Chambersburg Bible Church

As we think about the faithfulness of the Lord at this time of the year, we give thanks for you and pray that you will experience his goodness and rejoice in him.  We live in a world filled with turmoil, uncertainties, failures and sometimes disappointments. Nevertheless, we can still rejoice in the goodness of the Lord.

David was a man whose life was filled with many ups and downs. For example, from a giant-slaying hero he was reduced to a fugitive by the jealous King Saul. From the position of a just and righteous king, he dropped into the valley of despondency-after he became guilty of adultery, concealment of sin and murder, and but for the pardon of God would faced the death sentence. He knew firsthand how it felt to be loved today and hated the following day. How it felt to be betrayed by those he had loved and trusted. His own son staged a coup and drove him out of his palace and would have succeeded in overthrowing him, but for God’s own intervention. David knew how it felt to be chastised of God for doing the right thing in the wrong way.    And yet his praises in the Psalms out number every Bible writer.  Yes, and he came to the end of his life not in the valley of despondency, but as God’s victorious warrior. Indeed a man after God’s own heart!  How did David accomplish this feat in spite of the contrasts and ironies in his Life? Third, He recognized his own weakness and shortcomings and sought to be strong in the Lord.

For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.  As for man, his days are as the grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.  For the wind passeth over it , and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more” (Psalm 103:14-16Psalm 103:14-16
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. ¹⁵ As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. ¹⁶ For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. it is...: Heb. it is not  
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Fourth, He focused on the goodness of the Lord so that he would not forget His benefits.

“But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children.  To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.  The Lord has prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, ye his angels that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.  Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.  Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion; bless the Lord O my soul” (Psalm 103:17-22Psalm 103:17-22
17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; ¹⁸ To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. ¹⁹ The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. ²⁰ Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. that excel...: Heb. mighty in strength ²¹ Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. ²² Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.  
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Like David, let us accept God’s forgiveness as well as his chastisements, when necessary, in good faith. Let us recognize our weakness and thus depend on him for strength. And let us learn to count our blessings so that we do not forget his goodness unto us.  Then could we, also, wholeheartedly exclaim:  “Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me; bless his holy name!”

Think about it: He forgives us, Heals us, redeems us from destruction, Crowns us with Loving kindness, Feeds us, Judges us righteously, Reveals his will to us. He is merciful and gentle towards us. He shows us compassion rather than consume us in his anger. God is faithful! “O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good for his mercy endureth forever” AMEN!

Happy Thanksgiving!

George A. Dapaah

Text: Galatians 6:1-10Galatians 6:1-10
6 ¹ Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. If: or, although ² Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. ³ For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. ⁴ But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. ⁵ For every man shall bear his own burden. ⁶ Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. ⁷ Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. ⁸ For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. ⁹ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. ¹⁰ As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.  

Topic: The spiritual harvest is always the same kind as what is sown

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Matthew 13 depicts the Kingdom Parables, and Christ explains their purpose in verses 10-11. In all, there are seven such parables dealing with the Kingdom of God:

• Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-9Matthew 13:3-9
  3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; ⁴ And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: ⁵ Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: ⁶ And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: ⁸ But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. ⁹ Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.  
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• Parable of the tares (Matthew 13:24-30Matthew 13:24-30
  24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: ²⁵ But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. ²⁶ But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. ²⁷ So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? ²⁸ He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? ²⁹ But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.  
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• Parable of the Mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32Matthew 13:31-32
  31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: ³² Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.  
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• Parable of the leaven (Matthew 13:33Matthew 13:33
  33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. measures: the word in the Greek is a measure containing about a peck and a half, wanting a little more than a pint  
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• Parable of hidden treasure (Matthew 13:44Matthew 13:44
  44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.  
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• Parable of pearl (Matthew 13:45-46Matthew 13:45-46
  45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: ⁴⁶ Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.  
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• Parable of the dragnet (Matthew 13:47-50Matthew 13:47-50
  47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: ⁴⁸ Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. ⁴⁹ So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, ⁵⁰ And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  
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Focus on Galatians 6:6-10Galatians 6:6-10
6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. ⁷ Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. ⁸ For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. ⁹ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. ¹⁰ As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.  

• The overall principle is that we reap what we sow!
  • What we do with our material things is an evidence of how we value spiritual things (Matthew 6:21Matthew 6:21
    21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  
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• Matthew 13:7Matthew 13:7
  7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:  
  tells us that God takes this principle seriously
  • Do not be deceived, God is not mocked
  • Christian’s live their lives in full view of God
• What a man sows, that shall he also reap
  • We can invest in the flesh
  • We can invest in the spirit

We appreciate the opportunity to update you personally about what the Lord is doing in our lives and ministry in recent days.

The biggest event in our lives lately has been our move from an apartment to a house. As you can imagine, this required a great deal of time and effort, and as it followed on the heels of my parents’ visit in September, we have nearly forgotten what it is like to have a normal routine. With regards to our move, we ask that you pray for good opportunities to meet neighbors and begin friendships with them. People tend to be quite guarded when meeting strangers, so we definitely need the Lord’s help even in meeting neighbors who may not even be interested in meeting us.

I have been making efforts to become involved in the Religious Education program in our local high school. Initially, it seemed like I had a wide-open door for this, but progress in this has been stalled by our busyness lately. However, I have an appointment with the headmaster next week.  Pray also that the head of RE would be open to my helping in some of his classes.

Lord willing, in the next couple weeks I will also begin volunteering at the local youth centre, helping with some life skills/job training for older high school students. This is not something in which I can overtly evangelize, but it does provide opportunities for building relationships, and I am free to talk about the gospel if the students bring up the subject of faith, etc. Please pray for an opening for the gospel through this opportunity.

With our move, we are also anticipating that we can use our new home for ministry in the form of hospitality. Obviously, this adds to Marcia’s load as homemaker, but it’s a ministry she is eager to take up. Please pray that we could get settled and then that we could make the most of the home the Lord has given us for the gospel’s sake.

Thank you again for your prayers and support!

Every blessing,
The Steve & Marcia McLean Family

www.mcleanstowales.org