____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ November 5, 2006 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) Facts About Faith Healing (Rick Duggin) 2) Paul's Three-Point Plan For Personal Peace (Edwin Crozier) 3) News & Notes ____________________________________________________ -1- Facts About Faith Healing by Rick Duggin Members of the Faith Assembly, an Indiana-based religious sect, have lost as many as eighty-eight members to treatable illnesses or injuries because they believe that going to a doctor is wrong. A federal and state study concluded that the morality rate for their newborns is three times higher than the statewide rate, and the rate of maternal deaths is one hundred times higher. A Mr. Freeman who started this sect claimed that he would never die, that he would live till the Second Coming. He was buried in December, 1984, and yet the sect continues to exist. No Bible believer will deny that healing is divine or that we should pray for the sick. The question is: Does God heal miraculously today? A miracle is an act above the laws of nature; something which nature could not do in its ordinary course of operation. Our society has so perverted this word that anything from a narrow escape to a successful telethon is called a miracle. Even in the first century, the gift of healing was never used merely as an end in itself. In fact, not all the sick were healed (see Philippians 2:25-30; 1 Timothy 5:23; 2 Timothy 4:20). The ultimate purpose of such gifts was to produce faith. "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through his name" (John 20:30,31). Why do we flatly deny the existence of miraculous gifts today? (1) Miraculous power was given through Holy Spirit baptism and by the apostles laying their hands on certain ones (Acts 2:1-4; 8:14-18). But there is now only one baptism (Ephesians 4:5), which men can perform (Matthew 28:19). And there are no apostles alive today, thus no means of receiving spiritual gifts. (2) Those who claim to have miraculous gifts do not claim all of them. 1 Corinthians 12:1-10 lists nine spiritual gifts. If one gift still exists, all do. If God's inspired prophets are still on earth, we should be adding their words to the New Testament. But this is contrary to those scriptures which affirm that revelation is complete (2 Timothy 3:16,17; Jude 3). In addition, modern "prophets" contradict the revelation which God has already given! (Galatians 1:6-9) (3) The purposes of miraculous gifts have been fulfilled. God's messengers once used miracles to prove their message came from Heaven, "Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds" (2 Corinthians 12:12). But God's word is now confirmed (Hebrews 2:3,4), and we can know what to believe by reading God's revelation (Ephesians 3:4). (4) The New Testament itself says that miracles would cease when "that which is perfect" would come (1 Corinthians 13:10). We now have God's "perfect" revelation (James 1: 25), thus miraculous gifts have ceased. (Note: The effort to make "that which is perfect" refer to Christ is not only out of context for 1 Corinthians 13, it is actually contrary to the context. The perfect must be of the same nature as the "in part" referred to in verses 9, 10. Paul did not have "Christ" or "His coming" in part. He "knew" in part. This knowledge would be made perfect when the revelation of God was made complete.) (5) The miracles of the New Testament were performed by godly men who never begged for so much as a dime for any miracle. What a contrast to the fake healers of our day. Further, the apostles did not have to debate with anyone over their ability to work miracles, for even their enemies could not deny the facts (Acts 4:16). They were willing to be put to the test. Jesus commended the church at Ephesus for testing those who claimed to be apostles (Revelation 2:2). Is this true today? "Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain" (Proverbs 25:14). Don't let boastful deceivers lead you astray. -- Via Westvue Messenger, Vol. 29, No. 7, July 1986 ____________________________________________________ -2- Paul's Three-Point Plan For Personal Peace by Edwin Crozier Introduction: One of the most shocking statements in the Bible, to me, is Paul's statement in Philippians 4:6. "Be anxious for nothing." My initial response to such a statement is to question it as an overstatement. I want to soften it a little and say that I just need to be careful regarding what I am anxious about. If I heard this statement in a vacuum, not knowing who said it or why, I would immediately assume it was some young, naive preacher making grandiose statements that simply are unsupportable. But the problem is I know who said it. It was Paul, who was neither young, nor naive. He said it by inspiration which means it is certainly supportable. What really causes me to stand up and take more notice is the number of things about which this man had to be stressed out and anxious. Just consider the things mentioned in this letter alone: 1:7 -- Paul was writing while imprisoned; 1:15-16 -- there were men teaching from envy and strife just to add afflictions to his chains; 1:20 -- he knew he may be executed; 1:28-30 -- he knew his friends were going to suffer; 2:1-2,14; 4:2-3 -- evidently the church at Philippi was struggling with disunity and division; 2:25-27 -- though Epaphroditus was well by the writing of this letter, Paul had friends who were dying; 3:2ff -- false teachers were getting to the brethren; 3:7ff -- he had to give up everything that had been meaningful to him when he became a Christian; 3:17-18 -- he knew of brethren in Philippi who needed to be disciplined by the congregation; 4:10-12 -- his needs were being fulfilled by the brethren and who knew when gifts and support would arrive. This is the man who said, "Be anxious for nothing." Then this man explained how to avoid this anxiety. When I consider what Paul had been through, that makes me want to sit up and read a little more closely. Within Philippians 4:6-9, Paul presents a three-point plan for personal peace. What anxieties, distresses, frustrations and concerns plague us today that Paul did not go through before us? Take a look at Paul's plan for peace and take courage that we can indeed overcome the stresses of our personal lives, family lives, work lives and even church lives. Discussion: I. Pray -- Trust God (Philippians 4:6). A. On the surface, we could easily just say that Paul's advice is to pray. We could talk about how to make requests and offer thanks. But that is really just the surface. The deeper issue that Paul is really bringing out is to trust God. No matter what stresses are weighing down on you, trust that God is there and will take care of you. B. When you consider this trust, note four areas in which you must trust God. 1. Trust God that He will not abandon you (Hebrews 13:5-6). Additionally, trust that nothing is so powerful as to overcome God such that we will be abandoned by Him (Romans 8:35-39). 2. Trust God that He knows what we need, even before we ask Him (Matthew 6:8,32). 3. Trust God that He cares about our needs and concerns (I Peter 5:6-7). 4. Trust God that He is able to take care of us. Paul demonstrated that in Philippians 4:6, when he pointed out that our requests should be made with thanksgiving. God has already demonstrated His ability to take care of us. That is why we owe Him our thanks already. C. Paul makes an amazingly subtle, yet profound, point in Philippians 4:7. He demonstrates that the peace we will receive from God comes through Jesus Christ. What a welcome reminder that, in fact, the one thing that should cause us the most anxiety and stress has already been dealt with in Christ. No wonder we can have peace. That one thing of course is sin. Do you want stress and anxiety? Then think about trying to get rid of your sins and keep from going to hell all by yourself. No matter what you would do you would run into a brick wall (Proverbs 20:9). But Jesus has already taken care of that. If we are in Christ, we can overcome anxiety, stress and frustration because the greatest of stresses is resolved. Do you remember what Paul said in Romans 5:6-11? Paul made a great point. If God loved us so much to save us through Christ while we were still in our sins, how much more will God stay with us and get us to heaven once we have become His children in Christ? D. We can trust God to take care of us and provide what is best and most needed for us. So, when we face anxieties and stresses, pray. Make your requests known to God, giving thanks. And know that even when, in your stress and anxiety, you do not know exactly how or what to pray, the Spirit knows and intercedes for you (Romans 8:26). II. Think good thoughts (Philippians 4:8). A. In Philippians 4:8, Paul gives a list of things upon which we should meditate -- true things, noble things, just things, pure things, lovely things, things of good report. Basically Paul said to think about good things. However, his statement is even stronger than that. The term translated "meditate" is "logizomai" and is defined in Spiros Zodhiates "The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament" as "to put together with one's mind, to count, to occupy oneself with reckonings or calculations." B. Here is a man in prison telling us in very strong terms to look on the bright side. Do not get bogged down in thinking about all the bad things. Do not count up in your mind all the false, irreverent, unfair, sinful, disgusting and terrible things that are happening to or around you. Count the good things. The song we sing, "Count Your Many Blessings" fits here. It may surprise you what the Lord has already done for you. C. Look at Paul's example in the first chapter of Philippians alone. 1. In 1:12, Paul was in prison but thought about how his imprisonment furthered the gospel. 2. In 1:14, he thought about how his chains made the brethren bolder. 3. In 1:15-18, he thought about how the dishonest teachers were still teaching the gospel and some might be saved. 4. In 1:21, he considered the blessings of living and dying, "To live is Christ, and to die is gain." D. One of the great battles of our time is the battle of the mind, but Paul said in II Corinthians 10:3-6, that we must wage that warfare and bring our thoughts into captivity. A friend of mine once said, "We may not be able to stop the birds from flying over our heads, but we can keep them from making nests in our hair." In like manner, we may never stop fleeting thoughts from coursing through our minds. But we can control our meditations. Meditate on the good things. III. No matter how you feel, do what you know is right (Philippians 4:9). A. This is where the rubber meets the road. There comes a point when we get up off our knees and get out of our thinking chairs. There comes a point when we have to decide to do something. Paul says do what we know is right. Specifically, to the Philippians he said that they should do what he taught them. They should do what they saw him do. B. Certainly, Paul has not literally been with us. He has not preached sermons to us, nor have we seen his daily behavior. However, we do have a guide given to us. Paul was one of the human authors, but ultimately it came from the Holy Spirit (II Peter 1:20-21). Paul said that the scriptures were profitable to teach us, convict us, correct us and make us complete and equipped for every good work (II Timothy 3:16-17). C. The scripture provides instruction for how we should live as members of the church (I Timothy 3:15). It talks about how to live within a family (e.g. Ephesians 5:22-6:4). It tells us about personal day to day living regarding speech, actions and even emotions (e.g. Ephesians 4:25-32). It talks about conflict resolution (Matthew 5:21-26) and much, much more. There are so many things we can learn from the teaching in the Bible and from the example of saints recorded in the Bible. Paul explains that if we want peace from God to overcome the anxieties and stresses of life, we need to follow what we learn from them. D. That means we do not follow our feelings. We do not follow the crowd. We do not follow our peer group or our family. We follow God, according to His word. Then we will have peace, because only then can we rest assured that we have done what is right. Conclusion: Certainly, I am not so naive as to think that you can go home tonight, go through this three step process and never have stress again. However, as you grow in Christ spending your time doing these three things -- trusting God in prayer, thinking good thoughts and doing what you know is right -- the God of peace will be with you; and you, through God's grace, will overcome the stresses and anxieties of life. ____________________________________________________ -3- News & Notes Luther Shuff will be seeing his doctor this Tuesday and will find out when he can start walking again. It will then be 4 weeks that he has had to remain off his feet -- even to go just from the living room to the kitchen for a glass of water. It appears that his healing has been going well, but let those of us who are Christians pray that he will be able to resume walking soon and be completely healed from his recent surgery. Let us also be praying for R.J. Evans who had been in the hospital again from Sunday to Thursday of last week. His wife Jackie writes that he had "several x-rays, CT scans, and other tests," along with "a good bit of fluid removed from the lining of his right lung," which was slightly infected. "He also still has pneumonia and...is having trouble breathing deeply without pain," so is now using a breathing machine at home to help out. He will return to the hospital Tuesday for another CT scan, but as an out-patient, and will also see his oncologist that afternoon. The doctors want him to walk as much as he can, but lately R.J has been feeling nauseous, very weak, and without an appetite (which also makes it difficult since he is to take his medication with meals). Until all of this is cleared up, R.J won't be able to begin his chemotherapy; so Jackie requests that we continue to pray for her husband. His doctors have recommended that he not have visitors for a while, to avoid possible exposure to other illnesses; but "he still enjoys cards, e-mails and short phone calls." Jackie thanks everyone for their prayers and concern. The Gospel Meeting at the Park Forest church of Christ in Baton Rouge begins today and will go through Friday (November 5-10). Mike Dubose (from Houston, Texas) is the guest speaker. Services through the weeknights will begin at 7:30. The church meets at 9923 Sunny Cline Dr. (at the corner of Aletha), right across from the Park Forest Middle School. Phone: (225) 275-4684 ____________________________________________________ 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 ____________________________________________________