8/6/13

From Gary... Truths from a "Tea party"


Tea parties and little girls- they just go together!!! This picture bring back a lot of memories of when my daughters were little.  And the problems were little too.  No boyfriends, problems with other kids at school and grades to achieve. A time when Mom and Dad could be trusted and always new what was best for the family.  Then along came the government- telling you what you could and could NOT do for those children YOU brought into the world and were trying to raise to be God-fearing, upstanding citizens.  The captions of the picture show how life in the United States has changed; parents are subordinate to the state in controlling the fruit of their own bodies. The state has replaced the parents and the fear of social services is upon us all.  I can't even begin to tell you the number of times I have heard of Social Services interfering with the family.  Even to the point of taking away children from their parents.  Oh, it is a sad fact that in some cases it really is necessary; but most of the time - NO!!!!  With these things in mind, is it any wonder why it is becoming harder and harder to find men qualified to be Elders (Overseer, Pastors, Elders, Shepherds- all the same thing)???  Just take a moment and review this partial list of their qualifications...

1 Timothy, Chapter 3
 1 This is a faithful saying: if a man seeks the office of an overseer, he desires a good work.  2 The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching;  3 not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;  4 one who rules his own house well, having children in subjection with all reverence;  5 (but if a man doesn’t know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the assembly of God?) 

I ask you, how can a man rule his own house, when it is possible that a state official can second guess his every decision?  What is next?  Preventing parents from teaching their children about Jesus?  Frankly, I long for the day when parents can spank their children in public without the fear of having them taken away!!! Wake up, America!!!  We are NOT A FREE PEOPLE ANYMORE!!!  Perhaps one path to regain our freedom would be a political TEA PARTY; and I don't mean one designed for little kids, either!!!

From Jim McGuiggan... FACES THAT WON'T GIVE US PEACE

FACES THAT WON'T GIVE US PEACE

Frustrated and angry and fearful for their welfare, Paul in Galatians in 3:1 (NJB) hotly rebuked the apostatizing believers with this: “You stupid people in Galatia! After you have had a clear picture of Jesus Christ crucified, right in front of your eyes, who has put a spell on you?”
He found it astonishing that having seen a clear, sharp, focused picture of Jesus that a counterfeit portrait of a nationalist Jesus who brought salvation only to Jews and Jewish proselytes could fool them. If the original picture of Jesus didn’t hold the Galatians it certainly held Paul, or rather, drove Paul, gave him no rest even while it filled him with peace. Some images do that to us. Pictures have such power, but they only have power over us if they have power resident in them.
Charles Simeon turned the eyes and heart of Henry Martyn not only toward God but also toward a life spent in missionary endeavors. Martyn was a gifted linguist and on reaching the Middle East he translated the NT scriptures into Indian, Persian and various dialects. He preached and taught and argued and placed himself in jeopardy in places far from home for Jesus’ sake and died in Turkey, a bit over thirty-one years old.
Simeon was anything but a slacker but over his fireplace he kept a picture of his young friend and would often remark, “There! See that blessed man. What an expression on his face! No one looks at me as he does. He never takes his eyes off me, and seems always to be saying: ‘Be serious! Be in earnest! Don’t trifle! Don’t trifle!’ Then with a smile he would gently bow and say, “And I won’t trifle; Iwon’t trifle!”
The tragic truth is that unforgettable images and glorious visions don’t keep all of us from collapse but the uplifting truth is that down the years countless people have been kept from wreck and ruin by a face, an image, an event that has become part of their inner worlds.
Scots preacher, Arthur Gossip, said that the Scottish town of Forfar wasn’t much given to emotion but it held Alexander Cumming in reverence. He crowded his happy days with kindness and concern and “faces everywhere lit up at the sight of him; and people, their voices suddenly grown softer, grew kindlier when he hove into sight.” Gossip spoke of a man he knew, a self-reliant, strong type, not one you would have thought could have easily been touched. That man looked after the departing Cumming and said to Gossip, “Often I pull myself together with this thought, that if I threw away my life, I think I could bear my punishment without whining, but…but”—and the man’s voice sagged a little—“I couldn’t face the pain in Mr. Cumming’s eyes.”
To be such a one, to be such a face, such a vision or image to someone, just one—would that not be heaven?
Is this something of what the Hebrew writer had in mind—in addition to his specific agenda—is this something of what he had in mind when he said (12:2), “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus”? And isn’t this part of the reason we’ll want to live in the image of Jesus in whose face the glory of God is seen (2 Corinthians 4:6)? And is this not what Paul had in mind when he said (Ephesians 5:1-2) that we were to imitate God as his beloved children and walk in love even as Jesus loved us and offered himself up as a sacrifice, a sweet smelling aroma that would lead God to breathe it in and say, “Mmmm, love that fragrance”?

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Mark Copeland... Fellow Workers With God (1 Corinthians 3:5-15)



                 "THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS"

                    Fellow Workers With God (3:5-15)

INTRODUCTION

1. In the church at Corinth, some had an improper estimation of
   preachers...
   a. Resulting in strife and division - cf. 1Co 1:10-13
   b. Manifesting a spirit of carnality - cf. 1Co 3:3-4

2. Paul wrote to correct their improper estimation of preachers...
   a. They were simply servants - 1Co 3:5
   b. They should be regarded as such - 1Co 4:1

[In revealing the proper estimation of preachers, Paul mentions that
those who share God's Word with others are "Fellow Workers With God"
(cf. 1Co 3:9).  In our text, we learn of God's role...]

I. GOD PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY

   A. GOD OPENS DOORS FOR PREPARED WORKERS...
      1. God provides the opportunity for those who serve Him - 1Co 3:5
      2. The Lord opens doors of opportunity to be of service - 1Co 16:9
      3. Especially for those who have shown themselves ready - Re 3:8
      4. Even when sometimes it is not used - 2Co 2:12-13
      5. Our roles may not be the same (some plant, others water) - 1Co 3:6a
      -- Shall we prepare ourselves to be useful to the Master? - cf.
         2Ti 2:20-21

   B. SEARCHING SOULS WILL FIND THE TRUTH...
      1. The Lord seeks to show Himself strong to those who are loyal to
         Him - 2Ch 16:9
      2. Those who hunger and thirst will be filled - Mt 5:6
      3. Those who seek shall find - Mt 7:7-11
      

[Indeed, the providence of God is at work.  Let us pray as we sometimes
sing:  "Lord, Lead Me To Some Soul Today".  As we cooperate with God's
providence, we also take comfort in knowing...]

II. GOD PROVIDES THE INCREASE

   A. THE POWER IS IN THE SEED...
      1. It is God who gives the increase - 1Co 3:6-7
      2. His Word is powerful, and will accomplish its intended purpose
         - Isa 55:10-11; He 4:12
      3. Especially in regards to the gospel of Christ, God's power to
         save - Ro 1:16-17
      4. The results will depend upon the soil - cf. Lk 8:11-15
      -- We must make sure that the weapon we use is the Word of God!
         - cf. He 4:12

   B. THE PLACE OF THE SOWER...
      1. We are really nothing; just seed throwers and water boys!
         - 1Co 3:6-7
      2. God can use even 'defective' seed throwers - cf. Php 1:15-18
      3. Just as he used Moses and Paul - cf. Exo 4:10-12; 1Co 2:3-4;
         2Co 10:10
      -- We must stop making excuses for not doing whatever we can!
         - cf. Mt 25:24-30

[Finally, from our text (1Co 3:5-15) we learn that...]

III. GOD PROVIDES THE REWARD

   A. ACCORDING TO OUR LABOR...
      1. God will reward each one according their labor - 1Co 3:8
      2. The more we sow, the more we shall reap - cf. Ga 6:7
      3. Those we lead to Christ will be a source of great joy - cf.
         1Th 2:19-20; 3Jn 3-4
      -- The key is to build on the right foundation:  Jesus Christ!
         - 1Co 3:9-11

   B. EVEN IF OUR WORK IS LOST...
      1. The materials (i.e., souls) with which we build vary in quality
         - 1Co 3:12
      2. Only time and the judgment will reveal the true quality of
         those we reach - 1Co 3:13
      3. If our work endures to the end, there will be great reward
         (joy) - 1Co 3:14
      4. If our work does not endure, we are still saved - 1Co 3:15
      -- Like Jeremiah, we might serve many years with little to show;
         but the Lord knows and will reward our efforts! - 1Co 15:58

CONCLUSION

1. During His earthly ministry, Jesus manifested concern for the lost...
   a. He was moved with compassion - Mt 9:35-36
   b. He called on His disciples to pray for laborers - Mt 9:37-38
   c. He then sent His disciples throughout Israel - Mt 10:1,5-7
   d. He later sent them into all the world - Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15-16

2. What of us who are His disciples today...?
   a. Do we have compassion for the lost?
   b. Do we pray for the Lord of harvest to sent out laborers into His
      harvest?
   c. Do we whatever we can do...either to go or to send? - cf. Ro 10:
      13-15

The Lord is still working to save those who are lost.  God will provide
the opportunity, the increase, and the reward.  Are we willing to be
"Fellow Workers With God" today...?


Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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