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1 ~ January, February & March 2002|
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By: June Godbehere
Psalm 119:9 "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word."
Introduction: Sooner or later the thought in this Psalm comes into the life of every person. It is always a good thing to look back to where we have been and consider what we need to get the kinks out of my lives, which is to say, what do I do to straighten up the mess I have made of my life. There are a lot of ways to answer this that could make life much better. To name a few: choose your friends a little better, change you ways, etc.
What David has reference to is how can a young man cleanse his way, and this is a reference to his relationship to God. David had a fondness for his Lord. He had a love for God. How then can a young man, or for that matter, a young woman cleanse his way before God. He answers with this statement, "by taking heed thereto according to thy word."
The Bible gives not only the problem but the answer to the many of the problems of life. Wherewithal, by what means, shall a young man cleanse his way? How does he achieve a clean heart? The apostle Paul speaks of this in II Cor. 7: 1, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit."
It is obvious that David in this expression sees a great need in his life. Obviously there was a dark day with which David was faced. It appears to me that he is looking carefully at his life and is made aware of the simple fact he has sinned before God and before men. How can a man cleanse his way? The psalmist has come to a place where he is taking stock of his life, and to put it simply, he has come up short. Now what must he do?
He must take the word of God and apply it to his life. "By taking heed thereto according to thy word." Incidentally, that would be the Word of God. Does David find the the answer? Yes!
Consider the few verses following our text which he emphasizes.
Verse 10 "With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments." He is saying to direct your mind and heart to God and be ready to obey the teachings and allow the power of the Holy Spirit to cleanse you and keep you clean.
Verse 11 "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." The power to cleanse is the same power to keep the heart clean. We must submit to the leadership of the Spirit of God.
Verse 12 "Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes." David was submissive to the in instructions of God and when we are submissive to God, we are teachable.
Verse 13 "With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth." The cleansing power of God has produced a life that is unashamed to testify of his lord, and that is pleasing to God. It is expressed not only in the life but the lips which have brought glory to the God of David.
Verse 14 "I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches." Of all the blessings with which God had blessed David, from a shepherd to a king, those produced by the Spirit, the spiritual blessings were far better than all other blessings
Verse 15 "I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways." If I understand the word meditate, correctly, it suggests that we respect and submit to the instructions and teachings of God. God has a greater knowledge of what we need than we know of personally. His way will always be better for us if we will only realize the leadership of God and submit to His leadership.
Verse 16, the final verse, "I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word."
David as a child of the Lord, has come to God as a son would come to the father, seeking the continual cleansing that keeps him in fellowship with the Father in heaven. Cleansing by the blood is what brings us into fellowship of God. That is the blood of the Cross of Calvary. Our daily walk with God is what is in view with this text.
By: Mark Shipp
The U. S. State Department has issued a travel advisory for American citizens in Venezuela due to the current situation. I want to ask you to pray for the situation here.
As I mentioned briefly in a report I sent out last week, the political climate here in Venezuela is quite tense with a nationwide strike vowed to shut down the entire country scheduled for Monday.
Many are predicting some very serious violence which could provoke our current presidential administration to take military action to maintain stability, etc. You get the picture.
It would be just what this regime has been looking for: an excuse to establish marshal law and usher in a dictatorship. There are even those calling for the president to do that right away!
This has all been the result of new laws set to take effect on Monday (December 10th), the main one being a land redistribution law that will most likely strip many of their farmlands, whatever the current whim of the government may be.
These laws are patterned after the "Cuban Model", and are said to be designed with the idea of "cubanizing" Venezuela. Of course that is just what we need! And the president enjoys support in these measures only for the poorest of the poor and the ever-present communist element, which is quite large in this country.
While here in the rural region where we are located, we do not anticipate any major violence or danger directed at us or the mission, the outcome of all this cannot be anything good.
We also have a situation which could prove troublesome in the event of political unrest: after two months our passports are still in processing by the government agency that handles our visa renewals. We desperately want to make sure that they are returned before the end of this week, which may prove very difficult.
For this we ask your prayers.
By: David Butimore, Sr.
In the last issue, we introduced the subject of parliamentary procedure and practice to give a general idea of its purpose and our intent for discussing the subject. In this issue, we want to discuss the different kinds of motions, their ranking, should they have one, and the interrelation of different motions to one another. We will limit the coverage, for this issue, to the main motion and subsidiary motions.
The main motion is a motion whose introduction brings business before a deliberative assembly and can be made only while no other motion is pending. An original main motion is a main motion that introduces a substantive question as a new subject. This is the motion most often used, and is the means by which a matter is presented to the assembly for possible action. An incidental main motion is a main motion that is incidental to or relates to the business of the assembly, or its past or future action (Further discussion will be given to incidental motions in future articles). The main motion requires a second, is debatable, is amendable, and requires a majority vote of the assembly for adoption. It can be reconsidered.
Subsidiary motions may be applied to another motion for the purpose of modifying it, delaying action on it, handling its consideration, or disposing of it. The seven subsidiary motions have rank and are listed below in their ranking order, from the lowest rank to the highest.
The motion to Postpone Indefinitely is used to prevent a direct vote on the main motion. It requires a second, is debatable as to its merits and the merits of the main motion (hence its low ranking), is not amendable, and requires a simple majority for adoption. Only an affirmative vote can be reconsidered.
A motion to amend is a means to modify the main motion to make it more suitable or acceptable in an altered form, a proposal to change its wording (either to clarify or, within limits, to modify the meaning) before the main motion is voted on. A pending amendment to a main motion is called a primary amendment and an amendment to the amendment is called a secondary amendment. While a main motion can have an indefinite number of attached amendments affixed to it, only a primary amendment and secondary amendment, at most, can be pending. A motion to amend requires a second, is debatable only if the main motion is debatable, and requires a majority vote for adoption. It can be reconsidered.
The motion to commit or refer allows the body to entrust the pending main motion, its appendages, and pending amendment(s) to a committee for further study or redrafting (or other recommendations) before the assembly considers it further. A motion to commit (or refer) requires a second, is debatable with regard to the propriety of committing (not the substance of the main motion), is amendable only with regard to issues relating to the committee, its makeup, and instructions, etc., and requires a majority vote for adoption. It can be reconsidered with some restrictions.
The motion to Postpone to a Certain Time delays consideration of a pending motion for a later time. A motion that is postponed to a certain time becomes a general order of business at the time appointed. The motion to postpone definitely (to a certain time) requires a second, is debatable only as to the merits of postponement or the time to postpone (not on the merits of the main motion), is amendable as to the time to which the main motion is to be postponed, and as to making the postponed question a special order, and requires a majority vote for adoption, unless the motion to postpone to a certain time is considered a special order which would then require a _ vote. It can be reconsidered with certain restrictions.
The motions to limit or extend limits of debate are parliamentary motions that this writer has never seen used in any Baptist meeting (hopefully never will) and will not be considered further in this article.
The previous question is the motion used to close debate and amendment of a pending motion so that it will come to an immediate vote. It prevents the making of any other subsidiary motions except the higher ranking lay on the table. According to Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, it requires a second, is not debatable, is not amendable, and requires a _ vote to adopt. According to Parliamentary Law by F. H. Kerfoot (the parliamentary authority currently used in the ABA messenger body meetings), it does not require a second, and is adopted by a simple majority. It is this writer’s strong opinion that since this motion deals with the rights of the assembly, then Robert’s Rules is a much more preferable authority. It can be reconsidered with some restrictions.
The motion to lay on the table is a means for the assembly to temporarily set the motion aside without setting a time for resuming its consideration, but with the provision that it can be taken up again whenever a majority so decides, after intervening business between this motion and the subsequent motion to take from the table. It requires a second, is not debatable, is not amendable, and requires a majority to adopt it. Great caution should be given with respect to the motion to lay on the table. It was NEVER designed to "kill a motion" but, simply, defer it in lieu of more pressing business. It should also be pointed out that a motion laid upon the table can only be left there for ninety days; after which the motion dies.
We have only given a brief synopsis of the main motion and subsidiary motions. Obviously, a more in-depth treatment should be given and later issues will provide that. Next issue: defining and ranking the privileged motions and incidental motions.
As you can tell by the title of this article this is the second part to a thought began in our last issue. Hopefully you have already read that article, if not check with the paper or e-mail me for a copy at denwhar@pacbell.net.
Our conclusion in the last article was that a bride made up of all the saved with the ugliness of all their un-godly doctrines would not be a very beautiful bride and would in fact be an ugly bride. Time did not let us discover the excitement promised to those faithful men, women, and young people who would lawfully follow God’s plan for entrance into the bride of Christ. I will attempt in today’s writing to lay groundwork from scripture that will conclude that not all the born again children of God will be in His Son’s Bride.
One of the essentials of scientific Bible study is to determine who a passage of scripture is talking to and who is doing the talking. When this distinction is made in the right division of scripture it becomes clear that only those in a church that meets the requirements of New Testament scriptures will be in the bride.
Let’s begin our journey in Matthew 9:
14-15 "Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast." Jesus had already established His church and in these scriptures is answering John’s disciples why His church is not fasting. He says the bridegroom is with them and they have no reason to fast while He is there. He did not conclude that it was wrong for John’s disciples to fast, and these men were saved, but only indicated that he was the bridegroom to those in the church. Matthew 16:18 makes it clear that these disciples of Jesus are His church. What we will conclude as we look at the scriptures that deal with the bride is that only those who serve God in the local, visible, church of Christ, will be in the bride. There is no universal church made up of all the saved taught in the Bible. Therefore, those who conclude that the church is universal and the bride as well, do error, having no scripture to assume such.
We listen to the words of John, "the man sent from God", as he declares who the bride and the bridegroom are in John
3:28-29 "Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled." The bridegroom and the bride are both present here and God’s man says the church is the bride and the bridegroom is Christ. Paul talking to the Corinthian church makes it clear that a true church is espoused, (engaged) to Christ and has responsibilities to live accordingly. 2 Corinthians 11:2-3 "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." All scriptures that talk of the bride will reveal that Christ is engaged to His church and will marry her when He returns. No matter how good a saved one may live, if he/she is not in the church that He is engaged to they will not be in the marriage. This certainly brings clarity to the need to be in a church acceptable to Jesus.
Who is this church that He is going to marry? It is the church that He promised the gates of hell would not prevail against in Matthew 16:18. The one that He would be with in every age, Matthew 28:20. And the one that He would get glory through in every age, Ephesians 3:21. There is only one visible church that has been here historically in every age and that is the Baptist Church. Prior to the reformation period there were only two kinds of local visible churches in the world; the Catholic Church and the Baptist church. Though the Lord’s churches were called by many different names, (Paulicians, Bogmil, Novations, Monatist, Albigensians, Petrobrusians, and other names) they were all known by the Catholic Church as Anabaptist because of their common doctrine. These Baptist churches are the only ones who can prove a connection to that church that Jesus engaged Himself to and that has perpetuated the authority of the Great Commission down to this present time. Thus the term, "Baptist Briders", a term that the enemies of the bride have termed in a derogatory manner, but certainly one that any true Baptist church of Christ will not be ashamed to wear. It has been the faithfulness of our forefathers, some fifty million, who gave their lives for the same truths we stand on today, to preserve a bride for God’s faithful children to serve Him in.
Does that mean that any saved person who is a member of a Baptist church will be in the bride? That certainly is a question that Baptist people have been disagreeing on for a long time, but I think the scripture have a pretty clear answer. First we would say that not every church that wears the name Baptist can prove a historical connection that would make them a part of the body, (church) that Jesus is engaged to. But assuming we are talking about a true church, 2 Timothy 2:
5 says, "And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully." Being a member of the Lord’s church and not being obedient to God in all aspects of our Christian life will disqualify us from being part of that body that will marry Christ and live and reign with Him throughout all eternity. When we begin to look at what God’s word says concerning our commitment to Him it becomes very clear that the opportunity of Brideship will only be given to those who are serious about loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind.
Again I find my allotted space for this column used up. Bear with me and come back next issue for, what Paul Harvey, refers to as, "the rest of the story."
"And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God." (Revelation 19:6-9)
CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
and
His 2nd Coming !
By: Tom McElmurry
[17] And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. (I Corinthians 15:17)
[38] Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. [39] For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Matthew 23:38,39)
All that we hope for, have faith in, and labor for in love, is based entirely on Christ having been resurrected from the dead. All of his promises are worthless unless he is alive to fulfill them. One of those great promises was the assurance he would come again in His Father’s name to complete the redemption of all those sealed in His name, as recorded by Paul in Ephesians 4:30.
He was rejected by the Israelites to whom He had been sent, so He rejected them temporarily, but promised He would come again as their King at a future date. The promise of Matthew 23:39 will, I believe, be fulfilled in the near future.
If God had not advised us, well in advance of Christ’s birth, life, rejection, ascension, and soon coming, then our faith would not stand on such a firm foundation of revealed truth. The writings of the events of His life by many prophets, hundreds of years before they occurred, gives our faith a tilled ground in which to plant itself.
Micah 5:1
[1] Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
This is a detailed prophecy about a known city, the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem stands at the top of a list of worldwide cities that have been conquered over and over again historically by troops of many different nations and ethnic groups. She has more than earned the title "daughter of troops." This prophecy refers specifically to a time in Christ’s ministry when Jerusalem had three sets of troops operating in her at the Feast of Passover. The Governor of Israel, Pontius Pilate, brought a large group of Roman troops from Caesarea to preclude the possibility of a Jewish rebellion at the time of Passover. The Fortress Antonia, where he billeted them, was joined to the northwestern corner of the Temple Mount, and from its tower the Temple courtyards could be seen. Herod, the Roman appointed king of Israel, had his troops quartered in his palace fortress on the western side of the old city. The Romans allowed the High Priest to have a small contingency of troops associated primarily in duties involving Temple protection. The time was the last Passover for Jesus on this earth. The One who has "laid siege against us" is God the Father, and the "us" is Israel. The reason that God has laid siege against Israel, one that has lasted some 2000 years, is because of the rejection of His Son. The prophesied rejection was fulfilled when Christ was struck on the head repeatedly, as shown in the following Scriptures: Matthew 26:66-68 plus 27:30, Mark 14:65, Luke 22:63,64, and John 18:22 plus 19:3.
Micah 5:2
[2] But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
The place of Christ’s birth was predicted so well that it stands as one of the most exacting in the Scriptures. He was rejected as the judge of Israel in Micah 5:1, and as her ruler in this verse. That is why God has laid siege against them for some 2000 years. They have been the most persecuted, prosecuted, and butchered people on this planet, and have known no true peace as a nation since their exile from Israel during the wars of Titus and Hadrian in the first century. The prophets of old, even before Micah, had told of His "goings forth." Even Moses advised Israel from "of old" about the coming of God’s Prophet. So Israel had no excuse in failing to recognize Him as the Messiah when He arrived.
Micah 5:3
[3] Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
"Therefore" is a conclusion to Micah 5:1,2. Because they rejected Him as "judge" and "ruler," He stood on the Mount of Olives and uttered the words of Matthew 23:37 to 39. The word "until" tells us He will give Israel up "until" she finishes her final time of travail in the great tribulation period, at which time His Second Advent will bring Him forth as the returning Lion of Judah. The word "then" marks His return to earth with the saints (previously caught out at the first resurrection), who are "the remnant of His brethren" by grace through faith in Christ as adopted sons of Abraham.
Micah 5:4
[4] And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
This is clearly a prophecy of Christ’s millennial reign, with his kingdom extending from one end of the earth to the other.
ARE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF FAITHFULNESS?
By: Ruth Burnes
INTRODUCTION: It has been said that faithfulness begins in the heart. Faithfulness is defined by Webster as full of faith, steadfast in faith, loyalty, fidelity, worthy of confidence. As Christian mothers and grandmothers in this twenty-first century, we have a great challenge to be examples — living examples — of faithfulness before our children and grandchildren. Children are imitators, and they imitate what they see in the home. If they see godliness and faithfulness consistently demonstrated in daily life, they imitate those traits. If, however, they see "Sunday morning
Christianity" portrayed, most likely this is what will be reflected in their lives, as well. For some of us mothers and grandmothers, our children are grown-up and have grown-up children of their own, but for mothers with young children still at home, there is time to set the example, and the time is now! However, those of us whose children are grown-up, it is still important that they see faithfulness in our lives as we serve the Lord! It is never too late to be an example of faithfulness!
There are many biblical examples of faithfulness, but the one mother that instantly comes to mind is Hannah as recorded in I Samuel 1, 2. She was barren, and she so desired a son that she grieved over her barren condition and prayed and wept before the Lord. And she made a vow: "O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt look on the affliction of thine handmaid and remember me and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life. . . ." (I Samuel 1:11) "And the Lord remembered her. . .and after she had conceived, she bare a son, and called his name Samuel." "And when she had weaned him. . . she brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And she said, Oh my lord [Eli, the priest] . . .For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition . . . .Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord."
Hannah’s example is the epitome of faithfulness. She made a vow to the Lord, and Hannah never forgot her vow. This child was as important to her as any mother feels about her child. She loved her child fervently; yet, she willingly gave him up to serve in the house of the Lord — fulfilling her vow to the Lord.
And I Samuel 2:26 records that Samuel "grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men." This reflects how Samuel was taught in those early years by his mother. She lovingly taught him by word and by example what faithfulness means in the service of the Lord.
Hannah was human, so it must have been hard fleshly to leave her young son behind as she returned home, but she rejoiced in the Lord for the privilege of giving her son to the Lord for service.
And Hannah didn’t forget Samuel after she left him at Shiloh. She demonstrated her love for him as seen in I Samuel 2:19, " Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice." We can rest assured that each stitch put into that little coat was stitched with love for her beloved son.
The Lord blessed Hannah for her faithfulness, and she later bore three more sons and two daughters.
Although we live in different times than Hannah did, and although it is not necessary to take a child to the house of the Lord and leave him there in order to give him unto the Lord, it is still important for us, as parents, to give our children to the Lord — to dedicate them in our hearts to the Lord to be used of the Lord as He sees fit.
And it is vitally important that we ourselves are faithful to the Lord in His service, for our children and our grandchildren are reading our lives as an open book. Do they read faithfulness consistently? If not, changes in our lives must, for Christ’s sake, be made!
Mothers with young children are urged to be persistent in teaching and training them in the "nurture and admonition" of the Lord while they are young and continue the teaching by example as they grow up by consistently demonstrating faithfulness in their own lives.
Faithfulness begins in the heart. Let us, as mothers and grandmothers, seriously consider the great challenge to lead our children and grandchildren to faithfulness by example.