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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" (Matt. 28:19,20).
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December 15, 2013
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Contents:
1) Heaven: A Comfort to the Troubled Heart (Sewell Hall)
2) The Value of Quiet Benevolence (Warren Berkley)
3) News & Notes
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-1-
Heaven: A Comfort to the Troubled Heart
by Sewell Hall
On the evening of February 28th, this year, Ken and Jean Chaney
slipped off of an isolated icy road in California, and soon their
car was almost completely covered with snow. There was little
or no chance of being rescued until the spring thaw, too far in the
future to offer any hope of survival. They faced the ordeal of
freezing or starvation, the certainty that one or the other would
see a companion die and then go on to face death alone. How
would you react in such circumstances? Would you be calm or
distraught? How would you spend your time? On what would
you depend for strength to cope?
Every responsible human being has faced or will face such crises as
these -- traumatic personal experiences, the loss of loved ones and
death itself. These may not come all at once, as in this case,
but they surely must be faced sooner or later by everyone of us.
As Jesus met with his disciples in the upper room on the very eve of
his betrayal, he knew better than they the terrible challenges they
were about to face. Although they had not yet comprehended the
reality of his approaching crucifixion, they were already expressing
concern about his insistence that he was about to "go away."
They had depended on him for everything; how crushed they would be
to see him crucified and buried!
Jesus knew, too, the personal jeopardy they would sense as his
disciples. Peter would feel so threatened that he would
actually deny him. Most of the others would scatter. And
when reports of his resurrection began to circulate, they would bar
the doors in fear. Jesus could see down into the future the
persecution and death which they would face because of faith in him.
What could Jesus say to comfort them for the moment and for the
future? As always, he knew the words to say:
"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in
Me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I
would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (Jn.
14:1-3).
These words can serve to comfort us as they comforted them.
Grounds of Comfort
First, there is comfort in believing in God and in his Son. We
are not in a world governed by fate or chance. God made it and
he is in control. The earthly sojourn of his son reassures us
that he knows our needs and is concerned for our welfare. "He who
did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how
shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Rom. 8:32)
Second, there is comfort in his words of consolation. It is
heart-warming to look through the Bible and see the reaction of God,
his angels, and his Son when his children were frightened. In
these verses it is, "Let not your heart be troubled." The
words, "Do not be afraid," are found more than 70 times in
Scripture.
But the Lord goes further to provide specific promises. He
assures us that there are many dwelling places in his Father's
house, that he was going to prepare one for us, that he would come
again to receive us, and that our dwelling place will be with him
forever.
Many Bible students consider this a promise of the fellowship that
Christians now enjoy as result of Christ's going away to the Father
and offering his shed blood for our redemption. But in view of
many passages about heaven which seem to be parallel to this one, we
are confident that we do no violence to the truth if we interpret
this promise in the usual way: that Jesus was promising a dwelling
place in heaven to his anxious and fearful disciples.
The Comfort of Hope
The hope of heaven is the greatest possible comfort in times of
affliction. Abraham "sojourned in the land of promise as in a
foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs
with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has
foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Heb. 11:9-10).
The weight of heavenly glory which Paul anticipated made the
afflictions that he was suffering seem light, and the eternity of
that glory made his afflictions seem to be "but for the moment" (2
Cor. 4:17). Peter observed that the saints to whom he wrote
greatly rejoiced in their heavenly inheritance, though for the time
being they were "grieved by various trials" (1 Pet. 1:3-6).
Climaxing the book of Revelation, written to encourage those who
were oppressed by Roman persecution, is a picture of the saints at
home with God. Jesus himself, "for the joy that was set before him,
endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:2). If these notable
sufferers found comfort in the hope of heaven, so can we.
Look away from the cross to the glittering crown,
From your cares, weary one, look away;
There's a home for the soul, where no sorrow can come
And where pleasures will never decay.
The hope of heaven is the greatest possible comfort when we lose our
Christian loved ones. Though David could not bring his dead
son back, he took comfort in the fact that he could go to him (2
Sam. 12:23). Jesus comforted bereaved Martha with the promise,
"He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live" (Jn.
11:25). Paul wrote to Thessalonian Christians who were
sorrowing over the loss of their brethren, assuring them that at the
coming of the Lord those dead saints would be caught up together
with the living saints to meet the Lord in the air, "and so shall we
ever be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:17). To this he added,
"Wherefore comfort one another with these words" (v. 18). What
greater comfort could be found in bereavement than the words of
Revelation 14:13, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from
henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their
labors; and their works do follow them."
Called home from service to reward,
Called home from toil to rest;
Thy soul from earthly sense hath gone
To dwell among the blest.
Called home from rugged paths of time,
To tread the street of gold;
Around thee lies a land sublime,
All glorious to behold.
If the hope of heaven comforts us in affliction and in the loss of
loved ones, how much greater is the comfort when we ourselves face
the spectre of death! Without the assurances of God's word,
the approach of death would be the most frightful experience
possible; how we all fear the unknown! But faith in the
exceeding precious promises of God and of his Son robs death of its
terror. Walking by faith, we see death as a move from an
earthly tent in which we groan into "a building from God, a house
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2 Cor. 5:1). We
see it as the moment of victory, the successful end of the
race. We see it as the gate through which we pass to obtain
the reward for which we have lived our lives, and to experience the
union with our Lord in that place which he has prepared for us where
we "shall be like him" (1 Jn. 3:2) and live with him and with the
Father forever.
After the battle, peace will be given;
After the weeping, song there will be;
After the journey, there will be heaven,
Burdens will fall, and we shall be free (James Rowe).
The comfort which the hope of heaven brings is evident in the lives
of saints who appear on the pages of Scripture. What Bible
student would fail to think of the courage of Paul as he faced
death, confident that "there is laid up for me the crown of
righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge shall give unto me
on that day" (2 Tim. 4:8)? The hope of heaven demonstrated by
the martyrs of the early centuries, even in the face of death, so
adorned the doctrine of Christ as to challenge the Roman Emperor to
bow at the feet of him who could inspire such calmness in death.
The Chaneys who were stuck in the snow-bank kept a diary which was
found when their bodies were discovered weeks later. Their
attitude was summarized in the words, "Here we are, completely in
God's hand! What better place to be!" They spent their
time singing hymns, taking catnaps and quoting Bible verses.
Their diary included admonitions to their children and
grandchildren. And it closed, 18 days after it was begun, with
this observation: "Dad went to the Lord at 7:30 this evening.
It was so peaceful I didn't even know he left. That last thing
I heard him say was, 'Thank the Lord.' I think I'll be with
him soon."
The hope of heaven still comforts the troubled heart.
-- Via Guardian of Truth XXXV: 20, pp. 627- 629 October 17, 1991,
http://www.truthmagazine. com/archives/volume35/GOT035295.html
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-2-
The Value of Quiet Benevolence
by Warren Berkley
An irritable brother who always kept some grievance or issue loaded,
called a meeting with the preacher and the four elders of the local
church.
He leapt right into his complaint, arguing that all five brethren
made a good living, drove late model cars and lived in nice homes,
yet, he argued: "You don't ever share your good fortune." His
audience listened patiently and then after the outburst, one of the
elders said: "How do you know we do not share?" There was no
answer. Apparently the agitated brother assumed they didn't,
or wanted to believe they were miserly. The elder calmly
explained, putting an end to the event: "God does not expect us to
prove to you or to anyone the extent of our benevolence. In
fact, the larger amount of one's benevolence will not be known on
earth." In support of this, he read Matthew 6:1-4, and the
meeting ended.
The story illustrates, among other things, a common misunderstanding
of individual benevolence. The purpose is not to satisfy
witnesses, elicit the applause of men, or prove anything to
detractors. One's sharing ought to be so private and
unpublicized, when the right hand gives, the left hand has no
idea. It should be as Harriet Beecher Stowe once wrote of
someone she believed had the spirit of Jesus. She said of this
person, that "He had a habit of quiet benevolence," doing more good
silently than was common of most people in their public
charity. (Life and Letters of Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1897)
Are you a quiet giver? There is rich spiritual value in this
kind of giving. Value for you and the recipient, having this
truth connection: "with such sacrifices, God is well pleased"
(Hebrews 13:16, see also Matthew 6:1-4).
-- Via The Beacon, 12/10/13
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-3-
News & Notes
Jean
Calloway is back in the hospital. She has been going there
three times a week for dialysis; but on December 13, they had to
abort after 30 minutes, due to complications. Her heart stopped,
but was then resuscitated with CPR. Blockages also developed
in both legs, with the left one being worse, and which will most
likely require the amputation of some toes. But the surgeon
(who is willing) can't perform that until another surgeon will
agree to do a bypass on her leg, whom the daughter has not yet
been able to acquire, due to her mother being at such a high risk
for the surgery (with her many health problems). So I am
soliciting the prayers of the saints.
Let us also continue to remember Virginia Fontenot
in prayer, who has stage 4 cancer. She has completed 12 chemo
treatments, which have been difficult for her; but has not yet begun
her once-a-day treatment. Due to having also hurt her back,
she now requires help in getting out of bed and standing up from a
sitting position. On December 23, she will be having a PET
scan, which will reveal how well the chemo has worked. Her
daughter asks that we continue to remember her mother in our
prayers.
And let us also keep the following in prayer: Shirley Young,
Cheryl Crews, and Terry and Pam MacDonald.
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom.
10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John
3:18).
3) Repent of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts
8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water for the remission of sins
(Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet.
3:21).
6) Continue in the faith; for, if not, salvation can
be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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Park Forest
CHURCH OF CHRIST
9923 Sunny Cline Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70817
Sunday services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 6 PM (worship)
Tuesday: 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/go
(Gospel Observer website)
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html
(audio sermons)