Ezekiel 33:32
“And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.”
On my computer I have a playlist that has some of my favorite songs that I love to hear. Many times throughout the week I will play this list of songs I enjoy hearing. It is not just the songs, but the artists as well. One of my favorite singers on this list is Bro. Alvin Martinez. His music is Spirit-filled, and his singing touches my heart. There is no doubt that I would say his singing is lovely.
God told Ezekiel that his preaching had become a lovely song to those who were listening. Ezekiel’s problem was not that he didn’t have a crowd to whom he could preach. The people enjoyed watching his illustrations. They saw him preach the next day after his wife had passed away from a stroke. His preaching was not abrasive as was the Apostle Paul’s, but it was a well displayed sermon like a person who “can play well on an instrument.”
The problem with these people was that his preaching had become a lovely song that they loved to hear. They would listen to the preaching, but they would go home and do the exact opposite of what he preached. They loved Ezekiel, but they simply came to hear what he would say because they wanted to see his next illustration or hear the eloquence of his preaching. More important than seeing his illustrations, they should have listened to the sermon. More important than loving the man of God, they should have heeded to the warning of each sermon. Ezekiel would rather these people obeyed the message of his sermon than like his preaching. Though Ezekiel preached exactly what God wanted him to preach, and though he preached exactly how God wanted him to preach, the people wasted the message because they came simply to hear him preach.
Dr. Jack Hyles was my pastor for many years. In this preacher’s opinion, Bro. Hyles was the best preacher I have ever heard, and I’m not alone with this summation. Yet, I’m amazed that though Dr. Hyles was one of the greatest voices that preached against compromise in our day, many who heard him are doing the exact opposite of what he preached. Sadly, I believe what happened is that many people came to hear this man of God preach, but they only came because his preaching was a lovely song to them. They did not come to heed his preaching, but they came to be in the presence of one whom God used greatly.
Has preaching become a lovely song to you? Do you listen to your pastor or to your favorite preacher because their preaching is as a lovely song? Is it that you like their humor, stories or their delivery that draws you to listen to their preaching? It would be sad that preaching is nothing more than a lovely song to which you listen. It would be sad that you listen to your pastor every week, a man to whom you love and enjoy listening, but don’t heed the content of his sermons.
Be careful that you don’t allow preaching to become a lovely song. Don’t miss the content of the sermon for the beauty of the delivery. Don’t listen to the sermon just because you enjoy preaching and walk away and do the complete opposite of what you just heard. God has not given you the opportunity to hear a truth from your favorite preacher just so you can walk away and do the opposite. Every time you listen to preaching, listen to it so you can correct what you’re doing wrong. Make the sermon more than a lovely song. Make it the alarm that causes you to correct the things in your life that are wrong. Don’t be guilty of hearing what you are supposed to do, but walk away and do the opposite. Don’t just listen to preaching, but respond to its message and correct what it tells you to correct.