THE "VINCIBLE" ARMY OF CHRIST

Once upon a time a noble and righteous kingdom found itself under siege and in danger of overthrow by an army of rebels. Though few in number, the rebels were united in both plan and purpose. They were determined to wrest control of the territories of the king.

Within the ranks of the king's men were sufficient soldiers to easily rout the rebels and drive them out in defeat.  Unfortunately, they could not reach agreement on who should bear arms for their king.

	Some insisted that only perfect specimens of manhood be allowed to serve, no men with wounds or scars were allowed in the ranks.
	Others insisted that all meet the same physical standards, that they be 5'10" and weigh 185 pounds, not more nor less,  before they could be trusted in arms.
	Some said all had to be trained in the same camp as they were.
	Others insisted that all should be armed exclusively with Browning weapons, while others demanded that the weapons be Remingtons.
	Some demanded that all rifles be 30.06 caliber but others wanted 30.30 calibers.
	Some were trained as infantry and had no use nor place for cavalry, air or naval forces. Special teams such as intelligence planners they despised and rejected.
	One group was resentful of those trained in Officer Candidate Schools and the other insisted that all had to be thus trained.
	Large numbers of the men wanted to be recognized as high ranking officers even though the king had not thus appointed them.  They refused to serve in lesser positions.
	Each of the contending parties were so sure of their position that they were highly suspicious of those who did not agree with their point of view and would not trust them.

For days, weeks, and months the quarreling and debating continued. Fights broke out between various factions. Each sought to persuade the citizens to support their demands. The various groups refused to fight along side of the others.  Eventually many of the soldiers grew weary and discouraged.  Multitudes dropped out and returned to their old occupations. The citizens were bewildered and confused about what was going on.

Each day the rebels grew stronger and bolder.  One by one they occupied the villages, towns and cities of the kingdom. Eventually the kingdom fell into their hands with but a few sporadic shots being fired.

The surviving soldiers were forced to flee to a distant place and tried to rebuild a new kingdom for their Lord. But even there they could not agree to disagree on their cherished points and the contention continued. Eventually they all died out and soon were forgotten.

When the teacher was asked to explain his parable he said, The king is the Lord Jesus. The kingdom is his church. The rebels were known as change agents.  The quarrelsome soldiers were preachers of the king's church. The once invincible army had become quite "vincible".  The war, we are in even today.

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches: "Every city or house divide against itself shall not stand" (Matt. 12:25); "But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed on of another" (Gal. 5:15).