____________________________________________________ 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). ____________________________________________________ September 4, 1994 ____________________________________________________ We Eagerly Await For The Hope by Emerson L. Flannery If we older members seem pre-occupied with thinking about and talking about heaven, will you younger Christians bear with us? We know the realization of our hope of eternal life with God in heaven is not very far in the future! Paul wrote the Galatians, ``For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness of faith'' (Gal. 5:5). I like the expression eagerly wait. Webster defines eager to mean ``feeling or showing keen desire.'' We that are in our seventies and eighties and nineties know that we will soon be gone from this earth. We have seen fine Christian men and women, members of the Coburg Road congregation, depart from us by death to go to be with Christ and await the Judgment Day. Paul wrote in his old age, ''...The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing'' (II Tim. 4:6-8). That sounds like Paul was eagerly waiting for the hope of that crown of righteousness. We do, we older members, love to sing songs that remind us of that hope we have in Christ, of salvation, of heaven, of eternal life in God's presence. We know preachers have lots of subjects they must preach about, important subjects as to worship, Christian living, the scheme of redemption, etc. We rejoice when we hear sermons on hope, resurrection from the dead, and heaven, and what we must do to make our calling and election sure. Younger members, we love you and want your love and interest too. Talk to us. Visit us when we are sick. Wish us well when we depart from your midst. -- Via the Coburg Road Bulletin ___________________________________________ We extend our condolences to the family and friends of the late Emerson L. Flannery, who passed away the beginning of last month, August 1. He had moved to the Sciotoville area to work with the Harding Avenue church of Christ back in the early '50's, and had spent his remaining days in Eugene, Oregon, where he had served as both a preacher and an elder in the church. ___________________________________________ Attitudes For Success by Lynn R. Wessel In our effort to be like the first century church, there is something we often overlook. In our determined efforts to establish doctrine and practice, we often neglect the attitudes that were present as contributing factors to success. Such dispositions are often sadly lacking in the church today. In restoring New Testament Christianity we need to make sure that we not only have the organization, work, and worship of the Lord's church in place, but also the attitudes that give us the right spirit. Christians today must be characterized by the same spirit as members of the church in the first century. Are you restoring the following attitudes to New Testament Christianity? ZEAL Zeal or a spirit of fervency was manifested in the lives of the early Christians. ``And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers'' (Acts 2:42). ``And every day, in the temple and at home, they ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus as the Christ'' (Acts 5:42). They were as Paul said in Romans 12:11, ``in diligence not slothful; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.'' Fervent is from zeo, to be hot, to boil (ENG. ``zeal'' is akin) is metaphorically used of fervency of spirit (Vine). This disposition is just as necessary for our success today. We must be ``on fire'' for the Lord--enthusiastic about being a Christian and serving the Lord. Paul told Titus that this is the Lord's intent as He ``gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a people for his own possession, zealous of good works'' (Titus 2:14). In I Peter 3:10-13, it is Peter's point that being zealous of good works will keep us in favor with God; he asks, ``And who is he that will harm you, if ye be zealous of that which is good?'' Results are inherent in zeal. Wherever it is found there is growth. Many false teachers are zealous for their cause and, as a result, their religious organizations grow. Why shouldn't we who are members of the Lord's church have a zeal for God according to knowledge of the truth (Rom. 10:1-2)? A greater enthusiasm on our part will cause us to have more readiness and willingness to work for the Lord. We will have greater success in helping the Lord's church grow and prosper. HAPPINESS Happiness or a spirit of joy was also manifested by the early Christians. They rejoiced in receiving the gospel (Acts 8:39; 16:34), in persecution (Acts 5:41), and in daily activities (Acts 2:46). The church at Thessalonica is an illustration of how this attitude contributed to the success of the Lord's work. Paul said, ``And ye became imitators of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that ye became an ensample to all that believe in Macedonia and in Achaia. For from you hath sounded forth the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith to God-ward is gone forth; so that we need not to speak anything'' (I Thess. 1:6-8). The spirit of happiness is also necessary for our success today. We too must rejoice in the gospel. Jesus said, ``Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven...'' (Matt. 5:11-12). Paul taught us to ``Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice'' (Phil. 4:4). The basis of our spirit of rejoicing is our relationship with the Lord. He is our companion and source of strength. He makes us happy by instilling within us a sense of eternal well-being that motivates us each day. COURAGE Courage or the spirit of boldness also characterized the attitude of New Testament Christians. The Sanhedrin recognized it in the apostles. ``Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled...'' (Acts 4:13). The deportment of Peter and John announced they had courage and confidence, and were not afraid. The apostle Paul had boldness (I Thess. 2:1-4) and he also saw it in others. He said, ``and that most of the brethren in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear'' (Phil. 1:14). This last passage helps us to understand that to be bold means to act without fear. It is not haughtiness or arrogance; it is the absence of fear, weakness, and shame in being a Christian. It is courage, strength, and bravery in doing what is right and being a good representative of Christ. This is as it ought to be ``for God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline'' (II Tim. 1:7). We can surely understand how such a disposition is a contributing factor in being successful as a Christian. Fear will cause us to cover and do little or nothing for the Lord. It is important to notice that the boldness needed by Christians comes form spiritual strength. When the Sanhedrin saw the boldness of Peter and John, ''...they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus'' (Acts 4:13). In addition to companionship with Christ, boldness is also gained through prayer. After being threatened and released by the Sanhedrin, the apostles prayed ``And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings: and grant unto they servants to speak thy word with all boldness'' (Acts 4:29). -- Via The Dewey Avenue Bulletin, July 31, 1994, Vol. 2, Num. 18 ________________________________________ 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 ________________________________________