Will Not Be Ransacked

(Brotherhood That Fortifies)

Def. strengthen: to support; to make stable, to place firmly, to fix; to keep the face turn

Believers who support each other have greater security

· Luke 22:26-36

28 Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.

29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;

30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Commentary

You have remained faithful

You will be rewarded

You are about to be ransacked

(to search through and steal from in a forceful and damaging way : PLUNDER Thieves ransacked the house.)

You have worked hard and have come a long way. You have earned your reward but you need to be aware that a plot has been hatched ransack your place, we can’t let that happen. I can’t. I want you to know that I have been praying for you.

Prayer is more than interceding on the behalf of others and cursing the plans of the enemy. It implies having one’s back.

Jesus had confidence in Peter’s triumph. It was in our Lord’s interest that this be so.

Victory is given to help others

2 Corinthians 1:6 MSG

6 When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times.

Let me explain:

Satan is not our friend. He is the enemy. He is a thief and a robber. He infiltrates. He plots. Watch this:

1. Satan promotes selfish ambitions amongst the brethren.

Mark 10:35

35 And James and John… saying…

37 Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory…

39 …Jesus said unto them, 40 ..to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.

41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.

2. Satan plants opportunists, those who are only interested in what that can get.

Judas, helping himself with the offering, selling out our Lord to the enemy for money.

32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Note the attitude of our Lord towards his struggling children…

…ALLOWANCE FOR RESTORATION

We are living in what is perhaps the most trying times of our lives hitherto.

This event unfolded in the shadows of the cross. Our Lord was about to died at the hands of evil men – and for what?

The Qualification of Jesus to Speak to the Ransacked:

A man who had been totally devoted to the betterment of mankind.

A man who was concerned about people -their well-being, their health, their lost, their grieving, their supply of meals and the list goes on.

But more profoundly,

A man who wanted to promote a paradigm shift in the way mankind saw himself in this world.

That life was short lived and transient.

Hence we, learn how to number our days and apply our hearts unto wisdom, and

do what we can while we are able, because “ the night cometh when no man can work.

And the thanks he got: he was betrayed by a person he called friend …a traitor. Still further, the very people he had dedicated himself to helping were easily swayed against him.

Note the emotions that John elicits in his John 13: 1 Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved ( them) unto the end.”

Here is The perfect example of a commitment to a cause and to people.

He refused to hate Judas. Certainly he felt for him.

He refused to defend himself before Pilate worst still , after the humiliation, miscarriage of justice, he found the heart to forgive his enemies?

Some of us are tired. Discontented. Despondent. Discouraged. Disillusioned. are at the brink of giving up. Passion has long gone. we have no more feelings.

Because what is happening to us is unique:

1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV

13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Yet we allow our place to be ransacked by the devil. it is what the thieves do. they always break in and desecrate our spaces. All they do it break up.

In such times we need to apply the word of God to our lives:

Jesus said:

- John 6:35 KJV

35 …I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. and

- 1 Corinthians 11:24 KJV

24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

We are the body of Christ and it is the enemy’s task to break us.

There are so many broken Christians/people all around.

but our lord says, pick up the pieces

John 6:12 KJV

12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

after feeding the crowd…and the breaking up of the bread

Our Lord is no longer going through his temptation, we are.

The main test:

To abandon our post.

Note...An opening to the inner circle of Christ was desired.

- Satan entered Judas...when believers become predisposed to be used by the enemy

The arrest, and crucifixion of our lord cause fear and chaos amongst the disciples.

moments before he breathed his final breathe, our Lord did the strangest thing, For it was perhaps the one time, he paused for a second to consider himself. In the agony of the cross he looked down. in a little distance barricaded by the stern roman guards he was a familiar face… no not one there was another. It was John his beloved disciple, faithful indeed, this John, with his arm wrapped around his dear mother. why did she look so distressed. he had never seen her like this before. something terrible must have happened. suddenly it became clear. he had been crucified. This was personal. His mother knew this was long in coming.

For a long time she carried it within her heart, that is what she always did. Even now he remember when he was 12, when he stayed back at the temple. Then after three days, when they thought they had lost him - they found him - In his father’s house.

Even back then, a shadow of what was soon going to happen was presented. They take him away, and bury him in a dark, cold grave, secured with a huge boulder, and guarded by soldiers…they would never see him again.

He would be gone for good…but in three days, he will rise again. No grave can hold his body down. The words were exchanged between his mother and him, a pepper pot of rebuke, relief, and resonance.

Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

49 …how is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? 50 they understood him not..but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. twelve years prior, at his dedication,

Luke1

34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also…It was an antagonizing process, too much for any ordinary human being. This is the time when we need support most. When we need love most. And who is best positioned than he who loves…John behold your mother, mother, behold thy son… and John understood well his responsibility. He took her home to his own house.

Matthew 26:56–57 (KJV )

56 ..Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled…57 And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away …

More Abandonment

John 20 … 10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. 11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping… 13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where.. if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. 16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

that is The true state of the world. The world needs to find Jesus, and the church needs to help. That is why we will not be ransacked.

The very reason why the brethren need to be strengthen…for to be witnesses. When the persecution and Jerusalem occurred churches were shut down and the disciples were scattered like seeds. They resorted to the grave yards, the catacombs of Rome. Worship never stopped by the gospel was spread.

What has church become? To what end has it been relegated to a social hall or perhaps a therapeutic center for club members? Does church offer the balm of Gilead. Ought church not be the place for healing, training and commissioning?

Exodus 32:17-33-34 The Message (MSG)

When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting noisily, he said to Moses, “That’s the sound of war in the camp!” But Moses said, Those aren’t songs of victory, And those aren’t songs of defeat, I hear songs of people throwing a party.

This is not the time for throwing a party. The field is great and the laborers are few. They will be time for feasting. Right now, time is short and the souls of men at state.

We cannot allow the enemy to ransack the church of Jesus Christ. We will not be divided by schisms, bitterness, selfishness and the like. We will band together. We will strengthen each other.

We have the confidence, that Believers who support each other have greater security