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7B RELIGIONATlie CIbarlotte $ost Thursday, May 11,2006 Proverbs’ wisdom in how we represent God Continued from page 5B relationship with God. We must understand this in order to understand today's lesson. A godly father desires noth ing more than that his chil dren learn how to live as God intended them to. Solomon was eager to have his son live rightly. Wisdom is not some thing that comes automati cally. We must seek to attain it. The first step to wisdom is to receive the teaching of the wise. Aperson must be recep tive to the truth if it is to take root. Once the student has heard the truth he needs to hide, or store up, this wisdom so that it is available to him when he needs it. This assumes that the student val ues wisdom. A wise student recognizes the usefulness of what he is learning even if it is not immediately apparent to him. He recognizes that all wisdom will be useful some day. 2. Why should we pursue wisdom with great passion? The author in Proverbs makes the case for the impor tance of wisdom by multiply ing the “if’ clauses. By this repetitiveness, he also point ed out to the fact that the pur suit of wisdom should domi nate our lives and involve much effort. Great urgency is conveyed by the verbs used in verse 3. We are not to soullessly pur sue the truth. We are to cry after knowledge and call long ingly for it. As a former college student, I realize the importance of learning vast amounts of information for exams. Often, it took days of study ing to firmly grasp what I needed to know. Some of the textbooks were interesting to read while others were very dry reading. Often, I had to spend late nights studjdng for tests so that I could recall the information when I needed it. Studying was not an option. I had to do it in order to sur vive. When it comes to getting the wisdom of God, we should put forth the same effort in learning and imderstanding His wisdom. The Bible is not the easiest book to read, but we must be diligent in trying to learn wisdom. Some wis dom will not come easy, but we must always seek the Holy Spirit so that we can understand the wisdom God is trjdng to give us and apply it to our lives. God’s wisdom is most important, and we should put most of our energy in getting it. Giving up on getting wisdom is not an option for Christians. 3. What kind of fear of God is a healthy thing? Verse 5 teUs us that wisdom leads us to an imderstanding of the fear of God. Proverbs 9:10 tells us that wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. This fear is not abject terror but a healthy sense of awe and respect as we acknowledge Him for who He is. Fear of the Lord and knowledge of Him are nearly synonymous, for one cannot properly know Him without having a profound sense of reverence. He is all-powerful and perfectly just. We can come nowhere near His level of greatness. Holding on to Wisdom (Prov. 3:1-6) 4. Why is it important to remember that the blessings spoken of in Proverbs involve principles, not prophecies? In our fallen world and with our wayward hearts, it is not ’ enough for us to just receive wisdom; we must work to retain wisdom’s hold in our lives. A person who goes to school to learn a profession should not forget the informa tion that was taught after he/she graduates. Likewise, we should not forget the wis dom that we learned because we will need it for the rest of our lives. Solomon empha sized that our obedience to the truth should not be just a matter of outward conformity or intellectual agreement. We are to store wisdom in our hearts. Our desire should be to live according to wisdom. Living by wisdom has great benefits. We must remember, of course, that Proverbs is presenting principles, not prophecies. Good people can suffer setbacks and even die young. Last month, we stud ied Job and the setbacks he suffered. We know that Job was a very upright man, yet he suffered more drawbacks than most of us will in our lifetimes. Of course, Job was rewarded in the end. ‘Da Vinci Code’ book inaccuracies ADVERTISEMENT Continued from page 5B tongue confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord” (using a title for God). This isn’t Nicaea’s precise formulation. But within a couple of decades of the Cru cifixion, Hurtado comments, Jesus “shares a unique status with God” and receives “expressions of devotion that are otherwise reserved for God alone.” Later in the first century, Jesus’ divinity was taught in the final versions of the foiu- New Tbstament Gospels that we know. There’s corrobora tion from a pagan outsider, Pliny the Younger, reporting in AD. 112 from what is pre sent-day Turkey to the Emperor Trajan. He wrote that during worship, Chris tians "chant antiphonaUy a h3Tnn to Christ as to a god.” Worship of Jesus wasn’t simply some carry-over from pagan Romans’ deification of human figures such- as the emperors, Hurtado contends. AH the earliest worshippers of Jesus were devout Jews who were religiously insulat ed from paganism and devotr ed to the one God. How Jesus’ divinity related to Jewish monotheism, a complicated question, involved centuries of further discussion. Likewise, Paul Hartog of Iowa’s conservative Faith Baptist Theological Semi nary, writing in Christian Research Journal, cites New Tbstament passages that call Jesus God, among them John 1:1, Titus 2:13, Hebrews 1:8 and 2 Peter 1:1. But mainly, Hartog surveys the earliest Christian writers after New Testament times. Examples: • Ignatius of Antioch, mar tyred around A.D. 107, described Jesus with phrases including “Jesus Christ our God,” “God in the flesh” and "God himself was manifested in human form.” • Some manuscripts say Polycarp wrote around A.D. 115 about “our Lord and God Jesus Christ.” • The second epistle of Clement, the earhest surviv ing Christian sermon fi\)m that era, preached that believers should "think of Jesus Christ as of God, as the judge of the living and the dead.” • Justin Martyr, executed Greater Providence Baptist Church 2000 Milton Road, Charlotte, NC 28215 704-532-6228 704-532-7568fax "Experiencing God Day by Day" St. John 17:3 Come Join I s in Worship & Praise! Sunday Worship 8:00 AM & 11:00 AM Sunday School 9:45 AM Hour of Power 12 Noon - Wednesdays Spiritual Renewal 7:00 PM - Wednesdays WWW, ereaterprovidence. ore Weeping Willow AME Zion Church “Meving From Salrotion To IMsf^ehip" 2Z» Mita. Si. • OiartotiR Nwifi Caoliiia KI15 Wfirsfeips 8;W AM UmKM I StiiMlaySchoi^i 9:3aAM j Wed. Praise & Prayvn PM mp. cHiHvinmrCARES^^ (greenhtllE JiEmortal 9.Ji.C. Hton CliurtI) “A Teaching Ministry Making Spiritual Disciples” Sunday Worship Service 10A.M. Sunday School 9A.M. Bible Study: Tuesday 7 RM. & Wednesday 12 Noon Child Development Center 6116 Montieth Dr. Charlotte, NC 28213 (Ph) 704-596-4742 (Fax) 704-597-8314 “A Word of Hope” Television Ministry Wednesdays @ 8 p.m. Channell 21 (Public Access TV) Rev. Dr. Sheldon R. Shipman, Senior Pastor Macedonia Baptist Church of CHARLOTTE, INC. "A Ministry of Love and Excellence'’ Dr John H. Walker, Pastor Minister, Rosie Walker New Sunday lOam Worship Experience “Family First Worship” "As For Me and My House We Shall Worship The Lord" SUNDAY ■-Physical Food - (serving breakfast.).. ’ Spiritual Food - Christian Education .School 9 am. * Main Course - “Family First Worship 10 am WEDNESDAY "Hour of Power" .Midday Worship 12 Noon W.O.W. - Word On Wednesday Bible Study. 6:30 p.m. TVaiid RADIO BROADCAST MINISTRY: CMPAC 21 - 'Ilit^in • • Rejoice Radio 1370am • Wed. 10:45a 704-392-8496 Hacteras Ave.,» www.macedoniaofcharlotte.org for his faith around AD. 165, said Jesus is “God and man” and “deserving to be wor shipped as God.” • Melito of Sardis preached around A.D. 170 that Jesus is ‘hy nature God and man” and that “the almighty (Jod has made his dwelling through Christ.” • Athenagoras of Athens wrote in AD. 178 that Chris tians “speak of God the Father, and of God the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” and “declare both their power in union and their distinction in order.” • Irenaeus of Lyons wrote siroimd A.D. 180 that every one believed Jesus ’’was very man and that he was very God,” and that his title Emmanuel signifies “his essence, that he is God.” Ire naeus continued, “God, then, was made man, and the Lord himself did save us.” On the Net; Hurtado bio: http:llwwwAiv.ediic.uk/larryhur- tado Christian Research Journal: http://www.equip/)rg/journa[/in dex.asp The Prophet’s Column, Inc. 6183 NC 109 South Wadesboro, NC 28170-9533 J.M. Little, Teacher Salvation Comes By Revelation Only Salvation is the Divine Revelation of Christ to a sinner’s heart. I praise the Lord for revealing Christ to my heart that early Saturday noon back there in 1972. All hope was gone, i was brought to the place of a hopeless, hapless, doomed and damned sinner. As one dead before the Lord. And much to my surprise, the Holy Spirit revealed Christ to my heart. When Christ is revealed to the heart of a sinner, there comes faith in that revelation to lay hold of Christ as his Lord and Saviour. Before this revelation came, I could not believe on Christ to the salvation of my soul. Before this revelation came, I had burned my brains out trying to believe Christ but could not Do you know why I could not believe Christ before this revelation came? I’ll tell you why: I could not believe Christ before then because I did not know Him! No sinner can believe Christ before this revelation comes because the sinner does not know Him! This is the truth that is hidden from you great religionists! It is the Work of the Holy Spirit to reveal to the sinner his hard heart of unbelief. And the sinner being convicted by the Holy Spirit is held there by his hard heart of unbelief until it pleases the Holy Spirit to reveal Christ to his heart as his Lord and Saviour! The sinner is shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Paul expressed it like this: ‘But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith, which should afterwards be revealed.' (Gal. 3:23) What is the Apostle setting forth here? He is setting forth the truth of Christ being revealed to the sinner’s heart! Every sinner is shut up in unbelief before the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to his heart. “Salvation is of the LORO.” (Jonah 2:9) No sinner can believe on Christ to the salvation of his soul until the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to him. I would you Bible teachere and preachers knew that But the great majority does not No sinner has the power to raise himself from the death sleep (Eph. 2:1) he is born in. Did you know you were bom dead? You were born in trespasses and sins. When I was in the religious world, and as a member of Deep Creek Baptist Church, pastor R.E. Lindsay was our pastor. Pastor Lindsay was invited to preach at Meltonville Baptist church one Sunday night t went to hear him because I strongly supported him. In his message that night at Meltonville Baptist church. Pastor Lindsay made this statement emphatically: ‘They tell me that in every breath you breathe, you are slnnirig. If that’s tfrue, Hell is going to be your home!' Hold it, friends. Are you sinning in every breath you breathe? Have you ever thought about it like that? Was pastor Lindsay right? Was he? Hold your seats now. I'm going to jump a creek, as my late pastor L.R. Shelton used to say: ‘If you are not in Christ, you are sinning in every breath you breathe! And to remain where you are means that you’ll bust hell wide openl’ 1 realize that makes some of you so mad you turn away. But by God’s Grace I’m going to go on warning you. You are not pardoned. You are only under a reprieve as a lost man. Jfirgt iHt. Zion Paptisit Cliurcl) 1515 Remount Rd. • (Td.)332-8335 (Fax)372-7548 _ 28208 Sunday Morning Worship Services... 8:30-9:30- 11:00am Sunday School 9:45- 10:45am Singles Ministries (Mon.) 6:30-7:30pm Senior Citizens (Mon.) 10:30-4:00pm Office Hours: Mon. - Fri. 9:00am - 4:00pm Dr. C.V. Owens You are cordially invited to worship with us! Greater Gethsemane A.M.E. Zion Church "UK Oiurch with the Community at Heart" 531 Campus street • Charlotte, NC 28216 (7m)375-3900 ■ Fax 372-0614 Worship Service 11:00AM Sunday School: 9:30AM Bible Study: Wed. 10:30AM £r TPM Daycare £r Afterschool Available The Reverend Calvin L Miller ■ Pastor E-mail: gamez531@bellsouth.net Revered Karen Roberts Miller ■ Spouse SIMPSON-GILLESPIE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH ‘Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors’’ ■Join Us For Service - Sunday School, 9;30am • Sunday Worship, 11am Wedne.sday: Bible Study, 7pm 1st & 3rd Saturday: '‘Contemporari'Worship,” 6pm..."Jeans Allowed’’ I 4 m Rev. "Walter Pegues, Pastor 3545 Beatties Fd Rd, Char., NC 28216 • 704.399-2717 • Van Ministry “We Can Do All Things Through Christ H'feo Stretigthens Us” Mayfield Memorial Baptist Church “A Church Putting Love Into Action’^ 700 SUGAR CREEK ROAD, WEST CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA 28213 Sunday Church School 9:30a.m. Worship Service 11:00a,m, and 6:00p.ra. Baptist Training Union 5:00p.m. Prayer Meeting & Bible Study Wednesdays 7:30pm Office (704)596-7935 • Fax (704)596-1204 Residence (704)597-1249 LLJI^ Greater Myers Chapel PENTECOSTAL FELLOWSHIP MINISTRIES I - You’re Invited to Worship Wir/j Us • Intercessory Praver. 8:30am I Victory in The Word 9:I5am Worship 10:30am Sunday Evening Total Praise 7:00pm Hour of Power/l\itonal avai!.Wed....7:00pm Visit our WebSite: www.greatcrmyerschapel.org 600 Jordan Place. Charlotte, NC 28205 For Van Ministry 1 “WAR Feliowshio Ministry Covenant Partner" 704-377.1799 I ■ BAPTIST CHURCH His last •e? coHHrandnieiit Is our first assfenment Bfww.s^kembc.otg MmsiONAHT Baptist Church Day Wainibfp 1600 Karrit Km. - C'harli>tt», jC nestle « FAX: 37M887 PARKWOOD INSTITUTIONAL Christian Methodist Episcopal Church 802 Tom Hunter Road • Charlotte, NC 28213 704-921-4915 (Ph) • 704-9214917 (Fax) Wedsite: www.parkwoodcme.com Sunday Worship 8:00 & 11:00 AM Sunday School 9:30 AM Bible Study Wednesday 12 Noon Thursday 6:30 PM TRANSPORTATION A VAILABLE Roderick D. Lewis, Sr. Pastor To advertise your church, call 704 376 0496 St. Paul Baptist Church Our Purpose: “To convince the unconvinced to be convinced and make disciples” Sunday Worship at 7:30 A.M. and 10:30 A.M. Sunday Morning Breakfast 8:45 A.M. Sunday School at 9:25 A.M. -10:25 A.M. Radio Broadcast Sunday 11:00 A.M. (1370 A.M. Dial) Bible Study Wed. 12 Noon - 6:45 P.M. - 8:00 P.M. Youth Church 2nd & 3rd Sunday 10:30 A.M. ■ Gregory K. Moss Sr.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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May 11, 2006, edition 1
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