Chardon church of Christ

It’s Time To Wake Up

Luke 22: 31 – 62

A rooster and a fox lived in a forest. The rooster was very intelligent and clever. One day a fox was hungry and spotted a rooster sitting on a tree branch. On seeing the rooster, the fox thought of capturing it, but for that, he would have to call the rooster down.

The fox thought that he could fool the rooster into climbing down. He asked the rooster to come down as he no longer needed to be afraid of other animals. He said that the king had passed an order and no animal could harm any other animal. The fox said that they could together go to the king and clarify this with him.

The rooster smelled something fishy and said let’s go to the king and take some of our friends with us as well. The fox told the rooster that to go to the king, he needed to come down first.

The rooster was listening to the fox and knew the fox was trying to fool him. The rooster thought quickly and said that some hounds were coming their way, and they could take them along to the king.

Hearing this, the fox panicked and ran away, saying that the news had not yet reached the hounds. The fox immediately fled from there, and in this way, the rooster saved his life.

Moral Of The Story
The moral of this story is “CLEVERNESS always saves you from danger.” The clever and intelligent rooster outwitted the cunning fox and escaped from danger.
1 Corinthians 3:19 tells us "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”;

How many of us have ever fallen asleep in Church? Statistics show that most people have – at least once.
In the days of the Pilgrims, churches had a person they called a “tything man”. His job was to keep people awake during the sermons, which usually lasted 2 to 3 hours in length, by using a long pole.

The following are just a few reasons individuals have given for falling asleep in church...
• They got up too early
• Or they’ve been up too late the night before
• Or the sermon’s boring....
WHICH I’M SURE DOESN’T APPLY TO ANYONE OF YOU HERE IN CHARDON
• Or because they’ve worked hard all week and they just can’t help themselves

BUT then there are other times, when people fall asleep but have their eyes “wide Open”...
Years ago (when I was younger) I remember being in love with a special girl. She often occupied my thoughts - even when I was at church. One day, at church, during the sermon… I began thinking about her. And, during this daydreaming I reached over and squeezed her knee (right there in church).
Only problem was, she wasn’t seated beside me at the time. I was sitting next to my sister.

It took a long time to explain to my sister why I had done what I’d done.
Literally, I was asleep in church even while I was awake.
My mind was on other things. And I needed to be woke up
Even the Apostle Peter fell asleep “in church” a couple of times.
In Luke 9, we’re told that Jesus took Peter, James and John up on the Mountain of Transfiguration. While Jesus was praying Moses and Elijah appeared with Him... but verse 32 tells us…
“...Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep” Peter was falling asleep!

Then in Luke 22:45 we’re told that Peter fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus “...rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep.”
And this happened, not once, not twice, but three times!

Peter did worse than fall asleep in church. He fell asleep on Jesus.
But even worse than that, Peter was often asleep “in church” even when his eyes wide open. He was there with Jesus – he was listening to the preacher – but his mind was on other things. And he needed to be woken up.

In Matthew 16, for example, Jesus was teaching Peter and the other Apostles about His death, burial, and resurrection.
But somewhere along the line Peter fell asleep to what Jesus was saying: verse 22 Peter says "Never, Lord!"… "This shall never happen to you!"

His mind was elsewhere He was asleep to what Jesus was saying
And so Jesus WOKE him up: Jesus turned and said to Peter in verse 23, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Now in our text this morning, we find that Peter has done it again. His eyes are open but he’s asleep ”in church”. He’s gone to sleep and Jesus wants to wake him up
How do I know that Jesus wanted to wake Peter up?

Well, last night I knew I needed to wake up this morning… So, what do you think I did to make sure I did that? I set my alarm. I needed something to wake me up.

In the same way Peter needed to have something wake him up. So Jesus used a rooster. For centuries roosters have served to wake people up. And that’s what Jesus used this rooster for.

This bird was the tool God used to wake up Peter to some basic truths. What was it that Jesus wanted Peter to wake up to?

1st – Peter needed to wake up to the fact that he wasn’t strong enough to handle everything on his own. Peter was a “man’s man” He was a powerful, towering giant. Peter was a force to be reckoned with.

Peter might not have been the type to start fights... but he could finish them. One of Peter’s basic problems was that he always thought he could handle anything.
• When Jesus said He was going to be betrayed... Peter said “Others might... but not ME! I’ll follow you to prison or even to death! Nothing can stop me from protecting you.”
• And when Jesus was arrested, Peter pulled his sword and whacked off the ear of one of the men. No one dared to touch Jesus with him around. He could handle anything or anyone. He was sure of himself. Sure of his strength.

He believed there was nothing he would face, that he couldn’t handle. But he was wrong. Peter couldn’t handle everything.
Luke 22 verse 31: “Peter” (Jesus said) "Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.”
Peter – there’s someone you can’t beat
Peter - there’s someone you can’t handle
Peter - there’s someone who’s bigger, smarter and more powerful than you are... and his name is Satan.

Peter’s not the only person who’s ever had this problem.
1 Corinthians 10:12 warns us: “... let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”
That’s a wakeup call to ALL believers: you’re not as big and smart and powerful as you might think you are. You can’t handle everything on your own. Don’t be so foolish as to think you can do much of anything without talking to God about it.

Too many Christians fall into the SUNDAY ONLY mindset. They put in their hour in worship… and then they leave God back at the church building. They make decisions without Him. They face their challenges and difficulties without Him.

They may not deliberately do this with forethought... but they do it. And they do it because they don’t want to bother God. They’re big boys and girls now. They don’t need Him to involve Himself in their daily lives.

I admit to you… that I don’t always ask God’s guidance about things when I should. I don’t always pray as often as I might. I wonder if it is something that has happened to all of us at some time.

We need to wake up to the fact that – without Him we’re not going to be able to handle the difficulties of this life.And that was what Jesus was telling Peter – WAKE UP!

WAKE UP and realize you aren’t as big and as bad and as brainy as you think you are. Because there is someone out there just waiting to take you down.

Former heavyweight boxer James “Quick” Tillis recalled his 1st day in Chicago after his arrival from Tulsa.
"I got off the bus with two cardboard suitcases under my arms and stopped in front of the Sears Tower. I put my suitcases down and I looked up at the Tower and I said to myself, ’I’m going to conquer Chicago.’ And when he looked down, the suitcases were gone.

He was a heavyweight boxer. He was a big, bad, rather scary kind of man. AND he was going to conquer Chicago. But somebody took all that he owned away from him.

“Wake up” Says Jesus– take heed lest you fall. Know that there are forces in this world that you can’t take on ... BY YOURSELF.
That was the first thing Jesus wanted Peter to wake up to: You CAN’T do this on our own...

So… the 2nd thing Jesus wanted him to wake up to was… he didn’t have to do everything on his own. Jesus was still in control.

Luke 22:59-61 it tells us that “About an hour later another said,
"Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean."
Peter replied, "Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!"
Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed.
The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.
IT IS Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him:
"Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times."

How did Jesus know Peter would deny Him 3 times?
How did Jesus know that rooster was going to crow when it did?
Because Jesus is God.
He created the rooster. He created Peter.

In Isaiah 46:9-11 God declared:
9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

Jesus knew the temptation Satan had planned for Peter. And He knew how Peter would respond to that temptation. And Jesus wanted to wake Peter up to the fact that He knew that and that HE was in control.

When OUR life turns sour.
When WE ARE in over OUR heads.
When everything you THOUGHT you had under control suddenly collapses.

REMEMBER THIS
Jesus is still in control. Now that’s hard for Peter to believe. Jesus has just been betrayed by a friend. He’s been arrested. He’s been put through an illegal and humiliating trial. And that’s going to be just the beginning. Jesus is going to be beaten and He’s going to be whipped.

He’s going to be taunted and spit on by some of the very people who praised him just days before. He’s going to be forced to drag His cross down the streets of Jerusalem. And He’s going to be nailed to that cross, and lifted on that cross as it’s put in position and dropped into place. And then He’ll die the slow agonizing death of those who are crucified. And when He dies, they’re going to bury His body in a borrowed grave.

And, as far as Peter can see,... that is where Jesus will stay.
WAS Jesus in control? Absolutely, EVEN THOUGH Peter couldn’t see that!
And, SO MANY times in our lives we have DOUBTS… BUT GOD is STILL IN CONTROL!

Jesus was still in control.
Now, one last observation:
Why do Roosters crow?
Roosters crow for one basic reason: The Sun has risen... and there’s a new day coming.

The OLD Peter needed to wake up the fact that he couldn’t do it all on his own.
But then he didn’t have to because Jesus was God in the flesh – Jesus was God come down in human form. And Jesus had come to change Peter’s OLD life forever.

A new day was coming. It would be a day when the OLD Peter’s life would be buried and all forgotten.

As God tells us in Romans 6:2-7
“We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been united with him like this in his death,
we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”

When we’re buried in the waters of baptism our “OLD MAN” dies.
Our OLD LIFE is buried.
And we rise up to a NEWNESS of life.
Ephesians 5:14 says to you
"Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”

INVITATION.

Contributing Sermon By Jeff Strite

Trapped by Temptation

JAMES 1: 13 – 15

Back in the 14th century, in the region we now call Belgium, there was a duke by the name of Raynald III. Raynald had a nickname – Crassus.
Crassus means fat, and he was fat because he really liked to eat.
He liked to EAT ... a lot!
In the course of time, he had a violent quarrel with his younger brother Edward which resulted in Edward leading a revolt against him. Edward took Raynald prisoner and took him back to Nieuwkerk Castle where he had a special room built around him.
He promised his brother he could regain his title and property as soon as he was able to leave the room.

Now, for NORMAL SIZE people, that wouldn’t have been a problem. There were several windows and a door of normal size, and none of them were locked or barred. The problem for Raynald was his size. In order to leave the room he had to lose some weight.
But Edward knew his brother’s weakness and he made sure trays of delicious food were delivered to his room each day.  Thus, instead of dieting his way out of prison, Raynald grew fatter.

When Edward was accused of cruelty, he readily replied: “My brother is not a prisoner. He may leave ... when he so wills.”
Being delivered from evil depends on not being led into temptation. No trial or temptation is neutral. They are ordeals that either strengthen or weaken, depending on how they're handled.

Christ teaches us to pray to be delivered from not only evil, but also from what carries us there.
James 1: 13 – 15 says "13Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death."

Temptation isn't sin, but sin can't thrive without temptation. Or in Raynald's case, his fight wasn't in how to get through the door, but in how to get around the food.
Raynald stayed in that room for 10 years and wasn’t released until after Edward died in battle. By then his health was so ruined that he died within a year. He died a prisoner to his own appetite.

As I read this tragic story, I was struck by several truths:
FIRST: Satan takes us prisoner by capitalizing on our desires, weaknesses and tastes. He doesn’t need to create those things in us, he just takes advantage of our appetites. And then he sets out to do his best to see to it that we stay sated with the pleasures of sin.

SECOND: Raynald had a choice – he could only eat as much as was truly necessary, he could have exercised in his cell, and he could have walked through the cell door after losing enough weight.

But Raynald was too fond of his sweets and tasty delights – thereby becoming his own warden, held in a prison only by his own weaknesses.

The same is true for us – Satan can’t keep us in the prison. It is our choice – to continue to smother ourselves and indulge in our passions and sin, or to leave the prison behind.

THIRD: We think that the things we long for in our human nature are what will make us happy – that if we have enough of something, then we will be free at long last, not realizing (or at least not admitting to ourselves) that we are only perpetuating our imprisonment. Freedom awaits us outside the imprisonment of our desires. What would you rather have: freedom or another piece of cheesecake?

Jesus tells us: If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross.
This morning we read a warning from Paul specifically to new Christians in Ephesus where he urged them: Don’t die a prisoner to your appetites.

Ephesians 4:17-20  "17So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20But you did not learn Christ in this way,"

Now, that’s not the way they “learned Christ” BUT that’s how they grew up. They once walked as the Gentiles did because they were Gentiles, and they lived in Ephesus.

Ephesus was a thriving seaport, proudly referred to as the “Treasure House of Asia.” And it was highly prized by the Romans. They had invested a huge amount of money in building the city up so much that it was the center of the area. Because of that, the Roman Governor would often go there to hold legal proceedings.

But it wasn’t a very nice city. It was home to the Temple of Diana/Artemis – the goddess of fertility. Her temple was a huge structure… that could accommodate over 24,000 people… and is thought of as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

But because Artemis was the goddess of fertility, the worship there included the burning of incense and the playing of flute music and the whole atmosphere which was designed to arouse the worshipers into an emotional frenzy and engage in shameless sexual behavior (we’ll leave it at that).

Ephesus was also a city of criminals. The tradition in Ephesus, was that if any criminal reached the Temple of Diana they were granted asylum for their crimes. They couldn’t be punished, so that’s where criminals ended up living.

Because of that, Ephesus was an extremely popular city, but also an extremely im-moral city. And that’s where these Ephesian Christians grew up and that’s where they lived.

As you might imagine...
it would be a very difficult to live a Christian life there. The temptation to do evil things existed on every street corner, and the Ephesians lived RIGHT THERE in the midst of some pretty nasty stuff.

The question arose, how could Christians avoid getting dragged back into their old lifestyles? How could Christians avoid becoming imprisoned in their appetites?

These are the same questions we face in our present world.
Well, one way would be to get bad folks to stop doing their bad stuff. I mean; if we could just convince people to stop:
listening to vile lyrics in their music,
or stop going to inappropriate movies;
or convince them to stop sleeping with their friends,
or committing adultery/
treating women like sex objects;
or if we could convince them to stop cursing,
and saying (or writing) mean or hateful things...
I mean, if we could just DO THAT.

Then being a Christian would be so much easier, don’t you think?  But Paul tells us that’s not going to be real successful.

Going back to verses 18 and 19 of Ephesians 4 tells us “(The Gentiles) are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”

These folks have lived like this for so long That if you’d asked them to stop, they’re gonna be like... WHY? They’re alienated from God. There’s a hardness and callousness in them. They’re so imprisoned by their lifestyles that Paul says they’ve “given themselves up to sensuality etc.”

They’ve gotten to the point where they ask – What’s the point? It’s so hard to stop doing it... why bother?

Someone once stated that The Seven Deadly Sins (pride… lust… greed…, etc) are not evil acts, but rather universal human compulsions that can be troubling BUT highly enjoyable.”

In other words, many have accepted their PRISON of “compulsions” and accepted the idea that “I’M NOT GETTING OUT OF HERE!”

By contrast, the reason that WE (Christians) don’t buy into that is that is Jesus has promised to FREE us from the things (like this) that have made us ashamed. The pagan world isn’t gonna change just because we say they should.

Another way to escape the prison of sin would be to practice Social Distancing. Go live in a corner, lock yourself up in a monastery, or go and live in cave somewhere. That’s what people did back in the Middle Ages.

But Paul tells us... that’s just NOT practical.  In I Corinthians 5:9-10 he states "9I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or envious,"

There’s no avoiding the fact that we live in a fallen world, and that’s where we’re gonna stay until Jesus comes again.

So if I can’t convince the bad folk to change their bad ways, and if I can’t practice effective social distancing by living in a cave somewhere, how can I avoid being imprisoned by MY appetites, just like everybody else?

Well this what Paul says we should do – go back to Ephesians 4 and verse 22 " that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,"

In other words: determine not to live by your appetites. Decide YOU are not going to live like a pagan. That’s what repentance is all about. Repentance is the decision to turn around and leave the old lifestyle.

ILLUS: Let’s say you’ve been out in the garden, digging in the dirt, pulling weeds and sweating up a storm. You get all done, and you realize you that are supposed to go out to eat with friends that night. So, what do you do?

You go inside, take off your dirty clothes and take a shower. Once you towel off... are you ready to go out and eat??? I hope not. You’re naked!

They arrest people for going around in public that way. So, what do you have to do? Well, you have to PUT ON clean clothes. It’s not enough to take off your dirty clothes and take a bath. You have to put on clean garments!

And in the same way, it’s not enough to TAKE OFF the sins of the past, you have to replace those sinful behaviors with something else. You have to put on clean deeds and clean thoughts and clean words.
Let’s now read verse 24 of Ephesians 4
“PUT ON the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

And, just to help us out, Paul gives us some examples. In Ephesians 4:25, for example, he writes: Therefore, putting away lying, “ Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,”
for we are members of one another.

What am I taking off? “Lying!!!”
What am I putting on? “Truth Telling!”
Do you remember my telling you Ephesus was a home for criminals? There were probably a good number of ex-thieves in the church there, and I suspect they were tempted to go back to their life of crime.
And what Paul telling them to take off – stealing!
And what are these thieves supposed to put on? Get a job!

Now, this is interesting –
Paul doesn’t stop by telling them to get a job. He tells them WHY they should get a job. They should get a job so they have something to share with others.
This goes to the heart of changing a thief’s motivation – he used to steal because “what’s yours is mine, and I can take it.”
But now, he is to think of his money (which he earns in a job) as something to give to others. His money is now the money he can give away.

And lastly –
Ephesians 4:29-32 " 29Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

What am I supposed to TAKE OFF?
Corrupt talk!
Vulgar words!
Curse words!
Profanity!

And what am I supposed to PUT ON in their place?
Words that build others up and make people feel good.
But that’s not all.
Profane language isn’t all about using curse words. You can have corrupt language that doesn’t have a single curse word in it. You can have unwholesome talk that isn’t filled with profanity. In fact, there’s a CORRUPT talk that grieves God’s Spirit which is inside of you!!!

These are words filled with bitterness, hatred, and slander of other people. And God says... get rid of that!!! Do not tear others down by what you say. God despises that kind of language!!!!

But why? Why would God hate that of language? Well, because God knows you and I... and He knows enough about us that He could say all kinds of nasty things about us. He knows things He could say about you that YOU don’t want others to find out about.

But He doesn’t. He won’t repeat those words about your past because, in Christ HE forgave you and me! IN CHRIST... all our shameful behavior been erased.

Since that is true, it’s inappropriate for us to gratefully accept HIM forgiving us...and then us turning around and NOT forgiving others of their behavior.

CLOSE: Now in the midst of the conversation about TAKING OFF sinful deeds and PUTTING ON good deeds, we must not lose sight of the fact that we’re NOT doing all this because we’re nice people.

We may think we are... but that’s not possible. Isaiah 64:6 tells us “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags” before God."

In other words, we won’t be able to stand before God at the judgement and say “Hey, look at how nice I’ve dressed myself! Aren’t I pretty?” Oh no! This isn’t about dressing up in OUR righteous deeds. It’s about dressing up Christ’s righteousness.

In Revelation 3:18 Jesus said "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see."

It’s Jesus who clothes in pure garments. It’s HIS blood and His forgiveness that covers the nakedness of our sins. In fact, that’s how we come to salvation.
When we’re baptized in Christ, Paul says “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have PUT ON Christ.” Galatians 3:27

Sermon Contributor: Jeff Strite

Judge Not

Matthew 7:1-6

INTRO: Good morning church. Turn in your Bibles with me this morning to Matthew 7:1-6. This will be our main text though we will be looking at other scriptures.

This is a part of the Sermon on the Mount as Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7:1-28 is called. In this sermon, the Lord proclaims the principles of the kingdom of heaven. In chapter 5 are what we call the beatitudes, and the relationship to the law. In chapter 6 we read about seeking the kingdom of God and in chapter 7 the narrow path.

This is a sermon from which we can glean a large number of practical lessons on how to live our lives. The content of chapters 6 and 7 are practical instructions in righteousness for the citizens of the kingdom, forming a striking contrast to the ideas of righteousness that was current among the Scribes and Pharisees. Alms, prayer, forgiveness, fasting, wealth, freedom from anxiety, rash judgments, reserve in communicating sacred knowledge, persistence in prayer, the necessity of good works, and stability of character

The particular lesson or theme that we are dealing with this morning is “to judge or not to judge”. Understanding this topic is something that is very much needed in our society. Something we need to consider carefully because it is often misunderstood.

As to this particular text, it is a text that from time to time we mention in dealing with the type of judgment that is condemned and also the type of judgment that is not condemned.

In our lesson this morning, I want to look at that in greater detail. We're living in times when we're not supposed to judge anyone, especially when it comes to their moral behavior.

Sadly, as we know, this is not exclusive to dealing with what we would describe as the worldly mindset. There are many so-called believers in Jesus Christ, who would tell you the same thing, that we should not judge others.

Even among some of the Lord’s church, there are those practicing things with no authority. They use this text to say; “You should not judge me in my conduct, or you should not judge us in what we are doing.” Is that really what the Bible is teaching? What does this passage mean? What is involved here? I suspect that judging is something all of us struggle with from time to time.

In Matthew 5:20 Jesus says “… unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Then Jesus gives illustrations of what He's talking about. He gives several examples of how they had dismissed what the law truly taught or what the Law was demanding of them.

Now our text, “1. "Judge not, that you be not judged. 2. "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3. "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4. "Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me remove the speck out of your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5. "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye. 6. "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.”

In this message Jesus is dealing with the subject of judging. What exactly did Jesus mean as He was talking about judgment? Jesus gives us an illustration when He talks about how you want to remove the speck in your brother's eye when there's a plank in your own eye. Jesus says, take care of your plank first before you worry about your brothers spec.

Let’s look in scripture and see if we can identify:
First what Jesus was not talking about.
Secondly what Jesus was talking about.
Thirdly, let’s look at how to judge, and some principles to give consideration to.

I. What was Jesus not talking about - .

A. From the scriptures the first observation we make is Jesus was not saying that we should never question somebody or criticize somebody concerning their behavior. If somebody is doing wrong, there's nothing to discourage us from pointing out that error.

1. Jesus is not saying we should not take note of people who are in error. We need to be constructively concerned about somebody doing that is wrong, rather than just fault finding.
2. I'm reminded of Galatians 2:11, where Paul says, “But when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed;”

a. Paul called Peter out publicly. Paul gives the example where Peter was playing the hypocrite. Before certain men came from James he would eat with the Gentiles. But when those men had come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.
b. Peter was being inconsistent in the way that he was dealing with brethren, and the rest of the Jews played the hypocrite with him so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.
c. Paul goes on to say, I challenged him. Paul “called him on the carpet”, as the saying goes, and pointed out to Peter his error.
d. We should understand, when somebody is in error, Jesus is not saying you should not point out what that error is and even go to the individual critically and challenge them on that error.

3. In James 5:19-20 James concludes with this point, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”. When somebody wanders from the truth, we need to do whatever we can to bring them back. We are making a judgment on their actions, and determined that it is in error. Then we need to deal with that error.
4. Galatians 6:1 is similar, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
5. There is a time then to deal with a speck in your brother's eye. Did Jesus say you should never do that? He didn't say that, did he? He just said; Take care of the plank in your own eye first.
6. If somebody is in error, it needs to be challenged. Jesus is not saying that we should not question someone on their teachings or their behavior when there is error.

B. Furthermore, Jesus is not saying that we should not practice, and I'm putting this in quotes, “church discipline” today, that is withdrawing from the ungodly. That is taught very clearly in 1st Corinthians 5:4-7. Paraphrasing 5:1 first, “It is reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife.”[para] Paul goes on to say they should be mourning the situation.

1. You hear some people say, you can't judge me in what I do. Paul says, “4. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5. deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6. Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7. Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened.”
2. Look at Romans 16:17, “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.” Paul warned these brethren to note those who cause divisions, and mark them.
3. In 2nd Thessalonians 3:6 Paul says, “But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.” He says, we are to withdraw from everyone who walks disorderly. This is practicing discipline.
4. The world says, “You shouldn't judge people like that, let God take care of it”. Scripture says—we have a responsibility to try to help someone in error to turn from it and that may include withdrawing.
5. In Matthew 18:15-17 Jesus teaches about a brother who has a fault. “15. "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16. "But if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more, that `by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' 17. "And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”
6. How do you deal with it? You go to him first, and if he doesn't respond, if he doesn't repent, take two or three witnesses. If that doesn't work, you tell it to the church. If that doesn't work, you let him be to you as an unbeliever, no longer a brother in Christ—you withdraw from them. That's the standard that Jesus gives us.

C. Having said that, Jesus didn't mean we should be involving ourselves with those that are in darkness and have no desire to understand the truth. If somebody is in darkness, if they are living a life of immorality and engaged in sinful behaviors, don't play around with that. It would be like somebody playing with a poisonous snake. Jesus isn't saying you should refrain from making a judgment against somebody in that type of circumstance.

1. We're told in Ephesians 5:11, “… have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”
2. In 2nd Corinthians 6:14 Paul says, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” Paul follows this with examples. Light has no fellowship with darkness, and Christ has no fellowship with Belial.
3. In 2nd Corinthians 6:17 Paul says, “"Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.''”
4. We are not to say; “I can't judge those who are practicing immorality in the world. I'm just going to hang out with them anyway. Even though they're doing things that are sinful, I'm not going to say anything to them and I’ll just act like it's no big deal.”

a. In 1st Peter 4:3-4 Peter says, “For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles when we walked in licentiousness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.” We don't do that anymore. We've changed. We choose our friends based upon a different standard.
b. In our text Matthew 7:6, Jesus says, “do not cast your pearls before swine”. This calls for us to make a determination, a judgment, “Am I casting my pearls before swine if I continue dealing with this individual?” We need to determine (i.e. judge) whether or not we should deal with someone.

5. Nor does Jesus mean we should not expose false teachers or false doctrine. Galatians 1:6-9 “6. I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7. which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”

a. There's only one gospel, and if somebody preaches something different than the truth of God's word, you are to reject that person. We are not to sweep false teaching and false doctrine under the carpet.

6. In Titus 1:10-11 Paul is in the process of giving instructions to Titus to appoint elders. Among the qualities needed in elders are maturity and integrity. Paul says, “For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.” These people need to be challenged, they need to be identified, and they need to be marked. When somebody is teaching error it needs to be identified.
7. In 2nd John 9-11 we have a very strong passage where John is warning about those not teaching the doctrine of Christ. “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.” John says whoever does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. Do not fellowship with such a person. If you do… you will share in their evil deeds. We are not to support somebody that is teaching false doctrine.

a. Incidentally, do you have to make a judgment when you identify somebody as a false teacher? Yes, you do.
b. 1st John 4:1 tells us to “test the spirits”. In Matthew 7:15f Jesus warns, “… "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” You will be able to make a judgment based upon the fruit that they're bearing. That's in the same sermon where Jesus says, “judge not, that you be not judged.”

II. What was Jesus talking about -

A. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is teaching about the Kingdom. He is correcting some misunderstandings (example: Matthew 5:43-44) and extending His followers understanding beyond following points of law (example: Matthew 5:27-28). Remember Jesus is not teaching based on reinterpretation, He is teaching based on HIS OWN AUTHORITY. What Jesus teaches superseded the Old Law. I suggest that here He was addressing unjust and unfounded judgments. Let’s consider some scripture.
B. We have studied in James about prejudice and that's one of the ways that our text applies. Somebody that looks at a person's outward appearance and they make a prejudgment without knowledge. They determine if someone is bad or good based upon outward appearance.

1. In James 2:1-10 James says we are not to judge with partiality and gives an example. James says, if you do so you've become judges with evil thoughts. In verses 8-9 there he says “ If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself,'' you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”
2. That's the type of judgment that he's talking about. Prejudice is unjust judgment.

C. Another example is assuming the worst in others or assuming the worst in a given situation.

1. There are those who out of hatred will assume the worst in their perceived enemy or rival. We hear of those who think a certain person can never do anything right. Everything is scrutinized and attacked with the assumption that person must be wrong.
2. Jesus was constantly judged wrongly because His enemies did not WANT to accept Him. Just consider His trial, and how they accused Him of casting out demons in the name of Beelzebub.
3. We see this in politics all the time, don't we? We see it in the way that politicians treat each other, both sides of the aisle. So much hatred and animosity expressed in an ungodly attitude of judgment toward those who you don't like, toward those who disagree with you. “Everything that so-and-so says, it can't be right, it has to be wrong.” That's the attitude.
4. Look in Matthew 12:24 “But when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.''” Does that answer the question of how Jesus can cast out demons? Is that an honest judgment of what Jesus was doing? Absolutely not. It was made out of hatred. It was made assuming the worst in Jesus because they didn't want to assume the best.

D. I’m sure we have all known or know some individuals who, if you talk to them, it's almost guaranteed they will have something negative to say. They just approach life and other people with the idea that, it has to be wrong, rather than it being right. Instead of assuming there might be other motives behind what is being done, they assume the worst. Every little thing is nitpicked and criticized and people can't do anything right.

1. That's unjust judging, unrighteous judging. There are some people that approach life with everybody's bad, and I'm going to assume that you're bad until you prove to me that you're good. Would you think that's the approach we should take?
2. I suggest perhaps we ought to reverse that, give a person the benefit of the doubt. James 5:9 “Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!”

E. Another type of judgment that is wrong judging is passing judgment with ulterior motives, which is something Jesus dealt with all the time. There are many people who pass judgments, some pass judgments constantly condemning, and others constantly justifying.

1. When you know someone has exposed something negative about you, you may be tempted to find fault with them or try to attack them and their character. Perhaps you want to divert attention from your errors and what you're doing wrong.
2. We find this in debates today dealing with who is God and whether the Bible is the word of God. (And politics) People engage in what is described as an ad hominem attack. What it means is they attack the speaker when they can't answer his argument.
3. You impugn the integrity of the speaker as if that will invalidate the argument. Folks, let me tell you right now, in logic—it doesn't. Nevertheless, that's what people do. Isn’t that exactly what the enemies of Jesus did over and over and over?
4. There's another side to this, which is created by favoritism. It is saying here is a person who can do no wrong. They may be in error, but because they're on your side or whatever, you say, “I see nothing wrong with what they're doing.” Isn't that wrongful judgment just as much as the unfounded condemnation?
5. Look at John 11:47-50 in speaking of Jesus. “47. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48. "If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.''” In other words if we leave him alone, we're in trouble. Does it matter whether what He's doing is right? Does it matter whether what He is teaching is worthy of consideration?
6. Verse 49f – “49. And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, 50. "nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.''” That's a chilling statement. It's more expedient to kill Him than have to answer to the Romans. Is that a righteous judgment?

F. Something else that is sinful judging is prideful judgment. There are many people that pass judgments on others to make themselves look good. They think they're better than everybody else.

1. I think of Luke 10:25-29 where the lawyer asks Jesus what is needed for eternal life. Jesus asks the lawyer what the Law says. The lawyer answered correctly but then in verse 29 “But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?'” That’s an ungodly attitude—prideful judgment.

G. Another thing we need to be concerned about is being hypocritical in our judgment.

1. In our text at Matthew 7:5 we read, “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye.” The idea here of a hypocrite is someone who will impose a standard on you that they won't follow themselves. Unfair judgment.
2. Another passage where Jesus used the word hypocrites to describe that very thing in Matthew 23:4, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” I suggest that's the type of judgment that Jesus is condemning.

H. When Jesus said, judge not, lest you be judged, I think we need to give consideration to every one of those qualities we have looked at.

III. How should we judge - From studying the scriptures we see there are judgments we should not make and there are judgments we should make. How are we to do this judging?

A. It ought to be righteous. Jesus tells us that in John 7:24, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” There's a time then for righteous judgment. We need to make sure that in whatever way we render judgment, that we're doing it to the best of our ability to be right.
B. Why do we need to judge righteously? It is because we desire to be right with God. When you're dealing with how you judge others based upon their behavior, based upon their teachings, do you want to be right with God? And - Do you want them to be right with God? That's really the attitude that we need to have in mind.

1. We find in The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus says, “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” You bring your gift to the alter because you have a desire to be right with God but Jesus makes the point you need to be reconciled to your brother before you offer your gift.

C. Something else that's associated with righteous judging is taking the time to investigate before we pass a judgment. 1st John 4:1 reminds us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Make sure that you know what is really going on when you judge.
D. I suspect this next point may be a little difficult but we need to judge with respect for the liberties of others. There are some things that we may not like. We may not be comfortable with the way someone is doing something, but what they're doing may not be wrong within itself. And just because we don't like something, doesn't mean it's wrong.

1. This is a tricky area and people sometimes abuse this principle to justify what is sinful. I'm not talking about things that are sinful. But there are areas, we call liberties, where God doesn't care whether you do them or not. Think of Romans 14, God doesn't care what kind of food you eat and the observing of days and so on. As example Romans 14:10 – “Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.”
2. The point being, when we consider judging, we need to respect differences that are not contradictory to God's word. Colossians 2:16 – “Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,” We need to make sure when we judge that we respect the liberties of others.

E. In addition to that, when it comes to judging others, it needs to be done with love. This, folks, is one of those things that cannot be emphasized enough. 1st Corinthians 13:4-7. Paul says, “4. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5. does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6. does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7. bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” I strongly suggest that every one of these qualities need to be in place when we start judging others.
F. It needs to be done with love, with a proper attitude, with understanding, and it also needs to be done with mercy. James 2:12-13 – “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

1. We talked about the person with ungodly attitudes, the one that looks for faults, passes judgment without knowledge and so on. Why not do it the other way? Why not give the benefit of the doubt and assume maybe a person had proper motives in what they were doing, rather than improper motives?
2. If somebody is teaching error, until they prove differently, assume that they don't mean to be teaching error, and that they want to be taught the truth. Go to them before passing judgment. Galatians 6:1 – “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness,” Give the benefit of the doubt that they want to do the right thing.

G. In addition, keep in mind we should judge others the way we would want to be judged. Matthew 7:12 – “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Think about that when it comes to judging others.
H. Remember also that our goal is to save souls. We should keep that in mind when we see the need to judge. Go to that somebody you have a concern with, with the goal of saving a soul. Go with a desire for them to do that which is right, not just so that you can have justification for writing them off. Hope for the best.
I. Along that line our judgment needs to be with a view toward eternity. Back to The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:2 again, with emphasis – “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

1. Matthew 5:7 – “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
2. Matthew 6:14-15 – “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
3. On the same occasion, Jesus said, the way you forgive is the way you're going to be forgiven, the way you show mercy is the way you're going to be shown mercy, and the way you judge is the way you're going to be judged. Think about that.

CONCLUSION:
Are we to judge with a righteous judgment? Yes, but we need to take seriously the warning of Jesus, judge not lest you be judged, and understand what He's saying. Then make a proper judgment making application of that text.

The lesson is yours.

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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins… If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.

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Reference Sermon by: Thomas Thornhill Jr.

Be Encouraged

Always Trust God No Matter What

Daniel Chapters 5&6

A young man, who was preaching his very first sermon… announced his text in Revelation 22 and read, “Behold I come quickly.”
At that point his mind went blank and he couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Then he remembered being told that if this happens to you,
just repeat your text.

So, he said again, “Behold I come quickly.” but still couldn’t remember what to say.
Frustrated he decided to raise his voice and say it again.
Just as he did, he tripped and fell into the lap of a little old lady sitting in the front row.
Very embarrassed, he told the lady how sorry he was.

To which she replied, you don’t need to feel bad,
“you warned me three times you were coming…
and I still didn’t get out of the way.”
My message this morning is about a man in the Bible named Daniel & his 3 friends. What do you know about Daniel?
If Daniel could be here right now, I’m sure he would say to us: “Always trust God – no matter what!”
I would like to ask you to mentally repeat those words to yourself 3 times..
“Always trust God – no matter what!”
“Always trust God – no matter what!”
“Always trust God – no matter what!”

You see, Daniel trusted God for ALL his life. As a child he was growing up in Jerusalem.
His parents must have taught him about his wonderful God. They must have taught him that he should always follow God’s laws, no matter what.

Evidently, as a child, Daniel had some friends named Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah. When they were all probably teenagers everything changed for them.

A Babylonian King named Nebuchadnezzar went to war against Jerusalem & he won! Now King Nebuchadnezzar had what I think was a brilliant idea.

That was to bring some of the older boys of royal or leading families back to Babylon, not exactly to be hostages, but rather to train them in Babylonian ways in order to be future leaders of their own people.
So, after winning the war, he took some of the older boys -- like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah --- back to his country’s capitol, Babylon.
Now the people who lived in Babylon did NOT know about God. They did not know God’s laws, & they did not know that God loved them also. But Daniel remembered what his parents had taught him. Again we say “Always trust God -- no matter what!”

King Nebuchadnezzar put these older captive boys, including Daniel & his friends, in a special training program where they could learn all kinds of things that would make them capable leaders & friendly with the Babylonians.
Of course, this training program did not know or follow God’s laws. So, as favored trainees, they were served the rich foods that privileged people in the palace ate. But much of that food was the kind of food & drink that went against God’s laws for Israel.
So Daniel went to the official in charge of the trainees & said, in effect, “We want to obey our God’s laws. So please let me & my 3 friends just drink water instead of wine. And let us eat vegetables instead of what the others are eating.”
The official replied, “I can’t do that! You have to eat what the King provides!” But Daniel said, “We have to do what our GOD says. Let me & my friends eat the way my God’s Law says. After a few days, you will see that we will be stronger & healthier than any of the other young men!”

So the official decided to give it a try. God honored their efforts, & after a trial period of 10 days, it was obvious that Daniel & his friends looked stronger & healthier than any of the other young men!
And it was all because God blessed them & they remembered what their parents taught them. Again we say, “Always trust God -- no matter what!”
And if people trusted God, then we would be stronger & healthier, too --- because God’s Word tells us how to live a good & healthy kind of life!

Well, years went by, & God watched over Daniel & his friends while they grew from boys to men. King Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed with Daniel’s abilities to interpret dreams & with his wisdom that he placed him in a powerful position in Babylon.
He also gave Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah, whose names were changed to the Babylonian names of Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego, important positions too.
For years they served God & King Nebuchadnezzar faithfully despite the fact that there were times they had to choose to disobey the King in order to remain faithful to God.

When some Babylonians reported to the King that Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego weren’t bowing down to the golden statue, the King commanded that they be brought to him. Remember that we will ALWAYS have others trying to put us down, trying to discourage us, etc.
Then the King ordered the 4 of them to bow down & worship the golden statue or be thrown into the furnace.
EXODUS 20:3-5 3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them"
They refused & said, (Daniel 3:17-18) “If you throw us into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from the furnace. … But even if God does not save us, we want you, O king, to know this: We will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
Doesn’t that sound like they, too, believed “Always trust God – no matter what!”?
As a result of Daniel & his 3 friends, King Nebuchadnezzar began to respect their God even though he didn’t go so far as to worship their God himself. King Nebuchadnezzar had a long reign before he died.

Then a new king named Belshazzar became the ruler of Babylon. His father had really inherited the title & the throne, but he didn’t want the responsibilities, so he spent his time far away in a resort area enjoying himself.
Under this new King, Daniel no longer held the very important position he had under Nebuchadnezzar, & we don’t hear anything more about Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego.
Belshazzar was an arrogant ruler, & soon the combined forces of the Medes & Persians declared war & began a long siege of Babylon. But Belshazzar was confident that the defenses of the city were so good that there was no way the enemy could ever break through. And he was almost right.

This way of thinking reminds me of the FOOLISH and EARTHLY comment made by those who designed the TITANIC… that EVEN GOD HIMSELF couldn’t SINK IT.
So to celebrate how invincible Babylon was, Belshazzar threw a grand party for 1,000 royal guests. It turned into a drunken party, & Belshazzar ordered the gold & silver cups that had been taken from the Temple in Jerusalem to be brought in, & they drank from them while praising their own gods.

Suddenly the fingers of a giant hand appeared & began to write on the palace wall. The King watched this & the Bible says he “…was very frightened. His face turned white, his knees knocked together, and he could not stand up because his legs were too weak.” (Daniel 5:6)
He immediately sent for “all the magicians, wise men, and wizards of Babylon.” And he offered a great reward to anyone who could read the words & tell what they meant. But no one could, so he “…became even more afraid, and his face became even whiter.” (Daniel 5:9)

Then the King’s mother told him of Daniel who had been an advisor to King Nebuchadnezzar. When Daniel was brought in he reminded Belshazzar of all the things that had happened to King Nebuchadnezzar & how he had finally learned humility before God.
But despite knowing that, Belshazzar had not only ignored God, but had deliberately insulted God by his drunken use of the holy cups from God’s Temple to praise his own pagan gods.
Then Daniel translated the words & explained their meaning. God had passed judgment on him, & his kingdom would be taken from him & given to the Medes & the Persians.

The King ignored his words, but since Daniel had explained what the words on the wall meant, Belshazzar kept his word & ordered that rich gifts be given to Daniel & announced that Daniel would, under him, be the next most important man in Babylon.
But it didn’t make any difference. That very night the enemy broke into Babylon & King Belshazzar was killed. And within a short time the entire Babylonian Kingdom was controlled by the Medes & Persians.
The ruler of the new Kingdom was King Darius of the Medes. But no matter what King was in charge, Daniel remembered what his parents taught him.
“Always trust God - no matter what!”

King Darius reorganized his Kingdom & appointed 120 men to be Governors. Then he chose 3 men to be Supervisors over them. And Darius chose Daniel to be one of the 3 Supervisors! Now Daniel was one of the most important rulers in the new Kingdom.
Daniel was a good ruler. He was wise & fair & honest. In fact, Daniel was so good at his job that King Darius decided that he didn’t need 3 Supervisors. And he planned to make Daniel the only Supervisor of all 120 Governors.

Almost everyone appreciated Daniel. But a few did NOT. He was not a Mede or a Persian or even a Babylonian. He was just a captive Jew.
They did NOT believe in Daniel’s God, & they wanted to find a way to make King Darius stop favoring Daniel. But even though they spied on Daniel every day, they couldn’t catch him doing anything wrong.
They DID see that Daniel did something different from other people. Three times every day, Daniel would go to his window & kneel down & pray to His God. That gave these evil men an idea! They finally knew how they could get Daniel in trouble.

The men went to King Darius & said, “Oh, King, live forever…” (that’s the first thing everyone said to the King in those days). Then they said, “We have a great idea. To really unite the Kingdom, make a Law that says: For the next 30 days, no one can pray to anyone except to you, King Darius! And if anyone breaks this law they will be thrown to the lions.” Then they lied & said, “Everyone thinks this is a good idea.”
King Darius believed their lie. He thought everyone, even Daniel, thought this was a good Law. So he signed a paper that made it a Law. Now, here was the problem. Back then, if a King signed a Law, then no one could change it … not even the King!

Well, soon after Darius signed this Law, these evil men went to Daniel’s house & waited for him to come to his window & pray to his God. Daniel knew about this new Law. But Daniel thought, “All my life I have obeyed my God, & I’m not going to stop now!” Daniel remembered what his parents had taught him, “Always trust God -- no matter what!”

So, Daniel went to the window & prayed just like he did every day. Those evil men went running to King Darius & told him that Daniel broke his new Law. The King was dismayed because he liked & respected Daniel … but he couldn’t change the Law he had signed. So, he told his servants to arrest Daniel & bring him to the Lion’s pit.
When they threw Daniel into the pit full of hungry lions, the King said, “Daniel, may your God whom you always serve come & rescue you!” (Daniel 6:17)
Then the King went back to his palace afraid that he would never see Daniel alive again because he knew the lions were ferocious & hungry.
Daniel 6:18-24 says, “The King did not eat that night, he did not have any entertainment brought to him, and he could not sleep. The next morning King Darius got up at dawn and hurried to the lion’s den. …
“He called out to Daniel, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God! Has your God, that you always worship, been able to save you from the lions?’ Daniel replied, ‘O king, live forever!’ (Remember, they always had to start that way)
“My God sent his angel to close the lions’ mouths. They have not hurt me, because my God knows I am innocent. I never did anything wrong to you, O king.”
“The King … told his servants to lift Daniel out of the lion’s Den. So they lifted him out and did not find any injury on him, because Daniel had trusted in his God.”

“Then the King commanded that the men who had accused Daniel be brought to the lion’s den. They, their wives, and their children were thrown into the den. The lions grabbed them before they hit the floor of the den & crushed their bones.”
Then King Darius wrote a letter to all the people in his kingdom & in every language they spoke: (Daniel 6:26-28) “I am making a new Law for people in every part of my Kingdom. “All of you must fear and respect the God of Daniel.”
“Daniel’s God is the living God; he lives forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end. God rescues and saves people and does mighty miracles … He is the one who saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”
“So Daniel was successful during the time Darius was king and Cyrus the Persian was king.”
From the time he was a little boy -- all the way until he finally got old & died -- Daniel always remembered what his parents taught him: “Always trust God -- no matter what!”
May we ALSO ALWAYS Remember, “trust God -- no matter what!” Will you trust & obey Him?
You have that opportunity as we stand and sing.
INVITATION:

Job - Epilogue

Job - Epilogue
Job 42:7-17

INTRO: Good morning church. I suspect many of us are familiar with the Book of Job and the story told there. I find the answers that are provided in Job to be challenging because the things that God explains are often not the cliché Christian answers of how we want to explain suffering. I believe that God's answer in this book is really full of comfort. This morning I want to concentrate on what is often called the Epilogue of Job, chapter 42:7-17.

First though, I want to take a step back and then look at the final text of Job 42. To appreciate that epilog, we need to bring to memory how we got there.

In Job 1:1 we read, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.” If you remember in the first two chapters, we see that Job was put into a trial, because Satan asserted that God was not just in how He blessed people. Satan said the reason people served God is for what they could get out of it. In other words, they served for selfish reasons.

Satan alleges that if “you take away everything Job has; he will curse you to your face.” Thus proving that people are basically mercenaries for God and only serve for what they receive, not for whom He is and not for how glorious He is. This becomes the basis of the trial that Job must go through. God allowed Satan to take away from Job his wealth, his family, and his health. After losing his children, his wealth, and his health, Job does not curse God, as Satan said that he would.

Job feels, though, that he has lost his relationship with God and maintained his righteousness even after all that he had lost. His three friends then arrive to, quote, “comfort him” and give explanations for why these things have happened.

As we continue reading we find that those three friends keep repeating the refrain that Job needed to repent. If he would only repent, then all of the blessings would return… The problem with that is… it would have proved Satan correct. It would show that Job's just in it for the blessings he receives and that's all he's concerned about.

Job shows that that's not what he's concerned about. He is concerned about justice and righteousness, and he maintains his integrity throughout. Job's stance, you might say, is that God has not treated him fairly. The thing that confronted Job was that, despite his integrity toward God and the absence of any gross wickedness that could have deserved the terrible misfortunes that had overtaken him, he was judged by his friends, and everyone else, as a wicked sinner who was getting exactly what his conduct deserved.

Then Elihu starts to speak, who we did not know was there through this whole scene, and gives his explanation about what is going on and his understanding of how God runs the world. There is much to be said about Elihu who is the worst of the lot, but that is a whole study in itself. As he is giving his answer, God answers from the whirlwind interrupting and terminating Elihu’s remarks with a question addressed to Job, “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?”

God at this point speaks repeatedly to Job, asking many questions about many different things. The great truth that shines here is not so much related to the particular things about which God questioned Job, as it is to the incredible and glorious truth that Almighty God Himself was carrying on a conversation with a mortal man! Through this God shows His power and His wisdom, and that is what is to be trusted, for God is running the world.

Who are we to challenge or question the power of God or the wisdom of God in the slightest? This brought the final words of Job in Job 42:6, “Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Of what did Job repent? Certainly, he did not repent of such sins as his friends had alleged against him; and neither is it enough to say that Job repented of his pride. Repentance here is of a man who realizes his creaturehood and that God is eternally God. 1st Corinthians 3:19 reminds us, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.”

When we reach this point we find that no answer has been provided for the overriding question about the reason behind human suffering. One commentator wrote "God is not so much concerned with strengthening man's faith by giving him answers to his questions, as he is with encouraging the kind of faith that does not demand answers." (Coffman)

EPILOGUE - Now the epilog… What are we to understand from this book? Look with me now at Job 42:7-17. “7. And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. 8. "Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.''

9. So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord commanded them; for the Lord had accepted Job. 10. And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

11. Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold. 12. Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.

13. He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14. And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. 15. In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 16. After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. 17. So Job died, old and full of days.”

The Friends - The first scene is given in verses seven through nine. The Lord turns His attention to the three friends. Verse seven just flat out declares “… you have not spoken of Me what is right…” Step back and think about what have they said about God that isn't right? The point that they have continually made was that suffering means you're being punished by God for your sins.

Over and over they indicate the only explanation for your suffering is that you're being punished for your sins. You are getting less than you deserve. You should just be grateful for what you're going through because you're an awful sinner.

God is very clear in this verse in declaring that what the three friends said was wrong. He indicates that's not right, that's not the way that I operate. In fact at the end of verse seven “…you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. ”

The three friends had adopted the false theory, which many still hold, that you can measure the righteousness of a person by the degree of their prosperity. Essentially the proposition espoused by Satan, with the variation that the only reason prosperous people served God was as a way of assuring the continuation of their prosperity. Based on that false view, the three friends insisted that Job was a reprobate sinner. Job vehemently denied this, pointing out that the wicked often prospered; and it is primarily of that basic truth that God spoke in this verse.

In reading Job we learn that God had not sent affliction upon Job to punish him, nor to discipline him; all of his sorrowful experiences were due to Satan and to no one else.
With lying persuasion Elihu, pretending to be inspired of God, promises mercy, prosperity and pleasure if Job will admit his sins, and he lays down the proposition that Elihu himself, as God's representative, is present to help Job remember those sins he has surely committed, but which he may have forgotten. This was Satan's trump card; and when Job refused to believe it, ignored and rejected it, God's judgment of Job was gloriously vindicated.

What then do we know of the suffering we face? It is not as punishment, we learn that from Job. It does have a corrective nature, but a corrective nature is not the same as saying God is going to barbecue you every time you've done something wrong.

These things are permitted to correct us and move us in the right direction. What does scripture say? We've observed many times how the New Testament uses this concept. James, Peter, and Paul tell us this. See Romans eight, 1st Peter one, and James one.

We look at suffering and understand it to be the refining of faith, the molding of our character, the changing of who we are, to draw us closer to God, to make us what we ought to be. Would we like to believe that we would change ourselves during prosperity and good times? Yes. Yet it is often through adversity, trials, and suffering that change occurs.

Paul, Peter, and James all say that same thing, these things are given to us, to be used by us, to refine us—again a corrective.

God allows these things so that we would become more and more of what God has called us to be and to refine those edges, to strengthen that faith, to change that character.

The idea that suffering is punishment is firmly ingrained in human thought though, isn’t it? Look at John 9:1-2 “Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?''” The scriptures reflect how often that was a common idea. Here's this man who's been born blind. Who sinned? The first thought is somebody sinned. God must be punishing. Is he punishing the man or punishing the parents? Who sinned?

Here is what happened. Jesus answered; “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” It’s not how things operate. “ but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” I love that answer… to display the glory of God.

If there is nothing else you take away when you study Job, it’s that you will understand the function of suffering in life. If you study it and say, God must be punishing me for something I did yesterday and He's now zapping me today. That's not what the Book of Job shows.

The friends set forward that theology, and God has knocked it down very strongly and said that's not what I'm doing. These things are intended to help us, to correct us, to move us in the right way.

I find it astounding to read the reaction of these friends to Job’s situation. Look at the picture painted. They have said of Job; you are a terrible, awful sinner. I mean, you're the worst of the worst. You trampled the poor. You reject the widows. The list of things these friends have charged Job with is staggering, especially in light of all that he has lost. Yet, we remember Job 1:1, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.”

Notice what God says in the Epilogue that the three friends must do. He doesn't just simply say you need to pray to me and repent. No, we find that God sets up Job as a priest of sorts. They must find intercession, through Job, to God. You bring your offerings and Job will pray for you to Me and I will hear Job. He is My servant.

My Servant - Job is set up as this priest figure which we find interesting because remember the book started that way. Job 1:5, “So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.'' Thus Job did regularly.” He is My servant.

Especially strong are those words. In verses seven and eight of the Epilogue, we see a repetition. God says four times “My servant” when speaking of Job. The unavoidable implication is the vindication of Job before these friends.

All of these friends are saying; you're a miserable wretch and God is punishing you. God addresses three of these men and says; actually, that's My servant Job and if you want to have any relationship with Me, any restoration whatsoever, you better bring your sacrifices to him and he'll pray for you. What a reversal! Who has been shown to be righteous? It is not the three friends, but Job.

Here is a beautiful picture of who Job is and the relationship that Job is able to have with God. We recall that Job had thought his relationship with God was destroyed and God was far from him. God shows that's not the case.

I’m thinking now of Isaiah 53. Isaiah prophesied that people would not esteem the Christ, but would consider Him stricken by God, verse 4. In fact, He's the servant of God, as Isaiah called Him in verse 11, and this righteous servant of God would come and take away the sins of the world.

When you study the Book of Job, you will find Job said some things that were not right. After God spoke, what did Job do? Job 42:6 Job says, “… I repent in dust and ashes.” We see repentance and immediately Job is back in a wonderful condition before God because he repents before Him.

Consider the three friends. They have said some awful things about Job. They've outright lied about Job and also said things that are wrong about God. Yet God says, if you will have an intercessor come before me, I'll accept that prayer and you will be restored too. The beauty of forgiveness! Here is this picture of God who restores when we repent.

At the end of this whole event, they will be able to stand before God whole. God will receive them if they repent. One of the great parts in this book is just how amazing it is that after all that has transpired, God is making this offer, and restoring Job, and restoring the three friends.

Job Comforted - The final part of the epilogue gives us a picture of Job being comforted. Some folks jump to the wrong conclusion here so we need to look at it and understand this ending in its proper light.

One of the things that we can not help but notice is that in terms of Job’s possessions, everything doubles. In Job 42:10 it says, “And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” As we read on in verse 12 we find all of those numbers are doubled from what we see in chapter one.

I suspect there is also an increase in terms of his lifespan. In verse 16 we read Job lived 140 years, which corresponded to that of the patriarchs, such as Abraham (175), Isaac (180), and Jacob (147). This fact alone lifts him out of the category of ordinary persons.

Wait a minute though… but there are not 20 children now! After all, Job started with 10, 7 sons and 3 daughters (Job 1:2) and now he has the same number, “10”. Bible scholars tell us the number “10” has special significance as indeed numbers tend to do in those times. The number “10” occurs 242 times in scripture and indicates completeness. Ten…that was the number of children he had, a complete family, remember? What we have now is the complete family that's been put back together again.

God - What are we supposed to take away from this restoration Job receives? Are we supposed to read this book and say, okay, so at the end of the trial you're going to be fully restored and everything will be fine if you just hang on? God will put all the pieces on the checkerboard back into place right where they were before.

Anybody who's been through trials in life knows that's just simply not true. I think we ought to recognize that's not what's happening with Job either. God will bless who He will bless and our actions do not obligate God. That thinking is what Satan alleges.

What Job points out and the writer of Ecclesiastes does too, is that being righteous doesn't mean you're going to be prosperous or successful or that you will have good times. One of the things that God has made very clear, God is not under any obligation to Job.

Folks, how often do people have a trial that they will have for the rest of their days? Remember what Christ told Paul when Paul prayed to have the “thorn in his side” removed? There's nothing that says that God must come in and put the brakes on what you are facing.

If we come to the end of the Book of Job and we believe that that's what God does, then Satan is right. We're only serving God to get the goodies in this life.

What we learn from the Book of Job is that God does not have to act out of any obligation of Job's righteousness.

Why then do you suppose God blesses us? Why does He comfort? Not because we are righteous, but because of who He is. God, in His wisdom and His power, chooses who He will bless, and what He will give, and He does it from His own will and to His purpose. I think that is a critical message that we should get from the Book of Job.

When we suffer trials not only do we have suffering and pain, but sometimes we feel so hopeless. Like there is nothing good in the future, I can not survive this. We need to remember that God is faithful, God is still with us, God will still bless us, God still cares for us, and that there can still be blessings to come.

God's generosity is only tied to His prerogative and His character. Satan had said God cannot do this. God is not able to bless people because if you bless them, they will serve for selfish reasons. God's answer is, that I can bless my people because it's not tied to their activity. This is not a quid pro quo kind of thing.

Let’s continue in the epilogue at verse 11. “Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold.” You'll notice in verse eleven, right in the middle, it says, they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the “adversity”. That word can also be translated “evil” that the Lord had brought upon him.

We see that God declares He is ultimately responsible for everything that has happened. One thing made very clear in the Book of Job is that it was Satan, not God, who slaughtered Job's children, impoverished him, and reduced him to suffering and disease; yet here, it is stated that, "the Lord had brought" all these things upon him. Here we have enunciated the Biblical premise that God indeed "does" that which He “allows” to happen.

It is something that we struggle with. The idea is that God says, at the end of the day, the buck does stop with Him.

That doesn't mean that Satan isn't the one doing the evil, he is the active participant. Are we recognizing God did allow it? God could have stopped it. Everything that Satan does is within the knowledge and the power and the control and the sovereignty of God. God is in control. There is nothing that is outside of His knowledge, nothing that is outside of His realm, outside of His rule, outside of any of those things.

That's the great comfort of chapters one and two. Before Satan can do one thing, what does he do? He talks to God and God permits Satan… with limits. God constantly places boundaries upon what Satan can do and has knowledge of what he is doing, and awareness of those things, and God is pointing that out here.

I’m thinking of 1st Corinthians 10:13 where it says, “No temptation (some translations say testing) has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” We can believe that text by understanding that God is ultimately in control and responsible for the things that are going on and puts boundaries on them.

God does rule over evil. He rules over suffering, He rules over Satan, and He decrees the limits of temptations and trials. His message is; trust My power, trust My knowledge, trust My wisdom…trust…Me.

When we look at our suffering and look at our trials, we understand it is not God trying to hurt us or punish us. How then can this be used to refine our faith? How can this be used to draw us closer to God and to make us more like who God has called us to be?

CONCLUSION:
Now I would like us to turn to James 5. In James, chapter five, he speaks of Job. What James says about Job, I think is a great final summary of the message of the book.

James 5:7-11 – “7. 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. 8. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10. My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” I find how James puts that description of Job very poignant.

James starts and says “Be patient until the Lord returns”. He uses the image of farming. Wait for the Lord's return and be patient. He uses some examples.

The first example is to look at the prophets. We can do that by studying Jeremiah. Look at their example of suffering and patience. He says you see in them their faith, their endurance. See their steadfastness through suffering, through difficulties, and their patience through all things.

Then you'll notice he turns his attention to Job and says, I want you to consider the steadfastness of Job. The marvelous endurance of Job’s faith in God is inherently visible in his reaction to one disaster after another. When death overtook his family, he said, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21). When even his wife suggested that he curse God and die, he said, "What, shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10). When his philosophical friends accused him of sin, citing the calamities which had overwhelmed him as proof of it, he said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust him" (Job 13:15).

In James 5:11 he says “You have heard of the perseverance of Job (Watch what he puts with that) and seen the end intended by the Lord that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” When we come to the end of the Book of Job, the epilogue, that's what we're to see, the compassion and mercy of God.

One of the things that I hope we take away is that God has a greater purpose when He allows evil and suffering in this world. I suppose we want God to give us the manual and say; explain to me how this, this, and this is accomplishing Your purposes. Please tell me. Kind of what Job was saying. You need to explain to me why I, as a righteous person, am enduring this. God's answer is; trust me. Put your faith in Me, and believe in My wisdom, in My knowledge, and My power. I am a compassionate and merciful God and I desire to bless My people.

Of course, we don't have all the information that we would like to have. Folks, if we had all the information, then why would God call us for faith? We turn our hearts to God and believe that He is acting for our good and that these things will be, so that ultimately we will be able to be with Him.

You see in the lives of so many people in the Scriptures from Joseph down through the prophets and the apostles—this is how God operates.

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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins… If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.

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Based on Sermon by: Brent Kercheville

Handling Discouragement

HANDLING DISCOURAGEMENT
Nehemiah 4 : 10-23

An old-time minister tells the story of a man lost in the desert: “He has been out of food and water for days.
His lips are swollen, his tongue is swollen,
he’s all beat up and bloody.
Some of his bones are almost peeking through.
He has been scraped and beat up by the cactus,
the sand and most of all the sun.
He’s blistered all over his body.
As he’s crawling over this little hill
he comes across this little plant
and props himself up on one bloody elbow,
looks down at this plant and says,
‘You know, if things keep going like this
I might get discouraged!’”

By God’s Grace I Will Not Quit
Joshua 1:9 says Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous.
Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed,
for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

There is a legend that Satan decided to get rid of a number of his tools, so he arranged an auction ...
There was envy, deceit, malice, sensuality, enmity, thoughtlessness and many other tools which Satan had used successfully (priced very low).
One piece,
marked very high, was labeled Discouragement.

"Why do you want so much for this tool?" asked one bidder.
"This tool," replied the old tempter,
"has always been my most useful one.
You can see it has had more wear than the rest.
It is used as a wedge to get into a man's mind when all other means fail. Practically every human being has had this tool used on him,
although very few know that I'm the one wielding it." . . .

As it worked out,
none could afford the price Satan demanded for Discouragement ... so he is still using it.

One day a mother saw 5 of her children gathered in a circle in the middle of the yard. Something had their eager attention & she couldn't see what it was.
So, very quietly, she came up behind them
& peeked over their shoulders,
only to discover that in the center of their circle
were 5 little skunks.
Suddenly horrified at what could happen,
The mother cried at the top of her voice,
"Children, run!"
Instantly, each child grabbed a skunk & ran,
leaving their mother stunned & frustrated.

I don't know if you have ever felt like that
but Nehemiah surely must have.
God had said,
"Nehemiah, go to Jerusalem & rebuild the wall around the city."
It sounded so easy, & Nehemiah must have thought,
"That's a piece of cake!
I can do that & be back here again as cupbearer to the King in no time at all."

So Nehemiah went to Jerusalem & started out on his task with great enthusiasm.
But immediately,
he & his workers met opposition, criticism,
complaints, & mockery.

The result was discouragement.
And Nehemiah had to learn how to deal with that discouragement.

What he learned is recorded in Nehemiah 4:10- 23.
To begin with,
listen as I read vs’s 10-12. “Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, ‘the strength of the laborers is giving out,
& there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.
Also our enemies said, 'Before they know it or see us,
we will be right there among them
& will kill them & put an end to the work.’
Then the Jews who lived near them came
& told us ten times over,
‘Wherever you turn, they will attack us.’”

PROP. Now with that beginning,
let’s look more closely at the entire passage & discover,
first of all, the source of discouragement;
secondly, the causes of discouragement;
& finally, how to deal with discouragement when it comes our way.

I. THE SOURCE OF DISCOURAGEMENT
Vs. 10 says, “Meanwhile, the people in Judah said,
‘the strength of the laborers is giving out,
& there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”
Right here is the beginning of all the complaints
& discouragement that come Nehemiah's way.

Do you realize who Judah was?
On his death bed, Jacob called his sons together
& in Genesis 40:10 he said, “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until He comes to whom it belongs...”

What Jacob was saying to Judah was this,
"You will be the leader. You are the chosen tribe to lead God's people until the Messiah comes."
So if anybody ought to be leading the effort in the building of the wall around Jerusalem
it ought to be the people of Judah.
They are the leaders.
But NO,
from the people of Judah,
Nehemiah received only complaints & discouragement.

I wonder, how often have we found that those who ought to be helpful & supportive are not?
And that those who should be encouraging us are actually the source of our discouragement?
Watch out for sources of discouragement!

II. THE CAUSES OF DISCOURAGEMENT
Secondly, notice that in these verses
we are given 4 causes of discouragement,
& it is interesting how God gives them to us in a very special order.

A. First of all, we’re told that they lost their strength.
Listen again to vs. 10: “The strength of the laborers is giving out...”
They started out with tremendous enthusiasm,
but now their strength is beginning to fail. Why?

Go back to vs. 6 & you’ll find the answer.
It says, “We rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height...” Notice the word "half." They were half way through.
They had come half way, but they still had half of it to do.

An automobile half paid for has to be one of the most depressing things in the world. The newness is worn off.
It has scratches & dents, & it needs repairs,
but you still have as many payments left as you have already paid.

A mountain half climbed can be very depressing.
You have expended tremendous energy getting this far,
but you still have as far to go as you have already come.

That is exactly the situation that Nehemiah & the children of Israel faced. The wall was half finished,
but they still had as much to do as they had already done,
& their strength was gone.
They were exhausted & discouraged!

B. Secondly, they had lost their vision.
Vs. 10 goes on to tell us that the people of Judah began saying, "There is so much rubble...."

Do you get the picture?
When they started out to build the wall there was a lot of rubble lying around.
So they all pitched in & cleaned it up
stacking the usable bricks & stones together
& hauling off the rest.

But as they mixed the mortar
& started laying the wall more rubbish began to collect.
Piles of unused mortar
& broken stones were lying everywhere.

And as they began to lose their strength,
they also began to lose their vision.
The result is that they begin to focus their attention on the piles of rubbish & not the work to be done.

I suppose that's a lot like being a mother with multiple children in diapers at the same time.
Here's a dirty diaper,
there's a dirty diaper
everywhere there are mountains of dirty diapers.

When those children were born
the mother had a vision of them growing up to be strong
& successful
& intelligent
& beautiful but right now,
all she can see are dirty diapers!

That is what was happening to Judah.
They once had a vision of a completed wall,
but now all they see are piles of rubbish,
& rubbish is very depressing.

C. Thirdly, they lost their confidence
& began to despair.
“There is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”
When they first started out they were supremely confident.
They were convinced that Nehemiah was the greatest contractor in the world,
& that they would rebuild the wall in record time.
But, now, half way through,
they had lost their confidence.

Have you ever been that way?
You get up in the morning convinced that you are going to seal a deal & that it is going to be a successful day.
But you don't seal the deal,
& you feel beat down
& unsuccessful.

After that happens about 3 or 4 times
you lose your confidence.
You begin to think, "I really can't do the job the way I thought I could."
And confidence is gone.

D. Fourthly, they lost their sense of security.
Vs. 11 says, "Also our enemies said,
'Before they know it or see us,
we will be right there among them
& will kill them & put an end to the work.”

Those are strong words.
They had enemies who were threatening them
threatening even to kill them to stop the work
& they lost their sense of security.

Listen again to vs. 12, “Then the Jews who lived near them came & told us ten times over,
‘Wherever you turn, they will attack us.’”

They lost their sense of security because
their security was in the wrong thing in the first place.

1. How about us?
Today we hear a lot about job security.
As long as things are going well
as long as we’re climbing the ladder of success
as long as we’re getting raises
as long as the boss likes us
we feel secure.

But the company changes hands
& new management comes in.
Pressure builds,
& you feel that your job is threatened
& the sense of security leaves.

2. Or maybe you put security in friends.
You spend time with good friends
& you feel comfortable & secure.
Then your friends move away.
You find it hard to make new friends
& security leaves.

3. Worse yet, you move.
You place your security in a home
in familiar sights & sounds & people.
But one day your husband says,
"We’re being transferred."
So you have to leave your home,
your friends,
your church,
& your schools.
And your sense of security is threatened.

In our highly mobile society today
one of the greatest challenges facing the church
is reaching out to people who have had to leave familiar environments,
move to a new location,
& who need to develop a new sense of closeness,
of family, & of security.

So, let's look at the people of Judah again.
They lost their strength.
They lost their vision.
They lost their confidence,
& they lost their sense of security.
And the result was discouragement.

III. WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT DISCOURAGEMENT?
Nehemiah realized that he had to do something.
You never ignore discouragement anymore than you can ignore a flat tire.
Flat tires don't fix them-selves.
When a tire goes flat you can try to drive on
& hope that it will suddenly get air in it again
but no,
the tire will stay flat until the object causing the leak is removed & the hole repaired.

It is the same way with discouragement.
It just doesn't leave by itself.
You must do something about it.

So what did Nehemiah do?
The scripture tells us 4 things Nehemiah did.

A. First, he saw that there needed to be unity among the people. Listen to vs. 13: "Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at exposed places,
posting them by families,
with their swords, spears & bows."

What did Nehemiah do?
He brought the people together in family groups
so that they would be working together as families
& placed them in strategic spots all along the wall that they were building.

What had they been doing?
They had been scattered as individuals all along the wall
- each one doing his own job where he was.
But there had been no sense of interdependence,
working together as a unit,
working in harmony & close association with one another.
But now they were working together as families,
helping & protecting each other.
Today, God encourages us to worship together as a group so that we can encourage one another.
We read this in Hebrews 10:23-25
23 let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised: 24 and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works; 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day drawing nigh.

B. Secondly, Nehemiah realized that he needed to redirect their attention to the Lord. So vs. 14 of our test says,
”After I looked things over,
I stood up & said to the nobles,
the officials & the rest of the people,
‘Don’t be afraid of them.
Remember the Lord, who is great & awesome,
& fight for your brothers,
your sons & your daughters,
your wives & your homes.”

You see, their problem was that they were focused on rubbish. That was all they could see.
They failed to see that the wall was already half done.
They were half way home
& the Lord had brought them there.

So Nehemiah said, "Remember the Lord.
Remember who He is,
how great & powerful He is."

Folks, every once in a while we need to do the same thing –
to get our eyes off the rubbish that surrounds us
& look to God.
Remember who He is
& how great He is.
He created the world
& hung the stars & sun & moon in space.
He gave us the breath of life,
& He promised to watch over
& care for us all the days of our life.

Remember that the Lord has said in Matthew 7:26,
"Don't be anxious about tomorrow.”
“Look at the birds of the air;
they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,
& yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable than they?”

Remember also that “...in all things God works for the good of those who love Him,
who have been called according to His purpose” [Romans 8:28].

He is talking about us,
for "God so loved the world that He gave His one & only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" [John 3:16].

"Remember the Lord," said Nehemiah.
"Get your eyes off the rubbish,
& remember what He has done
& what He is doing."

C. Thirdly, Nehemiah said,
"We need to rally together."
Listen to vs’s 19 & 20: "Then I said to the nobles,
the officials & the rest of the people,
'The work is extensive & spread out,
& we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet,
join us there. Our God will fight for us!'"

We, too, need a rallying place where we can come with our worries & cares to be strengthened again.
We need to get together & encourage one another.
That is the task of the church.
"Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet," Nehemiah said, “join us there”, & God will fight the battle for us."

D. Finally, Nehemiah said, "We must help each other."
Vs’s 21 & 22 say, "So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people,
'Have every man & his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night,
so they can serve us as guards by night & workmen by day.’"

You see, Nehemiah realized that the task was so great that it needed everybody working together, helping each other.
And that is still true today!

 

 

Sermon Contributor: Melvin Newland

Hidden But Not Forgotten

HIDDEN BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Genesis 14:17-20

OPEN: During WWII, the Geneva Convention allowed Allied POWs to receive gifts from home.
Some of the most popular gifts were board games and decks of playing cards, and one of the most popular board games was Monopoly... especially the Monopoly games sent to them by British government.

The reason this was so popular was because, hidden in the box were tools for escape.
There were real bank notes mixed in amongst the Monopoly money, and – concealed inside the box –
were Compasses, metal files, and a silk map (so it wouldn’t be affected by the elements).
And it worked; soldiers DID use these to escape.

Decks of “playing cards” were also popular because these card decks contained special cards that, when soaked in water, revealed hidden maps of routes the POW’s could use for their escapes.

Hidden in these games - were the keys to freedom.
And hidden in our text today, is one of the most important keys to OUR freedom.

But first, a little background.
Abraham and his family have been living down near the Dead Sea. There were 5 major cities in the area (including Sodom and Gomorrah) and these cities were part of the powerful Kingdom of Elam to whom they were obligated to pay tribute.
Apparently, they decided they didn’t like that arrangement any longer and they rebelled.

Now, the King of Elam didn’t like that, so he led a massive army down from the North and devastated Sodom and Gomorrah - raiding their cities and carrying away plunder and captives... including Lot and his family.

When Abraham heard that this had happened, he led his own personal army of 318 men against the Northern King. And he rescued all the captives, including Lot and his family and brought back all the goods that had been plundered.

What I found interesting about our story today was that, as Abraham is making his way back home, we’re told in Genesis 14:17-20:
“... the king of Sodom went out to meet (Abram) at the Valley of Shaveh. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. And he blessed him and said, ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!’ And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”
Did you notice that the King of Sodom comes out to meet Abraham FIRST. But it’s like Abraham ignores him and gives all his attention to this King of Salem, this man named Melchizedek. And it seems that even Melchizedek ignores the King of Sodom.

NOT that the king of Sodom was worth their attention.  SODOM was one of the wickedest cities that ever existed and apparently neither Abram nor Melchizedek thought he was worth their attention.

But in this part of the story, Melchizedek is front and center.  He not only gets Abraham’s attention, he gets a 10th of all the plunder Abram rescued.
Long ago, I learned that if Bible mentions something it’s there for a reason.

In fact Romans 15:4 tells us that
“whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
That would include this story about Melchizedek.

But ... wait a minute! That doesn’t make any sense!
Genesis only gives Melchizedek 3 verses. And that’s the only time he’s mentioned in Genesis. In fact, in all the rest of the Old Testament, Melchizedek is only mentioned in one other verse.

And even when you get to the New Testament, the name of Melchizedek is never mentioned in the Gospels, the book of Acts, or in any of the “Epistles” Paul wrote nor the writings of John or Peter.

It’s like the guy disappeared from history... like nobody paid him any attention.
Well... that’s not entirely true. There’s one New Testament book that dedicates – not just 3 verses but – 3 entire chapters to Melchizedek.

And in those 3 chapters of that one New Testament book, this Old Testament King and Priest becomes one of the most important men in all of Bible History. He’s hidden away everywhere else in bible... but NOT in this book!

We read in Hebrews 7
"For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” 3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest forever."

Now Melchizedek was NOT Jesus. Verse 3 says He was RESEMBLING the Son of God. It’s kind of like that driver’s license you have in your wallet. Everybody hates them. It’s not a perfect resemblance of you, but its good enough that if a policeman pulls you over they can tell it’s you.

It’s not a perfect picture... but its close.But when God took a snapshot of Melchizedek, it was a perfect picture – it perfectly resembled who Christ was going to be.

Now remember, there’s only 3 verses in Genesis that describe Melchizedek – And that’s deliberate, because all that God wanted you to know about Jesus is wrapped up in those 3 verses.

For example:
His name was Melchizedek – which means “King of Righteousness.” And in Romans 3:22 we’re told “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus.”

In addition, Melchizedek was the King of “Salem” – which means “King of Peace”. And in Romans 5:1 it says “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jesus was our King of Righteousness and our King of Peace. And when God introduced Melchizedek He deliberately left out who his parents were!

We’re told this was because that declared this King had “neither beginning of days nor end of life, BUT… resembling the Son of God he continues a priest FOREVER.”

In fact, in Psalms 110:4, God makes that declaration about the coming Messiah: “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

So, what we find is that God declared that when Jesus came HE (JESUS) would be our Peace and our Righteousness, and that He would be our PRIEST FOREVER.

PRIEST?
Why would Jesus need to be my priest? I mean, I can understand Him being my King and I can appreciate that He would RULE over my life... but why would Jesus need to be my Priest?

Well what does a priest do? In the Old Testament, a priest would make sacrifices so that sins could be forgiven. And the Bible repeatedly teaches us that the guilt/shame of our sins had to be paid for and that something OR SOMEONE had to die to PAY for my sins.

So, as our Priest, Jesus made a sacrifice for our sins. But when did He do that? He did it when He died on the cross.

Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 10:11 "11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.  14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."

When Jesus died for you and I – His one sacrifice wiped away ALL our sins for ALL time for those who believed on His name, repented of their sins and were buried in a watery grave for the forgiveness of their sins.

You see... that’s what church is all about. We haven’t gathered here just to be a social club, to slap each other on the back, sing a few songs, listen to an encouraging message, and then go out and eat some potluck food together.

We are HERE at church services... because Jesus died for our sins. We remember that every time we take communion. We take of the bread and Jesus said “This is my BODY broken for you.” And then we take of the cup and Jesus said “this is my BLOOD that is poured out for you.”

We gather every Sunday and remember His High Priestly sacrifice in these communion elements. It’s what we do and who we are.

And that’s not the only thing we do to remember His sacrifice. Every time we baptize someone into Christ,
Paul tells us in Romans 6:3-6 "3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be [a]done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin."

We see His sacrifice in the Lord’s Supper and in our salvation action of baptism. His sacrifice is what we are about.

And if we ever forget that this is our primary purpose and teaching... we have nothing to offer this world.So, Jesus Is Our High Priest! And because that is true, He gives us confidence that now that our sins are removed we can boldly go into the presence of God without fear, without shame and without guilt.

In God’s presence we now simply have peace! Now, I want to go back to Genesis 14... Do you remember me saying that Melchizedek ignored the King of Sodom? Why would he do that?

Well, he did that because OUR King of Righteousness, OUR King of Peace, Our High Priest... wants nothing to do with the sin.

Sodom was the wickedest city on the face of the earth, and it - and it’s king – were ultimately destroyed because of their wickedness. And so Melchizedek had nothing to do with the king of Sodom!

But while Melchizedek didn’t focus on the King of Sodom... he DID focus on someone, and he did bless that someone. Who did Melchizedek bless? Abraham. We read the following in Genesis 14:18-20, "18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said:“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,Possessor of heaven and earth;20 And blessed be God Most High,Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”And he gave him a tithe of all."

Now, why would he do that?  Well, he did that because Abraham believed in God and Abraham followed God and Abraham gave his life to God. And you can see that in what happens when Abraham meets Melchizedek.

ILLUS: An old preacher made this observation: “When Abraham saw Melchizedek he was looking at Christ because he resembled Christ.”

SO notice that when Abraham SAW Christ that day... two things happened: 1)“Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine.... And 2)Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”

That was how Abraham worshiped God that day. And that’s how we should be worshiping Jesus... IF we really see Him. If you are really seeing the face of Christ that should compel us to DO something.

It should compel us to make sure we take of Communion every Sunday and it should compel us to make sure we give back to the lord every Sunday.

One last observation...
the CHURCH is the one place that we know we are going to see Jesus.

Ephesians 5:25 says “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” You mean Jesus died for this building?
Of course not, He died for this GROUP OF PEOPLE because YOU are the church. Granted He died for your own personal sins, but He also loved us as a group and He died to establish His church... US.

What’s interesting is how the church is described in Ephesians 1:22-23 which says Jesus is “the head over all things to the church, which is his body.”

We are the BODY of Christ. So (work with me here) when I see the church... I’m seeing His body. When I see the church, I’m seeing Christ.

Because that is true It’s only when we gather as a church that I really see Jesus. When I sit at home, I can turn on the TV and here a preacher preach a message, and I can turn on the radio to a religious radio station and listen to uplifting songs of praise, and I can turn everything off and offer up prayers to Christ. I can do all that at home.

But the one thing I can’t do at home is see the “body of Christ” – which is you.It is here that I experience ... the BODY of Christ.

CLOSE: A preacher shared a story about a woman in his church who’d gone to the doctor because she had a spot on her head that was irritating her. He looked it over and noted it was a small spot on her head and he told her was nothing to worry about... he’d look at it again in a month. But at the next appointment, the spot had grown dramatically and proved to be melanoma. It was serious enough that he scheduled surgery and removed – not only the skin on her head, but part of her skull.

In addition, they inserted blue dye into her veins at the affected area to see how far the cancer may have gone in her lymph nodes.  As soon as they pumped in the blue dye she IMMEDIATELY began to feel pain. The Doctor tried to comfort her as best he could but explained that the dye had to do its work... and there was no way to relieve the pain.

But many had found it helpful to “Find their happy place.” Thinking about the things that would make you feel safe,relaxed, and at peace often helped people deal with the pain.

Knowing how much this woman loved riding horses, the preacher remarked “Well, I guess your happy place was thinking about the times you’ve spent riding your horses in the field.”

“Oh no,” she said “the first thing I thought of was Church. Church was my happy place. I began to focus on the faces of people at church. I started on the right side of the building and remembered each of their faces and prayed for each one of them, thanking God that they were my friends and that I knew they prayed for me.  And then I focused on the songs we sing and am thankful that they encourage me to praise and worship God. And then I focused on the Word of God presented through sermons and Bible Study THEN …. After ALL that I thought about riding my horses.”

Church was her happy place! Why? Why was the church her happy place? Well, it was her happy place... because when she looked on the faces of the people at church... SHE SAW JESUS.

 

 

Contributing Sermon
Given by Jeff Strite

What Difference Does it Make?

Why Make a Fuss?