MESSAGE 4
"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou" ON TARGET SPIRITUALLY. -- (PART 2)
Judges 20:16 "Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss."
David did not miss when he slew Goliath, and with about one exception he was "on target" spiritually throughout his entire life. Saul, on the other hand, was only "on target" spiritually about one time and then "missed it" throughout the remainder of his life. He missed David with his javelin and journeys of extermination. He missed God's will for his life, and probably missed heaven.
In part one of this message we discussed how that it matters not whether some worldly, sports target is hit. People rejoice like they were about to enter the pearly gates when their champion hits the mark or their team wins in some athletic contest, and yet think it strange if we get demonstrative when someone hits the target spiritually at an altar of prayer. Yet, there is far more cause for rejoicing when someone gets "on target" spiritually and eternally than there is when even some noble, worthwhile, earthly goal is achieved.
We discussed in part one how that being "on target" spiritually: (1) concentrates on Striking The Source, and (2) eliminates Symptoms. Let us now consider a third thought: Being "on target" spiritually necessitates Action!
Ya can't hit the target if you never pull the trigger. Ahithophel counseled Absalom to act immediately in his effort to dethrone his father, David. Indeed it was a bad cause involved here, but nonetheless it was good counsel. But, instead of marshaling all of his forces and immediately attacking David, Absalom followed the opposite advice, delayed too long, and made himself the target of 3 darts which pierced his heart. Those who aim too long spiritually without firing their shot which could bring them victory often become the devil's target and are destroyed by him before they ever "pull the trigger". A boastful soldier during the Spanish-American War said: "The bullet has not yet been forged that will kill me." The words were scarcely out of his mouth when he was struck and killed by the missile which he fancied had not even been made yet!
In another, somewhat humorous, and probably fictitious, story, a soldier related how that he was not concerned about a missile hitting him that "had his name on it," but he was worried about one coming his way marked: "To Whom It May Concern". Spiritually concerned individuals endeavor to hit their target before being hit as satan's mark.
Let us note here 4 aspects of the action which put deeply concerned individuals "on target" spiritually:
[CHOOSING THE RIGHT WEAPON]...Don Mantoen, the husband of one of my wife's cousins, was in the Pacific theater during World War II. A bombardier approached him with one of the thin cross-hairs broken on his bomb-sight. They didn't have any replacements, but Don contrived the idea of putting a spider-web in the "bomb-sight" and he did so. The plane that bombardier was in made a pass over a Japanese ship. The bombardier zeroed-in with that "spider-web" bomb-sight and the bomb was dropped. I was told that the bomb went right down the smokestack of that ship! Hallelujah! I took the weapon of God's Word, lined up with it, and God dropped the bomb of second-blessing holiness right down the devil's smokestack and killed the old
man dead in the water! Some folks have far less faith in the accuracy of God's Word than they would have in a "spider-web" bomb-sight, but that doesn't change things one bit. It works!
[CHOOSING THE RIGHT AMMUNITION]...You need bullets big enough to bring down the game you're after, and if you're smart you don't shoot bee-bees at a bear. And wise warriors are not nearly as concerned about how much noise their shell makes as they are about how much "knock-down" punch their bullets have. As a matter of fact, too much noise can be a hindrance or hazard sometimes.
Let us consider what the proper ammunition for several spiritual targets is: It takes the bullet of confession to kill guilt. Emotion just won't do the job. It takes the rocket of radical repentance to bring down rebellion. Tears don't even make a dent on the hardened monster. It takes the missile of death-to-self to destroy the old man. A trip to the altar poses no threat in itself. It takes the fire-bomb of truth to expose and explode falsehood. Human rationalization never reveals the need. And, it takes the arrow of faith to pierce the heart of doubt and unbelief. Feeling has little effect. Young person, if you use the right ammunition you will destroy the target of your spiritual problem, because God will propel it and empower it with the mighty power of the Holy Ghost.
[REFUSING TO SPARE THE TARGET]...Saul spared Agag, the heart of the target God told him to destroy. During the Franco-Prussian War, a French gunner named Pierre Hurlat was asked by his general to fire upon a little French cottage in a town which was then occupied by the Germans. A cold sweat came over Pierre after receiving this order, but in obedience to his superior's request he pointed the yawning embrasure of his gun toward the little house and fired. The cottage was demolished, but tears began to course down Pierre's cheeks. "Why, Pierre," asked his commander, "What's the matter?" "Ah, General," replied the old French gunner, "It was my own house!" Its pretty easy to fire without pity or mercy upon another person's need. It calls for death to self when pulling the trigger on your own.
President Herbert Hoover, the Republican president credited with bringing on the Great Depression by some, once visited Charleston, West Virginia, a Democratic area where he was not popular. However, they gave him a 21-gun salute on the occasion. After the last gun had boomed, a heckler in the crowd said: "They missed him!" Well, of course they missed him, for the guns were not fired at him to execute him but for him to honor him and may have been only blanks. Thus it may be too when one is seeking holiness. 21 loud trips to a public altar could be nothing more than loud, harmless, blanks fired in the old man's honour instead of for his execution. There need not necessarily be any loud, public display when zeroing-in and firing on your need, just a total determination to spare nothing Christ tells you to aim at and then the total destruction of that thing by His power.
[USING YOUR ONLY OPPORTUNITY]..I noticed a sign, perhaps about a mile from the entrance to the Warm Lake Campground, which read: "No Shooting Back Of This Sign". And young person, there is a line which one can cross beyond which all spiritual shooting is prohibited by the Lord. All opportunity to get "on target" spiritually is then forever past. Saul apparently crossed that line and "missed it" forever as countless numbers like him have done. In reality, we only have 1 opportunity to "hit the mark" spiritually, and that is "Now...while it is called Today.
Don't assume that you'll get another "shot at it" somewhere beyond right now, for you may not. Get ready, aim, and fire right now on the target of your need. Tomorrow may be forever too late!
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