The Apostles Are Coming! The Apostles Are Coming! (Part 7)

Click on following links for: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6.

“Been there! Done that! Bought the tee-shirt!” should be the slogan printed on shirts worn by apostles.

Why?

Because the phrase aptly describes the apostles’ journeys into their callings and throughout the length of their callings.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Corinthians 1: 3-4)

As a young Christian, I remember another believer saying to me in a hushed, reverent whisper, “You know, Cathy is called to be an apostle.”

How awesome? I thought at the time.

And I was absolutely flabbergasted at how glamorous the word apostle sounded to my ears. It seemed to be the height of the  Christian pyramid. The top hierarchal rung. The creme de la creme of callings.

Of course, I was naive and had no understanding of callings at all, and especially that of an apostle. But since then, I’ve studied and learned a few things.

You see, the apostle is specifically prepared and trained ahead of time by the Lord to help the Body of Christ journey through upcoming treacherous, tough times.

How does the Lord prepare His servants – the apostles?

If your guess is that the training is carried out in nicely lit, air-conditioned rooms while sitting comfortably on soft cushions and listening to qualified lecturers at an ivy-towered university which overlooks a quaint village, then I have bad news for you. You’re wrong!

For each apprentice apostle candidate, the Lord simulates the treacherous, tough times which awaits the Body sometime in the future; and then drops the candidates into the simulated circumstances.

And the apostle candidates are like dirty clothes shoved into an automatic washer, going through one desperate, ruinous cycle after another. The candidates’ heads are held under the water most of the time, with a few short breathing breaks in between dunks.

All of this continues until they are finally rinsed and brought out to dry. And this may take years!

Now, while this divinely orchestrated training is happening, the rest of the Body of Christ looks on and scratches their heads. “What’s wrong with those losers? Why don’t they get with the program? They haven’t got a clue!” they murmur to each other.

But when the treacherous, tough times hit a nation, it will be these losers – the apprentice candidates – who will step forth as apostles and confidently proclaim, “I know that our God will bring us through these bad times. Just follow me because I have discovered the correct path to walk on.”

(Continued in Part 8)