"Seize the Day"

 "Whose so ever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." (John 20:23 KJV)

  "Elisha told him, "Get a bow and some arrows." And the king did as he was told. Elisha told him, "Put your hand on the bow," and Elisha laid his own hands on the king's hands. Then he commanded, "Open that eastern window," and he opened it. Then he said, "Shoot!" So he shot an arrow. Elisha proclaimed, "This is the LORD'S arrow, an arrow of victory over Aram, for you will completely conquer the Arameans at Aphek." Then he said, "Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground." So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times. But the man of God was angry with him. "You should have struck the ground five or six times!" he exclaimed. "Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times."" (2 Kings 13:15-19 NLT)

 There are some things which the church should do, and then there are those things that they must do; but doing nothing, is mostly what gets done, in most situations. When I was an elder, I tried to convince the Senior Pastor that he needed to get an Associate Pastor to take on the act of discipline for agitator's or those that might be disruptive in the church. I felt that he needed to reframe from any act of looking like he was the Enforcer, but instead, show himself as the Uniter and Peacekeeper. 

 Unfortunately, that never happened, and he ended up having to step down, handing the church over to someone else. That might not be the best illustration I could find; but it is the best one for those that are leading a church. Besides that, this command that Jesus gives the disciples involves the structure of a good fellowship of believers. 

 I do not think this was about the act of forgiveness, as if, they would lead someone in the sinner's prayer, and judge whether or not they were sincere enough to be granted salvation. However, if those who are within the church, after having been saved, become a gossip or a distractor within the fellowship, they must be called out, and removed from the church. 

 I am sure it goes further than that; but I do not think any Christian has the right or ability to judge if the salvation of someone is real or not, unless they are obviously living in sin' However! Peter had the gift of discernment, (or maybe he was given a clue,) because we see him casting judgment on a certain husband and wife, for lying about how much money they gave to the church. 

 This goes back to my opening statement; there are some things which the church should do, and then there are those things that they must do! So many churches, especially in this current age, do not want to disrupt or hinder anyone from coming to church, for fear that they might have less people attend or come back to their church. 

 'I must be careful, not to offend!' is the new normal in many churches today. But, in the real world, too much of that kind of action, or nonaction, will cause those who care the most about the fellowship to pack their bags and leave; much like leaving a sinking ship! 

 The point about Elisha's Final Prophecy, (which was his last act just before he died,) is that we must do what God directs us to do; and we should do it as if God means for it to be done! God's arrow, in this story, was the victory arrow, based upon what God wanted done; but the king's passion for God's victory was not all that enthusiastic, as if he was passive or unwilling to do his part. 

 Sometimes we expect God to do it all, when it is our responsibility to do our part! How often is that the case, even within our own lives? We pray for God to deliver us from something, yet we do nothing to stop whatever it is that keeps us in bondage to what we want to be delivered from. That simply does not work! 

 We must do our part, in whatever it is that God puts before us! If you are looking for answers to what Jesus is telling the disciples, that is what I believe He is telling them: Have a little discernment and do your part...

 "Now I, Paul, appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ - though I realize you think I am timid in person and bold only when I write from far away. Well, I am begging you now so that when I come I won't have to be bold with those who think we act from human motives. We are human, but we don't wage war as humans do. We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient. Look at these obvious facts. Those who say they belong to Christ must recognize that we belong to Christ as much as they do. I may seem to be boasting too much about the authority given to us by the Lord. But our authority builds you up; it doesn't tear you down. So I will not be ashamed of using my authority." (2 Corinthians 10:1-8 NLT)