No One Will Listen
An Unappealing Call
No one will listen to you. Imagine that sentence in a letter of call from a prospective church.
“Dear Pastor, after much prayer, deliberation, and discussion, we feel God is calling you to be our next pastor.
This past Sunday evening, we held a congregational meeting to discuss the prospect of you becoming our next pastor. We held a congregational vote in which you received 0% of the vote. Nobody really wants you to be our next pastor, and no one will listen to you. However, we believe God is calling you to be our next pastor. Please prayerfully consider.”
Would you accept the call? Would you even “prayerfully consider” the call? I doubt many of us would give this church a second thought—even though we should.
Ezekiel’s Call to Ministry
Ezekiel’s call as a prophet to Israel was very similar—although the call doesn’t come from Israel, it comes directly from God. God says this to Ezekiel, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.” (Ezekiel 2:3–5, ESV).
God calls Ezekiel as a prophet to a rebellious people. Their rebellion is bad enough that it spans generations—it’s been passed down to their children and grandchildren. Not only are they rebellious, but they are impudent and stubborn. They don’t care about anyone other than themselves and they refuse to listen to anyone. Most likely, they will refuse to hear the words coming out of Ezekiel’s mouth.
It doesn’t matter. God tells Ezekiel to give them the word of God anyway. It doesn’t matter if they listen. It doesn’t matter if they refuse to hear. It doesn’t matter if they don’t like him. It doesn’t matter if they continue in their rebellion. Ezekiel is called to keep proclaiming God’s Word to the people—proclaiming it with such power that they will KNOW a prophet has been in their midst.
Things Haven’t Changed
Our calling as pastors isn’t any different today. Sure, our letters of call sound much more appealing. Congregations tell us how excited they are for us to shepherd them and preach God’s Word, yet, after we’ve been there a while, we find out no one is truly listening—or only partially listening. It doesn’t matter. Ultimately, the congregation isn’t who called us into ministry. Like Ezekiel, our calling has come directly from God. He determines how we fulfill that calling, and he told us to fulfill our calling by proclaiming his word. It doesn’t matter if people are listening or plugging their ears.
That’s why Paul commands Timothy: “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2, ESV). We are still called to preach the Word when it is out of season—when people refuse to listen and continue in their rebellion—and we’re called to preach the Word of God with power so they know a prophet is in their midst and they’ve heard God’s Word.
Preach With Power & Authority
So, what do you do when people refuse to listen to God’s Word being preached? Fulfill your calling from God and preach the Word. What do you do if you serve a rebellious and stubborn congregation in a rebellious and stubborn city? Fulfill your calling from God and preach the Word.
Yet preach the Word with the power and authority of God. Don’t preach the Word sheepishly or apologetically. Don’t water it down, hoping to make it more palatable. Preach the Word of God with the confidence and authority and power it deserves. Preach the Word in such a way that there’s no question in people’s mind they’ve heard the Word of God.