Will You Finish Well? (Part 4) by Maxie Dunnam

Check out the earlier articles in this series where Maxie shared about the need for personal holiness (part 1), surrender (part 2), and character (part 3).

A couple of years ago I was smitten in my heart by a word I heard in the ordination service of the Free Methodist Church. It was verses 4 and 5 of Ezekiel 2: 

The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ And whether they listen – for they are a rebellious house – they will know that a prophet has been among them.” (NIV)

God’s Call to Ministry Is About Faithfulness, Not Success

Ezekiel is sharing his personal story of God coming to him in a vision and calling him to be a prophet/priest. He sees the “glory of Yahweh” coming down from heaven and it is so overwhelming that he falls on his face. But the Lord will not let him remain there: “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And the Lord does speak. The message which Ezekiel is to preach is given to him in a kind of scroll. So, Ezekiel receives his appointment. It is not a promising situation. Not the planting of a new church that is sure to grow in an exciting fashion. Not to be the senior pastor of First Church downtown which has tremendous influence in the entire community. Not an appointment to a rapidly growing church in suburbia. It is a hard call and God makes it clear. In exercising his prophetic office, Ezekiel will have to preach to deaf ears and dwell among scorpions. Now all of us have preached to deaf ears – but none of us have dwelt among scorpions – though one of our student pastors told me recently he had some polecats in his congregation. There is no prospect of success laid on the prophet in his initial call to ministry. And that burden of no prospect continues to increase as God continues to speak. 

In this call of Ezekiel, there are some lessons, some directions, and powerful promises to us as we contemplate the fact that the fruit and progress that result from our leadership are based on strong character. 

Listening to God as the Foundation of Spiritual Leadership

First, God says, “Stand on your feet and I will speak to you.” (2:1) The lesson? We are to listen. Our stance must always be a receptive one. “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” 

Now note the second thing. After hearing God tell him to “stand on his feet,” so that He might speak to him, Ezekiel says, “As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet and I heard Him speaking to me.” The lesson? It is not our ability to do what God calls us to do, but our willingness to respond, to yield, to attempt what He calls us to that releases God’s power. God called Ezekiel, “Stand on your feet” but then – as Ezekiel says – “a Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet.” 

We may express this second lesson in this fashion: God does not call us to a ministry or a mission that we can accomplish in our own strength and with our own resources – but only with His divine aid. In that way, we’re kept on our knees, dependent upon Him.

Character and Holiness in Ministry Flow from God’s Word

Then there is a third lesson and a promise. Listen to it, Ezekiel 3:1-3: “And He said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll: then go and speak to the house of Israel.’ So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat. Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.’ So I ate it and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.” 

The lesson? We must become one with God’s word. We must depend upon His sustenance. What we say must be matched by how we live. It is then that people will know that a prophet is among them. That’s what character and holiness are all about as it relates to our Christian vocation.