____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ December 10, 2000 ____________________________________________________ Bigger Than God by Dan S. Shipley Nothing in this world is more important to our well-being in the next than having a right relationship with God. Getting right with God is the supreme and urgent need of every sinner and staying right with God is the most pressing need of every saint. Accordingly, whatever is allowed to come between one and his right relationship with God is extremely serious and needs to be recognized and treated accordingly. In terms of influence, that which hinders a man in serving God becomes bigger than God Himself. When that hindrance is attributable to people it can only mean that certain individuals exert even a greater influence than God. Whether out of regard for man or a reaction against man, none is bigger than he who is allowed to come between one and his being right with God. Take, for instance, the kind of ``allegiance'' to parents that hinders some in obeying the gospel. When honoring them becomes more important than honoring God and when loyalty to them means disloyalty to the Lord, then they are made bigger and more important than God Himself. It is not often that a choice has to be made between following God or parents, but when it does God says, ``he that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me'' (Matt. 10:37). No living and loving parent would ever think of coming between his child and God. Those who would allow a deceased parent to do so dishonor both God and parent. Any person, parent or otherwise, whose favor is more coveted than God's and who is able to influence more than God has to be the world's biggest man. But such ``bigness'' may be accorded to enemies as well as kinsmen and friends. Such is the case when sinner or saint allows his personal feelings toward certain Christians to hinder his serving the Lord. How many non-Christians have blamed their plight on the ``hypocrite'' in the church? Without realizing it, they actually compliment the hypocrite by allowing him to have more influence on what they do and become than God. They even allow the hypocrite to determine where they will spend eternity! No hypocrite deserves such influence! Neither does the preacher or other Christian who is allowed to become a hindrance to ones following Christ. Not a few have ``quit the church'' over misunderstandings and conflicts with the brethren. Others have compromised their convictions and gone into liberalism over similar personal differences and feelings of being mistreated. Are our ties with God and truth so fragile and unimportant? Getting away from men must never be at the price of leaving God and truth, yet spite and pride have become the seed of apostasy for many a disgruntled brother. It's as though Jesus had not said, ``do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you'' (Lk. 6:27,28) or had not instructed us concerning sins between brethren (Matt. 18:15-17). Allowing any man, whether friend or foe, to come between me and God is to make him bigger than he should be and is to acknowledge him as being more influential than God. May God save us from such ``big'' men and from the attitudes that make them big. -- via Plain Talk, July 1974 ___________________________________________ Learning Contentment by Doy Moyer Contentment is a state of peace, happiness, and satisfaction. If we are content with what we have, then we don't feel robbed when we don't have more. We live in an age that makes contentment difficult to master. We are overwhelmed with material blessings; and it is tough to be content. Sometimes our desire for more drives us to forget that this earth is only a temporary place (2 Cor. 4:18-5:10). The Scriptures warn against greed or covetousness, which is the immoderate craving for things that belong to others. It amounts to ``idolatry'' (Col. 3:5). It is this attitude that causes us to put ``things'' before God. It makes us think that life is about possessions: the ``whoever dies with the most toys wins'' mentality. Jesus taught that life does not consist of the abundance of possessions (Luke 12:15). Therefore, we are to be on guard against ``every form of greed.'' The greedy person is not content with what he has, nor is he happy that others have things that he does not. All of this is just another form of selfishness. We are also taught to deny ourselves (Luke 9:23). This is, perhaps, the most difficult command to obey, especially in an age of ``me first.'' We must learn to put our desires out of the way in order to focus on what the Lord wants and on how we may best serve others. ``Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself'' (Phil. 2:3). Jesus put Himself aside to die for us. He is our supreme example for this attitude. The apostle Paul knew the meaning of contentment: ``Not that I speak from want [need]; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me'' (Phil. 4:11-13). The secret to contentment is the trust we should have in God. ``I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.'' If we take this to heart, then we know how to get along in life, whether we experience ``need'' or are in a prosperous position. ``And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content'' (1 Tim. 6:8). There is nothing wrong, in and of itself, with being prosperous in this life. If the Lord blesses us in this way, then we should use the resources we have for the betterment of His kingdom. It is quite another thing, however, to make the pursuit of riches the goal and primary motivation of life. By this pursuit many have ``wandered away from the faith'' (1 Tim. 6:10). God is to be our motivation and pursuit in life (Matt. 6:33). Whatever else happens is beside the point. We need to remember what we all know: ``we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either'' (1 Tim. 6:7). Jesus asked, ``For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?'' (Matt. 16:24). I used to think of this verse in the sense of ``what will a man take for his soul?'' The connotation would be that a man who is greedy might be willing to take something in this life in exchange for his soul. That may be true, but look at it again. What will a man give? When the Lord returns for judgment, what will we be able to offer Him to buy back our souls if we have forfeited our lives for ``the whole world''? With what will we be able to purchase back our souls? We could never have enough to offer -- even if we did have ``the whole world.'' It wouldn't be enough to salvage our souls in eternity. When we fail to put God first, we show by our actions that we are forgetting these teachings of our Lord. Really, is anything worth losing a soul over? Contentment takes a dedicated mindset. Let's be committed to God, and peace, contentment, and happiness will be ours (Phil. 4:4-7). God guarantees it. ___________________________________________ Lessons From Locusts & Lizards by Paul Smithson In the past couple of articles we have been studying the observations made by Agur, whose writings are found in the book of Proverbs, chapter 30. Agur observed that what animals do by instinct many times is much wiser than what we do by our own choice. Thus, he lists four small creatures from whose wisdom we can learn: the ant, the badger, the locust, and the lizard (Prov. 30:24-28). So far we have looked at lessons concerning foresight and preparation observed in the ants, and the badger's wisdom of taking shelter in the rocks due to his weaknesses. This week let us consider some lessons from locusts and lizards. ``The locusts have no king, yet all of them go out in ranks'' (Prov. 30:27). Agur observes the wisdom of unity and cooperation seen in the locusts. Like an army, locusts make successful marches over miles of country, completely devastating the lands they cover. They do this because when they go out, they all go out and work in unity. Soldiers of Christ have been given their marching orders to go out and cover the world with the gospel (Mk. 16:15-16). The cause of Christ will best triumph when everyone will ``go out'' living and teaching the truth in unity. When they do, Satan's fields will be devastated. The problem today is that much division exist among those who claim to be soldiers of the cross. One denomination teaches and practices one thing, another denomination teaches and practices something else. The result is that many who are lost are repelled by the disunity and conflicting doctrines. Thus, much of Satan's fields go unaffected. Some say that the answer to this is that all denominations band together, overlook each others differences, and agree to disagree. But this is not unity (see Eph. 4:3-6). The answer to biblical unity in the cause of Christ is to set aside all denominational names, creeds, and doctrines and get back to the Bible and it alone for what is taught and practiced. If everyone who claims to be a soldier of Christ would unite in this way, think of how the world would be covered with the gospel in a swarm. If the locusts can do their work by instinct without a king, surely men can do the work of the gospel by submitting to the King of kings as their Leader and Commander. To truly submit to Christ is to follow His word alone for what we believe and practice, speaking where the Bible speaks and being silent where the Bible is silent. The last of the four small creatures of wisdom that Agur observes is the lizard. The King James Version says ``spider'' instead of lizard. The term in the original is a hard one for the translators because it is close to the word for both ``lizard'' and ``spider.'' The term comes from a word that means ``that which clings to the ground.'' ``Lizard'' may be the better translation. However, lessons can be drawn from either. Agur observed, ``The lizard takes hold with its hands and is in the kings' palaces'' (Prov. 30:28). Here is a little creature, small enough to be held in your hand, yet, because of its persistence, ends up living in a better place than many people. The little lizard (or spider) establishes itself in the king's palace. Living in Florida for a while, I learned that both lizards and spiders can get most anywhere they want to be, even with all the efforts that are made to exterminate them. They are persistent. These little creatures ``take hold.'' They can stick to the walls and hide in crevices out of the way of danger. It is a great thing to be able to hold on. Persistent endurance would describe the wisdom of these creatures, which brings about a reward. Certainly we can learn from them. If we lack the quality of persistent endurance the lizard has by instinct, we will never be found in the King's palace. Satan is continually out to get us, doing all he can to keep us from our reward. But like the lizard (or spider), we must take hold, avoid the danger, be persistent! Jesus said, ``You will be hated by all on account of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved'' (Mk. 12:13). He said, ``Be faithful unto death and I'll give you a crown of life'' (Rev. 2:10). Jesus is saying if you hold on, endure, be persistent, you will dwell in the King's palace. These are inspired lessons from Agur, a man of God, who took the time to stop and observe the small but wise creatures. Let us learn from them and be spiritually wise. If we do, we will have the foresight to prepare for eternity, realizing our weaknesses and need for shelter that only the Lord can give. We will strive for true, biblical unity in the cause of Christ, and persistently endure that we might one day dwell in the heavenly palace of our Lord and King. -- October 7, 1997 ___________________________________________ News & Notes We were sorry to hear of sister Nellie Ruth Fox passing away and extend our condolences to all the family and friends. Let us be praying for them--and also for the family and friends of Sara Thompson (Joe's sister- in-law) who also departed this life recently. We have begun a midweek bulletin as another teaching tool for the congregation. I will be preaching in East Orange, New Jersey, December 27 on the theme of ``grace.'' We hope that in the near future Clarence Johnson, who preaches in Marietta, PA, and I will be swapping pulpits for a day. I have also been asked to preach for one of the services in Piscataway, New Jersey. Randy Frame will be our special speaker for the last Sunday morning of this month. Greetings to all of our visitors. Please come again! ________________________________________ Avondale CHURCH OF CHRIST P.O. Box 421 1606 Glen Willow Rd., Avondale, PA 19311 (610) 268-2088 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 11:00 A.M. Worship 6:00 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:00 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (610) 925-3567 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://www.mypage.onemain.com/tedwards/avondale ________________________________________