Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / June 30, 1983, edition 1 / Page 7
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9By Mr*. BeaateWUboa= tf»r Subject: Zephthah:.Zeal Without Wisdom Scripture: Judges 11:1-12:7 July3» 1983 r* ** ' INTRODUCTION A team without enthusiasm will win few ball games. A salesman without some C excitement about his-product will make few sales, A political leader Without positive fervor in his proposals will gain few followers. By the same rule, few persons will be influenced for Christ by apathetic Christians. Of course, we must guard against arrogance and an overbearing at titude. They only serve to make us -ob noxious. But unless one is zealous in his outlook and in his lifestyle as a Christian, he t; cannot hope.to arouse the interest of others. • The Apostle Paul knew this. He was ; excited about the good news that is in ; Christ. “I am not ashamed of the gospel of } Christ;” he wrote, ‘ ‘for it is the power of God • imto salvation to everyone that believeth,”’ ; ( Romans 1;16). He admonished the Chris ; tians in Rome to be “fervent in spirit; ; serving the Lord,” (12:1), In the same verse J he urged that they “never be lacking in zeal.” Let us be Christians who are enthusi astic! Let a church or a class demon strate some zeal in worship and in life. Then ; ;others will take notice and will be interested ' to learn the reason for such enthusiasm and 1 zeal. . The word enthusiasm comes from a } Greek word meaning “God-insideness.” : Literally, it means a state of being in which the Spirit of God is actively at work within - the individual. Is this not what being ; Christian .is all about? Zealous of good ; works is the way Paul describes it, (Titus 2:14). The lukewarm Christian is unap J petizing, (Revelations 3:16). There is a \ great need for zeal, in the work of the Lord. * Paul not only exhorted the brethren at Rome to be fervent iri spirit; he also cautioned them about certain persons who ’ had “a zeal of God, but not according to \ knowledge,” (Romans 10:2). Such persons j .as these can do more harm than good- They 'are certain that-their zeal is a service to God j [when in reality it may be completely Out of 1 harmony with the purposes of God. Such • zeal may be only the gratifying of an 'overweening pride. Without a doubt, some ' highly" religious people are very zealous in misdirected ways! There have been many • followers of Christ who have not possessed J »His true spirit and who have' spoken and ; ^pcted without \yisdom. ft - Our lesson today is about Jephthan, one of 5 ythe judges of the Old testament. His zeal for j the cause to which he was called is evident. ; Also, evident is the fact that his zeal led him 5 to make a rash promise to God certainly not -In keeping with the nature of God, and a ' promise that he would live to regret. LESSON BACKGROUND 5*t Following Deborah, several judges ruled {■jin Israel. In time the people of. Israel “did ,.*evil again in the sight of the Lord,” and once i«;again God "sold them” into the hands of j - their enemies. ‘2 This time the oppressors were the Philis i;tines. As in times past, again the people f;tried out to God. The people confessed that [ :they had sinned, and again God had com l passion on them. He would raise up i*Jephthah to be their deliverer. Jephthah was an illegitimate child, the of a harlot. Evidently, he enjoyed the * hospitality of his father’s house until other i children were born and grew to maturity: { Then he was driven out by his half {>rothefs, disinherited, and forced to shift jfjfor himself. Hef gathered around him a band f-tf “vain men” or "worthless fellows.” re-, ine attitude of Jephthah’s people toward l<hdm changed from what it had been. Earlier '-'he had been a nobody in their sight; now ’r^they were begging him to come back. '..Jephthah was aware of the embarrassment ',Jall their position, and he did not hesitate to < ^nake the most of it. Vp Judges 11:29* “Then the spirit of the Lord I .came upon Jephthah. He went through {^Gilead and Manassah and returned to fcMizpah in Gilead and went on to Ammon.” M* rP Jephthah promised the Lord: “I will burn '^as an offering the first person that comes | -put of my house to meet me when I come bark from the victory. I will offer that to you as a sacrifice.” t a rash promise! Verses 34-40 teH us J -Vuu mat person was Jephthah’s daughter. K* As we contemplate the dilemma of y. Jephthah we must admire his integrity in regard to his promise. H; Let us have zeal to know the Word of God. :*:Then let us be enthusiastic to make , that Word known to others,-and let us have a \ corresponding zeal to follow that Word •consistently in our daily living —*» ' . ’> Michael McDowell has recently completed the AUstate Sales Training course which was held for two weeks at the Allstate Southern Zone headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. McDowell is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Asheville and Isothermal Junior CoUege. McDowell wUl work at the sales office located at 5701 Executive Center Drive in Kroger Executive Park, Suite 102 in Charlotte. The new agent is offering a full circle of protection including homeowners, Ufe, auto, business insurance and motor club. He is also a representative of AUstate Finance. Willie Stratford’s Joy Is Working With Others Continued from Page 1 ideas.” He continues, “The right reason for running for city council is to serve people, to serve the com munity that has been so good to me. The greatest honor I’ve ever had is to have people trust me.” "I wouldn’t attempt to run if I couldn’t serve all people...We aU live here together and we all need to work at narrowing the gap economically and social ly.” Will he ever seek an office politically higher than city council? Strat _ford stated, “There’s no where else I want to go. Given the opportunity, I want to serve on the coun cil and serve well.” After speaking on his. intentions and purpose for running for city council, Stratford spoke briefly on the present issue of voter registration drives. voter education is worked at all of the time here in Charlotte by the Voter Task Force. More attention is drawn to it during the election period. You ought to vote. Lots of people think it doesn’t make a difference, but it does.” Continuing, he said, “We need to incorporate the need for government into the minds of our children.” Born in Lancaster Coun ty, South Carolina, Strat ford received a BA in history from Johnson C. Smith University. He has one son, Willie Jr. and one daughter, Pia Denise. He is now a retired manager of Retail Sales and Services and Public Information Of ficer for the U.S. Postal _ Service. He attends church at As cension Lutheran Church and is also a Sunday School teacher there. Stratford has an impres sive list of honors and affiliations. He is a mem ber of the Black Political Caucus, the Urban League and the Mayor’s Citizens Safety Committee and Ex Convicts Organization (ECO). His list of honors include letter of commend ation from district EEOO office, a North Carolina state bridge named in his honor and a Distinguished Service Award from the Charlotte Chamber of Com merce. Greek Festival The Greek Affiliates As sociation announces that this year’s Annual Atlanta “Greek Festival” is sched uled for July 1-3. The main event will take place Saturday, July 2, at Rack-Away Ranch, Camp belton and County Line Road S.W. Vendor slots are still available. For more information, call 3494)359. • "V ' " Class Reunion The North Mecklenburg High School Gass of 1973 will hold its ten-year re union on Saturday, Sep tember 10, at the Holidy Inn on North Tryon Street in Giarlotte. Cost will be $15 per per son for dinner and dancing. Members of the Gass of 1973 are asked to get in touch with the reunion committee for further de tails. Contacts are Players Sporting Goods (599-7966) during regular business hours; and Debbie Can trell (392-5745) after 6 p.m. Flood “Wise” Citizens owning or rent ing property in any of the flood plains in Mecklen burg County need to be come more informed about flooding. The Mecklenburg County Engineering De partment can provide someone to speak to your group or homeowner’s as sociation and glvp you spe cific information particu lar to the creek in your area and.to give you Ideas on how to reduce the po tential of flood related damages. LOMC A SON MONTH ARY SBVKS “We Excel In Quality and Service.” Employee of the Week > • •• * ■ ■’ *<*• -* • / . Mr. Aleaso Wilson has been an Attendant with Long A Son Mortuary Service since lt7t. He Is employed on a part-time basis. His duties Include transporting the family of the deceased to the burial site, answering death esjls and assisting the family during their bereavement. Mr. Wilson Is sometimes ..Mr. Wilson Is also employed as a r'emputer Operator at First Union National Bank. . .."Alonso Wilson • steadfast In his desira to serve thoeo In need. " * “We Invite Inspection of Onr Facility” 2312 Boatttos Ford Rd. PRICES EFFECTIVE THRU SAT., JULY 2, AT AAP IN CHARLOTTE ITEMS OFFERED FOR SALE NOT AMULABLE TO OTHER RETAIL DEALERS OR WHOLESALERS. DOUBLE COUPONS FOR EVERY $10.00 YOU SPEND, WE WILL DOUBLE 3 MANUFACTURER’S COUPONS. EXAMPLE: $10 PURCHASE = 3 COUPONS. $20 PURCHASE = 6 COUPONS. $100 PURCHASE = 30 COUPONS. ADDITIONAL COUPONS REDEEMED AT FACE VALUE! Savings are Great with ASP’s DOUBLE SAVINGS COUPONS! TOTAL MFCS MFC AAP ADOED COUPON COUPON -CENTS OFF- -CENTS OFF- AT AAP COUPON A 2S* 2S» 50 COUPON B 1»1»_36* COUPON C 50- 50* __ $1,00 COUPON D I 75» 2S» >100 . fS55jE^p£ ARMOUR Meat Franks
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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June 30, 1983, edition 1
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