow Christians to know without any doubt, that although gaining
converts to Thee is a most wonderful accomplishment, it is not the only goal of
our preaching. Show the reader just how important it is to Thee, that they
impart Thy Words to the ungodly around them, for the purpose of condemning the
people who reject those words. Please help the believers who read this to be
the verbal testimony Thou wouldest have them to be. Show them the importance of
not getting discouraged by the lack of positive reaction from the hearers.
Please give them courage and endurance. Help them to be like Job and not be
quiet about Thee. Please grant these things, I most humbly pray. Amen.”
“Heavenly Father, please help me to think most seriously
on all I have read in this chapter. Please confirm to me the truth of it.
Please lead and guide me ever so clearly concerning what Thou wouldest have me
to do about proclaiming ‘thus saith the Lord
God’ to everyone. And please give me a willing and obedient heart to totally obey Thee
in doing Thy Will for me concerning being a verbal witness for Thee. I want to be like ‘perfect
and upright’ Job and be able to say, ‘neither was I
quiet.’ Please deal with all other Christians who read this chapter to fully open their
hearts to Thee and receive and act on what thou teacheth them about speaking
out Thee. These things I humbly ask of Thee, dear Lord. Amen.”
(This is the end of
Chapter Four of the book, “SAFETY, REST, AND QUIET.”)
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