Having been born again by the grace of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and being justified on the ground of His shed blood, and having confessed our faith before men, we do now in the presence of God and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another, as one body in Christ.

We also engage, therefore, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge, holiness and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all the nations.

We also engage to maintain family and secret devotions; to educate our children in the Word of His Grace; and to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances.

We engage, too, by the grace and Power of God, that as strangers and pilgrims we will abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul; that we will put away from us all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, and be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven us.

We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; and to aid each other in sickness and distress.

We, moreover, engage that, should we remove from this place we will, as soon as possible, unite with another church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.

A failure to understand the importance of seeking the Lord’s strength in spiritual transformation heads the list.  Many Christians think that spiritual transformation (i.e. being conformed to the image of Christ) can be accomplished through human initiative.  We conclude that Christ-  likeness is the necessary result of personal effort and determination.  While it is true that the Bible commands the believer to work out his own salvation (sanctification) with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12), it also tells us that God is at work (energizing) in us making us both willing and able to undergo this radical transformation (Philippians 2:13).  Since God has determined that every Christian be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29) and since He is the One who is at work in us to accomplish this goal, doesn’t it stand to reason that we should pray to Him asking Him for daily power for the process?

Another reason why this kind of personal prayer never crosses our mind is because we never make Christ-likeness a priority.  We somehow think that God is really not concerned about our spiritual growth.  God is indifferent and it really doesn’t matter to Him how we live.  Beloved, the Bible declares that God’s will for us is that we be dedicated to Him (1 Thessalonians 4:3).  God is far from indifferent concerning our spiritual growth.  He has willed it to be so!  Henry Martyn, a missionary to India in the early 1800’s, understood the importance of his own spiritual development.  He said:  “Let me be taught that the first great business on earth is the sanctification of my own soul.” Martyn made his sanctification a priority and he prayed about it.

Finally, I think that many believers avoid personal prayer out of discouragement.  Oh, we understand that we have the omnipotence of God at our disposal to accomplish our sanctification.  We even understand that transformation is according to His perfect will for us.  But many times we fall short of that biblical standard.  We experience failure after failure and we begin to think that the quest for Christian maturity will never become a reality for us.  We become discouraged, convinced that we are the exception to the rule and that even though God has accomplished transformation in the lives of so many others, He is powerless to bring us to Christ-likeness.  Beloved, nothing could be further from the truth!  Take heart!  In Ephesians 3:14-21, the Apostle Paul prays a powerful prayer for the saints at Ephesus concerning their sanctification.  Paul concludes that prayer by praising God for His ability to accomplish the sanctification of all His children.  Let the truth of verse 20 sink into your soul.  Take heart and pray for yourself like you have never prayed before!

Even though the stories Jesus taught are fascinating and interesting, Jesus never told stories to simply entertain people. Jesus was more concerned with teaching truth through His stories. In fact, the Bible uses a special word to describe the type of stories that Jesus told. The New Testament calls them “parables.”

A parable is a story which compares two things which are similar in some way. In a parable, something which is unknown and unclear is placed alongside another thing which is common and well understood to make the unknown thing clearer. The two things being compared may not be the same, but they are similar in some way.

Jesus used the parabolic method to illustrate truth about the kingdom of God more than any other subject. According to Mark 1:14 and 15 “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: Repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Matthew 13 records for us a number of these “kingdom parables” in which the Lord Jesus says: “The kingdom of Heaven is like….”

Probably one of the most important parables taught by the Lord was concerning how a person is justified in God’s eyes and therefore granted entrance into the kingdom of God. Luke 18:4-9 records a parable in which the Lord Jesus compares two men who want to be justified before God. Justification is a legal and judicial term that means “to be declared righteous” or “to be declared guiltless.”

This is a declaration made by God about every one of the kingdom’s citizens.

There are three common misconceptions concerning how a person is justified in the eyes of God as illustrated by the Pharisee in Luke 18:4-9:
1. Men are declared righteous by God because of their social status.
a. Man is not declared righteous because of his rank. (The Pharisee was a leader in Israel.)
b. Man is not declared righteous because of his religion. (The Pharisee was a teacher of the Law.)
c. Man is not declared righteous because of his reputation. (The Pharisee was highly esteemed in Israel.)
2. Men are declared righteous by God because of their comparative sin-less-ness.
a. Man is not declared righteous because he is good. (The Pharisee avoided sin.)
b. Man is not declared righteous because he is better than others. (The Pharisee was not like other men.)
3. Men are declared righteous by God because of their personal sacrifices.
a. Man is not declared righteous because of his physical sacrifices. (The Pharisee fasted twice a week.)
b. Man is not declared righteous because of his financial sacrifices (The Pharisee tithed on all that he had.)

The true means of being declared righteous by God is illustrated by the Publican.
1. Men are declared righteous when they acknowledge unworthiness before God.
a. Man is justified when he humbly seeks God’s forgiveness.
b. Man is justified when he honestly admits his need for forgiveness.
2. Men are declared righteous when they wait expectantly for God’s mercy.
a. In mercy God withholds from us what we rightly deserve.
b. God delights in showing mercy.

Dear friend, are you trying to earn your way into God’s kingdom? Do you think that God will grant you entrance into Heaven because of your goodness?

John 4:16 tells us that Jesus is the only way to God and if we are going to be part of that coming kingdom, we must enter by Him. Trust Jesus as your personal Savior. Do it today.

I have heard the “voice of God” several times since my salvation at the age of ten.  I soon learned that hearing and heeding the voice of the Lord meant a time of spiritual-stretching for me as I submitted to Him in obedience.  At first His voice was heard in the areas of soul-winning, studying the word, and teaching others.  Yielding to the Lord in these areas definitely moved me outside my “comfort zone” and required some rearranging of my personal life in order to accomplish God’s will.  As I look back over my Christian pilgrimage, I realize that the Lord never allowed me to get comfortable in what I was doing for Him.

When I was in my early twenties, I felt God calling me to full time Christian service.  I did not know it then (probably a good thing), but obeying the voice of the Lord would take me places where I never thought I would go and do things I never thought I would do.  While in seminary, God gave me many opportunities to serve Him in a local church.  Just prior to finishing seminary, the Lord called me to serve as a missionary in South Africa.  While in Africa, I was privileged to plant a church, begin a Bible Institute, and evangelize the people in the northern suburbs of Cape Town.  By God’s grace, I am now serving as senior pastor to a wonderful group of people in Chambersburg, PA.

Many Christians struggle with the concept of the “call of God.”  Let me close by listing some things I have learned the call of God on the believer’s life.

1. The Lord will make His will known to us if we ask Him to reveal it (Colossians 1:9).
2. The Lord will make His will known to us if we are willing to do it (John 7:17).
3. The Lord will supply the necessary ability to accomplish His will if we trust Him for it (Philippians 4:13).

Do you love God?  Do you really love God? I am amazed at the number of people who say they love God yet seem to have little or no understanding as to what love for God is.  It is easy to say “I love God,” but love for God is difficult to measure.  Love cannot be measured with a ruler or a yardstick.  You cannot pour love into a measuring cup to find out how much you actually have.  Love in not a commodity that you can carry in a paper sack.  Love for God is an allusive concept!

Does that mean that those who say they love God simply must be taken at their word?  Is it possible to determine if a person’s love for God is genuine?  Is there an objective standard by which love is gauged?  Is it possible to be involved in religious activities and not love God?

Many people deceive themselves when they equate religious activity with love for God.  Jesus predicted that there would be those who were outwardly connected to God through religious activity, but who did not truly love Him (Matthew 25:31-40).  Fortunately, Jesus addressed the issue of loving God with His disciples in John 14:15.  Jesus declared that active obedience to His commandments was proof that a person loved Him.  Based upon Jesus’ statement it is possible to evaluate a person’s proclaimed affection for God by examining their willingness to order their lives after His words.  Habitual obedience to the commandments of Christ is the acid test of one’s love.

The obvious question then is this: “Which commandments must we obey?” If obedience is the standard, which commands require obedience?  The short answer is all of them!  God has not issued any superfluous commandments.  Everything that God speaks is important and He expects complete obedience.  Since obedience indicates love and since God demands complete obedience, where do we begin?  It is impossible to examine all that God commands in this short article, but I want to look at one.

In Acts17:30, God commands all men to repent.  No matter whom you are or where you live, God universally commands everyone to repent.  The idea behind the word “repent” is to change your mind.  God expects man to think differently, but think differently about what?  God commands us to repent of our sin!  Sin is breaking God’s law (I John 3:4).  If you have ever broken any of God’s laws (this includes The Ten Commandments), you have sinned.  In God’s eyes you are a law-breaker (James 2:10).  You are a sinner (Romans 3:23) and your sin has separated you from God (Isaiah 59:2)!  Not only that, but your sin has earned you death (both physical death and spiritual death) (Romans 6:23).  To further complicate the matter, sin makes you God’s enemy (Romans 5:10).

In light of these basic truths, you can see why God commands you to repent (Acts 17:30).  Sin is the very thing that hinders you from loving Him.  Sin separates us from God and man is powerless to close the distance (Romans 5:6).  God sent His Son, Jesus, to bridge the gap that sin created.  Jesus bridged the gap by paying the penalty for our sin when He died on the cross.  By repenting of your sin and asking Jesus to forgive and save you, you obey the commandment of God.  It is impossible for a person to say they love God if they are unwilling to obey God’s foundational commandment.  Do you love God?  Do you really love Him?  If you really love Him you will keep His commandments!

The simple answer is no!  It is biblically impossible for the world to end in 2012 because there is much yet that God plans to accomplish before He destroys the world (Revelation 21:1). A detailed eschatological (teaching concerning end time events) discussion of God’s future plans is beyond the scope of this article, but a brief survey of God’s immediate agenda for the future will show why the end cannot come until much later.

The next great event on God’s calendar is what Christians call the rapture.  The rapture will take place when Jesus Christ appears in the sky and takes believers from the Church age with Him to heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).  The sudden and imminent appearing of Jesus from heaven is the event that every Christian has anticipated since the time of Christ’s own ascension (Titus 2:13).  The Bible does not reveal when that event will occur, but simply that it will and that it could happen at any moment (1 Corinthians 15:50-58).

The rapture of the Church will set in motion a series of divine events that will eventually culminate in the destruction of the world.  The Great Tribulation will immediately follow the rapture and will last for seven (7) years.  The Battle of Armageddon will mark the end of the seven years (Revelation 16:16; 19:11-21).  The Book of Revelation indicates that following that battle, Jesus will rule as King on planet earth for one thousand (1,000) years (Revelation 20:1-6).

Based upon these truths, it should be obvious that the end of the world is at least 1,007 years away.  But don’t sit back and breathe a sigh of relief just yet because Jesus is coming again.  When Jesus comes, things will suddenly change and change for the worse.  So much so that people who are living on the earth after the rapture will long for the end to come.  They will be left behind to endure the difficulties of the Tribulation period.  Are you ready?  

If you would like more information concerning this article or the ministries of the Chambersburg Bible Church, please contact Pastor Yoder. 

Yes, the Lord brought together a diverse group of missionaries. The Aaron Shipe family, new appointees under Gospel Furthering Fellowship to the Datooga people of Tanzania, exuded the kind of excitement we have come to expect of those called to missionary service. Veteran missionaries, Charlie and Bonnita (Bo) Frink, spoke with the authority and conviction gained through over twenty years of faithful service in New Zealand. Dr. Curtis Young and his wife Lori of International Partnership Ministries challenged us to think outside of the proverbial “box” by sharing what the Lord is doing through national pastors around the world. God’s promise to bless and honor His Word was the theme of Source of Light Ministries International under the direction of Dr. Bill Shade.

And yes, there were other features of the conference which stand out in my mind as being excellent. I would be remiss if I did not mention the wonderful time of food and fellowship shared during our international banquet on Sunday afternoon. Our ladies out-did themselves by providing a table set with culinary delights from around the world.

But the full weight of the Lord’s blessing is seen through the messages preached during the conference. The Spirit used each message to reinforce our personal responsibility and commitment to the great commission which was in keeping with our planned theme, The Missions World Starts Here. That part was obvious, but there was also an underlying theme present in each message. This “unplanned” (by us) theme gave a continuity to our week of mission’s emphasis which, I believe, was of the Lord. The thread that held these messages together was the need for faithfulness because we are living in the last days. The imminent return of Christ became a dominant theme during our conference. Each speaker mentioned the need for evangelistic faithfulness out of a firm conviction that Christ’s return could be just around the corner. Please do not misunderstand by thinking that we are date setter here at the Bible Church. We are not! But, we do believe that the next great event on God’s calendar is the rapture of the Church. It could happen at any moment. The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is certainly closer to His appearing than it has ever been before. Our 2009 Missions Conference has motivated me to serve the Lord more faithfully with eyes looking to heaven (Titus 2:13).

Trust – Proverbs 3:5 instructs the believers to “trust in the Lord with all thy heart.” The command means to trust the Lord with one’s total inner being.  The extent of trusting the Lord is revealed in the phrase “lean not unto thine own understanding.” Together these phrases communicate an unwavering and uncompromising trust in God and an unwillingness to trust in self.  Trusting the Lord is always the appropriate response for the believer in times of trouble.

Pray – Philippians 4:6-8 admonish the believer to pray in everything.  Notice that verse 6 begins with a universal prohibition against worry.  No matter how difficult the situation, worry is never an option for the believer.  Instead, the believer is commanded to pray in everything.  Prayer is always the appropriate action for the believer in times of trouble.

Be content – In Philippians 4:11-13, Paul tells how he too had endured difficult times.  He learned how to abound and how to be abased.  As he reflected on his life, Paul remembered both times of “feast” and “famine.”  He found the Lord faithful in both.  There was something else Paul found.  He found contentment.  Believer, we need to remember that God is sovereign.  He is in control.  He has not forgotten us (Hebrews 13:5).  God knows our needs (Matthew 6:25-34).  Contentment is always the appropriate attitude for the believer in times of trouble.