[Biblemat] Walking in the Light (4/1/07)

Sun Apr 1 15:23:21 CDT 2007

Walking in the Light

"For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light."
"The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the
simple." 

"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with
one another...."
(Psalm 36:9; 119:130; 1 John 1:7a)

April 1, 2007

www.thetfordcountry.com <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/> 

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INFORMATION: My WEB Site  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/>
www.thetfordcountry.com has just been updated to include the articles and
sermons listed below. All the sermons posted each week to my web site are in
.pdf format.  The PowerPoint charts are also included with ALL the sermons
that are posted to the web site. To access the sermons page, visit the site
and click on "Richard's Page" and then click on "sermons." Please visit the
"Reference Works" links page for updated links to various Bible study
resources. If you are a newcomer to the area or wanting information
concerning the Valley church of Christ here in Grand Junction, Colorado,
then click on the Valley church of Christ Web Site,
<http://www.valleychurchofchrist.net/> www.valleychurchofchrist.net. Thank
you for visiting my web site and as always, your comments are welcome. 

If you know of someone that would like to receive the "Walking in the Light"
electronic bulletin each week, please send an e-mail message to
<mailto:Richard at Thetfordcountry.com> Richard at Thetfordcountry.com  with their
name and e-mail address and I will add them to the list.

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CONTENTS:

"The Conversion of Saul" (Richard Thetford)

"The Journey of Life" (Richard Thetford)

"What Name Do You Proudly Wear?" (Richard Thetford)

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THE CONVERSION OF SAUL

Richard Thetford

The book of Acts chapters 9 and 22 tell us of the conversion of Saul, known
later as the apostle Paul. By learning about Saul and his conversion we can
learn what we must do in order to be a Christian. What kind of man was Saul?
When he was talking to young Timothy and explaining that Jesus came into the
world to save sinners he added: "of whom I am chief" (1 Tim 1:15). He
clearly admitted that he was beyond a doubt a sinner before God. Before we
can be converted to the Lord, we must first recognize as Saul did that we
are a sinner (Rom 3:23). Saul knew he was a sinner even though he came from
a very good ancestry (Phil 3:5), and had a great education (Acts 22:3). So
just because we might have a wonderful family background and a great
education, that alone can't save us. No matter how well known our family is
and no matter how much college and other schools we have attended and
completed, we still must acknowledge we are in sin and need God.

What Was Saul's Great Sin?

But what was Saul's great sin that moved him to tell Timothy that he was
chief among sinners? He explains in Acts 22:4 that he was involved in
persecuting Christians. There it says: "I persecuted this Way to the death,
binding and delivering into prisons both men and women." He felt bad that he
had delivered Christians up to be killed and thrown into prison. He did
this, but he did this ignorantly. He told Timothy "although I was formerly a
blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because
I did it ignorantly in unbelief" (1 Tim 1:13). Saul's mistake was in regard
to religion, he thought that he was right, but in fact he was very wrong. In
Acts 26:9 he said: "Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary
to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of
the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief
priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I
punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and
being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign
cities." Paul later admitted before anyone that would listen that he was
wrong in what he did. He further stated that when he was doing these things
contrary to God's will that "I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my
contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the
traditions of my fathers" (Gal 1:14). And all the time that he was zealously
persecuting Christians he did so in all GOOD CONSCIENCE (Acts 24:16). What
can we learn from Saul's great sin? We should learn that a person may think
he is right, be zealous, have a good conscience and yet still be WRONG!
Until we are willing to open up the Word of God and read what we MUST do in
order to be saved, with an honest and open heart, then we too might very
well be guilty of doing sin, yet in good conscience. Remember "faith comes
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom 10:17). We will never know
what it is that we are SUPPOSED to do if we do not read it. We can never
gain Bible faith, if we don't read it!

Saul Becomes an Apostle and a Christian

Let's take a moment to carefully distinguish between the things that made
Paul an apostle and the things that made him a Christian. The things that
transpired in Acts 22:6-9 is what allowed Paul to call himself an apostle.
The text says: "Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at
about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. And I fell
to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting Me? So I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, I am
Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting. And those who were with me
indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him
who spoke to me." In this reading we can understand that Jesus appeared
specifically to Paul (verse 9), not to any other. He understands and
explains that this event happened because he was chosen to be a "witness"
for Christ. The scripture says: "Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has
chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the
voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have
seen and heard" (Acts 22:14-15).

Saul became a Christian when he OBEYED the voice of the Lord. In Acts 9:6 it
says: "So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to
do?" And the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be
told what you must do." Why did the Lord tell Saul to go to Damascus and see
a man named Ananias? Because that work had been committed into the hands of
men. Why was it that Ananias did not tell him to believe? Because Saul was
already a believer at this point. Why didn't Ananias tell Saul to repent?
Because he was already penitent. So what was it then that Saul was told to
do? In Acts 22:16 it says: "And now why are you waiting? Arise and be
baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Saul
was not saved, was not a Christian, until he was baptized into Christ (Gal
3:27). That is the only way his sins could be washed away. The very same way
that the sins were washed away (forgiven) on the day of Pentecost when Peter
preached the first sermon. At that time Peter commanded the people: "Repent,
and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts
2:38).

We can learn a valuable lesson from Saul. When he learned the truth - he
OBEYED and was baptized. Have you learned the truth, OBEYED, and been
baptized? Tomorrow may be too late!

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THE JOURNEY OF LIFE

Richard Thetford

In Numbers 10:29 it says: "...We are journeying unto the place of which the
LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us,...". Our journey through
life commences at baptism (Col 3:1-2). It continues by going on toward
perfection. The Hebrew writer says: "Therefore leaving the principles of the
doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the
foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God," (Heb
6:1). We should strive to be perfect as our father is perfect (Matt 5:48).
Our journey of life will terminate at death. And the only way that we can
receive the crown of life is to faithful unto death (Rev 2:10). But before
we die we must use the Holy Bible as our guide book. It is the Bible that
directs our way (Psa 119:5); it is the lamp to our feet (Psa 119:105). The
place in which we are headed is toward the land of rest (Heb 4:1,11), which
is the city of God (Heb 11:10; Rev 21:10). We should be excited as we
journey toward heaven, to the point that we want others to go there also
(Rom 10:1; John 6:37). Make sure your journey of life is pointed toward
heaven!

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WHAT NAME DO YOU PROUDLY WEAR?

Richard Thetford

There is only one name that Christ and His gospel gave us permission to wear
and that name is "Christian". The apostle Paul exhorted us to wear that name
with honor: "if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but
let him glorify God on this behalf" (1 Pet 4:16). Yet many wear the name of
their denomination. Let us notice some famous past quotations: Albert Barnes
Presbyterian Commentator: "These religious divisions should be merged into
the holy name Christian". Martin Luther German Leader of the Protestant
Reformation: "I pray you leave my name alone. Do not call yourselves
Lutherans, but Christians. Christ died for you." Charles H. Spurgeon English
Baptist Preacher: "I say of the Baptist name, let it perish, but let
Christ's name last forever. I look forward with pleasure to the day when
there will not be a Baptist living." John Wesley English Evangelical
Preacher, founder of Methodism; the Methodist Church: "I wish the name
Methodist might never be mentioned again, but lost in eternal oblivion."
Luke, the writer of Acts: said: "And the disciples were called Christians
first in Antioch" (Acts 11:26). WHAT NAME DO YOU PROUDLY WEAR?

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SERMONS

THAT HE MIGHT PRESERVE US ALIVE (with PowerPoint Charts)

Sermons can viewed at my web site:  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/>
www.thetfordcountry.com

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Valley

CHURCH OF CHRIST

Meets at:
491 Sparn Street
Grand Junction, CO   81504
(970) 245-5112

 <http://www.valleychurchofchrist.net/> www.valleychurchofchrist.net

ASSEMBLY SCHEDULE

SUNDAY
Bible Study..................9:45 A.M.
Morning Worship.......10:45 A.M.
Evening Worship.........5:00 P.M.

WEDNESDAY
Bible Study..................7:00 P.M.

Evangelist
Richard Thetford

Building: (970) 245-5112
Home:     (970) 314-7261

E-Mail:  <mailto:Richard at Thetfordcountry.com> Richard at Thetfordcountry.com

Web Site:  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com/> www.thetfordcountry.com

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Richard Thetford

E-Mail:  <mailto:Richard at Thetfordcountry.com> Richard at Thetfordcountry.com

1918 Barberry Court, Grand Junction, CO  81506

Home: (970) 314-7261

Please visit my web site:  <http://www.thetfordcountry.com>
www.thetfordcountry.com

Evangelist, Valley church of Christ

 <http://www.valleychurchofchrist.net> www.valleychurchofchrist.net

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