____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ May 30, 1993 ____________________________________________________ Making Ourselves Useful by Lynn Wessel Paul told Timothy, ``If a man purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, meet for the master's use, prepared unto every good work'' (II Tim. 2:21). As Christians, we are servants of Christ and He is our Master. He said to his disciples, ``Ye call me Master and Lord; and ye say well, for so I am'' (John 13:13). Having Christ as our master means that we have totally placed ourselves in subjection to Him and will do all that He commands. It stands to reason that He requires us to be ``meet for the Master's use'' or ``useful to the Master'' (NASB). This means that we will be available for His use at all times and be suited or fit and equipped for every work He calls upon us to do, according to our ability. HOW? How do we make ourselves useful to Christ? First, notice that Paul says ``If a man purge himself from these, he shall be...meet for the Master's use...'' In the context ``these'' refers back to the vessels which are unto dishonor and this back to ``Hymenaeus and Philetus; men who concerning the truth have erred...'' (II Tim. 2:17-18). Usefulness to Christ is conditioned upon a purging or cleansing from evil men and from their false teachings and evil habits. Defilement from such renders one useless to Christ. It is important that we refuse those associations which would spiritually and morally contaminate us. This means that we must watch very closely where we go, the recreation we participate in, and the kind of people we associate with. Further, to make ourselves useful to Christ it is necessary for us to grow and develop spiritually. There are several different areas of work in Christ's kingdom and to be useful workers we must develop ourselves to be a good teacher. To be useful to Christ in saving others we must develop skills necessary to being a good personal worker. This is true in all areas: leading the singing, leading in prayer, preaching, reading the scriptures, etc. Our usefulness to Christ is directly related to our spiritual growth and development. Paul instructed Timothy to give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed....'' (II Tim. 2:15). Being a workman who stands approved of God requires diligence--being earnest and zealous in our efforts. While some are useless to Christ because of wrong associations, others are useless due to their failing to develop abilities and skills to be used in Christ's service. Sometimes, uselessness to Christ is simply due to an unwillingness to try or use what ability we already have. A Vessel Unto Honor From our text in II Timothy 2:21, we learn that being useful to Christ is a factor in being a ``vessel unto honor.'' Using the figure of a great house, Paul has presented the mixed condition of the church. There are two different classes of vessels and each will have a different reward. ``Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some unto honor, and some unto dishonor'' (II Tim. 2:20). It is our goal as Christians to be ``vessels of gold and silver'' destined to have honor conferred upon us by God. Being useful to Christ is necessary to be this kind of vessel and achieve our goal of honor. In addition, notice two other qualities which Paul has included: 1). Sanctified; set apart from sin and dedicated to Christ, and 2. Prepared; ready and fully equipped to be of service to Christ in every good work. Paul's instruction for Titus' preaching is similar in content. He said, ``Put them in mind to be in subjection to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready unto every good work...'' (Titus 3:1). Every member of the church should desire to be ``meet for the Master's use.'' In becoming useful to Christ we will be a vessel unto honor. After we have faithfully fulfilled our responsibilities and it comes time to stand before the judgment seat of Christ, we will hear ``Well done, good and faithful servant: thou has been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of the Lord'' (Matt. 25:23). -- The Dewey Avenue Bulletin, April 4, 1993 ___________________________________________ Church Kitchens And Fellowship Halls by John I. Edwards ``Church kitchens'' and ``fellowship halls'' are recognized by many religious organizations as being that important item which draws bigger crowds and attracts more people. 1) The Gospel Of Christ Is God's Drawing Power. In writing to the Romans, Paul said, ``For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek'' (Rom. 1:16). The only drawing power that God uses in saving men is the gospel; not buildings, food, or entertainment. 2) Jesus And the Feeding of the Five Thousand. John records the feeding of the five thousand in John 6. After feeding these five thousand men, Jesus perceived that they would come and take Him by force to make Him a King. Thus, Jesus departed into a mountain alone (Jn. 6:5). Once the men of that place acknowledged the location of Jesus, they sought after Him (Matt. 6:15). ``When they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto Him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?'' (Jn. 6:25). Now notice the answer Jesus gives them: ``Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled'' (Jn. 6:26). The purpose of this miracle was to get those people to understand that Jesus was the Son of God (Matt. 14:33). However, those individuals were drawn by physical food to sustain their physical bodies, rather than by that meat which endureth to everlasting life. The lesson we should attain by this miracle is to ``Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life...'' (Jn. 6:27). We need to be desiring the ``sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby'' (1 Pet. 2:2). One of the purposes of our assembling on the first day of the week is to drink of the milk and to eat of the meat that God provides through His word. We must understand that the ``kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost'' (Rom. 14:17). 3) The Work Of The Church. There are many arguments that arise when considering whether or not ``church kitchens'' are according to the divine pattern. But when we notice the work of the church, every single argument is nullified. In 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, the apostle Paul addresses the collection for the saints. In order for us to understand if ``church kitchens'' or ``fellowship halls'' are Scriptural, we must know how God authorizes the collection to be used. The work of the New Testament church involves three things: Preaching the gospel (1 Th. 1:8); helping the needy saints (Rom. 15:25-26; 1 Tim. 5:16); and teaching Christians (Ac. 20:32; Eph. 4:11-16). The church is authorized to use its money for these things. Anything else such as ``church kitchens'' and ``fellowship halls'' lies beyond the realm of authority! ___________________________________________ Governmental Closing of a Church Though the H.R. 1430 bill has died (its Senate equivalent being S.B. 547), which would have legalized various relations for the homosexual, a similar proposal has been popping up every year for the last few years and will probably continue to do so. Shockingly, one of the aspects of this law would give the government the right to fine--and even shut down--any church that would not ``ordain a homosexual minister or marry a homosexual couple.'' The bill is not directed toward the church only, but is one intended to make ``homosexuality a constitutionally protected civil right'' in all facets of life. Men marrying men or women marrying women would be just as sanctioned as a man marrying a woman. Homosexual couples would then have as much ``equal rights'' as heterosexual couples in adopting children. You might think that there are too many people today who accept God's standard on this issue to ever allow such a law to be passed, but if we don't remain standing for the truth and voicing our convictions, it could very possibly be that the voiced minority would triumph over the un-voiced majority. ``What can we do?'' you might ask. As individuals, we can begin by contacting our Senators and Representatives in order to let our convictions be heard. Let those of us who are Christians also pray that there will never be a time when the government would shut down a church for refusing to hire a homosexual preacher or for being unwilling to marry a homosexual couple. May God's word prevail. -- Tom Edwards ___________________________________________ The Pride That Blinds by Tom Edwards Nebuchadnezzar, a Babylonian king during the time of the prophet Daniel, was made insane for seven years because of his pride, and had remained so until he realized in a humble way that God is the one who is in control. Pride had caused him to glory only in himself and, thus, he did not give God any of the credit for his kingly reign and accomplishments, when all the while it was because of the Lord that he had that exalted position of power. In Acts 12:21-23, we find a NT example of one who also became arrogant and would not attribute his abilities to God. It reads: ``And on an appointed day, Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. And the people kept crying out, `The voice of a god and not of a man!' And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.'' We should thank God for all our good abilities, realizing that He has made it possible for us to have such. It's pride that tells a man that he doesn't need God. It's pride that keeps one from the humbleness it takes to accept the way of salvation. It's pride that can give a person a false sense of security: a feeling that he has no need for the Savior. Solomon wisely wrote in Prov. 16:18, ``Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.'' May it be our desire to humble ourselves before the Lord and simply take Him at His word--never allowing pride to blind our vision from God's humble way of righteousness. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________