____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ March 26, 2006 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) "Maturity Is..." (Mackey W. Harden) 2) Worthy of Worship (Andy Diestelkamp) 3) News & Notes ____________________________________________________ -1- "Maturity Is..." by Mackey W. Harden A reader in Chapel Hill, N.C., wrote Ann Landers and asked her to return her definition of maturity. As I read through the 8-point definition, I immediately realized that these principles also applied to maturity concerning spiritual matters. The New Testament certainly teaches that we as Christians must grow to maturity, striving to be full-grown in our spiritual lives (cf. Eph. 4:12-16; Heb. 5:12-14; 2 Pet. 3:18). (I) Maturity is the ability to tolerate injustice without wanting to get even. Commonly known as retaliation, the Bible strictly teaches against it. Jesus said, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you" (Mt. 5:44). The mature Christian is the one who will practice this principle in his daily life (cf. Rom. 12:14-21). (2) Maturity is patience. It is the willingness to postpone immediate gratification in favor of the long-term gain. Christians must indeed endure and forego some of the pleasures of this life if heaven is to be our home. Moses is a good example of one who was willing to do so (Heb. 11:24-27). James said "that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (Jas. 1:2-4). (3) Maturity is perseverance, sweating out a project in the face of heavy opposition and discouraging setbacks. It surely takes a mature Christian to have the kind of steady persistence that is needed to live a faithful life, overcoming the many obstacles that come along. The Bible tells us "not to be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Gal. 6:9). We must be "steadfast and unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Cor. 15:58). (4) Maturity is the capacity to face unpleasantness and frustration, discomfort and defeat without complaint, collapse or attempting to find someone to blame. The mature Christian must pick himself up after a fall and keep trying. Paul did (Phil. 3:12-14)! When discomfort and defeat come our way, we must deal with them in an uncomplaining manner. The mature Christian will be content in whatever circumstance he finds himself (Phil. 4:11-13), realizing that he "can do all things through Christ." (5) Maturity is humility. It is being big enough to say, "I was wrong," and, when right, the mature person is able to forego the satisfaction of saying, "I told you so." Jesus not only taught humility (Lk. 14:7-11), He also exemplified it in His life (Phil. 2:1-8). James said, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up" (Jas. 4:10). Peter said that we are to "clothe ourselves with humility" (1 Pet. 5:5-7). The mature Christian is one who does so. (6) Maturity is the ability to evaluate a situation, make a decision and stick with it. The immature spend their lives exploring possibilities, changing their minds and in the end do nothing. The mature Christian has made the commitment to live for the Lord and has conviction enough to stick with it! Yes, we must be willing to "contend for the faith" (Jude 3), "ready always to give an answer of the hope that is in us with meekness and fear" (1 Pet. 3:15). We must be decisive if we are to be full-grown Christians, striving to be stable in all our ways (Eph. 4:14; Jas. 1:5-8). (7) Maturity means dependability, keeping one's word, coming through in a crisis. To be dependable means to be worthy of trust; reliable. There are many Christians who are not trustworthy and reliable. This ought not to be! We as Christians need to be reliable and keep our word. "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation" (Jas. 5:12; cf. also Mt. 5:33-37). (8) Maturity is the art of living in peace with that which we cannot change, the courage to change that which can be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference. If a person is truly a mature person he will not fret and worry about anything! Jesus said we are not to be anxious about the necessities of life, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Mt. 6:24-34). Paul said, "Be anxious for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6-7). -- Via Guardian of Truth XXVII: 9, p. 272, May 5, 1983 ____________________________________________________ -2- Worthy of Worship by Andy Diestelkamp "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve" (Matt. 4:10; Lk. 4:8). Jesus responded to Satan's temptation in this manner, making it clear that only Jehovah is worthy of worship (Jehovah is the name of the God of the Hebrews -- See Ex. 3:1-18; Deut. 6:13). Why Jehovah God alone is deserving of this level of respect and adoration is clearly announced in John's vision of the heavenly throne (Rev. 4). In that spectacular scene the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders gave glory, honor, and thanks to Almighty God (vs. 9) while they cast their crowns before Him "who lives forever and ever" in humble recognition of God's superiority and grace (vs. 10). These worshipers declared that God was worthy of this worship because He created all things and all things exist by His will (vs. 11). Likewise it is clear that created beings are not worthy of the kind of worship that is to be directed toward God. There are some notable examples of this preserved for us. When Peter (by divine order) came to Cornelius, the centurion "fell down at [Peter's] feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up saying, 'Stand up; I myself am also a man'" (Ac. 10:25,26). None can forget Herod's failure to restrain the people "who kept shouting, 'The voice of a god and not of a man'" (Ac. 12:22). He was punished "because he did not give glory to God" (vs. 23). Even angels who are higher than men (Heb. 2:7) are not worthy of worship. Twice John fell down to worship the angel which spoke to him. Both times the angel stopped him and bluntly said, "Worship God" (Rev. 19:10; 22:9). Neither the human nor spiritual messenger is worthy of worship -- only God. The exclusivity of worshiping Jehovah as God has prompted some to question whether "Jesus of Nazareth, a man..." (Ac. 2:22) is worthy of the kind of worship reserved for God. In answering this, keep in mind why Jehovah is worthy of worship (Rev. 4:11) and then read the introduction to John's account of Jesus' life (Jn. 1:1-3). The Word was in the beginning with God and was Himself God. Every created thing was made by the Word. The twenty-four elders cast their crowns before Him who sat on the throne because He created all things; it is therefore reasonable and right to worship the Word for the same reason. The fact that the Word became flesh (vs. 14) in no way changes the fact that He created all things. That the Word emptied Himself, came in the likeness of men, and humbled Himself to the point of dying on the cross does not in any sense diminish His worthiness to be worshiped then or now. Indeed, "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow" (Phil. 2:7-10). Scripture testifies to the worthiness of Jesus to receive the worship of men both while in the flesh and after His exaltation. Consider the response of Jesus' disciples after He came to them walking on the water. He had just saved Peter from the consequences of his little faith. This all took place just after they had witnessed the feeding of the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. They had previously heard demons that Jesus had cast out declare Him to be the Son of God (Matt. 8:29). Already the people had surmised that Jesus was the Prophet and tried to anoint Him king -- Messiah (Jn. 6:14,15). "Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, 'Truly You are the Son of God!'" (Matt. 14:33). They are not just bowing down to Him to be nice or because they want something from Him. They are not merely paying homage to His power. They have connected the dots and have come to the awesome conclusion that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the Son of God. It is with this awe that they worship Him. If Jesus was not worthy of the kind of worship reserved for God, then why didn't He rebuke His disciples as Peter did to Cornelius or the angel did to John? If Jesus is inappropriately taking glory that belongs only to God, why is He not struck as Herod was? The only conclusion is that Jesus is worthy of the kind of worship reserved for God because He was (and is) deity. He, too, wears the name of Jehovah. (Consider comparisons of Heb. 1:10 with Psa. 102:1,25; Joel 2:32 with Ac. 2:21,22 and Rom. 10:9-13; and Isa. 40:3 with Jn. 1:22-36). The worthiness of Jesus to receive our worship is confirmed by returning to the throne scene in Revelation 5 and observing that the four creatures and twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb (vs. 8) just as they had before "Him who sits on the throne" (4:9,10). If it was worship to Lord God Almighty, it was worship to the Lamb. The Lamb was worthy to receive, among other things, honor and glory (5:12). Indeed the hosts of heaven and earth worshiped the Lamb as they worshiped "Him who sits on the throne" (vss. 13,14). Therefore, let us who hope and wait for the "glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Tit. 2:13) give glory and honor to Him who is worthy of our worship. -- Via Think on These Things, October-November-December, 2004 ____________________________________________________ -3- News & Notes Let us continue praying for Eloise Craver who has not been feeling well for the last few weeks and has been finding it difficult to eat. She has also lost her appetite, and her energy-level has been low. The Gospel Meeting at the Park Forest church of Christ begins next Sunday and will continue through Friday (April 2-7) with Jerry Fite as the guest speaker for each service. Weeknight services will begin at 7:30. (Their address is 9923 Sunny Cline Drive -- at the corner of Sunny Cline and Aletha.) The one-day Gospel Meeting at the Northshore church of Christ in Mandeville, LA, with 5 different speakers, went very well. All the sermons can be accessed through the following website by selecting "A Day in the First Century": http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/audioser.html ____________________________________________________ MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST 1022 Myrtle Street Denham Springs, LA 70726 (225) 664-8208 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM Wednesday: 7:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ____________________________________________________