“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).
——————–
Contents:
1) Zephaniah 3:16-17—The Loud Singing of the Lord (Berry Kercheville)
2) Stealing Our Hearts Away (Jerry Fite)
——————–
-1-
Zephaniah 3:16-17—The Loud Singing of the Lord
Berry Kercheville
“On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: ‘Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.’”
The consistent theme of the prophets of Israel and Judah was their brutal descriptions of the judgments God would bring upon them because of their rebellious spirit. Their sins were worse than the Canaanites before them. Even the nations around them were appalled at their wickedness. Zephaniah described Judah’s religious leaders with these words: “Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city! She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord; she does not draw near to her God. Her officials within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning. Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men; her priests profane what is holy; they do violence to the law” (Zeph. 3:1-4).
God grieved over the nation. He put his prophets through severe trials to illustrate the pain he experienced in seeing their rejection. Hosea was told to marry a promiscuous woman who would cheat on him so he could deliver his message with the same pain God felt. Ezekiel, among other things, suffered the death of his wife to illustrate the shock that was coming when Jerusalem fell. And Jeremiah delivered his painful message as one who was not allowed to marry at all, and seems to not have had one happy day his whole life. Isaiah said, “In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit” (Isa. 63:9-10). Jesus displayed a similar reaction to those who accused him when he healed on the Sabbath: “He looked around at them in anger and deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts” (Mark 3:5).
We are accustomed to reading of God’s pain and disappointment over his creation. How can we not be reminded of the pain we have caused him? Yet, do we live more carefully with this knowledge? God loves, God is merciful, God is kind, God is tenderhearted, God has joy, God has anger, and God can hate that which is evil. God’s emotions remind us that he has placed the same feelings in us because they are an extension of him. We relate to these emotional swings as we raise our children. Our children can be our greatest joy, but they can also inflict on us our greatest hurt.
We have inflicted on God the greatest hurt. That hurt is quite evident when we look at the cross. The cross rightly shames us for what we have done. That is why Zephaniah’s words describing God rejoicing and loudly singing over us are so amazing and insightful. God had no intention of leaving us to our sins so that we became his greatest disappointment. The cross was not just forgiveness, the cross was intended to melt our hearts and change us (Ezek. 36:25-27). Zephaniah foretold God’s emotions once that change took place. I am deeply moved when I think of God rejoicing over you and me with gladness, quieting us with his love, and exulting over us with loud singing.
Did you know God is singing loudly as he sits on his throne? Just imagine the angels listening as God sings. “Lord, why are you singing?” they ask. “I am singing because my people have changed, I’m dwelling in their midst, and I’m so full of joy, I just have to sing.” And forever and ever, our God sings loudly over us, filling heaven with his beautiful voice. What a wonder.
— Via Focus Online, April 23, 2020
——————–
-2-
Stealing Our Hearts Away
Jerry Fite
One of the first lessons we learn when we buy something valuable is that we probably need to secure our prized possession from being stolen. Whether we are talking about a chain lock for our new bicycle or a sounding alarm system for our new car, we understand that our valuable assets can be stolen away from us. We must proceed with wisdom to keep them.
Once we become Christians, the Devil does not stop trying to accomplish our ruin. Peter, in writing to Christians, says the Devil is “your adversary.” He is walking about seeking whom he may “devour” (I Peter 5:8). Just because we are now children of God, does not mean we cannot become children of the Devil in falling away (I Timothy 4:1). We should pay attention to things that can steal our hearts away from God.
Pride causes us to no longer listen to God’s instructions. We become our own “lord” and no longer come to God. Israel did this in Jeremiah’s day. Jehovah searched why Israel no longer heeded God. He sees His people saying, “We are broken loose, we will come no more unto thee”(Jeremiah 2:31). Their minds are separated! Their hearts are stolen! Pride had moved them to think their connection to God was holding them back. Therefore, they are breaking loose from God’s constraints, and will do what they want and come no more to God. Later Jeremiah says, “But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret for your pride, and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because Jehovah’s flock is taken captive” (Jeremiah 13:17).
Prosperity can steal our hearts away from God. Ezekiel saw this among God’s people in his day. They were doing worse than their “sister, Sodom” who was guilty of “pride,” when they had “fullness of bread, and prosperous ease…” (Ezekiel 16:49). God had warned his people in Moses’ day of the prosperous times when “…thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget Jehovah thy God…” (Deuteronomy 8: 14). Times of prosperity elevates us to think we alone are the reason behind our good fortune, and not God. So, we focus on ourselves and forget God. The Giver of every perfect gift sees our hearts being stolen from Him.
Prosperity and possessions are echoed in the New Testament as potential heart stealers (Mark 4:19, Colossians 3:5). But false doctrine can also carry us away. Paul offers the antidote of growing up in the Lord: “that we be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error…” (Ephesians 4:14). We must demand that only the doctrine of Christ be preached (2 John 9). Anchored in the truth revealed to us by Christ through His apostles, we can combat a potential heart stealer. Anchored in the love for Truth, even plausible theories couched in eloquent speech fail in moving us away from God into divisive error. (Romans 16:17-18).
“Peer pressure” can steal our hearts and move us away from God. Peter quit eating with the Gentiles after caving under the pressure of the presence of Judaizing teachers. Sadly, peer pressure enabled by hypocrisy stole the hearts of other Jews, including Barnabas. They were “carried away” by the dissimulation of others (Galatians 2:12-13).
Brethren, follow God even when the pressure is strong to please others. A humble spirit, a knowledgeable mind and a godly heart will guard us from being carried away.
— Via Glad Tidings, Vol. XXIX, No. 32, August 11, 2019
——————–
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 Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent of sins. For every accountable person has sinned (Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10), which causes one to be spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1) and separated from God (Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 6:23). Therefore, repentance of sin is necessary (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30). For whether the sin seems great or small, there will still be the same penalty for either (Matt. 12:36-37; 2 Cor. 5:10) — and even for a lie (Rev. 21:8).
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; 1 Pet. 3:21). This is the final step that puts one into Christ (Gal. 3:26-27). For from that baptism, one is then raised as a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17), having all sins forgiven and beginning a new life as a Christian (Rom. 6:3-4). For the one being baptized does so “through faith in the working of God” (Col. 2:12). In other words, believing that God will keep His word and forgive after one submits to these necessary steps. And now as a Christian, we then need to…
6) Continue in the faith by living for the Lord; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Matt. 24:13; Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
——————–
Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501
Sunday: 9 a.m. Bible Classes and 10 a.m. Worship Service. Congregational Song Service: 5 p.m. for every first Sunday of the month.
Wednesday: 7 p.m. Bible Classes
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
https://thomastedwards.com/go/all.htm (This is a link to the older version of the Gospel Observer website, but with bulletins going back to March 4, 1990.)