Keep on the Firing Line...the Wayfarer 5/2/16
Keep on the Firing Line
Matthew 10:16-28
5/2/16
5/2/16
16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be
ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the
councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my
sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye
shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father
which speaketh in you.
21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and
the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and
cause them to be put to death.
22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he
that endureth to the end shall be saved.
23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into
another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of
Israel, till the Son of man be come.
24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above
his lord.
25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and
the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub,
how much more shall they call them of his household?
26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that
shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what
ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to
kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body
in hell.
Today’s title comes from a hymn that,
although I probably heard during my youth, I either forgot, or had not
recognized until attending a church service that used it as a closing song, and
still does regularly for each portion of the song and praise opening of each
service held there.
I have attended there many times
since that first visit, having found kindred and brethren there who I now call
friends as well as brothers.
One of those precious brothers has
passed on, his portion of the battle completed, his perimeter secured eternally
through Jesus, having accepted Him as Savior, and having accepted also the call
to battle that is issued both by the opening scripture and the hymn used during
those services he attended as often as allowed by the frailty of an elderly and
weakening body until no longer able to attend, yet still to the very last
moment carrying his portion of the load into the battle enjoined, valiantly
following the prerequisites of his faith.
“If you’re in the battle for the Lord
and right, Keep on the firing line.
If you win, my brother, surely you
must fight, keep on the firing line.
There are many dangers that we all
must face. If we die a fighting it is no disgrace,
Coward in the service, he will find
no place, so keep on the firing line.
God will only use the soldier He can
trust, keep on the firing line.
If you wear a crown then bear the
cross you must, keep on the firing line.
Life is but to labor for the Master
dear, help to banish evil and to spread good cheer.
Great you’ll be rewarded for your
service here, so keep on the firing line.
When we get to heaven brother we’ll
be glad, keep on the firing line.
How we’ll praise the Savior for the
call we had, keep on the firing line.
When we see the souls that we have
helped to win, Leading them to Jesus from the paths of sin,
With a shout of welcome we will all
march in, so keep on the firing line.
You must fight, be brave, against all
evil, never run, nor even lag behind;
If you would win for God and the
right, just keep on the firing line.”
Too often forgotten is the fact that
we are engaged in a battle that is and will continue to be ongoing until the
return of Christ.
That battle is for the souls of those
around us as well as our ongoing continual fight to stave off the onslaught of the
chaos generated by an enemy that is also engaged in that battle, wishing only
to steal those very souls for which we battle.
His weapons are many and varied,
quite effective as is his proficiency in their use as is evidenced daily in the
deaths recorded in the obituaries of our youth having succumbed to the lures
set before them by way of pharmaceuticals, escapes from the reality that
overwhelms them because of the lack of any recognizable assistance or hope and
reason to pursue the labor that is required simply to live and complete the
journey begun at their birth.
It is evidenced in the affairs of
men, as men clash with others, all others, pursuing answers to questions and
challenges faced, attempting to solve all those challenges with answers
provided by men, while ignoring the answers already given by God.
This is far from a new state of
affairs, having existed since Adam first chose to seek answers in the “knowledge”
offered him in the forbidden fruit, also choosing to listen to the urging of
someone influenced completely by that ancient enemy that remains a source of
chaos, confusion, misery and despair using his first and most efficient weapon,
his lies, to produce that influence.
Ezekiel reminded Israel of the cause
of their misery, and the solution that they rejected:
Ezekiel 18:20-32King James Version (KJV)
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear
the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the
son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness
of the wicked shall be upon him.
21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath
committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he
shall surely live, he shall not die.
22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not
be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith
the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness,
and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the
wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall
not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that
he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O
house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and
committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done
shall he die.
27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness
that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save
his soul alive.
28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions
that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not
equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one
according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all
your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have
transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O
house of Israel?
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith
the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
That battle, enjoined by
Ezekiel, continues now as well, not merely for a nation, but for each and every
human soul as well as for the soul of that nation.
That solution, given in the words of
that old prophet, became more attainable, became more apparent, became accessible
to all humankind through the coming of the only acceptable sacrifice for that
ongoing, age old enemy…sin... that could be, and remains, enduring and final, Jesus, Son of God,
mediator and Savior for all who would accept that sacrifice and meet
the terms of redemption that was given in turn for repentance.
The battle rages on. Sides must be
chosen.
The war is won already, the victor is
Christ, who overcame death and hell itself for us.
Still the battle must be fought, by each,
for themselves, and for those around them as well until that victor returns to
the field of battle to forever end the machinations of the thief that would
steal those precious souls, and may only do so with their own assistance if the
battle is not enjoined by those who stand victorious with Him.
Amen and Amen
2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)
12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
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