PRISONER OF CHRIST

By Rick Mathes

Philemon 1:1-3 (NASB77) ¹   Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved brother  ²  and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: ³   Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Can you see the obvious sermon? Of course you can because first and foremost you are a trusting believer. There is no higher appellation, position or title in the world that tops “Christian.” It says it all from the Word of God. Satan has twisted our vocabulary and biblical interpretations and housed his organization in the Vatican. A true believer takes Gal 1:8-9 dead serious and does not add nor subtract anything from all we are called to believe ony found in God’s Word. Roman theology ignores this condemning warning from Paul.

The Lord is near nd all the fallen angels are arming themselves to the teeth for the final battle. I can hear the hoof-beats, the train wreck is imminent, the war of wars is about to begin and I have good news: we win! You have been through basic training and you are battle ready and now is when the army of he Lord needs to put on their armor lift up the Sword and fight fot he Commander-in-Chief of the universe.

We, the Body of Christ must roll up their sleeves and get to work. Nothing good comes easy but the joy of serving Him trumps the pain that brings the gain. He took the cross for me, how can I do otherwise for Him? We must humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our evil ways then He will hear our supplications, forgive our sins and heal our souls. What a privilege it is to labor any fingers to the bone so that He might have His heaven on earth so that when we leave this earth we will be in His third heaven.

My proudest privilege is to be a prisoner for Him. I welcome persecution and suffering for my faith. I delight in demonstrating my faith and loyalty to Him. I don’t have a Messianic complex, I don’t claim I am god I’m not into pain or suicide but I would gladly lay down my life for Him as a living sacrifice or as a death martyr. I jut pray that the Holy Spirit will help me keep the faith, fight the good faith and finish the course with dignity. Don’t be afraid because we win!