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For instance, you may have preached to your
non-believer parents, but they have not yet turned to the Lord.
Instead of pressing on, you start complaining. That is not the
way. Remember that God has chosen us as watchmen to spread the
gospel to all the nations, for them to know that salvation in
Christ is absolute and that it is a necessity for every soul. If
you do not preach to the dying world, you will be found guilty by
God.
The harvest is ripe. You need to reach out to
somebody and tell him or her about Jesus Christ. It could be at
your workplace where you have several unbeliever colleagues. You
work with them and lunch with them. Open your mouth and tell them
about Jesus Christ. It could be at your school where you have
unbeliever students. You must not be ashamed of spreading the
gospel in this crooked and perverse generation, otherwise Jesus
will also be ashamed of you in the presence of the Father. How
many people have you brought to the Lord since you became a
Christian?
In Genesis 4:9–10, God questioned Cain about
his brother Abel –
Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is
Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my
brother’s keeper?" And He said, "What have you done? The
voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the
ground."
The blood of your brother will be on your
hands. Where are your brothers and sisters? Where are your
parents? Where are your sons and daughters? Where are your uncles
and aunts? Where are your nieces and nephews? If their lives are
not right with the Lord, you need to tell them. Attending church
services will not save them. Whether they are attending an
Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian or any other Christian
church, it is not the church that saves them. Only Jesus Christ
can save them. Acts 4:12 states –
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there
is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be
saved.
Since you became a Christian, have you just
been going around asking God for riches, a house, a spouse or
other blessings? It is time for you to check your life. What shall
it profit you to earn the whole world and lose your soul? How many
people have you preached to? Are you simply contented just sitting
in church with your family? Have you brought anyone to the
household of the Lord? What are you doing?
Certain people have their
own motives for going to church. They may go there to make
business contacts, to find someone who will give them a job or to
meet potential marriage partners. Do not treat the church as a
place for such social gatherings. The
church is a place to
worship the Lord our God. It is not a place for you to show
yourself off, but to worship the Lord in the beauty of His
holiness. How long will you continue to deceive yourself or
others?
It is time for us to ask the Lord for His
mercy. He hears your heartbeat as much as He hears your voice. He
sees your motives as much as He sees your actions. Absolutely
nothing is hidden from Him. Check your life today. How much do you
spend on yourself and how much do you invest in building God’s
kingdom? We like to build our own empires, moving from one house
to a bigger one to another bigger one, but never care about
contributing for the expansion of God’s Kingdom.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF A WATCHMAN
Refer to Isaiah 21:6–9 –
6 For thus has
the Lord said to me: "Go, set a watchman, Let him declare
what he sees."
7 And he saw a
chariot with a pair of horsemen, a chariot of donkeys, and
a chariot of camels, and he listened earnestly with great
care.
8 Then he cried,
"A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in
the daytime; I have sat at my post every night.
9 And look, here
comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!" And he
answered and said, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all
the carved images of her gods he has broken to the
ground."
RESPONSIBILITY 1: MUST ALWAYS DECLARE WHAT HE
SEES
In verse 6, a watchman must always declare what
he sees. Do you declare what you see in the spirit?
RESPONSIBILITY 2: MUST ALWAYS LISTEN CAREFULLY
In verse 7, a watchman must always listen with
great care. You must not say what you did not hear from God. You
must listen to the Lord vigilantly, then say what you heard from
Him. If you do not listen to God carefully, you would be in
trouble.
RESPONSIBILITY 3: MUST ALWAYS CRY OUT LOUDLY
In verse 8, a watchman must always shout what
he has seen or heard, so that the people can hear him.
RESPONSIBILITY 4: MUST ALWAYS BE ON HIS GUARD
In verse 8, a watchman must stand on his guard
continually. He must always keep his eyes open for the approaching
enemy. You cannot be asleep or floating about in your own
thoughts. You need to be alert in the spirit. How many of you ask
God to open your spirit before you go to sleep? God can even take
you spiritually to someone’s home to see what is going on there
and instruct you to go comfort or rebuke them.
RESPONSIBILITY 5: MUST ALWAYS BE AT HIS POST
In verses 8-9, a watchman must be at his guard post all the
time, so that he can warn of impending danger.
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