Tag Archives: Sacrificial Lamb

The True Holy Week

22 Tuesday Mar 2016

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The Real Holy Week

 

It is scary how so many professed Christians think God’s Holy Week is from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday—with a Good Friday thrown in there. That week is not holy to God, because He never establishes any week that consists of a Good Friday and an Easter Sunday.

The week that begins with God’s beloved Son entering Jerusalem—riding on a donkey—is indeed a holy week, even though the palm branches do NOT symbolize victory, or peace, or love. Ironically, those palm branches symbolize Jewish nationalism—a desire for political freedom. The only problem with desiring this political freedom at that time is that Christ does not come as the Jewish people’s long-awaited King who is to deliver them from the Romans. Christ comes as the Lamb who takes away the sins of the entire world—the sins of Hebrews and Gentiles.

Now the biblical truth is that it is Palm Sunday to First Fruits that creates the holy week. This week is holy because of the Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits or Resurrection Day. These holidays or feast days and the holy convocations or Holy Days are God’s appointed feasts and Holy Days He says have to be observed forever.

God’s appointed feast days are the reasons why, for the Jewish people, there are no such days as a Good Friday and Easter Sunday. In fact, neither Good Friday nor Easter Sunday is found in the Scriptures. Emperor Constantine and his bishops are the creators of Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday holidays. Erasing the Jewish feast days and customs off the Church calendar is the main reason for these man-made holidays.

God’s true Holy Week goes like this: The Lord enters Jerusalem on the day that we call Palm Sunday, dies as the sacrificial Lamb on Passover, and is in the grave the first three days and three nights of the Unleavened Bread Feast. He arises on Feast of First Fruits, which is the first day of the week, after the regular weekly Sabbath. Shalom.

“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the Lord’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. But you shall present a food offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.” ~ Lev. 23:5-8

Keep it real…Live it out…Watch it work!

 

~ a devotion from my book – Keeping It Real: Daily Renewing the Mind

 

NOTE: The holiday of Pesach, or Passover, falls on the Hebrew calendar dates of Nissan 15-22. Passover 2016 actually begins at sunset on Nissan 14. Gentiles’ coinciding secular dates for Passover Week (Holy Week) 2016 are as follows:

April 22-30

Passover Week or Holy Week actually has three sacred Feasts in it: Passover day (when Christ was crucified), days of Unleavened Bread (the first day is when Christ was buried), and the day of First Fruits (or Resurrection Sunday, when Christ arose).

[All I can do is share the truth with people who say they are believers in Christ. The rest is up to them—that is—whether or not they want to believe the truth and act accordingly. Selah!]

God’s Holy Convocations

21 Monday Jul 2014

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Convocations Are Dress Rehearsals

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.  Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.’ ~ Leviticus 23:1-3, NKJV

These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. ~ Leviticus 23:4, NKJV

 

o   Feasts of God: Passover, Unleavened Bread, Feast of Firstfruits (the first Sunday after Nisan 15th), Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles ~ see Leviticus 23:4-44, NKJV

 

 

 

In some English translations of the Holy Bible (e.g., AKJV; ASV; DARBY; EXB; JUB; KJ21; KJV; NKJV, WEB; YLT), the Hebrew word miqra (pronounced mik – raw) is translated as convocation, but miqra also means a dress rehearsal.  So, it is funny how so many of today’s professed Christians believe that their life is NOT a perpetual dress rehearsal, when it most definitely is, and God confirms this very Divine Truth through His commanded and ordained Feasts and Holy Convocations. For sure, the life genuine Christians are living now is one continuous dress rehearsal—a concentrated practice in preparation for the life they will live with their Bridegroom (Jesus Christ) and Father God!

Miqra, as it is used in the Old Testament, almost always is in the context of the Sabbath and the Feasts of God. Miqra also predominately is used in the context of God’s moed, which means appointed time. Moreover, in the above listed English translations, in every one of the Old Testament verses in which the English word convocation is mentioned, the main theme is “dress rehearsal”—the act of practicing in preparation for the main event; or the act of practicing for the real thing; or the act of re-hearing what has been taught. The verses which mention convocation and/or feast are, in chronological order: Exodus 12:16; Leviticus 23:1-4, 7, 8, 21, 24, 27, 34-37; Numbers 28:17-18, 25-26; and Numbers 29:1, 7, 12.  In all of these verses, the future main events being rehearsed are Jesus Christ’s first and second comings, as well as His life and ministry.

For years after Moses first received God’s Law (The Torah), God’s chosen Jewish people gathered together (assembled) during God’s appointed times (Feasts) to participate in God’s Holy Convocations (holy rehearsals), by practicing (rehearsing) God’s Law, which Moses and the Aaronic priesthood first taught. God’s Law provides instructions not only on how to become a future priest in the Kingdom of God (how to be in the “right” place, at the “right” time, wearing the “right” or righteous clothing, and doing the “right” or holy and righteous things), but also the Law of God provides instructions on how to teach His Law to future generations.

So then, it is in The Torah that God Himself scheduled appointments (Feast Days) according to His Holy Calendar, and these planned appointments are all about future events the omniscient God foreknows will happen.  That’s why the Law of God requires that during these set appointments (Feast Days) Father God’s chosen people are to participate in thoroughgoing dress rehearsals (convocations), which are times of learning, teaching, as well as times to perform God’s dramatic overall Redemptive Plan and His Prophetic Plan, in preparation of these main events.  The dress rehearsals, thus, are really visual aids (revealed pictures) that help God’s people “see” the complete image of the coming Messiah and His Life and Ministry—the same complete picture, which the Word of God and His Holy Spirit have revealed to and then formed in the spirits of every born again, saved, justified, and being sanctified follower of Christ. That complete picture is of the true Messiah who is Jesus Christ.

For the above-stated reasons, Father God primarily made His seven major Feasts (appointed times) and His Holy Convocations (holy dress rehearsals) His teaching tool—a teaching tool God gave first to His chosen Jewish people and then to His believing Gentiles. Moreover, as a teaching tool, these seven major Feasts of God and His Holy Convocations intentionally have been meant to prepare ALL of His sons and daughters (Jews and Gentiles) for the celebration of the Feasts’ fulfillments.

Of the seven major Feasts of God, the four Spring Feasts were fulfilled with the first coming of Jesus Christ, who came as the sacrificial Lamb:

  • 1. The obedient Jesus Christ died on the Feast of Passover, completing the biblical picture of the slaughtered Passover Lamb.
  • 2.  The crucified Jesus Christ was then buried on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, completing the biblical picture of true holiness, purity, and sinlessness. Unleavened bread represents Jesus Christ, who is the only human worthy to be sacrificed as the Lamb that is without spot or blemish.
  • 3. The buried Jesus Christ arose from the grave (was resurrected) on the Feast of First Fruits, completing the biblical picture of the firstfruits of the barley harvest offered before God on the first day of the week that came after Nisan 15 (Unleavened Bread). Thus, the risen Jesus Christ became the firstfruits’ wave offering presented before God—the firstfruits of the larger Harvest of souls yet to come.
  • 4. The resurrected Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven 10 days before the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, completing the biblical picture of God pouring out His Holy Spirit, who personifies Father God’s long anticipated New Covenant given to all who believe in Jesus Christ. Ironically, God began His New Covenant with believers in Christ on the same Feast Day that Jewish people were commanded to gather in Jerusalem to reiterate their commitment to the covenant of Moses.

The last three Fall Feasts (Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles) are the Feast Days that represent the conclusion to God’s Sovereign Redemptive Plan and His Prophetic Plan. They will be fulfilled with the second coming of Jesus Christ, who will come as the conquering Lion. At His second bodily return, Jesus Christ will pour out the wrath of God upon this Earth and upon all of the people who will be living on this Earth who have rejected Father God’s Salvation Plan, His Son (Jesus Christ), His Grace, His Mercy, and His Love.

Since Jesus Christ not only celebrated God’s seven major Feasts but also lived as the consummate spiritual reality of these Feast Days, and since every fulfilled major dress rehearsal event in His life happened on these Feast Days, wouldn’t these truths mean that it is important for all followers of Christ (Jews and Gentiles) to know and understand the significance and richness of what God’s scheduled appointments and His planned Holy Convocations mean to them? After all, the Divine Truth is that the Holy Bible’s Holy Convocations (holy dress rehearsals) and seven major Feasts (appointed times) are God’s Holy Convocations and God’s Feast Days—not Jewish convocations and Jewish feasts for only Jewish people, BUT convocations and feasts for any and everybody who belongs to the Lord, Jesus Christ. Now, although God neither commands Jewish nor Gentile followers of Christ (a.k.a., Christians) to celebrate these Holy Convocations and Feast Days; that is to say, there is NO New Testament Law that says believers in Christ are obligated to observe them, it is evident that God does want all believers in Christ to understand their spiritual and prophetic meanings.

Lastly, God says:

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children. ~ Hosea 4:6, NKJV

While this above Scripture does not apply to New Testament believers in Christ who are saved by Grace, primarily because God’s Love for them, His Son’s Redemption of them, God’s Grace in them, and God’s covenant with them have guaranteed them that they will not experience everlasting destruction, their lives still can be temporarily destroyed. Then too, even though at times believers can be just as ignorant about God’s Ways and His Divine Truths, as are unsaved, unbelieving, and doubting men and women, still because believers in Christ are saved by Grace they also cannot want for knowledge.  For sure, it is God’s Perfect Will that His Holy Spirit inside believers in Christ would bring ALL saved individuals to the knowledge of God’s Ways and His Divine Truths, as well as bring ALL believers in Christ to the knowledge of ALL Spiritual Treasures, and yet there are way too many believers who still remain ignorant about the knowledge of God’s Ways, Truths, and Spiritual Treasures.

For these reasons, no one who professes to be a Christian should continue to be ignorant about and/or unresponsive to the Holy Spirit’s teachings and leadings concerning God’s Holy Convocations and His seven major Feasts. Without doubt, God’s Holy Convocations (dress rehearsals) and His seven major Feasts (appointed times) contain valuable information about the Bride of Christ’s dress rehearsals for these future events—the Rapture of the Bride (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), the Bride and Bridegroom’s consummation of their marriage vows (cf. Isaiah 26:20, Matthew 25:10, John 14:2-3), and the Bride’s place at the Wedding Table during the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (cf. Revelation 19:7-10).

A word to the wise should be sufficient. Shalom . . . . 

CLOWNS Are Entertaining GOATS

20 Friday Sep 2013

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The Church Clown

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. ~ 2 Timothy 4:3-4, ESV

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. ~ Matthew 25:41-46, ESV

 

At the end of the Lord’s Olivet Discourse is the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, which is a short and simple narrative in which the Lord metaphorically compares two kinds of people. Now, while there are different interpretations of this parable, many believers’ interpretation, this blogger included, is that the Parable of the Sheep and Goats is about Jesus Christ’s prophesied second bodily return at the end of the Great Tribulation and about Him judging the nations of surviving humans (the prophesied Day of Judgment). In other words, this parable is not about any Rapture, as it is very clear that the setting of this event is at the beginning of the millennium, which starts sometime after the seven year Tribulation Period has ended.  

Matthew writes:

Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ~ Matthew 25:32-33, ESV

Now, while Christ Jesus died for both the sheep and the goats (being sheep’s Sacrificial Lamb and goats’ Scapegoat), unfortunately it’s the goats who never choose Him as their Lord and Savior—neither prior to the Tribulation Period nor during it. What’s more, the literal goats have characteristics that are bad for the literal sheep, and thus bad for the metaphorical sheep as well. For example, goats are unreliable, reckless, devious, and antagonistic. Goats also have a stubborn streak. The bottom line then is neither the literal nor the metaphysical goats are very good followers, as they either prefer being the leader or the loner. Then too, because of both goats’ independent nature, they often find themselves in contention with the Shepherd for leadership of the flock, and they often lead some sheep astray.

These abovementioned literal goat characteristics in the metaphorical goats and the metaphorical goats’ unregenerate hearts make it clear why the Good Shepherd (Christ Jesus), in the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, separates His saved sheep from the lost goats. For one, like the literal goats, these end-time goats who survived the Tribulation Period will create disunity, and secondly, as already mentioned, they often are in contention with the Shepherd for leadership of the flock. Furthermore, while the metaphorical goats certainly are capable of performing acts of kindness and love, the Lord knows whether or not those acts of kindness and love were done or not done for the right reasons. Put differently, apparently the goats in the parable are rejected primarily because their hearts (spirits) were not right with God.

According to what Christ Jesus says in the parable, the kind and loving acts believers in Christ performed were the Fruit of the Holy Spirit (were the deeds of mercy that spring from true Faith in Christ Jesus and Father God). In other words, the works saved sheep did, without doubt, demonstrated the reality of the conversion that took place in their hearts (in their born again spirits). On the other hand, the kind and loving acts unbelievers like the goats might have done were not the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, because the goats neither had a relationship with the Good Shepherd nor with Father God. For this reason, the Lord judges their deeds as those that were not done for the right purpose—were not done to honor and glorify Father God.

Spiritually speaking, because these serious goat characteristics are noticeable in the current institutional “church,” it is safe to say that presently there are countless goats sitting on numerous pews. Indeed, the above PreachTheGospel.org picture and the Spurgeon quotation in that picture absolutely point out the condition of modern-day “churchgoers,” especially those “church” members whose spiritual leaders have substituted true evangelism with evangelistic windows, which say: Come inside and check out “our” church! Come see how we worship! If it isn’t the evangelistic windows advertising this 21st-century brand of evangelism, then it is today’s “churches” announcing in their newspaper ads who will be preaching on a given Sunday, or today’s “churchgoers” promoting their “churches,” as they hand out Gospel tracts.

Whatever the case might me, what’s most important to mention here is that it is amazing how dead right Spurgeon’s quotation is! For example, just the other day this blogger read online that someone saw an ad in a newspaper in which a “church” was advertising that a “clown” would be giving Sunday’s morning message. Evangelicalism, at least the kind that used to stress the importance of unbelievers obtaining the God kind of Faith that leads to a regenerate heart (spirit) and salvation, apparently no longer is the focus of some pulpit pastors or “their” congregations.

This century’s pulpit pastors seem to be more concerned with preaching to entertaining the crowds they’ve attracted with their watered down and often politically correct “feel good” psychobabble sermons or lighthearted purely amusing messages than they are concerned about preaching the unadulterated Gospel’s Truths. The problem here is that this definitely is not the time for dancing, singing, ball juggling, and/or joke-telling pulpit clowns. The goats’ eternal lives are at risk!

For this last reason, this is the time for brave born again, saved, and filled with the Holy Spirit sagacious men and women to preach the tough messages on salvation, eternal life, discipleship, grace, holiness, righteousness, Holy Spirit’s ministries, adultery, fornication, pornography, homosexuality, abortion, apostasy, divorce, and so forth. Pulpit clowns won’t give these difficult messages the soberness, tough love treatment, and/or spiritual nutrition they need.

Finally, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is indeed the answer to all of this world’s ills. Furthermore, Jesus Christ is the ONLY Way any surviving Tribulation goats ever will be able to avoid being told to move to the Lord’s left. That’s why today’s men and women in the Lord’s ministry must preach the Gospel NOW and preach it without making clownlike concessions! A word to the wise should be sufficient.

Have You Really Been “Called”?

16 Sunday May 2010

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Has God Called You

Christians have misused the words “called” and “calling” so much that today it often is difficult to understand to whom exactly believers have been “called,” and it is difficult to understand just what people actually mean when they refer to their “calling.” Even though from century to century mankind has continued to change God’s meanings for “called” and “calling,” the Holy Bible faithfully provides much wisdom and understanding about what God means when these terms are used. Indeed, in God’s economy, the “called” and “calling” still mean the same thing today.

For example, in the Old Testament, “called” refers to a summons or a request for someone’s attention. “Called” in the Old Testament also refers to naming something or someone, and to speaking something into existence.

In the New Testament, “called” is synonymous with salvation, because the Greek word ecclesia, which wrongly is translated into English as “church,” refers to the “called out ones.” “Called” in the New Testament also refers to various roles, responsibilities, values, attitudes, positions, and places. Even though these spiritual “callings” could involve a career (a trained profession or occupation … livelihood), or a job (work that is done out of necessity), the truth is that a person’s vocation and work do not fit the biblical meaning of a spiritual “calling” (cf. Romans 1:1, 6, 7; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2, 9, 24, 26; 1 Corinthians 7:17, 20-21, 24; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 1:18; Colossians 3:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:14; 1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 1:9; Hebrews 5:4; 1 Peter 2:9, 21; 1 Peter 3:9; and 1 Peter 5:10, KJV).

Furthermore, in the King James Version of the New Testament, the English word “called” = klhtovß in the Greek, and this Greek word is transliterated as Kletos, which, according to Strong’s Number 2822, means: “called, invited (to a banquet); invited (by God in the proclamation of the Gospel) to obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom through Christ; called to (the discharge of) some office; and divinely selected and appointed.” According to Strong’s Concordance with Hebrew and Greek Lexicon, this “called,” with its denotations and connotations, is found in Matthew 20:16, 22:14; Romans 1:1, 6-7, and 8:28; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2, and 24; Jude 1:1; and Revelation 17:14.

Also, in the King James Version of the New Testament, the English word “called” = kalevw in the Greek, and this Greek word is transliterated as Kaleo, which, according to Strong’s Number 2564, means: “to call; to call aloud, utter in a loud voice; to invite; to call, i.e. to name, by name; to give a name to; to receive the name of, receive as a name; to give some name to one, call his name; to be called, i.e. to bear a name or title (among men); and to salute one by name.” According to Strong’s Concordance with Hebrew and Greek Lexicon, this “called,” with its denotations and connotations, is found 138 times in the New Testament: 25 times in Matthew; 3 times in Mark; 39 times in Luke; 3 times in John; 16 times in Acts; 7 times in Romans; 10 times in 1 Corinthians; 4 times in Galatians; 2 times in Ephesians; 1 time in Colossians; 3 times in 1 Thessalonians; 1 time in 2 Thessalonians; 1 time in 1 Timothy; 1 time in 2 Timothy; 6 times in Hebrews; 1 time in James; 6 times in 1 Peter; 1 time in 2 Peter; 1 time in 1 John, and 7 times in Revelation.

This aforementioned information supports this biblical truth, which is the people in the Holy Bible who are “called” or who have a “calling” are: (1) responding to God who FIRST has “called” (summoned) them TO Himself so that they, through God’s Grace, the power of His Holy Spirit, and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus the Christ, could be regenerated (born again/restored), saved, reconciled, and justified. God calls them to come out of darkness and into His Son’s marvelous Light so that they can have a personal relationship and communion with God; and (2) responding to God who has “called” (summoned) them FOR Himself. God calls them to work in the Lord’s vineyards while they live out their God-appointed roles, responsibilities, values, attitudes, and positions in the places Father God wants them to live.

This spiritual “calling” (the receiving of God’s summons or directive to live life entirely to His Glory) means that believers FIRST MUST surrender to Jesus the Christ’s Lordship and Leadership while, simultaneously, purposing in their own hearts that they will live the God-kind of Christian lifestyle that allows God to use them to His Glory as they serve Him in the Army of the Lord. In other words, human beings mainly are spiritually “called” TO God, and secondly they are spiritually “called” FOR God’s Glory, the latter of which is accomplished when believers recognize, understand, and participate in their secondary callings.

The primary spiritual “calling” pertains to the Caller (God) summoning the “called” (believers) TO Him. The secondary or specific spiritual “callings” refer to EVERYTHING the “called” do in response to that primary calling—everything they do for the Lord in response to being “called” into a relationship and communion with God.

The bottom line is this: A spiritual “calling” is not a vocation … is not a livelihood! Therefore, no one can choose to become a pastor, prophet, apostle, evangelist, Bible teacher, and so forth! That’s right. Even though numerous people have chosen, and continue to choose, to attend a Bible College, Divinity School, or Theological Seminary, to earn degrees in various religious studies so that they can make a good living off of serving the Lord, according to the Holy Bible, pastor, apostle, prophet, evangelist, Bible teacher, and so on, are NOT vocations … they are NOT CAREERS, but rather they are special spiritual gifts!

Now, while a person might train to be a lawyer, doctor, teacher, school administrator, Army general, firefighter, police officer, life coach, and so on, and while God certainly can provide justice through the courts; healing through surgery and medicine; teaching through educators, trainers, and self-help gurus; protection through the government, military, and police forces; and so forth, biblically speaking, being “called” and having a “calling” pertain ONLY to the Caller deciding that purpose for which He uniquely creates the “called,” which is to glorify ONLY Him! In other words, from before the foundation of the world, the Caller chose the roles, responsibilities, values, attitudes, and positions for the “called out ones,” and He chose the places (where) He wanted them to put into practice their predestined roles, responsibilities, values, attitudes, and positions.

It does not matter to God if a believer has trained for a career in business, law, medicine, or whatever, because biblically speaking EVERY believer is “called” to be an evangelist! Moreover, many of Jesus the Christ’s believers, even those who might hold various academic degrees, are “called” to function in multiple spiritual positions, for example, as prophet, teacher, and evangelist; or as pastor, apostle, evangelist; and so forth.

Please note here that Jesus the Christ’s vocation, no doubt, was that of a carpenter, and He, no doubt, also knew much about fishing. However, these vocations were not what God had “called” the Lord to do—these vocations were not Jesus the Christ’s spiritual “callings.” God “called” the Lord to be the Sacrificial Lamb who would take away the sins of the entire world. He “called” the Lord to be the One who would die on the Cross so that He would become the First Fruit of the risen dead and the resurrected Savior of the world. Likewise, every believer has specific “callings” that God has predestined for him or her.

For this last reason, no church’s governing body, or boards, or authorized individuals should be entirely responsible for choosing who will pastor their church, or who will lead worship services, or who will teach Sunday school, etcetera. These are spiritual decisions, and they should be spiritually discerned through the Holy Spirit’s leading and prompting. In other words, these are theocratic selections and not democratic elections.

Along these lines, Jesus the Christ confirms that the selecting (choosing) of those who will plant the Gospel seeds that He has planted in them is a theocratic selection rather than a democratic election. Christ Himself speaks in John 15:16, saying:

You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], He may give it to you. (Amplified Bible)

Therefore, if a person truly has been summoned by God to accept His Son so that he or she can receive the gifts of salvation and eternal life, and if this same individual truly has been spiritually summoned by God not only to trust Him and His Word but also to follow His Son as he or she serves in the Army of the Lord, then this person must continue to press “…forward to the mark, even the reward of the high purpose of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14, BBE). Moreover, just as the Lord Jesus lived an unselfish and sacrificial life, unselfishness and sacrifice also must be the benchmarks of every “called” Christian’s life.

Certainly, just as a ready and willing Jesus the Christ left His home in Heaven for the “calling” He had to fulfill on Earth (left that which was familiar for that which was unfamiliar), every believer must be ready and willing to step out of his or her comfort zone and face the unknown. In spite of what a soldier in the Army of the Lord fears, and in spite of how unconfident and inadequate he or she might feel about what God has “called” him or her to do FOR Him, this Christian soldier must remember that God is the One doing the summoning.

Ultimately, every Christian soldier not only must trust and obey the Commanding Officer, who is Jesus the Christ, but also every Christian soldier must obey the Caller’s established Code of Conduct, which is the Holy Bible. The Caller also has given every Christian soldier some weapons of warfare: faith, prayer, and a two-edged sword. Lastly, the Caller has given every Christian soldier the Holy Spirit, and He is the One who is teaching the Lord’s spiritual warriors how to accept with joy the reality of a “called” life. That reality is Christian soldiers will be trained by experience, tried by adversity, and tested by fire!

 

For more information about “called” and the ecclesia, check out my blog entries: Being “Called” into God’s Ministry Is a Theocratic Selection and Not a Democratic Election and Church is the Globally Recognized Spiritual Body of Christ