by Stan Mitchell

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth, and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10,11).

I had a humbling experience last week. When I finished my sermon Sunday morning, I got the response I usually get, which is to say, nothing. Nothing, that is, that I could see. Preachers learn to accept this, because most Sundays, after preparing, praying, pushing and prodding the material all week, we stand before the congregation, and preach our hearts out.

And we don't see any response. It would be nice to baptize 3,000 following a sermon, but this doesn't happen often. We console ourselves with the thought that, of course, not all responses are visual. And we believe it. Mostly.

But last Sunday a little girl, not quite in her teens went home thinking about the sermon. She even spoke to her parents and grandmother about it. She came back Sunday night, by which time I still had seen no visual sign my sermon had done any good. On Monday I came to the office to study for the sermon to be preached next week, hoping for a visual response then. In the meantime, this young lady with a soft heart and open mind continued to mull over the lesson.

Then that night, after ten in the evening, thirty-six hours after my sermon, she asked me to baptize her. Preachers should have more faith, I suppose, not in their abilities, but in the word we preach, and the Savior we proclaim.

Bless you, little Cassi, for reminding me that what I cannot see –- your tender heart –- is just as real as what I can see!

by Richard Mansel

The cross of Christ is the centerpiece of Christianity and the essence of the gospel. We must understand its scope and majesty before we can grasp the concept of salvation.

Therefore, we are contemplating the lessons of the cross. Previously we discussed that the cross of Christ reveals our sins and God's love.

Third, the cross reveals God's appeal. He provided a way to salvation by offering his Son on the cruel tree (John 3:16; Romans 5:6). Paul wrote, "for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life" (Romans 5:10). John added, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13).

The cross is indelibly linked to the gospel call. Paul warned the Galatians, "But even if we or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). To remove the suffering servant from the cross is to corrupt the message and to face an eternity of pain and suffering. Christ is the message and the way to God (John 14:6). Era, circumstances or any other motivation cannot remove this salient point from God's plan of salvation.

Fourth, the cross revealed Christ's humanity. His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross was intense. Christ's courageous act portrayed his unselfish and tender, humble spirit. His pain is evident in Luke's account. He wrote, "And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. And His sweat became like drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:44). His prayer was "Father, if it is your will, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42).

Jesus was God but he was also human (John 1:1-4,14). The savage beatings, hateful cries for his blood and barbarity of the cross were as if we were enduring them. His humanity suffered intense pain while his divinity subordinated itself to God. Hebrews 2:9 reads, "But we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone." He endured the nightmare because he loved us and was perfectly committed to carrying forth his mission.

As humans we must learn from his example as we take up our cross for him. Jesus said, "He who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me" (Matthew 10:38).

Not that we must be crucified on a physical cross, but that we must be willing to sacrifice everything for his glory. That we must place his will above our own pride and our own feeble wisdom. Jesus tucked away his fears and stood facing them to the glory of his Father. Likewise, we must subordinate our stubbornness to do his will and to bring glory to our God.

As the hymn says, "Must Jesus bear the cross alone, And all the world go free? No, there's a cross for everyone, And there's a cross for me. The consecrated cross I'll bear Till He shall set me free." (Thos. Shepherd, et al).

by J. Randal Matheny

Who is your father?

Seems an easy question, doesn't it?

The Jews thought so, too. But Jesus assured them that Abraham was not their father, or they would have done the works that Abraham did.

Their father was the devil, he said, because they refused the truth and believed lies about the Messiah. The devil is the father of lies, so he who tells, lives, or prefers a lie to the truth has made clear his paternity.

Perhaps that is why, in Paul's recommendation to dwell on the good (Philippians 4:8), he puts "whatever is true" first on his list.

So what is true? Think on these true things:

1. The true grace of God (1 Peter 5:12).

2. The true testimony about those who do what is right (3 John 12).

3. The true love in Christ and in us (1 John 2:8).

4. The true riches (Luke 16:11).

5. The true light, which illumines all men (John 1:9).

6. The true worshipers (John 4:23).

7. The true saying, "One sows, and another reaps" (John 4:37).

8. The true bread from heaven (John 6:32).

9. The true tabernacle, heaven itself (Hebrews 8:1,2; 9:24).

10. And when the true is bad, as in Titus 1:12-14? As Paul says, work to change the situation!

All that is true and good has its center in Him who is true, the true and living God (John 7:28; 17:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:9).

When we embrace and concentrate on what is true, and on him who is true, we will indeed be children of God.

by Phil Sanders

Gospel meetings, seminars, and lectureships can be exciting times. The crowds are a little larger, and we usually see people we haven't seen in a while. The mealtime fellowship is heartwarming, and the singing has a little more spark. Smiles abound.

Gospel meetings usually have preaching that is different than the normal Lord's day sermons. Sermons at meetings are designed to persuade, to convert, and to bring change in the lives of those who hear.

We should come to a meeting with an open heart, ready to hear. Attitude makes all the difference in how much we get out of a lesson. People generally come away with what they look for. If you look for something meaningful to your life, something that will help you in the challenges you face, you will probably find some nuggets of truth that will help you.

If you come with an attitude of wishing you were somewhere else, desiring it to be over, you probably won't get much out of any sermon.

Bring your Bible, bring your interest, bring a smile, and bring a desire to learn God's will for your life.

Bring a willingness to change. The word of God stimulates, provokes, and challenges us to grow into better people. You may learn the need to forsake an attitude or behavior; or you may learn a new way of approaching an old problem. Your conscience may be pricked to begin (or begin again) a lifestyle closer to Christ than you've walked before.

What you get out of a sermon is what you put into it. If you have a heart full of love and devotion, a message can change your life. If you are resistant, you may leave in the same condition as when you entered.

"Come let us reason together," says the Lord (Isaiah 1:18-20).

By Michael E. Brooks

"And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last" (Luke 13:30).

The reversal of fortunes through Divine intervention is a frequent theme of the teachings of Jesus and of the writers of the New Testament. "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 16:25). "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up" (James 4:10). Yet perhaps no text in Scripture teaches this doctrine more emphatically than the Old Testament book of Esther. One might say it is the plot of the entire book.

In the story of Esther, Haman, the second most powerful man in the kingdom of Persia, becomes very angry with Mordecai, a Jew and minor official in the King's court. He determines to kill Mordecai and all his kinsmen, that is, all the Jews. Through various twists in the succeeding events, their roles are exchanged and their fates reversed. Haman is hanged on a gallows he had built for Mordecai's execution. The Jews defeat their enemies, and Mordecai receives Haman's wealth and his position of power in the kingdom.

An interesting feature of the book of Esther is that it is made apparent throughout the book that these outcomes are the result of Divine intervention and that providence is supervising the events, without ever once mentioning God or the subjects of faith or religion. One can only speculate as to why the author avoids explicit mention of these things, but the omission is glaring.

We often seem to feel that only direct, even offensive, displays of our faith are adequate to make us "worthy" of the name Christian. Certainly I would want to say nothing to discourage boldness in preaching and living the Gospel. Courageous, public proclamation is often demanded by circumstance. But is there not also a place for quiet, confident reliance upon the power of righteous living? The existence, power, and love of God for his people is, it seems to me, quite evident in Esther. The fact that his name doesn't appear in the book in no way disqualifies it as a story of faith. So it is that sometimes our lives may proclaim the gospel without spoken words, and especially without ostentatious display. I am reminded of Peter's advice to Christian wives of unbelieving husbands:

"Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear (1 Peter 3:1,2).

Christians today are threatened with loss of freedoms to express their religion publicly, even in democracies. They lack those freedoms altogether in many other places. We certainly champion the exercise and retention of religious freedom, but where it is lacking, or if it is lost, there is still ample opportunity to profess our faith by the lives we live. Our message is powerful. Means of sharing it are many. Let us be always open to different and effective ways to bring glory to God and to lead others to faith in Jesus.