And take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17
THE
SPIRIT’S
SWORD
Volume 24, Number
17
06/12/2022
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
In this issue:
Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage
Joe R. Price
The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason” (Matthew 19:3, NKJV)?
Ending marriages for all sorts of reasons is commonplace in America and around the world. The deterioration of marriage does untold damage to families and souls.
How Jesus answered the Pharisees’ insincere question settles God’s view of divorce.
(1) “Have you not read” (Matt. 19:4). God’s word answers the question of divorce for all who believe.
(2) God rules over marriage (Matt. 19:4-5). It is His gift to humanity, and we must obey His will in it.
(3) Marriage is between a male (man) and a female (woman) (Matt. 19:4, 5). Same-sex “marriage” is a corruption of marriage and not God’s will.
(4) God joins together the man and his wife (Matt. 19:5-6). God approves and joins one man and one woman in marriage (Rom. 7:2-3).
(5) People are not to separate what God joins together (Matt. 19:6). Ending a marriage without God’s approval is a sin (1 Cor. 7:10).
(6) Jesus said God allows one reason for ending a marriage, fornication (Matt. 19:9). Divorce for “any reason” (Matt. 19:3) violates God’s will and is evidence of a hard heart toward God and marriage (Matt. 19:7-8). Christ permits putting away a spouse for the cause of fornication. By doing so, the one innocent of fornication has God’s consent to marry another. All other remarriages produce adultery, and those in them are not “joined together” by God (Matt. 19:9, 6).
God’s way is not man’s way (Isa. 55:8-9). All who want God’s blessing will abide in His will concerning marriage, divorce, and remarriage (Matt. 19:10-12). -Sword Tips #2313
Joe R. Price
I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry (Psalm 40:1, NKJV).
We must learn to wait patiently on the Lord. That is made difficult in our world of instant gratification. The internet brings next-day delivery via Amazon. Cell phones are now walking computers giving immediate contact to the world. Texting is instant and any disruptive delay of service causes anxiety. By contrast, the agricultural life commends patience to us. “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:7-8).
God does not work on our schedule of expectations. Prayer is not a demand list we take to God. No, we humbly petition Him with trust that He hears us (Ps. 40:4-5). “Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me!” is the patient prayer of the righteous (Ps. 40:13). Those who patiently wait on the Lord praise Him for His deliverance and are obedient, delighting in His will (Ps. 40:2-3, 6-8).
Patient trust in God’s salvation compels us to “proclaim the good news of righteousness” rather than hide God’s faithfulness and truth (Ps. 40:9-10).
Patiently waiting on the Lord means seeking His love and salvation above anything else (Ps. 40:16; Matt. 6:33). Be patient, endure, imitate David’s faith, and say along with him, “But I am poor and needy; Yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God” (Ps. 40:17). -Sword Tips #2297
Joe R. Price
1 Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, give to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts. 9 Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth (Psalm 96:7–9, NKJV).
Psalm 96 is a call to worship the Lord God because “He is coming to judge the earth” (Ps. 96:13). He is sovereign over every kingdom of earth and over every family of people who inhabit it.
People of every nation are called on to attribute to the one true God the glory and strength by which He reigns, provides, and judges us all. Worship is about honoring God, not ourselves (v. 8).
We must bring our offerings into His presence with holiness and reverence. Jesus teaches us to worship God “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). His gospel reveals the offerings of praise that God accepts (Acts 2:42). These offerings consist of the Lord’s Supper, praying, singing, giving, and teaching God’s word (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 14:15, 26; 16:1-2; Eph. 5:19).
The Old Testament repeatedly teaches God will not accept whatever we decide to give Him as worship, but that which He instructs us to give Him in worship. From Cain and Abel to Nadab and Abihu, from King Saul to King Uzziah and more, we learn God only accepts worship from hearts that reverently offer Him the worship He commands.
Let us give God the homage He is due. May we ever come before God with praise and adoration from hearts that fear Him and with lives devoted to holiness. -Sword Tips #2039
You can find the complete outline of this sermon plus PowerPoint and MP3 Audio files at BIBLE ANSWERS
Ending and Preventing Fights
Joe R. Price
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:29-32
1. We
live in the “age of rage.”
2. Christians are not immune to the attitudes that cause hidden grumbling
that escalate into open conflict, Gal. 5:13-15.
I. PUT AWAY EVERY EVIL ATTITUDE AND ACTION TOWARD OTHERS, Eph. 4:31 (Prov. 23:7); Matt. 15:18-19.
●
Bitterness, Col. 3:8.● Wrath and rage, Eph. 4:26.
● Clamor (loud quarreling)
● Evil speaking, Eph. 4:25; James 4:11
● Malice, cf. Titus 3:3
II. BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER, Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:12 (Eph. 3:21).
●
Kind thoughts, Phil. 4:8.● Kind words, Col. 4:3-6.
● Kind deeds (treatment), Matt. 7:12.
III. BE TENDERHEARTED, Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:12.
●
Humble, Phil. 2:3-4.● Unselfish.
IV. FORGIVE ONE ANOTHER, Eph. 4:32; Luke 23:34; 1 Pet. 2:23.
●
Like God has forgiven us (you):-Fully, completely, Matt. 18:21-22.
-Immediately, Matt. 5:23-24.
-From the heart, Matt. 13:35.
● To be forgiven, Mark 11:25-26.
V. WALK IN THE SPIRIT, Gal. 5:16 (13-15), 22-23, 25-26.
●
Led by the Spirit (word of truth)● Bear the fruit of the Spirit
You can find the complete outline of this sermon plus PowerPoint and MP3 Audio files at BIBLE ANSWERS
Satan and Temptation
Joe R. Price
Scripture Reading: Job 1:6-12
1.
Warned of our deadly enemy, 1 Pet. 5:8.
2. Real and active (“god of this age,” 2 Cor. 4:4).
I. WHO IS SATAN?
-Names:
Belial, Beelzebub, Adversary, Dragon, Enemy, Serpent, Deceiver, and Wicked
One
A.
Satan: Adversary, Job 1:6; 1 Chron. 21:1; Zech. 3:1-2; 1 Pet. 5:8.
B.
Devil: Accuser, Slanderer, John 8:44.
1.
Accuses God to man (Gen. 3:4-5); Man to God (Job 1:8-11; 2:3-5).
2.
Deceives the world, Rev. 12:9-10.
C. Not
Lucifer of the Bible, Isa. 14:12.
Context: Lucifer is King of Babylon, Isa. 14:3-4, 10-11, 13-15, 16-17.
II. SATAN AND TEMPTATION (2 Cor. 2:11).
A. He
Entices Us to Sin Using Our Strong Desires (lusts), James 1:13-14.
1.
Presents sin as pleasurable (Heb. 11:25).
2.
Presents sin as beneficial (Gen. 3:4-5)
3.
Presents sin as a personal right (Gen. 3:5)
4.
Presents sin as the right way (2 Cor. 4:3-4).
B. His
Temptations Can Be Resisted, 1 Cor. 10:13; Eph. 4:27 (6:11-13).
III. WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT SATAN.
A. Know
and Trust that Jesus has Already Landed a Death-Blow to Satan, Gen. 3:15;
Heb. 2:14-15 (destroy his works, 1 John 3:8).
B. Your
Obedient, Steadfast Faith Crushes Satan, Rom. 16:19-20; 1 Pet. 5:9-10.
-Ways
to resist (1 Cor. 10:13)
C. Be
Assured that Satan is Under a Death Sentence, Rev. 20:10.
Conclusion
Submit to God
and resist the devil, James 4:7.
NOTEWORTHY NEWS
(Current events in the light of Scripture)
Age of Rage
Joe R. Price
A man was arrested Wednesday at the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Armed with a gun, ammunition, a crowbar, pepper spray, and other items, 26-year-old Nicholas Roske was charged with attempted murder. Roske was dismayed over expected Supreme Court rulings on abortion and gun rights. He admitted to “thinking about how to give his life a purpose” according to an affidavit signed by an FBI agent (Man charged with attempted murder of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh, Lawrence Hurley, reuters.com).
Lawlessness has swept this nation. People are angry, relationships are dysfunctional, secularism is the religion of the day, and life is devalued. Like the days of Noah, the root problem is found in the hearts of mankind, whose “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). Surely, just as God’s heart was grieved as He witnessed that ancient mayhem, He is grieved by the harm and violence being inflicted on the innocent today (Gen. 6:6; Eph. 4:30-31).
It occurs to us that we are no longer shocked by the crime around us. An assassination attempt on a Supreme Court justice gets little more than a day of coverage from the news media. Neither shame nor sorrow is heard throughout the land over outrageous, criminal conduct (Jer. 8:12; Ps. 50:16-23). It has become commonplace.
As much as ever, Christians must be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt. 5:13-16). Let your voice be heard for righteousness, and your life shine forth with the goodness and truth of God. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov. 14:34).
Created by Chuck Sibbing, last updated. 06/13/2022
The Spirit's Sword is a free,
weekly publication of the Mt. Baker church of Christ, Bellingham, WA
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