October 04, 2015

Sunday Worship

Radio WXCC 96.5 fm (internet wxccfm.com) 8:30 A.M.

Radio 98.1 fm; SuddenLink TV (channel 9) 10:30 A.M.

Bible Study 10:30 A.M.

Morning Service 11:15 A.M.

Wednesday Worship 7:00 P.M.

All Ears

A missionary to a remote tribe was attempting to translate the Scriptures into their language, and he had difficulty finding a word for obedience; a virtue that few of the natives practiced. One day, as he went home from the village, his dog stayed behind. The missionary called his dog to come and follow him. The dog came running at top speed. An old native by the roadside said in the native tongue, “Your dog is all ear.” The missionary got hold of that expression at once and so had a beautiful word for obedience: “A believer is all ears to the words of his Lord!”

Pastor Henry T. Mahan

SECRET AND REVEALED

"The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law" (Deuteronomy 29:29).

There are many things that I do not understand, cannot comprehend, and God has not revealed. But He understands, comprehends, and knows them. I may not know what He is doing, but He does, and I trust Him. He is and whatever He does is right because He is God! And we leave it there! Not with a sullen resignation, but with joy and confidence in Him! "The secret things belong to the Lord."

But there are also the things which are revealed. Whatever He has revealed we are bound to believe and obey. He has revealed that "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Rather than grappling with questions that we cannot answer, we are to call on His Name to save us. That can be said regarding all that He has revealed. We are called upon to trust Him in what we do not see, and obey Him in what we do see. Oh, for grace to trust Him in what we do not see and obey Him in what we do see! Pastor Todd Nibert

TO BE ABSENT FROM THE BODY

“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (II Cor. 5:8).

A believer is so confident of Christ our Savior, that he is very willing to leave this world. We do not look forward to the process of the death of the body, but we do long to go be with our Lord. A believer has been born again into a new citizenship in glory and our new heart looks forward to going home to be with our Savior.

When a child of God dies, we who are left behind mourn the loss of companionship and friendship. However, we rejoice to know that the very moment a child of God closed his eyes in death, he opened them in glory, looking into the face of our Lord Jesus Christ! (Luke 23:43).

That is why we can say that the day a believer dies is the best day of his life. The day of the death of a believer is far better than the day of his birth (Eccl. 7:1), because that is the day we finally see our Savior face to face. Pastor Frank Tate

THE PROMISE OF GOD TO EVERY BELIEVER
“But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days” (Dan. 12:13).

This promise was given to Daniel in his old age. He was taken captive at a very young age and carried into Babylon (Dan.1:3-4). He served God faithfully for seventy years in captivity. All that Daniel put his hand to the Lord prospered him (Dan.2:48; 5:29; 6:28). Daniel now faces the prospect and reality of dying, but even in this God made him to realize this would be a blessing not a penalty. "But go thou thy way till the end be." Several comforting and calming thoughts are found here for believers.

1). The time of our life on the earth is determined of God, "go thou thy way till the end be." Surely our days are determined of the Lord (Job 14:5). We shall definitely leave this place, but not until our work is finished. Not until God is pleased to take us home (2 Cor. 5:6-9).

2). When a believer departs from this life we enter into rest, "for thou shalt rest," rest from all toil and labor and rest from the weariness of this sinful flesh (Rom. 7:24-25; 2Cor.5:1-2). The Lord told the dying thief that He would be in paradise soon, to enjoy eternal rest for his soul (Luke 23:43). Every believer can say with Paul, "For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: (Phil. 1:23).

3). Our soul will be at rest with the Lord and our body will be asleep in the grave waiting for the glorious resurrection morning, "till the end of days " (Dan. 12:2). Often death is referred to as sleep because of the inactivity of the body (John 11:11). But our soul is never said to sleep, it ascribed to being at rest in the Lord (Rev.6:9).

4). We shall everyone stand in judgment at the end of days, "and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." The believer’s allotment is to stand in the blessed merit and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and hear Him say, "Come ye blessed of my Father" (Matt. 25:34; Eph.1:6). The unbeliever will stand in the merit of their unrighteousness and hear Him say, "Depart from me, ye cursed" (Matt. 25:41).