After a nice trip down in beautiful weather for November, we arrived at the Bible Baptist Church a little early and were greeted by several of the members who were taking care of last minute preparations. A good number of pastors with their wives and some missionaries gathered in and the service started promptly at 7 with some great hymns.
Bro. Don Rice, Pastor of the Faith Baptist Church in Fritch, Tx, who has begun a weeks meeting yesterday with the Church was the Monday evening preacher. With a few opening light remarks, enough to get the congregation in harmony with his unique personality, he began his message with some references to our forefathers in the real Baptist faith, citing that we not only owe them gratitude for their many sacrifices, but also our faithfulness to stand for the principals and docrines of what real Baptists are.
He referred to Jude verse 3 in the scripture injunction that we should earnestly contend for the faith, but to also realize that with Paul to Timothy, realize that we are really in perilous times. Bro. Rice then titled his message, "Why Are We Where We Are?" He showed how that while the true faith was being held by many in those early centuries, that the devil also developed his own rival religion. Both sides had detractors and emergers who came apart from their roots. These various factors began to merge themselves. Much of the Christian movements and personalities that we hold up actually were not clear on some major doctrines and in particular did not establish Bible believing, Bible preaching churches. Instead the general consensus came up with the idea of a universal Church. That opinion has brought many of us Fundamental Baptists to where we are not welcome nor accepted in the inter-faith community. (as if we wanted to be.)
This message was a very good description and gave clarification as to why and how we still see some drifting away toward the general consensus christianity.
Tuesday morning the folks at Bible Baptist prepared a full breakfast with trimmings. Then promptly at 9 Bro. Gary Mahlock, song leader started the service with a couple of hymns. An offering was taken to help Bro. Darren Duescher and his church purchase a new location. The total offering was $805.00.
Then I was invited to the pulpit of Pastor Pyle's. I started with a reading from John chapter 8:19-36 focusing on The truth and the freedoms in Christ. Because there is so many individual interpretations of what that freedom entails, I took us back to the first chapter of John and beginning there, built a stage in which the statement of Jesus about freedom could be acurately and adequately explained. Jesus, who is God in the flesh built his ministry with and through the disciples very purposefully; first in simplicity but ultimately bringing his message to the point that the world disregarded his visuals and took a strangle hold upon his doctrine. We today can expect no less. The neighboring world wants a christianity of visuals, but they despise and hate our doctrine and standards.
The second preacher was Bro. Robert Whorton, Pastor of the Liberty Baptist Church in Lamar, MO. Because the theme of the meeting had taken John 8:32, he also focused upon the word truth. He tied in 2 Timothy 2:14-16. The Word of God, which is absolute truth, must be remembered and considered, not substituted by unprofitable words that subvert hearers. Nor, profane and vain babblings that increases unto ungodlessness. We are to study the truth of the Word in order to bring our world under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit and to rightly divide the Word of God amidst the incurring confusion. Returning to John 8:31,32 Bro. Whorton emphasized the fact that in order to know the freedom in Christ, we must continue in the Word becoming disciples.
Bro. Don Rice again took the pulpit as the third preacher of the morning. With a few more allusions to Baptist history and its personalities, ultimately took us to Ephesians 6:10-13. The title of his message was, "When to Stand and When to Run." He connected the subject of standing to the priests of Joshua three whose job was to stand in the middle of the Jordan while approximately 2 million Jews came across dry shod. The test as to whether to stand or run was dependent upon a huge mountain of water that formed on the source side of the divide. Bro. Rice gave 13 reasons that we should stand and not do anything else, when and where God wants us to stand. Though others may be allowed to run, we must stand even if its not popular to stand and we have to stand alone.
It was a good meeting and the hospitality that Bro. Pyle and his church showed was tremendous.
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