Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)

Mount
Baker
Beacon

Volume 03, Number 21
05/26/2024

Published by
Mt. Baker
church of Christ

Location:
   1860 Mt. Baker HWY

Mailing Address:
       P.O. Box 30821
  Bellingham, WA 98228
       (360) 752-2692

Sunday:
Bible Classes..........9:30 AM
Worship..10:30AM; 6:00PM

Wednesday:
Bible Classes.........7:00 PM
 

Web site: Mt. Baker church
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Editor......John Bass

In this issue:

• WANT TO WORSHIP
• POWER IN THE WORD

WANT TO WORSHIP
T. Sean Sullivan

Introduction:

David, King of Israel, declared the happiness he found in gathering for worship, in Psalm 122:1. He said, "I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go into the house of the Lord."  How many of us eagerly look forward to gathering with our brethren to bring worship to God? How many of us value every moment we can spend drawing closer to God and our Savior Jesus Christ-and our brethren? Our passion for learning and doing God's will; our longing to worship God, is to be greater than our longing for our "favorite sweet". It was to the Psalmist in 119:105, as he says, "How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Let's look into our desire for serving God, and how it affects our worship, with these points.      

Connecting with God

Do we eagerly anticipate our times of worship-in any way comparable to our longing for our favorite treat. The opportunity to come in the presence of our Creator God in worship needs to be desired at a level in which nothing else should, or could, ever compete. Consider the application of Matthew 6:33 in our desire to seek God in worship-"…seek first…" means with no other competition, first always wins over the rest. 

Worship, as God directs, allows us to express our connection to God. Worship is an irreplaceable part of our service to God. Worship provides us an audience with God (Psalm 100:1-3; Hebrews 2:12; Hebrews 4:16). A time to gather and be encouraged by, "those of like precious faith" (2 Peter 1:1-4). Worship, when accomplished properly, reminds us who God is and who we are-and who NEEDS who (Acts 17:24-27). God is the great and awesome Almighty God of Heaven-who created all that exists (Genesis 1&2; Acts 17:24). We are creatures of His creation (Psalm 100:1-3; Acts 17:26). "…In Him we live and move and have our being…"-we need God every moment of our life, without Him we would not, and cannot, be. Our God desires our worship, we need it for our strengthening and faithful continuance in the most important issues of life (John 4:23-24). When we know who we are and who God is, we will embrace the significance of the special opportunity to worship Him, according to His will.

Losing Interest?

There were several times during the timeline of the Old Testament that "the people of God" allowed their hearts to wander from God. Isaiah 29:13, "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men…". The people, the priests, and the prophets all had "gone far" from God (Jeremiah 2:5-13).  Ezekiel 44:10-14, "…when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols…" There is a time in particular, recorded by the prophet Malachi, wherein "the people of God" had so distanced themselves from a passion for the Lord that they profaned His name and had contempt for worshipping Him (in Malachi 1:10-14).

Is it possible that "the people of God" today could get into such a place that those in Malachi 1?  Can you imagine that God would rather these doors be locked, than for this worship to be offered? When we grow weary of our opportunities to worship, we will begin to offer far less than God deserves, or expects (Matthew 7:21-23). There is "vain worship" (Matthew 15:8-9). There is "ignorant worship" (Acts 17:22-23). There is "self-imposed worship" (Colossians 2:20-23). Mankind has long thought they know a better way; this is when a man comes up with worship that suits himself. We need to worship with true and truthful worship.

Desiring Every Opportunity

Worship is directed to God but does much good for us. There is much to gain from the gathering times of our congregation. The blessings of our time together are special and need to be valued as special (Hebrew 10:24-25). If we bring more to our times of gathering, we will get more. We need to be able to involve ourselves more completely in our worship and praise (Mark 12:30-if we love God with all we are, we will love to fulfill our role in worshipping Him). 

When we are fully involved in worship, we will be as Jesus said in John 4:24, worshipping in "spirit" and "truth". To be more involved in our singing: Sing, and sing out to God (Ephesians 5:19-Colossians 3:16). To be more involved in our prayers: Those who pray, pray well as the rest of us listen with focus (Acts 2:42). To be more involved in our remembrance: Evaluate the cost of your salvation and give reflection to your Savior's willingness to provide (Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29). To be more involved in our offering: Embrace the promise of 2 Corinthians 9:6-10, and apply it to fulfilling the requirement of giving (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). To be more involved in our time during the preaching (Ac. 2:42, 20:7; 2 Tim. 4:1-5): Purposely focus and seek the opportunity to learn (2 Peter 3:18).

Conclusion:

The Psalmist compared his desire for God's word to his desire for the sweetness of honey-the word of God was more greatly desired. Do we long to worship, more than our favorite treat? 

The Almighty God of Heaven desires your worship (John 4:23-24); He also desires your salvation (2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 21:20-27). If we grow tired of worshipping God, we will not only miss out on its blessings now, we will certainly not be welcomed into Heaven-where His worship and praise in continuous (Revelation 4:8-11). 

The opportunity to prepare ourselves for Heaven is now. If you are a true Christian, focus your faith and prioritize worship of God-desire it more than anything else (Matthew 6:33). If you are not yet a true Christian, right now is the time, do not let anything get in your way-nothing else is more important than your soul's salvation. The opportunity of your obedience to God is right now.

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POWER IN THE WORD
Steven F. Deaton

Paul wrote that the gospel is God’s power unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). Many people in modern religions deny this. It is obvious the Jew, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist reject the gospel altogether. However, it just as true that denominations do not believe the gospel is the power unto salvation. There may be exceptions, but they are very few.

Some believe the gospel is totally unnecessary to salvation. Their belief is that the Holy Spirit works directly on the heart of a sinner. In some mysterious way the Spirit is supposed to awaken a person to his or her sin and bring them to faith in the Lord. Each person has a different and unique experience that confirms the Spirit’s work. In other words, it is all subjective and based on feelings and emotions.

Others believe the gospel is only partly needed. They would agree that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, but deny that all the word is necessary (Rom. 10:17). The teaching usually goes something like this: “Believe on Jesus as the Christ and accept Him into your heart as your personal Savior and you will be saved.” For them, belief alone is sufficient for salvation, and once you are saved you are always saved. Some say no sin can be committed by the child of God; others that sin is wiped away as it is being committed. So, anything beyond the gospels is not needed. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the basis for believing Jesus is the Christ, the rest of the New Testament is fine, but not necessary for salvation.

The truth is, the gospel is God’s power unto salvation. The gospel is not just Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It includes all of the New Testament. Paul wanted to preach the “gospel” to the saints in Rome (Rom. 1:7, 15). Did he want to tell them about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus? No. He had other things to teach them; things he termed as the “gospel.”

Further, notice that men are saved when they obey “the faith” (Acts 6:7). “The faith” is the gospel and the gospel is the faith. There is one faith, one body of divine truth and it is found exclusively in the New Testament (Eph. 4:5; Gal. 1:8, 9).

The gospel saves a man initially as he hears, believes, and obeys. It also keeps him saved as he follows it. Paul said, “I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you” (1 Cor. 15:1, 2). He also said that we will be presented as holy, blameless, and above reproach “if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard” (Col. 1:23).

Back to the need for the gospel, not direct divine action separate from the word.

If there ever was a case for salvation by direct divine action, it was the case of Saul of Tarsus. On his way to Damascus the Lord appeared to him (Acts 9). Saul believed and asked the Lord, “’Lord, what do You want me to do?’ Then the Lord said, ‘Arise, and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do’” (Acts 9:6). After spending three days as a penitent, prayerful man, Ananias came to see him (Acts 9:9, 11, 17). Paul later revealed that Ananias said, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16). In other words, Saul was not saved by the experience on the road to Damascus. He was not saved directly by the Lord on that day, nor by the prayers he offered for three days. Rather, he had to hear the commands as given by Ananias. When he obeyed, he was saved.

There is power in the word. It is the power to save a soul, and if we are going to be saved we need to spend time in the word. If we are going to help save others, we must know the word.

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Created by John Bass, last updated.  05/22/2024

The Mount Baker Beacon is a weekly publication of the Mt. Baker church of Christ, Bellingham, WA.
Send all questions, comments to the editor, John Bass at (360) 325-5149 or johnbass2468@gmail.com