And take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17
THE
SPIRIT’S
SWORD
Volume 15, Number
26
08/19/2012
Published
by
Mt. Baker
church of Christ
Location:
1860 Mt. Baker HWY
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 30821
Bellingham, WA 98228
(360) 752-2692
Sunday:
Bible Classes..........9:30 AM
Worship..10:30AM; 6:00PM
Wednesday:
Bible Classes.........7:00 PM
All sing last Wednesday
Web sites:
Mt. Baker church
Bible Answers
Editor......Joe R. Price
Elders
Morris Bass
Rick Holt
Deacons
Aaron Bass
Rich Brooks
Mike Finn
Dan Head
In this issue:
Worshiping God in song deserves an honored place of respect as a cherished chance to praise His name for all His wondrous works.
I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving (Psa. 69:30)
It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High. (Psa. 92:1)
Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. (Psa. 98:1)
Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the assembly of saints. (Psa. 149:1)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Col. 3:16)
These and many more Scriptures teach us important lessons about worshiping God in song:
1) Singing is an important and serious part of our worship to God. It is a time when we express profound gratitude and praise to God for His wondrous works of creation, redemption and provisions. We must sing “with the spirit” and “with the understanding”, not with casual disregard for God and His honor (1 Cor. 14:15).
2) We do not sing to amuse ourselves or to impress others. Among other things, worshipful singing expresses joy, cheer and good courage (Jas. 5:13). It is not entertainment. Singing motivated to be seen (heard) by others is not true worship and is unacceptable to God (cf. Matt. 6:5).
3) Worshiping God in song deserves our best effort. We must be fully engaged, not halfheartedly mouthing words without thought and meaning. Our intent is to make melody in our heart to the Lord (Eph. 5:19). Singing demands we fully focus our thoughts as we sing praise to God and as we teach and admonish one another (Col. 3:16).
Of Christ it
was said, “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the
assembly I will sing praise to You” (Psa. 22:22; Heb. 2:12). Similarly,
let us raise a joyful shout of praise to God our Creator, Redeemer and
Sustainer (Psa. 66:1-4; 95:1-2; 98:4-6; 100:1-5).
Top
Lord, I'm Coming Home
We wander so
far from God at times. At first, we do not intend to go far from Him. We
think we will go “just a little ways” down the road – the road we know we
shouldn’t even be on. But, we tell ourselves we know the way back home; it’s
not far – we can come back, no problem. So, we talk ourselves into the sin
we know we should not commit. Evil thoughts take us where we know we should
not go (Mk. 7:21-23). Instead of fleeing the temptation, we yield to sin’s
allurement (Jas. 1:14-16; 1 Tim. 6:11; 2 Tim. 2:22).
We have all
been there; perhaps you still are. The apostle John warns of the
self-righteous disregard of sin, “If we say that we have fellowship with
Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth…If we say
that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not is us” (1
Jno. 1:6, 10).
Wandering in
sin, alone and away from God, one may begin to believe the devil’s lie that
there is no way back; no way back to right living, no way back to
forgiveness, no way back to the way it used to be. That’s what the devil
wants you to believe. It is not true. Jesus is the way home, the way to God
and to His merciful forgiveness of every sin (Jno. 14:6; Acts 4:12).
For Christians,
the way home is the way of repentance and of confessing your sins to God and
those you sin against. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jno. 1:9;
see Lk. 17:3-4; Jas. 5:16). Christian, leave the wasteland of sin and come
home to God’s love and mercy. God and His people wait to welcome you home
(Lk. 15:11-24).
If you are not
a Christian, you need to come home, too. The home for you is the way of
faith in Christ and full obedience to Him. “He who believes and is
baptized will be saved” (Mk. 16:16); “Confess with your mouth the
Lord Jesus” (Rom. 10:9); “Repent and be baptized…for the remission of
sins” (Acts 2:38). Hear, believe, confess, repent and be baptized; this is
the gospel way home. It is the narrow way, the Father’s way (Matt. 7:13-14,
21-29).
The old gospel
song by William J. Kirkpatrick, “Lord, I’m Coming Home”, fills our heart as
we send out the gospel call to the lost. I’ve
wandered far away from God,
Refrain: I’ve wasted
many precious years, I’m tired of
sin and straying, Lord, My soul is
sick, my heart is sore, My only
hope, my only plea, I need His
cleansing blood I know,
We have been
where you are. The world has only brought you pain, sorrow, regret and
spiritual death. It’s time. It’s time to come home to God and find rest for
your soul (Matt. 11:28-30).
You can find the complete outline of this sermon
plus PowerPoint and MP3 Audio files at
BIBLE ANSWERS
Joe R. Price
Now I’m coming home;
The paths of sin too long I’ve trod,
Lord, I’m coming home.
Coming home, coming home,
Nevermore to roam;
Open wide Thine arms of love,
Lord, I’m coming home.
Now I’m coming home;
I now repent with bitter tears,
Lord, I’m coming home.
Now I’m coming home;
I’ll trust Thy love, believe Thy word,
Lord, I’m coming home.
Now I’m coming home;
My strength renew, my home restore,
Lord, I’m coming home.
Now I’m coming home;
That Jesus died, and died for me,
Lord, I’m coming home.
Now I’m coming home;
Oh, wash me whiter than the snow,
Lord, I’m coming home.
The Danger of Compromise (Part 1)
Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 11:1-6
1.
Compromise: “a settlement of differences by mutual concessions” (1 Cor.
9:19-23).
2. King
Solomon and his wives: Great sin of compromise, 1 Kgs. 11:1-8.
3. Warned
against compromise, 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; Gal. 1:6-10; Eph. 5:8-11; 2 Jno. 9-11.
I. THE SIN OF MORAL AND DOCTRINAL COMPROMISE.
A.
Compromise is Double-Mindedness, Jas. 4:4, 8 (1:8); Matt. 6:24.
B.
Compromise Stands by when Sin could be Prevented, 11:7-8 (cf. v. 5); 1 Sam.
3:13.
C. Truth
does not Continue in Such an Environment, Gal. 2:5.
D. Causes
God’s People to be Indecisive and Faithless, 1 Kgs. 18:21.
II. COMPROMISE BEGINS IN THE HEART, 1 Kgs. 11:4.
A. The
Heart is Turned Away from God, 11:2, 9.
B. The
Militant Spirit of the Gospel is Replaced with a more “Positive” Approach
toward Sin and Error, 1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Cor. 10:3-5; Jude 3; Jer. 6:14.
C. Love
for God becomes Secondary, Mk. 12:28-29; Matt. 6:21, 31-33.
D. Keep
Your Heart Pure to Avoid Compromise, Jas. 4:8 (1 Tim. 1:5).
III. KING SOLOMON’S COMPROMISE:
A.
Unlawful Marriages, 1 Kgs. 11:1-3 (Dt. 7:3-4; 17:17); Neh. 13:26-27; (1 Cor.
7:12).
B. False
Worship, 1 Kgs. 11:5-8.
C.
Compromise Causes Wrath, Loss of Blessings and more Compromise, 1 Kgs. 11:9,
11; 12:28-33; Gal. 5:9.
Concl. Compromise is deadly to our souls.
You can find the complete outline of this sermon plus PowerPoint and MP3 Audio files at BIBLE ANSWERS
Individual Action and Local Church Action Bible Authority (12)
Scripture Reading: Acts 4:32-37
1. “Whatever
the Christian may do the local church may do” has led to much sin and
division in churches of Christ.
2. What does the Scripture say? (Rom. 4:3)
I. CHRISTIANITY EMBRACES EVERY AREA OF LIFE.
A. Social
Relationships (community) Matt. 5:14-16; 1 Pet. 2:12; Rom. 13:8.
B.
Economic Relationships (business), 1 Ths. 4:11-12; Col. 3:22-4:1.
C.
Family Relationships (the home), Col. 3:18-21 (Eph. 6:1-4; 1 Pet. 3:1-7).
D.
Civil Relationships (gov’t), Rom. 13:1-7.
E.
Spiritual Relationships (the church), Eph. 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:20-21(4:1-16)
II. INDIVIDUAL DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS EXIST THAT CANNOT BE CARRIED OUT BY THE LOCAL CHURCH (collective).
A. The
Above Duties are Concurrent (simultaneous, coexisting), Gal. 6:5.
B. No
Bible Authority to “Funnel” Personal Duties of Other Relationships through
the Local Church.
III. CLEAR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL AND LOCAL CHURCH.
A. How we
Deal with Sin Shows the Distinction, Matt. 18:15-17.
B.
Separate Treasuries Shows the Distinction, Acts 4:34-5:4.
C.
Separate Reasons and Places to Eat Shows the Distinction, 1 Cor. 11:20-22,
34.
D.
Helping Needy Christian Widows Shows the Distinction, 1 Tim. 5:16.
(Current events in the light of Scripture)
The Politics and Power of Words
We are in the season of the silly and the absurd with politics heating up ahead of the November elections. Every day we are treated to a litany of charges and counter charges from politicians vying for our votes.
Words are powerful. From the presidential race to the local sheriff, words are used to define issues, distract from important issues, distort relevant issues, destroy one’s opponent and divide the populace. The unwise and sinful use of words abounds. Let us remind ourselves about the words we must choose to speak.
1) Speak the truth (Eph. 4:25). Lying seems to be so common these days. Whenever someone feels compelled to persuade me of their veracity by telling me, “I’m not lying to you”, I am made to wonder whether they lied to me when they didn’t say that first! When you always tell the truth you never have to say, “I’m not lying to you”!
2) Speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). The motive for our words should be the welfare of others, not to tear them down and do them harm. All we do (including the words we speak) is to be done with love (1 Cor. 16:14).
3) Speak after you have listened (Prov. 18:13). The fool speaks before he fully hears a matter. Self-important words are regularly heard at political rallies. But they are also on display in marriages, in churches, in the workplace and in schools. Effective communication requires more ears eager to listen and less tongues eager to speak (Jas. 1:19-20). Paging Elihu! (Job 32:4-7)
4) Words fitly spoken (Prov. 25:11).
Speaking the right words at the right time is a
mark of wisdom. This doesn’t just happen. It requires selecting right words
plus righteous objectives (Col. 4:6). “A word spoken in due season, how
good it is!” (Prov. 15:23)
Created by Chuck Sibbing, last updated. 08/19/2012
The Spirit's Sword is a free,
weekly publication of the Mt. Baker church of Christ, Bellingham, WA
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