By T.G. Mcneely
I Corinthians 4:9-10
“For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in
Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.”
In the natural kingdom of this earth the dog is considered to be man’s best friend and I want to talk about the dog for a few moments because if you were to ask those that know or if you were to send out a
questionnaire on what is considered to be man’s best friend everybody knows that the dog is more likely to be chosen. There’s reasons for that and the reason is because of what the dog has contributed to the welfare
of man. The dog has been eyes to the blind, ears to the deaf, protection for the crippled, and a companion to the lonely. The hunting dog has meant food for the hungry. Dogs have earned man’s love and respect by
their faithfulness and devotion to him. Many dogs have given their own lives to protect and save the lives of their master and his family. Dogs guard the home and the property as well as the family of their master.
Dogs have spared the lives of families by awakening them at might when their homes were on fire or when danger was near. Watch dogs protect stores and factories at night and accompany policemen on their lonely beat. Dogs are trained to find people buried under an avalanche in the Alps. About 8,500 dogs served in the canine during World War II. They located wounded soldiers on the battle fields. They carried messages and medical supplies under heavy gun fire. Dogs were used by the Coast Guard to patrol the shore lines of the United States during World War II. Balto, which was an eskimo dog and one of the most famous dogs known to man, lead a team of dogs carrying diptheria serum, 600 miles through an Alaskan blizzard from Nurona to Nome in 1925, when the town was literally dying and man could not get to where the dying was. With this eskimo dog they hooked up a team of dogs and this dog lead the team 600 miles through the blizzard, feet frozen, no water, and bleeding; but they delivered the diptheria serum that saved hundreds of lives. A Saint Bernard dog rescued 40 people when they became lost in a snow storm of
Switzerland Saint Bernard Pass. In the year, from straying during the day, they drive the animals into a shelter at night and they attack the wolves and other wild beasts that seek to harm livestock.
For thousands of years, the dog has faithfully served man and has been his best friend. “The dog is man’s best friend.” Like the dog in the natural kingdom, the best friend to man in the spiritual realm is the
preacher. I’ve had a lot of friends in my life, but none like a preacher friend. To every saint and sinner your best friend is the preacher.
Like the dog, the preacher watches out for you and your welfare. A preacher is man’s best friend. They will stick by you when the going gets rough. They watch out for your soul. They protect you from harm and
danger. There are some characteristics of the dog that are similar to that of a preacher. That may sound odd, but the reason a dog can detect danger and pick up something harmful that’s coming is because of his
fine sense of hearing, smelling, and seeing. The men of God in the Old Testament were called “seers”, which means one who sees, one who has a vision, and one who has supernatural revelation and insight. They see danger when you don’t know it’s there. They have a divine insight on things in this world that you will never sense the danger of. It will pay you to get close to the preacher because he is your best friend. He
can pick up things and know things you don’t. When danger comes, he’s there to warn you, to protect you, to pray for you, and shelter you from all the things the devil will try to destroy you with.
The preacher is your best friend. Get close to the preacher. The preacher is your eyesight; he sees for you. Don’t be afraid to trust your preacher with your money. He’ll take care of it. He’ll invest it right. Job said, ” I was eyes to the blind.” Your preacher watches for your soul when danger comes. Your preacher will pull you out of the fire. He’ll save your children from hell.
The man’s best friend in this world is his preacher. Hell hath enlarged itself. Somebody has to stand in the gap, and that somebody is the preacher. He’s the watchman of your soul. He’ll go to the jaws of hell to pull your children out. He’s concerned for you when you’re not concerned for yourself. Take him into your fellowship. Give him the best; he deserves it-“If we could bring back every mother in hell, they would tell you their best friend was their preacher. How could you ever turn against your best friend? I pray that before I say something derogatory about my preacher let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. Love your preacher, take care of him, and appreciate him.
You may leave the church and turn your back, but through everything he’s still your best friend. When you need him he’s here, even though you’ve forgotten about you. Have you forsaken the man of God? Even though you have forsaken him, he’ll never forsake you. When you really need a friend, he’ll be there. When you’re suffering he’ll be there. Go ahead and cut your pastor, hurt your pastor but one day you’ll see he’s your best friend in the world. He’s the one who’s protected your children. He fights the spirits of hell that try and destroy our children. The rich man didn’t want anything to do with the preacher until he got to hell
and then he realized that the preacher really was his best friend.
Some of you sinners say “get out of here, preacher. I don’t want religion. I don’t want to be messing with you.” But, after five minutes in hell, you’ll find out who was your best friend. The first thing the rich man in hell thought of was the preacher. He’ll be with you to the end. Till the very end.
