THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER
"Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. " (John 5:39)

VOLUME 4, NUMBER 48, NOVEMBER 28, 2004

TEARING DOWN TO BUILD

            I think I should have been a construction worker  Not really, but I love to do that kind of work when the opportunity presents itself and I enjoy watching others do it when I can find the time.  That is why I am thoroughly enjoying the expansion of the building and the parking lot that is going on right now.

            There is a facet of the work that we are doing that seems to have a parallel in the spiritual realm.  Before we could expand the auditorium and increase the seating capacity, it was necessary to tear down the walls and rooms that were in the way.  Before the parking lot can be poured, it has been necessary to tear down the trees and remove the dirt to have it match the grade specified on the plans.  Some of the old curb will also have to be torn down to allow access to the new parking and to permit the proper flow of water.  Sometimes it is necessary to tear down before you can build.

            I was reminded of the call of Jeremiah that we find in Jeremiah 1:4-10.  “Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.  Then said I, Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.  But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.  Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.  Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth.  And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.”

            Jeremiah’s call was to be God’s mouthpiece, pronouncing various judgments upon the nations, including and primarily, the nation of Judah.  However, his work was not purely negative.  He had to tear down the ungodly and immoral ways in which the people had involved themselves in order to rebuild devotion toward the Lord.  The idolatrous practices had to be destroyed before faithful worship and service could once again be built.

            It is no different for the faithful child of God today as we go about trying to teach people the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Our work is both positive and negative.  People will not recognize that they are sinners and need to repent and obey the Lord unless they are shown the devastating nature of sin and convicted of the fact that they are involved in it.  Christians who are soft on sin and afraid to offend anyone involved in it are trying to build when there is something in the way.  One who is involved in the sins of denominationalism, and has been their whole life, will not leave it without being first convinced that such is wrong when compared to the truth.  That doesn’t mean that we go in swinging a wrecking ball and battering away.  All of the demolition that is done in construction is done with a plan and a purpose – to enable the desired building to take place.

            It is the same in the spiritual realm.  Sometimes previously held beliefs must be torn down before the building can take place – but it is the building that is the ultimate goal, not the tearing down.  People must be made to understand that they are sinners and in need of salvation, but it must be done in such a way as to prepare the ground for the building of faith.  It cannot be done in such a way as the render the ground unfit for future growth.

            “One should carefully note that the prophet’s work is both positive and negative.  Not only did he reprove and rebuke the sins of the people; he also exhorted them to do the things that God would have them to do.  This is the work of all teachers of God’s truth who seek to please the Lord (2 Tim. 4:2).  One cannot be ‘all positive’ or ‘all negative’ and do the job properly in God’s sight.  If one really loves the Lord and all people, he will rebuke and reprove sin in such a way that sinners clearly understand what is wrong.  However, he will also exhort them in the good things of God and encourage them to follow righteousness.  This is balanced preaching and teaching that will please God and save precious souls.  In the final analysis, all proper ‘negative’ preaching has the positive purpose of trying either to save the sinner’s soul or to prevent the righteous from violating the will of God.”

(Humphries, John, Truth Commentaries, Jeremiah, p. 6)

                                    Greg Litmer

YOU MUSTN’T QUIT

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest! If you must – but never quit.

Life is queer, with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won if he’d stuck it out;
Stick to your task, though the pace seems slow –
You may succeed with one more blow.

Success is failure turned inside out –
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt –
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –
It’s when things seem worst that YOU MUSTN”T QUIT!

The Book of Virtues, William Bennett