Why Are We Having This Gospel Meeting?

by Micky Galloway

Some may ask, “Why are we conducting this series of gospel meetings in our community anyway?” This is a good question and demands an answer. Consider the reason Cornelius gave for bringing Paul to Caesarea. “Now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God, to hear all things that have been commanded thee of the Lord” (Acts 10:33). Can you think of a more noble purpose for a Gospel Meeting?

The things that have been commanded of the Lord also include what one is to do as a Christian; even how he is to meet the temptations and disappointments of this life. We are experiencing difficult times financially, socially and in our families. When these times of hurt and disappointment come, what are we to do? The apostle Paul spoke of the all sufficiency of God’s word to the Ephesian elders, “And now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build (you) up, and to give (you) the inheritance among all them that are sanctified” (Acts 20:32; cf. II Timothy 3:16-17). God’s word is true. While many seek for the solutions of their painful problems in secular places, let us search the gospel for God’s solutions.

Hurt and disappointment (valleys in this life) are common to most people. All have experienced the joy and happiness of hope for a period of time, only to have it crushed by reality. The tragedy of such disappointments is that it can be frequent, and the pain does not necessarily decrease with the frequency of the experience. Disappointment and the feeling of failure hurts and keeps on hurting. Disappointment is a hurt that is hard to overcome. The hurt can be terrible time and time again as it resurfaces uninvited and our minds are tormented in anguish.

There are distressing issues that confront us every day. As we face these issues, we must make choices, but to make good choices we have to set priorities. To set proper priorities we have to have a clear vision of our purpose, which is to honor and glorify God. As we pursue the purpose of life, we must do so through faith, hope and love. To do this, we must focus on the choices we must make today. We cannot dwell on the past, or be overly anxious about the future. We often must forget what lies behind and forgive ourselves and others for the wrongs done in the past. We have to leave tomorrow to itself. When I am hurting, struggling with life to make proper decisions for today, what can I do? Let us not give up to despair, but realize that the valley rises to the mountain tops of glory if we will only commit ourselves to the “word of his grace, which is able to build (you) up, and to give (you) the inheritance among all them that are sanctified” (Acts 20:32).

Remember what God has done for you in the past. With Elijah, God had commanded the ravens to feed him. He had commanded the widow of Zarephath to sustain him and had provided a jar of meal that would not waste and a cruse of oil that would not fail (I Kings 17:1-16). In the contest with the prophets of Baal, God had provided victory over evil and error by his divine power (I Kings 18:36-40). The Psalmist assures us of God’s provisions for the righteous, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Psalms 37:25). Jesus also assures us, “Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:31-33). Concerning victory over sin and death, we too are assured that our labor is not in vain in the Lord (I Corinthians 15:55-58). We need to have this gospel meeting to be reminded of the mountain tops of victory that await the righteous.

Believe God’s promise that He cares, you are not alone. While Elijah slept under a juniper tree, believing that all had forsaken the great God of heaven and earth, God sent an angel who told him, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee.” With the provision of the cakes and the water God had provided, Elijah “went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights” (I Kings 19:5-8). Though Elijah felt that he was alone in Israel, God reminded him that there were yet, “seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal” (I Kings 19:18; cf. Romans 11:1-5). Perhaps when we feel that God has deserted us, we need to be reminded of His promise, “I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. So that with good courage we say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear: What shall man do unto me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6). God gives us the things necessary to make us everything He wants us to be. Paul said, “By the grace of God I am what I am” (I Corinthians 15:10; cf. Romans 5:1-5). We need this gospel meeting to be reminded that God cares.

Realize that God still has work for you to do. There is much work for us to do that causes us to focus outside of ourselves. Paul said in Philippians 3:12-14, “Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing (I do), forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before. I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” This is not just busywork, but a demonstration of our faith. I do this because it is right! If your faith is to count for anything, it must count for everything when you are challenged with discouragement and disappointment. Therefore, strengthen your personal faith (cf. Luke 17:5). “Be strong and of good courage” (Deuteronomy 31:6-8). If we are not making regular deposits to increase our faith, the trials of life will cause it to become bankrupt. We need this gospel meeting to strengthen our faith.

Don’t forget to pray. The very act of prayer is an expression of one’s dependence upon a power greater than his own. Jesus said in John 15:5, “Apart from me ye can do nothing.” Man needs God and He has promised, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you” (James 4:8). Prayer is not a futile act. God would not draw nigh to men were He not able and willing to hear their prayers to Him. Paul said, “In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Peter said that we are to, “Cast all your anxiety upon Him, because He careth for you” (I Peter 5:7). It is reassuring to know that the affairs of the universe are not so absorbing of God’s attention that He cannot give heed to the affairs of the individual soul. We need this gospel meeting to be reminded of the power of God to answer prayer. Pray for the success of this gospel meeting. Pray for the providence of God to prevail over the social ills that plague our nation, our lives and our families.

Hurt, disappointment and discouragement are among the burdens that we must bear (Romans 15:1; Galatians 6:2). Yet, these must not be allowed to defeat us in the Lord’s work. With Jesus as our example, we must busy ourselves in the Lord’s vineyard. “There is much to do, there’s work on every hand” and there is no place for idle disappointed, discouraged Christians to quit. It just is not an option. Let us support this gospel meeting with our presence that we might be built up and receive “the inheritance among all them that are sanctified” (Acts 20:32).