Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: May 6, 2007
A LOOK BACK AT OUR GOSPEL MEETING
Ben Justice
There have been and continue to be several negative oriented brethren who
believe that Gospel Meetings are a failure if there are no visible responses.
There are several erroneous things about this way of thinking. First, just
because there were no actual visible responses during our recent Gospel
Meeting, doesn’t mean there were no responses. A person can respond without
it being visible. If one was edified and built up in the most holy faith, which
resulted in spiritual growth, then there was a response. I know personally that I
was edified by the tremendous lessons that were preached. Second, just
because there were no visible responses during the meeting, doesn’t mean there
will be no visible responses in the future. In fact, in some cases, the success of
a certain event (in this case a gospel meeting) may only be known across several
years of time. Third, we should take into consideration that things are not the
way they used to be, as far as the spiritual climate of our society is concerned.
Things have changed, unfortunately not for the better. Fourth, while Gospel
Meetings in years gone by used to be heavily attended by members and even non-
Christians, this unfortunately has changed. A great problem that we have today
is lack of attendance. In the past, finding enough seating for everybody was a
challenge. Fifth, many brethren are simply not as concerned as they used to be
with promoting and advertising the meeting. But, we need to remember this.
God, through the prophet Isaiah, said, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of
my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). The NT affirms,
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).
Our recent Gospel Meeting with Brother Dave Watson was outstanding. The
Word of God was powerfully proclaimed. Needed lessons were preached and for
this we are thankful. The only thing I dislike about Gospel Meetings is that they
end all too quickly.
Sunday’s lessons were devoted to the kingdom of God. Those of you who
attended the Tuesday night winter classes heard some of the same things from
Brother Watson as were taught in those classes. Brother Watson began by
looking at “The Kingdom the Prophets Saw” based upon Acts 3:24. “The
Kingdom the Prophets Saw” is divine in origin, had first century establishment,
is universal in scope, is a monarchy, and is indestructible.
During the Sunday morning worship period, Brother Watson presented a lesson
entitled, “The Kingdom is in Existence.” Four major points were developed to
prove that the kingdom is in existence.
1.) Testimony of the Prophets (Dan. 7:13-14; Acts 1:9-11; Psalm 132:10-11; 89:34-
37; Acts 2:29-33).
2.) Testimony of the Preparer (Matt. 3:2).
3.) Testimony of the Purchaser (Matt. 16:18-19; Acts 20:28; Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:
15).
4.) Testimony of the Preachers (Paul in Col. 1:13; I Thess. 2:12; John in Rev. 1:
9; the Hebrews writer in Heb. 12:28-29).
There is no clearer truth taught in the scriptures than the fact that the kingdom
was established in the First Century on the Day of Pentecost.
Sunday night was devoted to Psalm 24, in which the lesson title was taken from
v. 3 — “The Hill of the Lord.” This was indeed a rich and marvelous study of
this chapter, first, in analyzing the text, and second, in applying the text.
Monday’s night’s lesson was taken from a question the Lord asked his disciples
in Luke 22:46. Jesus asked them “Why sleep ye?” The immediate application
of the question was to the disciples when Jesus prayed in the Garden of
Gethsemane and they slept. Jesus said, “Rise and pray, lest ye enter into
temptation.” Brother Watson took this question and applied it spiritually
speaking to many different areas. Five areas were considered:
1.) Concerning our Country
2.) Concerning our Congress
3.) Concerning our Courts
4.) Concerning our Colleges
5.) Concerning our Congregations
Some of you said this was the best lesson of all. Personally for me, it would be
very hard to judge, but granted, it was indeed a hard hitting, but much needed
lesson.
Tuesday’s night lesson was entitled “The Cost of Salvation” taken from Luke
14:28-32, where Jesus taught the importance of counting the cost in being a
disciple of his. Brother Watson developed three areas:
1.) What did it cost the Creator?
2.) What did it cost the Christ?
3.) What does it cost the Christian?
God has done his part in providing mankind the chance and opportunity to be
saved. However, man must do his part. Concerning the cost to the Christian,
the scriptures teach that it will cost you your love — your love for the Creator,
for his commandments, for Christ, and for the Church. It will cost you your
lordship, meaning that you must give up self. It may cost you your loved ones
(Matt. 10:34-38; Luke 14:26-27). It also may cost you your life (consider Stephen
in Acts 7:54-60 and James in Acts 12:2 and Antipas in Rev. 2:13).
Wednesday night was the last night of the meeting. Brother Watson’s lesson
was based upon I John 4:1-3, with the title taken from v. 1 — “Believe not
every spirit.” The lesson stressed the importance of not believing every thing
we hear, but testing what we have heard with the Word of God, as did the
Bereans in Acts 17:11. Jesus commended the church at Ephesus for putting to
test those who claim to be apostles. Rev. 2:2 reveals that they were not, but
rather found them to be liars. The reason for the commands given in I John 4:1
is “because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” As was noted,
false teachers are deceptive, divisive, and deadly.
The acid test of any sermon is making application. Let us strive and endeavor to
not only meditate upon the things that were taught but to apply them to our
lives. Let us equally strive to study the Word of God with enthusiasm and
eagerness to learn God’s will for our lives. We will be judged by it (John 12:48).
I am already looking forward to next year’s Gospel Meeting. And even though no
one has been scheduled as of yet, let us reflect back on this one and see what
we can do to make next year’s even better — not from the standpoint of
preaching the truth but from the standpoint of promoting and advertising. Isn’t
the work of the Lord great!