December 1997
Vol X
To spread the true Gospel Light to all men.
The Beginning of Months
by Dr. Stanley R. Farrar
(Exo 12:1 KJV) And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to
you.
3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take
to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
The year we know as 1997 is drawing fast to an end, we are now down to December and at the
end of this month we will see the start of a new year. This will be unto you the beginning of
months of a new year. There is something that each and every one of us needs to realize, the
importance of each year that is ending, and the new one that is beginning. As we consider the
importance of this, let us take into consideration what is it that we have accomplished this past
year. Then as we think of the past for a few moments ask yourself, what is it that we intend to do
in the coming year?
During this past year, can we make a true accounting of our faithfulness to God and to His service?
If God were to call you before His throne and ask you to make an account of those things that you
have done this past year, what is it that you would have to say about all of the things that you
believe you have accomplished? All will one day have to make that accounting as we stand before
the judgement seat of God. God may ask something such as, "How many souls have you lead to
My Son?" or maybe He would ask, "How much time have you spent in Bible study and in
prayer?" God is interested in those things in which we are involved and He has a will for our
lives.
His will is to carry the gospel to every nation. He gives to us the command to go out into the
highways and byways and to bring those that will come, into the house of God. God has the power
to bring souls to Him without any help from man, but instead He chose to use man in His plan to
reconcile lost humanity to an everlasting, holy God. The great commission of the Church is to
carry the gospel and to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
(Mark 16:15) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
This is the command that He gave to each and every one of us so that others can come to know
Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. The Church is an extension of His arm reaching out
to a lost and dying world. Without the saving grace of Jesus then all are lost. He loved the world
so much that He gave His life that you and I could have eternal life. Only through believing on
Him can one have that salvation that cleanses from sin and makes one in the right relationship with
God. Without those who are willing to be used of God, there are going to be many that are going
to be lost in an eternal damnation. Have we really spent our time in reaching out to the lost and
carrying the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world?
His will is for us to live a holy life. It is given that He wants us to be holy even as He is holy.
How have we lived our lives over the last year? Have we been obedient to the entire word of
God or just what we want to obey? There is much to be said about being holy for one can only be
holy as God has made us holy. One cannot be completely holy in ourselves for each and every
one of us have had sin at some time or another in our lives. Paul tells us in the book of Romans
that we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
(Rom 3:23 KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
This is not necessarily overt actions on the part of the individual, but it is an inbred sin that came
down through man being born in the image of man rather than being born in the image of God. Man
is not responsible for his sin till he reaches the age of accountability, then he has to come to Jesus
for the forgiveness of his sins. For man has been born with a sinful nature ever since the fall of
man. Therefore we need to be studying the word of God and spending much time in prayer so as to
be able to know the will of God for our lives and how to live the holy life before God. Holiness
is a requirement, not an option. The question is, just how much time have we spent in Bible study
and prayer this last year?
When December 31st comes around this old year will be history, then we need to start afresh.
Many people make New Year's resolutions that they very seldom ever keep. We are coming to the
beginning of months. The start of January 1 we will begin a new year and we have all new
opportunities. We may not have done all we could during 1997, we may have let some things
slide, even the preparation to meet God, but we need to start 1998 out on a new note and do those
things that God would have us to be doing. Making sure that we are in the right relationship with
God. Ask God to forgive us of our neglect and slothful living and make a commitment to do the
will of God in our lives no matter what may come our way. Then, when we stand before God we
will be able to answer the questions He may ask with an affirmative, "I have done what God
would have me to do." This year can be a whole new beginning if we will only take advantage of
it and be faithful to the call of God upon our lives. Start the New Year by looking into the word of
God to see what the will of God is for your life, then look about yourselves to see what kind of
ministry you can become involved with so as to be a blessing to God and to others. There are
many ministries within the local church that go wanting for need of ones to do the work. There are
many types of ministries that can be accomplished by an individual or a couple. Remember, there
is no guarantee that there will be another chance to be right where God wants you to be. For we
know not how long this old world will stand nor do we know how long our lives will last. So
prepare now for that eternal home and start out this beginning of months in the service of God.
May God bless you in the coming months and years. Happy New Year to one and all.
By E .W. Leonard
Let us looking at what the mission of the church is. The obvious answer is, the spreading of the
good news to the outer reaches of the earth. The not so obvious answer is, to provide an
opportunity for a social experience. "In the third century after Christ the church held a dynamic
social role, Christian congregations were tightly knit communities that provided services to their
members--- such as nursing, support of the unprotected, and burial--- that went beyond strictly
religious concerns."1 Are we still the tightly knit communities that we were then? If not, why?
Perhaps we have lost the sense of Christian community that they had.
As we go to 2 Cor. 9:6 we read "But this I say, he which soweth sparingly shall reap also
sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully." Could it be that we need the
same warning about the lack of commitment to the cause of Christ and the service to our fellow
Christian? If we realize an appropriate depth of commitment in the form of interdependence, then
we will building a Christian community.
What does this Christian community look like? It provides an atmosphere for growth, learning and
networking. In such a place the security of interaction in a safe environment and the loving
companionship of Christian brothers and sisters creates a warmth that is rarely seen. To create
this, we need to be active in looking for needs within our community so that we may fill those
needs. We also should be searching for needs in the world around us so that we may fill them as
well, so that the love of Christ may be seen by all. We are to be looking for those needs in places
such as child care, adult day care, home repair projects, the list of opportunities is endless. Within
today's more mobile society with fewer extended families within a geographic area, the needs of
individuals for loving companionship are more immediate than ever. The church is to supply this
need. We, as individual parts of the body of Christ, are to supply this need as our loving response
to the love of God.
When we build a congregation that is interdependent on the economic and social levels of the
congregation we will enhance cohesiveness on the religious level as well. When people work
together, play together and pray together, they stay together. This sense of community that
develops, when this interdependence is encouraged, we see as a rock in the storm of life to which
we can cling. When others see this, they are truly seeing the fruits of our inner faith in the true
rock, Jesus Christ.
1. Lerner, Meacham, Burns Western Civilizations W. W. Norton &CO. New York pp 205-206
by Stanley R. Farrar II
I know that some would say, how is this possible, what would make someone take forty years
when it should have only been eleven days? Well, let's take a look at the situation. (Deu 1:1-3)
"These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in
the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and
Dizahab. (There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto
Kadeshbarnea.) And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of
the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given
him in commandment unto them". The journey to the promised land should have only taken eleven
days but instead we see that they entered in forty years later. Now things started off well, but then
went drastically wrong.
They got to the Jordan ( at Kedesh Barnea) in eleven days, then sent over spies into the land.
These spies looked over the land and saw the fruits and goodness of the land. They watched the
inhabitants to determine if they were strong or not. They found that the land was good and full of
good things. The people, on the other hand appeared to be great and powerful (See Numbers 13:1-29). The spies other then Caleb and Joshua, were terrified and they panicked the people. (Num
13:31-33) "But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for
they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched
unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that
eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own
sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight." (Num 14:1-4) "And all the congregation
lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel
murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would
God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And
wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our
children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to
another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt." Because of not trusting in God and
entering into Canaan they where condemned to wander in the wilderness for forty years (See Num.
14:21-33).
Where did they go wrong in this situation? First, God told them to look over the land and see how
good it was. He did not tell them to look at how strong the people were. They were to just trust
that God would give them the land but instead they took things in their own hands and viewed the
obstacles instead of the blessings. Many times today we get caught up with the obstacles around
us and get over-whelmed. But this does not have to be. We don't have to face the obstacles alone,
nor do we have to face it in our own strength. Who will we chose to depend on ourselves, or
God? The devil wants us to depend on ourselves. He enjoys it when we face the giants in our
path with our own strength. For when we do we are left under a burden of crushing fear. Thus has
Satan won many a battle and caused Christians to cower. Now, the children of Israel were
terrified because they had no trust in God. They saw themselves as grasshoppers awaiting
destruction. They had ignored the promises of God. Just as they had done time and time again
during the exodus. Though God had never forsaken them they would not trust Him. Oh how many
today are in this same sad state, God is wanting to deliver them out of the midst of the giants. But
we will not trust in Him. He stands ready to deliver the land to us, all we have to do is step out on
faith and receive it.
We can go through our lives relying on our own strength and be as grasshoppers or we can stand
by faith and be like David against Goliath. The reason that the Israelite army was so afraid was
their lack of faith. David, on the other hand, knew that God had delivered him from unbeatable
situations before and he trusted God to continue to do so. (1 Sam 17:33-47) "And Saul said to
David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and
he a man of war from his youth. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and
there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and
smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his
beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this
uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living
God. David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the
paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David,
Go, and the Lord be with thee. And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of
brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his
armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with
these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand,
and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had,
even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. And the
Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.
And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth,
and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou
comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to
David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a
shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom
thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and
take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the
fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God
in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the
battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands." If David had of tried to defeat Goliath
with his own strength using armor and shield then he would have lost. Instead he trusted in God to
defeat Goliath and thus he won, not through might but through faith and that is where true strength
lies.
God tells us even today to go forth here or there and witness for me. He will allow us to face
temptation and hardship, for His glory to show. Trials will come and stand in our path to inspire
fear and dread. But God will deliver if in Him we will trust. For our strength will fail us if on it
we stand, while God's strength is everlasting and always at hand. When God tells us to go and
cross this river or ford, to face giants and foes and troubles galore. Through trust in God eternal,
ever should we cling , and through this trial we will sail and His glory we will sing. (1 John 4:4)
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than
he that is in the world."
by Dr A.H. Smith
Baby Jesus, Lord of Hosts,
Came to earth today.
Not as God, but man He came,
And in a manger lay.
What love God hath for all mankind.
To give His all this way.
May those of us who worship Him,
Submit and humbly obey.
Obey our God in what we do,
And also what we say.
To show our gratitude to Him
For giving us Christmas Day.
What is the mission of the Church?
An Eleven Day Journey That Took Forty Years
We have a great Savior who wants to carry us through, but to
Him we must surrender and His way we must choose. For truly
God is greater then anything that we will ever face. When next
you are tempted sore and don't know what to do, turn to Christ
and cling. Don't come to the river and refuse to cross. Let's
accept the blessing, step out on faith, and claim the blessed
promises and gifts of God. For to truly please God we must walk
by faith.
God Gave
Here we face another Christmas and up coming year. A time set aside to remember our Lord, and
remember our mistakes, and plan for a new year. But few will truly set down and think of the
price that God paid when Jesus came to the earth so many years ago. Truly none has paid a higher
price to redeem those who didn't deserve it. We would stand no chance of avoiding the eternal
sufferings of Hell had not Jesus come. (John 15:13) "Greater love hath no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for his friends."
Jesus did far more than that. He came and died for those that had no love for Him at all and He did
it so that we could be saved from our sins. He gave up the glories of Heaven to come down and
live as a mortal man and die as a sacrifice for sin that you and I may truly live.
As the new year approaches let us consider how we have been living. Have we truly been living
for the glory of God, or have we been living for ourselves? Let us truly seek to live this coming
year to honor the Lord and to show forth His holiness in our lives. From all of us here at the
Gospel Light may you truly have a blessed Christmas, and a spiritually triumphant new year.
Bro. Stanley R. Farrar II
This publication is by the First Church of God, 818 4th St., Fairbury, Nebraska 68352, Chief Editor
Pastor Stanley Farrar II, Editor Michelle Farrar.
The Gospel Light is published to spread the true light of God's word to all men. We are dedicated
to the truths of the word of God. Such as salvation, holiness, sanctification, the unity of all
believers, etc... We are not responsible for returning any articles submitted to The Gospel Light.
We reserve the right to hold the articles for future printing, and possible reprinting. All articles
submitted should be submitted to the First Church of God, 818 4th St. Fairbury, NE 68352.
Articles are not to be longer then two pages typed, because of space concerns. I hope that the
Gospel Light paper is a blessing to you, and may God bless those who read this paper.
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