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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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September 28, 2014
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Contents:

1) Your Faithfulness is Like a Morning Cloud (Kent Heaton)
2) The Purpose of the Local Church (Bill Hall)
3) News & Notes
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-1-

Your Faithfulness is Like a Morning Cloud
by Kent Heaton

"Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth. O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew it goes away. Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth; and your judgments are like light that goes forth. For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:1-6).  

Man is a fickle creature. Imbedded in all of us is the ability to be devoted and consecrated people to a purpose or cause. Athletes excel in their sport spending incredible hours training. Scholars exhaust hours upon hours of study to gain a level of expertise in a desired field. Heroes are found in the most unlikely places from a spirit of courageous resolve. Stories of survival are inscribed upon the pages of inspiration for the endurance of the human spirit. With all of this deep rooted resolution of the nature of man he finds so often the inability to keep faith in the Creator.  

Hosea, a prophet of God, lived in perilous times. The kingdom was experiencing the upheavals of kings who were evil, being warned of God of impending doom lest they repent. There were times of plenty and times of famine. Revival found its home for a short time but sin triumphed over the people as they turned away from the Lord God. The people are lying, cheating, stealing, killing, committing adultery, and failing to hear Hosea's plea of change. The prophet goes to the root of the problem for as a people of God their faith was likened to a "morning cloud and like the early dew it goes away" (Hosea 6:4). Earlier the charge by Hosea was God's people were "destroyed for lack of knowledge" and had "forgotten the law of your God" (Hosea 4:6). Faith and knowledge are inexplicably intertwined with one another as Paul writes in Romans 10:17 that "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God."

The downfall of God's people can be attributed to their failure to instill in their hearts the strength of the words of God. Religion began to be a ritual with actions and procedures rather than the knowledge of God. Burnt offerings were given in rote ceremony of duty without affection. Sacrifices presented in their worship had no feeling or desire for affection toward the Lord. Worship had been polluted by the faithless hearts drawn away by the deceptive enticements of idol worship.

How could the chosen people of God reject Him and turn to the debauchery of Baal? "I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal Peor, and separated themselves to that shame; they became an abomination like the thing they loved" (Hosea 9:10). The path to rebellion is strewn with the failed convictions of men who do not have the resolute character to devote themselves fully to the will of God. They ran well but they did not continue. Because of the famine in the land for the word of the Lord the people's faith became as passing as a morning mist. "Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land" (Hosea 4:1).  

Mercy and knowledge is what were needed in the land. Faith was vanquished upon the sacrifices and burnt offerings given to soothe a gilded conscience serving the Lord through actions rather than the heart. The lesson from Hosea is the same appeal for the nation of saints today. Sacrifice and burnt offerings are given without mercy. Within the body of Christ a famine exists in the hearts of disciples. Lack of knowledge has always destroyed faith. Where is the stand for truth as it was in the days of revival (Acts 3:19)? How are the lives of the Christian changed by the mercy of God? What has happened to a group of people that once were known as "people of the book"?

The church of God in America suffers from the delusions of modern Baal's that vie for time, hearts and mind. As the people of old the holy nation of God in our century suffers from the faithlessness of knowledge lost. How easy Satan entraps the mind to be filled with everything but the knowledge of God. Worship becomes a common thing. Devotion to the cause of Christ goes by the wayside. Stories of conversion become fewer and fewer as less time is spent in saving souls. We go to church on Sunday biding our time until we meet again. Oh the drudgery of it all. When will the Lord take the gospel away from the self-satisfied American culture and give it to those less fortunate who truly need the pure milk of the word.  

The clarion call of the New Testament is trumpeted in the ears of those who will devote their lives to work of Christ. This is not a passive call. We do not merely put on the armor of God -- we go into battle. In the city of Thessalonica the early Christians were charged with turning the world upside down (Acts 17:6). Let every tongue proclaim in their community the saving message of a merciful Father. Be the instrument that will bring someone to Christ. Fill the gap as God's people to defeat the armies of apathy that invade our land. Let not our faith be like the morning cloud or early dew but rather a lasting shower of His knowledge in our lives. Tune the heart to live for Christ each day in our speech, our manner of life, our moral rule, our recreation -- our lives. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).  

-- Via the North Valdosta Bulletin, September 28, 2014
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-2-

The Purpose of the Local Church
by Bill Hall

What is the purpose of the Lord's church? Is it to eradicate poverty, disease, social injustice, illiteracy from among men? Is it to bring about a cessation of war and conflict? Is it to campaign for a temptation-free society for Christians to live in?

If the church had as one of its great goals the eradication of disease, the Lord could have easily equipped it to accomplish that goal. Could not the same power that enabled one blind man to see have enabled all blind men to see; that enabled one lame man to walk have enabled all lame people to walk; that cured many people of varied diseases have cured all people of all diseases? And could not this same power have been given to the church in all generations?

If the church has as one of its great goals the eradication of poverty, the Lord could have easily equipped it to accomplish this purpose. After all, He fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes. He similarly fed four thousand on another occasion. Could not He who did these marvelous works have enabled His church in all generations to feed, clothe, and shelter the impoverished masses of the world through miraculous powers?

If the Lord had wanted His church to become a lobbyist group to apply political pressure toward a temptation and persecution-free society in which to live, He would have given instructions in that direction. He did not even lead His church into a direct effort to destroy slavery, but taught the Christian slave to be a better slave and the Christian master to treat his slaves as he would have his heavenly Master treat him (Col. 3:22-4:1).  

The church's purpose is to save souls and prepare people for eternity. It holds out to the impoverished the hope of someday walking a street of gold; to the suffering a time when there will be no pain; to the sorrowing a moment when "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." It tells the tempted and persecuted that there is value in these afflictions, that the testing of their faith is "more precious than of gold," and to rejoice. It tells all to live godly lives in whatever environment they find themselves. It seeks to change people through the power of the gospel, not society through the coercion of legislators. Its weapons "are not carnal, but are mighty through God." Its motivating theme: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

When local churches become involved in hospital and health clinic work, or when they build schools for the education of their children, or when they see as one of their great missions to provide for the world's poverty, or when they feel obligated to create social upheaval and campaign for human rights, or when they feel called upon to express their views on the government's use of nuclear armaments or whatever, they have a distorted view of the purpose of the church.

-- via The Eastside church of Christ (Bowling Green, KY), May 24, 2014
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News & Notes

Marie Turner (Mark's wife) will be having major surgery due to cancer October 10.  Let those of us who are God's children be keeping her and all her family in prayer.

Though she still has a ways to go in healing from her recent operation, Myrna Jordan received a good report from her doctor last week, which we were glad to hear. 

Let us also be remembering Virginia Fontenot and her family in prayer.  She has recently been put on hospice care; but she will be able to receive that in her home, where her daughter (Linda Blevins) has been with her around the clock for about the last year and a half.  Linda, who had been an anesthesiologist for many years, had actually taken an early retirement in order to be a continual help for her mother through her struggles with cancer.

The recent heart surgery for Kevin Varney went well.  Let us also pray that he will continue to do fine throughout the healing process.

We were joyfully surprised to see Danielle Howard with us at church Sunday evening.  Since May 24, she has either been in the hospital or a rehabilitation facility in Jesup.  The removal of two parathyroids several weeks ago has led to some major improvement for her; and though, for a while, she had been hoping to be able to return home by Thanksgiving, that time kept getting shorter as she continued to improve through her therapy.  She will now be going home this Friday (October 10)!

Let us also continue to remember in prayer the following for their health: Jim Lively, Ronnie Davis, Rex and Frankie Hadley, Jewel Wilson, Mary Vandevander, Deborah Medlock, Shirley Davis, Sue Wooten, Dexter Roberts, and Colleen Henson.
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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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Tebeau Street

CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA  31501
Sunday services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 5 PM (worship)
Wednesday: 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (912) 614-8593
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/go (Gospel Observer website)
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html (audio sermons)