Word for the Day May 7
By: Evang. Cascille Hammack
"...Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it."
Col. 4:17
Many distractions war against our souls to deter the ministry the Lord has
given each of us. Each person who is born again has a place in the kingdom of God. Each one is an important
part of the body and has been called by God to fulfill the calling He has placed in them. This has nothing to do with
jobs or talents assigned to men by other men or themselves. This is a mandate that the born again believer knows within
their own spirit that the Holy Spirit of God has placed in them and has directed them to do to fulfill His ministry for
His glory. It cannot be taught or assigned by someone else. It is placed in you by the Spirit of God. If
you do not know your calling, you must first be born again, then filled with His Holy Spirit that He can direct you.
Once you have received your calling from God, many things will come to war against you. These things
come that the enemy can block the fulfillment of your calling. False brethren are among the perpetrators.
Paul puts them in the category of perils with many other sufferings, "...in perils of waters, in perils of
robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in
perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often and hunger and thirst, in fastings often,
in cold and nakedness- besides the other things, what comes upon me daily...". These false brethren are tares or
weeds sown among the wheat. Jesus said in Matthew 13:38,39, "The field is the world, and the good seed stands for
the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The
harvest is the end of the age and the harvesters are angels." He further explains, in Matthew 13:41-43, "The
Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then, the righteous
will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
For a new born again believer, pain
inflicted by a false brethren can be very difficult and try their very calling. These tares or weeds Jesus describes
are sown among the wheat and look like wheat. Without the discernment of the Holy Spirit, a new Christian can get really
hurt because they look and act like Christians on the surface, but the Word calls them false brethren and their actions prove
otherwise. They are sent by Satan to stop God's purposes.
All born again believers must pray
for discernment and not be drawn in by the subtlety of false believers. We expect to be hurt and rejected by the
world but it is particularly painful to be hurt by someone you believed to be a believer. But learn from Jesus' parable
of the wheat and the tares that not all are His. If you have been hurt, you must still persevere, knowing the One who
called you is faithful and just. He will heal you and empower you to fulfill the ministry He has placed in you.
