“IF I SAT WHERE THEY SIT”



“IF I SAT WHERE THEY SIT”

EZEKIEL 3:8-15

TEXT VERSE: EZEKIEL 3:15

INTRO: The Lord took the prophet Ezekiel and sat him down right in the

middle of an unpleasant situation. The experience of what he saw

so touched Ezekiel that it tells us in the latter part of verse 15, “I sat

there where they sat, and remained there astonished among them

seven days.” He was overwhelmed with grief for the sins and miseries

of his people, and overpowered by the glory of the vision he had seen.

(Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary). God put His prophet there

for a reason. A young minister just finishing up his seminary training

went to the president of the seminary and told him he felt led to go to

a certain foreign field. The president knew all about the field. He told

the young minister that he needed a little experience before going to

that field. He further told the young man that he could get that

experience right here. That thrilled the preacher. The older minister

told him that he needed to take his family of a wife and two small

children and move down into the ghetto of the city. The young man

knew the place. He became irate, and started to storm out of the

office. The president said: “Just a moment before you leave. That

ghetto is nothing compared to the mission field you want to go to.”

I want to ask each one here today a question, If God should call us to

“sit where they sit” would it make a difference in the way we feel about

them? Our world is full of hurting people. What I am asking is this:

What would we want people to do for us if we sat where some of them

are sitting right now? People all over the world are hurting. Think of

the countries that are filled with disease and starvation. People are

sick. Hospitals are overflowing with people with all kinds of illnesses.

Some of those will never walk, see, or enjoy any measure of health

again. Think of the many in burn centers, cancer centers, and mental

institutions. All those in nursing homes, jails, homes for unwed

mothers, orphanages, and the many single moms trying to keep food

on the table for their kids. Our list could go on and on.

But I want us to consider that question again, “How would I like to be

treated If I had to be in their place?” God put His prophet in this

situation so he could identify with the people to whom he was writing.

I want us to think for a few moments on “If I Sat Where They Sit,” and

consider how we would like to be treated if we were in their situation.

IF I SAT WHERE THEY SIT:

(1) I WOULD WANT SOMEONE TO PRAY FOR ME

JAMES 5:16—“Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one

another that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer

of a righteous man availeth much.”

A. PRAYING FOR OTHERS IS COMMANDED. James 5:16 says, “..pray

for one another..” This is not an option, but God commands us to do it.

James, who penned these words, believed in prayer. In fact, tradition

tells us that he spent so much time in prayer that his knees became

hard and calloused. God works through prayer, but prayer must come

from a clean, dedicated heart (1). One of the greatest and best things

you can do for someone is to pray for them. Failing to pray for some-

one in need of prayer shows too things:

1. Selfishness. The body poorly protects what it does not feel. In the spiritual Body, also, loss of feeling inevitably leads to atrophy and inner deterioration. So much of the sorrow in the world is due to the selfishness of one living organism that simply does not care when another suffers. In Christ's Body we suffer because we do not suffer enough. -- Paul Brand, M.D., Leadership, Vol. 5, no. 4.

2. Sin. 1 Samuel 12:23 tells us, “Moreover as for me, God forbid that I

should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you…”

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He gave them

the model to follow which we call “The Lord’s Prayer.” If you look that

model prayer you will see that God intended for us to pray for others.

ILLUS: You cannot pray the Lord's Prayer and even once say "I."

You cannot pray the Lord's Prayer and even once say "My."

Nor can you pray the Lord's Prayer and not pray for one

another.

And when you ask for daily bread, you must include your

brother.

For others are included ... in each and every plea,

From the beginning to the end of it, it doesn't once say "Me."

-- Unknown, Christian Reader, Vol. 32, no. 3.

B. PRAYING FOR OTHERS SHOWS COMPASSION. When we truly love

others we will pray for them. Someone has said, “Love does not parade

the imperfections of others or taunt people for their weaknesses. Rather

love seeks to understand others—their imperfections and weaknesses

(2). When we sit where they sit, We will try to identify with their pain

and hurt. We will intercede for them before the throne of God. Paul

seldom asked people to pray that he would be delivered from certain

unpleasant and dangerous circumstance, but he asked the saints to

pray for him.

ILLUS: A minister was praying at the bedside of a dying woman. "Wait a

moment," she said, as he started to rise from his knees. "I want

to pray for you." Very tenderly she prayed with her hands upon

his head. "For ten years, ever since you became my pastor, I

have offered that prayer for you every morning and night," she

told him. The minister went away with tears in his eyes and a

strange warmth in his heart. He had known that this woman

was sweet-spirited and true, but he had never guessed that he

had a place in her prayers day and night. "I wonder how many

of my six hundred members pray for me," he asked himself. Let

us remember others in our prayers even as we want others to

remember us.

If I SAT WHERE THEY SIT I would want someone praying for me. IF I SAT WHERE THEY SIT…

(2) I WOULD WANT SOMEONE TO CARE ABOUT ME

*Sometimes those who find themselves in painful, trying and distressful

situations feel like David when he was fleeing for his life from Saul, “No

man cared for my soul.” (Psalm 142:4b). Notice two things about Caring:

A. CARING IS AN ATTITUDE. It is a choice we can either make or not

make. But when we choose to care it will have an impact on the person

we choose to care about!

ILLUS: Some years ago, the University of Illinois conducted an

experiment in which two pens of pigs were weaned and reared

in different environments. One pen of pigs received no

handling except for feeding, watering, and pen cleaning. The

pigs in the second pen were treated much better. They were

played with and petted for at least 15 minutes each day by

their caretakers. The end result of the experiment? The pigs

who received the tender, loving care of their handlers thrived

much better than those who were ignored. Caring attention,

even in the life of a hog, does make a difference!- The Deacon,

July, August, September 1994, p. 47

Just a little reminder that “I care” means more than we’ll ever know.

Until you have been there you can’t imagine what it means to a person

who is hurting to have someone care enough to let them know.

B. CARING IS AN ACTION. Caring reaches out to others. It doesn’t

merely speak the words, but it acts on another’s behalf. 1 John 3:18

tells us, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue;

but in deed and in truth.” Others will not care how much we know until

they know how much we care. As one authority puts it:

If I just do my thing and you do yours, we stand in danger of losing

each other and ourselves…we are fully ourselves only in relation to

each other; the I detached from a Thou disintegrates. I do not find

you by chance; I find you by an active life of reaching out.—Walter

Tubbs, “Beyond Pearls,” Journal of Humanistic Psychology (3).

“It is a fair rule of thumb that only the love of neighbor which can also

draw people to Christ is truly a reflection of that love for God which is

its source.”—Jeremy C. Jackson, No Other Foundation (4). Isaiah 41:6-

7 says, “They helped every one his neighbor; and every one said to his

brother, Be of good courage. So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith,

and he that smoothed with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying,

It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should

not be moved.”

IF I SAT WHERE THEY SIT, I WOULD WANT SOMEONE TO PRAY FOR ME and I WOULD WANT SOMEONE TO CARE ABOUT ME, and also…

(3) I WOULD WANT SOMEONE TO SHOW ME MERCY AND FORGIVENESS

WHEN I HAD SINNED

EPHESIANS 4:32—“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,

forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath

forgiven you.”

*Charles Spurgeon said, “Let us go to Calvary to learn how we may be

forgiven. And then let us linger there to learn how to forgive (5).

Ephesians 4:32 teaches us what forgiveness is all about. Spurgeon

says of this verse: Does he say, “forgiving another”? No, that is not the

text. It is “forgiving one another.” That means that if you have to forgive

today, it is very likely that you will yourself need to be forgiven tomorrow,

for it is “forgiving one another.” (6).

*Note:

A. THE PATTERN OF FORGIVENESS. “…even as God for Christ’s sake

hath forgiven you.” As God, showing himself kind and tenderhearted in

the highest degree, hath forgiven you (Wesley’s Explanatory Notes). He

is our pattern in forgiving others. How much hath He forgiven us “for

Christ’s sake”? ALL! How much should we forgive others? ALL!

ILLUS: When a person forgives another, he is promising to do three

things about the intended wrongdoing: not to use it against

the wrongdoer in the future; not to talk about it to others; and

not to dwell on it himself.—Jay Adams (7)

Is this not the pattern of forgiveness that God practices with us? As

Hebrews 10:17 tells us, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember

no more,” the Lord says.

B. THE PURPOSE OF FORGIVENESS. “And be ye kind one to another,

tenderhearted, forgiving one another..” Is not showing mercy the aim

of forgiveness? Be ye kind one to another. This sets forth the

principle of love in the heart, and the outward expression of it, in a

humble, courteous behaviour. Mark how God's forgiveness causes us

to forgive. God forgives us, though we had no cause to sin against

him. We must forgive, as he has forgiven us (Matthew Henry’s

Concise Commentary).

ILLUS: Recently, a frail black woman rose slowly to her feet in a

South African courtroom. She was 70-something, the years

deeply etched on her face. Facing her from across the room

were several white security police officers. One, a Mr. van der

Broek, had just been found guilty of murdering the woman's

son and her husband.

The man had come to the woman's home a number of years

earlier. He had taken her son, shot him at pointblank range,

and then burned his body while he and some other officers

reveled in the act.

Several years later, van der Broek had returned to take away

her husband as well. For two years, she could learn nothing of

what happened to him. Then, van der Broek came back for the

woman herself. She was led to a place beside a river. There,

she saw her husband bound and beaten, lying on a pile of

wood. The last words she heard from his lips as the officers

poured gasoline over his body and set him aflame were,

"Father, forgive them."

But not long ago, justice caught up with Mr. van der Broek.

He had been found guilty, and it was time to determine his

sentence. And as the woman stood, the presiding official of the

court asked, "So, what do you want? How should justice be

done to this man who has so brutally destroyed your family?"

In reply, the woman said, "I want three things. I want first to

be taken to the place where my husband's body was burned

so that I can gather up the dust and give his remains a decent

burial." She pauses, then continues. "My husband and son

were my only family. I want, secondly, therefore, for Mr. van

der Broek to become my son. I would like for him to come

twice a month to the ghetto and spend a day with me so that I

can pour out on him whatever love I still have remaining

within me."

"And, finally," she says, "I want a third thing. I would like Mr.

Van der Broek to know that I offer him my forgiveness

because Jesus Christ died to forgive. This was also the wish of

my husband. And so, I would kindly ask someone to come to

my side and lead me across the courtroom so that I can take

Mr. van der Broek in my arms, embrace him and let him know

that he is truly forgiven."

As the court assistants led the elderly woman across the

courtroom, Mr. van der Broek, overwhelmed by what he

heard, fainted. Then quietly, from those in the courtroom,

friends, family, and neighbors – all victims of similar

oppression and injustice – began to sing "Amazing grace, how

sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost,

but now I'm found. ‘Twas blind, but now I see.

IF I SAT WHERE THEY SIT, I WOULD WANT SOMEONE TO PRAY FOR ME, I WOULD WANT SOMEONE TO CARE ABOUT ME, I WOULD WANT SOMEONE TO SHOW ME MERCY AND FORGIVENESS and …

(4) I WOULD WANT SOMEONE TO LOVE ME

HEBREWS 13:1-2—“Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful

to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained

angels unawares.”

1 Peter 4:8—“And above all things have fervent charity among

yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.”

A. LOVE IS NEEDED. Some of the saddest faces I have ever looked upon

were the faces of people who said, “Nobody loves me.” Some find them-

selves in situations where they believe that no one loves them.

ILLUS: There were two boys who were so wicked that everybody hated

them except their dear widowed mother. At the funeral of that

dear mother one of those boys turned to the other and said,

“We don’t have a friend in the world now that mamma is gone.”

Many are like that in this world. Will you be the one that God

can show His love through?

ILLUS: A man and his wife visited an orphanage where they hoped to

adopt a child. In an interview with the boy they wanted, they

told him in glowing terms about the many things they could

give him. To their amazement, the little fellow said, "If you have

nothing to offer except a good home, clothes, toys, and the

other things that most kids have - why - I would just as soon

stay here." "What on earth could you want besides those

things?" the woman asked. "I just want someone to love me."

said the little boy." Even little boys know that you are not

suppose to live by bread alone! - Billy Graham

B. LOVE KNOWS NO LIMITS. True love knows no boundaries. It loves

people no matter who they are or where they are. True love loves people

no matter what they do or do not do. "People need loving the most when

they deserve it the least." - Mary Crowley

IF I SAT WHERE THEY SIT I WOULD WANT SOMEONE TO LOVE ME.

CLOSING: If I sat where they sit I would want someone to pray for me, to care

about me, to show me mercy and forgiveness, and to love me.

Will you be that kind of person?

I was hungry

and you formed a humanities club

and you discussed my hunger.

Thank you.

I was imprisoned

and you crept off quietly

to your chapel in the cellar

to pray for my release.

I was naked

and in your mind

you debated the morality of my

appearance.

I was sick

and you knelt and thanked God

for you health.

I was homeless

and you preached to me

of the spiritual shelter of the

love of God.

I was lonely

and you left me alone

to pray for me.

You seem so holy;

so close to God.

But I’m still very hungry

and lonely

and cold.

So where have your prayers gone?

What have they done?

What does it profit a man to page

through his book of prayers when the

rest of the world is crying for help?—M. Lunn,

1,500 Inspirational Quotes and Illustrations (8).

Let us try and “sit where they sit” so we can be minister to all the

hurting people in our world today!

NOTES: 1. Warren W. Wiersbe. Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New

Testament. p. 735.

2. Albert M. Wells, Jr. Inspiring Quotations-Contemporary &

Classical. p. 121.

3. Charles R. Swindoll. The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1,501 Other

Stories. p. 105.

Swindoll. p. 106.

Wells. p. 74.

Charles H. Spurgeon. 2200 Quotations from the Writings of

Charles H. Spurgeon. p. 341.

Wells. p. 74.

Swindoll. p. 113.

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