The Omagh Church of Christ

Pressure is everywhere. A certain amount of it is neccessary for the proper funtion of the universe as well as society. It's all around us, actually. There are certain amounts of pressure in every conversation, a certain amount in every business deal, a certain amount in entertainment, the arts, on the playground, it's everywhere. Your car will not run without it, to much or to little will cause it to run rough or not at all.

There are large amounts of it in some places. Take the media for instance. Television has large amounts of pressure in it. It reflects the thinking of those who produce it's programs. It shapes morality, and peoples thinking. Newpaper ads, radio commercials, magazine advertising. What about sales people? They are constantly trying to sell us that car, or insurance products they are all applying pressure. You can't escape it, it's part of life.

There is pressure to buy. Pressure to conform. Pressure to change. Pressure to participate. Pressure to perform. There is subtle pressure and obvious pressure. And without the proper blood pressure you would be dead in just a few seconds.

Some pressure is good. The gospel has as it's purpose, putting pressure on people to change them. For instance, "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God" (Rom 10:17). Faith is produced when somone comes under the pressure of the evidence. The Apostle John said, " . . . many other signs did Jesus in the midst of His disciples which are not written in this book but these are written that you might believe . . . "(John 20:30-31). The evidence is strong enough to bring conviction to people. That is good pressure! There is good presure in a good influence. That is what pressure is all about. When I was a kid the friends that I had where good boys and girls. We were constantly putting pressure on each other to do what was right. That pressure kept us out of trouble.

Truth, properly used, will be pressing. "Preach the word. Be instant (urgency is pressure) in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and doctrine" (2 Tim 4:2). This preaching is motivational. It causes us to react in a strong way. This kind of urgency brings pressure to bear on the sinner.

Personal pressure is important too. Paul said, ". . . forgetting the things that are behind and reaching forth to the things that are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the upward calling of God in Jesus Christ" (Phil 3:14). The word press is the word from which the word pressure is derived. It is hard work to go to heaven. It takes putting pressure on yourself to. Without putting pressure on yourself to do better and better, you can't go. nobody will coast to heaven.

We live in a pressure cooker of a society. We are pressed with temptation on every side to absent ourselves from the work of righteouness and join the crowd in their sinful lifestyles. Temptation is the pressure to do wrong. It is, " . . . common to man" (1 Cor 10:12). But the fact that it is common does not mean that we can or should participate. We must not let evil influences pressure us into wrong; be strong, "resist the Devel and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).

Some pressure is good, lets make sure we know what they are and allow them to have the desired affect upon us. Some pressures are bad, lets make sure we do not delude ourselves into thinking we can give in "just a little bit." To do so is to subject yourself to a pressure that may become so intense that you can't turn back from it's hold.

Jesus Christ is the central theme of all gospel preaching (Acts 5:42, 8:35, 17:3, 1 Cor 1:23). Without Him there is no gospel, no message of salvation. What exactly does it mean to preach Jesus?

It means we preach Jesus as savior. Some would say that we; "need to preach the man more than the plan." But that is impossible and such thinking is erroneous. The man is the plan and the plan is the man. You can not separate the two. You cannot preach one without the other. Jesus is Lord and Savior. When the angels announced the birth of our Lord they said, "For unto us is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).

It means to preach Jesus as Lord. Certainly, Christ is Savior but He is also Lord. All that He commands are bound up in His lordship. The term "Lord" indicates a need for respect and obedience; it is from the term "kurios" which was first an adjective used to describe one with power and authority. If you accept Him as Savior it means you accept all that He says as Lord. That means that you accept His authroity just as you accept His grace. In Acts 2:36 as the first gospel sermon was preached, and brought to a climax, Peter said, "Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made this same Jesus, whom you have crucified both Lord and Christ."

It means to preach Jesus as our guide. "All we like sheep have gone asray, we have turned everyone to his own way" (Isa 53:6). In order for us to return to the right way a guide is necessary. Jesus is that guide. There is none other; only He is qualified to be our guide, for only he can sympathize with our needs (Heb 4:15-16). John, in his vision on Patmos said, "For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne, shall lead them unto living waters . . . " We certainly are in need of such favor. And He is there to be of such service.

Preaching Jesus is preaching hope (1 Cor 15:19-22). "Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" is what keeps us afloat in the troubled seas of life. Jesus is the means of our sustenance in the middle of a desert which offers almost nothing at all to sustain us. Hope is the confident expectation that we shall be someday at home with Him.

Preaching Jesus means preaching Him as our example. Jesus lived amoung us and was subjected to every human feeling. He is our example of every good thing, our example of every virtue, every grace, every noble thing. Without Him we have no way to know how life should be lived. As the song says, "He the great example is a pattern for me."

Finally, to preach Jesus is to preach him as our judge. Those who see only the grace and mercy of Jesus have greatly misjudged His essential nature. In order to be God He must abhor evil, but He must pronounce judgement on all evil doers. Jesus came as Savior and Lord; He also came as our great hope. But the final work of Jesus will be to judge the world. We need to be impressed with the love and mercy of Jesus, but let us not forget "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

There is a fictious story about a beggar and a rich man. The beggar was dependent for his living on what came from the rich man. One day the rich man was in a bind and needed the beggar to run an errand for him. The beggar responded, "I solicit alms. I don't run errands." This ungrateful and reprehensible attitude is the same as many people have toward God. They want all the benefits from having a relationship with God but they do not want to assume any of the reponsibilities or duties that come from having a relationship with God. We have seen this attitude in many who come to the church building looking for a hand out. They will use the church for themselves but have no interest or concern about God or the things that pertain to Him.

Many approach religion asking, "What is in it for me?" Much of the religious appeal being made today is based upon the expectation of material gain. People are lead to believe that coming to God will get them a better house, new car, larger salary, finer clothes. Some respond, seeking only their personal and material advantage without any concern for the things of God. While there are definate advantages to serving God, these are not the primary reasons.

In 2 Samuel 23 David had sinned in numbering the people against the wiches of God. As punishment God gave David three choices. First, he could endure three years of famine. Second, he could flee for three months before his enemies. Third, he could go through three days of pestilence. David chose number three. As the angel of God approached Jerusalem, God relented and told David to go and sacrifice on the threshing floor of Arunah the Jebusite. "Than Arunah said, why has the lord my king come to his servant?" After David informed him of his purpose for being there, Arunah than offered to give David everything he owned so that David could make the sacrifice but David said, " . . . No, but I will surly buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver." (2 Samuel 24:24)

Anything worth while involves a cost in terms of either dollars, energy, self-discipline, study, time, stickability, burning the midnight oil. Success is also costly in the religious world. Acceptable service to God  is demanding (Luke 9:23). What does your religioun cost you? Does it cost you your money? " . . . the Lord loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor 9:6-7). Does it cost you your time? Most people think an hour or two or three will get them to heaven. Does it cost you your talents? Are you using them in His service? Does it cost you in your manner of life? We are to be different from the rest of the world and sometimes that involves sacrifice.

Religioun without cost will not be beneficial, faith without cost will let you down when your really need it the most. The great thing is that you can never out give God " . . . try me now in this says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven and opouur out for you such blessings that there will not be room enough to receive it." (Mal 3:10).

The bottom line is simply this. Are you willing to pay the price of being a faithful child of God? Will we pay that price? Or are we the kind of people who say, "I solicit alms. I don't run errands."

Who has the answers to the ultimate mysteries of nature, history, redemption? Who can answer the questions regarding the perfect nature of diety or humanity? Who? Only God! But has God spoken-revealed truth? If God has not spoken  than man is in darkness regarding those subjects which have agitated human thought in every generation.

If God is the father of the human race and if God is love, would he not make himself known to his children? The bible states with unequivocation that "God hath spoken!" the bible affirms that God hath spoken in times past by the prophets but now has spoken to us through his Son (Heb 1:1-2). Over two thousand times biblical writers speak of the origin of their message as "thus saith the Lord" (Amos 3:1, 2 Samuel 232:1-2).

While God spoke through the prophets at different times, with Jesus it was different. Jesus was not a partial revelation of God; Jesus was the full and complete revelation of God. In fact Jesus displayed not some of the truth but ALL the truth (John 14:6-9).

It is important to understand that the word "hath" is present perfect tense, and means that God "has already spoken." This does not mean that God is speaking, or that God continues to speak, or that God will speak in the future. It means that God completely delivered his message nearly 2000 years ago. Since the message is complete, it is therefore final and has been placed in written form. The word "scriptures" confirms this fact.

It would be out of harmony with the character of God to give us a written revelation that is impossible to understand, and than holding us responsible for knowing and understanding God's message. In Ephesians 3:1-7, Paul states that the Ephesian christians had heard about God's gracious gift, that they had not previously known of. Paul had "written down that revelation" and when they "read" what he wrote they could "understand it."

One question remains to be answered. Is the message of God authoritative? Paul commanded that we act by the authority of the Lord in "Whatever we do in word or deed" (Col 3:17). How can one do something by the authority of Jesus, unless Jesus somewhere by precept, example, or necessary infrence, authorizes that activity? The only place the Lord authorizes men to act is in the scriptures. It is also by these same scriptures that men can know how to be saved. John wrote, "These things I have written that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God" (John 5:13). Yes, God has spoken-but are we listening?