1 Corinthians 9:26 Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. NKJV
The Glorious Twelve
Today in Northern Ireland is the controversial and colourful celebration of the Victory of William III of Orange over King James VII of Scotland and James II of England, whose green and pleasant land in 1690, was made red with blood at the Battle of the Boyne, when at the instigation of parliament, it was taken from him, chiefly by the courageous actions of the irregular Cavalry of the Enniskilleners, and the elite troops of William himself, the Dutch Blue Guards. A most colourful confrontation indeed.It is written concerning William III that ‘danger acted on him like strong drink, opening his heart, loosing his tongue and taking away all appearance of constraint, as he thrust himself time and time again into the very heart of battle, inspiring his troops and mortifying his on-looking commanders as musket shot struck the pistol in his very own hand and more blew off the heel of his boot! William, at the head of the Eniskilleners leading them into battle is reported to have shouted at them, "Gentlemen I have heard much of you. Let me see something of you!" It is this phrase I wish to consider us tonight.
In the year of our Lord, 2008, as I write today, the church of the living God in The British Isles, plummets like a shrieking Boeing 747 in a seeming irrecoverable nosedive toward the hungry ground and the great teeth of its ever rising rocks. Meanwhile, inside the plastic-coated fuselage, economy class Christians are wining and dining, singing and clapping, rolling in the aisles waving their legs in the air, while in first class, well-robed Bishops and blinged-up Evangelists are all talking about money and how, in the name of peace, to slaughter truth without making it scream so loudly. It doesn’t matter, for in a short time now, the whole thing will be obliterated by the hard palate of the waiting landscape, as it explodes into the waiting earth. No matter, for the watchers and the waiters shall soon fill in the crater and build a Mosque upon it, for the Bishops have already signed over the deeds and given them the keys.
I’m sick of seminars and webinars, of conferences and cafe bars, where the incessant talking drones on in complete irrelevancy to the plummeting catastrophe about to come upon us. I am sick of all the talking. Tonight, we do not need any sectarian war, we do not need religious confrontation of bomb vests and bullets, but we do need another gloriously committed twelve good men and another King Billy to stop all the talking and lead them into action, for William is a conqueror's name, it always has been.
Forget the so called ‘Glorious Twelfth!’ Do you want to be apostolic? Do you want to be part of another ‘Glorious Twelve?’ Well, if you do and if any real men are truly listening tonight, then maybe you might hear your own all-conquering King, Himself both wounded and bloodied in battle, cry to you from atop his great white charger as its hoofs claw the cold still air, saying to you,
"Gentlemen I have heard much of you. NOW Let me see something of you!"
Listen: - Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:7-9 NKJV
Pray:- My Great Commander, grant me less mouth and much more action and allow me to rub shoulders with other warriors of action and passion, amen.
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