____________________________________________________ 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) ____________________________________________________ August 11, 1996 ____________________________________________________ A Blessing In Disguise by Tom Edwards A couple weeks ago, a few of us from church helped a family in Westwood whose home had been devastated by the recent flooding we had. There were also several other people from the community there to help this man go through his belongings, pack up and save what could be, and have it hauled off for temporary storage, while his house that had been inundated with about four feet of water could be cleaned and repaired from the muddy refuse and water damage. Located at the lower end of the hill, Grover Scott's home was hit the hardest on Hamilton Street, though there were also several others on the same street--as well as other areas--that were caught up in it. He is an elderly gentleman, whose wife Lucy is afflicted with three types of cancer. She had been staying at a neighbor's house up the road, not knowing of the extensive damage that had occurred to her home and belongings--and of which her husband was naturally reluctant to inform her. In talking with him, I soon found out that this wasn't the first of his water problems. Last May, water damaged the ductwork and his heating/air conditioning unit that resulted in a $4,000 repair bill; but the incident caused him to realize his need for flood insurance, so he went ahead and bought some--probably being the only home on the block that was insured with this kind of protection. I pointed out to him that the May incident was really a blessing in disguise. For had it not occurred, it is very doubtful that he would have taken out any insurance of that kind. This thought gave him some comfort. Without question, the July damage was, by far, exceedingly greater and much more costly than that which happened in May. He then added (something to the following effect): ''...but isn't that what preachers do?--help us to see blessings when things seem bad.'' How many times have adversities in our lives--or simply things that did not seem to be going our way--actually turn out to be blessings in disguise? I do not mean by this, however, that the temptations, the wrongs people inflict upon others, or that all trials of life are good in themselves; for it would be wrong to call evil good, and good evil (Isa. 5:20). But it is in realizing that God can use any situation for our good--if we love Him by keeping His commandments (Rom. 8:28)--that helps us to look through the bad in order to see something good at work. As Paul wrote to the Philippians, ``So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure'' (Phil. 2:12,13). The Lord does not stop working in His people when trials and adversities come--rather, He can even use these for their good. It was in view of this that James exhorted Christians to ``Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing'' (Jms. 1:2-4). Think, for a moment, about Joseph in the Old Testament. He was despised by his own brothers. They were so extremely jealous of him that they were ready to kill him--and would have done so, had it not been for the intervention of their brother Reuben who spoke in Joseph's defense (Gen. 37:18-22). As the narrative unfolds, Joseph is eventually sold to some Midianite traders who, in turn, sold him as a slave in Egypt to Potiphar (vv. 27-28,36). Again, Joseph was mistreated when falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, which resulted in two-years of prison confinement. Misfortune after misfortune had come to Joseph, but we do not find him embittered by it--nor complaining. Rather, Joseph remained faithful to the Lord; and, as a result, the Lord made him to prosper while working for Potiphar--and even while he was in prison (Gen. 39:2-6, 20-23). Eventually, the opportune time arrived when Joseph was needed to interpret Pharaoh's dream. This not only led to Joseph's liberation from prison, but also to his exultation over all Egypt--having everyone but Pharaoh under his dominion (Gen. 41:38-44). As we see later in Joseph's life, he was able to recognize the hand of God's providence in even these cruel misfortunes of which he had been beset. Hear his great confession of faith in this matter when he eventually revealed himself to his brothers: ``And now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life...Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt'' (Gen. 45:5-8). And after the death of his father, Joseph again told his brothers, ``And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive'' (Gen. 50:20). It was through deep waters of adversity that Joseph had to wade before reaching his destiny; but these cruel, hurtful, and unjust circumstances, in a sense, were ``blessings in disguise'' for they were the steps that led to Joseph's exultation and the physical salvation of many. And think also about Joseph's family before they came to Egypt. What was it that really brought them into that land of the Pharaohs? It was adversity! The whole world was experiencing famine, except for those in Egypt who had been prepared--thanks to Joseph. Misfortune brought Joseph's family down to Egypt, but that misfortune also was a ``blessing in disguise,'' for Joseph's family was given the land of Goshen--which was the best of the land because it was at the mouth of the Nile River, with all its tributaries branching off and making that part of Egypt a most fertile land for crops, animals, etc. Often times in my life, things have not turned out the way I had wanted them to; but now looking back on many of these unfulfilled wishes, I can see the ``blessings in disguise'' of some of these desires not reaching their fruition. For had some of these worked out my way in my early youth, it is highly unlikely that I would have ever become a Christian--not to mention a gospel preacher. For those of you, like me, who came out of denominationalism, I think you know what I mean. You left the broad road of the majority to start walking on the narrow road with the minority. It was probably a major upheaval in your life when you came to realize that many of your cherished denominational beliefs--that you were ready to die for--were false, such as the idea of ``salvation by faith only'' or by merely ``praying a sinner's prayer.'' To be confronted with the fact that you had never really been saved because you had not been baptized in water ``for the remission of sins'' probably was devastating to you at first. It was the second biggest trauma in my life, when I came to realize that my denominational beliefs on the plan of salvation were wrong--and I had not been saved at all! But I have a feeling that had things worked out my way back then, I would have never seen my way out of denominationalism, due to a different sequence of events that would have resulted. We sometimes sing the song ``Count Your Many Blessings,'' and we do need to take the time to think about all the wonderful things the Lord has done for us; but how about also trying to see all those ``blessings in disguise'' that might not have been what we wanted at the time (and maybe a trial or tribulation), but what we now realize as having been very much for our good. It was the persecution upon early Christians that caused many of them to be scattered among the world, taking the Lord's word wherever they went; and, thus, striving to fulfill the very command that God gave to ``Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation'' (Mark 16:15). Paul shows that this was accomplished during his time (Col. 1:23). Persecution is not a pleasant thing; and, therefore, not what most people would desire. Yet, it turned out to be a ``blessing in disguise.'' Lastly, let us think about the sacrifice of Christ. At the time, who--even among Christ's followers--could see any good in it? The apostles fled and went into hiding. They feared for their lives and thought their hope was gone when their Lord was taken away and crucified. The cruelty and suffering of the cross is almost beyond description. To think that God's perfect Son had to yield his sinless life to those murderous, hateful, revilers, who preferred setting free the wicked Barabbas instead of Jesus, in order to inflict upon the Lord the humiliation, anguish, and intense suffering of the cross, might overshadow, to many people, the great blessing that we who believe can find in the cross of Christ. As Paul writes, ``For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God'' (1 Cor. 1:18). What a great blessing there is in the cross of Christ! Without it, there would be no hope for the world; but with it, the sinner can become a saint through faith and obedience. What might have appeared at first as Satan's triumph actually turned out to be his defeat and God's victory. For by Christ's death, He was able to ''...render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives'' (Heb. 2:9,14-15). Yes, the cross of Christ was a horrible ordeal that our Lord had to endure; but through it, we can see the blessing of the remission of sins being made possible by His shed blood for all who will believe and obey. All of these examples help us to better understand how that ''...God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose'' (Rom. 8:28). The ``all things'' would include trials, tribulations, temptations, misfortunes of life, as well as those circumstances in life that we would consider favorable. Isn't it wonderful to know, that no matter what our lot in life, that there is nothing that can happen that could not be used for our good--if we are truly loving the Lord by keeping His commandments? Have you taken the time to count your many ``blessings in disguise''? ___________________________________________ Write today for a FREE Bible correspondence course or personal home-study ___________________________________________ He Died In My Place by Gary D. Perry It was a hot day in South Vietnam in the summer of 1968. I was a young infantry soldier who had been there for three weeks and was beginning only my second day in combat. It was early in the morning when we broke camp. My squad was the last to leave as we walked single file through the jungle. I was the last man until a more ``experienced'' young soldier came to me and said, ``You haven't been here long enough to bring up the rear, go ahead and move up the line.'' So I yielded my position to him and moved until I was three men from the rear. A few minutes later, as we proceeded down a hillside, gunshots rang out. We all took cover and began returning fire. But it was too late. The sniper was gone, he had accomplished his purpose. He had killed the last man in the squad. At the time I was a scared 20-year-old with a whole year of war ahead of me. I found it hard to believe that this young man, who didn't even know me, took my position and died in my place. As the year went by I had many other close calls and considered myself lucky to get home alive in July of 1969. Over the years I have tried not to think too much about the Vietnam War, but I thought I would always remember the young man who died in my place. But now almost 30 years later I am ashamed to admit that I have forgotten his name. There is another man, the Son of God, who died not only for me but for each one of us. ``For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us...'' (1 Thess. 5:9-10). We partake of the Lord's supper upon the first day of each week so we won't forget him. As Jesus said, ``this do in remembrance of me.'' Even so there are many who do forget Jesus and what he did for them. Even when Jesus was here on earth some of his followers chose to forget him, ``From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, `Will ye also go away?' Then Simon Peter answered him, `Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life''' (John 6:66-68). Likewise there are many today who were Christians, who have heard the words of eternal life and have gone back into the world. They have fallen away, they have forgotten Christ and what he did for them, ''...they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame'' (Heb. 6:6). Let us never forget ``our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us,'' ``the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me'' (Gal. 2:20). -- Via Guardian of Truth, August 1, 1996 ___________________________________________ NEWS & NOTES Susie Lykins's operation was a great success. We are glad that everything turned out so well, and we pray that she will heal up speedily. Darrell Lykins's uncle, Doug Lykins, was admitted to the hospital in Morehead the Friday before last for testing. He hasn't been feeling well, and the doctors are now in the process of diagnosing his problem. Let us also be praying for the people in our area whose homes were touched by the recent flooding. Come and be with us! ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, 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@wwd.net ________________________________________