Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. Men are by their very nature
religious creatures. All societies, cultures, and
nationalities have one or more religions that they keep. When
the children of Israel left Egypt and its pagan gods and began
their circuitous journey to the land of Canaan, they encountered
many different tribes and nations. Throughout the history of the
Israelites recorded in the Old Testament, they were hindered
in the worship of the true God by practices copied from these
pagan cultures. They often sought to worship
the one true God by using practices borrowed from those man-made
religions. Sadly, this behavior has been
repeated in the life of the church throughout history, even to the
present day. Paul warned the Ephesian elders,
for I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves
enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves
shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples
after them. It was only a few years before
these things came to pass. The predominant churches of our
day bear little, if any, resemblance to the churches of the New Testament.
Entertainment and education have for the most part supplanted
true worship and Holy Ghost enlightenment. This can be seen most clearly
in the establishment of a class of men commonly called the clergy. Ministry today is defined as
a profession which one decides to enter. Ministry, however,
is not a profession for a certain few, but is the work which all
of God's children are called to do for the benefit of the
body of Christ. And he gave some apostles, and
some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
for the perfecting of the saints for or unto the work of the ministry,
for or unto the edifying of the body of Christ. Not all of God's
children are given teaching gifts, but all of them are called to
the ministry. As we study the Word of God,
we find that those who are apostles, prophets, teachers, etc. are
so because of gifts and calling given to them rather than something
they learned somewhere or some position of esteem that has been
bestowed upon them. This is not something one looks
at at a job fair and says, oh, I think I'd like to try that.
This calling cannot be escaped, as Jeremiah testified. Paul said
the same thing, for though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to
glory of, for necessity is laid upon me. Yea, woe is unto me
if I preach not the gospel. There is no honor attached to
the one who preaches, only to the message which is preached.
If a man can live without preaching, then he does not have this calling
that Paul speaks about. God lays this burden upon whom
he will, and no man can silence that nor overturn it. And how
shall they hear without a preacher, and how shall they preach except
they be sent? It is requisite upon all of God's
people to fit themselves as best as they can to whatever task
as He has called them unto. But it is impossible that a man
can by his own study or by the instruction of others prepare
himself to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. He can't even
know where he ought to go except that the Lord sends him there.
Philip knew nothing of the Ethiopian eunuch's desire to understand
the Scripture, nor did he have any idea where he was. Yet the
Lord sent him to the right place at the right time with the right
message. Was this a coincidence? While it is necessary that those
who are thus called should be serious students of the Scriptures,
they must also be given to prayer, knowing that except the Lord
build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Except the
Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. They also
need to know that God can and does use ignorant and unlearned
men just as ably as he does those who sat at the feet of Gamaliel.
Because a man is sent from time to time with a message does not
mean that every time he opens his mouth he has been sent. God
is able to shut the same mouth that he is able to open. Lest
a man be lifted up with pride and think that the power of his
message is in his eloquence and not the Holy Ghost. And my speech
and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom,
but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith
should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Do you rejoice in nothing but
the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified? Or are you
enamored with men with smooth words and exciting music? Such things are often a delusion.
Christ is all. For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.