Dale Ridge church of Christ

Of the many inspiring examples to arise from what is most often called the ”American Restoration Movement”, one of my favorites is an episode from the life of “Raccoon” John Smith.  A mighty preacher of the Gospel, Smith was most active through frontier Tennessee and Kentucky.  I was first introduced to this event through V. Glenn McCoy’s Return to the Old Paths wonderful volume of Restoration history.

The year is 1824.  Upon hearing that brother Alexander Campbell would be preaching in Flemingsburg Kentucky, “Raccoon” John – then affiliated with the Baptist denomination - set out to hear the man of whom so much was being said.  20 hard miles on horseback later, Smith met Campbell, and heard the unadulterated Gospel preached, probably for the first time in his life.

The sermon ended, and Smith turned to a neighbor in the audience saying, “Is it not hard Billy, to ride 20 miles, as I have done, just to hear a man preach 30 minutes!”

The friend kindly replied that John had better check his watch, for surely the lesson had been longer.  Upon doing so, “Raccoon” John Smith found that Alexander Campbell had preached the fourth chapter of Galatians for 2 hours and 30 minutes.

What an example we have here, regarding the timeliness, and timelessness, of the Gospel of Christ.  As the power of God unto salvation, the Gospel is without limitation – Romans 1:16.  The Gospel will well serve all ages of men, at all periods in history, until the Lord’s return.  It is therefore, timely as well as timeless.  Yet, why do many today persevere in attempting to restrain the Gospel, by limiting the time which we will gladly devote to it’s proclamation?

Often we like to fool ourselves into thinking that our modern lives are busier than any previous generation.  That a man like “Raccoon” John simply didn’t have the distractions, the cares, the tugs at him from all sides, that we do.  Friends, this just isn’t the case.  The modern generation, particularly here in America, enjoys more leisure time than any people in history.  For most of us, our time is indeed our own.  Shall we not use it more wisely?  Ephesians 5:15-17, Colossians 4:5 and many other passages remind us that we are to redeem, or utilize, our time carefully.

Has the power of the Gospel changed since 1824?  Does the Word of God warrant any less of our attention?  Should the preaching of the Gospel, our attentiveness to the cause of Christ, and full devotion in mind, body, and spirit be any less today?  Has God adjusted his expectations of us, to account for the hustle and bustle of modernity? 

Upon searching for a new preacher, a congregation carefully evaluated several men.  The most significant component to the evaluation was not strict adherence to the Word, not soundness of doctrine, not quality of the delivery.  The main point of concern was each man’s ability to restrain his sermon to the allotted 20 minutes.  God forbid!  My brethren, these things ought not so to be (James 3:10)

Jesus Christ revealed an important fact about his Father :

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.  John 4:24

I suggest to you that when we worship with the time clock in hand, we prevent ourselves from worshipping in spirit, or in truth.  When the Gospel is proclaimed, and our minds are focused on what we shall eat for lunch, the phone calls we are missing, or the sale that ends today at the shopping mall, we shall never worship acceptably.  To do so is a gross disrespect for the Gospel.

Let us be those that give God and the Gospel the full respect due.  Let us eagerly lay aside our watches, cell phones, pagers, and other reminders of worldly weights, when we enter into worship.  In our personal study, may we prioritize our time wisely, and forfeit items that will limit the minutes and hours we allot the Bible daily.

A verse from the book of Psalms serves us well as a reminder of the reverence to be afforded God.  These words arrest us:

Be still, and know that I am God:  I will be exalted among the heathen, and I will be exalted in the earth.  Psalm 46:10

May we become still, and gladly devote our fullest attention to Him.

Next week:  An Overdose Problem?

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Filed under: Authors, Gregg Alexander on September 5th, 2008