Why We Are Where We Are Part 4 | The Fellowship of God's Covenant People

The Wake-Up Herald

Robert McCurry, Editor & Publisher

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof. Romans 13:11-14

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Robert McCurry, Editor & Publisher

February 17, 2012

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Why We Are Where We Are

Part 4

by Robert McCurry

Pastors are to be a ‘watchman on the wall’

watch n. = The act of watching; forbearance of sleep; vigil; wakeful, vigilant, or constantly observant attention; close observation; guard; preservative or preventive vigilance; formerly, a watching or guarding by night; to be attentive or vigilant; to give heed; to be on the lookout; to keep guard; to act as sentinel.

Ezekiel 3 ¹⁷Son of man, I have made thee a watchman: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

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.

^“While men slept, the enemy came’ (Matthew 13:25). The enemy is not coming, the enemy is here. We are eyewitnesses to this generation's increased ungodliness, times that eclipse the days of Sodom and Gomorrah and the days of Noah. There's never been a more crucial time for the ministry of the ‘watchman.’

Unlike the Lord’s ‘watch dog’ pastor discussed in the previous article whose watching is confined to warning the church and the families therein of approaching enemies and danger, the responsibilities of the ‘watchman on the wall’ are much greater; he is to watch and alert everyone in a large geographic area—a city, state and nation—of approaching enemies and danger.

A God-called pastor is a watchman on the wall; he is responsible to being awake and alert, ever ready to warn of approaching danger. He must have clear eyes, recognize an enemy and focused on the enemy's advances; stands at his post, poised to sound the alarm and warn the people.

From the beginning of my preaching ministry as a teenager, the hunger of my heart was to preach God’s Word without fear, favor or compromise. I wanted to be like the prophets and ^‘Cry aloud, spare not, and lift up my voice like a trumpet’; I wanted to be like the Apostle Paul and other apostles and ‘preach the Word’ and be ‘instant in season and out of season.’

When I became a pastor, I wanted our church to be a Bible-believing and Bible-practicing church. I was ecstatic when I read, “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, [one] Jesus” (Acts 17:6, 7). I believed it and wanted our church to also ‘turn the world upside down’ and to declare and practice the truth that Jesus Christ is the sole Lord and Head of His Church.

Is being a ‘watchman on the wall’ a popular vocation? No. Is being a ‘watchman on the wall’ performed by only a few? Yes. Is a truly Bible-believing, Bible practicing church possible in the present popular contemporary church world? Yes. Will such a church be understood and accepted by more than a few? No. What stance will such a church take in this increasingly government mandate environment to control all churches? Answer: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:25-29).

A pastor who neglects or refuses to sound the biblical alarm to warn of sin and its consequences betrays the Gospel. “Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel” (I Cor 9:16).

Wake-up, Pastors! Wake-up, Christians!

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The Wake-Up Herald is published by Robert McCurry. The publication is designed to exalt the true God of the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ, and inform, inspire, and challenge its readers regarding biblical truth and real-life issues. The contents are the sole responsibility of Robert McCurry and do not represent or speak for or on behalf of any other person or group. There is no subscription charge. The publication is a ministry of faith dependent on the contributions of its readers. Contributions are not tax-deductible. Send all correspondence to: Robert McCurry,605 Moore Rd, Newnan, GA 30263 or herbap@aol.com Remove? Send reply with “remove” in Subject line.

The Biggest Error of Christian America

Most ministers call Abraham a “Jew” without justification or Scriptural evidence. Preachers refer to Moses and the ancient Israelites who came out of Egypt as “Jews.” Why? It is because they are taught to do so in their colleges and seminaries (controlled by jews). The book of Exodus calls them Israelites, the House of Jacob, Hebrews, Israel, and the children of Israel. Never are any of this race called “Jews.”