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Pa£e4B - THE CHARLOTTE POST - Thursday, March 16, 1989 iTte Sunday SchooC Lesson By Bessie WUbon INTRODUCTION; Two people were standing at the Intersection, one of whom always told the truth, and one of whom always lied. The riddle asks how the travelers could find out which was the correct road. Sometimes staying on the correct road to reach Heaven Is Just as puzzling. As we travel along we come to plac es where the path branches, many people have gone each way, and we must decide which to follow. Spokesmen at the Inter section try to persuade us that their way Is the correct one, but only one Is telling the truth. Which should the Christian be lieve? Who Is the deceiver? LESSON BACKGROUND: In today's lesson we will study several of these false teach ings and Paul's reply to them. THE LESSON; "Since you have accepted Christ, Jesus as Lord, live In union with him. Keep your roots deep In Him, build your lives on Him, and become stronger tn your faith, as you were taught. And be filled with thanksgiving. See to It, then that no none enslaves you by means of the worthless deceit of human wis dom, which comes from the teachings handed down by men a ,d from the ruling spirits of the universe, and not from Christ. ;J"pr the full content of divine nature lives tn Christ, tn his hu- ;thanlty, and you have been given full life In union with him. pe Is supreme over every spiritual ruler and authority. In un- ’.ipn with Christ you were circumcised, not with circumcision 'that Is made by men, but with the circumcision made by ithrlst, which consists of being freed from the power of this ;d^ul self. For when you were baptized, you were also raised ■■^th Christ through your faith tn the active power of God, who Iralsed him from death. You were at one time spiritually dead Ib^cause of your sins and because you were Gentiles without Ihe Law. But God has now brought you to life with Christ. God forgave us all our sins; he cancelled the unfavorable record of our debts with Its binding rules and did away with It com pletely by nailing It to the cross. And on that Cross Christ freed himself from the power of the spiritual rulers and au thorities; he made a public spectacle of them by leading them as captives In his victory procession. So let no one make rules about what you eat or drink or about holy days or the New Moon Festival on the Sabbath. All such things are only a; shadow of things In the future; the reality Is Christ. Do not al low yourselves to be condemned by anyone who claims to be superior because of special visions and who Insists on false humility and the worship of angels. For no reason at all. such a person is all puffed up by his human way of thinking and has stopped holding on to Christ who Is the head of the body. Under Christ's control the whole body Is nourished and held together by Its joints and ligaments, and It grows as God wants It to grow." (Colosslans 2: 6-19) Christians do not subscribe to a philosophy or foUow a dis cipline; we receive a person, Christ Jesus, and serve Him as |Lord. All that we believe and do centers around Him. Consid er these three metaphors as descriptions of our relationship to Christ. Christians walk — In Him. This refers to the marmer of life. Every word, every thought, and action are subjected to His will. It Is as If the Christian takes the hand of Jesus and the two go everywhere together. We should live in constant fel- .lowshlp with the Lord. ' Christians are rooted tn chrlst. The first stage In the growth of a plant Is the establishment of roots. All subsequent growth of the visible part of the plant depends on the nourish ment It receives from the roots. If the plant Is severed from its roots It will die. The first stage in the growth of a Christian Is to be rooted In Christ. This happens when we believe tn Jesus and fix our hearts on Him. We must then stay rooted In Christ, for If we forsake Him we will die. We must remain ■firmly cormected to the Lord. Christians are bii^ up In Him. This refers to construction, ;the budding of life. We budd our lives block by block as we ce ment In our personal selection of beliefs, attitudes, character traits, priorities, goals, and actions. Jesus disciples must see ^that all these budding blocks of life are derived from Him and liarmonlze with Him. We must Incorporate Into our lives only those things that come from Christ. False teachers try to convince Christians that they cannot receive the reward they seek eternal life, urdess they accept the false teachings. But accepting the false teaching Is what .causes a Christian to lose his reward. ; Voluntary humdlty Is false humility. It Is humdlty put on •public display. One who is truly humble will not call atten tion to his humdlty; Indeed, he wdl not even call attention to tilmself. Yet false teachers are always In the lime light pro- rclaimlng their righteousness and meekness. Do not follow such people. ; Christians today probably are beleaguered by more false ^teachers and proponements of the principles of the world than even the Colosslans disciples were. World travel has ;spread every kind of cult to every country. Through the educa tional system and the media people of ad ages are constantly •bombarded with the phdosophies and vain, ungodly beliefs of ‘the world. we must be ever wary of this Influence. We must constantly, evaluate our attitudes and beliefs to see if they ready are of •God or If we have absorbed them from the world. Our only re liable means of doing this Is by comparing what we believe and what others proclaim with the standard of the Bible. The Bible wdl always point us to God and to His Son Jesus Christ, f Lord, help us to learn to live your wdl. Amen. POST OBITUARIES I > BEASLEY'S FUNERAL HOME ’Mr. James Heath, of 3021 Rush Ave. died at his place of Residence. Funeral service was held at New Zion Baptist Church. Burial was in Beatties ford Park. • Survivors are his wife, Mrs. Martha Heath; children. Rev. ames Heath, Ms. Rosa Bell aldwell of Winnsboro, NC. Mrs. I^aiy Lee Johnson of Chester, Ms. Georgia Brice Sbring of ihorlda, Mr. WdUe Matthew, Mr. Joe Arthur Heath of Chester, SC, Mr. Freeman Ulysses Heath of ^artville, CN; 77 grandchddren. »Mr. George Fair. 63, of 200 denn Ave. died at his place of ijiesldence. Funeral service was held at Beasley Chapel. Burial was in Oaklawn Cemetery. {Survivors are his cousins, Ms. Minnie L. Wldlams, Mr. RC. Pat- tjerson, Mr. Wtdle Patterson. [Ms. Annie Ruth Neal, of 1601 Brookdale Ave. died Feb. 25, ^989, In Charlotte Memorial Hospital. Funeral service was held at Beasley's Chapel. Burial was in Beasley Memorial Gar den. Survivors are her children, Mr. Michael Neal, Mr. Albert Neal, Mr. Carlton Neal; sister Mrs. Do- retha Morris of Harrisburg, NC. Mr. Ralph Poole, 70, of 2715 Wingate St. died Feb. 28, 1989, at his place of residence. Funeral service was held at Beasley’s Chapel. Burial was in Beasley Memorial Garden. Survivors are his children, Ms. Brenda Thompson of Concord, Ms. Betty Poole, Ms. Gladys Poole, Ms. Cynthia Poole, Mr. Jackie Poole. Mr. Charles Poole ad of Charlotte, Mr. Garry Poole of Albermarle, NC, Mr. Kenneth Poole of Charlotte. Mr. Frank Smith, of 1227 Rolllngwood Dr. died Feb. 26, 1989, In Charlotte Memorial Hosplted. Funeral service was held at New Bethlehem F.B.H. Church of God. Burial was In Beatties Ford Memorial Park. Survivors are his wife, Mrs. Martha Smith; chlldrerfc Ms. Candy Cooper, Ms. Michelle Bardlawens of Greensboro, Mr. Clinton Smith. Mr. Luther Gill, 81, formerly of Chariotte died March 5, 1989, in Gaston Memorial Hospital. Fu neral service will be Feb. 9, at See Obituaries On Page 6B. Why Saul Did Not Eat For Three Days By J. M. UtUe Saul was led by the men with him Into Damascus to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. For three da5rs and nights he didn't eat or drink. In all the sermons I've heard about Saul's conver sion, I've never heard a preacher In the religious world tell why Saul didn't eat or drink for these, three days. The reason he didn't eat or drink during this time Is be cause he was under such deep HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTION that his soul desired no food or drink. No two sinners undergo the same degree of HOLY SPIR IT CONVICTION. Saul probably went through the deepest degree of HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTION. Why? The Lord gave him more revelations than any man who ever lived on this eartii. During those three days and nights, the Holy Spirit taught Saul all about himself. Let's look In and see this villain now; "And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord In a vision, ■Ananias. .And he said. Behold, I am. here. Lord. And the Lord salth unto him. Arise, and go Into the street which Is called Straight, and inquire In the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: fiar, BEHOLD, HE PRAYETH." (Acts 9:10-11). Saul had never prayed before. Of course, he had stood In the synagogues, being a great relig ious man, and prayed. But the Lord didn't pay any attention to those false prayers of that vil lain, Saul of Tarsus. But look at the man now; the Lord, Himself, said of him: "BEHOLD, HE PRAYETH." Let's listen tn now as the villain Is praying. What Is he confessing to the Lord? ”0 wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The carnal mind, my mind. Is hatred against God. I am In the flesh, I cannot please God. 1 am carnal, sold under sin. For I know that In me, that Is, In my flesh, dwell- eth no good thing. I've walked according to the course of this world. I've had my conversation In times past tn the lusts of the flesh, llilfllling the desires of my flesh and of my mind; and by na ture I am a child of wrath. I am far off from God, an alien from the commonwealth of Israel, a stranger from the covenants of promise, I have no hope, I am without God. A great gulf separ ates me from God. I have cruci fied the Lord of Glory." Yes, all these things Saul was convicted of by the Holy Spirit and he was confessing It all to the Lord. Now you talk about confessing. If your confession was not saturated with these things Saul was confessing, I would not give you two cents for all your confessions. Now you may ask how I know Saul was confessing all these things. I'll tell you how I know. When the Lord met me that afternoon I had been riding high, also. I was so steeped In pride and self. I al ways had a high opinion of my self. But when the Lord met me In the way and shined the Light Into my heart and let me see I was lost and had never been saved, all my self-esteem began to die and I became a beggar at the feet of the Lord. Then I first began to pray. I had never prayed before. Of course, 1 had prayed many prayers when I was leading ser vices In the religious world. But the Lord didn't pay any attention to those prayers of mine when I was In the religious world. Yes, I know that Is what Saul was con fessing and praying about be cause the Lord brought me down under the same HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTION. Then again I know It because Paul later said; "This Is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came Into the world to save sinners; of whom 1 am chief. Howbelt for this cause I obtained mercy, that tn me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering, for a PATTERN to them, which should hereafter believe on him, to life everlasting." (I Tim. 1:15-16). Paul Is a pattern of how God saves every sinner who ever gets saved. Can you conceive of a soul being guilty of all these things and not being In Hell al- reac^ Yes, the Lord calls atten tion to Hts disciple, Ananias, that the old villain of Tarsus was praying. Ananias was afraid to go where Saul was but listen to what the Lord said of Saul; "Go thy way; For he is a chosen ves sel unto Me,..." (Acts 9:15). This man was chosen by God and giv en to Christ before the founda tion of the world, (Eph. 2:4). But when Saul was down there pray ing at Judas's house on Straight Street, he didn't know he was a chosen vessel before the foun dation of the world. When the Lord was breaking me down as a lost sinner In the fall of 1971, I didn't know I was a chosen vessel of the Lord. .Anan ias went on down to see Saul as the Lord had commanded him. He entered the house and said; (putting his hands on him), "Brother Saul, the Lord, even Je sus, that appeared unto thee In the way as thou earnest, hath sent me, that thou mightest re ceive thy sights, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And Imme diately there fell from his eyes as It had been scales: and he re ceived sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.” (Acts 9:17-18). Right here is where Saul was saved. Right here Is where Christ was revealed to his heart, and that Is salvation. For Paul later said In Gal. 1:15 & 16: "But when it p;eased God, who separ ated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, TO REVEAL His Son In me,..." God called him to reveal Christ to him. He didn't say I ac cepted Jesus as my Saviour, no he didn't. There Is no place in God's plan for the sinner to do anything In his salvation. In the fall of 1971 I know I was coming down for the last time. It was Christ or Hell. I had been going on for years saying I was lost and not saved. It was In the early noon of that Saturday that I was left alone with the Lord. He be gan to open my heart and let me see what wsus on the backside. When the Lord let me view what was there, I nearly choked on the unbelief I saw. I tried to shrink back from It. But He held me right there and opened my heart more and O saw I hated God. I hadn't believed I hated God before that. But when 1 saw that In my heart I hated God, I completely despaired: I cried out In my Innermost soul; "1 hate God." "Then I said; "I’ve done eveiythlng I know to be saved. I've read, prayed, listened to messages, but nothing has helped. I'll just go on to Hell where I belong. I'm not going to read anymore, pray anymore, or listen to any more messages. I'll Just go on to Hell where 1 be long." I meant that thing. But just a few minutes later there came a revelation to my heart: "Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb." I saw Christ has blessed me from eternity to eternity and I could never perish. The burden of sin rolled off my back and the Lord made me rejoice In Him. Right there was where Christ was revealed to my heart. But a short time later I was unuttera bly sad. I cried out In my heart; Lord, how could I have ever mis trusted You In thinking you wer en't going to save me? Friends, I'm talking about how God saved a hell-deserving sinner. This Is what I have set before the relig ious world for over 16 years. My time left to warn men Is short. Continue to listen to our late Pastor, L. R. Shelton, with THE VOICE OF TRUTH BROADCAST, each Sunday morning at 7:30 over WAGI-FM and at 8:00 over WAGL-AM. The Prophet's Column is a paid advertisement. Beatties Ford Handy Mart le Competition OUT! Cigarettes 2 for $1.99 others charge as much as $2.40. COMPARE! Save at Beatties Ford Handy Mart 1121 Beatties Ford Rd. 342-2924 WhereToFind SomeoncWfth\bur Wnd Of Drive. Gasoline. Parking. Insurance. Maintenance. No wonder commuting to work, especially ifyouliveoutof town, can drive you down the road to ruin. That is, unless you carpool. Ifyou make a d5-mile round-trip to Charlotte (say, from Rock Hill or Monroe) you can save over $650 a year by carpooling with just (me f riend. With two people, over $865. It’s easy, too. Just call RIDESHARE at 376-RIDE.. We’ll supply you with a list of potential carpool partners drawn from a computerized network of people who have expressed an interest in carpooling. People who have the same drive as you. So, get together. And get saving. Call RIDESHARE. 376-RIDE Charlotte’s Department Of Transportation
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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March 16, 1989, edition 1
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