Go & Speak

THE LORD SAID TO ME, “SON OF MAN EAT WHAT IS BEFORE YOU, EAT THIS SCROLL; THEN GO AND SPEAK TO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.” Ezekiel 3.1.

As usual, I was having my morning walk, meditating on the verse for the day, quoted above. Usually, I pray that the Lord will reveal to me what He wants me to teach others. But today my prayer was different. I prayed that the Lord may impress on my heart the importance of today’s text.

The message was clear and plain! In unmistakable words the Lord was talking to me. He was saying that ‘I should be eating (reading and meditating) the Word before He would entitle me to speak to the people of God!’ I was reminded of the absolute necessity of constantly reading and meditating on God’s Word, if I aspire to preach or teach people for their blessing and benefit.

It is quite a temptation to all the ‘professional’ teachers and preachers to trust in their past accomplishments to carry on their present ministry without the ‘blood or sweat’ any more. They begin to ‘rest on their laurels’. They pull out a lesson or a sermon from the file or from memory and dish it out to God’s people! No prayer, no reading of the Word, no careful study and no waiting on the Holy Spirit!

The Lord wouldn’t have anything to do with such preachers or prophets. He called them ‘false teachers and prophets!’ God’s complaint against many of Israel’s prophets was just that. Hear Him rebuke them, “I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds” (Jer 23.21,22).

From the beginning, my prayer was that what I write should not be mere teaching or preaching but practical guidance from the Word to the believers, especially the younger generation on daily living in the ‘market place’. I am gladly surprised at the numerous letters of appreciation that I receive from around the world. Here is a comment received from a sister: “I'm looking forward to reading your fresh insights and comments on the goodness of our Lord and also the challenges in our Christian walk today straight from your heart. You've been truly a blessing (like a sharp piece of iron) from the Lord. May you continue to sharpen us to the likeness of Christ with your revelations of the Word and the Spirit of God. Glory to God”. I cannot do this unless I stand in the council of the Almighty for your sake and mine. Help me by your prayers.

Dear believer, you too are called to be the Lord’s witness where He has placed you. But unless you begin to ‘eat the scroll’, the Bible, daily and hear God, you cannot live for Him or speak His Words!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, make me stand in Your council and read Your Word and hear You speak to me day by day that I may live like You before others and speak to them Your Words. Amen.