“My anger is hot against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;
for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
From him shall come the cornerstone,
from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler—all of them together.
They shall be like mighty men in battle,
trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight because the LORD is with them,
and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.”
Zechariah 10:3-5
Where are the mighty men ready for battle? This is a call, you are needed. Look at the state of things, we need some trampling of the foes in the mud of the streets. We need men who are not afraid of a difficult task. We need men who are willing to stand in the midst of the Sanhedrin and say, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.” Acts 7:51
This sort of man is going to face persecution. This sort of man welcomes persecution as an indicator he is doing it right. (John 15:19)
This sort of man is going to be told to “shut up”, that he’s only a troublemaker, and should go somewhere else. This sort of man will laugh at such cries of desperation knowing his directive came from God, and until God tells him otherwise he will continue on. (Amos 7:12-16)
There has been an infiltration of false teachers who have perverted the grace of God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Jude 4)
Remember the warnings:
“But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.’ It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.” Jude 17–19
“Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.” 2 Peter 3:3
“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” 2 Peter 2:1–3
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Matthew 7:15
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” 2 Timothy 3:1–5
But for you:
“Fight the good fight of the faith.” 1 Timothy 6:12
“By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” 2 Timothy 1:14
“But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” Hebrews 10:39
“So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:26–27
This is meant to stir you up by way of reminder. Now days we have weak men ready to retreat when they accidentally offend someone. We need men who know the truth, aren’t afraid to speak that truth, and will do it in the grace of God.
Jesus came full of grace and truth (John 1:14). He called the Pharisees a “brood of vipers” (Matthew 12:34; 23:33), “whitewashed tombs” (Matthew 23:27), told them their father was the devil (John 8:44), and flipped tables while whipping the money-changers (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-47; John 2:14-16). He also received the little children (Matthew 19:14), protected the woman caught in adultery while calling her to sin no more (John 8:7-11), and had mercy on us (Luke 17:12-14).
I leave you with this charge:
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:1–5
WORD UP 