By Ambrose.J.Chakre
I am the gate: whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. John 10:9
The gate referred to here is the gate of salvation which can be opened who accepts, obeys and follows the truth of the Word. The Church is the only institute which is ordained by God to train believers in the way of the Word. However the churches of this generation have started embracing sin and sadly some have christen it into Churches of Fashion. In the ages past, many of our churches which had been in existence stood for truth, justice and peace. The saints of the old also experienced death and humiliations at the so-called teachers of the law. This message has been put up this way to depict the harm which many of our leaders did to our churches did to our churches.
Truth is many souls had perished because of the Churches failure to fast and pray for the salvation of the church. We may find many pastors preaching but seldom will we find them crying and fasting on behalf of their churches. Whatever God assigned us with, our responsibility is to fulfill all that was assigned. Just because of an act of negligence a whole forest can be set on fire and the same is true with the spiritual security of our churches. The point is this: Just because of an individual’s failure to pray for his or her family, the whole family may perish because of the mistake of one. If the parent’s responsibility is to protect their children, then the pastor’s responsibility is to protect their churches. I predict that this sin will continue as long as our spiritual leaders remain ignorant of this warning. This sin can be done away with when we start imitating Christ.
The Word of God says “ I am the gate whoever enters through me will be saved . He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. : I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolves coming, he abandons the sheep and run away because he is a hired hand. And cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father- and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life- only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and to take it up again. The command I received from my Father (John 10:9-18).
The sad reality which confronts us is that we preach about life when there is no life in us. this trend of hypocrisy and selfishness has pushed many to the pits of destruction. Truth is, we live because Jesus died and we may die again if we fail to live by what Jesus lived for. The sheep which are entrusted to us has to be well taken care lest we be condemned because of the sin of negligence. If we care not for the sheep which are under our care, we shall ultimately be judged for what we had been. The 11th verse “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lay down his life for the sheep” is as important as what our assignment is. Unless the love of Christ dwells in us, the power of Christ will never be made complete in us. This is the moment of repentance and chances like this may not always come our way. Regardless of what our crises are, everyone needs to be saved and salvation can come to us only when we accept and obey the truths of the Word. Whatever had been taught in our churches should be followed and whatever our needs are, we should seek it. The harsh reality regarding our salvation is that, our churches will not save us, neither will our pastors. It is sad to note that inspite of knowing the way of salvation; many are yet to be saved. The scripture states “My sheep listen to my voice: I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand (John 10:27-28 ). The hour has come for us to make a decision and the choices we make will determine where we spend eternity. The Lord knows those who are His and He has promised that we shall never be put to shame. May we put to death every sin which threatens our salvation and may we live in Christ that we may be with Christ for eternity. Accept Jesus. Live for Jesus. Serve him while you can. The eternal reward you receive will be beyond your expectation. The church of Christ reaches out to you to accept Christ.
