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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" (Matthew
28:19-20, NASB).
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June 2, 2019
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Contents:
1) Delight in the Lord (Psalm 37:4) (Mike Johnson)
2) Must A Thing Be Prohibited (C.R. Nichol)
3) News & Notes
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-1-
Delight in the Lord (Psalm 37:4)
Mike Johnson
Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall
give you the desires of your heart.” Do you delight in the
Lord? The Psalmist, thought to be David, said this is what we
are to do. The word found in the original (anag) carries with
it the idea of something delicate or soft that someone would take
pleasure in (The Complete Word Study Dictionary). Here it
involves the idea of taking pleasure and delight in God. The
verse says, “delight yourself,” so there is a choice involved and
the concept of effort and commitment.
What does it mean today to take delight in something or
someone? It involves the idea of being excited (thrilled,
energized) when people are doing what they really want to do or when
they are with someone they really love. What do you take great
delight in today? Many take great delight in sports.
They cannot wait for the season to start, and they eagerly
anticipate the start of the big game. When the game is over,
they talk about it with others. Truly, they delight in
sports. Others may delight in television, wealth, shopping,
eating, or their computer. It is good to have various hobbies and
endeavors we enjoy. Primarily, however, as the text says, we
should delight in the Lord! For us, God produces delight,
pleasure, and happiness. If we delight in the Lord, the result
should be a joyful interest in things of a spiritual nature.
Consider as an example King David. He was truly a person who
delighted in the Lord for much of his life. Consider the various
ways he showed this delight.
1. BY DOING GOD’S WILL - David wrote in Psalm 40:8, “I
delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.”
(Note also Psa. 16:8-9.) It would be very difficult for a
person to delight in the Lord if he were not actively involved in
obeying Him. A person in sin and rebellion often does not even
feel comfortable having a conversation about God. Sin puts a
“cloud” over his relationship with God. If we are going to
delight in the Lord, we must have an earnest desire to obey Him and
be willing to turn away from sin.
2. BY MEDITATING ON THE SCRIPTURES - He wrote in
Psalm 1:1-2, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the
ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of
the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His
law he meditates day and night.” How much do we think about the
Scriptures? Are our thoughts about the Scriptures just confined to
church services? When we “delight in the Lord,” we will think
about God’s Law often.
3. BY BEING ABSORBED IN HIS WORD - David also wrote
Psalm 119, which focuses very much on the Word of God. In
verse 16, he stated, “I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will
not forget Your word.” In verse 47, he said, “And I will
delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love.” (Please also
note verses 24, 35, and 77.) Are our minds more absorbed with
politics, sports, and entertainment than with God’s Word? If
people delight in the Lord, they should be, as we say today, “all
about” the Scriptures.
4. BY PRAYING - In Psalm 55:16-17 he said, “As for me,
I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and
morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my
voice.” David prayed regularly. It would seem reasonable that if we
take delight in the Lord, we would pray a lot, i.e. we would want to
communicate with our Creator. In the New Testament, we are
told to “pray without ceasing” (I Thess. 5:17), and to “continue
steadfastly in prayer” (Rom. 12:12).
5. BY ASSEMBLING - In Psalm 122:1, David said, “I was
glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go into the house of the
Lord.’” In Psalm 16:11, he said, “You will show me the path of
life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are
pleasures forevermore.” (Note also Isa. 58:13-14 where the writer
called the Sabbath Day a “delight.”) A person who delights in
the Lord will assemble for worship.
6. BY SINGING PRAISES - In Psalm 59:16, he
points out, “But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud
of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense And
refuge in the day of my trouble.” Singing is a command (Eph. 5:19,
Col. 3:16), but it is a great opportunity for worship, and we should
be “delighted” to sing praises to God.
Going back to verse 4b, we see a blessing attached to delighting in
the Lord. It says if we trust in the Lord, He will give us the
“desires of our heart.” Some interpret this to mean if we
trust in the Lord, He will give us anything we want such as
luxuries, wealth, and power. However, this is not talking about
superficial earthly desires to have more. I Timothy 6:6 says,
“Now godliness with contentment is great gain.” I John 2:15-17
points out we are not to love the world or the things in the world.
The passage in our text is consistent with the New Testament
teaching on prayer. In the New Testament, we are given assurances
regarding prayer (Mt. 7:7-11), but we also learn there are
conditions of acceptable prayer (I Pet. 3:12, James 5:16-18). It is
not saying if we delight in the Lord, He will give us any luxury we
ask for. Instead, as in the New Testament, God knows our
needs, we pray to Him, and His response will be in keeping with what
is best for us.
We have a tendency to get discouraged. We see moral decay with
little interest in spirituality. Perhaps the stock market is
down, the economy is bad, and we see war and violence throughout the
world. This bleakness can result in despair, but regardless of what
is happening around us, we should always delight in the Lord.
Corrie ten Boom put it like this.
Look around, you’ll be distressed.
Look within, you’ll be depressed,
Look to the Lord, you’ll be at rest.
Thus, do not get angry and envious because of the prosperity of evil
people; instead, rejoice in the Lord. Delighting in the Lord is not
just something we say we do. If we delight in Him, it will be
seen by our attitude and by our lives.
— Via The Elon Challenger, Volume 16, Number 9, May 2019
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-2-
Must A Thing Be Prohibited?
C.R. Nichol
Some think they are at liberty to introduce anything into God’s
worship, providing God has not, in so many words, prohibited it.
This is evidently a mistake. Such a plan of procedure would open the
flood gates for innumerable innovations. On this principle every
kind of food and drink might be brought into the Lord’s supper, and
burning incense might be added to the worship. We must remember that
law is inclusive and exclusive, including the things commanded and
excluding all things else. This principle is too well known to need
argument. Besides, in religious matters God alone has the right to
guide men, and when man undertakes to add forms of service or
worship not authorized by God’s law, he assumes prerogatives which
belong exclusively to God. He is presuming to take the office of
God; one who has proper reverence for God so regards him.
- via The Beacon, April 21, 2019
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-3-
News & Notes
Folks to be keeping in prayer:
We extend our condolences to all the family and friends of Tommy
Lindsey (Tory McCarthy’s grandfather) who passed away yesterday at
5:30 p.m.
Our sympathies also go out to the family of 3-year-old Kayleigh
Tanner, and all the bereaved. Since April 7, she had been in
the children’s hospital in Atlanta, battling cancer, and of which
she already had previous surgeries for. But on last Thursday,
her spirit left her little body; and we can be assured that she is
now in a much better place! For Jesus says, “Let the little children
come to me...for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven”. (Matthew
19:14, ESV).
The spinal surgery for three-year-old Waylon Murray went well.
He will soon begin physical therapy to see if the operation will now
allow him to walk.
Melotine Davis’ back surgery is less than 2 weeks away — June
13.
Bud Montero recently had an MRI, but probably won’t hear of the
result until his next appointment in July, unless something shows up
of a serious nature.
Others to also be praying for: Shirley Davis, Pat & A.J. Joyner,
Jim Lively, Rick Cuthbertson, James Medlock, Deborah Medlock, Mary
Vandevander, Michelle Rittenhouse, John Stoval, Amris Bedford, Danny
Hutcheson, Rex & Frankie Hadley, and Roger Montgomery
WordPress version of this week's bulletin:
https://thegospelobserver.wordpress.com/2019/06/02/the-gospel-observer-june-2-2019/
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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, living
for the Lord;
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 a.m. (Bible class); 10 a.m.
& 5 p.m. (worship)
Tuesday: 7 p.m. (Ladies’ Bible class)
Wednesday: 7 p.m. (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (912) 614-8593
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
https://thegospelobserver.wordpress.com
(Gospel Observer website with pictures in WordPress)
http://thomastedwards.com/go
(Older version of Gospel Observer website without pictures, but
back to March 1990)
http://tebeaustreetchurchofchrist.org/
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html
(audio sermons)