Title: Warn the Sinner
warn the sinner
2006-11-08
I. Background of the text
The Bible text we read today is God's earnest word to Ezekiel. Ezekiel was called during the Babylonian captivity and proclaimed the word of God. He was a man with a world of prophecy that was second to none other than other prophets in the depth of theological and spirituality. The next part of this verse is about God rebuking the shepherds who do not take care of their wandering flocks. It is like the heart of our Lord in the Gospel of Matthew, when he saw the crowds and was “embarrassed”. The guards should be the first to warn of the invasion of the enemy in the event of a crisis. If the enemy does not warn of aggression, the watchman is negligent in his duties, and if the watchman blows the warning trumpet but the people do not defend themselves, the people are held accountable. How does the watchman feel when the trumpet is blown? ‘If at least one of my compatriots in the castle is not harmed… ' and blow the trumpet.
II. Made a watchman
In the book of Acts, the twelve disciples blew a big trumpet in a multitude of people with the full support of the church's prayers, and the scattered saints blew small trumpets and wandered alleyways. Remember that the big trumpet and the small trumpet sound different, but the content is the same.
A. About God's Judgment
“Blow them the trumpet of warning,” he says. If this trumpet is not blown, people will be doing their best, instead of preparing for battle. After all, unconverted people cannot return to God alone and need someone's help. We can pray for their souls when we deeply feel their desperate need to preach the gospel. However, there are people who only cry out for “judgment” without deep love for their soul, which is a mistake. Before we cry out for judgment, we must first take care of ourselves, who deserved that judgment.
However, this judgment of God is not a judgment that will take place immediately. When Jesus saw that the city of Jerusalem would be destroyed in 40 years, he wept. Why? He wept for love (Caritas). So, whatever we have to do, we have to have a heart of love for them, and we must honestly cry out the word of God with tears, that is, honestly call out God's judgment. By announcing that stern judgment, people will flee to the gospel.
B. About God's Love
The content of the second trumpet is God's boiling love behind the proclamation of God's judgment. Seeing the faith of the people who prayed, “There is no way I can escape this judgment in my own strength, Lord, have mercy on me.” God delivers them from a great crisis. The gospel is the refuge of those who face God's judgment. “Now I have no hope. The past days of my life have been full of evil that brought judgment from God. There is no way I can escape this judgment.” When you think, flee to God quickly.
Aren't we the saints first called to blow this very trumpet? But people forgot to blow the trumpets of this conversion. That is why we are full of wandering souls around us. Even if many years pass, we must not keep up with the current trend and let the great gospel of the Lord Jesus always resonate. In the church, a large trumpet is sounded, and each person who hears the trumpet must return to their territory and blow the small trumpet.
III. Serving for Conversion
How many souls would have been converted if we had dedicated ourselves to making this trumpet sound all over the place? Aren't there a lot of wandering souls inside and outside the church not knowing this gospel? What should we do? We must dedicate our hearts to the conversion of so many souls. What could be more important than making souls realize how great God's love for them is through our service and bringing them back to God! Our souls who cannot weep for the conversion of souls are more dangerous and pitiful than the unconverted souls around us.
In particular, there must be a “Youth Awakening Rally” this time, but I think it is too late. After so many years of wasting time, you now have a chance to be converted! If I had my children sit on their laps and listen to the gospel when they were young, or if I had diligently sent a retreat in middle and high school to hear the gospel, if I had seen them as souls... . Recently, Japan sent a suicide letter to the Minister of Education saying that he would commit suicide on the 12th, and the whole country was shocked. Do you know how many times these children cried in the embrace of their souls that neither their parents nor their teachers knew?
IV. Conclusion and application
So it is not my child who should repent, but myself. However, today is the earliest day for conversion. Even if I don't have a wealth to pass on to my children and I don't teach them well, if my children love the Lord deeply, God will lift them up and make them a valuable cornerstone. This is the time to cry for my child's conversion. “My child meets God.” What a beautiful thing this is! So, pray with all your might so that the trumpet of this gospel may sound deep in the soul of my child. 2006-11-08