[Biblemat] Walking in the Light (9/2/07)

Wed Sep 5 16:11:19 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 rgives 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)

September 2, 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 San Juan church of Christ here in Montrose, Colorado, then
click on the San Juan church of Christ Web Site at
<http://www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org/> www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org. 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:

"Are You Afraid to Die?" (Richard Thetford)

"Let's Turn Things Around" (Richard Thetford)

"What Do You Do After You Say AMEN?" (Don Truex)

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ARE YOU AFRAID TO DIE?

Richard Thetford

The late Robert Wayne La Coste wrote an article that appeared in the October
8, 1970 issue of  Truth magazine entitled "Are You Afraid To Die?" The
article tried to get people to know and understand where it is that they now
stand in relationship to their eternity with God. The article is too long to
include in the space that we have available, so I will attempt to point out
some of the key points that he made.

There Are Uncertainties Of Life

This idea was pointed out by the Apostle James when he said: "whereas you do
not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a
vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away" (Jam 4:14). But
one aspect of life is certain and that is death! The Hebrew writer said:
"And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment"
(Heb 9:27). Why is it that individuals are afraid to die, even though they
understand this is something that will take place? Well, there are many
reasons for this but maybe it is because (1) they know not what lies beyond
death. (2) They know and are afraid to think about it, not wanting to give
up various things in this life. (3) They know, but do not care, for they
live for today. And we can go on and on! Life is uncertain, yet many, many
individuals fail to do what they need to do while they have life to ensure
that their soul is taken care of when their date with death comes. Are you
afraid to die? If so, why is it that you're afraid?

Fear Removed Through Obedience To God

Those that are afraid to die are those that do not have the relationship
with God that they should have! One that has obeyed God through the Gospel
of His Son looks forward to death, for these people realize that it is this
media which brings them to eternal happiness: "For to me, to live is Christ,
and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from
my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard pressed
between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far
better" (Phil 1:21-23). DEATH was a common theme of New Testament writers.
Have you ever noticed that each time they mentioned death, they spoke of it
as an event which was considered a privilege and they looked forward to it
with earnest expectation! How can this be - to count death a privilege? Paul
answers this question by saying: "for if we died with Him, we shall also
live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him,
he also will deny us" (2 Tim 2:11-12). There is no doubt that the reason
they looked forward to death was because they knew they had a covenant
relationship with the Father. When one has this kind of relationship,
striving to obey all the commands of Jesus, they KNOW that they will have
salvation with Jesus because of their obedience to Him (Heb 5:9). 

Some Have Reason To Be Afraid

Those that do not have a covenant relationship with God have EVERY REASON TO
BE AFRAID! Why? Because ALL spiritual blessings are only IN Christ Jesus
(Eph 1:3). But the reasons are much deeper. When Jesus comes again He will
come for three distinct purposes! (1) To receive the obedient unto Himself,
that where He is, there they may be also (John 14:1-3). (2) To take
vengeance on them that know not God and that obeyed not the Gospel of Christ
(2 Thes 1:7-10). (3) To judge the world in righteousness - rendering unto
every man according to his works (2 Tim 4:8; Rev 2:23). You are right now
either in one category or the other. You are IN Christ, or you are outside
of Christ! You know which, and in being in that category which leaves you
outside of Christ, you can see from the scriptural proof offered that you
have every reason to be AFRAID! STOP being afraid! Obey Jesus, be faithful
unto God to death, and I can assure you that you too shall look forward to
death, which shall take you to the home of God! Who could ask for more than
that?

I have often thought to myself "what is the one thing that really draws and
keeps Christians together?" Well, it didn't take me long to think of the
word kindness. When I think of the word kindness I am also reminded of the
passage in Ephesians 4:32 which reads "And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath
forgiven you." To be kind takes a sincere effort on the part of each
individual. Because of that, when kindness is shown to another, one can see
that the heart of the individual doing the kind deed is the way God wants it
to be. The passage continues to say that we should be tenderhearted which
means to have sympathy or pity for another. It would be like seeing a little
puppy with a hurt leg limping across a yard, and being moved with
tenderness, you would help fix the puppy's leg so it could heal properly. In
the same manner we should want to help our brothers and sisters when they
are hurting. When we have a sincere, loving concern for another individual
then we will naturally be a forgiving person. We know that God loved us so
much that He gave His only begotten son for us (John 3:16). God is willing
and wants to forgive us as we stumble through our walk of life, but we must
be willing to forgive others first (Matt 6:14-15). When an individual
Christian can grasp the love of God then the love of God will be able to
pour forth from the Christian.

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"LET'S TURN THINGS AROUND"

Richard Thetford

Last week we learned that we can only gain faith by reading the word of God
(Rom 10:17). Once you have gained faith (belief) in Christ then you need to
be determined to turn your life around and DO what Christ asks of you. After
all, if we are going to practice religion wouldn't we want to practice one
that has Christ as it's head (Eph 5:23; 4:4)? What good is it to practice a
religion that does not DO all the things that Christ has commanded (Matt
28:18)? Of course the answer is that it would be foolish. Therefore, after
believing completely in Christ we will want to be determined within
ourselves to repent (turn around) from the things that we were doing that
were worldly, fleshly (Gal 5:19-21; 1 Cor 6:9-10), and start doing what
Christ tells us to do (Heb 5:8-9). If we say that we love Him, and believe
in Him then we will prove it by our total obedience in Him (Matt 15:8-9).
True repentance is determining within ourselves that we are going to forsake
all, even ourselves and serve Christ first and foremost (Matt 10:32-39)!
Have you determined to turn things around in your life and follow Christ -
not man?

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WHAT DO YOU DO AFTER YOU SAY AMEN?

Don Truex

It seems to me that we have a great many of our prayers unfinished. After
all, what do you do after you say "AMEN"? If our petitions and intercessions
to Jehovah are to be acceptable, then surely we must co-operate by
functioning as His servants on this earth. For example:

Having asked God's aid in overcoming some particular temptation, do you then
co-operate with Him? Do you avoid the people and places that tend to lead
you into temptation? Do you "flee" from it (2 Tim 2:22), having an iron-clad
resolve to "abstain" from everything that "wars against your soul" (1 Pet
2:12)?

Having asked Jehovah to bless the sick, do you co-operate with Him? Do you
make yourself a vessel of service, visiting and striving to provide both the
physical and emotional comfort needed by those for whom you've prayed?

Having prayed for numerical growth of the congregation, do you then
co-operate? Do you make every effort to "plant" and "water" the word of God
in the soil of honest hearts so that God might "give the increase" (1 Cor
3:6)? Do you pray for the Lord to "send forth laborers into the harvest"
(Matt 9:28), and then volunteer to be the first to go?

You see, after we say "AMEN" the work has just begun!

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SERMON

The Brevity of Life (with PowerPoint Charts)

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

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Meets at:

2740 Commercial Way, Suite B
Montrose, CO   81401
(970) 249-8116

 <http://www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org/> www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org

ASSEMBLY SCHEDULE

SUNDAY
Bible Study....................10:00 A.M.
Worship.........................11:00 A.M.
WEDNESDAY
Bible Study......................6:30 P.M.

Evangelist
Richard Thetford

(970) 626-5558

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

1491 Canyon Drive, Ridgway, CO  81432

Home: (970) 626-5558

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

Evangelist, San Juan church of Christ

 <http://www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org> www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org

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