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Thoughts on the Gospel Meeting
As I am writing this article for the bulletin, it is Wednesday morning and our Gospel Meeting is almost over. Amy and I have enjoyed this week for it has provided an opportunity for us to see some familiar faces – our brothers and sisters in Christ from area congregations. By my own recollection, we’ve had about a dozen congregations represented at the meeting. Once again, Amy and I have been given another reminder of how fortunate we are to be back in this area – in Joplin – at 26th and Connecticut.
“When we walk with the Lord in the light of His word, what a glory He sheds on our way! While we do His good will, He abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey.” I’m hopeful that those phrases now carry a deeper meaning for you. As I reflect back over the lessons presented thus far (and the lesson planned for this evening), here are my “hopes” for what you can/will take from this Gospel Meeting:
I hope that you have been reminded of the absolute goodness of the God we worship and serve – “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.” (Psalm 25:8).
I hope that you have been reminded of the importance of truly standing in awe of Him. As the Psalmist says, “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!” (Ps. 33:8).
As a result, I hope that you have been encouraged to continue the process of humbly submitting to His will and conforming your life to His word. “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isa. 64:8).
I hope that you have an increased thankfulness for the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus. “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5).
I hope you have a deeper appreciation for how truly fortunate and blessed we are as faithful Christians. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1). And, why would we ever want to be anything else?
I hope that a deeper appreciation leads to increased motivation to better serve our God. We need to share in the desire and determination of Joshua as evidenced in his statement, “…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15). I hope that you will take the message of the Gospel to a lost soul for all these benefits are available to “all who will trust and obey.” “Go therefore and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:19).
In retrospect of the Gospel Meeting, there is one more observation that I want to make: Gospel Meetings are not very evangelistic. There was a time in days past when Gospel Meetings were a very effective evangelistic tool. Nowadays, they primarily serve the purpose of edification – which is a very important and valid role. Please don’t misunderstand me - I’m not criticizing the concept of Gospel Meetings. However, I think we would all readily admit that the vast majority of those in attendance are already faithful Christians. I don’t believe this is due to the lack of effort. I know that I spoke to a number of family members and friends – gave them flyers – sent out emails - invited them to come…but they didn’t. I know others in the congregation made similar attempts. So, what are we to take from this? - Inviting others to Gospel Meetings is not the best avenue of evangelism. To evangelize more effectively, we need to have a different/better approach. And, fairly soon (either in bulletin articles or a sermon or two) I hope to share some of my thoughts regarding this subject. In the meantime remember, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
FOLLOWING JESUS COSTS MORE THAN ANYTHING----EXCEPT NOT FOLLOWING HIM. |