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Barsabus - A Great Man Too
By Doug Post
Sept 19, 2004

        Judas fell headlong. A reminder of the depths sin will take an a soul (Acts 1:17-20). Judas chose another commission and it wasn’t GREAT! His death left a vacancy among the apostles (Acts 1:20). By divine guidance (Acts 1:24,26), the apostles chose a man to take the place of Judas. Matthias was chosen. He was a great man, since his appointment was based upon his spiritual character (Acts 1:21). But what about the Barsabus – what kind of man was he?
         He Was Faithful To Christ (Acts 1:22). Faithfulness to Christ is defined as: “…Proving thyself loyal and true, to the extent of being ready to die for Christ's sake." Reliability, trustworthiness, and submissiveness, describe Barsabus. He was numbered among the disciples. He endured the difficult teaching of Christ (John 6:66-69). He didn’t turn away, even after Calvary (Acts 1:22). Faithfulness, in God's eyes, is a sign of greatness.
         He Was Recognized As A Spiritual Leader (Acts 1:23). I see the appointment of Barsabus as the result of his spiritual excellence among the "company." He was certainly seen as a leader. A fervent, humble and obedient discipleship does set one apart (1 Pet. 2:5-9).
         He Was Willing (Acts 1:22-23). Barsabas did not shirk the call to duty. No excuses could have been uttered, for the apostles were left to "give forth their lots" (McGarvey's Original Commentary on Acts, 22) to pick Judas' successor. It is rare to find men both qualified and eager to serve, men of Isaiah's ilk who cry, "Here am I, send me" (Isa. 6:8). Willingness precedes work, and Barsabas was ready to "take part in this ministry" (Acts 1:25).
         Faith, works, and attitude all add up to greatness in God's eyes, even if not in men's blinded vision. Though not God's choice to fill the shoes of an apostle, Barsabas was distinguished as a servant. How wonderful one day it will be to walk with Barsabas on the streets of gold and thank him for his example of greatness in service to our Eternal King!

Do Not Add to His Words

By Doug Post

“Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:5-6 ESV).

God speaks to us through His word, the Bible. In the pages of Scripture we find all we need to be the people God intends for us to be. Because the Bible is true, it provides access into a relationship with God in Christ, which blesses every aspect of our lives.

When we follow the teachings of Scripture, God's grace shields us – providing a refuge from the daily struggles, which come from living in a world of evil. Beyond giving instruction for our lives, so we can know God's law, the Bible provides an assurance of God's mercy. Through Scripture we not only know what we ought to do, but we know how to find forgiveness when we fail to keep God's law.

Receiving the Bible as it is, the word of God, we must reverence what he tells us and take care not to "add to His words." As this passage tells us, when we move beyond God's truth, we become liars.

Reverence! Let me repeat that – REVERENCE to God's word prohibits God's people from adding unauthorized additions to worship or to the work of the church. We must do God's things in God's way. The word of God is to be revered because God is to be revered. In a sense, the Bible is God because Scripture contains the very words from His mind by which He communicates His will to us. Paul makes this very point – that God is analogous to Scripture: “The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham…” (Gal.3:8). Obviously, Scripture cannot see into the future but God can. Therefore, it was God, through the words He used in Scripture, which “foresaw” this blessing. Paul equates God and Scripture and both are to be revered!

The Bible must remain at the center of our lives as God's people. Personal Bible study, family devotional times, the worship and teaching of the congregation are all important. Only through the truth of Scripture can we find the light to guide our lives into an eternity with God.

Accomplishment Has A Price

Harvey was denounced for affirming the circulation of the blood; Galileo was persecuted for saying that the earth went around the sun; Pasteur was branded a quack by his professional colleagues for advancing the germ theory of disease; Alexander Graham Bell was ridiculed for promoting a device to send the human voice over a wire. Many of the prophets were killed or mocked by the people for their proclamations. If you sprint ahead of the crowd, you must expect the scorn of some. If you preach like a prophet, you had better be prepared to die like a prophet.
(THE PREACHER'S PERIODICAL, Searcy, Arkansas

Defeating the Entitlement Attitude – Part Two
By Doug Post

1. God Has Every Right to Treat Me Differently than His Other Servants.

A.      I like things to be fair, don’t you? Fair and equitable. Fair and balanced.

Everyone gets the same treatment. That’s the way it ought to be. But is life that way?

If life isn’t fair, surely God is fair, right?

B.       No, He isn't. In our case He is more than fair, and we ought to be thankful for that, because if God were fair, we’d all be headed for hell. God is more than fair because, as the Psalmist said in Psalm 103:10: "He has not dealt with us according to our sins…." If God were to deal with us fairly, my friends, since the penalty for sin is death, we’d all be dead.

If I received from God the forgiveness of my sins and from that point onward my life was miserable beyond all imagination, it would still be true that He had been more than fair with me.

C.       Even though God has been more than fair with all of us, we still sometimes expect things to be equitable among us.

Jesus reassured Peter that He still had a place of service for him even though prior to the crucifixion, the apostle had denied Him three times. In a wonderful display of grace described in John 21, Jesus said to Peter three times, "Tend my lambs," "Shepherd my sheep," "Tend my sheep."

John 21:18-19:

D.      When we become jealous of other Christians or upset at God because things go differently for us than for them, it is nothing more than that old entitlement attitude popping up. But remember, if we got what we truly deserved, we'd be in hell.

2. God Has Every Right to Take Back Anything He Has Given Me.

A.      Perhaps the clearest example of this is the case of Job. In the first chapter of his journal he writes of the terrible loss he experienced in Satan's first attack on his integrity.

B.       Do you remember Job's response? (Job 1:21).

C.       It all revolves around that third point of last week's message: Everything that God gives us is a gift. Yet some fail to understand this at the expense of their souls. How many do you know who have cursed God when He allowed a tragic loss? I tell you there are many who give up on God completely in the event of major bereavement.

D.      Everything we have from God is a gift. A slave owns nothing. All he possesses is really the possession of his master. As such, his Master can take it back anytime and be fully within his rights. It is wrong for us to curse God or lose faith in God when we have losses because it all belongs to Him!

Conclusion

A.     I find that there are still some holdout places in my own life where the entitlement attitude exists. I'm ashamed that it hasn't been sufficiently challenged by me. I know it needs to be. Perhaps you feel the same way.

B.       With God’s help, I intend to challenge those holdout places and defeat what remains of the entitlement attitude in me. I have asked God to help me remember these words of our text whenever I need them most. And I intend to heed them whenever I do remember them. Perhaps you will want to do the same.
C. God bless you all as He works in your lives to make you more and more like His Son.