|
September 2, 2004
Asleep On The Watch
I have been told that in this day and age the role of
watchman as understood in the Old Testament has been done away with,
that it is not necessary because we are not under the wrath of God but
under grace through Jesus Christ. If there are watchmen today,
I am told, they cannot be held to the same degree of accountability that
God required of Ezekiel. If there are watchmen today as described
in
Ezekiel, who are these watchmen and after examining the following
from Ezekiel 33, who would ever want to be put in this position?
Ezekiel 33
1Again
the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2Son
of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I
bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of
their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
3If
when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and
warn the people;
4Then
whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if
the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own
head.
5He
heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall
be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
6But
if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the
people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from
among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I
require at the watchman's hand.
7So
thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of
Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them
from me.
8When
I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou
dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall
die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
9Nevertheless,
if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn
from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered
thy soul.
If we look closely in chapter 20 in the book of Acts we see that the
Apostle Paul understood this mandate even as he warned the overseers in
Ephesus concerning his departure after being with them for three years.
Here is one example clearly stated:
Acts 20
26Wherefore
I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all
men.
27For
I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
28Take
heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God,
which he hath purchased with his own blood.
29For
I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in
among you, not sparing the flock.
30Also
of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw
away disciples after them.
31Therefore
watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to
warn every one night and day with tears. (also see
Acts 18:6)
One could say that this was an Apostolic
responsibility that was not passed on to us but if we look in Hebrews we
see that the overseers were exhorted by its writer to look out for the sheep, to guard
and warn them as watching over the flock:
Hebrews 13
17Obey
them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch
for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with
joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
In Mark, chapter 13, we see that
Jesus is telling us of the things to come regarding the Last Days.
He exhorts us all to be on the alert, to be watchful of the
things to come. It seems we have all been called to be in a
constant state of watchfulness in some
capacity as believers in Christ:
Mark 13
33Take
ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
34For
the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house,
and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and
commanded the porter to watch.
35Watch
ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at
even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
36Lest
coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
37And
what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
Why am I asking these questions
or why am I even concerned that anyone is at watch for the body of
Christ? As Paul states in Acts 20: 28-31, there has been through the
centuries and still continues to this day, to be many savage wolves coming
into the flock and also rising up from within to deceive and steal away
disciples after themselves. I would hope this is not a surprise to
anyone but sadly, I must report, this is probably the state of many
churches everywhere.
Just testifying of my own
experience, over the last 10 years, I have visited dozens of churches
that have had an 'open door' policy, accepting whatever doctrine or new
teaching that comes through the door. Unlike the words of Paul in Ephesians
4, about those who should be watching and equipping the saints, to bring
us to maturity, not being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine,
they in fact willingly open their sails to allow any wind to blow them
about. I have witnessed many in leadership, whether pastor, elders or
overseers who have no clue to
what has come through their doors or is about to come upon them as we look to the return of
our Lord Jesus Christ. No one is guarding the flock as the wolf moves
silently about looking for those he can devour.
As I was wondering what has
happened to those called to watch over the flocks, in whatever capacity
that they serve, I thought of a little nursery rhyme about Little Boy
Blue and how appropriate this is for today's churches:
Little Boy Blue, come blow
your horn.
The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn.
Where is the boy that looks after the sheep?
"He's under the haycock, fast asleep."
Will you wake him? "No, not I;
For if I do, he'll be sure to cry." by Mother Goose
(Emphasis mine)
Somebody please wake the
watchmen! I would rather have sadness and grief with much tears,
bringing us to repentance, than to continue to see the churches being
infiltrated and assimilated by New Age Occultism, false teaching,
heresies, philosophies of men and doctrines of demons as the watchmen
sleep.
I have written this before and it has happened again
just recently. I was asked which church I would recommend
for a new Christian to begin fellowship. As a Christian of more
than 30 years, and after visiting dozens of churches locally, I could
not think of any church where I would send this person without
knowing that they would in some way be caught up in the current trends
of deception that are sweeping through the body of Christ. This is
related to the lack of discernment being used by the leadership that are
asleep.
Steven Mitchell writes in his article
Watchman
Arise,
"Since God mentions this ministry
several times throughout the Bible with great clarity, we do well to
read, heed, and learn to be men and women with this attitude for the
church today. While we may not be under the threat of physical invasion
today, or living in literal walled fortresses, Satan and his workers
seek to destroy and lay siege to the church today through false teachers
and ungodly philosophies. He seeks to lead us into false forms of
worship and unbiblical teachings that masquerade as truth. He has
engineered and orchestrated a full-out assault on the people of God
today, complete with deceptive false ministers and non-prophets who no
longer view His Word as the primary basis for true doctrine. The church
is definitely under attack and, therefore, definitely and desperately in
need of watchmen in this age."
Most of what I have written addresses those
in leadership that are asleep or unaware of the dangers that lie in
wait. There are also churches that I have been to that the leadership is
knowingly allowing and teaching deception with little concern for the
flock thus fitting the example of Scripture from Acts 20.
Pastors, elders, overseers, shepherds and
watchmen; please heed this call to awaken and warn the flock of the dangers that
face your churches today. You are responsible and accountable if you do
not warn them! Their blood will be on your hands!
Study: Protestant Pastors Often Unfamiliar With Such
Religions As Hinduism, Buddhism, Scientology or Wicca - BP
News Staff, August 27, 2004 (Much of the steady infiltration into the
churches today through
New Age Occultism is based
in Eastern Religious practices such as Hinduism and Buddhism.)
Steve Muse, Eastern Regional Watch
Please send us any comments at:
smuse@erwm.com
|
