Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
A lot of people in our area like to burn firewood for heat in the winter, either with a large outside furnace, or a wood stove somewhere in their home. But some people use a pellet stove, which uses compressed wood pellets for fuel. It’s been claimed that pellet stoves produce significantly less smoke and ash, due to the combustion process that is used, but they do require regular maintenance such as cleaning out the burn pot and ash traps to keep them operating at peak efficiency. In order to operate one, you must first fill up the hopper, which holds many pounds of pellets. An electric auger will then push the pellets from the hopper, and trickle them into the burn pot where they are ignited. The heat that is produced warms up the heat exchanger, and the hot air is then pushed around your home like a regular furnace. Many of these stoves are controlled thermostatically, meaning that the auger will automatically trickle the pellets into the burner depending on how much is required to keep the house at the desired temperature. Instead of traditionally putting another log on the fire, many of these stoves will do it all by themselves, keeping the burn pot full with as many pellets that are needed in order to keep the house nice and warm.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Like filling a hopper on a pellet stove, the disciples were constantly filling the church with the teachings of Holy Scripture. God’s Word is the fuel that feeds our hearts, keeping us burning brightly as we wait patiently for the Lord’s return. Throughout the centuries, certain men have been charged with the responsibility of keeping fires going, whether it was on a steam locomotive, or in a coal plant. Likewise, men of God must do the same thing by keeping the hopper completely full, feeding the church with the fuel that it needs to keep them filled up with the fire of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
I’ve had a lot of cats over the years, and for most of them, I have used a special waterer made just for them. All you have to do is fill up a two liter bottle, turn it upside down in their dish, and they have a constant supply of water that is ready and waiting for them whenever they need it. A farmer might put out a huge roll of hay for their animals, so that it is available to them when they are hungry. Likewise, a preacher is like a Spiritual farmer, providing the sheep of God with the Spiritual food they require in order to keep them well fed in their time of need.
1 Peter 5:2-4 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
The flock of God must be fed by the daily preaching of scripture.
Acts 15:35 Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
Mark 16:20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
2 Timothy 4:2-4 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Remember that Jesus had given Peter the responsibility to feed His sheep.
John 21:15-17 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Wherever you go camping, if you want to keep your campfire burning brightly, you need to keep loading it with fuel by providing it with a constant supply of wood. When your car starts to run low on gas, you need to refill it or top it off by pulling into the nearest gas station. When people become sluggish at work, they will fill up their stomach with a candy bar to renew their energy. The further that people get away from scripture, the more underpowered they become. Like batteries in a light, unless they are recharged, they will slowly begin to dim and then fade away. Each day of our lives, we must be filled up with the teachings of scripture, empowering our hearts and our minds with the strength that we need to overcome all of the wicked things of this world.
1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
In order for a child to grow physically, they need to be fed with food. In order for any of us to go on unto Spiritual maturity, we must be constantly fed with the teachings of God’s Word. It is the everlasting sustenance that we need in order to become strong in our faith. Men of God are called to this duty, helping us to grow in our faith and move on unto perfection.
Ephesians 4:11-13 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
To be a laborer for the Lord requires providing the church with the fuel that they need, so they can burn brightly in this dark world. Like feeding sheep, it’s a daily duty, just like continuing to keep the hopper filled up, on……
…….The Pellet Stove
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤️
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