AND HE SAID TO THEM ... FOLLOW ME ...
AND I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN......
...................MATTHEW 4:19..
YOU'RE
IN THE ARMY NOW!
The
very next scripture says they immediately left their nets and followed Him/Jesus.
After you have caught a fish the next steps are usually .. scaling, gutting and sometimes
beheading. In relation to the saving of souls, this is the hard part for many to accept.
Once Jesus said hard things to His disciples and it states that they desired to walk with
Him no more.. John 6:66-69.
The hype that usually accompanies .. word of faith teachings and
prosperity preaching has flowed over into the altar calls of many church meets, only to find that
those who went forward were gathered together not to enter into a relationship with the
God of Heaven and join His army but merely to have their present day problems and
heartaches erased. Jesus was one that told all before they started out, the loses and
gains, the cost of discipleship and the foolishness of starting something you are unable
to finish or choose not to finish. Is this the message we hear today at
the altar or
has it changed somewhat.. in the past century? .. Romans 9:6, Acts 14:21,22.
I remember back when I joined the Australian Army, while I was in boot camp each night as
the soldiers sat around and talked, you could hear many say in great disappointment .. I
didn't know it was going to be like this. They seen the television commercials, the rifles
and the uniforms, the wages and the fun parts but knew very little if not naught of the
hardships and loneliness that soldiers experience at times.. Peter the apostle said..
FOR IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER FOR THEM NOT TO HAVE KNOWN THE WAY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
.. THAN HAVING KNOWN IT .. TO TURN FROM THE HOLY COMMANDMENT DELIVERED TO THEM
.......................... 2 PETER 2:21.
Then it goes on to say they went as a dog to the vomit and a sow to the wallowing
in the mire. This refers to men as the dogs and women as the sows, people who walk into
church situations where there is a speaker operating who has a testimony that would
impress the minds of people for a given time, need to be told very clearly that Jesus the
Christ has a army and where there is an army there must be discipline. My belief is that
for most of the time, churches in this day and age only ever tell of the story of the
Christian goldfish bowl. What I mean by that is .. the fishers of men, tell the new fish
or converts that once you say their prayer you shall then be placed in the Big
Christian Gold Fish Bowl .. where life is grand and no harm lurks. This is the total
opposite to the .. army, battle field and rugged cross picture that Jesus the Christ tells
of in His word. Sheep among wolves, lambs among savage wolves and being hated by all for
His names sake. Is it any wonder people go AWOL/absent without leave? . . backslide, even
apostatise.. 2 Timothy 2:1-5.
Many will be swept into the church structures but how many shall enter into the
Kingdom?..the word of God still stays the same, it says .. few!.
Amen.
Pastor
Paul Sheehan |
|
06.05.2001 |
http://www.fireandhammer.com |
|