Old Paths Baptist Ministries is pleased to announce the launch of our affiliated website VENTURE PUBLICATIONS. During the month of December, 2002, while preaching from the twenty-second chapter of I Kings, the Lord spoke to me concerning this matter and gave me direction and authorized me to commence publication under the name VENTURE.
I was preaching from the experience of the prophet Micaiah, and how he was hated for telling the truth rather than going along with the majority. When I came to the verse dealing with the man who slew Ahab, the Lord began to speak to me as I was preaching. Of course He had already given me the message and how the passage applied to my ministry of dealing with decisional regeneration. While preaching, He began to give me additional clarification in regards to the printing ministry of our church which I was pastoring at that time. I get excited when the Lord speaks as I am preaching as it gives me additional confidence that I am on the right track.
During the sermon, the Lord spoke about the printing ministry and gave the name VENTURE. Since that time, He has continued to show me several things about this individual mentioned in verse thirty-four and the application of it to my ministry as well. I will give the highlights here.
First we see that God's people were living under a divided kingdom, a picture of the church today and the teaching on salvation. Jehoshaphat pictures those leaders who want the truth, and Ahab pictures those who don't. As the representative heads of the kingdom, you could also say they also represent the truth and error. Our battle is not with individuals [Ephesians 6:12], but what they represent. It is important to clarify this, lest one mis-understand our ministry. Our messages and materials are not aimed at people, but doctrine.
In the mentioned text, the command was given to Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel [I Kings 22:31]. We are told in II Timothy 2:24, that the servant of God must not strive, but be gentle to all men. It is our mission to attack only the false doctrines; those associated with decisional regeneration in particular! The problem was that Ahab had disguised himself and hid among the troops. He was impossible to be discerned without God’s help. The error of our day is cloaked in some truth, which is why some may seem to be teaching salvation in the proper way. It is only with God’s help that what they actually stand for may be overcome.
So we see in verse thirty-four, a man who drew a bow at a venture. The word, venture is very important in that it is also translated, innocence, simplicity, perfection, uprightness, fulness, integrity, and completeness. Space limitations prohibit dealing with each meaning in detail, but basically it applies to this ministry in this sense - our materials are written in simplicity. They are little booklets and tracts, not huge volumes, difficult to understand. We are careful to write them with the intention of helping individuals and furthering the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not aim to attack individuals out of spite or vengeance, although names may be given at times to warn folks, and to defend our position(s). We make every attempt to maintain Christian integrity in our materials.
While our materials are generally short, we do our best to be as thorough as such a work allows. It is our intent to be as complete as space permits. We are always glad to respond in greater detail to those who wish us to do so, even as Jesus did with those who sought more teaching after the parables were given. We may also print several items on the same topic to insure that we are as complete as we need to be.
The man who drew the bow was also a man of no reputation. We are not even given his name, and he certainly does not appear to be a man such as Naaman was. Yet it was his arrow that slew the evil king. God had to direct his arrow, and it is likely that only God knew at the time that it was his arrow. Inspiration given to the writer of I Kings may be the only reason we know it is so. Our ministry is not known by many, and certainly has little influence compared to the mega-ministries of our day, but if God directs our materials, our arrows, if you please, will accomplish His work.
This soldier was quite possibly inexperienced as well, as the Hebrew word is clearly implied to mean with no clear target. He simply fired one off into the air with the hope it would accomplish some good. Our printing ministry is a broadcast ministry. We are like the sower in the gospels. Our materials are often sent out with no particular individual in mind, but with the knowledge that God may well have one in mind. He will direct them to fertile soil if He so desires. We realize much of our work will be fruitless and a lot will be discarded, and much may be read and ignored. There will be some, however, who will receive them and be helped. We are confident of this, as God has directed us to the work.
- J. M. Grapp - Editor VENTURE PUBLICATIONS
