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The Victory Voice
PUBLISHER Victory Baptist Temple Volume No. 5
Issue No. 1 Date March 2007
In This Issue…
The Greatest Tragedy
Testimony of a Changed Life
Knowing God and Knowing God
Vain Philosophy - Bro. Robert
Watson
Announcements
The Greatest Tragedy In The World
Pastor Elmo Parker
Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way,
and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whether I go, ye
cannot come. John 8:21
In this verse, beyond any shadow of doubt, Jesus speaks of the
greatest tragedy that can ever befall a human being. I do not think that in all
the Bible, there is one single statement that ever fell from the lips of Godly
Holy Spirit inspired men, or from the lips of the Son of God that is more tragic
than the verse that has been spoken here. Jesus said, “Ye shall die in your
sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.”
Tragedy is on every hand. It seems that tragedy is being called to our attention
all the time.
Tragedies are taking place all the time. But here in this chapter you see the
miracle of a woman being saved. She was in the awful grip of sin.
One of the first funerals I was asked to preach was a man whom I am positive, by
all Bible standards and rules, had never been born from above.
You say, Bro. Parker, we hear that from you preachers all the
time. Listen, friends, if you will guarantee me that you and the people around
you won’t die, I will never mention death to you as long as I live. But, God’s
Holy Book says, “It is appointed unto man once to die.” No wonder Job said, “A
man that is born of woman is of few days and full of troubles.”
Eugene Christian wrote a book on how to live to be 100. Do you wonder how you
can live to be 100 years of age? He wrote a book and gave all the answers but he
died at the age of 69. Most people, by all facts, figures, and statistics will
not reach the age of 69 and it is doubtful that any of you will reach the age of
100. “It is appointed unto man once to die.”
People die! Get that in your mind. You are gong to meet God in death.
Think of the people that are dying without Jesus Christ. That is
a tragedy. The Bible teaches that men are going to die like they have lived,
usually. Men are going to have the eternity just like they have lived.
I read of 3 mountain climbers, in 1866, over in some European Country. They fell
down into a vast canyon near Mount Blanc. 31 years later they were found,
preserved by the frigid temperature. The pink was still on the cheeks of all of
them. Their watches were still on their wrists. Their clothes were still there.
31 years later, they were found with pink in their faces. They found them just
like they died!
If you want to know today what kind of an eternity you are going to have, just
tell me how you have lived and that is probably the kind of eternity you are
going to have.
Jesus said in John 8:22, “Whither I go ye cannot come.” Oh, if
people in America today would believe that. If you die without Christ, where
Jesus went, you cannot go. There is no doubt about where Jesus went. The Bible
makes it plain and clean. He said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” Jesus went
to heaven.
When He ascended, the Bible tells us, the heavens opened, the glory of God
shown, Jesus was caught up into the heavens and went back to the Father’s
throne. That is where He is now and Jesus said, “If you die in your sins where I
am going you cannot come.”
You can talk all you want about purgatory. I do not believe in attacking other
people’s religion, but I do believe in preaching the truth.
I challenge you to show me one word in God’s Holy Book that shows there is any
stopping ground between the lost soul and Hell. There is none whatsoever. There
is no purgatory. There is no such thing as baptizing for the dead. There is no
such thing as the prayers of the saints delivering the souls of the lost. Not
one word in the Bible about all of this! This is what Jesus was teaching here.
He said, “You die in your sins, and whither I go ye cannot come.”
Years ago there was a railroad company that did a wonderful thing. They said,
“We will give a $2,500 prize for the person who can choose 3 words that will
help us put an end to all the great tragedies across America. These great giants
of steel and steam are coming in contact with automobiles across the country and
killing thousands.” A man came up with these 3 words: STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN.
Each of those words is worth $833.33. But let me tell you, I have known people
to come up to those
3 words, and though they were worth $833.33 each and have saved the lives of
thousands yet they neither STOPPED, nor LOOKED, nor LISTENED, and have lost
their lives.
You can set under all the preaching being preached in America today. You can
listen to sermons on the radio. You can read Christian books. But, if you won’t
stop, if you won’t look, and you won’t listen to God, God’s Holy Book says you
will die in your sins. “And where I go,” Jesus said, “You cannot come.” Isn’t
that plain enough? Everyone ought to be able to understand that.
Make sure you have Christ as your Savior before you leave this
world. 
Pastor Parker and Mrs. Imogene
The Saving Power of Jesus Christ!
A Testimony of a Changed Life
I’m thankful for the opportunity to share my testimony of God’s
saving grace. I was born and raised on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. While
growing up as a young child I was taught the Navajo tradition and beliefs. But
by God’s grace and mercy, I’m thankful that later in my life my family moved in
August of 1994 to Piedmont and heard the preaching of God’s forgiveness. My soul
realized that if I were to die I would never see my loved ones. The sermon that
helped me to realize the Truth was on Jesus going a little further (Matthew
26:39). This message pierced my lost soul. I came to the end of myself on March
13, 1996 at 8:35 p.m. I remember coming forward and surrendering from my heart
saying, “I have nothing in my hands to bring.” God gave me the faith to trust
Jesus as my personal Saviour (Ephesians 2:8-10).
I’m thankful for being a part of the ministry of Victory Baptist Temple. God has
allowed my family and I to show the love of God working in our lives by allowing
us to be a part of the nursing home and bus ministry, as well as installing
God’s Word on signs around the community. Praise His Wonderful Name!
-Mrs. Darlene Hassell
Piedmont, MO
Darlene is pictured above with her family.
Mona, Norm, Darlene, and Steve
Knowing God and Knowing
God
Associate Pastor, Scott Miller
Isn’t it amazing that almost everyone you meet these days seem to know
something about God or at least they think they do? Let me ask you, how well do
you know God? “Fairly well”, you say; or, “It could be better?” While most
Independent Baptists would say that Christ is to be a believer’s chief pursuit;
sadly, in truth, He is not.
Most Christians when it comes to knowing God are more like tourists whose sole
knowledge of the country they are visiting is gained from the information they
have acquired from the destination airport. Having arrived in the country, they
listen with great interest to the receptionist at the information booth “Preach”
about the wonders of the local scenery. They have read the brochures and have
spoke with a few of the nationals at the airport. They have “raised their hands”
that they would be interested in a tour of the country, however distractions at
the airport have kept them from getting out of the airport to view the beauties
of the country themselves. So, they are content to listen to someone else tell
about the country’s wonders and beauty. A sad group of tourists these folks may
be considered to be, right? Yet, they are not unlike many believers today when
it comes to an ongoing relationship with Christ. Too many are content with
attending services and listening to the pastor “preach”, reading Gospel
magazines about God and heaven, but never really tasting that the Lord is
gracious for them.
Concerning their eternal destiny, they are better off than the lost, but they
have not made any progress in Christlikeness—they are not continuing to grow in
grace. Why? The reason is simple: if we are to know God, we must spend much time
with God. “I can’t do that; I haven’t the time,” you say. Isn’t it odd that we
have time for the things we love? What I am saying is that there can be no
growth in Christlikeness, unless there is much time beholding Christ’s likeness.
Spending much time “beholding His glory” does this.
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are
changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the
Lord.” II Corinthians 3:18
I often remind our Sunday school class that we cannot know God on the run. And,
it’s true. No relationship will survive, if the people do not spend much time
with each other. God says, “Love Me preeminently.” Our problem is that we love
ourselves and our own way so preeminently that there is no time for God—so we
really don’t know Him.
Let me challenge you as I do myself to “follow on to know the Lord.” Let me
offer a few suggestions toward this end.
- Turn off the computer or television and take these extra “chunks” of
time in order to spend time in the Lord’s presence adoring His beauty.
- Spend a day with God. Go to some uninterrupted place with your Bible, a
notebook, your prayer list and a hymnal.
- Begin to view everything God allows in your life as designed by Him in
order to draw you to Himself in humble submission and dependence.
- Set aside time in order not to be “rushed” to pray. Wait quietly in His
presence; praise Him, and then let your request be made known.
- Choose a passage of His Word to meditate and memorize. Remember, lovers
memorize what the other one likes and dislikes.
By now I hope that you get the idea. Personal relationships are never built
efficiently. They take time—enormous amounts of it. Colossians 1:28 reminds
us that Christ says to the church, He is to have the preeminence in all
things. Is He preeminent in your life? Do you know facts about Him, or do
you know Him? Isn’t it about time that you left the airport?
We are blessed by the Christian example of the Miller family.
(Asher, Andrew, Patti, Scott, and Aaron)
The Lord Is My Shepherd
Is He Yours?
1. Realize God Loves You.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.” John 3:16
2. The Bible Says All Men
Are Sinners.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God.” Romans 3:23
3. Sin Must Be Paid For.
“For The wages of sin is death…”
Romans 6:23
4. Christ Paid For Our Sins.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
5. We Must Personally Pray and Receive
Christ By Faith
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of
the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13
Vain Philosophy
or God’s Way? the choice is yours!
Bro. Robert Watson
A prevailing philosophy in our day brings us to understand the plight of
mankind. It is taught in graduate schools and implied constantly through the
media to the general public. This philosophy teaches that if a person gives
himself permission he can do anything he wishes barring almost nothing against
which even conscience would argue. This makes the person a law unto themselves
and ignores God’s laws. Thus, in the person’s own mind, he is god ruling and
reigning.
If you are a Christian who knows the Bible at all, this is nothing new. The lost
man sits on the throne of his own heart, while God is enthroned in the heart of
the saved. The lost man is captive to Satan, the saved man is servant to the
Savior, Jesus Christ. The lost live according to selfwill while the saved live
according to the will of God. The lost walk by sight, but exhibit a belief that
when they die, it’s all over. The saved walk by faith in God’s will and way and
go to live with God in Heaven when they die. The lost live by their own rules,
which they derive from their own limited thinking abilities. The saved believe
the Bible is the basis for their faith and practice. The lost are without hope
and without God in the world. The saved have Jesus with them who said, “I will
never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” They also have an abundant life.
After nearly 35 years of being a Christian, it’s quite depressing to think about
the plight of the lost; but it certainly burdens my heart to know that perhaps
someone who reads this article could be among the hopeless.
Jesus loves you more than I know how to express. He proved it when He willingly
laid down His life for you on the cruel cross of Calvary. He did this for you
and me because it was the only way that we could be forgiven of our sins. Only
His shed blood could provide the sacrifice needed to atone for our sins.
What does that mean? It means that if you repent and turn from your sin, you as
a sinner can have a right standing and fellowship with the Holy God! Fall down
and bow before Him in humility now and ask Him to forgive you and be your
Savior.
You must decide my friend. Time is running out. The lost know that if God is who
He says He is and created all things (including mankind), then they are
therefore accountable to God. That’s why new theories come out all the time as
to how man can do what he wants and try to ignore God. Do not give yourself
permission to go to Hell! I will leave you with these verses from God’s
infallible Word:
“For it is written, as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and
every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of
himself to God” Romans 14:11-12.
We appreciate the Watson family and their faithfulness.
They travel 50 miles each Sunday to attend services.
(from left: Jeremy, Robert, Becky and Lori).
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