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Mustard Seed May/June 2006
Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
Mustard Seed - May/June 2006
When I was a young boy, I remember seeing a movie about the French Foreign Legion. The main theme of the movie centered on the ‘tough as nails’ fort commander and a group of new recruits. Of course there were flashbacks on some of the recruits as to why they had joined the service in the first place. There was a scene, in the movie that stood out for me.
In the movie the commander and his instructors have been rigorously training the new recruits, literally breaking the old habits of being civilians. Now they are being trained to military life. After a few weeks of intense training the commander takes the new recruits to a training area of what appears to be nothing but rolling hills, it’s very serene scene.
As they reach the area, the commander is saying something to the effect of ‘you men think you’re pretty good now”. He then says let’s see how good you really are, listening only to my voice let’s see how well you follow instructions - blindfolded’. The commander puts blindfolds on them and tells them how easy it is to do something when you can see what it is you’re doing. The commander shouts out ‘attention”, “right turn”, “forward march”; they march for a bit then suddenly they hear; “left turn”, “forward march”; again they march for a distance. And they hear a new command; “left turn”, “forward march”; As you can imagine another command; “left turn”, “forward march”, “company halt” in essence the commander had them march in a large square on rugged terrain with the wind blowing and nothing but his voice to guide them; they did it with incredible precision.
Remember these men are still blindfolded and are still at ‘attention’. The commander walks up behind one of the recruits and removes the blindfold. The expression on the recruits face said it all, the safe rolling hills gave way to a valley below. These men were now standing just inches from the edge of a cliff that was some 200 feet above the valley. If any one of these men had not obeyed the voice of the commander they would have plummeted to certain death.
Aren’t you and I much like the recruits in the movie? Were we not once “civilians” in the world? Didn’t we join the “foreign legion” of GOD? Aren’t you and I being trained in the ways of God?
I have another question to ask, are you and I truly listening to the voice of GOD the Father and of His only begotten son, the Lord Jesus Christ? I ask this question because a friend of mine made a comment concerning Matthew 24:24-27 where many “false Christs and false prophets, show great signs and wonders”. My friend said, “I just hope I’ll be able to distinguish the right voice when Christ returns”. That sounds good and well, however, I have to ask if we are not willing to obey the written voice of GOD (The Holy Scriptures) how can we expect to know the difference.?
For instance, the bible teaches (John 14:15) “If ye love me, keep my commandments”, yet most “Christian” churches say “no need to they’ve been done away with”. The bible teaches (Ex. 20:8) “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”. Most ‘teachers’ say, “that it was only for the Jews, and no one else”. And what about the Holy Days of the Lord, the bible says, (Lev 23:2) “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts”. some very well know “organizations” say, “that it was just ceremonial and ritualistic, Christ did away with those, we don’t need to observe them anymore”.
A close study on each of these subjects would reveal the falsehood of those that speak contrary to the scriptures! It’s amazing how GOD gives us a warning about not obeying HIS voice in (Mat 15:14) “they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch”.
From Genesis to Revelation you will find many scriptures that tell us to “obey my voice”; “hear my voice”; “hearken to my voice”; here are some examples (Ex.19:5) “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:” Also in (Jer 11:4) “Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:”
Read what GOD says about true obedient believers in (1John 3:1)”Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not”. As the children of God doesn’t that put us under a greater responsibility and accountability in obeying? (Ex. 20:12) “ Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee”.
The written word of GOD (The bible) is the voice of the Lord today, if we don’t or won’t follow the word we will be facing certain “death”. Especially to those who have read it, and know what it says, but prefer to follow none biblical doctrines.
As we see the Feast of Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) approaching and we ponder all the meaning it had in the past, what it means for us today, and what it will mean in the future. We need to ask ourselves, am I truly hearing and obeying his voice? Jesus spoke this parable (I John 10:3-5) “the sheep
hears his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out---for they know his voice—a stranger they will not follow.
What greater “honor” could you and I give to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ? We need to “hearken to” and “obey” the Word of God as it is written in the Holy Scriptures… (Jer 7:23) “But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you”..
-Joel Maldonado
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