Let no soul cry out...the Wayfarer 6/14/13

“Let no soul cry out”
 6/14/13

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

(Matthew 28:18-20)

I opened today’s dissertation with what has come to be most commonly called the Great Commission.   It is, in and of itself, one of the most important of the commands passed to us by our Savior.

At the end of my active military career, I found myself stationed at a training post, one dedicated to preparing young civilians to be soldiers for our nation. This was another one of many jobs given me over the years, by those more knowledgeable and in positions of responsibility far greater than those I ever filled that given a choice I would have probably avoided.

During my in briefing, on arrival at my new duty post, I was taken to a conference/class room, with a large number of other NCOs, that was dominated by a mural on the wall, with a painting of a modern battlefield and a motto painted below it that read "Let no man’s soul cry out for a lack of training."

The mural, and its motto, impressed me with the importance of the job I was about to embark on. That job was to give these young people the skills needed to stay alive in the direst, most stressful of situations that could ever be imagined. I was to try them, stress them, listen to their needs, lead and guide each step of their endeavor to meet the required standards to be a part of a professional and successful Army.

My most important function, put simply was to train them in such a way that they could have no call to cry out at the end of a life in that service for a lack of having been taught, but, instead, the ability to remain alive and continue that service.

In many ways , this was a requirement to train people who, in the execution of the chosen job, were merely infants, and just as a parent it was my job to:

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it,”

(Proverbs 22:6)

With the proper training, and care, the young civilians entrusted to my care became functional soldiers capable of defending themselves and each other, as should children, who, when properly trained will be able to defend themselves against the evils and lack of morals to be found in the world they inhabit.

As a minister, and more particularly as a pastor, I am constantly aware of the responsibility that attaches itself to this calling, another that I never would have chosen for myself, but have been asked to do as well, not by any man, but by the God I worship, a far greater authority than those who chose those other duties for me.

This particular job comes with many joyous occasions. It also comes with those of sorrow. It comes with good guidance, always available, through the best of training manuals ever written, (our bible), as well as extensive prayer. It also comes with demands that are, at times sorely tiring and trying.  I often find myself in situations that will call for counseling someone else in areas that I personally have met with failure. Often those failures point out what is required to resolve the problem at hand.

Of all the responsibilities that come with the title, “pastor”, the greatest of all responsibilities required of me, reverts back to training.

This is a responsibility, taken most seriously, in a world where all I teach and preach is so often misunderstood, demeaned and ignored by those most in need of the things I attempt to impart.

Just as in my previous career, I rely, at times, on personal experience. Also as in my previous career, I am called upon to rely on the doctrine of this particular battlefield.

As, I sometimes found in that previous career, dogma has replaced sound doctrine and must be carefully weighed in the assessment of every situation. 

 The only means to weigh the differences, is to carefully and consciously go back to the manual given me, and weed out those additions or subtractions that could nullify the intent of what is being taught.

 This is done through prayer, study, and agonizing over each and every point that is given me through that manual, and passing on, to the absolute best of my ability to communicate, the importance and relevance of those points to all those I have been given.

Sitting here working on this particular sermon, I found my eyes wandering to the book and chapter immediately following the opening scripture.

The verses that immediately caught my attention were as follows:

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the gospel.”

(Mark 1: 14&15)

The most important and the most necessary portion of this job, with all its awesome responsibility, reward, and various demands, is to simply proclaim to all, this same message spoken by Jesus himself.

The time is indeed fulfilled…. We draw ever closer to the conclusion of all the prophecy that has been given us throughout the history, and time, since it was first given us.

The demand remains the same, to make Known the need for repentance and belief in the gospel teachings of Christ Jesus BEFORE THAT CONCLUSION ARRIVES, whether it is the death of a single individual, or the end of a nation, the end of a society or civilization, or the final and eventual end that must inevitably come to this ball of dirt we have been privileged to occupy.

I close with the words, not of the opening scripture, but with those of the title.

“Let no man’s soul cry out for a lack of training”

I leave you, once again, with the ongoing love of this particular poor sinner saved  by grace, a soldier in the service of our Lord, though often not as effectual or useful a tool of that Lord as I would be, but secure in the absolute knowledge of my own salvation through Him, praying that others also heed His words:

Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

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.

the Wayfarer