| September 12, 1999 |
Vol. II, No. 20
|
“But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15).
As Paul was seeking opportunities to preach “Christ’s gospel... a door was opened unto me of the Lord” (2 Cor. 2:12). Because he knew the blessings of the gospel, Paul considered himself a debtor to all men to preach the gospel as “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:14-16). God still opens doors today to bring good and honest hearts into contact with the gospel as His saving power. Consider John Sheahen and Lynn Wade.
John Sheahen and I met in junior high school after he moved from New York state to Belle Glade, Florida. His mother was a Methodist and his father a Baptist, but he went to church some with me and we studied the gospel together privately. John’s honesty in seeking the truth was greatly tested by the death of his mother as a Methodist. I feared he would end our studies when he saw the church in Belle Glade divide over institutionalism, but he had already seen the liberal practices in the Methodist church and said they were not in the Bible. I baptized him in the chilly waters of Lake Okeechobee at nearby Pahokee in the fall of 1963.
Lynn Wade was originally from Ohio, but his family moved to Tampa, Florida while he was still in school. We met in the fall of 1964 when we both enrolled at Florida College. Lynn’s father ran a tavern and Lynn attended F.C. because it was close to home. Having had little religious training, he was full of questions and searching for the truth. One night after we studied in the fall of 1965, Lynn left to go home, but soon returned and said, “I need to be baptized. What if I were killed in a wreck before I got home tonight?” At 11 p.m. we scared the snakes out of a spring-fed pool of water near the campus, and I baptized him.
Though we have rarely seen each other through the years, both of these men are an inspiration to me for using their opportunities to seek out the truth perhaps better than I have used mine with the truth always at hand. Watching their lives from afar, seeing their spiritual growth and stability, all without my being with them, reminds me that this is God’s work and not mine. “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6-7).
Jesus said, “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” (John 15:2). All through the years, John and Lynn have continued to bear much fruit unto the Lord in their separate spheres of life.
1. Honorable in business (Eph. 4:28). John is a certified public accountant and Lynn is a school principal. Facing numerous pressures to be dishonest and unethical, they have tried always to walk in the footsteps of Jesus instead. Both excel in their chosen professions, but remain honest and humble in heart. When pressured to participate in social drinking or other forms of worldliness for the sake of business interests, they have put Satan to flight, James 5:7.
2. Raising godly families. John and Lynn married Christians. “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies” (Prov. 31:10). As “becometh women professing godliness,” their wives reinforce the highest standards of moral integrity and of devotion to the Lord. While many families have broken up, these two families have grown stronger. John and Judy have a son and a daughter, as do Lynn and Linda. They are raising their children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).
3. Stand on moral issues. By their example in a world of darkness and sin, John and Judy and Lynn and Linda “shine forth the word of life” (Phil. 2:15-16). In their private lives there is no place for profanity, pornography, gambling, dancing immodest dress, social drinking, or an immoral lifestyle. By continuing “in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety,” they are raising children of the same character (1 Tim. 2:15).
John and Lynn are well aware of the moral compromise infiltrating the church on marriage, divorce, and remarriage. These godly men continue to stand in the gap insisting that two people joined by God in marriage are bound for life, the only exception being that an innocent partner may put away a mate guilty of fornication and remarry. They do not believe that errors undermining Matt. 19:9 can be tolerated on the basis of Romans 14.
4. Use of talents. “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet. 4:10). John is a deacon at Fletcher Ave. Church of Christ and Lynn is a deacon at the University Church of Christ, both in Tampa. Utilizing his background in accounting, John has served as treasurer of the church. Utilizing his training in education, Lynn is an excellent Bible class teacher. Both are willing to serve in any way they can. Both exert an influence for the gospel in their private lives, planting the seed of the kingdom wherever they go.
There are Johns and Lynns today, people with good and honest hearts waiting for someone to bring them the gospel. Let us preach the truth of the gospel in its purity and simplicity. God will open the doors!
--Ron Halbrook via Christianity Magazine
In Matt. 11:28-30, Jesus gives what is likely the best know of His invitations for men and women to become His followers and receive everlasting life: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Unlike the kings of the earth and the worldly great, Jesus was completely accessible to the common people. Their problems and needs were real to Him. Those to whom Jesus spoke were struggling with a load of sin and guilt. The popular religion of their day not only provided no answers to their problems, but tended to put them under even more burdens. For every law or commandment or statute God had given the Pharisees and other religious leaders had embellished and elaborated upon it until “the law” had become an unbearable burden. Jesus, on one occasion, said of the scribes and Pharisees, “They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders” (Matt. 23:4).
The burden of sin and the burden of the doctrines of men were the precise burdens from which Jesus came to bring relief. But Jesus wants all would-be followers to realize that coming to Him does not relieve a person of ALL responsibility. Throwing off the yoke of sin will bring blessed relief. Casting off the burden of human religion can likewise bring much needed relief. But following Jesus involves a yoke of its own. The true disciple of Christ must learn to put Christ first in his life. He must learn to live for Jesus just as surely as Jesus died for him. And he must be willing to learn from Jesus -- learn God’s will and heed it.
To the prospective disciple, Jesus promises to be gentle. He is meek and lowly in heart. He will not be a burdensome taskmaster, but a kind and loving Guide to instruct and lead us where God would have us go.
Jesus promised, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Easy compared to bearing the burden of sin and guilt. Light, compared with the weight of a lifetime of sin. Light, compared to the doctrines and precepts of men. “My yoke is easy... My burden is light.”
--CRJ
I will praise You, O Lord,
among the peoples;
I will sing to You among
the nations.