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"...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:
The Fruit of the
Spirit: Self-Control (#10)
Our Habitable Earth
Jerry Fite
Bible Quiz
Sermon Outlines:
Noteworthy News:
Female Infanticide
The Fruit of the Spirit: Self-Control (#10)
Joe R. Price
Paul warned against
the consequences of not exercising self-control concerning the
self-indulgent lifestyle of ungodliness: “Do not be deceived: Evil company
corrupts good habits. Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do
not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame” (1 Cor.
15:33-34).
Our need for
self-control is two-fold (Gal. 5:23). First, self-control (temperance, KJV)
is imperative in order to reject temptation and avoid sin. Inasmuch as
“each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed” and
“the lust, when it hath conceived, beareth sin; and the sin, when it is
fullgrown, bringeth forth death,” the ability to master one’s desires and
passions is critical to combating temptation (Jas. 1:14-15). The word
translated “self-control” is defined as “the virtue of one who masters his
desires and passions, especially his sensual appetites” (Thayer, 167).
Resisting the devil involves subjection to God and includes self control.
Secondly, self-control is needed to help us to actually do what is right.
It is not enough to restrain ourselves from evil.
We must also gain
mastery over ourselves in order to achieve good things for God.
Peter instructs us
to add self-control to our knowledge (2 Pet. 1:6). So then, self-control is
the ability to govern oneself to practice what is learned. Knowing God’s
word without doing God’s word is of no spiritual profit (Eph. 5:17; Matt.
7:21). By developing a mastery over our desires and passions we at once
prevent evil and promote good in our hearts and lives.
Naturally,
self-control will help one conform himself into the image of Christ. “I
have been crucified with Christ” includes putting to death selfish and
sinful desires so that Christ “lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). The Christian’s
life of sacrifice and self-control is accomplished through faith: “and the
life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God…”
Without dispute, “those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its
passions and desires” (Gal. 5:24).
Developing
self-control is easy to put off. Like Felix, we convince ourselves the
future is a better time to start the task of conforming our desires and
passions to divine truth (Acts 24:25). In the absence of unwavering
commitment, self-control is rarely exhibited. We must hasten to “put on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its
lusts” (Rom. 13:14). Through faith we will be victorious over selfishness
and direct our passions toward the things of God (1 Jno. 5:3-4).
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Our Habitable Earth
Jerry Fite
In the context of Jehovah
revealing His uniqueness and supremacy to the Persian king, Cyrus, God
claimed that He created the earth and “formed it to be inhabited” (Isaiah
45:18). As we learn more about our Earth and other planets, the more we
observe that life is peculiar to Earth. To men traveling in the parched
darkness of space, the Earth’s bluish-green hue appears as an oasis for
life.
The Earth tilts 23.3
degrees. If it were a 90 degree angle, much of the Earth’s surface would
become a dry desert. The poles would become vast continents of massive snow
and ice. This added weight would force the equator to bulge, and change
drastically the Earth’s rotation.
As is, the Earth rotates at
the right speed - about 1,000 miles per hour. If it turned much slower,
life would eventually die due to too much heat during the long days, and
extreme cold during the extended nights.
The Earth also orbits around
the sun at the right speed. It takes the Earth 365 days, 5 hours, 48
minutes and 45.51 seconds to make one round trip. If the speed were much
faster, then centrifugal force would pull the Earth away from the sun,
causing very cold temperatures. If the Earth traveled much slower, then we
would drift too close to the sun causing Earth’s temperatures to be
extremely hot.
The sun’s surface
temperature is 12,000 degrees. If we were closer to the sun, like the next
planet, Venus, we would be roasting in an average temperature of 1,006
degrees. The Earth, being some 93 million miles away from the sun, enjoys
an average temperature of 59 degrees.
One factor helping to keep
temperatures constant for Earth is the enormous bodies of water upon the
Earth. Some 70 percent of the globe’s surface is covered by water. These
vast pools absorb the heat during the day and release it during the night,
keeping the Earth’s surface habitable at all times.
The Earth
tilts, rotates and orbits at the right angle and speed. It possesses vast
temperature stabilizers. These all combine to make the Earth a place to
dwell. God says that He designed and created it for that purpose.
(Glad Tidings, May, 1985)
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Bible Quiz
In what Book and Chapter do you find these events?
1. The creation of all things?
2. The first sin?
3. The flood?
4. The tower of Babel?
5. The call of Abraham?
6. The exodus of Israel from Egypt?
7. The ten commandments?
8. The evil report of 10 spies?
9. Israel asking for a king?
10. The division of the kingdom of Israel after Solomon’s death?
11. The birth of Jesus?
12. The crucifixion of Jesus?
13. The beginning of the church?
14. The gospel being first preached to Gentiles?
15. The description of heaven?
Top
You can find the
complete outline of this sermon at
BIBLE ANSWERS
Our God is Able
Scripture Reading:
Daniel 3:13-18
1. The simplicity of NT
Christianity (Phil. 2:12-13), Heb. 11:1, 6; Lk. 6:46; Eph. 2:10.
2. The faith of Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego illustrates what our faith
should be.
3. Faith in the power of God, cf. Mk. 10:27; Job 42:2; Eccl. 3:14.
Therefore, reverence God.
4. God calls on us to trust Him because He is able:
I. TO
GIVE & SUSTAIN LIFE.
A. God’s
Power Displayed in Creation, Psa. 33:6-9; Acts 17:24-28 (Heb. 11:3).
II. TO
SAVE OUR SOULS – 2
Cor. 5:17-21.
A.
Salvation is Only from God, 5:18, 21 (Col. 2:12); Acts 4:12 (Rom. 1:16).
III. TO
DELIVER US – cf. Dan.
3:24-27.
A. From
the Trials of Faith, Dan. 3:17-18 (cf. Psa. 33:16-22); Rom. 8:31-39.
B. From Temptations, Matt. 6:13; 2 Pet. 2:9; 1 Cor. 10:13.
C. From Sorrows, Jno. 16:20-22; Heb. 12:2.
IV. TO
REWARD US – cf. Dan.
3:28-30.
A. With
Eternal Life, Titus 1:2; Jas. 1:12.
B. For a Life of Faith, 2 Tim. 4:7-8; Rom. 2:7, 10.
V. TO
PUNISH.
A. God
will Punish Sinners for their Sins – 2 Ths. 1:8-9 (Rom. 6:23); 2 Pet. 2:4-5;
3:5-7.
Conclusion
Psa. 62:8-12 – Trust in God at
all times – He is able to respond to & meet your needs.
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NOTEWORTHY NEWS
(Current events in the
light of Scripture)
Female
Infanticide
Joe R. Price
In southern India the poisonous,
milky sap of the oleander plant is used to kill newborn girls. The practice
of female infanticide in the Salem District of Tamil Nadu is “rooted in a
complex mix of economic, social and cultural factors” writes Uma Girish
(“For India’s daughters, a dark birth day,” The Christian Science Monitor,
Feb. 9, 2005). “Nearly 60 percent of girls born in Salem District are
killed within three days of birth,” and that “doesn’t count the growing
number of abortions there to ensure a girl baby won’t be carried to term” (Ibid.).
Whether male or female, such is
murder, pure and simple. The Jewish women wept and mourned over their
slaughtered infants as did the Bethlehem mothers (Jer. 31:15; Matt.
2:17-18). But in present-day India, 20 out of every 100 unborn are killed
because they are the wrong gender. Abortion is a lucrative business.
Couple that with an anti-girl bias and you have the makings of the current
infanticide.
We draw away with horror from
this practice (which is also occurring in other countries). But, are we
being careful to raise our daughters (and sons) in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4)? Our society shuns the Biblical roles of
women and men as antiquated and wrong. Some recoil at wedding vows that
have the bride promising to “obey” her husband (even though the Bible
commands submissive obedience to the husband, Tit. 2:5; 1 Pet. 3:5-6).
If we fail to
instill God’s pattern of womanhood in our daughters are we not guilty of
bringing spiritual death upon them? Shouldn’t that disturb us, too?
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