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 Supporting The Flag Bearer  GospelFlava.com's Special Correspondant, Andre
Mullen (aka Brotha Dre) presents “On The Real —Supporting The Flag Bearer”, an
editorial that highlights the importance of standing behind those who God has called to
bear the standard in Gospel music.If you’ve ever read historical books or seen historical movies about wars, you’ll notice that someone is always leading the way with the flag. Most of us watching, reading and noticing this person usually feel that this person is crazy to carry a flag without any personal protection from the adversary. Actually, he does have protection – it’s the army that’s following the flag. The flag bearer goes into the midst of battle bearing the flag —the emblem. Webster’s defines an emblem as a “design which is adopted as the characteristic of a country/team/town, etc.” A flag bearer is responsible for holding the flag even when the battle does not seem to be going in his company’s favor; when it looks like the tide is rising up against them. What courage one must have to do so! A flag bearer leads the army into battle, but what happens if the army is not behind the flag bearer? As Christians, we are all part of the army of God. We become “enlisted” when we accept salvation into our lives. We are the support for the flag-bearers – the very ones that proclaim the message of Jesus Christ. The flag bearer is on the forefront of the battle, willing to take the arrow, the bullet, the cannon fire all for the glory of God and for the furtherance of the Gospel. However, the major problem is that many of us are so critical of the flag-bearer that we ultimately feel that we can carry the flag better than the one called to carry it. We overlook one major factor though. We don’t know what the flag-bearer has gone through to get the honor of carrying the flag...nor do we know the specifics of the flag-bearers assignment from God. In other words, we want the gift, but not the responsibility of the gift. Though our gifts come without repentance, God holds us accountable for how we use them. God blesses us with gifts not for our own edification, but for His purposes. First of all, the flag-bearer edifies the body. He is the living example of our redemption through Jesus Christ…the one that builds up the morale of the army or, in other words, encourages the body to move forth in Jesus Christ. Secondly, he is used to proclaim the gospel to the masses…those with “ears to hear”. They wear “the emblem” Matthew 6:33 on their hearts: “But seek ye first HIS kingdom and HIS righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (caps mine).
In Gospel music, we’ve seen and continue to see such flag bearers: Fred Hammond, Yolanda Adams, Donnie McClurkin, Mary Mary, Kirk Franklin, and Tonéx are just some examples of brothers and sisters who are focused on the most important part of ministry – putting forth the unadulterated message of the Gospel! Is the flag-bearer scared? Of course! They know that they cannot accomplish the work that God has for them in and of themselves. That’s why they rely on Him to provide the increase! They rely on Him to provide protection against them, both in the spirit and in the natural! There are forces at work that do not want them to do the work of the Lord! Praise God that when the devil comes against us like a flood that God WILL lift up a standard against him! Most of all, the flag-bearer cannot go forth if there isn’t anyone in the army fending off the adversary. If the army leaves, the flag-bearer has no support, and will surely be overcome by the enemy. We have a responsibility to support our flag-bearers through prayer, fasting and words of encouragement. What happens is we get caught up in distractions like, “they don’t say Jesus enough in their songs” or “their music isn’t of God” or “they’re TOO urban”. Those are distractions! Who are we to say what and how God wants to operate? If we have any questions, we must take it to the Lord in prayer before we begin leaning unto our own understanding. Bottom line, before we start talking about how much better of a job we could do as a flag-bearer, let’s pray and ask God the following things: to show us how we can support the flag bearer He has in place now. Pray that He would give them a spirit of discernment that they would hear His Voice; Pray that the music that He’s put in them would go forth and get some souls saved. Most importantly, pray that He would receive all the glory. And remember…any one of us could be the next flag bearer. So let’s encourage as we would like to be encouraged and be edified when our turn comes. As always, keepin’ it real, keepin’ it right...and most of all keepin’ it Christ!
June 19, 2002 |
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