River of Life Community Church
Sunday, May 17, 2026

      • Ezekiel 3:22NKJV

      • Mark 1:35NKJV

      • Ezekiel 3:23NKJV

      • Hebrews 12:2NKJV

      • Ezekiel 3:24–25NKJV

      • Ezekiel 3:26–27NKJV

      • James 1:19NKJV

      • Ezekiel 3:27NKJV

      • 1 Corinthians 4:2NKJV

  • “Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You that You are faithful, even when people are not. Teach us today what it means to serve You without needing applause, to speak truth without fear, and to remain faithful even when no one seems to listen. Strengthen weary hearts. Encourage discouraged servants. Help us trust You with the results. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

    THE PAIN OF UNSEEN FAITHFULNESS

    One of the hardest things in serving God is speaking truth and seeing no response.
    You pray.
    You teach.
    You warn.
    You love.
    You preach.
    You try.
    And sometimes…
    nothing seems to change.
    Parents feel this.
    Pastors feel this.
    Leaders feel this.
    Believers witnessing to family feel this.
    You begin asking:
    “Am I failing?”
    “Is any of this making a difference?”
    “Should I just stop?”
    Book of Ezekiel understood that feeling.
    God called him to preach to stubborn, rebellious, hard-hearted people.
    And now in Ezekiel 3:22–27, God teaches him something powerful:
    You are not responsible for results.
    You are responsible for obedience.
    That truth changes everything.
    Because if you serve for applause, discouragement will destroy you.
    But if you serve for God, faithfulness becomes possible.
    Ezekiel 3:22 NASB95
    The hand of the Lord was on me there, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you.”

    1. GOD OFTEN PULLS US AWAY BEFORE HE SENDS US OUT

    God tells Ezekiel:
    “Leave the crowd. Go to the plain. Meet Me there.”
    Before public ministry— there is private encounter.
    Before public speaking— there must be private listening.
    Before you can carry God’s Word, you must hear God’s voice.
    Many people want public usefulness without private surrender.
    They want the platform without the prayer closet.
    They want influence without intimacy.
    But God often pulls us away first.
    Why?
    Because hidden places produce holy people.
    Isolation is often preparation.
    God separates before He sends.
    Mark 1:35 NASB95
    In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.
    Even Jesus withdrew to hear from the Father.
    How much more do we need it?
    Illustration: An arrow must first be pulled backward before it can be launched forward.
    What feels like delay may actually be preparation.
    Some of you feel like life has slowed down.
    Maybe God is pulling you back so He can send you farther.
    Application: Do not despise lonely seasons.
    Sometimes the plain is where God speaks clearest.

    2. THE GLORY OF GOD MUST REMAIN YOUR FOCUS

    Ezekiel 3:23 NASB95
    So I got up and went out to the plain; and behold, the glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face.
    Again—Ezekiel sees the glory.
    Same glory. Same presence. Same overwhelming holiness.
    Why?
    Because difficult ministry requires continual vision of God.
    You cannot survive hard assignments on human encouragement alone.
    If people are your focus, discouragement will break you.
    If results are your focus, disappointment will crush you.
    If approval is your fuel, rejection will stop you.
    But if God is your focus—
    you can keep going.
    Because His glory becomes greater than their response.
    You cannot survive ministry on people’s responses.
    You survive on God’s presence.
    Hebrews 12:2 NASB95
    fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
    Not on results.
    Not on reactions.
    On Jesus.
    Application: Who are you really serving?
    God?
    Or people’s approval?
    That answer determines your endurance.

    3. SOME SEASONS OF MINISTRY FEEL LIKE SILENCE

    Ezekiel 3:24–25 NASB95
    The Spirit then entered me and made me stand on my feet, and He spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself up in your house. “As for you, son of man, they will put ropes on you and bind you with them so that you cannot go out among them.
    God tells Ezekiel that he will be bound.
    He will be restricted.
    He will not move freely.
    This feels strange.
    Why would God call someone and then restrain them?
    Because sometimes God teaches trust through limitation.
    Not every season is movement.
    Some seasons are waiting.
    Some seasons are restraint.
    Some seasons are hidden.
    Some seasons feel silent.
    And we often think:
    “If nothing is happening, God must not be working.”
    But often—
    God is doing His deepest work where nobody sees it.
    Silence does not mean abandonment.
    Sometimes silence is training.
    Illustration: Seeds grow underground first.
    No applause.
    No visible evidence.
    But roots are forming.
    And roots matter.
    Some of you are in a root season.
    Do not quit because it feels quiet.
    Application: God is not absent just because things are slow.
    Faithfulness grows in hidden places.

    4. SPEAK ONLY WHAT GOD GIVES YOU

    Ezekiel 3:26–27 NASB95
    “Moreover, I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be mute and cannot be a man who rebukes them, for they are a rebellious house. “But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.
    This is powerful.
    God teaches Ezekiel:
    Do not speak from frustration.
    Do not speak from emotion.
    Do not speak just to fill silence.
    Speak when I speak.
    Not every opinion needs a microphone.
    Not every frustration is prophetic.
    Not every emotional reaction is the voice of God.
    There is a difference between being loud and being sent.
    Faithfulness is not saying everything.
    It is saying what God says.
    Faithfulness is not saying more—
    it is saying what God says.
    James 1:19 NASB95
    This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;
    Sometimes holiness sounds like restraint.
    Application: Before you speak, ask:
    Did God say this?
    Or am I just frustrated?
    That question protects both ministry and relationships.

    5. WHETHER THEY LISTEN OR REFUSE—SPEAK ANYWAY

    Ezekiel 3:27 NASB95
    “But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.
    This is the heart of the message.
    God settles it.
    Their response is not Ezekiel’s responsibility.
    His obedience is.
    That is freeing.
    Because rejection can make us question calling.
    But God says:
    Your assignment is not results.
    It is faithfulness.
    Parents—
    teach truth faithfully.
    Pastors—
    preach truth courageously.
    Believers—
    witness boldly.
    Leaders—
    stand firmly.
    Because your job is not to change hearts.
    That belongs to God.
    You are not the Holy Spirit.
    You are the messenger.
    We are not called to be successful.
    We are called to be faithful.
    1 Corinthians 4:2 NASB95
    In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.
    Faithful.
    Not famous.
    Faithful.
    Ask yourself:
    Have I grown discouraged because people are not responding?
    Am I serving for God’s approval or people’s applause?
    Have I stopped speaking truth because I got tired of rejection?
    Am I faithful even when no one listens?
    God is not asking:
    “How many applauded?”
    He is asking:
    “Were you faithful?”
    Did you obey?
    Did you speak when I said speak?
    Did you trust Me with the results?
    CLOSING:
    Today God may be calling some people back to simple faithfulness.
    Not flashy.
    Not impressive.
    Faithful.
    Some are weary.
    Some are discouraged.
    Some are ready to quit.
    Some have been silent too long.
    Some have served people more than they have served God.
    Today God says:
    Speak anyway.
    Serve anyway.
    Trust Me anyway.
    Be faithful.
    PRAYER: “Lord, forgive us for serving for applause.
    Forgive us for measuring success by response.
    Teach us to seek Your approval alone.
    Help us stay faithful when no one seems to listen.
    Strengthen weary servants.
    Encourage discouraged hearts.
    Teach us to speak only what You say.
    And help us trust You with every result.
    We surrender our need for recognition.
    We choose faithfulness.
    In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
    If you have never given your life to Jesus—
    today He is speaking to you.
    Do not ignore His voice.
    He loves you enough to call you.
    Jesus died for your sins, rose again, and offers forgiveness, new life, and salvation.
    Today, if He is calling—
    respond.
River of Life Community Church
rolccmn1@gmail.com
763-321-6509
http://www.rolcc.info/live/
2 members • 3 followers