Truth Magazine

By Nell Kercheville

Have you ever learned a foreign language just for the express purpose of preaching the gospel to those in another country? Have you ever left your home and the surroundings you are so accustomed to and comfortable with to go to another land and preach to a humble and sincere people? Have you ever been blessed to stay in the home of one of these people and sleep on the floor with the rest of the family, all in their one-room house? In the middle of the night you awaken so sick that you have to get up and tread your way through the sleeping bodies to get outside since there is no indoor plumbing.

Have you ever repeatedly chosen without hesitation to travel into a country where you know that at some point you have a good chance of being sick? Have you ever been in a hotel room alone in that country and been so sick you think you might not live until morning? Because of your sickness you purposely do not lock the door for fear some-one will not be able to get to you to help. The next day the local preacher finally becomes worried and comes to see about you. You pray, “0 Lord, thank you for this good man.” He goes home and has his wife make “atole” (a rice drink) for you. How soothing it is! By the time evening services come you are so weak you can’t imagine being able to preach. But you must and you do. Too weak to stand, you have to sit while you preach. The thought occurs time and again in your mind, “Can I make it?” But then you look at all those eager faces. They have come to hear the gospel, but not as an American would hear, they have come to hear that which they have never heard before. As you preach you hear them exclaiming, “Que precioso!” (“How precious!”). Suddenly all your weariness is forgotten and you could preach all night to these who so desire to hear the Good News.

Have you ever traveled to another country to preach and found that the brethren have secured a huge tent for a meeting place? “Wonderful!” you think. But then you find out that the tent has to be moved, not once, but three more times. The tent has to be taken down and moved to another town and put up again, ready just in time for the next services. Your job? You are to crawl under this dusty dirty tent and put the poles in place while the men on the outside have several “business meetings” on how it should be done. (Ever attended a business meeting?) By the end of the day you are tired, dirty, and hungry. You have just enough time to get cleaned up and start preaching. The thought runs through your mind repeatedly, “Is this worth it?” But all those thoughts are soon erased when you see over 500 souls from the community who have gathered hungry to hear the pure gospel of our Lord. “Que precioso!” they say. “Que precioso!”

Have you ever had your ribs broken just before leaving on one of these trips? You travel over rugged bumpy dirt roads to reach a community where you arrive with your ribs in worse condition than when you left. The bed you sleep on is hard and when you roll over on one of those ribs  wow, the pain! But on this trip you have a real treat. They have built a room for the visiting preacher. How nice, but then it strikes again, the “revenge.” This time you don’t have to climb over bodies because the men of the community have built the “little house” on the hill. You think, “What a relief, better than last time when there was nothing and the outhouse was just “out.” But then comes the negative side. Walking up that hill hour after hour in a weakened condition is no picnic. And then there is the little house. The men dug the hole too big for the house. Dig another hole? Naw, throw a couple of logs across the hole and set the little house on the logs. Have you ever tried to sit in a privy with a canvas for a door and the west wind blowing? You have to hold the canvas with one hand and steady yourself with the other so that you do not get thrown over by the rocking of the little house on the logs. But still you must preach as you hear the voices of hungry souls, “Que precioso!”

Have you ever been invited to the humble home of one of these Christians to eat? You tremble as you realize you may be taking food from their children. But you cannot refuse because they would be so hurt. How glad you are that you have come! The graciousness with which they serve you is so heartwarming that it often brings tears to your eyes. No matter what the obstacle, no matter the hardship, they serve you and give to you what they have. These people are so grateful for the precious words of life you have brought them. How precious the word of God! And now it is you who say, “Que precioso!” You go away knowing you have received much more than you have given.

After over fifty years of this work, you come to the evening of your life. Your steps are slower and your health fails. But you press on. The love of Christ constrains you. You work as long as there is breath and one more soul to save. As you reflect on your life you know that materially you have little and the hardships have been many. But oh what riches you do have. Would you change your life if you could do it over? No! “Que precioso!”

Guardian of Truth XL: 7 p. 9
April 4, 1996

By Irvin Himmel

All who obey the gospel are blessed by the grace of God. It is the grace of God that brings salvation (Tit. 2:11). We are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8, 9). To re-pent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins is to respond to the grace of God.

Paul and the other apostles were ambassadors or good-will messengers to show people how to be reconciled to God. Their entreaty was, “We pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20).

“We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain” (2 Cor. 6:1). Paul and his fellow-workers were cooperating with God by declaring the word of his grace, the word of reconciliation. Paul pleaded with others “that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.”

There are several ways in which reception of the grace of God may be in vain or to no useful purpose.

By Turning to a Different Gospel

After being called into the grace of Christ, the Galatians were quickly removing to “another gospel,” a perversion of the gospel of Christ (Gal.1:6, 7). Paul’s assessment of their situation was this: “I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain” (Gal. 4:11).

By Failure to Bear Fruit

A fruit tree is expected to produce fruit. “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Matt. 7:19). The Christian who fails to be fruitful is barren. Jesus said,

“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8). Read Galatians 5:22, 23 to learn more about the fruit of the Spirit.

By Permitting God’s Word to be Choked

In the parable of the sower and the soils, the seed falling among thorns illustrates one who hears God’s word, but “the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful” (Mark 4:18, 19).

By Turning Back to Worldly Pollutions

Some who have escaped the pollutions of the world are again entangled therein and overcome. Peter compares such persons to a sow that was washed and returns to wallowing in the mire (2 Pet. 2:20-22). One’s receiving God’s grace is indeed in vain if he goes back to his old vile way of life.

By Losing Faith

The Israelites were delivered from Egypt by the grace of God. Most of them perished in the wilderness. Why could they not enter the promised land? Because of unbelief (Heb. 3:19). In this there is a lesson for Christians. “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Heb. 3:12).

By Beginning in the Spirit and Ending in the Flesh

Paul asked the Galatians, “Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:3). The apostle was determined to keep his body in subjection, not allowing the flesh to become the master, lest he be rejected (1 Cor. 9:27).

Many people who have received the grace of God have nullified the effect of that grace in such ways as these listed above. Now is the day of salvation! Now is the time to give earnest heed to our calling and our election (2 Pet. 1:5-10).

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 16, p. 11
August 15, 1996

By Larry Ray Hafley

The Bible warns against the danger of “evil surmisings,” or “evil suspicions” (1 Tim. 6:4). In 1 Chronicles 19, Nahash, the king of Ammon, died. “And David said I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his Father.” However, certain political leaders among the Ammonites were suspicious and said to Hanun, “Do you think that David is honoring your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Have not his servants come to you to search and to over-throw and to spy out the land?”

Hanun, acting on their suspicions, mistreated and “greatly humiliated” David’s servants. As a result, a destructive war of death and destruction soon followed. It was all caused by “evil surmisings,” by “evil suspicions.”

A suspicious attitude is hard to fight. One who has such a defiled disposition can always “justify” his reasons for feeling as he does. He sees every extended, helping hand as a clenched fist. He views your smile as proof that you are laughing at him. If you give him an egg for breakfast, he thinks you are calling him “a chicken.” If you give him a peach for lunch, he thinks you are the pits. There is just no way to satisfy a negative, suspicious state of mind. Such people spread their dark thoughts to others and cause them to become wary and unsettled. They assign evil motives to even the most harmless of words and deeds. See 1 Chronicles 19 related above.

Brethren, beware of this gloomy outlook. True love is not suspicious. It “thinketh no evil” (1 Cor. 13:5). It does not assume the worst. It expects that which is good and puts the best construction on the motives and deeds of others. Love builds. Suspicion tears down. Love unites. Suspicion divides. Love trusts. Suspicion doubts. Love smiles. Suspicion glares. Love attracts. Suspicion repels. Love forgives and forgets. Suspicion remembers what never happened. Love appreciates this article and its admonition. Suspicion says, “It was aimed at me.” (For once, suspicion’s fears are confirmed. It was.)

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 16, p. 14
August 15, 1996

 

On December 24, 1995 I concluded my work with the Westwood Church of Christ, after thirty years and six months. The following is an abbreviated form, with a few additional thoughts, of my farewell remarks on that date.

Some folks will little note nor long remember the remarks that I make here tonight However, the work that I have endeavored to do among you, will endure both time and eternity. It belongs to the nature of things that cannot be erased or removed by the passing of time, nor the forgetfulness of men.

The world has turned over many times since that warm June day in 1965 when Aurelia and I, along with our three children, pulled into Tullahoma, even before day began to dawn. Our furniture was en route but we were pulling a two-wheeled trailer with a few items we did not send on the truck. When it was light enough to unhitch the trailer, I began to look for something with which to block up the trailer. As I did, a snake slithered off into the weeds and grass. I recall remarking to Aurelia, “Well, the Old Serpent has served notice on us that he intends to oppose us for every inch and foot of ground we undertake to retake for the Master.” Now, I did not actually take that to be an omen or divine warning of some kind. However my assessment of what lay ahead of us, was right on target. Being aware that such is true, helps us to be alert and aware of his many devices, as he operates even as an angel of light, and his ministers as ministers of righteousness.

Nevertheless, God has dealt graciously with me. The good has far outweighed the evil that has come our way. Our blessings have been innumerable, and immeasurable. Our true and trusted friends outnumber by far our foes. God, the giver of all good things, has more than supplied our necessary food, raiment, and other material needs. Spiritually, he has blessed us above all we could ask or think. My heart rejoices beyond expression. By his marvelous grace, we are his and he is ours. What is there more important than this?

Additionally, God has given us children’s children, and memories that fill our cup to the overflowing. I am eternally grateful that God has seen fit to so use me here in this work. And my prayer is that my labor here is accepted in his sight.

My sentiments, as I bring to a close thirty years and then some with this congregation, are not easy to express either by pen or by tongue. The nearest language that fits the occasion can be found in the “Farewells” of the apostle Paul. Five times in his epistles, Paul came to say “Finally brethren.”

The term “finally” carries with the idea of concluding something. In the context of my use of it, it carries the idea of ending my thirty years and six month work with this church. As you think of that, be reminded that we are all also terminal. The time will come when you will end, in one way or another, your labors and work with this congregation.

Before, looking at some admonitions I want to make from Paul’s farewells, I want to take a glance backward for a few moments.

It has been in round numbers 1600 Sundays ago that Aurelia and I came here in answer to our “Macedonian call.” In December of 1964, a group of truth loving, dedicated brethren began to meet down on South Polk Street in what had been a dirty, greasy, abandoned restaurant building. There were just 23 people in the first gathering, including several small children, some of whom are here tonight with their own families. They formed the South Polk Street Church of Christ, because there was not an-other congregation in the town that had not embraced digressive practices. They stated that they wanted to build all things according to the pattern in God’s revealed word. In this they spoke the language that I spoke and under-stood well. With great anticipation and enthusiasm I accepted the challenge and came fully determined that in those goals I would give them all the help and aid I had the power and ability to provide. I was determined to know nothing but “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). To the best of my ability, I have not swerved from that purpose. Such has been my constant theme. Some who were there in the beginning, have departed the faith and some who came after them stated that they were sick of “Bible authority.” Nevertheless, to that commitment I have remained steadfast and unmoveable thru all these years of labor.

Tonight, I come to turn in to him who gives the talents and the pounds, who opens doors of opportunity, my report on those 30 years and then some. He is the one who knows our abilities, and our failings. He knows our real motives from the asserted ones. He knows where we are lacking and why. He knows when our heart has pained and when we have not found sleep because of the sheep that were discontent either with food or fold. He knows the difference in caring shepherds and mere hirelings. It is into his hands that I place my report which he already knows perfectly.

However, as my work with the congregation is brought to an end so does the report of each of you go into the same hands of the perfect record keeper. We have professed to be “workers together with God,” for the advancement of the greatest work on earth, the only enduring work. He knows when we have been workers and when we have been shirkers. He knows when we have been backers and when we have been blockers. He knows the difference in mere rhyme and reason. So, we are each and everyone turning in our own report tonight on a work to which each of us committed our pledge to God to give him our all. Only eternity will fully reveal how well we have performed in our respective roles. These matters are not matters we can dismiss with a wave of the hand or shrug of the shoulder. We are men and women accountable to God above. I come now to make a few final admonitions to you.

Be strong in the lord and in the power of his might” (Eph.6:10f).

A. What will make you strong in the Lord.

1. Being in every way a Scriptural church.

a. Scripturally organized (Phil.1:1).

b. Scripturally functioning (Eph. 4:11-12).

c. Taking orders from Christ the head (Eph. 1:22-23).

2. Being a church composed of true believers (Acts 4:4).

3. Deep convictions, willing to suffer (Acts 8:4); sharing prayerful (Acts 6:6-7); walking in the fear of the Lord, and comfort of the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31).

4. Strength is not to be confused with size.

B. You will have issues to face that will require the best in all of you.

1. Issues on marriage, divorce and remarriage.

2. Issues involving dress and conduct.

3. Perhaps sooner than you think you will have to deal with issues involving the role of women in the church.

C. Only by being strong in the Lord will you be able to handle successfully these and others is-sues.

II. Finally, brethren rejoice in the lord (Phil.3:1).

A. There is much joy and rejoicing for the people of God.

1. Romans 14:17.

2. Joy in Christian association (Phil.1:3).

3. Joy in worship (Psa.122:1).

4. Joy in seeing people obey the gospel (Acts 8:5-8; 3 John 3, 4).

B. Brethren, if your service to God is boring and you cannot find joy in it, heaven will not be for you.

III. Finally brethren, think on things true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report (Phil. 4:8).

IV. “Finally, brethren, farewell, be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the god of love and peace shall be with you” (2 Cor. 13:11). Whether I come and be with you or else be absent, I want to hear of your affairs (Phil.1:27). Like Paul, I want to hear that you are standing as a solid phalanx of committed men and women committed to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Don’t be terrified by your adversaries. They will think that your standing for the truth is a token of your damnation, but you know that it is a token of salvation and that of God.

Sometimes men and women in the church get so careless and loose in their conduct and in business affairs that even the world would blush with shame. Let me say that if members of the church stand fore square upon the truth, and conduct themselves in a way that adorns the gospel, there is not a force in the whole world that can stop or hinder their onward march for the Lord, for He has promised never to leave or forsake such (Heb.13:5). This church will live or die, survive or vanish, according to the character of those on the inside. The enemy without can do but little harm and that only due to our own failings within. It is my honest conviction that we are our own worst enemy! I want to hear of unity in truth, soundness in faith, steadfastness in labor, purity in life, and untiring efforts in Christ.

V. My final “finally” is found in 2 Thessalonians 3:1. “Finally brethren pray for us.” Paul wanted the prayers of his brethren, and so do I. He was not asking that they pray for his ease and comfort. He was asking that they pray for him that the word preached by him might have free course and be glorified. He was asking to be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men. Those are my sentiments tonight as I leave you. Pray for me, that the word of God might have free course. Pray that I may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men. My heart and soul is wrapped up in the desire to preach his word, to saving of souls and up building of his cause and Kingdom. Pray that hindrances may be minimal. Pray for our strength and continued good health to that end. Pray that the Lord’s will may be done in all my undertakings.

I placed on the bulletin board a statement which can never fully express the bounty of thanksgiving and gratitude which Aurelia and I have for our years in your midst. We feel richly blessed. And I close with the admonition: “Therefore My be-loved brethren, be steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor.15:58). “And now brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified” (Acts 20:32).

Guardian of Truth XL: 6 p. 22-24
March 21, 1996