THE TRENTON BULLETIN

THE TRENTON BULLETIN

Trenton Church of Christ, Trenton, Florida

Josiah was eight years old when he became king of Judah. He was one of the few good kings that reigned following the division of the kingdom of Israel. It was during the eighteenth year of his reign that Hilkiah the high priest found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord. Giving the book to Shaphan the scribe, the book was brought before King Josiah and Shaphan read the Book of the Law to the king. “When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes” (2 Kings 22:11). Later the Lord would say of Josiah, “Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you, declares the Lord” (2 Kings 22:19).

Matthew Henry said of Josiah rending his clothes: “The rending of his clothes signified the rending of his heart for the dishonor done to God, and the ruin he saw coming upon his people” (Commentary 2 Kings 22:11-20). The word of God impacted the life of a twenty-six year old king. The Book of the Law had a profound meaning upon the young king and it humbled him. Remarkable were the tears that flowed from his broken spirit. These were not mere words Shaphan was reading. Josiah was hearing the precious words of his God. The Psalmist declares in Psalm 119:20, “My soul breaks with longing for your judgments at all times.”

Many years later when the people of God returned from Babylonian captivity, Ezra the scribe brought the Book of the Law of Moses before the people to read. “He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law” (Nehemiah 8:3). Not only did the people listen to the reading of the Law from early morning until midday; they were attentive; they stood up when Ezra opened the book (v5); answered “Amen, Amen” at the reading of the book (v6); stood in their place (v7); “all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law” (v9); and the people rejoiced greatly “because they understood the words that were declared to them” (v12) that day.

The days of Josiah and Ezra have long passed from the people of God. The blessing of the Bible being in plentiful supply has seemingly dulled the senses of the Lord’s people. We have the Bible in every form imaginable. Yet the feelings of joy and sorrow do not permeate the spirits of our hearts as it did Josiah and the people of Ezra’s day. They did not have power-point lessons or orators speaking the words in colorful tones nor media directed crowd pleasing presentations of the Book of the Law. They only had the Book of the Law – and people wept at its reading.

We would do well to heed the lessons of Josiah and the hearts of the people in Nehemiah 8. Until the heart is broken by the spirit of God’s word the feelings of joy and sorrow will never move the lives of God’s people. We must regain the respect, honor, diligence, fervency and love for the word of God that will move our hearts to move our lives in His image. Psalm 119 declares the emotions of God’s Book of Law. Our task is to take to heart the message of the cross and preach Christ crucified from lives that are broken by the message of our risen Lord. Paul declared that he wanted to “gain Christ” and to “know Him” (Philippians 3:8-11). We need to know the Lord and His word!

"Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward" (Exodus 14: 15). "And reaching forth unto the things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13, 14).

Although thousands of years of time separate these two passages, they both teach the same truth: The direction of God's faithful people is always forward. God through Moses spoke to fleshly Israel, and his message was: "Go forward." God, through Paul, speaks to spiritual Israel today, and his message is: "Go forward.”

1. Let us go forward to increased and deepened knowledge of God and of his word. There can be no progress that is not fed by knowledge. It ought to be the passionate desire of every child of God to increase in knowledge, in enlightenment and in wisdom. “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:9-10).

It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of the right kind of knowledge. Upon it our growth in every Christian grace depends. Paul, a man of great experience, prized spiritual knowledge so highly that he declared its worth exceeds the value of the sum total of all earthly possessions, resources and honors. “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7-8).

Let us cultivate a taste for that which is wholesome so that we may say in the language of Psalm 119:103: "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey in my mouth."

2. Let us go forward to a more venturesome faith in God. "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). When you get to the tap root of the matter, faith is simply trusting God. Jehovah calls his people to ever-increasing service and fruitfulness. To say we cannot do better in 1958 than we did- in 1957 is to display a lack of faith in God and to deny God's law of growth and progress.

There is one thing that is sure: We will not likely do more than we plan, purpose and determine to do. Then let us not abandon faith by saying that we cannot do better. Let us dream bigger dreams, make greater plans, have nobler purposes, and strengthen our determination to go forward. Let us trust in God to lead us forward, and let us follow his lead. Let us not presume to limit the power of God by our cowardly unbelief.

3. Let us go forward to a more devoted prayer life. "Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). God has graciously provided prayer as the avenue through which his people may maintain intimate and constant contact with him.

Prayer was never intended to be merely an emergency exit from the scene of danger. It was designed rather as an open door to God's throne-room. Let us not treat prayer as merely a fire extinguisher, but let us welcome it as a perpetual spring flowing from grateful hearts and dependent souls to the very throne of God.

Our Savior has opened the ears of God to our voice and to our needs. "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father" (Ephesians 2:18). Let us not show our contempt for one of the most priceless privileges of the Christian by neglecting to pray.

4. Let us move forward to a more passionate interest in the souls of men. "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30). How desperately we need to learn that God intended for every one of his children to be soul winners. If you will save just one soul during 1958, you will have blessed earth, enriched heaven, and attained that which no man can ever take away from you.

God calls on us all to be soul winners. "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest" (John 4:35).

5. Let us move forward to a more generous spirit and a more active practice of benevolence. While ministering to the souls of men let us not forget their bodies. The fact that man's spiritual needs must have priority does not license us to overlook his physical needs. As a matter of fact, man's physical and spiritual needs are, in some respects at least, entwined.

Our Lord found joy in feeding the multitudes and in ministering to the needs of the human race. And he has passed this responsibility on to those who follow in his footsteps. It is true that we can never work our way to heaven, and that a whole lifetime of good deeds cannot merit the grace and mercy of God. But it is also true that only through sacrificial sharing of our blessings with others can we be faithful Christians and entertain the hope of spending eternity in heaven. (Matthew 25:31-46; James 2:15-17).

Let us not forget that, even in this period of great prosperity, there are mouths that are hungry, bodies that are cold, spirits that are crushed, and hearts that are broken.

· Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself.

· Try to earn the respect of others, and do your best to live at peace with everyone.

· In the Scriptures the Lord says, "I am the one to take revenge and pay them back."

· The Scriptures also say, "If your enemies are hungry, give them something to eat.

And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

God wishes no narrow-hearted souls or empty heads for his children; but those whose spirit is of itself indeed, poor, but rich in the Knowledge of Him; and who regard this knowledge of God as the only valuable possession. [G. W. F. Hegal (1770-1831), The Philosophy of History, publ. posth.]

He will never get to Heaven who desires to go thither alone. [Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732]