Sunday, April 5, 2015 am
Should We Keep Having
Gospel Meetings?
We are living in a time when congregations are scaling back on
Gospel meetings.
Some have reduced these efforts to once a year while others have reduced
the length of gospel meetings.
There are many reasons why this is the case.
And since each congregation is independent and autonomous & there
is nothing compulsory in scripture about 2 full week meetings a year,
they are at liberty to decide what is best in their circumstance and we
should be careful in passing judgment against a congregation that
doesn’t engage in these efforts the way we do.
One reason that is given for eliminating Gospel meetings says that they are no longer effective. I disagree with that assessment for many reasons. I do believe that in some cases Gospel meetings are not effective, but usually it’s not because of the idea of the gospel meeting itself, but the attitudes of its members. And that is what I want to address in this lesson this morning.
I.
The challenge of Gospel
meetings
a.
Gospel meetings in times
past used to draw huge crowds from a community.
Sometimes they would be protracted (the ending not identified at
the outset) and last for weeks.
They would be well attended by the community and several of
responses – both people obeying the gospel and restorations - were not
unusual. With a simple
advertisement in local media and perhaps fliers posted throughout town
would suffice to bring in numerous visitors.
b.
Times have changed from
50-100 years ago in many ways:
i.
Religion is no longer
the focus of a society.
Today, even atheism and amorality is acceptable.
God is not a priority within most communities today.
ii.
Today, people have less
free time and many more options to occupy what free time they have.
Spending an evening attending a worship service is less important
to them. That is why many
who promise you they will come do not.
iii.
Years ago, because
options for entertainment were more limited, people would attend
meetings for something to do.
That afforded opportunities to teach them even though that might
not have been their initial desire.
iv.
The quality of preaching
has changed. The local
preacher is often as effective as a preacher who devotes much of his
time to gospel meetings.
(NOTE: The benefit of a gospel meeting preacher is a different style and
approach which can be uplifting).
v.
Also, sermons are
available everywhere and in many different formats.
So one can find answers to his questions without having to attend
a specific church.
vi.
As a result, a gospel
meeting today might only have a handful of local visitors and responses
to the gospel invitation are limited or absent.
vii.
Many use such reasoning
to discontinue gospel meetings all together or they substantially reduce
them.
c.
While that is a judgment
each congregation must make for itself, I personally believe gospel
meetings still serve a useful purpose and are needed.
I personally believe that to
abandon them all together is a mistake. I mention the above reasons not
to discourage us from such efforts but to simply make us aware and to
consider them in our planning and our approach.
Perhaps we should not have the expectations for them that were
true in years gone by, but that doesn’t mean we have NO expectations or
hope. Our reasons for
having such efforts still exist.
Let us consider a few of them.
a.
To increase our faith
– we live in challenging times.
Our faith is being assaulted continually.
We need to have our faith strengthened.
One way that is done is through the preaching of the gospel.
Rom. 10: 17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God.”
Paul in Acts 20:32 was concluding his message to the elders of Ephesus
and he said, ““So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the
word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an
inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
During our gospel meeting, we will hear the word of God proclaimed.
If we take what is taught to heart, it can build up our faith.
Friends, you do NOT become stronger in service to God by avoiding being
around brethren and studying His word together!
Acts 2:42 speaks of the brethren
continuing steadfastly
in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and
prayers.
b.
To support the preaching
of the gospel
– Romans 10:13-17 – the
context leading up to building up our faith.
The hearing comes from the gospel being preached.
it is easier for a preacher to preach if he has an audience to preach
to. (Trust me on this!)
Typically, the bigger the audience the better!
BUT, the main point of this is to ask: Do you believe preaching is
needed today? Do you believe
we need more preachers who will boldly stand for the truth? I know you
do! But do you support the
preaching of the gospel? One
thing that discourages preachers is when his expected audience lets him
down by CHOOSING to not be there.
Another thought: In far too many places to day, preaching the word of
God is being replaced with a pseudo-gospel.
The lessons are more about self-help than they are about the
truth being proclaimed. Our
desire in our gospel meetings is that the truth be preached and the
focus of the preaching.
Paul admonished Timothy in 2 Tim. 4:2-3 to preach the word, in season
and out of season.
c.
To reach the lost – how are the lost reached? Romans
10:8-13 addresses one being saved.
Vs. 13 says, “For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall
be saved.”” The idea of
calling on the name of the Lord is obeying the gospel (cf. Acts 22:16).
Romans 1:16 tells us the gospel is the power of God unto
salvation. That is what must
be preached.
But how to people hear what they need to do?
By the preaching of the gospel
(see previous points). A gospel
meeting is an opportunity to evangelize. It is an opportunity to
introduce the gospel to the world around us – our circle of influence.
Mark 16:15, Matt. 28:18-20 both
speak of the great commission.
It is a command to preach the gospel to every living creature.
We know we have a responsibility to evangelize (as we have been
emphasizing). Consider James
1:22 – be doers of the word and not hearers only.
NOTE: Because of the internet, this opportunity is extended to who knows
where? Lessons presented in
this gospel meeting are made available to a wider audience because they
are recorded. We can use
that to our advantage.
d.
To testify to the world
– don’t be ashamed of His message. Related
to the previous point, but a little different.
Again Rom. 1:16 demonstrates how Paul was NOT ashamed of the
gospel!
The world needs to see us making God a priority in our lives.
It needs to see us standing up for Him!
We need to give Him liberally of our time.
Our friends, neighbors, co-workers, social activity directors
(coaches, instructors, etc.) need to see God as a priority.
That means we CHOOSE worshipping God over other extra-curricular
activities.
AND they need to see this even if they reject the truth!
1 Cor. 1:18,
“For
the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but
to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
2 Timothy 1:8, “Therefore do
not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but
share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of
God,”
The prophets of old were continually told to go to a rebellious people
and preach. Ezekiel 3:7-9
says that the people WOULD NOT listen, but Ezekiel was still to warn
them. Noah was a
preacher of righteousness, but he only managed to save his family.
Just think about him building that ark and preaching.
Heb. 11:7 tells us that he moved with godly fear as he built that
ark.
Jesus said, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this
adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be
ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.””
(Mark 8:38)
e.
To preserve what we have
here – we
need strengthening.
Ignorance will destroy the Lord’s body.
Every opportunity we have to hear the word of God can build us
up. It can make us stronger.
The idea of edification in the New Testament deals with us being
strengthened spiritually.
Consider Eph. 4:11-16 where those who taught edified the body and
prepared them to not be deceived.
Again 2 Tim. 4:2-4 gives the reason for Timothy to preach, because the
time was coming when men would not endure sound doctrine!
Phil. 3:1 explains why Paul wrote his letters, ““Finally, my
brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is
not tedious, but for you it is safe.”
We need a steady diet of God’s word!
Gospel meetings give us an extra hearty helping of His word.
f.
To meet those we support
– this is exclusive to the church here.
The past several years, the elders here have invited men that we
support to come and preach our gospel meetings.
In so doing, it helps us to become better acquainted (or in the
case of this week – reacquainted) with the men we are supporting to
preach the gospel. This is a
good thing as Paul commended the brethren at Philippi who supported him
as being partakers with him in the gospel – Phil 4:14-17.
g.
These are some reasons why gospel meetings are still effective.
Perhaps others can be added to these, but it is my hope that we
see here reason to continue such efforts.
a.
As I conclude this
lesson, I want to mention some practical things we can do to make this
effort effective.
Substantial resources are being spent to make this effort possible – let
us be wise stewards with those resources by doing all that we can.
b.
Prepare
–
i.
Invite your friends and
neighbors - the best potential for visitors to a gospel meeting is
through the personal invitation. That
is where almost ALL community visitors will come from!
ii.
Pray for the success of
this effort.
iii.
Make arrangements so
that you can participate as much as possible.
Plan to be here! How
much are you willing to sacrifice to show the world the church is a
priority?
iv.
Prepare your attitude –
you need to intend to make this effort as impactful to you as it can be.
That means having a proper attitude toward being here.
Make it a priority!
c.
Be here –
you will not benefit from this effort if you are not here!
Even if you listen to the lessons at a later time, it’s not the
same as being here.
d.
Be enthusiastic
– don’t treat this effort like the children of Israel in Malachi’s day
who thought it a weariness to worship God (Mal. 1:7-14, esp. 13).
i.
In worship –
participate, giving your best to the worship.
After all, it is a sacrifice to God – Heb. 13:15.
ii.
In welcoming our
visitors – let them know we are honored to have them as our guests.
This might help us invite them back
iii.
In applying the lessons
– all the knowledge in the world is irrelevant if we don’t apply it!
e.
Follow up
i.
If your friends and
neighbors came, find out what they thought and see if they desire
further teaching.
ii.
As we have noted, all
lessons will be recorded and available on our website and for
distribution.
iii.
Continue to apply the
lessons learned in your life.
Our theme for this gospel meeting is “Learning True
Discipleship”.
Consider the lessons and strive to become a better disciple of Christ.
In conclusion:
Gospel meetings serve a purpose and we should continue them.
Our goal ought to be for such efforts to be successful,
particularly in God’s eyes – which means we have put forth our best
effort every way we can. We
plant the seed and water it, but we leave the increase to Him.
BUT, having said that, when it comes to reaching the lost around
us, let us not make this the ONLY thing we do! May this and every effort
we put forth be pleasing in His sight and thus “relevant”.
Think about it!