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Topic: First Day of School (06/28/04)
TITLE: The Voice of His Word By Rosalind Morris 07/05/04 |
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After worship, Copra, the instructor, tapped me on the shoulder.
“You’re to report to protector training class. Follow me.”
“Yes, sir. I’m looking forward to receiving my first assignment. It must be great to be down there working for the Lord, ministering to the Saints.”
“Ah, that new angel zeal.” He regarded me with a bemused smile and added, “You have much to learn.”
I nodded respectfully and fell in line behind the instructor. As we moved along, others joined in behind me as the seasoned general led us to the training center. I entered the room with three rows of tables, two tables in each row, and took a seat on the front row. As the others took their seats, light talking filled the room. I noticed little of the conversations as I concentrated on my own fanciful expectations. With all the seats occupied, Copra cleared his throat and silenced the chatter.
“You are here today because the Lord created you for the specific purpose of protecting and ministering to one of the heirs of salvation. Like most new angles, you have likely come here with fine and noble expectations and are likely going to find your job, though clearly rewarding, to be different than you have supposed.”
“What is your duty?” I knew the answer and would have uttered it had Copra chose to pause. His voice becoming animated and youthful, he mocked me with my unspoken answer. “Most of you would say to protect and minister to the heirs of salvation, of course. After all, you said it yourself. God created us for that very purpose.” I nodded. “There is a difference between your purpose and your duty, angels. Watch these scenes and discern the distinction.”
On the screen behind Copra, the scenes unfolded in rapid succession. Three different scenarios of men and their angels flowed before my eyes. The angel in the first one looked pained as the man moved about with much activity oblivious to the principalities vying to wreck his life. Instead of interrupting their schemes, the angel just stood his ground.
In the second scene, a woman on her knees cried out to God to save her grandson, and a host of angels began to move, orchestrating events by the direction of the Holy Spirit to draw the young man. The lady then answered her phone, and with minimal prompting, spoke ill of the grandson she had lifted to God. The angels immediately ceased all activity.
In the third, a young man drove down a rain soaked highway, tears streaming. Heartache gripped him, and he cried out to God. Without the resentment that he could justifiably claim, he simply asked the Lord to help him. Out of nowhere, a bread truck careened into the boy’s lane, his angel grabbed his wheel maneuvering the car with supernatural speed. The screen went blank, and understanding came instantly. Before Copra could speak again, I blurted out my conclusion.
“Our purpose is to protect the saints, but our duty is to hearken unto the voice of the Word. We obey the Lord’s commands. If no commands go forth by either the Lord or the Saints speaking the Word of the Lord, we stand our ground. Negative words contrary to the will of the Lord prevent our involvement.”
“That, young angel, is exactly right. On occasion, by His grace, the Lord will command us to intervene despite a man’s spiritual inactivity. However, often our ministry to the heirs of salvation depends largely on the heirs themselves. Class dismissed.”