The Bad Advice That Poisons Your City (Ezekiel 11)

Introduction

Pastor Maréchal opens his Bible to Ezekiel 11 and lays one sentence on the table: "These men are giving bad advice in this city." Two names rise out of the text, Jaazaniah and Pelatiah, two leaders of the people who gather to plot wickedness. The prophet hears them, the Spirit of the Lord falls on him, and God says something striking: "I know what comes up into your mind." In other words, before the mouth even speaks, God sees. This sermon brings you back to that reality: the bad advice a city, a generation, or a family absorbs is never invisible to God. And the believer's response is not paralysis, it's service. You have to rise up and build with what he has already given you.

Sermon Outline

1. Two leaders, two names, a poisoned city (Ezekiel 11:1-5)

• The prophet is brought to the east gate of the Lord's house. He sees twenty-five men. Two are named: Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.
• These are men of responsibility, and yet they gather to plot wickedness and give bad advice in the city. Scripture does not leave them anonymous: it names them.
• Their talk is cynical: "This is not the time. Let's build houses. The city is the pot, and we are the meat." They think they're safe, they decide for everyone, they steer the city toward ruin.
• Pastor Maréchal recalls a meeting he attended in 1967, where a few government officials announced the changes society was about to go through. One sentence stayed with him: "This generation will be a generation of pleasure-seekers." He adds: it has long since come true.
• The preacher's conclusion is sober: a handful of men can paralyze an entire city and push a whole people to stay far from God. You need to know that, so you don't get swept along by the current.

2. God sees what comes up into your mind (Ezekiel 11:5)

• "I know what comes up into your mind." Whatever you're brewing inside your heart, before you've even spoken it, God already knows.
• This is a warning for those who scheme evil while thinking no one sees them. Just because the city's leaders meet in secret doesn't mean the secret holds up before God.
• It's also a word for you. God searches hearts. He knows your intentions before your words. The preacher insists: "He is the one who searches our hearts."
• The people are called to outward silence so the inward truth can speak. God sees, and he will act.

3. The response: rise up and build for God

• Facing leaders who give bad advice, the believer's response isn't retreat, it's rising up and building. "Let us rise up and build": the phrase comes back again and again in the sermon.
• Who must build? Those who came out of Egypt. In other words, you and me, delivered by God's mighty hand, through the blood and the sacrifice of his Son Jesus.
• Build with what? With what God has already placed in our hands. Everyone has gifts and talents to offer. No one is empty-handed.
• With what heart? A willing heart. God will never override your will. He does not force. He looks for men and women who say, "Lord, I want to do this, not because I'm forced to, but because I choose to."

4. The parable of the talents, running underneath

• Pastor Maréchal recalls the parable of the talents. The man who received one talent went off and buried it. He didn't offer it, he didn't put it to work. The master calls him a "wicked servant."
• Burying your talents means not offering God what God has given you. It's a refusal disguised as caution.
• "A generous soul will be enriched" (Proverbs 11:25). The soul that puts what God has given it to work for him will be enriched.
• God is able to bless beyond anything we can imagine. He turned an enslaved prisoner (Joseph) into the prime minister of the greatest nation. He turned a simple shepherd (David) into the king of a nation. He needs nothing to lift you up, if you place what you have into his hands.

5. A communion reminder: Jesus, our high priest

• Around the table, the preacher rereads Hebrews 4:14-16: "We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast to the faith we profess."
• Four qualifications of a high priest, he recalls, drawn from Hebrews 7: being without sin, being chosen and approved by God (like Aaron), not being subject to weakness, and living forever. Jesus alone fulfills all four.
• John 1:29: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." 1 Peter 1:18-19: "You were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."
• Before these truths, the believer's place is confidence, not worry. "We stand before the one who pleaded our case at the cross."

Key Takeaways

• God names the leaders who give bad advice. Organized wickedness never stays anonymous before him.
• "I know what comes up into your mind." God sees before you speak. Don't fear other people's schemes, watch your own intentions instead.
• The answer to a generation that listens to bad advice is a delivered people who rise up and build.
• We serve God with a willing heart, not under compulsion. He loves the one who gives with joy.
• Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. It's in him, and in him alone, that the believer stands.

Personal Application

• What "bad advice," today, from your city, your circles, your news feed, are you absorbing without even noticing?
• Is there something "coming up in your mind" that you haven't yet dared to bring before God? He already knows. What do you want to tell him?
• What gift, what talent, what place of service are you burying "until the right moment"? What can you hand over to God this week?
• Do you serve out of compulsion, or because you want to with your whole heart? Where is your heart right now before the Lord?
• Before the Lord's table, what weight do you want to lay down before you leave?

Scriptures Cited

• Ezekiel 11:1-13 · the vision of the twenty-five men and the leaders who give bad advice.
• Hebrews 4:14-16 · Jesus, our great high priest.
• Hebrews 7:23-28 · a perfect priest for eternity.
• John 1:29 · "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."
• 1 Peter 1:18-19 · redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.
• Proverbs 11:25 · "A generous soul will be enriched."
• Matthew 25:14-30 · the parable of the talents.

FAQ

Who are Jaazaniah and Pelatiah in Ezekiel 11?

They are two leaders of the people named in Ezekiel 11:1: Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah. They are among the twenty-five men the prophet sees at the east gate of the Lord's house. Scripture identifies them as the ones who plot wickedness and give bad advice in the city. They are not anonymous: God knows the names of those who speak in the people's name.

Why does God say, "I know what comes up into your mind"?

Ezekiel 11:5 reminds us that God sees before the mouth even speaks. Whatever you're brewing inside your heart, before you express it, God already knows it. This is true for leaders scheming evil, and it's true for every believer. It's a warning, but also a comfort: the one who searches hearts also knows how to recognize an upright one.

How do we rise up and build for God today?

Pastor Maréchal takes up the phrase "Let us rise up and build" to say that we build with the gifts and talents God has already handed us. Serving God means being generous toward him. He forces no one: he looks for willing hearts. Start by putting what you have already received at his disposal, without looking at your neighbor or at what you lack.