|
"...Shepherd the flock of God which is among
you, serving as overseers..." (1 Peter 5:2)
Elders
Morris Bass, Rick Holt , Joe
Price |
"...let them serve as deacons,
being found blameless..." (1 Tim. 3:10)
Deacons
Aaron Bass, Rich Brooks, Mike Finn
John Hague, Dan Head |
"And take...the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17)
In this issue:
Tactics of
Intimidation
Sermon Outlines:
Noteworthy News:
Seeing what we want to see
Tactics of Intimidation
Joe R. Price
The wall of Jerusalem was
“broken down, and its gates (were) burned with fire”, bringing distress
and reproach upon Israel (Neh. 1:3). Nehemiah, cupbearer of King Artaxerxes,
petitioned God for mercy and the king for assistance in rebuilding the
wall. Both requests were granted, and Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to
accomplish the task (Neh. 1-2).
The wall that surrounds the
church, “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem”, the
“general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven”
– a wall of separation between what is common and what is holy – is in
disrepair today (Heb. 12:22-23; Micah 4:1-4; Ezek. 42:20; 44:23). The
incursion of immorality, the proliferation of false teaching, the love of
other things and the deterioration of neglect are just some of the things
that contribute to the crumbling of the wall that divine truth erects around
the city of God, the church of Christ.
The walls of ancient
Jerusalem were rebuilt by stone and timber and hard work. The walls of
heavenly Jerusalem, the church, will be built up and maintained by doing the
hard work of teaching, believing and obeying the word of God: “And He
Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some
pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12); “So
now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is
able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are
sanctified” (Acts 20:32). To attempt to build the walls of the church
with the mortar of the social gospel, organizational restructuring or any
other thing that deviates from the “pattern of sound words” will
weaken its defenses and lead to its moral and spiritual collapse.
God continues to look for
those who will stand in the gap and build the wall of truth and holiness
that protects His people: “So I sought for a man among them who would
make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I
should not destroy it; but I found no one” (Ezek. 22:30). He found none
in Ezekiel’s day, and Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon. In Nehemiah’s
day, people were found who worked together to rebuild the wall of the city
and remove the reproach that had fallen upon the land.
As in
Nehemiah’s day, God’s people must “rise up and build”, working hard
to close the gaps through which the enemy overruns and overwhelms souls.
The reproach of sin among God’s people must be removed, and innocent souls
must be protected (Neh. 2:17-18; 4:6; 2 Cor. 10:3-6).
Today as then, we must build in
faith, knowing that by doing so, “the God of heaven Himself will prosper
us” (Neh. 2:20; Rom. 8:31-39).
There were enemies who did
not want the wall of Jerusalem rebuilt. They wanted Nehemiah to miserably
fail. These opponents did their best to hinder and defeat that noble work.
It goes without saying that similar objectives exist today. The tactics of
intimidation that were used anciently to try to frustrate and defeat the
work of Nehemiah and the Jews are still used today by the enemies of
righteousness. Like Elymas, who tried to turn Sergius Paulus away from the
faith, there continue to be “false apostles, deceitful workers,
transforming themselves into apostles of Christ” who serve darkness
rather than light (2 Cor. 11:13-15). Nevertheless, the light of God’s word
will expose every fraudulent claim to divine approval as it illuminates the
way of truth (Jno. 3:19-21).
As we work to build and
fortify the walls of Zion, it is imperative that we take note and learn from
the tactics of intimidation used to obstruct Nehemiah’s work, lest we be
coerced into ceasing this noble work.
Scorn. Derision was
heaped on Nehemiah and the Jews as they “set their hands to this good
work” (Neh. 2:18-19). They were laughed at, held in contempt, and
misrepresented as rebels against the king. Even so today, Christians can
expect to “suffer for doing good” by being defamed as evildoers (1
Pet. 3:14-17). Nehemiah responded with the assurance that God would prosper
their faithful work. Likewise, we must not faint in doing good (2 Ths.
3:13; Gal. 6:9).
Mockery.
Name calling has always been in the arsenal of the opponents of truth and
the people of God. It is much easier to pin a label on someone than it is
to carefully listen to them and discern their words and deeds. Nicodemus
knew this when he tried to stay the hasty objections of the chief priests
and Pharisees against Jesus: “Does our law judge a man before it hears
him and knows what he is doing?” (Jno. 7:51) But, they had already made
up their minds: “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no
prophet has arisen out of Galilee” (Jno. 7:52). When evil things are
falsely said against you, Jesus said to rejoice in your heavenly reward and
remember the ancient prophets who received similar treatment (Matt.
5:11-12).
Conspiracy to cause
confusion. The work
of rebuilding the wall continued, and the opponents were enraged (Neh.
4:7). They “conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create
confusion” (Neh. 4:8, 11). God’s people must remain vigilant against
the efforts of those who would creep in unnoticed to wreak havoc against the
grace of God and the power of His gospel to save (Jude 3-4; 1 Cor. 16:13;
Gal. 1:6-10).
Internal strife.
There was an outcry against fellow Jews who were lending money to their poor
brethren with interest, then taking their children as slaves when they could
not repay (Neh. 5:1-13; Exo. 22:25; Lev. 25:35-38). It is sad, yet true,
that God’s people are not immune from sinning against one another (Eph.
4:25-32). Such sins give Satan and his army great opportunities to attack
the weakened defenses of the saints. While saints bite and devour one
another, the forces of error are filled with glee. Division within the
church harms our effort to spread the gospel to the lost (Jno. 17:20-21).
When we love one another, others will know we are disciples of Jesus (Jno.
13:34-35). We must regularly examine ourselves against the divine standard
of love (1 Cor. 13:4-7; 1 Jno. 4:7-21).
Compromise.
The good work of building the wall of Jerusalem is stymied if the attention
of those doing that work can be diverted from it. Like Sanballat and Geshem,
who wanted to talk with Nehemiah, the opponents of truth can consume our
time and keep us from doing the needed work of the kingdom (Neh. 6:1-4).
Good judgment must be used as to when to shake the dust off of one’s feet
and move to others who will hear the gospel (Matt. 10:14; Acts 13:44-48).
Blackmail and lies.
Threats and mispresentations were leveled against the Jews when earlier
attempts to intimidate them into submission failed (Neh. 6:5-9). Take heart
when you are falsely accused as you do the work of edifying the people of
God in truth; remember Nehemiah. Follow the example of Jesus and do not
revile in return; “and do not be afraid of their threats, nor be
troubled” (1 Pet. 2:20-23; 3:14).
Deception. False
friends with evil motives are used by Satan to try to defeat the work of God
(see Neh. 6:10-14). In the name of God they try to make you afraid for
being faithful to the Lord. Do not be afraid; do not sin (Neh. 6:13; Heb.
13:5-6).
The wall of Jerusalem was
finished, because the work was done by our God (Neh. 6:15-16). Do God’s
work without fear (Phil. 2:12-13). Remain faithful and do not be
intimidated (Heb. 10:39).
Top
You can find the
complete outline of this sermon at
BIBLE ANSWERS
Who Will Be Our Counselor?
Scripture Reading:
Psalm 64
COUNSEL (boule) - “from
a root meaning a will, hence a counsel, a piece of advice.... boule
is the result of determination” (Vine).
I. THE
COUNSEL OF GOD.
A. The
Scheme of Redemption: The Suffering & Exaltation of Jesus, Acts 2:23;
4:27-28 (Isa. 53:10-12; Zech. 13:7); Eph. 1:10.
B. God has Determined that His Counsel be Served by Man – Acts 13:36;
20:27; Lk. 7:30; Rom. 9:19-21 (Psa. 73:24).
C. God’s Counsel is Immutable – Heb. 6:17 (Isa. 46:8-12; Jas. 1:17).
D. Jesus is the Complete Expression of God’s Counsel – Isa. 9:6; 11:2;
Zech. 6:12-13.
II.
COUNSEL OF MEN: TRAITS & TYPES.
A.
Characteristics:
1. Can be good, Prov. 19:20-21.
2. Can be shortsighted, Acts 27:9-15, 21.
3. Can be hasty, Acts 27:42.
4. Can offend God, Lk. 23:50-51; Acts 5:33.
B. Good Type: Counsel Growing out of Spiritual Wisdom & Determination to
Obey, Prov. 8:14; 12:15; 14:11.
C. Evil Type: Designed to Ignore God’s Truth & Righteous Conduct, Psa.
1:1; 2:1-3; Psa. 64; Prov. 21:30-31.
III.
APPLICATION: Who’s counsel will we hear on…
(Psa. 119:24; Jno. 6:68)
A. How to
be Saved?
B. Holy living? – Rom. 12:1-2
C. Truth or Error? – 1 Jno. 4:1, 6
D. The church? – Matt. 16:18.
E. Home, Work, etc.? – Matt. 22:39
F. Brotherly Relations? – Eph. 4:25ff
G. Death & Eternity? – Jno. 5:28-29.
Top
NOTEWORTHY NEWS
(Current events in the
light of Scripture)
Seeing what
we want to see
Joe R. Price
A grilled cheese sandwich
with the image of Mary toasted into it? That’s what a woman says she saw in
her decade old breakfast. Diana Duyser sold the meal for $28,000 earlier
this month to an online casino, which plans to send the snack on a tour
around the country and give the proceeds to charity. (I have no doubt Jesus
is outraged by these “moneychangers”, too. Jno. 2:13-17; Matt. 21:12)
Such reports of visions are
common. Here is the explanation given by one observer:
“The sandwich’s Virgin,
experts say, could simply represent a common human phenomenon of perception
called pareidolia -- the capacity for people to recognize familiar patterns
in random images, such as sailing ships in the clouds.
“People see what they want to
see,” said Sylvia Grider, an anthropologist at Texas A&M University. “It’s a
manifestation of human creativity.” (ReligiousNewsBlog.com)
There is a lesson here for
us. We must avoid preconceived notions and conclusions instead of “seeing
what we want to see” in others. Otherwise, clear thinking will be obscured
and righteous reactions will not follow (cf. Jas. 1:19-20). In order to
“judge righteous judgment” we must let God’s word guide us, not our own
creativity (2 Tim. 3:16-17). God does not speak to through visions (Heb.
1:1-2).
There is
another lesson to be learned: We cannot do evil that good may come (Rom.
3:8). The new owners of the sandwich, an online casino, will now use it to
raise money for charity while continuing to entice the covetous of heart to
gamble their money away and destroy their souls (1 Tim. 6:6-10).
Top
|
