THE POUND
PROCLAIMER
Volume II
August 2007
Number 10
Sing
to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day
to day. Psalms 96:2
A GOAT’S TALE
Two men were walking in the
mountains when they came upon a sinkhole. Now, sinkholes are caused by the
underground mining of coal. When the coal is removed, the ceiling of the mine
often collapses and will create a sinkhole on the surface.
As they peered down into
the deep black hole, Dillard proclaimed, “This hole warn’t here yestady.”
“How deep ya figger ‘tis?” Asked Judd.
As Dillard reached down to
pick up a rock the size of an egg, he said, “Don’t know, but I aim to find
out!”
Both men stood over the
hole and listened for the rock to hit bottom. After a moment, Judd broke the
silence. “Didja hear anythin’ Dillard?”
“Not a thang. Must be a deepun for sure.” Dillard said as he leaned out as
far as he could over the edge of the hole to get a better view.
Judd didn’t respond because
he was too busy looking for a bigger rock. He found one about the size of a
baseball and proceeded to throw it in the hole. Again they listened and still
no sound came from the deep black hole.
By now, the two men were
determined to toss something into the hole that would make a sound. They began
to search for a suitable object when Judd yelled, “Dillard, c’mear and help me
tote this here railroad tie over to the hole.” Dillard helped Judd and with
some difficulty they heaved the railroad tie into the hole.
As they stood there
listening for the sound of the railroad tie hitting the bottom of the hole,
they heard a noise from behind them in the bushes. They turned just in time to
see this large goat come charging straight toward them. Both men jumped out of
the way and watched as the goat took a flying leap into the middle of that deep
black hole.
As Judd and Dillard stood
looking into the hole wondering what on earth would make a goat do such a
thing, a nearby farmer came out of the brush. “Howdy,” said the farmer, “I’m a
look’n fer my goat. Have you fellers a see’d him?”
Dillard spoke up. “There
was this goat that come ah rush’n outa them bushes over yonder. Strangest
thang, he run right between me an Judd and then took a
flyin leap in that thar hole.”
“Well,” said the farmer,
“Couldn’t a been my goat. I had’m tied to a railroad
tie so’s he couldn’t wander off.”
Jesus tells us that every
one who commits sin is the bondservant of sin (John 8:34). The awful
truth about sin is that it can dominate one’s life. Jesus says that those who
commit sin are bondservants to serve their father, the devil (John
8:44). They are tied to the devil.
It is easy to forget Jesus’
declaration because sin is deceitful (Hebrews 3:13). It hardens the heart
causing one to loose the ability to discern good from evil (Hebrews
5:14). In this condition, men become like the goat in our tale (Matthew
25:32-34). The devil has them firmly attached to a railroad tie of
sin. Some of these were once sheep, but because they have long since grazed
upon the wild mountain meadows of the world, they have lost their fleece and
look like goats.
The Hebrew writer
admonishes men to put away all sin that they may be successful in the Christian
race. (Hebrews
12:1). The alien sinner can unbind himself from sin by faith (Hebrews
11:6), repenting of his sins (Luke 13:3), confessing with his
mouth that Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 10:32), and then being
baptized to be saved (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; 1 Peter
3:21). Once resurrected out of the waters of baptism, he is to walk
in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4), being faithful until
death (Revelation
2:10). The Christian who sins must repent, pray, and confess (Acts
8:22; 1 John 1:9; James 5:16).
Should you wait too long, Death and Judgment will come (Hebrews
9:27). The sin [railroad tie] to which you are attached will be cast
into the pit of Hell. Then like the goat, well, you get the picture.
The Editor’s
Page
The apostle Paul made a
rather bold statement when he wrote, “Be
imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
The very idea of a man
encouraging other men to do as he was doing, is a
radical concept to the unwashed masses in our society. The philosophy of most
is, ‘Do as I say, not as I do!’ How is it that Paul
could say such a thing? Was he self-righteous? Was he a deceiver or hypocrite?
The fact that Paul suffered a
multitude of slings and arrows from the devil, is evidence he was not a
deceiver or hypocrite (2 Corithians 11:23-28). The fact that Paul considered himself the chief sinner among all
the sinners, rules out self-righteousness (1 Timothy 1:15). The reason
Paul would encourage others to imitate him, is because he understood the
responsibility of Christians to be examples.
In 1 Timothy 4:12, Paul
writes, “Let no one despise you for your
youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in
faith, in purity.” The Christian is responsible to guard the words of his
mouth. Vulgar, obscene language should never be used by Christians. The life of
a Christian should reflect his relationship with Christ. The Christian’s love
should be a holy love not immoral and worldly. The Christian’s faith should be
strong and alive. The Christian’s character should be innocent, and without
blemish which only comes from pure thoughts.
It is important for
Christians to be aware of their example. Obviously, if a Christian’s life is
not reflective of the Christian character, his soul is in jeopardy. And beyond
that, he is not a proper influence for others.
Paul understood that he could
lose his soul even though he had preached the gospel to others (1 Corinthians
9:27). “Therefore let anyone
who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
It is dangerous to think we can live any old way and still go to heaven when we
die!
Another consequence of a
slothful Christian life, is poor influence. Even
people who are not Christians understand that one’s life is to reflect a
certain standard, if they are to be considered a Christian. When others observe
Christians whose lives are no different than people of the world, they will not
be influenced to follow Christ. Christians who use vulgar and obscene language,
who live lives addicted to the pleasures of sin, who have little or no faith
and whose character has lost its innocence, cannot say, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” This kind of Christian is
a hindrance to the cause of Christ. They do harm to the Lord because they keep
others from coming to the Lord.
Congregations often ponder
why there is little or no growth. Could it be that the influence of the
congregation is tainted because of members who do not maintain a proper
influence before the world? Could the problem be, that
congregations continue to hold these members up before the community as
examples by using them in public worship?
Christians, we must be
examples of believers! It is time that we let our lights shine before the world
(Matthew
5:14-16).
What does your influence say
about you?
THE LAST WORD
I came across
the following results of a study by a research group concerning valid
principles of growth. I found them interesting and thought I would share them
with you. I took the time to add Scripture where they were applicable.
BE OPTIMISTIC.
We should be too busy to expect failures for we know we can do all things
through Him. PHIL 4:13.
BE PEOPLE
ORIENTED. Men seem to think they cannot accomplish a desired end without
organizing some program. Eventually the program becomes the focal point. We
must focus on people, not programs. ROM
10:14-17; 2 TIM 2:2.
RECOGNIZE THE
LIMIT OF YOUR DUTY. Goal setting is very important for a congregation. Looking
ahead to what we want to accomplish in the future is necessary as long as we
are realistic in our goal setting.
STRIVE TO
EXCEL. Elders, deacons, evangelists, teachers and all disciples must resolve to
be the very best. Being satisfied and failing to see the need to improve
ourselves is to be spiritually dead. 2 PET 1:5-11; 3:18.
DISTINGUISH
CHRISTIANITY AS A LIFE, NOT A CEREMONY. Christians are the church,
we do not merely attend church.
HONESTLY DEAL
WITH FLAWS. Men have a way of pinning the sacred cow of perfectionism on the
church. The church is made up of humans and humans have flaws. We turn
prospects off when we preach perfectionism. This is not because they don’t want
salvation, but because they cannot reconcile what they observe in us and what
they hear us preaching. LK 18:9-14.
ENCOURAGE
EVERYONE TO TALK UP THE CHURCH. Tell your friends you respect the elders,
appreciate the deacons, gain knowledge from the sermons, and relish the
reverence the whole congregation exhibits.
BE DETERMINED
TO GROW. Do not accept the defeatist who cries, “We can’t do that here.” The
nay sayers would have everyone’s faith to be as weak as their own. PHIL 4:13.
ADDRESS THE
NEEDS OF ALL AGES. Do not neglect either the young nor
the old. All have spiritual need. PHIL
2:1-4.
DO NOT
OVER-ORGANIZE. While it is necessary to have leadership and organization,
spiritual bureaucracy is worse than political red tape. Both can and do
strangle the ability to reach goals.
DEMAND
A STRONG PULPIT. The nature of the assembly pinpoints the pulpit as the key to
spiritual growth. Therefore, strong Bible oriented preaching that is presented
in an understandable fashion is absolutely necessary. 2 TIM 4:1-5.
