The Old Hickory Bulletin Old Hickory Church of Christ 841 Old Hickory Blvd. Jackson, TN 38305 oldhickorycofc.com March 25, 2018 Volume 38, # 13 "With My Whole Heart Have I Sought Thee" "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." (Psa. 119:11). David, the sweet singer of Israel, was a remarkable man in many ways. In Acts 13:22, Paul refers to David as a man after God's own heart. He is the only man in all the Bible to be referred to in this way. What made David such a great man? I am sure it was not the fact that he was forty years the ruler of God's people. Certainly, it was not that David lived a sinless life for he was guilty of adultery and murder. David was conscious of his weakness and transgression. In the 51st Psalm he seeks God's pardon. Probably the one greatest thing in David's life was his wonderful attitude toward God and God's Word. This devotion is expressed in the words of the text: "With my whole heart have I sought thee: 0 let me not wander from thy commandments." David realized that the secret to a happy and useful life was in knowing God and abiding in His commandments. Jesus recognized this as the first and greatest commandment. "The first of all the commandments is, Hear, 0 Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength." - Guy W. Sims (1965) A Plea for Pure Christianity WE BELIEVE the Bible to be the inspired word of God, a perfect and sufficient guide. (2 Tim. 3:16,17.) It does not incidentally contain some things which we teach - it is the "alpha and omega of our faith and practice, and we dare not go beyond it. (2 John 9.) WE COME to you with no denominational plan seeking your favor, but only in the name of Christ, desiring to help you find the truth, anxious that you obey all of God's commandments. The obedient have a right to the tree of life and may enter in through the
gates into the city. (Rev. 22:14.) But those who merely cry, "Lord, Lord," shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 7:21.) WE SUBMIT to the matchless authority of Christ, heeding the faultless message that He and his inspired servants taught. (Heb. 2:3.) His word produces faith, and faith in Him as the Son of God is the foundation of hope. (Heb. 11:1; John 8:24.) Every person must repent, repentance being required of all and death being held forth as the wage of refusal. (Acts 17:30; Luke 13:3.) Confession of faith in Christ is unto salvation, and upon such a confession one may be baptized. (Romans 10:10; Acts 8:37.) Baptism was commanded by Christ Himself (Mark 16:16), puts one into Christ (Gal. 3:27) where all spiritual blessings abound (Eph. 1:3), and is for the remission of our sins and the salvation of our souls. (Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21.) Who dares refuse it? Faithfulness unto life's end is promised a rich heavenly reward. (Rev. 2:10.) WE PRAY for unity among all professed believers, for Christ so prayed. (John 17:20-23.) Paul besought the Corinthians to be "of the same mind" and to "speak the same things." (1 Cor. 1:10.) Since human wisdom is the cause of (not the cure for) division, we must discard and abandon it in order to be true to any prayer for unity. A perfect and God-given platform for genuine unity is set forth in Ephesians 4:3-6. This is the basis for spiritual harmony and lasting peace with God. Consider: One God (unity in worship), one Lord, Jesus Christ (unity in authority), one Spirit (unity in life), one faith (unity in doctrine), one body, the church (unity in organization), one baptism (unity in practice), and one hope (unity in desire and expectation). WE REFUSE to sectarianize ourselves by wearing man-made religious names; they are not only unauthorized, but actually foment division. We are to be Christians, nothing more and nothing less, being completely satisfied and humbly grateful to be honored with the privilege of wearing Christ's name. (1 Peter 4:16.) God has placed His name above every name, and the disciples wore it. (Phil. 2:9; Acts 11:26.) The body (church) of Christ also wears his name, preferring none other, and thus the New Testament speaks of "the churches of Christ." (Romans 16:16.) WE ENDEAVOR to speak where the Bible speaks, and to be silent where it is silent. Christians have no creed but Christ, are to uphold no name but the divine, and have no plea but the gospel. We should mutually seek to establish and maintain unity in essentials, liberty in opinions, and love in all things. WE INVITE you, most sincerely, to come and study the Bible with us - pure Christianity is wonderful. Embrace it. Be just a Christian. - Jere E. Frost
What do you think about the Christ? During the time of Christ, the Pharisees had some wrong ideas about Who He Was? Jesus endeavored to correct their misunderstanding about Him and asked the question What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?. They said to Him, The Son of David. He said to them, How then does David in the Spirit call Him Lord, saying: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool? If David then calls Him Lord, how is He his Son? And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore (Matt. 22:42-46). Their view of Him being the son of David was correct, but their view was incomplete. They had overlooked the inspired evidence that He also was called David s Lord in Psalm 110:1. Jesus referred them to this prophetic scripture that acknowledged Him to be David s Lord as well as David s seed. Jesus was openly declaring to the Pharisees that He was the Christ, the prophesied One whom David in the Spirit wrote about 1,000 years before the birth of Christ. The question asked by our Lord, nearly 2,000 years ago, remains the most important question for our time and, in fact, for all time. There are many questions you may want answered regarding your life, but this question is the most important because it has to do with your life, both now and in eternity. Therefore, any study about Jesus Christ, while including His time on earth, must include also His eternal existence. Is he God or man? Did He preexist before becoming man? Is he eternal? These are questions that one must solve in seeking a solution to the question that Jesus asked the Pharisees: What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? The apostle John declared, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:1,2,14). Therefore, it is crystal clear from this passage and many others that Jesus Christ possessed an essential glory as the Son of man which is different from the humanity He possessed at His birth. The Hebrew writer wrote: The Son is the radiance of God s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word (Heb. 1:3 NIV). Paul, the great apostle, wrote: For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form (Col. 2:9 NIV). This means that in the single person of Jesus He had both a human and divine nature, He was both God and man. The divine nature was not changed when the Word became flesh. Therefore, the man Jesus could declare shortly before His death, And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began (John 17:5). Furthermore, Jesus had said earlier, No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven the Son of Man (John 3:13). Jesus also claimed
omnipresence as He spoke to His disciples saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:18-20). From these passages, Jesus claimed divine properties and either He possessed them or He is a complete imposter, claiming a false identity for the purpose of deceiving mankind. Some well-meaning people, while denying the deity of Jesus said, He was a great moral teacher. In his famous book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis makes this statement, A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. One cannot appreciate and understand all other doctrines taught by Jesus until His two natures are understood and accepted. The whole of Scripture is about God loving His creation and preparing the world for the coming of His only begotten Son who would die to purchase man s redemption so the Father could prepare a people for His own possession and enable them to live eternally with Him in Heaven. Therefore, one could say the Bible is about Jesus Christ, the Godman and His love for us. Who then is Jesus? Your Lord and mine. - Guy Roberson > Don't fly into a rage unless you are prepared for a rough landing! > One thing that improves the longer it is kept is your temper! > We ask God to provide for us, and when He does we congratulate ourselves upon our success! > It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them!
> Contentment is finding as many benefits for not getting what we want as we do for getting what we want! THIS WEEK'S LESSONS: Sunday morning: Tests Most Marriages Face! (Text: Matt. 19:4-5); Sunday evening: Straight Talk From Jesus! (John 8:33-37).