THE KIND OF PREACHERS WE NEED TODAY

By Curtis Pugh

Worldly people think themselves qualified to judge God's men. But God, in His infinite wisdom, continues to call and equip His preachers: not that all who claim the office are actually God-called and God-equipped. But every faithful God-called preacher accomplishes exactly what God wants whether he is successful in the worldly wise individual's eyes or not.

My proof for that last statement is what God said to His man Ezekiel: “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 2:5). The worldly wise individual judges God's preachers on the basis of numbers: how big his church is or how much money comes in or how popular the preacher is. God looks at things differently: numbers are not His concern. Since, as Jesus said, “... God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” He is able to raise up as many spiritual sons of Abraham as He pleases (see Matthew 3:9).

God was not concerned with giving all those Jews a chance to be saved. In fact, God told Ezekiel, “But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted,” (Ezekiel 3:7). Humanly speaking Ezekiel could not expect to be a success in the eyes of the worldly. The Jews would refuse to hear him even though “The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel... and the hand of the LORD was there upon him,” (Ezekiel 1:3). They were not rejecting Ezekiel: in reality they were rejecting Jehovah!

Ezekiel was called of God to prophesy judgment upon Israel. God said, “Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through. Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed,” (Ezekiel 33:27-29). And God said to Ezekiel: “And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them,” (Ezekiel 33:33).

Those Jews were without excuse! They had been warned. And so it is today: God has His faithful preachers. It may be this side of death or it may be the other side, but to paraphrase God's statement, “whether you hear, or whether you refuse to hear yet you shall know that there hath been a prophet among you.” Hear and believe God's Word before judgment comes!