____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ February 27, 2000 ____________________________________________________ The Power of Faith by Jere E. Frost THE ``POWER'' OF FAITH, in the minds of most people, is the confidence and drive it gives. Indeed, faith does do this. In that respect it has power to move men and affect their conduct. But that this kind of faith is of comparatively little value in and of itself is easily illustrated. Isaac had faith that it was his favorite son Esau who stood before him, whereas in reality it was Jacob. This confidence caused Isaac to give Jacob the blessings he intended for Esau. His faith deceived him, and for that reason his actions did not serve his purposes (Genesis 27:18f). Faith in false information can be powerful as to causing confident action, but it is destructive as to its end results. The man of God, a prophet, came to Bethel and rebuked the altar of Jeroboam (I Kings 13). He was under divine instruction not to eat or drink, and to return by a different route. Dutifully he started home ``not by the way he came to Bethel'' (v. 10). But an old prophet pursued after him, told him that he was also a prophet and that an angel had told him to ``bring him back'' that he might eat with him (v. 18). The same verse says, ``But he lied unto him.'' The faith of the man of God did not empower what he did or make it right. His faith notwithstanding, his faith was in a lie; and a lion killed him on his way home (vs. 24-26). The real power of faith, then, is not so much the confidence it inspires or the energy and determination it may evoke. It may do all of that, and that is admittedly a kind of power, but that is not faith's real power. The real power of faith is in what is believed. Shifting from the faith or confidence within a person to that in which is the object of faith may sound like a shifting of gears to the reader. And it is. Faith as we feel it within us is often called subjective faith--what and how we feel. But there is no saving power in that. The saving power is in the object of our faith, in what we believe, often called objective faith. Jesus is the savior. You can believe just as deeply and sincerely in someone else, and obey just as earnestly and humbly, but it will be to no avail as to salvation, for it is not your confidence and belief that saves you. Your subjective feelings in and of themselves count for nothing. They are of value only when and as they relate to truth, to reality! They who boarded the Titanic obviously had faith in it. The great ship sank anyway. Faith in that instance was not only no help, it was their undoing. If they had had enough of a lack of faith so as not to get on board, the victims would not have perished when it sank. The relevance of faith, then, is not that it has magical power. It is in the fact that what we believe relates directly to what we will do. This world could be likened to a mine field. There is danger and death all around us. Someone says, ``Believe me, and I will save you. I will lead you safely through.'' Now the power to save you is in the person who said ``believe me.'' If he is right, and you believe him, he will lead you safely through. You can say it was by faith (your trust in him), but you cannot say you did not have to do anything. He would be a fool, and worse, who said, ``The man said if I believed him he would save me. Therefore, since I believe him, I do not have to follow him through the mine field. I can walk anywhere I please and be OK.'' That is absurd reasoning, but it sells in religion. -- Via The Bulletin of the North Courtenay church of Christ, September 12, 1999 ___________________________________________ In Search of Noah's Ark by Berlin Chumbley In the December, 1996, issue of Popular Mechanics, in an article entitled ``Ancient Mysteries of the Bible,'' author Mike Filon, examines some of the Bible's most astounding events, in light of modern scientific methods. He suggests that ``Technology and a better understanding of natural processes may explain how these seemingly impossible events occurred.'' The article discusses whether or not events such as, the burning bush, Moses parting the Red Sea, Lot's wife turning to salt, the raising of Lazarus, and various other ``astounding events,'' could be explained by scientific methods. But it was Noah and the ark which drew top billing in his article. Explorers, archeologists, and theologians, have for centuries attempted to uncover physical evidence that would solve the mystery of the ``gopher wood boat.'' In recent years, according to the article, researchers have located a site which contains a buried, ship-like object, which supposedly conforms to the dimensions given by God in Genesis 6:15. Other researchers believe they have located ``drogue stones,'' which in ancient times were dragged behind ships to stabilize them, and that images returned by ground-penetrating radar have indicated unusual levels of ironoxide distribution, which may suggest metal fittings buried below the surface. And the search continues. What Does All This Mean? To many, the discovery of Noah's ark might mean the difference between believing or disbelieving the Genesis record. But to the Christian, whether physical evidence is found or not, doesn't change the fact that through faith, we believe it to be so. ``Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen'' (Heb. 11:1). I believe in Noah's ark the same way I believe in the burning bush, the raising of Lazarus and that Moses parted the Red Sea--through faith! Whether or not physical evidence of these ancient events is ever found, doesn't make or break my faith. God said it, I believe it--case closed! So, let the explorers, the archeologists and the theologians continue to search for the ark. Personally I believe they are looking for the wrong thing. Think about it. If Noah was concerned with providing adequate housing for his family after the waters had receded, he would have dismantled the ark and built houses from it. So maybe the explorers need to stop looking for Noah's ark, and begin searching for Noah's house! -- Via Think On These Things, January-February-March, 2000 ___________________________________________ Who Is My Minister? by Steve Klein Without a doubt, there is a lot of confusion in the religious world today about what a minister is and what a minister does. Most folks equate being a minister with being a preacher. And while preachers are ministers, it is entirely incorrect to reserve the term minister exclusively for preachers. Actually, the word minister as it occurs in many English translations of the Bible simply refers to one who is a servant or to the act of performing a service. As we attempt to identify who the minister is, it might be helpful to consider the different ways ministers may be described. Ministers are described with respect to who they work for, the work they do, or who their work benefits. To illustrate, consider how we might describe a waitress in a restaurant. She works for the restaurant, so she is a minister of Quincy's or Shoney's or whatever. She serves food, so she is a minister of food. Her service benefits the customers, so she is a minister to the customers. These three views of ministering can be seen in the service of the apostle Paul. He was a minister of Christ because he was working for Christ (1 Corinthians 4:1). He was a minister of the gospel because he preached (served) the gospel (Acts 26:16; Ephesians 3:6-7; Colossians 1:23). He was a minister to Gentiles because they had received the benefits of his preaching and been added to the church (Colossians 1:24-25). All three of these descriptions of Paul's ministry are found in Romans 15:16, where Paul says that God's grace was given to him so that he, ``might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God....'' In Ephesians 4:11-12 we learn that God intends for the saints who make up the church to be equipped for the ``work of ministry.'' All Christians are ministers of God, in that we work for Him (cf. Hebrews 9:14). We all should use whatever God has given us to benefit others; as Peter says, ``If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies'' (1 Peter 4:11). Our ministry should focus particularly on fellow Christians -- the work of ministering to the saints is especially commended in Scripture (1 Corinthians 16:15; Hebrews 6:10). So, who is the minister? Surprise, Surprise! YOU ARE. Or, at least you should be. On one occasion a man asked Jesus, ``Who is my neighbor?``(Luke 10:29). Jesus answered by telling the story of the good Samaritan; the point of which was to teach that we should be more concerned about BEING a good neighbor ourselves than about HAVING good neighbors around us. The question of concern should not have been ``Who is my neighbor?'' It should have been, ``To whom can I be a neighbor?'' The point being made in this article is much the same. The question ``Who is my minister?'' should not concern us nearly so much as the question ``To whom can I be a minister?'' Whom can I serve, and how may I serve them? -- Via The Exhorter, July 11, 1999 ___________________________________________ Business Meeting Blues by Dan Shipley In the absence of elders, church business meetings can literally get to be something else! -- and all too often they do. They can get to be occasions for mostly social visiting and discussing personal business. Or, they can get to be little more than gossip sessions for the broadcasting of surmisings and hearsay that would be better left unsaid. Others start well but deteriorate into gripe sessions for airing petty grievances and complaining about all that is wrong with the local church and its members. And, sad to say, the business meeting is sometimes transformed into an arena in which feuding brethren bite and devour one another. Who can deny the casualties of such gatherings? The Lord's work is made to suffer, weak brethren become disillusioned, others become embittered, frustrated, depressed and heartbreakingly discouraged. No doubt the seeds of much division have been sown in such meetings. Little wonder so many brethren get the ``business meeting blues.'' But I wonder if the business meeting itself is the real culprit? Its intended purpose is not only good, it is needful. The business of the church must be cared for and it certainly deserves the most careful consideration, planning and decisions. Those who forget the serious purpose of such meetings are asking for problems. In fact, we may unwittingly be inviting most of the problems that plague our business meetings. For instance, we invite problems when we conduct meetings without a planned agenda. I know of some churches that will not discuss any item of business that has not been submitted in writing at least a week prior to the meeting. An agenda keeps the meeting ``on track.'' Knowing what will be considered gives time for deliberation and avoids hasty decisions from ``off the top of the head'' that may be later regretted. Following an agenda also avoids these surprise ``bombshells'' known to have been dropped in some such meetings (like, ``I think we ought to fire the preacher.''). Other problems could be avoided by the presiding ``chairman'' selected to lead the meeting. It is up to him to maintain order (1 COR. 14:40) with dignity. Asking every man present to state his views on every subject is asking for trouble. Such opinions are not essential to decisions and often promote misunderstandings and disagreements. Free discussion must be allowed, to be sure, but none should be compelled to comment on everything (nor should feel the necessity of doing so). Anything worthy of discussion in such a meeting is something that deserves hearing and consideration. If I'm ``agin' it,'' it should be for good reason and not from bad attitude or prejudice. Comments or objections of others merit the same attention as mine. Hopefully, however, the younger Christians will give deference to the experience and maturity of their older brethren. Finally, the plans and decisions from such meetings should be made known to the whole church as they too have an interest in these matters. Doing these things for a starter may help to change the blues to blessings. -- Via Plain Talk, July 1975 ___________________________________________ NEWS & NOTES Tom Dickerson, a former next-door neighbor of mine, passed away last month. Let us remember his family and friends in prayer, during their time of grief. Due to my computer not working and my being out of town for about a week, today's bulletin and February 20's are running late. I apologize for the inconvenience. I enjoyed preaching in Avondale, Pennsylvania, on February 27 and spent about a week in the area. There is a possibility I might be moving there, but won't know until at least March 5. Next Sunday, being the first Sunday of the month, Rick Fleeman will be preaching during the evening service. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________