Does Anyone Know?…April 7th

Sunday morning, April 7th at Waterview church of Christ, we’ll be honored to hear a lesson from Kent Allen.  Brother Allen is VP for Advancement for Oklahoma Christian University, and his message is sure to inspire us as we consider our outward display of faith.

make a defense

Perhaps you’ve heard the comment; if you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?  This morning we’ll consider just how much the world knows about OUR faith in God.  We have the opportunity, better yet the obligation, to show Christ to a lost and dying world.  The songs this morning are designed to make us think about our shining light.

 

“…I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.”

I Corinthians 14:15

Sunday morning, April 7, 2013

The following songs are found in the hymnal, Songs of Faith & Praise.

“Christ for the World We Sing” – 626

Have you looked closely at the first line in all three verses of this song?  Notice: “Christ for the world!”  That’s a statement we loudly proclaim and boldly sing.  And we sing it with 1) loving zeal, 2) with fervent prayer and 3) in one accord.  We sing this message to the world, but we also have a responsibility to bring the world to Christ.

“We Will Glorify” – 578

Written over 30 years ago, this song is still contemporary to many of us. Twila Paris made it popular, but our God is the reason we sing it.  Perhaps the closing statement from the first and fourth verses needs more examination and great proclamation; “…the Lord of lords, Who is the great I AM.”  John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I Am.”

“In My Life, Lord, Be Glorified” – 309

Before we bow in prayer, we’ll sing this hymn as we sing to Him!  The first verse is very personal, “In my life, Lord, be glorified…” but in the second verse we’ll change it to the plural form, “In our songs, Lord, be glorified…”  And finally we’ll close the song to include the Lord’s church; “In Your church, Lord, be glorified…”

“Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus” – 648

Brother Kent Allen has requested this song to serve as our ‘song before the lesson.’  What a great way to admonish each other to live a life that puts Christ first.  Have you thought about this song lately?  We are singing about the armor of God (Ephesians 6), and in the third verse we’re reminded of the weakness we have in the flesh; “…Stand in HIS strength alone; the arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own”  But what does the author mean when he writes, “…put on the gospel armor; and watching unto prayer…”  Remember, ‘unto’ is a preposition that can mean ‘by’.  So with that in mind; we have on the armor of God and we’re waiting (watching) by means of prayer.  See Ephesians 6:18, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert…”

“In the Hour of Trial” – 767

Not a typical ‘invitation song’, but this will serve us well this morning.  Take a close look at verse one; “…Jesus plead for me, lest by base denial I depart from Thee; When Thou seest me waiver, with a look recall…”  Remember Luke 22 when Christ is on trial?  Peter adamantly denies knowing Jesus (base denial, as an adjective, ‘base’ can mean ‘contemptible’) and then in Luke 22:61, “The Lord turned and looked at Peter.  And Peter remembered the word of the Lord…”.  With a look recall (help me to remember)…

“Lamb of God” – 176lamb for the slaughter

We’ll remember the Lord’s supper this morning after our lesson as we sing this beautiful song, again written by Twila Paris.  A song that we sing to our Father (a hymn).  God’s gift of love (the Lamb of God) is crucified for our sins.  He is scorned, mocked, defamed…and sacrificed.  “Like a lamb that is led to slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7) “I love the holy Lamb of God.”

“O For a Faith That Will Not Shrink” – 540

As we close the service this morning, remember our lesson; “Does Anyone Know (you’re a Christian)?  The words of this song were written by W. H. Bathurst in 1831.  Oh that we would all have a faith in God that doesn’t shrink away in difficult times.  A faith that doesn’t complain or ‘whine’ when troubles come.  A faith that shines more bright and clear.  With this kind of faith, even while here on earth, we’ll ‘taste the bliss’ of heaven.

It Is Finished!

Jesus came to redeem you and me from a lost and sinful life.  His death on the cross, and His final breath sealed our fate (if you will) as He raised His voice and shouted…”It is finished!”

“There’s a line that’s been drawn through the ages, on that line stands the old rugged cross;

line in the sand...1

On that cross a battle is raging, for the gain of man’s soul or his loss.
On one side march the forces of evil, all the demons and devils of hell:
On the other the angels of glory, and they meet on Golgotha’s hill.
The earth shakes with the force of the conflict, and the sun refuses to shine;
For there hangs God’s Son in the balance, and then through the darkness He cries:

‘It is finished!’ The battle is over, it is finished, there’ll be no more war;
It is finished, the end of the conflict, it is finished and Jesus is Lord.

In my heart the battle was raging, not all prisoner’s of war have come home:
They were battle fields of my own making, didn’t know that the war had been won.
Then I heard that the King of the Ages had fought all the battle for me:
And the victory was mine for the claiming, and now, praise His name I am free!

“It is finished!”

This spiritual song was written less than 50 years ago (in 1976) and speaks toward our struggle in this life.  We struggle (battle) against the rulers, the powers and the forces of darkness.  See Ephesians 6:12…Our fight is not against each other.  We don’t compete man to man.  We are not in a ‘hand-to-hand’ combat zone.  Ladies and gentlemen,our adversary is unseen and he (Satan) is behind our struggles.

We sing the song, “Lord, make us instruments of Your peace…” and rightly so.  Our desire is to spread the gospel of peace to a lost and dying world.  Wouldn’t it make sense that Satan is doing the same?  You don’t need to look past the 6:00 o’clock news to see that his minions are carrying out the work of evil.  Sadly, they often do this work unknowingly serving the prince of this world (John 12:31).

Armor Of GodSo how do I ‘fight’ and unseen foe?  With what shall I arm myself before I step onto the battle field against the ‘prince of this world?’  A soldier would be soundly defeated if he walked into battle with only a single-shot, short range pistol. (unless his name was David and his opponent was 9 foot tall.)  Any warrior knows that he must be properly prepared to face his enemy (and David WAS well prepared).  Without the proper tools he’d surely fail.  So what do I ‘put on?’  Stay with Ephesians 6 and you’ll read the answer; the complete armor of God.  Know in your heart the victory has been won and fight with faith (there’s a song about that too).  As our lead song states in its final verse, ‘…and the victory was mine for the claiming…’.  By faith I hope you will claim the victory, because Jesus said it loud and clear, “It is finished!”